Monday, January 31, 2011

Cabin Building - All Closed In!!

Thanks to Ken, our wonder-neighbor, we used the last two "warm days" (hahaha - yes, Zero is warm) to get the last two end walls framed up and sheathed in and the stove and chimney installed.  YAY!!!!

Now all we have to do is seal up/cover over the expansion gaps in the sheathing, fire up the stove, and get to caulking and spray foaming so we can blow in our insulation. That will let us get started on all the interior work so it can be done by the time it finally warms up enough to do more exterior work before the spring rains come. Really, it was barely warm enough for G-man to climb up on the roof and battle 8+" of snow to install the chimney and flashing... brrrrrrrr.

By the dawn's early light... about 9:30 am.

The south side all framed and sheathed.


The north side all framed and sheathed.

Got the front door in to match the back door we got installed earlier. Plus the old utility staircase got another makeover to tide us over temporarily until we get the porches done.

The best way to run cables and hoses through a doorway during winter construction to keep the little bit of heat the propane & kerosene heaters are giving us inside!

And our new stove finally in the right position. Of course, now Ken & G have to herniate themselves to lift it again so I can get the hearth pad lined up properly.

The first floor from the SW living room corner, showing the stairway (ladder is temp) and the pantry with back door.

And the first floor from the NE corner (pantry) into the SW corner showing the living room and our Visqueen windows.

Enclosed 2nd floor, from the bedroom (south side) toward the "office" and stairway. Ken's long legs as he's trying to frame in the flue support box for our stove and chimney.

Enclosed 2nd floor from the north side stairway toward the "bedroom".

Beautiful sunset out the chimney hole in the roof. Yes, all that snow is on the roof!

Couldn't quite get a finished pic with the chimney installed because it got dark too fast... but this eerie landscape is a result of the trucks warming and me forgetting not to breath in the cold while trying to snap a pic. Cool, ain't it?!

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great work and great pictures. I am wondering how you are able to drive the trucks around the yard and trails without getting stuck? 1-2 feet it a bit too much to drive on top of. Is their plastic on the rooftop? When the place heats up, I worry about moisture getting into the plywood. GOOD LUCK!

Mike Yukon said...

Wow! Finally getting close to having heat inside your new home. I'll bet there will be a party that night! Thanks for sharing your adventure.

Mike

Anonymous said...

Great news! I continue to be amazed at how you two keep making progress despite all the "hiccups" along the way - and then keep your sense of humor intact as well!

I remain in awe as always. Thanks also for the great pictures - it really helps us all appreciate what you're dealing with - the good and the bad.
--
Sam....

Urbancowgrrl said...

Oooh ... that second story bedroom is going to be so warm and cozy I bet! I am vicariously excited for you!

Anonymous said...

Yipee!!!! Thanks for the update and the pictures. Great work. At least your closed in. Even if it is plastic over the window. Lol

Washkeeton

Anonymous said...

So glad for ya'll!

Cool photo of the vehicles.

Jennifer

Anonymous said...

I was hoping you would be able to get everything closed in. Congratulations on that!

Plickety Cat said...

We actually have the windows, but it's too cold to install them since we're worried about the fiberglass fins snapping off. We already had one of the door frames crack during installation because of the cold. Most modern building materials weren't designed to withstand construction below freezing!! Even the tarps and Visqueen start shredding :)

Yes we have a tarp on the roof for now. Wish we'd gotten the really big heavy-duty tarp up there before the big snow, but we had to get something up in a hurry when we got that freakish ice storm back in November. It'll have to do. We hope the plywood doesn't suffer too badly from any moisture or water either... that would really suck. Ah well, we can't control the weather, right?!

How do we drive around in the woods with 1-2 feet of snow? Aggressive use of 4WD and really big tires!! Luckily, the snow here is really dry so it packs down pretty hard when you drive on it all the time... just don't steer (or slide!) out of your ruts or you'll get stuck and need to shovel yourself out. Been there, done that, burned the T-Shirt :) Eventually we'll get a plow or a snow thrower to keep the trails and driveway clear; but since it's all just tundra at the moment with no real road surface that would be somewhat pointless so we just tough it out.

I think the bedroom on the second floor is going to be really toasty, especially since the flue will be going right up behind the bed's headboard. We cut a portal in the floor around the flue (will add a small baluster around it to keep from stepping through) and will also be cutting through and installing some floor grates at strategic points to make sure the heat from the stove downstairs flows nicely upstairs and the cooler air can fall back downstairs to get heated again. Can't beat old-fashioned convection heating :D

Jerseykat said...

Congrats on the getting closed in!
It won't be long before the tent will be a memory and you will be toasty next winter!

Anonymous said...

Bravo!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the progress!! I am sure you can not wait until you can move in and sleep there the first time.

Do not hurt yourselves lifting the stove, can you use a car jack for that task? Strong board underneath to pivot off a stationaty item outside of the hearth footprint :)

I can't wait to see more updates.

Anonymous said...

Very nice. Soon; the tent will be history. Life is so much better with more room.

Plickety Cat said...

No moose antlers yet, but I'm sure we'll find some nice sheds somewhere on the property or grab a rack once we finally get around to proper hunting. Hopefully this fall we won't be too busy building and getting set up!

Of course, a moose rack might clash with the satellite dish LOL!

We'll have to figure something out to move the stove so we can position the hearth properly. Trouble is that there is an ash pan on the bottom and we don't want to crush it, so we'll have to see if we can get a 2x4 between the pan and the legs on either side and slowly lever it up and block it without tipping the whole thing over. Hopefully a 2x4 will take the 400+ lbs and not crack under the strain since we'll have to do it again when we finally get around to tiling the hearth.

Anonymous said...

Congrats, you two! Rock on!!!

Viva -- Sager

Judi said...

Your cabin is going to be beautiful! I love the photo with the two birch trees in view from your window. You guys have certainly worked hard and lived hard doing this project. Our little 16x20 one-room cabin is nearly done on the Kenai Peninsula. Not ready for winter though. Someday...