The start of our Owner-Builder journey

Since Mark and I met we have spent countless hours on house projects. Before we were even dating Mark came over to the house I had just purchased and spent hours helping me prep and paint it.

When my dad came to help one day he asked Mark “How’d you get roped into this?” Mark replied ” you know….???

Since then it’s been one project after another.

In Texas we purchased a brand new home and we still felt the need to tear down walls and add a bonus room. Every home we have lived in, we have remodeled it in some way.

We have both always dreamt of building our own home. We have specific things we wanted in a home, some of them features you won’t/can’t find with most home builders.

About 5 years ago I started putting down on paper (well excel) a rough idea of what we would want in a floor plan. Things that were important to us, or common sense things that seemed to be lacking from most builder floor plans. We also wanted to add our own ridiculous dreams into what a home could be.

We didn’t dream the opportunity to build would come so soon but we are grateful and so excited it has. We have always wanted to build while our kids are young. The idea of it being the house they grow up in and a place that holds so many of their memories is part of why the timing is such a dream come true for us.

Mark thrives on being physically active and working on projects. He helped build a few houses as a youth and has always loved the idea of building homes ever since, so we have decided to embark on the crazy journey of being an owner builder.

This blog is an ongoing story of our build:

• First and Foremost – Our journey
• Lessons learned
• How-to’s
• What-NOT-to-do’s!
• Building design and Engineering
• Home Efficiency
• Family life

We will be building our dream home on 6 acres of mountain side that has… wait for it…. a 20′ tall basketball gym in the basement.

Like I said, it’s going to be a crazy adventure. Oh and I guess I should mention we will have 5 kids 8 and younger 8 at the onset of this adventure … I think we’ve got a story worth recording!