Momplex

Whether you buy kitchen cabinets or you DIY them yourself (I'm totally on team DIY here!) I think the biggest difference maker in how professional looking your kitchen cabinet ends up appearing is in the tiny little details.  In other words, after you hang your cabinets, you aren't done quite yet.

After installing all the kitchen cabinets for the Momplex Vanilla Kitchen, there's a few little things that will make a big difference to take care of.

The most obvious one is finis

Yeah, we really need to build some stairs, don't we?

Every time I've ever tackled stairs in the past, it's been quite a bit of figuring.  

Well, go figure (pun not intended), someone comes up with a stair building app.  I've lost my purpose in life.  

Just fill in the blanks, like how tall the overall rise is, what your tread thickness is, how deep your treads will be ..

And out comes your stringer pa

For a few weeks now, the Ram has been saying, "When it comes time to pour the slab at the Momplex, I'm just going to hire someone."  And while I've never said no, the do-it-yourself spirit in me felt like if we can get this far with family helping out, why can't we pour our own slab? Don't get me wrong, this is no easy task. The slab at the Momplex is 44 feet by 44 feet - quite large for a residential, and certainly a great challenge. Further progressing the challenge is the slab is p

I wish I could say we are one roof closer to Mom moving into the Momplex. But we are instead dealing with record smashing cold in Interior Alaska, according to the Washington Post, my toes, and any other exposed skin as I run from the house to the garage.And we are not one roof closer to building two homes for our Moms.  Not today.  But we are also NOT $2000 closer to being out of money to keep working on the Momplex.  You know this crazy Momplex dream is what keeps me driving

Boy oh boy did you ever make my day!!!! Thank you so much for all the support and lovely comments on my book! I so hope you love it as much as I do! I know you will! A special thanks to those of you who have preordered. Not only do you get a great discounted price, but the more preorders we get, the lower the preorder price is for everyone! AND Amazon guarantees the lowest price on preorders, so if the price drops between your preorder date and shipment - you get the lowest price! Pre

We are wired. And you know I'm not talking about too many cups of coffee for me, or too much sugar for Grace. I'm talking about the Momplex of course!

When I first started drawing plans for the Momplex, we were really invisioning something along these lines Image from The Petersen GroupOne level.  No stairs.  Senior housing.  You know what I'm talking about.But then things just worked out where we bought this lot that the Moms love.But when we were clearing the lot, I climbed up in the loader and noticed something.  Let's see if you see it too . . .View from ground levelView from the loader.Did you see it?Imagine those

When we poured the slab for the Momplex, we saw an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Or more appropriately, build two roof support foundation systems with one concrete slab pour.

The heat wave isn't here quite yet, but we've heard temperatures are coming that are not preceded with a big fat minus sign .... or followed by "below" meaning how far the mercury drops below the zero line.photo by Larry and June TaylorIt's exciting news, as we've just dealt with one of the coldest November's in Interior Alaska's history, with temperatures staying at the too cold for anyone in their right mind and despite the right cold weather gear to work on roof trusses on top of the notoriou

I've been dreading this step. 

Not because it's going to be long or hard or expensive or anything like that.

I've been dreading this step, because after today, all of the framed mountain views are going to get a mat and glass.

We are putting windows in today.  And our views are going to get a little smaller, a little less clear, a lot less fresher, but certainly much warmer.

As is, the Momplex is certainly a li

When you were growing up, did your parents every talk about someday ... maybe someday, like: "Someday, we'll add on and you won't have to share a room ..." "Someday, we are going to put a pool in the back yard ..." "Someday, we are going to gut and refinish this kitchen ..." And someday just never happened? By the time you moved out, there just wasn't time or budget or motivation to make it happen? Well, here is the big "someday" that never happened when I was growing up. "S

Did you know that roping a house in doesn't mean we actually went out and lassoed a house and roped it in? Apparently, roping a house in means the you pulled wires through the wall. Huh.

You know all to well, DIY saves money. And on this most monster of DIY projects - a duplex for our mothers fondly referred to as the Momplex - not hiring contractors has saved us quite a bit of money. But it's the little things, the small decisions over time, that really add up. It's using materials smartly to minimize waste and reusing scraps that are the silver lining. And when you are the one writing the check, you really take a minute to consider what you are buying, and how you ca