Episode 2 | Log Chalet in Kansas | Amish Dream Homes

once I put my helmet down, pull the trigger and that's it, it's some dynamite, your hands Alex is a character, it's funny, doctor, it's a business card, he likes these pink ones, well, you guys just been cooking Today, let's start, he has a son. That's great. I could take some meth. If you sit there for 10 minutes, you have to buy it. Alex, what do you think? I have no words. This is totally fine in the mountains of northern Montana, lives the family of master craftsmen LV Miller. and his wife Rebecca have six children, but this Amish family doesn't ride horses or buggies, they use cell phones.

I like technology and power tools. Himmler, wow! Elvie runs one of the largest cabin businesses in Montana. His team makes unique products. They send friendly wooden houses to families all over the country and refurbish their interiors, turning their

dream

s into reality. It's January and in Montana the Alvey team is preparing for the start of cabin building season. We have a team available that feels connected by the truck. a team on the rig assembling the house and teams on site across the state Elvie, an interior designer, abby has a busy few months ahead. Brilliant. I just got a call from a man in Kansas about a new log house on a beautiful lake.

I'm excited to start swimming with fireworks in the summer, yeah what could be better? My name is Alex Neil I live in a rural area of ​​southwest Kansas I am an orthopedic surgeon I am Nico I am my dad's son Alex I am in 8th grade and I play video games and occasionally go fishing with my dad and my uncle about a year ago I started

dream

ing of moving away from my place in the city. I found a lot of things here, the old mills in Kansas when I was a kid. I used to visit a log cabin with my family and those were some of the best memories of my childhood.

The key features of this cabin that I envisioned would be lots of light, large windows with open access to the outside, a loft, a place to retreat, and a garage that can accommodate a couple of 1/2 ton trucks. My ultimate goal is to have the cabin finished by the 4th of July and one of Nicholas and I's favorite things to do is shoot off fireworks and watch them. The Alvey team offer a one-stop shop for clients as Alex builds and fits out cabins alongside our construction team. We worked with interior designer named Abby. She helps transform the shells into nice, warm and cozy houses.

Hi LV, when she finishes with her design, they look amazing. The interior design is interesting because you. We're working with such large scales, so what we have to do is make sure the furniture doesn't look too small compared to the huge logs that will be on the walls and ceilings. I'm LV. I m alex. A pleasure. meet you so Alex tell me a little more about your lot it's in a late area it's right at the bottom of the lake and from there I can see pretty much the entire length of the law this is great and I have a dream what it is my ideal log house, but I don't know how that translates into reality.

I have some plans, are we ready for you? It's about, you know, about 2,000 square feet. Elvie has designed a cottage that will make the most of Alex's Lakeside Lock, the 2,000 sq ft will be spread over two floors, a large terrace will surround the house which will be great on the long summer nights. Double doors will lead to the open plan living space which will have a high cathedral ceiling on the stairs there will be a lot with master bedroom and bathroom, the large bank of windows will have great views of the lake from the landing and will let plenty of light into the living room living room, the kitchen will be at the back of the house and along with the second bedroom for Alex's son, the front entrance will lead to a double garage across the street, but building this luxurious lake house in time for the 4th of July fireworks will be a big challenge for LV and Abbey.

This is really cool. I can see how. this starts to capture everything we've been talking about well we have some work let's do this it's going to be beautiful and meeting with alex was amazing he's so much fun great challenges getting your house ready for the 4th of july at Patio L DS in In northern Montana, the construction crew is beginning work on Alex's dream. Oh, with only four months left until the 4th of July deadline, the team has to work fast, 250 trees will be needed to build this house, first get out of the forest with the bark and then remove the bark, grind it in the mill and then the guys who can start those chainsaws and get them ready to go hey Joseph, oh, do you want to come down?

Let's talk about Alex's plants. Oh, my nephew Joseph is in charge of the platform. He will also be the foreman at the site in Kansas. We pulled into the detached garage across the road. The 30 by 30 garage is raring to go. Elby's team must cut all the logs for Alex's two sons' cabin and join the walls and roof to make sure everything fits. This will be the corner of Alex's garage, this is how we make the notches. All of the logs are numbered and the cabin is disassembled so they can be transported by truck to Alex's Lakeside Lawn in Kansas, but before LV and his team head out to reassemble the cabin, they have to prepare it. .

