GRETA: We're building an off-grid cabin.
MARK: This is out of my comfort zone.
GRETA: Very remote.
I mean, we're out in the sticks.
MARK: Get it!
[horse neighs]
We're gonna attack it.
GRETA: Yeah!
STEVE: It's hotter than blue blazes.
And it ain't gonna be fun.
GRETA: I'm not really sure what we're gonna do.
Ooh, it scares me.
Be careful, please.
STEVE: If you fall off that scaffolding,
you don't get another chance.
GRETA: Can we breathe now?
MARK: This thing sure is shaking a lot.
STEVE: You all right?
MARK: In my mind, it's falling.
I'm not too worried about the rain.
It's the lightning.
Oh, god!
Are you OK?
Up, up, up, up, up, up, up.
Easy, easy.
STEVE: We just had a major disaster.
GRETA: Are you serious?
NARRATOR: Are you ready to go off the grid?
[music playing]
All right, guys.
Here we are.
This is where we're gonna put the A-frame.
MARK (VOICEOVER): From the moment we got this place,
we knew we wanted something up there, a place for our family
to go and get away.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): Just be outside
and really enjoy each other, as opposed to just things.
Awesome.
Not sweet.
It's awesome.
I'm Greta.
I'm Mark.
And we're building an off-grid cabin at the base
of the Appalachian Mountains.
We're very remote.
There's no real hospital facility anywhere close by.
And I mean, we're out in the sticks.
MARK (VOICEOVER): The build site for this A-frame
is gonna be on the backside of a piece
of property we bought right after we got married,
about 20 years ago.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): It's located right
outside of Dalton, Georgia, about an hour
and a half north of Atlanta.
OK, Lila.
I'm gonna to measure that corner.
If it's 35 feet, we're right on it, OK?
Got it, Lila?
Right on it.
MARK: Right on it?
Yep.
MARK: 35 feet, 2 inches.
We can work with that.
Awesome.
Yay!
MARK (VOICEOVER): The view's amazing.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): We're looking toward Alabama
and this area called Taylor's Ridge that
is loaded with all kinds of gorgeous trees
that change colors in the fall.
MARK (VOICEOVER): It's a difficult place to access.
There's a lot of rocky terrain.
There's two creeks you have to cross.
So getting things to the build site's gonna be a challenge.
MARK: One more.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): We have Jackson, who's 13.
He's an old soul that absolutely loves to work with his hands.
Me and Jeb get the loft, because we
can do stunts off of it.
- Negative, negative. - No.
I get the loft.
And I'm gonna put a sign on it that says, girls only.
Girls only.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): We have Lila, who is 9.
And she is super crafty.
You can't steel the loft.
Except for Dad.
Daddy, you sleep on the loft.
Y'all sleep in the outdoor shower.
And then we have Jeb, who is 6.
And he is all over the place.
Jeb, clean the land for us.
That's the first step.
GRETA: Jeb, you just keep going, bud.
We'll come back later and get you, OK?
OK!
GRETA: You hang in there.
[laughs]
I mean, he is into everything.
But he is a great helper.
MARK (VOICEOVER): Walking up to the A-frame, first thing
you see is the big front porch with the outdoor seating area.
As you go in, to the left is the dining area with a wood stove.
To the right will be just another seating area.
In the back will be the kitchen.
To the left of the kitchen will be the bathroom.
Then there'll be about 100-square-foot loft
above the kitchen and bathroom.
The off-grid features-- we'll have
solar power for electricity.
We'll have a solar toilet, which will dehydrate the waste
and then turn it into fertilizer.
And then we have a water tower, which will supply
the water for the A-frame.
So our budget is around $30,000.
We have about a three-month timeline here that we're trying
to work on to get it finished.
And the build is about 850 square feet.
MARK (VOICEOVER): The first thing
we have to do is we have to dig holes for the foundation posts.
All this has to be done by hand.
MARK: Loosen it.
Keep loosening it up.
This is the hard part about building here.
MARK (VOICEOVER): We have 12 holes
to dig to set these poles.
The ground is super hard, super rocky.
And there's no equipment going back.
So it's all manpower.
- These big, giant muscles. - Yes.
Mm.
You're getting it.
You're making headway.
