The Blueprint Decision!

So here is the plan. We are planning on building a smallish home (around 1000 sqft) This is what we will live in for now, then down the road we will build a bigger home and possibly rent out the small home. So for now we are looking at something to get us through the next 5 years of our life. We are a family of 4 but I definitely want to plan for at least 1 possibly 2 more kiddos (NO this is not an announcement. But we are planning on having more kids, so it would be stupid not to plan for that.)

We are sticking around 1000 sqft to cut down on not only plan and permit fees but actual building cost as well. Permit will cost $1 a square foot, and the plans all range around the $600 range. It's definitely not a cheap part of the process.

ok, so input is appreciated. I am looking at plans and don't want to regret our decision. Given our space constraint, here are some of our "wants"

• Laundry room
• 2 bathroom minimum
• 2 bedroom minimum
• kitchen opening up to family room

I think i would prefer 3 bedrooms so that we have a workout space/ craft room until we need that room for another kiddo or to split up Miles and Mae

Here are a few plans we are looking at purchasing. Feel free to leave positive/negative feedback, I'm sure we haven't thought of everything! 

This first one is 947 sq ft with the plans included for an add on that would make it closer to 1400 sq ft. The price for the plans are $675 plus the permit price for the initial portion is $947 totaling around $1700 Riley really likes this one as it gives us the option to add the third bedroom down the rd and already has the plans for it included. My cons are that the washer/dryer is in a closet, I would like it more in a laundry room where that storage room is currently located. I also don't love that it's only 1 bathroom until we build the addition. We have been living with 1 bathroom for the past 8 months, so we know we can do it, it's just not ideal. 

This plan is one that I keep coming back to, it's 1094 sq ft, the plans are $675 plus the permit fee of $1094 totaling about $1800. This one is my favorite layout, it has a screened porch with a walkout from the master bedroom, Riley could put his workout stuff on the patio and access it straight from our room, I love the utility room, the size of the rooms/bathrooms. I LOVE that it all opens up in the great room, here is my con... There are only 2 bedrooms... Is it essential if we have another kiddo to have a 3rd bedroom? Would it simply light a fire for us to build the big house in the event of another kiddo. Is a third room a reason NOT to build a house that I love the layout otherwise???

This house is 1277 sqft, it has the 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a utility room. The plans cost $625, plus a permit fee of $1277 so a total of $1900, this one would cost the most to get the initial permit, plus you have to add the permit for the front a back porch, which is I think $0.50 a sqft. It has the requirements we have been looking for, but it is larger (pricier in the long run) I don't love how the kitchen doesn't open up (Unless that is a half wall). I wish that the master bedroom opened up to a porch (either front or rear)... also, there is like one window per room, isn't that kinda lame? or am I making a mountain out of a mole hole? For that big I would expect it to have more windows/light

If it was YOUR choice, and you had similar needs to ours, what would you go with?? 

Big Bad Wolf

So..... bad news.

After 10 days of calling the county zoning commissioner and permit office trying to get answers I finally talked to the commissioner. He was VERY passionate about making a straw bale home as difficult to build as possible. His exact words were "I don't understand why people want to build with straw, I want you to know I will make it a VERY long process, and it will be anything but cheap." What a jerk.

I got off the phone with him, Riley and I shrugged our shoulders and he said "Okay then, we find a plan for a traditional house"

So we are moving on from the first little pig, to the second little pig. I am pretty sad about this. We would have been able to build a home in less than a year with the monthly amount we have to put towards a house.

Fingers crossed I get this promotion so that building can go a little faster than I am worrying it might take.

Plan Updates

It's been two weeks since my last update so I think it's definitely time for an update.

For those who haven't followed this since the beginning. This ENTIRE journey began less than 5 weeks ago when we signed the papers for the lot. It is crazy to think about since it seems like we are not making progress and time is speeding by. This really is a HUMONGOUS undertaking.

