New Builder Begins

Big news: We decided to switch builders to someone more local and they are eager to start working today with a larger crew to pick up where the last builder left off. The homesite had not been active for a few weeks so we went out there yesterday and did some weedeating around the piles of lumber. Maya also found some watermelon sprouts coming out of the garage gravel floor where the previous workers had spit them out during lunch breaks! She transplanted them to a large pot which also contains some onions and carrots (we think). Anyway, Pharoah Construction is the name of the new builder and the business is operated by John Riley of Campobello, SC. They still plan on meeting our previous move-in date so I don't even have to reset the countdown timer on the lefthand menu!

Contract Signed!

This was a busy 3-day weekend (I took a vacation day from the office), but it was well worth it as we finally got the actual construction contract with Jessica from Oakley Custom Homes squared away. Initial estimates show the completion of the garage by September 15th with completion of the main house around December 21st. We also spent some time on the property measuring and staking the future location and orientation of the house and the detached garage while Mema's dogs and the kids ran wild on our future backyard. Settling on the four corners of the house was more difficult than one would expect as slight changes of the front porch view drastically altered views from the back and side. We finally realized that this is because we chose to place the home at the mid-point of our "California-shaped" lot (think dogleg for golfers). From a bird's eye view you can see that it's impossible to have the front of the house face the main road and yet have the backyard view line up with our open meadow. We had to settle for facing a bit more toward Tom Black's house rather than Collinsville Road. Anyhow, several signatures and a few notary stamps later and we are set to break ground as early as tomorrow (Tuesday, April 22nd)!