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We
killed all of the grass in the whole front yard and then
burned off the biomass so we could get a good start on the
new, "no mow" grass. It's all about zero maintenance
at some point in the future. If you only knew how many
times we've fought our way through the front yard with a
chainsaw,
loppers and a weedwhacker..... |
Here's
the finished product or at least part of it. The
tilled and raked area is about 8,000 square feet! It's
over 150 feet long. It was a LOT of raking.
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We
finally fixed a slump on the back side of the dam.
There had been a spring covered up in 2007 and the soil
liquefied. We added drains and then cleaned everything
up. We opened it up more below which should also be
nice. |
Here's
the beginnings of Joseph's sweat lodge. We're going to
get a roof over this and let him frame the floors and walls.
He'll heat it with propane. |
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We
extended the old sidewalk to the end of the driveway and Bob
washed away the surface so it would look like the sidewalk
placed in 1929 by O.K. Malone.
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The
last of the trees damaged in May came down and we trimmed
the limbs and then planed the knots. This will be the
post for the turn in the staircase from basement floor to
attic ceiling!
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Here's
one of the new water tanks going in. We finished up
about 10:00 that night and then I drove the 5 1/2 hour drive
home..... Ugh! |
The
finished basement! We're ready to start framing.
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We
returned to the cabin on Friday, the 30th just in time for
the rain to stop. We had 22 inches of rain in October,
half the average annual rainfall for southern Illinois! |
The
next morning it was framing time. We got three walls
up in short order..... |
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...
then set the post for the stairs, a cedar tree we had to cut
near the sidewalk near the cabin. It had blown over in
the storm in May. |
Water
tank in place, cleaned out, braced and the lid bolted and
siliconed. |
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This
was one of the more elaborate cuts we had to make.
After the notch, we had to cut the portion on the right to
take a stair stringer. |
Here
was the finished product. I think these were the last
cuts we made for framing on the post. We still had to
cut in some flooring on the second floor. |
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Water
tank in and plumbed, filled and almost backfilled! |
When
we left after a week of hard work, the basement was
backfilled, the first floor was framed and the stairs to the
second floor were started. Most of the second floor
decking was complete except for the portion over the front
porch. |
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Here's
the view from the upstairs dormer window. There will
be a queen sized bed here. I've been getting a lot of
grief about building the world's most expensive hunting
stand and being the laziest hunter on the planet. They
also worry about me waking Mary Louise who might be sleeping
beside me with a shotgun blast some fall morning..... |
There
are a few nooks and crannies in the upper floor. This
one will get a short wall at the back with a door to a
tunnel to another one like it. There will be a couple
of ladder rungs at the staircase to access it through a
small, child sized door. |
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The
cedar tree finally cut to size. We left 1/2 inch for
the ceiling to slide above it and beneath the ceiling
joists. |
Here's
what it looks like at the moment. It's essentially
weathered in. The inside is framed and it's time to
set the windows and start worrying about a roof and some
siding. When all's said and done, we'll put the deck
down. |
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The
yard is coming along nicely. Couldn't have gotten too
much luckier with the sun, temps and rain. |
Finally starting some trim.... |
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Finally getting some roofing up. It is a little late
in the season and the roofers are losing a lot of days to
foul weather, though, so we aren't sure how fast this is
going to go as we get through the holiday season.... |
The
sweat lodge and the drive out basement.... |
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Porch
soffit, dormer trim and the first piece of roofing on the
new structure. The next piece will have the solar
panels on it! |
Staging for roofing, windows, siding.... |
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The
roofing panels needed to be prepped vigorously. We
vacuumed, wiped and cleaned with alcohol..... |
Then
peeled the backing off the flexible panels and stuck them
down! THAT was a spooky moment. We were pretty
worried, but it all went smoothly, so to speak... |
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Finally got some roofing on the cabin! Almost
finished.... |
We
even have most of it on the bunkhouse now, including half of
the solar panels. |
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Shutters in place for the most part and the garage door is
in and trimmed. Getting there...... |
After
a winter of not much happening, we are finally closing in on
it. That only leaves finishing the entire inside,
wiring, plumbing, heating, insulation, drywall, trim,
painting and floor covering to go...... |
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Here's
the new deck. It's plastic so it shouldn't warp, grow
moldy or rot. |
The
siding is all finished, scaffolding removed, some of the
debris taken away..... |
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Now we
have the stairs and the side deck to do, handrail, etc.
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