Wednesday, October 22, 2014

24th Posting - Ceiling is finished

This is the first posting since last spring! My travels have kept me on the road virtually nonstop since March so I've not gotten nearly as much done on the cabin as I would have liked. People ask when the cabin will be done and I tell them the project is the destination! However, I've made some progress, particularly the past few days. My friend Rod, from Maine, came out and helped for a few days and we finished the ceiling trim, cleaned it all up, and installed a beautiful mural on the upper part of the back wall. Now I walk into the cabin and look at the Swiss Alps!

My friend Alan took this photo of me early September.

It's Fall and the cabin is snugly tucked into the hills!

The robins love my stock tank (bird bath!). There are dozens of them.

Rod wipes down trim and foam board to give it a clean look.

Rod enjoys a break in front of the cabin.

Fresh snow on the Tobacco Root Mountains

Dark brown boards trim out the ceiling on all seams and in the corners
to give it somewhat of a Swiss look.

This gives good perspective of the interior of the cabin with completed ceiling.
I still need to put another coat of adobe on the walls, and will worry about the floor after that.

Looking at Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau out the back of my cabin!!
Swiss style - Swiss scenery!

The mural as seen while sitting in chairs by the picture window.

Cleaned up and ready for winter.

Mother enjoys sitting in the sun at the front of the cabin.

A grove of cottonwood trees below my cabin puts on a last show of color.

And one more lovely sunset before heading home and concentrating on my two upcoming trips to South Africa!

Thursday, March 27, 2014

23rd Posting - Ceiling and Insulation, and Gutters on the Front!

It was a long, cold, snowy winter at my cabin. The road was impassable much of the time. In the eight years I've had the land, we have not had anything like this winter. It was hard on the roads too!
However, by March I was able to spend several days working on the cabin, mostly the interior. I insulated cracks around the windows and installed trim boards.
My brother Merrill helped for a day with the ceiling. We started by putting plastic up so there would be a 1" dead space between the insulation and the roof.
Then we put up 1 1/2" foam board, with silver foil finish, instead of sheetrock. This adds insulation value and makes a unique, shiny finish for the ceiling!
My sister Valerie, her husband Craig, and their two boys Josh & Elgin, helped a day during the big insulation process. We blew in insulation above a row of foam boards, screwed up the next row of foam board and blew that full until the main part of the ceiling was finished. That left a small gap on three sides that needed to be finished manually. But most of the ceiling is up and I like the effect. To finish it, I will get some wide lath-type boards to secure the seems.
I decided to splurge and have Gus the Gutterman come out and put gutters on the front of the cabin. It is so nice. Now, instead of making a muddy mess in front of the cabin, the water drains into a big barrel.

Putting up the plastic barrier to make the one inch of dead air space.

My brother Merrill puts up the first foam board.

Valerie captures me blowing the insulation into the ceiling above the foam boards.

Josh and Craig keep the hopper filled with insulation.

Craig, Josh, and Elgin work the hopper.

 I'm not sure I didn't get more insulation on me than up above the ceiling!

My shiny, new ceiling! (with Solatube in the center for additional light)

Gus the Gutterman braved the mud and roads to put up gutters for me.

Tony and Tim put on the finishing touches.

Tony attaches the downspout so the water goes into my rain barrel!

Mid-April I got more work done on the ceiling and upper walls. 
The silver foil makes it a LOT lighter in the cabin!