Dec. 15-16

Well cool but not cold, kinda wet, typical Michigan weather in winter....

This is the bedroom floor. Had originally planned on installing the door but the price was higher than I recalled so we passed on that. But the great HD had some flooring on sale and wow I like. It is called scraped hickory. Once we figured out how to install it, it flew into place. We have one small piece to fix in the subfloor and then the last pieces can go in. Been working to finish this room ( mental health reasons) so we hung the drywall and started planning out how to finish up the ceiling and such.

We definitely want to add an exhaust fan to pull the smoke out when you open the woodstove door. 

I'll hunt around town for a door and see if I can beat the price from up there.

December

Well we have been visiting each weekend this month, no pictures to share. Keep the woodstove going and the place is real comfortable. Have been working slowly on electrical stuff, finished up the bedroom. Working on flooring in bedroom Dec. 16th. We got reasonable temps so even in the morning it is not too hard to warm up the place.

Basically running through the supplies we bought and using them up as cash got REAL tight this fall. Kids having fun so we are muddling through.

Ben figured out paper airplanes fly off the loft real nice......

Thanksgiving 2012 "when winter begins"

Well quite the storm blew in from Canada for Thanksgiving. We arrived on Friday afternoon and hurried to make a fire and warm up the place. The next day we awoke to snow, reports were up to 8 inches just north of the lake, we got 3 inches of snow but it was piled up with the wind. We kept the fire going all night, thanks the night watch....

The vapor barrier REALLY knocks the wind out, it was blowing like crazy and we did not feel it inside, even though the insulation is minimal.

November 10-11

No pictures, kinda hard to get excited over hanging drywall and running electrical. Anyways, we hung 4 sheets of drywall and worked on the electrical outlets. Downstairs bedroom has power and lights!!! Also got the lights upstairs started so that should be done real soon. Weather was nice, warm front blew through and felt good.

We are looking at flooring choices for the bedroom now. Need to get it covered as the OSB is hard to keep clean.

We cooked up some  chicken Alfredo which is now the kids fav food request. Kids got dominoes and writing journals, plenty to do even if it rains.

Oct. 27th and 28th

We carved up a pumpkin for Halloween, cute little guy. Actually I wanted to make pumpkin seeds on top of the woodstove and needed the seeds. 

Also bought Monopoly and kids really played a storm up, they need to learn some strategy but it was fun. The wee one had more properties then the rest of us but no cash....

Got the first sheet of drywall hung in the bedroom. There are 5 more 10 footers ready and waiting to hang. Temps were of in the 40's and low 50's. We kept the stove busy usually in the morning and evening to keep the temps comfortable. The place should be a joy once all the insulation has been installed. Temps never dropped below 60 even with it in the low 30's Sunday morning.

Really think I will install an exhaust vent in the upper roof over the great room to help pull smoke out. Got a bit smoky in the cabin opening the woodstove door.

October Update

Well we have been up here for the last two weekends but no pictures. Mostly working on electrical stuff, bedroom has lights and outlets. We also got stuff organized to get the power upstairs done next trip. Weather has been ok, cool mornings etc. Have not had to rely on the woodstove, temps have been 65 to 70 in house. Looks like this weekend will test our cold weather ability as night time temps will go into high 20's.

Drywall time approaching fast, bedroom is first and then main hallway. Kitchen after that once we finish wiring the kitchen.

Kids got Monopoly game and that has been a great time waster for us. That and squirrel feeding.

Sept 30 Fall in full gear

Fall colors on the ride up north. Colors were really vibrant!!!

Weather was really good Saturday and we were able to complete the top of the front siding project. This took up all of the spare pieces we had. Lots of little pieces leftover that we used up on the south side wall. Also worked on electrical stuff but that is boring to photograph. Working to get bedroom done so drywall can be hung this winter in that room.

We also began work on the front of the lower part of the cabin. This will be the toughest part to side as there are multiple layers and uneven structure on the front. Part of the that due to the work we did and part of it due to the choice of materials whoever built the house. It should all work out in the end, did a few tests to see how it all will fit together. Also looks like we need at least 28 pieces to completely finish the three walls we started. Seven pieces for the north wall, 13 for the front and 8 pieces for the southern wall. We need to really try to get the southern part boxed in due to the winter weather. 

Also, we reluctantly turned off the water. System was drained and we need to replace the filter and add some bleach in the filter to clean it out. Temps inside were very reasonable, the little bit of insulation we added has allowed us to see temps stay around  65 degrees even when the temps were down in the low 40's like this morning. It required a fire on Saturday to initialize the temps but then the electric heat kicked in and maintained. The one heater actually was off due to the temps being above its set point.

And lastly, we discovered a squeak in the floor upstairs. Yikes I hate squeaky floors......that will get fixed.

