Smart or Foolish?

[misspriss]

Our plan is to build the VC. The land is adjacent to my husband's parents house, they are very involved in ours and our kids lives and will be helping extensively to build the house.

We will not have much money to build the house until we sell our house. The plan is to get it started with our tax refund this year (we acquired a second dependent this year, it should be pretty flush) and then build like mad over the spring and summer to get in as quickly as possible. In the mean time, we will have to live with my in-laws, who are willing but they have a pretty small house and it would be 4 additional people dumped in there, two of which require constant supervision, so we want to minimize that time.

Our plan was just to build as fast as we could to get it "livable", to at least sleep and dress and use the bathroom there, even if the full kitchen and laundry has to be shared. However, we're afraid this will create a lot of stress and will still take a long time.

We came up with the idea to buy the little house plans and first build a medium sized little house, with a bath and kitchenette and sleeping loft, etc. It would not have to be perfect and doesn't have to be suitable for full year. The weather is pretty decent, just hot, and a window AC could keep a house that size chilled even with mediocre insulation.  The plan was the throw togehter a little house really quick, to keep some pressure off of the in-laws house, but still share some things like a full oven, laundry and bathtub (just a shower and toaster oven and hot plate in mini house, etc). THEN start building at a reasonable pace on the VC, hoping to still be in it soon.

We would then use the little house as my husband's workshop, he would LOVE to have that kind of space, so it would definitely not be wasted. However, in the long run it will cost money and will eat into our time (and budget) to build the VC.

Is it a smart idea or foolish, or neither?

The pros of building the little house first are that it will give us our own space (somewhat), it will keep us from crowding out the in-laws (who are extremely generous in giving us the land and helping us build), it will provide a nice workspace for DH after we move into the real house, and even a rugged guest house for the able bodied (sleeping loft and all). (when I say workspace for DH, he works on computers and computer components, as well as regular household "shop" things, probably need to keep them separate for sawdust and whatnot, but plenty of space, he also records videos and needs a good quite controlled space). Also, it will give us some practical experience building before we do the real house, kind of a warm up.

The cons are that it will take time and money to build, taking away from building the real house. Well that's really all the cons I guess. We could always build the real house and then build him a little house of his choosing after for his studio, but it might end up being a while. Also it kind of seals the size of his studio as being more "house" size, we would probably build the smallest one for his studio and forgo the bathroom/kitchenette, although we could just strip out the kitchen and put a door on it to keep some of his equipment clean or something....ahh well.

I'm just rambling now. Hope I was clear enough on what we plan to do. I am personally leaning towards building the little house first, the pros seem to far outweigh the cons and it's only my impatience to get the big house done that is making me doubt it. But I was hoping someone who had been there/done that might have some input.

For the record, there are 4 of us, 2 adults, a 3 year old (almost) and a 8 month old. We all cosleep in a king size bed, so no worries about fitting a crib and where the baby would sleep. We just need to make sure we have a good rail on the sleeping loft, or sleep in a fold out downstairs.

[Don_P]

There are more unused campers sitting around this country than you can shake a stick at. I'll bet there is one borrowable or dirt cheap nearby. We picked up a nice used one to move our current clients into while we have their house gutted for $1500, one of my co workers had used it while building their house and it was just sitting there waiting for its' next phase of life. We got it moved and liveable in a weekend.

[rick91351]

Have you budgeted out what it is going to cost to build the VC or even the small house? I mean really put pencil to paper. I mean costing everything out from excavation to when it is complete.  Floors to window treatments. Kitchen cabinets to the bathroom fixtures.  To the sidewalks and parking pad.....  sheetrock and plumbing.....  We found building two was not affordable at all!

We did like Don_P answered.  We bought a used fifthwheel to live in for two years steady.  The last year was when we built our home.  We still own it and are thinking of doing a few honey do's to it and setting out on a trip or two now that the house is pretty well completed.  Got a little wood work to catch up on come spring..... and build an entertainment center.....  and  _______.

[MountainDon]

Ditto.  You should be able to find a used trailer that is good enough to live in temporarily while you build the home.  Then sell it for about the same as you paid.  We have friends who got a steal of a deal on the used one they bought and actually made a profit when they sold it. Not saying everyone can do that.

[Dave Sparks]

I think the 4 of you in a trailer for one winter will be a problem.  Build it right the first time. Find a way to do it in 2 years max.

[misspriss]

Thanks for the replies! I have looked into the trailer option, and as far as just sleeping there it is doable I suppose in the price range. But most anything other than just a sleeping trailer was either out of our price range or just really nasty. For me and my husband, we could make do, but I have a crawling baby and so nasty just won't suffice.

I have priced out (mostly, still working on the details) the small house. Haven't yet for the VC yet.

The other issue with trailer or RV is that there isn't much living space for two small children, where even one of the little houses has a decent sized living area that they could play in. They spend a lot of time on the floor playing. During the summer they can't spend all their time outdoors because of the heat here, although they can spend a lot of it.

My hope was to find someone who owns a nic(er) RV (not just a trailer, with living space) who uses it for vacation two weeks of the year and it sits in their driveway the other 50 weeks of the year...see if we could rent that instead of buying, since it would get us a bigger, nicer one, without the full cost. Maybe I should just drive around and knock on doors of people with RVs in the driveway.....or place an ad on craigslist? In the paper? Not sure.

The con of that plan is that we don't end up having a workshop after, or gain the "practical experience" (we are both familiar with building, but not experienced).

[misspriss]

I think the 4 of you in a trailer for one winter will be a problem.  Build it right the first time. Find a way to do it in 2 years max.

Why would it be a problem, in a trailer or a little house? I did mention Arkansas in my first post, didn't I? Oh maybe I forgot. We have fairly mild winters here. I dread the summer heat in a trailer or a small house much worse than the winter cold.

We are really hoping to be able to build the big house in 1 year, is that unreasonable?

Worst case scenario we end up crammed into a small house with the in-laws, not freezing the little ones to death!

[Grizzerbear]

Your story sounds familiar. After selling our house, my wife and I bought a 28' travel trailer and moved up to our remote mountain land in NE TN. We lived in it for 18 months while I built a small timber frame house. We moved in, hoping to build a larger house and turn that into a shop.
Then a military related back injury flared up and our progress came to a halt. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing . . . we fell in love with our little timber frame and are now thinking about building a small shop instead of a larger home. Learning what you can live without is a beautiful thing :-) 
Best of luck to you!   

[rick91351]

Why would it be a problem, in a trailer or a little house? I did mention Arkansas in my first post, didn't I? Oh maybe I forgot. We have fairly mild winters here. I dread the summer heat in a trailer or a small house much worse than the winter cold.

We are really hoping to be able to build the big house in 1 year, is that unreasonable?

Worst case scenario we end up crammed into a small house with the in-laws, not freezing the little ones to death!

Whether you can do it or not in a year that is up to how much time and effort you are putting into it. Our a single level 2200 sq ft if I would have done the plumbing, electrical, sheet rock, siding, and insulation  - with me myself and I and my wife, at least, a year and a half if not a lot more because we would have been stopped and waiting for spring. There is no way I would have touched the HVAC with the required Manual J and required engineering by the State of Idaho. All for a system that gets some use in the summer heat but never in the winter. Well, maybe a few days a month when we are not here to toss a log in the wood stove.  Nor did I have the tools and equipment to set the air flow to the engineering.  Which had to be done before the State would pass it.  No joke it had to be set by a certified tech that was not part of the HVAC Sub.....  I have had people call BS but I know the inspector up here very well.  It is not his turf but he told me yep that is how it is done....  Paperwork even has to be submitted to the State of Idaho....

I hired a young laborer who was experienced framer and our pastor at the time to help get me to dried in. How much time did we (Wife and I) put in?  Daylight to dark six days a week pretty much a little over a year.  I am retired and in pretty good shape.....  Was around the trades enough to know what I wanted to tackle and how best to let others make mistakes. Another way to put it is I can and have wired a house.  But an electrician will do it so much quicker.  We were going into the winter and had to have electricity.  Same with the plumbing I did not want to have to learn plumbing 101 (I am not a plumber - never claimed to know anything about it) Yet what we did came out stellar.....   Our flooring and tile jobs - went great...  But was not our first 'rodeo'.   We went overboard on the woodwork.  All the trim work wood was off the ranch - sawed over at my buddy's saw mill.  I stickered it and planned it - it was a long long process...   

