Dec. 4th End of year

It was cold today but we decided to work on the cabin. Temps when we arrived were 32 degrees. We fired up the kerosene heater and kept moving around to keep from freezing up. We cleaned up the mess from past work sessions and removed the old wall that was still hanging around. We also bolted the loft wall on the north side. The pic shows green trees but we hung it back in October. We have not been up here much due to working on Emily's house.

Next project will be more work on the loft. Once that is framed in a bit, we will build the wall for the bathroom to help make it more "private".

vision into reality- October 3rd

Well, time has passed and now we are ready to make the rear windows appear. From concept to reality, what a project!!!

The first picture shows all three windows cut out and getting ready to be framed. Yes it looks quite junky, lot of stuff to be done getting in the way.

We started storing wood up in the loft area since we are buying as we can budget wise.

The whole process took a day to install and next day we were able to finish the caulk and insulation around the windows. Temps were in the 50's but dropped into the 40's while the windows were still not in the frames so whole time was pretty chilly. We bought a kerosene heater and that helped keep the place warm. Woodstove will have to wait till funds can be made available.

This was other window popped into the new frame we built. It replaced the rotted in place window that was removed and boarded up back in July/August. On this wall you can visualize two new windows, one for kitchen sink area and other for living room. The old black window will be pulled out and boarded up. All the freezable stuff was pulled from the cabin and RV anti-freeze poured into the toilet, temps for Sunday night are 29 degrees. We still have 4 windows to install downstairs and 2 windows upstairs.

And sitting in front of the new window "wall" is a treat, hard to get up and do stuff, easy to let time drift by.

Sunday September 19th

Well since we needed to prove the electric was off, we were able to work on a few items.

The bracket for the chimney was installed and the 2nd floor window got replaced. Now I need a day off to recover from all the driving and silliness.

Checklist for the OCD in all of us...

1. Turn off power
2. Turn off water
3. Anti-freeze in drains
4. Turn off power
5. Check and lock all windows
6. Close up foodstuffs/ coffee
7. Turn off power
8. Wash out coffee pot
9. Put outdoor toys inside
10. TURN OFF POWER
11. Lock the door/ deadbolt

Sheesh, all weekend I thought I left the electric heaters on. Little voice said to go check them to avoid "Murphy" coming and burning down the place.

Cripes. Everything was off. Insane.

And some days it rains...

That's a line from the movie "Bull Durham". Weather kinda messed up our plans to work on outside stuff. We camped out and had a nice evening, cept for the skunk that roamed outside in the back of the yard. Phew.

We installed the rest of the cement board and added two more sheets to the loft which need to be glued and screwed down. Rain made things cold and sleepy so we did not get to work on much outside. Got wet just going from house to truck to bring in tools.

Really wanted to get the woodstove going this year, plans don't look good to do that.

meh.

Labor Day short weekend

Labor Day was a short weekend but had a good time camping out , first good cool day for quite some time. Installed the cement board where the woodstove will be installed in the living room.
Also worked on loft area, installed the remaining 2x6's for the front of the loft then put in the cross bracing and loaded up two sheets of OSB flooring.
This is the upper window known as the "raccoon window". It will be replaced on the next work weekend.

Aug 20th- 3 day weekend project

Long weekend, semi-vacation this year. We hauled up a BBQ grill and 2 new windows plus the window salvaged from Emily's house. Went to Home Depot and loaded up on wood and supplies. Started work on chimney for woodstove and then had to decide on what windows to pull out. Saturday blew up and was spent mainly watching clouds and trees, too stressed to work. After church I decided the front window was a doable project with limited time and limited energy. The back 2 windows are the same size windows but it requires a good thinking head to build the frame and install all 3 windows at the same time.
The suction cup holders worked great, was able to pop the window completely out with no troubles. Need to bring glass cutter and cut them into two pieces. Picture here shows old glass windows pulled out. Not much was holding them in. Sunday saw ledt two windows out then Monday got the last one out.
New front windows put in. Hank providing colorful accent to front yard.
Note- need corkscrew at cabin....... I was resourceful and figured out how to pull the cork...... :-) And a very nice wine, smooth flavor not too dry like typical Reislings.

