Posts Tagged With: Battle Creek Log Homes

two years, and A LOT of hard work later, the time has come for our final inspection!

Posted on September 24, 2015 by the coleman cabin

For those of you who have been with us from the beginning, perhaps you will recall that it was the first week in September of 2013 when George Lewis rolled in with his giant Tonka toys and single-handedly cleared our lot, helped us decide how to position our cabin with the best possible view of the lake, and then prepared the site for our lovely home to be built. By mid September, Superior Walls had come in and within hours, we had our foundation in place and were ready to have the logs delivered. On Halloween day, Kenneth Lipham and his amazing team of log home builders From Battle Creek Log Homes arrived and proceeded to work seven days a week, sun up to sun down, to build our “little” fishing cabin. Working in the rain after dark on the final day, using the light from their iPhones, the team finally finished their end of the job and had our cabin dried in. They pulled out on Thanksgiving day. Those were exciting times and Dave and I were lucky enough to be down there almost every day to watch the progress! If you missed It then, feel free to scroll back through our blog archives and check out the process!

Since my last blog entry, way back in February, all of our energy has been put into pulling the place together to make it a livable home. This is an ongoing process but one we very much look forward to!

We had been enjoying our fireplace since we’d built our first fire over a year ago, but one thing that had been missing was a mantle. We had chosen a log from one of the hardwood trees that George had left when he cleared the lot, to use for our mantle once we were ready. When we were finally ready to tackle that project, Dave started by sawing the log in half lengthwise, stripped it of it’s bark, and, after several attempts to carve out two arches that would rest perfectly on the two protruding logs he had attached when the fireplace was built, he was finally successful and our new mantel was ready to put into place!

: Dave attaches the guide to his chainsaw

: here goes nothun!

: almost there!

: nephew, Zarek, steps in to give Dave a hand turning the split log over

: now to remove the bark

: looks like fun, right?!

: sometime later….

: Max joins in to help Dave and Zarek carry the log under the deck to dry

: the finished mantel!

With the fireplace done at last, we moved on to finishing the breakfast bar. We had gone back and forth about how to finish off the side facing the dining area and in the end decided to use some of the left over stone from the fireplace. Three tractor-seat stools we found at Sams Club (of all places) turned out to be the perfect accessories to complete the kitchen/dining area!

Another item that we spent much time deciding over, was what to do about window treatments for the wall of windows over looking the lake. We discovered early on that the sun beats in through the windows by early afternoon and creates quite the heat box in the living room. We needed to figure out something that would protect the interior from sun damage and to keep the place a little cooler, without destroying our beautiful view of the lake or the cozy cabin feeling of the great-room. We perused many a log home magazine looking for ideas, but finding nothing we liked there, we settled upon custom made plantation shutters, crafted by a company called Shenandoah Shutters out of Richmond, Va. This was NOT a cheap option so we were extremely nervous about how the end product was going to look. Thankfully, we were thrilled with the end results once they were installed!

: measuring the windows

: they’d never tackled a project quite like this but assured us they were up to the task

: they did not disappoint!

With all of the main projects completed, aside from installing bathroom vanities that we’d been waiting for since January, our time was spent tackling odds and ends that still needed to be taken care of.

: hand rails going upstairs

: basement rails

: fans and light fixtures on the deck

: fun new lights created with actual Bell jars!

: dave finally gets his fishing boat

: and a fancy new grill for the deck

: Dave spent a few days digging trenches to run drainage pipes from the down spouts out into the woods

: …so sorry I missed this task. 🙂

: using some of the rocks that had been laying around, he built stairs going up to the picnic area

: the doors look much better painted green!

: our Coleman Cabin sign finally finds a home!

: we found this fun hat rack at Green Front furniture while we were shopping for carpets

: whew, it just fit!

: new carpet in the kid’s room

: and a new carpet in the guest room…

: and one in our room as well

: the bear head Dave’s office gave him last year finally makes it to the cabin

: at Max’s suggestion, I repainted this sign to look like our own resident lake dog, Waffles

: no home is complete without a mailbox so Dave spent a day building a post and putting up the mailbox…off the road a bit to reduce the chance of it getting hit

: this should make finding the place a little easier

: and after complaints from the mailman, Dave moved the mailbox to the otherside of the driveway, closer to the road…only took a week for someone to wack it and put a dent in it!

