Construction

As soon as we closed on the property, we began building “shed one” to house tools for the build.  In addition to enabling the real work to begin, the four-foot sections of wall units from this shed later served as structure for the walls on the second floor. 

The rest of our construction waited until we received approval for our plans from the City of Festus.  Although we had a lot of help from contractors, friends, family and neighbors, we had our hands in every phase of construction.  Our son, eight years old when we began, set the first plumbing pipe in place and participated with every aspect of the project.  Our daughter, then ten years old, helped with many subsequent steps.  This has been a family and community endeavor all of the way.

The building department and fire marshal for the City of Festus are a pleasure to work with.  Their staff supported our project throughout, giving us quick and concise answers to our questions, and helping us find ways to meet code and safety requirements.

Although the overall space for this phase of construction includes roughly six thousand square feet, the actual structure we built is only one thousand feet.  For the rest we took advantage of the natural rock walls and incorporated an open floor-plan. 

Many aspects of this project started simply, and during the project developed into full-blown art projects.  The stairwell, the rock garden that surround the pond for the indoor spring, and the hardwood floor top this list.  Overall, we tried to keep the project simple and move along quickly.

From start to “official” finish when the City of Festus approved our occupancy permit, construction took roughly four years.  Now we can look forward to spending the rest of our lives adding trim, decorating, and landscaping.