tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59961060918324025592024-03-13T15:31:05.955-07:00Berties Build on a Budget{we are a family of four, do it yourselfers, building a house, on a budget}Alicia Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301343571920074524noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5996106091832402559.post-23056076825205161482021-05-07T20:05:00.001-07:002021-05-07T20:10:37.750-07:00Berties are Back - 2021 Edition!<p><b>Where have you been?</b> Wow, it's been just over 5 years since I last posted. Back in 2015 we built a home on a budget and in 2020, during the Covid Pandemic, we sold that home. It was an incredible 5 years, but the water was calling! So we listed it, sold it in 4 days to an incredible family and are now living in a camper on a lake lot, with 20 extra acres that we're developing. You know, just another Sunday afternoon.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-alRq98S_HZY/YJX8YgS6jMI/AAAAAAAADO8/B9dAKB-4zfAYfVYA6tyzubzAeMJJHpiEQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1440/Fam%2BAndrew.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="218" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-alRq98S_HZY/YJX8YgS6jMI/AAAAAAAADO8/B9dAKB-4zfAYfVYA6tyzubzAeMJJHpiEQCLcBGAsYHQ/w218-h218/Fam%2BAndrew.jpeg" width="218" /></a></div><p></p><p><b>What lake lot to chose?</b> Here's a little backstory on how we became developers: It's an insane market here in central Minnesota for houses and lake lots. We thought Covid would maybe slow it down but it did the exact opposite. We made offers on lake lots and were quickly sideswiped by someone with deeper pockets. We tried for Latoka and Maple. We came upon a lot on Andrew but it was attached to 20 acres. We were used to acreage but not at this price. We knew if we were going to go after this one we'd have to get creative...so that's what we did.</p><p>We made an offer on the land not knowing what we were getting ourselves into and after some back and forth negotiations, the lot and land were ours! A HUGE shout out to <a href="https://jhabel.counselorrealtyalex.com/">Justin Habel with Counselor Realty</a> for helping us seal the deal! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LZwU-xnNYhU/YJX-vkXsvRI/AAAAAAAADPE/ZpixC3Ehi7E4H4O10pKWTxScpbkC-jYAQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1920/Plat.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1663" data-original-width="1920" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LZwU-xnNYhU/YJX-vkXsvRI/AAAAAAAADPE/ZpixC3Ehi7E4H4O10pKWTxScpbkC-jYAQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Plat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><b>What to do with the land? </b>We had a few options. Break it into lots and sell off to offset the cost of the land. Build & sell homes (spendy & timely). Build storage condos to sell. Make a dirt bike track...wait, that was Jackson's request. So we took it two ways. With the help of <a href="https://www.nybergsurveying.com/">Brad Nyberg with Nyberg Surveying</a> we split the 20 acres into 7 buildable lots and 1 (7'ish acres) for storage condos to sell. It only took 1 week to sell 6 of the buildable lots (we kept one) which was an absolute blessing! We didn't want to sit on them but also knew they had value as either back lots for those in the neighborhood or land for a family to build on. It's a little bit of both. The next part was the tricky part. Proposing storage condos in an established area/farmland was not an easy task and to put it lightly we were met with great opposition. This was by far the hardest part of our whole process. Knowing that the development that you're trying to create was not the plan others wanted. I am self admittedly a people pleaser. I always have been one. So to know that people felt the way they did about us and our plan - it was hard and led to many tears and sleepless nights. I'll leave it at that, but am glad we made it through the extensive meetings and approvals that go into a development like this. I've learned more about Stormwater, Excavation, and Sewer than I care to admit. </p><p><b>What the heck are storage condos?</b> Lakes Area Toy Storage will be made up of buildings with six 30'x40', 16' sidewalls, 14' doors for our lakes area neighbors to store boats, side-by-sides, kayaks, and all those other things that we accumulate over the years. Call it a man cave, call it toy storage, but it's for sale! That's what makes it a condo. No rentals, all for sale!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Aq_skgJghyI/YJX_BuaeZWI/AAAAAAAADPM/7_Wx_TwSzRYriYI-g2fAnVdmmj-qdk2RQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1920/Lakes%2BArea%2BToy%2BStorage%2BSign.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Aq_skgJghyI/YJX_BuaeZWI/AAAAAAAADPM/7_Wx_TwSzRYriYI-g2fAnVdmmj-qdk2RQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Lakes%2BArea%2BToy%2BStorage%2BSign.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><b>I thought it was called Berties BUILD on a Budget? </b>Yep, so this time around it's going to take a little longer. We sold the lots - wahoo! But now we need to sell some of the Toy Storage Condos. Once we have enough sold, we'll look into building. Building supplies are absolutely absurd right now. About 40% higher than the last time we built. My fear is that we'd lose all our sweat equity in building now, but the rates are good and to be honest, I don't want to live in a camper again.</p><p><b>Wait, you live in a camper? </b>Yeah, did I forget to mention that? We moved out of our new home and into a camper...well 2. Adam's sis & brother-in-law are incredible and borrowed us their camper. That's where we live. We also have an RV/fish house that serves as our walk-in-closet (fancy, I know), Jackson's gaming area and my office. First week was awful with the stomach flu hitting Lucy and it snowing basically every day. Since then the weather has improved and we are busy cleaning up the yard, planting trees, and working. It's one of the sacrifices we are making to save up for the next big step!</p><p>So welcome back...or if you're new, welcome. I do this blog to remind ourselves all about our process. It also serves as an easy way to share with friends and family that have supported us over the years. It's a tool that we use to help spread the word about Financial Peace, (shout out to <a href="https://www.ramseysolutions.com/">Ramsey Solutions</a>) becoming consumer debt free, how & why to budget and encouragement for those that need it. I've also found that some people are just curious about this process and the work that we put into it. It's our journey. If it's not for you, that's fine. If it is, welcome and enjoy the ride!</p>Alicia Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301343571920074524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5996106091832402559.post-3182246592305327792017-01-17T12:42:00.001-08:002017-01-17T12:42:48.866-08:00Walls need love too!I must admit that if you came to my house you might wonder, "where is everything?" I like to call it "simple." The less there is, the less there is to dust :) But the Shiplap Wall needed a little love so what better way than to create a wall display from the beautiful pictures <a href="http://stacykron.com/" target="_blank">Stacy Kron Photography</a> took of our family this past summer.<br />
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I'm normally one to do a canvas display but thought I'd try something a little different this year. I love laths. Yes, laths! I used laths on our accent wall in our Master Bedroom as well as the desk I built for the studio. They add a unique accent to any room and are easy to work with. I also like the idea of layering frames. So I put together 5 lath frames, bought 2 matte gold frames as well as <a href="http://www.target.com/p/threshold-gathered-brass-knob/-/A-50364366" target="_blank">2 matte gold knobs</a>, tied some twine to the frames and hooked them on the knobs and woo-lah! The wall is no longer bare and I finally have our family pictures up! 2 birds, 1 stone baby!<br />
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You'll also notice that I gave our piano a face lift :) That tutorial is for another day! <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SxLeCtfB2_o/WHPWJPcZvFI/AAAAAAAAAgI/iND1uS9P_50B6wx0h9JGD_BxWk-P4NrOQCK4B/s1600/Wall%2BDisplay-2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="492" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SxLeCtfB2_o/WHPWJPcZvFI/AAAAAAAAAgI/iND1uS9P_50B6wx0h9JGD_BxWk-P4NrOQCK4B/s640/Wall%2BDisplay-2.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PFRLn4kvo4A/WHPWd4X3cSI/AAAAAAAAAgw/yfYdGSQ9jI4r3vLTG2YkmSWK2xBQ_MTZgCK4B/s1600/Wall%2BDisplay-5.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PFRLn4kvo4A/WHPWd4X3cSI/AAAAAAAAAgw/yfYdGSQ9jI4r3vLTG2YkmSWK2xBQ_MTZgCK4B/s640/Wall%2BDisplay-5.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<br />Alicia Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301343571920074524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5996106091832402559.post-6072663614766617842017-01-08T19:11:00.002-08:002017-01-08T19:11:33.316-08:00Shiplap, Shiplap, Shiplap!I know, I know, it's been 6 months and I'm finally back to another blog post. Life got busy so this was put on hold. I'm hoping to catch up since we are now enjoying our life in the house and it's my slow season. Thanks for sticking in there with me and even asking when the next post is gonna be!<br />
