ski cabin in central cascades

Started by metolent, December 03, 2010, 12:15:30 PM

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metolent

I had originally planned to have insulation installed this past Friday, but alas the company had to order more R38C as they don't carry as much of the high-density stuff in stock regularly.  No problem...going with the flow.  We still went up and got a few things done.  I had a few punch list items from the last set of inspections, so I got those things all knocked out (extra strap in the crawl where the 3" DWV pipe went through the plate, changed out the w/h pressure relief valve to cpvc and fed through the wall to outside, hard-pipe the kitchen vent, few extra wide nail plates for studs with plumbing, etc.). 

Since there isn't that much to do inside right now (which feels weird btw), I installed some light fixtures on the front and started framing the front porch.  I ended up making it a bit bigger than originally planned, but we're liking it a lot.  I'm finishing the deck with cedar, which is what I'll do for the decking on the front as well.  There will be a wide set of stairs facing the driveway, but I didn't get around to even starting those.  Instead we all went up to Paradise for the morning on Sunday to have a few snow ball fights!       

On the plus side, insulation goes in tomorrow!

Lights!


Front porch



Few extra pics from Paradise at Mt. Rainier - still quite a bit of snow for late August.



metolent

Insulation went in yesterday.  I had R38C put in the ceiling, R21 put in the walls, and R30 put in the floor.  Then I had sound insulation installed in every interior wall and the loft floor and stairs.  It's amazing how quiet things suddenly were after all of the insulation was installed.  Finally, I had FSK paper put up on the ceilings where the cedar T&G is going, they did the "energy seal," and all exposed pipes in the crawl were insulated.  The crew of 4 was in and out in ~4 hours and cost far less than just buying the materials and diy.  

I'm getting bids from people for sheet rock now which I expect to start next week...





This is where the kitchen will be


I realized I didn't have a pic of the wood stove pipe install. A bit dark given it was so sunny outside, but you get the idea



master bedroom in the loft looking forward

Mbr looking across from the master bath




nathan.principe

I love following this thread! I would have no problem with this being my permanent residence!

Sassy

Really coming along nicely!  What a great way for the family to spend the winter - skiing!  I used to have a lot of friends who were ski patrol that would give me free lift tickets, so did a lot of skiing during college.  Haven't been for probably 20+ yrs...  not since I was skiing at Snow Mass when the snow was not very good, icy & lots of rocks showing - I must have caught an edge & all of a sudden I was tumbling down the mountain side, skis flew one way, I flew the other...  had to be taken down by a litter - that was embarrassing.  It took a good 20-30 min to haul me down cuz I was way at the top. 

Looking forward to seeing your progress - great looking cabin!  Paridise looked beautiful, too.  I used to be able to see Mt Baker & the 3 Sisters (I think that was the name) from my house up by Bellingham when I lived there.  I worked for Rainier Bank back then. 
http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

You will know the truth & the truth will set you free

metolent

Thanks Nathan!  We think the same thing every time we are there.  Once we have a phone line and an internet connection installed, I think we'll end up spending more and more time there. 

Thanks Sassy!  Ice and rocks definitely make skiing "interesting."  Glad you were ok.  Overall, it's really great family time.  Everyone has a great time on the hill and the kids are *exhausted* at the end of the day.  Because of the patrol we've gotten to know a lot more people up on the hill and in turn they know our kids as well.  In fact my entire family often "patrols" with me when not doing lessons or the race team stuff.  And they are very cool and understanding when I have to tend to accidents.  Plus they love the perks of the various BBQs and events throughout the season during which we get to get back on the lift after it has closed to the public.  Very fun.

Back to the cabin - called to get the insulation inspection tomorrow, which hopefully will happen.  Then I scheduled a sheetrock crew to hang, tape & mud, texture (orange peel), as well as prime and paint all walls.  They will start next week.  That works out great for me since I still need to finish the front porch, get the deck going, order the T&G cedar for the ceilings and figure out the flooring situation.  Can't wait!     


Tickhill

Looking fantastic! I always found pleasure in clean construction site, you can see more and less likely for someone to trip and fall. I lived in Wyo and Montana in the middle 70's and always loved the Rainier beer commercials. Can't wait to see more pics.
"You will find the key to success under the alarm Glock"  Ben Franklin
Forget it Ben, just remember, the check comes at the first of the month and it's not your fault, your a victim.

