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Several years ago my husband Cameron and I set in motion a series of decisions that enabled us to plan, budget and build our dream home in St James Village, Reno. Several years later we are close to welcoming friends and family into our pride and joy.
The first purchase we made , four years ago, was our beautiful door. As you can see it is a grand statement for our entrance. I like to say we built the house around the door, and in a sense we have done that. We have endeavored to design the interior and exterior with a similar grand theme.
We have been documenting our owner-builder experience and hope that you find our journey interesting, entertaining and perhaps educational.
1. Snow, Snow and More Snow
We started breaking ground for our St James Village, Reno home the fall of 2021. The most memorable winter of my life was the winter of 2022-2023. Shoveling snow day after day to get to the front door up the future driveway was hard and beautiful at the same time.
A Rose by Any Other Name – Construction Site Outdoor Bathroom
They go by the name Porta Potty, Sani Hut, Honey Bucket, Out House, Johnny-on-the-Spot … but one thing is for sure, you cannot start building your home as a contractor or as an owner-builder in Nevada without one.
There are good reasons for OSHA’s rule that you must have at least 1 toilet at the site with 20 employees or less. This is very important, as you can imagine. Still, 20 people using one toilet during a full hot summer day’s work seems like a heavy load. If you’re planning on building your own home, make sure you get a reputable company that will clean it and replace paper products on a regular basis.
As soon as we got our building permit from Washoe County, we ordered the outdoor community bathroom that I affectionately call our Porta Potty and Cameron calls the Sani-Hut. It was the first indication that something glorious was about to happen. We had been planning to build our house for years, and now there was actual physical proof that we had broken the dam of design review and bureaucratic obstructions.
As I write this, we are a month away from getting the final home inspection and the Certificate of Occupancy. Once we get the Certificate, the Sani-Hut will no longer be there as a beacon of construction or the light house that has guided so many UPS, Amazon, Fed-ex, and USPS drivers to sanctuary. Our lot is on the uphill side of the road. The relief station is highly visible and easily accessible. Many a grateful traveler has been relieved to find our Porta-Potty.
I will affectionally miss our Porta-Potty when it is picked up and taken away. It has been there for two years, watching over everything thing we have done, or the craftsmen and laborers have done. It has graced the side of the road at the bottom of our lot since October of 2021. That is a lot of time to build memories.
Our Porta-Potty was there for us during the summers of intense sun shine and high temperatures when there was no shade to be had except a makeshift tarp-covered lunch room between stacks of lumber. It was there when Cameron spent weeks clearing the lot of vegetation and then grading the lot in preparation for the foundation. It stood proud and accessible through the record snow falls the winter of 2022/2023. During the heavy rain downpours that eroded many a hillside, our Porta-Potting stood strong on its foundation.
There is not really a special etiquette to Porta-Potty usage. Its like using the bathroom on an aircraft. There is a latch that indicates if it is being used or not. The not-in-use indicator is not always truthful. Sometimes people at the job site assume, since they can see their partners laying the pavers down, that know one will intrude on them with a swift swing of the door. Well, I can tell you from personal experience, it is better to knock on the door no matter what the indicator indicates.
For almost two years the walk to the Porta Potty was either very dusty or very muddy. Now that the driveway is paved, it is a comfortable stroll downhill and back uphill without dust or mud. So very nice. Soon we will be using indoor toilets. But I will cherish every memory of building our own home, including the big part the green beacon of construction and progress played throughout the process.