We Built Our Dream Home In The Woods

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Actually, my original cost estimate was a little low, for if construction had gone ahead on schedule the final cost of our new home (in 1972 dollars) would have been about $14,500. As things turned out, various delays kept us from obtaining our building permit until November 1972 (too late in the year to begin construction in the woods), which cost us another $2,500 due to increases in the price of lumber?and other materials—in 1973.

At least in one instance, though, inflation worked to our advantage. Fortunately for us, our city house (which we'd been renting to a friend for sometime) had gone up so much in value by the time we went to sell it that our equity had more than doubled. . . allowing us to meet the higher lumber and hardware costs, and even upgrade certain items (such as window glass, which we changed from single to double-glazing for better insulation).

In dollars and cents, then, here's what we ended up paying for materials and services (in 1973):

To be sure, $17,000 is a pretty big piece of change to spend on a home in the woods, but it's not an unreasonable sum to spend for a nice house (by city standards). And I think most people who look at our humble abode up close would agree that it is, if nothing else, a nice house.?Dave Comstock.

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