Mid-June and early July 2011

Having failed to achieve a working bath in May, we moved the goal-post to mid-July. This resulted in two interim trips - a weekend trip with the whole family in June and a day trip myself in July.

On the July trip, we celebrated the completion of the siding when my carved fleur-de-lis finally went up in the front gable. Nothing is without its trials however, and - after spending every night for a week carving it - I got a little too enthusiastic with the nail gun very nearly ruined it. After a temper tantrum and a shameful string of profanity, however, I had an idea and - voila! - all is well. (The carving was supposed to be both a nod to my ancestry and a way not to have to shingle the gable. For the latter: Mission Accomplished; for the former: We're a little concerned that people will think that it is a Boy Scout camp...)

C'est formidable!

And so the endless siding job comes to an end!

The other big achievement was all the LSW's - she grabbed the float and grouted all the tile. She then attacked the sheetrock taping. What a woman!



While she was at it, I got the plumbing to the point where only the tub spout and the exterior hose spigot remained. I also hooked up the first of the electric baseboard heat.

And VTel came around to hook up the phone, so now I can call 911 should I happen to nail my foot to the floor...

Finally - contact with the outside world.

We might have gotten ourselves to a working bath, but the LSW discovered that the annual Quechee Balloon Festival was Saturday and we couldn't resist the temptation. 




This, my friends, was worth the trip. Carnival atmosphere, local crafts, plenty of free food samples, plenty of stuff for The Boy, a beer garden, French-and-Indian War re-enactors(!), and lots of balloons.




There were about 30 of them, and the crowd was allowed to mill around the field as they were being inflated and launched - getting you right up close to the action. The boy loved it. We did, too. It is impossible not to be positively giddy when there are a boatload of balloons launching all around you.



Lodging for the weekend was at the Super 8 in Brattleboro courtesy of bargain prices the LSW found on the web. I would have liked to have stayed at the Saxtons River Inn again, but every dime in savings counts these days.

In early July, I was back up for a day trip. I had a long list of things to do, but in the end I managed only to seal the grout and hook up the remaining baseboard heaters. Hennessey Electric came in the following week to inspect my work and hook the the water heater and baseboard heat to the service panel. Done and done. The next trip, we'll be staying overnight...

April 30, 2011

First 2011 overnight with the family; looking to install the backer board for the bath tile in advance of my father's visit in May.
Friday, 8:30 AM - we hit the road in two cars. I give the LSW the option of a quiet ride in the truck, but she opts for time with The Boy to keep her awake on the road. I'm not sure how I feel about this.
10:00 AM - jumping jacks by the LSW and The Boy at a scenic overlook in MA. The boy is just having fun; the LSW is trying to summon enough adrenaline to stop weaving all over the road.
11:45 AM - Shangri-la is about 2 weeks behind Trumbull in terms of spring foliage, but at least the snow is gone. I brought the lawn mower, but there's really no need. We move the dining room table inside, and find we have a place to sit after almost 2 years. Celebrate with roast beef sandwiches and chips.

3:00 PM - the tile backer board is down, with seams taped and mortared. I was afraid that this would be more complicated than it seemed, but - honestly - it wasn't. The LSW scooped the thinset mortar onto the floor, I troweled it, and down went the backer board. Screwing the backer board down took longer than laying it.

5:30 PM - the first two rows of shingles are up on the left side of the gable above the porch, and the porch floor is sealed. We retire to a cottage at the KOA in Dummerston, and then head into Brattleboro for dinner.


















Saturday, 8:00AM - breakfast at the Putney Diner. Excellent spinach, mushroom and Swiss omelet. We indulge the boy in a piece of apple pie for breakfast, and the waitress scowls at our parenting skills. The Boy, however, cleans his plate for once, so its not for nothing.
11:00 AM - the only thing on the agenda is the front siding, so the LSW wears herself out in endless games of hide-and-seek with The Boy. When he decides to play whatever this game is, she is disturbed enough to begin placing a second coat of paint on all of the trim work...


















