my husband and I bought dirt in 1969 no driveways, no water, ....dirt.... and a very young forest. lived in the daylight basement for 8 years. adopted 2 boys in 75 and 76. had the frame built for us in 1979. we have worked on it continually since. in the mean time we lived a very full life. I lost my Bruce in 2005 I have done a lot of finish work on my own after he passed. but there many things that someone else will get to finish. oh ya I took up with his best friend now he is my best friend. to be loved twice in my life is a success in and of its self. so living life is important. building a house can shred you. take care of yourselves look each other in the eye and verbaly remind yourselves how much you love each other. and by the way I have a really unique house.
Please don't let anyone tell you that this beautiful home is just a box. You wonderful people are a real blessing to all of us watching. You don't ever have to justify your life to us. We do love to see you make the journey. We don't enjoy your pain, however, Your troubles are wonderful for us because you find a way to overcome them. Just focus on loving each other and your life. Then your "box" will be the beautiful home that we see. thank you for sharing your life with us.
For your fridge containers, use glass. I switched a long time ago because I felt I could never get the plastic ones clean enough. Love my glass containers.
The weather outside doesn't mean you can't build some of your interior walls, as long as you use dry lumber. (Unless it is covered, anything outside will be too soaked by now, and would be impossible to cut accurately to length). I've done several projects like this, and my experience is to first close in a bedroom to keep you sleeping quarters clean.
You are absolutely correct about not worrying if you live in an unfinished house. We spent two summers and a winter in a barely livable shack that was more than a hundred years old, and one of those winters was the winter of '78. We survived. Then we built the basement and roofed over the flat first floor of the house and lived in that for over a decade. When the roof/floor leaked and rotted out, we did something like your cabin over it, built of reclaimed materials. Then that had to be torn down because it was framed incorrectly, and my mom finally had a finished house by 1997, twenty years after we moved to the farm. She got to live in it ten years before she died. A lot of living happened in those unfinished shelters. Part of that was because my stepfather was bone idle, and preferred pot smoking to working, but even then it eventually got done. Something to reframe the discussion, and the thought processes of your critics. Your unfinished house is a palace to most of the world, through most of history. The Bourbon kings would have gone to war to have your house. Yeah, it isn't as fancy as the palace at Versailles, but it is far, far warmer. They never had central heat. They never had electric lights. They never had a hot shower or a flushing toilet. The world has lived in huts made of mud and sticks and relieved themselves outside for most of human history, and most of the world still does. Many a house in this world is built of feces. If you are lucky, it is animal feces. If you aren't, it may be your own, mixed with straw and mud and sticks to keep the weather off. So yeah, your unfinished house is a palace. The freedom it gives is the freedom of kings. You are warm. And now that you have a solid house that can't be overturned by wind (below a tornado), or easily crushed by snow, you have the luxury of time to finish it. You'll be fine.
the first 15 minutes was amazing, weve been rebuilding this entire house we bought in may hoping to move in next month, next month, next month, we wanted to record the entire thing but we cant even find the time between jobs and building. Were beating ourselves up the entire process and this helped me realize this is part of the process. You guys are doing amazing, Keep it up!!
i bought a queen box/spring/mat,, in a day built a frame with 6 draws on each side,,,,32 inch high total..., no wasted space under the bed.. head board has shelves with room for stuff..Cedar shingles over the outside siding would look great on a T/F,, couple days a side..
What I’ve learned through living in years in a construction zone-it’s true-you live life. Your goals and needs will change over time. Stay true to your primary goal, and alter your plans to more simplicity, which is opposite of what we usually do. Stay focused on keeping clutter down and keeping life full of life and not full of stuff.
I have watched your channel for some time now (went back to the beginning and caught up to you today). This is only the forth time I have commented on a channel since RUclips began. You are happy, you are together and you are doing it your way. This a a rare and significant accomplishment, enjoy your life (and hug that cat, my god he has a phone too).
Yeah.!! You're moving on up.. To the Sip-House.To the Deluxe... Improvement..In your lifes... Now your movin on up..To the Sip-House. You finally got a piece. Of a debt-free pie!!!!!!
I'm just going to say it, for some people IKEA is the nice thing. You do get what you pay for but there is a reason why you went there. There aren't a lot of places where you can go and get something the is very functional, nice looking and won't force you into a second mortgage. So yeah, you bet IKEA had some good thinking.
if you ever decide to have children, please try to finish the house. My father started building our house when I was 4. It was still not finished when I left for college at 18. I went to sleep every night looking at blocking in the joists above my head because there was no ceiling. I love and miss my father, but a couple years living in a construction zone for an adult can be an eternity for a child.
We lived in our camper while building our log home. And I know how hard winters can be in a 3 season camper. You will be happy to be in a warm bed and a full size bathroom. Good luck.
I worked a couple of hours away from home for many years, for 5 of those years I lived in an RV. For anyone who has ever lived in an RV, mine was a 40 footer with two tip outs, you know that unless you spend as much as a small home will you won't get an RV that is insulated for really cold weather. When it gets below zero Fahrenheit you are going to be really uncomfortable. I had to insulate my water line going to the water hookup and worry about the heat tape, I had to be darn sure the sewer pipe was pitched enough but not too much so it would drain and not freeze and I had to check those regularly. I had to sleep in sweat pants and a thick sweat shirt, I was so glad when I sold that thing and went to an apartment. I had a home where I went to on weekends that I had built and was well insulated and comfortable where my wife and children lived and it was not something I looked forward to going back to the RV on Monday.
