Original subtitles

[Marty] So, the plan was this cabin

-would be ready before winter? -[Katherine] Absolutely.

But what is that nailed to the front door?

-When did that go up? -Yesterday.

This is actually, you know, breaking the law,

if I work on it, frankly.

Welcome to Maine.

Everywhere you look, it's chaos.

When we moved here, we did not know

how wet this property was.

[Katherine] Because we're living in such a moldy environment,

my health has really been suffering.

Losing this homestead would be the biggest devastation of my life.

[Marty] Winter's coming.

You can see your breath. It's freezing, raining.

It gets way worse here, 40 below.

-[Misty exclaims] -[Marty] We've gotta do what we can here.

But right now, we can't touch the cabin.

I'm hoping we have some good news with the stop work order.

[narrator] Marty Raney, master builder and stonemason.

[Marty] I don't see problems on homesteads,

I see challenges.

[narrator] Daughter, Misty, garden and food preservation expert.

[Misty] I believe you can grow food anywhere.

[narrator] And son, Matt,

skilled craftsman and predator protection.

-[Matt] Wildlife is a constant threat. -[dog barking]

[Matt] But I draw the line between their home

and your homestead.

[narrator] Together, they use Alaskan knowhow.

-Let's find some power! -[Misty] Yeah!

[narrator] ...and ingenuity...

-[Marty] It's perfect! -[man laughs]

[narrator] ...to save the off-grid dreams

of desperate homesteaders.

[Marty] We work every second we can,

trying to help complete strangers.

That's who we are.

Look at these colors. This place is beautiful.

[Misty] I am super excited we're in Maine

for the first time ever!

[Matt] We're in Maine, but it doesn't feel like

we're that far from home.

[Misty] It's supposed to be freezing right now.

They're having an unusually warm fall,

but winter is right around the corner,

and winters in Maine are quite brutal.

[narrator] The Midcoast region of Maine is known for lobster,

-lighthouses, harbor towns and shipyards. -[ship horn blows]

[narrator] Inland, logging has been a key industry since the 1600s,

when it provided sturdy lumber for ships.

But in some regions, overlogging, combined with the wetland environment,

creates thick, muddy bogs spring through fall.

The winter brings brutal storms,

with temperatures dropping to nearly 40 below.

It is in this tumultuous environment,

that the Yeager family finds their homestead bogged down.

[Kristin] I'm Kristin.

[Katherine] I'm Katherine.

Our homestead is about 10-and-a-half acres.

[Katherine] Homesteading, for us, has always been a dream.

[Kristin] I have wanted to live the homestead lifestyle

since I was a little kid.

My dad and my... my mom, too, being outdoors people,

I got to go hunting with my dad.

We went fishing all the time,

and I was like, "I don't think there's anything else I wanna do ever."

[Katherine] I've always loved this area.

Whenever we had time off,

we would just take drives up here.

It's just absolutely beautiful.

[Kristin] So, we bought our land

and then put a platform together

and put our wall tent on it,

and then we moved in.

[Katherine] We didn't know all of the things

that were gonna come our way.

[Kristin] When we moved here,

we did not know how wet this property was.

[narrator] Years of logging created large tracks from skidder machines

throughout the homestead

that are two to three feet deep,

causing drainage issues,

and resulting in an unnatural bog.

The water has been just such a major issue.

It washes everything away.

We lived in the wall tent for about five years.

We had to build, like, berms around the tent

so that the water wouldn't come

and, like, literally wash the tent away.

Living in our wall tent,

our first winter was very scary.

[Katherine] There were many days that I thought

that the tent was gonna blow away

'cause, you know, there was a blizzard.

There was a couple times where I had to physically use my body to hold down

the tent in a storm.

The tent got in pretty bad shape,

so we ended up getting a camper.

The camper was a blessing at first.

It was really nice to have doors and walls and windows,

but the camper was in much worse shape than we realized.

It was taking on water and getting

moldier and moldier with every storm.

[Kristin] So, we started building our cabin.

[Katherine] But because of the mold in the camper,

my health has really been suffering.

My inflammation is out of control.

So, like, that really affects my brain and my balance.

I'm the one doing the building,

so I just have been getting ground down and ground down,

and doing the finished work on it

has gotten harder and harder and harder.

We have definitely had some health issues over the past few years.

If we don't get the help that we need to make it a little more safe,

we're just not gonna make it through another winter here.

Raneys, please come help us.

-[Marty] Hello. -Well, good morning.

-[Matt] Morning. -[Misty] Good morning.

Is it always this sunny and beautiful in the state of Maine?

[Katherine] If only.

-I'm Katherine. -Katherine.

Yep, and Kristin.

-Katherine and Kristin. -[Kristin] Yes.

John.

-Big John. -Big John.

-Actually, it's Little John, but I'll take it. -[all laughing]

-Okay, hold on, hold on. -[laughing]

-Stand up straight. -[chuckling] Yeah.

Did they call you Little John?

-I'm dead serious, yeah. -[Kristin and Katherine laughing]

I'm not sure I wanna meet Big John.

-[Katherine] Yeah. [laughs] -[Kristin laughs]

He shows up when there's a snowstorm,

-he'll come help us shovel out. -Yeah.

-And, yeah, he's a good guy. -Yes.

Well, we're here for a reason. Why'd you call us here?

Well, we've been doing our best,

but, man, we have been having a lot of problems.

We don't like to admit this, but we... we met online.

-Yeah, we did. -We met on a dating site.

I feel like the main thing that was important

was the fact that we both wanted the same kind of future.

Uh, we both wanted to farm and, you know, homestead

and... and live a, like, a self-sustaining lifestyle.

We were in the same apartment

in Portland, Maine, for four years,

and we had an opportunity to take care of a farmhouse

in a town outside of Portland, and we loved it.

The farmhouse sold, so it didn't make sense

to try and find another apartment.

So we figured now is the time.

We might as well just take the leap.

Just felt right.

And it was... it was just the right place.

[narrator] But things took a turn for the worse

when injuries and health issues began to pile up.

When Kristin and I met,

I had just gone through a very traumatic car accident.

Uh, I got a brain injury

and ended up having to have my spine fused.

The other layer to that is I have chronic Lyme disease.

So, the car accident set off major Lyme flare.

[Kristin] She started losing weight.

She couldn't work at all.

She couldn't even, like, get up and go get the mail.

[Katherine] And then, in the process of me getting my health back,

Kristin has kind of lost hers.

[Kristin] It's been a lot, and our homestead is definitely suffering.

[narrator] Adding to the homesteaders' health issues

is also a lack of sanitary conditions on the property.

[Katherine] The whole time that we've been here,

we've been using sawdust bucket toilets.

[Kristin] We want a composting toilet,

but we haven't really had a permanent place

in which to set it up.

It needs to be at least above 50 degrees

all the time in order to work.

And also, the only place for us to bathe on our homestead

is inside the camper in the sink.

[John] Watching Kristin and Katherine struggle

can be really difficult sometimes, you know, you really...

You know, you really feel for 'em,

and you wanna help them out.

[Katherine] I don't know if we can continue living here

the way things are,

with it being so wet, and our living quarters being moldy,

and the cabin not being done.

There's just so many things stacked up against us.

[Kristin] Losing this homestead would be

the biggest devastation of my life.

It would be the biggest heartbreak.

This home is... it's everything to me.

[Marty] That's a pretty solid start on a cabin.

Did you guys build that?

[Katherine] We sure did.

But what is that stop work order doing nailed to the front door?

So apparently, they don't have our permit information.

We submitted everything before we started,

but all of a sudden, we came home to this

-on the... on the cabin. -[Marty] When did that--

-When did that go up? -Yesterday.

This... this is actually, you know, breaking the law,

-if I work on it, frankly. -Yeah.

[Marty] Here we are, ready to hit the ground running.

What?

The town has nailed

a stop work order on the building.

Best day ever is now...

boom! Worst day ever.

In the meantime, it's not like we can go jump-start another project.

We've gotta do what we can here.

When was this built?

[Katherine] We started in June.

[Marty] You guys started this about five months ago,

and I'm thinking, obviously,

-the plan was to get in it before winter. -[Katherine] Absolutely, yeah.

And be safe, yeah.

In the winters that you spent on this property,

how cold did the temperatures get?

I think the coldest we saw was negative 40.

-Forty below zero? -[Katherine] Mm-hmm.

-You're kidding me. -[Katherine] No.

There was supposed to be snow this morning

-when you guys showed up, actually. -For real?

Yeah, we're on borrowed time here right now.

-[Marty] The winter's here? -Yep.

Here's an unfinished cabin that we could finish. We could help 'em out,

and it is critical to their success.