Still patiently waiting for our bathroom vanities to arrive, we didn’t let that stop us from having friends and family down to enjoy the place. After all, we did have two working sinks and both showers and toilets in working order as well, so when 4th of July rolled around, we decided it was high time to host our first neighborhood party, complete with real fireworks shipped up from South Carolina! It was a huge success and probably the most action Colemans Lake had seen it years!

: Maharlika, Zarek and Max hang out on the back deck

: cousins, doing the “Monkees” walk down the front steps

: BFF, Susheela joins us for my birthday!

: a surprise visit from Ned and Marla, the last Colemans to live on the lake…it was such a pleasure to meet them at long last!!!

: Dave finally relaxes on the dock with the hounds

: Max and Dave take a spin around the lake in our new fishing boat

: long time friends, Dan, Kris, Matthew and Sophia Clarke, join us for a cook out

: cousins Rachel and Stephanie join us for the 4th of July

: Frank, Betty, Stephanie and Dave hang out with the neighbors on the 4th

: Dave and Max had a blast shooting off fireworks from the dock

: the game camera catches the crowd leaving after having much fun on the 4th

When August rolled around, we had one last summer get together with the family before the kids head off to school…

: Zarek and Maharlika take on their cousins in a game of bean bag toss

: Jake and Adam’s turn

: Megan watches the game from her perch on top the ATV

: Dave joins Megan to watch the game

: as the sun starts to fade, the kids decide to take the boat out for a spin

: dinner time

: hanging out after dark on the deck

: a little tv time the next morning

: the boys decided to swim to the otherside of the lake, not realizing how far it actually is…Dave, Megan and Waffles take the boat out to rescue them 🙂

: they were much relieved they didn’t have to swim back!

: the tired crew goof around on the dock

: love these boys…I hope they remember the fun they’ve had here for years to come…after all, that’s what we built this place for!

And finally, nine months after our initial order was placed, our bathroom vanities arrive!!!

: the master bathroom

: upstairs bathroom

: Dave is working on making mirrors to match the on he did for the halfbath downstairs

And so, with the vanities finally in place, two years after construction began, we were ready to have the county inspector out for our final inspection. We passed the erosion and sediment control inspection with flying colors but, although over all the inspector loved what we’ve done with the entire cabin, we had one minor, teensy-weensy detail that prevented him from giving us his seal of approval…the wooden handrails! Apparently, handrails need to be narrow enough for a person to grip with their entire hand. The 4″ x 4″ beams we used on the front steps as well as the 2″ x 4″ on the basement steps, don’t fit the bill. Details. We’ll add a metal pipe handrail, like the one used going up to the second floor, along one side of the front porch rail and also replace the basement hand rail with the same. Easy peasy!

: waiting patiently while the inspector does his thing

: Dave takes notes while the inspector makes suggestions about little improvements he would make

: one seal of approval!

: our achilles heel…who knew you need to be able to grip the entire rail and pull yourself up the stairs???

: the second handrail to fail

: no seal of approval today 😦

So we’re still not done, but soon, very soon…we will meet again, Mr Inspector….

day 26-29….and they’re done…

Posted on December 2, 2013 by the coleman cabin

Day 26

It was not even remotely a surprise to Dave and I when, at the end of the day last Monday, the crew was still not finished. However, they had completed the stairs to the second second floor (excellent job José!), attached the front porch rails, put in the fixed widows in the great room, as well as the heavy detail on the roof trim. Dave stayed long after the sun had set and they were still working on laying the last layer of roof felt, in the dark, using their iPhones for light! Heavy rain was due to set in the following day so it was imperative that they get the felt down before they quit for the night.

