Design and Build the Southwestern Dream Home

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We are entering the Design and Build stage of our project now!

Although we have yet to complete our move to Tucson, we are now beginning the design and build phase in the creation of our Southwestern Dream Home. We loaded the old trailer up with furniture and headed West again. The trailer is a remnant of Tom’s tree-cutting days; one of the few reminders of our old, highly stressful life.

I have to tell you, not nearly as much furniture fits on that trailer as we envisioned. This will not be the final trip by a long shot!

We had arranged for the electricity to be hooked up in our mobile home so when we arrived we were able to stay there rather than at a hotel. So we’ve made it over one major hurdle. We now have a home in Tucson!

When we arrived, we found our new driveway was a bit narrow after the recent rains. I detailed a bit about the repair project on my page on the Dry Creek Bed . You’ll see how Myron brought in rock and dirt to widen the driveway so it won’t be dangerous to cross with the trailer.

So, we again got our temporary helpers from the labor service and got our newest load of furniture unloaded. It was a real thrill to sleep, cook and eat in our temporary home. The mobile home will be our house for quite a while as we go through the Design and Build state on our Southwestern Dream Home.

That mobile home doesn’t look like much right now, but some day it will become our “guest house” and it’ll be a wonderful place for our family to come visit. Another alternative for our little bonus home is a place for my mother to live.

So, want to get a look at what all we did while we were in town? Here’s a shot of the housepad. Tom just can’t sit still, so he got Myron to clear the housepad where we plan to place the house. He wants to truck in some dirt, but Aaron keeps telling him we need to wait and see how the house plans look before doing anything like that.

I saved several Ocotillo at the last minute, so we’ll have to get them dug and moved before we begin building. They’ll make great landscaping plants around the mobile home, so they won’t have to move far.

Aaron is the builder we talked with last trip. He visited the property while we were there, and brought Mark, our designer, with him. Mark will design the house for us based on our needs, what we want the house to look like, as well as the layout of the housepad that Tom so graciously prepared.

Mark agreed that we would be able to place the house in that location, and showed us how it might look. There is a bit of a slope to the ground in that location, which is perfect for what I had in mind. It is wide, with a protrusion at the front. This creates a natural T-shape that will allow for landscape plantings in the corner areas created.

Because the land slopes slightly, I plan to create patios and walkways down the slope, leaving a view of the valley from the house.

Here’s a photo of Aaron and Mark, the “Design and Build” team we have chosen.

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Be sure to check back now and then as we progress toward the completion of this project. I asked Mark about how long it would take to complete the house plans. His reply was in the range of six to nine months. Aaron made the same response when I asked him about the building portion of the project. So I finally have an answer! It should take anywhere from 12 to 18 months to complete the house. Stick around! The fun is just beginning.

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