BUILDING THE HOUSE
When it came time to build the house, we were faced with some more difficult decisions. The biggest one was deciding who should build it?
It was August; we were faced with a winter coming up, and we had an unconventional design that many builders shied away from.
Time was running out. I wasn't getting any reasonable prices (or even interest) from builders. I made the decision to throw myself into the process as the General Contractor, even though we had a toddler at the time.
We broke ground October 2002. For the next 15 months, in addition to working my regular full time job, I spent practically every spare minute working on the house. The house framing got dragged into one of the coldest winters we've had in the last decade. I went through 3 framing contractors before finding one that worked. I ended up doing a great deal of the mechanical work (plumbing, electrical, radiant heat) myself.
Pouring concrete floor
By my 50th birthday November 19th, 2003, I was exhausted. Genia threw what was supposed to be a surprise party at the incomplete house that night. I found out about the party because of a last minute delivery of two big sandstone slabs (for our entryway steps) just as the party was supposed to start.
I had promised my extended family that we could have a family gathering at the new house that Christmas. We moved into the house two days before Christmas, 2003. The paint was still drying. Whew!!!
Setting the pre-fab basement walls