Okay just so you know...the dig out is only critical in how much money you want to spend on concrete. The digout determines the level of the ground. The more uniform and level the ground the less concrete. The less concrete---less money.
The going rate on Whidbey is around $100 a yard for the concrete, and $145-190 a yard for labor per yard. (Remember, I am doing this myself so I am not paying the 15-20% markup that gets passed along by the GC to the homeowner). So, every yard of concrete cost me around $260++.
So my digout caused my footing in places to be about 13 inches thick. Well beyond the 8 inches required. Trust me, I calculated how much that cost me. I figure about 4-6 extra yards because the digout was not uniform and level. In my book, that's about $1,800 dollars. The concrete guy said my digout was about average and he has seen a lot worse.
That didn't make me feel better at all.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
FlashAcres
This is a dream of mine and it is starting to become real. I think I was still a teenager when I started forming a vision about a 'compound'---for my friends and family. I wanted to create a space that was invigorating and fun. I wanted to create a place that celebrated nature and the outdoors. I wanted to create a place that took you far away from your run of the mill everyday life. I wanted to create something extraordinary.
Three years ago I purchased five acres on the west side of Whidbey Island. It was a mess of thorns and trees and bramble everywhere but it felt magical then and it feels magical now.
And so I started.
The same way I found the property, I found the architect. A seeming fluke, but I know better.
Bill Zimmerman has designed several buildings that I now call FlashAcres. (Flash is my ever so special golden retriever. She is eight but has yet to age in spirit and for that I love her--and named this compound in her honor.)
Back to Bill. I first met Bill when I cut out an article on him in Northwest Magazine. Later, I enrolled in his architecture class and didn't put it together that it was him that I ripped out of the magazine--ohhh so long ago. So I hired him. Ultimately, he grasped the experience I was trying to create and brought it to life in pages after pages after pages of real blueprint drawings. More on him later. But I must acknowledge that he has been generous beyond measure to help me in all ways bring this dream of mine to life.
My intent is to use this blog as a way to chronicle the actual building of the main house. Did I mention that I am the general contractor too? Yes, I am the homeowner and the GC. I hate to admit this because it really doesn't garner a lot of respect--at least in the builder trade. In fact, the reaction is almost certainly ---"you have no idea what you are doing and are too cheap to pay for a professional. " And this is true.
Thus, I hope this blog offers a glimpes at the insanity of building your own house and also will help me remember how much I really enjoyed (or NOT) the process. To the best of my ability, I will tell the good, bad and the ugly. Occasionally, I will post live video on youtube in case you really want to see things like concrete pump trucks in action.
Here we go.....
Three years ago I purchased five acres on the west side of Whidbey Island. It was a mess of thorns and trees and bramble everywhere but it felt magical then and it feels magical now.
And so I started.
The same way I found the property, I found the architect. A seeming fluke, but I know better.
Bill Zimmerman has designed several buildings that I now call FlashAcres. (Flash is my ever so special golden retriever. She is eight but has yet to age in spirit and for that I love her--and named this compound in her honor.)
Back to Bill. I first met Bill when I cut out an article on him in Northwest Magazine. Later, I enrolled in his architecture class and didn't put it together that it was him that I ripped out of the magazine--ohhh so long ago. So I hired him. Ultimately, he grasped the experience I was trying to create and brought it to life in pages after pages after pages of real blueprint drawings. More on him later. But I must acknowledge that he has been generous beyond measure to help me in all ways bring this dream of mine to life.
My intent is to use this blog as a way to chronicle the actual building of the main house. Did I mention that I am the general contractor too? Yes, I am the homeowner and the GC. I hate to admit this because it really doesn't garner a lot of respect--at least in the builder trade. In fact, the reaction is almost certainly ---"you have no idea what you are doing and are too cheap to pay for a professional. " And this is true.
Thus, I hope this blog offers a glimpes at the insanity of building your own house and also will help me remember how much I really enjoyed (or NOT) the process. To the best of my ability, I will tell the good, bad and the ugly. Occasionally, I will post live video on youtube in case you really want to see things like concrete pump trucks in action.
Here we go.....
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