Getting Close

Hi there!  Welcome Back!  A lot of exciting things have been happening at the cabin.  They've also happened in a relatively short period of time and I've slacked a bit with the blog so I'm cramming a lot of stuff into this post.  Everything has been going smoothly with no major problems. We're very happy about that.  So, here's a bunch of pictures with some explanations. I hope you enjoy.

SHEETROCK

After the spray foam insulation was completed, sheetrock went up in the entire house (and has since been taped, spackled, sanded, and primed; and most of it painted).  This is looking towards the dining area of the downstairs.

Looking towards the living area of the downstairs

Guest bedroom

"Master" Bedroom

Upstairs hallway looking into the two bedrooms

SIDING

Another big thing that has happened is that the Board and Batten siding has gone on the house.  Here are some pictures of different phases of that process.  

Here's a shot of the East and North sides with the boards (though not yet the battens).

The final board on the front side of the house is about to be installed.  The pieces of wood trim you see at the top of each window are fastened at this point to secure the copper flashing and the rest of the trim was added later.

This is a close-up of the East wall with the battens installed on top of the boards.  You can also get a better idea of how the window trim will look in this picture, though it is not yet painted. 

FLOORING

A few years ago, I found a small wood reclamation company in NJ on craigslist that was selling old reclaimed barn boards for an amazing price. The boards were in a pretty beat up condition -- the perfect look for the rustic wide plank flooring we had envisioned for the cabin.  Me and a friend, Tom, who is a professional carpenter (and a great actor), took a trip out to NJ to look at the boards.  We spent about 10 hours on one January day, in several inches of snow and temperatures in the 20's, sifting through a huge stack of boards for the purpose of picking out the best ones.

We were very lucky to be able to store the boards at our friends Tim and Pam's house in Upstate NY who have a huge quonset hut on their property.  The flooring we now have in our cabin would not exist without Tom's guidance in picking out the best boards, and our friends Tim and Pam's generosity in letting us store the boards for three years.

The stack of boards in our friends' quonset hut

As I mentioned, the boards were in pretty rough condition and required planing before installation.  Here is an example of how the boards typically looked before and after a couple of passes through the planer.  I planed a bunch of boards while in storage in the quonset hut, and the builders planed the rest before installing.

The builders installing the flooring.

After the installation was complete, I spent about a half day sanding them with three different coarsenesses of sandpaper.  Home Depot has good quality sanders you can rent by the hour for a decent price and they are very easy to use.

Then came the polyurethane!  Wow, that really made the floors pop with rich character.

The weather was a bit muggy so it took around 36 hours for the first coat to dry, before applying the second coat.  The rich amber color became even more  intense after the second coat.

Second coat completed!  One note about applying the polyurethane; For the first coat, I used a lamb's wool pad applicator which in hindsight was not the best choice.   Even though the boards were thoroughly sanded,  old reclaimed boards have imperfections, including old nail holes in our case.  This caused tiny fibers to fray and tear off of the applicator at certain places.  Ultimately, it's not a huge deal because after all the interior trim and final carpentry is complete, I'll give the floors a very light sanding with a very fine coarseness of sandpaper before applying the final coat of poly.  As I did for the second coat, I'll apply the final coat the old fashioned way; down on my hands and knees using a wide brush.  It takes a long time and is not too easy on the back but it'll be well worth the difference in quality.

KITCHEN

One of the most rewarding parts of this whole process has been the building of the kitchen.  My dad and I together built all of the cabinets.  My parents live about three hours away in PA so we worked on the cabinets in about eight different two-day sessions in my parent's garage over the course of the past 16 months. I designed the cabinets but I have relatively little experience with that kind of wood working.  My father, however, has quite a bit of experience working with wood and was the guiding force in the construction of the cabinets.  It was very fun working with him on this. First, we purchased all the wood and made all necessary cuts.  Then... 

 Then, the assembly began.  Note: we built all the boxes, facing strips, and drawers, but had the doors and drawer facings custom built as doors are hard to make without professional equipment.

My dad standing next to what will be the island counter

When construction of the cabinets were completed, we began priming them.

The finished product!  Tracey and I knew we wanted something in the green family and Tracey found this "Kennebunkport Green" which we like very much!

My brothers and I installed the cabinets last week!  They will soon have soapstone countertops.  The opening on the back wall is where the stove will slide in.  The sink will be in the island counter. We will be installing open shelving on the back wall (rather than cabinets) for a more rustic feel.  Note about the refrigerator; it came from the factory with only one option re: the side on which the doors open.  We will simply have the doors reversed to be on the right side for better flow when working in the kitchen.  

Here, the soapstone countertop maker is making a template which he will use to cut the stone to size at his shop. He will be returning soon with the countertops ready for installation!

Because the building of the cabinets  spanned 16 months from start to finish (often with a couple of months between work sessions), working out of my parents garage,  we stored the cabinets at a storage facility about a mile from my parent's place so as not to take up their entire garage.  

DECK

The deck was built last week!  The deck runs the length of the house (26') and is 12' deep.  

The first post going in.  Holes for the post were dug 4' deep with a cement footing pad placed at the bottom.

All  posts are in and sawed to correct height. Here, the front part of the deck is being set.

Perimeter framed out

Deck complete!

My brothers, Rick and Tim on the newly completed deck.   They were up for  three days helping with the kitchen installation and a lot of painting.  It was a great time!

Upstairs guest bedroom primed and ceiling painted.

Upstairs master bedroom primed and ceiling painted. 

Downstairs living area painted beige.

For the most part, all that remains is the installation of interior doors, moldings, trim and baseboards; bathroom tile; final plumbing and electrical fixture hook ups; installing the wood stove; a little more painting, staining the deck, and one final coat of poly on the floors.  Things that should hopefully be wrapped up in the next few weeks.

A well deserved sit on the deck after a very productive three days of work. 

Well, I guess that'll do it for now.  Thanks for taking the time to have a look at this rather lengthy post.  The next post will probably be the final one as we are fairly close to completion.  Very hard to believe. This whole summer has had a very surreal feel to it.  Everything has happened so fast that it's often hard to process things as they are happening.  All good, though.  Very good.