Building Alaska Introduction
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Building Alaska Introduction 02:18
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Lee Raymond's Remote Challenge 03:21
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Builders Face Lumber Obstacles 02:43
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Curious Guests At Cabin Sites 02:04
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Mud Problems in Chicken, AK 03:14
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Rain and Roofing Are At Odds 03:22
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Tree Burls Become Works of Art 01:35
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Race to Beat Winter's Wrath 03:33
A Look Back at Season 1
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About The Show
Episodes
See Episode GuideHeads Up
The drama at Derek's cliffside build near Valdez escalates after rain saturates the region and an accident on the roof almost takes out a crew member. Tony leaves his build in Bobby's hands to tend to another job and returns to find an injury has occurred. Lee discovers the culprit behind a messy footprint while the crew faces sketchy conditions to install the custom windows on their 2500 square foot Bulchitna Lake build.
Game Day
Just as Derek and his band of buddies are about to give up on their dream of a cliffside ski hut, Alaska hands them a miracle that turns a down day into game day. Lee loses one of his hardest working crew members out at Bulchitna Lake just as they have to lift an 800 pound truss into place, and Tony's hideaway cabin is in good enough shape to take a break and fish for halibut on the Lynn Canal.
Builders Begin Construction on a Fishing Retreat, a Ski Hut and a Getaway Cabin in Remote Alaska
The return of spring in Alaska means the race is on for three builders to begin constructing homes in the remote wilderness before the inevitable return of winter shuts them down. Three builders begin construction on a fishing retreat near Anchorage, a ski hut close to Valdez and a getaway log cabin in the remote southeast corner of Alaska. Before breaking ground, one builder has to fly to his build site to inspect the piece of land he purchased without ever stepping foot on it, breaking the number one rule of land buying.
The Missing Helicopter
Lee's crew scrambles to correct a mistake after a mighty framing miscalculation at Bulchitna Lake. Tony makes a dangerous call to fix a problem that could destroy his own log cabin and potentially injure his team, and excitement builds for Derek's crew as transport of the ski hut begins, until the helicopter goes missing and sends the crew into an outright panic while they wait for answers.
Panic Button
Lee's crew must push through waves of mosquitoes and fatigue to finish the deck of their Bulchitna Lake build before the floatplane arrives to take them home for a day of rest. In Haines, Tony and his crew wrestle the largest and heaviest pieces of the build into place without any kind of machinery, and Derek pushes the panic button after more bad weather and mechanical problems delay his build once again.
Frozen Highway
Three teams continue their builds in unique, remote Alaskan settings. Adam Tschappat and his family stake out the area for their Family Legacy cabin in the Wrangell Mountains. Mike Williams and his daughter, Meghan, finally make it off Alaska's frozen highway, only to have their build stuck in neutral in Eagle Song. Dave and Hans are able to complete their 20 supply runs and dig holes for the foundation for the Island Getaway build on Shelter Island.
Building Alaska, the New Generation
A new generation of builders tackles the Alaskan wilds to build off-the-grid cabins. First-time builder Nick faces some harsh realities when he can't use the trees on his build site for lumber. Brannon's team develops a unique foundation system to build on permafrost, but they must fight nature every step of the way. Father and son team Jere and Ben take on a massive 5,000-square-foot floating lodge project, the most challenging and dangerous build ever attempted on Building Alaska!
Hard Work Beats Talent
Reality sets in for first-time extreme cabin builder Nick Blanco in Alaska as he fights the tides trying to retrieve pylons for his foundation and realizes he doesn't have the right equipment to dig postholes. Then Brannon's team gets stuck on the muddy trail bringing in more build materials, but eventually makes good progress on the front porch before an unexpected rainstorm shuts them down. Jere and Ben continue to build the massive aluminum barge one weld at a time, but when signs of fall creep in, the colder temperatures start to cause problems.
Chicken or Bust
The three builders each face their own forms of adversity. Lee Raymond is struggling to get back on track after losing a month to bad weather and an impassable semi-frozen Quiet Lake. At the Matanuska Glacier, Chuck Gerwig has had perfect weather, but most of his labor is due to leave once fishing season starts in less than a month. And Jim Wagner has finished, numbered and taken down his cabin in Gustavus, but now begins the arduous 500-mile transport to Chicken that will include two ferry rides, two border crossings and hopefully enough supplies to finish the rebuild before winter sets in.
Downward Slide
As the days get shorter and colder, and snow is visible on the highest peaks, the builders frantically race to get their homes sealed in. Chuck Gerwig suffered a huge blow earlier in the summer with the loss of his righthand man, and now his 10-hour days are up to 12 and its starting to show. Barely keeping in front of his subcontractors, one small mistake could mean not finishing. In Chicken, Jim Wagner's organizational luck has just run out. His flooring is four bundles short. So, with everything shutting down for the winter in a week, he has to decide whether or not to make the half day journey to the lumberyard, which is no guarantee, or finish the roof before snow flies. Finally, at remote Quiet Lake, Lee Raymond's son "high speed, no grease" Aaron, is scrambling to get the roofing on before the snow. But the constant rain mixed with Aaron's speed has created a very slick situation and Aaron just can't hold on.
Noah's Barge
Jere, Ben and Tim put the finishing touches on the biggest project they've undertaken: building a 112-foot floating barge. They struggle with figuring out how to get a 40-foot trailer underneath it so they can transport it to the water, and hurricane-force winds change their plans and delay the launch. Nick gets help from his family and friends, but the group struggles trying to install the 27 pilings needed to build his dream fishing lodge and warehouse. In the end they solve the problem using some Alaskan ingenuity. Finally, Brannon's cabin starts taking shape as the crew does some heavy lifting putting up the gable end walls.
Piece of the Pie
Bruce Chambers and his crew run out of supplies, putting their cabin build at a standstill. Mark Sams and his crew are challenged to make their foundation level and square, and Dave Poppert and his family deal with a non-functional milling machine while working on their family home.
The Wrong Stuff
The three build teams continue their builds in unique, remote Alaskan settings. At Bruce Chambers' build site on LaTouche Island, their worst nightmare becomes a reality when their backup generator dies. On Mark Sams' build in Freshwater Bay, near Hoonah, one of his crew is missing, and Mark hopes for the best. Dave Poppert is rolling solo despite the risks of building alone off the grid at Point MacKenzie, near Wasilla.
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