July 8 ....

Ohhhh....  I've been depressed and not sleeping, even on our Maine trip I did not sleep well.  Lots going on not the least of which is NO progress on our build.

We almost had a new Boxer...Brody was dumped by his owners and after some diligent work, phone calls etc, he ended up here on Friday July 5.  Introductions with Sophie and Sadie took some time, but went far better than I had hoped.  Brody was settling in here and suddenly a week after he was dumped, the owner calls the Found Ad in the paper:(. Long story short, after calls to SOS and the EPD, I have no legal rights to the dog and need to return him to his dreadful, lying owner.  We took him back on Sunday.  He was a REALLY nice dog, very obedient and loved attention.   Sigh....  

Now additionally upset about losing Brody, on top of the whole Big Bass thing.... Mark has come up with a 2nd plan.  Our Big Bass neighbors, the Tanks called us last fall when Jeff Tank was transferred to Louisville.  They were advising us that they would be putting their house on the market and with Holiday Lakes Property Owners Association's Right of Refusal clause was offering it up to us as an alternative to us building on our lots, since his 3 abutted our 2.   At that time we were told him we are planning on having plans drawn up and are actually very close to starting a build.  Well.......I have been concerned about the lot size on Big Bass since talking about building....our dogs are used to a lot of room to run, and I am used to a BIG yard! So Mark's thought process now is this:   Building our dream house per Steve's plans is looking to be out of our league.  We have already invested about 10k on surveys, permits, plans etc..... So basically that $$$ is gone.  We have refinanced our Telegraph Rd house, exercised some of Mark's stock options etc, so funds are available.  The Tank house, albeit not my style at ALL, is not that old.... having been built in 1994, with a new roof in 2012 and a new above ground pool.... since we bought our lots in 2007.  Hmmmmm maybe we are onto something here.... Purchase price for house, pool and 3 lots is very reasonable....and since we could make it a cash deal, eliminating the need for a real estate agent,  thus further reducing costs, this may truly be a viable  option.  But after we go thru it, do we talk to an architect :( or to a builder about making it into a home more to our style?  So......the thought process continues.....And more waiting.....

Mel and Joe are still in limbo over their house....they are cleared to close on their Nantucket house, but their Sycamore buyer has not closed on their old house yet....so they wait not wanting to risk the chance of Sycamore falling thru.   Mel has a camp in Valley Forge Mon - Thurs then  Fri - Sun at CSU.  She and Tyler are coming tonight and staying indefinitely.  I worked another loooong day 8-4:45 so much for summer hours.  I never even took a bathroom break or a lunch break.   Sigh.....

Tomorrow Tyler and I need to go up to the lake to meet the Time Warner tech to have the phone installed, with the new bundle setup Mel contracted so we'd have Internet up there.  Lots to do....no word from Steve even tho he told Mark he would call today..... Hmmmmmm

Looks like its back to the drawing board....LITERALLY!

 3rd bid in on July 3....and it's the highest yet!

   OMG, I feel like we've been led astray by our architect!   I'm also sure we look like naïve clueless  idiots to these builders, whom were all aware of our budget on this build.   Since all 3 bids were over, and 2 were over DOUBLE our budget!!  Yes, we knew this was a lot of house.  We knew too it would probably push us to use a reserve of funds that we had available, if the bids were close to our target, just so we could "do it right" per the beautiful design to get the end result of the house we loved.  Now what...???  Drastic cuts to the plans we love..... Yes,  I'm sure that is the next course of action....so depressing.....I told Mark I'm not ready to compromise and build a house I don't absolutely love.... So what now??

When we first met with Steve in October, I remember asking him distinctly, if our job was TOO SMALL for him.  He had models, photos, drawings, and images on the computer, and all over his office walls, from all these multi-million dollar homes he has designed.  He had recently completed a multi-million dollar home for Travis Hafner, and was in the process of designing a "hunting lodge" for him and had huge photos on easels of "The Hafner Estate".  He assured us that he did things as small as $10,000 additions all the way up to $10 million homes.   Also telling us to look on Houzz, Facebook, and his own website for additional photos, ideas and innovations he had posted on each.  

