Wishing you Peace and Blessings.

We are looking for a contractor for the following project located in Oakland, Oregon.

The lot size is 5.5 acres. The project description includes the following: power, a well and a septic system are in. There is a two story structure with 640 sf of living space upstairs and a garage, shop, electric water heater and laundry room on the first floor. Building length runs NE/SW. The South end of the building holds the entrance to the upstairs living area.

The tentative plan is to enclose the stair way entrance on the South side of the building and build / attach a single story 960 sf structure with the following amenities: Living room, 1/2 bath, kitchen, master bedroom, a walk-in closet and a full bath.

We want to orient the structure length to run E/W and use the gambrel roof style with a passive solar heating system in the attic to circulate in a closed radiant floor heating system with a tank, controls
and propane heater installed in the first floor of the existing structure where the electric water heater is now. We will then install a tankless hot water system and install a large water tank in the S/E corner (highest elevation) of the lot for domestic water use and watering the horses.

Finally, we want to use a bale in-fill wall structure for the additions.

Would you consider discussing this project with me?

Dennie

Don’t get me wrong, I truly believe that one can save money by acting as their own contractor; however, I believe they must know fully what they are getting into before the leap. By knowing what lies ahead, you will know what to expect and how to respond to situations in a way that keeps you on track and on budget. Consider that for the average house that I built over the last few years the owners paid $50,000 in profit and overhead. That sounds like a lot, but believe me, it is hard earned money. If you are willing to deal with all of the headaches and frustrations of being then general contractor and are willing to do the homework to give you the skills to manage the job, then that money can stay in your pocket. That is worth it, no?

There is not much I can say about having pride in yourself for having built your own home. That is something only you can really know about. The same is true for having the experience of building your own home. What you learn is yours alone. What I do know for myself, is that I am my hardest critic. When I work on my own projects, I am able to see the most minute mistakes or blemishes that the average person would never know exists. So prepare for that. If you are like me, you will need to cut yourself some slack. After all, you will be living in the home, so hopefully you don’t nit pick the house the rest of your life. If only I had used a thinner bead of caulk right there. If only that tile layout was a little different. I really should have used the other faucet in the master bathroom. These types of mind chatter can drive you crazy if you let them. So as James Taylor said “so don’t you let them.”

Nuts and bolts: getting started. If you plan to work on your own home and you plan on getting bank financing, the first obstacle will be you. Weird huh? Banks don’t like owner builders. For whatever reason, perhaps historical data or perhaps unbalanced fear, they believe that an owner builder is a flight risk and as such they make lending to such builders much harder and or more expensive. In today’s tight markets, the last thing you need is a harder and more expensive loan package. One way to deal with this is to work with a contractor as a consultant and have him or her listed on your loan application as the general contractor. They will use their license number and they will oversee the project as a consultant, not as the GC. They will charge for this, but much less than the average 15% currently charged by many builders for overhead and profit. having their name on the contract will save you cash out of pocket in terms of the loan down payment AND you will have trained eyes on the job site to help you when things get tricky. Be sure to have a very clear contract so that the job description is laid out and both parties agree to what will happen as the job progresses.

Now the plans. Any bank will require a set of construction plans, along with a budget and perhaps even material specifications. These need to be accurate as the bank will fund according to them. If the plans are only a rough sketch of what you intend to build, your project will likely go over budget by the end as much will change during construction. Therefore, make sure your plans are detailed and complete. Skimping here will cost you money in the end. having a good set will save you time and money and is well worth the cost. Hire a professional, yet not necessarily the most expensive one you can find!

The architect or designer can help you with the material specifications. The GC you hired as a consultant can help you create a budget for the job based on the plans and the material specifications. The critical path, the schedule of how the house will be built and when, is the next crucial piece of information you will need. Review my posts on this blog for more on how to build one of those. Again, the consultant GC can help with this as can your subcontractors.

From here, once you have the loan, you will have to go to the building department and get the permit. In fact, you may want to go there before you get the loan to see what the fees will be for the permits. In some cases, those fees can be upwards of $20,000 so forgetting to include them is a bad way to start the process. Working with the City or County office is important and building a solid relationship with them is even more important. Again, read through my blog for advise on how to achieve a healthy relationship with these departments.

That’s a primer. Of course, there is a lot more to know and a lot more to master before you should jump in. This is a starting point. I suggest you study any information you can get your hands on. Saving $50,000 is a great concept but not being prepared and losing $100,000 is a real drag.

Beautiful Straw-bale home in Shasta County California for sale. Such a home is rarely available. Passive Solar designed with super low electric bills. The home has roughly 5000 sq.ft of covered patio area. In addition to the home, there is a 20×30 detached shop/garage. The property is roughly 10 acres set up for horses or other animals. It is only a short drive into the city, even though the country feel is evident as the property is located outside of City limits in the Country. $324,945

Call Rick 530-248-5627 ECO Broker for more information.

