Momplex

Did you know that roping a house in doesn't mean we actually went out and lassoed a house and roped it in? Apparently, roping a house in means the you pulled wires through the wall. Huh.

The hill has a big hole in it. On Saturday morning, the big boss showed up at the top of the hill. And for the next two days, it pulsed a tiny red laser light around and around, watching what we were doing.The laser level has a buddy, called a detector, that you attach to a big measuring stick.  He's kind of the inside guy, with the inside scoop.  When the detector is level with the flashing red light, it beeps, and you know how deep to dig. But before we get to digging, w

You know all to well, DIY saves money. And on this most monster of DIY projects - a duplex for our mothers fondly referred to as the Momplex - not hiring contractors has saved us quite a bit of money. But it's the little things, the small decisions over time, that really add up. It's using materials smartly to minimize waste and reusing scraps that are the silver lining. And when you are the one writing the check, you really take a minute to consider what you are buying, and how you ca

Coulda shoulda woulda.  I only think it's fair to share with you our mistakes - and not just our successes - as we build the Momplex.  We are, after all, not perfect ... not even professionals.  We are just people, with a dream and a determination to take on the ulitmate of DIY projects.  And of course, along the way, we will have coulda shoulda woulda moments.  Remember when we put the foam up to cover the concrete to allow the concrete to cure?  If we had to do it

We are inside the Momplex. I cannot believe I just typed that! Nearly a year and a half since we started with a raw piece of Alaska land, we are finally working on the interior of the Momplex! Now we won't be getting to the really fun stuff - furnishing the Momplex! - for a little while - we've still got utilities to run in the walls, insulating, drywall and flooring ... but a girl can daydream about media walls and beds and bathroom vanites with hutches, right? Oh the things to keep

You know how when you buy a new phone or a new tv, or any electronic for the matter, you have this nagging feeling that whatever it is, it's already outdated and there's something new coming along that's faster, easier, cheaper, better? After we finished up the water supply lines, there's just a few things left before we can start putting drywall up. We've got to get the small electrical stuff run in the walls, things like thermostats and phone lines and networking cables and tv jacks.

This is the story of how we stuck two pipes in the ground. For the bargain price of $5000 (with the bonus of having Snort back on the hill to also dig the foundation).  Up here in Alaska, at least where we live 100 miles from a stoplight, when it comes to things like water and sewage, you are on your own.  The Momplex would need it's own utility company of sorts.Back when I was potty training Gracie, I kept telling her, we go in the potty, and we flush, and it's all gone . . . and

The weather has certainly warmed up here, but with this storm of warm weather has come lots of white fluffy snow. We've been struggling just to keep the upstairs of the Momplex shoveled and ice free to get to the point of work, so things have not been moving along as fast as we'd all like. But one thing we were able to get done was building the upstairs interior walls.

Mom to Mom, I just want to say thank you for all the positive comments to the girls on their Momplex Video Tour! You totally made their day! The girls were jumping up and down squealing "they like our video, they like our video!" as I read your comments to them, and are busy planning more videos! 

 Did you notice inside the Momplex that we actually are closer than you'd think? Alot of this has to do with building with ARXX blocks - we skipped five steps in one! But there's sti

You know how you sometimes get that super annoying feeling that you are forgetting something? Well, it's been nagging on us for a while now. What have we forgotten? There's something that's been put on the back burner and forgotten about, and it's about to boil over.

Paint all of the trim in the house. Every single piece. Every single doorway. Every single closet opening. Every single piece of base moulding. Every single window sill. That's what we've been up to.

Today's task?Build a perfectly level box 44 feet long and 44 feet wide on not so even ground.  Think of it as the most giant of raised garden beds.  Or you could just think of them as footers for the Momplex.We rented a compactor for $100.  It's about the size of a lawnmower with a flip up handle.  You run the compactor over wet ground and it compacts the soil.  That way when you build your footers and pour concrete, the footers don't sink in the soil due to lack of comp

It just started snowing. These past few weeks, it's been all hands on deck to get the Momplex as far along as possible before winter sets in, so I haven't had as much time to post plans and answer comments, and I do apologize. Thank you so much to everyone helping out - I am so thankful that our community of builders is not only very smart and innovative, but generous and helpful. Thank you thank you!But we have been making steady progress on the Momplex, and I'm excited to share with you

This project ... building these little roofs over the Momplex front doors ... it only took a day or so. But I think I'm dragging it out into three posts because I loved working on it so much. Wood is definitely my favorite material to work with, and I love revisiting this building project.

Are you having Momplex withdrawals?

Guess what?

We are too!

Winter is here to stay this year in Alaska, and we are so thankful that all of our outside work has been completed for the year.  We did not get the decks on, but we did pour the deck footings, so decks can go up before the ground thaws in June.  

Inside, we did not get to where we wanted to be by winter.  We were hoping to have the ceiling drywalled and insulated, but with a little thing like oh a fir