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.

All in a hot and copper sky. The bloody sun, at noon, Right up above the mast did stand, No bigger than the moon. Samuel Taylor Coleridge

I am sure that STC would not mind me borrowing his immortal words, from the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, to describe conditions here for the last month. It has been swelteringly hot with ambient temperatures in the high 30s C with highs in the sun well over 40c. One short thunderstorm has been the only relief and, with varying degrees of success, I have adopted practises to keep cool. I have tried to schedule my work around the house to keep in the shade. The trusty old slouch hat was just too broad brimmed to work under the eves so I have had to exchange it for a base ball cap with handkerchief to keep my neck protected and head cool. A long sleeve shirt with wet cuffs has helped cool the blood and seven to eight litres of water a day has prevented dehydration, cramp and constipation. Ok, too much information! Let's move on.

The good weather has meant that I have been able to get on with things without interruptions from the weather and the BIG news is that I have now finished the outside of the cabin. Starting next week I will now focus my energy on the inside. Before I take you on a tour to show off the outside of the cabin however, I'll just go through the fortnight's work.

The three gable ends were the fortnight's main challenge. I started on the garage gable as it looked like it was going to be the most straight forward. I was able to use the mobile scaffolding and stretch planks over to the steps leading up to the NW deck and strung a safety rope up to the eye that I placed, with foresight, on the overhanging beam (sorry no photo).

It took three days to get it all done and as it is on the North side of the cabin I was able to do most of the work in the shade.

Next up was to tackle the South gable and this was a bit more tricky. While I was doing the garage gable, I pondered the challenge of getting the scaffolding in place to do this side and came up with this arrangement. The photo was taken after the work was completed and just before I dismantled the scaffolding and so it doesn't show the safety rope in place which, I can assure you I used.

Another three days and the job done and then around to the kitchen gable, which was always going to be the most challenging because ….

….  I was never going to be able to put the scaffolding on the ground because the kitchen steps are in the way and the mobile scaffolding doesn't reach high enough even if I could. So I came up with this arrangement with the scaffolding on the NW deck.

Anchor points were secured to the wall and …..

…. planks securely placed for access and doing the work. Note the safety rope which again was well used.

Serious injury has always been my strategic risk and putting the fascia and soffits in these gable ends by myself was always going to be a challenge. So, getting them done without incident has been a mild relief and left one last little job to do to get the outside of the cabin done and that was ….  

…. the railings and spindles for the main entrance steps .…

…. which I managed to get done yesterday just before the sun reached them.

If you are wondering what the dustbin is doing at the end of the deck, it is collecting water (when it rains) for cleaning tools and washing hands.

And there you are. Job done.

So a quick tour around the cabin which, as I will now be working almost exclusively on the inside, will probably be the last you will see of it until the whole project is completed.

This is how you see the cabin approaching it down the driveway.

Going around anti-clockwise, this is the South side and where next year I will plant grape vines to grow along the covered deck.

Deck furniture, hanging baskets, half barrels and boxes for flowers and herbs will all also have to wait. 

I have also added stone surrounds to the base of the deck posts.

You cannot see her but, there is a deer under the deck on the right of the photo.

She was in front of the window on this side but, she moved off and if you look carefully enough she is standing under the deck outside the prow. She has been with me all week. I have been able to get a closer look at her from the basement, which she cannot see into and I have been able to get to within an arm's length of her.

NW deck and garage.

North side.

And back around to the front.

View from the road, which I have been promising you for a while now.

Same view, same stand, just zoomed in a bit.

Taken from on top of the brown electrical box.

Other news is that I have taken delivery of 8,000 linear feet of 8" x 1" pine planking. That sounds a lot I know and it was a lot to man-pack into the cabin. 

What you see here is about one third of it. I had to make four trips to pick it up from MacDonald's Ranch and Lumber. I have  brought it into the cabin to keep it out of the sun and weather. It is beetle kill pine and is a very attractive white with blue/grey stain which is the signature of beetle kill standing dead wood. It is very dry and has been planed on both sides and ship lap grooving applied to both edges.

I will be using it to board all the internal walls of the cabin, make all my shelving, cabinet fascias in the kitchen and bathrooms and all the internal doors for the cabin. I might need more! It is going to look really good and I am already wondering how to stain and protect it. At the moment I am minded to clear coat it in order to preserve the unique blue and grey colouring.

Bill and Mike, the dry-wallers came back and superbly put in and finished the dry walling between the rafters in the study/dining area and kitchen.

I then put in the counter sunk lighting and replaced the temporary lights in the centre of the room.

The kitchen is already looking lighter and will brighten up more when I have painted the ceiling.

I have made a start installing the kitchen lights which don't take long to put in and I will finish them next week.

My priority now will be to get the plumbing done. I have made a start with the outflow and a little more of that is still required before I start on the inflow. Before this however, the Tin Man needs to come and put in all the metal ducting for the hot air central heating for the basement and main floor. He is due to start on 1 Aug and will probably take the best part of a week to get all his work done. In the meantime I will finish putting in the kitchen lights and make a start on some wall panelling, which will be fun to do.

So another significant land mark has been passed in this project. It would be nice to take a break at this point and I am sorely tempted to do so but, although there is no deadline to meet, I want to move in as soon as I can. Working by myself means that everything takes a long time and I am not sure how long it will take me to get the things done that I need to do before I can move in. I need the kitchen, one of the bathrooms, the septic system needs to be commissioned and all the safety elements (banisters, railings and spindles) done before I am allowed to move in. My aim is to be in sometime in the autumn and certainly before the winter. Resources are now my main concern.

So, here's to Prince George and until next time.