After our first meeting he emailed us his contract and a questioner, that he asks clients to fill out describing their different wants, needs, wishes to be incorporated into the design of the new home.  Just so we would have an idea of how he goes about designing a custom home, we went thru it, making a few brief notes for each of his questions.  We added a few more notes in the next 2 months or so, whenever we talked about something, or saw something we wanted to include.  (We had REALLY thought  about this house a lot, and had actually drawn up our own plans with a Better Homes and Gardens computer program, a few years earlier).  I was always looking at plans on line, and always adding to my Pinterest Boards ideas for our "dream home".  Mark and I had gone thru many plans together dissecting them and jotting down likes and dislikes of each.  In January we combined all our ideas into a neatly organized packet using Steve's questioner as a guideline.  Mark spent a lot of time putting it together, even including photos of different aspects from our current home that needed to be incorporated into this next home.....like the butcher block in the island etc. We met with Steve again in early January, signed the contract, paid our downpayment and turned in our design planning packet.  He read it briefly, and asked some questions, made some notes, mentioned a couple of times that he wished we would have just used his form since he "knew it better!", and told us he would have a basic floor plan to email us in a couple weeks.  Our job was to then make changes and suggestions back and forth via email, until we had our basic floor plan.  We would then meet again and see a basic computer generated version of the floor plan.    Once we finalized that he would start putting it into a 3D CAD computer program, then after that into print format, and ultimately we would have our plans.   We were on our way!  It was so exciting ..... and very hard to wait to see what he would come up with from our ideas!

Around this same time, we also started looking seriously at builders, and chose 3 to meet with.  We went thru homes each had built and spent a lot of time talking with each builder, giving our vision for the type of house and budget for our build, and explaining that our plans were being drawn up by Steve.  Once we had our plans, they would be sent out to them to bid.  The whole architect aspect took a lot longer than expected and we did not have the final plans til the end of May, but we liked what he was doing so much, it was worth the wait.  Steve mentioned early on thatbhe would send the plans out to our builders of choice, and he expected to be copied back with any correspondence etc.  He also said he would follow up sending the plans with a phone call introducing himself to them.  He seemed to want to be very involved in the bidding process even offering to sit down and go thru the bids with us to help us choose who would build our dream home.  

 Steve's first attempt at the floor plan really shocked me!  I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I was shocked....  This was just a hand drawing and it took much longer than 2 weeks for him to get it to us...  He later told us that he lives in ech hose he designs inhis heaped as he's daring it, and in our case he had drawn 3 different plans, then combined elements of each to come up with our house.... Also,  he had added some things that we had not requested, like a friends and family door porch and back hallway to name a few....but we liked the functionality and looks of the things he added.  We sent only sent 4 minor changes back to him.   The next drawings were more detailed and included our changes.  We tweaked a couple more things and zipped them back via email to Steve.  

His next set came with a more finished look, then he basically told us it was time to finalize things.  We had changed a few minor things with every update and it was time to pay the 2nd installment, meet again and go over any last things before he prepared the final prints.  We had asked him several times along the way, if he still felt we were on target with our budget since we had added, expanded etc.  He never gave us any reason to believe we weren't.  The house was bigger than we originally planned and I was extremely worried about fitting it onto our lots, and still having a back yard for the dogs.   Being used to our huge fenced in yard in Amherst with acres of open fields around us, I was having trouble relating to our new lot sizes....but I knew we needed to cut down on the amount of yard work, especially the weed eating, Mark had to do.  Steve had also added a deck to the back of the house off the sunroom.  We  HATED it,  more intrusion into the already small backyard, and it absolutely ruined the look of the back of our house, which we loved.  We suggested a deck off to the side accessible from the sunroom.  Still concerned over how much yard we would have, Steve had a tiny cut out of our houseplan which he placed right on our topographical drawing to show where the house would sit.  It did fit, but looked HUGE sitting on that map!

OK. Major floor plans  finished, he went back to work on the  prints.  We pinned him down to a meeting time 2 weeks out, May 16.... as sometimes these between sessions had really drug out.   We would then meet and decide locations for light switches and electrical plugs which he would add onto the plans as we visualized walking thru the house via the prints.....hmmmm ok......

We met once again....walked thru the plans placing switches and a ton of electrical outlets..... The plans now looked like a mess with all his squiggly red lines going from switch to outlet or light fixture spot they controlled, double short lines marking electrical outlets, and circles marking ceiling can lights or receptacles for ceiling lights.   Steve had also forgotten to include steps down to the lower level off the newly placed side deck, so he did have to alter that, but everything else look great.  We were really chomping at the bit to get going!!!!!  Mark again pinned him down to meeting a week later to pick up our FINAL set of prints....  I had asked Mark how many hard copies of the prints we were to receive, and he thought probably 5... 

May 21..  Picking up our plans!  Steve had our actual "large size" prints spread out on his conference table when we came in.  He basically went thru all 9 pages which included a lot of references for the builders, that we briefly addressed.... He had also lengthened the deck along the side of the house after adding the steps, to make it fit better cosmetically, but other than that everything looked pretty much the same....just more official!  He again mentioned he would be in contact with our 3 builders and be sending out emails with the plans attached, stating that each builder could print his own set of plans to work with....lol (so only 1 set was actually given to us).  He re-emphasized the fact that each house he designed was like his baby, and that he would be actively involved deciphering the bids, staking the site with our chosen builder,  choosing colors etc with us...in other words guiding us thru the process.   OK. Lets get those bids out and get going!!  

