Day 43

Meeting with the builder. Sunday night, we met with our builder. He wanted to review some of the different ideas we had for the house and the materials that we wanted to use. It was more instructive than I originally thought it would be.

We started talking about things like flooring, and where we might want hardwood and where we might want stained concrete. We have decided to go with stained concrete in the kitchen for a few reasons. First, you spill a lot of things in a kitchen. And that is just if you use it mildly, which we do not. We use our kitchen…like REALLY use our kitchen. We like to cook things and we really make a lot of our meals. It must be a place that we feel looks nice, but also can take the everyday grind of cooking meals for our family. I think the stained concrete will be that for us. The other reason: cost. Wow! That was simple, huh? Well, it is the truth. More times than not in your life, doesn’t it most often come down to cost? I mean, I would rather drive a Porsche 911 Turbo, but I cannot afford that. I drive a Nissan Altima. I did get a V6 though, so I at least feel like I can get up and go. Not quite the same as a Porsche, but it is all about cost.

We can save about $2,500 by not putting hardwood on the floors in the kitchen. We like the look, but for the practicality and the fact that the concrete might compliment our more “modern” look that we will have in the kitchen more was enough for us. We will probably be using porcelain subway tiles in the kitchen as a backsplash, which is a little different for this area. Most people in this area have some kind of stone or stonish tile. We really like that look, but we want something just a bit different. We think the subway tiles are just the thing to accomplish that different look with.

We will probably go with the wood floors in the living room, because we LOVE the way they look. Also the foyer will more than likely get these accouterments. Also, we took some suggestions from the builder about the opening between the living room and the kitchen. We have a very open plan, and we like it that way. He helped us to make it that much more open. There was this little counter/cabinet that was not even 4 feet. We just eliminated that so that we would have even more of an open plan. It will really help to put a very wide-arching brick arch in that opening. It did cut down our pantry just a tad, but the thing is still 5×5 and will go all of the way to the ceiling with shelves. We will have plenty of storage space. In fact, we will not know what to do with all of the space. It is more than we have ever had before. I really like that he suggested that though, because it will just end up looking so much nicer. Plus, it should make it where we can build the island the actual shape that we want. The plan designer had the tendency to….er….how to I put this…draw things the way she wanted to see them, not the way that we wanted them. Well, she ended up drawing us this island that was very long and skinny. (Ironically, it is just like her personal island in her kitchen. Hmmm…) We would like it to be a bit more square. Not exactly square, but more squarish. With this opening being well, more open, we will be able to do this. I think it will make the tray ceiling that we are putting over the island look better too.

The bedrooms will probably end up with either wood or stained concrete. I am pretty allergic to carpet of all kinds when I’m around them a lot, so that is the driving factor. Rebecca and I tend to like the clean look of either the wood or the concrete also.

So, as we were talking through this with our builder, we came across an area that we could really make a big monetary difference: brick. We had talked about bricking the whole house in the “fashion” brick. I don’t know if you know, but there are varying degrees of brick and what they cost. The ones that are very similar in color are much less expensive than the ones that you see with a lot of colors and a variety of patterns in them. Well, we were wanting a “fashion” brick on the whole house with just some accents here and there. come to find out, we could save about $10,000 by just choosing to brick with some “cheaper” bricks and have them painted, and then accent with the “fashion” bricks that we really want. I think we will really like how that looks anyway, and I think we are going for that. The paint color just must be perfect, because we will be stuck with it for years to come.

By choosing this method, it should allow us to gain some things that I’m not sure we would have otherwise. We should be able to do a separate water meter; one that is not tied into the sewer. Because of that, the water bill on that meter should equal about $2/month. That’s pretty cheap. That’s what we will use to water our yard and anything else outside. There is no need for us to pay for sewer on that water. It is nothing inside of our house. If we have it put in at the same time as everything else, it should only cost about $2,000-$2,500, so that is very doable. It is a little more money up front, but I think the savings in the long run will be beneficial.

I think the brick savings will also allow us to build a fire pit of sorts out back. We will already have a massive amount of concrete on the back porch, but the cost savings will allow us to build a jut of concrete out to place a chiminea upon. That way, we can have the ambiance of a wood-burning fireplace, without the mess inside, or the heat loss. Let’s face it, there are many times of the year that we will not be able to use this, but in the Spring and Fall, it will be well used. I think Rebecca will really enjoy that. We will actually be able to sit out back and watch the kids play around in the backyard while hearing the crackle of a roaring fire. Bring it on.

Tomorrow, I am meeting the appraiser of the land at the property. I have been instructed to give him a copy of our plans, and to let him take photos of our land. I hope that his report comes back just like we need it. We hope to have that report by the end of the week, and then have a firm close date on the land. That will really help us toward our goal of breaking ground in October. I think it is definitely doable. There is not much left to do for the construction loan, and after the appraisal comes back, we will move on to the next step.

Until next time…