THE "M" WORD

February 2007
The cement's fine but the wood...

...both our hearts sank.
It was hard to hold back the tears.

PLUMBERS AHOY

October 2006.

After Chainsaw and the crew left we painted the deck boards to keep them from soaking up too much water. We got a heavy coat on just in time for an October shower. If I remember correctly, there was a ton of rain that month.



Next the plumbers got to work. D & Gary dug up the basement floor and put in all the pipe. Gary's plumbing expertise helped us to pass the inspection with flying colors.

Now that the floor inside was leveled out after the inspection, we covered any exposed wood with tyvek on the outside. Later, D & I added 2 large tarps over the top of the foundation as an extra layer of water protection. Our baby was all tucked in for the cold winter months ahead.

Now all we could do was cross our fingers and wait for spring.
Please don't crack cement! Please Mr. Winter, be mild!!

(view of hill from old barn)
landbridge on left, foundation on right

Fall is our very favorite time on Twin Buck Hill.
It will be yours too!

FRAMING

Late September 2006.
Before the actual framing began the beams needed to be set, lumber needed to be delivered and the crew needed to show and be ready to go all in one day. It was D's first day as acting general contractor to coordinate all the trades and of course it was chaotic. The crain arrived and was unable to set the beam because the beams pockets we cut wrong - a grumpy, stand-in inspector dropped in out of the blue to ruffle some feathers - the crew was ready to call it a day because the beam weren't in place - and I think the lumber may have been a bit flubbed. I heard all the drama via the phone. But luckily Charlie was there and helped calm things down. The cement company sent someone out right away to correct the mistake - Mr. Inspector grumbled away - and D was fired as the lumber-order-guy by Chainsaw. Whew! (click pics to enlarge)



The game plan was changed as far as our start time goes - and believe me, this wasn't the first time. D & I along with Charlie decided that it may be best to prolong our start date until the spring in order to avoid trekking from Detroit through the winter months to build. Framing began in the fall so that when spring finally rolled around we'd be ready for logs right away which would in turn speed up the entire process. And the quicker we can wrap up our construction loan the less money we will be spending.





The framing of the walkout and the first floor not only helps speed things along but it will be a like a sweater for the cement that's been poured, protecting it from the cold winter winds and all the snow. All we had to do was figure out how to keep it dry and somewhat warm to keep it from cracking. Protecting the cement was our main priority now.



Charlie brought the crew and threw D into the mix and they all went to work. Believe it or not they finished in a day and a half. These guys meant business.

We saw our first floor view for the first time.

These are the guys responsible for it all (shown here after a hard days work). We're gonna learn a lot from this awesome crew.

CHAINSAW CHARLIE

I would like to introduce you to our builder, the legendary, Chainsaw Charlie. His name says it all. Dereck found him through an article in Log Home Living. The moment we met him we knew immediately he was the guy. It was Charlie or no cabin at all. You can find his work all over the country from small, cozy cabins like ours will be to huge, million dollar log masterpieces and no two are the same. Charlie and his wife run Michigan Log Homes which includes construction as well as running their own mill. We've been working with them for so long they almost feel like family.

Chainsaw is an original.

He's not only a builder with gobs of talent but a modern day philosopher. He's like Grizzly Adams, Ghandi and Santa Claus rolled into one. He's an extremely gifted artist who is deeply connected to his creative well. Mostly, he's a hell of a nice guy. Although the cabin is what we've been waiting for we're really looking forward to spending time with this guy.

LOGS, LOGS, LOGS

We visited our logs at the mill this weekend. They are 6,7 and 8 inch diameter cedar logs with wacked out, hand scribed cross corners. I wanted to touch each one of them.

It was like seeing your presents on Christmas Eve...

We love our logs!

FOUNDATION

Late Septmeber 2006.
Cement foundation was poured.

(west view from garage corner)

(front and garage views including chase support)

(basement views looking in and out)

Green rubber wall was applied and steel beam were delivered.

THE PLANS

Our first draft was drawn up in 2002. Since then there have been many revisions. It started out as a 1900+ plan with the master suite on the second floor and two guest rooms on the main floor and extra living space in the basement. After lots of thought and debate we agreed upon the 1600+ plan below. We will eventually finish the walkout basement which will include another guest bedroom with a full bath plus living area which will put our square footage over 2200 sq ft.
The number one thing that everyone seems to want to change about their build after they've completed it is that they wish they would've went bigger. I don't know how many times we've read this. Did you know that log cabins cost over one third more to build than a traditional stick built home? It's all about the budget baby. I hope we don't regret our decision to go a bit smaller.

FOOTINGS

Mid September 2006.
I had to miss all the digging fun due to the day job. By the time I made it back up to the hill I found the driveway was complete and connected to the building site. Oh yeah and a big, messy hole with the poured cement footings in place.

(click pictures to enlarge)

Have you ever seen anyone so excited about a dirt hole and some cement?

The footings help outline the cabin's layout. This view is from the back further up the hill facing west. The closest square is the garage, the driveway comes from the right. The garage is connected to the cabin which is the footing area beyond the first square. The living area faces west to take advantage of all those sunsets and the walkout will open to the left.

More details about the layout later.