There we go.
Our son Jackson and our nephew Jace
are with us to help dig these holes
so we can pass around and not wear each other out.
GRETA: Oh, yeah.
MARK (VOICEOVER): These posts have to be set
solid for the house to be firm.
Jace is young muscle that doesn't break my back, so--
MARK (VOICEOVER): Now that all the holes
are dug for the foundation, we have to transport
the poles to sites.
So this time, we're using horsepower.
So today, we have to move about 4,000 pounds of poles
up to the build site.
Hey, guys.
How's it going?
MARK: Good.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): Today, we have
some good friends that we've known for about
25 years, Cavin and Ginger.
They will be riding some super awesome animals, Cobalt and--
MARK (VOICEOVER): Dollar.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): --Dollar.
They'll be the rock stars today.
We decided that horses were the best option
to get the materials to the site because of the terrain,
because the creeks are really steep.
And you can't really get an ATV down in there very well.
And so the horses are very sure-footed.
They can get down in there, and come up and, and pull the poles
up without any problem.
STEVE: There's a lot of snakes around here,
copperheads and rattlesnakes.
But kind of watch where you're walking around.
You know what I mean?
My dad is basically a jack of all trades.
He is super handy.
He's an electrician.
He's a welder.
He's built many structures on the farm.
You're kidding me.
OK, that's good.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): He is a huge asset to our building project.
MARK (VOICEOVER): Absolutely.
Those suckers are heavy, man.
That's thing must weight 500 pounds!
Gah!
About 4,000 pounds.
[groans]
GRETA: Ah, he's got it.
That's no problem.
STEVE (VOICEOVER): You know, they
used to log all these woods with horses,
because that's the only way you can get back there, you know?
It's rough, and horses can go about anywhere.
Good deal.
Awesome.
MARK (VOICEOVER): So the way we're
going to pull the poles up the hill is we have
a rope to go around the poles.
Then they'll dally the rope to the saddle.
GRETA: So we're going to take a left right here, yeah.
MARK (VOICEOVER): They don't have harnesses.
So the horses are gonna have to pull off the saddle.
Slow and steady.
STEVE (VOICEOVER): It's a pretty long
pull for horses up that ridge.
And it's hotter than blue blazes.
It's like 95 degrees, and it ain't going to be fun,
I'm telling you.
All right, Cavin. There's this log here,
so be careful coming over it.
This thing's heavy.
MARK: We have about a mile of rough terrain
uphill that these horses are going
to have to pull these poles after getting
across these two creeks.
So we'll unhook, get the horses across, and then
get the rope back to you.
That sound good?
GRETA: Ooh, it scares me.
STEVE (VOICEOVER): One creek is real muddy in the bottom.
One of the creeks is empty.
But I'm afraid, when the horses start
pulling the logs across the creek,
they're gonna mar up this deep in mud.
GRETA: He's not sure.
MARK: Easy, easy, easy.
There we go.
STEVE: That log's so close to the bank,
he's afraid he's gonna slip off in the bank
when he gets across the log.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): If these horses can't carry all
these poles up to the site, I'm not really
sure what we're gonna do.
MARK: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
STEVE: Those suckers are heavy.
Gah!
GRETA: About 4,000 pounds.
MARK (VOICEOVER): So today, we have to move about 4,000 pounds
of poles up to the build site.
So we'll unhook, get the horse across, and then
give the rope back to you.
STEVE (VOICEOVER): And we're going to take the horses
and snake logs across two creeks and then
up the side of the ridge.
GRETA: Ooh, it scares me.
STEVE (VOICEOVER): The horse is gonna
have issues at that creek, I know,
because the creek's muddy in the bottom.
GRETA: He's not sure.
STEVE (VOICEOVER): And they can't jump the creek.
So they're gonna have to go off the bank through the creek.
Easy, easy, easy.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
He's real hesitant.
If these horses can't carry all these poles up to the site,
I'm not really sure what we're gonna do.
Do we need to cut it?
GRETA: Do you want me to come across first, babe?
You want to try the other one?
He's stumbling and about to fall, so we back him out.
GRETA: Let me walk right by y'all, and he'll follow--
He'll follow mine across.
STEVE (VOICEOVER): They couldn't jump the creek.
