And the Choices Begin

Our contractor has come back with the initial estimate for the house. The price is inclusive of the modular house itself, the septic tank, the rest of the utilities, and the permits. We still need to negotiate on paving, decking and so forth.

We've asked for HardiePlank rather than vinyl siding, and we've chosen a color called Cobble Stone.

We want wood floors. Actually they will be grass floors, to be precise, because we want bamboo. We had bamboo floors in our last house and liked them. This is the sort of bamboo flooring we want.

Lastly, we had to choose the brick we want for the foundation cladding, and this the sort of color we want:

There are still lots of decisions to make but, bit by bit, our home will come together.

A House Built in a Factory?

So when Frank and I were in South Carolina for Thanksgiving, we started the planning in earnest. My dream was to work with an architect to have a truly custom home -- one that was green, beautiful, and had all the bells and whistles. But I had woefully underestimated the cost of such a home. So, back to the drawing board.

Poking around the net I found the website for HandCrafted Homes

HandCrafted Homes is a modular builder. They build stick-build homes, but they build them in modules in their factory rather than on your site. Then they transport your modules to your site and connect them there.

Here are some of the benefits to building a modular home:

• Speed of construction: Once you've signed your contract with HandCrafted Homes it only takes one-two weeks to build your home in their factory. And once they have it built, they want to deliver it and get it weather-tight.
• Quality: Their factory environment allows them to keep their materials safe from the weather. Their workers are familiar with the tasks they work on every day. And each module (or "box" as they call it in the factory) is inspected at least twice at each construction step.
• Strength: 110 mph-rated homes are their standard, and they can build houses with a higher wind rating. Their "boxes" have to be strong enough to withstand transporting them long distances, so they build stronger. For instance they glue and screw the frame footers to the floors instead of nailing them.
• Energy efficiency: Handcrafted Homes seals openings like drywall joints, outlet openings and so forth in the factory.
• Customization. You have options in construction (for instance, 2 x 4 framing is standard, but you can opt up to 2 x 6 framing). And just about any home design can be used for a modular home. They can work from your plans, or you can choose and customize one of their plans.

We toured HandCrafted Homes's factory in Henderson, North Carolina, and came away feeling this is the way to go for us.

Building a House

So, how do you go about building a house in the middle of "nowhere"? Very carefully, I suppose.

Frank and I both have ideas of what we want the house to be -- how big, what sort of rooms, what to avoid that we've lived with before. For instance, Frank is over six feet tall and hates having to stoop and bend to take a shower. So a showerhead positioned high enough to allow him to stand upright in the shower is a must.

Here are some of our other requirements:

• very low maintenance and care (We don't want to spend all of our time taking care of the house!)


• energy efficient (We are in South Carolina where the summers are hot and humid, and the winters can be cold)


• a studio for me (I'm a quilter as well as a quilt designer and quilt teacher. I need to be able to spread out to do my work.)


• hard floors (Neither of us likes carpets. We both prefer wood, tile, and other surfaces that are easy to clean.)


• a library (I have lots of books, and they need a home that includes a comfortable chair and a good reading light.)


• a guest room (There is no nearby hotel, so we need a place to make friends and family welcome and comfortable when they come to visit.)


• a veranda (The property is so beautiful. We need a place to sit outdoors and enjoy it.)


• a single level (We know from friends and family who live in multi-level homes that climbing stairs gets more tiresome as one gets older.)


• a way to isolate the noise of a TV or stereo from the other person

Size is an issue. Too large and the house will be both too expensive and too much trouble to maintain. Too small and we won't have the rooms we want. So there are lots of things to think about as we make our plans.

This photo shows the approximate site we have chosen for the house -- near the tree that is leafless right now.

South Carolina Dreams

When Frank and I were in South Carolina for Thanksgiving in 2003 we happened upon a piece of property for sale in Newberry County, and we fell in love with it. It's in the middle of the Sumter National Forest. One boundary is the county road, and the other three boundaries are public lands that we don't expect to be developed. The surrounding area is wooded, but our property is clear excepting for a few trees scattered around, and trees around the edges.

The property is almost 29 acres, and it's where we plan to build our new home. It's truly out in the country, but it's only about 5 miles from a small town with a supermarket, and about 9 miles from the county seat.

Over the next few months I'll be sharing our plans and progress as we build our home.

Tale #1

OK, today's the day! I've finally started the blog I've been contemplating for months, Old Wife's Tales. This will be a place for me to share my thoughts on the world around me. I'm not going to limit myself to any one of my many interests, but, rather leave myself free to explore various topics that pique my interest.

A number of times recently, I've shared a thougth with friends and family, then read that idea a few days later, or heard some radio pundit saying my very words. So why shouldn't I be the one to introduce them to the world? This blog will give me that opportunity!

Right now I'm thinking about a few topics: President Bush's Social Security reform plan, observations on a new marriage, building our house in South Carolina . . . I just need to pick one and jump in!