For their annual auction every May we have a community auction and part of the proceeds go to our school. Our entire family has been involved for years. My second son, Jaylen, recently started making benches and tables and I am very proud of him. He's getting really good. So we can turn him around and see, he's cool, yeah, it turned out pretty good. Jaylen reminds me of myself at his age. He would make things out of wood, that thick slab is whatever you want. There are definitely some negatives about Jalen, but it probably comes from me too the nut doesn't fall very far from the tree it's a good piece good job here's your part of the puzzle we finished preparing the logs for Alex's cabin and today we will load them into the trucks is a big house so we hope everything continues, it will probably go right here, right where your feet are.

I'm thinking about Joe the truck driver, he's a character, yeah, he used to have a wild man, he really cares about the house and getting the logs to the customers' site safely so nothing falls, so, in good hands, so here comes a fun part is sticking your head in here and hopefully not coming over here and crushing you. Blagh houses, pull a lot of straps. It's very important to have it recorded because you don't want to end up killing someone. You know the dream of him. There is no reason to give up someone's dream. The hole is already crushed.

That's the sound you want to hear. It's tight. Wait. Is everything going to fit in these? two trucks, I think it's going to be hard guys to do this job, it's 1,500 miles from LG's yard in Montana to Alex's house. Lon Joe will pass the northern edge of Yellowstone National Park through Wyoming, Nebraska and south to Kansas, if all goes according to plan. should be there in three days still with the logs on the way alex is visiting abby's design shop and store in bozeman montana we opened the design shop about a year ago building the house can be very stressful what we like to do is just To make it fun as a man, the essential thing is where the refrigerator is and where you can put your dirty clothes.

Our goal with Alex's cabin is for it to be a little more refined and not the typical cliché log cabin when you build these large scale

homes

. things just shrink and that's like a section over here, it looks big and to scale, but when you put it on your trunks, that's beautiful, it has depth, so it's comfortable, but it's also like I could curl up in it, take a bit. you might need a sheet, that's great, but if you sit there for 10 minutes you have to buy it, you know, sure, yeah, I do that now. Abby has put together a design for the interior of Alex's cabin and she knows that space management is important for such an open space. -plan the living space, you will use a 4 board table with a week so it can expand to six boards when Alex has company.

Two armchairs will be able to enjoy the view of the lake or in front of a wood stove in the corner to have a coffee. table and soap, but where the curtains will allow Alex to put his feet up and relax, there will be artwork hanging on the log walls throughout the cabin and in the main bed there is enough space for both a seating area and a bed king, two nightstands and a dresser oh wow, that's beautiful. Thanks you also said you had a collection of rugs, yes it's eclectic, did you collect them on your travels?

No, these were our change, okay, oh my goodness, what we're going to do is keep a really neutral sofa. then your rugs can basically be a work of art which would be brilliant. I love it, that makes my hair stand on end. I love that kind of stuff. Many times people find it challenging to try to bring in people's personal items. In fact, I think it adds a lot of personality and that is what makes the design. Let's go see some pieces on the floor. This piece here is a heating lamp for an oil platform that is beautiful in an industrial scientist.

It's like you realize. , but something like this would be really cool in your living room too or not the scale of your logs this wouldn't look as big in Merrill the little lamps will look like little grains. I am happy to work with Alex. I think he's up for anything that's 46 degrees and clouds. turning gray and blue earth you have to be a little crazy to do this job that's why I have my lucky nail I used to have a lucky necklace that broke then I started having bad luck and my wife painted my thumbnail Now it's my miniature luck that good luck since we're running away from a storm right now I probably spent about 40 minutes with Alex's logs in transit LV is having one last meal with his family before leaving for Kansas breakfast is ready mornings sometimes are a bit It's hectic and it gets crowded and it's a bit of a madhouse, sometimes we have to have good food in our system because we think about building more log cabins today.

