Dennis spoiled me for these kind of projects, we did so many of them over 40 years together. But he trained our son well - when Pat arrived from Olympia Washington, he only blinked once (or maybe twice) at the old stone foundation under the cabin wall logs and the tidy piles of lumber and metal roofing from earlier deconstruction projects. His only stipulation was that the cookie bucket was kept full (ha! just try that with five growing boys on the building site) and that he could play with horses at least a few hours each day.
So here's the beginning, after moving rocks and trimming back stumps. The original "plan" was for an 8 x 12 addition. After assessing our "loaves and fishes" pile of material, Pat suggested bigger was better - who can argue with that! So we went with 12 x 12.
We did have to purchase some specific building material, but that recycled garage surely saved a lot.
A friend had given us some doors and windows, from a separate deconstruction project. They were another big money saver, and gave us more light than we could have imagined.
Pat was pleased to have familiar tools on hand, from working all those years with his dad. "Hi, there, nail gun, remember me? Ready to rock and roll?"
The garage yielded the perfect rafters for our porch, and just exactly the number we needed. Don't you just love serendipity?
Oops. Where did this come from? Oh yeah - did I mention, Max is STILL in his pink phase? He went shopping with grandma one day and struck it pink at Fleetfarm (the farmer's Walmart, doncha know). There are also hot pink fluffy socks inside those new pink kitty boots. I have instructions to "yarn" him a pink hat before the snow flies. That tag? On the boots? It bothers you? He wouldn't let us take it off for three days. AND we have been informed that we should be watching out for pink jeans. Yeah. We keep saying it's a phase, just a phase...it's lasted two years...
OK, back to the porch. Looking good. I think we were on about the fourth batch of cookies by this point. Chocolate chip, of course, and Honey Cookies, an old family favorite.
Windows! We re-purposed the doors into wonderful double-paned full length windows. The side windows are opaque, but also open for ventilation. This is the east side of the cabin, it gets the morning sun and heats up fast in the summer, so ventilation is going to be important.
I told Pat I had a crew that knew how to use hammer and nails (Grandpa let them help with the cabin remodel, including nailing on the front porch roof!)
and they were anxious to get to work.
Their time finally came, putting on the tarpaper. After I showed them how to measure, cut and get started, they informed me they could do it, and that I should go start dinner.
I got fired from the construction site. Good grief.
Jayden was the "nail man" (not the mailman), and kept the three hammers supplied. He also did pickup, helped run the measuring tape, and helped me bake every batch of cookies.
Collin's comment: "Hey, I'm wearing grandpa's sweatshirt and using his hammer - I feel like grandpa!"
Collin and Than model their carpenter pants, complete with hammer accessories. It was a cookie break, of course.
They look pretty professional, eh?
Unfortunately Pat had to return home, his horse was causing problems without the herd leader on hand. We were so lucky to have him for two weeks. The porch project is not complete yet, but it's closed in, weather tight, and waiting for Brent to get off night shift to do the next step - wiring. Then we'll get that insulation up and feel really ready for winter.The cabin door was moved to remain the outside door, and we "borrowed" a storm door from Carrie's front porch for the connecting door between porch and cabin. I wanted as much light coming in as possible, since there are only two very small windows in the ground floor level of the cabin.
A volunteer tomato, several basil, and two jalapeno plants got potted up from the garden the night before our first hard frost. They are now enjoying the back porch, which the boys have dubbed the "green room" because Max heard me mention using it like a green house to start plants next spring. I don't know how these plants will do over the winter, this is an experiment. I can open the connecting door for heat, but don't have plans to actually heat the porch at this time. Basil checks out when it gets under 50 degrees. I plan to start some lettuce soon, another experiment.
There is still some tarpaper to get up, we have to work out the angles first...
