Laneway House Budget Breakdown Dwell Feature

All photos by Riley Snelling.

Earlier this year, my partner and I had the chance to chat *very* candidly with Dwell about the process and build of our laneway house for their Budget Breakdown series. From learning to install siding via YouTube down to the custom grout colour that our incredibly patient contractors mixed for us (thank you!), we spill the lessons we took away from the experience. We say things like "I was calling metal makers and asking them to fabricate stuff for us. I was there so often they started to be like ‘Oh, hey, Nicole,’ when I walked in with sketchy drawings” or “when a contractor quoted $5,000 to rent a crane and obtain a permit to move a 500-pound steel beam, Blair enlisted some helpers from his office, some still in their suits, to use brute strength to lift it to the ceiling. Nicole clocked the process at 12 minutes.”

It was a real ride. You can read the feature here!