29 06, 2019

Nobody does it better

2019-06-29T09:48:37+00:00

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One thing that holds people back from building their dream home is the fear that they aren’t good enough… that there are people out there better, so why even try?
Let me assure you that you are the best person to build your future home. No one can do it better.
I’m not the best carpenter, but I can lay stone better than most.
I’m not the best mason, but I can nail up trim better than most.
I’m not the best at anything, other than building my own home.
Just like you.

Originally posted 2016-09-14 13:14:34.

Nobody does it better2019-06-29T09:48:37+00:00
29 06, 2019

Keep the dream alive!

2019-06-29T09:48:23+00:00

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It’s easy to lose focus when it comes to gaining our dream home.

Life is busy and full of distractions.

Our thoughts turn away from the dream, and then the “how’s” start to move in to destroy all hope.

Our greatest weapon?

Just start, gain momentum, take small steps, like laying stone, one at a time. Setting stone is easy enough that anyone can do it. And, with a little bit of progress every week, eventually the home is complete.

Originally posted 2016-06-13 16:11:10.

Keep the dream alive!2019-06-29T09:48:23+00:00
29 06, 2019

Every form of building has it’s pros and cons

2019-06-29T09:48:22+00:00

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This house, one of my previous homes, was built using several different forms of construction.

Without a doubt the modern stick-built area saved me money and sped up the construction process.

The log cabin addition aged the entire home… made it feel as if it had always been there.

The post and beam section gave us a very warm and cozy feeling family room.

And the stone basement, foundation, and chimney kept us warm and ensured the house would stand for centuries.

Quite frankly a home like this would have been out of our financial reach had I not contributed a lot of effort in building it, work that anyone can do, one step at a time.

Originally posted 2016-06-13 15:11:27.

Every form of building has it’s pros and cons2019-06-29T09:48:22+00:00
29 06, 2019

A mortgage-free home

2019-06-29T09:48:21+00:00

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Every twenty years banks gather enough interest, through mortgages, to buy every home and commercial building in the country.
How would they ever survive if we chose to build our own mortgage-free homes?
How much better would your life be?
Would you lose any sleep knowing that the banks were suffering?

Originally posted 2016-06-13 15:01:57.

A mortgage-free home2019-06-29T09:48:21+00:00
29 06, 2019

Are you crazy enough?

2019-06-29T09:48:18+00:00

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The people that are crazy enough to think that they can design and build their dream home… are the ones who do.

Originally posted 2016-05-21 15:42:27.

Are you crazy enough?2019-06-29T09:48:18+00:00
29 06, 2019

One thing you must do, if you want to get it right

2019-06-29T09:48:17+00:00

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You’ve got the perfect piece of land.

And, the ideal set of plans, plus a good selection of quality materials. Life is good.

But, what is the single most important skill that you can practice going forward in the construction of your dream home?

Today I’d like to share with you the importance of the daily practice of “standing back and taking it all in”.  I perform this ritual every single day when I’m building a home. It only takes a few minutes of my time, and it is such an important activity in order to achieve the best home that I can build.

You see, when a person builds a home they are always focused on the task at hand… what’s directly in front of them, and it’s easy to lose track of the big picture.  We are building a home after all and one day all these parts we are working on will blend together and become a house.  Yes, today we might be trying to achieve the perfect notch on that log cabin corner, but we must not lose track of the fact that what we are truly doing on any given day is building a home.

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There seems to be an inner resistance to performing this simple act of “taking it all in”. Over the years I’ve had many apprentices who I’ve attempted to teach this simple lesson to. Most have expressed confusion, and a bit of frustration, at having to stop what they were doing to take a small walk with me (some were likely concerned the boss was going to do some firing that day and were fearful of being pulled away that they might be the one).  In the end, after explaining this to hundreds, only one or two of these craftsmen ever picked up the habit, or truly understood or appreciated the value of this act.

And so, dear friends, the responsibility of doing this falls on the builder… which means you if it’s your own home. Perhaps, if you have had the good fortune of finding a good builder, one who not only has the ability of assembling a house, but also has a keen design eye, you will have someone to share this responsibility with, but even so don’t assume someone else is doing it.

