Chesaw Cabin has been started! Pictures!!

[Willy]

Not a ton of work but not bad for a day and a haft. It snowed like heck the first day and had to work to 8:30 at night to get the posts in a ready for the beams. I would scrape the building site and the snow made it white again in between scrapes. The top 4 inches was still frozen solid and took a pick axe to bust it out. The rest of the diging was easy. Did the beams the next day and was able to get home with the sun still shining! The first day had to use a head lamp to see to level the posts for concrete and dry packed them ready for water. I was real happy it measured out perfectly square even tho it was hard to see at night at the tail end. Going back Sunday to do the floor joists & plywood, the rest will be fun after that. Sure glad I had a trailer with some heat to sleep in that night! Was sore in the morning big time!! Mark

[glenn kangiser]

Good start Mark.  I also like drypack -- things don't move around and the concrete sets up harder than the back of my head.

[Willy]

Good start Mark.  I also like drypack -- things don't move around and the concrete sets up harder than the back of my head.

It is real nice also cause you can set the posts with out braces, and put the beams on right away. They are firming up right now and will be ready for the floor. The 6x6 posts are sitting on 12 inch square pads 24 inches deep in the ground so nothing will settle. Mark

[ScottA]

Looks good Mark. Nice spot.

[Willy]

Looks good Mark. Nice spot.

Thanks but I think I still need to cut out a few more Fir Trees to increase my view of the mountians and valley below. Mark

[MountainDon]

Looks like a good start, Mark.

Could you include little details of info like, pier spacing, beam sizes, etc? Lots of folks would lie to know that for their own future plans. Thanks

[Redoverfarm]

You have been on the ball Mark.  I wouldn't worry aboout the view now and the other trees to fall. I'd wait until I get it up and you would have a better idea of which needs to go after your structure is up. Unless you are worried about fire hazzard being too close.  Good Job.

[Willy]

Looks like a good start, Mark.

Could you include little details of info like, pier spacing, beam sizes, etc? Lots of folks would lie to know that for their own future plans. Thanks

The pier posts are 6X6 pressure treated 60% approved for the use. They sit on a pad 24 inches deep and concreted up to 4 inches below grade.  The ground slopes just enought to drain any water that could go by the cabin. No water drains from elsewhere to the cabin site, I only have to deal with what comes off of it. The pier posts are on 6 ft centers and the main floor will span 12 ft with 2X10s on 16 inch centers.

I modifed the plans again and shorten the porch to 12 ft long and moved the closet & bath room into the remainding 12 ft long space that was used for a porch. This gave me a 12X12 area for the kitchen/dining room. I am raising the roof over this 12x12 area 3 ft to give me 7 ft of head room in the loft instead of 6 ft.

The main beams on the posts are tripple 2x8s and I have 2-1/2" carrage bolts each going thru the post to hold them on and keep the beams tight. The 2x10s will sit on top of these. The darker wood is treated 2X8 for the 12X6 coverd porch.

I decided to add french glass doors out the back opening to a deck. That way there is a place to sit outside on both front and rear of the cabin. Soon as the ground thaws I will cut in my circle driveway and put down gravel. I am going back up Sunday to work for 3-4 days and should have all the framing done except the roof rafter.
    This will be a big chunk of work to do but then I want to go right back up and finish the rafters, roof sheeting and get some protection from the rain. I will be taking a few pictures each day as it goes up. Mark

Looking twords the Southwest


This is a view to the Northwest.

[Willy]

You have been on the ball Mark.  I wouldn't worry aboout the view now and the other trees to fall. I'd wait until I get it up and you would have a better idea of which needs to go after your structure is up. Unless you are worried about fire hazzard being too close.  Good Job.

Fire is not the reason but I am keeping that in mind to develop a few fire breaks in the trees to slow down a run if it ever happen. I have one spot open right now it does not show well in this picture. I figure once things start going up during my breathing breaks I will look and flag the trees. I have a neibor up there who cuts fire wood for a living and probley have him fall them and cut them up. I will give him the fir trees for doing the work and clean up of the branches. Mark

[Willy]

Off to Chesaw again in the morning. I have 90% of all the framing wood on my flat bed trailer. Pretty good sized load but not coming home till it is all nailed up. Might take 3-4 days of hard work to do it but I love a challenge. I will take lots of pictures and hope it does not snow to much! I got a snow shovel just in case to keep the floor clear for building walls.
   
This way I can save fuel driving the 160 miles at 7-9 MPG loaded up with the trailer. I got back up regular nails in case my nail gun quits and 3 power saws. I just hope the generator works cause using the hand saw is a joke but I have one also. Need back ups do to how far I have to drive and I can't leave the materials there not nailed down. To many other people building around this area on very tight budgets! Mark

This is a Web Cam 10 miles from the cabin at about the same elevation . It shows me how the weather is. Drop in and peak once in a while and see what I am working in!
http://www.localsnow.org/sitzmark.htm

[glenn kangiser]

Cool -- git 'er done, Mark.

