Time for shiplap walls to go up

Now that all the electrical is done the cabin is ready for insulation. I did a few walls and then my wife finished up the rest as I did the wiring so we could save some time.

In the outhouse I went with tongue and groove pine. I didn’t really like all the lines. It just seemed like to many lines going on so we didn’t want to put it in the cabin. I found the local Home Depot had nice shiplap boards so we purchased enough to redo the walls and the ceiling.

I think these boards looked much better than tongue and groove boards.

Once we we’re done putting the boards up here’s the final look. I didn’t stain it yet though. Not sure what we are gonna do for that yet.

I also need to get the windows and doors trimmed,the rest of the baseboard trim done to be completely finished inside.

Down to the studs inside, time for electric.

Now that the inside was all cleared out. I had to plan for new wiring to be installed. Since I don’t want to have to add anymore wiring after the walls were done I tried to think of everything I would want.

I planned to put in more outlets than I thought I would need. I also wanted to put wiring in for a split unit ac/heat pump. We were having a lot of humidity issues up until this point so I figured a split unit would help a lot with the problems. We also wanted to get away from the wood stove, we weren’t happy with having to start the wood stove every time we came up in the winter.

So with plenty of outlets, all the wiring for lighting inside and out it was completed. We also added a 12v water pump. Since we don’t have any plumbing we need to fill a water tank as needed from a local public well. Once it’s filled I put it in next to the cabinets and then pump it from the tank to the sink. It’s just used for washing hands and quick wash downs since there isn’t a shower.

Time for interior tear out

Now that the outside was done it was time to tackle the inside.

We already had the Electrician come out and do the panel and meter base. So now we needed to tackle all the old paneling inside.

Now this was a mess. There was very old wiring I had to be careful with because we still needed to use it for lighting and outlets and stuff inside.

But under the paneling was 1×4 spacers and then an old fiberboard that would just crumble when trying to get it off the walls. After many weekends all the walls were down to the studs. Found many more mouse nests and poop. Cleaned all that out.

Roof completed. Now to plan out the new siding.

Now that the roof was done. It was time to decide what to do with the siding. There is wood siding on there now and it is in bad shape. After looking at different options I decided to go with the same color that’s on there and went with vinyl siding. I didn’t want to have to paint it every year. With the vinyl I won’t have to worry about it again.

Now we didn’t take a few days off for this project instead we did it over a few weekends.

We also didn’t take any of the old siding down. We just laid new plywood over the old siding. Covered with wrap and put up the siding. Again another project I’ve never done before but turned out better than it was when we bought it.

Before I could finish the last wall I wanted to get a new 100 amp electrical panel installed and a new meter pan. That I had to have a certified electrical guy come and install. Took them about a day to get it done and now I didn’t have to worry about it anymore.

I have to say the biggest pain in the butt was doing all the trim pieces. They aren’t great but it does the job.

After the siding was done I wanted to clean up the edge around the cabin a bit so I had a few tons of stone delivered that we placed around the cabin.

I think the cabin is coming along pretty good.

Time to tackle the new roof.

Here we are on the biggest project so far. Not only was the roof past it’s time. I have never replaced a roof before except on the outhouse that was only 3×5. Not to mention who knows what I’m going to find under the roof.

I took a few a days off of work and had my buddy Randy come up to help with the tear off of the old roof. Not only did we tear off the roof, we ripped the ceiling on the inside down to the rafters also. It was a mess up there with mouse droppings and nests. It went pretty quick but there was a lot of mess and quite a bit of rotten wood on the backside roof. So we replaced all the sheathing. Also had to replace a few rafters that were bad. After the tear off my buddy had to leave so it was my wife and I to finish it up. Talk about taking on a huge project to finish by yourself. Stressful. But it got done. Doesn’t look perfect but so far there are no leaks and it’s been a few years since it was finished. Also haven’t had any moss come back so that’s a plus. I will come back and post some pics of the project when I get a chance to.

I have been absent for awhile…….

Well it’s been a few years since I blogged on the next project so I’m going to try and go back and add the projects as we did them and completed them. I will also add pictures as I can since they are on my home computer.

After we got the trees down and stacked, the following weekend we brought up the log splitter and split everything and restacked it.

Big success getting the trees down

We came upon the weekend that we were going to take all the trees down but Mother Nature screwed with our plans. Instead of having everyone come up Saturday we had to switch to Friday. There for not everyone could be there. So we had 4 guys able to go Friday and figured we will just get done what we can.

Andy showed up with the lift at about 830am and he got setup.

Was so nice to be able to have the lift. It made the job so much easier. My biggest concern was the power wires and the cabin. Andy assured me he’s not gonna hit anything. So I gotta trust the expert.

We managed to get everything down cut to length and stacked in piles by 5-6 that same day.

            
After getting all the trees down and stacked. It was time for payment. Endless supply of hot dogs and beer.

Tree cutting weekend planned

Now that the weather has turned nice it’s time to start tackleing some projects outside! I’ve been planning to do a new roof for months now because it is just shot. However there are 7 trees that are relatively close to the cabin. Once they leaf out there is no sun that gets in to keep the roof dry which is leading to a moss problem. So before I put the new roof on I decided to get these trees cut down. 

Luckily my neighbor knows a retired tree guy who continues to work on the side. So he contacted him and we planned to get all these trees laid down next weekend. All together there is 7 trees and with them being so close to the cabin it’s sure going to be a long weekend. Let’s just hope for good weather! 

   
   

Outhouse had to go!

Once we got the floor down and kitchen setup the way we wanted, we went out and collected some other needed things like a futon, bunk bed and dresser. But there was one thing we couldn’t fix was the outhouse. It was too far gone and needed to be torn down and rebuilt.  Of course I didn’t mind using it, It was the wife and kids who really didn’t want to step foot near the thing. So the next project was to tear the old one out and  rebuild. 

But since I drove a little 4 door car, and could only borrow a trailer when it was available I figured this was the best time to get a truck to use for hauling wood or junk. Of course I looked for the cheapest beat up truck I could find and scored. I located a 89 F250 for 800 dollars not to far from me. So I went and picked it up.

Now that I had my truck I could haul whatever wood I needed. So I planned how I was going to build it and headed to Lowe’s and picked up everything I needed.

Starting with a new platform…Let me start by saying I have never built anything before, I learn by trial and error and hope for the best. We also had a pumping company come out and empty the outhouse as well before the build.

I don’t know if I built it the way it was supposed to be built but it was sturdy  and I was only short 1 2×4. I thought it was pretty good for no experience!

Now it still needs to be done on the inside,Which I’m hoping I can score some insulation and cheap tongue and grove so I can have it heated in the winter, at least the family doesn’t have too many worries to go to the bathroom.

Now that the floor is done! Time for a new kitchen area

Before the floor was put in, we went out and purchased a few cabinets from Lowes since we got rid of all the old rusted metal cabinets. We had them sitting in place so once I finished the floor we put them right back into place. So it gives us a small RV sink area, we also purchased an RV propane stovetop and mini fridge that we ended up putting under the propane stove. Everything came together pretty good.