On Nov 15, 2007, at 1:36 AM, papercreters@yahoogroups.com wrote:
I'm new to the group and all I can say is.....WOW!!!! Whoever did
that...you are HIRED!
Lisa
humm.[evil grin] Lisa would you live in an old trailer for 8 years,
with 4 babies created along the way, and just one working toilet, and
spend several hundred thousands dollars to dig, & move big boulders,
tons of dirt, and years of blowing cement onto wire frames? then
good.. I will send Nolan ( the owner) your way to build ya one! Did I
mention the castle it at the top of a very steep hill with dirt road
access?
( see more pics of the castle inside and out at ElfNori's site: I
can't find my link to your photo site ElfNori- can you post here
please?)
In summer it gets over 105 deg on many days, and 90 deg the rest of the
time it seems, and living in the unfinished castle was so cool and
comfy vs the trailer, in the summer.
There is no way to show except in hundreds of photos how much WORK it
was to build such a thick building. even Nolan says he would do it
differently, using less cement. Also, along the way, during
inspections, the county forced him buy and place $14,000+ of 3" blue
foam insulation to the outside of the walls to comply, and then he had
to cement plaster over that foam, which makes no sense to me at all. (
double overkill as the thick cement walls tempered the weather
perfectly) so you are looking at 1/2" cement plaster on foam, not
real castle walls on most of the walls.
and getting a loan...good luck... as he says it will be there for
1,000 years, and it may have to stay in the family, & may be very
difficult to sell even with a motivated buyer.
It does have a very nice floor warming system under that ( estimated
cost $100,000+ if hired out) custom terazzo floor, so nice to the
toes, especially with 4 little kiddos running around. I found out
that the terazzo floor used an incredibly stinky ( hepa mask required)
epoxy system, not organic in the least, but that's the way it is
done, and it took a solid MONTH of several large ( four ft wide) wet
sanders, & several workers to polish the floor smooth. Also plastering
the walls with lime took 6-8 guys working full time. the interior and
20' tall curved walls & ceilings required all sorts of lifts and
ladders to get access. and it still isn't done.. so many things
don't fit a custom castle wall, but at least the family is inside and
enjoying it now.
And they can have the tallest Christmas tree in the county in their
living room!
Looks can be deceiving, a gorgeous castle to be sure...but so much
work and stress to make it happen.
Charmaine Taylor Publishing
STOREWIDE SALE on Books & Videos
www.dirtcheapbuilder.com
Tel: 1-707-441-1632 PST Eureka, Calif.
