February 21, 2025 it all began
One year ago, we signed the papers on a cabin that most people would have walked away from. Today, I looked at my hands and realized they’ve done things this year I didn’t even know were possible. We haven’t just renovated a house—we’ve built new skill sets. Looking back on Year One, there were major milestones that pushed us further than we ever expected. Below are four of the major ones:
1. The Foundation of Heat
Mike planned the flow of the in-floor heat system from scratch. We laid miles of PEX tubing before the concrete foundation was even poured. As things didn’t always lay out the way Mike had planned, we sometimes had to “shift gears” and try to slide the tubing back through the tightened staples. That wasn’t fun. But we did it, and now? We LOVE the warmth under our feet!
2. The Shell: Siding a Whole House
We had never sided a house before. In my head, I thought we would get it finished over Labor Day weekend. It actually took three weekends, but we are super happy with how it turned out. We knew every piece had to be level and precise, but getting it that way was a steep learning curve. We were lucky to have two of our sons come up to help us for one of those weekends. The help was appreciated, but the bonding was the real highlight.
3. The Power: Lighting Up the Dark
One year ago, I barely knew the difference between a circuit and a switch. Mike was the leader on this project, and we were lucky to work with an electrician who let us do all the parts we could legally do under his guidance. Cheers to Mike for getting the whole house lit up!
4. The Big Decision: From “Fixer-Upper” to “Teardown”
We didn’t buy this place with the intention of knocking it down, so there were two massive decisions here. (Click to read about the 7 warning signs we ignored)We’ve lived in the only house we ever purchased back in 1992, so buying something else was already out of our comfort zone. On teachers’ budgets for over 30 years, we’ve learned to repurpose over buying new. We’ve done plenty of DIY tasks in the home where we raised our children, but our experience was absolutely nothing compared to this. We didn’t realize we would be starting with the shell of a home rather than renovating the fixer-upper we thought we bought!
It Takes a Village
We were so lucky to have friends with experience in so many areas. From looking at the cabin before and after we bought it to offering advice, meeting us for planning dinners, and answering endless questions via text—we weren’t alone. They let us stay at their place, forced us to quit working to take a boat ride or float in the lake, and even fed us a time or two while we were living out of a cooler!
This has been a year like no other in our lives. We are tired, we are smarter, and we are looking forward to Year 2!
If you want to read about items we saved from the old cabin and reused:
