Brmorgan
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This will likely interest Bob more than the rest of you since I took him to see Pioneer Log Homes Ltd.'s main operation here just south of town while he was here. They did this work at the site north of town though, which we did drive by on the way north once and I think I pointed it out, but it was farther off the highway. Anyway This article was just in yesterday's newspaper:
A Kentucky home built for the show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, features logs from Pioneer Log Homes in Williams Lake.
The episode will appear on ABC in January, 2011.
Andre Chevigny of Pioneer says he was first contacted by Alyssa Grosse, the associate design producer with Lock & Key Production — the production company for Extreme Makeover — on Sept. 7.
“What I am really proud of is they really solicited us,” Chevigny says. “I almost thought it was a prank call when I first got it.”
Chevigny was on his way to Alberta for a log home show when he received the call from Grosse, who told him Pioneer’s logs were needed in fewer than three weeks.
“Everything in Extreme Makeover happens quick,” he says, adding that filming the show and building the house took one week.
Chevigny wasn’t sure he could meet such a tight deadline since one of his crews was in New York, another was in Oklahoma, and another was in Wyoming.
“We would usually have a couple of us go over to set up, but because we were so busy, I went by myself and in the end it worked out really, really well,” he says.
The executive producer of Extreme Makeover had previously seen one of Pioneer’s homes in Wisconsin and knew he needed to have Pioneer log components to the house, which was to be built for the Lampe family in Louisville (Fairdale), Kentucky.
Jeff and Shirley Lampe and their six children — three girls and three boys ranging in age from three to 16 — had been struggling to make ends meet due to continual medical challenges.
“For Extreme Makeover, we did a family tree and we called it the Lampe Family Tree,” Chevigny says, adding that Jeff has been in the forest industry for many years so the tree would have had special meaning to him.
The home’s entry way was also made of logs.
“It was very special and actually probably the majority of the whole job was in the character entry way,” he says. “It’s the first house Extreme Makeover has ever done with logs, and it’s our logs.”
Chevigny has yet to find out how the Lampe family reacted to their new home, since he had to return to Williams Lake before they had a chance to see it.
The 4,200 square-foot house is a framed home with stone and wood accents. Pioneer donated the 26-foot Western Red Cedar logs, valued at about $50,000, and were used for the feature tree, which has flared ends, and a truss system, log rafters, and log posts for the custom character entry way.
“Our architects worked with their architects to come up with the design and the plan,” he says.
Two of Pioneer’s design team managers, Roy Keats and Doug Warwick, worked on the plans and design. The truss system and feature tree were all prepared and constructed at the Soda Creek site north of Williams Lake. Supervisors Beat Schwaller, Sam Peterson, and their crew worked to complete the structure on time.
“When I got there with the wood, it was unbelievable. It was like 2,000 people watching me.”
The Lampe family home also includes a 2,400-square foot garage, which includes a suite upstairs and a gym that will be used for wrestling and training, since the oldest Lampe son was the state wrestling champion.
Chevigny says Jeff and the oldest son had less fortunate kids from all over come to their old house to learn how to be wrestlers, which kept them off of the street.
“It’s a wonderful story,” Chevigny says. “The Extreme Makeover focus is on people who help but who don’t have anything to give except themselves. That is what this family does.”
During the process, Chevigny had ordered concrete for footings in which the posts would be set. The local sheriff escorted the concrete to the site to ensure a timely delivery, since the concrete had an accelerant, causing it to dry in one hour.”
“In 45 minutes I sat my posts on concrete,” he says.
Chevigny says the crew treated him like a king, and the 1,500 to 1,600 spectators all cheered when he placed a log on the house.
“They were just so excited,” he says. “This is a framed home and I’m kind of putting ginger bread on it.”
Everyone involved all volunteered their time, and some worked between 30 and 40 hours straight to get their designated jobs done.
“They were just so pumped up and having fun,” he says. “It’s a team effort.”
Personally I've grown to hate that show but it has more to do with the idiot "host" screaming into that damn megaphone all the time than anything else. So I'll be keeping an eye out for this episode.
