To be honest with that much work going on, you might be better off taking a loan. Look at this way, rates are the lowest they have been in decades. The extra money you'd pay for interest is a hedge against not having a savings cushion and taking on that added risk. There's something to be said for using the bank's money when it's cheap, and minimizing your risk by being flush with cash. Even if it was a small loan and you kept only half your savings, that would be better than wiping it completely out. I know you said you hate owing people money, but I guess you need to decide if that is better or worse than having no cash on hand.
Just because you have a loan, doesn't mean you can't pay the principle back early and opt-out of all that interest if the loan went to term. Put your tax return, any bonuses, pay raises, etc., on the loan. At least this is something that should APPRECIATE and not DEPRECIATE in value. If you were doing so to buy a new car, that would be a different story.