It’s great to see you’ve been able to catch up to the point where your videos are out within a few days after filming. I hope that means you are able to do things in a less stressful way. I’ve been watching, without comment, for over two years and really appreciate all you provide to the audience. I’m an old guy but I’ve learned quite a bit and gotten many ideas from you for my own use. Thanks!
I want to congratulate you on moving into the house. It was a Herculean effot to get there and you have an excellent home. Also want to acknowledge the tremendious effort you both, and espcially Alyssa, put in on documenting and sharing your life with us. It is greatly appreciated and educational. I started watching your videos when I was researching ICF construction, but I have learned so much about construction and life skills from you since watching your progress. That you explain your thinking and why you are doing your projects the way you do, then show the mistakes and success is the best part of your videos. Similar vids I watch that go over 15 minutes I tend to fast foreward through, but yours are sometime over 30 minutes and I watch every second and want more.
I feel that the 2 of you have accomplished more than a lot of people in this country. I am so glad to have found your channel. Merry Christmas to all 3 of you and I wish you a very Happy New Year. Bug-a-Boo is a producer. His end product: his happy hoomans! (LOL) Purr on Cat, purr on. Thanks for the videos. Stay safe.
Jessy. I started a similar sort of project to build my debt free home on a large plot of land in the country over a decade ago. And while my house and shop building are complete to most people’s view, the reality is that it will never be done to me. Life has become all about lists. What I think of as NASA style lists. I have an endless, almost insurmountable list of tasks to accomplish. And I continue to come up with new ideas, upgrades and other projects to add to the list. So it’s an ever growing animal that seems to stretch on forever. But the key for me is taking time each week to organize my list. What projects are better to do when? What can I do and what can’t I do until some material is here or the seasons are different. And how do I organize the list so I don’t take on tasks that will be finished only to be undone because the finished product is in the way of getting another part of the list finished. IE: finish grading the driveway and later digging it up to run conduit for power and water. You seem to get that part of the process that took me years to lear with accomplishing parts only to have to do it all again because I haven’t yet done something that’s behind that finished product. Just keep it organized and moving forward. I have a three a day philosophy. If I knock three items off the list each day, I feel like of done what I need to in order to feel comfortable. Sometimes it’s three huge parts that take from sun up to well after sundown. Other days I just need me time so I take on three small items to get done and chill the rest of the day to recharge. And spend time to further reorganize my list. This will always be an overwhelming project to complete. If you break that project down into its smallest parts and keep chipping away, you’ll feel great about your progress. And never focus on getting to the end of the list. Just focus making it better every day.
Dear Young People, I think till NOW, you BOTH are succeeding on a day to day basic to LIVE in your House. Well done and never give up HOPE xxx Aunt Eli
That feeling of FINALLY we are moving in is something most people will never experience. My wife and I moved into our house the first of the month. Is it done? Hell no! Is it better than the RV? you bet it is! We were in our RV for 18 months, but we started with an existing building too. There were some things that already worked, such as water, sewer, and basic power. The biggest problem we have is that we are twice your age and starting over. My wife still isn't completely sold on this whole thing, but she is supportive and feeling better about all of it now. Keep up the great work, and hang in there. Merry Christmas and enjoy your first in your home.
Hey guys, First of all let me tell you how much I really enjoy your videos, you truly have been an inspiration for many and for one I appreciate it very much. I design build Custom Motor Coaches and have been for over 55 years. One of the issues that came up earlier with our Conversions was how to switch between shore power, generator and inverter power. You now can use an automatic transfer switch,. It handles the Grid AC power switching automatically, you don't have to do a thing. They're not expensive usually under $400... I just wanted you to know this in case you weren't aware of it. Also in the meantime I am considering doing some RUclips videos ourselves to help the do-it-yourself bus motor home converter. And I have to give you credit, it was you two that have inspired me.... On your exposed 50 amp plug, if I may, you may want to plug that into an empty 50amp dryer receptacle. They make them in watertight too . Again thank you very much, keep the videos coming I can't wait to see you everyday. Thanks again, Sam,
If you are going to be living in the house it is important to figure out what the finished floors will need so you can do that area of the house now so you can enclose that area in temporary walls to hold plastic to keep the work zone dust out and trap more heat inside
Plan NOW for the next phase ! Consider a wardrobe type storage in the garage for heavy winter coats and overalls, by the front. The under stairs storage. and Cement board for the equipment room.
Here I am on day 7 of developing my own sourdough starter and I find out we are running in parallel on that. I know you frequently publish historic videos so I guess you actually have a mature starter by now but it felt great to find myself at 71 years old in the middle of something you are doing. Good luck with that starter.
I was watching today and Jessie and Bug-a-boo started talking and my silver Tabby was talking back to Bug-a-Boo.. was quite cute. One thing I'm sure you have thought of is heat tape on the hydrant that you back feed the water into. with the weather /Temps dropping those are very prone to freezing as your well aware. Weve used heat tape on ours to keep it useable.