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Let's see now...where did we leave off? Oh yes, that's right, PAINT! Now that you know there are over 50 shades of white out there, I'd like to stay on the topic of walls! There's this "little" trend going around called Shiplap! If you've never heard of shiplap you either live under a rock or...you must seriously live under a rock! Please do yourself a favor and binge watch Fixer Upper on Netflix now! Like right now, stop reading and go watch it! Our beloved Chip & Joanna Gaines brought this unique way of accenting walls to all of our attention. It was a must have for our home but had to be budget friendly!<br />
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Step 1: Figure out how wide your planks are going to be and measure your walls. I purchased 4x8 sheets of 7/32" <u style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Underlayment</u> and I knew I wanted wide planks so I divided my 4 foot sheet into 6 inch planks. I added a couple sheets in case some weren't in good shape (I had a few throw away pieces) because it's better to have a few too many than not enough. <br />
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Step 2: Find a Home Depot or Lumber Yard that will cut the sheets for you! Some places don't cut at all - avoid them unless you have a super awesome table saw at home. They may charge you a small cut fee but it's worth it, trust me. I think I had to pay an extra $.25/ cut after the first 10. I talked them down and only ended up paying an extra $2.50. We're on a budget here people!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JhaNvbbzHMU/WHLuasrNzWI/AAAAAAAAAe0/g6E8qKaOnGcP4so6FcAsIrvD5keK3hupwCK4B/s1600/IMG_6722.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JhaNvbbzHMU/WHLuasrNzWI/AAAAAAAAAe0/g6E8qKaOnGcP4so6FcAsIrvD5keK3hupwCK4B/s640/IMG_6722.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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This is what you'll get!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L0ofAiX7gEU/WHLu7chKMhI/AAAAAAAAAe8/Fg46l5kZ7Z4Eau858KbZ4ojfheTiZEhWwCK4B/s1600/IMG_6723.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-L0ofAiX7gEU/WHLu7chKMhI/AAAAAAAAAe8/Fg46l5kZ7Z4Eau858KbZ4ojfheTiZEhWwCK4B/s640/IMG_6723.jpg" width="480" /></a><br />
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Step 4: Warning - this is the sucky part - buy a sand paper block (not the paper, get the block) and sand the shit out of the edges. They are rough and you don't want any slivers. Sand, wipe, grab another, repeat...repeat...repeat! <br />
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Step 5: You have options here - you can paint them before you put them up or paint them after. I didn't want to worry about running paint in the gaps so I actually primed and painted them all before installing it. It took 1 coat of primer and 2 coats of paint "Simply White" purchased from Hirshfields Paint.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ktHdq8EByvI/WHLyv_wc9KI/AAAAAAAAAfM/rHOmnZmufSwo_4ihVdgYNnMU8YTQ5jtYgCK4B/s1600/IMG_6735.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ktHdq8EByvI/WHLyv_wc9KI/AAAAAAAAAfM/rHOmnZmufSwo_4ihVdgYNnMU8YTQ5jtYgCK4B/s640/IMG_6735.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Step 6: Use finishing nails and nail gun to secure the boards. We started at the top, and nailed it to every stud, one high one low. Then we put pennies in-between the secured board and the next board to give a gap. Push up, hold secure and nail.<br />
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Step 7: Elmers makes a nail hole filler that matches my "Simply White" paint color perfectly! I filled in all the holes with this and didn't have to do any touch ups! We finished the edges with inside and outside corners. And this is the final result!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DEDyukRlRos/WHL2yZhmiKI/AAAAAAAAAfg/GduqrB8B1ms2Fq2a9pJXTmuplQAnXT1PQCK4B/s1600/BORD-6.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DEDyukRlRos/WHL2yZhmiKI/AAAAAAAAAfg/GduqrB8B1ms2Fq2a9pJXTmuplQAnXT1PQCK4B/s640/BORD-6.jpg" width="426" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RacrcZ474I4/WHL28y6UFcI/AAAAAAAAAfo/YE_qURzeCsEFS4omnpnKhXwaViNWtCMjQCK4B/s1600/Livingroom-5.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RacrcZ474I4/WHL28y6UFcI/AAAAAAAAAfo/YE_qURzeCsEFS4omnpnKhXwaViNWtCMjQCK4B/s640/Livingroom-5.jpg" width="424" /></a><br />
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12 sheets at $11.99/sheet +$2.50 cut fee & tax = $156.44<br />
Paint = $35.00<br />
Trim/Corners = $12.00<br />
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Total = $191.44. A great accent to any home for under $200!<br />
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FYI - If I would have gone the route of buying 1"x6"x6' tongue & groove pine boards the boards alone would have cost me over $650. That's not including paint and trim. I saved myself over $450! Something to think about!<br />
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FOLLOWERS: If you've done a ship lap wall I'd love to see it! Post a pic of it in comments or e-mail it to me and I'll post it! I love seeing DIY projects! <br />
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<br />Alicia Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301343571920074524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5996106091832402559.post-89998059603273961452016-06-26T19:01:00.003-07:002016-06-26T19:01:46.294-07:0050 Shades of White...Let's Talk Paint!Actually it's closer to 30,000, that's right 30,000 shades of white!!! Never could I have imagined that white would be the hardest color to choose. There are yellow whites, blue whites, green whites, red whites and everything else under the sun. So I'm here to settle it for you. If you plan to put any white in your house check out <a href="http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/for-your-home/benjamin-moore-color-trends-2016" target="_blank">Benjamin Moore's Simply White</a>! It was chosen as the 2016 Color of the Year and I would completely agree. Our house is on the cool side when it comes to the other colors selected but this Simply White adds a touch of warmth with a bit of a yellow undertone making it a warm but perfect white. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CET_o7Ut4gI/V3B4DbgXZ8I/AAAAAAAAAcE/blxcBfOjxS46D3oGUU0WpTSPqA1VOfL5QCK4B/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CET_o7Ut4gI/V3B4DbgXZ8I/AAAAAAAAAcE/blxcBfOjxS46D3oGUU0WpTSPqA1VOfL5QCK4B/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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We used Simply White on our trim, doors & casing. Kitchen, main bathroom, laundry and living room cabinets. It is also in a hallway, Lucy's room and our ship lap wall. It's kinda everywhere. Once we had our base color it was time to add in pops of color!<br />
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Where to start? I wanted to focus on the main living area and create the color scheme from there. If you read the previous post, you know my inspiration came from <a href="http://www.houseofturquoise.com/2012/12/four-chairs-furniture-hiya-papaya.html" target="_blank">here</a> so we were planning to go with similar colors. I looked and looked and looked some more and came across <a href="http://www.houseofturquoise.com/2011/06/day-three-dream-home-tour.html" target="_blank">this</a> house by the same <a href="https://4-chairs.com/" target="_blank">Four Chairs Desingers</a> and found this aqua backsplash and fell in love!<br />
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Since the cabinets were to be Simply White I thought it added a nice touch of color pop. So I went to the AMAZING TEAM over at <a href="http://www.hirshfields.com/" target="_blank">Hirshfield's Paint</a> here in Alexandria and we went to work finding a perfect match. We came up with what I call our Chameleon color Deja Vu<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uos6CAJmcnw/V3B8i48P73I/AAAAAAAAAcc/4SxTU9iQVb8vtDAkx5p4s8HO4Vxb4-AqgCK4B/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uos6CAJmcnw/V3B8i48P73I/AAAAAAAAAcc/4SxTU9iQVb8vtDAkx5p4s8HO4Vxb4-AqgCK4B/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Sometimes it looks blue, sometimes it looks green and I love then I don't have to re-paint my walls to get a different color :D<br />
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From there it was figuring out the color palette and this is what we came up with<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J243WTxmz6c/V3B88sMxBKI/AAAAAAAAAck/xMhPex35jyk8Rc2gsI66s9AZa9Nz6gtggCK4B/s1600/IMG_6596.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J243WTxmz6c/V3B88sMxBKI/AAAAAAAAAck/xMhPex35jyk8Rc2gsI66s9AZa9Nz6gtggCK4B/s640/IMG_6596.jpg" width="480" /></a><br />
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We added in a little gray with Eider White, and my favorite gray which was Passive Gray that went in Jackson's room. The dark blues are for our master and accents for Jackson's room. For Lucy's room I had painted all the walls pink...the girl loves pink, but then it was just WAY TOO MUCH PINK, so her room is the only room I repainted and chose to keep 1 accent wall pink and the others Simply White. We took one more risk doing a glitter paint. Let's just say it was a major fail, and was painted over. I also fell in love with shades of Mint! We painted our main bathroom ceiling...wait what?! Yes, we painted our main bathroom ceiling a mint color as well as the vanity. <br />
