Vacation Home......eventually

About 12 years ago we built what I called our dream home.  And it was at the time and it is still our home.  But we decided a few years ago to build a house in POC.  We had bought a little trailer, two bedroom-two bath for staying on weekends and during the summer.  We used is all summer for several years and sometimes we went down for Christmas too.  After a few years it was clear we were outgrowing it.

We discussed building something permanent.  D wanted ICF like our current home and that makes lots of sense because POC is on the coast and...you know....hurricanes!  I remember sitting down with my mom and sketching out plans on some graph paper.  It sounds crazy but we wanted to go tall.  Really tall.  Four stories with a flat roof deck.  Over the year our plans and dreams evolved.  Wraparound porches and suites instead of bunk rooms.  We went back and forth over whether the top floor should be bedrooms or living area.  And when we were pretty happy with it we met with an architect to have formal plans drawn up.

First floor: garage

Second floor: Two bedroom suites with full baths, theatre room, half bath

Third floor: Two bedroom suites with full baths, bonus room, half bath

Fourth floor: Living, dining, kitchen, laundry and half bath.

Both the third and fourth floor have porches that wrap two sides and the second floor has a porch on one side off the bedrooms.  

There was some tweaking and the architect designed some different suite styles and we chose to use both so that all the rooms were not identical.  There are roll-in showers and tubs on both floors depending on which room you are in.  And views from every room.  Four double doors with full glass on the top floor.  And a staircase will lead to the roof top deck if you want to see all of POC from five stories up. On the two bedroom floors you are looking out over a grove of trees so it feels like you are living in a tree house.  

We started building in September of 2020 with mapping out boundaries, getting permits and dirt work. I thought we would be done by May....July at the latest but at least we would spend next summer in POC!!!  It would be November before we were able to pour the foundation and January before the first wall pour.  It was starting to set in that there would be no way to finish by summer.  I was sad but hopeful that maybe by August we would be finished enough to stay in it a little before school started.

The final pour (of the roof) was done in July of 2020.  Almost a full year from breaking ground.  We had been told to order appliances early as they would take 6 months to come in.  They took about 2 months and have been sitting in storage ever since. (Nearly 2 years)  There was a leak in the roof and porches.  The roof was supposed to be sealed already so the company who did that had to come back and fix it.  It took about 6 months for that to happen.  We could do nothing on the inside until the roof was fixed.  April of 2022 the house was finally dried in.  Drywall crews could finally start.

Today the drywall is nearly completed and we are waiting on cabinets to be built.  I have started to finalize tile and flooring choices.

D and I are still married despite this journey.  But the other day I lost it on him. He told me the cabinet maker had called to see if they were done with drywall so our cabinets could be next on the list and and not bumped.  He said he told them he didn't know.  I was furious.  We knew if the drywall wasn't done, it was only days away from being done and if our cabinets got bumped it would be weeks before they could be installed.  And until they are installed we can't get countertops and tile work done.  I had a meltdown.  And as most fights are it was not about the one mistake it was about me reaching the very end of my patience with waiting.  Two years is a loooooong time especially when an escape to POC is my only sanity.  He had his hunting trips. I have salt air.  Except I haven't had that for years.  (He's still had his hunting trips.)  He gets to go down to POC multiple times a week to run the build.  I get to stay and do 350 miles a week in carpooling.  I don't want to trade places I JUST WANT THE HOUSE DONE THIS FUCKING SUMMER.

He called and told them we were done with sheetrock so they could start the cabinets.  Cool.

Next week we take a trip to Austin.  Before the pandemic I tried to do a little excursion trip for the kids every summer.  Houston/NASA.  San Antonio/Alamo.  Houston/Zoo and Museums.  This is our first trip since covid.  We are doing a little shopping, escape room, Airbnb for the first time, and maybe driving by Little d's future college.  

I am excited for this trip for sure but I still want the house finished in time for some real R&R in POC.  *this summer*