But we're not helping anybody with that stop work order

at the front door.

In fact, they might be in a tent this coming winter.

And guess what?

The temperature's dropping.

You need to be doing everything within your power

to get this stop work plaque

-off your front door so that we can start work. -[Katherine] Yeah.

-Yeah. -[Marty] Fair enough?

Fair enough.

[Kristin] All right.

Here is our little garden space.

-[Misty] Nice! -It's a little mucky, watch your feet.

I know. Is it-- Is this why you have all the boardwalks?

-'Cause of the water? -Absolutely. Yeah.

I've never really been to a bog-stead before.

This place has a ton of water.

The problem is, is it's not usable

for plants, animals or people.

So, how do we deal with the water?

I have no idea.

But that in itself, um, we're gonna have to figure it out.

What are you doing with all of your livestock?

Well, ducks were gonna be for meat and egg production.

-[Misty] Okay. -[Kristin] And we got, uh, geese

because they are very, very loud.

-[Misty] Mm-hmm. -And we thought they would be helpful,

-kind of guard dogs. -[Misty] Mm-hmm.

And how many did you start with?

And how many do you have now?

Right now, we have two ducks.

-We did have 25 to 30 at one point. -Oh, my goodness.

-Yeah. -[Misty] And what happened to them?

-Predators. -Are you locking 'em away

-in enclosures at night? -Yes.

They free-range during the days.

[Misty] And you're free-ranging 'em

-to get 'em out of this? -Yes.

-[Misty] Okay. -[Kristin] Because this is not

a healthy environment for them.

This is not a healthy environment

-for any livestock. -[Kristin] No, exactly.

[Misty] Freestanding water breeds illness, infection,

and it's just an overall unhealthy environment

for any animal.

-Who does the majority of the building and the work? -[Kristin] Yes.

-Is that her? Is that you? -[Kristin] The building stuff is...

that's Katherine's realm.

She's really good with that kind of thing.

She's... She's the chainsaw girl.

She's the power tool girl. She has just a mind for building things.

I am less handy.

-Are you interested in learning... -[Kristin] Yeah. Oh, yeah.

-...some building techniques? -Yes, absolutely.

I'm still figuring out the homestead's dynamics

and everyone's role in the homestead,

and hearing Kristin is not really contributing

to some of these bigger builds,

I'd love to be able to get Kristin to a place

where she's side by side with Katherine,

swinging a hammer.

Because having one homesteader work versus two

makes all the difference.

[John] Yeah, here's the camper.

[Matt] What are the problems that they're having living in this trailer?

[John] It's pretty leaky.

The roof has holes in it that we've patched.

There's a bit of a mold problem on the inside,

which is not good for them at all.

Is there a bathroom in here?

[John] There is not a bathroom,

so they're using, you know, the five-gallon bucket humanure system.

Not ideal, but it gets the job done. [chuckles]

What about showers? What about baths?

They're just doing little birdie baths in here.

You know, there's no shower or running water, so...

-For six years? -[John] Yeah. Yeah.

Sanitation on a homestead is a huge thing.

These homesteaders have been making do with a bucket

for all their bathing and bathroom needs.

If you're not clean, you end up getting sick,

that could take a homesteader out

and bring a homestead down real quick.

So, kids, everywhere you look, it's chaos.

Obviously, the best way we can help them is to finish that cabin.

But guess what?

We can't touch the cabin

until that stop work order is taken down.

[Misty] There's a lot of freestanding water.

I'm sure you've noticed it.

It's not safe for animals, plants, people.

This isn't a homestead.

This is a bog-stead.

It seems like Kristin takes kind of the backseat

on the homestead, and we need to get Kristin to a place

where she's capable, and she can work alongside

with Katherine on these bigger projects,

'cause I think when you look around this homestead,

it shows that there's just one that really can swing a hammer,

and I would like to change that.

These homesteaders are living in a trailer

that is creating mold daily,

that is deadly for Katherine's health problems.

And guess what?

They don't have any sanitary area

to go to the bathroom or take a shower.

[narrator] To get the Yeagers in a suitable shelter

before another brutal winter,

Marty and Katherine will race to complete

the cabin with windows, insulation,

a heating system, and a roof.

An impossible task

if they can't get the stop work order removed.

Misty will give Kristin an off-grid masterclass

to create a viable solution to get the livestock

out of the homestead's disease-ridden bog.

And to address the sanitation problems,

Matt, Kristin and Little John will build a bathhouse,

complete with a sauna, bath and toilet facilities.

[Marty] Hey, guys!

[Kristin] Hey.

[Marty] I wish I had good news for you,

but I don't.

The homestead has some issues.

This week, I would love to spend time with you, Kristin,

and get you to a place where you're alongside Katherine.

That's awesome. I love that.

I think the thing that we need to address right away is sanitation.

I mean, I don't know how you've made it this far in the last six years.

We can't keep doing it the way that we're doing it now.

Your number one problem is, you're homeless.

At this point, yeah.

That cabin has a stop work order on the front of it.

You need to start calling people today.

It's that simple. See you in the morning.

-[Katherine] All right. Thank you. -Have a good day.

-Thank you. -Thanks, guys.

[Marty] So, here we go.

[narrator] With the first full day of work

on the Yeager's 11-acre Maine homestead ready to begin...

the rescue is dead in the water

until the stop work order is removed.

Hoping we have some good news.

-Good morning. -[sighs] Yeah, good morning.

-Good morning. -Why are you sighing?

Bad news?

[Katherine] Oh, it was just a... It was a long evening.

-[Marty] What happened? -Well, we did our homework,

and we got in touch with the town office,

they were able to figure out

that it was just a clerical error,

-and we got permission to take the stop work order down. -[sighs]

-That's amazing. -[Kristin] Yeah.

-What a stress-- -[Marty] Well, how are we taking it down?

-Let's get rolling. -Let's just take it down.

-We wanted to wait for you. -[Kristin] Take the thing down.

-All right. -[Misty] Yeah.

-[fanfare] -Yes!

-[Kristin] Yeah! All right! -Yay!

Well, now you know what that means.

It's time to get to work. [laughs]

[Katherine] I know.

-[Katherine] Love it. -Okay.

Save this in case we need to start a fire later.

[both laughing]

[narrator] With work cleared to begin,

Misty wastes no time on phase one

of her livestock plan.

See all this freestanding water?

Let's just see if we can walk a piece of equipment in here

-without it getting stuck. -Yes. [laughs]

[Misty] I'll grab an excavator. We'll walk it in,

-make higher ground and see what happens. -Yeah. Sure, yeah.

-Okay, let's go. -Sounds good. Good plan.

We're ready to work.

Today is the day where we need to create higher ground.

We need to build up a 12 by 12 by four-foot island

so that these animals have a dry place to go.

It's gonna be bumpy.

[Matt] Whoa!

Misty, Misty!

Get yourself on top of that thing.

Yeah, I'm trying.

It's so tight in here, and you're gonna get stuck,

moving the skid, you're moving the ex.

It's like, I've never had so much trouble

trying to get on a homestead.

[Matt] Yeah, it's because it's a bog-stead.

[narrator] A bog is a freshwater wetland of soft, spongy ground

consisting mainly of partially decayed plant matter called peat.

Unlike other wetlands, bogs take thousands of years to develop

and are mainly acidic.

Most bogs are ombrotrophic,

which means they receive

all their water from precipitation

and have very few nutrients, making it difficult

for many common plants to survive.

[Matt] Lift yourself up

and, like, like, pull yourself forward, get on that thing.

Lift higher.

Yeah!

Way up.

[Misty] Jeez, Louise!

[Matt] Coming in.

Stay right there.

[chainsaw whirring]

This is the first time we have ever had

any heavy machinery on our property.

Yeah!

Yeah, I'm excited to see what this excavator can do.

Ooh!

Oh, my gosh, we made it.

Whoo-hoo-hoo!

-Yes! -[Kristin] Yes!

-You did it! -Good job. Good job.

So, what's really epic about this...

-[Kristin] Yeah. -...this is, like, high ground.

-[Kristin] Yeah. -Like, we've made it

-to, like, the little island... -Right. [laughs]

...on the homestead of high ground.

I couldn't have done it without you guys.

[Marty] So, I'm looking at this building,

-and I see a tarp for a roof. -[Katherine] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

We wanna do metal.

-[Marty] Metal roof? -[Katherine] Yeah.

[Marty] Okay.

Do you have the metal roofing here?

-No, we haven't gotten it yet. -Okay.

What I'm now looking for is where are the doors

-and windows at for that building? -[Katherine] Sure.

-[Marty] Where are they? -All the windows are inside.

-[Marty] Let's go. Show me, show me. -Okay.

