Posts Tagged With: log home construction

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 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.

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, Perma Chink, The Coleman Cabin | 3 Comments

day 8 & 9… in which Dave finally gets to do a little work

Posted on November 13, 2013 by the coleman cabin

Dave and I both missed going down to watch the building progress last Thursday so got around bright and early Friday morning to head down with the plan to hang out all day. Mom had been wanting to check out the progress as well as she hadn’t been to the lake since just after we purchased the property, so she made plans to come along with us. Building had slowed down a bit the past couple of days as José had to take a couple of the guys off to finish another project that they had previously started. Andy had also returned to home for a few days so we were down to just half the original crew. When we arrived, a few of the men were working on laying the back deck, while the others were around front setting the heavy timber porch frame over the front door.

: view of the cabin just after we arrived

: they’re building us a cabin- the least we could do was bring them hot coffee to drink on such a blustery day

: Mom pulls up a chair close to the fire so she can watch the action

: Bingo, always happy for a warm lap to sit in, soon joins Mom

: meanwhile, the men are busy putting in the heavy timber frame around the front porch entrance

: they had placed the heavy porch posts and roof system since we’d been there last

: the porch floor had been placed the previous day as well. FYI – it took 2380 screws to attach the porch floor

: the a-frame for the roof is in place

: Mr. Lipham brings over the heavy timber for the porch roof- he may not be as spry as he used to be, but he can still carry him some timber. 😉 Do you realize how heavy these things are?!

: the pitch on the first frame was slightly off so a new frame was built

: working on making a steeper angle for the roof frame

: our vantage point from in front of the fire

: the steeper pitch was perfect so the crew began to place the heavy timber peak connecting the porch roof to the cabin roof

: meanwhile, the other crew members were busy laying down the deck floor

: Mr. Lipham checks out the newly laid deck floor

: the beautiful view from our deck

: bringing up more temporary flooring for the second floor

: the crew breaks for lunch over by the fire…notice the recently delivered roof insulation stacked behind them

: Miguel takes the opportunity to get in a little more fishing

If you know Dave at all. you know that he has been dying to jump in and do a little work himself. He had been fretting for months over the fact that the deck and porch posts were going to be placed directly onto the concrete pads that had been poured and finally decided that he was going to improve upon that plan. He drilled into each concrete block, epoxied a large metal bolt into each hole, and attached metal hangers on which to place the posts upon.

: Mr. Lipham and Dave discuss where the porch posts will sit

: uh-oh, our first injury

: a contractor’s bandage- napkin and electrical tape…duck-tape’s not the only multipurpose tape you know

: Dave begins to drill…

: and drill…

: 5″ bolts seemed good on paper, but once he started to drill the concrete, 2 1/2″ suddenly seemed way better

: Dave puts me to work blowing the dust out of the holes

: time for the epoxy

: in goes the bolt

: once the epoxy sets, the metal hanger will be bolted down, ready to support the post

I know I’ve posted plenty of photos of the lake and dam, but I just couldn’t help taking a few more…it’s just so beautiful. I will leave you with a few more shots…

Categories: Follow the adventure as we build our log cabin | Tags: Coleman Cabin, Coleman Lake Cabin, colemans lake, Kenneth Lipham, log home construction, The Coleman Cabin | Leave a comment

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!

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

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

before & after

Posted on September 16, 2013 by the coleman cabin

a few comparison photos….

Categories: Follow the adventure as we build our log cabin | Tags: colemans lake, home site excavation, log home construction | Leave a comment

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