My First Ground Up Project

[Travis Estes]

I had a piece of land in Flagstaff that I bought from a neighbor adjacent my vacation home out in Mountainair.  I bought it as it really increased the size of my lot and gave me 2/3rds of the cul-de-sac.  I decided to split off a 6,500SF section and build a spec house on it.  I didn't know the hurdles I'd need to jump through to get it done!!!

First off, during the survey to do the lot split we discovered that we had a property line dispute with the national forest service!  There was a lot of behind the scenes workings but in the end it took a signature from Obama on a bill in which the sale of the disputed land was earmarked.  So this one took authorization all the way from the top.

Additionally, soil testing came back bad and I had to do a pretty expense alternative septic system.  Not only that, but I was limited to 450gal/day so I had to lose the shower in my downstairs bathroom making my house a 3bed / 2.5bath house.  Other hurdles I faced was getting several variances.  Due to the size of the septic I needed two set back variances as well as a variance to have my driveway come off the street instead of the cup-de-sac.  

In the end I built a house that I designed and it came out wonderful.  It was a "contemporary cottage" concept house.  A 12/12 roof with a 4/12 shed dormer across the front, three tone exterior paint (two shades of grey and white trim), a wonderful passive solar design that helped land me a sustainable design award with the county, and so much more.  We put granite on all counters, porcelain tiles downstairs, walnut flooring upstairs, and we included 3 beautiful handmade black walnut barn-doors as well.  I'll probably post pics on my profile soon to show it as it is really a beautiful house.  

It sold to the first viewer for $100 over asking price.  She's now our neighbor when we head of to Flagstaff to escape the heat.  In all, from design to sale, this project took me about 4 years to get off the ground.  But after going through so many hurdles I feel like I can tackle any project now.

Anyway, that's the story of my first major project!