Pray while there is still time

metolent

Went up for just a day over the long weekend and met with the sheetrock/paint crew.  It's funny how the perspective changes as various layers are added.  After insulation, I was concerned that things were dark.  Now with some of the sheetrock hung, it brightens back up.  Anyway...

I had to finish up all of the framing beneath the stairs (frame out the return air duct, add nailers for sheet rock in the pantry, etc.) so the sheet rock guys could get it all hung.    I also had to mount/install the shower pans and connect those up. Then I had to finish moving all of my stuff from inside to the crawlspace so it doesn't all get covered in mud/primer/paint.  Not too much really given all of the other work days, but it was nice to see how things are going to look.  Sheet rock inspection should be today and then they'll get going on the taping/mudding/sanding/texture ... oh and paint!  Yeah, we are also having the crew do the painting as well.  My wife just has to pick the colors.  However, all of that is just for the walls- then I have to get going on the cedar T&G ceilings....

Left much later than planned, so no pics this time, but soon! 

metolent

I flew my brother out from NH to help me out for a bit and spent a few days chasing down materials and delivering to the cabin as well as getting going on installation.  All walls are now sheet rocked, mudded, taped, textured, primed, and painted!  I went and bought all of the flooring (5/8" engineered; some sort of Asian Teak stained Oak IIRC), toilets and various other stuff, as well as 2 units of 1x6 T&G cedar.  The plan has always been to use cedar on all of the ceilings as we prefer the look over sheet rock...well and the size of the pieces during installation.   ;)  The sheet rock crew left their scaffolding for me to use as they don't need it for their next job, which was pretty cool.  I'm guessing that makes up for the fact that they broke my brand new Vision 8000 heat pump thermostat, although I'm still not happy about it.  I digress.

We got all set up and started on the large open area of the ceiling first, which definitely proved interesting.  The sections of the ceiling in the great room are just shy of 20' wide and 20' "long" from the top plate to the ridge beam.  The bummer was that I had to cut every piece, which I did after figuring out which pattern to use and then staging the courses.  Then I started banging them up there.  I think each side took 47 or 48 courses.  We had 3 levels of scaffolding and at the end we had to put the planks across the very top which I have to admit was kindah scary given how much movement there was (we were also short 2 sections of cross bracing).  So I would stage the courses and my brother would move me back and forth, except for near the wood stove which required moving close and and then swinging perpendicularly over the hearth.  Fun stuff.  Each side ended up taking about 24 hours which included breaks and 6 hours of sleep time. 

We also fired up the wood stove for the first time.  It's just an inexpensive one from Lowe's (Pleasant Hearth is the brand), but works really well.  Going to take some getting used to it I guess.  I'm not sure why but it was very cool to see the smoke come out the chimney for the first time. 

After finishing the two large sections of the great room, we installed the 68" ceiling fan.  It looks like a huge wood prop and doesn't appear to be moving fast, but moves a lot of air.  Since it's marketed for a "great room," there aren't any of those pesky little chains hanging down, and no light.  So it operates entirely by remote control.  Kind of cool.  After all of that we moved upstairs and set up the scaffolding in the master bedroom.  This was nice as we only needed a single level throughout and we set up multiples so I could run across all of it without having to be moved.  The last several courses near the ridge beam required standing on a bucket on the scaffolding, but that just made it more exciting.   

In between moving me around on the scaffolding, my brother got to work on the electrical - installing nearly all of the outlets and switches as well as the dining area light, fan/vents, etc.  Was awesome to start turning stuff on and not having to fuss with the spiderweb of extension cords anymore!

Finally, we laid Ditra and tile in the downstairs bathroom as well as Ditra in the "potty room" in the master bath.  That way next weekend I can install at least one toilet, which will make the kids and wife VERY happy.  ;)  It's the little things.  I still have to finish the ceiling in the master bath upstairs, the narrow section over the stairs (more 32' ladder fun woo-hoo!), then move back downstairs and finish the small ceiling overhang in the kitchen, the ceiling of the 2 downstairs bedrooms and bath, and finally the mudroom.  But the ceilings are limited to 9' in those first floor cases, so I now consider those pretty trivial.   :P

On to some pics...

First several courses:



Finally one half done!


On to the other half


We made it!






Master Bedroom




Master Bath "potty room"  fan/light combo and recessed can as well as floor.



Fire!



