Meeting with a General Contractor

Yesterday late in the afternoon we made the next step toward our dream.  We met with a general contractor.  We were armed with a page full of questions and an almost completed set of drawings.  I spent half of the afternoon getting the house ready and attempting (unsuccessfully) to relax the nervous knot in my stomach.  I internalize stress and it wreaks havoc with my tummy.  When the G.C. came I was still a bundle of nerves, and just sat and listened to him and Phil speak.  Phil has quite an intense stare.  It really comes out in debates and questioning (I'm guessing his students are subjected to it frequently) and usually makes me uncomfortable.  I was impressed with how the G.C. fielded all of Phil's inquiries (with an equally unnerving stare).

We had lots of good conversation.  G.C. thinks our plans are pretty neat in an oddly workable way.  We learned that a leech field is better for our situation than a septic system given the flood plain issue. Different types of foundation were discussed.  G.C. helped us figure out who to contact for getting power and a culvert out there.  The stomach sinking portion of the conversation was when he said that plans always change during a build, it's inevitable.  Inside I thought 'please no, we've been working out the details for almost six months!' and 'we are going to have to be super careful with the changes we make so our house doesn't cost us a fortune'.  The cheer worthy parts happened when we found out that building in the country is a lot more lax than in the city, and when G.C. said we had done 90% of the work already.

Our next step is figuring out exactly what we want the G.C. to do.  He knows that we are DIYers and want to do as much of it that we can ourselves.  There are obvious portions that we cannot do such as the foundation, plumbing, and electrical.  We know we can do the finishing touches like trim work and painting, which will save us a few thousand dollars.  It is the gray areas of knowledge and experience in framing and drywalling that we will have to decide who is doing it.  I have a hunch that there will be many hours of deliberation coming up for Phil and I as we hash out the details.

As I sit here and type, my nerves are strung up tight. It's getting so real to me now.   We are rapidly leaving the dreaming zone for the working reality.  In one month we will be listing our house.  Getting a bid from the General Contractor.  Woah, yeah, it's getting real.  I think I better go and breathe for a bit.  As the days fly by and we dive even deeper into building our own little homestead I'm going to need to breathe more and more.  Best get to practicing!