We drove down to the property on Saturday, While driving, I mentioned to Riley that I was again kicking around the idea of building a small home on the property rather than buying an RV. It would end up costing close to the same, but we would have SO much more room! We started talking about it, and it just seemed like a good idea. If we build a small house (700-800sqft) then we would have enough space to live comfortably, that way we would have more time to put all the money necessary together to build the big home that we really want. In the meantime, we could start our gardening next year, get some grass planted and really get up and going to become more self sufficient. \

Here are the new problems now. The county requires a structural engineer to stamp the plans prior to us receiving a permit. Totally fine, we are building with unconventional material so I totally understand. However I have made probably 10 calls to different firms today just trying to get a cost on an engineer stamping plans, not ONE has any experience with straw bale so will not be able to help. I have been trying to contact the county to find out if I can you a pre-stamped plan from an engineer in a neighboring state with extensive straw bale experience, but no one has answered my calls (seriously I called them like every hour with no answer)

IF we can get the plans stamped or use pre-stamped plans, we would be able to go out and get started! building the walls and skeleton of the house would not take long nor cost a great deal of money. The big problem is not only building the house, but then also paying for the septic tank, power and also to have the well dug. The odds of us having ALL the money by November is pretty slim, unless we really budget, but even then, it will be close.

I have recently applied for a new position in my company, if I get one of the many positions they are offering, my pay should increase pretty significantly. If this is the case, I will not stress about getting everything done in time. As some of you who actually know us may already know, Riley is a disabled veteran, he suffers from a number of things, but the most notable in this experience is surprisingly not his back (so far) but his anxiety. Every time there is a hiccup he really stresses out about it. With every hiccup I hear "maybe we shouldn't be doing this." My stress is not simply from trying to make things work, but trying to make every thing work with nothing but an optimistic attitude so that I don't contribute to his stress. I'm sure before 2015 is over I will be sitting in a partially completed little house crying because I couldn't do it all, for one reason or another. I haven't even mentioned to Riley the possibility of staying in our Loft a month or two longer to finish the last few things on the little house, and I don't think either one of us wants to burden family members by staying with them.

I want SO badly for us to be in the little house by Christmas... It may be a small Holiday where we celebrate that like the Jews, our money that should have only lasted until October lasted EIGHT WHOLE WEEKS MORE! Fingers crossed people, fingers crossed.

The HOLE!

So when we were told that a soil test was necessary, I started freaking out a little bit. I budgeted $2,000 for the septic system. This includes the tank + all necessary parts and piping, the permit, and the bobcat rental for digging. I started worrying about how much this would add on to our budget. We are looking at $365 for the permit and $1200 for the tank, so after that we had approx $400 left in the budget for the extra piping and the bobcat rental. I called and got a quote of $150 for the soil test. That is absolutely ridiculous. The guy is going to drive 10 miles to get to our property, fill the 8 ft hole that Riley dug with water and then time it to see how long it takes the soil to absorb the water. A freaking monkey could do this... and it wouldn't even require a Ape or a particularly smart monkey... Whatever monkey has the absolute lowest IQ, THEY could accomplish this job. $150 freaking dollars, a rip off. Thanks OBAMA (or just the local government that decided to make this completely unnecessary test a requirement.)

Wednesday we packed the kids in the car around 9 am and headed down to the property. We didn't make it down till nearly 11 after all the stops to get the equipment needed, and potty breaks, and food breaks. It was SO hot down there.

I sprayed everyone with sunscreen and laid out the picnic blanket for Mae to relax on while we dug a hole. We quickly realized that this would become Riley actually digging the hole while I tried (and failed) to keep two toddlers happy AND away from the hole that was becoming deeper by the minute. After a few hours of scorching 90 degree heat we packed up and headed home so that we could shower it time for me to head to work at 2pm. My sister watched the kids so that Riley could drive back down and make some progress on the hole when the heat was not as intense.

Last night we watched Holes... naturally. There have been quite a few "Holes" references made during this dumb hole dig.

We didn't get a chance to go back down until today (Sunday). I set my alarm for 5:45, after being up with Riley helping him finish homework by midnight. I got the kids clothes, drinks for everyone in the car, packed diapers and activities. Loaded up the car completely, then snuck back upstairs, woke Riley up and carried the sleeping kiddos down to the van to load them up.

Miles slept nearly the whole drive to the property, while Maizey is the kid that as soon as she opens her eyes she is up for the day.

