My Journey

[tgil]

I took a week to head to the mountains, and I'm all caught up again.

The way you do things and invite us into your Journey I almost feel I know you and though this thread have become friends, and in this world right now that is a rarity.

Same. I often find myself talking about Jerry and my first inclination is to say "a buddy of mine". It definitely feels more natural than when it actually comes out of my mouth as "this guy I follow on this internet site..."
Jerry, Lowe's and Home Depot are always favorite spots for Scout to visit! It's nice they welcome our family members that way! Dog friendly businesses always get first chance at getting my money. Progress is looking good! Oh, and that chain thing... I was puzzled about it, at first, when I noticed a house I stayed in (last week in Estes Park) had that set-up. If I ever put gutters on a house, I think I'd go that route too!

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

vintageracer.....after nearly 4 years of living in a truck camper, the cabin seems huge to me (seriously). I agree with your statement completely. Recently I picked up a few magazines which focus on beautiful western style homes.....and of course they're all massive and amazing homes and it's funny the way I admire them and almost wish that one was mine. Humans are funny animals.....the way we think that we need more when the reality is that we need less.....

Arjan.....thanks.....I'm trying to take it one day at a time.....everyday now is a challenge for me (drywall sucks too).....

tgil.....we've had storms (finally) the past two days and I've sat on the ledge (where the big sliding glass doors will soon be) and watched the storms pass from the west to the east.....& into the mountains.....and I watched the rains trickle down the steel chains and it was all so beautiful.....



July 13, 2021.....once the drywall on the ceiling was completed I decided to insulate the interior bedroom walls before adding anymore drywall.....



I reused all of the insulation that came with the cabin and previously had insulated the porch section of the cabin which I had demolished a few months ago.....



The dogs come and go.....mostly bored with the entire project.....



This small area will house the dryer & washing machine.....



July 14, 2021.....and then it was time to drywall the walls.....the bedroom was first.....



And then the "great room" & the kitchen area.....





Once again a friend offered to help with this task.....sure made a dreadful task just a bit less dreadful.....



All of the drywall is on the walls now and I've only got to install the cement board on the future shower walls left to do. There are plumbing pipe issues to correct (relocate) before I do that install so I began to apply the first coat of drywall mud instead.....it's starting to feel like a home in there these days.....

 

[jgaz]

Such a smart move to insulate the bedroom walls.

My wife and I spent years on different shifts. The reduction in sound transfer from other parts of the house is priceless! I know probably this won’t be the case for you but someone will thank you someday.

Nice work on the drywall!

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

jgaz.....one of my goals early on was to reuse as much of the original materials as I possibly could. My primary reason for that was to limit my contribution to the landfill and my secondary reason was to save money. In this case it hit me one day that I could use the old insulation in the interior walls and save myself a trip to the landfill. I have no idea how much soundproofing it will provide, but I'm guessing there must be some.....thanks on the drywall comment.....sanding begins today.....



July 19, 2021.....For the most part I only record what I would define as the major tasks here on XP but I'm constantly working here and there as I work my way through some of the more painful / boring aspects of a home build. The previous owners had reinstalled one of the barn doors and it worked so so, so I decided to reinstall the other one.....



I had to rebuild my stone wall (reduce the length of the stone wall), dig a small trench (so that the barn door could slide back & forth), reinforce the wood behind the metal facing & add one bolt to the top rail.....the task was fairly simple and it couldn't have taken me more than 3 hours to complete that task.....Trapper often hangs out with me and is slowly becoming that loyal dog that we all dream to have as she slowly (very, very slowly) becomes an adult dog.....



I think I came here late April.....I can hardly believe that I've sidestepped that damn barn door for so long.....but I sure did. Now I have plans to replace the brown / beige metal sheeting with wood.....hopefully before winter arrives.....



Every morning for this past week has been spent standing here at my "staining station".....today I begin coat number four.....there's a story to be told about the staining.....and it's not such a good story to be told.....



17 of the 20 Quaking Aspen trees that I planted are really doing well.....slowly I'm adding bulk cedar mulch to the garden beds.....maintaining moisture is the key to success in these high temperatures.....



And the wild grasses that I transplanted seem to have taken hold as well.....my clothes dry on the wire fencing.....I refuse to visit a laundromat so all my clothes are washed in a 3 gallon plastic bucket.....



And that's all I got this morning.....

