This weekend marks eight weekends left to move in date. And by golly, I think we could make it. This week we spend 4 solid days chinking the exterior of the Cabin. I had a terrible time finding (and keeping) motivation for this project. Husband definitely pulled more than his weight as I grumbled and complained about how stupid the project was. But WOW. I mean wow. Every time I see the Cabin now I pause and think wow. It looks stunning. It looks like a beautiful home.
We started on the West wall. And we had to start by fixing all the backer rod that had blown out and off (and all over the yard) through the Winter. In December (before New Zealand and all this Corona craziness) we were pushing really hard to get the Cabin sealed in before it got too wet; spoiler – it got too wet before we sealed the Cabin! So we’ve been in process of this project for over four months! And we finally got some prolonged warm dry weather this week!!
We’re still going to have to go around and fill a couple (many) little holes where the chinking pulled away from the wood as it dried (we totally didn’t make any mistakes, it just dried weird 😉 ). And we’re going to have to go and sand and stain some of the wood we’ve added to help fill holes. But even so, she’s gorgeous.
As we were working on the chinking project, FIL was working on trimming out the last two windows on the South wall. It is the one wall we were able to get the chinking done on before the weather turned on us! His work on the North facing window trimming is what kicked my butt back into gear on the Cabin. So I was pretty excited to see the South facing windows to transform just as magnificently! Once we finished the West wall, it was time to move on to the North wall that faces the driveway (and most of the wind!).
Doesn’t she look good?! I keep looking at these pictures when it’s dark out and I can’t go and look at her beauty in the sunlight. I am just so incredibly happy with how she cleaned up. I’m so excited to get done with the exterior items so I can start working on getting some plants in and making her feel even more homey! The North wall ended up only taking one day from start to finish (even with having to put all the backer rod in). It was a definite confidence booster!
As we moved on to our final wall, FIL finished up the trim on the South wall. We still need to put a deck in (in the far away future), but I am having a terribly hard time finding words to describe how immensely proud I am of the Cabin’s progress this week. Husband and FIL did incredible work and I am just so impressed with the results.
So then we started work on the replaced wall. Let me start off by saying I have loathed seeing that white paper every morning when we go to start work on the Cabin. It made the whole place feel like a crappy half pieced together pile of junk hardly worth our time and effort. Okay, I’m slightly exaggerating. But once that paper was covered, I realized just how much it was negatively affecting my view of the Cabin. It’s not done, still needs flashing and paint, but it is worlds better!
Once we got all the siding on we (Husband) had to start the tedious task of filling in all the gaps from the logs we had removed or had deteriorated. It turned out incredible!! And it felt amazing to walk in and no longer hear all the outside noises inside the Cabin. For the first time it actually felt like being indoors, instead of being outside in a barn…or shack…
I did the chinking on the corners until the tall ladder needed to be utilized. Then I let Husband take over. Because he has some serious skill using ladders. (It’s terrifying). And I stayed on the ground and filled the chinking gun when it was empty and rinsed rags and cleaned up as we went – you know, the tough jobs.
So after a tough job well done, Husband was rewarded with a “day off”, which he used to work really really hard on getting a trail cleared in our 3 acre parcel. I used mine much more wisely – to garden! But in all seriousness, Husband cleared an awesome trail that will eventually become a home mountain bike trail. I’m really impressed and excited. Next projects on the Cabin entail more electrical, beefing up the attic/roof, and getting some stairs and a railing for the loft! Until next time, here’s some pics of Ben and Jerry.
The Homestead Journey 