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Speaking of ceilings we also did a wallpaper ceiling in our dining room! It is probably one of my favorite accents in the house. We chose to do tray ceilings in our foyer and dining room to break up the ceiling a bit and I had planned on painting one or both but then I came across a house that put wallpaper in the ceiling and I was sold! I purchased the pattern Flourish by Candice Olson from <a href="http://www.sherwin-williams.com/" target="_blank">Sherwin Williams</a>. They always have coupons available and you'll want to use them. This wallpaper was $85 for a double roll and it took us 2 double rolls because of the pattern. We purchased the glue from Menards, learned how to "book" wallpaper (don't forget this step or it won't work) and worked together as a team to get it done. Let's just say Mr. Bertie requested we never hang wallpaper again...especially on a ceiling. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z_eOm4dKrJM/V3CDyV-nkbI/AAAAAAAAAc4/IgoPCQkMVzEwhiRLihOLWY9VvkLsJ4nnwCK4B/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z_eOm4dKrJM/V3CDyV-nkbI/AAAAAAAAAc4/IgoPCQkMVzEwhiRLihOLWY9VvkLsJ4nnwCK4B/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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We sprayed the primer on the ceilings and walls first. We actually didn't paint our ceilings, WHAT?! Unless there is a major food fight we really didn't think that was a necessary step...let's face it, 2 less coats of paint, hell yes! <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ljUaQlGSFYY/V3CFexC9w6I/AAAAAAAAAdE/dibBRD8P1WIx_s78S2wG8mx-Q5CAXFcywCK4B/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ljUaQlGSFYY/V3CFexC9w6I/AAAAAAAAAdE/dibBRD8P1WIx_s78S2wG8mx-Q5CAXFcywCK4B/s640/1.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Back to the budget! I went into Hirshfields and gave them our plan and they gave me a number. One thing to consider though when budgeting for paint is all the supplies that go along with it. You will need trim brushes, big rollers, little rollers, MORE rollers, tape, can openers and so much more. We should have planned for an additional $$$ because we didn't take those items into consideration.<br />
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Budget: $1000<br />
Actual:$1388.72<br />
Over: $388.72 (cash flowed)<br />
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So I think that covers the gist of selecting paint colors. Go to the experts and get their opinions but in the end it's all up to you! Find colors that flow well together but don't be afraid to step out of the box! <br />
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Paint colors will be noted when I show the final pics in each room. If you ever have questions please just ask in the comments section!<br />
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Check out my <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/luckylicia/paint/" target="_blank">"Paint"</a> Pinterest board to get more inspiration for your home!<br />
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One final thing, WHAT ROOM DO YOU WANT TO SEE NEXT?<br />
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1) Master Bedroom<br />
2) Kid's Bedrooms<br />
3) Bathrooms<br />
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<br />Alicia Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301343571920074524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5996106091832402559.post-18773698165552160522016-06-19T12:26:00.001-07:002016-06-19T12:26:53.040-07:00Our Happy Home Ok, let's kick this blog off again! Now that <strike>things have slowed down </strike>I'm making this blog more of a priority it's time to get back to business and share our building experience with you all! I run into you followers once in a while and every time I do I get the, "when are you going to post to your blog again?!?!" So here is what I'm going to do. I'm going to do a finished space post today and next time I'll talk budget again. Everyone cool with that?<br />
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When designing the house my main goal was to make it a bright, airy and most important HAPPY! I wanted to walk in and simply smile and I'm pretty sure we've accomplished that. It is not elegant, it is nothing fancy, but we put a lot of special love and attention into many details in our home. The inspiration for our home comes from <a href="http://www.houseofturquoise.com/2012/12/four-chairs-furniture-hiya-papaya.html" target="_blank">this gorgeous home</a> out in Utah which was designed by <a href="https://4-chairs.com/" target="_blank">Four Chairs Furniture & Design</a> and featured on <a href="http://www.houseofturquoise.com/" target="_blank">House of Turquoise</a>. <br />
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I'm going to start with our Family Room if that's all right with you. This is such an important room to me. It is where after a hard day you can come home and kick your feet up. It is where we sit to play Battle Ship, Guess Who and a crazy game of Twister! And it is where we will decorate our Christmas tree as a family. We wanted it welcoming, warm, and comfortable.<br />
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Let's start with the fireplace. It was purchased through <a href="http://www.woodlanddirect.com/" target="_blank">Woodland Direct</a>. We weren't going for the woodsy feel as you can see, but rather a more modern clean look. We love the rock bed, the amount of glass and the heat it gives off. We wish it came with a blower and had less of a black boarder around the glass. One mistake we made was when we originally had it framed in, it was way too high. Mr. Bertie's biggest pet peeve is having a TV too high above the fireplace. Well when we moved the frame work down, we forgot to lower the beam support as well which caused us to still have the beam high and the TV higher. It's on our list of things to fix/change but that will be at a later date. The tile around the fireplace was a new product through <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/" target="_blank">Home Depot</a>. I loved it the minute I saw it and hated it the minute we had to try and cut it down. You see the dimensions of the fireplace don't match up to the tile dimensions so we had to cut it. Let's just say it lead to a few cuss words.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wiy8Tu9t0us/V2bE8epsNNI/AAAAAAAAAaU/5TfhmEWoUQEPQ3HBPX0BWHsBMj9aMphkgCKgB/s1600/Livingroom-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Wiy8Tu9t0us/V2bE8epsNNI/AAAAAAAAAaU/5TfhmEWoUQEPQ3HBPX0BWHsBMj9aMphkgCKgB/s640/Livingroom-5.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">My favorite one-of-a-kind details are the barn beam fireplace mantel and the barn wood used in the entryway and kitchen. These came from the farm I grew up on in Pelican Rapids, MN. One day last summer...let me reword that...one very HOT day last summer Mr. Bertie and I pulled barn wood from that barn. Someday it won't be there but I now have a piece of memory in my home from that barn.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m1Ic9I6bU0Q/V2bE9AH_HPI/AAAAAAAAAaU/hQ74VUfslb0eSm1NNtrjfloCIgEBxvKPgCKgB/s1600/Livingroom-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m1Ic9I6bU0Q/V2bE9AH_HPI/AAAAAAAAAaU/hQ74VUfslb0eSm1NNtrjfloCIgEBxvKPgCKgB/s640/Livingroom-6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We used 4 10" lag bolts to support the beam and chose not to cover up the bolts. I like rustic touch it adds. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1CI-if125uE/V2bExaxBPDI/AAAAAAAAAaU/LkqHcrFggC4jHY8hDkVm39PXPzJo54aRwCKgB/s1600/Livingroom-13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1CI-if125uE/V2bExaxBPDI/AAAAAAAAAaU/LkqHcrFggC4jHY8hDkVm39PXPzJo54aRwCKgB/s640/Livingroom-13.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Ok, so now let's talk about the custom shelving!!! This was one project I was jacked about and was lucky enough that my custom cabinet guy Jeremy with Hazel Hill Cabinets was willing to assist me in creating my vision. Pinterest is incredibly inspiring and so the idea came from this <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/30962316163938002/" target="_blank">here</a>. I love photography and I love my kiddos so I wanted to have a place to feature each of their beautiful faces. Mr. Bertie was nice enough to put puck lights above each picture so that at night they can still shine. We used MDF for the shelving and added dattos to make it stronger. We also framed in the middle square to add support. All in all I am incredibly pleased with how it turned out!</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tgQzfbLhKf4/V2bE2fNjdrI/AAAAAAAAAaU/VPbdSvQvI6EQYBrVckO80W7fdbkIKTbegCKgB/s1600/Livingroom-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tgQzfbLhKf4/V2bE2fNjdrI/AAAAAAAAAaU/VPbdSvQvI6EQYBrVckO80W7fdbkIKTbegCKgB/s640/Livingroom-2.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xu4IBqxT9RQ/V2bE5Mec_qI/AAAAAAAAAaU/8MzBVyGomX8T1_SoQMTrH36SrjcFBFszgCKgB/s1600/Livingroom-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xu4IBqxT9RQ/V2bE5Mec_qI/AAAAAAAAAaU/8MzBVyGomX8T1_SoQMTrH36SrjcFBFszgCKgB/s640/Livingroom-4.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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Below the shelving are 3 cabinets to store blankets, board games, DVD's and more. The reason we did the frosted glass is because our DVD and any other entertainment system people have these days will be inside the cabinet. We didn't want the wood to cause a weak signal for any remotes. </div>
