Timber
Frame in Alaska
Going
to Alaska had always been Ron's dream. Finally, he and the others at Atlantic
Timberframes got a chance when they were hired to build two homes in Alaska.
ATF built the first home in Fairbanks, Alaska, for a research biologist at the
University of Alaska. It features 2,600 square feet of living space and overlooks
a dramatic vista.
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 | The
Fairbanks house opened the door for the most challenging project ever to face
Ron and the crew of ATF. They were commissioned for a 3,600 sq. ft. three-story
timber frame on Iliamna Lake, Alaska's largest interior lake, located outside
the Indian village of Iqiugig.
An amazing 365 pieces of timber were cut
and finished for a total of 75,000 pounds of oak. There was no margin of error
for a home that would be shipped and erected thousands of miles away from the
shop. |
| The
timbers were loaded on two semi-trucks for Seattle and then moved to a barge that
would travel up the Pacific Coast to a port in Anchorage.The timbers then were
trucked to an airport on the Kenai Peninsula and flown on eight separate flights
across the Aleutian Mountain Range to the remote airstrip in Iqiugig. The timbers
were loaded onto small cars pulled by all-terrain vehicles over two miles of beach
to the building site. | 
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 | When
the crew of ATF arrived, Iliamna Lake was frozen solid and there were mild gusts
at 50 mph. The bents were assembled and ready to be raised in three days. The
first attempt at raising was with an old track-hoe used by the village to repair
their airstrip. The hoe had so much sway it was considered too dangerous, and
ATF had to find an alternative. The homeowner tried to negotiate using a helicopter
but was unsuccessful. |
| Finally, we had the
idea to weld a hoist from a 350 dozer to the track-hoe, giving birth to what the
crew named the Iqiugig Monster. The Alaskan construction crew believed they could
do anything and they proved themselves men of their word. ATF had their frame
erected. The long spring
days of Alaska permitted the crew to work three shifts a day with six hours sleep.
After four days, the bents were secured and ready for panel installation. |  |
 | 
Bob in front
of the Iqiugig Post Office |
