Monthly Archives: November 2013

day 7…back on track

Posted on November 12, 2013 by the coleman cabin

Having recovered from the previous day’s setback, our Battle Creek crew was back in action early Wednesday morning. We hadn’t stayed long enough Tuesday to see the three newly replaced beams running the length of the first floor ceiling, so were thrilled to see how awesome they looked. The two 12″ x 6″ beams on either end that will be supporting the second floor bedrooms are lamibeams, while the middle beam is solid timber.

: newly replaced lamibeam in the kitchen

: solid timber across the entrance way

: and, on the right, the lamibeam in the master bedroom

With the first floor framing complete and the temporary flooring back down on the second floor, with the help of one of the other crew members, Andy was able to begin running the electrical wire to the two floors. As they are working with log walls that will remain exposed, the wires need to be run down door frames and across the top of the heavy timbers. Channels need to be cut into the wood before the tongue and groove ceiling and the flooring goes down…the wire will then run along the channels and be hidden.

: wire running down the length of the french door to the master bedroom will be covered by the door frame

: chiseling the log where the electrical box will sit

: Andy uses the chainsaw to cut the channels for the wire

: yep, Andy, I’m taking pictures AGAIN

: drilling a hole to run wire down to the first floor ceiling

: Dave and I popped up to check out the view from the second floor

: awesome!

Outside several of the crew members were going to town on the front porch…

: looking out the front door

: Mr. Lipham lends a hand with the saw

while others continued framing the roof and dormers along the front of the cabin.

: foreman, José reviews the stamped blue prints

: Mr. Lipham and Bingo keep an eye on everything to make sure all goes smoothly

: ummm, excuse me, isn’t that our electrician driving the lull?

: why yes…

: yes, it IS Andy

: somehow, I think he’s done this before

Around back we had yet another group working on framing the roof over the great room. A slight dilemma occurred when the heavy timber peak was put in place and it wasn’t level. After a brief discussion, the solution was offered by Andy, our electrician- Lift the A-frame and place two 2″ x 8″ s on top of the log wall to bring in up to level. Yep, definitely thinking Andy knows a little more about building log homes than just running the wire! I think I forgot to mention in the last post that it was Andy who discovered the lamibeam/timber mixup the previous day.

: up goes the scaffolding

: next, to build a platform onto the scaffolding

: 11/12/13- first section of the a-frame in place

: a second a-frame section is tied into the first by placement of another heavy timber beam

: oh-oh, it’s not level

: the section is unscrewed in order to slip in two 2″ x 8″s to lift it higher

: wait, who’s that who’s just popped up to help?

: hey look, it’s Andy again, jumping in to lend a hand!

: re-attaching the a-frame

: now over to readjust the other side

: back in business, more rafters are placed

After talking to Andy a bit, he told me that he has built log homes before and knows how to do a bit of everything that goes into building a house. However, as much as he loves running wire and building, he only does it on the side. His real life occupation is owner of a Sears store in Alabama. When I mentioned this to Dave, he replied, “hmmm, Mr. Lipham has a son who owns a Sears store. You don’t suppose…..” So it turns out that Andy is actually Mr. Lipham’s son and has been building log homes with him for 10 years. That explains alot! And what a great team they make…we are fortunate to have them both on our team.

: Mr. Lipham and Bingo supervise as Andy lends a hand where needed

: father and son discuss the days progress

: off they go with a few of the rest of the crew to get in a bit of fishing down at the dock

By the time we pulled out, the cabin had taken on quite a transformation from the previous day and once again, we were completely amazed and thoroughly impressed be everyone involved in making it so.

Categories: Follow the adventure as we build our log cabin | Tags: Andrew Lipham, Battle Creek Log Homes, Coleman Cabin, Coleman Lake Cabin, J. M. Log Craftsman, Kenneth Lipham, log home construction, log home wiring, The Coleman Cabin | Leave a comment

day 6…OOPS!

Posted on November 11, 2013 by the coleman cabin

Although we had initially arranged for our mechanicals contractor, Todd Hawkes, to line up an electrician, with the sudden unexpected arrival of the Battle Creek building crew, we had to go to plan B. We needed to begin the wiring as soon as possible as it has to be done while the log cabin is being built, unlike a standard home construction, where you can run the wire after the framing is complete. Fortunately, Mr. Lipham had an electrician that he’s worked with previously who happened to be available and was willing to drive up from Alabama to help us out. Within moments of meeting Andy, we were thrilled to have him join our team and it soon became clear that he knew a little more about building log homes than just running wire.

