Man builds 625-square-foot snow house

CHARDON, Ohio, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- An Ohio man said he is putting the finishing touches on his winter project: a 625-square-foot snow castle built in the front yard of his family's home.

Jimmy Grey, 25, of the Chardon area in Geauga County, said the 25-foot-by-25-foot structure, which boasts four rooms, a flat-screen TV, a surround-sound system, strobe lights and beer that never goes warm, was a project born out of a desire to keep busy after losing his job last spring, The Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland reported Monday.

Grey said he started the project after an early January snowstorm using snow collected from his neighborhood and soon found himself enlisting friends to help truck snow in from around the area.

The man said the luxury igloo, which uses electricity from his garage and cable TV from his house, hosts get-togethers a few nights a week and will likely remain a monument to his winter well into the warm months.

"To be honest," Grey's father, Jim Sr., said, "I'll be surprised if it's gone by the Fourth of July."