As Christmas Approaches

Seems like there is never an end to a story like this one. I'm over Blog Fever, and have managed to resist writing anything more for five more months, mostly because we've just been living in the house and doing the normal things retired people do, like being too busy. However, there still is a modest list of projects to do in our spare time, and I'm slowly whittling away at them. So I thought an occasional update would be appropriate and not too time consuming. You have to remember that this blog is partly for us--as a reminder down the road of life as to what, when, and how we did all those things to make a house happen.

Landscaping is an endless chore, but we managed to clean up the yard in the fall and put the lawn to bed. Cleaning out the gutters is still on the list, since I can see debris piling up in them. Next summer we'll have to attack the back yard, which as reverted to native weeds. Nancy has a plan, I just have to implement it.

Lots of little things have been accomplished. I found a smoking good deal on bamboo flooring and stair nosing at Home Depot and installed this hardwood on the landing in the garage. Turned out pretty darn nice; total price to install was about $75 with my free labor. I installed a couple door locks that got missed the first time around, painted the skylights upstairs (ladder work), and reorganized the garage to make a place for the new Grizzly dust collector (2 HP, 220v; it really sucks).

SAUNA
The sauna is getting built out now, hopefully in time to get good use of it this winter. The rainy season is on us, so a hot sauna will definitely be the answer to recovering from a cold walk in the rain. We picked up the sauna heater, an 8-kw Finlandia stainless steel unit from the distributor just south of Portland during a visit down there in October. Did I mention that Oregon doesn't have sales tax (9% in PT) and the dealer beat all the internet offers by about 10%. Plus it gave us a reason to spend a few days down there checking out America's most liveable city.

This heater takes 220v, which I had previously installed during the electrical rough in (4 strand no. 8 copper cable). Gary Estes (Craighead Electric) came over to consult on the heater and finished hooking up the garden shed to the house electrical and the 30 amp line from the generator (in the shed) back to the house. So now, if we have an extended power outage, I can fire up the generator in the shed, flip the breaker on the basement electrical panel and power the house (up to 7kw) until electricity is restored. 7kw will run most of the house, with the exception of heat-generating appliances (the double oven and sauna).

The interior of the sauna is trimmed out in 1x4 tongue and groove cedar, the TK (tight know) variety which was milled by Bill McCutchen in Port Hadlock. I called for 1000 linear feet and used all but about 40 ft of it for the walls and corner trim. Bill also milled 40 ft of base board, which is 5/4 by 6 TK cedar. All the wood is up, nail holes are puttied, and is stained. Since the sauna can be either dry or wet, staining the wood is probably a good idea to preserve the surface. Using Cabot water -based semitransparent stain this time around because I don't want the lingering spell of the oil based stain we used on the exterior of the house.

This last week I've been building the benches for the sauna. I was going to use clear cedar or fir for this, but it was just too expensive. Carl's had some Batu boards for decking, which were half the price of the other alternatives. I'm not exactly sure what Batu is, but I call it Asian mahogany. [The Internet says "Batu closely resembles the rich classic look of Mahogany. Heartwood from Batu for decking ranges from a medium red to a deep red / brown with purple tinges and often has resin canals with white contents in concentric lines on end surfaces which produce a warm and visually striking effect. The texture is moderately fine and grain is typically interlocked. Its ideal for exterior use, so it should be well suited for the sauna."]

Anyway, the Batu mills up nicely. I used 1 x 6s and ripped them in half. With a 1/4" gap, the decking has 3" repeats, which worked nicely on the bench dimensions of 18-24". After sanding, I treated the board with a water-based preservative, resanded lightly, and retopped with another coat of preservative. I made a slug of spacers (see photos) for laying out the decking, then pre-drilled and screwed them down with 2" square head finishing screws. Looks nice and professional. I haven't given the sauna a real try yet, but found that it will get up to 140°F in about 20 minutes and 180°F (pretty darn warm) in 30 minutes. Bring WINTER on, we're ready.

A couple years ago I bough an old tiller at the local antiques store with the intent of making it a coat rack in the new house. However, I found another coat rack that I liked better, so this tiller has found a happy home in the sauna as a towel rack. Above it is a water-proof bulkhead lamp and to the right is a temp/humidity gauge.