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And now I want to share with you all my newest obsession, <a href="http://www.bordfurniture.com/" target="_blank">Bord</a>! Jill Arnquist is the owner and the artist behind this incredibly beautiful furniture. I kinda want to be her someday ;) I respect any girl that's not afraid to get her hands dirty! She's located in Alexandria now but still serves the Twin Cities area. I cannot recommend her enough - inspiring person and stunning furniture! </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CYA_6hyhXmE/V2bFBZAYj5I/AAAAAAAAAaU/RLm0j_VJHq4iWJRbIM6UDarHQgYk3gwsACKgB/s1600/Livingroom-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CYA_6hyhXmE/V2bFBZAYj5I/AAAAAAAAAaU/RLm0j_VJHq4iWJRbIM6UDarHQgYk3gwsACKgB/s640/Livingroom-9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I am very simple...less is more kinda person. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qsmm3f8tK9k/V2bE9lCztVI/AAAAAAAAAaU/uJ-2C_spn4wmfH0BFGL-cxh_wurM-3zmwCKgB/s1600/Livingroom-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qsmm3f8tK9k/V2bE9lCztVI/AAAAAAAAAaU/uJ-2C_spn4wmfH0BFGL-cxh_wurM-3zmwCKgB/s640/Livingroom-7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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She has her hands on every aspect of her furniture from design, to cutting, treating, staining and fabricating those amazing metal legs. There are so many options that every piece she makes is unique!</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v4e-w-DpbCw/V2bFAN4ODtI/AAAAAAAAAaU/M9HJb6sIHWMbju-HwB4MWpNS9CBMlCx9QCKgB/s1600/Livingroom-8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v4e-w-DpbCw/V2bFAN4ODtI/AAAAAAAAAaU/M9HJb6sIHWMbju-HwB4MWpNS9CBMlCx9QCKgB/s640/Livingroom-8.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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So that's our family room! Any questions and comments are appreciated! </div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TnWkpeUNzrU/V2bEsUjfifI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/8Def37huEk0vFJYw_HcXcKrBUS37YguogCKgB/s1600/Livingroom-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TnWkpeUNzrU/V2bEsUjfifI/AAAAAAAAAaQ/8Def37huEk0vFJYw_HcXcKrBUS37YguogCKgB/s640/Livingroom-11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Wall Color: Deja Blue</div>
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Cabinets & Ship lap: Simply White (best white out there!)</div>
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All paint was purchased through the amazing team at <a href="http://www.hirshfields.com/" target="_blank">Hirshfields Paint</a></div>
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Floor: Shaw Brushed Oak Sandstone </div>
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purchased through Adam Arnquist at <a href="http://www.arnquistcarpetsplus.net/" target="_blank">Arnquist Carpets Plus Colortile</a></div>
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Rug & Accessories: Home Goods</div>
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Window Treatments: Ikea</div>
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Ceiling Fan: Lowes</div>
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Alicia Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301343571920074524noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5996106091832402559.post-30535537312268389572016-04-24T15:25:00.002-07:002016-04-24T15:25:56.174-07:00The Hardest DaySo let's fast forward a little bit. We set the footings, ran the in-floor tubing (purchased on eBay), and poured the foundation. Framed the shell, moved into the garage and let's not forget showering with hoses. Ugh, does that bring me back to some memories. <br />
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Mom & Dad took us on a trip to Disney and we had an amazing time (THANK YOU MOM & DAD!!!),<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c8i3wArJN4o/Vx1ELA_PuOI/AAAAAAAAAUc/OJYuXb8D8gEw7d5jG0MQV0enaOmuVytrQCK4B/s1600/IMG_6346.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-c8i3wArJN4o/Vx1ELA_PuOI/AAAAAAAAAUc/OJYuXb8D8gEw7d5jG0MQV0enaOmuVytrQCK4B/s320/IMG_6346.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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but of course the house was on our minds. One of the best decisions we made was to have someone else, Alvord Drywall, hang our ceiling sheetrock while we were away. They apparently got it done in just one day and did a FANTASTIC job! It cost us $1,056 but probably the best money we could have spent. It would have taken us WEEKS to do it ourselves even with the drywall lift we bought. It saved us time, and time is money!<br />
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The day we got back home from Disney there was no time to spare. We ran to Menards and rented an insulation blower. The 1st hour is $35 and then it's $5/hr after that. We blew in insulation in all of the ceiling. We used batting for the bonus room ceiling and the walls. If I have all the insulation receipts correctly:<br />
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BUDGET: $6445<br />
ACTUAL: $4859<br />
SAVINGS: $1586!!!<br />
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Other options would have been to spray foam - incredibly efficient but also incredibly spendy and something we were unable to do ourselves. We did not go light on the insulation and also insulted the interior walls for a sound barrier. <br />
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Now onto the hardest days - sheet rocking. Now hanging the sheetrock itself on the walls really isn't too bad. It's not the most fun part of the project but it's not too bad. The bad part is hauling it! We carried approximately 278, 4x12 and 54"x12 sheetrock into the house. The worst part and again HARDEST DAY was hauling the 35 sheets up the stairs to the bonus room. It was incredibly exhausting and pushed me to my physical limit. I would literally have to tell myself, "you can do this, you are a beast, pick up this f*#%ing sheetrock!!!" and then we'd lift and start up the stairs again and again. So my recommendation - get a couple sets of these:<br />
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border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: #008334; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; left: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; margin: auto; max-height: 250px; max-width: 250px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; position: relative; right: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; top: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: auto; width: 142px; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a><a class="cloud-zoom cloud-zoom-img-main" href="http://cds.a9t2h4q7.hwcdn.net/main/items/media/4828/ProductLarge/237-3778PanelCarrier.jpg" id="itemImageZoom" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: #008334; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; left: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; margin: auto; max-height: 250px; max-width: 250px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; position: relative; right: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; top: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: auto; width: 142px; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a><a class="cloud-zoom cloud-zoom-img-main" href="http://cds.a9t2h4q7.hwcdn.net/main/items/media/4828/ProductLarge/237-3778PanelCarrier.jpg" id="itemImageZoom" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: #008334; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; left: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; margin: auto; max-height: 250px; max-width: 250px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; position: relative; right: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; top: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: auto; width: 142px; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a><a class="cloud-zoom cloud-zoom-img-main" href="http://cds.a9t2h4q7.hwcdn.net/main/items/media/4828/ProductLarge/237-3778PanelCarrier.jpg" id="itemImageZoom" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: #008334; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; left: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; margin: auto; max-height: 250px; max-width: 250px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; position: relative; right: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; top: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: auto; width: 142px; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a><a class="cloud-zoom cloud-zoom-img-main" href="http://cds.a9t2h4q7.hwcdn.net/main/items/media/4828/ProductLarge/237-3778PanelCarrier.jpg" id="itemImageZoom" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: #008334; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; left: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; margin: auto; max-height: 250px; max-width: 250px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; position: relative; right: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; top: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: auto; width: 142px; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a><a class="cloud-zoom