We officially are now on winter schedule for the cabin, probably no more Friday to Sunday trips, takes too much water for the toilet and no easy showers.

cooking with gas!!!!

Well kinda. First weekend of Fall 2012 and it felt like winter was coming fast. Had every inclination to finish the remaining siding pieces and put that project to sleep till Spring but every time we went outside, it rained. So working inside became a massive electrical work day for us. We dropped in 7 circuits into the crawl space and I got elected to go down inside. After an hour of crawling around the lines were run from the box to their prospective locations. This included the oven circuit.

Took two trips to get the correct breakers and fuses for the disconnect. We also installed 2 4 foot heater units in the bedroom and hallway. This was noticeable to me the next morning as temps were barely 40 degrees. Inside the house we maintained 64 degrees the entire weekend. We only used the woodstove on Friday night to get temps up where they needed to be.

We added a heater unit to the pumphouse and so we will try to keep the water on till end of October. No sense chancing it after that.

Sept. 7-8 don't eat the oreo's

Thanks to the rain we worked inside and finished the kitchen/bedroom wall. I added the lower wood to make sure the kitchen had the same look and feel as the living room area. We will drywall the rest of the wall.

Tell these guys to stay off the beds and cushions and then go look at what they do.

We almost needed the woodstove Sunday morning it was a tad chilly, summer is really going fast now. Installed 5 of the 10 pieces of siding we brought up but the "3 bad cut rule" kicked in on Sunday and no more siding.

Really overate the cookies and junk food, carb-o-holic weekend must come to an end.

Labor Day Vacay!!!!!

Arrived up here on Thursday and stayed till Monday afternoon. What a nice break away from the daily grind. Perfect end to the summer. Spent about 20 hours working on the house over the course of 4 days. Also went swimming twice and did the usual fun tourist stuff.

Drip edge installed. 22 foot long had to get creative to be able to bend it.

Monday morning, working before the sun got over the trees, made it too hot on Sunday to work out front.

Ran out of long pieces, we took 15 up for the weekend. Will get the rest done next trip.

North wall is up to top of windows, next piece is the toughest as we work in the window.

Started the back corner. The house has some small issues with being square and either you follow the house lines or you follow the bubble in the level, they do not match. We went with the bubble.

Also started working on the lower front wall, going to have some fun with making it look nice. Had 5 different people ask me if I was moving up to the house. 

August 24,25th spray foam weekend

Ben caught Hank being talkative. Such a coonhound....

Flu epidemic? Or maybe spray foam has arrived. Yeah go with the foam. This was the first of what now is probably going to be 3 sets of foam tanks. Whew tough work, people who do this for a living earn their pay.

This is a the before picture, forgot to take an after. Will try to get another set of tanks up to finish the upstairs areas. Keyword is dropclothes, lots of dropclothes.

Weather was great, what a stellar summer!!!! We also installed 5 more pieces of siding and worked on the brick mold for another window. It is expected we will bring up at least 10 pieces for Labor day, more if we wait on the foam. Want to also install flooring in hallway and kitchen. Probably need 20 pieces to finsh the north wall, south wall and begin the front wall. Will need to work on soffits before too long.

August 11-12 more siding...

Sunday we got most of the corner done. Took 2 tries since we goofed up the alignment on the wall. Friday was a rainy day, supposedly the area got 5 to 7 inches of rain in a 24 hour period. We worked on window trim Saturday and ran 1 row on the north wall. Still have 5 pieces of siding left over from the weekend. It is enough to finish the southern side we started or run 2 more runs on the north wall. Probably need 20 more pieces to finish the project for the year. I was looking at siding the front piece above the porch roof so maybe will need some for that as well. Really want to paint the siding before fall hits. And insulate. And run electric. And finsih floors. And.And. And.

Really need to fix my checklist for shutdown. Seems I cannot remember if I locked the door. Grrrrr.

keep on siding July 28-29

Well we brought up 12 more pieces and spent a good part of Sunday and Saturday putting up siding. Had to work the brick mold on the windows so we can side around them.

Need to figure out how to end the siding. Do I want a trim board or just a cut piece to go at the top here.

Also got the downstairs bedroom cleaned out and the mattress is now in its room. Wall will go up in a jiffy so we can wire it up. Purchased the box for the oven wiring and can hook that up as well now. Hot biscuits in the morning!!!

Really want to paint the walls now. I like the blue for the siding.

Weather was fantastic, warm but not screaming hot like other weeks this year. Went swimming and biking with the kids. We did hotdogs on the campfire out back.

July 21-22 Hot as blazes

Another hot summer day, really not complaining just noting it REALLY slows down progress in the heat.

This is a Pileated Woodpecker, considered rare. It is the largest woodpecker in the USA. We got two of them working the squirrel tree this weekend. And what a cool call they have, They were "laughing" in the morning.