[Marty] Right now, wind, rain and snow

can howl right through the cabin.

There's no doors and windows,

so the first step would be to dry it in.

Meaning, put all the windows in, put all the doors in,

and keep it dry from the elements in Maine.

[Katherine] I'm so excited to get this cabin dried in

and not have to worry about the rain coming in any more

and having to vacuum the water out of the floor.

Not to mention, getting to live in it, eventually. [chuckles]

[Marty] What is your carpentry experience?

Scale of one to ten?

Three.

I've only known you for one day,

but you seem like a modest, humble

but very capable person.

So, if you're saying you're a three,

I'd say you're probably a five or six.

Our goal is to get you to a ten...

-Okay. -...in seven days.

-Can you handle it? -Yep.

Working with Marty for this week is gonna teach me so much.

-Is it gonna fit? -It fits good.

You know, what I need to learn to continue

to build other projects on the property.

-Whoo-hoo! -Big moment.

I really am that excited. [laughs]

[Marty] Now, build one on your own.

You know, I feel like I have imposter syndrome through this whole process.

I don't feel like I could possibly do anything good enough.

But it sounds like Marty's happy with what I'm doing

and, you know, how I work.

I hope I can just kind of keep that up.

[Marty] Ever heard the old expression

"Dynamite comes in small packages"?

Hey, I'm working with a powder keg today.

She's about this tall, has got blue eyes, blond hair,

and is a force to reckon with.

I'm hoping that after this week,

she feels inspired

and has more confidence.

I can't even keep up with you!

[narrator] Across the homestead...

[Matt] Hey, Kristin, come over here.

...Matt brings Kristin to the site of the old tent platform

to lay out his plan

for cleaning up the homestead sanitation.

-So this is my plan, okay? -[Kristin] Okay.

-Yep. -I want to upcycle all these materials

that are put into this big platform

and I want to build a sauna bathhouse,

using all of this entire platform

for a floor and walls and roof.

What do you think?

I think you're my new best friend, Matt.

[narrator] Using upcycled materials from the old tent site,

Matt will build a bathhouse sauna,

complete with a toilet and an attached heated outdoor tub

so Kristin and Katherine I can finally bathe

and use facilities in a safe and sanitary way

on the homestead.

It sounds like

that's something you desperately need.

Beyond my wildest dreams.

[Matt] A sauna bathhouse is the perfect thing

to add to a homestead that doesn't have any running water

and is a dry cabin.

[narrator] The blueprint for the modern sauna

originated in Finland more than 2,000 years ago

as a way to cleanse the body in a sterile environment.

Known as savu, Finnish for smoke,

they were initially embankments dug into the ground

and eventually were built above ground with wooden logs.

They became more widespread

upon the invention of the electric sauna in the 1950s

and today are used as an energy and water-efficient way

to ease pain, reduce stress,

and improve cardiovascular health.

[Matt] Now let's talk about how we're going to get the walls

-and the roof for this space. -[Kristin] All right.

-Yes. -Here. Put a tape measure on the end of that board

sticking out over there.

The idea of having a sauna here on this property

is totally unreal to me.

That is nothing that we ever would have afforded ourselves.

And Katherine is going to love the sauna, too.

She's got a lot of aches and pains and joint problems.

So I think it's going to be really, really helpful.

-Just hold it. It's okay if it bends around. -Just holding it.

Okay.

-It is at the edge? Okay. -Yes.

[Matt] Kristin's experiencing just building things as you go firsthand.

Put your foot on that 8 foot mark.

-[Kristin] 8 foot is right there. -On the 8 foot.

The thing I like about Kristin is she is down to work.

Just pull it up high.

-Okay. -Now, snap.

Hey, works for me.

Yeah!

[Matt] Hey, hold on.

I think there's an easier way to get over there.

[Misty] You think this is quicker?

[Matt] Okay, hold on.

[Misty] Oh!

[loud bang]

-How are you doing back there, sidekick? -Great.

[narrator] It's day three in the MidCoast region of Maine,

and the rescue picks up pace

with temperatures expected to drop in the coming days.

While Marty and Katherine finish installing the cabin windows...

All right, keep up the good work.

-All right. Thank you. -Bye-bye.

You got something stuck to your back.

Mmm, Marty keeps sticking stuff to me.

Okay. I think we're free.

...Matt and Little John transport the up-cycled platform

for the new sauna bathhouse.

[Matt] It's working good!

[John] Oh, it's working.

[Matt] Now, we're skiing!

[narrator] And back at the excavator...

Come on over. Let's see where we're at.

...Misty gathers Kristin to start an ambitious project.

So we have the piece of equipment here, which is great.

But guess what? We're still in the bog's den.

So I have a pretty out-of-the-box idea

I want to run by Kristin and see what she thinks.

I would love to bring livestock here.

-Yeah. -And I am really concerned

about putting a structure on the ground here.

I want to come up in a tree a little bit

and create kind of like a tree house birdhouse.

-Ah! -And because you already have birds here,

and there are some still alive,

I feel like we just need more variety.

-I love that. That's really-- -Okay.

I mean, that's what our focus has been.

[narrator] To establish a safe dry environment

for a supplemental food source,

Misty will utilize the high ground

and construct a one of a kind tree house birdhouse.

Okay, so it's gonna basically stick out four or five feet

each side of the tree.

And I feel like let's just make like a square box.

[Kristin] Sure!

I'm gonna have you measure from here.

Pull to 12 feet.

Give me a little pencil line and a little straight line.

[Kristin] Misty is super-handy,

has a lot of experience with building and tools

and things that I am not familiar with.

I have a pretty strong desire to be able to match my wife

and keep up with her.

So I'm going to learn a lot from Misty,

and hopefully that means

that we can get a lot more work done around here

if we both have some building skills under our belts.

-So hand safety trigger. -Safety trigger.

-And you want to start your saw off of the wood. -Yes.

So you'd hold it away an inch,

line it up with your line,

and then just push.

-So I just push in and then follow through-- -And just push through.

-So now it's all you. -Okay!

We're using power tools.

I'm gonna start Kristin on the skill saw,

and I'm just gonna observe her

and just get a feel for where she's at.

Keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing.

Perfect.

You're pretty good.

Aw, thanks.

It makes such a big difference

just your attitude alone on a homestead.

And you look at Kristin, you look at how she reacts

and acts in all situations, and she's so positive.

And, like, they've had a rough couple of years

and they still have a smile on their face.

That type of attitude goes a long ways.

Do you like the washer?

I love this washer.

This is what we would call Yankee ingenuity up here.

What is Yankee ingenuity?

-Is it like homestead hack? -Yankee ingenuity.

Yes, exactly.

Yankee ingenuity. Ain't that cunning?

Ain't you cunning for thinking of that?

[Misty laughs]

[truck horn honks]

[whistles] Come on in.

[narrator] At the entrance of the homestead,

the Raneys receive a much-welcomed delivery.

What?

Look at that!

We told them about your five years in a tent...

-[laughs] -...during the winter in Maine.

They donated that.

Has anybody ever given you a $10,000 gift before?

-Definitely not. -No.

Well, they just did.

[Kristin] This is unreal. Like, amazing.

I can't believe this is actually even happening.

It would take us years

to afford that amount of lumber. Years.

I mean, we had to leverage all of our credit

-just to build the cabin, so. -Yeah, really. Truly.

So now it's time to get to work.

Now we've got the lumber, so I'm out of here.

-[Kristin] Yeah, whoo! -Thank you.

Yes, thank you so much!

I like it.

[Misty] A super-exciting day on the homestead.

The lumber's arrived.

It looks like there's enough here

to build a second house.

So these homesteaders, they got to be so pumped.

I'm actually gonna attempt to drive in on the skid steer.

I don't think I'm gonna be as successful

as I was with the excavator,

but you don't know until you try.

I need lumber.

I'm gonna give it a whirl.

[Matt] Hey, hold on.

You're not, uh...

Should we build a bridge or get stuck forever?

I think there's an easier way to get over there.

I'm watching Misty trying to transport this lumber

over a steep cliff bank on the road.

The ground is super-mushy and very bumpy.

Push pause for one second here

and walk with me over there

and just see what would have to happen.

I am going to get in there and make sure

that everybody stays safe and there are no hiccups

once she gets to the finish line.

Matt, are you kidding me?

You think this is quicker?

[Matt] Hear me out.

[Misty] This is not better.

[Matt] It's not about better.

It's about flatter.

You're moving every single thing on this homestead.

We cut this off, five minutes,

you have a straight path right to the excavator.

Your other way is build a log bridge.

I'll set my stopwatch to two minutes.

Oh, yeah, okay.

Then you start building that bridge out of logs.

We'll see who gets done first.