: Andy and Mr. Lipham discuss the supplies we will need for the wiring

: haha…no one warned Andy that I’d be recording his every move

: drilling holes in the basement for the wiring

: running the wires

The wiring having been started and framing of the rafters done, things were running pretty smoothly until, in the course of inventorying the timber that was still left, three large lamibeams were discovered. Since all the heavy timber beams were in place at this point, the crew went back to review the blue prints to figure out where they should have been. It was at this point that it was discovered that there were two sets of plans on site that were being used. The difference between the two, one being an engineer set, showing lamibeams in place of the heavy timber beams that run the length of both the ceiling of the first floor as well as the roof peak. Since it was the engineered plans that had been submitted for the building permit, that meant in order for us to pass inspection the solid timbers that were already in place would have to be switched out for the lamibeams which are slightly stronger.

While the crew broke for lunch, Dave, Mr. Lipham, and José discussed what needed to be done.

: the crew on their lunch break

: Andy and Mr. Lipham join the rest of the crew

: Miguel shows us the day’s catch

: Bingo checks out the fish

: “hmmm, I wonder if anyone would notice I took just a bite”

: Bingo tires of the fish and makes himsefl at home in my vacant chair

A bit of a set back to say the least, but Mr. Lipham, José and our fabulous crew took it in stride and, their main concern being to do things right, wasted no time in switching them out. That meant un-building much of the roof and first floor ceiling structure that was already in place.

: Dave, Mr. Lipham and José

: putting in temporary structure to support the roof rafters while they replace the timbers

: unbuilding the roof timber

: our building crew busy at work on the roof system

: side view of the temporary boards the crew has placed

: the forsaken lamibeams

: up goes a lamibeam

: must be cut to fit

: removing the solid timber beam

: success!

: now to lift the lamibeam into place

: first one in place!

: and the second one

: re-nailing the rafters

: both beams successfully replaced!

–

Having successfully replaced the timbers on the roof peak, the crew switched their attention inside to the three beams that run the length of the first floor ceiling.

: removing the temporary flooring from the second floor

: solid timber in the kitchen/dining area is unattached

: un-attaching the master bedroom rafters

: removing the solid timber beam

: bringing in the lamibeam

: heavy, very heavy…

: jokes log craftsmen play on one another- drop one end of the heavy timber leaving your buddy to carry the entire thing

: Mr. Lipham steps in to lend a hand

: even Andy pitches in to help

: just a little higher guys!

: re-attaching the rafters

: newly replaced lamibean

: the lamibeams, though stronger than the solid timber, are slightly smaller so shims were placed to fill the gap

Although it put the crew a full day behind, we were all relieved that they were able to successfully replace all the beams with relatively few complications. Hopefully that will be the last little hiccup during the building process!

Categories: Follow the adventure as we build our log cabin | Tags: Battle Creek Log Homes, Coleman Cabin, Coleman Lake Cabin, J. M. Log Craftsman, Kenneth Lipham, log home construction, The Coleman Cabin | Leave a comment

day five…framing the first floor

Posted on November 10, 2013 by the coleman cabin

Having completed the outer walls the previous day, the crew moved their attention to the inside and began framing the first floor.

: rafters over the front section of the cabin

: heavy timbers that run the length of the first floor ceiling

: lifting the OSB board for the second floor

: looking up into the dining area and kitchen

: looking up into the master bedroom

: looking in the front door

: looking into the kitchen from the entrance way

: standing in the kitchen looking out at the great room

: stairwell and master bath

: me, standing in the dining area

: dining area- french doors will go out onto the deck

: Dave, standing in the kitchen

: the kitchen

: looking out the front from the great room- kitchen is on the left

: Dave, José and Mr. Lipman discuss whether or not we can remove that short wall on the right as it blocks some of the view from the dining area

: love the heavy timbers!

: Miguel on the right, discusses the blue prints with one of the crew

: Foreman, José, brings over more framing boards

: dining area and great room again

: stairs to the basement

: 11/10/13- laundry room and half bath on the left

: looking from the master bedroom out into the great room

: master bath and closet

: master bedroom- french doors will lead out onto the deck

day four…continuing to stack the logs

Posted on November 9, 2013 by the coleman cabin

The crew wasted no time and was back to work bright and early Sunday morning. Things were already in full swing by the time we arrived that morning.

