Just Placed an order for a new 30footer

[rebel102285]

Well after fighting with my ice castle for over a year and the constant quality problems with it I decided to sell it. My Castle was finished OK but had nothing but problems with the pulleys, winches, etc... I was able to sell it to a guy that is going to live in it (gotta love the oil boom) and make $5k over what I paid for it!!!!

I was thinking of ordering an Ice Assault and Clint realy does know his stuff but I just couldnt justify spending that kind of cash on a fish house ($1100-$1500 per foot not including the V).

After spending alot of time researching i came across Carsella Shacks --- and unlike many manufacturers i couldnt find a single negative thing about their houses. From what Don had informed me it seems they have their frames built by milatona blacksmith and in the 20 minutes i spent with him on the phone i could tell he knew his stuff!

I went ahead and ordered the 27ft plus 3VEE bringing the total length to 30 feet. I ordered just the shell, not finished on the inside at all... It will come insulated and with a 3/4" treated plywood floor but thats it for the inside cant wait to start finishing this thing off!!! So far the plans are that I will do all cedar tongue and groove, and my girlfriends dad is a custom cabinet maker so i think ive got that covered ..... I literally cannot wait to get started on this build!!! I should be able to keep the costs very very reasonable as I just found a 28' 5th wheel camper that is in horrible shape outside but has a brand new furnace, refrigerator, stove and miscellaneous pieces.

I will post pics as soon as i get the house! (hopefully before December 1)

[OLE77]

so lrt mr get this straight, you post how you sell somthing for more than it is worth to someone who is going to use it to try to make a living with it. Then you post how something you want from somebody who is making a living at it costs to much, you want us to see how cheap you can do it yourself? Good luck with that.

[dmpalm]

so lrt mr get this straight, you post how you sell somthing for more than it is worth to someone who is going to use it to try to make a living with it. Then you post how something you want from somebody who is making a living at it costs to much, you want us to see how cheap you can do it yourself? Good luck with that.

I could not have said it better myself...

[DTro]

Yeah, like nobody else likes to sell high and buy low.

Congrats on the new house! Sounds like a fun project. Good Luck

[CAMAN]

Yup, shame on you for being wise with your money...

[bobbymalone]

capitalism in action, boys.

good luck with the house.

[rebel102285]

Ok Carl Marx, before you start going off about how wrong it is to make money through capitalism I suggest you and Vladimir Lenin get your facts straight.

The individual that purchased my ice house makes well in excess of $150,000 a year and paid the $19k in cash--- now sure he could have went and rented a 2 bedroom apartment for $3k per month, but somehow I doubt this fits within your ideologies.

How am I wrong here? I did the smart thing and bought a 2010 holdover ice castle for $14k 1 year ago (never mind the fact that a 16 footer sells for $16k here). I then put it up for sale 1 year later at $19k and had 10 offers in one week and sold it in 9 days, not to mention I was able to provide it to someone that truely needed housing------- your right I'm a horrible person???

Now who said I was planning on building the new house cheap? I said I was going to save money in a lot of areas---but your right it would be much smarter to go buy a brand new ice castle or lodge instead???? I plan on doing all tongue and groove cedar, 6-8 television monitors ranfing from 12" to 32 , but I'm sure ice castles 1/2 pine 1/2 fiberboard paneling, and a tv hookup would be much smarter.

Your post was completely asinine and was only meant to spark argument. I suggest you go watch a few more episodes of Jon Stewart, read up on your pal Lenin and how well that worked out, and then should you have a valid point for how my original post was so wrong I will gladly delete it....

Until then this is an icefishing forum---if you want to talk politics and berade someone for buying smart selling smarter Isuggest you find a forum that will suit your needs.

[Iambjm]

so lrt mr get this straight, you post how you sell somthing for more than it is worth to someone who is going to use it to try to make a living with it. Then you post how something you want from somebody who is making a living at it costs to much, you want us to see how cheap you can do it yourself? Good luck with that.

.

He didn't say that guy was going to make a living with it, but he was going to live in it.

[rebel102285]

Also in regards to ice assault---he is not too expensive, its just more than I wanted to spend...$36k for the model I was looking at.

I also thought it would be fun to lay this house out exactly how I want it, while doing the work myself. I cannot build anything close to what clint does over at ice assault however to match or beat the quality of ice castle is no issue.

[dougger222]

Don't listen to the others. You did the right thing you got rid of your ic and moved up to a much higher quality house.

A couple years ago my engineer friend was ready to pull the trigger on a carsela house until a $10K unexpected expense occured, bye bye fish house! Last year I was close to pulling the trigger as well after speaking with carsela a couple times. Ended up buying a dream shak off a friend of mine for 1/4 the cost of new, in like new condition, that was a no brainer!

30ft is A LOT of fish house!!!

[Iambjm]

Just hope you get it quicker than some others who have ordered from them. Our non profit ordered one this spring, very simple inside but took 3 month's to get it. Great quality work for the price.

[BuschPilot]

i got my carsella in may, its built very well. i did have some issues with my house as well. be careful when you send your money in. he promises a good thing. i was told mine would be done in a week to 10 days because he was working on others. finally got it about 3 months later. he just had a fully finished 27ft for 12,900 on the c-list. i wanted to get a quote on another but he won't call back. if you got any questions pm me. i do like mine now that i think i've got it fixed.

