This post may contain affiliate links. I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on the links but at no additional cost to you. Thank you for continuing to support JandLOnline!
I’m excited to start sharing a monthly update of our home building process. You’ll see by the title of this post, I’m calling it Month 6. This is based on our construction loan closing date because I think it’s pretty important to include all of the time before the digging actually starts to give you a realistic look on the process. I plan to post a monthly update here on the first of each month.
Before we start, if you haven’t checked out our building update from the first year, hop on over and read it here.
Here’s what happened in April, 2020:
April 9:
- Gaaaahhhhh! I was so excited thinking we hit a breakthrough today for permits after talking with someone new from the county. BUT … in order to receive our grading permit (to put a silt fence and construction entrance in) we have to have a pre-construction meeting/inspection and we can’t have this meeting/inspection until we have a VDOT permit for our driveway.
- Contractor will go out tomorrow morning to mark the limits of clearing but for some dang reason we don’t have a VDOT permit yet. Our last update on that was from March 17th when VDOT was going to come out the following Wednesday for an inspection to release the permit. Why is it now April 9th and this hasn’t been completed?????!!!!!
- Building permit was being held up by the county health dept for the septic design sign off. I was told today that it would be approved by Monday PM or Tuesday AM.
- Applied for VDOT private driveway entrance permit and paid the $100 permit fee (+$30 for credit card processing) and $1000 bond, all of which were previously not budgeted for. Then found out the system is wrong and really it’s a $5000 bond. Paid the additional $4000.
- Followed up the next day and spoke with a very nice employee who walked through everything with us to ensure this got turned around quickly. It could be 10 days from date of application until we get the permit approved.
April 15:
- Confirmation received that VDOT permit paperwork looks good and payment was received and sent on to the inspector. Awaiting the inspection now.
April 16:
- Followed up with the VDOT inspector to find out what the estimated date of inspection is. Response received that our application was only received on the 14th and they have a two week turnaround. It would be completed on or before April 28th. ((FRUSTRATED since we submitted the application on April 9th)).
April 19:
- Picnic at the property. Packed subs and ate at our picnic table near the mini butterfly garden. James and Ethan cleaned up the tree over the garden by clearing out all sorts of vines and dead branches.
- James and the boys moved down to the creek and started clearing out debris and cutting up fallen trees.
- Natalie stained the picnic table while I weeded around the butterfly garden and Rachel threw the weeds down the groundhog hole.
- watch this short video from today’s tree cleaning.
April 21:
- Followed up with the VDOT inspector again to find out what the date of inspection will be since we are nearing the two week mark from date of application. Received a one line response that today only marks one week. I responded that the application and payment were submitted on the 9th and would just like to know when the inspection will be completed. No response.
- Followed up with the county health dept on the building permit since we haven’t received it yet. They have not approved the septic design because it was based on a previously approved design from 2006 and new regulations have since been put in place. The county and our designer are in disagreement on the requirement for a new design based on new regulations. Waiting on management to decide who is correct.
- Contacted our contractor to ask him to circle back with his septic designer on this so we can just move forward. We need someone to put more pressure on this so it gets done.
April 22:
- Finally got a real response from VDOT with a date for our driveway inspection: Monday morning between 9:00 and 11:30.
- Received word from our contractor that the septic design was approved and the health dept released the hold on our building permit!
April 27:
- Kind of figured this would happen but Monday came and went and time was wasted waiting for the inspector to show up without an email response or a returned call.
April 28:
- After some emails with the permitting manager at VDOT, the inspector went out to the property and processed our approval right away!
April 29:
- Phase I Erosion & Sediment Control Placard received from the county. We can now put in a silt fence and construction entrance. Of course, it’s pouring rain today but these tasks are scheduled to be done on Friday, May 1st.
All in all, it was a very productive month and, oh my goodness, we might actually be breaking ground very soon!
