We got the loan and have started prepping the land for the house! (Pics inside)

[GreenPartyVoter]

I wasn't sure about posting this after reading the HGTV house show thread. (I'm a total addict!) But if it helps, our first/current home is a trailer, and I am way, way past my mid-20s. :P (And my late parents made this possible for us. Thanks Mom and Dad, for this last amazing gift!)

I'm torn on what I am most excited about. All the closets after living so long without hardly any? A nice big kitchen with a pantry? The laundry room which will have front loader washer/dryer? Master bath? All the space in general? (This new place is a little more than twice as big as the trailer.) Husband is thrilled to have an office for working at home finally (He's currently using part of the shed as an office out back,) and a nice big basement where he can have a shop. (Well, two shops. A wood shop and a malt shop themed game room.) Sons are looking forward to having their own rooms at long last, and the game room in the basement. They've always wanted a ping pong table, and I am all in favor of them playing a game that doesn't involve some sort of computer screen. :D


The layout




Similar exterior and bay window seat




The siding We're doing dark green with black shutters.




We have a well now!




The excavation is almost complete





More to come later this summer when the modules arrive. :hi:

[Suich]

1. That's a modular home???

I'm impressed! Love the front porch...I spend a lot of time on mine.

You'll have so much cabinet space in the kitchen, you'll have to buy more stuff to fill them up!

Can't wait to check out more pics!

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Yep, it's a modular. :^) I am so looking forward to

sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch.

As for the kitchen situation, I actually have to give away a ton of stuff, because we have two storage units full of my parents' things that I just wasn't ready to finish sorting last summer. So round 2 begins in September when we (hopefully) move in.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. That's exciting! When will it be completed?

And it is, indeed, wonderful to have a front porch with a rocking chair. I have one. It's the best thing ever.

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. The sections will be delievered in late August, but they have to build on

the porch and bay window, and we have to paint and put in some carpet tiles, ceramic tiles, and hardwood flooring. So hopefully we can move in sometimes in September. :D

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. It will be nice to get it done well before winter.

With any luck you'll have enough good weather left that you can enjoy your new front porch and your rocking chair.

I'm having some major remodeling done to my old (1885) house, and I am waiting with bated breath for the architect's plans so we can get going and finish before it snows. These things always seem to take longer than you anticipate, especially with an old house - but with a modular house you should be able to get it done and moved in in a reasonable time.

It looks like a very cool house.

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. Good luck with the remodeling process! What are you having done?

:D

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

20. Tearing out a horrible old kitchen, for starters.

The kitchen is so bad I considered entering it in the Worst Kitchen in America contest, but I didn't want anybody to see it! There is also only one bathroom in the house, which is on the main floor -- even though the bedrooms are on the second floor. I'm pretty sure the bathroom (which is also horrible) was added long after the house was built. Since it would be too expensive to add a bathroom on the second floor, I want to extend the footprint of the house to improve the bathroom and add a bedroom on the first floor (I'm getting too old to climb stairs all the time, and I want to retire in this house). I'll also add a small laundry room, since the basement is really just an unfinished cellar.

It will be expensive but I really need to do this so I can retire in comfort and the house will (someday, maybe) have some decent resale value.

[GreenPartyVoter]

24. That sounds like a great reno! I think it's very smart to focus on the

first floor and making things more comfortable for yourself.

I saw the horrible kitchen show. Could yours really be worse than the submissions? :o If so, you definitely are entitled to a lovely new one!

[Tikki]

5. Hey, YAY....this is amazing...

There are some on DU who are seriously looking
into doing the same. Modular and all...

Excited for your family. Thanks for keeping us in the know.


The Tikkis

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. Thanks, Tikki. :^) I hope everyone else on DU who is looking to make the leap

gets the chance to. :D

[some guy]

6. C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S ! ! !

:D

I hope it is everything you hope it to be.