I've watched almost from the start and the journey has been amazing to watch. There's a huge difference between mortgage free and debt free and I know I would love to be mortgage free. What still baffles me, as I haven't found the secret sauce yet, is how you afford to do things like get your pilots license and rent planes or buy all the tools you have. In the UK its about £150K to do that. I guess you either have a great income from other commercial ventures or you saved, loaned or borrowed before you started. Love watching the journey and all the challenges you face and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and New Year.
Thank you Alyssa and Jesse for allowing us to follow your journey over the last 3 years and my husband and I would like to wish you both a very Merry Christmas and hope 2019 is a very special year!!!! :)
You should be so proud of yourself. Back in the day my parents were young, people used to build their own houses, in fact mine built 2 and my Mom was pregnant for one. So give yourself a big pat on the the back, you both work very hard and deserve all you get.
I am so in awe of what you have achieved and the fact that you are still cohesive after that is monumental. Thank you for all your videos - i have seen everyone of them - even the ones where you test out stuff that I have no interest in lol - that is dedication for you
There are a lot of people (especially the finance oriented ones) who say having a mortgage is a good thing. Tax incentives, etc. I'm with you guys, not having any debt is such a relief. The stuff we have may not be quite as nice, but it's ours.
Maybe make a list of everything that needs to be done for the house to be complete. Then cross them off the list as they get done. You are, right now, in that sweet spot of your house build. You can now take your time to do the rest. Congratulations!
You guys are very lucky being where you are, where I live you can not move into a partially completed house. We have to complete the house and then get a occupancy permit. Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year.
You guys are house build driven and see no reason of a slowdown in your build, the house is beautiful, the land is beautiful and you two are beautiful. As a sales person you guys are on point and as we say never satisfied when not doing some. Merry Christmas 🎄.
Jessie before you start the drywall inside the house. Thought you would like to know they make a flat sanding pad that hooks up to your vacuum. No dust
Just a little suggestion for your generator cable, maybe get a socket to plug it into when not in use and link the line and earth together so if it goes live then it isn’t in risk of anyone touching the live metal external parts and it dumps to earth and trips the breaker to let you know you have it on? Other than that great videos keep up the great work and merry Christmas best of luck for the new year!
Hi Guys, My wife and I enjoy every minute of every day that you put videos up,there really is nothing mundane about your everyday tasks, even if they are not construction type videos or electrical, plumbing etc. One of our favorate times is when you share with Bugaboo, (actually we named a stray girl kitty cat bugaboo in honor of your Bugafish, she wont come in the house, doesn't want to but we love her and feed her everyday). We love and pray that every dream you have and every positive expectation would be granted by God, there is so much more to tell you but it would take a week. Stay safe and Blessed this Holiday season and know that you are loved.
You two are fantastic, if it had been me I would have given up about two years ago. The amount of work you get through every day would take four or five people to do the same tasks.
Congrats to you both! The house is part of your lives and watching it grow is amazing. Your garden turned out better than anything I’ve ever grown and I can’t wait to see next years! Merry Christmas to you!
An a way, making these videos is insurance that you will never quit developing your house and property. The videos are a revenue producing job that requires interesting content to attract and maintain a following. They take time but also provide motivation and continuity. You do a fantastic job and your biggest challenge will not be to keep going, but what to do (that is interesting), when your house is complete and the property is developed--but then maybe the new kids will provide a new chapter as you try to pass to the next generation what you have learned. You guys rock!!
I subscribed to your channel/IG back when he was reviewing a portable saw mill and I’ve watched everything since. This is what the American Dream is. Thank you for showing so many that with work and patience, anything is possible! Cheers
Got audio. Bad chrome cast maybe. Questions. Video on airplane purchase? Did you folks purchase the mini excavator? It does appear you treasure it. Sure would have been nice running the sawmill. And so much safer. The thumb on that excavator is a game changer. By the way, consider a whole house generator. A couple of years ago we had an ice storm in Michigan around this time. . I have two gas generators but it was nearly impossible to get gas since almost all the gas stations were closed. For an extended time. Some folks had no power for over three weeks. We were without power for over a week. Whole house generator sure made sense.
If those doors on the closet get too loud when shutting them put a dot of hot glue on the corners and it will provide a bit of a impact sound compression.
MERRY CHRISTMAS , Hang in there . There is light at the end of the tunnel . Remember two things . You are farther ahead than you were when you started your project . It is better than living in a cardboard box on the sidewalk in Mumbai !
From our family to yours we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a safe, healthy and prosperous New Year. We have loved all of your videos and appreciate the quality and the hard work you have put into your filming. Many blessing to you and Bug-A-Boo.
I have loved watching you since you started building the hot tub you are doing a great job and you are so right debt free is the best. Congratulations!
I dont make many comments but I have 2 thoughts on my mind. 1 is the wood stacked against the outside wall actually touching the wall? It can leave a clear path for ants/subterranean termites/bugs in general to get to your wood exterior and into your house. 2 there is a clear work around the generator problem, but requires an extra conduit through the wall. Place the lockout switch on the inside panel but you need to put a generator plug outside and bring the wire through the wall to the lockout throw over switch. Enjoy the videos, keep them coming.
Really chuffed for you guys! You have worked so hard to get to this stage, i hope you get chance to have a break over the hols to rest and recouperate for getting the outside totally weatherproof.
Heck yeah!!!!! I would be SOOO dancin’ around the house sooo proud that we did it !! You both should be sooo proud ! You Nay sayers, For shame, For shame, For shame!