Let me tell you how to “stand back, and take it all in”.  It’s not a sprint where you will run out a ways, give the house a glance, and then run back. Instead pause for a few minutes and look at the home as if you were seeing it for the first time (it’s time to smoke ’em if you got ’em). Likely if you pause the proper amount of time you’ll reach a point where someone will ask “What are you doing out there?” (they will think that you need to stop slacking and get back to work). Let me emphasize the point of this exercise… this stand-off time is not an excuse to admire your work, it’s a time to be critical and ask questions… “is that the best size window to use?, is that its’ best location?, should I even have a window there? does the trim look too big, or too small?” Now, if the answer to all your critical questions are positive, well, then you can turn the moment into a private award ceremony, a pat-yourself-on-the-back event. Have at it… you deserve it.

This process of long distant oversight can help you so much in solving issues before they become problems and in answering questions you never thought to ask.  But in all likelihood, this process will on occasion become a discovery event for problems that have already occurred, things that should have been done a better way. “That trim board around the porch floor looks too wide… eight inches would look much better than ten”. You could have caught it easily before it was finished by simply tacking a board up and then standing back to see how it looked before nailing it in place, but the focus and drive was on the work, on getting it done, and no one bothered to step back and see it as part of the whole.

A carpenter had put a lot of hard work into installing this “too wide” trim board. His (or your) craftsmanship was excellent. The plans clearly show that the correct material was used. And that same carpenter (or you) is going to be less than pleased to tear it all of off and do it again, and to top it off, it’s going to cost you precious money, effort, and time to make it right.  Most people will fold, let it slide, and live with it.  Unfortunately there will likely be other discovered issues that will come up later on and it will tempting to also “live with it” and the end result will be that the finished home will be somewhat disappointing and those items that were given the pass. will be there to irritate and remind the builder of his failings for many years to come.

Don’t be that builder.

Be the builder with the sharp eye. The one who not only focuses on quality work and special details, but also the one who steps back regularly to see the entire home. Do this often and prevent problems before they occur, and when disappointments are discovered don’t be afraid of undoing something and redoing it properly, while the opportunity is there.

When in doubt on making a decision, choose to do it right.

Do this, and I promise you, you will love that finished home.

And so will everyone else.

(this advice is just a taste of what you will discover in the full Handmade House Academy which will be released soon… make sure and sign up to be on our newsletter if you are interested in learning more)

Noah

Originally posted 2016-05-20 15:47:40.

One thing you must do, if you want to get it right2019-06-29T09:48:17+00:00
29 06, 2019

Handmade House owners are happier people

2019-06-29T09:48:11+00:00

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It’s a good thing to be happy isn’t it?

There is one thing that I’ve noticed over the years and that is that people that own a handmade house tend to be happier than everyone else.
A cabin in the woods, a farmhouse, of maybe a stone cottage is not like any other possession… a thrill for a while but soon taken for granted.
Sure, everyone is thrilled when they first get something new, like a car with only a handful of miles on it, but that same car a few months later looses it’s allure and becomes just “the car”.
A handmade home is life changing, for all who live there. I’ve seen it, and experienced it myself. The magic never seams to wear off.
I have clients whom I built their home for them twenty five years ago who still adore their homes and tell me that building

Originally posted 2016-05-10 13:50:58.

Handmade House owners are happier people2019-06-29T09:48:11+00:00
29 06, 2019

Living the dream

2019-06-29T09:46:34+00:00

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When we build a handmade home for ourselves we are not only “leaving a legacy” behind. We are also “living a legacy”… now. Be that person.

Originally posted 2016-02-10 15:06:53.

Living the dream2019-06-29T09:46:34+00:00
29 06, 2019

What do you do with your spare time?

2019-06-29T09:43:13+00:00

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I would think that a man could build one of these, working on weekends, in five years, maybe more.
And it would stand for centuries.
He wouldn’t need a gym membership.
His wife wouldn’t worry about him getting into mischief.
And when finished he could keep an eye out for invading armies.
It doesn’t get any better than that!
Or… he could put the same effort into building a dream home in the country. Now that’s an idea!

Originally posted 2015-11-04 16:31:22.

What do you do with your spare time?2019-06-29T09:43:13+00:00
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