This is the largest home I have ever built a stairway for. It was that giant 180 degree circular that I built 5 years ago.
This is Bruce Artwicks home. He invented the “Windows” program and sold it to Bill Gates for $380 million. He also wrote the “Flight Simulator” program and also has two computer chips on the space shuttle.
The interior of this home is freakin unexplainable. We were not allowed any interior pictures. It has 17 furnaces in it….all from geothermal. It has a 2000 gallon buried propane tank for the huge backup generator. The interior has large radiused corners throughout adorned with giant curved crown moulding. Of course an elavator. Thats for when my stairs fall in. <G>.
The tile on the floors was actually from Israel where it had been trodden on for centuries. The 180 degree stairway is freestanding and has pecan treads. This home takes 92 steps from the basement to that widows walk on the slate roof. Every room has a video cam hidden behind a very small discreet unfilled nail hole in the crown moulding. There are banks of swinging panels in the basement just loaded with spaghetti bundles of wires for the electronics in this home. The boiler room looks like some institution with its huge red tanks and the largest valves, pipes and gauges. This was my stairway of my lifetime and I dont have any good pictures of it. Just the low quality ones I had to sneak out of my tool box.
I took a relaxing flight tonight to take these pictures.
Stan
Replies
Very amazing, Stan. Thanks for sharing. It would be great to see your stairs in that house, just another feather in your cap to have them there as it is. Good job.
Neither cold, nor darkness will deter good people from hastening to the dreadful place to quench the flame. They do it not for the sake of reward or fame; but they have a reward in themselves, and they love one another.
-Benjamin Franklin
Every room has a video cam hidden behind a very small discreet unfilled nail hole in the crown moulding.
Hes probably got a camera on the roof watching you fly by as well!
Doug
Work on aq 36K sq.ft one in the early 90s, Same thing, no photos. Will see if I can dig up the shots of the $60K entry doors we put in>
Nice view from above!
If I recall correctly you are from Lake Placid. Am I correct, and if I am is this house in ar near Lake Placid?
Have a good day
Cliffy
Cliffy: I am in Illinois....
Stan
Sorry and oops, I can't remember any thing since hit 40
Have a good day
Cliffy
Stan I remember your earlier pics of the exterior. Kinda had the "Windows" looking windows on the front of the house.
Is the owner from IL originally? Seems a odd place to live if you had that much money. Don't get me wrong, it's a great place to live.
Champaign-Urbana, home of University of IL was at the forefront of computer tech in the 80's, so not surprising that he would still live in that area.
jt8
""The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese." --Dave Barry
Makes sense now, thanks
I have an idea. I am going to offer Bruce Artwick a gyrocopter ride over his home....if I may stop by and "inspect" his stairway. I would love to have some finished pictures of the biggest project I have ever worked on...or even ever come close again.
Stan
The two driveways are an interesting touch.
Stan, if you want, you can come to my house and build a 93 step staircase. I'll even let you take pictures of it.
Doesn't a guy like that have his own jet? His driveways almost look like John Travolta's runways.
MMMM...ya didn't take any photos of that stairs in your shop before it left home?
""Sold it to Bill Gates""...makes me wonder did Bill really made all that computer things himself? Did he really got rich off others this way? Now we are talking with everyone on the interents or this forum, how did this all get started? Makes me wonder of all this wonderful things going now.
Any more stair works going on? I haven't been working on my kitchen in a while, summer is here and I wanted to have a little fun on weekends like fishing, riding bikes and seeing things. I work too many hours in the machine shop and I'm too tired for any more work when I get home.....
Blue: Your MMM.......shows you have doubt about me building his stairway. <G> I have posted pictures of the stairway while it was in my shop...and even posted some pictures in the house that I took a sneak picture of. They are buried somewhere on a camera chip. I am on dial up and it would take me too long to go back in the archives here and find them.
Stan
Microsoft bought quite a bit of what made them successful. The original MS-DOS operating system was bought from some guy in New Mexico and licensed to IBM because they wrongly thought all the money to be made was in the hardware not software. I believe the original deal with IBM was that microsoft was paid for each computer not each computer that included MS-DOS. What this did was eliminate all competition early on for Microsoft. Other companies offered better systems to IBM but since microsoft was paid for each system sold rather than each that contained MS-DOS, so IBM would be paying two companies while only using one system. Microsoft stole the mouse idea from Apple who bought it from (I think Hewlett Packard) who developed it but thought it had no application.