: when I arrived, Carlos (on the dormer peak), Mateo and Nelson, were finishing the roof in the back…Talon is below cutting the boards to hand up

: Nelson, Mateo and Carlos work on finishing the roof

: side of the cabin showing the completed window and roof trim

: Mr. Lipham supervises and Raymond and Miguel work on the front porch rails

: laying the roof felt in the front

: completed stairs leading to the second floor

: looking up to the second floor

: tongue and groove where the stairs turn

: and looking down from the second floor

: Dave, complementing José on his awesome work on the stairs

: José prepares to put in the king post on the second floor

: the crew moves on to finish the roof trim

: Carlos works on the trim detail

: Miguel and Raymond start on the back deck rails while the others continue with the roof trim

: Talon throws another board up to Nelson

: Nelson then throws the board up to Carlos

: Miguel and Raymond make progress on the rails

: Dave explains to José that he wants the rails to be lagged with heavy black screws on the ends

: Mr. Lipham and Raymond get ready to start putting in the great room windows

: Raymond preps for the windows

: Raymond hands the first window up

: Mr. Lipham and José take the window from Raymond and put it in place

: José nails in the window while Mr. Lipham holds it in place

: Mr. Lipham and Raymond hold the window while José secures it in place

: Raymond and Mr. Lipham support the window from below, Miguel holds the lower half while José works on getting the top in place

: José and Miguel nail the large window in place

: José nails the top of the window frame in place

: on to the bottom row

: Mr. Lipham, Raymond, Miguel and José work the next window into place

: our new wall of windows!

Day 27

I drove down Tuesday morning, expecting the crew to be finishing up and leaving that afternoon, and I wanted the opportunity to say goodbye and to thank everyone for all their hard work. The rain had already begun and there was a bustle of activity inside and outside when I arrived. It seemed clear to me as soon as I arrived that there was still way too much left undone for them to really be leaving that afternoon. However, I knew that even if José and his crew didn’t leave, Mr. Lipham still needed to leave by the end of the day in order to get home to his family in Tennessee in time for Thanksgiving. Shortly after I arrived, it was discovered that they were 150′ short of roof flashing and asked if I’d run up to Home Depot to pick some up. Not a huge deal, but the closest Home Depot is thirty minutes back in the direction I’d just driven from. By the time I drove up there, bought the flashing and drove back to the work sight, I knew I’d have to turn around and leave as I had to get home to start prepping for our own Thanksgiving festivities. So much for my thoughts of hanging out to get a group shot of the guys and to say a formal farewell before they wrapped things up and pulled away. There was such a storm of activity inside when I got back, as the crew worked to get things finished, that I felt I was in the way, so, I just snapped a couple of photos, expressed my thanks to Mr. Lipham, wished him a Happy Thanksgiving and off I went in the rain.

: Raymond cleans off the deck in the rain

: Carlos, Talon, Nelson, and Mateo work on the flashing along the edges of the dormers

: prepping the dormers for the log siding

: Carlos places the trim around the breakfast room door

: Talon stand by to get the boards for the trim as Carlos needs them

: José puts the king post in place

: Mateo and José after placing the king post

: Miguel and Mr. Lipham discuss what still needs to be finished

: looking in throught the front door…my last photo before I drive off in the rain

Dave went down later that afternoon, after I left, and was able to get the guys to pause for a moment to snap a group shot of the guys on the front porch with his iPhone shortly after he arrived. (You can see in the photo that the rain was pretty heavy at this point.) Regrettably, I had chosen not to leave my camera down there for him to use when I left, so the photo was not the great shot I had hoped for. Still, I’m glad he took it as it was better that not having taken one at all.

The Coleman Cabin building crew! From left to right- Mateo, Raymond, Mr. Lipham, José, Talon, Carlos, Nelson and Miguel

As he left Tuesday evening, they were still working on putting up the railing on the deck, again in the dark, this time using a flashlight that he had happened to bring along. Mr. Lipham did go ahead and take off so he could get home in time for the holiday leaving José and his J. M. Log Craftsman crew behind to finish.

: stairwell rails

: loft rails are up!

: loft rails, looking up from the great room

: they had run out of 8 x 8s for the rail supports, so took left over log ends and cut them down to fit!

: placing the deck rails after dark

: using Dave’s flashlight while placing the deck rails

Day 28-29

Dave went back down for a short time Wednesday to find them working away diligently in the heavy, cold rain, pausing every now and then to try and dry their coats by the fire. They worked through the day Wednesday and finally finished on Thanksgiving day. Needless to say we were not there to witness them wrap things up and to wish them well as they drove away. Such an anticlimactic ending to the dry in phase of this building process. Mr. Lipham and Andy will be back in a few weeks to finish up the wiring and staining and to put in the basement windows that had to be reordered as the ones that had been sent did not fit properly.

: log siding on the front dormers is finally up

: trimming out the center dormer window

We went down after Thanksgiving to check things out and, as we walked through the place taking in all of the details, we couldn’t have been more pleased. It was such a great experience dealing with Mr. Lipham, José and the rest of the J. M. Log Craftsman team ( http://www.jmlogcraftsman.com/ ) and we can’t even begin to express our gratitude and appreciation for all of the effort that they put in to building our home.

: the cabin has been duly christened!

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 | 2 Comments

day 24 and 25…they’re still heeere

Posted on November 24, 2013 by the coleman cabin

We had been back and forth as to whether we should have a full masonry fireplace built or put in a more efficient wood burning insert. After much research on Dave’s part, we decided on an insert, as long as we could find one that would still give us the look of a massive wood burning fireplace that we feel every log cabin needs. After finding just the right one, Dave, after more research, decided he would be able to install it himself and went ahead and placed the order. Expecting it to arrive after the crew had left, he had it delivered it to our Midlothian residence, hoping it would be in smaller pieces as the total weight would be 600lbs. We were rather surprised when in showed up two days later, on two separate pallets, one of which we were able to break into smaller sections to get into my van, the other, the insert itself, in one complete piece and impossible for Dave and Max to lift even with a hand truck. I’d like to give a shout out to our awesome neighbors, Brian and Jason Astroth, and Bill Durow, who came over to lend Dave a hand in hoisting the massive thing onto our trailer so we could haul it down the the cabin…thanks guys we owe you one!!! Once down at the site, it took all six crew members plus Mr. Lipham and Dave, to heave it up the four feet onto the front porch and then bring it into the great room. Thank goodness they were still here when it arrived! Unfortunately, I was sick that day so there are no photos of the whole production. 😦

: the giant pallet containing the fireplace

: thanks to Brian, Jason and Bill, the pallet made in onto the trailer!

: once in the cabin, they realized the hole for the insert needed to be cut higher in order to be able to slide it in place

: José saws the log opening

: Mr. Lipham holds the level while José runs the saw

: using the chainsaw, José cuts the vertical lines

: and voila, we have the beginnings of a fireplace!

: brick will line the fire box and we will eventually place stones on the surrounding wall so it will look like a masonry fireplace

It came as no surprise to Dave and I when the end of today arrived and our Battle Creek crew had yet to wrap things up as we had thought it incredibly optimistic of Mr. Lipham when he set today as the new finish date. They had ended up losing two crew members durning the course of the time that they have been here which has slowed down the progress somewhat and, in addition, there was a discrepancy between what the Battle Creek rep had agreed to have completed for us and what Mr. Lipham and his crew had been expecting to complete. Fortunately for us, Mr. Lipham and crew have been great to work with and, despite running way over their expected finish date, they’ve been knocking out much of the finish work on the outside that they were not expecting to have to do.

They have spent the past two days working on the roof and porch trim, running more electric, starting the steps between the first and second floor and figuring out where all the railings need to be placed.

: key showing where each rail piece should go

: Dave places the rails in their correct spot on the deck

: Mr. Lipham joins in and lends Dave a hand

: time to lift the loft rails up to the 2nd floor

: Mr. Lipham and Dave work together to lift the rail

: they hand the rail piece up Raymond

: and now to arrange the porch rails

: meanwhile, José begins to work on building the stairs

: getting there, slowly but surely

: Dave tries out the first three stairs

: José draws a pattern for the stringer that the steps will rest on

: he begins to cut out the right angles

: one stringer in place

: so far so good!

: view of the fireplace from the loft

: Raymond continues to work on the 2nd floor wiring

: temperatures below freezing with the wind chill today so Dave cuts up more wood for the fire

: on to the fire with the newly cut logs

: yep, this is the best place to be this today

: Nelson, Carlos and Mateo work on the roof and porch trim while Talon cuts boards to hand up

: Miguel cuts the boards to the correct length

: Miguel throws Mateo another board…they never seem to miss when they throw things to each other!

: this should give you an idea of how cold it is today!

: Carlos hanging out on the roof peak with Nelson just below, waiting for more boards

: Talon tosses a board up to Nelson

: Mateo nailing the trim

: though it doesn’t look possible, Mateo did catch this one as well!

