Building Alaska

- Season 11

(2020)

This season three new couples challenge the formidable and unforgiving Alaskan elements to construct remote cabins. Mike and Kathleen Kondus build atop the windy White Mountain tundra, first time builders Mike and Teresa Oldenkamp build a complex grain bin style cabin outside Trapper Creek, and Paige Drobny and Cody Strathe work on a haunted site to build a house and dog mushing training facility in the wilds of Cantwell.

Deep in the White Mountains, Mike and Kathleen Kondus begin work on their foundation, their nail gun goes on the fritz and the foundation posts aren't level, putting the team at risk of not getting their walls up. In Cantwell, dog mushers Paige Drobny and Cody Strathe install their internet satellite dish and lay the first floor of their cabin when they begin running low on supplies. The nearest supply store is hours away and the clock is ticking. Near Trapper Creek, Mike and Teresa Oldenkamp work on their foundation using an excavator, but the bucket of the excavator...

Near Cantwell, sled dog racers Paige and Cody begin stacking the log walls, hit a snag when they realize they don't have the correct insulation. Kathleen and Mike Kondus's team get dangerously high up without specialized equipment so they can install the cumbersome ridge beam. Near Trapper Creek, Mike and Teresa Oldenkamp begin work on their floor but find their floor, but discover their floor joists are not spaced evenly and the insulation is not cut correctly, putting the team behind schedule.

Mike and Teresa Oldenkamp begin building their first floor walls, using an A-Frame winch they designed themselves to lift the second story support beams. However, when the winch begins to lift the beam, it becomes more dangerous than the Oldenkamps first realized. Paige and Cody use a boom truck to stack their log walls, forcing the team to work extra cautiously around the heavy beams swinging above their heads. Mike and Kathleen Kondus find a nasty surprise when they return to the bottom of the mountain for more supplies and the team back at the build site come to a ...

Mike and Kathleen Kondus have moved to the interior work, building their barrel sink, installing insulation and vapor barrier, and wiring their electrical system, but the remote location is still slow with progress as hauling materials 2 hours one way continues. At Paige Drobny and Cody Strathe's build, mechanical failures start to prevent the build from finishing before dog sled race season, and Paige must leave the build site for work as a fish biologist, leaving the team down an important member. Mike and Teresa Oldenkamp begin building walls for the second story ...

Paige Drobny and Cody Strathe's build takes a hit as Sterling and Joe leave the site to return to work, and Cody's trailer full of vital build materials breaks down in Fairbanks. At Mike and Teresa Oldenkamp's cabin, the foundation has begun sinking, stopping the build. Kathleen and Mike Kondus watch part of their cabin crumble before their eyes.

Deep in the White Mountains, Mike and Kathleen Kondus fight the rain and shattered window panes. Outside Trapper Creek, Mike and Teresa Oldenkamp work on installing windows in the rain when the team gets stuck on slippery scaffolding, nineteen feet in the air. In Cantwell, Paige Drobny and Cody Strathe only have a week left before their professional sled dog racing season starts, but some of their material orders are wrong, leaving the cabin built in a lurch.

It's a race to the finish for all three builds. In Cantwell, Paige Drobny and Cody Strathe need to complete their interior shelves, install bathroom fixtures, and hook up their appliances before sled dog racing season begins next week. Deep in the White Mountains, Mike and Kathleen Kondus are losing all of their volunteers and hired professional help, and their exterior siding isn't even done. Outside Trapper Creek, Mike and Teresa Oldenkamp continue to struggle with the challenges that a round grain-bin-style cabin presents. Their interior siding is snapping along ...