Week 7.3: Rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets?!

The building crews are continuing to take advantage of our unusually balmy winter, although it sounds like they may be in for a big change tomorrow. The weather channel is actually forecasting "ice pellets" in Owatonna. We've heard of snow, rain, thunderstorms--but ice pellets?! We have a feeling our building crew will have wished they finished the roof--or that they employed the US Postal Service to build the house on those "not-so-pleasant" days.

Speaking of roofs, that is the next step. The trusses are all ready to go, so we should see the house start to take shape this upcoming week! Also, we're sure a few of your are wondering if we have a garage. Yes, we do--the red pickup and white trailer are "parked" in it it.

Week 7.2: There's no place like gnome

We meant to post a photo of our new addition earlier in the week, but wanted to get a photo of the house up first. We haven't figured out a name for him yet, possibly "Henry" or maybe "Henrik"--but Brandy hopes he'll protect her garden from all the little woodland creatures who may want to destroy it. Although the big "Welcome" sign he's holding may be a bit damning.

Week 7

A lot has happened in just a few days so we decided to post a photo of the progress.

Week 6

This week brought about many changes to the house. Instead of a big concrete fortress, we now have a home with nearly completed back filling and block. Things are moving along so swimmingly that the framing for the lower level and trusses are also done. We are positive this will only lead us to the proverbial "nothing is happening" week, but for now, we're not complaining!

Tonight we're meeting with Susan again to finish selecting brick, shingles, soffits, and other household items never thought about until you have to actually make a decision on them. We've seldom pondered the existence of doorknobs outside of using them as a means of exit or entrance--until now.

Alas, however, as Christmas draws near and we're busy giving thanks for the wonderful family and friends we're surrounded by, I guess you can say we're blessed that we get to decide if a white toilet is better than a beige one.

Merry Christmas!

Week 5

Say hello to our new foundation. The workers started on it yesterday and have continued through today. We're not really sure how long they'll be working on it, but it's nice to see a structure that could actually offer some sort of "protection from the elements"---unfortunately the dirt pile just didn't cut it!

Week 4.2: Houston, we have liftoff!

It was only yesterday we reported the city would be approving our permits, but we had no idea that the builder would be digging our hole today!

Earlier in the day we received a call from Susan telling us the builder planned to start construction on the property. When we stopped by our lot after work, we couldn't believe there were actually trucks, front loaders, people, and big piles of dirt all over the place. Finally after weeks of waiting, something is happening!

We decided to tromp around the lot, construction workers and all; which, by the way, is a strange feeling. Up to this point we've known this is our land and future home, but knowing it and seeing it are two different things. We walked right into the construction zone no questions asked and poked around, sizing up the house in relation to the lot. We're happy to report that thus far we've very pleased with what we saw!

In celebration of this first big step, we are posting a photo of our new "home". Enjoy!

Week 4

We found out today the city should approve our permits tomorrow! With any luck, the builder will have the basement dug by this weekend. Stay tuned for more details!

Week 1

Success! After weeks of adding doors, taking out windows, and of course, choosing a floor plan, we have signed the contract with Oakridge. The only thing we can do now is wait for the builder to purchase our lot and the city to approve the plans and distribute the permits. According to our real estate agent Susan, this will be the longest process we will have to wait on.

A view of our new lot.

Starting from scratch

After almost four years of looking for the perfect home, we've decided to build it! We're excited to share this experience with our family and friends, and look forward to becoming official citizens of Owatonna!

This Old House: A tribute to the homes that didn't make the cut.

When you've lived in an apartment for almost five years, it seems like any house is better than no house. That is, until you actually step foot inside of them. On our way to finding the right house, we had to visit a lot of wrong ones! Here are just a few of the homes that made important Buffington history.


The house on Kriesel Place. This 1980s rambler was the first house we ever decided to make an offer on. It had everything: a beautiful back yard, a quiet street, cul-de-sac location... the only thing it lacked was new shingles, siding, windows, a two-stall garage, updated carpet, air conditioning and hot water heater---like I said this was the first house we made an offer on, there had to be a learning curve somewhere! Of course we found out all of that information thanks to our trusty home inspector Brian, and we were able to freely walk away from this money pit.


And then there was the circa 1885 Victorian on Vine street. We spotted this cute home last winter and put in an offer less than a week before leaving for Arizona. The price was right, the neighborhood was great, only problem was the fact that some of the electrical was original! Again, it was our home inspector Brian who helped us see the light and walk away from this potentially dangerous offer.

Which brings us to the house that changed everything--the completely restored 1895 Victorian on Cedar. This house was beautiful, and we fully intended to purchase it. We looked at it numerous times, each time becoming more excited than the last. The original wood interior was in impeccable condition, and the kitchen had been completely updated, along with the plumbing and electrical. The yard was well-maintained and the curb appeal outstanding. In fact, we still think it is a wonderful piece of Owatonna history. The problem with this house was that the price (at the time of our viewing) was highly comparable to the price of a newly constructed home! Although the house had been restored, it was still over 110 years old and could never offer us the full capability of modern conveniences. It was then that we realized that this house, along with the hundreds of others we had visited over the past four years would never be the home we were looking for.