Horse Before House Part 6Measure twice, cut once

The ridge beam led to rafters, and soon the walls were closed in. Once the rafters were in place and plywooded over, the roofers took all of two days, which was both amazing and frightening in equal measure. Inside knowledge: on the steeper parts of the roof, the roofers knelt on what turned out to be the foam pads from sofa cushions, which they referred to as their "cadillacs".  😆😆😆

The windows went in next - not without a few issues. I had hoped to incorporate an antique half moon window I'd been saving for years, but sadly at the last minute my builder decided he couldn't make it work. Another lesson in being flexible and picking your battles. I decided to use the window decoratively inside the house instead.

Also - it's important to consider things like window height. Over and over I ran into specs in the plans that didn't make sense in the real world. There is a fire code that dictates size and height of bedroom windows, with regard to escaping, but where the porch roof meets the walls, i.e. where the bottom of the windows can start also has to be taken into consideration.  

When I checked out the window holes in my bedroom wall for the first time, I found that I would barely be able to see over the sills, much less reach the catch to open and close, or clean, without a ladder. I wonder what would have happened if I hadn't been living on the property, looking at the progress on a daily basis...

We ended up lowering the pitch of the porch roof from 6/12 to 4/12, (for every foot across the roof angles up so many inches), allowing the space for lowering the windows. I would have liked to do even a 3/12, but apparently in areas that get torrential rain like we do, you can't go lower than a 4/12 without risking leaking. Lowering the pitch would come in handy when it came time to paint too.

Above is one example of where I participated in modifying the plans to customize my home. Another change was the laundry facilities. In the plans, there was a pipsqueak of a closet with an apartment-sized stacked washer-dryer combo. Now - I had spent the last eight years carrying laundry to my dad's house every week, and therefore felt very deserving of a dedicated space for laundry. I suggested we convert a 10x10 block off of the porch, which runs around three sides of the house. This resulted in a spacious laundry + mudroom (!), with the added benefit of blocking the harshest summer afternoon sun, as well as much of the wind from the most used section of the porch.

Next post we'll tackle the painting. Enjoy yet more construction p*rn...

When the half moon window was happening...

Plywooding the roof + fireplace bump out

Tar papering

Roofers were here

Soon there will be rails and steps

Steps!

Siding crew has been busy prepping...

Horse Before House Part 3 Floors, Walls and Rooms

Once the pilings were banded, the pace picked up considerably. My framing crew was a super group of guys - by far the most professional and talented of all the trades who worked on the house. (it certainly helped that there wasn't much good surf when they were here)

Early on, right after the property was purchased, I met with a potential builder. He walked the lot with me, answering questions about siting the house, clearing the lot etc. I happened to mention the plan was to live in the Shimmy Shack during construction. He basically implied he wouldn't take a job when the client lived there. Once the project got going - because I lived on site - it was apparent when work started and stopped, who was there (or wasn't), and how far things progressed. I no longer wonder why in my landscaping business, I've run into so many off island clients over the years who seemed suspicious of local contractors...

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There were a couple of comments asking for details - one was about costs outside of the mortgage. Here's that breakdown:

Plans - $1800
Surveying - $2000
Lot clearing - $1200 (not including my labor)
Stump pulling + grading - $2400 (not including my labor)
Permits/inspections - $1000
Water impact (county water) - $3000
Running 350' water line - $300 (not including my labor)
Electric pole - $200

The other question was about pilings and elevation. Two years ago hurricane Matthew brought flood waters of +/- 9'. My property is 7.5' above sea level. It had never flooded here since anyone could remember - one of the main reasons I bought the property. I raised the first floor 10' above the ground - so 17.5' above sea level. There are codes regarding elevation, as well as requirements from the bank, and better deals on insurance the higher up your first floor is. I wanted to be able to use the space under the house for parking and storage, and figured 10' would allow me to eventually close in a little shop once some time has passed.

First floor pano

View from the future kitchen (!)

Raising the walls

It's crazy - all that held those walls up for weeks were a few 2x4s...

...and some wall jacks

Laundry room with a view ❤️

First floor walled in

Horse Before House Part 2

Next up - fine tuning the site and sinking the pilings:

From the very beginning of envisioning a house on my property, I had high hopes of preserving a sizable twin oak that would end up being pretty close to the front of the house.

The builder was sure we'd be able to keep it. The guy who pulled the stumps kindly avoided the root ball. The surveyor (theoretically) worked hard locating the footprint to save it, and the piling crew did a bunch of handwork to accommodate the roots. It looked like we were home free, pilings sunk and ready to start banding (insert record scratch here)...

*Let's take a pause. There a SO many incidental costs that pop up when you build a house, outside of having to do with the structure itself. SO many. I knew this would be a factor, but no one could give me a ball park figure. In my area, 10k would be a good number to start with if everything goes according to plan...

My property is located in a sensitive ecological zone. A plus is I'm bordered by land that which can't be developed so - minimal neighbors. A minus is the numerous extra regulations, one of which has to do with the setbacks - how close to your property lines you can site the dwelling.

