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I know it seems like forever since I announced that we will be building a custom house. Trust me my friends when I say it's definitely felt longer to us! We thought we would have the house sold, be living with my in-laws, and hopefully broken ground by now. Don't worry! We're still moving forward with the plan. We've just been delayed a few months, but we're finally making progress! Here's what we've been up to:
It took 5 weeks longer than we were told to get our house building plans back from the architect with the modifications we requested, but they are done-ish and I absolutely LOVE them!!!
Truth be told, there are still a couple small changes that we requested but weren't included in what was sent over. I've been told the architect will fix them soon. So, I guess technically the plans aren't entirely done, but they're close! Getting the plans was the first step, but there are a couple big hurdles we have to cross before we can get building.
The biggest hurdle: getting this dang house ready to sell!
You guys have consistently told me you like videos, so I'm doubling down on my YouTube channel this year and cranking out as many as possible. I've been out of my mind busy with projects, which is a fun problem to have, but it hasn't left me with much time to work on our current house. Unfortunately, my better half has been just as swamped.
My husband has had some pretty all consuming stuff going on with his work. He was preparing to take the P.E. (Professional Engineer) exam, which is basically the engineering equivalent to the Bar exam. It's HUGE deal in his career. To get ready for the biggest test of his life, he took a prep course which had him either at work or in class 15 hours a day. So, as you can imagine, he didn't have loads of time to work on the house either.
At this point you may be asking yourself "What's wrong with their house? Why does it require so much work to get it ready to sell?" As you guys know, we've put a TON of work into this place already (exhibit A: kitchen remodel, exhibit B: bathroom remodel) and we've gotten it pretty much where we wanted it. This biggest issue was in the garage.
When we were shopping for houses, everything we saw with a 3-car garage and in the area we wanted to be was out of our price range. Both my husband and I need a healthy amount of space for our tools and materials, so we had to get creative. We found a house which only came with a 2-car garage but had an extra 4th bedroom behind an adjacent wall. Within 24 hours of getting the keys, we had the wall ripped down and turned the bedroom into my workshop.
(I can't believe I don't have a better photo of me working in my shop! But if you watch one or two of my build videos you'll definitely see it in action).
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| circa 2017 , judging by the long hair |
I worked on re-building the wall, hung drywall, and finally painted here and there whenever I'd have a few spare hours. IT'S FINALLY DONE! YAY!!
I'm guessing spring has hit your yard as hard as it's hit ours. Everything is growing and it's gorgeous! That means it's time to pull out the yard tools. This year, I busted out the Milwaukee Quik-Lok Cordless system.
I'll be honest, landscaping is not my favorite chore, but professional quality tools really make it quicker and easier. My Milwaukee M18 FUEL brushless motor and Cordless String Trimmer attachment are powerful enough to plow through thick brush (or just sad, over-grown grass). No one wants to chase an extension cord all over the yard, so they designed the 18V, 9Ah battery to run up to one hour on a single charge.
Speaking of rechargeable batteries, I think I'm fully sold on rechargeable LED flashlights. Especially ones with pivoting heads and a magnetic base.
I used my new Milwaukee 500-Lumen LED Pivoting Rechargeable Flashlight to give the AC unit and furnace a good once over. We had them serviced before we moved in 3 years ago, but living in Arizona is hard on HVAC systems. We have tried to keep them clean and make sure they are running smoothly.
When I first mentioned building a custom house, I told you guys this process is going to be a tight financial stretch for us. We're going to have to pull in the belt, make sacrifices, and track every dollar that's being spent. Recently, we had to have a few things repaired on the current house (like sticky windows). I want to make sure I keep all the invoices in one place so we can share them with the new owner. I've been using the Husky 16 inch Pro Mobile Office to keep everything organized and safe. The water-resistant fabric and reinforced pockets will be immeasurably helpful when I'm going back and forth between my in-laws and the job site.
I found an awesome solution for a mobile "junk drawer" while we are in transit as well. I pulled out a Husky 19-Compartment Canvas Small Parts Organizer Tool Bag and filled it with some small hand tools I normally kept in a kitchen drawer. I think I might buy a couple more for all the random little things I don't use daily, but don't want to get rid of (I'm looking at you leftover wire nuts).
So here's where we're at: We are ALMOST ready to list. Basically, we just need to give the house a good cleaning and I'll call the photographers. Tomorrow, I'm heading to Atlanta again to hang out with my buddies at Home Depot and kick-off this year's ProSpective tool review event. Once I get back, I'm totally focusing on the house.
So, if you came here for the MLS photos of our house, I hope I didn't disappoint you. I promise, they are coming soon! Make sure you are following me on Instagram (especially the stories) where I usually share the best stuff first.
If you like that, you'll love these ideas:
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