The 2009 DIY Network “Blog Cabin” is complete and ready for a national TV and online audience, thanks to Greenstone Builders, an Asheville homebuilder that specializes exclusively in Energy Star, Healthy Built homes.
As television’s only interactive homebuilding series for do-it-yourselfers, “Blog Cabin” incorporates preferences of Internet users in the design of a dwelling – hence, the name. With more than 1.2 million votes cast online, Greenstone’s construction of the blogger-designed home began this past spring in The Preserve at Little Pine, a planned community in Madison County where Greenstone is a preferred builder.
The process, from foundation to finishing touches, was documented by a “Blog Cabin” television crew. The TV show’s third season premieres Thursday, Aug. 20 at 9 p.m. ET.DIY Network is available in Asheville on Charter Communication Channel 104, and nationwide on DISH Network Channel 111 and DirecTV Channel 230. For additional cable channel designations, check local listings or visit www.diynetwork.com/tv.
Episodes will also be available on-demand at “Blog Cabin Central” atwww.diynetwork.com, where DIY enthusiasts have gotten a glimpse of construction via remote “cabin-cams” that took photographs of the home twice daily over the past several months.
Though being selected to construct the home was an honor, finishing the project on schedule was challenging at times, said Rick Dwyer, CEO of Greenstone Builders, which he founded in 2005. “While we were trying to complete the project for filming, we had one of the wettest Junes on record – quite an adventure. But beyond the many challenges it was still an exciting project to work on, and the home is beautiful.”
Dwyer recognized the support from vendors, suppliers and subcontractors for their participation in the project. For example, Kohler donated all of the plumbing faucets and fixtures, including a $7,000 bathtub; others custom-crafted many of the home’s features, such as timbers, beams, front entry doors, bathroom vanities, and mantels on three of the cabin’s four fireplaces.
In addition to the TV show, all that handiwork will be on display for personal examination when the “Blog Cabin” opens to the public for tours, Sept. 1 to Nov. 1, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Proceeds from tickets, which go on sale Aug. 15 for $20 per person, will benefit local and regional charities. (See more details below.)
The home will also be featured as part of the Asheville Home Builders Association’s annual Parade of Homes in October, one of two dwellings built by Greenstone Builders in this year’s showcase of homes. Greenstone won two awards in the Parade of Homes in 2007.
The cabin will be given away to one lucky winner in November through the DIY “Blog Cabin” Sweepstakes. Interested contestants can enter once daily, beginning Aug. 14 through October, at www.diynetwork.com.
Then, said Dwyer, “Someone is going to have a stunning home.”
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More about the 2009 DIY “Blog Cabin” Tour
Tour Dates:Sept. 1 – Nov. 1, 2009, 10 a.m. – 4.p.m. daily
Tickets:$20 per person for ages 5 and over. Children 4 and under are admitted at no charge, but must be carried by an adult. Strollers will not be allowed in the DIY “Blog Cabin.” More information: 866-449-0023 or visit:www.littlepine.info. Tickets are available at the following locations:
· Buncombe: Asheville Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center – 36 Montford Ave., Asheville; Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce – 201 E. State St., Black Mountain
· Haywood: Haywood Co. Tourism Development Authority – 1233 N. Main St., Ste. 1-40, Waynesville
·Henderson: Henderson Co. Travel & Tourism Visitor Center – 201 S. Main St., Hendersonville
·Madison: Preserve Communities Discovery Center – 7265 Hwy. 25-70, Marshall
·Rutherford: Lake Lure Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center – 2926 Memorial Hwy., Lake Lure
·Transylvania: Gravy – 17 W. Main St., Brevard
Charities Benefiting from DIY “Blog Cabin” Tour Ticket Sales
·NC Community Foundation
·UNC Asheville Athletics Fund
·Madison Home Care & Hospice
·Asheville Tourists Children’s Fund
·Lake Lure Lions Club
·Boys and Girls Club of Transylvania County
·Mars Hill College
·Madison Charities, a collection of smaller independent civic groups and organizations committed to the improvement of lives in and around Madison County, ranging from the following: Mountin’ Hopes Therapeutic Riding Center, Madison County Volunteer Fire Departments and Emergency Management, Sisters of Mercy, Madison Arts Council, Madison County Public Schools, Madison Early College Program, Rotary Club of Madison County, Southeast Regional Land Conservancy
