Hurry up and wait!

So weeks of rain, then freeze, then ice has delayed us a few weeks. The lot is clear, soil samples taken and a bid is out for the foundation. Debating slab with beam or pier and beam. Cost is the factor. On a good note, we have a pool and spa design for the courtyard. Pics are below! We'll be adjusting the spa placement to align with the end of the master courtyard instead closer to the master bedroom sliders.

Looks like a party courtyard yes?

Dirt work

Now we start the waiting game.  Soil samples were taken to see if we need piers with our slab foundation.  For our purposes, all this means is it is going to cost more or not-- we are hoping not. 

Below you can see some pics of where the soil samples were taken and the cleared lot.  Also, there's a pic of Alex talking to the tree (he's not peeing-- I promise).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The lot.

More clearing today... you can start to see the lot with the tree.  It feels bigger than I thought, and we are excited to imagine a house on it now.  The pic is from the back of the lot.

And the walls came tumbling down...

The cottage on Rexford was demolished in about 15 minutes by a backhoe.  On the one hand, the efficiency of it is impressive and on the other, it shows how flimsy or finite something believed to be permanent (i.e. a house) can be.  Typhoon in the Philippines and a backhoe on Rexford.  There's some philosophical thing happening there.

Domus Rex goes Anime!

Here it is folks-- the first video animation of Domus Rex.  Final plans to be uploaded and shared next week.  The video does not include the pool/spa which will be in the courtyard that the whole house and upstairs balcony opens to for viewing pleasure!  

For those that are wondering, it is a four bedroom, four and half bathroom home (we were pretty insistent on one bedroom = one bathroom, no sharing!) with a great room open to the kitchen and dining room.  It has a separate parlor area for media and entertaining that is more "intimate".  A guest suite downstairs opposite side of the house as the master suite. There are two bedrooms and bathrooms, a living area and balcony upstairs.  

Welcome to Domus Rex!

The ugly side of building a new home...

So, we are not what I would call "environmentalists," but recycling when it is convenient and appreciated nature is certainly part of our DNA.  Sadly, to make room for Domus Rex, we had to take down a 50 year old red oak from the backyard.  Fortunately, there are two, and one will remain.  Some pictures of the work are below...

By the way-- add tree trimmer to the list of jobs I never want to have!  Picture a guy tied around a tree 40' in the air swinging a chain saw at the very tree he is tied to for support.  That whole chop it down and call timber idea is not how it works.

Finally, we toured one of Tom Greico's homes in Lake Highlands owned by Pam and Casey S.  It was a great home, and we garnered a lot of ideas of things to do and questions to ask.  Lots of calls to vendors and service providers to learn about all of our options.  The next post will include floor plans-- are you getting excited yet?

 

Real Estate in the Big D

Since the end of 2012, we have been house hunting in Dallas to plant some roots and take advantage of historically low interest rates.  After a few failed offers, lack of quality well priced modern homes and some very particular desires, we have decided to engage the services of Tom Greico of Greico Homes to design and build our house (http://greicomodernhomes.com).  

While searching for land or tear downs in certain neighborhoods at the right price has been challenging, we closed on a property on Rexford Drive in the West Bluffview/Shorecrest neighborhood of Dallas (or East Love Field as I call it).

We are on version six of plans with minor tweaks, and we are excited to share this journey with our friends and family.  Tons of decisions to make and lots to learn.  Here we go...