[Matt laughs]

All hands on deck.

We need to move a clear path.

This whole area needs to be cleared.

[Misty] Matt says this is the only way.

So here we go.

It's kind of hard to get to anywhere on this homestead.

Like, it's really challenging.

[grunts] Okay, Misty's coming through.

This is absolutely gonna work.

I gotta keep on working.

Misty is literally coming through

and I'm gonna get ran over if I don't make this work now.

It's gonna work. Trust me.

Here we go.

[Matt] All right.

Keep going straight.

You've got to straddle these, uh, stumps.

Okay.

Straight.

[Misty] I'm on a stump.

Go back.

Now straight.

[loud thud]

[Misty] Oh!

[Misty] I'm on a stump.

Go back.

Now straight.

-[Misty] Oh! -[loud thud]

-Oh! -[Matt] Whoa, stop!

Hold on, hold on.

[chuckles] You okay?

Misty, you were on a stump.

[crying] So far, your hand signals

have led to a wheelie in an excavator,

and now I just did like who knows what on a stump,

almost hit a tree...

[machine beeping]

And now I'm stuck.

I'm a trained certified expert for hand signals

with heavy equipment.

I got this guy.

I got "Whoa, Misty. What are you doing?"

What does this mean?

Up a little bit.

Okay. Now, try to see if you can...

Yeah.

I am going to grab onto your bucket with my teeth

and just pull you forward.

No!

We don't wanna-- [laughs]

[Matt] Okay.

You hit one bump and you just are freaking out.

I'm stuck.

-Guess what-- -I'm stuck.

Clint, help me!

I got to right my wrong.

There's no hand signal... [laughs]

For "holy crap"?

No. There's no hand signal for--

What is the hand signal for "Holy crap! I'm about to die"?

[Matt] What's the hand signal for "Drive better"?

I can give you every hand signal in the world,

but ultimately, you're the one in control.

I have one hand signal that I'd like to give you right now.

It's this one.

That's good.

All right, hold on.

[loud bang]

[Matt laughing]

Your face!

Oh, my God.

-[laughing] -She needs to go up.

[Misty] That was insane.

Holy crap.

That made me all stressed out.

-Yay. -[Matt] High five!

[Misty] Oh, my God.

-All right. -That was easier?

-Okay... -Than my way?

Let me tell you--

I hit a tree. I hit a stump.

There was chains. You ripped me off the stump.

I thought I was gonna die at some point.

Hey, do you think it was easy when, you know,

Columbus sailed the ocean blue?

No, but I do feel like it felt a lot like that.

[both laughing]

-[Matt] Hoo! -I'm gonna get a drink of water real quick.

Sure. Take your time.

[exhales deeply]

[Kristin] Hey, you.

Hey!

-How's it going? -All right.

-How are you? -Good.

What ya doin'?

Uh, just kind of doing some picking up, you know.

-There's a lot going on. -I know.

It's a lot to keep up with the Raneys.

-I know. -Marty is something else, I'll tell ya.

Yeah, he's obviously really committed.

-He is very committed. -And I really appreciate that.

But I'm doing my best to balance keeping up with Marty

-and taking care of myself. -Yeah.

Because, you know, my hands keep going numb.

[laughing] Yeah, I know.

-But I think you're doing a good job and when-- -Thank you.

When you need to pause, pause.

I will.

[Kristin] So Katherine and Marty are working super-hard together,

and I do think that they kind of like energize one another.

And I know that she's hurtin'

and I know that her body is tired,

but I also totally trust her that if,

you know, she can't work,

if she needs to stop that she will.

She'll take a break.

If we can get through the end of this

and then I can relax comfortably in the cabin.

I know. That's gonna be amazing.

I can't wait to put my feet up in the air.

I know. I'm so excited.

[Katherine] I'm very achy,

I'm having a hard time walking around,

my legs are really killing me, and I'm tired,

but, I mean, I hurt all the time,

so this is a good reason to hurt.

I know Kristin's having a hard time.

I can see it all over her face.

But she's stubborn, too, so.

I'm looking forward to having some rest time tonight

and cracking at it again tomorrow.

Hopefully, I can keep up.

-[Marty] Katherine! -Yeah?

Got that building cleaned out?

Yep. This is the last thing.

-You sure? -Yep. Come on in.

[narrator] Back at the cabin,

Marty and Katherine begin the next crucial project

in protecting it against Maine's brutal winters.

[Marty] Have you ever insulated a building before?

[Katherine] I haven't.

Okay. How far apart are these studs?

They're 16 on center.

Very good. Now, look at this.

How wide is the insulation?

15 inches wide.

Okay, so between 16-inch framing

and it should just fit perfectly

and go smooth and fast.

And more importantly than smooth and fast,

it will, uh, fit in there tight,

which will protect your home from the cold.

-Follow me. -All right.

You can start.

-Okay. -And here's a little ladder.

All right.

There's over a million residents here in Maine.

All of them live in some type of structure

that's insulated well

because it gets cold in Maine.

I like what you've done.

See how that insulation,

-that loft is right to the edge? -Yeah.

Okay, so I like it.

I like it. I like it.

Right there,

-you pushed it in too far. -I did.

Well, look at me.

Everybody thinks that insulation is easy

and anybody can do it, but it's a science.

It's an art. Right there,

you just gave the cold a little advantage.

Maine has a record-low temperature of 50 degrees below zero.

That's cold.

I'm gonna take my time, make sure it's all the way up.

These homesteaders need an insulated cabin.

The smartest money you can put in a structure

if you live in a cold area is insulation.

I would probably just come in here

and try to push it up and just get it in there.

-And you're done. -Fair enough.

I know how to insulate now.

All right. Get at it, kid.

All right. Thank you.

The weather clearly is taking a turn for the worse.

Seal the door up, will ya?

Both Katherine and Kristin have said

their old illnesses are aggravated by the cold.

-You all right? -Yeah, I'm fine.

[Marty] I need you.

[Matt] Let's stand these walls up.

[narrator] Over by the cabin...

[Matt] Moving right along.

[John] Yeah.

...Matt and John have made quick work

of raising the sauna bathhouse structure.

Now they can shift their focus to the interior.

[Matt] All right.

Looking good.

[John] Yeah, it looks great.

[Matt] So we were able to use a lot of the decking

-for the walls. -Yep.

The only thing we need to do now

is get the floor insulated, the ceiling insulated,

slap a door on here, and then we will sheet it.

And then I really want to pick your brain.

Like, what could we use to protect the inside of this sauna

from steam and water,

as far as the walls and the ceiling go?

[John] I mean, if we're gonna do like hemlock or pine,

or something on the walls,

you could just do straight linseed oil, even.

I would love to do linseed oil.

-I've never done anything like that on a homestead. -Okay.

[narrator] Linseed oil, extracted from flax seed,

is a slow-drying natural oil

that is used as a preservative for wood and concrete

and an ingredient in paints, varnishes and stains.

It is also used in soaps, inks

and in the production of linoleum.

Wood treated with linseed oil

protects against brown and white rot fungi

as well as changes in humidity,

making it among the most popular wood finishes.

Well, that's really cool. I've always wanted to use it

to seal wood for any reason.

But in here for a sauna,

I think it'll work really well.

[John] Yeah, I think that'll be great.

-Okay. -Sweet. Let's get to work.

Sounds great.

[Matt] Working with a guy like John,

he knows how to build the old-school ways,

and he's a big guy that's tough

and has the strength of many men.

We're gonna be able to get a lot done

that will really help these homesteaders,

and that's really what this is all about.

[John] We decided on the tongue and groove pine

because we had lots of it on hand.

Um, and it's gonna look really great.

And we're gonna put a nice natural linseed oil finish on it.

[Matt] There we go.

It looks good to go.

[Misty] Oh, my gosh, I'm so excited!

[narrator] As temperatures drop ahead of a late-fall storm,

Misty and Kristin race to complete the next phase

of the tree house birdhouse.

[Misty] This is coming along.

-[Kristin] Yes, it's so good. -So that's good.

It's gorgeous.

-Do you love it? -I love it.

-I love it, too. -Someone yesterday

-called it a "resort for chickens." -[chuckles]

The island living for the birds.

That's right, yeah.

Let's weather the structure in.

So we're gonna sheet the walls with some plywood from the lumber package,

and then I'm trying to salvage as much of the metal.

-We're gonna have to patch some holes... -[Kristin] Yes.

...um, and make sure we have enough.

But I feel like I've seen enough here,

so I'm just gonna commit to it.

Today, you can tell the weather's changed,

and now it's officially fall in Maine,

which means we gotta weather this structure in.

It's time to treat it with some plywood,

get some metal on it and get it ready for some birds.