August 14th Bye bye old loft!

We removed the front of the old loft today. Called in heavy artillery and had Josh come up and camp out the night before.
New floor joists going in. Optical illusion the joist on the left side is actually in the corner of the house by the doorway, that is how much the front is pulled out on the north side. The old window was pulled out, it was already rotted out, and we will need to make a frame and lower the replacement window hole to fit the new room height.
Old remaining loft is holding the center walls together till we get the new loft built. Note how we lowered the new loft to allow more height for the loft.
Kids wiped out due to the humidity, 80% this weekend, yuck.
Nice early morning rain though, that was relaxing. Acorns are starting to fall so the drum of acorns is not too far away which means fall is soon to arrive.

Camp BearBuck 2011 -- August 1st

Maria snuggling in for a nap. Just what was needed !!
Our campers for 2010. Hank was not thrilled to stay in the picture.
Testing the load capability of the hammock. It needed to be stretched out so the kids loaded up. Whole weekend was very low speed, no work was allowed, just eat, sleep and eat. Oh and sleep..... Weather helped as we had several really nice rainstorms to sleep too, nothing too crazy, just a really good patter on the roof.

We loaded up on supplies to finish the bathroom and get the water lines in. Hauled up 8 gallons of water and ran out due to the kids flushing the toilet. Last flush was good drinking water to make sure it was clean. Hopt shower was the cry this year at camp.

Camp BearBuck 2011 -- July 31st

Live bloggin at Camp BearBuck 2011!!! We really need t-shirts next year...

Arrived at 6ish after the insane traffic, forgot to provide sleeping solutions to some of the campers ( sorry Emily!!). We call it roughing it for a reason.

Made some delicious grilled cheese sandwiches ( not like you might think) for a dinner snack and had a good time slowly decompressing with a movie rental.

Early risers on Saturday had coffee and danish , rain moved in around 7:30am and whole place went back to sleep.

Will work on pictures later. Time to check for eyelid leaks.

We have volcanic flush!!!!

July 18th and 19th work progressed really well. There was a really nice nap on the 18th and rain storms to sit and listen too in the cabin. Very relaxing....

We got the floor done on Sunday . Toilet is just sitting there for looks.

On Monday, our Jr. Plumber came in and set the toilet flange ( oh I know it's called a "water closet") .

I was asked to provide a little more weight to set the wax ring on the water closet. The unit was tested and no water leaks!! Good flush too...

On Monday we built the window frame and installed the new window, boxed up the old window space, and then began prepping the wall for siding. The tar paper will come off once we seal the frame around the window, did not want rain or bugs getting in. We will cut the bottom off the tuff-r and 1 by trim pieces for the bottom edge on the wall. I tacked up two pieces of the cement board to see how they look on the wall.

Finished wall. new window, and working toilet.

cutting the pipe July 17th

The floor joists are in and it is time to cut the pipe! As in the toilet flange.
Ben and I geared up and prepared to cut the old broken flange off. Took 2 metal blades to get the thing off but now we are ready for the floor.



Today's phrase was "siphonic flushing". That toilet was $258 dollars and we are not sure we need "siphonic flushing" so we settled for the mid line toilet with max flush rating.

July 4th!!!!

Wow was it hot....... not like last year and flannel shirt season all summer.



Junior carpenter installing insulation in foundation.


Completed foundation, insulation installed and spray foamed into place. Ben was disappointed we did not cut the flange but it can wait a bit...



Saturday we tarred the wall to help prevent water damage. The black area will be finished with a river rock looking finish. But that is for another day.

This weekend began as very excited as we could see real progress on finishing the bathroom wall/floor project. Saturday hit a ton of bricks and by mid day a tension headache set in and work ground to a halt. The tar really stunk up the place and might have helped push my buttons a bit.

