House Build (throwback)

This entry is a throwback to my childhood, and a tribute to the original "maker" in my life: my Dad.

When I was a kid, I thought it was normal to make your own house, your own boat, and whatever else you needed.  In fact, it was so "normal" that we really didn't take many photos of the process--which is why so many of these photos are from birthday parties and other family gatherings.

Breaking Ground:

In the mid 1970's this is what "move in ready" looked like:

My mom and older brother surveying the progress:

Maybe once those baseboard heaters in the background are installed, my brother can take his coat off:

Putting my 3yo brother to work on the shingles, child labor was more acceptable back then:

Me making a toolbox out of some spare wood:

This is me painting some shelves for my room, this is the first hands-on project I remember:

Custom made front door, this served as a backdrop for all our family photos:

As a testament to the priorities of my parents, here's the first finished room in the house: me and my brothers room! 

And here's me helping finish my parents room, the LAST finished room the the house:

It took my step-dad many years of weekends to complete construction, and it was only a few years later that he decided that we needed an addition... back to work! This addition more than doubled the size of the house.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of the outside of the house, if I find any I'll post them.  If we had taken photos of all the things we built together it would fill this whole blog.