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 GuideFamily Legacy
The three build teams kick off their builds in unique, remote Alaskan settings. Adam Tschappat and his family begin building a Family Legacy cabin in the Wrangell Mountains. Mike Williams and his family begin building a guest cabin in Eagle Song, near Mt. Susitna. And Steve Box and his builder friends, Dave Bartlett and Hans Moser, begin an Island Getaway on Shelter Island, near Juneau.
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.
Bump Outs and Burls
Alaskan builder Adam Tschappat's team is cut in half due to volunteer firefighter duties delaying his Family Legacy cabin build in the Wrangell Mountains. Mike Williams is facing a 100 degree change in temperature that is forcing him to focus on the farm and not the build in Eagle Song. Dave and Hans face rough seas, while some bad math pushes them further behind schedule on the Island Getaway build on Shelter Island.
Hello Hoonah
Builder Adam Tschappat and his brothers deal with record-breaking spring temperatures at their build site in the Wrangell Mountains. Mike Williams is keeping one eye on his crops and the other on his build forcing him to look the other way when it comes to code on his Guest Cabin in Eagle Song. Dave and Hans nearly get stranded due to receding tides at the Island Getaway build on Shelter Island.
Location, Location, Location
Builder Mike Williams is in a mad scramble to save his peonies from dying, sending his crew into high gear in Eagle Song. Dave and Hans's 50 thousand pounds of material make it to shore unharmed at their Island Getaway build on Shelter Island. Builder Adam Tschappat does some precision work from 2 logs to 12 logs high for his Family Legacy cabin in the Wrangell Mountains.
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.
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.
Stuck in Shelikof
Nick experiences firsthand just how dangerous living in Alaska can be while hunting for driftwood to build his fishing lodge and warehouse. Jere and Ben's 112-foot barge starts its half-mile journey to the water, but nobody knows if they will make high tide so the barge can float the 13 miles to its new home at Alaska Sea Otter Sound Lodge. Brannon's team fights the rain and the remote building conditions to finally lift the ridge beam into place, hitting a major milestone in his cabin build.
Rain, Rain, Go Away
Rain and a muddy trail continue to slow down Brannon's cabin build, but despite their dampened spirits, the gang is able to haul the windows across the two-mile trail. Nick makes a roof design change, and a family fundraiser collects enough money to provide him with some help. Jere and Ben finally get the barge launched and tugged to its new home in Sea Otter Sound so that work on the second story of the lodge can begin.
Honey Bucket
Nick races to finish his cabin before his mom visits again. Bears are still a threat, so Nick makes sure the electric fence is working. Nick and Kent design and build a "honey bucket," also known as an Alaskan toilet. Brannon and his team finish the front of the cabin, giving it a unique look, and they haul a heavy wooden stove over the trail to install in the cabin. Jere and Ben's crew struggles to get the roof on the guest rooms and the main lodge.
Home Stretch
All the builders are in the home stretch in Alaska as they try to finish their cabins and floating lodge. Jere and Ben install interior and exterior siding, but their progress comes to a halt when they run out of stain and nails. So they switch to Plan B, installing the upstairs stove and chimney. Nick's roof is dried in, so he turns to finishing the sleeping loft, building a bathroom and adding outside trim. Brannon's team finishes the exterior siding and interior insulation and installs lights.
Grand Finale
Nick's dad, Paul, returns to help put the finishing touches on the cabin, including a unique find that they polish and hang. Nick's mom and stepdad arrive, and Nick's mom is amazed by the finished cabin. Brannon's team builds countertops and railings for the cabin, and his client, Dick, arrives with his family to admire their newly finished lodge. Jere and Ben put in hard work finishing the new Sea Otter Sound Lodge, and the first guests arrive at the 5,000-square-foot floating lodge.
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.
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.
Heads 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.
The Finest Moment
Lee and his crew install a new woodstove to dry out the drywall mud and tape, and while he's waiting, Lee takes time to enjoy everything Alaska has to offer. Derek and his band of ski buddies race to protect the cabin from bears and construct homegrown countertops from materials on the site. And Tony finally makes it to the roofing stage of his Porcupine Creek build while his build partner Bob takes a new gig felling trees for a local homeowner.
The Final Push
Lee is down to just a crew of three as he races to finish the interior of the cabin before the lake freezes over and prevents their floatplane from landing. Tony's crew discovers a serious miscalculation that will force them to miss their deadline unless a miracle occurs, and Derek and his crew push through the endless rainfall, dangerous conditions and dwindling materials to complete the project.
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.
Heads 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.
The Finest Moment
Lee and his crew install a new woodstove to dry out the drywall mud and tape, and while he's waiting, Lee takes time to enjoy everything Alaska has to offer. Derek and his band of ski buddies race to protect the cabin from bears and construct homegrown countertops from materials on the site. And Tony finally makes it to the roofing stage of his Porcupine Creek build while his build partner Bob takes a new gig felling trees for a local homeowner.
The Final Push
Lee is down to just a crew of three as he races to finish the interior of the cabin before the lake freezes over and prevents their floatplane from landing. Tony's crew discovers a serious miscalculation that will force them to miss their deadline unless a miracle occurs, and Derek and his crew push through the endless rainfall, dangerous conditions and dwindling materials to complete the project.
We're Back
Extreme building is back in Alaska. Three men risk it all to build a remote hunting cabin, an off the grid bear lodge and an island retreat.
The Beast is Dead
Engine issues stall Tom's build, a welder battles the wind on the boardwalk at Rich's island retreat and Creig brings the heat to his bear lodge.
Rock Around the Build
Rich's island build is literally between a rock and a hard place, Tom gets a lesson in logging and Creig feels the sting of remote building and shoddy materials.
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