in a previous post i introduced our latest build at Kulp Estates -- a modular container home. the home price was $44k, septic was $6k, permits were $1,250, and removing some trees + grading was $4k.
today we add another $17,760 in costs to our build out. let's begin!
concrete slab
i made a plan with our concrete guy to pour both a foundation for the container itself -- a 16x40 ft footprint -- as welk as a ~4 foot walkaround sidewalk. this cost a whopping a $12,000.
this obviously balooned the budget, but in the long term it will make landscaping a) easier and b) look sexier. you do not want to run a commercial mower with 3, 18" blades inches away from an all-glass facade of a container. i also don't want dirt, weeds, and bugs to be visible along the bottom seams of the interior wall. in the middle of the rear sidwalk is our septic hookup. typical builds would rough septic into the footprint itself, but our modular home design requires hookup from the exterior wall.
not depicted above -- my dad and i clearing 100s of pounds of rubble (busted concrete), 2x4 footings, and tree roots that weren't cleared by the various construction crews.
clumps of oozed out concrete feathered the edges. sledgehammer to the rescue!
water lines
despite our remote-ish location, we're lucky enough to be on city water. digging our own well is definitely an option that we may consider later, but for now it's nice to pay ~$30 /month for clean water and not worry about filters, freeze-ups, pumps, etc.
to extend your (city) water line requires a plumber, courage, or both. the city doesn't do any of this for you, even for a fee. their job stops at the street.
so i got with a couple plumbers who quoted me $8-10 per foot to run trenches ~700 feet from an existing hookup in our pasture, which we use to feed the animals. included in these quotes are considerations for the PVC size, line depth, pumps, ball valves, utility boxes, etc.
all in we spent $5,760 to pay 720 feet of water line, 3 feet down in the ground, with 1.25" pipe. apparently 1.25 inch pipe is 2x+ more expensive than 1" pipe, but that extra quarter inch of volume creates significantly more pressure.
"distance creates pressure, volume creates pressure." TIL!
view of the 3 foot deep trench and a valve box
since the concrete slab, septic, and water lines were completed on independent schedules, unfortunately we have a crappy hookup aesthetic along the container's back wall.
ideally it would come out of the concrete here:
septic on bottom, water line in blue zone
... but we had to put it here:
gross!
needless to say, i'll either jackhamer this section of rear sidwalk or simply surround this water/septic hookup area with a faux wall (or vegetation) to hide the pipes.
what's next?
we expect container delivery in 1-2 weeks. a crane operator will need just a couple hours to arrange them on top of one another, which will cost around $2,000.
after assembly the electric company will come out to run their 800+ line for another $6,000. finally i'll have an electrician + plumber come do the final hookups, which should be painless given the structure is pre-plumbed and pre-wired.
