Our New Kit Video

Please check out our new You Tube Video and more to come.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YtclAs8y2I

2020 Schedule update

The 2020 schedule has already started with a bang and we have a number of projects on the schedule. If you have a project in mind, don't hesitate to check in with us. Depending on where it is and the size etc. there is a good chance we can build it this year. The schedule is constantly changing in the summer months due to us finishing projects early so we can start others early as well as lots not quite being ready for us etc.
The ice roads are in great shape in many areas so we can likely take another project or two before break-up if we know very soon.
The DIY Kits have been more popular than anticipated and we'll be shipping to the bush as soon as the first barges arrive.

 “Don’t treat people the way they treat you. Treat people the way God treats you.” Dave Willis

Winter is back!

The New Year is starting out like a normal Alaskan winter...cold! We haven't had extreme cold in some areas of SW Alaska for some time but it is here now. Most of the lakes are now driveable and some of the rivers are now safe to travel as well.
As I have said many times, people can work in the cold much better than can equipment. Keeping generators, compressors, nail guns, saws and Redi-Heaters going when it's cold is the real challenge. We still have a number of projects in the works right now and we are hoping for a little warmer weather in the near future.
Some new updates will be added to our website in the coming days and weeks. We are scheduling for the summer and fall now and we still have a couple of start dates available so please don't hesitate to contact us with your building ideas.

 “The Pessimist Sees Difficulty In Every Opportunity. The Optimist Sees Opportunity In Every Difficulty.” – Winston Churchill

Winter Schedule

Our Winter season is already pretty busy but the weather has been rather unpredictable. We still have a few openings this winter for off-road work but we are still working on a summer like schedule since this year was so busy. Many of the trails are now good for transporting although some of the rivers and lakes are a little sketchy as of yet.
Our DIY Kits have been very popular since we re-introduced them and we have been working on improved directions and support systems.
We will be trying to improve our blog consistency and do blogs on a regular basis. We want to do a podcast again but we haven't found the right carrier yet.
All things considered it has been a very strong year and 2020 looks to be even stronger.

I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.

George Washington Carver

The 2020 Season Shaping Up

The 2020 building season has already shaped up to be a busy one. We have scheduled work all over the state so far but we still have some start dates available. It seems like Alaska is going through a building boom right now and new projects are popping up wherever you look.
We have seen a lot of interest in the DIY Kits and we are estimating them on an individual basis and in limited number so we can give clients the attention they deserve when they start building and have questions.
Most of our remote village projects are being sent out as DIY Kits to keep the cost down and we can provide some on site assistance where necessary.
If you are interested in a Kit or having us build on your site, please contact us and we'll do our best to accomodate.


Difficult and meaningful will always bring more satisfaction than easy and meaningless. Maxime Lagacé

Kits Reborn

We took over a year off of building DIY Kits to work on better directions and client support. We believe we have a better system now and are going to start offering them again with limited scope. We will be offering Plan 1, Plan 2 and Plans 5 and 6 to start with. We found that many optional items like dormers and multiple roof-lines were too difficult for us to produce and convey directions adequately.
We will be offering blocks of hours for assistance if people are interested. We will send a qualified carpenter to assist in starting or following it all the way through. Most folks will not opt for this but we will make it available for those that do want it.
Unfortunately, we won't be able to offer custom designs but floor plans and window placements etc. will still be easily modified..
The DIY Kits are particularly popular for those building in remote areas where the cost of crew room and board and travel are very expensive.
If you are thinking of taking on a kit project, let us know and we'll get it going for you.


