[Garrett] We're building our country cottage
in the coastal plains of South Georgia.
Woo!
[Garrett] The road coming in is really muddy.
[truck engine revs]
I'm stuck.
This is just what we needed.
I have never built anything before.
This is harder than it looks.
They're not gonna be able to deliver our rafters today.
What?
[Ally] We saw a bear.
It was insane.
Until these windows get here,
we're at a complete standstill.
We have a category 4 hurricane coming this way.
[Jeremy] It's been blowing 60-mile-an-hour gusts.
Could blow 'em down.
[Ally] I just hope nothing happens to the build.
[announcer] Are you ready to go off the grid?
[upbeat music playing]
[plane engine revs]
Time to go scout out a place for our country cottage.
[Garrett] What I really love about flying is the freedom,
being able to go wherever you want to go.
Just the pure enjoyment buzzing around the farm,
seeing things from the sky,
and the relaxation I get from it.
All right, babe.
Let's go to the farm.
Garrett and I have been dating for two years
and we love coming to the family farm.
We love doing country stuff, as we call it.
And we spend a lot of holidays here with family,
so we want to have our own private little cottage
to come to and just have some alone time.
[Garrett] Last year, I decided
to get my private pilot's license.
So my plane's a great way to fly around the farm
and pick out the perfect spot.
[Ally] It's so pretty up here.
Okay. This is what we're looking for on the farm.
I want it near water.
I want it secluded.
I want a pretty view.
[Garrett] Well, I don't want any neighbors
and I want some big oak trees.
Some of the main things we are gonna love
about building off grid is all the amenities
of the farm, fields, fresh air, the creeks,
and just getting away from everyday life.
[birds chirping]
[Ally] I like the way the tree line is laid out.
I'm thinking that's gonna be
a really good location too, babe.
[Ally] So going up in the plane was super cool.
It's always fun when we get to go buzz
around in the sky.
But it was awesome just to see the landscape
of the farm
and to find that perfect nook.
I think we found the perfect spot.
Oh, my God. We're so low.
Woo! [laughs]
Oh, my God.
All right. Mission accomplished.
[Garrett] Roger that.
-I'm Garrett. -And I'm Ally.
[Garrett] And we're building our country cottage
in the coastal plains of South Georgia.
[upbeat music playing]
[Ally] The build site is located in Douglas, Georgia,
and that's about four hours south of Atlanta.
[Garrett] Farming in our family goes back
probably six generation,
and there's lots of space tucked out
in the middle of nowhere that we can put this build.
The spot we picked out for the build
is in the backfields of one of the farms.
For a living, I farm.
I grow cotton, corn, peanuts, and watermelons.
And we are really getting fired up right now
with watermelon season,
trying to get the ground ready,
and we're also starting this build.
So it's gonna be really hard to juggle the two
and get everything done on time.
Garrett has like a two-track mind.
He can't really keep his mind on one thing.
So we'll see if he could balance watermelons
and building a house,
and we'll see how that goes.
Truth hurts sometimes.
[Ally chuckles]
[upbeat music playing]
[Ally] We're building a country cottage
with a huge front porch.
When you walk in, on the right,
you'll have the living room and on the left,
you'll have the dining room and kitchen.
And you'll immediately see the stairs
that take you to a beautiful upstairs loft
with a loft porch.
Towards the back of the house, downstairs,
we have the main bedroom,
and that is paired with a bathroom.
For off-grid features,
we're gonna use solar for power
and a well for water.
[Garrett] The timeline on this cottage
is gonna be around four months.
Our budget is $130,000.
And it should end up being around 1,400 square foot.
It's definitely going to be very challenging,
but when I'm sitting on the front porch
with a margarita in hand,
it'll definitely be all worth it
watching the sun go down.
To get started on the build,
we needed to prepare the land
for our foundation.
[Garrett] We dug the footers,
put all our tram lines,
got everything squared up
and ready for the concrete.
My building experience is pretty limited.
I've fixed barns and built dog houses.
I have never built anything before.
Um, I think I've hung a picture on a wall.
-Good morning. -Howdy. Howdy.