They couldn't pull the log down in the creek.
Good boy.
So we had to take the ropes loose from the horses
and pull the logs to where they could
pull them across the creek.
He'll come up now, I think.
Atta boy.
Yeah
Atta boy.
GRETA: He's so graceful.
[laughter]
Good boy.
MARK: All right.
Keep going all around this.
STEVE: This one here is not gonna be as
easy to get out of that muck.
GRETA: Watch for holes again, OK?
STEVE: Yeah.
GRETA: You good, Pop?
STEVE: I'm good.
Watch out, Mark.
I got it.
Watch your hands.
It was hot and muddy.
GRETA: Hold on, Dad. Hold on.
OK.
STEVE (VOICEOVER): My butt's dragging.
We've climbed that ridge--
I know I walked it 12 times today.
It's been a tough day, but we got a lot done.
It's the last trip, and we got it--
Got it done. - Woo!
Yay!
Fresh start!
Just past this tree on the left, it'll flatten out.
Yeah, just right over here.
MARK: And we are at the build site.
GRETA: Sweet!
MARK: All right.
Now it's time to revert back to manpower so that the poles can
be set properly in their holes.
Today, we have Greta, myself, Kelly, and Steve.
Oop!
[laughter]
It's not too good.
MARK (VOICEOVER): So we have 12 poles to set.
They are heavy.
They're about 300 pounds apiece.
Woo!
[laughs]
MARK (VOICEOVER): Raising them up is going to take all
the manpower we have on site.
And 3.
There we go.
That'll work.
MARK (VOICEOVER): So we have the first four poles in.
We're gonna have to get them plumb,
level them, cut them with a chainsaw,
and then we will move on to the next row.
I'll lift it into the hole.
You lifting it?
All right.
Oh, you're putting it in there?
1, 2, 3.
Whoop!
Got it.
All right.
We're done.
All right, we're good.
All the poles are in.
We managed to do it without losing any fingers or anything.
Next, we are going to move on to the floor system.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): Today, we are installing the ridge beam.
And it is super high up.
So we've got a lot of good guys over here
that are setting up the scaffolding.
This will just allow these guys to climb
up high to hold the materials in place
while they set it in place.
MARK: There it goes.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): Once the scaffolding is up,
we're getting lumber on site as we speak.
And we'll install the beam once that's all set up in place.
Mark, be careful, please.
At one point, we're gonna have to stand.
I know.
OK, first and foremost, safety is number one.
So if something goes, just get out of the way.
Let it go.
We can replace the board.
I'm deathly afraid of heights.
And my legs get shaky, especially when you lose things
surrounding you that you can grab onto if you
feel like you're going to fall.
This is out of my comfort zone.
So we're going to attack it full on, and get it done,
and get it over with, and move forward.
MARK: When we get these up, we're gonna nail
both rafters into the plates.
And then we'll pull these up, adjust them, and tack
them together, one on each end.
And then we'll raise the ridge beam.
This is the scariest part of the entire build for me.
It's just gonna be really hard to watch.
Here it comes.
STEVE (VOICEOVER): It's very shaky when you get up there.
It don't look like it from the ground,
but the scaffolding, when you get up 30 feet,
I don't care what kind of scaffolding you got,
and you're walking on the 12-inch board, it's shaky.
MARK: There you go.
Right there, Brian.
STEVE (VOICEOVER): We've got to install a 30-foot ridge beam
30 foot high on scaffolding.
And you're gonna be walking on a 12-inch board,
holding a 2-by-10 over your head and trying to nail it.
1, 2, 3.
STEVE (VOICEOVER): It's just a really dangerous job.
If you fall off that scaffolding,
you don't get another chance.
[inaudible] before you go.
OK.
STEVE (VOICEOVER): One of our problems up
there today is it's gonna be hotter than a lizard
on a hot rock.
It's just miserable.
And there's nothing you can do about it
but climb the scaffolding, and cross your fingers, and pray.
Are you yours?
I'm right there.
All right, up together.
Up together.
Sheesh.
MARK (VOICEOVER): Standing up on the walk boards
and looking down is very scary.
The walk board was wobbly.
It's very uneasy.
In my mind, it's falling.
MARK: Whoa, whoa!
