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
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
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!
In the midst of a lull in activity at the coleman cabin, we were very happy to drive up to Chantilly, VA to check out the Log and Timber Home Show. Once there, we were pleased to find exhibits by two of the vendors that we plan to use. PermaChink stains, whom we plan on purchasing our stain from, not only had an exhibit set up but also a short workshop on staining technique as well. What did we learn from them? Mostly that we hope our budget will allow for someone else to do the staining for us!!! We were, however, able to narrow down what type of stain we will be using, as well as the color, at least for the exterior. We’re leaning towards the Cedar http://www.permachink.com/vmchk/lifeline-ultra-7.html for the exterior and though still up in the air about the color choice for the interior, we are leaning towards the Light Natural http://www.permachink.com/wood-stains-and-finishes/lifeline-interior.html.
Also present was Don Jensen of Wood Doors by Don, who we would like to purchase our interior doors from. We had planned on taking the four hour drive to Wytheville, Virginia to check out the doors in person so were thrilled to have been saved from having to make that trip. After talking with him in length, we were able to decide which door we will be using http://wooddoorsbydon.com/knottypinelog.html …you know, if we can ever get the building crew down to actually build our cabin. (New date for their arrival is Nov 11.)
There were also vendors selling handmade wooden tables and various other pieces of furniture, as well as plenty of wood carvings, antler chandeliers, animal skin chairs and benches. We plan on making our own table out of logs from our property and I am now completely psyched about trying to do a chainsaw carving of a bear. Max is sure I won’t be able to, silly boy. Challenge accepted…it’s on. 🙂
every cabin needs an antler chandelier…who knew they were so expensive?!
A few years back, when we were up visiting my brother and his family, Dave and Jason decided they needed to build a couple of potato canons. They spent the morning viewing how-to videos, as well as examples of various different potato canon models, on YouTube then headed over to Home Depot to buy their supplies. By late afternoon each family had their own potato canon and we all went out onto their back deck to test them out. None of us had anticipated just how loud or how far they would shoot! Fortunately, we didn’t take out any windows on the other side of the neighborhood. As far as we know.
Dave fills the chamber in the back with hairspray
Jason pushes the ignitor
clearly they were not expecting the “BA-BOOM!” that followed
We were hooked from that point on and the firing-of-the-potato-canon has become a tradition at all important family events forever after. Somehow however, we’ve continuously forgotten to bring it with us every time we’ve gone down to the lake… until this past weekend that is.
Somehow it doesn’t sound nearly as loud when you shoot it in a wide open space as when we have shot it at home!
Dave loads a potato into the front end of the canon while Jared, Matthew and Max look on
next he fills the back chamber with hairspray…apparently AquaNet is the spray of choice for most potato canon aficionados
Jared jokingly takes aim at Laura on the other side of the dam
Our fun was cut short when one of the neighbors came out to go fishing. No worries though, we had all had a few chances to see how far across the lake we could shoot, so we packed up the potato canon and ammo and headed up to Waffles Ridge to make Hobo Pies.
We discovered these single serve wine bottles at the Valero gas station/fas-mart on the way to the lake and decided we must try them!
although more of a fan of full bodied reds, I opted for the sweet Muscato… seemed like that would pair better with our hobo taste treats
hmmm, oreos might make a good pie filling
oreos and marshmallow…even better
and of course the old standby, nutella and marshmallow
Jared prepares his pie for toasting
chef Dave cooks our tasty treats while Kris and Max wait patiently
a delightful pairing!
Having sufficiently stuffed ourselves, it was time for a little target practice…
Dan and Kris ride over on the ATV
the other boys jump in the 4Runner to head over to our shooting range
Jared and Dave pick out their ammo
Matthew and Max take a screen time break, laughing over some video Max has found
Dan wastes no time and is first to shoot
Dave teaches Laura how to shoot the .357
“did I hit anything?!”
a little more spread out than usual, but I’ll take it
nice work with the .22, Jared!
Matthew starts out with the .22
then tries the .357…we loaded .38 specials in it so it would have less kick to start with
Jared tries it out next with a .357 round
Dan and Dave have a shoot off with the .22s
Laura comforts her baby, Beemer, who is not overly excited about the noise
Sophia had no interest in shooting anything more than the potato canon and used the time to hunt for caterpillars and grubs
After everyone had had their fill of shooting targets, we went back over to the lake for bit.
Dave shows Jared and Laura what’s happened at the cabin site since their last visit
Kris watches over Sophia as she climbs the rocks
Sophia stops to pose for a photo
Matthew dons a helmet
then takes the ATV for a spin
Sophia decides she’d like a ride as well but was not lovin the helmet
Dan takes Sophia for a turn
Laura was the only one brave enough to take out the kayak in the chilly fall weather
Jared checks to make sure Beemer is okay after jumping off of Waffles Ridge… despite doing a face plant and roll when he hit the ground, he seems okay
Having had several hours of fun, it was now time to pack up and head out. Although we had to say goodbye to the Clarke family, Laura and Jared decided to join us for a late lunch on our way out at our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Caporal.