Hurry September! :bounce:

:toast:

:applause:

[GreenPartyVoter]

14. Thank you! September can't get here fast enough. (And not just because of the house. Hurry

up already, new school year! LOL)

[graywarrior]

7. That totally rocks!

I'm excited for you!

[GreenPartyVoter]

15. Thanks, GW! :^)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

8. My dear GreenPartyVoter!

I cannot tell you how very excited I am for all of you! Getting your own home, on your own land, with a lot of room for everything you've dreamed of is just heaven!

And the whole layout of the house is really nice too. I like how the master end is away from the kids. More privacy that way...

I know you all will be soooo happy when you move in! Enjoy the building process too...and take lots of pictures!

They will help you remember this exciting time!

Congrats to all of you!

:grouphug:

[GreenPartyVoter]

16. Thanks, Peggy. I'll be taking pictures and videos, especially of the set process. It'll be

a bit weird seeing my house get settled into a place by a crane, I'm sure. LOL

The layout was what sold us on this model. We saw some really cute Cape Cods, but in the end it was the ranch that gave us the best "great room" and the master set up that we wanted.

[nolabear]

10. Such good news is good for all of us too!

Congratulations! I'm excited for you. It looks like a terrific new home.

[GreenPartyVoter]

17. Thanks, Nolabear! :^)

[Kali]

11. congrats!

how deep is your well?

[GreenPartyVoter]

18. Thanks, Kali! It's 200 feet deep.

[Kali]

22. wow

I thought deep wells were more the deal in my part of the country...

is the water table that low or do you go to a second layer or something?

[GreenPartyVoter]

26. I think that where I live that's pretty standard, but I hear many wells go even deeper. I guess

sometimes it's hard to find water up higher. Lots of thick bedrock.

[freshwest]

19. Beautiful location, your own water, huge home. Congrats and wish you many happy years there!

[Shagbark Hickory]

21. Just curious, why build new at a time that existing homes are selling for a fraction of what it

costs to build new?

Don't take that question to be critical, I'm actually thinking of building new myself but for specific reasons. And wondered what yours are.

[GreenPartyVoter]

23. The main reasoning was that we didn't want to move from the town that we live in, 1) because we

love it, and 2) because the kids are still in school here. Unfortunately, the least expensive non-trailer home on the market here is still about $40k more than it cost us to buy the land and the modular home, and would have been financially out of our reach. :(

[Shagbark Hickory]

25. Those are mighty fine reasons. You mentioned $40k more...

$40k will buy you an unbelievable foreclosure property down here. I've been considering buying one of them. For just the difference in price down here, you can buy an entire property. Nice ones!

[GreenPartyVoter]

27. I've watched the various home finding shows on HGTV, and it astounds us

how very cheap or expensive homes can be just based on where they are. I've seen some people buy homes much larger than our new one with a garage and pool on budget similar to ours, and I'm left scratching my head wondering how that works. LOL

Good luck with your home purchasing if you decide to move forward!

[applegrove]

28. Looks gorgeous!!

[GreenPartyVoter]

29. Thanks! I will finally have a house that feels like it's worth decorating. :^)

I mean, I tried a little here, but it didn't help much. LOL

[auntAgonist]

30. I am SO excited for you GPV!

Congratulations to you and your family. May you live a long and happy life in your new home



aA
kesha

[GreenPartyVoter]

32. Thank you so much. :^D

[Raffi Ella]

31. ooo very exciting!

I'm so happy for you and your family.

[GreenPartyVoter]

33. Thank you! :^D

[rbnyc]

34. This is awesome.

Congrats.

[GreenPartyVoter]

35. Thanks! :^)

[Gormy Cuss]

36. Wait--- your boys don't have their own bathrooms en suite? You'll never be on HGTV!

j/k, of course! The space looks great and modular construction is a good way to go. Congrats, GPV!

[GreenPartyVoter]

40. Oh, darn! :^D

[Dappleganger]

37. OMG, you have a walk-in pantry!

Soooo jealous!! Seriously, that looks like an awesome place and set up perfectly for a busy family. I am so excited for you!

