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WEB-EXTRA: Additional Information on the Homeowners and the Gulf-Shores Vacation Home From "Be Your Own Contractor: Vacation Homes" episode DBCV-107

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Following below is some additional information on the Gulf Shores house and the homeowners featured in this episode of DIY's Be Your Own Contractor: Vacation Homes.

Owner/Builders

Lundy and Harry Wilder.

Bios

Harry owns his own moving company in Memphis and Lundy is a website designer, and has one of the most successful Scrapbooking websites on the Internet.

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Home Specifics

The 600-square-foot house is built from large concrete blocks that are stacked "dry," with no mortar between them. The blocks are finished so there is no drywall or siding, no interior or exterior finishes to be ruined by a surge of water brought by a hurricane. They will not corrode in the salty conditions and never need painting. The blocks have optional foam liners for added insulation. At intervals of three or so layers, concrete is poured into the cavities inside the blocks and reinforced with iron rods to hold everything in place. This system is called DAC-Art for "dial architectural concrete," named for Ted Dial, the Alabama builder and designer who invented them.

Although the house is small (just one main room with an open kitchen and a bathroom) the 13-1/2-foot ceilings give it a feeling of spaciousness. The metal roof is secured with hurricane straps on the trusses for high-wind conditions.

The house was built using DAC-Art material to help it withstand hurricanes.

Location

The Wilders wanted to build specifically in Gulf Shores, but oceanfront property was too expensive for their budget, so they bought a deep, narrow lot on Little Lagoon, a salt-water inlet that is accessible to the Gulf by boat. "We wanted a southern exposure," says Lundy "so we could get the breeze off the Gulf."

About Gulf Shores: The 30,000-acre island, comprised of 32-miles of sugar-white beaches on the Gulf of Mexico, is characterized by dazzling sand, tall sand dunes, sea oats and brilliant blue-green Gulf waters. Inland areas are wooded with live oaks and pines. Freshwater lakes, rivers, bayous and coves add nearly 400,000 acres of protected waterfront to the area.

Harry and Lundy Wilder's vacation home in Gulf Shores, AL.

Project Background

After "falling in love" with Italian architecture when bicycling from Venice to Pisa, Lundy and Harry wanted to incorporate Italian design elements into the avant-garde hurricane-resistant construction of their Gulf Shores, AL home. Lundy had read about the benefits block construction, but had difficulty locating builders and architects in the South who were using the technique. One day she spotted some huge concrete blocks being used in the construction of a nearby building supply store. She inquired and learned the blocks were DAC-Art, and they came from designer Ted Dial. Harry and Lundy collaborated with Ted on the design.

Owner Involvement with Construction

Lundy and Harry were very hands-on in the planning and building of their vacation home, and Lundy was on site virtually everyday to help out in whatever way she could. She was essentially involved in every element of building, from the physically demanding finishing work to designing furnishings and light fixtures. Harry supervised a lot of the concrete and other heavy work.
With no mortar, there is no need to hire a mason, but there is still grouting that needs to be done. Lundy learned how to apply waterproof grout into the beveled edges of the blocks herself. After whitewashing each beam in the living area, Lundy hand-painted baroque flourishes with shadows on them. When the person who was supposed to finish the floors failed to show up on time, Lundy learned how to apply an acid stain and score the concrete. She considers her most ambitious project to be the designing and installing of mosaic walls in the shower. She worked on the mosaic sporadically for six months, doing much of the work on netting at home in Memphis, Tennessee.

Interesting facts

• Aside from having the mechanicals torn off the house and some shifting of the front porch stairway, in 2004 the home came through Hurricane Ivan unscathed. The surrounding area was ravaged by the hurricanes.

• DAC-Art eliminates the need for several skilled tradesmen at the sites: exterior wall finishers such as brick masons, interior drywall installers, interior and exterior painters, installers of wall insulation and builders of exterior cornices and eaves.

Challenges

• Lundy had read about the benefits of DAC-Art construction, but had difficulty locating builders and architects in the South who were using the technique.

• The flooring subcontractor just didn’t show up and walked away with Lundy’s deposit check. Lundy was eventually forced to pay a visit to this flooring sub-contractor, accompanied by a few large male friends. Some two thousand dollars worth of tools were given to Lundy in compensation for the deposit check.

Advice

Harry: "You just are going to run into too tough a task at some point, if you are too ambitious. And you just have to stay within your abilities. But if you've got what it takes to do the job, and you see it through, if you can plan it right and count the costs, there is nothing as fulfilling and self-gratifying as doing it yourself."

Lundy: "Because the stress factor is an incredibly big part of contracting your own project, that when you know that you've got somebody that can work well with your project. I think that you are doing yourself a huge favor to stick with this person, even if it looks like it might cost you a little bit more. What you are saving yourself in the unknown is probably well worth it."

Harry: "When you run into problems, there are times that you need to back off and to, as my mechanic says, go clean your tools and think about the project. And just to keep your attitude right about knowing that you can solve the problems. You can work through these things. I guess you have to experience the down side to appreciate the upside."

Lundy: "If you are not the kind of person that can handle these types of inconveniences of a building project, and sit down and have a cold beer and laugh about it, forget it. Hire a contractor. Because you are going to run into lots of challenges. And it can either be a fun part of the whole experience, and something you can laugh about. Or it can be something you can't tolerate."

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