cloud-zoom-img-main" href="http://cds.a9t2h4q7.hwcdn.net/main/items/media/4828/ProductLarge/237-3778PanelCarrier.jpg" id="itemImageZoom" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: #008334; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; left: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; margin: auto; max-height: 250px; max-width: 250px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; position: relative; right: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; top: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: auto; width: 142px; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a><a class="cloud-zoom cloud-zoom-img-main" href="http://cds.a9t2h4q7.hwcdn.net/main/items/media/4828/ProductLarge/237-3778PanelCarrier.jpg" id="itemImageZoom" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: #008334; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; left: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; margin: auto; max-height: 250px; max-width: 250px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; position: relative; right: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; top: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: auto; width: 142px; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a><a class="cloud-zoom cloud-zoom-img-main" href="http://cds.a9t2h4q7.hwcdn.net/main/items/media/4828/ProductLarge/237-3778PanelCarrier.jpg" id="itemImageZoom" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: #008334; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; left: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; margin: auto; max-height: 250px; max-width: 250px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; position: relative; right: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; top: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: auto; width: 142px; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a><a class="cloud-zoom cloud-zoom-img-main" href="http://cds.a9t2h4q7.hwcdn.net/main/items/media/4828/ProductLarge/237-3778PanelCarrier.jpg" id="itemImageZoom" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: #008334; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; left: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; margin: auto; max-height: 250px; max-width: 250px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; position: relative; right: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; top: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: auto; width: 142px; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a><a class="cloud-zoom cloud-zoom-img-main" href="http://cds.a9t2h4q7.hwcdn.net/main/items/media/4828/ProductLarge/237-3778PanelCarrier.jpg" id="itemImageZoom" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: #008334; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; left: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; margin: auto; max-height: 250px; max-width: 250px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; position: relative; right: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; top: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: auto; width: 142px; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a><a class="cloud-zoom cloud-zoom-img-main" href="http://cds.a9t2h4q7.hwcdn.net/main/items/media/4828/ProductLarge/237-3778PanelCarrier.jpg" id="itemImageZoom" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: #008334; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; left: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; margin: auto; max-height: 250px; max-width: 250px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; position: relative; right: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; top: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: auto; width: 142px; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></a><br />
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<br />
Now sure you can pay the lumber yard to boom it in for you. And if money were not an issue, you better believe I would have had them do this. However, once you see the numbers you figure out a way to do it yourself. <br />
<br />
BUDGET: $5273<br />
ACTUAL: $2294<br />
SAVINGS: $2979!!!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RyHTpGSAB1M/Vx1DjBWXb0I/AAAAAAAAAUQ/JMPoBNbfhT0PqszWmhKvR1Dq6riX4G33wCK4B/s1600/IMG_6493.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RyHTpGSAB1M/Vx1DjBWXb0I/AAAAAAAAAUQ/JMPoBNbfhT0PqszWmhKvR1Dq6riX4G33wCK4B/s320/IMG_6493.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
And once we were done hanging drywall it looked a little like this.<br /><a class="cloud-zoom cloud-zoom-img-main" href="http://cds.a9t2h4q7.hwcdn.net/main/items/media/4828/ProductLarge/237-3778PanelCarrier.jpg" id="itemImageZoom" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border: 0px; bottom: 0px; color: #008334; cursor: pointer; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; left: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; margin: auto; max-height: 250px; max-width: 250px; orphans: auto; padding: 0px; position: relative; right: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; top: 0px; white-space: normal; widows: auto; width: 142px; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NZBGvjJPHEQ/Vx0--q-NVHI/AAAAAAAAAUE/oXdkbbxKpykG6RsVKXZIbdofRACgIRTXACK4B/s1600/IMG_6473.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NZBGvjJPHEQ/Vx0--q-NVHI/AAAAAAAAAUE/oXdkbbxKpykG6RsVKXZIbdofRACgIRTXACK4B/s320/IMG_6473.jpg" width="320" /></a><br /><br />
<br />
We then had Dennis Schmiesing (Breeze - 320-987-3662) mud, tape & texture. No one else could touch his bid and from previous experience we knew he did great work. Trust me when I say unless you are good at mudding and taping, pay someone else to do it. Dennis does an incredible job and is a great guy to top it off! His bid and bill were the same so our budget and actual are the same at $4216.68. If you've never hung drywall before talk to your mud and taper to get tips on how they like it done. There are right and wrong ways to do it. <br />
<br />
Last tip before I go. We opted out of having a dumpster on sight. We had a dump trailer from my dad instead. We had to dump it only twice but did it with 2 different companies for 2 completely different amounts! Waste Management (who we have service through) charged us a whopping $103.62 to dump a trailer. Then I got smart and called around. Alex Rubbish & Recycling was only $37.80! What a difference! Kudos to Alex Rubbish for having great prices - we may be making a switch simply because of this and their amazing customer service!<br />
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I know those of you that are just reading for the design aspect are getting impatient but this was such a huge part of the process. It's a part that I'll never forget but I also hope it gives encouragement to those that are about to build themselves. I hope you find the information helpful and again if you have any questions on vendors or process please do not hesitate to ask!<br />
<br />
<u>In My Toolbelt:</u><br />
-Mask<br />
-Work Gloves<br />
-Safety Glasses<br />
-Insulation Cutter<br />
-Drill<br />
-Sheetrock Screws<br />
-Sheetrock Bit (helps sink the screws perfectly)<br />
-Panel Carrier<br />
-Utility Knife<br />
-Sheetrock Saw<br />
-Chalk Line<br />
-Drywall Lift<br />
-Tape Measure<br />
-Hammer<br />
-Pencil(s)<br />
-Rotozip (to cut our boxes & windows)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Alicia Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301343571920074524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5996106091832402559.post-52717503553731761802016-04-10T18:38:00.001-07:002016-04-10T18:38:22.622-07:002 Shakes & a Lantern ShortAs we wrapped up work tonight we are officially 99% done with the exterior of the house!!! We are, however, 2 shakes and 1 lantern short. UGH!!! Sometimes these "projects" we start feel never ending. We have to order yet another box of shakes for the foyer and I still have to find my lantern that I'm turning into a light fixture that's in storage...somewhere. All she needs now is a concrete slab in front of the garage door, sidewalk and of course grass and landscaping - all summer projects.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M06HRuRAoJ4/Vwr_8a6lx9I/AAAAAAAAATo/8BsjArf-MuANU_FN853-cj5o0kq5q-nqA/s1600/Ext%2BHouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M06HRuRAoJ4/Vwr_8a6lx9I/AAAAAAAAATo/8BsjArf-MuANU_FN853-cj5o0kq5q-nqA/s320/Ext%2BHouse.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's time to get back to business and share this crazy journey we've been on. Building came before blogging and I couldn't manage doing them both at the same time. Sorry to leave you hanging! So I'm going to give you a little update as to where we are today and what recommendations I have if you're starting a project of your own.<br />
<br />
Where we are today:<br />
<br />
After 5 months of living in a garage we are now officially living in our house, cooking in our house, and we even sat down for about 30 minutes the other night...let me just say it feels amazing!!! We are due to close the end of this month and couldn't be more ready to settle down and have some family time.<br />
<br />
Getting down to business:<br />