2:00 PM - the front siding isn't done, but its damn close. I've spent more than 5 hours working on an incline, and my muscles are voicing their disapproval. The weather has cycled from between sunny and 65, raining and 40 and overcast and 50 about three times. The Jehovah's Witnesses have shown up to share the good new with us, and all of the trim has a second coat of paint. Not a bad half-day's work.

 

 I'd like to say that exterior is finally done, but we've still got to paint the front door, seal the eaves, and build the front steps, not to mention the rear deck, pergola, shutters and window boxes...

The Opening of the Season 2011

Today was the first working day trip of 2011. The goal was to clean the place up, take some plumbing-related measurements, and work on...whatever.

Sifting through the remains of last year, I had enough materials to finally finish the shiplap siding on the South and North sides of the cabin, and so I got to work. Finally - FINALLY - I can say they are finished. Now I just have to finish the shingles on the front.

The North Side

The South Side

While I was at it, I cleaned the cabin of dust, debris, scrap wood and mouse droppings. The furry little bastards apparently decided to nest in my electrical supplies box and shredded my bath vent/light wiring diagrams for good measure. Just the English ones, though, so I'll be in good shape after my 'Spanish for Electricians' class.

Living / Dining

Kitchen / Bath

Spring cleaning over, we're ready to hit the ground running. My father has offered help in getting the plumbing installed in May, and I'm hard at work researching and accumulating PEX fittings for intake and PVC for discharge. Estimates for the plumbing (bath/shower, vanity, toilet, sink and external spigot) came in at about $1,300, and I was sorely tempted to farm the work out. The nagging thought, however, that I can save $500 - 800 doing it myself finally became overwhelming. Everyone says PEX is as easy as wiring, so we'll see.

Here I Am!

LSW here. It’s been a while since I’ve been up to the cabin. It’s getting kind of hard now. The Boy has his own social calendar and frankly, it’s exhausting to both work on the cabin and keep an eye on His Highness. He did a great job when he was 3 years old, playing with his plastic food and searching the woods for mushrooms. But now that he’s older, faster and always a step or two ahead of me, it’s a lot of work.

But in one of those unexpected moments of good fortune, The Boy’s grandparents stopped by and whisked him away, giving the Vermonster and I free rein to go up to Shangri-La alone.

This was the first time I’ve seen the cabin since the land has been leveled and seeded. We have a yard! And what a difference it makes. Suddenly it’s gone from a structure built on sandy soil and rocks to a cute little cabin in the woods.

The weather report for the day was iffy, although the temperatures were supposed to be in the 50’s, not bad considering it’s Vermont. We realistically could’ve been stuck in a snowstorm this time of year.

It was pretty chilly and grey and misty. Certainly not one of Vermont’s better days, but we managed to get some work done. I stained lots of shingles while the Vermonster continued to nail them on the front of the cabin. He’s said before that it’s slow-going work, and he’s right. Four hours later, we got a lot done but it’s still not finished. I guess that’s the price you pay for charming shingle rather than a more practical type of siding.

We might have another decent day to do some more work in the next few weeks, but chances are, winter will settle in soon. It’ll be time to lay low and concentrate on our winter hobbies: dulcimer for the Vermonster, trying to maintain a writing career for me. Next summer should offer more projects of interest and hopefully we’ll actually be staying there. I’m thinking positive and I refuse to liken this project to the Taj Mahal; our beautiful home that we never actually get to stay in. In six months, get ready for blog posts about our overnights at Shangri-La. 

...and continues...

Back up last Tuesday as the quest to cover the Tyvek continues. Some notes:

• Working on the porch roof was more difficult (and painful) than I expected. Sitting continually on an angle causes you to use muscles in ways your not used to, and you get sore easily. I ached for 2 days after.
• Manually measuring and cutting shingles for two separate angles - the porch roof and the gable - isn't hard, but it takes time. Lots of it, if you're using a handsaw.
• It occurred to me that snow may be sitting against the shingles within 2-3 feet of the porch roof, and so I decided to seal the backs and sides of each shingle before it went up. You can imagine how much time that took.

