Putting Things in Perspective

So another Saturday, another 7 hours on the road. I can't wait till we can stay out here for a night instead of driving back and forth. That being said, we moved a step closer today with the successful lift of the wood stove into the cabin. This was necessary before putting rafters on the roof, as it's way easier to build the rafters around the chimney as opposed to stringing the chimney through an existing set of rafters.

The wood stove is pretty small, but weighs 400+ pounds.

And the front windows are cut. Now I realize that the previous pictures I took just didn't show a good perspective of the size of the place. It looks a bit more realistic in a photo now.

The main ridge beam went on this wee as well. This helps to give a better perspective of the actual height of the building.

I was a little worried before the front windows were cut. As can be seen in earlier pictures, it just looks like too much log. Now that these front windows are done the next step will be to cut the rake window slots out of the gables. I like the way it is starting to look. Clearly my fears were unfounded.

Tired now....got to get some sleep.

Cheers

Peter

What a Difference a Couple of Weeks Makes

Well after a pretty horrific Police Half last weekend in the ice and snow I decided to make another drive to Golden this weekend to check progress and bring an extra bag of sheeps wool to John, as I knew he'd be running low. After a great swim with Cat and Mike I drove out Friday morning in what only could be described as extra heavy traffic, only to arrive around noon. And what do I see?

• Logs all done.


• Posts all done


• One gable and one pony wall up.

So only two more walls to put up upstairs and the boys could move straight to the roof. Since three hands at this is way better than 2, they asked me to stick around and help install the remaining two prebuilt walls. Dave working the crane, me and John putting the wall in plance, nailing and bracing in place. Wish I was better working at heights.

Wow, looks like a building. Now I have some reference as to just how this thing will look. Looks like the living room will have a 25 foot ceiling and the upstairs will have a good size bedroom and bathroom. I was more worried about the square footage than I should have been. It actually looks like it should be fine.

Apparently the main ridge beam is next then I guess they will start roofing this week.

Cheers

Peter

MMMMexico....

Yup, no doubt about it, heading to the west coast of Mexico during the longest winter in my memory was definitely a good move. We rented a little casa on the beach, and instead of a long hot shower after my morning run, I was able to just take a quick dip in the ocean. The view from our place was really nice, and great for relaxing.

Lara enjoyed her tea every morning....

And I enjoyed my Corona every afternoon.....

We had a poolside table every night just outside our place. It made for a great spot to eat after BBQing some chicken or fish.

Does This Look Like a Cabin to You?

So back from Mexico and back to the cabin..... The view is really nice in the mountains this time of year. I'm totally impressed with the snow peaks. And....I'm happy to say that John has been doing a spectacular job at putting all this together. Hard to be disappointed in the speed of progress, given the quality of the work. It's difficult for photos to really do justice as to how cool this looks as it is being assembled. Every chain saw cut looks like the kind of clean cut a knife would make through butter. They area all perfectly smooth with no hint of chain burn or even if it was a chain went through it at all. The interior beams will be all cross locked logs. As a result of this, there are 4 logs here with 7 notches that all have to fit tight. Pretty impressive when you think about it. This photo shows a view into the main floor bedroom. So it looks like a 9' ceiling to the bottom of the logs, then then true ceiling goes on top of these, which should yield almost 11' to the "real" ceiling in the kitchen. I think this should work out pretty cool and make the place look a whole lot bigger than it really is. This is basically the view from the living room into the kitchen, and back door entrance.

And check out the bottom of the post...screw jack. Keeping true to the fact that the second floor will have to be "let down" as the logs all squat and settle out.

Four more rounds to go, then we go straight to the main ridge beam and purleens. I'm told all the hard work is done...I think this was mostly associated with the forementioned logs with 7 notches that all have to fit perfect. Keeping in mind that these are not milled logs....just as imperfect as nature made them.

I think we'll ship windows to site next month.....stay tuned.

If you come up to visit just turn on the corner of Moberly Branch Road the the Trans Canada Hwy. Not sure why I like this. I just thought there was something understated about the sign that made it very rural BC.

Cold Here Lately...

Safe to say that Calgary is in the grips of a pretty bad winter, although I've really only lived here 6 years, it's probably the worst I've seen.

On the bright side, this makes for great ski conditions in the mountains, and when our fridge broke down last night I was able to just toss the frozen goods into a laundry basket and put it out on the deck. We were running around -30 last night and I think we will hit a high of -25 today.

On the other hand, I'm generally pretty cold by the time I pull into the pool at 5:30am and try to lock up the bike with a frozen lock. For anyone from the east coast who may read this...yes it is a dry cold but trust me I've been in both, after you pass -20 it really doesn't matter.

Here is a picture of those doors to the gym. And yes, this is from the inside..

Stay warm.

Peter

A Watched Pot......

I've long since abandoned any timeline on getting this project completed. Actually, I don't like to admit that I'd succumbed to the pace of rural BC but things just don't move there at the pace I'm used to. My co-worker tells me that at least I'm building in a place that holds the values I'm looking for in a recreation property. The pragmatist in me says just get it done....

Anyway...since last trip. One more round on and the deck overhangs tied in. Not sure when I'll get out this way again. Not much to chase down and I'm just putting my life in my hands with every rushed daily return trip.

On the bright side, Mexico in 4 weeks is looking pretty good right now. So I can't be overly disappointed.

I've learned that things don't happen really quickly in Golden. I found this out last fall. What has been a bit of a shock to me is just how slow things get over the Christmas season. I think there was a total of 3 logs added since my previous visit 4 weeks ago. To be honest, I don't really mind, I would rather have it done right than done quickly. My trip out there on Monday was enlightening to say the least. The remoteness of the area really struck home. With a foot of snow down all sound is absorbed. It was total sensory deprevation. It took me more than a few minutes to get used to the total silence.




It is an attractive area though. For the astute reader you may notice that there are now wires from that pole in the very upper left corner of this picture. Yes we have power now....no house but power. Usually it works the other way.

More goats....hmm? I'm not sure the mountain goat population in the area. I would make the case that they are not an endangered animal. This herd was on side of the highway on my way out of town. It seems there is always a few there, but this is the first time I saw this many gathered together. I think they were eating spilled road salt. What's really surprising is that I have yet to see a dead one on the road.