I set up our little sunshade tent

 and got the kiddos dressed while Riley got out his tools and started on the hole right away. He started today around 5 ft deep. He is already exhausted from a long week of overdoing it and late nights of homework... Seriously guys, he is a champ! We should have just rented a backhoe for this ridiculously deep hole. He didn't complain about me not digging ONCE! I offered like every 40 minutes, to which he would point out 100 problems with me getting into a 6ft deep hole and trying to muscled through 2 feet of clay. So I just wrangled the kiddos. I swear this hole was magnetic. They were drawn to this thing. If I quit paying attention for less than 10 seconds to hand Riley a tool or grab something from the cooler, I would turn around and their little toes are over the edge already. Then Miles kept throwing things in the hole, well maybe not kept, he did it like 4 times in a 6 hours span, so I should cut the kid a break. But seriously, he was trying to fill the hole back in with the pile of dirt Riley had created... I knew if this happened that Riley would probably have a nervous breakdown.. and NO ONE wants that :)

With the 1 hour break we took to drive into the nearby town for a measuring tape, supplies, and a potty break. We were actually AT the property for 5 hours. Riley hit his 8 ft mark with no swear words uttered and only mild  Moderate irritation towards the fact that he was shoveling for a straight hour and only gained 2 inches at one point in the day.

The hole is complete, and at least one small part of it hits the required 8ft mark.

Hopefully in a few days we will have our permit in our hands and we can really get going!



Now to determine the next item on the list. I have a feeling it is going to be an RV... We've been looking for a while but really need to hunker down the search. We need to get one on the property so that we can start the cleaning and renovating so that it is ready for us to move into when our lease is up in November. PLUS it would have been SO incredibly nice to have an air conditioned place to put two terribly cranky toddlers down for naps today. They kept trying to find somewhere to sleep but didn't want to actually lay down. When we get the RV we will be able to put them down for naps, have quiet toys, or even start a movie for them so that we could accomplish more with our time there.

Step 1- Septic System

Our budget for the remainder of 2015 must cover the following

• Septic System
• Getting the well drilled 
• Getting the power company to install the transformer
• an ATV to help with clearing land and everything else
• An RV or some other temp housing situation. 

So Step one is the septic system. We have priced out 1250 gallon septic tanks, researched all that goes in to actually putting it in the ground, now to just fill out the permit and get started! 

EXCEPT.

The county seems to flip flop on what is and is not required. The first document I was given stated that a soil test was recommended but not a requirement. I immediately called the developer of our subdivision and asked him about this. He let me know that he had tested soil all over the subdivision and all the neighbors that have build have septics so he thought paying to have the soil tested was unnecessary. We agreed and went on with designing the system. Well then last night I get an e-mail back from someone with the county stating that they require a certified soil tester to come out to test the soil and design our system. Well what the heck! Get on the same page and give consistent information! So now I need to call some on the list for soil testing and get a quote. This is only frustrating because we were expecting to come in UNDER budget for the septic system which would have been nice since I have a feeling some of the other things may go OVER budget. 

It is amazing the things that they certify people for these days. The soil test is something that we were actually going to conduct ourselves. You simply dig a few holes, keep them filled for 4 hours, wait 18 hours and then refill the hole and time how long it takes for the ground to absorb the liquid. What part of this requires special certification. I feel like this is a scam to take my money, I'm not very happy about it. 

Clearing land

This morning we drove down to the lot to begin the process of clearing the land. I started to clean out the shed while he started hacking away at sage brush. After a while we decided to hook a pallet up to the tailgate of the van and try to clear some brush that way. 30 minutes later we have some progress! It looked even better after taking up all the loose weeds. 

This pictures shows pretty clearly where we did and where we didn't clear. After 3 hours we loaded back in the car, with some fresh battle wounds and exhausted kiddos. 

The search continues for a skid steer or 3 wheeler to help with the land clearing process! 

Haters gonna hate

Since we have decided to go the route of building our own house, we have been met with opposition from nearly everyone we talk to. Pretty much the majority of our friends and family say this is a bad idea. Most of them have the same sort of advice

"you should definitely research this before you decide to do this" We have done weeks and weeks of research prior to signing the contract for the land. We have looked up pricing for all sorts of roadblocks we are sure to encounter. Will there likely be some unexpected problems arise, I'm sure of it. But this is something that happens to ANY build, whether it be with a contract/building company or owner build.