ISLAND BAR TOP
For the longest time, we've planned to have a bar top off the side of the island in the kitchen. This was my (Michael's) one request for Nancy's kitchen design. Thought it would be nice to be able to have coffee or a glass of wine from a slightly elevated position, or standing. Well, implementing this little feature was WAY harder that I ever imagined. Most of the problem was how to hold the bar top above the island. Everyone said "just get some standoffs", so we looked and looked. Nothing quite right seemed to be available.

About a year ago I had some aluminum ones fabricated at a marine shop in PT. Seemed about right, but they required drilling a couple holes into the island rock for each standoff. This bothered me to no end, and then when we got the standoffs back from the paint shop they didn't even look attractive. $750 down the rat hole--boy that hurt. So back to square one. Finally, I thought back to the corbels that Jim Quandt made for the roof overhangs and decided that wooden brackets would probably go well with the island cabinets.

Down to Edensaw, our local exotic woods warehouse (and I mean warehouse!). They have just about any type and size board you'd ever want. OK, lets get some quarter-sawn red Oak to match the cabinets. I selected a nice 8' board, 2" thick and about 6" wide. I drew up some plans for the brackets, printed them full scale, and took them to Bill McCutchen to fabricate. Bill has lots a great power tools, including a portable saw mill (he made all the facia, soffit, and T&G cedar for the house). Bill said no problem, and about a month later we had 3 nicely shaped and sanded solid oak brackets Total cost about $100, so I felt better about the wasted metal ones.

After the brackets were finished, we approached Jerry Perrett—a local glass artist that we'd seen at several art shows in the area (Glass Etching by Perret, PT). You know the current mantra— BUY LOCAL. Well this was a great solution for the bar top. The biggest problem was deciding what to sort of art to have etched into the bar. Jerry made a few suggestions, and we went back and forth a few times. We settled on four salmon swimming across the bar, with some sea weed and gravel to complete the scene. Jerry made up a sketch, we approved it, and then he made the full size drawing. He ordered the glass from Seattle (16" x 72") and it arrived in a couple weeks (ca. $345). Then he coated the bottom of the glass with an adhesive backed rubber sheeting (ca. 1/16" thick), laid the paper template on top and rubbed the pencil drawing onto the backing. Then the image is tidied up and its ready for the sandblasting process.

The pattern is sandblasted into the glass with relief so you get a 3-D image from above. This is done by progressively removing the rubber backing. Jerry has a separate shed for sandblasting, and can do items as large as shower doors.

His bread and butter are small art objects like sushi plates, serving trays, and wall hangings. The heaviest blasting is done first, and the lightest is done last. In the end you have a gorgeous bias-relief image underneath the bar top. You'll have to see it to really appreciate this little piece of art in our house.

Well that's it for now. The Christmas season is upon us and I won't get a good stretch of time for projects until mid January. But then the upstairs shower is crying to be finished, before the next onslaught of visitors start showing up in the Spring. Merry Christmas to all you out there.

The bottom and last line (Day 1000)

July 21, 2011

This may be the last blog entry now that my self-enforced limit of 1,000 days has arrived. There always is a bottom line and in this case it's "What did the house cost to build (time and money)." If you've been following the blog, you know that we started about 1,000 days ago, in early Nov. 2008. We moved in on May 15, 2010, a little more than a year ago. So, in answer to that question posed about money, I'm not going to tell you and the wandering eyes of the Jefferson County auditor's department or the IRS what this little gem cost to build. However, I'll tell you what it cost in percentages based on a hypothetical building cost of say . . . $500,000 (before sales tax). At that cost, this 2700 sq ft house would have been built for about $185 per square foot, or $200 per square foot tax included.

One thing is for sure right now, for the past 2 years, and probably for the next 5—it is cheaper to buy than build. There are just too many houses out there for sale. For example, the house we rented in the Vineyards while we built sold new for about $365,000 plus landscaping, etc. The owner was probably into it for $375,000 by the time she decided she couldn't move there and was going to rent it out until it sold. Well, 5 years later, after renting it for $1200/mo (quite a haircut as they say) she sold it for $260,000 and paid the traditional 6% commission. The way I do math that sale nets out at $244,400, or a net loss of $130,600 (35%). At about 2000 sq ft of finished floorspace, that makes the rental a $130 per sq ft bargain.

