Fraid you've got me confused with someone else re building a barn on the property and living in that while building the house. DH and I bought our land by refinancing the house we then owned in order to pay cash for the land b/c mortgage interest rates on the refinance were MUCH lower than interest rates on a raw land mortgage. We then spent five years paying down the refinanced mortgage before felt financially ready to start building. We finished paying off our mortgage on the first house while we were in the process of building the second. So even tho we weren't able to sell our first house as quickly as we would have liked after moving into the new dream home, we never had to worry about making two mortgage payments at the same time. I was terribly impatient during that entire five years to just "get started" but in fact, the wait gave me plenty of time to educate myself and to design a home that FITS our property and our lifestyle. So, IMHO, you can't start too soon. Yes, prices will change but the relative cost to build various houses will stay about the same. (i.e., if the build price on plan A is twice the build price of plan B today, five years from now, plan A is still going to cost about twice as much to build as plan B.) Instead of obsessing about costs tho, use your time to learn all you can about the pros/cons of various building practices. For example, while it isn't exciting, spend some time learning about various types of foundations and how each type is PROPERLY INSTALLED as well as all the ways a particular type of foundation can be screwed up by someone who doesn't know what they're doing. Then when you're choosing a house plan, you can make an informed decision about what type of foundation you want. Ditto with framing. Learn as much as you can about how a house is framed up and some of the options you have. Terms like "open web joists," "i-beam joists," "California corners," "sole plate," "king stud," "cripple/jack stud," "ridge pole," "purlin," and "load bearing" should become familiar to you as you learn how framing should be done right and all the ways that bad builders can screw it up. Likewise, get a thorough grasp of the concept of "drainage planes" and how flashing, house wraps, claddings, etc. SHOULD be installed in order to contribute to properly functioning drainage planes. Basically, work your way thru every "system" within a house. The more you understand about how a properly designed and built house WORKS, the better off you'll be when dealing with a builder. Or, for that matter, when trying to communicate with your architect. And, of course spend time doing the fun stuff like thinking about how you and your family actually live. What in your current home makes your life easier and what are the little things that just drive you bonkers. Like maybe, you actually love having the sun wake you up in the mornings thru your east facing windows but hate the way everything always seems to wind up stacked on the dining room table b/c there isn't really any other place to drop stuff off as you come in the door. Or you love your big kitchen island but hate the the way your top kitchen drawers are half-an-inch too shallow to hold rolls of waxed paper and tinfoil. Make notes about these things and, when you're designing your new home, incorporate the good things and find ways to fix the annoying things. And of course, spend time finding and saving "inspiration" pictures for the really fun part which is decorating that brand new space! Three years will fly by!

Is it more common (as it seems to be) or just more commonly diagnosed, I wonder? Annie I wonder the same thing. I was raised on white flour/wonderbread, my kid was raised on whole grain/homemade and she's sensitive to gluten. DH says, "It was different wheat back then." Thanks, FOAS. We'll file that info for next time (argh). In this case, he got the knuckles. They could have done a bone graft from his hip and reconstructed one of them, but he wouldn't have been able to bend it and the surgeon did not hesitate to tell him it would drive him crazy. He has more to work with than we thought....is using everything and is four weeks ahead than most according to the physical therapist. Maybe he'll get some work done on this place yet, hehe.

What do you expect to pay to get this job done? Buy the cheap thickness planer and do the job yourself. Then clean the machine up and box it back up just like it came. Then resale it for a little less than you paid for it. How does the price of the planer minus the resale price compare to what you expected to pay for job to start with. Or Special order the material already at the thickness you want. Or Put an ad on craigslist looking for someone to do the job. This is a very easy job to do with a thickness planer. Surely someone would be willing to take on the job. Pooh Bear

The places cabinetmakers get plywood do not offer cutting service (in my experience). I think being able to handle and cut a 4x8 sheet is a must for any cabinetmaker's table saw set-up. Sure, Lowes or HD sells shop grade ply in birch or oak for about $50 a sheet and they'll cut it for $0.50 a cut. But why limit yourself to the box stores? I get most of my material at a place called Aura Hardwood Lumber in San Jose, CA. It is a one of a kind establishment serving cabinetmakers from all over the Northern CA. I drive 50 miles to go there, when there are about 100 box stores closer. The prices are wholesale- the $50 sheet at HD cost $30 at Aura, and there are so many species and grades to choose from. Every cabinetmaker needs to find the Aura in their area. Do some homework; ask other woodworkers. As important as having the right equipment is knowing where to get the right material. But if you need all your ply's cut in half before taking them, you can't even shop there. If you don't have a truck or van to transport materials, how can you even get started? Not being able to cut a full 4x8 sheet on your tablesaw is like not having the right vehicle. You would need to pay some decent $ to get a truck or van. Same thing with a tablesaw. Buy a $1,500 cabinet saw and you will never regret the purchase, nor will you ever need to upgrade it. If you are saying, "$1,500 is not in my budget" then think of it like a truck. If you need a truck you need a truck, you have to find the budget for it, or forget about doing the things you need a truck for. You can't just buy a used sedan and call it a truck. Same thing with buying a table saw for making cabinets. Also keep in mind, if you can save $20 per sheet by shopping at a wholesale place like Aura, after 75 sheets the saw will pay for itself!