October 31, 2013

A Flying Farmhouse!

They were ready to "go" on October 22nd!
I do have horse trial stories, pictures and videos to share with you, but being 10 people at once is HARD and exhausting!  So instead I am going to give you the picture and video dump from today when...they put the Flying Solo FarmHouse on its foundation!

I decided to go with a simple modular house for several reasons.  (1) Duh, it's cheaper than any quality site-builders (note use of the word quality, I was also very careful researching modular builders and focused on structural integrity and energy efficiency).  My house will be EnergyStar certified, have a sealed, insulated crawl space, and an extra layer of heat blocker under the roof.  (2) Since they have to travel over the road, they are actually built using more lumber than a site-built house and in storms such as hurricanes, such as Sandy, who ran up to the NE last year, are proving to be the ones that survive (hey, I'd rather not get blown away).  (3)  Since they are mostly assembled in the factory on a line, not only are corners actually square, but none of the materials of the framing, subfloors, walls, or roofing are ever exposed to any elements (the house is shipped wrapped up in plastic.  I don't know about you but I always cringe when I drive by a half built house and see all that plywood and lumber soaking wet.  (4) They happen FAST, once the final spec sheets are signed.  I believe I signed my papers maybe 3-4 weeks ago.  Footers were poured last week, foundation was ready on Monday, house was set today!

It's nothing fancy (add-ons like decks and fancy roofs are expensive!!!!).  I'm all about practical and I will be outside with the horses anyway.  But I hope it will at least stay put, keep me warm and dry with the kitties, and generally, I don't want to have to think about it.  

Now....who wants to buy an AWESOME house in Creedmoor?  Like, tomorrow?

Remember that portapotty?  It didn't move.  I drove up to this!

Foundation (not sealed or coated yet) and hi there, front door!
Who needs an extension ladder?  You can see my lovely dining room atrium door -- but don't use it because you will fall out until I can afford to build a deck...in like ten years.  This is the back of the house.  Always wanted a yellow house with a red roof...
Then it was time to actually move the thing.  The roof  was still lying flat (I hung around for about an hour to meet onsite boss) but will be stood up once it is all set on the foundation.  The front porch and back steps (the county inspector said stacks of cinder blocks don't count, sigh) will be built on site.  Then they drill the well, dig the septic, hook up the power...

Yeah, pretty much, when I see someone these days, I just say, "Who should I make the check out too?  And hey, don't cash that for a week."

This operator must have nerves of steel...




Then they settled it in straight and I had to run to do 10 other things, boo..
It will be worth it in the long run, but there are not enough hours in the day to do it all right now! Where's the cash fairy when you need her???? But one day, hopefully soon...

My horses can graze in the 3-acre creek pasture if they want,

SuperNeighbour bushhogged it for me last week!  That's right, my awesome photoshop merge skillz, ha!

And this will be the view from the front porch:

18 comments:

  1. Who needs a deck? Just use a mounting block! :)

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  2. Congrats! You must be thrilled. :D

    My dad (who ran a family construction business forever), really likes those prefabs, for the very same reasons you listed.

    If you're handy at all, and have a handy friend or two (with tools) to help, building a deck is no big deal. Dad and I did one over two weekends - 32' x 8' with railings and gate for @ 1K in materials.

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  3. :D I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!! That is beyond cool. Looks like you are super close to move-in ready, hooray! Once you sell your other house and quit boarding, you'll practically be wallowing in your money.

    You know, until you buy hay or build a barn or something.

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  4. Ooooo, Jennifer, good idea! Although the inspector insisted it had to be cemented in place, sigh.

    CFS, does this mean you are sending me a farm-warming present of $1k???! ;P

    SB, thanks!! Yes, so much money....er....as long as I never eat, drive, or turn on a light.

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  5. Wow, I'm trying to imagine how exciting all of this must be (minus the stress of course) and I can't. Congrats!

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  6. So happy for you! Prefab homes are lightyears beyond where they were 20 years ago, and they are warm cozy and cute...plus move in ready!!!

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  7. Congratulations. I lived in a modular home for 5 yrs before Eric and I moved into the house we're in now. I loved it and it held up to Hurricane Ike without a glitch. Love that view from your front door :-)

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  8. JEALOUSY!!!! But also super, peeing-myself-excited for you!:-D When's the barn-warming party?

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  9. Wow that looks GREAT!! On my way to work yesterday, I noticed there is someone who bought a modular house (actually it looks like two separate units, not sure if they're going to be put together or not). Right now they are still parked on trailers on the side of the road, probably waiting for the crane to come in and put them on the foundations. I wondered how they'd get them off the trailers. Too cool!!

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  10. Very cool! I love the look of the house already... and of course your views are stunning :)

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  11. Wowww, that video was IMPRESSIVE. I can't even imagine trying to do that!

    It's SO EXCITING that everything is finally coming together! I bet you can't wait to move in. Speaking of... when DO you get to move in???

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  12. How exciting! I just love those modular homes, so simple and easy to keep clean! What a nice neighbour, having access to a bush hog will be a life saver. Going to be such a nice little farm!

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  13. Congratulations! This is all so exciting! :)

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  14. Congratulations! What an exciting time and a dream come true. You will love having your horses at home!

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  15. It is truly MADNESS. X 100000000.

    redheadlins, I know, I never would have thought I'd buy one 10 years ago, but they are NICE now!! It will be nicer than my house I have now!

    Jayne, hurricane survival is good to hear, we do get them!!

    Frizz, you better show up to the party, girl!

    Jenj, I think completion will come faster than I am ready for (like within a month) so my house now needs to SELL SELL SELL. I canNOT pay two mortgages.

    T Myers, thanks to a deal with BFF, I will have my own (well, her own, but she is allowing me to keep and use it at the farm) tractor complete with loader and bush-hog, which we will SORELY need!

    Thank you all so much! Once this house sells, I will get a lot more excited.

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  16. Well, I'll be - I had pictured you spending months supervising home construction, but this was a much, MUCH better idea! Never even thought about a modular home, but what a perfect solution for you. Yes, they certainly are a lot nicer than they used to be!

    I will send positive "SELLSELLSELL" thoughts towards your current dwelling. :-)

    Kate, the homes ship in two halves so that's what I expect you're seeing nearby. That chunk in E79's video is just half of her house.

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  17. Yeah, that is why I just couldn't deal with the site-built thing, it takes foreverrrrrr. And yes, since the homes average 25-30' wide, they ship in sections and then they can be arranged really however you want. You can even bring in your floor plan and they'd build it. The GORGEOUS one I really wanted....well, if I found another $20k somewhere, hahahahhaha.

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