We arrived at the cabin Wednesday (6/17) afternoon and came home yesterday (6/21 - Fathers day). Luckily there was no rain on the way up because we hauled a bunch of insulation and the bathroom vanity in our open trailer. Unfortunately I forgot my camera this trip so I have no pictures to share.
Wednesday was consumed by the typical chores you have when you arrive. Mowing the grass, unpacking the truck, unpacking the trailer, running to the gas station to get gas, etc. We put the boat in the water for the first time this year on Wednesday. It was nice to get out on the lake again.
Thursday Cheryl and I insulated the wall and ceiling of the bathroom. Then we installed the vapor barrier. We got the shower drain opening cut and the shower base in place. We had to hang running boards along the ceiling in the bathroom every 16 inches to support the 1/2 inch sheet rock I bought. Lesson learned: buy 5/8 inch sheet rock for the ceiling from now on. We finished hanging the sheet rock on the ceiling by the end of the day.
Friday we continued our march towards a bathroom by finishing 95% of the remainder of the sheet rock. We only had one more piece to hang, but first I needed to complete the plumbing for the shower. This process turned out to be much more difficult then I had anticipated. Saturday was mostly consumed with this effort. Of course, it was 85 degrees outside (which means it was like 100 degrees in the cabin) on Saturday, so I did not work all that hard. The boys "convinced" old Dad to go swimming in the lake, have a boat ride, make smores by the fire, go out for dinner, etc...
By Sunday we were all ready to go home. I did taping and mudding on the sheet rock before we left. Packing up is always a multi-hour process so I did not have time to finish the first layer of mud.
All in all, I would say it was a good trip. As usual, I had hopes to get further, but there is always next time. It is so cool to actually have walls in one room. You can't see straight through the cabin any longer. I'm looking forward to our next trip up. I hope the temperatures cooperate, otherwise working inside the 90% uninsulated cabin becomes almost unbearable.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Memorial Weekend
I had big plans for Memorial weekend this year. My plan was to get up there early on Saturday and get a good 1/2 day of work in on Saturday.
As usual things did not go according to plan, starting with the 10 vehicle (7 motor cycles and 3 cars) crash on 169 around Lake Mille Lacs. After sitting on 169 for nearly an hour, we (and hundreds of others) all had to turn our vehicles around and take an alternate route because they closed the road. We saw 3 ambulances, at least 10 emergency vehicles and a medical chopper arrive. From what I understand no one died at least.
Anyway, the drive up ended up taking 5.5 hours and we did not get the early start I wished for. After unpacking and getting situated, Saturday was basically shot.
We did get started at a decent time Sunday morning. I worked all day roughing in the hot and cold water supply lines. Prior to going up, I had drawn up plans on exactly how I would plumb the lines. After I got started I realized there was a much better way and completely re-worked my plan.
I was able to complete the work on Sunday. I even managed to spend a little time fishing with the boys off the dock thanks to Cheryl for picking up some worms in town earlier that day.
Monday morning was time to put the system to the test. I fired up the well pump and loaded the water lines full of pressurized water. Amazingly I only had a couple of small leaks which did not take long to fix. While I was testing the system Cheryl was roughing in electrical lines for baseboard heat that will be installed at some point.
All in all, it was a very productive weekend. Our next trip up should be a week long and we should (keep fingers crossed) have a fully sheetrocked, functional bathroom with toilet, shower and all. I'm really looking forward to having hot water and a toilet.
As usual things did not go according to plan, starting with the 10 vehicle (7 motor cycles and 3 cars) crash on 169 around Lake Mille Lacs. After sitting on 169 for nearly an hour, we (and hundreds of others) all had to turn our vehicles around and take an alternate route because they closed the road. We saw 3 ambulances, at least 10 emergency vehicles and a medical chopper arrive. From what I understand no one died at least.
Anyway, the drive up ended up taking 5.5 hours and we did not get the early start I wished for. After unpacking and getting situated, Saturday was basically shot.
We did get started at a decent time Sunday morning. I worked all day roughing in the hot and cold water supply lines. Prior to going up, I had drawn up plans on exactly how I would plumb the lines. After I got started I realized there was a much better way and completely re-worked my plan.
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| From 2009 cabin |
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| From 2009 cabin |
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| From 2009 cabin |
I was able to complete the work on Sunday. I even managed to spend a little time fishing with the boys off the dock thanks to Cheryl for picking up some worms in town earlier that day.
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| From 2009 cabin |
Monday morning was time to put the system to the test. I fired up the well pump and loaded the water lines full of pressurized water. Amazingly I only had a couple of small leaks which did not take long to fix. While I was testing the system Cheryl was roughing in electrical lines for baseboard heat that will be installed at some point.
All in all, it was a very productive weekend. Our next trip up should be a week long and we should (keep fingers crossed) have a fully sheetrocked, functional bathroom with toilet, shower and all. I'm really looking forward to having hot water and a toilet.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Let the work begin
The family made the first trip up last weekend. Things looked great. I could not be happier. No trees down, no mice nests, and no break-in's. The siding that we put up in the fall looked great except for one top piece that came a little loose right above the front door.
