Friday, April 15, 2011

So it begins

Well, after much thinking and visualizing and scheming with Shannon, we're feeling more comfortable with the plans for our home. I've started researching the things we need to do in order to get started, and that will happen just as soon as the last of the snow is gone. Planning the logistics is the hardest part. And then of course making sure we have enough money to do all the things we want to do this summer.

So here's what we've come up with so far:

The first thing I need to do is get a driveway put in. This is crucial, as it then gives us access to the property for heavy equipment and have someone drill our well and install the septic system. It also is needed so that we can bring the logs to the property that we will be using for the walls and beams of our cord-wood house.

We will need a permit from the Mat-Su Borough for the driveway. It's a $50 fee and they send out an engineer to take a look at the location and make sure things are good.

Besides the driveway, the next most important thing we have to do, if we want to build next summer, is gather the logs. We have to do it this summer so that they can age a bit. Most articles I've read recommend letting the logs age for at least 9 months, the longer the better. The purpose is to allow the logs to release as much moisture as they can before they are grouted into the walls. This helps reduce shrinkage (yes, I laugh every time I see that word) and minimizes the amount of re-grouting around the logs later.

We are also going to be looking out for used materials that we can use in our house like doors, windows, hardware, tile, and whatever odds and ends. I think we need to clean out our garage so we have a place to store these things.

I've learned one very valuable lesson here, one small decision is like knocking over the first domino. It can affect a whole row of them, and before you know it, there are hundreds of other dominoes scattered all over the floor.

As we have been trying to refine the vision for what our house will look like, we realized that in order to do this we would need to spend allot of time on the property. We haven't been able to do this yet and it's also one to the main things we need to do. Our vision is to be on the land at various times of the day and sort of let the land speak to us and tell us where the house needs to be. We want our house to work with nature, and not have to bulldoze our way into it if we can avoid it. We want our house to blend into the environment, not standing out.

Hopefully, our next blog will include pictures of our land and some markers showing the outline of the house.

Until then,

Love and Peace to you!!!

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