And by “people”, I mean one kind commenter on a previous post of mine. But it seemed like he was speaking for lots of other folks. So since I’m in a generous mood today, and to give the people what they want, I will accommodate the good folks and share how things have been going.
As you may or may not be aware, back in the summer of 2019…yes, that was back in the Paleozoic before the Covid-roid fell to Earth and wiped out all the dinosaurs (learn your history, kids!)…we spent a few weeks with the kind people of the Discovery Channel and the Raney family on their show Homestead Rescue. I wrote some thoughts about that experience before our two-part episodes launched, and you can read about that here if it interests you. If you’d actually like to watch the show, I believe it’s streaming somewhere online, but you may need a subscription. Our two episodes were called “House of 30,000 Tires” and “Cobbers Nightmare”. The shows seem to re-run frequently, so you might get lucky and catch them playing somewhere. Every now and again, someone at work or church or the gym will come up to me and say something like, “I was flipping through the channels the other day, and you’ll never guess what popped up on my screen…” Oh yes, I can in fact guess with a scary-high degree of accuracy.
Or walking in the grocery store with someone staring at me as they pass the chips and salsa. They get this look on their face and my wife and I look at each other like, Here it comes, then they get this big smile on their face and say, “Hey! I’ve seen you on TV!” That’s actually only happened a couple times, but it is super weird.
Aha! Lookie what I found. Aren’t you glad I’m here to guide you in these things?
Discovery Channel Homestead Rescue “House of 30,000 Tires”
Discovery Channel Homestead Rescue “Cobbers Nightmare”
Lots of people actually have asked lots of questions since the show aired. I’ll give you some updates here. If there’s anything I don’t mention that you might like to know, just ask. It really was a TON of fun to work with Marty, Matt, and Misty Raney. SUPER nice people, down to earth, knowledgeable, and very hard working. What you see on-screen is pretty much who they actually are in real life. Marty still checks in on us every now and again just to see how we’re doing.
Half the House
If you saw the show, you may recall we only lived in half the house at the time of filming. The entire back half was blocked off. There simply wasn’t enough time to finish the entire home before we moved in. So we lived in the front half while we worked on the rest of it. Our son’s room was finished, but Wendy and I basically lived and slept in the living room.
That temporary wall blocking off the back of the house is now down, and the entire house is finally opened up. In addition our son’s room, we’ve “finished off” a guest room and the master bedroom. “Finished off” is in quotes because, while the rooms are usable, they are nowhere close to what one might call “complete”. The rooms are framed, insulated, walled, and have electricity running through them, but there’s still much work to be done. Our son’s room is the only bedroom with doors so far. The other two bedrooms are still open to the hallway.
The Master Bedroom
We’re especially proud of the way our bedroom is coming along. We installed a walk-in cedar closet…
…and we also built our own king sized bed out of lumber lying around…
Heating and Cooling
Some people have asked how we heat and cool the place. Heating is primarily from the sun. The entire front of the house faces south, so we have the benefit of the sun all day long. It’s not uncommon in the wintertime for us to have to open up the windows and let some cold in, because the place can heat up quickly to eighty degrees inside. Of course, that’s when the sun is actually out because, alas, this is Ohio, and the sun isn’t always out. On those days when it gets extra cold, and usually on most winter nights, we have a wood-burning fireplace, which is absolutely cozy and lovely.
Cooling the house is another matter. Because the sun sits higher in the sky in the summer, it doesn’t penetrate as far into the house when the season turns hot. Also, three-fourths of the house is bermed with earth, which gives the place a “basement effect”. You walk downstairs in your basement (if you have a basement) and the temperature is roughly the same all year long. It *mostly* works that way. But again, this is Ohio, and it gets hot and humid in the summer. To supplement our cooling on those really hot and muggy days, we have two heating and cooling AC split units at each end of the house.
Not for Everyone
Living in a house like this — not only this kind of house (google “Earthships in Taos, NM“) , but also a home that isn’t 100% finished — might not be the quality of life that everyone is looking for. Building your own home definitely has it’s drawbacks. But here’s the thing: we don’t mind! Wendy and I, and really our entire family, are all avid backpackers. We’re used to living out in nature with very little creature comforts. It doesn’t take a lot to make us happy. We need very little, is what I’m saying.
But here’s what we do have:
- Ten acres of mostly wooded property that is 100% paid for
- A creek
- A pond
- Room to stretch and run and play
- Lots of deer and other fun wildlife to watch
- Great-horned owls that talk to each other across the property almost every night
- Privacy
- Protection from the craziness going on in the world right now
- Free water for life (or at least until the well runs dry, maybe never…?)
- Free firewood for life
- Lots of fun campfires with the kids when they come home to visit
- A home that we designed ourselves, built with friends and family, that has zero mortgage
- The satisfaction of having created something from nothing
- Coming home to this gorgeous view at night…
It’ll likely be several more years until we can say we’re 100% done with all the building and landscaping. We have some big plans for what we’d like to do with the property. Hiking trails and nature walks and wild-crafting lessons and a shooting range for me along the back of the property, maybe even an obstacle course. We go at our own pace, both physically and financially. While the work is often frustrating (Wendy and I don’t always agree on how to tackle a project or see eye to eye on what the finished product should look like), we’re learning about ourselves and each other, and we’re doing it together, which teaches us the fine arts of compromise and communication and teamwork. And we’re learning a TON of new skills.
So there’s an update for the masses. If you’re interested, Wendy keeps a Facebook page for the home and the process, with lots of pictures and stories and progress and stuff. Just search for Hickory Homestead on Facebook.
Keep working on your own personal goals and hopes and dreams, and let me know what they are in the comments!
This is my favorite! <3