So I've got a friend, Jeremy Smith,
helping me with this build.
He's an expert in building whatever you need done
and he has a crew to really get the job tackled
in a timely manner.
What's the plan for today?
Put the rebar in and grade it,
which ties your pour together.
Just reinforces it.
And then where the piers are out there,
it'll be for the porches.
[Ally] Well, I'mma start ordering
some rocking chairs then.
There's a lot of work to be done
before we can even think about sitting on the porch.
All right. Well, I got my work boots on.
Can I help?
-Yeah. -[Ally chuckles]
Put me to work.
[Jeremy] You can set some rebar on the chairs.
Take tie wires and twist them around the chair
where the rebar lays on the chairs.
Having Jeremy around will be so great
because he'll be there to show us all the ropes
and keep us on track.
Just lay 'em on here.
Bend it.
Put it... Put that through both of 'em.
[Ally] Okay. Let me try.
Like that?
[Jeremy] Squeeze them together.
Just hold... And just hold the handle.
[Ally] This is harder than it looks.
[Jeremy chuckles]
Just hold the handle and do it like this.
And just turn it.
[Ally] Oh.
You gotta finesse it.
[Jeremy] Yes. Yup.
[Ally] I can't say that I have gotten my hands dirty
in this way.
[chuckles]
I'm in the learning curve of this.
But it's kind of fun.
So when I'm sitting on the front porch this summer,
drinking a margarita, I'm gonna think about
all the work that's under my feet
and I'm gonna remember that one rhubarb
I helped tie together.
The rhubarb?
The rhubarb.
[laughter]
-What is it? -[Garrett] Rebar.
Rebar.
The rebar.
[laughs]
[upbeat music playing]
[Ally] Now that the rebar's installed,
it's time for the concrete truck
to come on out and put in our footers.
[truck beeping]
[Ally] Woo!
It feels good to have the truck here.
Can I try?
-[man] Let's do it. -What do you...
What's the goal here?
[Jeremy] Lay your shovel flat.
Stick your shovel right here
and you walk this way dragging it.
[Ally speaking]
We need more concrete.
Last one, babe.
[Garrett] Last one.
[Ally] Let her roll.
I'm so glad the truck didn't get stuck.
I'm so glad it didn't rain.
The weather held out till the last pour.
[Ally] There we go.
We got her done.
All right, babe.
[thunder rumbling]
[Garrett] Well, we were supposed to continue
with construction today,
but as you can see, we're done.
We knew it was gonna rain but we didn't realize
there was gonna be this much standing water.
We were really hoping to start laying blocks today,
but with all this water,
it's gonna push us back,
at least, a week, if not two.
[thunder rumbling]
[Garrett] Today is just a total bust.
[upbeat music playing]
[Ally] It took a few weeks for the foundation to dry out,
but now we're rocking and rolling.
I am so excited for today.
Over the last month, we've had the blocks set,
we've had the subfloor in.
And, today, we get to see the walls come up,
which is pretty incredible.
The biggest challenge we face right now
is we are expecting rain tomorrow.
So we're hoping that holds off.
It's a little windy today, but we got clear skies
and it is the perfect temperature to build in.
Everybody knows thunderstorms here are crazy.
We can't work in the rain.
[Ally] So we have the crew here
and we only have them today.
So, hopefully, we can get everything framed,
because tomorrow it doesn't look like
we'll be able to work.
[upbeat music playing]
[Ally] Woo.
Can I nail our first wall in?
[Garrett] You sure can, baby.
[Ally] All right.
First time with the nail gun.
No pressure.
Do you trust me with this gun?
Well, I'm standing behind you.
That should answer everything.
Oh, God.
-Okay. -[Garrett chuckles]
[Ally] I have no wall building experience.
Actually, the only walls I built,
um, I built a gingerbread house
a couple Christmases ago.
Bad news, we can't eat these walls.
[gasps]
That's pretty sturdy.
All right.
-Two on this side? -[man] Mmm-hmm.
Not too high.
[Ally] That was good.
That nail gun
is serious business.
You have to have technique.