It's definitely not like we have an organized schedule every morning. It's not like that around here. They are two Lister boys, Jae-won i-17 and Dry is 19 years old, the family is 14 and then Marina is 12 and Danna and Victoria are six and four my dad builds the best wooden cabins, let's finish eating you. I'm going to Kansas to build another log hole. I'm on my way to Alex's lot in Kansas. He's going to be tight because he wants to finish singing by the 4th of July, but the location is amazing, the lake has trees everywhere and it's kind of a valley with lots of birds.

I listen to the Wild West all the time. I don't know, it's not very wild anymore. The wooden house fits very well here. You can see with the position of the cabin that the sun will come directly into those large windows that you can see across the lake. and the terrace will be a great place to sit in the summer. The team is very fast. Joseph Miller, my nephew, is in charge of the construction process here. The work foreman. Benjamin and Pernil are brothers and have been with us since 2000. Then there is my son Jaylen, so it's nice to have big families to help us with the work.

Today we are starting on the subfloor, framing the porch decks and once the logs arrive things really get going, Vic Tanny, this is terribly exciting and very excited. This would be a typical site, there are trees over the road like this and you really have to watch out for falling trees. Joe will be very careful not to damage any of the logs or his truck. Well, I haven't seen it. some small branches still, so far we are fine, that sound you are hearing is true, go brush against tenez and that will begin the next phase of the adventure, if possible.

I'd like to try downloading them from the hostel myself and the charger is fine sure this should be interesting when someone says he's never handled a machine before you can pretty much expect anything he'll be really red headed where it'll just be a drumstick alex is a character, he is a professional, he is a doctor, but he is one thing. bringing a knife to someone on an operating table is another skill set entirely from driving a forklift. I guess every man's dream is to operate heavy equipment, little vampires or not. Oh, any button is useless and as you have seen that record.

That's what we call not being a redhead, you understand, this is a great adventure. I mean, how many times can you unload two semi-trailer loads of tons of wood in a single day, it could be worse. I thought I was just scared of the plays, so Oh, nineteen. Going to this place is incredible, it's the water here, the streams coming in and your house looking over there, it's absolutely incredible. I'm amazed to meet Alex and the lot is really special. I think coming here is very relaxing. him and we want to make sure that he's not a stressed out doctor who cuts these people off and stuff.

It will also be a great place to bring my son. Yes, I can't wait to make memories. I hope someone has somegrandchildren. Yes, there you have it. Yes, absolutely, wouldn't it be amazing if God gave this man some grandchildren at the right time? Yes, in Kansas, the crane arrives to help the LG team. A symbol. Alex's cabin. Alex has a pretty big cabin here and the crane loads by the hour, so we. I have to work pretty fast here first record it's always fun to set up the first record from that point everything goes faster our records are all numbered in rows 1 2 3 4 as we stack them and then ABC as we go horizontally so It's a very simple system, the second row is where we drill all the holes for our electrical outlets, then when it's all covered and the walls up we can cut and make that hole and run the cable after row 2 we start moving really The first day is always a great day and it's exciting to start the cabin in Montana.

Abbie is visiting a local craftsman to design a chandelier for Alex's dining room. Hello, happy garden. I need to talk to you about a project I hired for a couple of years ago and he can turn the simplest things into the most interesting things I've ever seen, so I'm hoping we can put together a great lamp for Alex. What we have? I have a couple of old wheels here. I have some old metal ones. I think wood would be good because it would be a little softer than just making everything metal. You know, IRA is amazing.

He works a lot with found objects. That's where I get a lot of my inspiration from. It's just everything. These wastes that people just throw in the trash can and we do something nice, let's take them out and see them. Many of the pieces that Alex has shown me and that he has in his house were from his travels. Same with the iris pieces. He takes them out and collects them and they all have stories, look at that hook there, it's already welded on, what kind of car is it, what is the international, so how can we soften this up a little bit?

Is there anything we can add? What is that glass? It's from an old oil lamp, yeah, somewhere, yeah, cool, it's so pretty and how are we going to light this guy? I've been using small LEDs that are a little more modern. I like that it's old and feels like it was made in the 1700s. and then we throw some LEDs on it and we just go and then we'll put one on each radio. I was thinking everyone else was talking together, yeah, you know, it would be nice to go to the chair because then it would turn on, I can light up your radios and things, yeah, how are you going to hang it from the ceiling?

