Dave and Kim's 1 1/2 story 20x40 cabin pics

[David.DiPietro]

We broke ground before winter.  Here are some pics of our property in preparation for the cabin to be built this spring.

The View from where the cabin will stand:



Septic System being put in:





Plenty of firewood!  Still have tons of cutting to do 





Where excavator cleared for driveway and lot:

[Mike 870]

If you don't mind what are the details on the septic system.  Did you run into any design challenges.  What is the plastic part for the effluent called?  Infiltrator or something?  Looks like a beautiful spot.

[diyfrank]

Nice looking area.  What part of the country are you?

[David.DiPietro]

The cabin site is in West Virginia in Slatyfork about six miles from Snow Shoe Ski Resort. We are looking forward to spring getting here so we can continue working.

Mike, you are right.  It is called the infiltrator and is 200ft with a 1000 gallon holding tank per West Virginia requirements for 2 bedroom home.

[glenn kangiser]

That matches the current septic requirements here in CA pretty close.

[David.DiPietro]

It's been a long time since we have updated on our cabin building progress.  Here are some pictures that show the progress so far.  We got 3 feet of snow this weekend so we are on hold until things thaw out.  Hopefully, electric, plumbing and interior woodwork will come next.



Footers





First Beam



I joists and sub floor



Deck is done.  Do you like my helpers?



First wall



I made a wall jack out of 2x6x16 boards nailed together with block and tackle



12 foot walls, 8 foot first floor and roughly 3 foot 3 inches left over for second floor.  I joists to hide 2nd floor plumbing



2nd floor bedroom/bathroom area



Rafters going up, site built



We flipped them up one at a time





Metal roof from Home Depot



4x12 beams over living room



House wrap and windows (from Craigslist)



1x12 tongue and groove rough faced white pine siding



Upstairs bathroom, bedroom, closet framed and 2x8 tongue and grove wood flooring



1st floor bedroom, bathroom and laundry as in John's plans

[devildog]

Welcome back! thats really good progress for a year. It looks great.

Im  building just a little south of you in Va.,not going near as fast as you, but lived in WV for 17yrs. Its a beautiful place.

Where did you get your 2x8 t&g? Local Sawmill?

look forward to seeing the rest.
Darrell

[David.DiPietro]

Thanks Darrell.  I got the 2x8's at Twin Creeks Log Home Supply in North Carolina.  Where in VA are you building?

[glenn kangiser]

Great job and great crew from the little ones up.

[Redoverfarm]

Dave I wondered what happened to you.  I sent you a couple E-mails to check on your status but didn't get a reply.  If you would have hollered I would have given you a hand.  Doesn't look like you needed it though. Yes the snow was a little deeper toward the mountain but ours was enough to put me out of comission for a while.

[David.DiPietro]

Hi John!  Sorry if I missed emails.  I am not good about checking and replying regularly.  I get distracted easily.  I actually got the family to come out some and also broke down and ended up hiring some local guys to help with the roof to get it done before winter hit.  My neighbor said the mound from the plows off of Rt 219 is so high at the entrance to both our lots that we might have to hire someone with heavy equipment to just open up driveways to get to our lots.  Apparently, it's a mess.  My neighbor had some renters coming at the beginning of the week and they couldn't get in so he had to refund them $1200.  Ouch!  Hope all is well with you.  Still would love to see you out there sometime.  Have a good holiday!

Dave and Kim

[cbc58]

Looks good... can't wait to see interior progress.

I have a question on your siding... is it beveled?  Is it lapped or tounge and groove?  Are there any issues with moisture/water getting in the joints by the way you've done it?  I like the look vs. horizontal.

[David.DiPietro]

It's tongue and groove siding.  We are just butting the ends together.  From what I have read we shouldn't have a problem with leaking and haven't so far.  We put a 12 inch overhang around the whole house so that should help.  We are going to caulk any large cracks and cover with a sealant.

[poppy]

Good looking cabin.  Nice proportions. 

That's a very clever gin pole set up for raising the walls too.  It's not as complicated as some I've seen.

[devildog]

Dave, im  building in hillsville ,va.

[Sassy]

Looks great!  Really like the windows & the siding.  Amazing that you found all the windows on Craigslist.  Whenever I look there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of good stuff, well, at least not what I'm looking for. 

[RainDog]

Looks really great! Can't wait for interiors.

[cbc58]

Does anyone know if doing this siding the way he's done it will cause any problems with water hitting the joints and getting in?   I hope it's fine the way he's done it because that's what I would like to do... and I can't imagine a problem with the overlap, but would like to get confirmation from an expert here...

[MountainDon]

As long as the T&G is dried so it won't shrink and open up the joints, and as long as the Tongue points up into the Groove above it, I don't see why there should be a problem.

[David.DiPietro]

Does anyone know if doing this siding the way he's done it will cause any problems with water hitting the joints and getting in?   I hope it's fine the way he's done it because that's what I would like to do... and I can't imagine a problem with the overlap, but would like to get confirmation from an expert here...

cbc58,

Hi there.  We found the siding from the following website.  Seems to be a popular company and I haven't heard of any problems.  My next door cabin neighbor in WV has 1x10 tongue and groove and his cabin is 18 years old and he hasn't had any problems.  If gaps do develop, they can be caulked.  Let me know if you have any more questions.  We bought our actual siding from Twin Creeks Log Home Supply in NC.  Thanks.  Here is the link in case you are interested.....

http://www.octagonhomes.com/logsiding/

[David.DiPietro]

Good looking cabin.  Nice proportions. 

That's a very clever gin pole set up for raising the walls too.  It's not as complicated as some I've seen.

Thanks!  Me and one other guy were able to lift the entire 40 foot section with just two of these set up.  It wasn't easy but we did it.   

[David.DiPietro]

Looks great!  Really like the windows & the siding.  Amazing that you found all the windows on Craigslist.  Whenever I look there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of good stuff, well, at least not what I'm looking for. 

We lucked out with the windows.  Actually bought them months before we started building since they were such a good deal and designed the house around those windows   

[cbc58]

Tks for the info.  I have used that siding vertically before and it is so easy to put up.  Was just worried about moisture/water getting in the joints -- but 18 years of no problems tells me I worry too much.  Tks for the link.  Can't wait to see the inside finish work...

[Jens]

I am a big fan of wall jacks, and those are very nice and simple.  Good job improvising (and saving $1000).  Cabin looks great.  Are the ladies throwing gang signs, or is it a Michael Jackson tribute band?

[David.DiPietro]

We haven't posted in forever.  We are almost done with the cabin.  We still need to put the back deck/hot tub on and stain inside and out.  The family was able to stay in it last weekend and have it fully functioning.    Here are some pictures of our spring progress:




Waste Pipe



We used pex pipe and installed a manifold with the hot water heater in the downstairs bathroom



Hallway



Upstairs rec room



Upstairs bath with shower



Downstairs full bath



Another view of downstairs bath



I bought 4 pieces of granite off Craigslist for $350



View of upstairs bedroom and stove pipe



Wood stove in main living area



Finished kitchen



View of front of cabin.  Screened in porch has since been finished.



View from screened in porch



Another porch view



Wood stove



Little helpers



View of kitchen and washer and dryer in back



New log dining set



Kids with the newest family member



First family dinner at new table



View of the first floor from the stairway