It's like boom, pow.
Not... When I did it,
it was like boom, boom, boom, boom.
-[laughs] -But you need
the "boom-pow" technique.
[Ally] After the first couple,
I think I got my aim down.
Yeah, buddy.
I think I got the rhythm down.
-[man] Pretty aligned. -Yup.
[Ally] So I think I'm ready to do
the rest of the house now.
I help put the first wall up.
Will you give me a grade?
You grade this one
and then you grade all these down here.
Well, we got a "not coloring in the lines" score down here.
And it took about five shots.
[Garrett] And you're a Rhodes Scholar by the end.
[Ally] Are you proud of me?
-Of course. -Yeah?
Thank you, Jeremy,
for letting me use your nail gun.
You're welcome. And we're leaving one
-over there for you. -[Ally] Okay.
[Jeremy] On that side of the house.
[Ally] All right.
Boom, boom, boom.
It feels great to get the first one up.
I feel like the bones of the house
are coming together...
and we'll have this thing done in no time.
[upbeat music playing]
So I kind of tuckered myself out
with all the heavy lifting
and all the work I was doing today.
I was just trying to take a little snooze, you know?
Like our living room is gonna be there.
I'm trying to see what it feels like
when we put the couch there.
And then...
[shouts]
[laughs]
There's no sleeping on the job around here.
Ugh.
[Garrett] Oh.
Got all the walls up.
I think they're really great.
You see all the progress for the day.
We've been in a super big hurry,
working really hard.
The rain is coming tomorrow.
Last wall is almost finished
and next step is the rafters.
[Ally] I can kind of see the floor layout.
What everything's gonna look like in the house
and I'm so excited to see it take shape.
[phone rings]
[Ally] And then I get a phone call.
Hello?
[gasps]
Are you serious?
That's a huge problem.
Okay. I'll let him know.
Thank you.
Garrett...
-I have to tell you something. -Yeah?
So the lumber company just called me
and they said that they're not gonna be able
to deliver our rafters today.
That they sent them to Abbeville.
-Do you know where that is? -What?
Well, when are they gonna bring 'em?
We were supposed to start on the rafters today,
that's why we got all the walls up.
I know. I don't have any answers.
I need to call them back.
But I was just gonna let you know
that they're not gonna be here tonight.
But what about the rain?
I don't know.
[Ally] Tomorrow, it's gonna be stormy and rainy.
The builders are here today.
We really wanted to get this done,
so this is a huge problem for us.
[dramatic music playing]
[Ally] So we worked out the quirk with the lumber.
It's here.
The bad news is it's raining and it's windy.
But the good news is we do have a break
in the weather right now...
so we're gonna try to make it to the site today
to see if we can get some work done.
It's so nasty out today.
I wish it would go away.
I wanna get the trusses up.
When it rains in South Georgia,
it is super muddy,
especially when you have a lot of farmland
around your build.
Oh.
Where am I going?
Uh-oh.
All of a sudden, the wheels started sliding.
I'm losing control.
I don't know what to do.
Does this thing have 4-wheel drive?
I think it's broken.
-Give it-- -[Ally] Well, I'm stuck.
All right. Give it more gas.
Uh-oh.
This is just what we needed.
[truck engine revs]
[Ally] Oh, no.
[Garrett] She's giving it gas.
We're spinning a lot.
She's put it in reverse, and just nothing.
The truck's stuck.
Oh, no.
Do you have something you can pull this out with?
Yes. There's a strap in the back.
And I think our bulldozer will work.
So we're in moccasin county
and I'm not real excited about getting out
on all these grass, you know?
It's nothing I haven't had to do before,
but I don't have any snake pants, any snake boots.
I'm out here in my skimpies.
I'm gonna have to go get the dozer.
It's really far away.
-Just sit tight-- -Are you gonna leave me here
with all these moccasins?
Y'all, me and snakes do not get along.
So I was like,
"Hmm, Garrett, you make the trek.
You go get the bulldozer.
I'm gonna sit in the truck safe and sound."
All these snakes,
lions, and tigers, and bears.
Oh, no.