: new finish date, tomorrow…I just don’t see it

day 19 – 23…framing the second floor, sealing the log ends and building the roof system

Posted on November 23, 2013 by the coleman cabin

By Monday of this week the tongue and groove had been replaced on the second floor. Thankfully, the crew had been able to pull it up and put it back down without damaging the boards!

: putting the tongue and groove back down

: tongue and groove floor in the kids room

: view of the tongue and groove from the 1st floor

Once the floor was put back into place, they moved onto framing the bedrooms and guest bath on the second floor.

: Dave and Mr. Lipham in the guest bath

: guest bath with the giant window that looks out over the front yard

: stairwell leading to the first floor…still no steps!

: Mr. Lipham, Raymond and Dave check out the guest room

: the inside of one of the bedroom dormers

: looking from the kids room to the guest room

: the guest room

: unfortunately, the front dormer windows are in the upstairs closets…clearly, we didn’t think that one through

: looking down into the great room from the loft area

Much of the week was spent working on the five layered roof system. First to go down was the tongue and groove that makes up the ceilings of the second floor and great room, over which was placed the first layer of roofing felt. That was followed by the layer of super thick insulation, followed by a layer of OSB and finally another layer of roofing felt. We’ll eventually have a tin roof placed on top of all of that.

: Talon finished the t & g on the ends of the great room roof

: Carlos trims out the ends of the roof

: Carlos, Nelson, Mateo and Miguel work together on the roof insulation

: the edge of the great room roof is trimmed out

: scraps of the super thick roof insulation

: a network of boards are put down on top of the insulation

: insulation in place on the back of the cabin roof

: sides of the roof are trimmed out

: insulation on the front roof

: OSB is placed on top of the insulation layer

: the final layer of roof felt is put down

With much of the major building complete, they began to work on smaller details.

: Miguel begins to work on the porch and deck post details

: Todd Hawkes made these awesome iron pieces to tie together the heavy support beams on the first floor

: Mr. Lipham holds one of the corner pieces in place…

: then pencils in the screw hole

: Raymond drills the holes for the screws….I left before they were finished so haven’t seen them in place 😦

We had heard from a few different sources, one of which was the Perma Chink rep at the Log and Home show, that log sealant should be used on the log ends…Mr. Lipham had never heard of such a thing nor seen anyone else seal their log ends in the 14 years that he’s been building log homes. Pretty sure he thought we were crazy for doing it, but we did it non the less. The log sealant turned out to be the consistency of Elmer’s glue and smelled remarkably like it as well. Actually, it ended up drying somewhat like Elmer’s as well. We’re now pretty well convinced that’s all it is.

: The log end sealant…or is it Elmer’s glue?!

: Dave rolls the sealant on to the log ends

: yep, looks like Elmer’s glue to me

: finishing the last row of log ends

: Dave hands the roller up to Nelson to roll the few logs he couldn’t reach

: still looks like Elmer’s glue to me

Though Dave had stayed down at the work site till dusk several times, I had yet to be down there long enough to see what the sunset would look like from our deck. We had arrived so late the day we went down to seal the logs that I finally had my chance as we were just finishing when the sun began to set.

: view of the sunset from the breakfast room

: looking out from our bedroom

: view from the center of the deck

: Dave and Mr. Lipham watching as Nelson seals the last few log ends

: old friends at this point

: looking out from inside the great room

We are still completely amazed that in just over three weeks we’ve gone from having just a foundation to being almost completely dried in! Although the first estimate was to be done in 16 days, Mr. Lipman’s new goal is to be finished tomorrow which will be 25 days…only 9 day over….stay tuned to see if they meet that goal. 😉

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 roof, log end sealant, log home construction, Perma Chink, The Coleman Cabin | Leave a comment

day 15 and 16….t & g ceilings and…this is why wiring a log home is different than your average house

Posted on November 20, 2013 by the coleman cabin

We both missed going down last Thursday to check out the progress on the cabin and were completely astounded when we arrived Friday at the site of the great room ceiling! We’d seen countless photos of the interior of many a two story great room in our Log Home magazines but were still unprepared for what we walked into that morning…it was simply breathtaking.

