Construction Permits and Pre-Construction Meeting
Our construction permits were submitted a week ago today and the city has asked for a couple revisions, which were quickly taken care of by our pre-construction administrator. Also, we had our pre-construction meeting with our Pacific Northwest home builder, Adair Homes, which officially moves us into “phase 3” of the construction process.
Pre-Construction Meeting Overview
At the pre-construction meeting we met with the construction superintendent and the pre-construction administer to review all the details for the home build; this includes all the finishes and upgrades that we chose during phase 1.
Everything we’ve requested is written on the home order, so during the meeting we went line by line through the home order to confirm that everything is the way we want it and to make sure nothing was missing. There were only a couple of changes that needed to be made, like the drafter did not put any electrical outlets in the bonus room and the location of electrical outlets we added to the exterior needed to be corrected. All the changes were small and were fixed by the next day.
One unfortunate detail is that the vinyl flooring we picked out is no longer available so we had to choose a new one. The one we originally picked was really the only one we liked, so it really feels like a downgrade to have to choose something new.
The downside to building with a builder like Adair Homes is that you are limited on what you can choose on certain finishes. It’s not like you can go into Home Depot and choose from endless options. We were limited to about a dozen options on the vinyl, but since it was only going in the kid’s bathroom and laundry room we figured it wouldn’t be a hard to switch out for something different later on, like luxury vinyl planks or tile.
Adair Homes Phase 3 Things to Do
We also discussed what we still needed to get done and have ready before construction starts. During Phase 3 the main goals are to get funding for construction and construction permits; as well as other site related responsibilities.
The funding has gone a lot quicker than we expected. They were ready to finish things about two weeks ago, but we had a slow down on our side, waiting for quotes on the mitigation of asbestos.
I’m quickly learning that LRAPA, the department that makes the rules on asbestos and other air quality issues in our area, makes things expensive and the expense lands on the home owners. We had a roofing company come out and they said they could get rid of the asbestos on the roof for much less than other places, but once they went to LRAPA to get the plan approved they weren’t able to do it as quickly as they were hoping, causing the price to increase. Basically, I’m not a huge fan of LRAPA at this point.
Anyways, we finally have a decent quote on the asbestos mitigation and a final contract from our excavator for the land preparation and sent that to the bank. We are now waiting for them to complete the paperwork, and will hopefully be signing for the loan later this week.
As mentioned above, our construction permits were submitted last week. There were a couple of things that needed to be revised and resubmitted. One very confusing thing that was supposed to be addressed was the plan for storm water management. I had previously went into the city and discussed this with them and the person I spoke with said we could pick a low point in the yard and have the water go there. Now, there’s talk about complex rain gardens, swales or tying into the city storm drains. I’m hoping we don’t have to do one of these expensive options and can continue with what is currently happening at the site.
Next Step – Preparing the Lot for Construction of a New Oregon Home
The next step prior to moving to Phase 4 (the construction phase) is to prepare the lot for the foundation. For us, that would include working with our excavator to get the current house demolished, and then have rock imported to create a pad. We also need to have temporary water and electricity started.
Once we have the Notice to Proceed completed, we will set up a meeting for site verification with the construction superintendent. Once they verify everything, the home’s price is locked in all the way through construction and will be able to proceed with construction.
The asbestos guys are coming out April 30, so by the end of this week there should be a fence set up around the house and possibly starting some of the demolition.