[dramatic music playing]
Made the trek to get the dozer.
Thank God for farmers and farm equipment.
Luckily, everything went as planned.
I had a tow strap.
Hooked everything up.
[Ally] What should I do?
Should I put it in neutral?
No. You should crank it up,
and just whenever you feel pressure,
just ease the gas to it.
And when you get out the mud,
don't run into the back of the dozer.
Got it, captain.
[truck engine revving]
Yay.
Just a little more.
Woo.
Almost there.
Woo!
It really sucks today.
I was hoping we'd get some work done.
But, however, it is just too bad to make it to site.
So we just need to wait for this road to dry out.
That way, we can get down it.
It could be a couple days,
so this is a really big setback for us. And...
[sighs] We gotta love the weather.
We'll just go home today. It's a loss.
[Ally] While the ground was drying out,
I got a little bored.
I've asked Garrett, I was like,
"Why don't we set up our trail camera
and just see what comes up to the house.
I wanna know what's moving in the middle of the night."
And I cannot believe what we saw.
We saw a bear.
It was insane.
This was no baby bear.
This was like an adolescent, mom and pop bear.
This bear could have seriously done some damage.
All the more reason to get the walls up,
get the house going so they do not return.
It really just makes me think
that we're not alone out here.
These walls cannot go up fast enough.
[upbeat music playing]
[Garrett] This build has had tons of challenges.
We're way off grid,
supplies are already hard to get,
and then we just had tons of rain.
Spring showers everywhere.
The roads have been super mucky.
They took the materials to another place.
Couldn't get any building done.
This made it really hectic.
But, today, the sun's finally out.
We've got the boom truck in, trusses are coming up,
and we' 're finally making some progress on this build.
[Garrett speaking]
[upbeat music playing]
[Jeremy] We finally got the trusses here,
and now we're just trying to get 'em all set...
and hoping the wind don't get up real high today.
It's been blowing 60-mile-an-hour gusts.
And if it does that,
it could blow 'em down.
[chuckles]
Not today.
You ain't got the one hook on it.
Ease it down.
In order to prevent 'em from blowing down,
we've got to get 'em braced off
and tied down at the top.
We're making good progress.
Just if the weather cooperates,
we can go on with it.
[man] Eight and seven-eighths.
[Garrett] Close enough for governmental work?
[man] Yup.
[Garrett] I grew up farming. I'm not a carpenter,
so climbing oak was bananas.
Trying to hold on with one hand,
run the staple gun with the other,
keep everything squared
and on target was a pretty big challenge.
But we got a couple nails in each one.
Everything was sturdy.
I got this one done.
I hope it's right.
Luckily, we got it all done.
The rafters are finished.
Now, we can move on to the next phase
of the build.
I'm really looking forward to the next phase of the build
where we finish up the roof,
wrapping the house, and starting on siding.
After that, we'll get everything dried in
and start on the inside.
[dramatic music playing]
We are so overwhelmed.
Nothing's getting done.
This would fall during harvest season.
It's incredibly busy.
Garrett is so overwhelmed.
He hasn't been able to dedicate a lot of time
to the build because what pays the bills?
Farming.
[Garrett] A typical year of farming we would have
a break between like planting and harvesting.
We'd have some free time.
We could already knock this build out.
But this year has just been crazy.
From the rains and the heat and the drought,
it's just been a hodgepodge of issues
and the build has been on the back burner,
nothing's really getting done with it.
And this farming is consuming all of my time right now.
I just don't know if we're gonna finish up on time.
[upbeat music playing]
[Ally] Life has been an absolute whirlwind lately.
Garrett's been farming nonstop.
I've been traveling for work quite a bit.
So we're finally getting a break in our schedule
to really dedicate to this build.
So it's super cool to see the new build coming along.
I haven't seen it since it was just four walls
and no rafters.
You can really see the bones starting to come together.
So here's gonna be the French doors that open up.
And then we have grated windows, a wide porch.
This is going to be the bedroom.
And then it'll have a walkway to the bathroom.
Very spacious.
Some of my favorite parts are just all the natural light.
