The roof

We have had some guys finishing up the roof. It looks great.

I am glad Tylor and Ammon aren't up there.

Finishing up...for now

This is how the cabin looked when we left it last.

All tired out


Our Mountain Man

A view from the inside

A view from the outside

setting the support beams

Tylor and Ammon taking a break. I posted this so you could see our luxury living conditions. This little trailer is perfect. It has everything we need. It was taken great care of so the inside is actually quite nice. It even has a bunk bed for Cameron.

up up and away

This is the inside of the foundation. The big hole on the right is where the water tank will go. The posts in the middle hold the support beams for the inside.

Some guys from our ward came up to help Dave for a whole Saturday. They were able to get a whole lot done. Thanks to Roger, John and Don.

Erik, my little brother and his family came down for three days to help. Erik was a huge help plus it was fun to have Shanelle and the kids there for a while.

This is how it is all shaping up. I think it is looking great.

Our nephews Tylor and Ammon came up to help for a whole week. What a relief it was to have them there. Ammon was the hammer guy and Tylor (who happens to be afraid of heights) would hand him the rebar. It was very helpful to have Tylor hand Ammon rebar. Otherwise They would have had to climb up and down every time.

Helpers

What would we do without all of our little helpers?

Clara helps lay the moisture barrier

Lauryn clears a path for the forklift.

Cameron's job was to help Dad drive the forklift.

We are so grateful for our little helpers. I honestly don't know what we would do without them. I guess without them we wouldn't be building a cabin in the first place.

laying the first logs

Dave rented this amazing "forklift". Forklift does not do this thing justice. It was a lifesaver. Dave would go get the logs off the neighbors lot (we have permission) and then bring them down to the cabin site.

Grandad would help guide the logs through the trees. It was a little akward at first but pretty soon they had a slick system. Thanks for coming to help Mom, Dad, Steve and Carolynn.

It is a good thing that Dave is so strong. He could lift these logs like they were lincoln logs. (OK with some help from the forklift). This is the first log ready to be set. Dave had to pre drill holes in the logs and then we had to set those holes on the rebar. This was a very daunting task. It was frustrating and took a lot longer than we thought it would. But...that is the way it goes.

The first log is set. HOORAY!!!

Before too long the whole first row was set. That is one of the hardest parts. Laying the following layers is much simpler.

The work begins.

All good things are built upon a firm foundation so we had someone come and prepare
it for us.
Next you have to have a HUGE semi bring in some logs. I am so glad I didn't have to follow this guy up the mountain.

Then you get some log strippers (I thought that would be an appropriate name for a bunch of guys from Vegas) to come help you shave the bark off of the logs. This is no task for the weak so we owe a huge thanks (and more) to Roger, Dave and John.

Land Purchase

Ever since Dave was about 19 years old, he has wanted to build a cabin. He has been planning it for a very long time. So...about three years ago we started looking for land. Last fall we finally found the perfect place in Southern Utah. We bought a 1/2 acre to build on first and a full acre to build our perfected model on. Dave is very ambitious and I am amazed at his determination. He flew to Washington to take a class and get "certified" as a log home builder. Way to go Dave. We are taking this process slow to save on our mental state and on our wallet but we will update this blog as we go.