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We Have Utilities!

When we posted a blog a few weeks ago, we knew power had been run to our pedestal, but we hadn’t been out here to actually see it. As it turns out, they trenched it in. Which means a giant muddy mess all the way across our flower beds and side yard. Our neighbor was kind enough to get our trailer hooked up to the pedestal, so we have electricity!!!

Will is digging the trench for our power. He has been absolutely incredible in getting us up and running! We are so thankful to have him as a neighbor.

Getting power hooked up was the catalyst for everything else. First up was internet. Endeavor got out here the quickest and had us setup with internet in about an hour. Which means I’m posting this blog from the farm! We are lucky to live in a rural area with fiber…our internet is fast!

Next up was water. Eli from English Well Drilling came out and trenched in over 500 feet of water line (during a rainstorm) and put in a yard hydrant. The yard hydrant sits just a couple feet from our electric pedestal. We went this route because our trailer sits where our barn will be built in the future. Both water and power will be necessary in the barn, so we ran those services with the intent of them being permanent. The well is run off of one of our 200amp disconnects in the pedestal. Cost of running water from halfway across our property? About $2000. Yes, that’s a bit steep, but it was necessary both for our current living situation and for the future barn.

This is a yard hydrant. When the handle is up, water is flowing. When the handle is down, water shuts off and drops back down into the ground line, so it doesn’t freeze. We did have to buy a heated hose to run from the hydrant to the house, and we have to build an insulated ‘house’ for the hydrant before winter. The barn will actually be built over the top of the hydrant, so it will eventually be indoors and freezing won’t be a concern.

Last up was septic hook-up. The septic system is huge, so it can easily support our small 2-bedroom trailer. Baker Septic Service was out here within 2 days of us calling them. They figured out exactly what we need, got the parts and got right to work. And they loved our dog (who felt the need to ‘help’ at every given opportunity)!

It looks ugly, but it’s necessary. Unfortunately, the drop from the disconnect from the trailer to the point of connection at the septic tank is only 14 inches. So part of our septic pipe is above ground. There is some concern about it freezing this winter, so it will be insulated and the big pipe sticking up is a vent pipe. It will pull warm air out of the tank in an effort to keep the pipe warm.

Our septic hook-up is temporary. There was no permanent option that would be feasible with our barn. If we need a septic connection for the barn, it will require a pit with a pump. Which is much more expensive and will need to be located directly beside or inside the barn. Cost for septic hook-up? About $1100. Like the trailer moving cost, this cost is part of our ‘rent’. So we’re up to $4600 over the next year vs. $14,000 to rent an apartment.

It’s not a needed utility, but one of us likes to watch every televised football game, so we got DirecTV. Cable doesn’t exist out here, so going with a satellite dish was our only option. I’ve not had TV in years, so the very few times I get to watch HGTV are awesome!

Everything is done that needs to be done so we can live at the farm! The trailer is actually quiet cozy. Even though stuff is packed in here, it’s better than either one of us anticipated. Our final step is getting our Certificate of Occupancy. Our well and septic electric lines need to be put in conduit and we have to build steps for the front and back doors; then we’ll be ready for our final inspection.

The view out the front door. We’ll be able to sit here and watch out dream home be built right across the driveway. Pretty dang cool!

We’re moving right along! Before we know it, we’ll be meeting with the drafter to draw up house plans!!

Peace, Love, & Farming,

The Murphy’s

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We Have A Trailer!

Yes, yes I know. I’m way behind in getting a blog up. Things have been a little crazy the past few weeks, and I’m just now getting the chance to sit down and type it all up. So you may end up with a couple blogs back-to-back.

We’ll start where we left off 3 weeks ago. At the time of the last blog, the trailer move had been delayed due to a permitting issues. It got delayed again due to weather. But we are pleased to say WE HAVE A TEMPORARY HOME!!! The trailer was delivered mid-October, and we have been busy ever since.

The trailer being pulled through our south field. Dodge City Homes of Bloomington was our mover and they were great!
It’s here!!! Dan (our mover) did a great job of setting the trailer exactly where we wanted it. After this picture was taken, Dan and crew blocked, leveled, and anchored the trailer. There was a small shed that came with the trailer; it was delivered the following week.

For any of you looking for information on the cost of moving a trailer, it’s expensive. Like mega expensive. We had a difficult time finding info online about the cost of moving a singlewide. Our trailer was moved less than 30 miles, on major state roads the majority of the way, and we paid $3500. That included the entire tear down/prep for move, moving, permits, and blocking/leveling/anchoring at our property. It included the cost of disconnecting the heat pump prior to the move, but did not include the reconnection once the trailer was set. The $3500 also did not include putting the skirting back on. We saw the trailer when we signed the purchase agreement and didn’t see it again until it was delivered to our farm. We literally did nothing to get the trailer moved. We probably could’ve saved around $500 if we’d taken off the old porch and removed the skirting ourselves, but we didn’t have the time. It was easier and much less stressful for us to pay the professionals to do it. Use your own discretion, but expect to shell out a minimum of $3000, even for a local move. A double-wide trailer will cost your over twice that.

It sounds like a lot of money–and it is–but for us, it was much cheaper than paying rent. Our trailer will be sold as soon as our house is done. In fact, we’ve already had an offer to buy the trailer for what we paid for it. If we had rented while our house was being built, we would’ve been ended up paying about $1200/month. Over the course of a year, that’s over $14,000! Since we’ll make our money back on the trailer itself, we essentially paid $3500 instead of $14,000 for ‘rent’ for the next year. We also have the benefit of living at the job site. Which means we’ll be available every day to check the progress of our build, as well as watch over the job site after hours.

As soon as the trailer was delivered, we got busy painting. We were not fans of the purple and teal, so we repainted the walls a nice light gray. All of the trim got a fresh coat of white to make it look a little cleaner too.

The master bedroom was painted a plum color before. Now it’s light and bright.
The Living Room and Kitchen were also painted the same light gray. It’s Silver Leaf by Valspar…available at Lowe’s. We think this color really sets off our incredible hardwood floors.

My mom was moving out of state two days after our trailer was delivered, and we got a bunch of furniture from her. So we rented a U-Haul, moved it all into the trailer, and had to paint around it.

Pro Tip: The ramp of a U-Haul fits perfectly in the front doorway of a mobile home. This made our move-in so freaking easy! We spent 3 hours loading the U-Haul and about 20 minutes unloading it.
This is the reality of moving while painting. Everything got piled up in the middle and we worked around it.

Once we figure out the whole editing thing, we’ll post a YouTube video showing the move and some of the damage incurred during the move (don’t worry, a little damage is normal). Other than the long wait to get the trailer out here, the whole moving process was relatively painless.

I’m sure some of you are thinking about the possibility of living in a mobile home on your property while building a house. For us, it made sense because our farm already had a well and septic system in place (both installed within the past 15 years and in good working order). We also have a driveway already in place. Those 3 pieces of infrastructure can be very expensive and are normally installed as part of construction. So yes, this worked for us, but it may not be practical or economical for everyone.

Stay tuned for another blog about getting our utilities connected.

Peace, Love, & Farming,

The Murphy’s