The cottage...breaking ground

The fingers for the septic system in background.

Part of the leech bed.

Giant caterpillar!

With permits in hand and all of the sub-contractors chosen, ground was finally broken for Blossom Ridge Cottage when Rick Bauer began installing the septic system. The weather had to be just right, soil samples were taken to make certain that the ground was dry enough, and Rick began. He got as far as the above photos when the Huntington County Health Department had to come out and okay everything done. The tanks still needed to go in, but Rick, who is also doing the excavation for the basement and the backfill when the house is up, wanted to wait until Doctor Construction would be out to pour the basement so that the opening would not be left open for a long period of time, at the mercy of fall rains. Rick needed the earth from the excavation to use for mounding the septic.

Yesterday the basement was dug even though rain was called for today, as both Rick and Doctor Construction were not concerned about the amount of rain expected. We need to go out and take photos of the hole and check on the progress of the septic and the basement. Doctor Construction felt they needed 3 good days with no rain to pour the basement. They also need to, in conjunction with Rex Kline, leave openings for the plumbing and electric that Rex, as our plumbing and electrical contractor will run through the basement walls. Rex has already been in touch with REMC to have temporary electricity run to the site and has the box up. Bonnie already has an account set up with REMC. (The top exec of the local REMC is a neighbor whose son Kathy went to culinary school with. More on Friends and Neighbors in another blog.) The well man will also be out soon, but wanted to wait until most of the heavy equipment used in the excavation and pouring of the basement was done.

When the basement is done, Mike Tribolet and his crew will begin construction of the cottage, and Mike is hoping that will be as early as next week. We are at least one month later beginning construction than we hoped, so celebrating Thanksgiving in the cottage is not realistic; however, Christmas may be.

So let's talk about the cottage. It is very small...about 400 sf on the main level which will be a kitchen and bathroom with some living space. The cabinets will be custom made by John Battershell of Hicksville, Ohio (whose brother works for Bonnie at Cooper Tools in Hicksville) and will be made of hickory. Custom hickory cabinets were not one of the things we had to give up.

There will be an additional 400 sf of living space in the basement which will be a walk-out basement and will house Bonnie's winemaking supplies for now, as well as a washer and dryer and other mechanicals needed (water heater, etc.). We hope to have an on-demand water heater and will be running electric baseboard heat for now. We will also be keeping our gas stove, so will need to have LP gas run to operate it.

There will be a loft (bedroom) over the kitchen overlooking the living area part of the main floor. There will also be a 3-seasons room that will, hopefully, be a 4-seasons room before too long. There are also plans for an addition at a later date. The total sf including porch and loft is about 1200. You really need to get along with someone to share that small of a space.

We currently have 7 pets (see http://graytiger.blogspot.com/ for photos, names and ages), so it will be very cozy. We aren't certain where the dogs will be housed when we move in. It will depend on time of year whether they will be on the porch or in the basement. There will be lots of windows everywhere for fresh air and light.

We closed for the mortgage with Farm Credit Services on Monday. It could be very tight financially if we don't sell our camper or some acreage Bonnie has in Arkansas soon. The villa we currently live in may go on the market next spring. Right now the housing market is terrible. Bonnie is thinking of leasing. Kathy is against that unless it is a last resort.

We both hope to draw early Social Security at 62 and Kathy will be drawing about 9 months before Bonnie, who will also retire at the time she reaches 62. There are so many unknowns. Kathy feels certain Bonnie's pension has been hit hard by the fall of the Stock Market, and that may impact retirement plans and the ability to pay off the cottage when Bonnie turns 63. In addition, Kathy's SS payment will not be large. Kathy will be drawing on her ex-husband's work record, and we have no idea how much that will be because SS won't tell her until she is ready to begin receiving payments.

Once the villa is sold/leased (or maybe sooner), we will move into the cottage fulltime. That will mean a 35 minute drive for Kathy to work each day and about an hour for Bonnie. Bonnie feels that she can put up with the drive for a year or year and a half for the peace she feels she will experience living at the cottage.