BORZAMOK, the Log House.

We have named our new house, BORZAMOK. In the Croatian language bor means pine, and zamok is a manor house or a small castle. Construction began in July 2002, and was mostly competed with move-in April 2004. The location is a five acre lot in the upper Arkansas River Valley near Buena Vista, Colorado, at an elevation of 8650 feet above sea level. There are extensive views from the property of the Collegiate Peaks of the Continental Divide, the Sangre de Christo Range, and the river valley.

BORZAMOK is a handcrafted log house on the main floor with a loft above, and is built over a full conventionally framed, walk-out basement. The logs are Englemann Spruce averaging 16 inches in diameter along their length, with maximum diameters up to 20 inches. The construction method is full log with no visible splices. The walls, gables, structural roof members (purlins), loft floor joists, posts, great room truss, balcony, front porch, decks, and staircases are all made from logs. The ceilings are made from 2" x 6" tongue-and-groove spruce. The roof eves, and all exterior window and door trim, are made of cedar, and all interior trim is pine. The great room fireplace and chimney, and wood stove niche in the basement sitting room, are full masonry construction and faced with local river rock. The total area under roof is approximately 4800 square feet, which includes a 3-car garage in the basement and a shop.

The general plan of the house includes kitchen, dining, great room and master bedroom suite on the main floor. The study and sewing room are in the loft. The basement includes two guest bedrooms, sitting room, garage, and shop.

In December 2004, an addition was begun; it was completed in July 2005. The addition is a new west wing to enlarge the master suite to include a master retreat and a new closet. With the addition, floor space increased to about 5300 square feet.

The photos below are a history of the construction of BORZAMOK.