5:00 Screw the outlet(not connected to the electric net) next to the shield and stick the cable there when not in use. It will be safer even if you forget to unplug this cable.
If you dont live in a house, it will start to fall down/apart. Even a brand new house will start to do that. THUMB'S UP for moving into it, even if its a 'shell' atm, given time that'll change. O and Merry Xmas :D
My wife and I did this and we still have things that are not finished in the house but our house is payed for no mortgage and we still peck away at things getting them done 20 years later. We heat with wood and propane gas we are on grid but also have a 2600 watt solar system, the single biggest expense was the well, as we live in the North East Georgia Blue ridge mountain our well is 485 feet deep $$$$$$ but we did it together. As the song say's keep pushing on! REO speed wagon
Great prospective, construction can be overwhelming at time I am super glad you are taken time to live your life ..... do what you have too . I just love watching. Merry Christmas🎄 and looking forward to seeing your progress in 2019 take care.
Yea! Congratulations! What a great milestone! Also, I bought those same magnets from Amazon. They're rated to hold 11-13 pounds, so I use them to hang pots & pans on the side of my refrigerator. They hold really good.
You guys rock!!! I had an aha moment and I wished I had your wisdom at younger age I would have enjoyed the lifetravel a bit more with our home. We're living in it for 30 years and still it's not done and that bothered me and still does on some extend. But indeed it's a life journey and I should enjoy it a bit more and so should my husband. What you said Allysa made so much sense thank you very much for that. And I'm very impressed by bugaboo, how he has "his people" trained...wow ;) Merry Chrismas to you both and family I do hope to travel with you through your journey for many more times as I do enjoy it all. Thanks xoxo
I made a sourdough glutenfree culture, to help it along, i resorted to feed it with sugar now and then, so if your starter is a bit slow, give it a bit of sugar, the yeast consumes it, so no harm in it
I moved into this house 1,378 days ago and I’ve still got a Shipping Container Fully of Stuff yet to find a home within this house, but I will eventually get there.
You both have worked so hard building this house and have gained a lot of knowledge and skill too ! You will have a lot of memories looking back after you finish building it ! So far it looks great ! Thanks again for making all of your videos which is a lot of work too ! 👍 wish you both and Bugaboo a Merry Christmas !
I know my husband is a very motivated person in his business that he runs we put together farm machinery all over the country but we have made it a point that on the weekends we shut down and we enjoy life a little bit otherwise your life is gone before you know it
The only thing I have noticed about the house is that it is a very tight house with lots of Oriented Strand Board and the resin in it. The resin puts out a low level of formaldehyde gas which can cause health problem. It also has methylene-disocyanate which is also toxic.
Bugaboo is the star of this channel. The humans are his supporting cast - a very well trained support team. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. And to Bugaboo --- meow.
Wow journey of the three and half years... I remember the episode of showing this property around and prior to that... good job my friends... also thanks for all the efforts to share these clips...
There are a few great books on Sour Dough on Amazon, and the goal is to remember to feed the starter..Love your common sense way to life and building hour home... Living it unfinished , lets you see what you really want to have on the inside .. so take your time , its your home wheater its finished or not ... Merry Christmas , and a Blessed and joyous New Year.. Ninette Bird - Caribbean Wife
You have a great box! If I was a betting man, I'd bet you finish it at least 98%. You both are inspiring and have given me much enjoyment watching things develop. If i was closer, I'd come help frame, wire sheet rock. Merry Christmas.
Here's wishing you a very blessed and merry Christmas and continued happiness throughout the new near. I have been with you since the dismantling of the old shed for the tin and the cedar rafters.
I have been watching your videos and admire what you have done. You should be very proud of your accomplishments. I would like to suggest a safer way of attaching your generator to your house. Place a 50 amp receptacle on your house and plug you cord there.
my husband and I bought dirt in 1969 no driveways, no water, ....dirt.... and a very young forest. lived in the daylight basement for 8 years. adopted 2 boys in 75 and 76. had the frame built for us in 1979. we have worked on it continually since. in the mean time we lived a very full life. I lost my Bruce in 2005 I have done a lot of finish work on my own after he passed. but there many things that someone else will get to finish. oh ya I took up with his best friend now he is my best friend. to be loved twice in my life is a success in and of its self. so living life is important. building a house can shred you. take care of yourselves look each other in the eye and verbaly remind yourselves how much you love each other. and by the way I have a really unique house.
Since there are several diesel run machines at you property, Why don’t you invest in a 100 or 200 gal tank. It would save you time and money.
Please don't let anyone tell you that this beautiful home is just a box. You wonderful people are a real blessing to all of us watching. You don't ever have to justify your life to us. We do love to see you make the journey. We don't enjoy your pain, however, Your troubles are wonderful for us because you find a way to overcome them. Just focus on loving each other and your life. Then your "box" will be the beautiful home that we see.
thank you for sharing your life with us.
For your fridge containers, use glass. I switched a long time ago because I felt I could never get the plastic ones clean enough. Love my glass containers.
The weather outside doesn't mean you can't build some of your interior walls, as long as you use dry lumber. (Unless it is covered, anything outside will be too soaked by now, and would be impossible to cut accurately to length). I've done several projects like this, and my experience is to first close in a bedroom to keep you sleeping quarters clean.