: looking up at the guest room

: and on the other end, the kids room

: looking out towards the front door and the guest bath above

: the fireplace

: another view of the guest room and second floor bath

: the great room door onto the deck

: looking back at the kitchen with the kids room above

: looking straight above in the great room…Andy was right, with the cross ties and t & g in, the off center beam is not an eyesore, thank goodness!

: another view above of the off center beam.

Most of the crew worked outside putting up more log siding, finishing off dormers and laying down more roofing felt. They’d been working particularly hard so we thought we’d bring in pizza for lunch.

: pizza break!

: outside, the crew works on placing log siding on the great room peak

: cutting the log siding

: Dave steps in and sharpens their chainsaw blade

: covering the dormer roofs

: Miguel lays down more roof felt

Although some of the first floor wiring had been done, we hadn’t witnessed first hand just quite how difficult some of the wiring would be. As I had mentioned in a previous post, all of the wire has to be hidden in window and door frames, across the first floor rafters and under the second floor t & g, and also up over the roof for the second floor ceiling lights and fans . This requires drilling through the heavy 12″ timbers and running over half a mile of wire, all to be connected down in the basement.(I’d somehow turned off the autofocus on my camera so some of the photos are slightly out of focus. Boo.)

: Andy wires for the deck lights

: Mr. Lipham steps in to give his son a hand

: it takes the two of them to drill through some of the beams

: this one was particularly difficult…

: still drilling….

: he seemed to be struggling so I offered to take over…much laughter ensued for some reason 🙂

: a brief rest…

: Andy puts in everything he’s got…

: and voila, it’s through but takes some effort to remove the drill bit

: Dave and Andy discuss electrical box sizes

: another team effort by father and son

: it’s stuck!

: hey Andy, do ya think you should be wearing safety goggles maybe?!

: next, Andy goes up to the highest point of the roof to drill the hole for the great room fan!

: and it’s through! (right where the off center beams meet)

: a little off center but it’s through and will be covered by the fan base anyway

: Andy seems a little worn out…why, I wonder?

: Andy and Mr. Lipham discuss what still needs to be done

: all of the wires have to be run into the basement to the electrical box

: Dave checks out the circuit box

: our awesome father and son team, Andy and Kenneth Lipham

Andy had to leave at the end of the day to drive back to Alabama and I must admit, we were sad to see him go. He has added such a positive energy to the work site, constantly laughing, helping everyone out and keeping the entire atmosphere upbeat. Before he left, he told us not to hesitate to call if we need help while we’re finishing the inside of the cabin…we may just have to “create” a problem so we can call him to come help us out! ;-D

Categories: Follow the adventure as we build our log cabin | Tags: Andrew Lipham, Andy 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 14…closing in the front dormers, framing windows and placing more t & g on the roof

Posted on November 19, 2013 by the coleman cabin

Another unusually chilly and windy November morning on Colemans Lake. I spent most of my time sitting by one of the two fires we had going!

: Miguel throws a few pieces of scrap on the fire in front of the cabin

: around back we have a second fire going

: a lovely spot on such a blustery morning!

The crew continued to put down the tongue and groove on the roof and to close in the front dormers today.

: the front of the cabin this morning

: Miguel and Raymond continue to work on the roof while Carlos closes in one of the dormers

: Talon frames in the middle dormer window…this will be the upstairs bathroom window

: a template for the arched window is made

: Carlos and Raymond begin to place the dormer rafters

: a second rafter is in place

: from the inside of the middle dormer, Talon works on framing the arch for the window

: Talon has quite the array of hats but this is still my favorite

: looking up and the second floor dormers and tongue and groove that was just placed on the roof

: OSB is put on the middle dormer

: Talon and Gordo continue with the dormer rafters

: more progress on the dormer roof thanks to Talon

While most of the crew worked up on the roof, foreman, José, and our multi-talented electrician, Andy, worked on building the frames for the wall of windows in the great room while Dave and Mr. Lipham discussed our ideas for our fireplace.

: Dave and Mr. Lipham discuss the fireplace

: Mr. Lipham , José and Andy discuss the framing for the great room windows

: José and Andy begin to measure boards for the great room window frames

: Andy cuts the boards

: a pattern for the window frame is drawn on the floor…

: José and Andy match the boards to the pattern on the floor

After helping with the window framing, Andy does a little more wiring while Carlos, Nelson and Mateo start placing the tongue and groove roof around back.