Sassy

Really nice job!  You'll have it done in no time  :)
http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

You will know the truth & the truth will set you free


nathan.principe

This project is coming along amazing!  I also noticed that your color scheme is the close to same for what I had in mind for my place, mind sharing the exact paint color for the "sage green" you used?

metolent

Thanks Nathan and Sassy!  Yeah, hopefully we'll get there quickly as the snow levels are already starting to drop.

Nathan - yes, I'll look up the exact color shortly and post it for reference.  I thought it was a bit light when I first saw it, but I think it looks pretty good, particularly against the cedar.  I know it was a Rodda paint (what the sheet rock crew preferred) and I still have the sample chips around here somewhere.  We went with the green everywhere except for the master bedroom and downstairs bath (i think).  The idea on the master bedroom was that it would look like the sky when looking through the french doors from downstairs.  The wife's idea, but I buy it..  ;) 

We're heading back up Friday night for the weekend.  Plan is to get the toilet installed and get more of the ceiling complete. 

nathan.principe

That would be great!  Ive never used or heard of that type of paint, but I can probably color match

metolent

Hi Nathan - To be honest, I hadn't heard of that brand of paint either... but now that I have I've seen signs for it all over.  Anyway, sorry for the delay - that sage green color is called water magic, according to my wife who picked it out... 

metolent

Quite a delay from the last update, but the past several weekends I've been exhausted on Sunday evening when we finally pack up everything and the kids to head home and forget to take pics.  I finally remembered yesterday.

The big news is that all ceilings are now done!  Yes, every ceiling in the place is 1x6, T&G cedar.  It took longer than expected (yeah, big surprise right?), but it's over.  The last section was the narrow section over the stairwell that is at the 4-12 pitch.  I knew I could start it with a ladder on the stairs, but figured the crux was the middle.  I did a couple of scary ladder tricks for a few courses and finally built a platform from the upper landing extending out over the stairs and then used a 8 foot A-ladder on top of that.  It was still the scariest part of the whole ceiling endeavor - guess that's why I left it to the last section..    d*

We also got the downstairs bath mostly installed, say 80%.  Got most of the shower tiles installed with the exception of a few edge pieces up by the glass tile accent "stripe."  Edges need to be fixed up a bit still, but those are details.  We had the vanity already, but we bought a sink topper thing and I got the plumbing all done to hook it up, so that's all done.... and of course, most importantly we got the toilet installed.  I bought dual-flush toilets not to save water so much as I've read that because they are designed for lower flow, they are more efficient in moving things along.  I like the sound of that, so in it went.  Yes, the wife and kids are much happier now.   ;D  Bath fan and all lights are in as well.  The only things left are some cedar trim around the 2x4 that I used as a pseudo ledger around the dropped part of the ceiling, cutting up some of the tiles for the baseboard trim after I get the door trim on, and thresholds. 

We also got the slate down in the mudroom.  We had previously decided to go with Ditra instead of cement board just for ease and speed in installation.  It's pretty nice stuff.  So, we laid down the Ditra in there one weekend and put the slate down this past weekend and are pleased with the look.  Grouting and sealing will happen this coming weekend.

I also finally built some stairs to the front porch.  No railings yet, but given that we are now to the stage of installing flooring, we wanted to be able to have the kids not track in so much stuff from outside.  Just simple stairs, but they feel and look beefy which I think goes with the place.  I went back and forth on what I should use for the treads and finally just went with simple Doug Fir 2x12s, but then for the risers I used cedar.  I still have to put the blocks beneath the bottom of the stairs, but that's not a big deal. 

Finally, we started on the hardwood floors this weekend as well, just before we left on Sunday.  We got the kids' room done!  After working with the cedar T&G for so long, the flooring goes together easy and fast, like butter.  8) Really a nice change.  We are using a 5" wide, 5/8" engineered hardwood, White Oak, stained an Asian Teak.  Looks pretty good I think.  The big thing for me was the width, a 5" course makes it feel like you're making progress during install.  No doubt, it's just a head game, but I'll take anything I can get.   ;)  Given I had already installed the ceiling fan in the kids' room, the only thing left are doors and trim and we can call that room done. 

We plan to get most of the rest of the flooring done next weekend, which I think will make for a huge change in how things feel overall ... and reduce the dust from the sheetrock!  Anyway, too much typing, here are some pics:

ceiling shots





mudroom ceiling/lights/floor




downstairs bath







bedroom floor/ceiling/fan





front porch stairs




mogie01


metolent

#40
Thanks Mogie!  We keep plodding on every weekend ... I'm trying to get everything complete before the snow starts flying consistently and accumulating, because when that happens it will be hard to choose between working on the cabin and skiing.   

