Our Efforts To Build An Earth Sheltered Dome Outside Belfair, WA
STILL waiting on the finance guy. STILL going over things for the dome that we should have done months ago. STILL waiting on Larry at Monolithic to finish our plans. STILL going up and moving dirt when the weather isn’t too bad. STILL not accomplishing anything.
Damn!
It was really hard to choose a new contractor. We had really excellent bids from a couple of contractors that we went over with a fine tooth comb. We chose Mark @ Woodmark Homes, LLC to be our new contractor. Let’s hope things move along quickly now. I’m way past ready to get started!!!!
Last Friday the appointment with the latest General Contractor went well. Turns out I’d met Mark before on a job out in Sebeck when I worked on a job with Bob the Dirt Guy. Mark was the General Contractor on that job. Cool! Thought he looked familiar when he first came in the house. He built a house with a tower that has a great view of the sound. He says he usually gets 40% but is willing to work with us. I’d be doing a lot of the work; which is great as long as I can do it. Running wires and Nomex(? That hose-like stuff for the water) isn’t a problem. Getting everything in place before the shotcreet is going to be the hard part! I’m actually a pretty handy dude. 
Still not much going on although things HAVE started to move again. Slowly, true, but at least they’re moving again. After wasting 4 months with Jeff @ Stewert Construction I started trying to find a new contractor. The only two that have even answered the phone are Earl @ Lincoln Builders and Ray @ McCormich Construction. Have had meetings with both.
Earl @ Lincoln says they’d be glad to do it for, well, the pricing is weird. He wants 10% right off the top ($300k total cost means PLUS $60k for him) then, with ME doing all the work (dealing with sub-contractors, getting new guesstimate’s, all that a contractor usually does) he’d be a "consultant" for $50 an hour plus if they hire somebody to do something (paperwork included) they’ll charge me 150% of their cost PLUS 20%. That means if they hire an accountant at $20/hr I get charged $30/hr Plus $6 ($36/hr). Excuse me? All I really wanted him to do was handle the money and help when I needed a contractor in the spotlight; but $30-40k Plus seems kind of expensive to me.
Ray @ McCormick wants 18% and he does everything! I don’t know if it’s built in to Contractors or what, but he seems fairly entheusiastic. And there are times I wouldn’t mind paying the 18% and just doing what I can to move the process along. But, damn, $72k that I can’t spend on things for the dome!
Called Mark Core at the Mason County Planning Dept and asked what’d I’d have to do to reinstate our building permit. He said to write him a letter stating why we needed an extension and he’d approve it for 6 months from when it first expired. But if we don’t have it done by 3 May 2008 we’d have to pay an additional $1600 to get it renewed for another year. Well, we’re not going to have the dome completed by 3 May so we’ll have to pay that fee. Damn! Mark was really nice and accommodating on the phone. Pleasant even. (Phew!) Letter went out that day.
Went out to Belfair yesterday and had a sit down with Earl @ Lincoln Construction so he could explain his pricing method. It almost sorta sounds okay except I’d be doing almost ALL the work. Really, the only ’problem’ that I can see is if something were to happen to me Kathy would have to drop everything she’s doing and finish building the dome or pay Lincoln a LOT of money. Probably more than it would be worth.
It’s raining pretty good today so once I get up and started I’ll be getting on the phone and calling a few more General Contractors. Gotta get off my ass and call Larry Byrnes @ monolithic also and I don’t want to. I really don’t like talking to him. Nothing gets accomplished! We paid him over $900 to finish the plans for the dome; and got back crap. I don’t believe he even looked at the stuff I sent him with where I wanted electrical plug-ins or lights. And he added fans where we didn’t want them. His plumbing detail isn’t. And he will not put in the augments for the windows! No, I am not a happy camper when it comes to Monolithic’s architectural department. Not that they will care. They don’t even answer e-mails…
Both the Finance Guy and the Contractor are getting the paperwork together to submit for financing. Mason County terminated our Building Permit but that’s normal procedure when you don’t get your place built in their timeframe. But the Finance Guy says it’s going good.
Been working at the property off and on fixing the storm damage from last December. Except for a couple of holes the road is repaired. Put in some drainage ditches to guide the rainfall off the road and keep it away from the dome hole. You can see some Time-Lapse video I made of me working around the clearing at My Site under (if ya want). Been too cold and rainy to get much more done out there. Snowy at times.
Other than that, not much else going on property/dome wise. I really want to get started building by this summer! Wish Larry at Monolithic Domes would get off his butt and get our plans finished!
