It's time to start a new season on our project! Dan has been busy in the shop, building triangle panels for the cabin dome. On nice weather weekends we will go to the ridge to work on things there. I'll keep you posted.....
Triangle counter:
Need:
Finished:
Left to build:
25 #1's
29 #2's
29 #3's
8 #4's
30 #5's
25 #6's
20 riser wall panels
5 cupola wall panels
5 cupola roof panels
3 loft dormers
1 1st floor dormer
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2012
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1-7-12
The holidays have past and It's time to get to work in the shop. Dan bought a bucket of glue and we'll pour it into more manageable jugs.
This will not be enough but it will get us close
1-25-12
All the parts for the number 1's are cut and one is assembled. They are bigger so they need more pieces of blocking and they are 2x8 to allow for more insulation. Both these factors make them heavier then the shop triangle panels
4-22-12
Tax season is over and we went to the ridge to check things out. We couldn't quite drive in as there was still snow on the road in a shady area but we hiked the rest and there was hardly any snow at our place
5-19-12
We decided the first project of the season on the ridge would be to install our new gate.
It is located at the end of the road which is also the beginning of our driveway.
18 bags of concrete mix later and the gate post is in.
Just below the clearing for our drain field we planted four fruit trees
6-3-12
Bruce brought up his tractor and helped us install the gate
Dan, Dan, and Bruce putting the gate in place. We still have another hole to dig and the receiving post to concrete in.
6-16-12
At home the triangle panels are starting to add up. The shed is pretty full.
The panels that will have windows (no blocking or plywood) are lighter and we packed some of them around and stored them on the back deck
Running out of room. Time to take a load of panels to the storage unit.
We went to the cabin for a five day holiday over 4th of July. We worked a little and played a lot. Dan(ny) helped Dan hang some siding.
4th of July
After the days work we did a little clay pigeon shooting.
Redneck fireworks,
What fun!
When Dan didn't need my help with hanging siding I painted the primer coats on the concrete wall. Don't you just love the combo of the pink primer and the yellow primer siding?
7-15-12
Dan and John hanging siding on the gable end.
7-28-12
Yea! All the siding is installed on the two extentions. The trim is complete. The first coat of brown is finished on the foundation wall. Now as soon as Dan finishes caulking the extentions I can paint them.
8-5-12
Dan has completed the timbers for the garage door surround. He and Mike do the fitting and drilling.
The first post is up.
After both posts are up, Dan and Mike place the header for lifting.
Using the "Genie Lift" makes easy work of placing the header.
Mike taps the header down into place.
After the frame is in place and pegged they started framing the wall. Good progress for a weekend so hot (over 100 ).
o
8-11-12
More work on framing the wall.
I wanted to paint a "fading light to dark" effect on the foundation. I started by painting stripes of different browns.
Then I blended the paints to soften the lines.
I got the 3rd and final coat of finish on the rafters, kingposts, and struts. Still have crossties, girts, posts, and braces to go.
OOPS! I had a little mishap on the ladder. Nothing broken just bruised and sore. My Butt took the worst of it (don't worry, wont post a picture of that). I am glad it wasn't my head!
The wall is framed and ready to be sheeted.
Got a good start on the sheeting. Next weekend Bruce is going to help us install the garage door. (Dan is inside the dome removing the crate from around the door and inspecting the parts).
8-18-12
Dan and Bruce have installed the rails on the sides of the opening and the door is on the lift. Now they need a plan.
Dan cranks the door up to the top of the header.
A job well done!
8-19-12
Mike and Dan work on installing the other door.
After the door, they finish hanging the sheeting.
Milestone weekend! We have a lockable shop.
Then it is attached and all the adjustments are done.
8-25-12
We started digging the ditches for the drains that go beneath the slab. We use the intersecting strings to measure from to find our drain locations.
It was a hot day to dig ditches in the sun (in hard, rocky soil). We moved over to the gate post hole to finish our day.
8-26-12
Dan and Mike mixed concrete and installed the latch post for the gate. I went to town to attend a baby shower for my future granddaughter, Lucy!
Grandson Austin holding our porthole bathroom window. This was given to Dan by Bill Kelley, who salvaged it from the ship Santa Lucia over 30 years ago! We are honored by the gift, Thanks Bill !!! I'm looking forward to it being part of our dome cabin.
Picture of the portholes in the Santa Lucia.
The S.S. Santa Lucia
The plumbing drains are almost complete. We are missing a couple of fittings to finish the little bit that's left.