As to progress, we got the mudroom slate and the hearth slate grouted and Ditra laid down in the master bath in preparation for tile. We still need to seal the slate, but we'll get to it.  The sheet rock guys also came and hung the durock in the master bath shower, so that's ready for tile now.  The big news is that we finished installing the hardwood flooring throughout the entire place!  We installed hardwood everywhere except for the bathrooms and the mudroom.  I got all 1st floor hardwood installed last weekend, then finished up the flooring in the loft/master bedroom this weekend.  It's quite nice to finally be done with all of the dust left over from having the walls sheet rocked. 

I also got all of the treads/risers installed, which took quite a bit of head scratching before starting. I originally planned to rip up the 2x12 treads and use the pre-fab oak treads with rounded edge, but I like how stout the 2x12s feel.  So, we decided to use the h/w flooring, but it's engineered, so we couldn't just trim the edges because you'd see the plywood layers.  So, given we have cedar on the ceilings (and soon all trim/molding will be cedar as well, we decided to use the flooring for the treads and trim out the edges all with cedar; sort of a ceiling materials meet the flooring materials in the middle kind of thing.  Plus it would keep all of the rise/run dimensions consistent and within the code required variance limits.  Also, I've read about how the contrast factor in stairs is a safety thing...great.    So, I start ripping down the left over 1x6 T&G cedar to make it all work.   I started at the bottom just to get the layout and dimensions worked out for patterning purposes.  I figured if I did the first few steps up to the landing, then the rest of the stairs would be easy just working off the pattern.  I also did most of the "side" of the moldings on the lower steps/landing to ensure the face pieces worked with the side moldings.  Turns out I had to change at least one of the sizes 1/4" to work it all out.  In the end, I got all of the treads and risers installed, now I just need to finish the "finished" edge and edge face as well as the side moldings up the wall.  But I think I like the end results, even if a bit labor intensive.  Let me know what you think....  For reference, we have 16 steps up the loft (9' walls on the first floor and the loft floor is 11 7/8" TJIs hangered on a 6x12 LVL in the middle, so the finished floor is just over 10' up. 

Here you can see the side moldings I did in cedar that I will continue all the way up the stairs.  Although I wasn't sure I would like the contrast between the teak-stained oak flooring and the cedar, I think it's looking ok.  We'll finish the cedar when I'm done with installation. 




Here's a closer shot.  I ended up doing cedar around the periphery of the landing just to continue the cedar edging as part of the transition.  Thinking it looks ok. 


all treads finished... just need to finish the rest of the trim and get the handrail up....


We're taking next weekend off from the cabin as I have to do the OEC refresher this weekend with the Mt Hood ski patrol before the season starts.  Plus we're planning to hit a few cabinet outlet places to look for deals on kitchen cabinets that we're actually ready to start installing.  If you know of any good places in the Seattle/Portland area to find cabinets, let me know! 

NM_Shooter

Very nice work!  I especially like the stairs  ;D
"Officium Vacuus Auctorita"

Sassy

I think the stairs look great, too - everything looks great!  Nice job  :)
http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

You will know the truth & the truth will set you free

metolent

We've been way too busy lately... and are pushing hard to try to get everything in so we can get our CO before the holiday.  We'll see.  The stairs are now complete, I've mounted the cabinet boxes I'm building so we could get the measurements for the counters, I've mounted the vent hood even though I don't have the cover piece over the flex up to the ceiling yet.   I've also finished the stairs completely, including the hand rail, tiled the master bath floor and even the master bath shower.  I was going to mount the master bath toilet and set the vanity today, but ran out of time.  If our counter people can get our order done quickly this week, I'll also hook up the kitchen sink next week.  Still need a dishwasher, but haven't been able to get a deal on a good one yet...so still looking.  I also mounted all the posts for the front porch railing, but ran out of baluster material, so will have to finish that next weekend. 

I've gotta get a call into the inspector to make sure we can get the final inspection once all of the plumbing fixtures are in... even though I haven't finished all the trim work.   I think electrical is now done with the exception of the ceiling fan/light in the master bedroom and the dishwasher.... so I should be able to call LNI for the final very soon....  In serious hurry hurry hurry mode ...   

Despite the rush, we managed to get in a great ski day on Thanksgiving - no one there and it snowed all afternoon!  We didn't ski the rest of the weekend, but we did go up to the pass to eat dinner and got in a lot of sledding... fortunately, the sledding area next to the lodge is illuminated! 