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If you are planning a big project this summer the time is NOW to solidify your bids and lock in your vendors. The longer you wait, the more booked they become and the higher they bid out your job. That's right, if they have enough work, they will bid your job extra high that way if they don't get it, it's no sweat off their back but if they get it, it's a bonus for them. So get them now while they are shaking in the knees not knowing what this year will bring! And if you use any of my recommended vendors please tell them the Bertram's sent you :) Oh and always, always, ALWAYS get 3 bids! Yes it will take time but it will save you a ton of money! But don't always go with the lowest bid as you might not be happy with their work. <br />
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Drafter: We did all of our initial building materials through Hilltop Lumber so we used Nate as our drafter. I drew up my own plans already with ideal sizes and he fine tuned it. When it came to making changes I gave his a numbered list of things I wanted changed. He said because I was so detailed and gave it to him in list form it saved him time and us MONEY! We came in under budget for the drafting along with partial credit back on building materials. Then we went to Ed for the sales end of things. These guys will work one-on-one with you in making some key decision. Be sure to ask a ton of questions and write it all down. <a href="http://www.hilltoplumber.com/">www.hilltoplbr.com</a><br />
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Excavator: I highly recommend Jamie with Seph Excavating. First of all, he just a hoot to talk to, but beyond that, the guy is a work horse. They came in less than ideal conditions during less than ideal times of the day to get the job done. He was a connection through Mr. Bertie so it was easy to ask the questions and find out where we can save money and what needs to be done and what doesn't. <br />
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Framers: Lennes and Lorentz was our number one choice when we went into this project as the Lennes is family and we trust him and know he does excellent work. We were right with this decision to go with them because it really went without a hitch...well maybe a few changes but for the most part, it was smooth sailing. Their bid was what they charged us except we did have an add on when we had them install the soffit and facia because when we came to that point it made sense to just hire it out. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IlKS3Q5-kI0/VwcJRMMORnI/AAAAAAAAATM/Tf72Nbw2dFIG6_JF8jtDLAd6T_RZ1ti3Q/s1600/IMG_6202.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IlKS3Q5-kI0/VwcJRMMORnI/AAAAAAAAATM/Tf72Nbw2dFIG6_JF8jtDLAd6T_RZ1ti3Q/s320/IMG_6202.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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Concrete: We were recommended to use Lake Mary Concrete and yet again, it was a great choice. Frank and his crew were by far the hardest working vendor we had throughout the entire project. They were there sun up to sun down. They let Jackson help with the footings and even got us set up to put our handprints in the corner of the garage. Everything was incredibly level and there has been very little settling. I would recommend them 100 times over. The amount they bid was the amount we paid. There were no unexpected charges which was nice.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O93DVTtPIjA/VwcJmRYPukI/AAAAAAAAATU/3AFJWK0Y3_IWmU9Tmbs5b7w4U3V66Ciig/s1600/IMG_6110.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O93DVTtPIjA/VwcJmRYPukI/AAAAAAAAATU/3AFJWK0Y3_IWmU9Tmbs5b7w4U3V66Ciig/s320/IMG_6110.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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I'll leave it at that for now, but if you have any questions about these vendors and others that we have used please just ask.<br />
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Thanks for checking in and I promise the next post will have some fun pics :)Alicia Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301343571920074524noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5996106091832402559.post-4851042385460548012015-12-27T21:01:00.000-08:002015-12-27T21:01:04.224-08:00The Berties are Back!I feel like we're a TV premier, or a boy band that's come out of retirement or...well that's all I've got. We left you all high and dry after some crazy moments in our building process. One might have thought my computer was stolen too! I am so sorry it's taken us this long to come back with our latest post. I've been asked so many times when I'm going to start blogging again - love that people are actually following :) Let's just say life was beyond crazy with busy photography season and building a house while trying to manage a family all at the same time. Have you ever had too many balls in the air and eventually you start dropping them but you try your damndest to keep the most important ones going? Well that was my life for the past 2 months. Now I'm as caught up as I can be so I'm here with an update!<br />
<br />
After 2 months of living in a camper we are officially living in the...garage :\. We can call it an upgrade as we now get to sleep in normal sized beds, we have a working oven (purchased from an auction), kitchen cabinets (purchased off of craigslist), a couch, carpet remanent and concrete floor for Jackson to ripstick on. We also have our washer & dryer hooked up! Peace out Laundry Mat! We temped in our bathroom with a toilet - oh how nice it is to have a toilet that flushes and a shower that for about a month we used a hose to shower with - I know what all you ladies are thinking - CRAZY MRS. BERTIE SHOWERED WITH A HOSE?!?! Yep, I did and let's just say I have a whole new appreciated for continuous water flow from a shower head. <br />
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So here's a panoramic pic of our current living conditions:<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ABrKWkLDnls/VoC95ObZ-nI/AAAAAAAAASg/JEuCpm5giYY/s1600/IMG_6547.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="139" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ABrKWkLDnls/VoC95ObZ-nI/AAAAAAAAASg/JEuCpm5giYY/s640/IMG_6547.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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Lovely don't you think? Yes, that is a picnic table as our dining set. <br />
<br />
Here is an outside pic of the house from about 2 months ago -<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OIJ7t1o27ds/VoC_2E3VQBI/AAAAAAAAASs/HgWIRW0Nlck/s1600/IMG_6289.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OIJ7t1o27ds/VoC_2E3VQBI/AAAAAAAAASs/HgWIRW0Nlck/s400/IMG_6289.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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For now this post is just a quick update, but I'll rewind and talk more about the steps it took to get to where we are today. Tomorrow we get texture on our walls and will start painting and even laying tile in the bathroom that we currently use. We also chose the worst time of year to start siding our house. This morning when we went to work it was 1 degree...1 degree...yes, 1 degree and it sucked. Mr. Bertie is a work horse though so we went outside, nailed a few on, came inside to warm up and then back out again. We still have a ways to go but I'm going to say it out loud...we are hoping to be done by the end of February. I sure hope we can make it happen, but it's going to take a lot of hard work, persistence, and of course money. We'll talk budget next time if that's ok with you - I've got some catching up to do with it.<br />
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Wishing you all a blessed Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! <br />
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<br />Alicia Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301343571920074524noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5996106091832402559.post-64129674404682691082015-10-11T19:53:00.002-07:002015-10-12T05:17:56.729-07:00Theft was NOT in the budgetOk I hate to be a Debbie Downer right off the bat because if you know me I'm typically a happy bubbly person. I find the optimism in just about any situation. Sure the last couple years have been well...unlucky and at time felt unfair but that's life right. I once heard someone ask, "can you imagine how boring life would be if everything was just ok all the time and there were no ups and downs?" That has stuck with me so even when bad things like theft happen, I try to find a lesson to be learned and move on.<br />
<br />
So we have a storage unit that was broken into and they just so happened to steal everything that was in our garage from our last place...and I mean EVERYTHING! Oh wait, they did leave us a rake and shovel. Bless their hearts. I don't know what you have in your garage but in the Bertie's garage we have tools galore and those tools were going to be used to build this house. How the hell are you supposed to build a house without tools??? So of course panic and anger set in. Little Lucy said, "they could have just asked for it." Let's just say we heart to heart about working hard for the things you have and never taking anything from anyone. They also wrecked some household items but the tools are the devastating part. To make it worse...our deductible is $3400!!! ::insert me slamming my head against a wall:: You see I was oblivious as to how our insurance worked. Apparently our homeowners covers our storage unit, great...not so great! We then have to pay that deductible even on our RENTED storage unit! Because we thought we were being smart about paying lower premiums for higher deductible in case our house burned down at some point we thought we were good to go, except when "little" things like this happen it about knocks you over. So Lesson #14038672 - pay more attention to your insurance policy and have them walk you through scenarios so that you don't feel misinformed. I'm not gonna lie, I feel incredibly misinformed and while I take most the blame for it I sure wish my insurance agent would have piped in - just sayin'. <br />
