For those who don't know about the house, let's just say it's been a long, partly owner-built, process. That's partly because of its architectural complexities:
and partly because it was built as time and money would allow. It's not done yet, and won't be for quite a while. It's quite a bit bigger than I would like, but it's a bit difficult to rearrange at this point. It's comfortable, and I hope to make it a warm and friendly home.
When I get time, I will add photos of the construction process. For now, all I have is some right-after-we-moved-in pictures.
I have always wanted to live in either a log or a stone house, depending on the location and the building materials at hand. In this case, either would have been fine. However, logs seemed more practical, as I haven't quite figured out what I consider a good way to build and insulate a stone house.
We moved here in 1992, living in a 12 x 56 trailer. We started construction on the house in 1993; we didn't move in until 2000. The design is Amber's and mine, so I can't blame anyone for architectural mistakes. Before we moved here and construction began, we spent a year designing the house. We came up and cleared a site for the barn, and surveyed the house site so when we went home we could build a scale model of the site and orient the house towards the view and the sun. We knew where the big trees were, what the slope was, and where the river was behind the house. It was designed for us to live in, with no regard for resale value. Not a lot of bedrooms, and a very open arrangement.
This is the first (and likely the last) house I ever built. As a kid, I helped my folks build two houses. I didn't have to make any decisions on those houses. Or do any design. All I had to do was pound nails. It was fun. This was fun, too... for me... most of the time.
Virtually everything on this house was a first time, learn as you go experience for me. I learned a lot, and have a lot more respect for trades people who do top notch work for a living.
We laid it out, but hired Mark Smith of Lincoln to dig the hole. We did the footers, but hired out the foundation walls. John Lapka set the larch girders for the main floor on the foundation, and then I framed up the deck using lumber cut from the place on a Mobile Dimension sawmill and air dried. All of the structural lumber in the house was milled here. Most other lumber such as wall paneling came off the mill as well (with the exception of 1x6 T&G ceiling paneling).
The logwork was done by John Lapka (Lake Mountain Log Homes) and Allen Bard, two local logsmiths who now have separate businesses. I wanted to help, but fortunately (for the house) was too busy with my "real" job.
After the logs were up, I framed up the roof, sheeted it (some CDX plywood and some rough cut 1x4s), and screwed on the concrete/wood mixture shakes (A Cemwood product, I don't recommend them, although they look great).
Then came a bazillion more tasks:
I'm sure there are a lot of other jobs in there; otherwise why would it have taken so long???
The house is far from finished. The fireplaces are gaping holes, some outside rockwork still needs to be done, some light fixtures are missing, the porches need railings, there is a lot of missing trim, and some kitchen drawers and odds and ends aren't done. But it's livable, and slowly progressing, and that's what counts.
Here's a quick tour. Just because a photo has a date several years old does not necessarily mean progress has been made since then...
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| Winter, 2000 | Front Porch, 2002 | Back Porch, 2003 |
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| Rock Facing, Fall, 2001 | Rock Facing, Fall, 2001 |
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| Mudroom, Sep 2000 | Mudroom sink, Jul 2003 |
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| Kitchen, Jul 2003 | Island Pot Rack, Jul 2003 | Kitchen Shelves, Oct 2001 |
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| Sunroom, Jul 2003 |
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| DiningRoom, Sep 2000 | Jul 2003 |
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| Living Room, Sep 2000 | Living Room, Jul 2003 |
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| FrontEntry, Sep 2000 |
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| Main Bath, Jul 2003 |
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| Upstairs is an open area | Stairs, Sep 2000 | Top of the stairs |
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| Upstairs Bedroom, Jul 2003 | Upstairs Bedroom alcove, Jul 2003 |
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| Upstairs Bath, Jul 2003 |
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| Upstairs Office, Sep 2000 |
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| Gary's Office, Jul 2003 |
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| Guest Room, Sep 2000 | Guest Fireplace, May 2007 |
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| Sink countertop, July 2007 | Shower, July 2007 |
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| Laundry Room, Sep 2000 |
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| Mechanical Room, Sep 2000 |
A few pages regarding how the house is built, since it has what I feel are some good solutions to the following problems:
The house also has some not-so-innovative, but progressive, features, which are worth a comment or two:
Finally, some details on more conventional features:
This page last updated on 2013-01-09.