Microsoft has been a good marketing company but a mediocre to average software company. They really do not make very good software, remember how crash prone all their systems have been up to windows XP. Their are so many companies that make better products but microsofts size and dominance in so many areas of software keep out the competitors.
Bill Gates was/is the Master of selling/leasing software he did not originally make nor made by anyone in his employ.
http://www.skrause.org/computers/dos_history.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates
Much of what microsoft, and apple, did early own came from PARC, the Palo Alto Research company, owned by Xerox.
Set that gyro down on his lawn one day. I bet he'd love a ride in it.
Maybe phone first, just in case.
Maybe phone first, just in case.
LOL, I think that would be adviseable.
I've been to Mike Dells house here in Austin and you might be able to fly over the place but land anything on the yard and you might be in for a bit of a surprise!
Doug
I have worked on similar around here in Silicon Valley. The thought always comes to mind- just because we can build it, is it right that we do build it? I know, I know the old saw, " if I don't then someone else will." Still it haunts me once in awhile, is it something that just shouldn't be allowed to happen when at the permitting stage? There have been several cases where various municipalities have turned down permits for such houses, based just on the size, and it makes the news every once in awhile. Each time I see it, a little voice inside me jumps up and cheers, "YES!"
I have worked on similar around here in Silicon Valley. The thought always comes to mind- just because we can build it, is it right that we do build it? I know, I know the old saw, " if I don't then someone else will." Still it haunts me once in awhile, is it something that just shouldn't be allowed to happen when at the permitting stage? There have been several cases where various municipalities have turned down permits for such houses, based just on the size, and it makes the news every once in awhile. Each time I see it, a little voice inside me jumps up and cheers, "YES!"
And I suppose you live in a 600 sf studio apartment?
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
Two assumptions come to mind:
Your one who builds the big houses (9,000 sq ft plus) just because you can. Down deep you know I'm correct. If my first assumption is correct, more power to ya since a contract is a contract and that's the business we're in. My point is that more cities and counties should review and implement size restrictions on single family (residential) homes because some owners and speculators just don't know when too much is too much. It's a waste of resources and energy, both of which are in limited supply.
Your first assumption is incorrect, although I would like to have the chance to build large houses.I'm especially confused at your disdain for the house in question when you consider that it's in Central IL. I lived in IL for 21 years (Chicago area) and have driven through Central IL often. I can tell you they definetely have one thing- space! If this guy wants to blow his fortune on a house that's 5 times what he can probably use, more power to him.
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
If this guy wants to blow his fortune on a house that's 5 times what he can probably use, more power to him.
NO SHID, Plus how many familes did he feed durring this build!
I dont know why everybody gets there panties in such a knot over this, yea, the resourses are finite but at some point we will be building with something else anyhow, thats inevitable.
Doug
Wow! I knew he had quite the manse, but this is the first I've actually heard (and seen!) firsthand about the house. It's gotta be rewarding knowing that you were part of that.
tony b.
Stan, boy some people have serious jack..What is more interesting to me is this guy's security or lack of it. Millions of dollars of security equipment on this spread and Stan can reach out and touch it with little effort.
Stan I have seen all of your art-work (staircases) but the gyro under contruction beats them all. stinky
"What is more interesting to me is this guy's security or lack of it."I do low voltage electronics and wiring and it's not just the hugely wealthy who install security cameras in their homes. They can afford the high-tech stuff but they are at greater risk than people who own small homes and don't have a lot of collectibles. By 'greater risk', I don't mean that their life is worth more but it's more likely that they will be targeted for kidnaping, extortion, etc. Homes like this frequently have a "safe room" and sometimes, there are passageways that are't revealed to visitors for such occasions. The security system isn't in the millions but the distributed audio/video, lighting control, motorized window treatments, home theater system/room design, integration system(s), materials and installation labor can put it there. In one house I worked on, there happened to be a basement room available for our equipment and after we installed the wire management, cut the wires/cables to length and terminated them, my estimate is that there was about 1.5 miles of wire and cable JUST IN THAT ROOM. This house is about 18,000 sq ft. Another house, southeast of the office is in the 26,000 sq ft range. We did quite a few huge homes and while some people think it's 'wrong' to build on such a large scale, it is their money and the people living in them generally do a lot of charitable acts. Obviously, some don't and they're a waste of food and air.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Highfigh Interesting info in your reply...bet you have seen some amazing casa's. It really seems the tech side of construction has not been really saturated with a experienced work force..great job security! stinky
Job security? Not when the other installers all worked together someplace else and want to have their own club.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Thats awesome thanks for sharing!
Where is the Helipad ;-)