9-3-12
The soil is hard clay and rock. It's hard to dig but it will make a good substrate under the concrete slab. Dan swings the pick to losen the soil, then I shovel it to the screen over the wheelbarrow. We are screening the soil so we can use it to bed in the pipe in the ditches.
We have done as much of the septic drains as we can for now. We have the ditch for the floor drain dug, and have the form boxes for the below-slab pads to support the timber frame in place. We have the ditch for the water line about half way done.
Friday we will finish the below slab plumbing and have 28 yards of gravel dumped into the basement hole. We have to place at least 4 inches of rock fill for a radon vent to meet code. Anyone want to spend their Saturday (9-8) spreading rock? Call us, we'd love to feed you lunch and loan you a shovel!
It's fun to be working on the cabin dome. (Rare picture of Michelle -- taken by Renae.)
One load of our rock was delivered during the week while we were away.
9-7-12
The first thing we did was to finish our ditch and install the conduit for our water line.
Then we finished our below slab plumbing.
Our other load of rock arrived on Friday.
9-8-12 Marty and Doug came to help us spread the rock.
We listened to some "rock" music while we worked. That would be Doug playing the lead shovel and Dan on the bass rake.
By the end of Saturday we just had the center to complete. We got alot more done than I thought we would.
9-9-12
Dan and I finished filling the center, leveled some high and low spots, installed the radon vent pipe, and raked it smooth. We had thunder, lightning, and rain last night. Now after being so hot working to get ready we get to worry that the weather will hold for the next 12 days (or at least on day 12, concrete day).
Robbie came up and helped us lay black plastic and start the rebar while Dan worked on installing the expansion joints. Sunday Dan and I worked on laying more rebar until we ran out of twist ties. Monday Mom and I tied it all together.
9-19-12
We passed the county inspection and are all ready for concrete.
I had to come to the ridge to meet the inspector so while I was here I decided to start my rock wall project. First I finished laying out the rock.
I'm pretty slow at this but it's going well.
9-21-12 Three trucks with 8.5 yards of concrete each and a pump truck arrived at 7:20 am Friday morning.
Jeff and his crew had already arrived and they began pouring the basement floor.
They finished pumping the concrete in by about 9:00 am. It amazes me how they can get it so level and smooth. They made it look easy and I know it's not.
Jeff ran the power trowel while Motor Mouth and Little Bob did some hand work around the edges and the plumbing.
Jeff stayed after everyone else had left to finish the hand work.
It was the coldest day at the ridge we've had this summer. Because of the temp the concrete just sat there and didn't do it's thing for a long time.
At 4:00 pm Jeff had finished the floor and It looked GREAT!
9-22-12
We went back the next morning to a beautiful shiny floor. We sprayed a sealer on it and admired it every time we walked by. I hear it rained in town yesterday. I'm so glad it didn't here.
We spent the rest of the weekend working on the shop building. I worked on my rock project and Dan worked on caulking the shop extentions. Don't know if the weather will hold to get it painted or not but we will keep going until Mother Nature says we have to take a break.
10-3-12
Still having nice weather. The siding on the two shop extentions are now painted.
The rock project on the carport walls are almost complete.
The rock project is finished and Dan has installed the cedar siding.
Bullwinkle
10-18-2004 to 10-18-2012
We lost our beloved mastiff and friend Bullwinkle this fall to cancer.
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11-14-12 Meet Mongo! Our new Mastiff/ St. Bernard puppy.
11-16-12
Dan put up the tyvek and hung some of the siding while I painted the final coat of finish on the timbers in the side shop.
What paint stick? Oh, this one in my mouth that I took from the paint can because you were ingnoring me? You can have it if you can catch me!
12-16-12
Winter has arrived. We went sledding with the kids on our hill. We could only drive to the rusty open gate which is only a short way up.
Back at home Dan is almost finished with the number 4s. The 4s and 5s have an elaborate blocking pattern to accommodate the paneling pattern we have chosen for the interior later.
The paneling patern radiates out from the pentagons and the hexagons. That leaves the 4s and 5s to be paneled like this.
The panels for the cabin dome are too big to flip over while on the bench. Dan has to bring each one down every time he needs to flip it over. What a workout!
Mongo loves to help Dan Sweep.
Our Christmas tree from our ridge.
12-29-12 Another load of triangle panels.
Our storage unit in Woodland is now full. Not one more panel will fit!
(Continued on the 2013 page)