Just For A Day

Amanda and I went up today. And it was amazing! I hadn't been up in over a month and Amanda hadn't been up in close to 5 months. Too long.

It was beautiful today. Cold, a little sunny, and flurries. We got there, started a fire immediately in the fire pit, laid some stone around the concrete blocks and drip edge, took a walk around the trail, and finally fixed and re-stocked the wood shed. Chris and I originally built the shed backwards so we had to just switch the backing from one side to the other. Easy enough, though Amanda was pretty cold and had some frozen toes by the end of it.

Amanda had also not seen the damage since Irene and there are definitely some memorable images, most notably two pieces of steel that previously were part of a bridge that were bent literally in half and moved by the power of raging water.

Amanda also met Lisa, our friend/ owner of the local coffeeshop, where we stayed and talked for probably close to thirty minutes. Vermont.

Unfortunately, our camera died halfway through the day so I was only able to get one picture, and an unmemorable one at that. Too bad, because when the light of the mid-day sun was out and the snow was falling, it was pretty incredible.

Wood Stove

Pretty soon this little guy will be keeping us warm in VT. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Let There Be Insulation

Well, winter is finally coming, be it a few weeks late. This reprieve has really saved us with the cabin as we've been able to get loads done without any serious interruption. But it's getting cold. This weekend hit the teens in southern VT.

Chris spent the night last night and got a bunch of insulation done. Another day up there, and the ceilings will be done too and we can move on to the wood stove. Right now, wall insulation is done. Every little thing that gets done is another check off the list to being where we want to be.

The wood stove is due to arrive this week, although it looks like we may not be able to get it installed this year. Amanda, Sadie, and I are hoping to make it up for a day-trip over my Christmas vacation (weather permitting) and hopefully we can get some of the insulation work done for the ceiling rafters and maybe set up the trail cam that Chris and I bought each other for an X-Mas gift. After that, hopefully Chris and I can get the stove done in an early January overnight. After that, the cabin will be open for visits in any weather.

I don't get sick of looking at pictures of the progress.

So Close

I can't believe we've made it this far in only two months. So satisfying.

Well, there's snow in Southern Vermont. I'm wondering if we've seen the last of the ground. Beautiful stars at the cabin tonight.

We were able to finish the loft today. Awesome. And it's bigger than I thought it would be too. Not too shabby, though it did do in my camera. We tried to take a staged photo of both Chris and I in the loft. We set the camera on a 10 second delay and jumped onto the loft. But the camera fell off the wall joist from 8ft. up, falling to its death. Fail. Now we need a camera (Black Friday shopping anyone)?

We took out the barn doors, installed a new wall, and an awesome 1x6 window we bought a year ago from a discount store for a cool $58. Who doesn't appreciate a good deal, especially when it looks so good. And it does look so good.

We put up stairs leading into the cabin and moved onto the Tyvek. Everything went smoothly until we ran out of staples for the staple gun. I took a dash to the local hardware store, 20 mins. away one way, for staples. I was home in a cool 45 and was able to help put the finishing touches on the vapor barrier paper.

We also spray foamed a whole bunch of the gaps throughout the cabin. Both of us got it all over the place, in addition to the intended spots in the cabin. Chris got it all over his face and I got it all over my jacket...and in my hair. Awesome. Rookies.

Next up is insulation and the wood stove. It's happening. And it's happening faster than I thought it ever would.

One Step Closer

Chris spent the first solo night at the cabin and kept the progress moving. I bet a wood stove would have been nice last night, huh? It won't be long now.

Last winter, we bought a 1x6 window from a bargain outlet store. The window was like $60 and it has been sitting in my basement for a year. We decided to take it up and find a place for it. Lucky for us, it fits exactly in the barn door space. Our plan is to cut down the doors about a foot and slide the window in the space above the doors. It should look really cool.

Chris was also able to hang the loft rafters today. All we need to do now is attach the plywood and we're good to go there. It won't be long now before one of us is sleeping up there. It's only about 4 ft. at the peak, and that drops quick, but it's still going to be very usable space. I know I'm psyched to sleep up there.

And, randomly, our old friend Todd Brown showed up with some dirt for us to fix the trench left from the water overflow from Hurricane Irene. Chris was able to temporarily fix what was a pretty banged-up driveway. At least we can get through this winter now and really address the problem in the spring. We've got big plans for the property and water and we plan to address those (with the help of Todd) come April/May. Todd helped us out and didn't charge us a dime.

