The best that time and fate of all their vintage pressed.

Will someone please design a met office with a window in it so forecasters can at least look out of a window to see what the weather is like before they give their forecast. Last week snow was forecast almost everyday and we had bright sunny days with a few clouds. Today it was forecast to be sunny with a few clouds and it is overcast and snowing. But, I guess somethings are the same the world over and will never change.

Other things didn't go quite according to plan this fortnight either. I was hoping to have all the panelling finished and I nearly made it. That is, I got everything done except the main bathroom, which is only half finished. This was mainly due to a few interruptions and having to wait for a few materials that have been on order for some weeks but didn't turn up until almost the end of the fortnight or that still haven't arrived. More on all that later.

I started the fortnight by staining the bed in the second bedroom. I put a grey wash on the beetle kill pine panels and thinned a darker stain for the posts. This has left all the wood grain still visible and added a bit of colour to the room.

So the room now really is ready for my first guests.

Having got the bed sorted I turned my attention to panelling the remainder of the North Wing. I wanted to start with the main bathroom but, the fan/light for the shower hadn't arrived, despite being ordered on 13 December. I needed to get the ceiling done before doing the wall panelling and without the fan/light I couldn't do this. 

It only took a couple of days to get this wall done and then I was able to do the two bedrooms.

First however, I had to buy some more insulation and install it in order to improve the sound barrier between all the rooms in the North Wing.

The insulation conveniently comes in strips that don't require cutting to fit into the gaps between the studs which are on 16 inch centres. This is just as well because the insulation is made of very fine glass fibre and is really awful to work with. It gets in your eyes and mouth and therefore a mask and eye protection are a good idea - not that I had either.

Again, the panels went on easily enough and …..

….. it only took a couple of days to get the first bedroom done.

It was the same routine for the other bedroom .…

…. which, has a shed dormer in it and is therefore slightly larger.

I'm going to leave the staining, trim and doors until after I have got the floor in the Great Room done but, at least now I have got most of the wood off the main floor which will now enable me to do this.

All the main walls of the North Wing are now panelled and that leaves only the smaller dormer walls and a few other minor places left to do. I'm am going to have to get some more panels because I have only enough left to do the main bathroom. There are also a number of doors and other things that I need this type of wood for. Therefore, when I have got the bathroom done, I'll have to make an estimate of how much more wood I need and put in an order with Glen Mcdonald at McDonald's Mill.

To do the bathroom I needed the fan/light that will go in the shower, exactly the same as the one in the shower in the en suite bathroom. The first one took about four weeks to arrive and so I ordered the second one two weeks before Christmas imagining that with the break for the festive season imposing delays it would be here in about six weeks, which is almost exactly what it took.

Almost on que, the fan/light arrived and it took me a day to mount it, get the vent in to the outside wall and join the two with some insulated ducting.

The vent to the outside wall on the left of the picture and ….. 

….. the insulated ducting across the ceiling to the fan.

With that done, I put dry walling board on the ceiling and  fiberock board for the shower tiles on the walls.

There was some tricky cutting out to do to negotiate the boarding around all the beams but, …..

….. it didn't go too badly and I will be able to patch the gaps and joins when I do the mudding.

I then started panelling the rest of the bathroom walls ..…

….. which again went pretty smoothly.

Then, I came to install the bath only to find that the faucets I bought didn't come with all the valves and piping that I need to connect them up underneath the mounting. Needless to say, I was irritated that the sales person in Home Depot hadn't informed me that I needed to buy this additional stuff when I ordered the faucets two months ago. So now there will be a delay while for the rest of the assembly comes on special order. However, this shouldn't stop me  finishing the panelling next week and then building the vanity unit for the sink.

In the meantime, life goes on as usual. Snow blankets the ground, hushing the winter landscape with a cosy silence. There is wood to bring in from the wood pile that is slowly but surely shrinking as the winter passes. An ear is forever out for woodpeckers and an eye for cougars and wolves. Deer are common visitors scraping at the snow in the search for something half decent to eat. Weasels in white ermine coats visit at night and leave their tracks in the snow on the deck. Mozart and Beethoven serenade the untouched wilderness with the occasional accompaniment from a wolf or coyote. Weekend evenings bring friends, wine and food, the best that time and fate of all their vintage pressed that in the early hours give way to the long winter nights that bring dreams of those once loved. Oh happy days.

Ready for my first guest

It's Sunday afternoon, the sun is shining, the mountains are covered with snow, there is plenty of wood brought in ready to burn, the fire is blazing away, I have a cold drink beside me at my desk. What more could a man want. Ok, Kristin Scott Thomas or Julia Roberts or …… the list could go on for quite a while couldn't it. But, back to reality and I have to count my blessings and it has been a good fortnight since my last posting.  At least the first part of the fantasy is true and if I am honest it is even better than that sounds. Eagles are in the air, there's a cougar on the prowl and despite all the snow, the temperature outside is very comfortable.