[GreenPartyVoter]

41. Thank you! That walk-in pantry was a HUGE selling point for me, because

I have things I don't want to store in the cupboards or on the counters. So I ordered the pantry with 20" wide shelving to accommodate my oversize crock pot and bread machine and electric griddle and so forth.

I'm a bit nervous about watching them set the house on the foundation. Not sure how I will like seeing my place "flying" through the sky, even for just a few minutes. LOL

[Dappleganger]

50. That would definitely qualify as a high-anxiety moment!

Don't think I could look on as it goes swinging through the air, lol.

[GreenPartyVoter]

51. I want to video the experience and share it here, but I'm afraid I'll say

something stoopid while I'm doing it. LOL

[Dystopian]

38. Beautiful ....and so very happy for you!

GreenPartyVoter:hug:

You and your family deserve this....
I know exactly how you feel...

I would not be living in my home had it not been for my parents...

I'm living on the land..in the woods.... that I played in when I was a little girl...
I loved the pictures of the excavation..brought back memories ...thank you...


Joy!
And awaiting updates...



peace~

[GreenPartyVoter]

42. Thank you, Dystopian! I'm so glad you have the home of your dreams too!

[LynneSin]

39. you're going to need a few more bedrooms if you want DUers to move in with you

:D

[GreenPartyVoter]

43. LOL Well, the there should be plenty of room in the basement, if they can abide the

racket that my kids are bound to make. :P

[LynneSin]

44. Don't worry about the kids - I always travel with a bottle of Nyquil

That'll take care of them for a few weeks!

[GreenPartyVoter]

46. *snort* Shows what you know. Younger kid is ADHD and hardly sleeps anymore. You'll

have to try harder to get the better of him. LOL

[LynneSin]

52. I still have that Ambien prescription I quit using when I sleptwalk down my steps and to a hospital

that might help your kid

[GreenPartyVoter]

53. Seriously,I might take you up on that offer. I'll just have to put a lock on his door.

:P

[LynneSin]

54. What - you mean you haven't put a lock on the door already?

What kind of (*#%^*)# are you?

:rofl:

[GreenPartyVoter]

55. There is one, but it broke years ago. And since we figured we could trust them to come out

on their own now in the mornings, we never bothered to fix it. LOL

[DebJ]

45. Wow! Windows in the bathroom! How cool! Congrats!

[GreenPartyVoter]

47. Yeah, that's what I thought too. Kids' bathroom doesn't have one, so we're

putting in a sun tube. Not as cool as a skylight, but at least it's natural light, right? :)

[RedCloud]

48. Wait! Stop! Wait! Listen to me!

If I could do my house over I would put a huge underground tank for water catchment from rain off the rooftop and use it to keep the outside green during times of drought or because rain water trumps city water.

[GreenPartyVoter]

49. Can't afford one. :^( Thinking about rainbarrels though for watering the garden so

we don't have to get it from the well.

[tk2kewl]

56. If you can you should consider a geothermal heat pump.

if you are doing central air and heat the final cost after rebates and tax credits may be essentially the same as conventional HVAC systems. I put a 2 ton geothermal heat pump in when i built my hose and it was a wash on cost and saves me big buck vs standard AC and gas fired heat.

plans http://www.yellowfinmusic.com/images/house/
construction http://picasaweb.google.com/102536162170163114327/HouseConstruction?feat=directlink#slideshow
finished http://picasaweb.google.com/102536162170163114327/InsideTheFinishedProduct#slideshow/

[GreenPartyVoter]

57. We had thought about it, but we barely squeaked by on the loan as it is. No spare

change for converting the plans to contain duct-work and adding a pump.

The best we could do for energy/utility efficiency at this time was hot water on demand. Hopefully someday we can make other improvements. (Although, the windows and insulation will be a vast improvement over the place we have now.)