: placing the log over the front door

: straightening the walls

: lookin’ good from the front!

: continuing to build the great room walls

: Mr. Lipham and Bingo making sure everything is running smoothly

: Dave offers Bingo a little grain free dog food….Bingo says, “thank you but, no, I’ll stick with my Kibbles n’ Bits.”

: Mr. Lipham reviewing the blue prints with Miguel

We’d previously made plans to meet up with Bernard’s friends, Michael and Nona while he was down visiting, not knowing that we would be building that weekend. Thankfully, they were kind enough to alter our Sunday brunch plan and instead drive down from Richmond to check out the cabin and visit for awhile at the lake so we wouldn’t miss out on watching the build. Michael has plans to build a log cabin at some point on his family property so he was thrilled to get the chance to see the work in progress.

: me with Bernard, Nona and Michael

: Bernard with Dave and I in front of the cabin

: Bernard showing Michael and Nona around inside

: Bernard hung out with us on the site all day…now that’s a true friend!

: continuing with the front wall

: looking at the front wall from the inside

: Back over in the great-room they place the heavy timber on the wall of windows

: building the fireplace wall

: this will be the door that leads out to the deck on the lake side

We really couldn’t believe the amount of progress they had made in four days and decided to show our appreciation for their hard work by cooking lunch for the whole crew.

: Dave checks to see if the grill is ready

: seasoning the burgers

: we put Bernard to work as well…it’s likely he won’t be back anytime soon 🙂

: chow time!

: Dave had bought a small jar of jalepeños…they were gone in seconds

: even Bingo gets a little lunch treat

: Miguel happily takes Dave up on his offer to use his fishing pole during the lunch break

After the crew ate their fill, it was back to work.

: front

: front of the house and left corner

: master bedroom

: the fire place on the left and the master bed room french door on the right

: back of the cabin towards the lake

: Mr. Lipham jumps in to lend a hand

: marking the areas that need to be cut out for the rafters

: placing the cuts

: chiseling out the holes

: master bedroom

: the second floor rafters will rest in the cut out sections

By the time we left, they had almost completed the stacking the logs!

: master bedroom

: dining area and kitchen

: great room and door to deck

: fireplace and great room windows

: back of the cabin towards the lake

: the fire place on the left and the master bed room french door on the right

: master bedroom

: front of the house and left corner

: front

Categories: Follow the adventure as we build our log cabin | Tags: Battle Creek Log Homes, Coleman Cabin, Coleman Lake Cabin, J. M. Log Craftsman, log home construction, The Coleman Cabin | Leave a comment

the moment we’ve all been waiting for…

Posted on November 6, 2013 by the coleman cabin

Day 2 & 3

After a great start on Thursday, the progress on Friday was slowed down due to the weather. As the forecast had called for rain all day, Dave and I opted not to go down, thinking we wouldn’t be missing anything. However, we were were mistaken. The crew had been able to finish the sub-flooring before the rain started so once the skies opened up, they went below and built the stairwell leading from the first floor to the basement. Fortunately, there were periodic breaks in the rain and they were then able to work up top and prep for the stacking of the logs. George Lewis returned in the morning, before the rain came, and was able to do the back fill along the foundation so the crew no longer had to use a catwalk to get to the cabin. By the time Dave arrived Saturday morning, they had already stacked three rows!

Dave arrived Saturday morning to find that they had already begun stacking the logs!

Though off to a great start, they hadn’t gotten far before discovering that some of the logs had not been notched properly. When put in place, there was a small gap between the logs that shouldn’t have been there. The only solution was to hand cut each improperly cut notch so that the logs would lay flush. A little bit of a set back, but once the logs were notched properly it was smooth sailing the rest of the day.

: this shows one of the improperly notched logs before it was recut

: notice the pencil between the logs that shows how wide the gap is

: the pencil line shows where the notch should have been cut

A good friend of mine, Bernard Casey, had come down for a weekend visit so we were anxious to show him the place…by the time he and I arrived at noon along with Max, the place had really started to look like a log cabin!

: rain the previous day left the work site slightly muddy

: 11/2/13- the cabin begins to take shape

: looking back toward the corner where the kitchen will be

: by the time I arrived with Bernard and Max, the place was really starting to take shape

: this is where the dining area will be

: stairs leading from the basement to the first floor

: the stairs from the other side

: up on the first floor, the men are hard at work

: looking out from the fireplace hole

: Mr. Lipham pops his head in to make sure everything is going smoothly

: beginning to notch the holes for the electric boxes

: foam rubber insulation strips are placed between each of the logs

: Bernard, Dave and Mr. Lipham hanging out in the greatroom

: two of our fantastic logcraftsman

: Max kneels down amongst the scattering of logs to tie his shoe

: lunch time!

