DIY Network

Lake Erie Timberframe: Interior Decisions and Final Advice From "Be Your Own Contractor: Vacation Homes" episode DBCV-102

Do-it-yourself contractors Rick and Paula Ziebarth de-plane at the airstrip adjacent to their Lake-Erie vacation home.

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In this episode of DIY's Be Your Own Contractor: Vacation Homes, we meet homeowners Rick and Paula Ziebarth from Columbus, Ohio and get a close look at the timberframe home they build on an island in Lake Erie.

Rick acted as his own contractor on the building of a timberframe home on South Bass Island at Put-in-Bay, Ohio. The island is located in Lake Erie near Cleveland and Toledo, Ohio and is accessible only by boat, ferry or small plane.

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A view of the airstrip from the Ziebarth's porch.

Thus far, Rick and Paula have discussed some of the challenges they faced in building a house on an island i.e., building in a location where access is limited -- as are availability of materials, sub-contractors, and where there is no municipal sewer system or natural gas connections. In this final segment, Rick and Paula discuss some of the decisions they made with respect to the house interiors, and offer some final advice for would-be do-it-yourself contractors.

Finishing Touches and Final Advice

When planning the kitchen, the Zeibarths had to take into consideration that this was a second home, and they wouldn't be there full time -- so they wanted to choose materials that were durable but not overly extravagant or expensive. Rick and Paula discussed the kitchen plans extensively to hone them down to their final form. The research they did and the discussions they had paid off with a kitchen that both are now happy with (figures A and B).

Figure A

Figure B

	Figure C
	Figure D
	Rick and Paula Ziebarth researched and discussed their home design to arrive at a finished product with which both could be happy. Their kitchen is the perfect example.

Effective and frequent communication, throughout the home-building process, was key to ensuring that Rick and Paula were both happy with the final results (figures C and D). "I think it's very important that you discuss it as a couple," says Paula, "because it's something you're going to live with for a long time. It makes the process much easier when you work together as a couple."

Rick and Paula stress how important proper planning was to them, from choosing and erecting their timberframe house to taking into account the various "island factors" to dealing with numerous details and decisions. Actor as their own contractors was an active learning experience. "I've learned a lot about how the home-building industry works, " says Rick. "Working with subcontractors -- everything from lumber and materials to time management. It was very educational from that standpoint."

Rick stresses the importance of asking questions of your subcontractors in cases where you don't understand the reasons for what they are doing. He also emphasized the need to be prepared for the unexpected -- delays, problems and issues that will inevitably arise over the course of a construction project.

"When you participate in the building of your own place, it truly becomes yours," says Rick. "It's a very rewarding feeling to start a project, especially one of this scale, and then have it end up the way you envisioned it."

RESOURCES :

Additional information on timber-frame construction:

Riverbend Timber Framing
Website: www.riverbendtf.com

Moonstone Timber Frame
Website: www.moonstonetimberframe.com

Wind River Timberframes
Website: www.windriver-timberframes.com

GUESTS :

Rick and Paula Ziebarth, homeowners
Columbus, Ohio