Construction Part Two

August 1, 2009

Art and I made a day trip up north to talk to the builder and look around. The slab was in!

This angle is from our current campsite, roughly where we'd like to build a house some day. We had hoped to build the house shell this summer but had to change plans. Building a house would have required new home financing and we would have had to have the house, inside and out, nearly completed within a year. We wanted to do some of those jobs like finishing the kitchen, baths, flooring, wiring etc. over time and we didn't want to spend that much money in so short a time. So, after much thought, we abandoned the plans of building a house for right now. We could build a garage though. We had been approved as part of our variance, to build a 32X32 garage with a maximum height of 25 feet. The garage would be Art's dream garage with lots of space for building whatever he wanted. I wanted a bathroom with shower so he could clean up before coming back to the house (in the future...). I also wanted a little loft area for a workshop/office for him. We'd add a little cantilevered balcony for me to watch over Hasty Brook. It's all we talked about last winter. We wanted to make the most of the space we were allowed to build. I hoped we could use some of the garage level as a relaxing living space over the next several years. Then Art got the idea to enlarge the loft area to a second story. Using an inexpensive software package (by Better Homes and Gardens- $60 at Costco) Art put together the plans keeping in mind our 25 foot height limit. We'll have plenty of room for a small kitchen area, a long bedroom (or two smaller-haven't decided yet) and a good sized living area facing the balcony and my Hasty Brook.

This is our future bathroom- sink, stool and shower. The red tubes are for the in-floor heating for Art's garage so he can eventually be out there all winter. We won't install the boiler for the heating until later but it'll be all ready to go.

Here's the view from the garage toward the septic tank and mound. Tommy seeded the area and in two short weeks the grass has taken hold and it looks pretty nice. Wouldn't this be a nice spot for wildflowers? I've been grabbing up wildflower packets (on clearance!). Should I spread them this fall or wait until spring?

Before the rain drove us away Art and I laid down some long, skinny aspen poles to give me an idea of what the usable space will be like on the upper floor. Yes, Richard, it was lots bigger than I expected! My vision of this space changed and I could see that there was room for a kitchen area and sleeping area too.

On our next trip up: walls!