We're gonna have super big windows on the front porch.
I'm super excited about that.
This looks great.
Also I'm super pumped about the loft.
I think that is becoming my favorite part of this house.
Wow.
This space looks awesome.
But I just love it.
I love the porch overlooking in the back.
I think we're gonna clear out of these trees
so we have more of a view.
This looks incredible.
I love it.
It feels so good to have everything
finally coming together.
We're rocking and rolling.
Roof is going on soon, and I'm just super excited.
[upbeat rock music playing]
The plans finally came together.
The weather is cleared out.
The roofers are here
and we're finally gonna see some changes.
[Ally] Yay.
[Garrett] Getting the roof on this place
means the world to me.
We've been trying for months to get it all done.
We're behind schedule.
With all the rain we've been having,
it's really important to get the roof on.
Julio, can we help?
Yeah. Sure, come.
[chuckles]
[Garrett] Everything's getting wet.
Even though we have the place dried in,
it's still wreaking havoc on the interior.
We need to get all the shingles on
to keep the water out.
-I'm not getting up there. -One foot in the middle and,
one on the edge.
-Here? -Yeah.
[Garrett] That roof's, really steep,
so we're gonna have to be careful up there.
We don't want anyone falling off.
-Especially me. -Yeah.
[upbeat music playing]
[Ally] So this keeps you all from falling?
Yeah.
[Ally] Is that... You all trust...
This is what you all trust?
-Exactly. -[Ally] Oh, my gosh.
You wanna try one, Ally?
Move... If you move out of the way,
I guess.
So putting up the walls really made me
realize I enjoy using the nail gun.
So I think I'm gonna try it again this time.
[Julio] You'll be safe on the ladder.
[Ally grunts]
If I fall, I might take you with me.
-[Garrett] Don't do that. -[Julio chuckles]
[Garrett] Hold on.
-Just stay on the ladder. -[Ally] Okay.
[Garrett] I'm a little nervous because
she's gonna be on an angle
on the roof with the nail gun,
so not only is she gonna shoot herself,
she might fall off shooting everybody.
Everybody.
[Garrett] Put one right here, knock that right in.
[Ally chuckles]
[Garrett] Oh, this point.
In the middle. In the middle.
Oh, no, in the... In the middle between the tar.
-[Julio] Nope. -[Garrett] Nope.
-Okay. -[Julio] Oh.
No, no, no, right here.
-Oh. -[Julio] Yeah, in the end.
[Ally] Not good. You do it, babe.
-[Julio] Okay. -[Garrett] I don't want my roof to leak.
I lost privileges.
I was a master for the nail gun on the walls
but when it comes to the roof, I think
I'm gonna leave while I'm still on top.
My one shot was more like a...
[mimics nail gun] ...like a three shot.
So that didn't work out.
So I was booted from gun duty today,
which is fine by me because it is really high up there.
Hey, bring me some more shingles, boss.
It's really good to be getting hands on with this roof.
Finally getting to learn how to put shingles on
and we're really excited to see the progress.
[upbeat music playing]
[Ally] What's next our list?
[Garrett] We'll start on windows.
You gotta get the glass company to get it cut,
getting them framed in, and then we can
start rock and rolling with finishing the inside.
Sheetrock, insulation, get our countertops
picked out, cabinets, and roll on along.
I'm so excited for the glass windows in the front.
Let all that natural light in.
It's gonna be beautiful.
[dramatic music playing]
[Ally] I'm just checking out the process of our build,
unfortunately we have a huge dilemma.
We're waiting on our windows.
Jeremy and his crew cannot work anymore
until our windows arrive.
And we have no estimated time of delivery
or when they'll be here.
So that is incredibly frustrating.
I thought we'd be dried in by now,
but until these windows get here,
we're at a complete standstill,
which really puts a wrench in our timeline.
Super, super frustrating.
[country music playing]
[Ally] We have been waiting for what feels
like months for these windows.
Nothing can be done on the interior
and that's the fun part for me is doing the interior,
designing everything, making it all come together.
So the windows are arriving today
and I could not be happier.