[rebel102285]

Thanks for the heads up -- I think what I will do is when I send the money I will send it certified mail, and put a signed letter in the envelope stating that it is for payment of the house to be finished by December 1st 2012, and no later than December 15th 2012, and by cashing the check they agree to those terms -- otherwise who knows when I will get it

[muc33]

As I have said many times on here. Don is Don, he's not the best at timelines always, but he has never done me wrong. Don just delivered to me my 5th house from him. And many of my friends and some of you on here have spoken to me about his houses and purchased from him. For the money and with the general quality, his houses are a great deal. Remember, Don is a guy, not a factory. I talk to him often and trust him as he has never done me wrong in 4 years.

I can't wait to see your pics.

[hunterfisher]

I also bought a house from Don this year, I will agree with the "timelines and kind of hard to get ahold of" comment. I totally agree with the "he is not a factory" comment and that is exactly why I purchased a house from him. I sent him a check in the spring with a layout of how I wanted the house and told him as long as I had it before the season I would be happy. I did tell him that my season starts around bow hunting season so I couold use it for that and some grouse hunting. He did not really miss it by much more than a week. He was VERY accomodating when it came to my layout, he followed exactly the way I wanted it.

I am EXTREMELY HAPPY with the way it turned out, the fit and finish of everything is just great and would not think twice about him building me another house!!!!!!!

Have fun finishing it off

[Iambjm]

Also in regards to ice assault---he is not too expensive, its just more than I wanted to spend...$36k for the model I was looking at.

I also thought it would be fun to lay this house out exactly how I want it, while doing the work myself. I cannot build anything close to what clint does over at ice assault however to match or beat the quality of ice castle is no issue.

Wow, I was just thinking how heavy is this bugger going to be when you get done. I hope you put pontoons on it....LOL

[DonBo]

Ok Carl Marx, before you start going off about how wrong it is to make money through capitalism I suggest you and Vladimir Lenin get your facts straight.

The individual that purchased my ice house makes well in excess of $150,000 a year and paid the $19k in cash--- now sure he could have went and rented a 2 bedroom apartment for $3k per month, but somehow I doubt this fits within your ideologies.

How am I wrong here? I did the smart thing and bought a 2010 holdover ice castle for $14k 1 year ago (never mind the fact that a 16 footer sells for $16k here). I then put it up for sale 1 year later at $19k and had 10 offers in one week and sold it in 9 days, not to mention I was able to provide it to someone that truely needed housing------- your right I'm a horrible person???

Now who said I was planning on building the new house cheap? I said I was going to save money in a lot of areas---but your right it would be much smarter to go buy a brand new ice castle or lodge instead???? I plan on doing all tongue and groove cedar, 6-8 television monitors ranfing from 12" to 32 , but I'm sure ice castles 1/2 pine 1/2 fiberboard paneling, and a tv hookup would be much smarter.

Your post was completely asinine and was only meant to spark argument. I suggest you go watch a few more episodes of Jon Stewart, read up on your pal Lenin and how well that worked out, and then should you have a valid point for how my original post was so wrong I will gladly delete it....

Until then this is an icefishing forum---if you want to talk politics and berade someone for buying smart selling smarter Isuggest you find a forum that will suit your needs.

HA! That is the best response to a negative post I've seen here for quite a while. Well done Rebel, well done.

Hey OLE & dmpalm.....BAZINGA!

[BuschPilot]

I would have to say his house is built very well. Mine just had some issues tht were easily fixed by myself. I dont mind the work. I am just sealing the cedar right now. I like that u can get exactly what u want at a very affordable price. I am waiting to hear back from don again for a quote on a new one and i haven't used this one yet. Just little items that i would change after having refreshments in it.

[rebel102285]

I would love to see suggestions from carsella shack, as well as other manufactuers. This will be the first house I have ever finished on my own.

I am leaning towards no 110v lights and using all 12v led lights.

I will of course put in 110 & 12v outlets all over the place (makes future changes so nice and easy.

My big decisions now are what heater (30k btu minimum), what interior furnishings IE happi jack bed, jack knife sofa, futon, etc.

Would greatly appreciate helpful suggestions from anyone and everyone

[muc33]

I finished my first Carsella Shack myself and went with a built up drawer system underneath and a jacknife fouton on top of that with arm wrests that also served as flip up lid storage. My was finished with Marbled Cedar which looks fabulous. I have no top bunk, just the jacknife fouton in the back.

[Iambjm]

I would love to see suggestions from carsella shack, as well as other manufactuers. This will be the first house I have ever finished on my own.

I am leaning towards no 110v lights and using all 12v led lights.

I will of course put in 110 & 12v outlets all over the place (makes future changes so nice and easy.

My big decisions now are what heater (30k btu minimum), what interior furnishings IE happi jack bed, jack knife sofa, futon, etc.

Would greatly appreciate helpful suggestions from anyone and everyone

What I learned from finishing my Yetti:

I went to all the manufacturers web pages and compiled a folder on my computer of pictures from different wheelhouses. Plan your layout and then re-plan when you get the wheelhouse. I had a perfect spot planned out for my furnace and then discovered the vent would end up being hit every time I lowered the house. When it came to cutting the holes in the floor I couldn't put them where I wanted because of the frame underneath. I also discovered you can never have enough storage to get things out of the way. Granted mine is only 12' with a 3' v so I had to keep it simple. I have 2 bunks in the back, but I can't climb up into the top bunk when the hubby is with due to very bad knees. So I left it unhinged and I pull it down and set it on the floor at night, kind of a pain but it works for us.

Expect to take twice as long finishing it as you think you will, I figured maybe a month, it took me 2 1/2 months. Of course I didnt have a nail gun so that ate up a lot of time putting up the tongue and groove.

Here is one of the pictures I saved, but I don't remember which sit I saw it on

and another

[rebel102285]

awesome! thanks---always appreciate tips from people that have went through it