House Plans....Almost!

This just in from our designer at NU:

I have been working away on the plans I have made some substantial progress. I should have something to show you by tomorrow afternoon. I will keep you updated. The only challenge that I have run into so far is the location of the office/ bedroom at the lower level. My challenge is getting an egress window into the space so that it can be labeled guest bedroom/ office. The challenge will be more identifiable when I send the drawings to you tomorrow.

No garage cottage, but possible cabin instead

A few days ago we discussed with our builder, Jessica, two options to get us out on the property quicker. The first would be constructing the garage with a loft, the second would be constructing a small 14x24 cabin that could later be used as guest house. The construction of the garage, which would have to be done on a separate schedule, would actually slow down the construction of our house since it would be breaking the job down into two phases. Due to this factor we've decided to look closer into a small cabin.

This is the small cabin we are looking to build http://www.countryplans.com/nash.html

Maya actually loves the idea and thinks of it as being able to live like Laura in the book "Little House on the Prairie" (but with modern conveniences). As soon as we hear back from our builder regarding pricing, we'll know if it's a go... I'm sure we'll have some very interesting post of our experience if all works out!

Garage vs Cottage: Which Gets Us There Sooner?

We obviously want to get on the property to start living as soon as possible. Two options are building the garage first as a "garage apartment" or building a separate cottage to live in while the house is constructed. Building the garage will take longer or cost more if constructed prior to the main house since a lot of the labor and materials are shared between the two. Despite the need for independent plumbing and electric for a detached cottage/cabin, this will probably be the better way to go as they can be constructed within a few weeks vs months and we'll have a "guest house" on property for future visitors too. At this point, we are at least 8 months out from the home being move-in ready.

Paid for Plans

We've paid New Urbanist for the revisions to their existing floor plan. They should begin work on it within a few weeks. Meanwhile we sent some photos of the topography to help them figure out sun orientation, location of walk-out basement, etc.