I just hope the weather holds out
and hope the guys get here and work really hard.
[indistinct chatter]
We do have these beautiful large windows
that really fit the A-frame of the house.
And so we have a specialty crew to come
and install those larger windows into the build.
I'm a little afraid of heights,
I risked it with the nail gun on the roof,
but I think I'm gonna sit this one out
because these windows are super heavy.
[man in foreign language]
[Garrett] These guys are working really hard.
Glass is coming off the truck,
caulk's going in.
These guys are just working like crazy.
We're gonna have our windows in before you know it.
[indistinct chatter]
[Ally] Oh, there it is.
[Garrett] Oh, watch the top.
You ready?
This is risky business.
[Garrett laughs]
[man speaking]
[Garrett] Oh, come on.
We got one more window, the last one,
and the whole puzzle's put together,
and we talked him into letting Ally and I put it in.
[man speaking]
[Garrett] With some coaching and a little handholding,
I think we're gonna get it in
and it's gonna look really great.
-[Ally] Look at that. -[Garrett] Boy.
[man speaking]
You all hiring?
-[man] Yeah. -Oh, I got caulk on my fingers.
[man speaking]
[Ally] It was really exciting to put a window
into the house and now I can point
at that window and say, "I did that.
I put that there."
We're finally done.
Yay!
It looks so good.
[Garrett] All we lack now is the doors
and we'll be sealed up
and we can start on the inside.
It feels amazing.
I saw the house from the ground up
and now it's starting to look like a beautiful home,
and everything is coming together.
We just wanna say thank you.
Everything looks great
and you guys worked really hard today.
[man speaking]
It all looks super good.
[Ally] Today was an amazing day.
We actually got done earlier than I thought,
so we're headed to the beach and I cannot wait.
[upbeat music playing]
[Garrett] Insulation's in.
Sheetrock's going in.
[Garrett speaking]
So we've been really busy.
We've done insulation, sheetrock,
and we've put the floor in.
The interior is slowly coming together.
I'm excited to really get in there and make it my own.
[thunder rumbles]
[Ally] So we're already months behind schedule
and the hits keep coming.
As you can see, the rain
is already starting to stir up.
It's just one thing after another.
So I'm sitting in my car.
No way that I'm getting out in this.
We have a Category 4 hurricane coming this way.
Just what we needed.
It's gonna hit in a couple hours.
We have some hundred mile-per-hour winds
coming our way.
Garrett and I went to the build site,
strapped down all the boards,
got rid of any building supplies that may fly away.
[Ally] This sucks.
It's gonna set us back yet again for our build.
We can't win with the weather.
I just hope nothing happens to the build.
[dramatic music playing]
[birds chirping]
[Ally] So the hurricane hit us,
we were worried about flooding.
But luckily, the house is fine.
[upbeat music playing]
[Garrett] The house was spared,
but that still put us back a couple weeks.
All the other guys were busy working on immediate projects
they had, whether it be landfilling their house,
or other, you know, people without power.
[Ally] So now that the hurricane's gone
and we're moving and grooving again,
I'm excited because we have the exterior done.
And now we can move onto the interior,
which is my favorite part.
[Garrett] Ally's gonna make the house a home.
She's gonna decorate, bring in plates,
couches, rugs, all the good stuff.
The decorating's definitely a lot more fun
than the nail gun,
so I'm excited to kind of make the space
come together, make it more homey,
and to see what it's gonna look like in here.
[grunts]
This is a sexy couch.
What do you think?
[sighs]
It'll work.
I like it.
[chuckles]
The loft is my favorite place in the house.
We're gonna have fun movie nights
with a comfortable couch.
Garrett has his desk up there, so he'll be
more peace of mind with all the beautiful views
that are out there.
Lots of light and just really a peaceful place
to get things done.
[sighs]
How do you feel?
Stressed already.
Just like I'm at work.
We finally are ready to finish up the kitchen.
We're gonna start with the shelves for our plates,
the knick-knacks, and cups and stuff,
then we're gonna move onto the countertops.
I think that we should do two on top of one another
like bam, bam,
but in the center kinda of the window.
