Introduction

First Post


Building a house was the most awful thing I (we) have ever done.

What should have been the dream of a life time turned out so horrible and so devastating that it brought us to the breaking point but we survived.

It's been 3 - maybe 4 years since the house was completed and we are still angry about the whole thing.

What should have been upfront and fully disclosed to us was hidden behind excuses, omissions and the building codes.  Oh, we signed a ton of papers that claimed to be "full disclosures" but they never revealed the things that were really important to know.

I (Karla) started a journal during the time we were building to use as therapy.  I thought screaming onto the pages would make me feel better.  I guess it did a little but not nearly enough.  I kept writing because I wanted to remember every detail so I'd never be taken advantage again.  We were innocent little lambs who had been taken to the slaughter - both financhially and emotionally.  We were in our 50's when we built our house, college graduates and professional people but all that life experience didn't matter one wit.

Several years have passed and we've been slowly correcting the mess the builder left us. It seems like a never ending project with never ending bills.

The anger I/we felt was so deep and so intense that I could never bring myself to go back to the journal and organize my ramblings until now. 

Now that the house is actually livable,  there's a flicker of light at the end of our deep dark tunnel and I'm able to think about the building process again.  The idea of a blog came to mind as a way to share the information I gleened.   I wanted to shout what I learned so everyone can hear.  This blog will contain basic, practical, real life information you need to know about building a house or remodeling.

Building a house is the most expensive thing a person ever buys yet, it's the only thing that if defective or wrong or shoddy can not be returned and the only way to make it right is to pay more - a lot more.