It was now June 3 and our builders had JUST received their emails and attachments from Steve and we received our final bill from Steve for the balance due on our design plan.  We had broken our $6000.00+ fee down into 3 installments....and the 3rd was now due.  I felt it was almost like Steve saying .... Ok.... You have your plans now.... Good luck..... I was afraid if we had any issues with the plans etc, we would have no recourse.   We did pay him..... 

Now it is July 3 .... we are hoping that Steve will still be available to us now that we have MAJOR ISSUES with the bids not equalling our budget as he thought it would!!  Mark emailed him attaching all 3 builders' quotes and documentation, and followed up with a voicemail.   They are to talk Monday, July 8........but in his email back to us from his phone, Steve suggested thinking of areas we can C U T :(

2 bids in 1 to go!

We are anxiously awaiting our last builder's quote on our house.   The first 2 are MILES apart! They are both bidding on the same plans with similar allowances for flooring, cabinets, lighting etc, so it's hard to see where and how they spend the money and how the final costs differ so greatly.  Their breakdowns do not itemize the different sub parts so it is impossible to compare.

We will wait to see our 3rd quote (he was on vacation over the same period as we were...) compare  his to the first 2, and then schedule some meetings to have things explained in further detail.  Originally our architect wanted to be included in all this deciphering, so we will see if he still wants to be an active participant in all this.  GOOD THING WE'RE  NOT IN A RUSH to get this house built:)

BEAMS!!!

Mark busy working on 2 beams out of his Great Grandpa's barn. The barn stood 2 doors down from our current house and was built in 1865.  Since that property was sold (out of family hands) in around 1983, it had fallen into disrepair and was  torn down 4 years ago in 2009 by it's current owner.  Our newest neighbor has plans and township zoning approval for constructing a huge new barn near the existing footprint of the old Snyder barn. There was also a windmill next to the old barn that was dismantled in the late 1980's .... 3 neighbors ago....  The larger of the beams  will be our fireplace mantle in the great room, not sure where the smaller one will be used, but definitely somewhere!  Of course the one we are using here will have to stay, but.....these 2 pieces of Snyder Family history will go to Willard!

Studying the plans

Lots of questions coming in from 2 of our 3 perspective builders😀!  As exciting and fun as this journey is...it is still kind of hard making some of the decisions "on paper" just for the sake of making the bids more accurate.  Ultimately, of course, the goal is to make the bid as accurate as possible and then to stick to these rather tough choices that were made "on paper" so we stay within the budget!  Hmmmmm.... yes that is the goal!!  So we decide, for example, where we want wood, tile and carpeted floors by looking at a set of plans....what kind (and grade) of windows and doors by looking at pictures on the Internet or line drawings on a bid sheet sent via email,  designing a kitchen.....but iif we choose a different builder...not getting that exact design etc etc.

Our architect took a lot of decisions out of our hands .....by listening to our ideas and putting them on paper and placing things ...even light switches... where he thought they would work best...  I am a very visual person, hopefully deciding things on paper before we actually set foot in the framed house......doesn't prove that we made a wrong choice... Well not necessarily wrong, but one that will adversely affect THE BUDGET!!

Maybe we'll just let Crush and Noel pick things out👍

 They seem to like the set of prints whenever we have them out!!

Waiting Game......

 6-12-13 Mark has heard from and talked with all 3 builders that are bidding on our Big Bass House.  There  are some questions, of course, but the biggest issue (and one that we were well aware of) is where our architect, Steve, placed the driveway.   After receiving approval from Huron County on the aeration system design and placement, Steve for aesthetic reasons chose to run our driveway right up thru the middle of said placement.  When we questioned him on this, he simply said ..."we'll just move the aeration system."  Mark and I were not convinced that this would be a viable option.  The aeration system designer we had hired to do the study and design, had been out to the site.  He designed the system meeting the topographical restrictions on our site, and placed the system where he did for a reason.    So this issue needs to be addressed.  As of now I'm thinking our driveway will be moved to the very edge of our lots and wind around in front of our house, thus restoring the main area of our "front yard" for the aeration system and it's necessary components.  

Of course another issue is the BUDGET we have provided for the whole build.  We did put a lot into this house, mind you - nothing extravagant or over the top, but it is a good sized house with a big walk out basement, patio and deck.  We want good structure;  i.e.  foundation, walls, siding, windows, doors, roof, wiring, aeration system, plumbing, tiling, etc.....the MAIN elements that are the basic house.   The cosmetic design of cupboards, appliances, counters, woodwork, paint, floors, landscaping etc. can be done over time if need be to accommodate our finances and the commitment to owning and maintaining 2 houses for a number of years.  So with that in mind, the challenge is to see how creative each of the builders are .... in coming as close to our number with their numbers!   

