The long hot summer

Sadly, the internet connection is so bad at the moment I haven't been able to upload any photos and as they are such a key element of the blog I have decided to postpone the next posting until next weekend when, it is hoped, the internet connection will be better. Sorry to disappoint.

Well, here we are, a week late but better late than never. I would have liked to be getting on with some plumbing but, I have been waiting for recourses owed and promised to me by my main contractor which have not yet been delivered. So I have been keeping busy using some of the wood I bought in August from McDonald's Mill.

I have made this cabinet for a laundry sink ….

…. and panelled the utility area, less those parts that I need to keep clear for the plumbing. 

That isn't much and I have done about 75% of the walls including the whole of the wall interfacing with the main room.

There are three doors in this wall and one, to the two piece bathroom, is now in.

The alcove for the fridge is also complete including two coats of clear stain. I just need the fridge.

This is the alcove for the washing machine and dryer, which will be a stacked system. There is access for the plumbing on the other side of the back wall, from the walk-in pantry.

I should have showed you this on the last blog. It is the tin ducting for the furness hot air system that provides hot air to the basement and the main cabin floor area.

I had to have this stuff put in before I can finish the plumbing, which I hope to be able to do in the very near future.

The long hot summer continues without end in sight with only brief relief provided by the odd thunderstorm or two, that seem to come mostly at night. Haven't had one for over a week though. The Labour Day weekend (August bank holiday weekend for those in the UK) has brought everyone out to their cabins and I have had a steady and not unwelcome flow of visitors, admirers and inspectors coming to the cabin. It has cut my working day by about four hours but, it is nice to show off the cabin. Everyone seems to like the panelling and more than one person has said they would like to use the same wood in their own place. McDonald's Mill has apparently already sold some to someone on the strength of the photos I sent to the mill showing what it looks like. I am pleased because they have been very good to me and I recommend them to anyone who enquires about where I have sourced my materials from.

I'll post again in a fortnight, internet permitting.

A closet Lady Catherine de Bourgh would be proud of

Many apologies to those who eagerly awaited this posting yesterday but, who were disappointed when it did not appear. The atmospherics are playing merry hell with the 3G connection to the internet at the moment and I spent all day Sunday at the computer trying to upload photos and managed a grand total of four. I got up early this morning and managed to add a few more and I have decided to post what's there. I will try to add to them everyday this week to make the full posting up in stages. Sorry about that but, it looks like the only way I am going to be able to get it done until the weather changes.

The tin men were due during the first week to complete the ducting for the furness air system that will provide the 'primary' source of heating for the main floor. Until they were done I was unable to start the 'inflow' side of the plumbing and decided to start some panelling while I waited for them to do their work. 

I started with what I thought was the simplest and most inconspicuous wall and the panels went on without difficulty and I was pleased with the results.

I then decided to do the 'walk in' closet for the main bedroom, which is on the landing. I decide to completely finish it in order to test out all my designs for colour schemes, base/skirting boards, interfaces between beams and dry walls etc. Again it went well and ….. 

….. so I decided to unpack most of my clothes that have been lying in packing boxes now for over two years. Fortunately, I took time packing them and they all survived the experience surprisingly well. I now have a closet that even Jane Austen's Lady Catherine de Bourgh would be proud of, or should I say Mr Collins would be proud to show off. See what I have been reduced to - Mr bloody Collins.

Doing the panelling also required me to make the first doors I have ever made and they didn't turn out badly. I have now made a total of five and they have got better and better each time.

Pleased with the results of my efforts with the closet and the tin men still not finished I decided to panel my bedroom.

I am pleased with the outcome. The colours in the pine beetle kill panels are much more interesting than just plain pine.

I now have to decide how I am going to protect/stain the panels and at the moment I am minded to clear coat them.

They will darken slightly anyway with age, going a golden yellow more or less the colour I have stained the logs. So clear coating them now will ensure they don't go too dark. If you look closely at the bottom three panels in the centre of this photograph you can see what plain pine panelling would look like - very little colour or character.

I will eventually be building small self closets either side of the dormer,

The door went in well and where as it was taking me three days to make a single door, due mostly to the need to make the door in stages and wait 24 hours for the glue for each stage to dry, I have now worked out a process where I can make unto 4 doors at a time, thus reducing the time per door to less than a day.

The tin men actually finished their work before I completed the panelling I had started but, I decided to finish what I had started reasoning that a few days delay in starting the plumbing was preferable to leaving work unfinished and having to move and return all the tooling up the stairs.

Getting this section done has given my a good feel for how the great room will look and I feel that my decision not to dry wall the vertical surfaces is vindicated. The panelling is retaining the 'log cabin' feel to the place.

I may put some trim on this arch.

Finally, I decided to tidy up the entrance from the garage. I panelled the walls and laid the flooring. 

When that was done I trimmed the fire door and ……

…. made and fitted the doors and trim for the closet.

To finish it off I laid the floor on the outside of the door.

So, I guess it's time for a wildlife update. I suppose if you have lived here all your life you could be forgiven for taking the wildlife around you for granted or even being complacent about it. But, I have been here for only two years and having a doe and her new fawns grazing the greenery within a few feet of me still fills me with an overwhelming sense of wellbeing, which is almost spiritual. It raises the spirits and makes you grateful that not only are there places still left in the world where man and beast live together in mutual respect and close proximity but, especially appreciative to live in such a place. It makes you realise why Canadians in general and British Columbians in particular are so concerned about the environment. Photographing them while I am working is not often easy or practical but, occasionally I get a chance, usually taking the photo when they have moved off a bit. 

 Three does and two fawns. One mother and her two fawns are regular visitors at the moment. Curious how they just wonder in, look at me, and carry on as if I wasn't there.

The pair of robins who laid for the second time abandoned their nest for some reason before the young hatched. After they had not visited the nest for over two weeks I took a look and discovered why - the one egg that was there was broken. Sad, but I guess that is nature. All the eagle nests have birds in them and the young are starting to take to the skies. The humming birds are regular visitors and they buss my red hat almost daily thinking it may be a flower or a feeder. One came into the garage yesterday and perched on a door puller for a minute of so watching me work - curiouser and curiouser.

The broken egg.

A family of grouse have moved on to the development. I see them almost everyday on my way in or leaving in the evening. They must be one of the stupidest birds on the planet. They don't move off the road when you drive by. The number of feral cats has also increased which is both a good and bad thing. Good because they keep the rat and mice population down, not that I have a problem with either, but bad because they also kill chipmunks and squirrels.

Well, on with the plumbing. Until next time.