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
GRETA: Up, up, up, up, up!
MARK: Hey!
[music playing]
1, 2, 3.
STEVE (VOICEOVER): It's just a really dangerous job.
If you fall off that scaffolding,
you don't get another chance.
[inaudible] before you go.
OK.
MARK (VOICEOVER): Standing up on the walk boards
and looking down, in my mind, it's falling.
Are you on yours?
I'm right there.
All right, up together.
Up together.
GRETA: Sheesh.
MARK: Oh, oh!
Whoa, whoa!
GRETA: Up, up, up, up, up, up!
Good giggly wiggly.
Got it.
You all right?
Yeah.
Now you can put pressure on it.
GRETA: Can we breathe now?
STEVE: No.
Not quite.
MARK: Not quite.
STEVE: Hot, hot.
[inaudible].
There we go.
MARK (VOICEOVER): So right now, we've
got the first ridge beam in.
We've got several rafters in.
So it's secured.
We're moving the scaffolding down.
That's good.
I'm at the edge.
MARK (VOICEOVER): And we're about to set
the second ridge beam.
GRETA: Oh, there it is.
MARK (VOICEOVER): We're back up on the scaffolding
without anything to hold onto.
So this is way back out of my comfort zone.
Sheesh.
MARK (VOICEOVER): But we got through the first one.
So we're gonna hope the second one goes the same.
All right, here we go.
[inaudible]
Go ahead. - Go?
Yeah, go ahead.
Guys, this thing sure is shaking a lot.
You all right?
Yeah, I'm good.
Are you good, Mark?
There's nothing good about any of this.
Don't scare me.
Woo!
[laughs]
What?
GRETA: Don't look down! - I can't help it.
GRETA: Don't look down!
I'm just making sure I'm not [inaudible]..
There.
We good?
You're good.
We're good.
I was scared for real.
I was too.
I'm not gonna lie.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): We worked super hard,
and we installed the rafters.
But we really can't go forward any farther because we've
run out of materials.
MARK (VOICEOVER): The lumber is in short supply right now.
So we're gonna move forward with the water tower.
1, 2, 3.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): Today, we are setting up the water tower.
We need the water tower in order to provide water
for the outdoor shower, the no-till garden,
the kitchen, and the bathroom inside the house.
OK.
We ready?
1, 2, 3.
Oh, god, yeah.
Look at that!
All right.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
I'm gonna go off the back side.
I'm impressed.
That was awesome.
All right.
GRETA: Are you OK, Mark?
Yeah, I'm good.
We're good. - You're centered.
Yeah, that's awesome.
MARK: We're done.
GRETA: Water, yay!
GRETA (VOICEOVER): It took five additional days
to get the lumber here.
But it's finally on site.
So we can finish the roof.
But now we need to move quickly to make up for lost time.
MARK (VOICEOVER): We're ready to move forward
with the decking of the roof.
I keep telling myself that rafters are in place.
This isn't gonna be as bad.
But I can't lie to myself.
I am nervous again.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): They'll be super high.
And the pitch of this roof is what, 60 degrees,
something like that?
MARK (VOICEOVER): Yeah, it's steep.
It's a steep roof. - So it's going to be tough.
All right, here we go.
First sheet, boys.
About 40 more, and we'll be good.
MARK (VOICEOVER): The biggest challenge
today is gonna be getting those sheets up that high.
And we only have Kelly, myself, Steve, and my brother, Brian.
The biggest factor today is if the weather moves in,
it's gonna be windy, and it's gonna be wet, which are
two ingredients for disaster.
71 and 8.
71--
71 and 8.
- Do you hear that? - Is that rain?
- That's rain that I hear. - That is rain.
Do y'all hear rain?
It's pouring right there, fellas,
right there on the mountain.
Ah!
You see right there?
There'll probably be some lightning and stuff.
So you better get covered up.
GRETA: Woo, phew!
That's cold.
MARK: Hey, Jack, throw that saw under that board.
Yeah, it's gonna pour!
Not too worried about the rain.
It's the lightning.
[thunder]
[music playing]
[thunder]
GRETA: Do you hear that? MARK: Is that rain?
GRETA: That's rain that I hear. - That is rain.
