A few more comments

I thought I might add a couple of things about what we're aiming to do with this house...for those who might be interested...and for posterity's sake!

1. This is truly our dream house. We've been thinking about this house - at least conceptually - since we got married. What we're actually building is the result of hours of dreaming, talking, 'discussing', sketching, starting over, sharing with family members, etc... We're building this house to live in for the rest of our lives, and we can't wait!

2. We're aiming for energy efficiency. We aren't trying to live off the grid, or do anything else radical. Those of you who know us know that we're not 'radical' people - though I do tip my hat to those who are willing to make more drastic changes toward energy independence. Instead, we're building our house out of mostly conventional materials with mostly conventional systems. However, all of our new appliances are Energy Star certified so far. We're planning on installing a tankless water heater. The furnace will be at least 95% efficient. The exterior walls will be constructed of SIPs (structurally insulated foam panels) which are MUCH more efficient than traditional 'stick' build exterior walls. The windows will be Energy Star certified as well.

3. Our builder, True North Homes, specializes in custom built, energy efficient homes. They have several years of experience building with SIPs, and have a reputation for fine craftsmanship and attention to all the little energy saving details. We met them at the Spring Parade of Homes in 2007. We were immediately drawn to the 'feel' of their homes and their willingness to talk with us about what our goals were. They invited us to take a look at some of the homes they had in progress and some that were already finished and it was obvious throughout that they recognize the importance of personal relationships and attention to detail. Further, in a time where an enormous number of builders are going out of business, they are expanding!

So, that's a bit more...soon there will be pictures of the construction and I'm guessing my writing will get shorter!

Homeless...and happy about it!

We closed on our old house today, so in a couple of weeks we'll be 'homeless'! Well...not really. We are moving to a townhouse this weekend that we've rented until January '09. It's gonna be a huge pain, but a small price to pay for not having to make 2 mortgage payments. We've had many friends and close relatives go through (or who are going through) that process and wanted to avoid that if at all possible...even if it meant we might have to delay building our new house if we couldn't sell the old one. We got REALLY stinking lucky though. Our builder happened to have a nephew who was engaged and looking for a house in our neighborhood! We almost feel a little guilty for being so lucky, actually. We were fully prepared to not sell our house at all this summer. In fact, we didn't even have any serious interest besides the couple who actually bought it. We did something right somewhere along the way and feel very blessed for it!
Tonight, I also went to Sears and bought all of our kitchen appliances. They're having a huge blowout sale of last years models, AND they're having a 20% sale ON TOP of the blowout prices! Bonus! That saved us roughly $1,300 right there. The only downside is that we have to store them until the house is ready for them later this fall. Shouldn't be too much of a problem though.
Also, I'm adding some links to some of the websites that have to do with our project. Check them out in the left-hand column if you're interested!

Getting Started

Things are rolling along. We close on the sale of our current house tomorrow (hopefully). Right after that, we will meet with our builder to get our paperwork in order so we can start digging. We still need a "soil & erosion" permit since there are wetlands on our property, and we need an initial approval from the county building inspector. With any luck, we'll have a hole in the ground by the end of next week and a foundation shortly after that.

Once the foundation is in, it has to cure for 1-2 weeks. During that time, we'll work with our interior designer to pick out all the fixtures, and cabinets. We'll also be waiting for the rest of our bids to come in from the different trades-people who will be working on the house.

Wish us luck and check in here often for pictures and updates!