Light At The End Of The Tunnel
It has been a long time. Too long really. It was over 1 year ago that we embarked on this project to build a lake house. While we purchased a structure that was basically all the wood framing, there was still a lot to do to complete the place.
In a year we have:
Framed up the deck and built the roof over the deck
Roofed the entire house
Installed siding on the house
Built the entire deck
Built stairs and additional framing downstairs
Installed all the plumbing
Installed all the electrical wiring
Had a furnace installed
Installed a water heater
Installed all the window trim
Painted the entire house inside and out
Connected the house to the community water system and septic system
Installed all the doors
And I’m sure I’m forgetting a lot of other items
All this was done on weekends over the last year. I can’t tell you how I miss the old days of being able to just relax on the weekends. Life was definitely a bit easier before we embarked on this mission. The good news is that we are almost done. Last weekend we installed the majority of the kitchen cabinets and are ready for the appliances to be delivered. Once we get the appliances and finish off the minor work in the kitchen, we’ll be just about ready for our final inspection. When that is behind us, I may very well just lay down on the floor in there and go in to a vegetative state for awhile.
A few lessons from the last year. Whatever you think it will cost to build a house is wrong. It costs more than you expect. Building stairs might seem like a simple thing that should take 4 hours to do but it will take 16 because you’ll screw them up. If a contractor is the cheapest, they probably aren’t the best. If a contractor can start tomorrow, you need to find another contractor. Maybe look for someone that is at least two weeks out. (If they can start tomorrow, how come they aren’t busy?) Don’t charge stuff on your credit card if you can’t pay it off at the end of the month. We have had a few really steep credit card bills at the end of the month but were always able to pay them off in full. It was painful, but we did it. Here’s a picture of the trim work that we have been doing, and another of the bathroom:
3 Responses to “Light At The End Of The Tunnel”
Comment from Hazzard
Time December 5, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Mike,
I actually didn’t know how to do too much of it. My best friend is a contractor and I’ve been paying him to help me do it all. I’ve learned a ton from him and could probably do a lot more of it myself if I ever did it again (very unlikely).
Comment from Jerry
Time December 20, 2007 at 10:50 pm
Oh, man… I was trying to get our own roof finished off before winter hit, but the snows hit hard, early, and I’m still only about 85% finished! It’s killing me to see the tarp up there, under the snow and atop the shingles on the back section of the house, I tell you. One other thing to lead people away from getting a headache — you can always count on needing more of an item (shingles, nails, tiles) than what you thought! Get a bit extra, it’s a sure-fire insurance policy. You will need it. If you don’t, for some odd reason, you can return a lot of stuff to Home Depot or Lowe’s!
Jerry
Comment from Mike
Time December 5, 2007 at 12:04 pm
wow, where did you learn to do all that? was it just you and your wife doing all the work w/the help of contractors here and there for the complicated jobs?