Hello there! Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped-turned upside down, and I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there, I'll tell you how I'm building a house somewhere. In central and east Texas, born and raised In a trailer house is where I spent my early days. Chillin' out, growin', playin' like a fool, not realizin' my dad wanted me to change schools. When I got a little older, we moved away Closer to the city and the concrete driveways. I really liked my childhood now don't be despaired, But the city ain't for me in the long-run, I swear. I grew up a lot, made some life mistakes for sure, I've been trying to settle more and be financially secure. If anything I could say that my life is already, But something was missing and felt unsteady. I hate renting houses and all that landlord nonsense, The money goes nowhere and the market is intense. So we tore down that first house with power tools galore, And we're building a home from the roof to the floor.
Why I'm building: -We already own the land and it will be dog heaven for my two babies. -You can buy a shell (just the building outside) for $25k+ OR you can build one for $8k in materials. Dad is pre-paying for the materials and I am paying him back after in monthly installments, so keeping the price down is VERY nice. -I can design the floorplan EXACTLY how I want. With only 896 sq. ft. this is SUPER important to get the most feasibility. I'll have a loft above the office, an attic above the bedroom, vaulted ceilings in the living room and an open kitchen to help it feel larger than it is. -I have a family that does a lot of construction and can make this project happen.
Update as of July 26: -So I wanted to be done with the shell, but it was a BIG project and we all were destroyed after day 1. 2 days and the walls and the rafters are all up and about 1/3 of the roof is done. Hoping the weather behaves (no more weeks of rain) and we can get everything 'dried in' (building roof and sides on) before it decides to pour again. -Next is insulation and interior walls. I get to place masking tape for the walls after work and it's the exciting part because after over 2 months, it finally feels like it's real. -Electric company should be out to replace their bad poles with new ones and connect everything in the next few weeks, until then it's more time with the generator as long as it doesn't die again.
It looks great! That is a huge project but clearly all of you are hard workers and know what your doing. I'm looking forward to seeing a photo of the completed exterior. Nice piece of land too!
Yes, totally know what we're doing.... You and me both, vaulted ceilings were not fun, but they added some fun window accents up top. Gonna look pretty sleek when done.
Seeing a Whataburger cup in one of the pictures is the most Texas thing I've ever seen (there are some nearby here in AR, which is kinda weird because it's far away from the other locations)... also, I worked for the census bureau last year and had an address that looked like the thing in the first picture.
Man that rap was good! My friend also has built a house and he said the work was worth it but the painting is the ringer of it. But congrats on the new property and the new house!
Most work site days include a whataburger breakfast and a mcdonalds/sonic lunch XD Update July 27th: -Taped down the outline into the house yesterday. Discussing making the bedroom a little smaller because square footage is tighter than I'd like in the living room and the pups need their floor space to stretch out. (I swear half of my decisions are made because of the dogs.) -Took the pups out to see the land and they were mesmerized when the friendly roadrunner was nearby. Not sure if they wanted to eat it or if they were just confused by the bigger bird. -Electric company came out and cleared some area to put a stake in the ground where the pole is going. If I get lucky, I'll have electricity this weekend, but likely will be next weekend. I could really use some fans in this Texas heat... Anyone have mosquito deterring methods/anything that works and are not poisonous to the wildlife? They nearly carried me off yesterday.
My father in-law lived on a farm most of his life and swore by having a rain barrel full of water...and guppies! Apparently the mosquitos find the water to lay eggs which are yummy for the fish. He said he never had mosquito issues after that.
Makes sense. It's like a trap for the reproduction part which definitely causes the upticks in numbers.
OMG K, this looks so awesome! Congratz on all the above and so happy for you. It's so nice to be able to create your own living space and be out from under a landlord/mortgage. How big is the lot you're on? Lol.. I have made so many decisions because of my furry babies and am doing so atm while looking for a place in OK. Gotta have that perfect place for the babies to thrive too. =D Woot!!! edited to add.. Have you decided on the type of heating/cooling you'll be using? Just curious.
Will you eventually go off the grid with solar power? That’s a great size for a small array and a battery storage system.
The land is 20 acres, but we will likely never clear more than 5 of that. It's covered in oak and cedar trees so very woodsy. We are using an indoor a/c system standalone unit. Heat is currently undecided, but dad will source something I'm sure. A LOT of tree coverage though. We've looked at it and dad has some spare panels so we might look into it later once the barn is fixed up where there is more sunlight.
WOW. That is a BEAUTIFUL property. Glad to see you living this dream. Mine giant plot dream is still a "some day".
I was thinking you were going for outdoor bathing for a min Your new home, no place like it and your dogs will love it as I am sure you will, you can always add a stoop with rocker/swing seat leater
Update as of yesterday, August 2nd: Worked 4 hours before the EMC Birthday celebration and another 12 on Sunday. We knew storms were rolling in this week and we wanted to get walls up to keep the whole thing from falling over like dominoes. I feel like I got ran over by 5 trucks, but WE DID IT! We have almost no windows in place yet because we are going to paint first, to keep it easy and spray-able. I picked out a cute light green-brown color called "Farm to Table" #797E6E that will go perfectly with the galvanized tin roof and the wood accents I'm planning around the windows and for the door. I really love a good earth tone feel and this house will definitely have it when all is done.
Y'all are killin it! Looks great and whew! Glad ya got it dried in before the storm. =D I like the earth tones as well and greens .. like sage .. work for me. Looking forward to more updates.