You are absolutely correct about not worrying if you live in an unfinished house. We spent two summers and a winter in a barely livable shack that was more than a hundred years old, and one of those winters was the winter of '78. We survived. Then we built the basement and roofed over the flat first floor of the house and lived in that for over a decade. When the roof/floor leaked and rotted out, we did something like your cabin over it, built of reclaimed materials. Then that had to be torn down because it was framed incorrectly, and my mom finally had a finished house by 1997, twenty years after we moved to the farm. She got to live in it ten years before she died. A lot of living happened in those unfinished shelters. Part of that was because my stepfather was bone idle, and preferred pot smoking to working, but even then it eventually got done.
Something to reframe the discussion, and the thought processes of your critics. Your unfinished house is a palace to most of the world, through most of history. The Bourbon kings would have gone to war to have your house. Yeah, it isn't as fancy as the palace at Versailles, but it is far, far warmer. They never had central heat. They never had electric lights. They never had a hot shower or a flushing toilet. The world has lived in huts made of mud and sticks and relieved themselves outside for most of human history, and most of the world still does. Many a house in this world is built of feces. If you are lucky, it is animal feces. If you aren't, it may be your own, mixed with straw and mud and sticks to keep the weather off.
So yeah, your unfinished house is a palace. The freedom it gives is the freedom of kings. You are warm. And now that you have a solid house that can't be overturned by wind (below a tornado), or easily crushed by snow, you have the luxury of time to finish it. You'll be fine.
Put a cattle water heater in the hot tub to keep it from freezing
You two will never settle for "unfinished". That is obvious work ethic you both have.
the first 15 minutes was amazing, weve been rebuilding this entire house we bought in may hoping to move in next month, next month, next month, we wanted to record the entire thing but we cant even find the time between jobs and building. Were beating ourselves up the entire process and this helped me realize this is part of the process. You guys are doing amazing, Keep it up!!
Been watching a long time, just one thing to say.......That box you are living in is friggin" impressive.
i bought a queen box/spring/mat,, in a day built a frame with 6 draws on each side,,,,32 inch high total..., no wasted space under the bed.. head board has shelves with room for stuff..Cedar shingles over the outside siding would look great on a T/F,, couple days a side..
What I’ve learned through living in years in a construction zone-it’s true-you live life. Your goals and needs will change over time. Stay true to your primary goal, and alter your plans to more simplicity, which is opposite of what we usually do. Stay focused on keeping clutter down and keeping life full of life and not full of stuff.
I have watched your channel for some time now (went back to the beginning and caught up to you today). This is only the forth time I have commented on a channel since RUclips began. You are happy, you are together and you are doing it your way. This a a rare and significant accomplishment, enjoy your life (and hug that cat, my god he has a phone too).
I know you have a lot of wood to use but a livestock that heater will keep the hot tub from freezing and then not have to remember to feed the fire.
Yeah.!! You're moving on up..
To the Sip-House.To the Deluxe... Improvement..In your lifes...
Now your movin on up..To the Sip-House. You finally got a piece.
Of a debt-free pie!!!!!!
I'm just going to say it, for some people IKEA is the nice thing. You do get what you pay for but there is a reason why you went there. There aren't a lot of places where you can go and get something the is very functional, nice looking and won't force you into a second mortgage. So yeah, you bet IKEA had some good thinking.
if you ever decide to have children, please try to finish the house. My father started building our house when I was 4. It was still not finished when I left for college at 18. I went to sleep every night looking at blocking in the joists above my head because there was no ceiling. I love and miss my father, but a couple years living in a construction zone for an adult can be an eternity for a child.
I look at the results of your three years' work and I am in awe of what you have achieved! You have done amazingly well.
We lived in our camper while building our log home. And I know how hard winters can be in a 3 season camper. You will be happy to be in a warm bed and a full size bathroom. Good luck.
My wife and I are begining our life journey like the two of you are on. yall are our guides. Keep up the good work
Lorena and Jim
I worked a couple of hours away from home for many years, for 5 of those years I lived in an RV. For anyone who has ever lived in an RV, mine was a 40 footer with two tip outs, you know that unless you spend as much as a small home will you won't get an RV that is insulated for really cold weather. When it gets below zero Fahrenheit you are going to be really uncomfortable. I had to insulate my water line going to the water hookup and worry about the heat tape, I had to be darn sure the sewer pipe was pitched enough but not too much so it would drain and not freeze and I had to check those regularly. I had to sleep in sweat pants and a thick sweat shirt, I was so glad when I sold that thing and went to an apartment. I had a home where I went to on weekends that I had built and was well insulated and comfortable where my wife and children lived and it was not something I looked forward to going back to the RV on Monday.
It’s great to see you’ve been able to catch up to the point where your videos are out within a few days after filming. I hope that means you are able to do things in a less stressful way. I’ve been watching, without comment, for over two years and really appreciate all you provide to the audience. I’m an old guy but I’ve learned quite a bit and gotten many ideas from you for my own use. Thanks!
I want to congratulate you on moving into the house. It was a Herculean effot to get there and you have an excellent home. Also want to acknowledge the tremendious effort you both, and espcially Alyssa, put in on documenting and sharing your life with us. It is greatly appreciated and educational. I started watching your videos when I was researching ICF construction, but I have learned so much about construction and life skills from you since watching your progress. That you explain your thinking and why you are doing your projects the way you do, then show the mistakes and success is the best part of your videos. Similar vids I watch that go over 15 minutes I tend to fast foreward through, but yours are sometime over 30 minutes and I watch every second and want more.