I handed the camera over to Max to take a quick photo of Jared, Laura, Dave and I as we share a toast
One more stop before heading home. We had yet to buy our fall pumpkins and the farmers market just happened to be right next to El Caporal….
Dave and Max check out the rotten pumpkins
this cute little building next to the farmers market is being renovated…not quite sure what it is, but it’s awfully cute
non-rotten pumpkins
inside the market
Max hamming it up for the camera
and now for a normal pose, thank you
After finding three practically perfect pumpkins, we headed back home, having had another fun-filled day and created many more lasting memories of perfect days spent at the coleman cabin. Okay, so technically we don’t actually have the completed cabin yet, but still….
Still no new date for the arrival of our construction crew! In the meantime, however, there are other things that still need to be decided upon, such as, where exactly our power line will run. There is an existing power line that runs parallel to Colemans Lake Rd, on the opposite site of the road from the lake, which supplies all of the neighboring houses. Our line will be pulled from this existing line, to a pole that will be placed somewhere on our property on that side of the road, then run across Colemans Lake Rd to a second pole, and from there will run underground to the cabin. We had our initial meeting with Lacey Palmore, of Southside Electric Cooperative, a few weeks back and had discussed tentatively where that line would run. As a result of that discussion, we had Todd Hawkes clear the necessary 40′ wide path so it would be ready for the power line as soon as possible. We were thus a little concerned yesterday, at our second meeting, when Lacey suggested a different path, which would require clearing a completely different section of our woods. Thankfully, Todd was very adamant about placing the first pole exactly where we had previously discussed and Lacey agreed that she would make it work. We are finding that, just as we are so fortunate to have George Lewis working with us on the home site prep and excavation, we are just as fortunate to have Todd Hawkes handling things for us from this point forward! AND come to find out, they used to be brother-in-laws. Have I mentioned how small Dinwiddie County is?!
Todd stands where he has already cleared for the power line while Dave shows Lacey the property lines and where we’d like to bring the power line in on the other side
walking back toward the existing power lines
our power line will run from this existing line to another pole on this side of the property and, from there, to a second pole on the opposite side of Colemans Lake Rd, then underground from that point to the house
Dave and Todd, standing where we initially discussed putting the pole, while Lacey checks out other options
Todd again points out where we want the pole to go. “RIGHT HERE!”
back over at the home site, Dave Todd and Lacey discuss where the underground line will be
The team from Battle Creek Log Homes is due to arrive at the beginning of next week to start construction on the cabin. But wait a minute, tropical storm Karen is also due to arrive in our area at the beginning of next week. Hmmmm……..do you think that might pose a problem?
We arrived at the lake around 7:30am to find George already there, waiting with his 6000lb all terrain fork-lift, ready to unload the logs once the trucks arrived. The three trucks were due around 8:00am, having driven down from Tennessee, carrying all the supplies from Battle Creek Log Homes that would be needed to construct our log cabin.
Having some time to kill before their arrival, we walked down to the dock to enjoy the view of the lake for a bit.
another perfect fall morning on Colemans Lake
Waffles and Dave check out the lovely view
the leaves are just starting to show their fall colors
We heard the loud sound of diesel engines in the distance and headed up the drive just as the trucks pulled into sight.
George jumps onto the truck to have a word with the first truck driver
Dave, George and the three drivers discuss how to go about unloading the supplies
It didn’t take much to realize that there was no way the heavy trucks could make it up the driveway. So, as George had somewhat anticipated, the trucks would have to remain in the road and he would have to use the fork-lift to carry all 52 pallets of supplies from there, up the steep driveway to the top of hill, and scatter them around the building site.
truck number one
George brings down the fork-lift
carefully lifts the first pallet
lowers the lift and begins the long process of carrying pallets up the drive
at the top of the hill
George places the pallets in order of building neccessity
Dave, riding down to the shed with Waffles close behind
cutting two by fours to lay under the pallets
bringing the cut boards up to the work site
hey Pittsburgh folks, notice that Dave is sporting a Primanti Bros shirt…we happened to be up there last weekend and just might have stuffed ourselves with a couple of their french fry laden sandwiches…yum
Though time consuming, the unloading went smoothly till George picked up a giant pallet containing the heavy timbers for the roof, that didn’t quite fit between the trees that line the driveway. No worries though- it seems that there is no difficulty that George can’t surmount!
Without a word, he lowered the pallet, jumped out of the fork-lift cab and onto his bulldozer. In no time, he had widened the driveway and was able to successfully bring the large pallet to the top of the hill.