As I intimated at the end of my last posting there was quite a lot of finishing work to do before the second bedroom and corridor down to the North Wing can really be said to be 'done'. The New Year celebrations didn't really slow things up but, even when working indoors during the winter things take longer and there are more interruptions as I have to spend more time on administering myself with such things as keeping the fire going, clearing snow off the decks and steps, making sure the car is properly prepared before using it and even just getting dressed and undressed for going outside.

Despite all this I am pleased to inform you that the second bedroom is now ready for my first guest. Who will it be?

It still lacks a few refinements - curtains, rugs, pictures, light fittings etc but, all the basic essentials are there.

I'm not sure that the baseboard heaters (little white boxes on the walls close to the floor) will ever be used because the heat coming up from the wood burning stove in the Great Room is more than sufficient to keep the place warm. Actually, if you're not careful it can be too hot and I frequently have to keep the internal window and door to my bedroom closed to keep the heat out.

Comme ca.

You will have noticed that, despite saying in my last post that I was going to wait until I could gather some round wood posts and spindles in the Spring to make a bed, I decided to make one anyway. In the end I used fir timbers left over from the beam work for posts and some of the wall panels and shelf wood for the runners and slats. I was pleased with the result.

The bed is very solid, heavy, bold and fits well in the room. I have yet to decide how to finish it. Wax or stain and if so what colour? As I have so much of the beetle kill wood on the walls I don't think it would be too much of a shame to put a dark stain on the bed. It may bring a little more contrast and colour to the room, which would be a good thing - I think. I have my special advisors on the problem.

You will have noticed that I haven't made the bed yet either but, that hasn't stopped me trying it out. This is the view down the bed and …..

…. if you don't like that, there is always the window looking out, or, …..

…. looking into the Great Room, if you would prefer that. But, you have to get out of bed for this one ….

Notice that most of the wood that was sitting in the study/dining area has now been used - more on that later.

Coming out of the bedroom and on your right is the corridor down to the North Wing, which I have also now finished.

All the doors and shelves etc for the closets were time consuming to do but, it is better to get them done properly as I go along rather than plan to come back and finish them later. That way some things never get done.

I was very pleased with the way the flooring went down in this section of the house, which is continuous through the bedroom, corridor and closets.

This one will be a linen cupboard and .… 

…. when all the bathroom stuff is out of this one it will be spare hanging space and shelves for whoever.

As I was getting all this done I turned my thoughts towards the next task, which was going to be the main bathroom. However, I have decided instead to finish all the panelling throughout the cabin and made a start with this wall in the North Wing and .… 

…. the island in the kitchen, which is the last panelling to do on the main floor.

The main reason for getting the panelling done is to free up space both downstairs and in the North Wing, where all the panelling and shelving is presently sitting. I want to do this so I can make a start on the floor in the Great Room. Getting this done will make a huge difference to my quality of life. I can then put some furniture in the great room, get some shelving done in the study which will then allow me to set up my 'home office' and also get the kitchen in. The actual panelling normally goes up quite quickly, it's all the staining, trim and other finishing that is time consuming. Getting the flooring laid in the great room will also free up a lot of space in the garage, which at the moment is half full with all the floor boards.

I think I can finish the panelling in about a fortnight, which will set me up nicely for getting the floor laid in the Great Room. In February there is going to be a break in the work as I have to go back to the UK for family reasons. However, I should manage to post a couple of times before then and I will be away for only 10 days. So, until my next post …..

Sawdust everywhere

I trust all my avid readers had a good Christmas. I planned on working through Christmas Day and meeting up with Stuart and Janet Doyle at the hot springs in Radium on Boxing Day but, none of my plans survived first contact. I spent 5 hours on Skype on Christmas Day with family and friends in various places around the world and Stuart sadly came down with 'man flu', which I didn't really relish and so we will have to try to meet up when they come south again next year. Hope you get well soon Stu.

I did manage a couple of hours work on the big day however and worked all day Boxing Day to make up for the lost time on Skype the day before. All told, it has been a good couple of weeks since my last posting and although it may not seem that much has been done quite a lot has been.

I finished the two small cupboards in the second bedroom …..

…. including making and fitting the doors.

I then set about decorating everything above the floor, staining all the wood and painting the drywall panels on the ceiling.

There was quite a lot to do and I finished with putting either log jam, silicon or beading/moulding on most but, not all, of the interfaces and corners.

