Wintertime creates a Lull in housebuilding

Does this millstone look familiar? Yes it's the very same one that is still at the housebuilding site in Vermont. But see that extensive stone wall system in the background? Taken down by someone other than me, gone. Now the circular driveway exits there. Interesting to see the evolution of a property. These two adorable munchkins are both Cooleys, my husband's younger brothers. Photo courtesy of P.A. Cooley collection. Estimated 1968

Just as winter might create a slowdown in some activities, my house project seems to be on hold as well.  My builder, being a good Vermonter, took a lot of November off to go hunting.  I got to see deer heads in my garage as he was preparing to take them to the taxidermist.  His co-workers were in and out of the site, getting small jobs done.  The roof, though I announced the impending application of more than once, is yet to go on completely, which is understandable with snow storms, along with extreme wind and cold.  The good news?  It is all paid for. 

Today was a good day between big jobs and big bills to sit down and analyze the current status of costs paid and those yet to be incurred.  I can remember almost 2 years ago sitting down in a Zoom meeting with our financial advisor and asking him about the realities of building a new house.  He would enter a low-end estimate into what looked like a Wheel of Fortune investment app and it would spin and give us results…we were doing GREAT!  Then he would ‘up’ the estimate by $100,000 at a time and we were still doing GREAT!  (though he never got up to the amount that a 2026 build might realistically stack up to be).  

We have our current house paid for, but when you take out a Home Equity Line of Credit on that house, it feels like you are undoing all of your hard work and the debt appears again. It does make me feel that we are teetering on the edge sometimes.  Some of it is just playing with money on paper- that kind of figuring doesn’t leave one in a calm state of mind, no matter who you are.  Ultimately, if we sell our “updated 4-bedroom home with 3-stall barn and tack room, along with the fenced in paddocks and 3 acres, a hobby farm only 8 minutes to Umass,” we should be at least GOOD!  If not GREAT!  It’s all in the wash.  But a bit hard in the interim to think that way (with a less than comfortable stretched out time-line).  I am pretty good at it; I can look at the big picture and realize we will be OK in the long-run.  Danny?  Not at all, so he stays away from the numbers as much as possible or he won’t be sleeping at night. 

A convenient tool for house building analysis right now is AI.  I was accustomed to doing my own research and using multiple sites to come up with the final analysis.  Now you can type in a long-winded, very detailed scenario and it will spit back (within a few seconds) ranges of costs, breakdowns, and options, specifically for your area of the country.  Of course, you have to hope ‘it’ used reliable sources, which is not at all guaranteed. 

But it is a start and it is fast.  I could see if what I have already been charged is on the high or low end. Luckily we have a reputable builder. I could also see a layout of what portion of an entire budget each item in a house requires: the framing vs. the foundation vs. the major systems (electrical, plumbing, heating) vs. the interior finishes.  When I hear the estimates, I won’t be flying in the dark with the numbers.  I will have an idea of what they should cost.  I feel a little more prepared for what is coming next in January 2026.  First electrical, then plumbing, then insulation.  We do have windows already paid for which could go in (but there will be the labor costs). A new year, new bills, new headway on the house rising.  Gotta stay excited for all of the positives.  I know I will…it is a fun project that I am privileged to oversee.