On the way home, Chris filled up at the gas station at the end of the road. A truck pulled up next to him with a deer in the back.
Sweet.
Vermont.

We're In

It was a cold 21 degrees last night, but at least we were inside the cabin. Be it, it wasn't insulated and was still freezing, but at least we were in. One year and probably close to 25 nights outside in a tent (many of which it poured), and we finally made it inside. We each had about 7 layers on, I wore two hats (and a hood), and had a blanket wrapped around us for extra warmth. Getting up to pee in the middle of the night definitely dealt a rude awakening when that cold sleeping bag was waiting for me after I got back into the cabin.

We worked all through yesterday, getting half the roof shingles done, all the drip edge, the steel door installed, and also finishing the plywood for the gables. That gables were done in basically 2 hours of pitch darkness with the help of nothing but a flashlight. That was definitely the low point of the weekend. Well, that and the fact that the Tavern was closed at 8:30 and we had to crazily drive 30 minutes further to find dinner. It ended up being great, but there was a crazed 30 minutes there and even an incident involving me driving over the grass of a gas station to turn around. Not pretty.

Today, we woke up early and tried to warm up quick. We got coffee and breakfast from Lisa and then some more wood from the lumber yard. We returned to finish the roof, the overhangs, and the soffits so that the cabin is fully enclosed. All we need to do to make it weather tight is seal a few cracks and we're golden. I was even able to put up a few "No Trespassing" signs along property line of the neighbors snowmobile trail. How's that for your friendly Vermont attitude??? Oh, and we signed and dated the cabin too. Call it an autograph, I guess.

Next trip up will be for insulation, sealing cracks, the loft, and then eventually a small wood stove. This cabin is pretty sweet. We've got lots of ideas, the only thing we need more of is time. It's been a great year.

Year 1- Pictures in Motion

That's Not a Shed, That's a Cabin

Well, sort of. It's a cabin for now, temporarily. And damn is it going to be nice!

This weekend was P-R-O-D-U-C-T-I-V-E. I feel amazing, while simultaneously feeling incredibly sore. My body's going to hurt tomorrow and Chris said his will too. Chris was the hero of the weekend, taking the lead on most projects and hanging from the most precarious spots. He's gotten pretty good at walking on a 45 degree roof by now.

We arrived early Saturday morning, and unfortunately had to bring the wood up to the site from the landing. That took about 30 minutes as it was probably close to 500 lbs. of lumber. We got set up and went right to work, wasting no time. We struggled getting the ridge beam right, but finally were happy with things and moved onto the rafters. There were about 8 cuts to make per rafter and about 20 rafters, so the cutting, measuring, and organizing took us about an hour. Oh, and it was raining. Yep, raining. Wasn't it supposed to be sunny with a o% chance of rain? Hmmmm. But it wasn't that bad and it didn't slow us down. By the time we got half the rafters hung, it was too dark to work. So dark we couldn't even see the nails we were trying to hit. So, we called it a day, drove to the Tavern in Wilmington and had some dinner. They have some of the tastiest fries I've ever had and after a full day of work, they hit the spot.

We set the alarm early for Sunday, woke up early and started work. It was cold this morning. Like 35 degree cold. We worked to stay warm basically. But, there was some satisfaction in knowing last night was probably our last night in the tent. Goodbye tent, hello cabin! We quickly put on the rest of the rafters and the overhang before we went to get breakfast and some more nails. We got back and went right back at it, cutting plywood and attaching it to the roof. That was a little harrowing, clinging to a 45 degree roof, hammering away. But we were safe, did things, right and got it done. We also were able to frame the space above the walls up to the ridge beam.

We left tired, but with smiles on our face. We're very close to being winter-ready with the temp. cabin (Mini-Cabs) as I started calling it. Two more day trips and we should be ready. Things to do include: shingles, plywood the top framing part, fascia and soffit board, create the door lock, and install the steel door. Hopefully two days will get it done. I feel confident.

All in all, very rewarding weekend. The whole experience has been amazing and just seems to get better and better. I can't wait to share it with my family and others. All this and we're only one year deep in owning the land. We rule!

The Doors

Chris was able to get some work done to the shed this weekend. The barn doors were built and installed and they look great. The side door/ steel door was put in place but still needs to be locked in. A few more things need to be done to the doors, but hey, it's progress.

Next weekend, we set our goals high and both of us will be there with hopes of getting up the ridge beam and ceiling joists. Right now the forecast is looking good, but we've been down this road before.

Fingers crossed.