: the the t & g of the front roof in place, Miguel and Raymond even off the side edge

: from the inside, the t & g of the bedroom ceiling looks awesome!

: around back, Nelson and Carlos begin to place the t & g on the roof

: Andy climbs up to run wire on the second floor

: ….across the rafters…

: and back down he goes…

: more wiring by our trusty electrician

: outlets and lights over the master bathroom sink are wired

: a pallet of tongue and groove is brought around to the back

: Mateo cuts t & g for the back roof

: cross ties for the great room ceiling rafters were put in earlier

: Nelson and Carlos wait ever so patiently for more t & g

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, tongue and groove ceiling | Leave a comment

day 13…building the front dormers and laying the first layer of roof felt

Posted on November 17, 2013 by the coleman cabin

We were very happy to have both Andy and José rejoin our team today! Despite a few snow flurries and crazy cold wind blowing off the lake, the crew started on schedule and began to close in the second floor dormers on the front of the cabin and to lay the first layer of felting on the roof.

: Andy, just back from Alabama, pops up on the roof to chat with Gordo

: Carlos and Talon work on the rafters over the Guest bathroom dormer while Nelson and Gordo put down the roof felt while Andy hangs out and drinks coffee 🙂

: Nelson and Gordo place roof felt over the tongue and groove, then nail down 2″ x 4″s on top of that

: it was freeeeezing out and Nelson is up there in a t-shirt!

: Mateo hoists another timber up to Miguel

: this will be the window to the guest bath on the second floor

: love Talon’s Hokie hat!

: Carlos and Talon continue to build the roof over the bathroom dormer

: Miguel poses for a photo standing at the highest point of the roof!

While around back, the fireplace box was being closed in, inside Dave discussed with Andy and José whether or not we could remove one of the off center rafters in the great room ceiling. In the end we decided to keep it even though structurally it would have been fine with out it, taking it out would be more of a hassle than it was worth. Andy pointed out that once the tongue and groove ceiling was in and the cross ties up, there would be so much going on up there that we wouldn’t notice it.

: nothing like hot coffee and glazed donuts on a blustery morning…oh and jalepenos of course

: Dave, Andy and José discuss the off center beam placement above

: the off center beam that was driving Dave crazy

: second floor bedroom is coming along

: the fireplace box from the inside

: fireplace box from outside…the master bedroom is to the right

: tongue and groove on the front porch ceiling

: tongue and groove on the second floor ceiling

: more of the second floor tongue and groove

view of the back of the cabin today

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, roof felt, The Coleman Cabin, tongue and groove ceiling | Leave a comment

day 12…staining the outside of the cabin

Posted on November 16, 2013 by the coleman cabin

Unfortunately, Max was sick the day the crew started staining the outside of the cabin so I missed the big event. On top of that, Dave forgot to bring my camera with him so what few pictures he took were with his iPhone, which leave a bit to be desired. Better than nothing though and he did get a little video footage:

Getting them to stain the outside for us was definitely a great decision…it would have taken us weeks to do what they did in a day! The process looks pretty simple, one person sprays the stain on the logs while another follows behind with a brush to make sure it goes on smoothly…however, they’ve done it a million times so I think they made it look a lot easier that it would have been.

While half of the crew worked on staining, the other men were on the roof putting on the tongue and groove that will make up the ceiling of the cabin.

: five buckets of this and we still ran out and had to order more …although they did do two coats rather than one in order to make it darker

: once the stain is dry a coat of clear gloss will be applied

: before staining…

: and after one coat

: one person sprays while another follows behind with a brush

: half of the crew worked on staining while the other half began to put the tongue and groove on the roof

: half of the crew worked on staining while the other half began to put the tongue and groove on the roof

: tongue and groove that will make up all of the ceilings in the cabin

Our concern in choosing the Oak stain was that it looked much lighter than what we wanted and was also had a little more of a yellow tint to it than what we had in mind. The Cedar, on the other hand, was too red and too dark but there was no color choice in between the two. So we went with the Oak stain and decided to put on two coats to make it darker…thank goodness we didn’t go for the Cedar because even the Oak initially looked much darker that we wanted! Thankfully though, it didn’t have the yellow tint that it had in the sample and as it dried it has lightened up a good bit so we’re really happy with our choice. Good thing ’cause there’s no going back!

