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tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
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Last year was crazy busy for projects. Did a bunch on the old house, fence, re-roofed the storage shed, replaced kitchen and dining room floor, and the biggest single project was replacing the deck.
Coulda sworn I had a finished photo somewhere???
The biggest project was turning 1/2 acre of alders into a lot to have a house built.
If you ever have even a 1/2 decent excuse the rent a bulldozer, I say release the inner man child. It's amazing what you can do with a credit card, ah can you rent me a dozer for a few days, drop it off here...
In hindsight I could have just left the site work the builder, but it was fun
Not big enough to boulder on, but nice to start of our driveway with one.
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tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
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Wayno wanted some house pics. I didn't want to throw them up as I figure somebody else built it, didn't want to start a new thread and this seems like the best thread. Sorry for the oversize pics above I'll try and trim em down later.
Long story short after five years of looking at homes and lots, and after having been outbid on three lots, we finally got our own piece of dirt the beginning of last year. A friend who owns the lot kidda corner behind it told me when it came on the market. It's been a long standing dream of mine to build a house, but the reality is I just don't have the time to work full time and bang out a house, not to mention every time I start a new endeavor it's not until the at least the second go round that I get it right and a house is a big azz learning curve so I figured we'd go with a builder with a solid rep. We did clear the lot ourselves which was time well spent to get a feel for the lot and where to locate it on the lot.
Even though the 1/2 acre was an alder jungle, I could tell if we went with a walk out basement to get some elevation, we'd have some killer views
Pretty much panaramic from Turnagain arm to the South, the Aleutian Chain with Mount Redoubt and active volcano in the above pic, Cook Inlet, fire island, Mount Susitna, and to the North downtown Anchorage and Mount Foraker. If you know where to look you can just make out the tip of McKinley but its mostly obscurred by a ridge and trees.
Starting of excavation
Foundation
We ended up with four cords of firewood, mostly alder but over a cord or birch
With a decent pile of firewood, you need a bitchen fireplace
With evening views of the sunset you need a bitchen deck to bbq or watch the stars.
And since I like to cook, went a little nuts with on the kitchen layout with a gas range in the island and dual ovens on the wall.
I don't have any finished pics because the seemingly endless
"when are they going to be done" quickly turned into a mad dash move at the end and the last thing I wanted to do was take pics. We did the move ourselves with a pickup and were so beat at the end of the first move day we'd left our bed at the old house, just plopped a blanket on the floor and crashed out.
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phylp
Trad climber
Upland, CA
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I love all the new posts!
Congratulations to everybody on all the hard work. All built to last.
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Wayno
Big Wall climber
Seattle, WA
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Cool pics of your new digs, Paul. I'm glad you got to live your dream and have your house built. Something worthy to feel good about. The wife and I recently gave up on our Alaska dream. It wasn't well thought out and sometimes life just gets in the way. We just signed the papers on selling our cabin in Seward and now we are looking elsewhere to escape the big city.
Happy Trails
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tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
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Wayno,
Alaska in all it's splendor is a tough mistress. I often mused you can either have the time to enjoy her yet lack the funds, or accumulate the funds and not find the time. It's ironic that most of the big adventures in the state seem to be enjoyed by visitors. Though for us it's mainly just that time of life when you're super busy with the kids activities and work.
Funny thing is when we moved up we had the grand plan of getting a few acres and living in a small cabin. Somehow that turned into a house in the burbs, violin lessons, soccer, ice skating, etc et al, but AK flavored.
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Edge
Trad climber
Betwixt and Between Nederland & Boulder, CO
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Our house came with a couple outbuildings.
The one on the left has Spartan electrical and insulation, and was set up as a craft room.
Before winter hit I pimped out the deck with ipe scraps and recycled redwood.
Inside I added a recycled window, framing, and electrical (with baseboard heat), then full insulation and Sheetrock. The walls were textured and painted to look like canyon walls at sunset, and the indigo ceiling has added glitter that looks like stars in candlelight. Mural and cedar cabinets are incomplete, but getting there.
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tolman_paul
Trad climber
Anchorage, AK
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Crazy huh?
20,000#'s of steel and 100 hp.
It's the only time in my life when driving something 3mph seemed like I was hauling azz.
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
Terence Wilson greeneck alleghenys,ny,
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Apr 15, 2015 - 03:24pm PT
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ß Î Ø T Ç H
Boulder climber
extraordinaire
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Apr 18, 2015 - 11:32pm PT
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Repurposing shitty old Razor scooters with little or no money (blood sweat and tears optional).
This is the 4th generation: brakeless, oversized wheels, aftermarket bolted frame and applied stickers to cover tired graphics.
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telemon01
Trad climber
Montana
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Apr 19, 2015 - 04:59am PT
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The weather gods have smiled on our project so far; no
groundwater, no mud. And the owners call this place Yeti Bog.
It's a 20 acre property that used to be an old peat farm
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this just in
climber
Justin Ross from North Fork
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Apr 19, 2015 - 08:03am PT
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Telemon, that pic makes me wanna move to Montana.
Saturday was project day. An overdue one.
Before. Actually we looked at this for about six months. We added a Master Bed on the other side of this wall and traded a window for some Sheetrock.
I was a painter for four years, so now I try and hide when it needs to be done. Lucky I have a great girl who is our primary painter.
I stayed out of her way and worked on this manzanita branch. Used a band saw to rip it and my belt sander to shape and smooth it. Then tung oil for the finish.
Yeah, yeah, that railing is a future project.
Just some dude we found on the street.
After
Pintrest strikes again! Our version used manzanita from dead branches in our yard. We spent under 10$ on materials and just need to finish a shelf. We are both happy with it.
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telemon01
Trad climber
Montana
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Apr 20, 2015 - 05:25am PT
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Nice work with the manzanita.
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this just in
climber
Justin Ross from North Fork
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Apr 20, 2015 - 07:51am PT
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Thanks man.
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this just in
climber
Justin Ross from North Fork
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Apr 22, 2015 - 08:05am PT
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Officially finished pic. 2x6 true dimension cedar for shelf, with 1/2 piping for brackets.
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Apr 22, 2015 - 08:34am PT
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Here is another cutting board I made as a gift. Kind of a "funky" design.
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Apr 22, 2015 - 08:35am PT
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this just in
climber
Justin Ross from North Fork
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Apr 22, 2015 - 08:43am PT
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Bad ass Steve A. Between yourself, Brandon, and Edge New Hampshire has got some master's of woodworking. Or is Colorado claiming Edge now;-)
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Brandon-
climber
The Granite State.
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Apr 23, 2015 - 03:04am PT
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This old frame finds a third (at least) home.
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Apr 23, 2015 - 08:57am PT
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Brandon,
I'm glad to see those beams put to good use, and thereby, preserved.
Some guy a long tme ago, worked pretty damned hard to make those beams.
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