Do y'all hear rain?
It's pouring right there, fellas,
right there on the mountain.
Ah!
You see right there?
There'll probably be some lightning and stuff,
so you better get covered up.
MARK: Throw that saw under that board.
Yeah, it's gonna pour!
Not too worried about the rain.
It's the lightning.
MARK: I think we're gonna be fighting this all day.
I just don't want y'all going any higher.
I just feel like it's a risk.
It just makes me nervous that somebody could fall.
I know.
I just want to get it done.
STEVE (VOICEOVER): We can't work in this.
It's impossible.
It's too slick and too wet, and lightning.
So we're just gonna have to have to wait
it out for a little while.
MARK: The rain set in and put us behind.
So we're gonna have to step up, work a little bit faster--
Safely, but faster.
We're putting toe boards up now that we'll
stand on to raise the next row.
And we'll just continue to do that until we
work our way to the top.
This is just an inch and a half wide.
And my feet are wider than that.
So we're gonna have to be sure footed as we work off this.
I need some encouragement from you.
Well--
I need to know you're confident in this.
I'm very confident, Mark.
OK.
STEVE (VOICEOVER): The roof pitch is steep.
It's just hard to stand on those toe boards
while you're pulling plywood up at the same time
and holding the nail gun.
Second is, we don't have a crane to pick this up with.
We've got to figure out a way to get decking
up 25 foot with nothing.
Doug, can you climb up right there on the thing
and see if you can push?
Push, push, push, push.
STEVE: [inaudible] the hard way.
Golly, [inaudible].
MARK: We got it, Jack.
All right, I got it.
Slide it down?
Yeah.
GRETA: Just no good way.
STEVE: Mark, don't you slide off that, son.
MARK: I don't plan on it.
STEVE: If I can get up on top, throw that rope
down, I'll be tied off.
Hopefully they won't pull me down.
And I can help pull the plywood up.
And I think it'll be a lot easier.
Look at that square knot. STEVE: There you go.
That's a square knot, man. - Look a that square knot.
STEVE: All right.
All right, so this is the time.
I can let it down.
Right there.
[inaudible], , and we'll be good.
STEVE (VOICEOVER): The humidity is gonna get about 98%.
And it's going to be hotter than a bloated billy goat.
There's no other way.
You got to get up there and do it.
You just got to swallow deep and pray hard, I guess.
But it's got to get done.
[music playing]
MARK (VOICEOVER): We finished the decking on the first side.
And tomorrow, we're gonna start the metal roof.
It's really important that we get this
done as quickly as possible.
There's always rain in the forecast this time of year.
So to install the metal, we're gonna
have to start with one sheet.
We'll string a chalk line to make sure we're plumb.
And then we'll go off that.
So if the first one's wrong, when we get to the other end,
it's a big deal.
All right.
I'll do this.
Jackson, be careful with that around your head.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): They're crazy, awkward, sharp.
So it's gonna be a tough job.
Yeah.
Slow down.
OK, I'm totally not gonna be in on that one.
[laughs]
- It does help, though-- - Sorry.
--When we get flat.
This will slice you open.
Be very careful.
Brian, if it falls your way, let it go.
- Let it down to the ground now. - OK.
There you go.
All right.
Are you good with your [inaudible]??
Yeah.
Wait a minute.
Are you on it?
Yeah.
We're close.
MARK (VOICEOVER): One of the biggest challenges putting
the roof on is standing on these boards
and having to reach over three feet, sometimes further,
to screw these sheets of metal in.
Could we move the scaffolding over to--
No, it's not high enough.
GRETA: Oh, Jesus wept.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): Very hot, slick metal.
GRETA: Shit.
Ain't happening.
MARK (VOICEOVER): It is so hot.
And it just reflects the heat off of it.
It's gonna be a challenging job to do.
Look at you.
You're like a goat.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): We got the first piece in.
And I feel like you have a good idea of what we're doing.
So I feel like the rest of the pieces
will go in fairly smooth.
MARK (VOICEOVER): This can be a little
daunting, because we're tired.
Our balance isn't great.
We're sweaty in our eyes.
And we're having to lean over a long ways to secure these.
Being out in it, on that roof with the metal,
it just takes it out of you.