What is that thing over there? These are Hames panels that are for going around the neck of a draft horse that pulls carts, okay so it's quite suitable, I've never driven a team with a cart on it. But I have ridden shotgun a lot and they are great. I was thinking about soldering it. Oh, you'll love this. Yes, they are beautiful and what are their names. Haynes. Haynes feels it will be a really nice piece. I want it to be more of a sculpture than a lamp. Abbie is excited about it and that excites me a week into construction.

Alex visits his lot to check on the team's progress. Wow, where did that come from? Yesterday there was no cabin there and suddenly. looks like a cabin, oh my goodness what an amazing place, there is no way to anticipate or even imagine how much these guys do in a day. Wow, the staircase is extraordinary, it is beautiful, it echoes the exterior logs, it is perfect, yes, this is incredible. You guys have just been cooking today even though this has been a passion and a dream for the last eight months, it's just now becoming real and tangible and taking on its own life and its own shape and it's amazing.

At first I'm totally excited. I had justified the cabin as a place I could come and live in the future, or it worked, but now looking at this structure, you couldn't stop me from living there, okay, I'll move out in six months, I'll be home, hey. Alex, I like it, oh my God, just kidding, it's like a new adventure. I can't imagine anyone doing this better. You know, my only real concern is the detached garage. If the garage is in front of your cabin, then in the middle of winter, I got to shop through the snow and not directly through the garage to the back of the kitchen, so right now what I would like do is incorporate the garage so that it is part of the house.

I'm going to rely heavily on LV to help me. me to fix that in Kansas Alex has asked LV for a last minute change to his log house Alex has given us a bit of a curveball here originally the plans were drawn with the detached house and the detached garage across the street , we're going to scrap that idea Alex has decided he wants the attached garage. The LG team will have to extend the current walls to create a 30ft by 30ft double garage, this will allow Alex to drive directly into the cabin and walk straight to the front door. living space, the attached garage will add additional complexity to the bill, so Alvie's team will have to work fast to finish the cabin in time for the 4th of July fireworks.

I think with the way we've changed the plans for the attached garage it's definitely the best option. Alex's best solution has about ten foot walls and also a cathedral ceiling. It will be a very nice place for him to park his vehicles, his tools and his toys. He likes big things. We work very hard on the site. We work long hours. The boy simply has a big appetite. We have to feed these kids the way they really function. The Amish diet is high protein, high carbs, lots of cholesterol, fat and salt, but most Amish are lean because I guess they work with this. it's real Montana Moose Burgers Moose is very lean, almost no fat, very, very healthy.

The lean people in our community tell you that, ooh, lots of pepper, hey, I got it, a little barbecue sauce. The game closed this cheese. It may not look good, but it will be. awesome Hey guys, lunch time, you can't make them stop for lunch, you can't make them stop for the night, they just keep going, Hey guys, we have a lunch break, burgers are available, come and get it, the only thing better than cooking moose burger he's eating it he's a pretty good cook he makes good burgers but I don't think he's any better than my mom at cooking she's much better she looks better too so now that the logs are up the garage is attached but still It's going to work.

We have to be tight to finish this before the 4th of July. At this point where the children are working quite high on the ceiling, it is important that they stay safe, so they need to use harnesses. It can be dangerous work up there. I mean, I don't know. They really like Heights, but they get used to it after a while. Oh, they put the wrong log there, so it belongs on this side of the roof, so Jalen has a big job ahead of him. Cornele is probably the biggest prankster he likes to mess with. your skin we love to harass the younger guys, you know, just to get on with things while I get on my toes, yeah, yeah, I've heard about this.

Benjamin are of Swiss Amish origin, they are from a big family, they love to sing and they light up like that. Swiss yodel is in his DNA, there are four Jerrod brothers and we sing a lot together, we learned to sing through our father. You know, my father sang many times. I remember we were going down the road with a horse and buggy almost in the dark and you look at the horse's head bobbing and Dad was like before. Oh yeah, yeah, right, oh boy, the inside comes together really well, I've got the half hearts in there, which are cut with a chainsaw and that's a really cool feature that the kitchen will be in.

