It started with a family decision.
Our adult child had been living independently for years. She had built a life of her own, and we wanted very much to preserve that independence.
But things changed.
She was struggling, and the way we had been supporting her was no longer working. Her home was more than 45 minutes away, including a boat ride. Being there when she needed us was difficult, and trying to provide meaningful support from that distance simply wasn't sustainable.
We weren't looking for a way to take away her independence.
We were trying to find a way to protect it while still being close enough to help.
Moving in with us wasn't really an option.
We discussed having her move in with us.
The problem was that we live in a small house, and the realistic option would have meant putting her in the basement.
With her mobility issues, the stairs were a serious problem.
And I have mobility issues too, so finding a home that worked for both of us meant thinking carefully about accessibility from the beginning.
So we started looking for a house.
We began looking at homes that were already built in the area. We wanted something that would allow her to have her own space and independence while keeping us close enough to provide support when she needed it.
We looked at homes with granny suites and similar arrangements.
But we couldn't find what we needed.
Her Independence
She needed a space that felt like her own rather than simply moving back into her parents' house.
Our Ability to Help
We needed to be close enough that helping her didn't involve a 45 minute trip and a boat ride.
Accessibility
Stairs weren't a practical long term solution for either of us.
A Home That Worked
We needed a solution that worked for the whole family, not just one person.
Eventually, we started asking a slightly crazy question:
What if we built it?
Then we discovered what "custom" actually costs.
We started looking into building a completely custom home.
It didn't take long to discover that truly custom construction comes with a pretty significant price tag.
And the timeline could stretch into years.
That wasn't what we were looking for.
Enter Profab and Guildcrest.
Eventually we discovered Profab / Guildcrest.
This gave us something in between.
We weren't starting with a completely blank piece of paper, but there was enough flexibility to make some important changes to the layout.
That meant we could carve out a section of the house specifically for her and modify it so that it would feel like her own home within our home, without creating a traditional granny suite.
It wasn't about building a bigger house.
It was about building the right house for the life we actually have.
And that's where the adventure really began.
What started as a decision about how best to support our family has turned into a massive education in:
🏠 Building
Floor plans, modifications, materials, construction and all the decisions we didn't know we would have to make.
💰 Financing
Construction mortgages, draws, approvals, budgets and discovering just how complicated financing a house can become.
📐 Design
Trying to make a house accessible, practical and comfortable while still making it feel like home.
🤯 Everything Else
Contractors, timelines, permits, decisions, surprises and approximately seventeen thousand things nobody warns you about.
What you'll find here
This is going to be the honest version of the story.
- The good.
- The bad.
- The expensive.
- The things we'd do differently.
- The things we got right.
- The things nobody thought to tell us.
- And hopefully, the things that might save someone else a little money, time or frustration.
Continue the journey
Hold onto your hats.
Because this is going to be a lot.