George runs up to get his bulldozer
down go the trees
I have to admit, that watching this made me glad I wasn’t there to see the entire home site cleared
an image of the Lorax standing on this pile of down trees kept popping into my head
George successfully passes through the tight spot
yeah, George!
The rest of the unloading went smoothly and seven hours later, they were done.
Dave watches to make sure one of the pallets doesn’t fall off the other side of the truck
George gets out to take a look
SUCCESS, we knew he could do it
Dave helps the third bus driver, Dustin (whose last name is also King), load one of the pallets onto the fork-lift
Dave and Dustin take a break
George and Dave discuss the placement of the pallets around the work site
our windows and french doors!!!
Using a little extra care, George carefully backs up the driveway with the windows, making sure the oversized crate doesn’t tip forward, off the fork-lift
George picks up the last pallet
up the drive he goes one last time
Dustin and Dave walk up to count the unloaded pallets, Waffles by their side, ever ready to help out if needed
pallets…
pallets..
everywhere, pallets
logs….
we have lincoln logs!!
siding for the second floor
railing
tongue and groove for the exposed ceiling in the great room
timbers that will support the second floor, remaining exposed on the ceiling of the first floor
giant 8 x 8 logs that will make up the frame for the wall of windows in the great room
And me? I had three jobs: taking photos, checking the pallet numbers off the list as they were unloaded, and bringing lunch back to the boys while they worked. Two went well, the other, not so much…
taking pictures and checking off pallet numbers went well…
notice the lug nuts on the front wheel stick our farther that the rest of the truck?
I didn’t….coming back with our lunch in Dave’s 4Runner, I was not quite successful in passing the truck on the narrow road…oops
Waffles faired much better. She had a big day chasing after Dave, supervising the work and swimming in the lake. She slept soundly all the way home!
Waffles waits ever so patiently by Dave’s side
“that’s right George, ease it down gently…”
“hey George, George, where ya puttin’ that one George?”
Waffles picks up a scent
“this lake water is the BEST ever”
“sure was thirsty Mom”
pooped baby, slept all the way home
still exhausted once she got home, Waffles snuggles with Max and almost falls off the couch
Enter Kris Cutler, the other half of C & L Excavation.
We had met Kris, what seems like forever ago, when we first met with George Lewis and Eric Riley, and walked the property with the three of them, discussing our proposed homesite, well and septic field, and getting their ideas for the driveway and what would be involved in clearing the land and laying the foundation. Eric was already on site when we pulled up that morning, his pick up truck parked near the shed. We introduced ourselves to him and were making small talk when we heard the distinct sound of a motorcycle approaching. We were all three somewhat surprised when a Harley Davidson pulled into the parking area and off jumped Kris Cutler. Not the usual means of transport for a contractor!
Kris Cutler, sporting his most awesome Harley Davidson jacket
Dave with Kris, who was not thrilled to be having his photo taken… 🙂
As George Lewis handles the excavation side of the business, and Kris the construction end, once excavation began we didn’t see him again until it was time for the concrete slab to be poured. When we arrived Thursday morning, the process was well underway and we found Kris on site along with the concrete team from Cowling Bros Building Supplies who had driven up from Waverly, Va to pour our basement slab. They were just finishing pouring the second truckload of concrete when we pulled up. A third arrived shortly there after to finish the job.
Max finds a nice log to hang out on
guess who
waiting for the third truck to show
Dave and Max watch as the last of the concrete for the slab is poured
Max, supervising the workers
Meanwhile, Todd Hawkes had arrived, as well as Lacey Palmore from Southside Electric Cooperative. They were meeting to discuss how and where the electric line would be brought in. We had initially intended to have temporary power brought in for the log crew to use during construction, but after finding out that it was no longer a minimal fee, we decided it would be cheaper just to by a generator for them to use. Probably not a bad thing to have around when you live in the woods anyway so not a huge deal to have to spend the extra money on one.
Kris, Todd, Lacey and Dave
Todd, Dave and Lacey discuss how to bring in temporary power before the line is run
After the slab was poured, the crew unloaded a piece of equipment that looked somewhat like a cross between a giant fan and a hovercraft, and began to run it across the mostly dry slab.
While a few of the crew continued to smooth out the slab, the others began to work on the post supports for the deck.
using a laser level to check the depth
Max finds a quiet corner out of the sun where he can escape the bees and play his iPad
Once the deck supports were done, the truck pulled around to the front to pour the front porch supports.
the truck drives around to the front
Kris and Dave discussing the rebar grid at the bottom of the post holes
pouring the first porch support
pouring the last post support
–
By the time the last post support was poured, the slab had mostly dried. We decided at the last minute that it would be fun to leave our handprints in our future basement floor and were happy to find a shaded area that was still just wet enough.
Dave writes out the check to pay for the three truck loads of concrete
the coleman cabin 
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