This is a color test to see how I like the color choice for the siding. I like it a lot. Most of the houses are brown, beige or white so this will really stand out.

Need more room so we worked on the platform to hold the wall oven up in the kitchen space. We should be able to wire it up and use it next trip or so. This is under the stairs in the hall closet.

Sunday was warm and after lunch/church we all decided to take a nap. And we did for 2 hours. Too hot to work since what is being done was right in the beating sun. I owe the kids a trip to the beach, we had to cut short due to work issues.

Foam insulation is coming. Get ready probably in September we will be foaming the roof and working to get the walls sealed up. There will be another 20 pieces of siding heading up next week and then we will need to make sure we have the wires in the walls ready for foam. That requires a trip under the house. Yuck.

Person stopped by on Saturday who says he grew up in house. Gave him the tour and had a nice visit.

July 14th siding begins

Well the siding project began, we trucked up 20 pieces of LP SMartside and began to install it. Our Jr. Architect was in charge of level as we installed each level.

This was 10 pieces installed right before a quickee rain storm that halted work for the day. We need to do the brick mold around the window for the next piece.

Hank being funny.... He jumped into the bed to tell me it was time to "eat". Hunter joined in the "fun" yikes!

Next day we worked on the south wall, got about 8 pieces run before we hit the window.

Jr. Carpenter adding caulk to seal the nails before we install the next run of siding.

It was hot again, really soars on temps, we all went swimming to cool off. Too hot to even cook much.

June 23/24th beautiful weather weekend

This is the samples pulled at HD for the kitchen. Since we already have 2 of the cabinets and the flooring, we decided to make sure the top looked good with them. They have a light colored top but doesnt look as good.

Working the blue foam finally. Added last 7 sheets to the north wall. Once done we installed the vapor barrier. This was a tad more difficult with both kids not quite grasping the concept. But we did get it installed. Just as the mosquitoes hit for the night. Apparently we will use 37 or so pieces of siding to cover this wall. Ouch.

Vapor barrier installed, we have to wrap around the house then will cut the roll in half for the top piece. We should be able to wrap the south side of the house as well. Back wall needs foam board.

An old friend has passed. The frypan used for many many camping trips finally gave it up. I was trying to adjust the hump in the middle and the coating shattered and fell out. It was all burnt/crazy burned up in the middle under the coating. It now will hang in our wall of memories.

First things happened this weekend. First shower in the cabin was accomplished, still a tad too cool for my liking but wet and soapy for the win!!

Should have real hot water next trip or next next trip. We will see. We also worked on bathroom, finishing up drywall and building the closet. Figured out how to plumb in the sink. Door is next to be installed, wall is REALLY bugging me for being "straight" as cooked spaghetti.....

We also cut a piece of plywood up and have a beginning kitchen cook area. Much nicer to keep the kitchen stuff in the kitchen. Need to pull some electric over there for lighting and outlets.

Driving home is getting very hard to do.

new features

We added an outdoor faucet for easy access to water for the dogs and such....

We also "fixed" the two small leaks and everything is phase one water supply work should be good to go.

Added electrical circuit tot he maintenance room and will install a light next.  Hot water lines are next for the shower and to the water tank.

Need to finish up the shower install and get bathroom done for regular bathing.

water is flowing like a river

After much effort, and about $300.00 in supplies, we got the pump running. Not just running but "running"....

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwzSvEYBltFvOe9SiP4I009mSxBJTsHBycCMGLsx-osA5_mNsXHW_t1YKXoONNy7itm0kwQHDCMReFTVJUj8uQyUO6Iw0Ne-4pjCfc-lPArfuPiGeTszuW0CVycd2ZuhsA2qi5p5-Eo1E/s1600-h/wellhole_sm.jpg

Was what it looked like in 2009 when we started the whole thing.

Anyways, we now start plumbing out the stuff for running water. Toilet is first then shower and hot water tank.

And of course, running through the sprinkler IS the thing to do on a hot day..... Weather was amazing, little warm but a good breeze off lake for the win!!

Kitchen begins!!!!????

Memorial Day weekend, started working on the "kitchen". WHAT???? Don't we have enough going on to start one more big thing??? HA.....

Actually, Home Depot had 2 cabinets marked down and they were in the style I wanted for the kitchen. So I worked a deal and could not pass it up. What we have in the picture is the part where the cooktop will be installed. To the left of the wall cabinet will be an 18 inch "drawer" cabinet and then the sink base.I might add one more cabinet to the line here depends on walkway room. Also put down 2 more cases of flooring, should be 8 cases to go till we got the main floor covered. Certainly is easier to sweep the tile vesrsus the wood floor.

Still working on the water pump, stupid things.... grrrr.

Sunday was supposed to be "hot and in 90's" turns out we had all day rain till 4 when we left.

