You are SO funny! It's probably some of both (feelings of unreality and actually going crazy). Several times in my life, in really big areas especially, I have felt like I was dreaming. Exactly as if I were at a distance looking at someone else in the situation I was in. It's just shock! You'll get over it.

In my case, at age 60, this has been a LONG lifetime's dream. And I can't believe we're actually building a house--because, so far, WE'RE NOT. We're still trying to get the plan finalized, as I have surely mentioned elsewhere to everyone's complete boredom.

It is an amazing thing, though. Maybe not for worthy, for instance, since he's done this thing several times already.

For me, it's more of a nightmare.

I visit the site everyday just to see what they've screwed up now...

Yes - it does come as a bit of a shock, doesn't it?

Now that we have finally rounded the corner for the finish line, it's taken me quite awhile to start thinking of the new place as a home and not just a construction site.

The other day I was sitting on the deck watching the electrician (who started as an apprentice on this house three-and-a-half years ago and is now completing his journeyman training!) putting in the last of the outdoor lights. I could feel the shift inside of me as I gazed off into the distance - I was feeling more like a contented homeowner instead of a harried construction manager. Then the poor fellow almost dropped one of the light fixtures on the tile. I immediately reverted back to GC mode - "Hey, be careful, those lights were backordered 6 weeks!" LOL

I'm not sure that the dream ever truly ends. Each house is a one-of-a-kind-never-been-built-before-and-will-never-be-built-the-same-again-creation. There is something incredible to that when you think about it.

I know the 'homeowner' feelings will come more often and last longer, but I also think that there will always be a part of me that sees this house as a 'project'.

We finally have sheetrock, soon to be textured, so we can start painting. My mind/heart still doesn't let me think we will really live there. We've always lived in fixer-uppers, and rarely have had anything new. It seems almost decadent and very unreal to be 'allowed' to be picking out and buying new things. I told my husband that I wondered how long it would take before I will be able to walk into a room in the new house and not cry out of happiness and thankfulness. He says his mind only lets him think that it's just another building project...Hasn't sunk in that it's our home. It should look more like a home very soon, as we install our interior selections and it ceases to be an empty shell, but I imagine it'll seem like a dream for quite some time.

We've been in 2yrs and 3 days. I still pinch myself. :)

Well we moved in on August 8th. And even last month I felt like I was still in a fog, visiting in a very nice hotel.

Today...
the weather is awesome so I've been totally enjoying XM radio all day (the BLEND) with the doors open (and I have a LOT of doors). And, guess what? I'm not visiting anymore!
:)

May this dream never end...
May this dream never end...
May this dream......................

I feel like I'm dreaming when I think of all the stuff I want in our house when we build it. We're still a few years off for the build, so I'm constantly asking myself "oh goodness, can we afford THIS"?

rhome - I feel the same way! When we went shopping for the kitchen I almost felt like I was doing something wrong. Like we were about to charge all of it and I would regret it in a moment. When we picked out our tub it almost felt like I was just picking it out for a "someday" kind of thing. "Someday" I will have a nice big tub, "someday" I will have this or that....I guess that day is now! I started to cry when we looked at the house yesterday. It looks so good and to think it will soon be our home is just so overwhelming to me right now! Glad to know I am not the only one who feels this way :-)

I didn't have that feeling until we blew the house down. I absolutely HATED our house before. I never really got an attachment to our new one until we moved in 1 month ago.

I still walk around and touch things. LOL, I haven't even been in our finished basement (media room etc) except once, because I don't have to LOL.

If you are in a daze now, just you wait until you actually move in!! **swoon** It took us 8 years to get where we are so I know how you're feeling.

Best wishes on your build! And more wishes it is what you dream of!!

Oh yeah--we've been planning this thing for years, building over a year. As the GC, it's been a 'job' to me firstly, so it's hard to believe that it is actually going to be OUR house to LIVE IN.

But now that the finish work is actually coming together and looking better than I could have hoped for, I am getting a glimpse of feeling like kats said--

May this dream never end...

Gee, guys, now I can't wait to get to having an actual house going up. For 2 years now (and many of dreaming before that) all it has been is the incredible tedium of designing and struggling with legalities, numbers, lines on paper, various professionals. Still stuck in that stage. It is NO fun. It is totally non-inspiring, boring, life-crushing work.

