Momplex

Hi Everyone, and Happy Friday!

Today, I'm so excited to share one of the biggest bang-for-your-buck weekend projects you can undertake (in my humble DIY opinion).

Someday, this blank space is going to be Grandma's dream sewing room.  It may take months, maybe even be a year before we get to it, but we've got big plans to convert this large basement bonus room to the perfect spot for Grandma to make her beautiful quilts in.  And Gracie has requested a kids craft area in t

Now that the walls are all up in the Momplex, we can work on putting the upstairs floor (and downstairs ceiling!) in. I've had my doubts about how this whole thing is going to work out ... since back when we put the anchor bolts in the walls. Just to refresh ... We cut out a pattern to use to cut pieces of the foam blocks out.  We don't want any foam to be between the floor and the walls - a concrete to wood joint will have the least wiggle room.Then we made a bunch of these up - the

Well .... Mom likes the kitchen plans!

Happy Monday!!!

A few weeks back, we built Mom a master closet system, and she's been loving it so far!

But we wanted to add a little more storage and functionality to the tower itself.  I'm not a huge fan of low shelves (maybe it's because I'm ready-to-pop-preggers and reaching into a low bottom shelf is a monumental task right now?).

Mom was going to add some baskets on the lower shelf, but those baskets cosst $20 - and we'd need two per sh

Inside the Momplex, it's pretty exciting.  The walls are finished and painted (thanks to you!) and we just can't wait to start finishing rooms out.  We'll definitely be taking your advice and focus on a bathroom first.

But before we get to any of that, we decided to tackle the decks first.  The big reason for this is with the walls completely finished out, moving things from unit to unit has become quite a task, involving going down stairs, out the garage, in the other ga

Hello DIY Friends!!!

I'm so excited to share with you a little sneak peek of the kitchen we are working on!

Everything BUT the kitchen sink (and appliances) is DIY!!!  

We've made some major progress lately, and I'l be sharing how we did those projects with you shortly.

Today, I want to share with you (just in case you missed it the first time around) my favorite way to do drawers for kitchens. 

Favorite because

NOTE: For our Facebook Fans, we are working hard to get our Facebook page back.  It was hacked and stolen last week.  I will update you when I have confirmed information on it's status.  Thank you for your patience.

We've been trying to work hard up at the Momplex, finishing up the other side.  It's been a struggle with a new baby. Baby usually wins, resulting in not much getting done on the second Momplex unit.

There is a lot of baby talk getting

So what's next?  Just Another Crazy IdeaIt's hard to believe that just a few months back, the Momplex was just a crazy idea, a distant dream really, full of more reasons why it wouldn't work then reasons why one family can DIY a duplex for their mothers in Alaska.Three Months AgoCan you believe that just last June, we bought this lot of trees.TodayAnd that this very same lot, in the very same spot, three months later, looks like this.One family, two houses, three months. . . Board by b

We should have plugged the lights in and just kept on working. We really should have.

Building a house is like a giant relay race. 

When you hand the baton off to the next stage, you are either giving them an advantage or a disadvantage.  But when you DIY it all yourself, you are running the entire race yourself.  And you are always thinking about the next step, and how decision you make in this step are going to affect later steps.

Let me give you an example.

Let's say we framed up the walls, and the studs are randomly placed, not 24" o

This is why I love DIY .....

You know what makes for a good friend?Someone who comes through for you.And you, my friends, came through for us last week.When I asked your opinion on how we should divide up the bonus basement space in the Momplex, over 100 of you responded.  Thank you so much.OptionsSo what option did we end up choosing?  Did we choose the too big bathroom stealing the view window?  Or the dream open space a flight of stairs from plumbing?  Was it Option #1 or Option #2?Option #3: Your Opt

Today is a great day for DIY. Today, we can proudly say, yes, a family can - and have - poured a concrete house. We are not contractors. We are not professionals. We are merely a family, just like your family, with this great dream we call the Momplex.It is this great dream, this vision of my mother cooking Thanksgiving dinner in her very own home, of my mother-in-law finally having the perfect sewing room so she can be even more amazing with her quilts, that puts me in work overalls and