I thought it was very kind of you to offer your book free to people that couldn't afford it. Who says there is no kindness and altruism left in the world?! Pat W. in Sewanee, TN

Dana's Forum Posts: 8
Journal Entries: 3
Interview Answers: 102
Average Forum Rating: 3.38



Image from Dana's blog

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first purchase

Posted to NC-Pond-House by Dana in Wilmington, NC on 8/4/2008 11:49:12 AM

Oh, exciting - we bought a couple of windows at Habitat for Humanity Homestore! New, 60" Pella, double-hung, for $100 each. They're in the garage, just waiting...

plans

Posted to NC-Pond-House by Dana in Wilmington, NC on 7/31/2008 9:56:23 AM

I met with the designer yesterday. He is going to do the foundation change, and all our interior changes. We're able to add 2' to the depth of the house, making it 28' x 52', 1468 sq ft. That means the kitchen will be 10' x10', which is what we have now, and the boys bedroom will be 13' x15'! We're really happy with the modifications, and I'm very happy with our designer (Thorpe Designs in Leland). It will be great to get the plans back next week with everything drawn in, instead of us drawing on the plans and trying to explain the changes to the permit office and all the trades. Soon we'll be hanging around the Habitat for Humanity Homestore, and I'll be running around getting bids. Woohoo! Oh, and see my wish list on Amazon for ways to be involved in the decorating process...!

so far...

Posted to NC-Pond-House by Dana in Wilmington, NC on 7/24/2008 8:05:25 AM

I'm moving my blog from another site, so I'll just recap my first few entries.

The basic scoop is my husband and I were offered a generous loan from my stepmother, who has some money to invest. Since she has invested with us in the past, she is comfortable lending us the money to build a house, and we will repay the loan in a year when the house is finished (!) and refinanced with a conventional mortgage company. So we have the building funds, but haven't actually closed on the property yet. The lot we chose is wooded, on a private dirt road, and the rear is mostly a depression through which a creek tributary runs. Cattails. When we first saw the land, the depression was full of water. That's why they call it a pond. Most of the time its empty.

Once we found the lot we wanted to buy, we started searching the web for house plans. I have looked at thousands of plans. Thousands. We chose one, started to modify it, and changed our minds. We were looking for a plan that offered front and rear views, three bedrooms, two baths, privacy for the master bedroom (mostly by having the door away from the door to our boy's room), and under 1,400 sq. ft. The plan we chose (pictured) is a 1,364 sf split ranch, and as you can see has a very regular rectangular shape, the idea being it would be less expensive to build. I love the large second bedroom (twin 6 year-old boys!), the breakfast nook, and the front and rear views. I hate the front elevation like it is. The plans come with a drive under basement. We'll have a local designer change that to a crawlspace foundation, and have him make some changes to the laundry room and master bath.

We are going to do this for approximately $100,000, not including the cost of the land ($54,000 for 4.5 acres). I will be the acting supervisor - pulling permits, soliciting bids, hiring some subs, spending time everyday on the job site, running supplies. My husband has a full time job, and will do some of the HVAC, help with the flooring, build, finish, and hang the kitchen cabinets, hang siding, paint inside and out, help install windows and doors, and whatever else. We plan to get most of our windows and doors from the local Habitat for Humanity Homestore, flooring from Lumber Liquidators, and whatever we can from Craigslist.

I'm a big fan of Sarah Susanka, and hope to have a quality home that is livable despite its small size. I'm nervous as can be, but can see ahead to a time when we are living there.

Photos

This is sort of how it will look...

Our backyard.

RogerC's Forum Posts: 51 Interview Answers: 3 Average Forum Rating: 3.36 Randomly Selected Image 7/28/2008

That's going to be a very sweet home in a wonderful setting.  I love your view.  Give us more photos when you can.   :)