80 Acres- Eagle Creek, Oregon

[EddieWalker]

Very nice looking house with a great floor plan.

 

[Weedy Fields]

I like the looks of your house.
We are building a "custom" home right now.
Almost done. Should be in by the end of May I hope.
Its just me and my wife so we wanted the same thing as you, everything we need on the main floor.
How ever we built the house the way we wanted it and screw resale value.
Some tips I'd toss out. Question EVERYTHING! Don't assume anything.
Be very specific on what you want. On how you want things done.
Visit the site daily during build. Make it clear you want things done right and you won't accept butcher work.

Read over the Specs and study the drawings carefully. I have had issues with what was supposed to be included in the build.
Specs generally over rule the drawings if there is a conflict, if there is something on the drawing but not mentioned in the specs be sure its included. It should be. I have had arguments with my builder over this.

Words have meanings. plywood does not mean OSB for example. If your drawing calls for plywood sub-floors be sure you get plywood sub-floors, not OSB. Get things cleared up by adding them to the specs. Don't just take his word for it. BE VERY SPECIFIC ON WHAT YOU WANT.

I would spend extra on insulation and better windows over "cosmetic" stuff like granite counter tops. Insulation will always pay you dividends, cosmetic stuff can be upgraded later.

If a mistake is made have them fix it before going on to the next step. Even it means rescheduling and waiting, have them fix things right away!

Our builder was hesitant about me doing stuff as the build was progressing. But after seeing how I worked and the type of work I did he has no issues.
I can understand that. I ended up doing Class A chimney for masonry heater that he was going to do because he honestly had no experience at it. I'm glad I did it too, I trust my work more than his.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Its a very good design. Your friggin bathroom and closet is bigger than the bedroom (and living room) combined. Your wife will be thrilled.

Jealous on the drone. We use them all the time for work and I keep threatening to get one for up here (lots i could do with it, mainly tracking mole tunnels) but I keep trying to fly smaller ones and crashing them. Guess that is why I am a producer and not a cameraman.

 

[teg]

Squeaky Wheel gets the grease... Give the contractor an inch and someone else will get work done at their house.

We lost some money from our first builder going bankrupt, but mainly we lost a year of time. We were not in a hurry... didn't question his delays. We got a much better builder from another town out of it. Super happy that the new builder bailed us out... again, we were not in a hurry. Took another year that should have taken half that time. We honestly were not in a hurry and it was nice to see a little progress every few weeks!!!

Really glad we did not have any trespassers... All the contractors could spot the game cameras from a mile away!

 

[NWOutlawMX]

Thanks for the update. As a contractor, I'm always amazed at how many people hire me without talking to any other contractors. I tell them to talk to at least five, with more being better. For what you are spending, putting a little time into meeting with as many contractors as possible is invaluable. Each one brings new ideas to the table and different perspectives. Most people have no idea what it takes to build a house, but when you talk to enough contractors, it's pretty easy to figure out who is being upfront and who is trying to take advantage of you.

One thing that I've found to be an absolute truth when building a house or after you hire your contractor is to trust your gut. If things start going wrong, DO NOT hope they will get better eventually. If you sign a contract, be sure it includes a way to fire him without paying any penalties.

If during the build process you see something that doesn't look right to you, google it. If you are told that's just how we always do it, or everyone does it that way, google it to be sure. There are ways to build a house that are no longer considered acceptable, but you will still see done on new construction. There are ways to cut corners and save money that you will never notice for at least a decade. Roofers are the worse, but in my part of the world, framers are under-sizing lumber for the ceiling on great rooms all the time. Just about everyone I know feels there is something wrong with their foundation, and in almost every case, it's how their roof was built.

Good luck!!!!

One advantage I have at this point is having framed houses for four years out of high school so I can read plans and have general knowledge of home construction. We haven't committed to a contract yet but I'll definitely be reading the fine print when we do. I've changed the plans and some of the materials, beefing up some of the structural and insulating elements while cutting back on interior finishes. Rising material costs aren't helping any but I'm still not in a hurry, I don't want to get into politics.

 

[NWOutlawMX]

Started working on the entrance. Originally there was just a ditch that connected the culvert from the uphill property to the small culvert under the driveway which then ran to the downhill property. I had already replaced the driveway one with a 18" galvanized one temporarily. It was time to make it permanent by having one run.
Rented a excavator for a day because the Kobelco was just too big. Dug up the old one and added a new section, total length 40'.

 

[NWOutlawMX]

We started having problems with trespassers so it was time for a gate. We figure it was locals so they knew when we were there or not because we would leave the gate open while there. Because of where the posts were at and the fact that there was 16" of loose gravel at the top I went down about 50". I couldn't add to the precut posts so I took small concrete blocks the same size of the post to set it on. The total concrete columns are 50" in the ground. Got the posts set and waited a week then installed the gate. Came back a couple days later to install the solar opener and the weight of the gate had moved the posts, ****. Had to get my thinking cap on and came up with a plan. Had to figure out how to keep the columns from moving. Bought some 3" steel tubing and welded some holders on the ends. Pulled the posts back to level with some stakes and straps to hold them level then rented a compactor and went to work getting everything packed down. Put the tube bracing down and ran the conduit for the opener and filled it back in, removed all the straps and crossed my fingers. Went back a few days later to install the opener and nothing had moved, :thumbsup: Installed the opener and it's now been 6 months and nothing has moved.

 

[woodlandfarms]

What's the last photo. The overgrown one

 

[TomSeller]

What's the last photo. The overgrown one

That must be the "before" picture.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

What's the last photo. The overgrown one

What a difference!

 

[NWOutlawMX]

What's the last photo. The overgrown one

That must be the "before" picture.

Yep, before picture. Next up is some brick columns which will hide the posts, and a keyless entry pad. Had thought about making the columns then mounting the gate to them but didn't have time to learn how to build the columns yet.

My profile picture also gives a view of it when we bought it.

Every time I look at the picture it looks like the gate isn't level. When I was setting the posts, It kept drawing my attention, I check and rechecked numerous times. It's perfectly level, just an optical illusion because the drive slopes to the left at the gate but about 20' past it slopes to the right.

 

[NWOutlawMX]

Another comp

 

[TomSeller]

Another comp

Nice. Do you still get the berries sending up shoots? Aren't they hard to get rid of?

 

[woodlandfarms]

The black berries are a noxious weed here. They are ok tasty, better varieties exist but these are making a mess of the pnw. We spray and Mow to control.

 

[Joe13]

Wow, just wow. Went through the whole thread. I built about 2 years ago on a private road. I am a half mile from the main road, but there are several neighbors out here. I had to extend the road, bring in the power, etc but on a much much smaller scale. the progress you have made and the work you've put in is amazing. Hopefully the building process gets started and you can enjoy living in the haven you have created. Keep it up and the pictures are awesome!

 

[rd_macgregor]

That's a nice-looking gate. Do you have a game camera watching the gate? If I installed something like that here, some yahoo would come along and steal the controls, especially the solar panel! Of course a swinging gate in snow country isn't so good; I'd need one that raises into the air.

 

[smokinmad]

Naw...after you've mowed them several times, they wont get any sun to energize the roots and they will die.....Ummm, I mowed momma's patch, so they would rejuvenate.....OOOPS....I got a rejuvenation right in the seat of my pants....