DIY Network

Gulf Shores Home: Coastal Living, Italian-Style From "Be Your Own Contractor: Vacation Homes" episode DBCV-107

	Homeowners Lundy and Harry Wilder
	The Wilder's Italian-style vacation home on the Alabama gulfcoast.

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In each episode of DIY's Be Your Own Contractor: Vacation Homes viewers are introduced to dreamers and do-it-yourselfers who oversaw the building of their own vacation home and hear firsthand about the challenges that they faced. In this episode of we meet homeowners Lundy and Harry Wilder who acted as their own contractors on their unique waterfront home in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

The Wilders discuss their decision to be their own contractors and why the wanted to build in a classic Italian architectural style. Viewers find out about the specialized concrete-block construction that they used to achieve that look and to withstand the seacoast elements -- like hurricanes. We see how the house made it through Hurricane Ivan with little damage despite major damage to other homes along the coast. And how the major hurricane made a direct hit on Gulf Shores, causing major damage to the area.

The Wilders discuss the choices they made for their floor, roof and windows and doors. We also hear about finishing touches that Lundy put into the house, including her ambitious tile mosaic in the shower. Finally, the Wilder's provide advice on what it’s like to act as your own contractor on a vacation home form Lundy and Harry.

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The house was built with a specialized material known as DAC-Art, modular concrete components particularly well suited to the hurricane-prone region.

Lower Alabama, Italian Style

Lundy and Harry Wilder became enamored with Italian style architecture while vacationing in Italy. Their newfound love of this distinctive style coincided roughly with their purchase of some coastal property in south Alabama. W

hen they set out to build their vacation home in this coastal region -- an area prone to hurricanes -- they wanted to incorporate Italian design elements into hurricane resistant construction. To them, the stable stone and concrete structures like those they saw in Italy made sense for a home likely to be exposed to the elements of coastal weather.

At first, they had difficulty locating suitable materials or builders willing to undertake that type of construction. One day Lundy spotted a building made of stylized stone-like blocks (figures A and B) on a rural highway in Alabama, and that's when things got interesting. "I happened to be driving down Highyway 59," she says, "and happened to spot a building made out of these blocks, and it was 'Eureka! -- what have we found right in our own backyard?!'"

Figure A

Figure B

What Lundy had stumbled upon was a concrete-block building system known as DAC-Art or dial architectural component. It features manmade concrete blocks, finished on both sides, that may weigh up to 400 pounds each. The blocks are dry-stacked with no mortar (figure C), then concrete is poured into the cavities inside the blocks (figure D) and reinforced with rebar. There's no need for exterior or interior finishes.

Figure C

Figure D

"It gives it the look of stone," says Harry, "as opposed to concrete. The smooth outside surface makes it look like cut stone out of a quarry."

"There are tremendous advantages [to using it]," adds Lundy. "Number one, you can eliminate five or six categories of subcontractors. For us, being on the seacoast, we were able to eliminate a lot of materials that are poorly suited to a hurricane environment -- like drywall and exterior cladding that are prone to being blown off or destroyed during a hurricane . . . I was so convinced that I wanted to build with DAC-Art. It was more important to me to use this product no matter how many square feet we ended up building."

This vacation house has a simple design with just one main room, an open kitchen and a bathroom. Though it's only 600 square feet, the thirteen-and-a-half-foot ceilings give it a regal sense of spaciousness. The existing house is essentially "phase 1" of a much larger house that they have planned. The entire structure will be built using DAC-Art.

Figure E

Figure F

Getting a builder willing to work with that material was something of a challenge. "Every time you try to use a building material that is not standard," says Harry, "you're going to get a lot of resistance from the contractors." Because the local subs were unfamiliar with DAC-Art, they were reluctant to provide a price in advance of doing the work -- fearful that they might take a loss on the project. Ultimately, the Wilders had to work out construction agreements with them for hourly pay.

During the construction, Lundy stayed at another property in Gulf Shores, and was onsite every day essentially serving in the role of general contractor. She supervised the process and helped out by running errands to local home centers to help save the workers time -- something that also contributed to cost savings in the long run. Since the subcontractors were being paid by the hour, it was also essential to have someone onsite in a supervisory role to ensure that work was ongoing and done according to the agreements.

"I think it would have been impossible to find someone willing to be a general contractor for this project down here," says Lundy. "I enjoy the process of problem-solving, and I wanted to be here to participate. If I'm going to be here every day, why not take on the challenge of managing the project as well."

The couple was well suited to taking on this ambitious endeavor. Lundy has been involved in a variety of artistic endeavors, and now develops websites. Harry owns and operates a moving company in Memphis, Tennessee. The couple had previously taken on other projects together, including building several houses and moving another house -- in four pieces -- to a new location 22 miles away.

In the segment that follows, the do-it-yourselfers talk about experiencing the aftermath Hurricane Ivan, and how their house held up to a direct hit by a real hurricane.

RESOURCES :

Investing in a Vacation Home for Pleasure and Profit
Author: James H. Boykin
Order this book from Amazon.com
Publisher: South-Western Educational Pub (2005)
ISBN: 0324314116

How a Second Home Can Be Your Best Investment: New, Tax-Free Methods for Using a Vacation Home for Recreation, Retirement and Investment
Authors: Tom Kelly, John Tuccillo
Order this book from Amazon.com
Publisher: McGraw-Hill (2004)
ISBN: 0071429700

Special Resources for Be Your Own Contractor: Vacation Homes, episode 107

DAC-Art Building Systems
Website: www.dac-art.net

Lundy Wilder's website
Website: www.scrapbookscrapbook.com