Recap

While we have built two previous homes in Denver, both were through building companies, the first Parkwood Homes and the second one was David Weekly. Those home builders had predetermined designs and finishes that you selected. This gave me some construction knowledge but building from the ground up, in the country is a whole new ball game. The first thing I had to do was find a builder! I interviewed three, two contractors and one interior design firm. Of the three one contractor stood out, Eric Carlton of Innovative Expressions. Of the three Eric, listened to me regarding our budget, timeline and what I envisioned for the guest house.

Based on our ongoing conversations, Eric’s team drafted an architectural drawing of the Cottage. After a few tweaks we finalized the drawings, and he gave me a proposal for the overall cost to construct our Airbnb. With that agreed upon, he then needed to submit the drawings to the county for our building permit. I’m pleased to report our building permit finally came through and construction has officially begun on Posh Cottage!

Present Time

Unlike city dwelling, in the country you are on septic, and this is the first thing that was installed. But… before you can put in your septic tank, you first have to design it, neither are cheap endeavors as you need to hire an engineer to create the designs and then Mesa County has to approve them before installation can begin. Luckily Eric took care of all that and although it took some time, approval came through.

Although the Cottage is only a one bedroom, the smallest septic tank accommodates up to two bedrooms. This means that when the time comes for me to build a larger art studio, it will be located near the Cottage so that it can share the septic. This means that the art studio which will be used for Artists Retreats will have a restroom as well as a studio sink or two!

I have to say I’ve never seen a septic tank or leach field up close and personal until now. It is an elaborate set up, both must be buried quite deep and how they work together is pretty ingenious! As described by the EPA, the septic tank digests organic matter and separates floatable matter (ie oils and grease) and solids from the wastewater. The liquid is then discharged from the tank into a series of perforated pipes buried in a leach field. This field and pipes are designed to slowly release the liquid (known as effluent) into the soil. This area is also known as the drain field. You never want to plant trees, or anything will long, large roots above or near your leach field as the roots could damage the field and even your septic tank. You can however plant grass, flowers etc…, no eatable foliage though.

So, the first things to go in, our septic tank and leach field. The next thing was the prep work for the foundation. This stage included a lot of dirt moving, as well as piling and compacting of gravel. The later had to be completed in stages so the inspector could see that it was done correctly. Once he signed off, Eric could bring in his guys to install the wooden forms and rebar that is used to hold the concrete in place. In between the piling of gravel and compaction, the plumber came out and installed all the pipes for the bathroom and kitchen. This included plumbing for the sink, toilet and walk in shower in the bathroom as well as the plumbing for the washer and dryer, the kitchen sink and dishwasher. We had some lag time with the plumbing install because the plumber was so busy!

The fun part came when the concrete trucks rolled in! There were three in total and the joy I felt when I saw that concrete coming down the chute actually brought me to tears (good tears not bad ones). Several guys then spread the concrete out as the truck continued to mix the concrete. Once everything was poured, they leveled it and waited for it to dry. I kid you not, three guys had to sit and watch concrete dry! I brought over chairs, so they at least didn’t have to sit on the ground. The next day they came back and removed the wooden forms, and we now have a beautiful concrete slab that is 500 sq feet, the exact square footage of our guest Cottage!

The next thing Eric will do is spray insulation around the walls of the foundation. This apparently is a new regulation. With that done, another inspector will come out, look over the foundation to make sure it was installed correctly and then Eric and his team can move more dirt so the ground is level around the Cottage and flush with the foundation. While he is moving that dirt, he will also cover the septic tank and leach field. Once all that is completed, the next stage is building the walls! Little by little Posh Cottage is coming to life!

Update on Guest Cottage Construction

Learning to be Patient

Beehives Come to Palisade Posh