Back Deck

The back deck has been framed for a year while I decide what surface I want to put on it.  The easiest would be 2 x 6 redwood planks.  High maintenance and no protection from moisture for the foundation.  Another option was Trex.  Low maintenance, but also no moisture protection.  I finally decided on soild plywood surface with elastomeric coating.  Looks great.

 

Miscellaneous

Funny story.  My relationship with my mountain neighbors has been a little uneven.  Not because of any real conflict, but because they did not believe a lawyer from Las Vegas could build a cabin from raw logs.  Some took bets over how long it would take for my cabin to fall over.  Most bet against me. One neighbor even screwed to my back log wall a sign that said "Rodent Rec Center."  Well, a few weeks ago, I opened my back door and found this taped to the outside. It brought back all of the old irritations at my neighbors for casting ignorant judgment of my project.  It bugged me all morning. Finally, I decided to confront the neighbor I thought was most likely to have taped the sign to my door.  I walked over and knocked on his door for a few minutes.  No answer.  As I walked back to my lot, I looked again at the photo I had taken and realized the writing looked very much like a child's.  When I got back inside the cabin, sure enough, I found a role of the same blue tape and a black sharpie near the door.  Lauryn.  Lol1

  
And, this is a really big bug.

Walls

Now that my rough utilities are approved, it's time to close up walls so finish utility work can begin.  Drywall on the upper half, tongue and groove on the lower half.

Railing

My wife won't let our kids stay upstairs until railing is in.  Since 5 is a bit of a crowd in the small master bedroom downstairs, I guess I better get some railing up. 

 

 

Work Continues

Now that I have passed my 4-Way inspection (framing, plumbing, electrical, gas), I am free to close up walls, set up the kitchen, hook up utilities, and move towards a cabin that that actually works the way it is supposed to.

Utilities Are In! - Power Edition

Utilities Are In! - Plumbing Edition

The Importance of Good Lighting

Lighting is an underrated and often ignored element of design, at least for amateur designers.  Good lighting schemes set off unique elements of a living space and improve the overall feel of a living area.   I've tried to add some unique lighting elements that will highlight the best aspects of the cabin.  Here are some of the things I've tried to do.

The open log rafters are, perhaps, the best visual element of this rustic log cabin. To highlight that element, I will place a light in each framed space between the log rafters where they rest on the log wall. The lights will point up into the space between the log rafters to illuminate both the rafters and the TnG wood ceiling.  This area is the open vault ceiling in the main downstairs living space, so it will be very visible.

The two upstairs bedrooms surround the open upstairs sitting area.  Rather than run the walls separating the sitting area and bedrooms all the way to the ceiling, I cut them short and framed horizontally back into the rafters and TnG ceiling, to create a small shelf.  I had the electrician wire an outlet on the wall up high so I can run a rope light along this small shelf and create an indirect lighting effect that should provide a subtle glow to this upstairs area. The outlet is connected to a switch, so I will be able to turn the rope light on and off from the second floor level.

The electrician also wired an outlet up high on the wall near the ridge log.  I plan to run another rope light along the top of the entire length of the ridge log.  This will allow me to indirectly light up the upper reaches of the cabin.  This is also connected to a switch for convenience.

The Upstairs Challenge

Arranging the upstairs has been, to say the least, a challenge.  I reduced my wall heights from 12 logs to 8, for various reasons.  One reason was the sheer size of what the cabin would be, had I gone to a full 12 log wall.  Ten logs high would have been ideal, but I digress.  The reduced wall height has affected my upstairs configuration.  So, using some resourcefulness, I've tried to make lemonade out of lemons.  Here are some examples.