We're gonna just patch some holes for a while.

-You ready? -[Kristin] Yeah. Yeah.

-Kind of like smear it on there. -[Kristin] Yeah. Yeah.

That way it's nice and watertight.

-[Kristin] All right. -And we don't wanna miss any.

-But usually, they just run in a pattern, right? -[Kristin] Right across.

-Yeah. Yeah. -But there'll be, like, one here

and then one here randomly.

Just do a little bit.

-How you been feeling? Are you feeling good? -[Kristin] Yeah.

Yesterday, I was having, like, a flare up.

Usually, when the temperatures shift a lot,

like, if it suddenly gets really hot,

like, I get, like, a flare up.

-So I had a flare up yesterday. -[Misty] Okay.

It's okay. Like, just rested and...

[Misty] And what's a flare up? What does that mean?

[Kristin] So, I myself, also have Lyme disease,

and, like, all of my muscles start, like, aching.

I get lots of like, like, almost like blistery skin on my cheeks.

-[Kristin] Oh, wow. -But as long as I stay out of the sun,

get rest, drink a lot of water,

-it usually, like, calms down, yeah. -[Misty] Passes.

[Kristin] If I had kept working through the day yesterday,

that would... I would not be okay today.

-But because I took the time I needed, I'm... -[Misty] Yeah.

-...doing a lot better today. -[Misty] Yeah.

These are tough women.

You cannot minimize the fact that they lived here in a wall tent,

and at the same time,

they have some serious health concerns, both of 'em.

They've been through a lot,

and it's so inspiring to see.

[narrator] Lyme disease currently affects 476,000 Americans a year

and is transmitted to humans

through the bite of infected black-legged ticks.

Typically, symptoms include fever,

headache, fatigue,

and a characteristic skin rash.

If left untreated,

infection can spread to joints, the heart and the nervous system.

Early diagnosis and treatment are vital

and help to prevent late Lyme disease.

So, you ready to put our door window in?

I love it. I love that you're using windows as doors.

[Misty] Okay, so we're gonna need to modify these windows a little bit

-to get them to fit. -[Kristin] All right.

-[Misty] Kind of weird. -[Kristin] I don't think I've seen anyone

cut a window, like, in pieces, so this is cool. [chuckles]

I like it.

So I thought it was super creative

that Misty decided to use windows

we already had on our property as doors for our birdhouse.

They're gonna serve as entry and exit for the birds,

but also for light,

which is super important, and ventilation.

And also, they can latch from the outside

'cause we put them in backwards.

So that's super clever.

[Misty] Okay, so what's really epic, right?

We've got the window,

-the door. -[Kristin] Mmm-hmm.

-The handle, the lock all in one. -[Kristin] Yep. Whole thing.

We'll screw it off. Call it a day.

-We have three more to put in. -Oh.

-[Misty] Love it. I love it. -[Kristin] Love it. So good.

I don't have any knee pads.

The sponges work really well.

Ah, it feels so much better.

All right, here we go.

[narrator] Back at the sauna bath-house build,

Matt has an idea for another essential fixture for the Yeager family.

[Matt] Right now, we're really crushing it on the sauna aspect

of this sauna bath house.

One of the things that really makes this a bathhouse

is the ability to wash yourself.

But all that water that drips down onto this floor has to have a place to drain.

I think the easiest method is to basically put in a recessed sink.

And then have the water go out of the building.

And I'll have a nice fat hole

that we can put just the drain,

and that's all you need.

It doesn't get simpler than this.

That piece that we cut out from the top

to put our tile on fit in there just right.

We've got our floor drain.

I'll get a hole through the middle of this

and then I need a stove in here.

All right.

These homesteaders have been gathering lots of materials,

and I need something to heat up this bath house sauna.

So I'm gonna see what Kristin has to say

about something I got my eye on in her garden.

[Kristin] The stove over there that we actually used to use in our tent,

it's an awesome little stove.

Perfect. This looks great.

-This is awesome. -Yeah. Yeah.

I think we found our sauna stove.

-All right. -Should we grab this?

Yeah. Let's do it.

[Matt] Now that I've got this wood stove from the sauna,

I gotta deal with fire and water.

And controlling both of those things in a very confined space

can be really tough.

And the real big clincher is the pipe that goes through your roof.

So the outside diameter of the pipe, 7 inches.

We know the clearance around this pipe has to be 2 inches bigger

than the outside diameter of the pipe.

And so, we gotta add 2 inches on one side,

which brings us to nine, and 2 inches on the other side.

Take it from me, a person who, you know, has seen a little carnage

and what a wood stove can actually do to a home or a small cabin.

The wood stove's gotta be installed correctly.

You have to be so far away from the pipe

as it goes through the ceiling.

You have to be so far away from the wall.

And all those clearances are really important.

It's gonna work really good.

So I gave myself more than enough room.

I got a 12-inch hole,

and the thing is it won't catch on fire

because there's enough of an air space

and the clearance from that hot stove pipe.

Come on over, kid.

[narrator] At the cabin,

Marty and Katherine get to work

finishing the interior of the home.

-All right, Pick which hand? -Uh, this one.

-Have you ever seen one of those before? -[Katherine chuckles]

No, not like that.

-How about now? You see two. -[both laughing]

That has a 2-inch nail in it.

That's three-quarter-inch material,

and that is some tough hemlock.

So let's see if these guns and those nails

will fasten these boards on.

-I'm so excited. This stuff is beautiful. -[Marty] Whoo.

Look at that product.

People build very solid homes out of all types of wood.

And here in Maine, you'll see a lot of hemlock.

There you go. Next.

It's a durable wood, a little moisture-resistant.

It's long-lasting.

Doesn't crack as easy as some other wood.

And this cabin is clad with hemlock boards,

one of the strongest cabins I've ever seen ever.

-Wow, this is so fast. -[Marty] Amazing, huh?

I feel like with the progress we've made in the last few days,

it's way better than a tent.

Even if nothing else happened, it would be way better than living in a tent.

-[Marty] All right. So, what do you think? -It looks beautiful.

-And that went so fast. -Give it a whiff.

-The place already smells like a pine cabin. -Oh.

It's beautiful.

We didn't expect to get this far.

So this is just... This is so much more than we could have expected.

-[sighs] Should we cut some more boards? -Yeah, Absolutely.

That's good enough.

-[Marty] Are you all right? What happened? -Yeah, I'm fine.

-What happened? -No. i just got a little pull.

-I'm good. -What happened? Tell me.

I just had a little bit of a spasm.

-You all right? -Yep, I'm fine.

-All right. I need you. -I'm fine.

-No, I'll be okay. -Okay. Okay.

-I'll tell you when I need a break. -[Marty] All right.

Today with the cooler weather, I'm actually a little more achy.

Um, it's hard for me to stand around,

and once I stop moving and my muscles cool down,

it's really hard for me to recover.

I get really achy in it.

You'll see me stand up like an 80-year-old woman on days like this,

but I'm doing okay.

[sighs]

So, winter is here

and none of the structures have roofs on them.

This is going to turn into a total disaster.

[Marty] All right, guys, listen.

Everybody in Maine has been telling us to enjoy the sunshine

because the bad weather is coming, and it's here.

It's really cold.

-So cold. -[Marty] And there's a lot of rain.

So, winter is here,

and there's no turning back

and none of the structures have roofs on them.

So, with this little bit of rain,

this is going to turn into a total disaster where I'm at.

It's gonna be muddy.

It's gonna be slippery.

We're moving right along, but we just came to a screeching halt.

Yeah. I mean, this weather is not gonna help us out any,

but it gets way worse here.

-They said it gets to be 40 below. -Sixty with wind chill.

The temperature's dropping, and both Katherine and Kristen

have said their old illnesses are aggravated by the cold and the damp.

So we do have our work cut out for us.

I really gotta get a stove in there,

and I gotta finish the roof

and turn it into something that can be used year round. Okay.

Here's where we're at right this second,

a long ways from having the cabin livable,

It is not good weather.

[narrator] At the treehouse birdhouse site,

the shift in weather forces a pivot in Misty's game plan.

In real time, you can see your breath.

-It's freezing. It's raining. -[Kristin] Oh, yeah.

[Misty] But obviously, you're not gonna wanna

-cross all these waterways on foot. -[laughs]

[Misty] We've got to get up and out of the water.

So we're gonna put in all these boardwalks.

We're gonna create access.

Like, this is crazy.

I don't know how other people do decks

-'cause I'm Marty Raney's daughter. -[both laughing]

[Misty] But, um, this is like the pencil trick.

I don't know if you've ever seen this.

-You never wanna push boards together tight, right? -[Kristin] Right.

-Yes. -You always have to have the gap for water.

