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By KATIE SHAW

Kitsap Week

From the beginning of its construction in 2005, Poulsbo residents driving on Viking Way have excitedly watched the progress on what is now a castle overlooking Liberty Bay.

Although homeowners and longtime partners Gloria Breed and Jim Hauf moved in around Easter 2011, they are still working on their masterpiece of a home. They reside in the castle with two pet Russian tortoises — named C-3P0 and R2-D2 — and one pet tarantula, Primrose.

Retired machinist Breed and retired welder Hauf built their home almost completely by themselves. Hauf designed the castle.

Constructed with 250 cubic yards of concrete, and six tons of rebar, it stands 35 feet tall, the height of the north turret. There are three rooms downstairs, and a multi-purpose library which Breed enjoys adding to continually.

Neither skill nor material was wasted in the home. A sink from an old coffee shop is in use in the kitchen, benches made from an old waterbed sit in the foyer and the dining room table was made from extra flooring. Hauf and Breed’s daughter did all the tiling in the house.

“She’s really crafty,” Hauf said of his daughter, to which Breed commented, “She got all that from you, honey.”

Indeed, examples of Hauf’s handiwork can be found throughout the house. He designed and built nearly all the furniture, including the bar and barstools downstairs and a coffee table made from spare tiling. Hauf did all the rebar and stone on the outside. He built the castle wall, and built it a second time after it collapsed due to an aquifer hidden deep underground.

“That’s why [the castle] took so long, we did most of the work ourselves,” Breed said.

Acquiring insurance, permits and loans also added to the timeline. In one panicked anecdote, the couple remembered almost losing the castle during the housing crisis when the bank demanded that they pay off their loans.

“We put in blood, sweat, tears and even bone into this house, because of [Hauf’s] broken leg, and I wasn’t about to let the bank take it,” Breed said.

During construction, the couple lived in a yurt (which they also built themselves) for 13 years.

Although both are technically retired, Hauf said that since retiring, he’s put in longer days with no pay.

“I’ve been retired 20 years now,” Hauf said, chuckling. “I notice that after you retire, everybody has a project they’d like you to help them with.”

He doesn’t mind being busy or helping people out, but between managing the rental houses they own, working on the house and caring for Breed’s parents, who live in a one-story house on the property, Hauf and Breed have little free time.

“I’m a car guy and I want to get back to my cars,” Hauf said. “I love houses too, but I’m looking forward to getting the house finished.”

The couple is still working on the lower patio and deck, as well as landscaping. They want to put in a walking ramp for wheelchair access. There is still some trim work to be done and the steps on the spiral staircase occupying the north turret need finishing.

The couple is excited to be able to travel when the project is finished, but they plan to live in their home for the rest of their lives.

“I can’t imagine living anywhere else [than the Pacific Northwest],” Breed said. “I’ve been to a lot of cool places that are fun to visit, but I’ll always come back here. This is home.”

“No place better,” Hauf agreed.