Some messy pics I hastily took as we were heading out the door this afternoon....

master bath shower - the "stripe" are all glass tiles


crazy looking light fixture we haven't figured out how to position yet


master bath floor is tiled


stairs



kitchen is coming together - messy since we were packing up. 



mogie01

Fantastic work metolent, I really love your cabin!!  We're waiting for the snow to start here, nothing on the forecast yet :(


metolent

Thanks mogie!  The snow has taken a brief break for the last several days which has made for some nice sunshine (and break from the rain in the Puget Sound), but I'm sure it will be back shortly....

We're in the mad rush to get to our final inspection.  One from LNI (which I'm not particularly concerned about) and then the final inspection to get our CO from the county.  I think I can schedule those two concurrently, right? 

I forgot to take pictures, but we got quite a bit done.  When we left last weekend, we had tiled the entire shower with the exception of 2 tiles.  So we got those, installed, and then grouted the whole thing.  After that, we installed all the shower trim fittings and it's now ready for doors.  I also installed the second toilet in the master bath as well as placed the vanity.  All we have left up there for the inspection is to get the counter with sinks and faucets installed!  We still have to do tile baseboards, trim some stuff, and hang doors, but I don't think interior doors are required for the CO inspection..... I hope.

We also got the dishwasher installed with the exception of the drain line hooked up, which I'm waiting until I have the sink that is being mounted to the counters this week.  We got a great deal on a Bosch d/w that is only 44db, so even though it's corny, I'm looking forward to running it to see how quiet it is... I got the CO detectors in and then worked on the porch a bit more.  I got all of the railing 4x4 posts up and most of the balusters, but I ran out ... again.  But I did get the stairs leveled out with a concrete footer underneath, so that was good.  I also got the stainless cover installed over the ducting from the range vent hood - the wife was happy to see the finished look. 

Hopefully after next weekend we'll be ready for the final inspections.   The kitchen counters should be ready this friday, so I have to build an A frame thing for the trailer this week before  picking them up and transporting to the cabin.   We'll pick up the vanity counter/sinks and all the faucets, and then after finishing the handrail up front I think we are probably ready ...    Like I said, we still don't have all of the trim installed, nor do we have all the interior doors installed, but I don't think that typically matters for the CO given we are owner/builders, yes? 

Any other advice regarding the final inspections? 

metolent

We decided to put off the final inspections and slow things down a bit.  In reality, the rush rush rush was self-imposed and not necessarily rooted in reality.  The big reality check was that last Friday we picked up our granite counter tops we had ordered.  Beautiful and the colors work great with the wall colors, the appliances, and the future glass tiles that will be our back splash.  Trailered them up there and left it out in the front yard on the trailer overnight as we got up there late.  Put the small piece on the cabinet and it looked great.  Woke up Saturday morning, got coffee, looked out at the counter and realized the sink was in the wrong place!   d*

My first thought was the fabrication guys had made a mistake despite the fact I had drawn up very detailed plans with all the measurements.  So I head outside and take measurements even though I'm beyond upset.  ??? Turns out it was MY mistake.  Despite all of the measurements I've taken and the simple adding/subtracting i've done building this place, I messed up the simple arithmetic for the center of the sink and here it was exactly 10" to the left.   Argh.  Ok, well I guess I'm out another load of cash and the smoking deal I got is not really that great a deal after all.  We call the granite shop, explain the problem, and ask whether they might have another piece of this same color slab we could get to have another go at it...  We get off the phone so he can check inventory.  He calls back and no, they are out of the the thick granite in that color, but have  a thinner one, but then we'd have to remake the other piece as well.  Dammit!  BUT he asks some clarifying questions about my error and says he has been thinking about it and has a potential solution.  His idea is to enlarge the sink opening hole in the proper direction so the sink is centered under the window and take a piece of the thinner piece of granite of the same color and epoxy that in the empty 10" hole to make a dish board.  Says they actually do that all the time and because we have an under mount sink it should work out just fine!  Woohoo!  Great, we have to take the counter back, but I never unstrapped it from the trailer.

So we table finishing the kitchen for the moment, push off the inspections, and decide to go look for a Xmas tree in the National Forest since it's a beautiful day and the stress level has been high all morning.  We returned the counter back to the shop and plan to pick it up again once they are done which they are pushing to get done before Xmas.  Awesome ... love these people.  Turns out the g ;Duys helping us were the owners and I would definitely recommend them....

