Constructing a New House with Vintage Charm – Our DIY House
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After 6 years of living in our tiny Garage House (if you missed it a couple of weeks ago, here’s the grand tour), we decided to begin construction on a new, larger home on our acreage – “Our DIY House”. We broke ground during the first week in August of 2012, and now we are finally at the drywall stage. Hooray!
It’s been a process, let me tell you.
We have done almost everything ourselves (except for some framing and the drywall). By “ourselves”, I mostly mean my wonderfully talented hubby, Sean. My dearest husband is the general contractor, he dug the hole with a bobcat, he stacked the ICF, he smoothed the cement, he did the electrical, plumbing and heating, he installed the windows… etc, etc.
(Here’s the hole that started it all):
I am very blessed to have such an able-bodied hubs who is an electrician by trade and owns a spray foam company.
Without going into too many of the terribly boring details of the actual construction of our home, here are some of the more interesting notes on the construction phase:
I have always loved “foursquare” style heritage houses, and we were able to design our home to look like a little heritage foursquare house (like the ones we see all over our Albertan prairie landscape). The fact that this house had a simple footprint also made my husband happy. I’ve always wanted a heritage foursquare and he’s always wanted to build – this was our “meet in the middle” solution.
Here’s what foursquares look like. Yes, they are just what you pictured: a pretty little square house.
- We purchased and had modified this house plan from Cool House Plans – they were fantastic to work with, and they were able to make the few changes we wanted done in a snap for a reasonable price.
- The foundation was built with ICF for its ease to work with, it’s great insulation qualities, and for its cost efficiency.
- We spray foam insulated our entire home to help with energy efficiency – we don’t want to be stuck with massive heating bills once we’re in!
- We’re in the midst of installing an in-floor heating system with a boiler and also splurged on a large, real wood fireplace. We hope both will also help with the ol’ heating bills.
- Hubby is “over-wiring” the home because he has the skill and wire isn’t that expensive. Later, when we have the funds, we can add in some little extras that might be nice (like a whole home sound system and more TV’s).
Now that we are having the drywall put in, we are having to modify some of our finishing choices so that we can stay on our (very tight) budget. Everything I’ve heard about house building is absolutely true: it WILL cost you more than you think and take you longer than planned!
What I am the most excited about is getting my hands dirty in the finishing stage of our home. With the help of my family, we’re going to continue our crazy DIY house building journey and install all of the finishes ourselves! The finishes will be budget-friendly, but we want them to have the heritage charm that this house conveys.
I’ll share with you some of our plans and how-to’s along the way, and I truly hope (by the grace of God and with some very hard work) that we’ll be in this place very soon.
Meanwhile, here’s a mini-tour of the new place. We absolutely love the floor plan and we think it will work quite well with our busy family & home business lifestyle.
If you’re interested in the progress of the house in real time, I’m always excitedly posting things on Instagram as soon as each phase is complete: http://instagram.com/thediymommy
Fellow house builder survivors: please comment below and say hello! Did you go crazy at the drywall stage (like I feel I’m going right this very minute)?
This post is part of my “Our DIY House” series where I’ll share with you my most exciting DIY ever – building a country house from the foundation up with my talented hubby! We’re crazy, we’re creative, we’re on a limited budget and we’re planning on having it finished in the Spring of 2013.
I love the look of foursquare houses from the outside and your inside floor plan looks very practical. What a huge awesome project!
Such a process! It’s going to be beautiful. Your coffee bar intrigues me…looking forward to seeing more!!
Thanks so much to you both! I am in love with it already. The coffee bar was my little luxury addition… I need my coffee! 🙂
Christina,
This is an amazing undertaking!
We’ve been restoring our craftsman house for the 11 years we’ve lived in it. I think it’s a good idea to just live somewhere else and get it OVER WITH if you can. Smart lady!
Great Blog. And my favorite part may very well be the polka dot background. <3
#UBP13
-Nonnahs
Thank you! I LOVE polka dots. 🙂
I just came across this blog and we share this same dream of building our own country home! My husband is also an electrician and jack-of-all-trades so he will be the general contractor. We are hoping to start building this summer or next spring. Have you guys found that getting a late start in the season (August) cost more in the long run because of building in the snow?
Hi, Kristi! I think we probably could have saved some money if we were able to start in the spring. We payed extra money to keep our driveway snow free for the trucks, more money to keep the house heated, and concrete can be more expensive. We definitely didn’t start as early enough in the year as we wanted to. Good luck in your build! It’s an emotional roller coaster, but very exciting too.
Impressive. Your husband should diversify the business to home construction.
I would love to chat – my fiance and I just bought a small house – even smaller than your original one! 726sq ft. And we are thinking of jacking up the house and building a new ground floor with the “square” inspired house look. My fiance is also an electrician and amazing at DIY projects. We would love to do most of it DIY but it is rather overwhelming to get started.
Was he alone when he did the foundation? That seems like a huge undertaking for one person.
Hi, Sophie! He did a lot of the work on his own, but we did have friends and family to help us with a lot of the “grunt” work! It is overwhelming and a lot of work to DIY a house, but I think it’s completely worth it. You save SO much money, and it’s a really great feeling when you look back and see what you’ve accomplished! Good luck with your project!