“Faith: It does not make things easy, it makes them possible.” (Author Unknown)

Going Forward in 2019 and 2020

2019 is over half over and it has been our busiest year to date. We are now building for some of the grandchildren of clients we built for almost thirty years ago which is kind of cool. We still have a few start dates available in 2019 and quite a few in 2020. We do build all winter so we have some winter dates available as well.
Our new pricing was posted over a week ago but our construction costs have risen higher than our increase. We plan to hold it as long as possible to give our clients the best value.
We have been very fortunate in that many of our workers have been with us 20 years or more which gives us a little advantage over our competition.
The urethane spray business has really been popular and continues to grow each year and we will likely be adding a new foam truck before the end of the year.
Give us a call or email if you want to start planning your project and we'll do our best to get it going for you as fast as possible.

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. Psalm 23:1

New pricing going online

I wrote in late January that our new pricing would soon go into effect but when the settings on the blog were changed I couldn't get back on and let everyone know when the new pricing would be posted online. Since I wanted to let everyone know when the pricing would be changed, I held off until now to post the new prices.
The new pricing has been sent to the webmaster and should be posted in the next week or so. If you have a proposal or quote from the last year or so, we will honor it until the new pricing has been posted
We still have a few start dates available for the fall and some available for after freeze-up as well. So far this has been our busiest year in 27 years and we are looking forward to the 2020 season with great anticipation as well.

“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” 
― Nicolas Chamfort

Back on the Blog

Somehow, the settings were changed for getting onto the blog and I haven't been able to figure out how to get back on until yesterday thanks to Brina, our office manager, figuring it out for me. I tried and tried to get on over the past few months and finally gave up until Brina offered to help yesterday.
I will now be trying to post more blogs since people keep asking "What happened to the blog". Now it's on to the Podcast.
The company that we did our podcast with, went out of business and I haven't had the time nor the technical expertise to search out another carrier.
I will now be posting more blogs. Thanks for your patience!
Jay Friesen

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” 
― Helen Keller

New shop buildings for 2019

Over the years we have been know for doing garages but we never thought to let it be known that we also build large shop buildings. We are going to be publishing our new shop plans and pricing in the near future but here is a sneak peek of our sizes and pricing.
Remember, we are not limited to these sizes and design. We can also incorporate tubing in the floors for in-floor heat along with all the plumbing to put in bathrooms or kitchens as well. More and more people want the taller doors for motorhomes and large equipment so we do a lot of  14 and 16 foot walls in our shop buildings to allow for 12 and 14' doors.

All of our shop buildings come with a monolithic slab with 18 to 24" perimeter footers reinforced with rebar and wire. Overhead doors with electric openers, personnel doors and windows as requested.

Pricing for the 2019 Season

As with most companies, we have been faced with large increases in material and labor costs over the last few years which has forced our hand in increasing our pricing. We haven't published the new pricing but I expect it will be implemented in the next few weeks. Some things won't be increased but we are going to be reviewing our price list and options for revisions. Naturally, contracts already in place will not be affected.
The good news is we are looking forward to a very busy year with projects planned throughout the state. We still have start dates available this year but if you need construction financing it is best to start the process now since it can take three to six months to get everything in order.
On subsequent blogs we will be listing the names of banking contacts for construction financing in different areas of the state.




"If you want happiness for an hour ? take a nap.
If you want happiness for a day ? go fishing.
If you want happiness for a year ? inherit a fortune.
If you want happiness for a lifetime ? help someone else."
Chinese Proverb

Notes from the Earthquake

When the earthquake hit on November 30, 2018 my first thought was "We've got over a thousand structures built here in Alaska, what now?" It was a sobering thought I must admit. Thankfully we had very few reports of damage and everything reported to us was very minor.
We have always tried to add a little extra support here and there and add structure and hardware above and beyond what is required which is added comfort when we come up against an earthquake or high wind events.
Urethane foam spray adds significant strength to any structure as well as high insulation qualities and we have received many requests for urethane spray foam for this coming year. Our equipment is more portable now and we can take it into remote areas. Historically, urethane is installed for its high insulation qualities but the structural qualities have high value as well.
If you are interested in building in the 2019 season, please contact us since we still have some opening start dates in different areas of the state. If we are already to scheduled to build in your area, we can likely build for you while we are in the area.




"Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do no pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for power equal to your tasks." Phillips Brooks

The 2019 Season

The 2019 season started in June and July of 2018. We do have a number of projects on line for 2019 but there are a limited number of start dates available yet. Every year it seems that we book up a little faster than the year before which is definitely a good thing.
We have done many urethane jobs this year and will continue to do more and more in the coming year.
2018 was the busiest year we have had and 2019 looks to be a similar year. We are going through all of our published plans and updating floor plans and options and we certainly welcome input from anyone looking at our website.


“More smiling, less worrying. More compassion, less judgment. More blessed, less stressed. More love, less hate.” 
― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

The 2018 Season

The 2018 season has been the busiest we've seen in 27 years. We have had projects all over the state and still have many more to build. All and all it has been a very good season with the normal challenges that comes with building in so many different locations.
We discontinued the DIY Kit program since we found there wasn't as much demand as anticipated.
It's possible we may re-start the program at some point but for now the Kit program has been sidelined.
We started spraying urethane insulation foam in 2017 and it has been very popular. We are still only doing foam spray for past and current clients but we may offer it to the public at some point in the future.
We may be offering some new plans in the near future as well depending on requests. We are currently in the design stage.
We still have a few openings for 2018 and some openings for 2019 are also available.  We are going to try and do blog posts more frequently in the future as well.


“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.” – Norman Vincent Peale

New A Frame Plan for 2018

We have received a lot of requests for A Frames over the past few years so we are replacing our plan 4 with A frames. The pricing will be on our website very soon but here is a sample. This is a 16 x 20 model with a base price of $20,500. These will also be offered in DIY Kits as well. We are going to have larger sizes as well which we will be posting on our website as soon as we get the pricing updates finished.

New For 2018!

We are going to be offering a few new products/services in the new year. Nothing too dramatic but new none the less.

• New Pricing- There will be a few changes to our price list in the new year. After a review of our prices, we found that some styles and sizes were priced incorrectly and we also found it necessary to increase the pricing across the board as well.
• FCC Cabincast- Our podcast host went out of business in November so we haven't done any new podcasts since then. We will be starting back with the new podcasts next week with a new host.
• New A Frame Plan- We are replacing plan #4 with an A Frame plan. The A Frame plan has been requested many times before and since plan #4 has not been as popular as the other plans we thought we would exchange it for the A Frame instead of adding a new plan #13
• Spray Foam- We are now offering spray foam insulation on all of our cabins, homes and shop buildings. We are using the 2 pound closed cell urethane which has the highest R-Value of all spray insulations.
• New Project Manager- We also have a new project manager on board to assist in managing all of our projects this year. Korie Russell came on board in June 2017 and has a very wide knowledge in construction and logistics. He will be doing a lot of the field inspections and walk-throughs especially on the remote projects.

These are just a few of the changes we will be making  this year to hopefully be more organized and service our clients better. We also welcome any thoughts from our blog readers on how we can improve. Happy New Year Everyone!!

For 2018
Less talking – More Listening
Less Planning – More Doing
Less Soda – More Tea  (Coffee ok?)
Less Junk Food – More Salads
Less Complaining – More Encouraging
Less Worrying – More Hoping
Less Doubting – More Believing
Less Lazing around – More Working out
Less Frowning – More Smiling
Less Insecurity – More Trust
Less Weakness – More Confidence
Less Ignorance – More Understanding
Less Hate – More Love
Less ungratefulness – More Gratitude

Merry Christmas from Friesen's Custom Cabins!

We at FCC wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I'm really not a fan of company Christmas cards since they are usually so impersonal. This year has been a very good year for us and all of our partners and we owe it too our clients. Obviously without you we have no business so we want to take this opportunity to say thanks!
We are in the process of making many changes for the New Year to serve our clients better especially in the area of communication and updating. We also will be offering some new plans and features which we will cover in upcoming blogs and podcasts.
We sincerely wish the best Christmas season for all and for all a few days to recover before the new year.

"Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won't make it 'white'." Bing Crosby

The 2018 Season is looking good!

25 years ago when I became a General Contractor I had already been in the industry for 15 years and I couldn't imagine still doing this in "2018" but we are here and going stronger than ever.
The 2018 is already being scheduled but we do still have a few start dates available. We are currently working on our new price list but it won't go into affect until it is posted online.
The 2017 season was very strong, one of the strongest we have ever had, and 2018 may even be more busy. Fortunately we have a very experienced crew many of which have been with us for many years so it should be a great year.
We'll be working in all quadrants of the state this year from Ketchikan to Barrow and most points in between.
If you are needing a construction loan, now is the time to get it started. You can call or email us for referrals to lending institutions and loan officers in your area.
Please be safe during the Christmas and New Years season. We'll be working throughout the Holidays so don't hesitate to contact us or set up a meeting to get started on your dream.

Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.  Francis of Assisi

Friesen's Urethane Services

We finally have our urethane equipment on line this year. We started offering the urethane product in the spring of this year and it has been very popular. We especially encourage spray urethane in floors that are on pilings above the ground and in walls and roofs in areas where it is very cold and fuel prices are high. It is also worthwhile in skirtings and between rim joists in crawl spaces and in between floor.
We are set up to go to remote areas with our equipment and we'll be on a travel schedule starting in the spring to different rural towns and villages. If we have three or more projects in one area we can keep the pricing lower than if we travel for only one project.
While it is true that urethane is more expensive than fiberglass insulation, the comfort and energy savings make it well worth the extra cost.
Right now we are scheduled to go to Dillingham and Naknek in the spring of 2018 as well as several Bering Sea Villages. If you are on the road system we can usually include your project in our travel schedule as well.
Please email us at friesenscustomcabins@gmail.com or call 907-746-2082 if you are interested in an estimate.

Some facts about our urethane product.

• Saves energy operating costs. 30-50% per year
• Reduces air and moisture infiltration-resulting in a more consistent temperature
• Reduces dust and pollen infiltration
• Adds structural strength to the building
• Reduces the likelihood of mold
• Reduces ice damages
• Reduces HVAC capacity requirements
• R-values remain stable over time
• It has the highest performance of all insulation
• It is permanent and will not sag or settle
• We use a 2 pound polyurethane unlike other products which are .5 pound
• R value is R7 per inch
• It acts as it's own vapor retarder
• It will pay for itself in a shorter time if you live in a rural area with oil heat

“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle

Things to know about financing your dream!

One of the biggest hurdles to get over when you are wanting to build a new home or cabin is financing. There are many ways to finance but the most common is the conventional construction loan. I am going to give a brief  description of the steps required. The process can be very frustrating and seemingly impossible at first but we can help you through the pit falls.

• The first step in acquiring a construction loan is getting pre-qualified for your long term financing. If you call our office we can give you the names of people to call at various institutions for your long term financing. By long tem financing I am referring to your conventional 30 year mortgage.
• Once you have been pre-qualified for X amount, you can apply for a construction loan. The bank will give you a packet of endless paperwork that we can also help you with.
• It is important to note that the bank will want you to have some skin in the game when it comes to a construction loan. You will need to have a minimum of 20% down which is a considerable sum if you are considering a 200 or 300K project. Sometimes the bank will take your lot value into consideration providing it has been paid off and you own it free and clear. They may even take into consideration your equity in the lot if it hasn't been paid off.
• We can help you with your budget, schedule, sub-contractors as well as design decisions. Your project must have an appraisal and it must appraise out higher than the loan amount of course.
• Once you have finished your project, your long term financing will take over and you will close your construction loan and start paying your mortgage which will be at a much lower interest rate.
• The process seems daunting at first but we have guided many people through it over the years and it can be very rewarding building your dream.

"Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting." ~(Anonymous but sounds like Jesus Christ)