The countdown has started – only a few more days until the big crane comes up the mountain to pick up our cabin and move it to it's new resting place on the pier foundation and new floor system that Bruce built. So I will share a few pics of some of the steps leading up to this gigantic, nerve wracking occasion.
To the left of the cabin are the cement piers that Bruce built last fall. This summer he worked building the new floor system. My big little son has a full time job in the town where he goes to college, but he came down 2 or 3 times on his days off to help his poor, tired Dad. We are also very fortunate to have a wonderful neighbor in our cabin community who generously jumped in of his own free will and worked like a horse helping Bruce out. We will now address this wonderful neighbor as “Saint John”! 🙂
The massive beams, all framed up and attached to the piers. Next step was attaching the decking, shown below, when finished
The cabin will be quite a bit further off the ground when on the new foundation. My big little son is over 6 feet tall, so this gives you an idea how far up the floor will be, with him standing next to it.
The porch floor will be where his elbow is. No new decks will be built after the move. The previous decks were responsible for a large part of the problems this poor cabin has suffered, because they held the massive amounts of snow up and against the logs and windows all winter, winter after winter. The weight of the snow broke the glass in several of the windows, and that is why you see blue tarps on them.
Just before the rest of the decks were torn off.
Bruce tore the deck off (where the wagon is sitting) several weeks ago to assess the damage to the base logs.
It's a rough looking mess, to say the least.
Here is an intermission shot of a vole hanging out of Declan's mouth. Super gross!! Bruce takes them away from her and throws them far and away. This last weekend she caught one and was so proud of herself; Bruce went over to take it away and she ran. He had to crawl on his hands and knees under the new foundation after her. She thought it was a game I guess, and kept backing up with her tail wagging the whole time. When Bruce finally got up to her, she looked him straight in the eye and took one big GULP! Oh my gosh, I could have barfed right there on the spot! It was not an extra small vole, and she just swallowed the thing whole :~[
Now, onto the inside. These next few pics are after we had moved most everything to storage, but hadn't started ripping yet.
The room below originally was a 2nd bedroom. The last owner tore the wall out to make it part of the living area. We kept a bookshelf and a small kitchen table and chairs there.
The tiny, tiny bathroom. Shower in the left corner, cabinet and short hot water heater facing the shower.
Potty and sink, and there is a strange, angled corner medicine cabinet above and to the right of the sink. Notice the 2×4 holding up the front of the sink. O brother! We really hope to be able to make this room a bit larger. It is so tiny you can barely turn around in there.
Looking in at the bedroom (which is to the right of the bathroom). It is only 9' x 9'.
Looking out of the bedroom, out to the wood stove, which is beyond the ladder to the loft.
The kitchen, just before we started ripping. The only things I was able to salvage were the cabinet doors, and the stainless steel sink. Everything else was so cobbled together it all fell to pieces or had to be smashed, in order to get it out. I am not a waster, and would have saved anything possible, but it was a lost cause.
The cupboards were put in over this green shag carpet, then they tiled right up to the cabinets.
The more we uncover, the happier we are we are moving forward with this huge project. There are so many things that are literally life threatening for anyone staying there, as it stands. The electrical is a complete terror – Bruce said it is pure luck this cabin didn't burn down it's so bad. He had to crawl into the space under the cabin and was appalled at what he found. They had filled 5 gallon oil cans with cement and used them as part of what was holding the whole cabin up!! He found live wires dangling, with no caps, coming from crazy junction boxes. Who builds something like that??!! Someone just wanting to make a fast buck, I guess. And, to think, it has stood nearly 45 years that way – good grief! As soon as he saw what a mess the electrical was, he got an electrician up there and they installed a temporary set up until the cabin gets moved.
The whole cabin is completely empty now, just a box. He has to finish cutting around the base of the cabin with a sawzall to free it from the existing floor and foundation (if you can call it that!). Then, bracing timbers must be placed inside the cabin to keep it sturdy, and keep it from wracking when they strap it up and crane it over to the new foundation.
Hopefully, this will all definitely be the right thing to do. They don't make anymore land, and we are sure lucky to have a little piece of some of the good Lord's finest work! A cozy little cabin in the mountains is the stuff dreams are made of, at least in my book!
Cross fingers that all goes well!!
TTFN,
Teresa
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