We want to build a better house for less money. I'm a stay-at-home mom, but our youngest is almost in school. I'm taking this on as my next "job." I have previous professional experience as a manager and lots of budgeting and frugality experience as a "home manager" from these last years staying home. Plus, we have definite ideas of what we want for this next house and want to be in charge of the whole process. Lisa in Onalaska, WI

Phil's Forum Posts: 10
Journal Entries: 13
Interview Answers: 169
Average Forum Rating: 3.00



Image from Phil's blog

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Pool and landscape

Posted to Avenida-Del-Sol by Phil in Peoria, AZ on 7/31/2008 7:38:47 AM

The pool and landscape are coming along. We are waiting for the stone caps on top of the water feature, then the finish and final inspection. We may get to swim before summer is over, I hope.

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More Pics

Posted to Avenida-Del-Sol by Phil in Peoria, AZ on 7/9/2008 2:32:41 PM

More Pics

Photos

Master Bath	Master Bath	Master Bath
Master Bedroom	Niche	Niche
Guest Bedroom	Guest Bath	Office
Wine Room	Front Entrance	Great Room
Kitchen	Wine Room	Game Room
Dining Room	Laundry Room	Casita
Casita Kitchen	Casita Bedroom	Garage
Pantry

Posted by Jeff in Provo, UT on 7/9/2008 Editor Jeff's Forum Posts: 148 Interview Answers: 206 Average Forum Rating: 3.83 Jeff's Selected Image 7/9/2008	Beautiful house, congratulations!
Posted by RogerC in Phoenix, AZ on 7/15/2008 RogerC's Forum Posts: 54 Interview Answers: 3 Average Forum Rating: 3.36 Randomly Selected Image 7/15/2008	Wow... I'm definitely impressed!  Congratulations on building your own beautiful home!  And only one year from raw land purchase to move-in.  That's encouraging for me.  If you don't mind, what is the size of your home?  It looks to be close to the size I'm now in the planning stages of building down in the Goodyear/Avondale area. Enjoy!

Moved in

Posted to Avenida-Del-Sol by Phil in Peoria, AZ on 7/9/2008 7:44:22 AM

It's been a long time, but we finally moved in. I have not been able to keep my blog up to date but here are a few pics with more to follow.

We ended up building this house for $100 a square foot, and you can see by the pictures we went pretty high end with everything. So if you shop around, it can be done at a reasonable price; as long as you have a budget and stick to it. More to follow!

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Temp power

Posted to Avenida-Del-Sol by Phil in Peoria, AZ on 1/23/2008 6:55:56 PM

A lot has happened since my last post. We have the roof dried in, lath is going on, electrical is almost roughed in, as is PEX plumbing. The next step is insulation, drywall, and stucco. We applied for temp. power and are waiting for APS to pull wire and install a meter.

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Pad and Framing

Posted to Avenida-Del-Sol by Phil in Peoria, AZ on 12/7/2007 7:08:34 PM

Hi all, it's been awhile and a lot has happened since my last visit. To start, my plumber friend had to bail because his mother in-law had a stroke, but he was able to inspect our work and give advice, so we roughed it in ourselves. Coyote Concrete poured everything for us in about 10 days. The framers (Firtmann Brothers) started 12/3 with a crew of 6 and installed trusses today 12/7. These guys are great and at a good price. John Firtmann said two weeks at the start and now may finish early. If you need either of these trades, let me know and I can get you their phone #. Until next time, we will be talking about wire, PEX, doors, windows, roof, and stucco.

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Breaking Ground

Posted to Avenida-Del-Sol by Phil in Peoria, AZ on 10/11/2007 7:56:52 AM

We have been on vac. for two weeks, but we got permits the day before we left on 9/25. We had to raise the pad 18" and Taylor Grading and Hauling brought in about 500 yards of dirt and did a great job of compacting and leveling it while we were gone. Monday I meet with the concrete sub to discuss the layout and they will start Tues. 10/16. I also got some bids on termite pre-treat which they will do at the same time. I found a licensed plumber who is willing to trade out the rough in so that will save a few bucks. Keep you posted.

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Permits 2

Posted to Avenida-Del-Sol by Phil in Peoria, AZ on 8/19/2007

Things seem to be moving along at the county, we received our first review the other day and they kicked our plans back for some simple stuff. This is what usually happens I was told so we have re-submitted the plans with changes and we wait again. We do at least have permit #s and an address now so we are close.

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Permits

Posted to Avenida-Del-Sol by Phil in Peoria, AZ on 8/2/2007

We closed on the land Monday, and submitted drawings to the county today for permits. First we have to dig three test holes for septic and have inspected. I will keep you posted how long it takes for permits.

Drawings

Posted to Avenida-Del-Sol by Phil in Peoria, AZ on 7/4/2007

We finally got drawings yesterday and things are looking up. I took a copy to the bank, gave a copy to a framer for bids, and will talk to an excavator tomorrow. Hopefully we break ground by the end of summer if we get permits soon. The architect told me the county is moving pretty quickly now, about three weeks.

First Setback

Posted to Avenida-Del-Sol by Phil in Peoria, AZ on 5/26/2007

Our architect called the other day to let me know he didn't have the time to finish our plans. So after three weeks we have to start over with someone I just met yesterday. This guy says it will be at least three more weeks for him and cost $3,000 more, GREAT. Luckily we have until 7/31 to close on the land because the bank needs the cost breakdown, and I need plans to get that to them. Hopefully this is not the way this project will keep going.

Land Purchase

Posted to Avenida-Del-Sol by Phil in Peoria, AZ on 5/16/2007

Well today is a big day. We finally have a signed contract on the land we wanted, so the journey begins. The architect will be over this weekend to go over plans and ideas. Hopefully we will get them submitted to the county by this month for permits.

Well, we ran into our first snag. I found out from the county that we have to close on the land before they will let us submit drawings for review. Our close was set for 7-31-07, but we may move that up now once we get our drawings finished in June.

Land Purchase

Posted to Avenida-Del-Sol by Phil in Peoria, AZ on 5/3/2007

Well today is a big day, we finally have a signed contract on the land we wanted so the journey begins. The architect will be over this weekend to go over plans and ideas. Hopefully we will get them submitted to the county by this month for permits.

Photos

Land Purchase

Posted to Avenida-Del-Sol by Phil in Peoria, AZ on 5/3/2007

Well today is a big day We finally have a signed contract on the land we wanted, so the journey begins. The architect will be over this weekend to go over plans and ideas. Hopefully we will get them submitted to the county by this month for permits.

Photos