Building Groovy Ranch: Update 26

Jul 25, 2018

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Groovy Ranch is moving along. Framing should be done today. Here’s a picture of the latest progress.

In other Groovy Ranch news, Terry has finally submitted his first draw. It’s about time. Terry and his crew and subs have been working their tails off, and they deserve to get paid. Here is a breakdown of the first draw and the cost of Groovy Ranch to date.

First Draw – $50,000

Items Completed
Clear lot and rough grade
Footings
Foundation walls and piers
floor frame joists
Subfloor
Outside studs and top plates, including sheathing
Inside studs and ceiling joists
Roof framing
Roof sheathing and felt

Cost of Groovy Ranch as of 7/25/2018

Item	Cost
Land	$35,111.57
Design	$1,480.35
Permits	$883.93
Site Prep	$4,545.48
Foundation	$9,090.90
House	$36,363.62
Garage	$0.00
Landscaping	$0.00
Miscellaneous	$518.05
Total Cost	$87,993.90

Final Thoughts

Okay, groovy freedomist, that’s all I got. Sorry for the lame update. But there’s really nothing else to report. The build’s going fine, Terry’s communication has been great, and Mrs. Groovy and I are on the samepage when it comes to decision-making—we’re freakin’ agreeing on everything. Haha! Who knew building a home would be so damn easy?

[Mrs. Groovy here. Two more things. First, when we met with Terry today to hand him the check, he informed us it looks like we’re going to have to go with railings on the front porch, due to its height from the foundation. He was hoping to grade the land in a way that would lower the height, but he said that would look stupid. To meet code, the railing must be 36 inches high and there can be no more than 4 inches of space between balusters. I like the look of a “criss cross” railing but I don’t know if that will meet code. At least we have time to decide on the style.

Second, this week we’re going to a showroom to choose our gas fireplace and to a building supply store to select our asphalt shingle color. Should be fun!]

Groovy Ranch

Comments

34 responses to “Building Groovy Ranch: Update 26”

