Ready for paint

Sorry it took so long for me to update the blog. It's been a very busy summer. Anyway, we have been up to the lake a couple of times since my last post. We've had a couple of pines come down this summer, so we ended up devoting a decent amount of time to cutting up the trees. Fortunately the trees did not hit anything when they fell.

The majority of our effort inside has been the mudding, taping, and sanding in the "great room". The room is now ready for painting.

From 2010 Work

From 2010 Work

From 2010 Work

We also started sheet-rocking one of the bedrooms.

From 2010 Work

Both the boys tried water skiing for the first time. Zachary got up the first time and was a natural.

From 2010 Work

Next time we head up, we are taking paint and kitchen cabinets. It will be very nice to get those cabinets out of our garage. They've been there two years now.

It's taking shape

Got back last night from our annual week long trip over the 4th. It was a great week. Warm weather and tons of sun. We did a lot of playing in the lake. The boys are really having fun tubing this year. We also took a day trip over to the Park Rapids area to visit some friends on Long Lake.

We did manage to accomplish some things during this time as well. I am happy to say that the entire "great room" is now sheet rocked as well as the closet and most of the hallway.

From 2010 Work

From 2010 Work

From 2010 Work

More photos at:

2010 Work

I am beginning to feel the kitchen is within reach. I think the next trip we will try to get the sheet rock in the hallway finished and then get the taping and mudding complete.

Finally, an update in 2010

It's been a very busy spring/summer so far. Between work and kids activities, I seem to have very little time to plan the cabin goals for the year. We have managed to get up to the cabin three times so far this year. It survived the winter well.

So far we have not done much "work" during our trips. I installed a wall heater in the bathroom. We had to install a new water heater because the old one I installed last year gave out. Another unexpected expense. Cheryl has been busy finishing up the insulation in the walls and installing the vapor barrier. I had to replace the burners in the grill and install new decking on the front steps. I attempted to install our satellite dish system, but was not 100% successful. I have a few more kinks to work out.

The July 4th weekend is upon us now. We are planning our annual week at the cabin, starting on July 1. We are hoping to finish the sheetrock in the main living space (kitchen/family room) and possibly the hallway if we have time. Once we get the kitchen area done we can finally bring up the cabinets that have been taking up space in my garage for the last two years.

One thing I have noticed is that I am losing my motivation to work the entire time we are up there. I guess having running water, a shower, and a toilet have made me a little lazy. Hopefully I can get over that soon, as there is still lots to do. I will update you with our progress after we return.

End of summer

Labor day weekend usually marks the end of the family trips to the lake. School starts on Tuesday and after that it gets much more difficult to take long weekend trips. This weekend was perfect. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were beautiful. Blue sky all day, highs around 80. We could have used a lot more of this weather all summer.

Oddly enough, very little work was done inside the cabin this time. With the beautiful weather we decided it was time to do some much needed "yard work". It had been several years since we had trimmed the trees and cut back the thick brush that grows down the hill. I did manage to finish the remainder of the insulation in the ceiling. Wow, does that make a difference. The cabin actually stays warm inside now during the cool evenings.

On Saturday Cheryl's parents came up and spent the night. It was their first trip up for the year and they enjoyed the great weather. They enjoyed fishing with the kids, a boat ride, and singing around the campfire.

From 2009 cabin

From 2009 cabin

From 2009 cabin

From 2009 cabin

We made a last minute change of plans on Sunday and decided to come home late Sunday instead of Monday. Zachary has been fighting a cold the last few days and we decided an extra night in his normal bed might help. Don't want to be sick for that first day of school.

We probably won't be back up for about a month (Mitchell has football every Saturday). Then it will be just to take the boat out and close everything up tight. It's been a good summer for progress. We got the plumbing installed, insulated the entire place, completed the bathroom, and made decent progress in the kitchen area. I think the top priority for next year will be getting the roof replaced. It's in sad shape and I'm dreading leaks in the near future. I'm leaning towards a metal roof for longevity and ease of install.

The end of summer is always bitter sweet. It's nice to take a break from construction during the off season. At the same time you wish you were able to enjoy more time up there. This has been our third summer of construction. It's great to see the place take shape. I'm excited to see what it will look like next year at this time.

Drywall in the kitchen

Sorry it took me so long to get this update posted. It's been a busy week. Anyway, we returned home from a long weekend last Tuesday. Our time was spent finishing the insulation, putting up the vapor barrier, and hanging sheet rock in the kitchen area. We got to try out our new sheet rock lift. Let me tell you, it was a lifesaver. Without that, I have no idea how we would have put up the 70 pound, 4' by 8' sheets of drywall on the ceiling. Hanging the sheet rock went slower then I hoped for. Considering the spacing of the roof trusses is not exactly 24" on center, I guess I can't complain. It could have been worse. Using the lift definitely takes more time, but in our case it's our only option.

That's all for now. Enjoy the pics.

Vapor barrier on the kitchen wall

From 2009 cabin

The first sheet is up!

From 2009 cabin

From 2009 cabin

The "L" of the kitchen

From 2009 cabin

From 2009 cabin

Summer will arrive one of these days, right?

We arrived home today from another long weekend up north. The weather sucked. Highs were in the 60's and lows in the 40's and it rained most of the time. On the flip side, due to the poor weather we did get a bunch more of the ceiling insulated and a bunch of other small jobs that I've been putting off. The main living space (I think I called it the "great room" in a previous post) is almost ready for sheet rock. My parents came up and Dad helped me with many of the small jobs. I did not add new photos because you can only show so much insulation. That's all for now. Due to work and some other obligations, we won't be heading back for a few weeks. Hopefully we will be hanging some sheet rock on that trip.

A quick update

Last weekend we made a quick two day cabin run. We spent Saturday at "Emily Day" in the neighboring town of Emily directly to our south. Sunday I finished up the shower and we took our first showers at the cabin. Cheryl worked all day and got nearly all the exterior walls insulated. We now have only to complete the ceiling insulation and the place will be fully insulated. Our next step is the kitchen. I've been looking into alternatives to dry wall for the ceiling. I'm thinking maybe a ceiling tile will work. Hopefully I will figure that out soon. That's all for now.

From 2009 cabin

From 2009 cabin