Interesting as well, this company also did a whole bunch of log work for the facade of the new Wal-Mart they built here last year. Apparently it's the only one in North America with a design like that.
A Kentucky home built for the show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, features logs from Pioneer Log Homes in Williams Lake.
The episode will appear on ABC in January, 2011.
Andre Chevigny of Pioneer says he was first contacted by Alyssa Grosse, the associate design producer with Lock & Key Production — the production company for Extreme Makeover — on Sept. 7.
“What I am really proud of is they really solicited us,” Chevigny says. “I almost thought it was a prank call when I first got it.”
Chevigny was on his way to Alberta for a log home show when he received the call from Grosse, who told him Pioneer’s logs were needed in fewer than three weeks.
“Everything in Extreme Makeover happens quick,” he says, adding that filming the show and building the house took one week.
Chevigny wasn’t sure he could meet such a tight deadline since one of his crews was in New York, another was in Oklahoma, and another was in Wyoming.
“We would usually have a couple of us go over to set up, but because we were so busy, I went by myself and in the end it worked out really, really well,” he says.
The executive producer of Extreme Makeover had previously seen one of Pioneer’s homes in Wisconsin and knew he needed to have Pioneer log components to the house, which was to be built for the Lampe family in Louisville (Fairdale), Kentucky.
Jeff and Shirley Lampe and their six children — three girls and three boys ranging in age from three to 16 — had been struggling to make ends meet due to continual medical challenges.
“For Extreme Makeover, we did a family tree and we called it the Lampe Family Tree,” Chevigny says, adding that Jeff has been in the forest industry for many years so the tree would have had special meaning to him.
The home’s entry way was also made of logs.
“It was very special and actually probably the majority of the whole job was in the character entry way,” he says. “It’s the first house Extreme Makeover has ever done with logs, and it’s our logs.”
Chevigny has yet to find out how the Lampe family reacted to their new home, since he had to return to Williams Lake before they had a chance to see it.
The 4,200 square-foot house is a framed home with stone and wood accents. Pioneer donated the 26-foot Western Red Cedar logs, valued at about $50,000, and were used for the feature tree, which has flared ends, and a truss system, log rafters, and log posts for the custom character entry way.
“Our architects worked with their architects to come up with the design and the plan,” he says.
Two of Pioneer’s design team managers, Roy Keats and Doug Warwick, worked on the plans and design. The truss system and feature tree were all prepared and constructed at the Soda Creek site north of Williams Lake. Supervisors Beat Schwaller, Sam Peterson, and their crew worked to complete the structure on time.
“When I got there with the wood, it was unbelievable. It was like 2,000 people watching me.”
The Lampe family home also includes a 2,400-square foot garage, which includes a suite upstairs and a gym that will be used for wrestling and training, since the oldest Lampe son was the state wrestling champion.
Chevigny says Jeff and the oldest son had less fortunate kids from all over come to their old house to learn how to be wrestlers, which kept them off of the street.
“It’s a wonderful story,” Chevigny says. “The Extreme Makeover focus is on people who help but who don’t have anything to give except themselves. That is what this family does.”
During the process, Chevigny had ordered concrete for footings in which the posts would be set. The local sheriff escorted the concrete to the site to ensure a timely delivery, since the concrete had an accelerant, causing it to dry in one hour.”
“In 45 minutes I sat my posts on concrete,” he says.
Chevigny says the crew treated him like a king, and the 1,500 to 1,600 spectators all cheered when he placed a log on the house.
“They were just so excited,” he says. “This is a framed home and I’m kind of putting ginger bread on it.”
Everyone involved all volunteered their time, and some worked between 30 and 40 hours straight to get their designated jobs done.
“They were just so pumped up and having fun,” he says. “It’s a team effort.”
Personally I've grown to hate that show but it has more to do with the idiot "host" screaming into that damn megaphone all the time than anything else. So I'll be keeping an eye out for this episode.
Interesting as well, this company also did a whole bunch of log work for the facade of the new Wal-Mart they built here last year. Apparently it's the only one in North America with a design like that.
