Valentines day came and went without an update. Still trying to outrun inflation?
I apologize for the slow response. I've worked as hard this year as I ever have in my life and just haven't been posting much. Work has been balls out since coming back on 1/2/24. Dad gets just about every Saturday on his detached garage reno, and there is always a project on Saturday. I usually work until about 2:00 PM on Sunday and then 2-8 PM on Sunday is time to rest. I've done lots of stuff you guys would probably enjoy reading about but just haven't put in the time to post it. It's a shame Dad's garage reno isn't a thread. I think a lot of you would enjoy it and the transformation is impressive at this point. We've been at it for about 10 months now. Dad has really brought the entire property around at this point. He has neighbors stopping to praise the transformation.
On our exodus from Harris County, we're moving forward. It's been a heavy lift. I'll try to give a complete but succinct update:
Financing
1. The Home Equity Line of Credit on our current home closed last week
2. The Construction Loan is expected to close this week or next - This has been a three-month process and hasn't been fun. My brother and sister-in-law have been handling the financing exclusively. I just hear about it. We've split up responsibilities to get this done.
Home
The contract with the home builder has been signed.
Pool
The contract with the pool builder has been signed.
Shop
A final decision was made that it will be a 40'x50'x14' building with a 15'x50' lean-to. A final decision has been made that it will be pole-barn construction. After getting that far, I got five bids. We've selected the builder for the barn, and I signed the contract and put down the deposit on Friday.
Permitting
1. I went through the process to assign an address to the lot a few years ago.
2. I've obtained the Certificate of Compliance (permission to build) from the City of Huntsville. They have a say because we are located in their Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction (I believe within 5 miles of the City Limits).
3. I've obtained the Development Permit from Walker County.
4. I've obtained the permission to build the On-Site Sanitary Sewer Facility (Septic) from Walker County.
5. I've obtained the Storm Water Pollution Prevention Permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
ARC Submittal
We haven't submitted to the Architectural Review Committee, yet. This is the last major hurdle and it's a high one. It's a very detailed submittal including samples for the shingles and brick, renderings of the pool and shop, the plans for the house, exhibits that show the garage doors we picked out, the fencing we picked out, etc. We're waiting for the drainage plan to make that submittal and then we'll see what we have to change or what else we have to provide to get ARC approval. It's a heavily restricted community. We knew that going in. We're prepared to meet the requirements. The restrictions will keep it nice, and we can do everything we want to, within the restrictions.
Drainage Plan
We have a platted restriction on our lot that limits us to 10% impervious cover (roof, paving). We are proposing 23%. Because of this, we had to hire a Civil Engineer to perform a drainage study and prepare a drainage plan. That is due around 5/27. Ideally, the study will come back and say we don't have to detain any run-off, but my expectation is that we'll have to mitigate the runoff created by the additional 13% of impervious cover. There is a shallow natural drainage course that runs through the middle of the lot, in what will be our back yard. My expectation is that we'll have to detain some water in that drainage course, but we'll see what comes back.
We're planning to make the ARC submittal next month. We're hoping to have approval and be under way in July with clearing. Thanks for the interest!