Gulp! That is a long time.
We (well mostly Chad) spent the end of July, all of August, and a big chunk of September working on boring stuff. He installed the duct work and heating/cooling system. He ran all the plumbing lines. He, with the help Dave, wired the place. I am in TOTAL AWE of all he learned to do. Though he works with electrical, HVAC, and plumbing subcontractors on many, many jobs - he has NEVER done in depth work in any of those areas on his own - but he did it! It has all been looked over by a "real" professional, and he totally did it.
Which means we have moved into work we actually specialize in - sheetrock, taping, texturing, painting, cabinet and tile installation, etc, etc, etc. . .
Here is a quick pictorial review of the last few months!
While I kept the little one's busy splashing in the lake on a 90* day, Chad installed a heater and worked for hours and days and weeks on the duct work.
Brenna works with her dad best. And she is brave. He ran water lines, and she screwed securely in place.
Books, google, and a brave man plumbed this cabin.
We learned SO much. Even though I am around construction daily, I had NO idea there was SO MUCH stuff running in my walls and ceiling.
While I insulated ceilings, Mataya climbed the opposite side of the ladder to inspect my work.
Several of our employees volunteered to help sheetrock one weekend. The amount of work they got done was utterly amazing. As was seeing walls covered with sheetrock. Sheetrock has never looked so beautiful.
I do not know how or why - but Chad actually likes taping sheetrock.
Our littlest laborer figured out how to run the lift. It is pretty simple - one way is up the other down - but OH MY STARS was she happy to be in charge!
My theme throughout this project has been "do the humble job." I always give the task list for the day to the kids and let them choose which job sounds the least terrible. I figure they really don't want to do any of the tasks, but if they see me doing the dirtiest/ichiest/hardest/grossest/scariest it will make their work seem just a bit less daunting. Which means, I have done A LOT of insulating because NO ONE likes insulating.
Joshua helped me insulate for about an hour one day. He thought running the box cutter to cut insulation was fun - until the itching began - at which point he quickly disappeared.
Look at that little boss babe!
There is NO greater gift than time. Each and every person that has driven up to help us is forever appreciated.
Brenna helped her dad finish the taping in the kitchen.
Mataya supervised her dad mixing the mud for the wall texture.
Sierra held the light while he sprayed and helped to ensure even coverage of the texture.
The following day, the girls and I painted the kitchen!
The ceiling is white with the tiniest drop of grey. The walls are one shade darker. Cabinets will be installed on the right. The dining area is to the left.
While the girls and I painted the kitchen, Chad began tiling the bathroom shower. (Sierra and I had painted that room the day before.)
Although he does not love to tile, he does beautiful work. I LOVE how it is turning out.
As soon as the tile was stuck to the wall, Chad started installing flooring. The flooring is actually a snap together vinyl. We have similar flooring in the camper. It has worn nicely and is quite affordable, so we decided to use it in the cabin as well. Chad was happy with how quick and easy it was to install.
And here is the bathroom, nearly complete. The toilet works! The sink does as well. After manually dumping the camper tank all summer, we are both very excited to have a toilet that flushes into a septic system!
We are working as quickly as possible to get one bathroom and the kitchen functioning so that we can bring the camper home. The rest of the cabin is in various stages of disorder. The gathering space is mostly sheetrocked as is our bedroom. The loft, upstairs bathroom and bedrooms, are way behind. But with a mild winter and a bit of luck we will be able to work on it all winter so that next summer we can enjoy the place in a whole new way.
