10/29/2011

Today is the big day for travel.  The distance to travel is under 100 miles, but our speed will be in the 50-60mph range with one mountain pass to go over.  On that note, there is one bridge to go under on that mountain pass that is marked at 14 feet.  There is a sign indicating that vehicles over that must use the off ramp.  Even though we are slightly under, we our opting to use the off ramp as a precaution.

The drive went well over the pass and getting the unit into place went smooth.  Having a 3 ton jack to lift the corners and put the jack stands in place would have worked well if we remembered the bar to use it.  fortunately the ground was pretty level at the final destination and the rest of the lifting was done using only the tongue lift.

Even though it is in it's location, there is still a lot of work left to do.  The porch needs to be built (the metal is already cut and ready.)  The initial deck which will be a 5' wide by 4' foot extension with stairs on the hitch end of the deck.  Taking off the wheels and adding a skirting beneath the wheel wells.  I did secure the trailer with a tongue lock for now.

Now that it is up and stable, the furniture can go in and the decorating begins.  We are finding that certain furniture items will work, and other will be changing.  The couch and chairs are good.  The table sticks out too far and will need to be modified so it will not stick our beyond the chairs.

The stairs going up to the loft above the frig worked out well.  I anchored it on top and bottom and it feels very stable.

The bathroom is all hooked up and running.  I might add another shelve above the toilet to store more bathroom supplies.

The shower is in, but won't be utilized until after the winter months pass.  The water to the property is above ground and because there will be 2' of snow on the ground soon, so the cabin will be dry for the next 3-4 months. 

The kitchen is filling up quickly.  The kitchen shelves need to be put up so we have places to put plates, cups, and other supplies.  Well, just because the cabin is now in its location does not mean it is done.  There is still a lot to do.  I should have more done next week.  The hard part now is that it is now 1:45 drive to work on it now.

Good times are coming...

10/28/2011

After a lot of scrambling to finish the cabin on time, we were able to get things ready for the big weigh in day. 

The kitchen cabinets are done.  The felted cloth made a nice finish to the face of the shelves.  It is all in effort to keep things light.

The pantry and pantry doors are now on as well as the pine that holds the frig.  The pine around the frig is heavily reinforced to hold our bodies because it is part of the access to the loft.  The new additions are still needing some polyurethane and the ladder needs to be installed on the top of the frig still. 

So we are off to the scales.

It took a 30 minutes to get the trailer off the jack stands.  It also took a 3 ton jack to lift it up the ends to slowly bring it down to the ground.  The next concern was how tall it would actually be when down on tires.  Are we going to clear all the power lines?  Especially the low one going to my house.

OK.  So down on the road and hooked to my Dad's 2500 series GMC with a duramax diesel, it was time to pull the tape.  The total height is officially at 13' 5" tall when down on the tires.   Sure seemed tall.

Down at the scales, we weighed in at 6850lbs.  I was sure it was going to weigh a little more.  The trailer is rated 10,000lbs.  It is a little tongue heavy which was apparent when towing down the road. 
Now that the weight is in.  It is time to go convert the flatbed trailer into a travel trailer. Down the the Washington DOL we go.   It was a little work going through the building receipts for all the purchases.  The taxes paid on those areas translate into tax saving on the licensing side. 

It is now a really big travel trailer and tomorrow is the big journey to it new resting place.

day 38 10/24/2011

We are getting down to crunch time.  I am trying to be done and ready to weigh in at the scales by Friday.  There are a lot of details still remaining.  Today was a good day to work on the kitchen and the closet/pantry.  We decided to go with an simple design without cabinets under the counter tops.  We are putting shelves under the counter tops where they won't interfere with the sink plumbing and hot water tank.  The pre-maid counter tops help to make it easier.  The ends are easy to finish on the counter tops. 

 I added some pine to the end to close things up.  I think I will also add some finish 1x3 to the face of the shells to make things look a little tighter.  The sink came from Ikea and fits well in smaller areas.  I put the hot water tank in its location, but still need to do the plumbing and strap the tank to the wall. 

I started to build the wall for the pantry which will be behind the door  I will build the shelves before I build the enclosing wall on my next day of work as I just ran out of time today.  The bottom half will be the closet for coats and shoes and stuff and will have its own door.  Same with the pantry on the top with 2 or 3 shelves to be built.

I put in 7 more hours today (265 total hours worked).

Day 37 10/18/2011

The pictures don't really pick up the detail from the polyurethane, but it is on and looks good.  I noticed that the color on the pine darkened a little with is ok.  It is a semi-gloss and it really gives it a good cabin look.  I have left a heater on it for a few days and I am struggling to get rid of the toxic smells.  I will try to cook it with more heat for a few days and then leave the windows open to air it out. 

It took 8 hours to apply the polyurethane and I still have a few area that are not done.
(258 total hours worked so far.)

Day 36 10/17/2011

The Pine is on and all done except for the pantry and the areas around the kitchen cabinets that are net yet installed.

There are still a few windows that need to be trimmed.  I ran out of material.  I decided to get started on the floor.  The OSB plywood that I used for the decking did buckle a little even though I gapped them in accordance with the manufacturer.  Nothing that a quick run with the belt sander couldn't handle.

I don't know that is was necessary, but I put another layer of felt paper down on top of the plywood. 

Time for some laminate flooring.  Most laminate flooring products go together quite easily.  and once you get your lines down and layout ready, it goes very quickly.

The laminate floor is very durable.  Even after I dropped a few tools on it, the marks never showed.  It looks really good done except for the base trim.

The floor is done and next will be the polyurethane.

I worked another 9 hours today.  (250 total hours worked)
 



Day 35 10/15/2011

The pine is done except for the window trim and cabinet work!

The dormers are continuing to provide challenges to my processes for sure.  I attached a ledger on the outside wall and above the window down 5 1/2" from the plywood.  That matches the existing 2 x 6 rafters. 

I ran the pine long in between the dormers and after I scribed a line, cut them off.    Once they were cut off, I attached a board to tie the corners together.

I am not sure how to trim the outside corners.  The corners went quite well and ended up amazingly tight. At this point, I am thinking that I might just hit the corners with the palm sander and call them good. 

I still need to trim out the winders and then I plan on hitting everything with a sander and knocking down any rough edges.  After that comes a nice coat of clear polyurethane.  Laminate flooring to follow...

I put in 10 man hours (241 total hours.)

Day 34 10/12/2011

My Dad came over and helped today.  2 people get more than double the work of a single worker.  One person works the saw while the other lays in the loft and secures the wood with the nailer! 

Now the loft is really taking shape.  Having the pine up there is doing two things.  First, I don't have as much head room to put my head up between the rafters.  I guess it is good to know how much room I have to work with.  Second, The opportunities to crack your had on the rafters was cut in half today!!! 

I faced the dormers as well.  I need to face them before I attach the ledger to continue covering the rafters.

So I am rounding the corner with the end in sight.  I only have the half of the rafters to go before ALL is covered.  Of course there is still a lot of trim work to do, but I think it will all be done in a day.  I am hoping to be ready for a clear semi-gloss polyurethane on Sunday.  Tomorrow will be a much needed brake and then hopefully Friday will bring the closer.

9 hours today (231 total hours worked to date)