Heat, Storms, and Roofing

Wow. Not sure where to begin with this update. The temperatures were about as hot as I have ever seen them up there. Dew points in the 70's and actual temps in the 90's made for some hot days (and nights).

In addition to the heat, we had several storms come through. On Monday (July 2nd), a strong storm took down some of our neighbors trees, one landing on a new truck. On the evening of the 4th, storms prohibited us from attending fireworks in Crosby and Friday we got so much rain the lake rose about a foot by Saturday. We also found out that during the storms that flooded Duluth, our lake got so high that our boat floated off the lift and down the lake. A neighbor from across the lake can to the rescue and after the water went down, returned it to our lift. We also learned that our dirt road to the cabin had been closed for several days after those storms because much of the road had washed out.

The good news is that when it was not storming, we did manage to put new steel roofing on both the garage and the cabin. The steel arrived late Monday afternoon.

We decided to begin with the garage to make sure we knew what we were doing before tackling the cabin. We started the garage on Tuesday morning and got all the steel on it before sunset. I still had a lot of screws to install on the roof, but at least all the steel was up. I tried finishing the install on Wednesday, but the heat got the best of me and I had to wait until early Thursday to finish.

After finishing the garage roof on Thursday, we went straight to work on the cabin. We decided it would be safe to get the first 20 feet done. The cabin was much more time consuming because I had to cut a ridge vent and also remove some old vents. I worked on cutting the ridge vent while Cheryl put down all the quarter inch foam over the existing shingles. The cabin roof is much less square than the garage roof. This caused us some difficulties as well.

Having a ridge vent (which is covered by the foam in the photo above) required us to make sure it was covered at the end of the day in case of rain before we could continue. I made sure only to cut the ridge vent within the section we were working on. This turned out to be a good thing, because on Thursday night and all day Friday it poured. We got several inches of rain. The good news is that there were no leaks. Also, just for the record, rain on the metal roof did not cause any additional noise.

The rain stopped late on Friday and Saturday turned out to be a gorgeous day. We got started before 8am and finished around 9pm Saturday night. Just in time to head over to town to see the fireworks. Outing always puts on a great show.

I have to give kudos to my wife, Cheryl. She was critical to the the completion of these roofs. She totally surprised me. I had not expected her to be on the roofs so much. I actually thought she had a fear of heights, but she totally proved me wrong. Sometimes I love being proved wrong. Thanks honey!!

I also would like to thank my mother-in-law, Kathy. She was up for a good portion of the week and helped entertain the rug rats while Cheryl and I focused on the roof. Thanks Kathy!

Roofing prep

Returned home today from a great trip up north. Zac was in a soccer tournament on Saturday (his team finish 2nd in the league) which ended in the early afternoon. We took off after the tournament and arrived up north around 5:30pm. It was around 88 degree's when we arrived. Cheryl got busy mowing the grass while I unloaded our full trailer. This was the first time this year we had a dry drive up.

I brought up an old Select Comfort air bed and frame that had been in our basement the last few years. We set it up on Saturday night and, for the first time in our cabin, we all slept on real beds.

The bunk beds...

Julissa's bed...


The lake level had dropped about 1.5 feet since we had been up there a couple of weeks ago. We did not know what to expect, and it was nice to see it had returned to near normal.

Sunday was another steamy hot day. With the water level's back to a reasonable level, we go the boat out of the garage and finally got it in the water. The boat is running great. We spent most of the day on the boat or down at the lake swimming. The wind's were pretty strong on Sunday afternoon, but we managed to get the canopy put on the boat lift. And it was a good thing too, because we had a ton of rain on Sunday night.

The temperatures on Monday and Tuesday were below average, but the days were perfect for working outside. My main goal for the trip was to remove the shingles that had been installed just hanging over the gable ends of the cabin roof. In order to prepare the roof for the steeling roofing, I had to get some actual fascia boards installed on those ends. You can see the shingles just over-hanging the gable end in the photo below.

Underneath those shingles are the 2x4's supporting the roof. I had to cut each of those shingles off along the roof line to expose the 2x4's and attach fascia board. The end result is a much cleaner looking roof line as you can see below. I did this on both ends of the cabin.


I had some time in the evenings to work on the chainsaw. The starter cord had shredded, so I replaced it and was able to get it working again. A chainsaw is a required tool up there since it seems like each year we are cutting up a couple of tree's.


My oldest is becoming quite the little fisherman. Instead of asking if he could play video games, he spent the entire trip asking to go fishing. Of course, we never say no to that. He caught his first Northern Pike on Tuesday.

He also caught his first Large Mouth Bass too. The boys actually took the paddle boat down to the smaller end of the lake and did some fishing off of it. It's so nice to see them enjoying the outdoors.

Rain Rain Go Away...

Just back from our very wet, very rainy Memorial weekend trip.  We have never seen so much rain during any stretch of time we have spent at the cabin. The lake is at least two feet above normal.  The dock is almost under water and we decided not to leave the boat on the lift for fear that it may end up floating away.  The lake was continuing to rise even as we left today.  We did find a few minutes of sunshine on Monday and took some photos.

The entire drive up we drove through pouring rain.  Everything in the trailer was soaked even though I had it heavily tarped.   Even the coolers that were strapped shut had about 1.5 inches of water in the bottom of them.

Shortly after we arrived, there was a break in the rain.  I took the opportunity to hook up the satellite dish.  It was good I did, since we got stuck inside most of the weekend and it was nice to have some TV to view.

I did manage to get a little work done.  I trimmed out the windows in the main living room to finally get rid of the exposed 2x6's around the windows.  It actually looks quite nice.

