It feels excruciatingly slow (compared to the start-up tech world I’ve been in), but I have to remind myself that this is a measure 1000 times and cut once industry. Unless, of course, you’re comfortable paying for things to be ripped out, started anew. I’m sure I’ll have some of those opportunities, too. Yikes!
I shouldn’t be so hard on myself (common refrain). Only one year ago, I was on the precipice of a whole new reality that I am now living in: transition in my job, landowner, architect-commissioner, student of green building. Where will I be one year from today? (Wouldn’t it be funny if our social network platforms did some predictive analysis for us and showed us photos and posts our future selves? Maybe not…). Well, for one, Aug 12, 2020 we’ll be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary. And two, I hopefully will be living on a ‘farm’ surrounded by birds, bugs and grass with a whole new routine and 90 day success plan.
So, where are we? In sum, trying to ensure that we stay true to the vision of the project–build a healthy, beautiful, simple home. There’s lots of distractions. Cost is a big one. But, I’m convinced that these are just little problems waiting to be solving with creative ideas and alternatives! So, this week we need to align on the final cost estimate in order to finish our bank loan application and begin the appraisal process.
This means we should nail down the final combination of wall composition: which are Blox and which are traditional stick frame. This involves so many variables and research about all the possible interior finish options that will impact that bottom line in a big way. We started with the goal of finishing everything with clay plaster. Turns out plastering is expensive. I learned that in some geographic regions, like the Boston area, plaster is cheaper than drywall due to the abundance of skilled tradesmen who find it easier to plaster than tape, texture and finish drywall. Makes sense and unfortunately not as true in Austin, TX. Paint is cheaper; but we need to find breathable paints so that we don’t lose the moisture wicking benefits of our Blox and insulation. For ceilings, tongue & groove wood is apparently way cheaper that drywall and since we’re trying to use non-toxic insulation for the ceiling, it will be a great option for us in terms of delivering good air quality.
We’ve learned that many of these decisions can be made in the field in our case, I think that’s because we’re in a cost-plus fee arrangement? Or maybe it’s more about the project being a custom home and many material decisions are readily available.
OK, signing off to follow up with my window suppliers!
considerafield 