In the end, here's what 5 hours got me:

*Sigh*

The work above this point will go faster, as I'll revert to not sealing the backs. There's still the west side to do, though, so I'm figuring 2 more trips...

Tyvek as Taskmaster

The Tyvek is driving me nuts. The packaging warns that it should not remain exposed for more than 6 months, but the front of the cabin has been basking in murderous sunlight for almost a year. With average daytime temps dropping fast, I'm watching weather.com daily for those rare, remaining days when the mercury is predicted to be 50 and the chance of precipitation below 20%.

They are few and far between.

Last Thursday was one of them, though, and I was up at 5 with grand plans to finish the front siding and close down for the winter. I took a PTO day, carved a conspicuous hole in a critical project at work and packed the truck in the dark only to find that it had rained in Shangri-La until almost 8 am, and all of the siding was soaked.

[Insert profanity here]

So I set to work installing the front porch light, only to realize that the right way to do it is to cut a hole in the wall and place a single gang box behind it, not run the wires through the wall and splice them to the power supply unprotected. Duh. Unfortunately, I didn't have a jig saw with me, and so I compromised by mounting the gang box facing the inside of the cabin. It works, and will probably be fine, but I didn't feel good about it.

Figuring it would take another hour for the Tyvek to dry out, I began sealing the shingle that was already up. Easy, right? Should take an hour or two, yes? 3 1/2 hour later, the job was done, and I was looking at a late lunch and still not a single new shingle in place.

After a quick lunch, I gave up hope of actually finishing the siding and decided to mow the lawn, which was already almost a foot high. I set the lawnmower to the highest setting and discovered two three things:

1. Mowing a sloping property is a lot harder than a flat one.
2. Mowing on freshly spread and loosely compacted topsoil is a lot like marching on the beach.
3. The thought that you might have a heart attack is more frightening when you have no phone, no close neighbors, and no chance the wife will wonder what happened to you until you don't show up at home many hours hence.

In the end, I put up and stained the final row of shingles under the porch, and began the process of rising up and around the porch trim work. Not a bad day's work, really, but the faded Tyvek mocked me as I pulled out at 4 PM and headed for home, knowing that I'd need to come up at least one more time.

I should have just used builder's felt.

...and continues....

Had to get away from the Corporate Grind yesterday, so I high-tailed it for the cabin and continued the shingle work. Made it to the top of the first floor and then took a break to install the 2x6 facia boards for the porch. The sides weren't too bad, but trying to test fit the 15' front section was a trial; thank god for clamps - they are the MVP of tools for anyone working alone. The day was typical for New England - freezing and partly cloudy in the morning, ominously overcast and windy at noon, clear skies and warm by 2, and partly cloudy again when I left.Again - believe it or not - this was a solid 5 hours of work.

We'll have an 8x8 deck off the back door for the grill, and likely a patio to the left.

Someday I'll get those final two pieces of shiplap up.

*sigh* I'm going to be a slave to the lawn mower on vacation, too.

When the leaves start falling, it's clear I could have a nice view of the ridge with a little tree thinning.

The siding continues...

I did a quick day trip to Shangri-La last Monday to get concrete in the Sonotubes for the back porch and begin the front siding. I'd never worked with concrete before, but - other than lugging around the 80-pound bags - it was no big deal. The siding went faster than I expected, but I'm still guessing it's going to take 3 more day trips to complete it and the porch trim.

Dan was right - the grass is coming in pretty quickly. Enough so that I may have to bring the mower up next time. Looks good!

Slow but Steady Progress

Interior, looking toward the bathroom and kitchen area

The cabin already lives in my mind as something we've been doing forever, so I was surprised to be reminded a few  days ago that we only started the work last May. Amazing.

My confusion probably stems from the fact that we were working almost every weekend last year, whereas this year we've only been up a handful of times. Last year we had a lockable shell to create before winter, and the process of framing a house yields dramatic results rather quickly. This year, the focus has been on the well, siding, and electrical, and the work is decidedly less glamorous.

The siding especially is monotonous work, made worse by the fact that my trim work is flush and needs to be cut around. I only have about 4 boards left to go (if you don't include the front, which I can't side until the porch is on), so we should be able to finish it next time around. Here's what I'd do differently next time:

• First and foremost, I'd make sure that the trim and siding is not flush. This would allow me to rabbet the trim so the siding can tuck under it, eliminating the need to try and get every cut 'just right'.
• I'd have gone with my first plan for window trim: Create a 'ladder' of trim that includes the window in the middle with sections of singles above and below it. The trim boards on each side would go from the bottom to the top of the wall. This would prevent me from having to cut around the windows at all, and would have tied the sides into the front (which I've now decided is going to be all shingle).
• I'd have gone with my original plan to do the rear gable in shingles. Trying to work with 16' boards that have to be trimmed to the angle of the roof, cut to fit around windows and held in place vertically while trying to get the spacing right is a real pain in the @ss.
• I would have sealed the back as well as the sides and face of each board. With the gaps I've got around the trimwork - small though they may be - I can't help but fear that they're going to rot before their time.

Almost done with the west side!

There's been two trips up since I last wrote: The first was a 2-night trip with the LSW and The Boy. Our primary goal was to flush out the well and test the water (everything checked out perfectly), and while this was happening we worked on the siding. By 2 PM on Saturday, we were exhausted and closed up shop when friends came to visit.

The second was a day trip with a friend. After a few beers the night before, he volunteered to accompany me the next day, and I'm guessing he was wondering what the hell he had been thinking when I pulled up at 6 am the next morning. I appreciated the help and the company, though I feel bad that I set him to work staining siding. We hung some additional siding and framed two knee walls for the front loft before packing up, hitting the Top of  the Hill BBQ joint in Brattleboro and heading for home. Thanks, Nick!

I should note that we had a little excitement during the day when the nail gun 'hopped' during firing and took a small chunk out of my right thumb. There was a lot of blood, but it turned out to be little more than a flesh wound. I can't really blame this on the gun - I was holding the boards together at an odd angle and without good bracing. While my thumb pulsed and ached the rest of the day, I realized that it was one of the very few accidents we have had so far in the building process - knock on wood.

The next trip up will be next weekend; my father is looking to lend a hand this year, and he's arranged to drive up on Thursday. We'll all head up to Shangri-La Friday morning, and Mr Big (my brother-in-law) will meet us there for 2 nights and 2 1/2 days of porch framing, front siding, and finishing what is left of the side/back siding.

Somehow I've got to fit a porch roof between the top of the door and the bottom of the gable window...

We've also decided to move forward on the septic system. Estimates on the system came in at right around $6,500, and once again we've decided to use Taylor Excavating. The work will include clearing the remaining trees, excavating, all materials, topsoil and seeding. I've asked Dan to estimate an additional load of topsoil and seeding for the rest of the property, and he noted that he would give us a credit for the pile of topsoil he saved during the initial land clearing. The work may begin as early as next weekend.

I hadn't expected to be able to do more than the well, electrical and siding this year, but it turns out we've run into a small annual inheritance in memory of my father's late wife. While this means the funding for the rest of the work is assured, the circumstance by which we receive it are sad. We'll think of her as the work completes, and she'll be a presence each time we use it. Rest in peace, Judy - you put up one hell of a fight.

The Remains of the Day

Is there anything better than sitting in a comfortable recliner, fresh from a hot shower and a cold IPA in hand after 6 hours of travel and 5 hours of hard labor? Save your breath - I can state conclusively that there isn't. Unless you garnish the scene with a hot barbecue pulled pork sandwich topped with cold slaw. And maybe some sweet potato fries. Ah, well - 3 out of 5 ain't bad.

It's troubling, however, that my 5 hours of work bought me about 1/3 more siding on the back wall. That's about 6 boards total, to be honest. If you subtract the setup and tear-down time, that's an astonishing 1 hour per board. Now, granted, there was measuring, cutting and test-fitting multiple times to accommodate the upstairs window, and most had to be stained after they were up, but really, 1 hour per board?? At this rate, the siding will finally be complete - what? - just before I'm dead? They say slow and steady wins the race, though, so I plod along...

