I’ve always been sort of a do-it-yourself kind of guy:  partly because I like saving money and partly because I like to take pride in putting a little sweat and emotion into a project.    Part of my attitude certainly comes from my dad.  When I was growing up we always did most everything ourselves.  Working on tractors, putting new engines in trucks, building, wiring, or plumbing I’ve done it all at one time or another. 

So about a year ago, I decided it was time to build a new home.  My wife and I debated and discussed the kind of house we’d build, we looked at plan after plan and picked apart the merits of the home and its finish details, and poured over our property in meticulous detail to decide the best place to build.

Our property is a rural piece of ground that lies north of Childress, Texas and to build there, everything has to be done like the brush cleared, site prepped, and utilities mustered.  Just prepping the land to build a house is quite an undertaking.

The one thing we agreed upon completely is that I would coordinate each phase of the work and in essence, serve as the general contractor.  Coordinating a house build, at least, has some personal precedence.  Three years ago, I rode herd over building a small home in Fannin County, Texas.  Northeast of Bonham, Texas, and with the help of my brother, a couple of friends, my wife and I, and a smattering of hired contractors, we built a small weekend home over the course of about six months from start to finish.  That house, it turns out, served as a dress rehearsal for our permanent house.  Once that experience was behind us, we figured we could follow the same pattern and coordinate the build of our primary home.

That brings us to this point in time.  After about a year of planning, selling a home on our own, and talking about building a house to the point that I am tired of talking, construction on the new home has commenced.

In planning the house we wanted a place that was functional, affordable, energy efficient, has a contemporary style, and had lots of high tech extras that will make the house among the most modernly equipped homes in the Texas Panhandle.  So from beginning to end, I plan to chronicle the build and the finish-out.  I even plan to document the development of the land as I build a photo studio, guest home, and manage the rest of the property as a wildlife photography ranch.  I hope by documenting the build, it serves as inspiration for others who like to do things on their own like my wife and I.

It is a project that I am super excited about.  If you’d like to follow the build, I’ve created a brand new website.  So from time to time cruise over to www.buildmycountryhome.com and check out the regular updates that will comprise of text and videos.

Any questions or comments?  Contact Russell at russell@russellgraves.com or visit his website at www.russellgraves.com