Still Waiting

I haven't had much to write about being that I'm still waiting for my final floor plans. Yeah, I'm thinking the same thing. I really want to get started on my house. This is very frustrating. I hope I get some good news soon.

This Weekend: Permits & Drives

Paul and I are hoping to submit our first Earth Change Permit application on Monday. The Earth Change Permit will allow us to do some serious land clearing. We wont be able to excavate yet, but by clearing some of the trees we will have a better idea of exactly where the house and driveway should go.

Joe is suppose to help us clear the land. I hope that he can give us the necessary information to complete the application by this weekend.

This weekend we will also be working to register people for a Bone Marrow Drive we are helping to organize on St. Thomas at Tutu Park Mall from 10am-5pm on Saturday. As I mentioned before, Paul's cousin Khephra Nielsen was diagnosed with Leukemia earlier this year and is in need of a bone marrow donor. If you live on-island, we would love to see you at the Bone Marrow Registry Drive. Registering is easy. All you need to do is fill out a questionnaire and have your mouth swabbed.

Where We Are Building

I love Google Earth!

Joe Emerges

Last night I checked my and who do I get an email from, no other than Joe. Its been a month. I couldn't believe it. He made some really good points in the email; he wanted to make sure we considered the direction of the wind and the sunrise and set when deciding on the direction of the house. He said we might want to consider putting the road and driveway in before deciding on the exact location of the house, that way we could avoid having to remove some of the big rocks on the property. He also said that we could save money by having him excavate the land. He said that normally you would need a contractor on the property while its being excavated to make sure that you are moving the right piece of land. By having him do the excavation, we wouldn't have to pay an excavator and contractor fee. Hmmm. He made some good points, but didn't include a single number. Paul is going to give him a call tomorrow. Before we got the email, we didn't think we still wanted to work with him, but the email is making us feel a little more willing to talk with him again. We shall see.

Dear Eddy, These are Things I Like

Dear Eddy-

I said I would show you what kind of bathroom tiles Paul and I like, here you go:
Also, please keep a look out for these kinds of things... Tiles for kitchen backsplashes: I found this blue one at Wholesaler USA. It's Giorbello Urban Collection (Light Blue) for sale for $4.23/sq ft. (There is a link to Wholesaler USA's website on the bottom of this page.)

I also like this tile I found at NaturalPebbletile.com: This is Quail Grey Pebble Tile for sale for $9.99/sq ft.

Other Estimates

So, just in case you were wondering, we did get rough estimates from other contractors. One of these contractors was Jay at JPK Development. They said they can do work for as low as $150/sq ft. Remember, the cistern is not included in that price and this price is for something really basic (which is what we are doing).

We Got a Rough Estimate from CAHC

So, we got a rough estimate from Caribbean Affordable Housing Co. (CAHC). The estimate did not include things Paul and I said we would try to supply: electrical and plumbing supplies, electrical labor, window & door supplies & labor, clearing the land, kitchen supplies & labor and flooring.

Paul and I have decided to go with CAHC. However, we are still going to need a final estimate (after we get the final floor plans) before we sign a contract. We asked Mr. Wheatley of CAHC, to give us a complete estimate, as if he were going to do all the work and provide the materials. That way we can determine if it will be worth our while to get our own supplies and supply our own labor.

Side Note: We haven't heard from Joe. We ran into his wife at a dinner over the weekend and she seemed surprised he hasn't called. Oh well, we can't keep waiting around for him. He either wants the job or not. That is something I have to give Mr. Wheatley much props for, he has been on it.