We did a ton of raking in which the boys were really a big help. I finally got around to wiring up the pump and alarm in the septic system to try it out. Both the pump and the alarm seem to be working great. This is good news since I plan on getting all the plumbing functional this year.
I gave the roof a good looking over. It's actually in better shape then I thought it was. I'm thinking that the bathroom and kitchen area will be the top priorities for this year. If I don't get the time to do the roof this year, I'm sure it will be fine until next year.
Our current plan is to go up over Memorial weekend and start the bathroom work. First I will need to get the water lines in place, then insulation and sheet rock. Hopefully we will make good progress and my next post will include some good new photos.
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| From 2009 cabin |
We did a ton of raking in which the boys were really a big help. I finally got around to wiring up the pump and alarm in the septic system to try it out. Both the pump and the alarm seem to be working great. This is good news since I plan on getting all the plumbing functional this year.
I gave the roof a good looking over. It's actually in better shape then I thought it was. I'm thinking that the bathroom and kitchen area will be the top priorities for this year. If I don't get the time to do the roof this year, I'm sure it will be fine until next year.
Our current plan is to go up over Memorial weekend and start the bathroom work. First I will need to get the water lines in place, then insulation and sheet rock. Hopefully we will make good progress and my next post will include some good new photos.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Spring is here!
Today is the first full day of spring. Winter is behind us now! As the days get warmer and the snow disappears, the cabin project starts to come back into the daily thought process. I think the first thing to do this year is to get the bathroom functional. It sure will be nice to have a normal toilet and sink with running water. It would also be fantastic to get the shower working too. I'm thinking the next big step this year will be replacing the shingles on the roof. The roof (and the posts supporting it) are the only pieces that belonged to the original structure. The roof is at least 20 years old and in dire need of replacement.
I'm anxious to get up there in the next month or so to see how things survived the winter. Hopefully everything is just fine and we can just pickup were we left off.
I'm anxious to get up there in the next month or so to see how things survived the winter. Hopefully everything is just fine and we can just pickup were we left off.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
The siding is up!
We had a great weekend at the cabin. We could not have asked for more perfect weather. Mort, Pete, and myself arrived around 12:30pm on Friday and quickly got to work. We started on the backside of the cabin since it has the fewest windows.
As the day progressed, we moved around to the front and started working our way up.
We worked until dark (which is now around 7:30pm). We made a great deal of progress on Friday (which gave us a false sense of how much longer the remainder of the cabin would take).
The next morning we were working by 8:30am. Iver showed up a little while later and we then split into two teams. Mort and myself worked on the garage side peak while Iver and Pete started on the opposite side. We were thinking that we would be completely finished by early to mid afternoon.
As the day progressed, we ran into a few snags and had to redo a few sections of the side and front to make sure the siding all aligned correctly in-between the windows and the doors. This set us back a couple of hours. The top couple of the feet of the siding seemed to take longer than the seven or so feet below it. The gable ends also took longer than expected due to the constant moving of ladders. Scaffolding would definitely be a necessity for a job that was any bigger than this one.
By 5pm or so we had completely finished our first side. It's the gable end opposite the garage side. I was very happy we had taken the extra steps and care to make sure things aligned.
Within the next few hours we managed to finish the remainder of the structure off. It was almost completely dark out when we finished.
I am happy to say that it looks great! I would like to give a big thanks to Pete, Mort, and Iver for working so hard and doing such professional work. I'm so happy with how it turned out.
Well, that's all for now. I've got to figure out exactly what we will be doing next year. I'm kind of liking this annual guys working weekend. Maybe if I'm fortunate enough next year we will have a big sheet rocking weekend. :-)
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| From 2008 Work |
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| From 2008 Work |
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| From 2008 Work |
The next morning we were working by 8:30am. Iver showed up a little while later and we then split into two teams. Mort and myself worked on the garage side peak while Iver and Pete started on the opposite side. We were thinking that we would be completely finished by early to mid afternoon.
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| From 2008 Work |
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| From 2008 Work |
By 5pm or so we had completely finished our first side. It's the gable end opposite the garage side. I was very happy we had taken the extra steps and care to make sure things aligned.
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| From 2008 Work |
Within the next few hours we managed to finish the remainder of the structure off. It was almost completely dark out when we finished.
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| From 2008 Work |
I am happy to say that it looks great! I would like to give a big thanks to Pete, Mort, and Iver for working so hard and doing such professional work. I'm so happy with how it turned out.
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| From 2008 Work |
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| From 2008 Work |
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| From 2008 Work |
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| From 2008 Work |
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| From 2008 Work |
Well, that's all for now. I've got to figure out exactly what we will be doing next year. I'm kind of liking this annual guys working weekend. Maybe if I'm fortunate enough next year we will have a big sheet rocking weekend. :-)
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Prep for siding
Yesterday we returned from a full week up north. Grandpa Glenn came along to help with the work. The weather was beautiful. We had sunny days with temps in the mid 80's all week until the last day when it cooled off a bit. The mosquito's were around, but not overwhelming like they can be. We had camp fires and roasted marshmallows several times.
