Building a House in Alaska

I spent from June 28th till the morning of July 4th in Healy, Alaska helping Brian build his house. We did a lot of framing while I was there and I learned more than I ever expected about the process. One of the guys said, "I'll have to bring you out the next time I build a house." I think he said that because he knew I was working for free. In any case, I think it's safe to say that most of my framing days are behind me. When I got back all my coworkers asked how my "vacation" was. I said, "What vacation? I was framing a house!" I also learned that when you tell anyone outside of Alaska that you're visiting Alaska, they automatically assume you're going on a fishing trip. Anyway, it was fun to see Brian and pregnant Katie and help them build the place they'll be living starting this fall. Brian has an amazing grasp of the building process considering this is his first house. However, its a good thing Katie's step-father John is in charge because at one point he and I built an interior wall to his bathroom without a door! Brian set up his tripod for each day of construction and has taken some great pictures of the process. Check them out at his blog here.