Friday, November 22, 2019

new house!


Back in 2014 when we and our daughter and son-in-law sold our adjacent properties in the city, they bought 5 heavily wooded acres on the other side of Wharton from us with the intent to build a cabin in the woods. It would take a year or two but like all plans, life intervened with kids still in school and full time jobs and running out of money. First they cleared some of the land, then they got the well dug, set the piers and beams, got the sub-floor in and even framed a wall or two which took about four years coming out on available weekends when the ground was dry enough. We've had some very wet winters and summers are too brutal. Anyway, they decided to buy a manufactured home around the first of this year and get it on the property with plans to be moved out here by the end of October as they are both ready to be out of the city and all the kids are now out of public school so they got the initial survey to tell them how high the pad had to be (since the Harvey flood, all new homes have to be well above the 100 year flood plain), ordered their house, and built up the pad for the house. Again, plans get altered when you have to wait for services. The septic system still needs to be installed and they have to clear an area for that and they can't get their electricity brought in until January but the house was finished and set to be delivered. It arrived last Wednesday.

I joined them on their property to watch the show. Two men showed up early Wednesday morning with two (small to my way of thinking) remote controlled machines...one was a push/pull and the other was a lift. The house is 14'x 76' and the driver pulling the house got stuck on the last turn before arriving at their driveway, the first 'oh shit' moment, so these two men with their two machines left and before too long, the house arrived in front of the driveway.


Next they disconnected the cab pulling the house on wheels and the driver left leaving the two men and their two machines to back the house into the driveway from the narrow street with deep ditches on either side, the second 'oh shit moment' when it wouldn't make the turn because of two trees.

the corner of the house is inches from that tree and won't clear it...yet

Once they had it on the property, they had to turn it again and get it up the slope and onto the pad.


They didn't get it perfectly centered and while the pad was hard in the middle, it was really soft on one side and halfway up, the wheels on that side sank so deep the house would not move further forward or backward, the third 'oh shit' moment.

But these guys were good. They would push or pull, lift or lower, filled in the ruts and got plywood under the wheels and got the house all the way onto the pad.

success!

My daughter in her new house.


The guy who will set it on blocks and level it is supposed to come out sometime today (Friday).

They still plan to build their cabin once out here and not paying the exorbitant rent they pay for the crappy house in the city they have been living in for the past 5 years and once done, the manufactured home will become guest quarters for visiting children and their friends or perhaps for their oldest and youngest who are still living at home (the twins are away at college) if they still live out there by the time the cabin is finished.

So that was the big excitement for this week. I'm still plugging away trying to get ornaments made and getting the feathers mounted and still have a small bit of grinding on the inlay for the heron box and then I'll be ready to start gluing it all together.




14 comments:

  1. I'm glad someone knew what they were doing! I bet it will be nice having them closer. It looks like a really lovely spot.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yea! Hopefully no more 'Oh Shit'! moments.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It's going to be good to have them so close!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Excellent! That's a big hurdle overcome that will hopefully help them reach their ultimate goal sooner.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love watching people do things they are experts at. It's so cool.
    Glad your kids are finally getting to live where they want to. Life just does get in the way of original plans, doesn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Tell your DIL it's a very nice house, I know. Mine is 16x56. We have the same linoleum, and completely identical kitchens. They will like it, I'm sure. Now and in the future. Watching the moving of them is like watching a dance.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow! It's pretty impressive that those guys were able to squeak that house in there and maneuver it onto the pad. I'm glad your daughter preserved so many trees. I fear a lot of people would have cut them down to clear the way.

    ReplyDelete
  8. So exciting to just cut to the finish line after all that waiting. BANG! A house where there wasn't one the day before. And, as you say, they can still go forward with their cabin. Very clever

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, despite those uneasy moments, it all came out well. That had to be so interesting to watch.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow, this looks amazing - and so simple, despite all the minor problems. It would never be possible here with all the red tape and countless regulations.
    All the best to your daughter and family in their new home!

    ReplyDelete
  11. It looks like a great place to settle with all the trees. Those guys look like they know their stuff. It's going to be great when everything gets finished. I can't wait until their cabin is finished.

    ReplyDelete
  12. It looks like a lovely place to live! That is a good size. Like them I would prefer a little cabin.

    ReplyDelete
  13. People that can site homes like that just amaze me. That's nice that the kept the trees.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Exciting new phase for your daughter and family!

    ReplyDelete

I opened my big mouth, now it's your turn.