DIY Network

WEB-EXTRA Contractor Profile: Paul and Lori Bergeron; Lake-Tahoe Cabin From "Be Your Own Contractor: Vacation Homes" episode DBCV-110

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

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Owner/Builders

Paul and Lori Bergeron.

Bios

Paul is founder and current Manager of a sub manufacturing-marketing company named Sales in Motion that makes advertising display signs used in the billboard and point of sale markets. Paul also is active in real estate remodels in the Sausalito California floating home community. Lori is a chiropractor and they have four sons. Noah, Andreis, Gian-Paul and Roman.

Home Specifics

3,220 sq. ft, 4 BR/3 BA Timber-frame. The handcrafted timber frame and the old-world charm of the oil-rubbed massive timber frames and exposed trusses are complemented by artisan Italian veneer plaster. Homeowner Paul Bergeron built it, not only be a family vacation home, but also a family legacy.

Location

The house is in Fallen Leaf Lake, California -- which is just south of Lake Tahoe. The Fallen Leaf community is situated at the edge of the pristinely clear Fallen Leaf Lake, with visibility more than 40 feet. It sits at the base of the 8,500-foot Cathedral Peak Mountain.

Why build there?

The house is approximately a 3-and-a-half-hour drive from the Bergeron's main residence. Fallen Leaf is considered to be "Old Tahoe" in that life in Fallen Lake is as it used to be before the "glitz and glamour" that is modern day Lake Tahoe. It's a quiet community away from the buzz of the city. Fallen Leaf is essentially a gateway to "Desolation Wilderness," a popular backcountry area, as well as Taylor Creek, a renowned Kokanee Salmon spawning ground in the fall. The community is composed of rustic 1920's-era cabins with million-dollar views, lakefront estates and modern-day homes with classic architectural styling -- all of which blend harmoniously in this unique community.

Aside from the homes, the community consists of a general store, a marina, and a community area (all of which are operated only during the summer months). When asked what he likes most about the Fallen Leaf location, Paul says that it's a "?protected area for the children to run and play all summer. In the winter the home is snow-bound, making it a unique winter wonderland."

Why Build a Timber-Frame Home?

Paul had originally wanted to build a hand-hewn log home. However, their local architectural review committee would not allow them to build that type of structure. He decided that the next-best alternative was a timber-frame home.

Why Act As Their Own Contractor

"I decided to act as my own contractor for a number of different reasons," says Paul. "One is that I had I wanted the opportunity to experience what it was like to build a house out of the ground. I had never done that, so this was my opportunity to do that. The second one was that [the time when] we built this house was a very robust time for our economy, and there were not a lot of available selections for general contractors or subcontractors. The person we really wanted to build the home, was just booked solid and he was already behind schedule a year to two years on some of the other properties he was currently engaged in. I decided, this is the perfect opportunity for me to continue with the dream that I've had of building a home out of the ground, take that responsibility, make some mistakes and learn in the process. Those are the two main reasons why we did it and it certainly has helped out financially."

Involvement in the Construction

Paul did a lot of the work himself. He installed the kitchen, shingled the exterior, water proofed the foundation, installed the French drain, back filled the foundation, did all of the interior trim work, did the 4th bathroom and the home theatre. And his sons Noah, Andreis, and Gian-Paul helped their dad shingle the exterior of the home with Alaskan Yellow Cedar shingles. Andreis helped Paul build the 4th bathroom. And Lori helped him install the basement Quartzite flooring.

Challenges

• The weather plays an important role in the whole building process. In this case, a building moratorium provides that you're not allowed to move a certain amount of dirt after the 15th of October and before the 15th of May.

• They had to contend with lots of snow. There can be 8 to 10 feet of snow in the winter.

• The road in and out of Fallen Leaf is closed from Christmas until late April. During that time, residents have to snowmobile, cross-country ski or snowshoe in and out of Fallen Leaf.

Advice

Paul: "It is important to establish relationships up front with your local retailers and your local suppliers because you want to open accounts with those people because when I'm not in town, I needed a place for my people on site to be able to just pick up some additional materials that might be necessary on the fly. And if you don't have that set up, then you have to have some sort of payment process system set up with a credit card. "

Paul: "You need to have started on a smaller project first. I would not suggest trying to build a house out of the ground. I had numerous remodels, many remodels. And that was something I missed about my remodel. This time, being, being the, the general contractor myself, calling all the shots."

Paul: "I think that the idea of putting in your back labor of doing it yourself makes a huge difference in terms of the overall cost of your project."

Lori: "My advice for a husband and wife taking on this project is that whoever feels more strongly about it and has the better skills should take on the project and be the leader. And the other person should support that person and help them out as much as they can in the things that feel that they have their expertise in."

Paul: "I think it's important when you're acting as your own general contractor that you have a degree of communication skills, and flexibility is really important. If you're coming down as the heavy all the time, in an authoritarian way, you're probably not going to get very far with your subcontractors. Because first of all, if you don't play well in the sand box with people, then you're not going to be able to count on your subcontractors to do that."

Paul: "I think it's important for you to recognize your limitations. I think most people could probably be their own general contractor. I think most people could if they're willing to segregate and set out a certain amount of time. And you have to be willing to give it, say 15 to 20 hours a week of your time. If you don't have that time, I don't think you should bother taking this on."

Paul: "I think the best piece of advice that I have for anyone that's going to take on a project like this is, maintain your priorities. In my case, this was an important part of what I was doing. But yet, at no time really did it become a greater priority than my family. "

RESOURCES :

Timberframe : The Art and Craft of the Post-and-Beam Home
Author: Ted Benson and Jamie Salomon
Publisher: Taunton (September 15, 1999)
ISBN: 1561582816
To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.

The Timber-Frame Home
Author: Ted Benson
Publisher: Taunton; 2nd edition (March 20, 1997)
ISBN: 1561581291
To order this book from Amazon.com, click here.