We spent the rest of the weekend finishing up lots of "stuff," decorating a bit for the holidays (including lights on the outside which look awesome at night given the 12x12 roof) and cleaning up for our several week stay over the holiday break.  I also started building the cabinet face frames using the screw jig tool and it works great!  Got the bath vanity in and all plumbing done and all tile/grount/sealing is now complete on both bathrooms.  I also hooked up the dishwasher and plan to get a temporary sink from the Restore to use until next week when the counters will be ready.  Forgot to take pictures last weekend, but will shortly.  And now that we have internet service up there, I can post from there!  More pics shortly, but I'll be double-checking my math now....  of course my oldest (in 3rd grade right now) took great joy in the fact that I got a double digit math problem wrong...  so much for that PhD, now where did I put that drink mixer...   ;D

duncanshannon

amazing progress. awesome solution to your sink problem!
Home: Minneapolis, MN area.  Land: (no cabin yet) Spooner, WI area.  Plan: 20x34 1 1/2 Story. Experience Level: n00b. 
Build Thread: http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=10784.0

ajbremer

You have done an awesome job sir!

I really like the siding you've used, Doug Fir T1-11, with cedar battens at 12" oc. I went to Lowe's yesterday after work
and asked to see their T1-11 and they only had two choices, rough-sawn 4" oc and 8" oc. The stuff you used looked like
it had not been sawed or did you find rough-sawn 12" oc? Then it looked like you added the cedar battens over every saw
mark and lined them up vertically (was there a saw mark?) I went on Lowe's website and found 1x2x8 cedar boards for $3.40
each, is that what you used? The T1-11 stuff over at Lowe's runs around $37.00 a sheet. I want to use log-siding and I wonder
what the price comparison would be between what you've done (sheets + boards) and pine log-siding.

I also thought that you could have put a small window in the side wall between the two roof pitches couldn't you, do people do
that? I guess maybe not, due to possible snow build up on the roof next to the window.

Lastly, I guess a person has to consider the snow-load when changing pitches of roof, especially to a flatter 4:12 pitch? Would
that change your rafter size in that section due to span calculations? That section of roof has to be stronger than the 12:12 section doesn't it?

I want to thank you for all of your documentation and pictures that you've done along the way. You are a great help!
Click here to see our 20x30 and here to see our 14x24.

metolent

Thanks for the kind words ajbremer...

I can't answer your questions on pricing as I don't recall the details even though I did have the cost breakdown from several sources (including ProBuild) at one point.  The DF T1-11 is smooth - there are no vertical "saw marks" as you see in a lot of T1-11.  If I didn't have the cedar battens it would simply be a smooth sheet.  All of my lumber came from a local yard - Lincoln Creek Lumber (lincolncreeklumber.com). 

Yeah, we could (and should) have put windows in the side walls between the two roof pitches.  I'll probably go back and add some at least on the one side on the mudroom side of the cabin as we would have a great view of Mt. Rainier through those.  The other side wall is in the bathroom, so windows there don't make the most sense - at least in a way that would clear the mirrors and still not look funny from the exterior.  But that is definitely one of the things I should have done on the other side.  But adding a few windows later won't be a big deal. 

Our rafters are all 2x12s, 24" OC sitting on top of the ridge beam.  I can't have the calculations I did last year handy when I originally did the plans, but they were ok.  The rafters on the 12/12 pitch are long! 

I need to post some pics from our progress over the holidays, but I forgot to take pictures.  We finally got the granite counters in which proved to be a bit tricky as it was HEAVY!  I had installed a temporary sink/faucet I had picked up from the Restore to get us through a few days, then went back to Olympia to pick up the counter.  The integrated dish board thing worked out perfectly.  It looks like I had intended it to be there.  Mounted the under-mount single basin sink and installed the faucet/ d/w air gap thingie / and soap dispenser and that was that!  Everything is now fully functional.  I also started on some of the window/door trim out with the cedar and am liking the way it's turning out.  Finally, my wife put up half the glass tiles for the kitchen backsplash which we think looks great!  I'll be sure to snap a few pics this weekend to post....

I didn't get as much done as I'd hoped on cabin - although it was even better as we skied almost every day and got a nice dump right after Xmas to freshen up the base.  Official drop was 15" and then more for a few days, so we got to chase down some nice not-so-deep-but-better-than-ice pow stashes.  So, we spent a lot of time skiing and just hanging out...  exactly why we built it in the first place!