The House

Here is a photo of our pedestal home with our new split rail fence. The house was sited in the middle of a 1.5 acre clearing close to the center of the property. This has its advantages with respect to view, but there isn't much shelter from the winter winds. To date, we have probably used 60-80 tubes of silicone caulk trying to seal the house, with some success. Dogs Run is located in an unusual east-west valley that funnels winds between ridges of the Allegheny Mountains. The highest wind clocked by the anemometer on top of the chimney was 70 mph, and it is typical for gusts to reach 55 mph in the winter. The house faces due south and has near 180° views of NFS lands.

This is a larger view of the house itself.  The front is faced by floor-to-ceiling windows, which provides lots of natural light and an incredible view of the valley below and the ridge across the valley. The house was designed and pre-manufactured by Topsider Homes in North Carolina, and shipped to the building site via flat-bed trucks. It is post-and-beam construction. It is only 800 sq. ft., but seems bigger because it is so open inside. In any event, we spend most of our time outside rain or snow or shine.