Our main objective for the week as to get the cabin ready for the big siding weekend that's coming up in September. With Grandpa's help, we got the started strips installed, the J-channel in place around all the windows, J-Block, and the corner edges installed too. J-Block is the stuff that you put around the outside lights, electrical boxes, outside faucets, air vents, etc. I am extremely happy with the progress we made.
There were a couple of things we were not able to finish. The J-block around the outlets is not complete due to some issues I encountered with the size of the outlet covers. We also were not able to put the J-channel around the front door because I need to install a 2x12 treated board under the front door sill. Besides those things, the outside is ready for siding.
I changed the dining room circuit to 20 amp, so the wiring work is completely done.
Cheryl was busy with painting some of the exterior trim and also did a bunch of framing work on the ceiling (so we can attach drywall to the ceiling some day).
The most exciting thing we did was to side about two-thirds of the garage facing side.
The other thing that was really cool was getting some of the circuits hooked up. It was so nice to have some lights (particularly on the outside of the cabin).
I was really hoping to get the toilet installed on this trip, but it was just not a priority and time (and the wife) did not permit it. It's probably better. I'm learning that doing things in a temporary fashion is not really helpful to getting the long term goals done. It just ends up taking longer and costing more.
That will probably be our last family trip up for the year. School starts next week and it's already starting to feel like fall outside. We still need to get the boat out and other various fall closing tasks so we will be back up once or twice, but only for a day or too. With the exception of the siding weekend, further work on the cabin will have to wait until next year.
I'm looking forward to our siding weekend. I learned a lot about siding application this week, so I don't anticipate any major problems.
Our main objective for the week as to get the cabin ready for the big siding weekend that's coming up in September. With Grandpa's help, we got the started strips installed, the J-channel in place around all the windows, J-Block, and the corner edges installed too. J-Block is the stuff that you put around the outside lights, electrical boxes, outside faucets, air vents, etc. I am extremely happy with the progress we made.
There were a couple of things we were not able to finish. The J-block around the outlets is not complete due to some issues I encountered with the size of the outlet covers. We also were not able to put the J-channel around the front door because I need to install a 2x12 treated board under the front door sill. Besides those things, the outside is ready for siding.
I changed the dining room circuit to 20 amp, so the wiring work is completely done.
Cheryl was busy with painting some of the exterior trim and also did a bunch of framing work on the ceiling (so we can attach drywall to the ceiling some day).
The most exciting thing we did was to side about two-thirds of the garage facing side.
The other thing that was really cool was getting some of the circuits hooked up. It was so nice to have some lights (particularly on the outside of the cabin).
I was really hoping to get the toilet installed on this trip, but it was just not a priority and time (and the wife) did not permit it. It's probably better. I'm learning that doing things in a temporary fashion is not really helpful to getting the long term goals done. It just ends up taking longer and costing more.
That will probably be our last family trip up for the year. School starts next week and it's already starting to feel like fall outside. We still need to get the boat out and other various fall closing tasks so we will be back up once or twice, but only for a day or too. With the exception of the siding weekend, further work on the cabin will have to wait until next year.
I'm looking forward to our siding weekend. I learned a lot about siding application this week, so I don't anticipate any major problems.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
The inspection
Grandma and Grandpa agreed to watch the kids last weekend, so Cheryl and I made run up to the lake to finish up the electrical work. We arrived on Saturday morning and worked all day Saturday and Sunday. It's amazing how much more work you can accomplish when you don't have the little one's around. The inspector arrived on Monday and I'm happy to report that our electrical rough-in passed inspection with flying colors! He said he was very impressed with our work and that most "homeowner" jobs end up with 2-4 pages of problems that need to be fixed. He did ask me to change the circuit servicing the two outlets in the dining room from 15 amps to 20 amps, but that he did not need to come back to inspect it.
Now it's time to plan out our next trip up that happens in two weeks. I know we need to get the trim work for the siding in place (starter strip, outside corners, j-trim, etc) during that trip. We need to get that stuff in place so we can be prepared for our big siding weekend in September. I would really love to get the toilet installed so that we can actually use the septic that we paid so much for this year. I know I'm probably getting way to ambitious in my goals for the week, but I always do.
I would also like to point out that my wife, Cheryl has been a major contributor to all the work that we've done on the cabin to date. Without her hard work the cabin would still be an empty shell.
I will report back upon return from our next trip up...
Now it's time to plan out our next trip up that happens in two weeks. I know we need to get the trim work for the siding in place (starter strip, outside corners, j-trim, etc) during that trip. We need to get that stuff in place so we can be prepared for our big siding weekend in September. I would really love to get the toilet installed so that we can actually use the septic that we paid so much for this year. I know I'm probably getting way to ambitious in my goals for the week, but I always do.
I would also like to point out that my wife, Cheryl has been a major contributor to all the work that we've done on the cabin to date. Without her hard work the cabin would still be an empty shell.
I will report back upon return from our next trip up...
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