Mrs. Farmhouse Finance
August 1, 2018
It looks so good! It’s about time Terry accepted some money! HA! We are still trying to keep the railings off of our porch, so we’ll have some stupid looking grading up to our house. Right now, it looks like the house is sitting on its own mountain, but hopefully, they can make it look more gradual. I’m happy to see that your build is moving quickly!
Reply
1. Mrs. Groovy
  August 1, 2018
  Thanks, Mrs. FF!
  The front steps were put in and there’s for of them so we definitely need handrails. We might figure out something creative with guardrails on the patio. Like, if we go with the crisscross design, perhaps we can put mesh behind it (I’ve seen photos of that) and take it off later on, after we pass inspection.
  You might be able to make yours look more aesthetically pleasing with landscaping, too.
  Reply
Matt Spillar @ Spills Spot
July 27, 2018
Love it, it’s looking great guys!
And you must be getting along, this update didn’t even have the Fight-o-Meter 😛
Reply
1. Mrs. Groovy
  August 1, 2018
  Thanks, Matt!
  No fights this time. But we’ve got one for you today in update 27. We’re just a bit behind on the comments.
  Reply
freddy smidlap
July 26, 2018
they just finished up our huge paint job and had a roof done last fall. i’m just glad i know the final cost so we can get on with our lives. both jobs ran 15% over estimates.
i like the look of the place. some people around the corner have an aluminum fence that’s held up phenomenally. i wonder how that would look as a railing? shingle colors, ugh! don’t get paralyzed by that one.
Reply
1. Mrs. Groovy
  August 1, 2018
  Nope we didn’t go crazy with the shingle decision. We actually took a drive by Terry’s house, at his suggestion, because the shingle he used on his home is the one he recommended. We’re going with that.
  Reply
Susan @ FI Ideas
July 26, 2018
Wow, your house is coming along so fast. It must be exciting to see it now in 3D. Too bad about the railing, but you really want to keep the grading so water will be falling away from that beauty. On the plus side, no one will be able to see your Amazon packages from the street. Oh wait, you are FI and don’t buy anything from Amazon. Duh!
Reply
1. Mrs. Groovy
  August 1, 2018
  It is moving quickly for sure.
  I still buy from Amazon, but not that frequently. My big boxes usually come from World Market when they’re running a coffee deal and I buy 10 pounds.
  Reply
Lily | The Frugal Gene
July 26, 2018
A “lame” update is a good update!! Glad everything is going well. Fireplace shopping sounds fun!
Reply
1. Mrs. Groovy
  August 1, 2018
  Thanks, Lily. We shared a photo in our latest update of the type of fireplace we’re going with. Sorry we’re behind in the comments.
  Reply
Tim
July 26, 2018
http://www.wagnerarchitectural.com/railings/glass-railings/post-mount-system/
just a thought.
Reply
1. Mrs. Groovy
  August 1, 2018
  Those are pretty sleek! Thanks!
  Reply
Sandra Valens
July 25, 2018
[puts on Architect Superhero spandex suit – no cape]
Check and double check local codes regarding guardrail design (different than handrail design). Some jurisdictions specify design details such as mandating vertical balusters, which are more difficult for small kids to climb up and flip themselves over the top. Even mesh can be climbed if the spacing allows a toehold.
If 3″ is the spacing restriction, no part of the guardrail can have a gap larger than that. Some inspectors used to carry a ball with the required diameter, and if they could jam it through any part of the railing, it failed.
Your local permitting office might have all the requirements available on-line or in a brochure. Good luck!
Reply
1. Mrs. Groovy
  August 1, 2018
  You’re so right about checking code, Sandra. And here’s another small town Mayberry-ish coincidence. One of the inspectors, who’s listed on the county site, shares the same last name as our builder. Turns out they’re cousins.
  I downloaded a document that says with vertical balusters the spaces can be no more than 4 inches. Otherwise 6 inches. I, too, read about inspectors carrying around a ball with the required diameter. I’ll verify with our builder’s cousin!
  Reply
Gary @ Super Saving Tips
July 25, 2018
Things are moving right along! Groovy Ranch looks great in the photo. And picking out the fireplace and shingle color sounds fun. Enjoy!
Reply
the Budget Epicurean
July 25, 2018
Glad the update is a boring one! No news is good news, I should think. Fingers crossed for smooth sailing the whole way to housewarming.
Reply
1. Mr. Groovy
  July 25, 2018
  From your keypad to God’s ears. And you and the boy better make an appearance at the housewarming party. We’ll keep you posted.
  Reply
Angela @ Tread Lightly Retire Early
July 25, 2018
Wait wait wait…. how have permits only cost you less than $1k so far?? Talk about low cost of living…. also, did you have to pay impact fees and sewer impact fees and whatnot?
Reply
1. Mr. Groovy
  July 25, 2018
  Hey, Angela. No impact fees or sewer impact fees. Some of the permit fees were hidden in the housing component of the cost report. But breaking those out, which I’ll do for the next cost report, only adds a little over $700 to our permit costs. We’re in a very rural corner of NC. So right now, each new home puts little additional pressure on the county’s infrastructure. I’m sure in time, though, that things will tighten up and the county’s stomach for building will wane. But we probably have a good 10 to 20 years before that happens.
  Reply
Joe
July 25, 2018
The house is looking good!
Why don’t you go with those glass railing? That way it won’t stand out too much.
Reply
1. Mr. Groovy
  July 25, 2018
  Hey, Joe. Never considered a glass railing. Thanks, I’ll look into that.
  Reply
Amy @ WomenWhoMoney
July 25, 2018
Holy Grooviness! Looking great! Sorry to hear about needing the railing Mrs. G, but I’m sure you’ll come up with something that looks good. Good luck with the shopping this week. There are a lot more shingle colors then you’d think…
Reply
1. Mr. Groovy
  July 25, 2018
  Hey, Amy. We’re leaning toward a charcoal color for the shingles. But we’ll see. When you have 200 colors, decision-making gets interesting.
  Reply
Brian
July 25, 2018
Wow, it’s moving fast! Ouch, writing a $50K check must have stung a bit. 🙂 Glad to hear you and Mrs.G are in lockstep. Yeah, we want the poop, I mean scoop on living with the in-laws.
Reply
1. Mr. Groovy
  July 25, 2018
  Haha! It’s so weird. I was sweating bullets when I got a bank check for the closing on my first home. The year was 1998, and I think the down payment plus the closing costs came to around $12K. Now I just wrote a check for $50K and it felt like I was writing a check for fifty bucks. I guess that means I’m an official member of the FIRE cult. Thanks for stopping by, my friend. Oh, and, in-law scoops will begin next week. Cheers.
  Reply
Jeff D
July 25, 2018
For the railing you could use wire. It’s a bit pricey, but visually almost invisible. My brother and I did this when we expanded his deck. It was a fairly simple DIY, if Mr. Groovy is up to it.
Reply
1. Mrs. Groovy
  July 25, 2018
  It’s gotta be to code at final inspection so I don’t think we can do DIY or we’ll delay the process. I like where you’re going though. I found some images of the criss cross railings I like with mesh behind them.
  Reply
2. Mr. Groovy
  July 25, 2018
  Thanks, Jeff. That’s a capital idea. I’ll investigate.
  Reply
Crispy Doc
July 25, 2018
Exciting times! Fireplace is the heart of our home in winter, and some of my favorite memories are reading and sipping hot chocolate with the kids.
The updates are a bit light on living with the in-laws stories… May I look forward to a nice burst of those later in the season?
Happy building,
CD
Reply
1. Mrs.Wow
  July 25, 2018
  I completely agree with CD here. Where’s the scoop on the whole living with the in laws?
  Reply
  1. Mr. Groovy
    July 25, 2018
    The same here. Why didn’t we think of that?
    Reply
2. Mr. Groovy
  July 25, 2018
  “The updates are a bit light on living with the in-laws stories… May I look forward to a nice burst of those later in the season?”
  Holy crap! You’re brilliant, CD. Mrs. Groovy read your comment and she’s going to start in-law updates next week. Thank you.
  Reply
Dads Dollars Debts
July 25, 2018
Woah! Looking good guys I feel like when I get our first line item budget we should do a comparison- building a mcmansion in Cali vs building down south. Our permit and design fees are already way past yours….have fun finding a fireplace!
Reply
1. Mr. Groovy
  July 25, 2018
  Yeah, permit fees are very reasonable in the county we’re building. We paid for the permits for our well and septic system. This was so because all three potential builders suggested that we get a jump on those before we picked a builder. Apparently, well and septic system permits face the biggest delays. Anyway, we file for the permits and got them within a week. Since we picked, Terry, he’s building dealing with permits. The permit for bringing electricity to the property was $80. The building permit was $640. So I got to break those costs out of the house component of the build and move them over to permits. Still, our permit cost to date is only $1,603.93. I got to imagine that is pretty cheap compared to California. Looking forward to seeing your numbers, Mr. DDD. It’s fascinating to see the variations in building costs. Cheers.
  Reply

Building Groovy Ranch: Update 26

First Draw – $50,000

Cost of Groovy Ranch as of 7/25/2018

Final Thoughts

Comments

34 responses to “Building Groovy Ranch: Update 26”

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