Mike and Katie's Cabin: February 2006

Winter trip to the property

Well, we were off of school this week and it was a really nice day out, so I decided to take a ride down and check some things out. I also planned to start clearing a few of the smaller trees out of the way to help get the site prepared. I have included a few photos:

The first photo is looking out from the center of the cabin's location and the second picture is looking at the site where the cabin will be built.

I am hoping to get out there in early March to take a few of the larger trees down and get the excavator and mason to finalize their estimates.

Reply from the building inspector

Well, I got a reply from the building inspector already! He basically said that my plan looks great and there would seem to be no issues in obtaining a building permit. I may start to fill it out and then send it to him.

He did have a few questions or suggestions that I will address and then reply to him when I send out the application. There will be several times throughout construction when he will need to inspect the site, but that is ok with me!

We are on break now, so I will try and get out to the property next week and get a few things done. There are some trees that have to come down, so I will need to get started on that. Once March and April gets here landscaping begins and free time is a rare commodity.

I have included a couple of pictures of some other cabins that I would like ours to look like. We will not have a fireplace, but we are planning on dormers. I am also looking into the possibility of a metal roof, which I would really, really like!!

Letter to the building inspector

Today, I wrote a long letter to the building inspector of the town our property is located in. I had a lot of questions to ask him, so before I officially fill out the building permit application, I figured that I would drop him a line and ask him a few things. He is a nice guy to talk to so far. I have never dealt with an inspector before, so the last thing I want to do is get on his bad side.

The questions I had dealt with what he wants or needs as far as information aout the cabin. I am not building a real big place, so I didn't know if that would affect how to go about obtaining my permit. I explained in the letter how I was going to frame it and a few other details he would probably want to know about. I hope he will reply soon and let me know what I need to send him to obtain my permit. Hopefully next time you here from me, I will have heard from him and can get the permit process taken care of.

Our journey begins...

So here we are, in the middle of winter and I can't stop thinking about this cabin. My wife and I have ben planning this for years....ever since we bought this place in 1997!

We have decided on an 18 x 32 footprint (at least for today). This spring we will finalize our foundation plans and get things started. Our plan would be to have that portion of the cabin contracted out and then, with the help of some loyal family and friends, get as much done as we can over the summer. Our goal would be to have it weathered in by the end of the summer and then as time and money allows, finish the interior.

I have a fair amount of construction background. My family has always done things on their own, rarely hiring someone else to get the job done. Through these experiences, especially those with my father I have learned a great deal.

I have also worked over the past couple of summers with a couple of teachers on various construction projects. This has also taught me well.

The cabin itself will have a very open floor plan. We hope to have several small rooms upstairs for sleeping and lots of room downstairs for "entertaining". A covered proch will run the entire 32' along the northwestern side of the cabin, looking out to the front field of our property.

It seems like everyday I am doing something to help prepare for the construction process. I have already figured out a tentative floor plan. I have drawn out framing diagrams and and window locations. I know how I want to install the 4 x 10 rough cut beams across the ceiling and attach to them the 2 x 8 tongue and groove flooring. Stairways are built, sidng is attached, electrical lines are run....all in my mind. I just can't wait to begin!!