Notice the hand rail, and the "draw bridge" grate - another piece of repurposing that just happened. We decided every door on a farm should have a grated entrance to knock off dirt, sand, snow, etc. Speaking of snow, if it starts drifting in on this side, which it usually does, we can screw a piece of plywood to the handrail to block it from the doorway. Love this concept! I opened the back door last winter more than once to find a foot deep drift against it. No more! And Jetta appreciates it, too - no more hopping over snow walls - or just changing her mind with a twitch of her tail and retreating to the litter box in the bathroom.
Lotsa light!
It may not look very big from the outside, but it's giving the cabin a large shot of utility space, and before long there will be a small bathroom with a (drumroll) flush toilet. Not that I don't love the composting toilets, and I will definately still use them.
Pat went for wide window trim, it was the most efficient use of time and material. He also got lap siding, taken from the garage, started on the front. We can take it from there. And there's still siding to remove from one garage wall. We think it will be enough. 
A bit of building detail. The poles are the rafters from the cabin roof. The 2x6 will be tied to them with lag bolts, as will the side walls be tied to the cabin for more security during possible snow loads. The lag bolts are another bit of finishing up on the to-do list.
A volunteer tomato, several basil, and two jalapeno plants got potted up from the garden the night before our first hard frost. They are now enjoying the back porch, which the boys have dubbed the "green room" because Max heard me mention using it like a green house to start plants next spring. I don't know how these plants will do over the winter, this is an experiment. I can open the connecting door for heat, but don't have plans to actually heat the porch at this time. Basil checks out when it gets under 50 degrees. I plan to start some lettuce soon, another experiment.
There is still some tarpaper to get up, we have to work out the angles first...
Notice the hand rail, and the "draw bridge" grate - another piece of repurposing that just happened. We decided every door on a farm should have a grated entrance to knock off dirt, sand, snow, etc. Speaking of snow, if it starts drifting in on this side, which it usually does, we can screw a piece of plywood to the handrail to block it from the doorway. Love this concept! I opened the back door last winter more than once to find a foot deep drift against it. No more! And Jetta appreciates it, too - no more hopping over snow walls - or just changing her mind with a twitch of her tail and retreating to the litter box in the bathroom.
Lotsa light!
It may not look very big from the outside, but it's giving the cabin a large shot of utility space, and before long there will be a small bathroom with a (drumroll) flush toilet. Not that I don't love the composting toilets, and I will definately still use them.
Pat went for wide window trim, it was the most efficient use of time and material. He also got lap siding, taken from the garage, started on the front. We can take it from there. And there's still siding to remove from one garage wall. We think it will be enough. There's a lot of satisfaction in reusing materials supplied from the farm, whether it's for building projects or garden projects.
A bit of building detail. The poles are the rafters from the cabin roof. The 2x6 will be tied to them with lag bolts, as will the side walls be tied to the cabin for more security during possible snow loads. The lag bolts are another bit of finishing up on the to-do list. The white foam is a necessity for gaps and cracks - that wind sneaks in with a cold bite and quickly sucks the heat out. White foam is our friend...
The dark square of wood off the corner of the door is the end of the big 34'summer beam that goes the length of the cabin inside. It's the backbone of the cabin construction, resting on each end wall of logs and supported with a center post.
The dark square of wood off the corner of the door is the end of the big 34'summer beam that goes the length of the cabin inside. It's the backbone of the cabin construction, resting on each end wall of logs and supported with a center post. So there's the progress report. Still work to do, but it's mostly under cover. This porch/green room is a dream come true. What a wonderful addition to cabin living - it's priceless to me, for several reasons. Not the least is that my son built it for me, just as his dad remodeled the cabin and built the front porch. I'm surrounded daily by their love and talent.
Cookie stats for 13 days: 7 batches of Honey Cookies, 4 batches of Chocolate Chip Cookies. I think that beats last year's Christmas baking marathon.
1 comment:
Candy, dear one, I read your Blog every single day. I am amazed at your writing, photography, and dedication to writing. It also keeps me posted on what is going on in your life. Love the black haired boys!:)
Marilyn
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