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MOVING ON! This weekend we worked on POWER!!! We had to trench in the power from the power box to the house. I'm pretty lucky here cause my Mr. Bertie is an electrician so we got the hook up! I even got to run the trencher! We also ran power out to the pet house/kids fort and also out to where a future shed will be...in the very far future ;) It's better to get it in now rather than later when everything is looking spiffy. <br />
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Because a Trenching Selfie felt appropriate</div>
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We also put up all the outlet and switch boxes throughout the house. When you marry an electrician you better believe your house is going to be well lit. He also drilled through the studs to run the wire. Tomorrow, if it's not too windy, they start the trusses and by the end of the week we'll be ready to shingle!!!<br />
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We also ran to Menards <a href="http://menards.com/">menards.com</a> for some insulation as they were having the 11% Rebate and we will be doing insulation soon. Let's talk numbers:<br />
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Underground Foam Insulation:<br />
BUDGET: $5658<br />
ACTUAL: $3850<br />
DIFFERANCE: +$1808 YAY!<br />
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House/Garage Insulation:<br />
BUDGETL: $5676<br />
ACTUAL: $4267<br />
DIFFERANCLE: +$1409 YAY again! Plus we'll get 11% ($469) back in rebate!<br />
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TAKEAWAY:<br />
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- I will encourage all of you to talk to your insurance agent about your current policy. Do an all around look at your rates, premiums, deductibles and really get to know your situation so that you don't have to learn about it the hard way like us. Oh and we did lower our deductible to $1k and no they will not do a separate policy for a storage unit - UGH!<br />
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- Search for good deals people! It pays off as you can see! <br />
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- If you are not on a budget yet I HIGHLY encourage you to get on one and <a href="http://everydollar.com/">everydollar.com</a> is THE BEST budgeting tool out there. So easy to use and I promise you that if you are not on a budget right now and you get on one, it will feel like an insta-raise! "Tell your money where to go instead of wondering where it went." ~ Dave Ramsey<br />
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Oh and one last thing...we're having a <b><i><u>Shingling Party</u></i></b> this next weekend! Beer, Pizza and Gas Gift Cards if you feel like helping the Berties out!<br />
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{as always we love hearing from you so feel free to post </div>
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questions & comments and share with others!}</div>
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<br />Alicia Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301343571920074524noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5996106091832402559.post-5422637927964862882015-10-04T18:43:00.003-07:002015-10-04T18:44:39.247-07:00Well, well, well...where is the water?Hello...anyone...anyone...Bueller...Bueller??? Oh there you are! Pretty sure I may have lost a few of you these past couple weeks but we're still alive! It's been nuts and so I have lots to update you on. Before we do that I want to remind you that if you'd like to follow along feel free to sign up via e-mail on the blog! You'll get an e-mail each time I post an update. <br />
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This week's good - we have walls! The bad - finding water was a bitch.<br />
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First of all - WE HAVE POWER, and RUNNING WATER, and INTERNET!!! It's amazing how much we take advantage of our lives having the basic necessities and until you don't have them you don't realize just how lucky you are. Let's talk info & budget...ready?<br />
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<b><u>Power: </u></b><br />
BUDGET: $3600<br />
ACTUAL COST: $2740 to the Electric Company & $50 to our neighbors as a thank you<br />
DIFFERENCE: +$810<br />
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We have an incredibly long driveway - 800 feet to be exact. To save a little money we shortened the distance bring the power line on the edge of our woods rather than following our driveway. Our AMAZING neighbors Phill & Mary Kay (you'll hear a lot about these 2 - they are the best) cut down 5 trees for us so that we could trench the line a shorter distance. They also trenched our internet cable at the same time. <br />
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<b><u>Internet:</u></b><br />
We planned on cash flowing this if there were any extra costs. Luckily there weren't any! It just took them FOREVER to get it to us. It took a lot of phone calls, a lot of following up to get them here and after an entire month they finally hooked me up. A huge thank you to Matt & Sam Anderson for borrowing their laptop to me. Try running a business without internet - IMPOSSIBLE! I was becoming a regular at Caribou however I don't drink coffee so I ended up ordering a cookie and water. Hey whatever works!<br />
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<b><u>Water:</u></b><br />
BUDGET: $5500<br />
ACTUAL: We haven't received the final bill but it's looking like $13,078.<br />
DIFFERENCE: -$7578 - OUCH!<br />
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The well has been our biggest learning experience and our biggest downer since beginning the project. I have some major advice ahead so if you're ever planning to dig a well you'll want to read the following - if not feel free to skip over. <br />
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ALWAYS over budget to make room for DRY HOLES. We had a company (I'll leave their name out since it didn't end well but feel free to contact me for references if you need one) was the highest bid but was willing to match the lowest bid just to keep our business as we'd worked together in the past. Our 3 bids for a 100' well came is as follows:<br />
1-$5,444<br />
2-$6,830<br />
3-$7,047<br />
We thought great - we had trust and a better price. Our first mistake was giving the bank the number $5,500. We should have added at least $3,000+ as you end up paying in big time if you drill a dry well. If you end up with dry holes then you have the money. If you hit water the first time then you have wiggle room. This company dug 3 dry wells! The 2nd hole the rig broke down so we were not charged for it but 3 dry holes people! And then they wanted to go 150 yards south of our house for the next hole. That's when I stepped in and said enough was enough. We had 2 well witches come out with that company and then independently had 2 more come out. If you've never tried well witching, give it a go. Adam's been shocked too many times so he wasn't able but it worked for me. Anyway, we then had another well company come out and after a lot of discussion including scientific geological reasoning I was convinced they would be a good option. I gave the other company one last shot telling them if they could get me running water for $10k or less we'd stick with them only they said they would but wouldn't use quality products - ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! After a lot of discussion, me being pissed off with the situation we switched companies. The new company found water 10' from the other company's second "dry" hole. In the end we made the right decision letting the other company go. You have to follow your gut in these situations. Unfortunately the bank would not cover the first company's cost since we let them go so we had to come up with $4,218.00 - yikes! It sucks because it happened right away but it's a good thing too because now we can adjust our budget now rather than later. There go my gorgeous kitchen countertops :( Traut Wells out of Alexandria is the company we ended up going with and their bid came in at $8860 for a 180' well. Our well ended up being 163' so there will be some adjustments made.<br />
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Here is us getting water!!! It brought tears to my eyes!</div>
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We also had our footing installed. Jackson got hands on experience working with block. What a wonderful crew they were showing him the ropes. Thank you Lake Mary Concrete! They have been absolutely amazing to work with.</div>
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Then they backfilled and we went to work. We bought foam for inside the walls of the footings and foam for the flooring. $3850 from Menards. </div>
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<b><u>In-floor Heating:</u></b></div>
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BUDGET: $1700</div>