Categories: Follow the adventure as we build our log cabin | Tags: Battle Creek Log Homes, Coleman Cabin, Coleman Lake Cabin, J. M. Log Craftsman, Lifeline Ultra-7 Oak stain, log cabin staining, Perma Chink, The Coleman Cabin | Leave a comment

day 10 & 11…bleaching the logs and adding the log siding on the second floor

Posted on November 14, 2013 by the coleman cabin

Saturday morning Dave went down ahead of me so that he could be there when our stain was delivered. We had initially planned to do the staining ourselves but when we saw first hand just how high the second story is on the back of the cabin where the double wall of windows will be, the more daunting it seemed. We made the command decision the day before that we would have our Battle Creek crew go ahead and do it while they were here, given that they had all the necessary equipment and knew what they were doing. However, this put us in a time crunch as the forecast for the next week was freezing temperatures and snow flurries. Mr. Lipham said that if we could get the stain overnighted, they could start staining by Sunday and be finished before the icy temps set in. After much back and forth, it was decided that the cheapest way to have it overnighted was to pay a driver to drive it down from Tennessee. We also had to make a quick decision as to which color to choose. After attending the Permachink talk at the Chantilly Log and Timber show, we decided to go with their Lifeline Ultra-7 line as it had the best reviews and only requires one coat. This left us with fewer choices, none that really jumped out at us. In the end, after talking with Mr. Lipham about it and listening to his advice, we went with the Oak.

The stain arrived as scheduled and the crew went to town trying to get everything done on the outside in order to start staining on Sunday.

: Dave making the call the previous day to order the stain…we chose to go with Oak, which is the second one from the top on the sample behind Mr. Lipham

: completed decorative timbers on the front porch entrance

: dormers were framed in on the second floor bedrooms

: deck posts were placed and wrapped

: heavy timbers were placed to support the deck roof

: the temperature had already started to drop and the wind was picking up so the crew had two fires going today

: Dave places rocks around the fire to try to keep it from spreading to the dry leaves lying close by

: much safer!

By Sunday, the log siding was ready to be placed. The full timber logs make up the first floor walls as well as the double story wall around the windows in the great room, while the two second story side walls are framed, covered with OSB and then covered with the log siding. Once it is finished and stained, they will look like logs as well. Once the logs and siding are finished, caulking is placed, if desired, in areas where there are slight gaps. While the crew was on lunch break, Dave decided he would pick up a caulking gun and start doing a little caulking himself. Clearly none of the crew members know that Dave has done his share of caulking in the past. I heard a quiet muttering in Spanish behind me as one of the crew members tried to catch Miguel’s attention to let him know what was going on. Next thing we knew, several heads appeared around the corner of the front porch as everyone came to see what was going on. Miguel promptly came over and removed the caulking gun from Dave and proceeded to do it himself. Lunch break over!

: log siding going up on the second floor

: Dave picks up a caulking gun

: a few of the logs have slight gaps that need to be filled before staining

: Miguel quickly steps in and takes the caulking gun away from Dave 😉

: Miguel continues caulking

: Dave and Mr. Lipham review the blue prints

: OSB is placed over the band board to prepare for log siding…low on OSB, the crew cleverly cut up and used the walls of the crate that the windows had arrived in

: a piece of log siding is cut in half lengthwise to match up with the half log above

: a full piece of log siding is placed under the half strip

: Miguel and Mr. Lipham go over to fill a bucket with water…

: Miguel turns it on a little to fast…oops!

: yep, Mr. Lipham, this IS going on the blog, but don’t worry, we’re laughing with you not at you!

: they begin to bleach the logs to prepare for staining

: mud is power washed off the deck first, then bleach is applied

: after bleaching the logs, a coating of Borate is applied to control for insects

By the time the caulking had been finished, the wind had really picked up and the command decision was made to call it a day and wait till Monday morning to start staining. Just as well since ideally the caulk needed to set for 24 hours before applying stain.

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.

	the coleman cabin on and then there’s the wir…
	the coleman cabin on day 26-29….and they…
	Bryan Johnson-French on day 26-29….and they…
	Tom Egelandsdal on day 10 & 11…bleachin…
	the coleman cabin on and finally, we can spend the…