So we wait....anxiously:) 

Kitchen design meeting

Tomorrow, I am meeting with one of our perspective builder's kitchen design team!  They have put together a basic kitchen layout for us, using our architect's specs.  I am going in to pick out the cabinets, and to tweak their design in order for them to be able to provide a more precise bid.  I would just like to move my current kitchen (that we totally redid in 2006) to Willard....I love it that much.  So with that being said, it shouldn't be too hard to mimic the design and morph it into the new space.....right...??????.... I'll let you know!

The check....

So, after not having a mortgage payment since 2000, we start again....and the word budget has become part of my daily vocabulary!!

Remortgaging our current house along with some savings is the way we are financing the build of our Big Bass house.  It was an interesting process to go thru:  contracting the architect in January, surveying of our current property in February (to locate pins and have EXACT property lines verified), surveying and setting pins on our Big Bass property in March, applying for a re-finance mortgage loan in April, having a bank appraisal on the house, outbuildings and land plus a bank survey in May, and receiving THE CHECK in June.  Phew..... 

Now to see how close we are with the builders' bids as opposed to what we have to spend.  YIKES!!  Now more waiting...........

View of our lots in early spring

These were taken very early this spring....after we had Tom Simon go up and set pins, determine the exact boundary lines, and do a topographical study of the lots, that the architect would need when drawing our plans.  

The Plans....

The "hard" copy of our prints for the new house.  The PDF files went out to the 3 builders we've chosen to bid on our project on Wednesday!!  We have already heard back from 1 with questions on kitchen cabinets.  With Mark being employed by Moen, (parent company Master Brands)... There are some discounts/rebates for using their products...Therma-Tru doors, Simonton windows, Master Brands cabinets, and of course Moen faucets, shower fittings/valves, and kitchen sinks.  Not quite sure how they can bid on cabinets etc, when we haven't actually designed the exact layout of the kitchen including cabinets, materials for countertops and island etc..... Probably just a ballpark figure/ allowance...that I'm sure we will go over...LOL

Why Willard?

Welcome to Big Bass Build!  Here you will be following the building of our "retirement" house!  Although retirement is still a few (7, 8, 9...) years away, we decided the time was right to build.  We will use the new house as a weekend/summer/2nd home until we sell our Amherst Township house and land and make the big move to Willard upon retirement!

Big Bass Drive is located in Willard Ohio, in the privately owned Holiday Lakes.  Big Bass Drive is not on the main lake, but on a 7 acre fishing lake adjacent to the main lake.  Big Bass Lake is very peaceful, as no power boats, motors etc are allowed on it.  The website, if interested, for the Holiday Lakes Property Owners Association is: http://holidaylakesohio.com/.  We bought our lots in 2007, after spending time in my Mom's Lake House, or Grandma's Lakehouse as it is affectionately known.  My mom purchased here in May of 2006 after selling her beloved condo in the Sandarac in Ft. Myers Beach, which she and my Dad owned for almost 30 yrs.  We miss the condo a lot, but get to use the Lake house waaaayyyy more.  She has an amazing 2 level dock and the 3 sisters/spouses purchased a fun deck boat with a BIG motor which we enjoy immensely all summer long! Tubing, wakeboarding, skiing, or just driving around the lake....it's GREAT!

While the talk amongst many of our friends these days...... with all of us, closing in on retirement....seems to always gravitate to where everyone is going to settle when they retire.  Mark and I both feel very connected to our hometowns and can't imagine every leaving this area.  As much as we like to complain about the weather, economy, jobs, sports teams, etc.  this part of Ohio is HOME.  Our lots are about 50 minutes away from our house now, so still very close.  Our daughter, son-in-law and grandchild...(soon to be grandchildren, Oct 22) are here!  We love being able to help them out with babysitting duties and we want to watch our grandchildren grow up in person! Although our son Matt is no longer close by, after relocating to Oregon in March of 2012 we still feel the family is here.  We love Oregon and the Pacific Northwest which are absolutely gorgeous...truly God's country....and we will love visiting more often once we are retired. Our Moms are still in Elyria or Amherst Township.  My sisters and their families are close by, my brother and family not too far away near Detroit.  Mark's brothers and their families are near too.  So....we're staying!

So, now you all know the reasons we are building in Willard.  This blog will serve as a sequential photographic journey of our tree filled wooded property as it stands today, before we start ...... to our finished (although when you own a home there is always something to work on, so it's never really FINISHED) home.  We want to have a documented chronological progression of our build.  We do have slides from when we built our current home back in 1984....and are in the process of scanning them all (and the other thousands we have) and getting them onto the computer! 

As we begin, I will post pictures of different things at Holiday Lakes, since there won't be much change in our lots til the bids are in and we've finalized everything. 

Soooo... today's photo is of our lot, taken last fall looking from where the backyard will be out across Big Bass Lake!  Enjoy!!

PS>>> all posts will not be this long!!