-[Kristin] Yep. -[Misty] And the perfect space for decking is a pencil.

-[Kristin] A carpentry pencil. -[Misty] Right. And so you're just gonna be marking it

-the whole way down. -[Kristin] Perfect.

Everybody is kind of racing to get their roofs on their structures

'cause the weather has turned.

But unfortunately, you cannot get even over to our structure.

So, it wasn't the plan.

But Kristin and I have to pull off our build

because we have to figure out access.

It's unfortunate, but it's a must, and here we go.

Also, I'm learning that, like, Maine

could kinda catch you off guard a little bit.

In Alaska, it's, like, the fall colors happen and then the leaves drop.

Then it's cold for a while.

But here it's like 70 degrees and then bam!

It's like this temperature?

Like, that's a homestead that's gonna catch you off guard if you're not ready.

[vocalizing repetitively]

[Marty] Even though the weather is getting worse

and the temperature's dropping

and Misty is soaked from head to toe,

Misty is embracing it.

Because we came here for two reasons,

Katherine and Kristen.

And that is our Maine mission.

[Kristen] Misty and I are working on this boardwalk situation here

that's gonna go from the cabin all the way to the birdhouse.

And that's gonna make it so much easier

to get in and out of the birdhouse every day.

I mean hauling grain that's a 50-pound bag,

and if you have to slog through all this mud,

it's just so hard to get there.

So this is gonna make everything so much easier.

It's gonna be a huge time saver.

It's gonna be great.

Our setting doesn't have to be as hard as you and Katherine

-have been experiencing. -Yeah. [laughs]

And little things like adding a boardwalk,

adding easier access will make all the difference.

-[Kristin] Yeah, this is gonna be so great. -[Misty] It's so good.

It'd be a nor'easter blowing.

[narrator] Over at the sauna bath house

Matt starts work on a crucial part of the build.

[Matt] All right. We don't have the roofing material for our sauna bath house,

but we can't just wait around and do nothing.

So we're building an addition onto our sauna bath house,

and we're slapping the walls up quick.

It's a little bit rainy,

but it ain't gonna stop us.

I gotta get this building done.

It's a very small, confined space,

but I don't think anybody wants to bathe and bathroom in.

So building an addition on the platform that we have plenty of space next door,

is really the best thing to separate the bathing area from the bathroom area.

So, the bathroom portion of this structure is well along its way.

I'm gonna move inside and go into sauna mode and start tiling the floor,

and see it if I can't get this all ready for that wood stove.

There ain't no homestead hack going on here.

This is just good old-fashioned tile.

I just don't want this stuff to crack,

so I'm going real traditional.

All right. Can you get kind of under that?

-[narrator] Meanwhile... -There you go.

...Marty tasked Katherine and Kristen with digging out their wood stove from storage.

[Katherine] Today's weather has been gross.

It's really cold and rainy.

-All right. Ready? All right. Go. -[Katherine] Yeah.

I found myself, like, dragging a wood stove through the yard

and it slowed us down getting to and from places,

but everyone still worked really hard today,

which was... I was really grateful for that 'cause.

it's a miserable day.

I think we picked a good day to think about

how we're gonna heat this cabin,

because right now the cabin is really cold.

-Yeah. -Yeah.

That said, where do you wanna put it?

We were thinking right here.

Kind of in that floorboard section right there.

[Marty] The wood stove goes there.

Bring me all the parts and pieces you have.

The pipes.

All... the flashing chimney cap.

Anything you have, let's get it inside.

-We'll start cutting holes. -Okay?

Kristin and Katherine have several old-school wood stoves on this property,

and they've got all kinds of pipes.

Sure you want the stove to go there.

Now or never.

They kept bringing me parts and pieces of chimneys and pipes.

Hand me all the pipe you got.

Most of it doesn't fit together or interact.

Here's the first pipe coming through.

-[Katherine] All right. Yep. -You ready?

[Marty] All right.

Feel like it's in there.

[Katherine] Yep, it looks nice and snug.

[Marty] But we managed to find enough of the right pipe,

miraculously,

to install the chimney.

Oh, my goodness, we're losing daylight.

We have to make every second count.

We've got a little surprise for you.

-[Katherine] Whoa. -[Kristen] Whoa.

Hey, why did you stop working?

We cannot stop moving today.

-[narrator] The next morning... -[Katherine] Pretty sweet.

...the rains have passed, but temperatures remain just above freezing.

And with only two days remaining,

the weather change has taken a toll on Christine.

All right. How you doing?

-[Kristin] Hey. -How you feeling today?

Today, I'm having a rough day.

-Yeah. -I think from just being in the rain.

Yeah, I'm sorry.

But I can spend a little bit of time with you

-if you wanna show me anything. -Okay.

I think it's good for Kristin to see on the days

where she's not feeling that well,

that you can still have something to bring to the table.

It doesn't have to be a hard day for her.

I'll do all the heavy lifting.

I wanted to just share

-something with you really fast. -Yes.

I do have, like, an easy job.

Are you good to be on your feet for a little bit? Yes. Yes. Yes.

So, um, I wanna put in some fencing.

-So you're gonna help me with some strings. -Okay.

-All right. Cool. -I'm gonna hop under this hoop here.

-So, one second. -Ooh. Okay. Into the mud you go.

[Misty] Today is the day for fencing.

We are basically not wasting a ton of time putting in corner posts.

-I'm gonna try to reach around this whole tree. -[Kristin chuckles]

[Misty] I just wanna build the circle fence around the tree.

The tension will be nice and tight,

and I think for Kristin it will be easy.

[narrator] To save time installing fencing,

Misty will call on a homestead hack

that utilizes the base of the tree as a center point

to measure out 8 feet to each post.

Once the posts are in the ground,

she'll create tension with chicken wire,

ensuring the livestock stays safe inside on dry land.

Okay. There. We did it. Okay.

-So I got my knot. I got the lasso. -[Kristin] All right.

-All right. Excellent. -And I'm coming out. Okay.

So, we're gonna have a radius of about 8 feet.

-All right, cool. -So let's mark from the building.

-Eight feet on our string. -[Kristin] Okay.

And that is where the first fence post is gonna go.

-Sweet. -[Misty] What do you think?

Yes, I think that will be a really good amount of space.

-Right there. Right there. Under it. -Boom. Boom.

-Have a moment. -[Kristin] All right.

-Oh, yeah, it's gonna be easy. -[laughs]

I so appreciated that Misty asked me about my health issues.

All right, so now we're gonna go to our next one,

-and they're gonna be about 8 feet apart too. -Okay.

It seems like she really wants to get a good understanding

so she can make sure that she makes the best decision she can

about how to make everything more accessible here for us.

There should literally be, like, homestead workout classes

-where you're like, "Hey, come in at 7:00am... -I know.

-...and put it in a fence." -Yes.

-And they can pay. -Look at you.

-Look at you. Crushing it. -Nailed it. Okay.

-Nailed it. There we go. -Yep. Yep.

[Matt] Here we go.

This is the reason why we picked this stove in the first place.

Boom.

We've got all the bathing water you could possibly ever need.

Whoa. Okay.

Now that we've got this tank filled,

we only got one last thing to do.

Fire up this stove and turn it into a sauna in here.

I'm taking off a layer.

Yeah, I'm a little warm in here.

This is getting a little warm.

[laughs]

-Oh, yeah. Whoo. -That's nice.

You think it's hot enough for that water to get warm?

Oh, I think so. Let's check it.

All right. Open that up.

[inhales] Oh, yeah.

Nice.

I think I wanna just, like, wash up my face a little bit.

Oh! [inhales]

-saved that platform. -Oh, definitely.

[Matt] We used the stove they've been using already,

and there's more than enough room for two people.

Yeah, this is great.

This is gonna be so much more useful to them

than the platform that's rotting away in the swamp back there.

I think this is great.

There's definitely enough heat in here.

If we stay in here any longer, I'm gonna have to shed more layers.

Yeah, well I mean, let's go then.

[both laughing]

[narrator] With the sauna complete,

Matt and Little John bring in the final piece of the bathroom addition.

-Let's open this thing up. -Yeah.

-Okay. -[John] Let's set it up.

We've just unveiled a much-needed bathroom item.

A composting toilet.

Here we go.

Ah!

Compost toilets are incredibly useful for a place like this

where they can't put in a septic.

They have no running water, no power.

And they are really effective

at getting rid of odors and getting rid of waste.

All right, follow me.

We've got a little surprise for you.

-Ooh! Whoa! -[Katherine laughs] Oh!

Check it out.

[narrator] Before, the Yeagers were using

sawdust buckets for their waste removal.

And could only bathe themselves

in the sink of their moldy camper.