Wow! This is a massive building project. Kudos to yourself and your husband. I am curios about the coffee bar?
I’m sure it takes a lot of patience and hard work to be a building construction worker. They do so much to make sure that our buildings are safe to use, and for that I’m grateful. I’m excited to learn more about them and all that they do.
waaao great job bro.. lot of patience and hard work needed to be a building construction worker…..good luck….
Building your home requires the right people, contractor. They should be very good at what they do.
Yes always you’ve got to hire someone you can trust to do good work and act with integrity. Find someone with an excellent reputation and strong track record in the community.
My wife and I are wanting to build our first house soon, but we aren’t sure on what kind of style we want to do. That being said, I really appreciate you sharing with me some vintage layouts that I can try out. I think having a vintage looking home would look really good. I’ll make sure I show this to my wife right away and see if she likes this. Thanks a ton Christina for the help.
Really cool shed. Clean and organize. I need to do that to my steel shed.
Home improvement, by definition, is making changes to one’s home by making improvements on the house’s looks. Home improvement is usually done by professional contractors, handymen, and even the house owner himself.
If you’re looking to improve the look of your home without the painting, vinyl siding is a popular, affordable choice. Many homeowners and builders choose it because it’s long lasting, durable, inexpensive and relatively easy to install and maintain. Vinyl comes in a variety of grains, thickness and colors making it also a practical choice for many homeowners.
Selecting the appropriate construction and building materials for a project entails more than just placing an order at a building supplies firm. There are several other factors that you need to consider to come up with the best choices and in compliance with building regulations.
Hey, great share….
This is an amazing DIY project. It looks great. I must say it really needs a great effort and determination for this sort of DIY undertaking.
Thanks for sharing this post.
Cheers!!
Foursquares are such a neat concept. Your floor plan looks so practical. It’s great you’re sharing your progress along the way!
Thank you Kaitlyn! We do really love the floor plan 🙂
Landscaping can increase a property’s value by making it more attractive. A well-manicured property with appealing landscaping is often a selling point for a home.
That is pretty nice. The only problem there is it’s not hurricane proof not like the houses made out of cements of wall.
Thanks! No hurricans here so plans would need to be adjusted to location ?
Insulation assists greatly in keeping heat within a building in winter and slowing the flow of heat into the building in summer. An insulated building will therefore be warmer in winter and cooler in summer, creating a more comfortable environment all year round.
Insulation assists greatly in keeping heat within a building in winter and slowing the flow of heat into the building in summer. An insulated building will therefore be warmer in winter and cooler in summer, creating a more comfortable environment all year round.
Home insulation will reduce your energy bills and the costs of cooling and heating your home.
Adding home insulation to an existing home will also increase sound control. Insulation creates a sound barrier, keeping unwanted sounds out and protecting your privacy by keeping the sounds from inside your home from being audible outside. Insulating your home also creates a moisture barrier, keeping unwanted moisture out of your house.
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Hello! Built-in storage always looks sophisticated, saves space and can further add to the function of your new room. Always try to plan for the maximum amount of storage possible: from drawers carved out under the stairs, to built-in shelving and closets — one can simply never have enough.
We completely agree!
Hello, Such is the great process! It’s going to be wonderful. Your coffee bar intrigues me…looking forward to seeing more!!
Hi,
Nice post, I was planning to design my house and searching for some important tips to be considered, I have gone through your post and it finds me very useful I will keep these points in my mind.
keep sharing more post.
Thanks a lot
How wonderful
Love seeing the process documented here! Construction can be tough and making sure have the right people in place from electrical to dumpster rentals is key to fewer headaches.
We couldn’t agree more
A custom built home must be done in perfection. It should pass any requirements and the contractors should be excellent.
Hey, it’s a wonderful share. All the construction and floor planning of DIY home. It was just seriously amazing. I will definitely take this blog as a reference for constructing my future home.
Hey, it’s a wonderful share. All the construction and floor planning of DIY home. I will definitely take this blog as a reference for constructing my future home.
Thank you and thanks for stopping by
If ordering an attached or hanging stair, like a fire escape, you should provide information on how it will be mounted to the wall and how much weight the structure can support.
Such is the Impressive process! Just wonderful!
And the coffee bar…. oh 🙂
THANKYOU FOR SHARING SUCH AN GOOD QUALITY INFORMATION
thankyou for sharing this blog
We have done almost everything ourselves (except for some framing and the drywall). By “ourselves”, I mostly mean my wonderfully talented hubby, Sean. My dearest husband is the general contractor, he dug the hole with a bobcat, he stacked the ICF, he smoothed the cement, he did the electrical, plumbing and heating, he installed the windows… etc, etc.
Hi, We have done almost everything ourselves (except for some framing and the drywall). By “ourselves”, I mostly mean my wonderfully talented hubby, Sean. My dearest husband is the general contractor, he dug the hole with a bobcat, he stacked the ICF, he smoothed the cement, he did the electrical, plumbing and heating, he installed the windows… etc, etc.