In February of 1998, while on vacation,  Debbie and I jointly decided to start a house project.  While sitting in the Contemporary Resort, at  Walt Disney World, we started the process of drawing up plans.  We had discussed the idea before, but had always talked ourselves out of it.  While we were both experienced  do-it-yourselfers, our prior experiences dictated a whole house would be no minor undertaking.

So what brought us to this decision?  The price tag of a new house which would accommodate our family of six.  For some time we had consulted with various contractors about our house building options.  No matter how spartan we went, the price tag was always to high.  Moreover, we had placed ourselves on an artificial deadline of three years to move out of our mobile home and into a new house on our ten acre spread in Highlands County, Florida.

With little fanfare we designed the five bedroom, three and one-half  bath house, from scratch.  We found the least expensive draft person we could find, and had her draw up the plans.  On July 13, 1998 the foundation was poured.

What is unique about our house, not for homeschoolers as we have found several other families which have built their own homes, was that Debbie and I both picked up hammer and nail and set to building our new home.  With the exception of the second floor roof shingles and the air-conditioning system we have done all of the work ourselves.  A few others lent a hand as well, and with their help the house took shape.

While our experiences would likely fill an entire book, one that I'm not sure the public would buy, it will suffice to say that  several things were learned in our experience to date.  In list form:
              1.  You get what you pay for.   A set of plans drawn up cheap, is just that, a cheap set of plans.
                           When you want your stairwells and walls to work our right, invest in a quality drafts-
                           person.
              2.  There is nothing that you can't do yourself if you can find the right book.
              3.  The free instructions that come with building materials are just that, free.  See number one
                            above.  Actually, we decided that those free instructions were written for building
                            professionals, you know, the guys who put the stuff together every day and don't
                            need instructions.
              4.  If you are working outside it will rain.
              5.  At least one friend, acquaintance, or family member will decide to build a home with a
                              contractor, during the course of your project.  They will decry how much stress is
                              being put on their family and their marital relationship.  You will agree with them
                              while fuming internally, they upset over their upgrade options, you and your wife
                               hoping that enough Gator Aide will be on hand that afternoon to prevent heat stroke.
              6. Finally, if you thing it will be done tomorrow, don't hold your breath.