[music playing]
You OK?
A little scary here on edge.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): He's really getting too tired.
He's pushed himself too far.
And you know, I'm really concerned about him.
I need a break for a second.
I am very tired.
MARK (VOICEOVER): I can't think clearly.
And I feel like I'm getting dehydrated.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): This is-- It's the worst day we've had,
just as far as making sure that we're OK because of the heat.
Oh, goodness gracious.
[music playing]
You OK?
A little scary here on the edge.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): He's really getting too tired.
And he's pushed himself too far.
And you know, I'm really concerned about him.
MARK (VOICEOVER): I can't think clearly.
And I feel like I'm getting dehydrated.
All right.
Jeez.
I just don't-- I don't know how he's gonna get that screw in.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): This is-- It's worst day we've had,
just as far as making sure that we're OK because of the heat.
GRETA: Is that it?
That's it.
MARK (VOICEOVER): Think I got a little overheated
and dehydrated.
Give you more than a sweaty hug.
[laughs]
GRETA (VOICEOVER): This has been a crazy busy month.
It's been very productive, though.
We finished the roof.
We've worked on putting in the loft.
We've been working on sanding and staining.
And now we've got it framed up so we can put some windows in.
STEVE (VOICEOVER): The glass that we've
ordered is very hard to find.
It's thick, and it's UV, and it's difficult to get.
We've been waiting a month on this glass.
So it's critical that we can figure out a way
to get this up the hill and get it 30
feet high without breaking it.
MARK: Watch for the spikes, buddy.
You got it?
OK.
Let's the start a stack over here.
Make sure the spots and screws go face down, OK?
MARK (VOICEOVER): We have two bridges on the property.
The first one's great.
You can get across it easy.
The second one is falling apart.
There's a lot of rotten boards.
There's some missing boards.
We're gonna take care of that today.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): We're gonna repair that so that we can work
smarter and not harder today.
Yes.
Let's see that mullet in action.
We need some wind so it blows in the wind.
Dad!
The mullets will be in full effect
today on the bridge work.
I don't even know what to say about that.
[laughter]
That's good.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): There was about a six-inch drop from the
last board that we've put on.
We're a little bit nervous about that,
just taking the glass down.
So we definitely need Jackson to try it out.
Coming across that, it is about a six-inch drop.
All right.
So I see--
This trailer bounced.
MARK: Coming across, you got to go very slow.
He's driving?
I'm holding glass.
Oh, great.
You want him holding glass or driving?
How about I drive?
No.
You're gonna go two miles an hour.
GRETA: That's the whole idea.
MARK: That's what we want.
I'm concerned that I'm gonna fall.
I know.
Me too.
That just became a realization.
Can you go faster?
No, you can't.
- Are we good? - We're good.
Yeah, we're fine.
GRETA: All right, here we go.
I'm scared I'm gonna fall off this thing.
MARK: Oh, you have nothing to hold onto.
Here goes a big ditch.
MARK: You're good here.
All right.
Hang on.
There you go. Keep going.
Keep going. Keep going.
Give it gas. Give it gas.
- A little more. - Keep going.
Keep going.
All right, slow-- like really slow right here,
because I got to see when the tire's on the very last board,
like even slower than that.
Just easy, easy, easy, easy, easy.
- Perfect. - Perfect.
Woo!
Ha.
[laughs]
So we got the first three pieces up to the site.
We unloaded them.
Laying them right up against the front porch right there.
- Went super smooth. - It did.
It really went smooth.
It did.
I hope these things hold.
All right.
Oh, goodness.
All right, we got three more.
That was a little--
That was more nerve wracking than anything we've done.
Yes.
I think so too.
[music playing]
[glass shatters]
STEVE: Son of a gun!
We just had a major disaster.
We've been waiting weeks on this stupid glass.
And I just busted it.
It was sitting up here.
They went to get the other load of glass.
And our main front glass just fell over and busted.
Greta and Mark haven't seen this.
I'm thinking about going home and hiding under the bed,
because it's gonna be bad.
Oh, they moved it.
Where's the glass?
Just tell me when.
MARK: Where's the rest of it?
GRETA: Are you serious?
MARK: Oh, hell.
[music playing]
[glass shatters]
STEVE: Son of a gun!
