Most middle schoolers probably have other things on their minds besides building houses.
But Luke Thill, a 13-year-old from Dubuque, Iowa, is unlike any other middle schooler you’ve seen before.
This talented and proactive boy has crafted his very own little house — in his parent’s backyard.
The project cost him roughly $1,500 USD — and now Luke is living his dream in his little cottage.
Come on in and have a look at what it looks like inside.
I think it’s safe to say that Luke is not like many of his 13-year-old peers. In a time of iPads, smartphones, gadgets, and X-Boxes, this young man decided to keep himself busy in a different and more ‘old-fashioned’ way. As he explains on his YouTube channel, his desire to build a small house grew out of feeling bored last summer.
After some thorough research, Luke had a pretty good idea of how he was going to put his plan into action.
The Process
It took him about a year to get the money and materials he needed to build the house. Luke mowed lawns, started a fund-raiser online, and ran errands for anyone who needed help in the neighborhood to make money.
An electrician Luke was friends with helped him install the electricity in exchange for Luke cleaning his garage out, for instance.
Luke used about 75 percent recycled material, many of which were things left over from his grandma’s house. The front door of the house was a gift from an uncle’s friend.
The 89-square-foot house is 10 feet long and 5 1/2 feet wide, with electricity but no plumbing, so no water or bathroom… yet.
“I liked the minimalism,” he told The Des Moines Register. “And I wanted to have a house without a huge mortgage.”
Luke has made several video clips and posted them online, where he talks about his project as many have grown curious about the little house.
As you can imagine, Luke also received some help from his parents, both financially and with the building itself.
But dad Greg made sure that it would be Luke himself who would pay for most of his project and also build most of it himself.
“It was a chance for a kid to do something more than play video games or sports,” Greg told The Des Moines Register. “It teaches life lessons.”
Teenager’s Dream
The house is in many ways a teenager’s dream, an oasis where you can chill and hang out in. It has a microwave, a TV, and a loft with a bed.
There’s even a barbecue and flowers at the back.
Luke usually does his homework after school at his new house and some nights during the week he gets to sleep there.
Luke already has aspirations to build another house — one that’s a little bigger for when he starts college. He also hopes to inspire others to follow their dreams:
“I want to show kids it’s possible to build at this age,” he says in one of his videos.
You can really see how proud he is about his project below.
Luke’s story is a great example of what a child can achieve with a clear goal, a strong worth ethic, and support from home.
10+ People Who’d Really Like to Restart Their Unfortunate Day
Statistics show that people who believe in bad luck will have more accidents on Friday the 13th. Our brains also seem to only hold onto the ill-fated times — like when we drop an egg on the floor, that memory will stay with us for quite some time, even if we successfully didn’t drop it hundreds of times.
Shared sorrow is half a sorrow, and on this note, Bright Side found 17 people who would like to push the “undo” button on their terrible day.
1. “This tree fell and pulled the whole lawn up with it.”
2. “My friend’s car was squished by a tree earlier today after some high winds.”
3. “Started a new job and was told they recycle their earplugs at the end of every shift. I think I’ll just go buy my own.”
4. “I dropped my deep fat fryer on my wooden floor.”
5. “We had a huge storm the other day, and this happened to my friend.”
6. “The watermelon I grew”
7. “That’s my luggage, and it’s not on the plane.”
8. “I have a shy bladder and walked into my worst nightmare.”
9. “The one time I decided to drive instead of ride my bike, this happened halfway to work.”
10. “All I wanted was to make myself some orange juice.”
11. “How my friend’s Friday the 13th started out”
12. “I’ve seen it happen in movies but never dreamed I would see it in real life.”
13. “Just so you know, a 10-foot pipe does not fit in a Toyota RAV4.”
14. “Ate a huge bag of trail mix for about 1 month. Got to the bottom and found 3 rusty screws.”
15. “If you were a cat, there’s a 9/10 chance you’d be named ’Socks.’”
16. “My bedroom ceiling collapsed.”
17. “Tenants called today to tell me the toilet wouldn’t flush, the plumber turned up to this.”
What’s worse — a sock sliding down inside one of your shoes or wearing wet socks? How do you spoil yourself on those days when nothing seems to go right?
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