Martin and Melissa Botincan decided they would rather pay themselves than depend on others for a weekly wage or become involved in an unmanageable mortgage.
Their philosophy extends to the reno of a late 1940s home in Tyndall they purchased several years ago and worked on when their busy lives allowed the time.
"Martin is a workaholic and a man of many trades," said Melissa, who works at a day care, has three young children and operates Bonita Gardens from home, a company that supplies topsoil, aggregates and many other landscaping materials to contractors and customers locally and in Winnipeg.
Martin launched his own business that includes complete septic and water system installations, as well as general excavating.
He started the house renovation by drawing a sketch of a new roof on a piece of graph paper.
He changed the design of the original one so the sloping ceilings in the upstairs bedrooms were raised "to prevent a person from bumping his head when he got up in the morning."
It was a hectic time as Melissa had just given birth to a three-month premature baby and it was the middle of winter.
"While Martin worked on the roof, snow was sifting into the upstairs rooms and occasionally making its way downstairs," recalls Melissa, adding that he finished the project just before the baby was due to come home from hospital.
Martin is now preparing to tackle the kitchen and the living room.
In the interim, however, he found time to put a metal roof on a 1,800-square-foot barn that was on their 1.3 hectares of property when they bought it.
The foundation and frame were in excellent condition, but Martin was concerned the roof would start to rot because the asphalt shingles (two layers of them) were breaking down and on the verge of leaking.
The ceiling had to be reinforced with two 15-metre long I-beams from Texas at a cost of $5,000 because they were not available in Winnipeg.
Martin had other reasons to save the early-1950s vintage building: it became a roomy workshop and storage area, as well as part of a vision he had to convert it into a dream house at some point in the future.
"I told him if I won the lottery, I'd have the barn renovated for him," laughed Melissa.
For the time being, Martin continues to concentrate on the current house, recently adding a wrap- around porch with a sloping roof, similar to an old-fashioned farmhouse.
Each part of the renovation has been undertaken without recourse to a mortgage because he believes in doing things when he can pay for them out of his own pocket.
"Though this is not the original house, I'd like to maintain the look of the first one built on this property by the Winkler family when they moved to this area from the old country in 1894," said Martin, quoting from the book Tyndall, Manitoba 1893-1993.
One of his many plans is to add a white railing and balusters to the porch similar to the 1890s style; the underside of the roof, now open rafters, will be covered with white soffit.
The beams that hold up the roof are salvaged rough-sawn timber appropriate to late 19th Century rural architecture.
"Call me cheap," said Martin, "but if I find a good deal on salvaged materials, I'll go for it."
Indeed, his motto is to "make a nickel worth a dollar" whenever possible.
He recently rejected a quote of $5,000 by a contractor to renovate his kitchen because when he priced out the cost of materials he calculated he could do the job himself for almost half the price.
"I got a deal on the cabinets, purchased a new freezer/fridge from Costco that I built into the wall and am now searching for countertops."
Also in the plans is to build a wishing well, waterwheel and hot tub accessible by a double sliding door from the kitchen.
He and Melissa are also in the process of landscaping their lot by adding trees and building a large, lined dugout with a fountain feature and a waterfall.
"The water is always being circulated the by fountain so the pool remains clear and algae-free throughout the year," said Melissa, adding that the family uses it as a swimming area on hot summer days.
The entire project, including excavation and liner, cost about $7,000, with the couple doing most of the work themselves.
The most beautiful trees on their lot are white spruce planted over a hundred years ago by members of the Winkler family.
"When we get the time, we'll plant hardy pear, plum and cherry trees from which our children and future generations will reap the benefit," said Melissa, who became the boss of Bonita Gardens in 2008.
"With three children to care for and a major house renovation on the go, I knew that my day care job was not going to pay all the bills. Also, Martin was working for wages and felt he could make more money working for himself.
"We sat down at the kitchen table one night and it was decided I should go into the landscape supply business. I would have preferred to open restaurant because I knew nothing about topsoil and similar products," said Melissa.
The restaurant was ruled out and Melissa found herself in charge of a business that sold soil, mulch and sod, but for economic reasons soon expanded to include aggregates and boulders.
"When people call for a quote and I answer, they ask to speak the boss," she said. "Some men won't believe that a woman is in charge of a landscaping business and insist they speak to my husband," she said.
Looking 15 to 20 years down the road, Martin and Melissa both agree that their decision to become self-employed will give their children a better lifestyle and leave them with a viable business that they can takeover.
"We want them to know that entrepreneurship and hard work pays off and that living in the country is much better than living in the city," said Martin.
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