: carrying the doors into the basement

: it’s amazing how strong these guys are!

: check it out, we’re already getting a little action here 😉

: making progress on the front of the house

: now THAT’s a saw

: if ya gotta work, at least find a place with a great view

: starting to place the heavy timbers that will hold the wall of windows

: lifting the top timber

: and the first row is in place

By the time we left on the third day, we were absolutely amazed at the progress that had been made!

: left front corner

: the front of the cabin, looking from the driveway

: right front corner and side of the cabin

: on the lake side, the dining area on the left

: the back of the cabin facing the lake

: the back right, with the fireplace on the left and the master bedroom on the right

Wow, this is going to be a fabulous view!

looking out at the lake from where the wall of windows will be

Categories: Follow the adventure as we build our log cabin | Tags: Battle Creek Log Homes, Coleman Cabin, Coleman Lake Cabin, J. M. Log Craftsman, Kenneth Lipham, log cabin, The Coleman Cabin | 3 Comments

enter Kenneth Lipham and his band of log craftsmen…

Posted on November 4, 2013 by the coleman cabin

Having resigned ourselves to the fact that nothing more was going to happen with the cabin till November 11, we were rather surprised to get a phone call last Tuesday night from Kenneth Lipham, informing us that he would be arriving in town Wednesday morning, followed shortly thereafter by his building crew, and that they would begin construction on our cabin at dawn Thursday morning. We were completely taken off guard (to say the least!) but made arrangements to drive down and meet him at the lake Wednesday afternoon. We arrived to find him already on site along with his furry little sidekick, Bingo. It seems that, since Battle Creek’s regular building teams were so far behind, they had called in Mr. Lipham and his team, who contract out to several different Log Home companies across the country, to see if he could step in and build our home. After talking with him for two and a half hours, we left with the feeling that we were completely in good hands and actually fortunate that he would be handling our construction rather than the originally planned team. He informed us that his crew would work from dawn till dusk, seven days a week (with a 30 minute break taken on Sundays for a church service), and that they would be finished in 15 days rather than the five weeks that we had originally been told it would take to have us dried in!!!

Bingo checks out our floor plan

Day 1

: fall has returned to Colemans Lake

: a beautiful setting for the first day of construction

: our view as we walk up to the work site

After a brief blessing is said, construction begins!

: the first screw!

: marking the ledger boards for drilling

: balance, it’s all about balance!

: fact, termites won’t cross a metal strip

: Bingo’s job is to check every pile of wood for snakes and varmints.

: bandboards finished.

: Onto the floor joists

Though our kit included everything needed to build our cabin from the first floor up, we are responsible for suppling the support posts for the basement as well as the materials for the stairs leading from the first floor to the basement. After watching the construction for a couple of hours, Dave and I took off to Home Depot in Petersburg to rent a truck and pick up the supplies the crew would need.

: nails, we need more nails!

: 6″x6″ posts that will go into the basement to support the massive timbers to be stacked above

By the end of the first day, the stairwell and the supporting structure for the first floor was complete and the first row of floor boards were in place.

: at noon, Mr. Lipham opened up his tailgate and made lunch for the crew

: after a quick lunch break, it was back to work

: Onto the floor joists

: electric and compressed air for the crew

: the trees are on fire

: half way to a floor

: the posts we just brought are installed

: 10/31/13- Mr. Lipham and Bingo supervise the placement of the basement supports posts

: loading the subfloor onto the deck

: easy….

: easy!!!! I think that’s about as far as you can go

: OK, glue it and screw it.

: at the end of day 1, they had already begun to place the floor!

Categories: Follow the adventure as we build our log cabin | Tags: Battle Creek Log Homes, Coleman Cabin, Coleman Lake Cabin, Home Depot, Kenneth Lipham, log home construction, The Coleman Cabin | Leave a comment

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Monthly Archives: November 2013

day 7…back on track

day 6…OOPS!

day five…framing the first floor

day four…continuing to stack the logs

the moment we’ve all been waiting for…

Day 2 & 3

enter Kenneth Lipham and his band of log craftsmen…

Day 1

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