You know what I'm saying?
In the... Right here?
[Ally] No, no, no.
-Like... -Oh, yeah. Okay.
Bam. Bam.
-You got that? -Mmm-hmm.
All right. Execute.
[drill whirring]
All right.
[Ally] Let's see what that looks like.
Yeah. Okay.
Now, let's go get the counter tops and see how
it looks all together, because I think they'll look
really good with the shelves.
Headed in.
This looks like it'll go...
It's a longer piece.
-[Garrett] Watch your fingers. -Yeah.
Why don't you push that in from your side?
Bam.
I wanna lie it flat here.
But we're gonna have to eventually put some...
Oh, wow.
There's gonna be a lot of cutting.
All righty.
So we have these beautiful countertops
but we go to put the second one in place
and it's gonna be kind of a puzzle effect,
so I'm gonna rely on Garrett to cut those for me,
and to get them to fit like we need them to in our kitchen.
[saw buzzing]
[upbeat music playing]
[Ally] Yay.
Let's see if it fits.
Slide it in there, babe.
Look at that.
Oh, yeah.
-Like butter. -Woo!
[Garrett] Those are nice.
[Ally] All right. We gotta do this half now.
Wow.
Is it gonna fit?
[Ally] Let's see it, let's see it.
[Garrett] Cinderella fit.
Amazing.
[Garrett] All right.
Let's just... Let's keep on with it.
Rock and roll.
Let's see it.
It's right!
-The missing link. -[Ally] Yup.
Awesome, babe.
We got it figured out.
We cut them up, got them to fit
in the places we need to,
and I think they look amazing.
[soft upbeat music playing]
[Ally] Garrett's mom is coming in a couple days.
I wanna get the house ready
because her approval is everything.
We're gonna be working round the clock until she gets here.
Go that way.
Do it like this.
All right.
[Garrett] I can't wait to have some dinner.
[Ally] Yup.
We have a long way to go.
Woo.
Two on each side.
You sure?
-There's four... There's four corners. -Two... Yeah, yup, yup.
I wanna face you when I'm eating with you.
How do you feel, babe?
[Garrett] I feel hungry. What's for supper?
[Ally] So I want a lot of plants in this house
because we need some color in this house.
We started out very dark, very black decorations,
but I'm thinking we need to lighten it up,
so I'm thinking lots of plants,
lots of greenery in this house.
[Garrett] We're gonna have to finish all the touches
on the inside, whether it be pictures
or decorations to get this build done on time,
and really hope my mom likes all the work we've done.
[Ally] Want them facing one another?
[Garrett] Yeah, maybe a little catty-corner.
Nice.
I think this will work.
[soft music playing]
[Ally] It feels so amazing to finally be done
with this gorgeous build.
I love the house, exactly what we wanted
kind of a Bohemian, kind of country cabin feel.
I love it.
[Garrett] It is such a relief.
Luckily, I had Ally and she's been a big help.
I couldn't have done it without her.
You're welcome.
So we wanted to have the build done in four months.
It wound up being more like seven months.
[upbeat music playing]
[Ally] Originally, we wanted to build this house
for $130,000.
But because we went over our timeline,
the materials took a little too long to get in,
it wound up being around $140,000.
[Garrett] So my mom's coming by today
to see the finished product of the build,
and we're super excited to show her
what we've accomplished.
[woman] I love it.
[Ally] Thanks for coming.
[Garrett] We've been working hard.
[woman] Those windows are beautiful.
[Garrett] They turned out really good.
I love the porch and the way you got it set up,
the rocking chairs, and everything.
[Ally] It's my favorite part.
I cannot wait to sit out on that porch,
look at the sunset, you can come over.
And just enjoy the afternoon.
[Garrett] That's exactly right.
[woman] And I love the color.
Because I was thinking, like, real, real black.
But it's not.
[Ally] With all the light, it brightens it up.
So come on in, let us show you the house.
[woman] Okay.
-[Ally] All right. -[Garrett] Here it is.
[Ally] What do you think?
Oh, I love it. It is beautiful.