Below, at that moment, that wall transports us to the sound of the attic coming out. Another feature, of course, is that large log raft for the aged form and that makes the entire upstairs open to the loft. See how strong he is. It's not going anywhere. The front is personalized. -made it for Alex, he wanted a lot of glass so both openings are big sliding glass doors so you can see the water, so this would be a very bright room, it will be amazing. The LG team has taken a break from Alex's cap to head home to Montana for their annual community auction.

Auctions are a great opportunity to get together. People bring crafts and things to sell and shoppers want to buy things, plus lots of good food and fellowship. Yum Yum. Some of the furniture is unique. -Unique pieces, listening to the auctioneer's is almost like music, it is very fascinating. Alex is upgrading for the option, so it will be a lot of fun to watch. How are you? Do you think you'll be bidding on some things? I'm afraid it's unavoidable. This is a lot of footage. These guys make some incredible national folds that give new meaning to Fifty Shades of Grey.

There are four signs made from local pine wood, but the pine is not simply milled and straight. some of them have gall girls, not eNOS, really interesting quirky work, there is definitely no other in the entire state of Montana like this, unfortunately when I was able to auction, I sometimes get carried away in the excitement at the moment and I just got carried away and the auction started as soon as I jumped into the fray, it just accelerated, there's nothing here, but I have no doubt that there was a lot, it's a lot. I was happy what to do.

You think there's room here for several hats today was wonderful. I caught the fever, so I came out with a little more than I had anticipated or planned, but I left. I had a great day. Today was one of the most successful auctions in history and we raised money. enough money to run the school for the next year on Alex's property in Kansas all the walls are up and the roof in place the next challenge for LV and his team is cutting out the windows and doors when it comes to cutting out windows and doors I'm an animal, once I put my helmet down, I pull the trigger and that's it.

I could cut more accurately, faster than slower, because I like to try to outdo the other guys, so we have this thing about who's faster and better. That would be me, it is a very complex operation and today I am going to teach my son Jalen how to do it. Jalen has never cut a window or door before, so we'll see how this one goes. It's a bit of dynamite. your hands follow martha she will follow mark first towel it will probably be a little stressful because there is no tolerance for mistakes let's go up as high as you can that's good first cut the vertical and then cut the angle that my father taught me and so now I'm teaching that to my kids, that looks good, okay, no, don't take this off, this is a hard part.

I definitely see myself in it. I think he was a bit lazy too until I was 15 or 16, something like that, not suddenly. I started to look like a man and that's what he's doing. Looks great. Good job on your first window. Hold us up so you can see it. Now we have all the openings cut out. We will install the windows and doors and cut them all out. trim yeah, that's good, up and down, close it, just feel it, if it feels natural, yeah, okay, okay, put the whole can away, just blow the wind out, let's slide this bad boy in here, I'll take you there, it's amazing, it actually fits.

Alex has chosen a very good brand of windows for his house. Perfect, the views from it will be great. It's okay, it looks good. What do you think Jaylen looks pretty good? The windows with the views of it look great. There is excellent access through the doors to the terrace overlooking the lake. The cathedral ceiling and loft look really incredible, the garage is quite large now it's Abby's turn to add the wow factor inside. I think we are in a great location. I think it will be right on top of the table that I just got here.

Elm Mills. I will do a great job abroad. We have to start because it will be difficult to finish this before the 4th of July. The chandelier is quite heavy, but luckily there are three electricians here to help us lift it. How cool, I love the patina, it all adds to the look of the cabin. It turned out amazing, great, it's a big step, it looks great, guys. Thanks, what we've been able to do is kick and loot all his stuff, which I love. a scavenger hunt because it has so many amazing things that some of the paintings are painting, so his mom actually made them for him when he was a kid for his birthday, which I think is really sweet.