So I don't know if there is a gradual change after ground-breaking or if there's some sudden turning point where it strikes you that it will become your home. Sounds like Kelly just had one. I have hope that eventually things will change for me, too. And the process will bring me to tears of JOY, rather than tears of frustration!!

We've been in for 3wks now & I totally feel like,"Is this ours?!" I can't believe it & is just constantly thanking the Man above! Sometimes I'll feel like what exactly did we do to deserve this????.... Lots of patience & prayers!

Amen!

After a little over a year, we are almost finished owner-building our house. I have been out there almost every day since the beginning, and every single time I walk around all 3 floors and look out every window and think, "This is beautiful. I never expected to live in such a beautiful setting. How did I get so lucky?"

2nd marriage, late in life, previously had a decent income and lived in a modest dwelling. I didn't know that together we'd have the resources to build a new house. It is a dream!

Anne

You guys don't know how I needed to read this thread tonight. I didn't have a particularly bad day, I didn't even have too many decisions to make, even made the ones I did have to make quite easily. It is just that I am tired. Just today, I am sure I will get my second wind tomorrow, but today, I am tired of building a house, tired of sourcing lighting, plumbing, tile, etc. Tired of seeing someone, a painter, a tile guy, a builder, every day for the last 5 months. (whew, I feel better!).

Thank you for helping me see the reward at the end. I needed that!

Here is a link that might be useful: My House Building Blog

a NIGHTMARE!! ITA with obouris

cynanjon: I was thinking nightmare myself! But let's not dwell on the negative. There'll be plenty of time for that later on. Apparently.

minnt: We haven't even broken ground yet. But after 2 years of the preliminaries, I already don't want to talk to another person connected with the build.

Got an email from our GC yesterday. He was reviewing OUR review of the FIRST "final" plans from the draftsman. LOL. What an absurd process. When I first saw I had an email message from him, as anxious as I am to get things moving, my reaction was "Oh, shoot! What does he want NOW?!"

Bad, bad attitude. I love the original dream of a house; despise the process of getting it.

I still feel like I'm dreaming.....except when I'm cleaning the toilets. :0)

It's been almost 2 months and it is actually starting to feel like home. We've had 2 bday parties here and countless cookouts. We're making new memories and I'm loving every minute of it.

Biggest memory so far that felt like a dream....waking up to my dog charlie barking like a maniac at the motorcylist that wrecked in my landscaping in front of our dining room. He was 2 feet from being *in* my house. Whoa!

He lost control on the very curvy road and bit the dust. Luckily he is fine and I only lost one shrub.

Kelntx, I can tell by reading your words that you are just going to LOVE your new home. I can feel your excitement.

Pink
well it wouldnt be so bad except for 2 things, no help and no money. LOL

Charliedawg - that was funny about the toilets. I went yesterday with the builder to pick out the faucets and we ended up at Lowes. I talked the guy into giving us a discount on one of them because they had it marked two different prices. Then I asked him if he was giving us a 10% discount for buying so much stuff as we were. When the guy walked off to adjust the price the builder looked at me and said "I need to bring you shopping with me more often". LOL! We ended up not getting the Roman Tub faucet because I ran out to the car and looked it up on Ebay and I got it for $75 rather then $178! I was happy :-) I had planned on buying all of them on Ebay but we needed these ASAP.

Anyway, seems things are really picking up and I LOVE it! I hope we are able to get most of the things picked out in the next week as DH will be gone and I (keeping fingers crossed) could be starting a new job in the next two weeks!!!!

I am off to buy birthday presents. DD is turning 8 on Saturday and we are having a water slide party. DD invited the whole class and I am thinking holiday weekend, half the class will show up. NO!! They are all coming but ONE! I will need to have my head examined shortly.

Kelly

We spent almost 2 years building two homes, one for us and one for my mom and dad on 5 acres. We have now been in for almost a year and it still seems like a dream! It was the most difficult project in the 48 years of my life and I would NEVER do it again! Yet, I absolutely love my finished home and it turned out even more beautiful than I ever dreamed! Building a home is like nothing you could ever imagine GOOD and BAD all at the same time!

cdecker1: you win the Endurance Prize. In motorsport racing there is a category of racing events called "The Enduro". I think that's the event you won. Congrats!

Maybe home building is one of those Zen kind of things where if you ask the question "Is it good or bad?" the answer is "Yes!" Oh, oh--just like the rest of life!