The highlight of the weekend was when Mitchell caught a 13" small mouth bass.  It was the biggest fish he has ever caught.  I think the entire lake heard him celebrating.  

This was our 2nd trip of the year. Our first trip was 3 weeks ago. I had found a bunk bed on Craig's List and instead of storing it we decided just to take it up.  The boys have been sleeping on it and think it's about 1000 times better than the cot's they had been sleeping on.  I also brought up a single twin bed for Julissa so all the kids are sleeping on real beds now.  Too bad Mom and Dad are still sleeping on an air bed on the floor...

One final note

So we decided to spend another long weekend at the lake over MEA weekend. The kids had time off from school and the forecast was looking good. We took off Friday morning and returned on Sunday afternoon.

It's real nice to have the ability now to utilize the cabin in the cooler temps. Even though it was in the low thirties overnight, a few space heaters in the cabin kept everyone nice and warm. I don't have much to report, but just wanted to post a few of the photos we took. I can't say I've noticed this in the past, but there are several tall pines on the property that turned a nice shade of yellow this fall. If you look back on my last post from a couple of weeks back you can see the difference a couple of weeks makes.

From 2011 Cabin Work

From 2011 Cabin Work

From 2011 Cabin Work

That's all folks. See you in the spring and thanks for reading!

Closing up for the year

We made a quick run up this weekend to get things closed up for the year. We had a few sprinkles but for the most part the weather was very nice. Highs around 70. Not bad for the second weekend in October. A few weeks back we had bought a ceiling fan on clearance at Home Depot. We it and took it up with us and installed the fan in the "great room". It will provide a good amount of light and it will be nice on those hot summer days too.

From 2011 Cabin Work

We did a bunch of tree trimming that was long overdue. We now have much better views of the lake from the cabin area and no longer have to duck below branches to get down to the lake.

From 2011 Cabin Work

From 2011 Cabin Work

It it always sad to take the boat out of the season, but it had to be done. The dock removal guys need to get the docks out in the next couple of weeks.

I tried something new this year to empty out the water lines. I connected the air compressor to the water supply and completely blew out the water lines. In the past I relied on gravity to drain the water lines. The new technique seems to work much nicer and is really easy - thanks Pete!

We will try to make it up another time or two this fall if the weather permits. It's always interesting to see how different things look after the trees are bare. There is always a better chance of seeing some wildlife in the fall too. Last trip up we did see a black bear along the road just south of Emily. That was the first time we've see a bear in the area.

Well, that wraps it up for this year. If we do make it up again and anything interesting happens I will let you know. It's been a great year up there. Next year I just need to get that new roof put on. Until next time, take care and "enjoy" the other seasons.

Mud, Dust, and Paint

Got back last night from a 5 day stretch at the lake. Temps were a little cooler than they had been last month. Not sure if it was the cooler temps or what, but for some reason we managed to get a decent amount of work done this trip.

I finally broke down and bought a TV antenna on the way up. The first thing I did when we got up there was to install it. I knew going in that we would only be able to receive one channel (WCCO), but I installed it anyway. Actually, it's a good thing we only get one channel. Time up at the lake should not be spent watching TV anyway.

From 2011 Cabin Work

Next on the agenda was to finish the mudding of the hallway and closet. Twenty four hours later (give or a take a few) it was time to do the final sanding of the now dry mud. Getting covered in that white powder is never fun, but it sure looks nice when it's done. Once the sanding was complete, we cracked open the paint and got a couple of coats of paint put on. It's looks so nice once the paint goes on.

From 2011 Cabin Work

From 2011 Cabin Work

After the paint had dried it was time to install more flooring in the "great room". I was only able to install about 80 sq. feet because I realized I still needed to get the last base cabinet installed in the kitchen before the flooring can be installed around it.

From 2011 Cabin Work

From 2011 Cabin Work

Another thing we did this time was to build a step for the front door. Until now the step up from the "porch" to the front door was about a 16 inch rise. Not only did the kids have problems with it, our parents are having more difficulty getting in and out of the cabin. The new step makes it a much nicer climb in and out. Of course the whole porch thing is temporary until we get the wrap around deck installed.

From 2011 Cabin Work

The kids enjoyed more tubing and also both boys did some water skiing. They are getting pretty good. Julissa and I got some good daddy/daughter fishing time in too. She just loves to fish.

That's all for now.

The new approach is working

Last weekend we enjoyed several beautiful days up at the lake. I am happy to report that my new approach of "working very little" is in full force. We spent most of the weekend on the water. We got the boat back, and luckily it only needed a new primer bulb on the gas line, a sixteen dollar repair. It's running great now and we sure took advantage of it. The kids went tubing several times. Julissa tubed by herself for the first time ever. She really enjoyed it.

From 2011 Cabin Work

I also made several canoe trips around the lake with the kids this time. Once again, it was Julissa's first canoe experience.

From 2011 Cabin Work

A couple of weeks prior to going up to the lake, we were at Menards and we came across a bunch of interior doors on clearance. We could not pass up the deal so we bought all the doors for the rooms at the cabin. We hauled those up with us. Cheryl found a great deal for a linen closet for the bathroom on Craigs list. We stopped in Cambridge on the way up and picked up the linen closet. We really needed something in the cabin bathroom to hold towels and what not.

We did find a little time to install a couple of the doors and the linen closet.

From 2011 Cabin Work

From 2011 Cabin Work

From 2011 Cabin Work

On Monday before we left, I put another layer of sheet rock mud on the seams in the closet by the front door and also in the hallway.

From 2011 Cabin Work