The Septic Saga (a.k.a. “Sh*tter’s Full”)

If you’ve ever built anything from scratch, you know this feeling…

You get your first quote back and immediately think,“Well… we’re already blowing the budget and we haven’t even started.”

That was us with septic (& pretty much everything else)

The first bid came in way higher than expected.Before a single shovel hit the ground, it felt like we were already behind.

Then we found another guy — significantly more affordable.

Huge win… or so we thought.

What followed was about six weeks of nothing.

No-show after no-show.Excuses started stacking up — getting kicked out of his sister’s house, then suddenly a family emergency in Ohio. Days turned into weeks, and honestly, it started to feel like we should just pull the plug while we were still ahead.

That’s the part nobody really talks about with builds like this — the mental side of it.The doubt creeps in early.

You start asking yourself,“Is this already going sideways?”

At one point, the only ones showing up to work were these guys…

But then… he showed up.

And not only did he show up — he crushed it.

Got the septic system in, handled everything, and then on top of that, leveled the entire house pad.

That one move alone is going to save us thousands when it comes time to pour the foundation.

So just like that, after 6 weeks of nothing… everything started moving.

Now we’ve got:

• Foundation coming up

• Plumbers lined up

• Framers ready to go

And for the first time, you can actually see it happening.

That shift — from nothing to momentum — is where the excitement finally kicks in.

I also want to say this…

A big part of getting to this point has been behind-the-scenes work that most people don’t see.

Butch has been the one sourcing subcontractors, managing the job, and pushing things forward when it would’ve been easy for it to stall out. From tracking down better pricing to keeping things moving during the slower weeks, he’s played a huge role in getting us to where we are now.

And at the same time, none of this would exist without my dad and Julie.

This whole project started with their vision. They’ve been hands-on from the beginning—working through the design, making key decisions, and handling details like sourcing and ordering the windows.

It’s been a true team effort from the start.

What’s been interesting is how fast everything shifts.

A few weeks ago, it felt like nothing was happening.

Now it feels like everything is.

We’ve got plumbers moving, framing around the corner, and real momentum building for the first time since this all started.

This is the part of the build where things start to feel real.

And it’s only just getting started!