Seriously? You are the only other person I have ever seen who enjoyed the process then. I LOVED doing it. I worked on my house plans and design for 20 years in my head and 7 years prior to the go time. I had a blast.

Even now when I have to go into a home building store I get the itch to check out what is new. I have to resist the urge to sketch out designs.

I guess you must have to have a great builder who you can work well with.

Love the thread. Thanks. I could have used the conduit under the driveway idea.

Had a contractor friend get it to the closed in point, then we either did it ourselves or found someone else. Learned a lot about construction. Had a blast choosing things, designing the kitchen.
I still sketch out ideas I like.

I think the biggest asset I had in doing it was that our contractor is a really cool guy. We were friends, he had done small work for us but he had never built a house. Our plumber called him a "picky little bastard" and that is why we asked him to build this house. He did it with a crew of 3 guys, we worked together every day on it. He listened and I listened and when there were problems we worked it out together. His first house, won the Home Builder Association first prize, most of the people in that association did not know who he was but he won. Then the bottom dropped out of the housing market. He has not built another. Because of his way of working with others it was an absolutely fun experience, pretty much stress free except having to figure out how to stay under budget. I did it, he helped, and I find myself thinking it would be fun again. Too bad I don't have the money!

I love that you did a lot of the inside yourself. Totally cool.

I think that's kinda rare. But to win that prize! Was that with your house? Either way, that's pretty neat!

Our house is very different but it was not that that won it for him, it was his craftmanship. I swear he and the three that worked with him were amazing. I moved out here on the farm and lived in a tiny room in my barn so I could be here and I saw every nail that went into it. I must have driven them crazy. They were an amazing crew and we hashed out every tiny thing so I am very happy and they were able to work with confidence that it was not only right but what we wanted.

It was REALLY funny when he won. All the local big shot contractors who build many houses a year did not even know who he was. They do now!

From what I hear you are correct, it is rare. It makes it a fun project if they are like that.

...and plenty of nails.


Our home building has been an Ad Lib DIY salvage/finishing of a partially built cedar cabin that had been abandoned for 8 years.
Most of our plans have been verbal flights of fantasy,
later reduced to pencil sketches, or even twig drawings in the dirt.

It has taken us a long time,
but we have managed to go from this:


to this:

....in just 5 short YEARS!!!

We decided that instead of paying contractors and builders,
we would spend the money on tools,
and learn how to do it by haunting the Internet, and watching non-stop DIY Channels on Sat TV.
We have made a few mistakes,
but so far, so good.
We generally use screws instead of nails
because it is easier to take it all apart and re-do it the right way.

We are very rural, and there is no zoning, building permits, or required inspections,
so that makes it a little easier.

We recently finished the bathroom,
and are happy with the results.

Ya know, screws are always a great idea for that reason and I do think they hold better. I know nothing about it except that I use screws far more often than nails and I think I may have gotten that from my builder.

You and Starkraven can do anything and do it well. Very nice job!

...has made using screws fast and easy.
It also makes The Learning Process much more forgiving.
We joke about having to build things 7 times before we get it right,
but that is more truth than joke.

Nails really are obsolete for most things,
but I still love the sound of someone driving nails on a Summer morning.

This place was such a mess when we got here that we came close to just burning it down. Wild animals and Squatters had been living in it for a number of years.
The thought of just cleaning up the filth was overwhelming to me.

Starkraven stopped me from throwing in a lit match and walking away.
She went to a corner with a broom, bucket, mop & a sponge
and started making a small Clean Spot, and we went from there.
After cleaning away the debris, we found that the basics were OK.
The roof was tight and the structure was sound, and unique.
We gradually fell in love with this place.
It will never be "finished", but always be a Work in Progress.



How are you doing?
We are doing OK.
The last two growing seasons have been brutal with the heat and the drought,
but we have done better than most in this area, thanks to a well that seems bottomless.

I've mostly stopped posting on DU about our personal adventures.
This place doesn't feel the same,
and most of the people I consider friends and fellow pilgrims have left,
with you being one of the few remaining exceptions.
The Rural/Farm Group has about 4 members now.

We're getting better at the growing stuff to eat thing.
The Seed Catalogs are here,
and we are excited about the new season.

We hope you and yours are healthy & happy.

---bvar22 & Starkraven
Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas

to doing these kinds of things! I am in awe of everything you have done.

Yes, it is different here. I stay because there are still people I care about. You being one of them. I am always so happy when you post because that means you are still here!

After my husbands heart surgery followed by my pneumonia that is still kicking my butt 3 months after I got it we are getting by. Beginning to see a better time ahead.

I think we are going to try a little straw bale gardening, at least this year to see how it works. Neither of us are going to be 100% and with the animals to care for and everything else we are looking for easier solutions to providing our food. Hopefully we will be able to find the time to dig a section and try wicking as well. Worried as heck about the weather. Dust storms already to the South and West of us. I am determined we are going to go out of this world filled with good, home grown, organic food. Just have one quart of tomatoes left and we will be stuck until we harvest again. I think we will be starting much earlier this year and be prepared with lots of plastic to cover the tenders if needs be. We could have harvested before the heat last year if we had been ready!

I wish I knew where everyone had gone. I miss them. I read more than post now and use my ignore feature until my temper calms to keep out of trouble. Still it feels more like being an unwelcome relative at the reunion. I saw a gardening forum with a political section. Boy oh boy, not for me. They eventually took it down.

Stay well and if I don't see you around stay happy and occupied in your good work. Hope your sweet deer is still stopping by now and again. Take care.

See below. I don't think there's a problem with mentioning your blog at relevant times but it is probably not a good idea to be a member on DU solely for the purpose of generating traffic to your site.



At Wed Jun 5, 2013, 12:15 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

thanks
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1158&pid=2078

REASON FOR ALERT:

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate. (See <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=aboutus#communitystandards" target="_blank">Community Standards</a>.)

ALERTER'S COMMENTS:

Seems like a nice guy, but he's spamming his own site. See profile- http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=profile&uid=304774 -- " I run the site www.godownsize.com. A site about simple living and downsizing "

From the TOS (http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=termsofservice)- No spammers.
Do not spam Democratic Underground with commercial advertising or promotions.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Wed Jun 5, 2013, 12:19 PM, and the Jury voted 3-3 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: OK, so he's plugging his blog. But several other DUers, even prominent ones, do the same thing. It's not like he's trying to sell stuff. The "anti-spam" rule is IMO more to target those "my sister makes $3000 per week posting links on the Internet" types of post.
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Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

I think buying a home through a professional broker is best than building up, because they known well about property. But if you want to build than hire a professional architect for designing a home of your choice. But according to me buying a home is better than building up.

are "doing real estate" because it's easy to get into, as most commission-only jobs are.

I've angered more than my share of them through the years, by pointing out undisclosed termite damage, insufficient electrical grounds, collapsed sewer lines, bad roofs, and poor construction methods and materials that the broker didn't know about.

Trouble is, when you buy a house with all that, you accepted it, disclosed or not, and whether you can live there or not, you have to pay for it.

Or unload it on the next sucker.

Building with cash along will save you 75% or more of the total cost of a mortgage, not trivial, And since you're doing cash, you always own it, no matter the economy.

It's also fun to get things just as you want them without having to argue paid strangers into it.

But I agree, if you feel uncomfortable doing anything but buying through a Realtor, then do that. It's about being happy and satisfied.