It’s time for an update on the RV~House building. Let’s refresh.
September 2015. We bought the land. A few acres, woods on all sides, out in the country.
March 2016. Our house sold in 2 hours. We moved into an RV on the property. Right next to a huge shop that Stephen built. The shop is bigger than the house. All our stuff is in it, along with washer/dryer, fridge, deep sink for dishes, and clawfoot tub in an internal blackout room for night shift sleeping. It was without a doubt, the worst 3 weeks of my life. I got sick, BAD sick, and have zero memory of closing on our house sale.
June 2016– Go on our annual summer trip out west. Start making some “I wish” lists for this house. Stephen insists that he wants a builder to do it all so it can be done quickly. I remind him over and over that living in the RV is not that bad. And deep down inside, I KNOW that he will have a very hard time handing all control over to a contractor. He grew up helping his father build houses.
July 2016– Contact builder, draw up plans, get to drafter. Wait for bids. This is the easiest house to build It’s literally a rectangle. No weird roof cuts. No fancy anything. 2 story farmhouse with wide open floor plan. Easy peasy.
September 2016. Bids come back. Oh HECK to the No. We live in Tuscaloosa. There is a building bubble in Ttown right now. Contractors can demand top-level prices for their work, no matter if the house is easy or complicated. Every contractor bid based on square feet alone. Final bid came back WAY over initial projection. Stephen took a good look around at his workplace. Between his skill set and 3-4 other men who have updated licenses and work in their craft on their off days, he figured they could build this PLAIN FARMHOUSE a lot cheaper. He has 2 friends that did build their own houses. Back to the drawing board.
October 2016. We have a new builder. New bids. And now it’s almost time to start the dirt work. Our goal is to be in the house by June next year.
Now, comes the fun part. We have to agree on stuff. Everything, actually. So far, we are doing okay. 80% of the house falls into my “I really don’t care” file. And I really don’t. It’s not that I don’t CARE, it’s that I do not have a preference. Show me some choices, I’ll pick. However..the 20% I do care about…I care BIG.
- Kitchen color (white plank board “shiplap” to the trendy folks, I think).
- Bedroom floor (hardwood).
- My picture kitchen window that MUST get sun for food photography.
- Front porch? Absolutely with white posts.
- STEPS for pumpkins? Non-negotiable.
Brick footing colors? Not a big fan of State Penitentiary grey, Otherwise, I’m open. Paint colors? My extremely gifted ability to see and match color (not joking. It’s amazing how I can do it) comes in very handy when Stephen shows me a magazine picture and wants the siding in the same color. Bathroom color? Anything that is NOT in the yellow family. I cannot stand yellow light in a bathroom.Natural light with blues/greys. Stephen can pic from there. Countertops? Concrete is my dream, but it’s crazy how its more expensive than granite. So, I’ll figure out a color later. No biggie.
Next up? Wait for final bids (cabinets and counters, fixtures, fireplace, etc) and go to the bank. We’ve done all the pre-approval stuff so this is the official sign-your-life-away construction loan. I’ll update along the way. Until then, it’s comfy cozy living in the fall in an RV down by the river. And I wouldn’t trade this adventure for anything.
