Well, I’m happy to report that after nearly 1.5 years worth of weekends, our lake house just had it’s final inspection and we PASSED! No more inspectors and we can move in now. I can’t even begin to tell you how much of a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. No more deadlines, no more possible hiccups.
When we embarked on this project so long ago, it seemed like we would never get it done. All those cold weekends installing the siding, roofing and trim. All the back breaking sheetrock. All the mistakes and fixes. All the blisters, sore backs, sore legs, sore arms, sore “you name it”. I think the best part about it is that the financial impact is coming to a close. Sure, we’ll spend some money on some things for the place but all the huge construction costs are behind us. I knew that it would be expensive to build the place but it was really pretty amazing how the little things added up. I have a huge folder in my office that has every receipt for the place. The last time I added it up, we had spent over $35,000 on materials and labor (for the few things that we subcontracted out). It’s been awhile since I’ve added up all the receipts though so I’d put the total cost at about $45,000. Somehow we managed to pay cash all the way along which, when considering the total, amazes the heck out of me. How did we dig up that kind of cash?
Oh well, I guess the money fairy must have been looking out for us. Now the number one priority for us is to start building our emergency fund back up to a much more comfortable level.
Here are a few pictures of the interior:
Looks beautiful!
Congrats - looks great!
WOW! The place looks great! And the memories you will make there will be worth every penny you have put into this place. How wonderful for you and your family. Enjoy every minute, you deserve it!
Beautiful. Simply beautiful. I love the flooring and the recessed lighting.
It’s amazing how much $$$ you can come up with when you really need it. It’s been a good ride following your progress on this entire project!
Beautiful! And just in time for the weather getting warmer!
Hazzard — I would be interested in seeing a full breakdown of your costs if you can share including the org purchase + your material/labor costs. Congrats!
Just stumbled here through 2million’s blog and like what I’ve found so far. I haven’t followed your lake house story (though I plan to catch up) entirely, but the end result looks beautiful! I especially like the flooring. Congratulations on this accomplishment!
Thanks for the comments everyone! I’m definitely looking forward to using the heck out of this place this summer. We spent our first weekend there since getting occupancy and it was great. The rest of our family came up and used the house right behind us (the family cabin) so it was finally great to all be there at once. We had lots of fun with my nephews and our daughter was thrilled to have them up there overnight!
Congrats!!! Did I read correctly — it cost a total of $45K for the lake home? How did you manage to do it for such a reasonable price? I’m looking at lake property in our area — and the foundation alone is going to run $12-$15K. Any advice for someone just starting out? From experience, what pitfalls should we watch out for?
Many thanks! Looking forward to catching up on all your posts!
-Net Worth
I bought the land, and initial framed up structure for $100k. (that included the completed foundation, windows, most of the framing, septic and building permits). Basically I started with a bunch of framed up lumber on a foundation. The $45k was to finish it with roofing, doors, siding, deck, plumbing, electrical, furnace, insulation, sheet rock, etc etc.)