BRRRR!!!! Feels like February

Went up on Friday looking to work on the bathroom, Friday was rainy, dreary and cold. Yucky weather. Totally depressing. We burned a ton of wood to get house warmed up enough to want to even stay over. Saturday we made egg/cheese sandwiches and had a headache moving in so we worked on easier projects. Installed first wall upstairs to help frame in the bedroom.

We also ran electrical wires for the ceiling lights upstairs. Should be able to prep for insulating the roof next month. We have a couple of outlet boxes to install but that will not take long to complete. We purchased a new crimper for the pex pipes and should have what we need to run water lines in the bathroom.

The boys were all helping me get stuff done, as long as I was rubbing their ears!!

April 14th- crawling in the bathroom

Weekend of FUN!!! Hooked up the drain on the bathtub. Set new record for trips to hardware store (5) plus Home Depot.

Not sure how I will get under the backpart of the bathroom to hookup sink and kitchen drain yet. Pretty tight fit.

Once done we looked at the door frame as another request for privacy was made by the wee one. And lookee there, it doesn't fit!!! Not only the rough opening but the door will swing into the tub. YIKES! What happened?

Long story short we moved the wall 6 inches out to make it "fit". Only thing I can think is the plans were for a 28 inch tub and a 30 inch door. we have a 32 inch door and a 30 inch tub.

Destroyed the 10 foot drywall around door as we tried to remove it. What a mess. We got wall moved, looks fairly straight and ready for new drywall.

Bathroom is now the quest so we will be beating up the plumbing next couple trips.

We did have some fun, took dogs and kids for walk, hit Subway for a poorly made sub and then walked to the beach park. Hunter was first to go swimming and then Hank jumped in as well.

Sunday was grey and rainy, no motivation to do much. Read about 100 pages in my cabin book and laid around.

April 7th Easter weekend

Well last weekend our trip got cancelled  due to stomach issues, flu,rotovirus, whatever it was we were not doing much but hanging on. Good Friday drove up and crashed at the G'parents so kids could visit. Saturday morning got to place around 6:30, built a fire in stove and put the coffee on to brew. Had breakfast at the "log cabin place" and they asked where the kids were.....people starting to recognize us.

Anyways we worked on drilling out the major holes for the upstairs wall and was able to get the stair light circuit and the fan circuit run. Broke 2 drill bits doing the holes. While the battery was charging for the drywall cutter we also worked on hanging the insulation and drywall in the bathroom. Got that hung then started working on the tub. Ran the lines to the "solar shower" tank and got them in place, just need a tank and a "solar thingee" to make the water hot now.

Outside wall REALLY leans out , tub surround will need a large shimout to make it stable and straight. More custom work!

March 18 " Let's go swimming?"

Holy smokes...... where did winter go? Just 2 weeks ago we were snowed in and this week kids are running around in 80 degree weather wanting to go to the beach!!!!

We even slept with windows open last night. Crazy stuff. Saturday was ok, waaaaay tooooo tired to do much, we hit the stores and had lunch at G's, but rest of day was spent in slumber, slow motion. We all slept in on Sunday, wake me up at 7am, rush to get to church and all. Made our first camp breakfast and had eggs with sausages. Cinnamon rolls for snack.

Hauled 6 tarploads to the back woods, kids earned 5 bucks helping to rake the side yard. Also installed 3 sheets of blue board and finished the trim out for the rest of the north wall. This will probably be the first wall we side with the cement board. Swept out the cabin and cleaned up all the winter mess. Dumped out the ashes in the stove.

This picture is my leg in shorts in March at the cabin.

The raking crew. We need 4 more sheets of blue board to finish this wall.

Hey it's still winter up here!!!

Weather reports were deceiving, night time temps were expected to be 28-30 degrees, high enough that we can camp out without too much difficulty from cold temps. The actual weather though was a good storm that brought about 6 to 10 inches of new snow to the HL area. Grayling got 13 inches and Gaylord reported up to 17 inches of snow. We were driving up and just north of Harrison road conditions really switched , one moment wet roads from constant rain then the next a good covering of slush. By the time we hit exit 189 it was snow pack.

These pictures are from the morning after. We left snow pants and such home ( who needs snow clothes when Spring is just around the corner??) Power outages were common, we missed the tree falling on our power by about 4 cabins so we had electric.

Going home on Saturday the roads were mostly plowed but COLD temps were coming and we left a little early to make sure we had good driving and no ice slicks. Not much work done, we played in the snow, made lunch and such. Took time to enjoy the place. The kids are getting good at hitting targets with the bb gun.

Dogs are looking for the ball, it sank into the snow and Hunter is digging it out. Snow was at least 24 inches deep and dogs were not running away today!! We dugout the driveway to get into the drive on Friday night but paid to have it plowed out so when it froze it was cleaned out if it doesn't melt by the time we get up again.