Hank stayed in the kennel out back on two occasions and was a very good dog, actually was sleeping one time we walked to the backyard and woke him up.

We need more windows if it stays hot like this, very little air movement in the cabin and it heats up by afternoon.

June 26-28 WorkWeekend!!!

Before we began, a moment to remember the old bathroom. All that wood at the sill plate is but a mirage, it is totally rotted out up about 18 inches on the wall.

The order is given, "remove the wall...."

Our first try was to follow the old wall by re-laying the brick, oh wait did we mention they used a 4 inch wide brick "and" it slopes downhill off the foundation that was poured? Yeah just a few small details that are not known till you rip out the wall and then it starts to rain.
Must think quick, it's also 4pm on Sunday.

New foundation is wood, much easier to fix the slope problem and make sure we make it all fit together.

Funny thing, I never looked at this as a wood foundation solution, the bricks must have mystified me!!!!

The rain cleared my head.

Completed foundation. It is level at the sill plate and ready for the floor joists. Glued and screwed the treated OSB really tightened up the wall pieces.

Working on Monday morning. I was pretty tired by this point and really appreciate the kids not bugging me. Kathy was helping and she kept the kids doing other stuff. We boxed it up and called it a weekend. Next trip we will frame in the floor joists and then replace the missing wall framing. After that, OSB the floor area and run the vent pipe for the sewer. We need to cut the flange on the toilet, another fun job......

June 19th work day

Well the old walls are all gone!!! And we have been pushing to finish the flooring, down to only one sheet to install to complete the main floor.

The old loft will now be dismantled and the new loft will be installed. A support wall need to be installed before the new loft is built. Next big project week is the old bathroom wall.

New Window May 22nd

Took longer to figure out the trimming of window then the placement. We will do all three windows as they are set a s a group. But for our purposes, the window is in!!!


Helpers on the new window project. We camped out again the night before. Bathroom capabilities are now job ONE!!!!!

More floor..... May15

Emily and I laid 6 sheets of OSB flooring on Saturday. Whew!
We have 5 more to go and all the floor will be covered.

We helped her Unle Tom work on his remote cabin-deerblind as well.

I think there are some windows in my future....

May 2nd work update

Well we got all the floor tore up!!!! What a pain, too bad the floor was so messed up, nice hard wood floor at one time.

No pics too tired.

Kids had two good naps at the cabin, I took Saturday and napped and cooked dinner. Not much work got done, just being with kids.

East wall insulated April 10 2010

Worked on the east wall this weekend. Cut 6 sheets of 2 inch foam board to fill the holes in the wall cavity. We will spray foam the cracks and then overspray a 1 inch foam coating to finish filling the wall. Should be R-17 ish when we are done. The open spots are for the windows. We have some small spots to fill in but still need to run electric wiring etc.


This is the siding choice, there are cheaper ways to reside it, but this stuff is cement coated and tough as rock. Unless you bend it then it snaps real easy......

We will get some small paint samples to paint these to see what colors to go with as well as the trim. I'm real sure that hunter green is part of the trim.


Front floor is almost all gone as well. Then we need to buy 10 sheets of 3/4 inch OSB to do the floor. Tile choices are being worked on as well. The loft area must be torn down so the floor can go in.

March 27th work weekend...

Also known as don't lean on the back wall. No really, don't lean on it.

We had a full weekend, Friday night arrived at hotel and kids went swimming. Saturday we worked on cabin. Finished pulling old wood and 8 million freaking nails out of the studs in the back wall.

Pulled out the old "framing" and put in the window frame as designed. Spent time re-attaching the back wall to the new frame to help solidify it.



The windows only need to be purchased and can be installed in the back wall.

February- beginning the 2010 remodel year

Temps in low 30's, but we got some heat and worked on the insulation for the roof area.

The board is the carsiding put up to see how it would look.