Multiple people have told us that the "pay as you build" model isn't practical and why don't we just go get a loan. "you would qualify for the VA home loan, just go use that to build the house you want" to this I answer, the whole point of this is to build our own place debt free!

"You know, you could just buy a house, it wouldn't be too much more than what you are planning." This one blows my mind. The home we have been discussing is nearly 3000 sqft with 2.64 acres of land, which would cost less than $75k. Have you EVER seen a home on the market this size for this price... Not a new one!

"You want to build a house out of straw??? have you never heard of the 3 little pigs?!" I'm sure i'm in for years and years of this joke. But in all seriousness, Straw is nearly fireproof, earthquake proof, Tornado resistant and insulates better than nearly anything else out there.

"Indianola is REALLY far away, you aren't going to want to commute to work from there!" We thought of this as well, I currently commute 45-50 minutes from our house to work. My work is moving locations at the end of the year, at this time when we are living on the lot, my commute will be 50 minutes give or take 5 minutes.... We thought about this as well. Timed it multiple times before signing.

"Why in the world would you want to buy an old RV to stay on the lot, It's going to be really small and cramped" OF COURSE it's going to be cramped and small, it's an RV, we didn't decide to do this and not even think of the space issue. We looked up many stories and blogs of families who have given up traditional living, completely re-done an old RV to open it up and brighten it. Some have families of 4-5 (with 2-3 toddlers) living in a single RV. These people do this full time, without an end in sight. By living in an RV on the lot we eliminate our rent, as well as put us right where we need to be to get the most amount of work done in a day. Will it be small, yup! Will it be temporary? YUP! Will it be easy? Probably not, and I'm sure more than once we will complain as we bump into each other trying to cook dinner, but there will be no rent, and it will be OURS!

We are not expecting an easy couple of years ahead of us, but honestly with everything changing in our lives over the past year, it's been far from an "easy year" it would be nice to at least have a pay off at the end of a struggle. We love that our friends and family care about us, but their concern is slightly misplaced, we have thought this through. We are praying that things go the way we are planning, and if they don't... We are totally fine hearing a hundred "told you so!"

It will be worth it if it works!

Visit to the lot

Today we drove up to the lot as a family. After being up there again, Riley is reinspired and totally on board! YAY!!!!!!! Sending in the contract today! Here are some pictures from the lot today! 

To be or not to be

Tomorrow is the day we 100% decided if we are in or out. We have the contract and if we sign in the morning, the land is ours.... Emotions are high ever here. Lots of weighing the options and second guessing everything. 

Living quarters

So, our lease is up in November. The original plan was to build a small house and live in it while building the big house. The small house design was going to end up costing a grand, the permit, nearly another grand, then the cost to actually build the house probably 6-7k. With all the other costs associated with getting the land ready it seemed ridiculous to pay a ton for a little house when that money could go towards the main house. 

I decided to look on Pinterest and see if anyone had redone an old 5th wheel and made them open and awesome. I now totally see the potential in 5th wheels! Riley and I are kicking around the idea of buying a cheap old 5th wheel, spending a little to make it nice and liveable, and stay in that on the property while we build. We have emailed on a bunch. Fingers crossed we find one large enough for our little family! 

The Lot

Here she is folks! 2.64 acres! It starts where I am, and goes all the way to the little black dot (Riley) on the right side of the picture. It also goes up to the first crest shown. 

Here are the challenges we are facing right now. 

-a well must be dug 100ft by licensed well driller (quote of about 6k)

-septic system must be installed. We will do that ourself.

-building plans must be signed by engineer in order to get a permit

That's just the current list. Riley is really starting to stress out about this process, unsure if we can do it. I think building a house would be good for his anxiety, keep him busy! Fingers crossed!

The Search for Land

You can't build a house without land. That has proven to be problem number 1. I searched EVERYWHERE from a cheap piece of land. We had a chunk in savings that we were willing to spend on some land. But the problem would then be that we wouldn't have that money to actually build... See the problem!

