How a single mother with no training built a house from scratch using YouTube

Source: The Blaze | January 16, 2017 | Sara Gonzales

How a single mother with no training built a house from scratch using YouTube videos

….

The relationship later devolved into a physically and mentally abusive situation and soon Brookins found herself having to start over and put her life back together once again. But with four children aged 17, 15, 11, and 18 months, she found herself with nowhere to go, and could only afford a place big enough for her kids to all share a room. Her 17-year-old and 15-year-old weren’t thrilled with the plan.

….

Brookins told TheBlaze the idea of building a house from scratch was so appealing to her because it was symbolic of her life at the time: start from scratch and rebuild. And just like that, her mind was made up. She took out a bank loan to cover the cost of materials and bought an acre of land. She said her children were all in, excited at the prospect of not having to share a room after all.

Her 15-year-old son helped her draw the house plans on paper as they sat at the kitchen table together. He was also in charge of the nail gun at the construction site. Her daughters rotated between completing tasks at the job site and looking after their younger brother, a toddler who was likely the only one thrilled to be digging in the dirt all day.

….

Brookins went home every night and searched Google and YouTube for instructions on how to complete the task she had planned for the next day, for instance, how to frame a window. Back in 2008, she didn’t have an iPhone with easy internet access, she had a flip phone with no camera. So after watching instructional videos on her home computer in the evening, she went to the job site the next morning and had to build what she had watched by memory.

….

Building within city limits meant that city inspectors had to come out to make sure everything was up to code. Aside from electricity and plumbing, which she hired licensed workers to help with, the house the family still lives in eight years later was built by them alone.

Brookins spent six years writing a book to share her experience with others. Rise, How A House Built A Family releases Jan. 24, and she hopes it helps inspire those who may be in similar situations.

“It became a way for me to own my history,” Brookins said. She also had advice for those who might be struggling in an abusive relationship.

“People are told to take baby steps. If you take those baby steps, then that’s all you’ll accomplish,” she told TheBlaze. “Make a crazy big goal, do something that seems impossible and it will change how you see yourself. For us, it was building a house.”

Tagged: 

Viewing 3 posts - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
Viewing 3 posts - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.