We just had a major disaster.
We've been waiting weeks on this stupid glass.
And I just busted it.
Greta and Mark haven't seen this.
I'm thinking about going home and hiding under the bed,
because it's gonna be bad.
Oh, they moved it.
Where's the glass?
Just tell me when.
Are we good?
How'd that happen?
STEVE: They were standing straight up.
And I walked by there and just touched them.
And they hit the ground and busted in a thousand pieces.
All right.
GRETA: Are you serious?
STEVE: I'm serious as a heart attack.
I can't believe it, Mark.
I mean, I almost threw up.
It's all right.
It's awful.
That's our worst foul up of the whole job, the worst thing that
could happen in the whole job.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): He feels worse about it than we do.
Unfortunately, when the guys were moving the ladders
to be put in place, it hit the saw,
and the saw tipped over two of the pieces of glass.
And unfortunately, they're the pieces that are the custom cut.
And so they're hard to get.
But you know, we're thankful nobody was hurt.
But we'll just have to order some more.
[sighs]
We gotta get out from under that.
It's all right. It's all right.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): We still have four good windows
that we can put up here.
So we've got plenty of work to do.
MARK: Dear lord, please don't let this break.
MARK (VOICEOVER): The windows are framed up.
So we put the trim pieces in.
So now we just have to set glass.
OK.
You ready?
Yeah, there we go!
GRETA (VOICEOVER): I am so excited about the glass,
because the whole point of this place
is just to be away from everything--
Get the bottom in.
--But then also to have this view
of the mountains and trees.
And so I cannot wait.
MARK (VOICEOVER): We're waiting on those two pieces of glass.
We can continue with siding on the back side of the A-frame.
And then we have insulation lined up for next week.
But--
GRETA (VOICEOVER): We're getting there.
MARK (VOICEOVER): Yeah. Yeah, we're getting there.
[music playing]
GRETA (VOICEOVER): One week turns
into three until the glass and the insulator turns up on site.
And it's really put us behind.
It's late Friday night.
We have a lot to do.
We finally got in touch with the insulation guy.
He is coming right now.
Spraying, we can't do on our own.
So we've got contacts to get someone who can.
But we've got to straighten up get
this scaffolding ready so that when he gets here,
he can rock and roll.
[music playing]
MARK (VOICEOVER): We're about three weeks behind.
So we have to absolutely bust it to get all this done in time.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): The big job still is to get
more siding up for the walls.
So we're gonna try to knock some out and get the job done.
MARK (VOICEOVER): All right.
Today, we're going to build and install the solar toilet.
It's your dream, right?
Yes.
It's the moment of truth.
MARK (VOICEOVER): First, we have to build the box that's
gonna go inside the bathroom.
And then it will connect to an exterior box, which is actually
kind of the solar cooker.
It'll have Plexiglas on the top to allow
the sunlight to go through.
And basically, it will dehydrate the waste and turn it to ash.
That, in turn, becomes fertilizer.
[inaudible]
OK, all right.
So no need for a septic system, and fertilizer.
Awesome.
All right.
Well, good deal. - All right.
Another job done.
Today, Lila and I are going to plant
some wintertime type plants.
Let's do kale.
We don't have any kale over there.
Different types of lettuce, and cauliflower, and--
The crazy thing is these will grow really
well during this cold weather.
That's funny.
A little spot up here.
Yep.
- All right, good deal. - Yep.
All right, let's go.
That was fun.
MARK (VOICEOVER): The last big job we really have is to get
the wood stove up to the site.
We have to set it in place and see how it fits.
1, 2, 3.
Y'all OK?
If we can just get it on there,
then we can maneuver it around.
OK.
GRETA: I love that.
I'll be super cozy up here, but a little log in.
I love that.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): We've got about a week left of work.
All the way to the wall.
MARK (VOICEOVER): We've got some sinks to install,
cabinets to install, shelves to build.
That looks awesome.
MARK (VOICEOVER): So we still got a lot of work to do.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): We'll get it done.
It'll just be a pretty grueling week
of late hours and long nights.
But then we'll have this awesome place
that we've always dreamed of.
[music playing]
MARK (VOICEOVER): We're finally finished with the A-frame.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): This was super challenging, physically,
emotionally, mentally.