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=12965.0

     

[misspriss]

Your story sounds familiar. After selling our house, my wife and I bought a 28' travel trailer and moved up to our remote mountain land in NE TN. We lived in it for 18 months while I built a small timber frame house. We moved in, hoping to build a larger house and turn that into a shop.
Then a military related back injury flared up and our progress came to a halt. That wasn't necessarily a bad thing . . . we fell in love with our little timber frame and are now thinking about building a small shop instead of a larger home. Learning what you can live without is a beautiful thing :-) 
Best of luck to you!

We almost compromised on the whole thing and went with the builder's cottage, but I was afraid it was just a wee bit too small. I've always wanted to live in a real tiny house, but with two kids...well we'll have to wait for REAL tiny. I can't wait to see what we can live without, I really can't.

[Don_P]

 Grizzerbear's outcome is very common, the "big house" never gets built.
Modify the plan a bit? Build that single level left hand bedroom wing longer and wider, and first. Then the main 2 story section. Later, part of the wing could be converted to the clean shop.

edit;
Doodling with Medeek's Sketchup plugin

[misspriss]

Grizzerbear's outcome is very common, the "big house" never gets built.
Modify the plan a bit? Build that single level left hand bedroom wing longer and wider, and first. Then the main 2 story section. Later, part of the wing could be converted to the clean shop.

edit;
Doodling with Medeek's Sketchup plugin

I've seen that a lot actually, but I don't see it as much with families just starting out, it's usually people who's kids are older or have already moved on..

We seriously considered the Builder's cottage for a while, I loved it, it spoke to my "tiny house" desires, but my realistic side needs at least a full size washing machine and a dining table that seats 4-6, also I need at least a cottage stair to the loft not a ladder (child learning to walk) and all those things just made it feel crowded. I also found I would need to buy compact appliances just to be able to fit some counter space in the kitchen. Turns out SMALL appliances can cost WAY MORE than regular size appliances. There are things that I just need too, like full size full power burners on the stove for large pots of macaroni and cheese and the ability to put a gallon sized milk jug in the fridge door. 

That led me to the VC studio - it is a natural step up for someone who likes the Builder's cottage but needs a wee bit more space. TBH, it will probably just be the big half of the VC for now, and the addition will come later.  I do appreciate the kitchen size and built in dining area, a space is allowed for W/D and  there is room for a code stair (albeit a spiral) without having to add a dormer.

Me personally, I'd love to be able to make it in the builder's cottage, but I searched and searched and didn't find a single example on here where there were the things I needed (although I could have missed it), so we settled on the VC....unless someone can convince me we could make it work in the BC. Also, everything I read on the "if you would have done something differently", everyone said "2 more feet" or "4 more feet"...

Ah well, we're eyeball deep in getting the house we are living in ready for sale, first things first you know. We're currently painting and finishing the flooring update we've been working on for years...the amount of time it's taking just to do this makes me worry about how long it will take to build the house, you know?

[misspriss]

HAHa the sketchup wasn't there when I replied.

Anyway, it is a good idea I guess but what about the bathroom? Kitchen? I wouldn't want to have to move the plumbing around and do it more than once, which just brings us to working like mad to get the main part of the house up as quickly as possible.

We were thinking of doing the medium sized house with the 3 piece bath and a kitchenette so we could go all day without needing to go to my in-laws house if we needed space, but still having to go there for laundry and to use the full kitchen or give the smallest a bath.

My husband gets irritated because he feels like I keep changing my mind. I told him not long ago that we should build what we can afford and we should just do the Builder's cottage and live smaller. He then said that he wants this to be our forever home and he wants me to be happiest and asked what would make me happiest, and I said the VC because it really seems to be perfect but not TOO big, I'm just afraid it will take us so long to build that it will be a disaster with us all crammed into the in-laws house and way out staying our welcome.

We could always go with plan X, but that involves renting an inexpensive apartment our duplex while we build, but that would significantly cut down on our available capital to build with, and then there would be commuting to the job site (which is a bit out of the way) and the kids getting to see daddy a lot less.

[rorybagleys]

Yurts work pretty well for temporary housing too. It would probably give you more floor space than a travel trailer. You may be able to find a used one.