I have got better at this as I have progressed and I was very pleased with the results in this room.

Before I could lay the floor boards in the bedroom, I had to panel and decorate the corridor leading down to the North Wing, past the main bathroom on the right (next task) and ….

…. the two closets opposite. (You can never have too many closets, I'm told). This is because the flooring in this section of the house covers the bedroom and corridor floor space and it all needs to be laid at the same time.

With the panelling and decorating in the corridor done, I was then able to make a start on the floor. I spent a morning sanding the sub flooring down. It was bad enough filling my lungs, eyes, ears and nose with sawdust but, it also managed to get just about everywhere else. It took me another half a day to clear up the mess. Happily, I was then able to start laying the floor boards and that is where I am now.

There is still much to do before this section is finished. I have to finish laying the floor boards, which then have to be sanded down and stained; doors for the closets and bathroom have to be made, stained and fitted; trim for all the doors, edges and windows has to be made, stained and installed and; finally, gaps will have to filled with log jam or silicon. I would like to think that all that will only take me another week but, with the New Year celebrations approaching, we'll see how much I can actually get done. All I will have to do then, before I can accept guests, is make a bed and I have been putting my mind to some design ideas. So with that happy thought I will sign off for another fortnight and take this opportunity to wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year.

Deep Freeze

I set myself two objectives this fortnight and, despite taking a couple of days off during the first week, I managed to achieve both of them. After posting my last blog page, I set about staining all the panelling and stairs in the stairwell and on the landing. However, even this relatively simple task seemed to exhaust me. I guess the weeks without a break were finally catching up with me and so I decided to take a couple of days off and just did a few simple things around the cabin and got in a bit of retail therapy in the form of a new pair of boots for the winter.

I replenished the wood supply under the covered deck which, as it proved, was timely as the temperature suddenly plummeted, reaching -27c one night. The wood burning stove managed to keep the place warm enough but, it proved to be a hungry dragon in meeting the demand and I had to get up twice during the nights to keep it stoked up. Even so, the hot air furness still kicked in just before dawn but, at least it proved that the systems are all working as they should. To be honest, I quite enjoyed the colder temperature. I tested out some of my cold weather clothing and even took a trip out on the quad to see what the wind chill was like. Needless to say, there was no exposed skin for that little exercise. All the clothing worked well and so I have no fears about cold temperatures.

Snow has come again and with it I can track the wildlife that visits the property, especially at night. Elk,  mule deer, cats of various sizes and a few tracks I haven't been able to identify. The builders on one of the other lots saw a cougar last week sitting under a tree just watching them. Cougars are like that, they will lie in wait for hours, even days, watching and waiting for an easy kill. Small dogs are probably the most vulnerable but, people old and young have been the subjects of recent attacks - not here though just in case you are concerned for my safety. 

Retail therapy also including buying some Christmas lights for the cabin, which I hung on the front and …. 

…. side of the cabin and they cheered me up considerably. There's no one else to see them at the moment, just me and the animals, so I hope they like them too.

Not sure what happened to this photo but, I quite like the effect so I have included it for you to enjoy as well.

There isn't really much to show you of the stairwell and stairs staining as most of it is clear coated but, for what it is worth this is what it looks like now.

I'll add some furniture on the landings at a later stage but, I have to make it first.

This is leading down into the basement and I probably won't put any furniture on this landing.

And so, to what I have been doing this week. I made a start on the second bedroom.

I set myself the objective of getting all the wall panelling done and I achieved this with a day to spare and so I made a start on the two small cupboards, similar to the ones is my bedroom. I got both of them built and on Monday I will make a start on their doors.

The panelling went well and I was particularly pleased with the result in this corner with the beam coming through the wall.

Sorry about all the scaffolding and other junk but, I am still working in here.

And that just about covers it for this fortnight as far as the work is concerned. I expect this room will take about another three weeks to finish completely and then I will have to decide what to do next. At some stage I want to make a log bed for this room but, I think that will have to wait until I can get some appropriate wood from the forest in the spring/summer.

I have just about finished my first winter stew that has been on the go for three weeks. To be honest, I'm sick of it now. Three weeks of the same thing is enough. It has served its purpose and saved me a lot of time preparing meals but, I need a change. So, it is back to different meals every evening of a while, until I'm ready to face another stew of sorts. The fire takes time to keep going as well both during the day and through the night and every few days I have to spend a couple of hours getting wood in from the wood pile. I stack some of the large pieces under the covered deck for easy accessibility and this I use mostly for slow burning fires to keep going through the night. During the day I use the smaller stuff, which burns faster and produces more heat and I keep a ready supply of that on the quad trailer in the garage.

I won't be posting again before Christmas so I will take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.