My job is moving buildings at the beginning of the year and we wanted to make sure that I am within an hour commute as I will continue working (fingers crossed I get the promotion/pay raise I have put in for!) We called on every affordable piece of land we could come across. There was nothing within the immediate valley. I finally called a man from an ad on KSL. He had property in 3 different areas surrounding the valley. Our ideal area is currently zoned so you can only buy 50+ acres of land that will not be buildable for 7-10 years, the second area has 1 acre lots for a pretty penny, there are no animal rights and utilities are not to the lot. The third area is a little further away, it would mean about a 45 min- hour commute. The had lots ranging from 2-5 acres for a great price.

They also offered seller financing which wasn't what we had originally planned on seeing as we wanted to do this totally debt free. But there are no banks involved and no fee to pay the lot off early. We drove out to look at the lot. It's 2.64 acres in a gorgeous valley up the canyon. We fell in love! We are planning to sign the paperwork this week and make the bit of earth OURS!

There are a few drawbacks. I will update with a post on the cost and problems we are running into soon!

Building Types

Once the decision had been made to build our own home debt free we started looking into construction types. The plan was to build a barn with a loft that was livable and stay in there until the big house was finished. We started slowly pricing out lumber, We knew it wasn't going to be super cheap but were hoping to have the barn up by the time our lease is up in our current loft.

I spent hours on pinterest Friday and Saturday finding blogs of those who have ventured to build their own homes. Saturday night Riley and I were laying in bed around midnight looking on pinterest about our upcoming project. He drifted off to sleep just as I found some info about building a house out of straw. The first post I saw on it my thought was "Freaking crazy hippies will build out of anything" then I clicked the link.

Guys this is like a REAL option! it's far less expensive than traditional buildings and gives the home a totally unique look. Sure some people build them and they look like total "hippy, off the grid" type house. But when done right, they are GORGEOUS. I started searching everywhere on the internet for more info on straw bale homes. These homes are virtually fireproof. the straw is so compacted in the bales that any flame will simply smolder rather than burn.

While looking into straw bale homes I also came across cob houses. These homes are made from a mixture of clay, sand and straw. They also have the potential of either looking crazy hippish or beautiful.

Since we are determined to build "debt free" we have at this time decided to build a straw bale house with cob flooring.

The Beginning

Riley came to me a few weeks ago determined that by the time our lease is up in November he wants to have a place of our own. He is currently using the Post 9/11 GI Bill which includes a housing allowance. It seems like a waste to use this housing allowance for rent when it could be going towards a place all our own. We started driving around during nap time hours and searching for homes for sale. We wanted a house with at least 3 bedrooms, plenty of room to grow when we decided to add another little one to the family, as well as a big yard. We didn't want neighbors too close, and we wanted enough space to grow a decent garden. A home with these requirements in the county tend to run between $200k-$300k starting out.

I HATED the idea of having a mortgage. We bought a townhouse right before the economy crashed, we had plenty of money before we bought the house and then suddenly we were both making a fraction of what we were before. Riley ended up joining the Marine Corps due to the economy crash and we had to do a short sale on our home. It was terrible!

I've always wanted to build a house from the ground up, I have mentioned this to Riley many times throughout our marriage. Each time I am scoffed at, he usually says something about how hard it would be and totally impractical as while working full time how would he find the time to build a house. While searching pinterest last week I found a blog misformama.net. She outlines in a post how she and her husband built a home from the ground up debt free for 100k. Inspiration had hit! I showed Riley the blog and told him it was entirely possible to build our own place. I found story after story of people building their own place, in most of the stories it either took years to complete with working around a full time job, or they took a year off work to complete the home.

Here is where our advantage lies, Riley is home due to being a disabled vet and also using the GI bill. I know that doesn't sound like an advantage but it is. He currently has an income along with plenty of time.

This time things will be different. I don't want a bank to have it's hand in our decision regarding what we can and cannot "afford" to live in.

We then began the search for a little bit of earth for us to build, as well as started research as to different types of homes to build ourselves.

This is our story... Hopefully it ends up the way I see in my mind and it doesn't end after 4 blog posts. Stick with us to join in our journey!