Feels great to come up here, and just
relax, and not have to worry about getting jobs done.
We can just hang with the kids and be parents again.
Yeah!
It was fun.
We learned a lot about each other through this, though.
[music playing]
MARK (VOICEOVER): The budget on this bill was $30,000.
We came in just under 28,000.
Woo!
The timeline was three months.
But we were delayed.
So it was about three weeks later than what we expected.
Oh my goodness.
Oh my gosh!
Wow.
Hey, guys.
CARRIE: This is amazing.
GRETA: Welcome to our A-frame.
I can't believe y'all built this.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): We are showing
the A-frame to our good friends, Carrie and Terry Smith.
Wow.
It's beautiful up here.
They're a great, fun couple to spend time with.
You can see Taylor's roof from here.
- Yes. - That's perfect.
The view, especially this time of year,
when the leaves start falling-- MARK: Oh, yeah.
TERRY: You can really see the sunsets.
CARRIE: Love the furniture.
MARK: Well, what do you think?
CARRIE: Everything is so beautiful.
Welcome in.
TERRY: Oh, wow.
CARRIE: Wow!
TERRY: Super cozy.
It's so cozy.
I love it.
Everything you picked out, the colors--
TERRY: Did you build this? - --everything.
Yeah, we built that.
Greta built that.
GRETA: I built that, actually.
TERRY: I love the ceiling.
That is steep.
MARK: We had scaffolding that went about 5 feet from the top.
I don't do those.
No.
Yeah, it was very steep, very steep.
CARRIE: It's beautiful.
How cute!
GRETA: We got a little gas stove here.
We can heat up tea or--
CARRIE: How perfect!
Flip some pancakes.
So where are you getting water from?
MARK: We hand carry all the water in.
We got a water tower out back.
CARRIE: That's great.
And what about power?
MARK: Power is solar power.
We have two solar panels outside.
GRETA: We use the wood stove to heat it and have Jackson
out there chopping the wood.
TERRY: Chopping the wood.
CARRIE: I love a wood stove.
GRETA: Yeah, it does make it super cozy in here.
Yeah.
The plant hangers--
I love those.
GRETA: Yeah, Lila made those.
MARK: Talented kid.
Here's the restroom.
Oh, how cute!
I love the sink.
I love the toilet.
I've never seen one quite like that.
How does that work? GRETA: It's pretty fancy.
It's fancy, Terry. MARK: It is.
That's a solar toilet.
So you know when you were in school as a kid,
and you cooked the pizza in class with a solar cooker?
Same concept.
It dehydrates the waste.
And then you can use the ash for fertilizer.
Wow. MARK: The garden.
That sounds fabulous.
Where's the shower?
So the shower is actually outside.
And I had this idea just to have the top a wagon wheel.
And then it's got the sides and plants.
And--
CARRIE: Wow, I can't wait to see that.
So cozy.
TERRY: It really is.
CARRIE: I love it.
And you can see the view.
The view is such a part of this place, you know?
We wanted to be able to wake up, and look
out, and see everything.
Mark and I have got this little spot to ourselves.
Of course, Lila's already claimed the couch.
The boys like the floor.
They got the floor.
They're all about being men and--
MARK: That's right.
GRETA: --sleeping in their sleeping bags on the floor.
CARRIE: I love it. TERRY: I do too.
CARRIE: I love it.
Mark and Greta did amazing.
A lot of these skills, I didn't even know they had.
The A-frame was cozy, and inviting,
and warm, and colorful.
It was great.
GRETA (VOICEOVER): Building off the grid
was very, very challenging, much more than what I expected.
But it is so worth it to have this beautiful place to share
with our friends and family.
GRETA: Does anybody else want one?
You want one? Come on in.
I can tell. MARK: Come on, Clay.
GRETA: Anna and Clay need a marshmallow.
MARK: Come on, [inaudible]. This is well worth it.
You think so, Jeb?
Yeah.
All right.
Thank you for sharing your whole family for three
months for helping us out.
MARK (VOICEOVER): We have a place that we've
dreamed about having and we can enjoy with our kids
and enjoy together.
What we have now is something we'll be able to enjoy
the rest of our lives.