Catscratch House and Habitat build

[Catscratch]

What kind of flies do you use to catch the shiners? Is there a certain time of day you fish them?
I too am crazy about GSH, there just isn't any downside to them...mine pulled off a really good spawn this year.

Outstanding! Glad you've got a good population of them! I cheat when fishing for them. Throw out a handful of oats (the breakfast cereal, like Quaker Oats) then throw flies around that spot. Nothing special just little ones that sink. Don't know if time of day matters really. I'm sure it probably does but I just go when the opportunity presents itself.

 

[Catscratch]

I find it amazing all the different interests and talents that you have Cat. Seems to me you are living the dream. Nice!

Thanks Foggy! I certainly am living the dream. I'm a very blessed man!

 

[Catscratch]

Some more of the build pics. Once started the banks have a certain amount of time to be move in ready. Our time frame was extended due to the location being so far put into the middle of nowhere.

 

[Foggy47]

How long ago for the above pics Cat? Great looking plan and location!

 

[Catscratch]

How long ago for the above pics Cat? Great looking plan and location!

8ish years ago. Feels like yesterday.

 

[T-Max]

8ish years ago. Feels like yesterday.

That long? I’ve known you as long as my wife then…


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[Catscratch]

That long? I’ve known you as long as my wife then…


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Bet I know which of us (the 2 you've known for 8yrs) is better looking!

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Following with envy @Catscratch, looks like a special place!

I feel like the building what you want on a piece of land dream is dead for me at current custom home prices. Seems like a one off build would be at least $500k more than finding an existing home. I haven't looked into possible savings for GC'ing it yourself though, wouldn't think it's nearly enough to overcome the big cost gap.

What was the change for you moving from your prior house to this place? Were you in a bigger town or similarly rural area? One of the main hiccups for us finding a place like that is the idea of moving away from family, friends, amenities that are nearer to the Twin Cities suburbs. I don't think it would bother me much but I feel like it would be a big ask of my wife to move further away from family and friends. She's a full time mom until our 2 girls under 2 get closer to school age and having other mom friends to interact with is important to her as she doesn't get time with adults at a job.

 

[Catscratch]

Following with envy @Catscratch, looks like a special place!

I feel like the building what you want on a piece of land dream is dead for me at current custom home prices. Seems like a one off build would be at least $500k more than finding an existing home. I haven't looked into possible savings for GC'ing it yourself though, wouldn't think it's nearly enough to overcome the big cost gap.

What was the change for you moving from your prior house to this place? Were you in a bigger town or similarly rural area? One of the main hiccups for us finding a place like that is the idea of moving away from family, friends, amenities that are nearer to the Twin Cities suburbs. I don't think it would bother me much but I feel like it would be a big ask of my wife to move further away from family and friends. She's a full time mom until our 2 girls under 2 get closer to school age and having other mom friends to interact with is important to her as she doesn't get time with adults at a job.

Price - we saved 20 years, paid off our debt, had a house and 2 rentals to sell, and created high credit scores. Then we only bit the bullet when interest rates tanked. Our build cost just over $200k. We looked at every build method you can think of before deciding on a stick building. LOTS of shopping for both styles and the right builder. Then we had to make it smaller than our original print, go with cheaper carpet, delete trim around window in favor of cheaper bullnose moldings, etc. Plus with agreement from our builder I finished a lot of stuff myself such as the deck, the loft, the basement, steps, etc.


Family - The wife grew up on this land, cutting hay and driving the hay monster as a kid, working cattle, etc. She went to school here and has lots of ties to the community. Since I met her she has wanted to return and "give back". She puts on basketball camps for little kids in the summer, has coached Rec league teams, is on the school's Booster Club, and actively supports any businesses in the community. For her it was coming home. It was getting back to the community she wanted to raise her kids in. We had lived in Kansas City, a town of 15,000 people, and eventually in the town that we live outside of now. Life took us around but the end goal had always been the same.


It's a hard thing to decide if it affects family. Have you talked with your wife about a possible move? She may be on board, or she may shy away, or she may change her mind in a few years as kids grow up. I wish you the best of luck!

 

[Catscratch]

We try to do a lot to introduce local kids to stuff. My dad was always big on including people and I've tried to pass that on. Lots of first dove hunts, first time in a creek, first time to shoot a gun, work calves, ride a horse, etc. Locals are always welcome for a cookout or basketball game. Etc. Some kind of random pics...

 

[Catscratch]

 

[Wind Gypsy]

It's a hard thing to decide if it affects family. Have you talked with your wife about a possible move? She may be on board, or she may shy away, or she may change her mind in a few years as kids grow up. I wish you the best of luck!

Thanks! We discuss it frequently, she thinks it might be great in the future, just not now.

 

[Catscratch]

Trying wrap this build thing up but I don't get much time to post pics, and some of them have been difficult to round up. I finished the loft myself (money saver). Built the sliding stairs so that on certain occasions we could slide them out of the way, put up posts and made cable railings. The cable railings are exactly what I put on the deck. I didn't want anything obstructing the view.

 

[Catscratch]

Water was an issue. We originally planned on running geothermal heat and house supply from a well. The watershed "pond" is 90 feet below house level and only 100yds away... the well went 180 feet deep and didn't hit water. Crazy how some aquifers have boarders. Ended up getting rural water. That was a thing too but we ended up making it work.

 

[Catscratch]

The basement... The basement was and still is a hell of a project for me. There were no walls except for the cement outer walls. I've done everything down there.
The large tree post was a cedar tree that the FIL had killed in a pasture fire that got away from him. I thought it would make a nice corner piece to my bar.


The bar is topped with 3.5 inch slabs pieced together and left with live edges. Both the top and the front of the bar are from logs that I cut to clear a right-of-way for our electric lines. I cut them, logged them, then milled the into lumber. It's cool building with materials that you processed yourself. I left some of the front boards live edged so that gaps would show through that's painted the same color as the accent walls.

 

[Tree Spud]

Trying wrap this build thing up but I don't get much time to post pics, and some of them have been difficult to round up. I finished the loft myself (money saver). Built the sliding stairs so that on certain occasions we could slide them out of the way, put up posts and made cable railings. The cable railings are exactly what I put on the deck. I didn't want anything obstructing the view.

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I like the storable ladder idea ... very ingenious.

 

[Catscratch]

I like the storable ladder idea ... very ingenious.

Thanks! I struggled coming up with the right idea to get up there and where to place it. Lots of different ideas and drawings before settling on that one.

 

[Catscratch]

Got lucky and was able to buy a big chunk of the basketball court that the wife played high school ball on. She was a hell of a player and on a good team. She lost a total of 4 games on that floor. Got it to fit nicely in the basement.

 

[Catscratch]

The ceiling is tongue and groove. No stain, just clear. Really cleaned the room up and tied everything together nicely.

The basement is still not finished (I know right... 8yrs!). I'm down to a bedroom/game room and a bathroom. The bathroom will have a clawfoot tub in it and an industrial look to it (clear coated cement walls). Maybe it'll be finished in the next 8yrs!

 

[Turkey Creek]

You have posted pictures before because I recall the bar top and the basketball court in the basement.

When we resurfaced the high school track at the high school that my 2 oldest attended I was able to salvage a piece of lane 4 for my daughter. She didn't lose many races on it in her high school career. Attached all of her high school medals to it... its a nice momento.