Well, I don't care how bad the economy is, no contractors, building supply stores, or tradesman are going to discount there services or products 35%. Plus in Washington you pay sales tax on ALL services, so your entire house has an 8.7% tax on it. (Note, for the present, out of state internet sales are not taxed and often ship for free, so this is the easiest way to save 25-50% on some items.) So the bottom line is its cheaper to buy than build. However, if you want the experience of doing a project like this, want the pleasure of seeing your ideas become a house, make it as custom as you like, and want a job for a couple years—I say Dive In.

So back to the bottom line. Using a hypothetical building cost of $500,000, the house would net out as outlined below. We realized a few bargains, saved substantial money on labor for many items (sweat equity), and occasionally got the rough end of the stick.

Category	$500,000	%	Comments
Architectural		4.4	No interior details
Structural engineering		1.5	Highest EQ haz code
Land surveys		0.4	Boundary and topo
Building permits/fees		2.1	County and HOA
Cut trees, clear land		1.2	60 trees, 0.6 acre
Pre-Build Expenses	$48,000	9.6
Sub Total (Cumulative)	$48,000	9.6
Excavating and regrading		1.5	280 yds removed
Foundation & basement		7.3	750 sq ft basement
Pre-Framing (Cumulative)	$44,000	8.8
Sub Total (Cumulative)	$92,000	18.4
Framing Labor		8.9
Framing lumber		9.8
Windows, skylights, solar tubes (36)		3.6	Installed tubes
Doors (27) and locks		2.8	Installed some doors, all locks
Garage doors & openers		0.6	Good deal
Dried In (Cumulative)	$128,500	25.7
Sub Total (Cumulative)	$220,500	44.1
Radiant flooring system (Warmboard)	$29,675	5.0	Did all Pex tubing
Roof, gutters, drywells		2.7	Laid drywells
Siding and shingles		1.3	Painted & hung 8,000
Plumbing		1.3	Did all rough in
Electrical		3.4	Did ½ of labor, hung all fixtures
Central Vacuum System		0.4	In the wall
Propane tank and piping		0.9	500 gal, buried
Air exchange and power vents, range hood		0.5
Rock facade (exterior)		1.4	Eldorado Stone
Fireplaces (2 gas)		1.4	Propane
Fireplace rock and mantles		0.2	Did all labor
Insulation		1.0	Fiberglass batts, 6-12”
Drywall		3.0	5/8" in garage
Painting (all)		1.3	Did all trim & exterior painting
Pre-Finishing (Cumulative)	$119,000	23.8
Sub Total (Cumulative)	$339,500	67.9
Plaster (Amer. Clay)		0.2	Did all plastering
Interior trim		0.7	CVG Fir or Primed FJ Pine
Tile: flooring and showers		1.7	Laid all tile
Wood flooring		2.8	Finished upstairs
Carpentry (labor)		0.5	Cheap @$20/hr
Cabinets (4 rooms)		6.9	Installed all units
Countertops (rock, 4 areas)		2.2	Big ticket items
Wood counters (maple, 2 areas)		0.2	Bargain
Closet storage		0.8
Appliances (all)		2.9	Top end package
Lighting fixtures (all)		1.2
Bath (1) and showers (3)		1.0	Frameless, 3/8” glass (3)
Plumbing fixtures		0.9	Kohler and better
Sauna (wood and heater)		0.3	Did all labor
Septic System		2.3	Pressure type, 3 bath
Interior Finished (Cumulative)	$123,000	24.6
Sub Total (Cumulative)	$462,500	92.5
Driveway		1.4	Exposed aggregate
Decks		0.4	Trex, 4 areas
Water conditioner		0.6	Kinetico
Tools and tool rentals		1.3	Paid for themselves
Electricity, propane, trash and sanitation		0.3	Expenses during building
House Complete (Cumulative)	$20,000	4.0
Sub Total (Cumulative)	$482,500	96.5
Landscaping		2.7%	Did all plantings and paths
Garden Shed		0.8%	Finished after Rough In
Exterior (Cumulative)	$17,500	3.5%
TOTAL EXPENSES	$500,000	100.0%

Almost 10% of the bucks were spent before a shovel was turned in the ground. However, changes really started with the tree felling, stump removal and brush clearing.

