WAHOO!!!! Chances are our excitement was heard around the globe today!!! lol
We have FINALLY begun construction on our home!!! It's been the longest, hardest road ever & I'll admit, most of the time, it felt more like a NIGHTMARE than a dream. We have talked to NUMEROUS contractors, bankers, tradesmen, etc. etc. We would get "this-close" to building, only to have some stinkin' little glitch (usually an appraisal!--of which I think we have now paid for 4 of!) squash the entire project.
Many people (and maybe you're one of them! ha ha) have asked us why we just don't give up the "silly notion of building since it's OBVIOUSLY not working out for you & just buy something already built." The short & simple answer is this:
THERE ISN'T ANYTHING HERE!!!!!
I'm not kidding, there is NOTHING!!! (At least nothing newer than 60 years old & basically what we are trying so desperately to escape!). Darren & I literally spent DAYS in the car, driving around bawling (ok, he drove, I bawled!) because we couldn't find anything! It was beyond frustrating & disheartening. I literally had a nervous breakdown, but I'll spare ya the ugly details, that's another story for another blog! lol
But then, our prayers seemed to be answered. After seeing an ad for "Bishop Homes" we drove to Springville to meet with a man named Kaleb in one of their model homes. We loved the model home, we also loved what they had to say. But, I'll admit, I was pretty calloused at this point. But, we knew we needed to exhaust all of our efforts, so we proceeded forward. And much to our surprise (and GREAT DELIGHT!) things kept moving forward & we kept finding ourselves saying crazy things like "I feel so peaceful about this." After meeting with Mark Bishop in a model home in Logan, we not only KNEW that he was the man to build our home, but we also knew that we were sitting in "our home". The craziest thing was that it was nearly identical to the houseplan that we had been designing for the last several years. Even down to the tiny little details. We're still laughing over that.
So....back to TODAY!
HI! MY NAME IS SAM!!!
This is Sam, he's our Construction Manager! We liked Sam, he is organized & on time & returns phone calls! He measured & outlined the foundation for the excavators this morning & then let them get right to work.
THE FIRST SCOOP OF DIRT!!!!!The Excavators arrived around 10:30. I don't know the machine operators name, but he was a nice guy & for some reason reminded me of a cross between Scott & Marty. (Both of whom would probably tell you that he must've been a very handsome & charming man, but I think it was that he was tall & had the same hair color & style, but whatever). Issac was the rod-man. He's from Oregon originally, he brought his sweet puppy Justice with him. Max liked Justice, he thought she was HOT! Darren thinks I'm crazy cause I find out crazy things like this. When they come back to do the backfill, I need to find out about "Sco-Arty" man! Just to be fair!
THE PROCESS:This was after they had been digging for a few hours. They were quick & very good. You can see Issac & even a hint of Sweet Justice lying in the shadow, (she really wasn't in danger of getting scooped up like it looks. I think she's been on these jobs before, she wasn't scared at all & she was very well behaved!)
THE BASEMENT!!!!!!
They finished about 3:30-4:00ish. We still can't get over how cool it is to see big piles of dirt & a big hole out there! But it's not just "plain ol dirt & a hole in the ground, it's OUR dirt & OUR basement (I so know some of you went "THERE"....but I kept it clean! Be good!)
And in case you're wondering what it will look like when it's finished, here it is:
(And, did I mention that it will be completed in about 60 (yes, SIXTY) DAYS!!!!)
For those of you here in Utah or the surrounding areas who are wanting to build, but are having a hard time getting that elusive construction loan or whatever, give Bishop Homes a call, tell them that we sent you.
TOMORROW: FOOTINGS BEING POURED
WEDNESDAY: FOUNDATION & WALLS
They were finished with that around 11:00AM. I was actually really surprised at how fast they worked. Darren came home around 11:45 and we took a few photos while we waited for the inspector to come. Mr. Matt-Inspector-Man came around 12:15....
AT 12:35 THIS BIG GUY SHOWED UP!!!
The guys worked really fast & the cement trucks were gone by 3:15, the forms came off about 90 minutes later & last night when we got home from the soccer games, this is what we found:
OUR FOOTINGS ARE POURED & SET!!!
Perfectly set & right on the money!
A little picture showing BEAUTY, BRAINS & BRAWN
A little picture showing BEAUTY, BRAINS & BRAWN