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ACTUAL: $1245</div>
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DIFFERENCE: +$455 - but we plan to sell the gun</div>
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Bought a PEX tubing staple gun ($200), staples ($165) and PEX($880) off of E-bay.</div>
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2nd Lesson Learned: When doing IN-FLOOR HEAT you have the option of doing 1/2" or 5/8" tubing. 1/2" is cheaper but each run can only go 300' where 5/8" can go 500'. The tube that we ordered off of Ebay was 1000' so we ended up with 3 sets of 100' of waste. That's a lot of money! This is good to know before you order and will save you money if you do it right. Also, be sure to staple every 5 feet or so. If you leave too much of a gap the cement will push the tubing up or move it out of place. I ended up adding staples as the guys were pouring the cement. Yet another lesson learned. We also worked into the night. A huge THANK YOU to Brandon Lennox for helping Adam while I was away at a shoot.</div>
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I realize this post was more informational than entertaining but I had to catch up on where we are today. Speaking of...WE HAVE WALLS!!!</div>
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Ok off to bed! Us Berties gotta get our sleep while we can! Thanks again for following along!<br />
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<br />Alicia Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301343571920074524noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5996106091832402559.post-15753389845740423892015-09-14T12:33:00.001-07:002015-09-14T12:33:26.816-07:00Tiny HouseFirst of all, what an incredible response I've had to the blog with just one post! YAY! Thank you so much for your encouraging words and advice. Thank you to all you new people that I didn't even know for following along this journey. I even chatted with a local lady who's doing the same thing as us! I think I finally found someone like me...not afraid to get her hands dirty ;) So thank you all and keep on following along! Ok, now back to business...<br />
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So there's this Tiny House movement making its way across the world! So in all actuality we are just keeping with the trends with our new living arrangements! We live in a Tiny House...or camper...tomato, tomato (I'm saying them 2 different ways, get it?). And actually we have 2! So here it is, our home:<br />
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For 10 months we lived with my parents. You never know how living with your parents will go but I must say, it went amazing. Better than it should have. They even extended the offer to stay longer - how sweet, but no. It's time to be adults again. So with many tears from Jackson...and yes a few from me we moved out. We saved enough for our initial down payment by living with them and we cannot thank them enough! I also have an incredibly amazing and generous sister & brother-in-law that lent us this mansion of a camper (trust me when you compare the 2, it's a mansion). We do our every day out of the main camper and the fish house/camper is my office and closet. That's right, we have a WALK IN CLOSET! Rent in Alex would run us at least $1000/month if we went with that option. Sure we'd have power, running water and maybe even internet but hey, we can do it! It's all about exploring your options! <br />
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I promised a floor plan and budget but I can only deliver on one. Sorry, my budget is currently being overhauled by our current well situation (I'll talk more about that in another post...trust me, it's post worthy). So here is the plan! Feel free to disect it and share any thoughts on it! Just a couple things to note, we have 2 little ones and are DONE having kids so we only wanted 3 bedrooms with the bonus as a guest room/kid's retreat. We also hope to grow old in it so it is 1 level with a bonus room over the garage. Our storm shelter is the closet off the kitchen and will be reinforced accordingly. The "sun room" is actually my studio! If you didnt already know I do photography so I'm so excited to have a designated space for it. Ok, enough talk, here it is:<br />
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My goal is to post each Sunday night and so as we sit here on a Monday you can see that plans sometimes change. It's been chaotic with moving and starting school so please forgive me. Stick with me and I'll have more fun posts coming up about the ups and downs of the building process!Alicia Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301343571920074524noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5996106091832402559.post-31588778049668932412015-08-31T05:47:00.002-07:002015-08-31T07:39:58.641-07:00There's no place like homeWe've been clicking our ruby red slippers for over 2 years now and we're finally almost home! It's been a long run of ups and downs but we've made it through and we are finally able to call Alexandria HOME! <br />
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That's right people it's official,we broke ground, we move Labor Day weekend onto our land and into a...camper! SAY WHAT?!?! <br />
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It played out like this 2.5 years ago on a trip back from Pelican Rapids:<br />
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Alicia: Adam, would you ever move?<br />
Adam: Why would we move when we just added onto our house?<br />
Alicia: I know but if you did move anywhere, where would it be?<br />
Adam: I suppose Alex. <i>(that's the answer I was hoping for)</i><br />
Alicia: And if you moved what would you want?<br />
Adam: I'd want over 40 acres of hunting land and I'd want to build.<br />
Alicia: You know the only way you're going to get a good deal on land is if you buy it from a widow <i>(I know shame on me). hops online to <a href="http://realtor.com/">realtor.com</a>...</i>I think I found something.<br />
Adam: What?<br />
Alicia: I found some land just 3 miles outside of Alex with 53 acres. Want to go take a look?<br />
Adam: I guess<br />
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And that's how it all started. We looked at the land, called the realtor, they just dropped the price $50k (it happened to be a widow that wanted a fast sale), we found a realtor Matt Imdieke (<a href="http://centralmnrealty.com/">centralmnrealty.com</a>), listed our house on Monday, put an offer in on Wednesday and had our first showing on Thursday. This is how we did things; quick decisions with no clue of what could go wrong...and they did. <br />
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(picture taken when we thought we sold the 6th time...Lucy must have seen the bad news coming...they too backed out.)</div>
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Let's just fast forward through all the not-so-fun things and move on to TODAY! Today I'm starting this blog as a way for me to document our building process and also, and maybe more importantly, our budget process. You see we did learn something through that roller coaster ride. We learned patience, thought process, hope for the best but plan for the worst, and we learned how to budget. <br />
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We found Dave Ramsey (<a href="http://daveramsey.com/">daveramsey.com</a>) and it has completely changed our way of life and outlook on our future. If you've never heard of Dave or maybe just heard a few little things about him I encourage you to check it out. You see I was never told that I should live on a budget, or how for that matter. Money comes and goes as we make it and spend it and that's that. Everyone has a house payment, everyone has a car payment, everyone has student loans...until I learned that some people don't and the freedom that comes along with that. It's amazing what happens when you tell your money where to go. And that's just what we're going to do. <br />
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It is my goal to build this house on a budget. "But Alicia, you can't build a house on a budget and actually come in on budget" they say. "EVERYONE goes over 10-15%!" So here is me holding us accountable and putting it out there for others to see. I will talk numbers on here but not always specific as I don't want to upset my contractors. And I will explain when, how, and why we do things. If you ever want details don't hesitate to ask - I'm an open book. I would also encourage you to share this blog with anyone who is looking to build, a do-it-yourself friend, or anyone you think this might be helpful to. We would also love to hear from you so please don't hesitate to comment with words of encouragement (we're gonna need them) and questions you may have.<br />
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*I also want to add a disclaimer. I am not a creative writer nor do I have the best grammar and spelling. I also cuss like a sailer but I'll limit that on here. <br />
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So here is our building process...on a budget...wish us luck!<br />
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{stay tuned for our next post which includes the house plan & budget}<br />
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#bertiesbuildonabudgetAlicia Bertramhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07301343571920074524noreply@blogger.com0