By the time we were ready for the Ellis boys to nail wood together, we had spent almost 19% of the hypothetical half million. The next real threshold is when a house is dried in (framed and secured), which takes up to the 44% point, or roughly $220k. By then, you're wondering when and when the rest of the money is going to mystically appear in your bank account.

By this point, we started to take on some jobs and reduce labor costs. This phase is what I call the owner-go-slow period. Its when you have visions of savings buckets of cash by doing such trival tasks as the rough-in plumbing and electrical (probably a 6 month delay over having it done). Yeah you save money, but you having to do apprenticeships in both trades. Thank god we had patient and helpful subs for both that kept us on the straight and narrow. The shingle dipping and hanging process was sort of tortureous, especially for the Dipping Lady. Who thought 8,000 shingles would take very long to hand dip—everyone said it was the way to do it , and had obviously never done it themselves or they were just having a giant laugh on us. Anyway, by the time the house was ready for the Kala Point HOA stamp of approval, we'd been building for 12 months and spent 2/3rd of the dwendling hypothetical half mil.

Next came the really labor intensive process for me (Michael) because I wanted to do it all. You'd think that after a year of this and 60 under my belt, I'd have thought a bit more about it. But I'm a type A guy who can't stand to be idle. So I took on the doors, trim, all the tile floors and 3 tiles showers, the plastering, and a host of other things. Now that I'm a fairly skilled home builder, I know that I'd never build another one (at my age). If I was 40, I might try 2 or 3 over a 20 year period. A good/bad thing about building your "one and only house" is that you really can't compromise on anything, or you would be haunted by it for the rest of your pre-Alzheimer life.

Best and Worst

Some good things we did in terms of building the house:

1. Radiant floor, and particularly Warmboard and Pex tubing.
2. Sierra Pacific Windows and Doors, Harvest Cranberry color
3. Gary and Troy Ellis, great framers & nice guys
   
4. Richard Berg, Architect for the roof lines, balance, and interior flow and most earthquake proof house on the Quimper Pennisula (see no. 4 below)
   
5. Bill McCutchen for cedar boards, maple tops, and a lot of help
6. Craftsman style—ease of construction for trim details
7. Discount Cabinets of Washington for all but the kitchen cabinets
   
8. Laid all the Pex ourselves—like playing with legos
   
9. Hung all the cabinets ourselves. Just some simple rules to follow
10. Hide a Hose central vacuum—I actually like using it
    

Some bad things we did in terms of building the house.

1. Started construction in Nov; April would have been much better
2. Underestimated the job in terms of time (2x) and money (30%)
3. Missed the start of the recession by 6 months for construction labor and materials
4. Over the top structural engineering, which complicated construction and drove up costs (5-10% overall)
   
5. Got sideways with the Architectural Committee owing to their 7-month building time limit (they only care about the exterior)
6. Spent too much time on the electrical and plumbing rough-ins
7. Probably have too much space upstairs that will only be used occasionally
   
8. Cleared too many trees and brush (salal). These take time and money to replace
   
9. Didn't put lawn sprinklers in. Was undecided about lawn with this came up; we'll see how it works out.
   
10. Should have added a drain across the driveway next to the garage. Water pools here—still can fix
    

In retrospect, its been a fun, educational, fulfilling, tiring, and expensive adventure. Nancy and I managed to stay married through it all (some don't), and both of us are happy with the result. There are a few things we'd do differently if we had to do it over again, but won't. Little mistakes become Architectural Features, each of which have an interesting story behind them. Now we need to start relaxing a bit more, enjoying the house with friends and neighbors, and getting out to know the Pacific Northwest better. That's it for this blog . . . unless something really noteworthy should happen.