Today, they have a fully-functional bathhouse sauna,

complete with a compost toilet

and a sauna to relieve joint and muscle pain

and improve their overall health.

We're sick of lugging sawdust buckets, let me tell you.

[Katherine] This is a massive upgrade.

[Matt] All that was music to my ears.

I knew it was something that you really needed

and my hope was that it was gonna be

really the answer to all your bathroom...

-[chuckles] you know, prayers. -Yes. Yes.

[Matt] I'm really pleased with how this turned out.

Now we just have to get a heated tub in place before we leave.

-...so much. -Yeah. Thank you for having me over.

So good. Thank you.

[country music playing]

[Marty] What a good day to put a roof on.

We'll make it happen.

Yesterday, it was pouring down rain,

cold, muddy, crazy.

But now, it's stopped raining

and today it's time to pick up a hammer and a saw

and change the fate of these homesteaders.

All right, we could put on the roof before the sun goes down.

Start tacking.

[upbeat country music playing]

[drill whirring]

Thank you.

[drill whirring]

Excellent. Done.

[narrator] It's the last day of the Yeager rescue

and it's an all-out scramble to finish final builds.

With the treehouse birdhouse nearly complete,

Misty utilizes another homestead hack.

[Misty] So, we have to figure out how we're gonna

-keep the roof dry, right? -Right.

And some type of rubber gasket for that tree.

-[Kristin] Yes. -So I'm gonna use an old tire, if that's okay with you.

-Cool. Love it. -And we're gonna cut into it,

wrap it around that tree, get it over the top of the metal

and once we get it nice and tight,

that roof's never gonna leak.

[Kristin] Yeah, yeah, yeah. Give it a shot. Yeah.

[saw whirring]

-[Misty] Do you wanna do me a favor? -[Kristin] Yeah.

[Misty] You wanna hold that side?

Put your fingers back there. There you go.

I'd love to be able to get Kristin to a place

where she's even with Katherine.

Imagine what this homestead could look like,

if they, Katherine and Kristin, were working side by side.

They could literally achieve anything.

[Kristin] Misty is a very good teacher.

She explains things really well

and she also does, kind of, a hands-on approach,

which is really helpful for me and my style of learning.

[whirring]

[Misty] Ta-da!

-Now you can get the thing on the tree. -Yeah.

Kristin's learning a lot more than just how to use power tools.

It's just how to get the job done.

Okay. All right.

[Kristin] So I learned quite a bit from Misty today.

It seems like a pretty simple concept, right?

Just the ability to use what you already have

in, kind of, an unconventional way

to solve your problem,

without buying anything new.

Basically, with whatever you have laying around, you can fix the problem.

There you have it. We have our tire gasket around the tree.

Now, the structure is nice and watertight, and it'll last forever.

[theme music playing]

[nail gun clicking]

[Marty] Okay. Here we go. Hit it.

[nail gun clicking]

[narrator] With sunlight fading on the final day,

Marty and Katherine race to complete

the most important build of the rescue.

Thank you.

There comes a time on every homestead

where I realize we have to make every...

not minute, every second count.

And we're at that moment on this homestead.

Looks like it fits.

This time of year, it gets dark, like at 5:30 or 6:00.

It's not like you can't work in lights, but guess what?

This place is off the grid and there's no power.

So, make hay while the sun's shining.

Okay, pin it!

[nail gun punch]

Okay, shut that door and see if it has a nice, tight seal.

-Feel good? -[Katherine] Nice and tight.

-That's great. -Okay.

-You like it? -[Katherine] I do.

All right. Um, is it done?

-Nope, it's not done. -What does it need?

It needs spray foam in the gap

and then to be trimmed out.

[pleasant music playing]

[Katherine] Doing this is gonna go a long way

to keeping us extra warm and toasty this winter.

It's just incredible to see like,

that we're doing everything the right way.

I don't know if we'd have been able to afford

to do everything "the right way" on our own.

It's been a long week and I've had a couple of days

where I wasn't feeling very good, but...

I think just the fact that this is the final push,

it's kind of like, uh, medicine for the pain. [chuckles]

I'm just really looking forward to getting us out of that moldy space.

[Misty] Oh, my gosh. This is so sweet.

[narrator] With the fencing complete around the treehouse birdhouse,

Misty prepares the structure for the arrival of livestock.

They need some straw. They need some bedding.

And also there is a method that's called deep litter.

And what it is [sniffles]

is you don't clean out your coop that much

when you live in a place with cold temperatures.

And it, kind of, composts and warms up and can act as a heater.

And that method really works.

So, I think I'm gonna go a little bit extra on the straw.

This is the Coop Deville of all coops.

-[car honking] -[Misty] I got you a present.

-[Kristin] Ah, I can't wait. -[Misty laughs]

-These came from a local farm just down the road... -[Kristin gasps]

-Aw! -...and they look beautiful.

But let's start with chickens.

-[Kristin] All right. -You wanna bring 'em over?

-I would love to. -Okay, you grab one side.

[Kristin] I was a vegetarian for a long time. Many, many years.

-[Misty] Okay. -[Kristin] And I am huge on eggs. Like huge.

[Misty] Yes, you gotta have that protein when you do this kind of work.

-Ladies, go check it out. -And who's the bravest chicken?

[gasps] Good job, ladies.

[Misty] But the greatest thing, remember about this coop,

-is these are hung backwards. -[Kristin] Yes, exactly.

So we can just... We can just lock them in.

[Kristin] Move your little bum.

[Misty] I really love this treehouse birdhouse,

seeing it come together.

The space is huge.

Adding the dividers so we can get a variety of birds

for multiple uses, multiple reasons.

Egg production, meat birds.

For me, it's about leaving these homesteaders

with something that works for them long term.

I got a surprise for you.

-[Kristin] Oh! -This is the homestead alarm system.

Yes.

[Misty] You're gonna be so pumped with guineas...

-I love guinea. -[Misty] ...you don't even know.

I can't wait!

You guys are ready to get out. There's enough room for 'em.

-Okay... -[Misty] This is really exciting.

-The flock has grown on the homestead. -Yes.

-Yes. Yes. -There's a variety of birds.

-We're missing yours. -Right.

-So let's go wrangle them and get them in here. -Yep.

-Sounds good. Let's do it. -Okay.

This is amazing. It's unreal.

I'm just so happy.

I can't wait to get to know all of our new birds

-and name them -And name them.

Name all of them, every single one of them,

and hold them.

Maybe bring one in the house...

So they're not meat birds, then?

-[laughs] -I'm gonna go ahead and guess

-that they're gonna be egg birds. -Okay.

-[chirping] -[Kristin] There you go, honey.

-[Misty] Oh. You guys are crushing it. -[Kristin] Thank you.

-[Misty] Is there only three, or is there more? -[Kristin] Only three.

[laughing] Yes! Good job.

-[Katherine] I'll see you in a little bit. -[Misty] Okay.

[narrator] Seven days ago, the Yeager's livestock was crammed in small pens,

dwelling amongst the boggy ground

and easily accessible to predators.

Today, they have a dry section of land connected to their cabin

with a boardwalk,

and a one of a kind treehouse birdhouse,

featuring fortified holding pens,

a guinea early warning system

and a variety of birds to produce eggs.

[Misty] Officially on the homestead,

there's quail, geese, ducks, chickens and guinea.

-[Kristin] Oh, my goodness. -[Misty] But check this out.

-[chuckles] -[gasps] No way!

-We already have an egg! -[Misty] Well, reach in and grab it.

[Kristin] Look at you girls. Good job.

-Isn't that amazing? -[Kristin] Oh! It's a pretty egg.

It's beautiful.

You already have food.

You could wake up in the morning,

and there, literally, might be a dozen eggs.

-Which would be amazing. -[laughs] Are you ready for that?

[Kristin] I'm so ready. I'm gonna do so much baking...

-Okay. -...and preserving.

-My work here is done. -Yeah.

-[Misty] You ready? -[Kristin] I'm so ready.

You can just be on the ex holding the other end.

Right to the edge of the roof that's got a drain!

[narrator] With only two hours remaining on the Yeager homestead,

and with the help of a small build team,

Marty rushes to finish some final additions to the cabin.

[Marty] We have the gutters on the house.

We'll catch every drop of water that hits that roof.

All of that water will come over to this gutter and one downspout.

From there, we'll distribute all of the water,

not to one, but to two separate tanks

to provide this homestead with potable water, drinking water, bathing water.

-[chuckles] -Come on over here.

Okay, so not one, but two.

Can you guess how many gallons that is?

[Katherine] I have no idea.

-Okay. You ready? -[Katherine] Yeah.

Over 1,000, each.

I'm so excited. This is just energizing.