Slow and steady gets the job done. You guys are amazing. I built my own home and believe my you are doing great.
I feel that the 2 of you have accomplished more than a lot of people in this country. I am so glad to have found your channel. Merry Christmas to all 3 of you and I wish you a very Happy New Year. Bug-a-Boo is a producer. His end product: his happy hoomans! (LOL) Purr on Cat, purr on.
Thanks for the videos. Stay safe.
Don't worry what other people say. WE think you're doing a great job. Enjoy watching your videos. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Jessy. I started a similar sort of project to build my debt free home on a large plot of land in the country over a decade ago. And while my house and shop building are complete to most people’s view, the reality is that it will never be done to me. Life has become all about lists. What I think of as NASA style lists. I have an endless, almost insurmountable list of tasks to accomplish. And I continue to come up with new ideas, upgrades and other projects to add to the list. So it’s an ever growing animal that seems to stretch on forever. But the key for me is taking time each week to organize my list. What projects are better to do when? What can I do and what can’t I do until some material is here or the seasons are different. And how do I organize the list so I don’t take on tasks that will be finished only to be undone because the finished product is in the way of getting another part of the list finished. IE: finish grading the driveway and later digging it up to run conduit for power and water. You seem to get that part of the process that took me years to lear with accomplishing parts only to have to do it all again because I haven’t yet done something that’s behind that finished product. Just keep it organized and moving forward. I have a three a day philosophy. If I knock three items off the list each day, I feel like of done what I need to in order to feel comfortable. Sometimes it’s three huge parts that take from sun up to well after sundown. Other days I just need me time so I take on three small items to get done and chill the rest of the day to recharge. And spend time to further reorganize my list. This will always be an overwhelming project to complete. If you break that project down into its smallest parts and keep chipping away, you’ll feel great about your progress. And never focus on getting to the end of the list. Just focus making it better every day.
Dear Young People, I think till NOW, you BOTH are succeeding on a day to day basic to LIVE in your House. Well done and never give up HOPE xxx Aunt Eli
That feeling of FINALLY we are moving in is something most people will never experience. My wife and I moved into our house the first of the month. Is it done? Hell no! Is it better than the RV? you bet it is! We were in our RV for 18 months, but we started with an existing building too. There were some things that already worked, such as water, sewer, and basic power. The biggest problem we have is that we are twice your age and starting over. My wife still isn't completely sold on this whole thing, but she is supportive and feeling better about all of it now. Keep up the great work, and hang in there. Merry Christmas and enjoy your first in your home.
In my opinion since you lived in an RV for 3 years you have a right to give haters the middle finger.
My Wife just said you are not building a house you are building a Home. Fantastic work guys. Love the videos and what you are doing.
Hey guys,
First of all let me tell you how much I really enjoy your videos, you truly have been an inspiration for many and for one I appreciate it very much. I design build Custom Motor Coaches and have been for over 55 years. One of the issues that came up earlier with our Conversions was how to switch between shore power, generator and inverter power. You now can use an automatic transfer switch,. It handles the Grid AC power switching automatically, you don't have to do a thing. They're not expensive usually under $400... I just wanted you to know this in case you weren't aware of it.
Also in the meantime I am considering doing some RUclips videos ourselves to help the do-it-yourself bus motor home converter. And I have to give you credit, it was you two that have inspired me....
On your exposed 50 amp plug, if I may, you may want to plug that into an empty 50amp dryer receptacle. They make them in watertight too .
Again thank you very much, keep the videos coming I can't wait to see you everyday.
Thanks again,
Sam,
If you are going to be living in the house it is important to figure out what the finished floors will need so you can do that area of the house now so you can enclose that area in temporary walls to hold plastic to keep the work zone dust out and trap more heat inside
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Jesse and Alyssa
Plan NOW for the next phase ! Consider a wardrobe type storage in the garage for heavy winter coats and overalls, by the front. The under stairs storage. and Cement board for the equipment room.
I grew up in a house being built for 16 years!!
Here I am on day 7 of developing my own sourdough starter and I find out we are running in parallel on that. I know you frequently publish historic videos so I guess you actually have a mature starter by now but it felt great to find myself at 71 years old in the middle of something you are doing.
Good luck with that starter.
I was watching today and Jessie and Bug-a-boo started talking and my silver Tabby was talking back to Bug-a-Boo.. was quite cute. One thing I'm sure you have thought of is heat tape on the hydrant that you back feed the water into. with the weather /Temps dropping those are very prone to freezing as your well aware. Weve used heat tape on ours to keep it useable.
You guys are very hard working and driven people! I have watched your videos for a long time now. Keep up the good work and thanks for the videos!
I've watched almost from the start and the journey has been amazing to watch. There's a huge difference between mortgage free and debt free and I know I would love to be mortgage free. What still baffles me, as I haven't found the secret sauce yet, is how you afford to do things like get your pilots license and rent planes or buy all the tools you have. In the UK its about £150K to do that. I guess you either have a great income from other commercial ventures or you saved, loaned or borrowed before you started. Love watching the journey and all the challenges you face and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and New Year.