It was a milestone day, however, as I was finally working from a power cord plugged into an in-cabin outlet. Yes, CVPS hooked us up yesterday, and Hennessey finished connecting the various circuits into the box. The wiring itself isn't quite done, but the circuits that are now have power. The cloud to this silver lining, however, is that I also got the bill: $847 - about $200 more than I budgeted. Not that the bill from Hennessey was unreasonable - the criticism is aimed solely at my optimistic budgeting. For the record, Hennessey was a pleasure to deal with - I'd recommend them without hesitation.

So now we're waiting on the state to approve the revised septic plan, and Taylor Excavating to provide an estimate. I dare not hope that Dan will tell me that the septic will be $3,500 bucks, but unless he does we won't have both a well pump and a septic system this year. Still, with electrical in the house, we have the option of carting in our own water and staying overnight. Hell, we could even splurge on a solar camping shower and portable toilet and make the accommodations downright luxurious. Huh. I wonder how the LSW would feel about that?

Closing Down for the Winter

Well, this is it: The official notice that we're closed for 2009. Tomorrow is my last working trip to Shangri-La, and my last chance to get one full side of the cabin covered in shiplap before the long winter rest begins.

Thanks to those of you who read along this year, and to those of you who helped! I'll be back in March or April to pick up the effort with the septic and well, and hopefully carry it though to our first weekend stay sometime in late summer or early fall!

The Slow Work

I have read that the framing is the fastest (and most gratifying) part of building a house - it's all rough cuts and rough nailing, and every day you see big progress as a wall goes up or a roof goes on. And it's true - each weekend this summer left a feeling of accomplishment in its wake, each new picture on my desktop at work drawing comments from passers-by, astonished that one of their desk-jockey compatriots could successfully assault a task so seemingly daunting.

Now? Not so much. The picture from 3 weeks ago showed siding on one side of the building up to the first window. 2 weeks ago the picture had siding up to the 2nd window. With any luck, this week's picture will show one side finished. My co-workers are starting to sneak past my desk without comment.

In fairness to me, I'm now working by myself, one day a week, in increasingly cold weather. By the time I get there and set up, it's almost 10, and I begin to pack up for home by 2. Not exactly a recipe for rapid progress. But the goal is to get all the trim up and get one wall sided, so I keep plugging away. (Thank god, by the way, that I chose white pine shiplap rather than shingles; at this rate I'd be 3 years dead of old age before the shingles would be finished.)

I expect that this weekend (or next) will be the last for the year, and then we'll settle for staying at the Saxton's River Inn once per month (they gave us the corporate rate - thanks!) to check on the place and have a nice meal. Maybe we'll spend some time getting better acquainted with the other 2.5 acres on the property, and I've promised The Boy we'd do some sledding - the cleared slope of land from the cabin to the utility right-of-way should be perfect for it. Might even rent a snow machine or two and explore some of the VAST trails. In any event, it will be nice to go up to relax for a few weekends for a change.

On the plus side, our little slice of heaven has been painfully picturesque as the fall has progressed, and the fresh donuts at the Saxton's River Market seem to get even better as the temperature drops. With the leaves gone, I've noted that - with a little clearing - we've got an potentially nice view of the ridge to the West to add to the current view from the East. We'll have the perfect view from either porch. Nice.

I'm Exhausted

So I'm sure the two of you who read have noticed the posts getting sparse lately. Sorry about that, but I'm exhausted.

For example, today I got up at 5 am to be on the road by 6. Got to the cabin by 9 am, and began setting up to continue the siding in 40 degree weather. Spent 6 hours covering on 16 feet, and then spent 3 1/2 hours on the road to arrive home at 6:30. Such has been my life each Sunday for the last (?) number of weekends, trying to get the siding up before it gets too cold to work any more.

I know: Boo-Hoo. Just the price you pay for a 'vacation home'. (Actually, I had always assumed that if you could afford a second home, you could afford to pay someone to build it. Sigh.)

It's all good, though - VT is beautiful in the fall. After a few days of rest, I'll post a real update.