We have created a website to track the progress of our team on our quest to the cup! There is a lot to do and much preparation to make before we go. Of course a big part has to do with raising money. Sorry to throw the plug in here, but we need a lot of help. We are a small town team with no corporate sponsorship in place. The parents pay the way for the whole team. The website has lots of information about the team and the kids. In fact, in the coming days we will be adding individual pages for each kid so that their fans can get information on their stats (goals, assists, save percentage, etc.). There is also a great little video about our team and what a long road it has been to this point.

Check out our website:
www.SouthernOregonsMiracle.com
Be sure to watch the video with the audio up!

My fund raising “strategy” is to find as many $100 donors as possible to help us get to Canada. We’ve set up a “$100 Club” donor list for anyone that donates $100 on the website. Donors’ names are placed in the club on our website, or donations can be made anonymously. If you can swing donating $100, we would LOVE to have you donate that amount. And, of course, any amount helps, so if that’s too much, anything you can donate is truly appreciated. We’ve set up a donate now button on our site which makes it as easy as possible for people to sponsor these amazing kids. The only other detail is that we need to raise money fast being that the tournament starts on January 7th, so if you plan on donating, please do it soon as we have a lot of up front costs that need to be taken care of. All donations are tax deductible if that matters to you.

Again, getting to this tournament is a dream come true for the 14 kids on our team. Please help us make that dream come true for them.

The Sweet Taste of Victory!

If you know of an avenue for Ben to secure grants for such a project or if you would like to donate to or participate in this project, please respond to this post. I hope to hear from many of you soon.

So what to do? It is likely time to revert to the old ways of getting a loan for a straw bale house: Using the term “cellulose insulation.” Instead of telling banks you are building a straw bale house, tell them you are building a post and beam home with cellulose insulation. This takes away the red flag of “Straw? Are you serious?.” Unfortunately, finding a bank willing to loan on bale homes is simply going to be harder in this environment. Harder that is until banks start to see the wisdom in the construction.

One thing we are seeing around the world is rising energy costs. It is true that the cost of a barrel of oil is at a long term low right now, but overall energy costs are still climbing and will continue to do so as we move forward. A bale home is a strong answer to this situation due to the high insulation value and the use of natural, renewable materials. Banks will, hopefully, eventually start to see the wisdom in supporting such construction methods. Some banks will lead the way and others will follow. Finding those leaders may be the task of OUR time.

If you have a bank that you know of that has loaned on bale homes, please post the contact information here. I want to support these banks and drive business their way. Let’s help grow this industry together.

1. Bank of Oregon - Contact: Jeff Case - (541) 842-5602 - Email: Jeff.Case@BankofOregon.net
2. ****Your Bank Here!****

Another road block to financing a straw bale house can be finding comparable sales. There are ways to manage this hurdle as well that are simple and clear. For a full list of hurdles and how to overcome them, please review my blog post entitled “Financing and Straw Bale Construction” by searching at the top of www.StrawBale.com.

Have a safe and fun Halloween. Of course, I hope that at least one of you plans to go as the Straw Man!

Here’s what the blogger had to say.

Andrew , I just happened to run across this post and comment section as I was searching through various alternative construction sites . I am not an expert in any shape or form on any of these methods but I noticed the questions from the people in Southeast Asia about bale construction there .

One of the sites on materials I was looking at on my earlier searches for information made the claim that rice straw takes twice as long to decompose as wheat straw because of the higher silica content .

Whether this is true or not I cannot say . I simply wanted to pass the information along so others working in these areas might be alerted to check further on whether or not this is indeed true . If it is it might positively effect the viability of straw bale construction in more humid areas that have access to inexpensive rice straw .

The key is communication. Not just during the job, but before you even start. Contact your neighbors or the neighbors of a home you are working on as a contractor and let them know what to expect. Tell them about your daily work schedule. Let them know about how long you anticipate being on site. Let them know ahead of time what potential impacts may be for them. A great example of this is to let neighbors know before any demolition begins on a renovation. In the past, I have made a point of informing neighbors ahead of time that there will be a lot of big trucks all day and that debris, dust, and noise will be high on that day. By giving them a week’s notice, some neighbors actually opted to take a short vacation so they would not be around for the mess. When they got back, the site was clean and the demolition had no negative impact on their lives.

Another to keep in mind, if you are a contractor, is that a little preemptive communication can please a neighbor so much that you may find yourself working for them in the near future. Because most contractors don’t bother to even introduce themselves to neighbors, let alone warm them about the impending process, the neighbors are liekly to be impressed with your up front and caring approach. Nothing like starting with a small renovation only to secure two more jobs on the same street!

Don’t underestimate the importance of having a good relationship with your neighbors or the neighbors of a client. This is especially true if you are an owner builder. After all, you will have to live next door to them long after the rest of the subcontractors have moved on to another job. Create a good relationship and your job (and post job life) will be much easier and more fun.