Moving along!

We officially began 11/25! The land is cleared and digging begins today. Next week they will begin the 8 day process of the foundation. Last night we took advantage of black Friday deals (which lasted the weekend on appliances at Lowes) and purchased our washer and dryer saving over $700.00 which was about the cost of the washing machine! Today I am meeting the window sales rep and contractor to pick out our windows. I absolutely can not wait to see everything come together. :)

Starting a bit later than planned

I originally had thought we would begin digging this week, however we needed our new plans signed off on. The energy code was not correct for the town so we needed that changed as well. The land is now staked and next week they will begin to clear, and of course I pray they also begin to dig. I hope there are no more snags (wishful thinking) I really don't want to be in limbo a month after the baby is born... I am SO happy we have decided to go with a general contractor, this could have been ugly had we attempted to do it ourselves.

change of plans

Due to conservation we had to move the garage to the front of the home. I didn't mind it since the alternative was to face the home towards the woods. On Tuesday the new placement will be stamped for approval and they will stake it out to prepare for excavation. There is also a 5 year moratorium on the road so we can not bring gas in until 2016, of course... In the mean time we will get propane so we are still able to have a gas stove, heat and dryer. In 2016 we will convert to save on heating costs. We will not be burying the propane tank because to dig up our lawn in a years time just isn't logical. We will hide it elsewhere or under the Juliet porch. I am so excited to break ground!

We've found land!

We have found land...again! We upped our budget and plan on closing on Sept. 30. 2014, so far everything is running on time. We also found out we are expecting our third baby (surprise!!) so that forced us to do things a bit quicker since we are in a two bedroom townhouse right now with three people. Construction is set to begin two weeks or less after the closing date, so by 10/15/2014 we should break ground, and the project is set to complete 5.5-6 months, we pretty much when the baby is born, April. Of course, I am hoping we are on schedule or a tad before schedule which is rarely the case, so that we can bring the baby home and be closer to the boys school as well.

Changes we have made to the house, I planned on one of the bedrooms upstairs to be a play room and the boys were sharing the bedroom that has the walk-in closet and bathroom. The boys will still have that room and now the playroom will be moved downstairs to where the office was going to be. It works out because I would like the kids to have a playroom/theater area and this room will be big enough to accommodate that and easier to keep an eye on them while they play. So instead of a large opening I am having them install french doors. Exterior will not be brick but will be hardie board siding which is more expensive than vinyl but will save in the long run due to it being maintenance free. We also will not have that chimney because we opted for a gas fireplace. It saves us a little money not having to build the chimney and I will probably use it more knowing I just have to flick the switch for it to shut off.

It's been a while...

Since I have last wrote a lot has happened. The land in Scituate fell through due to an expensive septic design, causing the site work to double. We decided to take some time out and rent in Hingham. I have always loved Hingham, it was #1 on my list of places to live, the town is picturesque. We signed our son up for kindergarten and little league here and the longer we stay the more I fall in love. We have put an offer in on land here and raised our limit $100,000.00 bringing our total budget to $600,000.00. We decided keeping our kids in this town would be worth it, we won't need to use private school because they have top notch school systems, crime rate is low, and while drugs are in EVERY town, the drugs/drug related crime are minimal. Anything can change before they are off to high school, we know this, but it has only gotten better since I have been a kid. The police department here is awesome, they are really involved in the community.

Though we have an offer in on the land we still have a lot of steps to take, luckily having been there before we are more prepared. We have also hired a builder, at this point we just want things done. First step will be to perc the land and get a septic design, we already have the house blue prints (same one we posted below). Once the perc test is done we will submit the septic design and home plan to the town for approval, once that is in the builder will take over and get the necessary permits. I am so excited and scared. I was sad about Scituate falling though, but I love, love, love Hingham and will be devastated. This month marks one year that we have been on the hunt.

Bumps in the Road

I am feeling a lot more weary about this, this week. We got word that the town charges $6,500 for any new home water hook-up. On top of that I had to deal with a very rude man at the town hall. If the road has been paved within the past 5 years there is a moratorium on the road, meaning if you need to break ground for any reason to access, water, gas or sewer you need to pay a fee. In Scituate that fee is $5000.00. When I called the town hall the man at the DPW asked me if it looks freshly paved. Uh, how am I supposed to know, it could have been done 4 years ago. This is 5,000 we are talking about, I need a clear answer. He then told me " I am not going to check on it just because you are purchasing a piece of land there." Isn't that his job, they are the ones who paved the road. Frankly, I don't care if he needs to go there (he could walk there from the town hall it is so close) or look it up in the computer system where I am sure they keep track of such things.
   This was a really hard week, between the attitude and the possible 11,500 expense, we may not be able to build on this land and I have already fallen in love with it.

Today I am preparing my binder while I wait for some quotes to come in. Nothing is ever as cheap as you think. The labor to frame the house not including the materials is in the $40,000's. That is a good chunk of our budget. I am still holding out hope, because I like to look on the bright side.  Back to picking out light fixtures and appliances I go...

House plans have been purchased

While we still don't know about the kind of basement we will be able to have, we decided to purchase the plans we both loved. Here is the lay out: