South Dormer Assembly

Dormer aseembly is the next big step in the cabin construction. Here is the south dormer being put together this week.

Bell in the Loft with Tools

Our neighbor's dog Bell hangs out in the cabin loft with some tools as dormer construction begins. Bell likes to spend her days watching the construction.

Chimney is Raised

The chimney frame is completed and awaiting its stone veneer.

Ceiling Boards Interior View

The installation of ceiling boards on the west side of the cabin over the great room is almost complete. This is a view from the stairs heading to the loft.

Warming Trailer

Check out the trailer used to keep tools (and people) warm on those cold winter days at 8500 feet on our land near Nederland, Colorado.

View from Landing

Here is the view looking into what will be the kitchen from the stairway landing heading up to the loft.

Ceiling Boards

Ceiling boards are being installed on the north roof. You can also see the completed lower frame of the fireplace/chimney in the photo.

Temporary Loft Stair

A temporary stairway has been built to help with construction. It is located exactly where the permanent stairs to the loft will go.

Our cabin on TV

Our cabin will be on TV Wednesday, November 25th at 7 pm EST on Renovation Nation on the Planet Green channel (286 for DirectTV).
 
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/tv/renovation-nation/boulder-smart-home.html

Roof Framing

Now that the ride pole is in place, work on the roof framing has begun.

Drilling Ground Source Heat Pump

The ridge pole is in place and drilling holes (about 250' deep each) for the ground source heat pump should be complete by the end of November.

Snow Delay

30 inches of snow fell on the land (in October!), delaying construction for a few days.

Truss Is Up

The main central curved truss (which will hold up the roof) is installed.

Guest Bedroom

The guest bedroom (also known as the"shed") is being framed at the back of the cabin.

Construction Continues

Construction continues. These photos show the west gable under construction, the view through the loft bedroom east window, and the truss being readied for installation.

Restored Driveway

Here is what the driveway looks like after burying the electric line. We hope that we will be able to get it back to its former beauty by restoring it back to its original 2-track elegance with grass and wildflowers.

Electric Trench

Here is the "Ditch Which" at work digging up our beloved driveway in order to install electric service for our cabin.

Windows In Work

The custom cabin demands custom windows, of course. Here are some pictures of the windows nearly completed. Pretty nice looking, I think.

The schedule has the window maker (whose shop is in Arizona) coming up to Colorado for 3-4 weeks starting November 15th to install and trim the windows.

Meanwhile we still cannot agree on the details of the stonework !!!

Ditch Witch

Here is a photo of the machine (called and "Ditch Witch", apparently) that will be digging the trench down our driveway to get electricity to the cabin. I refer to it as the Lorax.

We are sad to dig up the 2-track driveway which we love as it is. We hope to restore the driveway to its former rustic glory after all the work is done.

Work Continues on Cabin

Work continues on the log walls to finish window cuts and install floor joists for the loft. We are also trying to decide on design details for the inside and outside stone walls.

Well Pump Installed

The pump for the well is now installed. But will no electricity hookup yet we need the generator to power the pump. I can't wait to taste our well water, but that will have to wait until out next trip out there, I guess.

Log Stacking Complete !!!

The log wall assembly on site has been completed !!!

Septic is being installed this week. Roof framing and drilling for ground source heat pump installation should happen this month as well.

Log Stacking Begins !!!

The first 3 "courses" of logs have been reassembled on the foundation.

Logs Arrive On Site !!!

Floor Complete

The floor framing is complete and awaiting logs!

Cabin Floor Frame

The cabin floor framing is complete. This picture shows it almost done. The log shell has been disassembled in Boulder and the first 3 "courses" are headed up to the site today.

North Elevation

Here is what the finished cabin will look like . . . looking at it from the north.

Foundation Complete

The foundation has been completed. Here is a snapshot of the finished foundation walls. The next step will be to frame the floor and backfill the dirt around the foundation . . . then come the logs.

Foundation Wall Forms

We passed the site fire mitigation inspection by Boulder County. This means that we can pour the foundation walls . . . the forms for which can be seen in this photo. The walls should be completed this week . . . next week the log walls will be moved to the site !!!

Foundation Footers

We have actual building started!!! The foundation footers were poured last week.

Building Permit and Foundation

We finally received our building permit from Boulder County !!! It is almost as if they don't want you to build here . . . hmmmm.

In any case, with building permit in hand the foundation pouring begins today. This photo shows the foundation footer forms yesterday before cement was poured.

Foundation Dig

The digging for the foundation is almost complete. There were a few big rocks but they were able to get them out with a big jackhammer and the backhoe.

Water !!!

Water at 400 feet !!!

Our 400' well is generating 40 gallons of water per hour . . . enough for a small cabin like ours with a single bathroom.



Apparently deeper wells also generate better and more consistent water quality, and this is 200 feet deeper than the ground source heat pump holes . . . so there will be no cross-contamination from the grout used there . . . all is good.

Topping Out

A milestone was reached in the construction of our cabin . . . The last log was fitted onto the top of the cabin walls today at the log yard in Boulder.

Next up will be the timber framed roof, dormers, and porch.

Well Drilling Rig Arrives !!!

The well drilling truck arrived on The Land today. Drilling starts tomorrow. We should know if we have water by the weekend.

Log Structure

Here is a photo of the log structure almost complete in the log yard in Boulder. It will completed and then moved to The Land once the foundation is complete this summer.

Intro

Hi everyone!

This is my first blog post ever for anything . . . we'll see how it goes.

We have been planning a cabin on our land for less than a year now (originally we just wanted a shed to store some stuff) but things are really moving along.

The log structure is nearing completion at the log yard in Boulder. Timber framing for the roof will begin next week if not sooner, and a well drilling rig is arriving at our property this afternoon to drill a well for water.

The well drilling is the first real permanent change to The Land related to the cabin, so it is kind of a big event. We are going up there this evening to check out the setup and make sure they are drilling in the right place!

If all goes as planned and we get the building permit soon (it was expected weeks ago) we should have the foundation in place, cabin reassembled on site and roof and doors/windows on before it snows this fall . . . that is the plan anyway.

More posts to come!