Thank you Alyssa and Jesse for allowing us to follow your journey over the last 3 years and my husband and I would like to wish you both a very Merry Christmas and hope 2019 is a very special year!!!! :)
You should be so proud of yourself. Back in the day my parents were young, people used to build their own houses, in fact mine built 2 and my Mom was pregnant for one. So give yourself a big pat on the the back, you both work very hard and deserve all you get.
I am so in awe of what you have achieved and the fact that you are still cohesive after that is monumental. Thank you for all your videos - i have seen everyone of them - even the ones where you test out stuff that I have no interest in lol - that is dedication for you
There are a lot of people (especially the finance oriented ones) who say having a mortgage is a good thing. Tax incentives, etc. I'm with you guys, not having any debt is such a relief. The stuff we have may not be quite as nice, but it's ours.
Maybe make a list of everything that needs to be done for the house to be complete. Then cross them off the list as they get done.
You are, right now, in that sweet spot of your house build. You can now take your time to do the rest.
Congratulations!
You guys are very lucky being where you are, where I live you can not move into a partially completed house. We have to complete the house and then get a occupancy permit. Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year.
It's already a home, you will continue now to finish it to a higher standard but you could live like this.
I can’t believe that little pump is still working. That was a great find.
You guys are house build driven and see no reason of a slowdown in your build, the house is beautiful, the land is beautiful and you two are beautiful. As a sales person you guys are on point and as we say never satisfied when not doing some. Merry Christmas 🎄.
Congratulations guys! That’s a huge accomplishment. It’s absolutely beautiful. I can’t only imagine what the finished product will look like. 🤗🤗
Jessie before you start the drywall inside the house. Thought you would like to know they make a flat sanding pad that hooks up to your vacuum. No dust
Just a little suggestion for your generator cable, maybe get a socket to plug it into when not in use and link the line and earth together so if it goes live then it isn’t in risk of anyone touching the live metal external parts and it dumps to earth and trips the breaker to let you know you have it on?
Other than that great videos keep up the great work and merry Christmas best of luck for the new year!
Hi Guys, My wife and I enjoy every minute of every day that you put videos up,there really is nothing mundane about your everyday tasks, even if they are not construction type videos or electrical, plumbing etc. One of our favorate times is when you share with Bugaboo, (actually we named a stray girl kitty cat bugaboo in honor of your Bugafish, she wont come in the house, doesn't want to but we love her and feed her everyday). We love and pray that every dream you have and every positive expectation would be granted by God, there is so much more to tell you but it would take a week. Stay safe and Blessed this Holiday season and know that you are loved.
You two are fantastic, if it had been me I would have given up about two years ago. The amount of work you get through every day would take four or five people to do the same tasks.
Congrats to you both! The house is part of your lives and watching it grow is amazing. Your garden turned out better than anything I’ve ever grown and I can’t wait to see next years! Merry Christmas to you!
Have self built twice and I am impressed with your stamina, great to see you moved in. Have a great Christmas.
An a way, making these videos is insurance that you will never quit developing your house and property. The videos are a revenue producing job that requires interesting content to attract and maintain a following. They take time but also provide motivation and continuity. You do a fantastic job and your biggest challenge will not be to keep going, but what to do (that is interesting), when your house is complete and the property is developed--but then maybe the new kids will provide a new chapter as you try to pass to the next generation what you have learned. You guys rock!!
Can't sleep so happy you dropped late night!
I subscribed to your channel/IG back when he was reviewing a portable saw mill and I’ve watched everything since. This is what the American Dream is. Thank you for showing so many that with work and patience, anything is possible! Cheers
Wow! Doubled the closet hanging space.
I can see floor space has increased as well.
Got audio. Bad chrome cast maybe. Questions. Video on airplane purchase? Did you folks purchase the mini excavator? It does appear you treasure it. Sure would have been nice running the sawmill. And so much safer. The thumb on that excavator is a game changer. By the way, consider a whole house generator. A couple of years ago we had an ice storm in Michigan around this time. . I have two gas generators but it was nearly impossible to get gas since almost all the gas stations were closed. For an extended time. Some folks had no power for over three weeks. We were without power for over a week. Whole house generator sure made sense.
I lived in an RV during winter. It was tough chasing frozen pipes.
If those doors on the closet get too loud when shutting them put a dot of hot glue on the corners and it will provide a bit of a impact sound compression.
MERRY CHRISTMAS ,
Hang in there . There is light at the end of the tunnel . Remember two things . You are farther ahead than you were when you started your project . It is better than living in a cardboard box on the sidewalk in Mumbai !
From our family to yours we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a safe, healthy and prosperous New Year. We have loved all of your videos and appreciate the quality and the hard work you have put into your filming. Many blessing to you and Bug-A-Boo.
I have loved watching you since you started building the hot tub you are doing a great job and you are so right debt free is the best. Congratulations!
I dont make many comments but I have 2 thoughts on my mind. 1 is the wood stacked against the outside wall actually touching the wall? It can leave a clear path for ants/subterranean termites/bugs in general to get to your wood exterior and into your house.
2 there is a clear work around the generator problem, but requires an extra conduit through the wall. Place the lockout switch on the inside panel but you need to put a generator plug outside and bring the wire through the wall to the lockout throw over switch. Enjoy the videos, keep them coming.