[Redoverfarm]

Mark I looked at the Web cam and it doesn't look that good at 8:30A.  But workable unless it is worse on the ground.  We had a Fish & Wildlife cam in Shepherdstown which was set on a Eagle nest.  Watched the eggs from laying to hatch and then gone. Real cool.  But sort of like watching wood dry. Took a long time.

[gandalfthegrey]

You mean this one?   One of my favorites.

http://www.fws.gov/nctc/cam/eaglecam.htm

Here is my local one.

[gandalfthegrey]

http://www.jamesreserve.edu/

[Willy]

Boy 3 days and a wake up and I am BEAT!!! Nailed up 6,000 lbs of wood and my nail gun would not drive the framing nails!! It worked on the 8s so it did save me some work. I ended up raising the Loft to 7 ft head room and taking part of the front attic area for living space. This was the hardest project I have built in a LONG TIME and I am out of shape. Ran out of propane in the middle of the night when it was 8 degs outside. It was 22 degs in the trailer before I found a little bottle to run the camp stove with to warm it up to 50 degs. My shower when I got home felt great!  Mark

Here is a link to more photos;
http://imageevent.com/willy/pontiacridge

Front View


Back View


End View

[MountainDon]

Ran out of propane in the middle of the night when it was 8 degs outside. IN%20FRAME10.jpg[/img]

Been there, done that. The only thing worse is to run out of battery for the furnace blower, if that's what you have.

Good amount of work that you got done. 

Too bad about the framing nails. Had it worked previously?

[MountainDon]

The link to more pictures doesn't work... it goes directly to image7 that is in the message already. But I figured out some of the others...

[MountainDon]

[ScottA]

Wow! Awsome progress Mark. You're a one man framing crew. Looks great. 

[Willy]

Wow! Awsome progress Mark. You're a one man framing crew. Looks great. 

Thanks but I did bring a kid with me to hand me wood and go-fer stuff so I could cut and nail from 7:00 AM to 8:30 PM each night ending the day wit a head lamp to see! You can only do so many 13 hr plus days in a row working this way. Mark

[Willy]

Ran out of propane in the middle of the night when it was 8 degs outside. IN%20FRAME10.jpg[/img]

Been there, done that. The only thing worse is to run out of battery for the furnace blower, if that's what you have.

Good amount of work that you got done. 

Too bad about the framing nails. Had it worked previously?

I tested it a few times on some wood but seems to lose power on the last 1/4 inch on the longest nails? I even jacked up the air to full pressure. Number 8s work great even at low power. It was a borrowed trailer and had a forsed air heater but we were useing a small portable to knock the chill off. With it getting down to 8 degs that night it was sorta a joke! I realy wanted to make a great start on it hoping that would be the last of the real heavy loads with the 1 ton. Gas is killing me pulling the steep grades with 10,000+ lb loads at 4-5 mpg

[Woodswalker]

Fantastic progress Mark.  You certainly know what you're doing and make full use of the time available.  I really like the size and design of the cabin.  I usually work on mine only 4-5hrs/day for 5 days before my body tells me it's time to go home and feed the cat.  Ibuprofen is the magic pill for me.  Will be a couple weeks yet before I head over for the first time.  Just heard from my brother in WI that he'll be driving out to the cabin to visit for a few days and help with construction in late July.  Probably will be working on building a porch by then, so the help will be useful.  We'll also try a little trout fishing in the mountain lakes.

Keep up the good work and nice pics of the progress.

Steve

[Willy]

Fantastic progress Mark.  You certainly know what you're doing and make full use of the time available.  I really like the size and design of the cabin.  I usually work on mine only 4-5hrs/day for 5 days before my body tells me it's time to go home and feed the cat.  Ibuprofen is the magic pill for me.  Will be a couple weeks yet before I head over for the first time.  Just heard from my brother in WI that he'll be driving out to the cabin to visit for a few days and help with construction in late July.  Probably will be working on building a porch by then, so the help will be useful.  We'll also try a little trout fishing in the mountain lakes.

Keep up the good work and nice pics of the progress.

Steve

With me all the time needed to set up like the generator, compressor, cords, air lines, saws ect including the 3+ hr drive to get there and the time loading the trailer up with the right materials can burn up a day easy! I have to have it done by fire season so it won't mess with my USFS Wildland Fire Contract work. My body does not want to work that long but on the fires I do 16 hr days for 14 days in a row so it is getting me back in shape. Mark

[BiggKidd]

Wow great progress and beautiful views.

Larry

[Willy]

Wow great progress and beautiful views.

Larry

Thanks just got back from the lumber yard. Trailer has the rest of the framing wood on it and leaving sunday or monday to wrap up that part. Looks like the foundation and framing will take only 7-8 days total to finish so it isn't even going to take a month to finish drying it in. I am going to have to figure something else to build now or add more to it?? Mark