I think he just adds personality to the cabin. excited for someone to walk in and say, oh, this is Alex's house. The pieces Alex picked up at the auction are perfect. I think they will really fit the design very well. Sometimes with this rustic handmade furniture, it takes a little brute force to put it together. Now I have to kick this again, there you go, kick really hard. I think Nico will love it. How does he feel? It's great. Many times people forget that the exterior can add square footage to the house. The best thing about the world we live in today is that we can find outdoor rugs we can find cushions we can find sofas what is really important to me is to bring in greenery do it with tables and planters that can create different heights they are pretty amazing it isbeautiful great let's move on we have a lot to do I just found this large log that I am very excited to incorporate into the design.

Yes, you could stick plants inside. I think it is important to have found objects so that not everything seems new. I have some sweet potato vines and some curls and golden hair. Inside, that's amazing, yeah, I think people think you need to go out and buy everything. There are things right in front of you. I love this. My wife would like this kind of thing. Yes, beautiful. Well, I hope Alex enjoys it. I can't wait to see Alex's. reaction when he comes and sees the outside and the inside what Abbey has done, so Nicolas is the excitement that grows for you, yes he has been a bee, your eyes will blow your mind.

I'm so excited I can hardly wait. I have no idea what she's done in the cabin, oh. Oh my god, wow, that's so cool, it looks so pretty and elegant, okay, come on. Wow, yeah, practically, this place is amazing, this is really cool, so Alex, what do you think? I think it's amazing. I think it's amazing. I can't wait to see the inside. Well, let's check it out through tears, guys, wow, what's your first impression of him? Well, almost completely. Wow, that's amazing all the place I'm trying to drink it. Is incredible. They have all done extraordinary things.

You know, my favorite part. The job was to go through Alex's pieces and find out who will live here, so it's really all you have, but done in a different way. I could have rearranged those things a thousand times and never came up with anything remotely like this, I think. a lot of people just filled a space and I think it's a waste. I think that if you are going to put objects in your house, they should be objects that mean something to you or that tell a story. I have no words this is totally wild it doesn't happen very often not really amazing totally amazing how about you tour the house now? do it just head this way holy christmas this is amazing Niko do you know what they are at the top? no, what are they?

Their name is Hames and there they go the horse's collar I threw it and I hitched many horses in my life with Eames, well, Niko, I want to go see your room, let's go see it, great, I can't wait, oh my God, it's so great , I saw this piece. and I fell in love with it, it's like something out of a dream, super cool, so what do you think of this garage? Alex, it's great, it's perfect, you like these big ones, is it big enough? I don't know if it's that big, but no, this was it. perfect, so you threw us a bit of a curveball by plugging this drive into the house, but in the end it was okay, here we are, I want to cry, you grow up like this, well, I think we need to check your room, Alex.

Think about it too, let's go upstairs, how amazing is this. It was really important to have an office area, a sitting area and his bed, and I think we can achieve that. I really can't believe it's my, my bedroom, it's perfect, it's beautiful. space, right? We put your desk here so you can look out and see the water. I also thought it was important to keep it really clean and minimal mm-hmm, you did amazing, there's a lot going on with the logs in the grain and I wanted the bed in the artwork to be really quiet.

I love the way you have the rugs on the floor where they overlap each other. Yeah, you've never seen that before. I think people try to be so literal and everything. It has to line up perfectly in life, when I think about layering and adding angles, it softens a little bit because everything we put in here is so refined, it's not over the top, which I think is important. I think this room is better than my room. I congratulate you, yes, I'm very excited that you can enjoy the space together and just the memories that you will create, so what are you doing Galax in general?

I think this is like a dream come true. That relieves me. They're happy with it, but I was hoping you would be. He is a very cheerful old man. Wow, you're acting like you live here. Well, I'm starting to feel like I live here. You look quite comfortable. It is an enormously comfortable house. perfect a piece of art really the craftsmanship what you guys did is amazing you guys really did a great job bringing an idea to life thank you we appreciated it and we finished it by the 4th of july right? Oh man, it was tight but we sure made it.

I can't wait to see the fireworks tonight. Me too it's show time. I think the cabin the team put together here is just what the doctor ordered. Every time I walk from room to room it's like, "Oh my God." It's so amazing again, it was an amazing opportunity, part of making your dream come true.