The suburbs weren’t cutting it.
For as long as I can remember I have wanted to save the prairies. My 1/4 acre in Irving had a no mow zone, but I wanted more. Plus, I am interested in creating a “mostly” sustainable homestead.
My garden and rainwater collection seemed to be in opposition to the culture of a growing suburb…trees not important, solar panels were an eye sore, and why was I collected rainwater, after all, commented several neighbors, it is illegal (it’s not).
Picking Princeton
Besides where my son and DIL were living; it was as rural as I could get and still get to work…I’m one of the only ones that like that the nearest commercial structure is a fireworks stand. Gas station grill in the small unincorporated area of Branch allows smoking. When I went there for worms a guy was eating a cheeseburgers, with a Marlboro Red burning in the ashtray. Burgers, tots and butts — I love it!
Trailer, Double – Wide, Man Home
Because I wanted an acre and 2500 gal water storage, large deck and carport, the man home (manufactured home) from Clayton Homes in Denison, TX was the biggest bang for the buck. Not knowing much about trailers I went into it a little blinded, blinded by the fact that I sold my Irving house in 4 days and I had to move and had a lot of cash (to me) to create this dream (of mine) homestead. So I drove up to Denison and picked out a house (drank a tomato beer on the way because there was something about buying a trailer that made me want a tall boy in a paper bag for the trip).
It HAD to look like a modern home
The salesmen showed me a home with sheet rock walls…oh I want that. Have you heard about the dangers of Formaldehyde? Well, the walls and flooring in a trailer have that as part of the construction there was a huge sticker on my counter top when I finally moved it and papers to sign that you knew about this…although the salesman didn’t tell me until after I was committed. But, I like the sheet rock look and chose that for esthetics. It was a honking 10 grand more, but well worth it.
Angles, lots of windows and straight lines, simplicity, I want my home simple, basic. It seemed easy to take a rectangle box and shape it into a modern look. I had some ideas of what that would look like. Sitting in the trailer office, which photo posters of what a trailer, looks like with manicured grass and typical new home shrubs, landscape lighting and shutters. I thought to myself, my house would look nothing like that. Jason the sales guy asked, “Do you want shutters?” NO. “Do you want a dormer?” What is that? “It’s a pitch over the front door”. Oh, then, no, just straight lines for me. Me, “Can I have a carport and large deck rolled into the cost of the home?” Yes. I said, it will be unlike any you’ve seen, I’ll have some drawings created and you can price it. Jason continued, unaffected, what color do you want? Light gray and white trim. Me, “Can you paint an accent wall in some of the interior rooms?” Yes if you buy the paint. He continued as he went room to room. “Do you want the entertainment center built in?” No. Do you want matching ceiling beams in the living area?” No. And also I don’t want a dishwasher or disposal. And I need a deeper sink.
“It seems your house is very basic.” He sounded disappointed.
The outside is more important than the inside. I want to use my money to make a badass carport and have a rainwater collection system. So an entertainment center, dishwasher and shutters are out, besides I don’t live like most people, I don’t even have a TV. “Oh, okay I’ll send this out for pricing.” One more thing, I need more widows. And a sliding back door. (The only way out to the back was through the mud room/laundry room.
But it had to have a rough side to it: When you serious about sustainability you really can’t have a disposal and dishwasher. But I do have washer and dryer it’s a balance.
Roughing it in style
Construction begins very slowly
Looking back I can see that I was the first person to buy a Man Home (mortgage lender jargon for Manufacturer Home) that actually had a industrial designer plot out where the home would be placed on my corner pie-shaped lot. It specified materials for the carport and deck and as well as placement in relationship to one another. How do I know this was not the norm? Because they never shared it with the subcontractors they were hiring. I worked like a General Contractor on this…calling the septic system guy…they didn’t have any instructions as to where I wanted it. I had to supervise the building of the carport and deck…asking Jorge, if he had seen the drawings…”No, they just gave me the size, I was thinking you wanted carport to butt the house….