I researched this way back in the beginning, while doing my homework. (we'll revisit this detail later on in the story) What I found was 50' from the front property line and 30' from the sides, which is huge, and majorly impacted where I sited my house, the clearing I did, and what kind of plan and footprint I could choose. There are also strict rules about percentage of acreage cleared, and coverage.

During one of the myriad meetings with the surveyors, I was informed that the setbacks were quite a bit smaller (30' and 12') than what I had thought. This meant I could for sure save the tree. I was overjoyed. They staked my footprint and generated the drawings and paperwork that nothing could progress further without. I mentioned my findings, but was assured that their numbers were good. Here is the start of several themes that persisted throughout my house building experience:

1. I seemed to be the only person researching anything, and
2. to question professionals or not to question professionals...

On the edge of your seat yet? I won't keep you waiting. The pilings had to be moved after the county came to inspect the setbacks. (a gigantic error) Fortunately - due to a symmetrical house plan - we were able to leapfrog just the back row of pilings to the front row and be within regulations, although getting back on the piling guy's schedule set us behind by 30 days. And fortunate for me, but not the oak. Another theme that kept popping up - avoid getting attached - be flexible...

Bye bye oak :(

When the dumpster appears - you are officially in business!

I hearby declare 2018 Year of the Unicorn!

No one is gladder than I am to see the back side of 2017.

Besides the myriad global crises - enough to sink anyone's ship of optimism - I've been navigating the world of mortgages, appraisals, stacks of (virtual) paperwork and endless hoops to be jumped through, since February. I am ecstatic to announce that on December 8th, I closed on my mortgage / construction loan. (there simply aren't enough exclamation points) Pilings should be going in this month, and theoretically (all fingers and toes crossed) I will have an actual house to live in by the end of the summer.

Before

During (yours truly operating the tree carrying tractor!)

After - clearing for house and new road in

While I am very fond of the Shimmy Shack - which made it possible to live on my land while preparing for the house building project - it is time for an upgrade. I'm ready to be doing something more than glorified camping. For example, as I write this - the thermostat (inside) has achieved a balmy 59 degrees. The refrigerator is on the porch. There are exactly seven minutes of hot water - only if I drain the tank, let it refill and hop in the shower immediately. 220 square feet. Not to mention hurricane season.

Shimmy Shack when she first moved in...

With this major life change comes a major blog change. I'm assuming that every spare minute of my life will be accounted for in the coming year making this new house happen, transitioning the family business, running the farmette, plus caring for my aging father. There is literally no time or money for extracurricular horse activities. So - for 2018, I'm changing the focus of the blog to chronicle the house building. With a little bit of luck, once things settle down - I can put more focus back into riding. Adulting is hard.

Big announcement made - now on to the Year in Review, which I'll break into a few posts as it's basically everything that happened that I didn't post all year long lol...

Val:

Val came through 2017 a little whiter, a little less fit, but still an adorable rascal.

Highlights (for him, not me) include the time he escaped and went on a wild runabout. Uncharacteristically, I did not freak out. I followed his tracks - which led over to visit his girlfriend Honey Bee's house next door first, and then off down the trail to the beach. By the time I grabbed his halter and made sure he hadn't headed out to the road, he came galloping back off the trail. I stood in the middle of the path and he skidded to a stop, put his head down to be haltered, and meekly followed me back to his paddock.

Unfortunately, Val absolutely tore his feet to shreds during his escapade. His soles separated, curled up and away from his walls, and the walls broke off well up his foot. It was a disaster, and took several months to correct. I learned quite a bit about trimming from the incident - mostly what not to do...

His girlfriend Honey Bee

Some of the damage from the runabout

 Looks nice, but I took way too much toe off...

Overtracking

A highlight for me was a blogger visit in May. Nicole (Wait for the Jump) and her delightful husband Carlos spent the weekend here on the island. We had a lovely time. Great meals, long beach walks, tons of horse talk, and best of all quality time with Val. I hopped on to warm him up, and then Nicole took him for a spin. He was a gentleman as usual.

A not great-at-all thing that happened in 2017, was the discovery of another good sized melanoma on Val's upper lip, close to where the bit rests. We've been experimenting with the bitless bridle. I can't figure why I hadn't noticed this before, which leads me to believe it may be fast growing. This is in addition to melanomas on his anus and the underside of his dock. After consultation with the vet, I'm going the watchful waiting route for now.

One thing that hasn't changed in the nine (!) years I've had Val, is his cleverness and sense of humor. Every afternoon I spread some scratch for the chickens. Val generally expects to receive a handful of sunflower seeds - a toll to pass through the gate if you will - which I withheld this particular day due to cheeky behavior on the way to the grazing pen. He shook his head impatiently, stretched his neck out over the gate with his best treat face, then offered multiple smooches. When that didn't work he went through his entire trick repertoire one after the other in rapid fashion. I was rolling... I love that horse. ❤️❤️❤️

My favorite view

Christmas card outtake

Doing what he does best (besides eat)

Year of the Unicorn!!