We're down to about two hours before we have to leave this homestead...

-[Katherine] Yeah. -...so I got to get back to it.

We've got a lot of work to get done on this homestead.

Whatever it takes.

We are running out of time.

[theme music playing]

-[Marty] Mist! -[Misty] Yeah?

[Marty] Come on over and take a break, please. Take a break.

Matt and I thought since we were in Maine,

we would do as Mainers do.

And so right now look at us.

Who are we and what are we?

-Maine-iacs? -Yes,

but you're not a Maine-iac until...

[zipper whirs]

until you wear the red plaid, okay?

My entire life, I've never, like, seen you in anything but a white shirt.

-It looks good on you. -It's the new me.

You bought me something?

-I wonder what it could be. -[Marty] Not a tie.

Aw! [laughs]

Now that we're Mainer maniacs, we're wearing plaid.

I don't know if I can take you seriously with this one.

Out of everybody standing here,

who's the maniac?

-[laughs] -What?

Now you have this shirt to prove it.

[all laughing]

[theme music playing]

[engine roaring]

[Marty] Everybody's wondering why did you put the rocks there?

Ooh, ooh, ornate? Yes.

But also just enough distance from this building, the bathhouse,

to take a bath.

Perfect amount of space for a five-foot tub

with an eight-inch pipe underneath it.

Put a 90-degree elbow on one end,

a six-foot chimney on the other end.

This is where the fire goes in.

The smoke comes out here.

So you have a rocket stove bathtub.

This water is gonna be so hot in a couple of hours

that you can't even get in it.

Why did you stop working?

We... We cannot stop moving today. Get over here.

[clanging]

[Marty laughs]

-Nice. -[clanking]

[engine whirring]

[Marty] I love it.

[upbeat music playing]

-[Marty] You see that sun? -[Katherine] Yeah.

[Marty] It's going down.

-What do you think of your rock steps? -[Katherine] I love 'em.

-[Marty] You do? -[Katherine] Yeah. Be nice and dry, clean.

[narrator] With the cabin complete,

Marty and Katherine prepare to take in the reward of a week's hard work.

-Okay. Here we are. -[knocking]

-Anybody home? -Not yet.

[Marty] Exactly. I'll follow you.

Anybody home?

Oh, yeah. You're home now.

[Katherine] Oh! It looks so nice, Marty.

Everything I'm looking at your hands touched,

insulation, vapor barrier, framing, trim, pine.

You might just wanna thank yourself

because you did a lot of work here.

I did. I did.

But we couldn't have finished it like we have without your help.

Do you think that this winter is gonna be easier?

Oh, my God! So much easier.

That's not even a question.

I mean, we have solid walls and a roof.

I can sleep through a snowstorm.

You know, when the last time I slept through a snowstorm?

It's just... It's been... It's been...

It's been a long six years.

There were nights where we were freezing cold in the tent,

and even with the fire going, couldn't get it warmer, and,

you know, you're worrying about your animals freezing.

And it's just been so much work and stress, and...

-Yes. -...this is just such a relief for us.

[softly] Yeah.

And so much work was done in such a quick amount of time.

It would have taken us years to get to this point.

You ever want to take a five-minute break?

-Climb up that ladder... -[Katherine] Yeah.

...walk across this loft,

-go out onto a... -[laughs]

-...huge deck. -[Katherine] Nice!

I'm looking forward to my first cup of coffee

-in the cabin... -[sighs softly]

...and I'm gonna take it upstairs and go out on the roof deck...

-Ooh! -...and just survey my queendom.

-[laughs] -It's gonna be great.

-This is great. -Isn't it cool?

-Now... -You can see all the birds.

...you can look over your farm,

enjoy this evening breeze.

It's gonna be beautiful.

[Marty] Katherine is a selfless person,

but it can't be all work and no play on these homesteads.

In fact, we've come up with a surprise for Katherine and Kristin

so that they can enjoy something,

most likely, the very night after we leave.

Hey, don't go so... Whoa! Not so fast.

-Where are we going? -This way.

-Okay. -So, did you wonder what was going on here?

-Yeah. -We had the excavator. We were moving rocks.

Putting a chimney right in the ground,

we built you a rocket stove.

-Can you hear it crackling? -I can. Yeah.

Okay. So if you look over here,

that's all it takes.

-[Katherine] Oh, it's right there. -Yeah.

[Katherine] I thought that was a bucket for a second.

[Marty] If you don't mind,

feel free to take off that little insulator

and see if the water is getting warm.

Oh, yeah.

-[Marty] Is it? -Yeah, it is.

-I can feel warmth coming up. -[Marty] That's all I wanted to hear.

Okay, so let's put that little...

Let's put our little insulated cover over on it.

Now, if you don't mind sitting right there... Okay.

Then if you were in this tub,

the Macy's Parade could go by

-and never know you're in there. -[laughs] Yeah.

So you've got some privacy.

These rocks are doing something far more

than being ornaments in your front yard.

It's gonna be amazing.

-You like it? -[laughing] I do like it.

[narrator] Before, the Yeagers were living in a cold, moldy camper,

making them sick

and delaying their progress on building the cabin on their homestead.

Today, they have a finished, insulated wooden cabin,

complete with a kitchen, wood stove, deck,

water catchment tanks,

and a private, heated rocket tub.

[Katherine] If the Raneys hadn't showed up

and done all that they've done,

I really don't know what we would have done for the winter this year.

But I so appreciate that they have come

and saved us from, you know,

sinking into the swamp. [chuckles]

That week was a little bit on the rough side...

-Yeah. [laughs] -...but it was worth it.

We turned this thing from bog stead to island living.

-Come on. -I know. It's unreal.

It's so good.

-Kristin, I'm gonna miss you. -I'm gonna miss you, too.

You are like... You're just so positive,

and you have such a great smile,

-and you're so sweet. -Thank you.

It... It, like, meant the world to me

that we got to do this together.

So, you've been my sidekick for the whole week.

-Yeah. -[Misty] But now, you're Katherine's sidekick.

-Yeah. Yeah. -Yes.

-Or maybe she's your sidekick. -[Katherine laughs]

-Ooh. -Yeah. I like that.

Usually, when you leave somebody high and dry,

it's a bad thing.

-[all laughing] -Yeah.

What me and John did was gave you a dry cabins,

bathing solution and bathroom solution.

I'm really excited that you'll be having a really nice spot

-to get clean. -I know.

It's gonna take some reimagining...

-Yeah. -...to see what our future is going to look like

because we're just not used to having all the amenities

that we have now,

and it's just the... the future is very bright for us.

Yeah. Yeah, very, very bright.

Not every homestead that we show up on

do we find out the homestead doesn't have a home?

-[Katherine] Hmmm. -Okay?

Does it have one now?

-It sure does. -Oh, yeah.

Thank you so much.

I just can't...

[voice shaking] tell you how much it means to have a home, finally.

It means a future.

We have a future here, and we didn't really.

We... We hoped we had a future,

but we didn't really have one until all of you guys showed up

and made our house dry and warm and beautiful.

-[Kristin] Yeah. -We have water. We have bathing facilities.

We... Our birds will be safe,

-finally. -[Kristin] Amazing.

[Katherine] I don't know what you saw in us,

but I want to be the person

that deserves what you guys gave to us.

Thank you.

We learned on this homestead,

and we are taking away from this homestead

the inspiration that we witnessed here.

-So thank you. -[Katherine] Thank you.

Every homestead has its unique challenges.

Finding homesteaders that spent the last five years in a tent,

pretty rough.

I'm hoping between the water catchment,

a finished cabin, a birdhouse,

a new bathhouse,

a rocket stove hot tub to take a bath after a hard day's work,

that their lives will be better from this day forward.

-Thank you. -[John] Bye.

-Thanks, guys. -Thank you, guys. Thank you so much.

Unreal.

So we moved into the cabin about a week after the Raneys left.

It's so nice to be in something warm and dry.

-It's just so nice to have a wood stove. -Yeah.

We really, really like our birdhouse,

and I think our birds, they love their house.

The coop designs, the way it is off the ground,

made it a really safe place for our birds throughout the winter.

-And we've got eggs coming out our ears. - [Katherine] Yep.

-So many eggs. - [Kristin] So many eggs.

[Kristin] Here's our little sauna.

We used it earlier in the day.

The sauna is beautiful.

Between the tiling and everything, it's just gorgeous.

We're just so grateful for this whole process and experience.

It's been wonderful.

We would not have gotten into our cabin like we did.

No, we would not.

We have so much gratitude to be sitting inside my cabin

-and be overall healthier... - [Kristin] Yeah.

...and happier and better off.

I just... I feel incredibly blessed still.

[pleasant music playing]