You're gonna enjoy all this natural light.
-Beautiful. -[Ally] Oh, I'm glad you like it
because we had to have these cut
specifically to these measurements.
[woman] Did a wonderful job.
May even help with just keeping it warm in here.
-[Garrett] Yeah. -[woman] The sunlight.
[Garrett] I'm glad we could light up your world.
It was a lot of work.
[woman laughs]
What do you think about the kitchen?
[woman] Oh, I love it.
I love the countertops, I love the bars here,
because you can actually sit here while somebody cooks,
and you can talk and I love the way
you got your window there, so we can look out
when we're standing at the sink.
[Ally] There's more natural light than is already in here.
[upbeat music playing]
So what are you gonna do for electricity and water?
[Garrett] So for power, we have solar panels.
And for water, we have a well.
Hey, that sounds good.
[Ally] I'm gonna need you to come over
-and show me how to cook. -[woman laughs]
[Ally] And you can sit right here and boss me around
in my own kitchen.
I'll be glad to help you.
[Ally] All right. [laughs]
[Garrett] So you ready to see the bedroom?
[woman] Yes.
Oh, I love it.
This is nice. You got more room in here
-than I thought you would. -[Ally] Yeah.
-That's what I thought. -We have way more room than we thought we would,
-so. -[woman laughs]
I love your painting.
[Ally] My cousin, Jordan Roster,
I just told her do whatever she wanted.
And they turned out really well.
[woman] Yes, very nice.
[Garrett] My favorite thing about the room is the views.
We're gonna wake up, we have the fields,
all the oak trees are opened up back there.
[woman] Very nice.
[Ally] What do you think about the bathroom?
[woman] I love the countertops.
That is just gorgeous.
It goes really well with your cabinets.
I really do like it.
The toilet runs on septic.
Just the toilet on septic? Okay.
[Garrett] Yup.
[Ally] So this is the loft.
Oh, I love this.
[Ally] I just love how all the natural light
from the windows radiates right through.
It meets more open spaces.
[Garrett] Besides the deck, I guess for me,
my other favorite part is gonna be
-my little office area. -Right.
I'm gonna have great views, tons of light, fresh air.
I can leave all the doors open
and it's gonna be really nice...
-[woman] Right, right. -...to have a warm space up here.
I like that.
[Garrett] Either way you look, you've got a view.
[woman] That's right.
I know it was a little scary coming up the stairs,
so eventually we're gonna put in railings,
like, some nice iron rods, but that'll be in the future.
Yes, I think you most definitely are wanting them.
Yeah.
[woman] I think you'll enjoy it.
It'll be peaceful up here.
But I love that porch out there.
[Ally] Yeah.
[Garrett] The deck/porch is my favorite.
[Ally] Yeah.
You get the fresh air.
-[woman] I love this. -[Garrett] How is the view?
[woman] It is beautiful.
[Garrett] The best part of this deck is
it doesn't matter what kinda hunting you're doing,
whether it's deer or beer, we can do it all up here.
-Yeah. -Right.
You can look at all the nature from here.
It'll be really nice.
[Ally] Just no bear, please.
Keep the bear away.
-[woman] Yup. -Yeah, I'm very scared.
[woman] Yup.
[Garrett] Would you move in tomorrow?
[woman] Yes. Matter of fact,
if you're ever gone, I may come down here
and stay and leave your daddy at the house.
-[Garrett] Okay. -[woman] This would be my getaway place.
I love it.
Garrett, you and Ally have done a wonderful job.
I'm proud of you.
[Garrett] Thanks, mom. It's been a lot of work.
We're glad you could come over today
and we could show you the accomplishment.
[woman] You've done a real great job.
[Ally] Building off the grid was definitely worth it.
We had weather challenges,
we had the materials challenges,
but overall it's amazing.
[Garrett] We're just learning new things,
it's been such a journey,
but we are glad that the house turned out
exactly like we wanted, and maybe a little more.
How nice is it to finally enjoy all
the fruits of our labors?
[Ally] I love it.
Cheers to that.
-Cheers. -[glass clinks]
[upbeat music playing]