The Big Build

The Big Build's host, Nick Mystrom, lands in Northern Idaho to erect a 2-story medieval castle tower. Nick and CastleMagic builder Roger DeClements have two weeks to turn the earth's materials of stone, wood, and a bit of modern reinforcements such as steel to build a 24 foot tower (weather permitting). Will Nick be able to relax and gaze upon the stars from atop the tower before "reveal" day? Will Northern Idaho's weather cooperate? And will Nick finally be able to present the tower on reveal day?

Nick and the team create an exact replica of an 1,100-year-old ship using traditional materials and techniques.

Lewis and Clark, racing Oregon's winter chill, built the 50 foot square Fort Clatsop, a double structure shelter with seven rooms, a sentry box, and a parade ground, in just 15 days. THE BIG BUILD's version is scaled down, but so is the timetable. Working in a dense patch of Kansas woodlands, John McPherson, a specialist in log structures, directs the team as they dig fire pits, raise raw wood walls, and fashion doors from rawhide. The end result may not be pretty, but it would keep the winter at bay.