Capping it all off!

Friday, April 9, 2010  We set out on Friday mid-morning with huge expectations and a trailer full of every conceivable tool we might need. We had to make a few stops on the way north, including a trailer wheel repair, and finally arrived at Little Chip at about 2:30 where our work awaited us!

We discovered that our first lumber load and the floor trusses had been delivered. It was like Christmas!

We had a late-afternoon visit from Rob, of Traut Wells, to discuss the location of our well. Sure enough, we all agreed it needed to be about 50 feet off the southeast corner of the cabin, right where a big pile of black dirt was. So, once the tree is cut down and the dirt pile moved, the well can be dug. Ooooh, fresh, running water will be awesome!

Our goal for the weekend was to complete the weight-bearing wall and the exterior walk-out wall so that we could place the floor trusses and the floor decking to cap the basement. Sounds do-able, right? Certainly not without the help of our willing and capable son and daughter-in-law, Chris and Kelly. They joined us on Friday night and we got a jump start on hauling the lumber down to the work site. The top plates were drilled and placed on the foundation and we enjoyed a "hobo" meal of chicken, green beans and potatoes cooked on our new Weber grill (our latest craigslist find!)

Though the day was warm, as the sun set, the temperature dropped quickly.

We were so grateful that our friends, the Moselle's, allowed us the use of their cabin in Ashby on Pelican Lake. We had planned on camping in tents to try to cut down on cost. But, were so thankful to have four walls and two small space heaters to keep us warm that night. We all slept like rocks.

Saturday, April 10, 2010  The day began by talking through the various approaches to felling one last tree. Once the elevation was determined and the foundation poured, we discovered that the tree in the front of the cabin was too close to where the porch will be. This tree definitely had a mind and a literal bent of its own, leaning strongly southwesterly. We wanted it to fall northeasterly, but were certain we had little say in it. 

So, even though we were SO physically and mentally "done" with cutting trees and hauling logs, we set out one last time. We agreed to go the tree's southwestern route and at last, it fell safely... and not on the foundation! It was the strangest, slowest fall ever, with one big "creak" and a tip of a few feet, then another cut and another loud "creak" and a few more feet down. Thank you, God! Kelly and Sandy started cutting and hauling...once again. Doug and Chris built the weight-bearing wall and we all raised it into place. Frequent whooping could be heard as Doug cheered for the level, plumb foundation walls. It made everything fit into place perfectly. Way to go, Josh!

Lunch was, of course, enjoyed at Grandma Patty's. It's always a nice treat to eat a good lunch and use a real bathroom.

From lunch until sundown, it was truss time. Since we had made changes to the walkout foundation that somehow didn't get communicated adequately to the truss designers, the exterior wall had to be constructed piece by piece to accommodate the short trusses we were sent. This was quite an undertaking and certainly slowed the process. The top plates were then measured and marked for each truss' exact location. We then hauled the trusses and leaned them up against the foundation. Chris and Doug lifted each one up, setting one end on the foundation and the other on the weight-bearing wall in the middle of the basement. They were amazing! Each truss was then anchored down with a bracket on one side and toenailed to the top plate on the other side.

Once the trusses were all in place, it was time to place the plywood decking on top. It always sounds so easy to say something like that. But even getting the right wood and tools and supplies to the correct spot was a lot of work, especially when it has to be hauled up a slippery plank that's 12 feet up. By day's end, we were set up to start more of the decking process in the morning. Kelly had to head home in the afternoon, so the three of us worked until dark and then decided to pass on the homemade soup Sandy had made and instead went into Alec for dinner. We chowed down at the China Buffet and then dragged our hides back to Moselle's cabin by 9:35 pm. We were sound asleep by 10:00!

Sunday, April 11, 2010  We awoke to another perfect day! We got back to work on the decking where we put glue on the top of each truss and plunked the plywood in place, trying to fit the tongue and groove together. This didn't work well when we added glue in that joint, so no more glue in the joints.

At 5:00 Kelly arrived, having grabbed dinner for us on her way back to pick up Chris. We ate Jimmy Johns turkey sandwiches by the fire and enjoyed a little down time. They headed back home to face another work week. We are so thankful for all their help!

Doug and Sandy enjoyed one last "romantic" night alone at Moselle's...if you call "sawing logs" together romantic!


Monday, April 12, 2010  Gotta get the decking done! Getting the plywood sheets tightly together required Doug slamming it from one end with a maul and Sandy hollering how close it was. Doug would get pretty frustrated when Sandy would say "1/8 inch!" and then "1/4 inch!" with each subsequent swing of the maul. He'd yell, "It can't get wider each time I hit it!" Sandy thought it was funny that she was having these "blonde moments" but somehow, Doug didn't laugh as hard! Once a sheet was in place it had to be nailed about 100 times to each truss. When the whole deck was done, we stained it with deck stain.

Unfortunately, the roller handle was very short and required bending over the whole time to apply. Sandy would roll for a while until her back cramped up and then have to sit down to continue rolling.

It was really fun seeing the lake view from the top of the main floor. It's higher than we thought it would be, but gives a cool perspective. Maddie found her perch where she made sure all was well. She sat watching all the pelicans and finally gave a few of them a scare as she chased them to flight! 

At last the cap was on and sealed! Clean up took another hour and we were finally on the road home by 6:30, fully spent and fully satisfied!

Thank you Lord for a great weekend! Look at this amazing progress!

 

Before...

After...!!!!

P.S. Tuesday morning...it rained!