Timing

Last year, my husband and I decided that we were tired of pouring money into our old, almost 100 year old, farmhouse.  We remodeled it when we moved here eight years ago.  All was remodeled, except the kitchen.  Over those eight years, we've had electrical issues, sagging floor trusses and have simply outgrown the square footage.  After a surprise water leak last Spring, we decided it was time to build.  Cut our losses and start fresh.  While this is a HUGE undertaking and will change our finances drastically, we felt it was the best decision.

Fast forward exactly one year later and they are breaking ground on our new home.  We spent almost one full year scouring floor plans, architects, building codes, etc. to ensure a perfect home for our family.  With one teenager, one preteen, and one elementary student, we have a huge array of "needs" for our new home.  Another factor to take into account is our business.  We need space for an office, rather than sitting with a laptop on the couch, at the table, outside, etc.  A final piece of our puzzle was aging.  We sure aren't getting any younger, so having a master on the ground floor was important to me.  We may need space for our parents in the future as well.  Many factors went into this home building process.  If you are building, don't take these steps lightly.  :-)

After nine months of searching, we found an architect, contacted him, and purchased sets of his floor plans.  We submitted floor plans to multiple lumber yards to get estimates on the cost of building material.  A family member who does concrete work for a living was called as well.  We decided to not have a basement, which was a drastic compromise for me.  :-) 

Below, you'll find a picture of the spot where the house will go.  This is after the topsoil was removed, then we received a torrential downpour all afternoon.  Ughhhh....