Really chuffed for you guys! You have worked so hard to get to this stage, i hope you get chance to have a break over the hols to rest and recouperate for getting the outside totally weatherproof.
Heck yeah!!!!! I would be SOOO dancin’ around the house sooo proud that we did it !! You both should be sooo proud ! You Nay sayers, For shame, For shame, For shame!
Why don't you put a dummy outlet to plug the end of the generator. So it doesn't corrode?
5:00 Screw the outlet(not connected to the electric net) next to the shield and stick the cable there when not in use. It will be safer even if you forget to unplug this cable.
I'm glad you guys have moved in . I was thinking the same thing . Be more comfortable and closer to the job site . Can't wait to see it finished .
Bugaboo produces love, companionship, joy, for everyone.
Sorry if I missed it, but I suggest a safety cover (lockable) for your exposed generator plug. Safety first. Merry Christmas
If you dont live in a house, it will start to fall down/apart. Even a brand new house will start to do that.
THUMB'S UP for moving into it, even if its a 'shell' atm, given time that'll change.
O and Merry Xmas :D
26:42 Excuse me ?!! Bagaboo produces a lot of cuddles and purrs. And I think he's doing an amazing job at that.
The day has come :-) I am happy for you 3, I have been here with you from the start :-)
My wife and I did this and we still have things that are not finished in the house but our house is payed for no mortgage and we still peck away at things getting them done 20 years later. We heat with wood and propane gas we are on grid but also have a 2600 watt solar system, the single biggest expense was the well, as we live in the North East Georgia Blue ridge mountain our well is 485 feet deep $$$$$$ but we did it together. As the song say's keep pushing on! REO speed wagon
I am sure that you will finish your home as you don't seem to be the type of folks who leave things undone. Enjoy all the space you have.
Great prospective, construction can be overwhelming at time I am super glad you are taken time to live your life ..... do what you have too . I just love watching. Merry Christmas🎄 and looking forward to seeing your progress in 2019 take care.
Yea! Congratulations! What a great milestone!
Also, I bought those same magnets from Amazon. They're rated to hold 11-13 pounds, so I use them to hang pots & pans on the side of my refrigerator. They hold really good.
Always have a backup for heating and cooking off grid in case of power outages due to storms , forest fires, snow storms, etc...
You guys rock!!! I had an aha moment and I wished I had your wisdom at younger age I would have enjoyed the lifetravel a bit more with our home. We're living in it for 30 years and still it's not done and that bothered me and still does on some extend. But indeed it's a life journey and I should enjoy it a bit more and so should my husband. What you said Allysa made so much sense thank you very much for that. And I'm very impressed by bugaboo, how he has "his people" trained...wow ;) Merry Chrismas to you both and family I do hope to travel with you through your journey for many more times as I do enjoy it all. Thanks xoxo
after 1203 days! a perfect number, contains all the numbers to start well: 0, 1, 2 and 3
I made a sourdough glutenfree culture, to help it along, i resorted to feed it with sugar now and then, so if your starter is a bit slow, give it a bit of sugar, the yeast consumes it, so no harm in it
I moved into this house 1,378 days ago and I’ve still got a Shipping Container Fully of Stuff yet to find a home within this house, but I will eventually get there.
You both have worked so hard building this house and have gained a lot of knowledge and skill too ! You will have a lot of memories looking back after you finish building it ! So far it looks great ! Thanks again for making all of your videos which is a lot of work too ! 👍 wish you both and Bugaboo a Merry Christmas !
I know my husband is a very motivated person in his business that he runs we put together farm machinery all over the country but we have made it a point that on the weekends we shut down and we enjoy life a little bit otherwise your life is gone before you know it
The only thing I have noticed about the house is that it is a very tight house with lots of Oriented Strand Board and the resin in it. The resin puts out a low level of formaldehyde gas which can cause health problem. It also has methylene-disocyanate which is also toxic.
Bugaboo is the star of this channel. The humans are his supporting cast - a very well trained support team.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. And to Bugaboo --- meow.
Wow journey of the three and half years... I remember the episode of showing this property around and prior to that... good job my friends... also thanks for all the efforts to share these clips...
There are a few great books on Sour Dough on Amazon, and the goal is to remember to feed the starter..Love your common sense way to life and building hour home... Living it unfinished , lets you see what you really want to have on the inside .. so take your time , its your home wheater its finished or not ... Merry Christmas , and a Blessed and joyous New Year.. Ninette Bird - Caribbean Wife
You have a great box! If I was a betting man, I'd bet you finish it at least 98%. You both are inspiring and have given me much enjoyment watching things develop. If i was closer, I'd come help frame, wire sheet rock. Merry Christmas.
Yessss! I love these at night!
So much for the simple life you were searching for.....
Sourdough is an exercise in patience. However, once you get feel for it the bread is amazing.
Don't miss a single episode and cannot wait for the plasterboard to go in.
HELLO FROM EASTERN OREGON; MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Here's wishing you a very blessed and merry Christmas and continued happiness throughout the new near. I have been with you since the dismantling of the old shed for the tin and the cedar rafters.
I have been watching your videos and admire what you have done. You should be very proud of your accomplishments. I would like to suggest a safer way of attaching your generator to your house. Place a 50 amp receptacle on your house and plug you cord there.