One Foot in Front of the Other

     This has been and exciting week, as we have had a meeting with the architect/builder to review the plans which we had come up with. We made some changes, adding some extra windows. It was a good meeting, and we eagerly await the finalized architectural drawing of our plans. This is to take about two weeks... a long two weeks. 😜 I have difficulty in visualizing the ultimate look, so I am hoping the final plans will give me a better idea of how will work out in designing the inside.
     We plan a stained and polished cement floor for the indoors, and a 'barn' decor to go with the overall 'barn' design of the structure. I am having so much fun with designing decor, by looking on Pinterest and collecting ideas. Much of the decor will center around what would have been found or used in a barn/farm atmosphere. I am now trying to find a balance, to where this decor isn't so overdone that it loses it's appeal. So much of the inside finishing will be a long process.
     We now have a projected, tentative, start date of June 1st for demolition! About one and a half months away! So we spent Easter day, cutting down trees that would have been in the way of equipment for the build. It was a full day! The dog pen area has been removed out back, and the front brick walk removed. So we are moving right along toward the process of readying for demolition.
     Now we patiently await the call for final plan review! patiently!

The House that Jack Built

     Closing on the refinancing loan is now completed with all going well, and we hope to move on to the next step of second meeting with the contractor at EBCO development for finalizing the 'new-build' house plans. The house is nearly completely packed up, except for the areas that are still in use, until we make the living move to the guest cabin. We won't do that until nearly the last minute. In the next week, we will continue with dismantling the inside, such as cabinets doors being removed and most everything removed from the walls for storage.
  
      Upon readying for bed last evening, I noticed a new distinct SLANT to our bedroom floor  😱 Feeling, now, as if we are living in the house that Jack built! It brings back memories of walking in the 'funny-house' at the carnival! We really MUST get moving along on this rebuild soon! Glad that we started when we did!

Moving Right Along!!

      We are getting more excited by the day! Appraisal is done, and now awaiting approval from investors to sign at closing on our loan. The appraiser was out here for three and a half hours, with many measurements and many photos taken. After waiting for two weeks, we got the appraisal amount that we were hoping for!! 
      Appointment made with the contractor for next week, to go over, more thoroughly, the floor plan design and quote. We have been working on ideas on home design. This is the fun part! But we have also been working diligently on removing some of our present outdoor projects, which materials we may be using in future projects, and don't want involved in the demolition of the existing house. The front brick walk, along with the dog pen area in the back, have been dismantled and saved. The next on the list, is to dismantle and save the present wooden deck. We have also transplanted a few trees and plants that we know will be in the area of demolition. 
      Now, we will keep on keepin' on, working and waiting. ;)

Learning the virtue of 'Patience'... sometimes takes patience! We had a promising meeting with a contractor 3 weeks ago, and received a proposal yesterday. Oh my, chomping at the bit the WHOLE time! Upon looking over the proposal, it looks do-able!! Today was a visit to the credit union in which we left a copy of the proposal, to get the paper work started for the loan. I am sure that during, what is now, Lenten season...more patience will be what we will be working on in our lives. ;) Most of the house is packed up in boxes, but finishing this, will be keeping me pretty busy now. Once the house is packed up, we will need to begin removing the cabinets and room doors, along with much that is planned to be salvaged from this old house. We figure that the credit union will be wanting to send an appraiser to view things over. The excitement is helpful for now and I will focus on that to help with the patience part.

On the Horizon

It is impending that 'something' must be done with the pier and beam section of our home. We have lived here for 36 years, now, and we had the main beam support of our home, replaced shortly after moving in. In the past couple of years we have noticed an increasing amount of shifting in the walls, door jams, and most recently, the floors! With in the last few months, our kitchen floor has a significant SLANT to it! This is all getting a bit more precarious by the day! Yes, SOMETHING must be done, and fairly soon. 
We searched Pinterest...yes, Pinterest...for home floor plans that most closely matched our thoughts of how we would rebuild. Oh, we pondered for a short while, whether just the rebuilding of the support beams was even a feasible thought. We jointly decided that investing more into a home that is in need of SO much repair and is still remaining an 'OLD house on an unstable shifting soil and unstable pier and beam style'... is not what we, at the Autumn of our lives, wish to be leaving to our children in the future. Yes, we DO think of these issues more and more with the passing years. I don't think of that as a depressing thought, but a caring thought. So the plan of rebuilding a whole new home on a more stable concrete slab foundation, is what we have chosen the course to be. There are many memories in this old home, so much of the inside 'usable' parts will be removed and saved, prior to the demolition of the old structure. Also, many photos will be taken of it all before we pack it all up. We have had grandchildren tearful over this decision, understandably, therefore we will photograph as much as we can, before the big change. 
We found a floor plan that we liked, and it is MUCH different than the old home that we will be replacing. The new plan is a more 'open' concept of design, and it also includes a second floor (extra bedroom and full bath) with loft (which could be a third bedroom, if someone wants to do that in the future)! Exciting! This new build would also include a master bath, which I have never had! More excitement!! 
Yes, this is full of butterfly excitement...yet totally scarey to us as well! We have never done anything this huge in all our lives! So just step by step, day by day, one foot in front of the other...we hope this will all be falling into place. I am thinking that I will journal the progress here, if anyone else wants to follow. I will post the floor plans and photos of the ideas of the build, soon.