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July 24, 2012#

New Office Update

I got the first bid for the new office in today. It was slightly higher than I was anticipating but overall not out of the question.

This afternoon I met with another potential builder and really enjoyed our talk. I shared my (very) rough sketches with him and we spent a good bit of time bouncing ideas off of each other. I am anxious to see what he comes back with – this iterative partnership is much more of what I had in mind for this project. He made some great suggestions like dropping the ceiling height under the loft to allow more space in the loft, extending the roofline to cover the deck and other simple upgrades like including an exterior outlet.

I should hear back from this new guy by the end of the week, then one more meeting next Monday with a third potential builder and hopefully that’ll give me all the info I need to make a decision.

So hopefully you’re appropriately bored out of your mind now and ready to un-subscribe…

More dry posts to come!

July 9, 2012#

New Office

I have worked “from home” for years now – previously in the basement and now (temporarily) in one of our bedrooms. After 3+ years working in the basement – the cool temperatures (perhaps COLD in the winter), lack of natural light and view was becoming dreadful. As we recently looked for a new house, one of the criteria/needs was a place to work that was not subterranean. One of the things that I was really excited about when we found the new house was not only the size of the backyard, but the potential of building an external (above ground) office in the back yard.

I have, for years, been fascinated by yurts, small living spaces, converting airstream trailers into living/office spaces etc. It’s never been practical to make a move like this (or maybe i’ve just never had the guts) but I have spent countless hours reading, surfing…dreaming.

So, while it will not be used for a primary living space, the prospect of building a small out-building (HOA covenants dictate that the maximum size is 10×10) is entertaining to me.

I have been brainstorming and I know that:

  • I want to us recycled/salvaged materials where possible
  • I am leaning towards heating and cooling by an electric wall heater and a window unit air conditioner (although mounted in the wall as opposed to the window)
  • I am leaning towards using beetle kill pine as the siding
  • I want to include a small deck on the front
  • I want to make it light and airy
  • I want to be involved in the build.

I am meeting with the builder tomorrow. Hopefully we can discuss ideas etc. I will have to get the plans approved by the HOA before we can start construction, but I am hopeful that by mid August we might be able to start construction on the new “Invisible Window World-wide Headquarters”.

I’ll keep posting the process here…let’s see where this goes.