Site Visit!

 Hubby and Max and I drove out to the lot to see the progress, talk to the excavator, and put up the new address sign I made.  Everything looks so good, and different! 

The footer holes have been dug, and small stones have been placed along the edge of the lot for the movers to have traction when bringing in the house.

The brush holes have been filled with tree parts

The slope off the back of the house

The road they'll bring the house in on

 It was muddy and our van didn't have good traction.  I didn't drive too far in because I didn't want to get stuck but, while backing out, I backed into the hole that was on the side of the road.  Ooops!  The excavator came to the rescue!  While we were stuck, we also met the neighbor who lives in the house at the end of our road.  Turns out he's an HVAC guy, so we might hire him to help us install our AC unit.

Skirting Samples

 The skirting samples I ordered from SkirtingDirect.com came!  After a few minutes of deliberation, hubby and I decided we both liked the white one best.

Our house has white siding.  Here's another house that has white siding and the white Ever Rock Skirting, as an example of what it would look like.

Pushed back til Tuesday

 Turns out due to some rain we got this week, the concrete pouring will be pushed back to Tuesday.  I called the concrete supplier this morning and they said they'd take payment the day it goes out.  The excavator also had to have me order some more rebar since he didn't quite order enough.  He said everything else is going well at the lot, so it's all good!

I called the electric company and paid the deposit and service fee to have them send an engineer out to look at our property and tell us what all we need to get it set up (underground, overhead, etc.).  Expecting to hear from them in the next few days.

I also got a quote from a local plumbing company for the septic system, and it will be a few thousand less than we were originally expecting.  I inquired with another company just to get a 2nd opinion but haven't heard back from them yet. 

Next will be water, and I have to get our address added to the USPS database at some point...

Moving Prep and an Update from the Excavator

 Max & I met the movers out at the lot yesterday morning.  I managed to get there an hour early and took the time to measure each of the rooms so I had an accurate record of the dimensions for the paint we have to order.  When they arrived they got right to work removing the siding, roofing, and constructing the necessary beams for holding the plastic sheeting in place during transport.  Since our home is a double wide and will be open, they have to protect the interior from dirt, water, etc.  They made sure I was well aware that the existing holes in the siding were not damage they caused.   

Later that night, I heard from our excavator about the materials he ordered for the footers, and the concrete is scheduled to be poured on Friday.  I called the hardware store and paid for the footer stuff, then on Friday morning I'll call the concrete place and have that taken care of as well.  

Big shout out to our movers and excavator for helping us making our dream come true!

Wrapping the House

The movers are coming out tomorrow to wrap the house about 10am.  I'm still waiting to hear about when the actual moving day will be.  I am going to try to meet them out there.

Keepin' on

Hubby and I worked on a cabinet door each today, but ran out of stripper before either of us could completely finish our work.  It seemed to come off a lot more easily than previous doors, so I think I've got my groove down.  I will have to pick up at least 2 more gallons, definitely more when it comes time to strip the actual cabinets.  

The paint samples I ordered came in the mail too and, while they are darker than the colors we have in our apartment now, I like them.  But do I like them more?  That's the question.

Cabinets and footers

 

I was able to get a few more doors and the drawers done, but not as much as I would like due to the heat and rain we've been getting.  Still, progress is progress!  10 more to go!

The guys from the mobile home moving company came out and measured our house and drew up the footer diagram for our excavator to follow.  Hopefully the work will be done next week!  

Update from the Excavator

 I asked the excavator for an update and he told me the road work is nearly done, and he was on his way to see how the pad looks.  He thinks they'll be done by the end of this week, which is a lot sooner than I thought!  He is placing the order for the concrete, gravel for the driveway, and footer materials to secure the house (700' of rebar, 2 boxes of chairs, 1 bag of ties, 1 box of pins).  Once they do the footers (next week), we'll be good to go! 

I'm putting my feelers out for someone who can do drywall work for me (already have one lead) and then once the drywall is done, we can get the walls ready to paint!  My mom can help me get the paint at a discount and I ordered some free paint samples to see how they compare to what we have now!  My dad is working on the deck plans and then come utilities!  So exciting!

Working out how to get the house to the lot

 I've been talking to our excavator over the week and he's working with the mobile home movers to get our house pad built to the recommended standard, as well as clearing the back entrance to our road in order to get the house through.  There are some trees and brush that need to be cleared so the house has enough room, some low spots that need to be addressed, and he talked to the neighbor at the end of the road who is okay with the work that needs to be done on his property, as well (since the road goes through it).  Then we have to order gravel and concrete and stuff for the culvert, which he said he'd do this week.  So we are still on target for the end of the month, and moving the house the 1st or 2nd week of August. 

We are so close!  I plan to use August to get the house move-in ready.

Today's Plan

 I just called the mobile home movers and they're available to meet me at the lot this afternoon!  We'll have to sign a contract with them and put half down, but we should be able to get on their schedule (hopefully in line with the end of July)!  I also got the official building permit so we're good to go!

Edit:
Went out at 3:30pm to meet the head of the movers at our lot and sign the contract.  We're looking at getting the house moved the 1st or 2nd week of August!  Once our excavator gets the lot graded and the footers poured, we'll be good to move forward!  We do need to trim branches along the road so the house has clearance to get through.  And we need to start packing in earnest now!

Checklist of Events

Per our excavator, our list looks like this:

• Clear trees
• Dig bury hole
• Grade land
• Build pad
• Pour footers (before the end of July)
  
• Set the house
• Order & install skirting
• Build electric meter base
  
• Have electrician tie in electric
  
• Set water meter
• Dig & install water lines (easement?)
  
  Also:
  
• Install septic system 
• Hook up AC & furnace
  
• Build decks
• Drywall & trim work
• Strip cabinet doors
  
• Strip cabinets in kitchen
  
• Paint
• Replace back door & SGD
• Replace windows as needed
• Move in
  
• Install internet
  

Hobby Lobby Package!

I got a few things on sale from Hobby Lobby (just my first order, more to come!) for the new house and I wanted to share them!  First up, the switch plates, cabinet door knobs and handles for the bathrooms, laundry room, and kitchen!  I love them!  They are pretty heavy duty metal so little hands are not going to be breaking these!  Only thing we have to be careful with are the soap dispensers, which are glass!  But we had a plastic one break on us so new ones are in order!

 

Soil pad building, compaction tests, and building permits, oh my!

I just heard from our excavator that the surveyor finally came out to the lot (yay!) and he is working with an engineer to build the soil pad for the house (which will have concrete footers poured for the foundation blocks).  The compactor was delivered so they can start on that today and we should see some real progress in the coming days!

I've also been busy applying for the building permit, and reaching out for septic estimates.  The septic won't go in until after the house is set though, but better to get a head start!  If it could just stop raining as much...

Site Plan!

 Exciting news!  I just received our site plan from the surveyor!  This looks perfect!