LAKE STEVENS, Wash. — Julie Alameda and her husband Shaun like to live a simple life, but the past two years have been an elaborate mess.
"Everything about this life is harder," said Julie Alameda.
KING 5 first showed you the Alameda home in 2022. Shaun, Julie and their three kids were forced to leave when a remodel went wrong. The couple wanted to turn their garage into a mother-in-law apartment, but the project went bad.
The contractor quit. A leak in the roof flooded the house. It had to be torn down to the studs.
The family had lived there for 10 years but the conditions forced them out.
"It's hell. It really is," said Shaun Alameda at the time.
The family spent the past two years living in hotels, a rental house and since February, an RV on their property. All the while the Alamedas still paid the mortgage on a home they couldn't live in. It started to look like they might never move back in.
"It was looking pretty bleak," said Shaun Alameda.
"We were really, truly faced with raising our kids in an RV alongside our fully gutted house," added Julie Alameda. "With your story in August of 2022 it generated a lot of interest on Facebook."
That interest turned to action when a kind-hearted contractor from Everett's Click It Flooring saw the KING 5 story.
Eugene Khomyak has recruited legions of volunteers and donations from nearly 30 different companies to rebuild the home for free.
The volunteers are actually adding upgrades to the home — making it even better than it was when the Alamedas first bought it. Khomyak estimates the work to be worth $700,000 to $900,000.
"I knew what we were capable of and I knew if they had no help I knew we could do it," Khomyak said. "It was just the right thing to do."
"I'm still elated and surprised and feel shocked every time I look in my driveway and see all these vans pulling in," said Julie Alameda, with a smile.
In restoring the family's home, Khomyak and his crew are truly rebuilding the Alamedas' lives.
"It's so much more than just putting my house back together," said Julie Alameda. "It's been incredible. We're building relationships that will last years. They are our heroes."
Eugene and the Alamedas are still looking for donations, materials and volunteers to complete the work.
Because everything is being done for free, the family will probably still be stuck in their RV for another four to six months, but they're hoping to truly be home for the holidays.