Back to Work!

After a long winter and a late snowfall, Big Valley Builders is back to work!  As you can see from the below photo of our driveway, the Valley was hit by a number of storms in late February and early March. We were in the Valley for a long weekend in late February and thought work would begin before March...apparently not. 

However, warmer temperatures have brought a ton of work. Tim and company were able to start back to work mid-March and real progress is being made. Framing is underway and the house is starting to take form.  

 

Wrapping up for the Winter

Although the pictures below don't show it, the Valley is now covered in snow. As such, we are closing down the project until the spring. Fortunately, the cement work was finished in the nick of time. The snow started just days after it was completed.

The photos show the extensive cement work, as well as insulation and footing drains. The foundation will be back-filled a few feet to keep the insulation in place and to cover the drains. The cement looks really good and everyone is excited to get back to work once the snow melts. Until then, we will be working on interior selections, daydreaming, and skiing! 

Cement Work

Our hole in the dirt is beginning to take form, and not a moment too soon because "winter is coming..." In early October we made our way out to the Valley and were able to see a lot of progress. The footings had been installed and the wall forms were being constructed. Needless to say, there is a ton of work involved to get the site ready for the concrete pour. The walls will be poured in mid-October--that's this week!  

Below are a few shots showing the construction of the footing forms, the pouring of the footings, and the construction of the wall forms. 

Broke ground!

The dirt work has officially begun.

Our heavily treed lot is now starting to look like a building site. (Good news for us, bad news for the few trees we had to take down.) Because of the slope of the property, a LOT of dirt had to be moved and moved again, but the excavator crew did a great job. Thankfully the lot has only been minimally disturbed with just the essential building areas impacted.

From the pictures below you will see the cleared building site and our driveway (still rough). Just about ready for the foundation to get started.

Ups and Downs

In mid-July we spent a week in the Valley meeting with Tim and taking in the sites. Below are a few shots from our trip. Olive had a wonderful time and we met a few horses that happened to be hanging out...no fences or owners in sight. It was hot, and when we were not at elevation, we were spending time riverside.

We met with Tim to finalize a number of material selections and discuss the excavation that was set to begin the following week. Our meetings with Tim went great, and we left the Valley excited that the project would begin the following week...

Then a curve ball arrived two days before the excavator was set to begin. It has been a crazy few weeks and we have had to be very flexible to keep the project moving in the right direction. After a number of ups and downs, we are back on track with a solid plan and approach to getting the cabin built.

 

We have a Construction Contract!

After a number of weeks spent crunching the numbers and refining the budget, we now have a construction contract!

In late June, we took our first trip to the Valley in months and had a chance to meet our contractor, Tim Smith, in person for the first time. Sitting down with Tim was really helpful and we were able to finalize the budget and the construction contract.

This is exciting news because we are now working with Darel Ansley at the People's Bank to finance the project...fingers crossed this process will go smoothly. We are targeting late July to break ground.

We didn't spend the entire trip working on the project, and had a chance to explore a few new areas.  Below are a few shots from Pipestone Canyon (great spot for birding) and Black Lake (huge fire a few years back with lots of new growth):

Refining the Budget

We have been working with Ryan and Tim to review the plans and line-item costs so that we can get the project within budget...or as close to our original budget as possible. Two of the largest line items were the cement and the windows. The windows we figured would be expensive but never would have thought of cement as a high-ticket item. Surprise!

So, unfortunately, we have had to cut a few of the cement features. One item we're a little sad to be losing is the double cement wall at the entry of the cabin. This was a super pricey item, but we think we've found an alternative that will preserve the look and feel of the entry. Olive even made it into the rendering (see below).

We also had to better define what we wanted for our cabinets so that a more accurate bid could be provided. We made a few changes to the kitchen, master bathroom, and flex room cabinets shown below:

We have switched from hydronic radiant heat to electric radiant heat and made some modifications to the window package, both of which saved a chunk of money. Hopefully, we are close to locking the budget in so we can get the contract with Tim signed and begin the financing process.