Plumbing the walls...

Left Saturday about noon after loading 2000 pounds of lumber onto the trailer. I have about two loads left in the garage. I got to work under the tarp for most of the weekend and I stayed in the tent pictured above.


Most of the time was spend plumbing the walls using the laser level and a come-along I got from the local autoparts store. Once plumb, I installed all the 45 degree bracing.


Started framing the walls very early on Saturday and checked the fit of the windows. Pictured above is the back cabin wall. Still need some more framing, but rain was forecast and I wanted to get the tarp up before the storm hit.


Front wall window and the trailer in the backgraound with lumber that had to be unloaded.


Just before I recovered with the tarps.... It almost looks like I know what I am doing!

Left around 1pm and 20 minutes later I was driving through a major thunderstorm with Dime sized hail. May take next weekend off and take a break...

Frame is up....

Got up at 4:30am on Friday and drove down to the property. Work went pretty fast but is was very hot again. Finished up around 3:30pm and headed for the Fireworks shoot. Stayed for a while and watched some of the guys manufacturing shells. Going back tonight to watch the main show.



Kit is going together well, but I need to plumb the frame before I go any further.






Hopefully this will keep any rain off the cabin till I can get back down.



Heading to Lowes to pick up some windows since I can't finish the frame till I know the rough-out dimensions.

Floor is finally done...

Left around 3pm on Friday and headed for the campsite (tent only) at Bear Creek Lake. Quickly set up camp and made it to the property by 7pm to make sure everything was dry. Couple of pools of water had accumulated in pockets in the tarp. Also discovered numerous wasp nests under the deck. Ran to Dollar General and got a can of Wasp killer since I had to get under the deck to nail the floor bottom. Sprayed the whole area and jumped back in the truck. Drove back and was asleep by 10pm.


Got up early and headed out to finish nailing the floor bottom. Still some wasps around, but didn't get stung. Got the insulation installed in the section I was working on and also nailed and glued the flooring. The sun was hot and the reflective insulation only made it hotter. Spend alot of time balancing on the floor joist and really gave my ankles a workout. Finally died around 3pm and decided to go take a shower and possibly come back that evening..... (didn't happen!)





Got up early Sunday morning and packed up camp and got to the property around 7am. It was extremely hot and drank two liters of water by 9am. Had to run out and get more water and some Gatoraid. Completed all the flooring and porch boards. Felt a bit dizzy a few times. Had to sit in the air conditioning in the Rover and drink lots more fluids before I felt OK to continue. The heat index was 105F. Finished up around 3pm and started to head for home. I did not feel well on the drive home and finally got home, took a shower, and enjoyed the A/C. Think I was close to heat exhaustion. Still drinking tons of fluids and never needed to go to the bathroom.





Fireworks shoot this weekend and depending on the weather, I may go down and start the walls on Friday. This is taking alot longer than I originally thought...

Dew point 70.....

I am sitting in the McDonalds down the street waiting for the rain to let up. Loaded the trailer Friday morning and headed down. The humidity was very high and I was soaked after about twenty minutes. Finished nailing in all the blocking and started cutting plywood to apply the bottom of the floor to keep the critters out of the insulation.



This project did not go as smoothly as I envisioned. I was so dehydrated and was cramping in my arms, so I called it a night and headed for the Motel. Decided to stay in Appomattax so I could take showers after playing with Insulation. Came back the Saturday morning during a drizzle which stopped about an hour later. Cut and installed two more bottom sheets and cut the others. Nailing them while laying on my back in the dirt made it pretty difficult. I glued some small slats to make sure the bottom floor had no entrances to allow bugs to get into the floor.


After a section of the bottom floor was done I installed some insulation and was suprised that I didn't itch it all! Glad I had the shower when I got home.
This morning I came back to finish the bottom floor and get the floor completed but the weather isn't cooperating. I still haven't unloaded the trailer and don't really want to do that in the rain. The current plan is to get the lumber loaded onto the cabin floor and get everything covered so I can head home.

At least I got the lumber down here and can bring more on my next visit. WIsh it would stop raining......