 

[sburks737]

We havent seen or heard much of the Jeep recently. I remember you having some slight issues with it for a bit, hows all that going?

Like always, you have everything looking great!

 

[halseyt]

The project is looking good. I see that black and cedar scheme here in northern Alberta too. Very attractive.. I've worked on a couple projects like yours in the past and enjoyed them.

 

[Arjan]

Progress !
Keep things moving..
Love the barn.

I have a 30 x 7 mtrs. ABRI project sitting outside waiting to start...

 

[tgil]

All looks great! Your landscaping prowess is amazing! Chuckled at the comment about Trapper slowly becoming an adult dog. Scout turned 3 in Feb. Some days she is just the most "chill" dog, other days I wonder if she will ever grow out of things!

 

[Ace Brown]

I like the look of the barn. I could probably live in a building like that. A place to sleep and work on my toys under one roof. Nice job.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pkripper]

Really coming along nicely!!

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

sburks737.....the Jeep is running just fine now but I've rarely used it this summer. The summer of 2021 in Southwest Montana has just been so hot that I look for any reason that I can to get in the cab of the truck & crank up the a/c. I did have a new gas tank installed when we first arrived. The only time that I recall using it this summer was to tow a small tractor out of the barn.....& thank you.....

halseyt.....I'm nearly ready to install the cedar siding.....it's been a nightmare so far and I'm guessing it's also my biggest regret so far.....hopefully the cedar siding story ends well.....& thank you.....

Arjan.....thank you.....progress is slow but it's been a much bigger project than I ever did imagine. Hopefully today (3) carpenters arrive (they didn't show up yesterday) & today will be a huge day as windows & doors will be installed.....

tgil.....thank you.....Trapper is a trip.....I'm not sure if I love her or hate her. Landscaping I love and I have big plans for this property. Perennials are the flower of choice, Quaking Aspen is the tree of choice.....& attempting to keep it as natural as I can is the goal (stone walls not so natural.....but geez, I just love building those things).....

Alan.....thank you.....I too have a thought of living in that barn and renting out the cabin. I've got a bunch of different ideas for this place. The barn has both water & electricity so I even thought of installing a concrete floor and loading it up with bunk beds.....which would result in renting the whole place on Airbnb. I just yesterday read an article of someone nearby that rented their (3) bedroom house for the summer and they charged $350 per night and it sold out in (3) hours.....

Pkripper.....thank you.....



July 24, 2021.....So I ran into a bit of bad luck which was due to my complete inexperience.....I didn't install 2"x6" studs for the future shower enclosure to mount to and of course the plumber installed a PVC pipe exactly where one should have gone.....



To make a long story short I cut the pipe and added (2) 2"x4" studs as that's all that would fit.....it took a good while to figure this one out but I did it on my own (hard to believe).....



Once that was completed I installed 2"x6" blocks along the base of the shower pan. These will allow me (or hopefully someone that I hire) to attach the floor liner before the mud & tile go in.....



July 26, 2021.....Next up was completing the installation of the Hardibacker cement panels.....yep, I pretty much hated that task too.....





Then I used a special tape and a special mud for sealing the seams.....





.....one thing I've learned on this particular project is that "special" in construction actually means "expensive".....and there's lots of "special" things that you'll need as you wander through the world of construction.....





July 30, 2021.....And the last task was to paint the entire shower stall with a waterproof paint. Before I end this post I have to admit that I may have made a major screw up here.....some people say that I should have used a waterproof membrane on the shower walls.....other people say it's not required.....I'll hope for the best.....what more can I do.....

 

[BigDawwg]

Hey Jerry,,,,,, Looking Good, but in the future, it would be a Good-Idea to install Nailing or Screw Metal-Strips over your 2x-lumber, when ever you have piping passing thru..... it will save you now, and in the future if any re-model work is performed,,,,,, and Yea, ask me how I know this....... Take Care.....
BD and Murphy in Alaska.....

 

[longhorn1]

jgaz.....one of my goals early on was to reuse as much of the original materials as I possibly could. My primary reason for that was to limit my contribution to the landfill and my secondary reason was to save money. In this case it hit me one day that I could use the old insulation in the interior walls and save myself a trip to the landfill. I have no idea how much soundproofing it will provide, but I'm guessing there must be some.....thanks on the drywall comment.....sanding begins today.....



July 19, 2021.....For the most part I only record what I would define as the major tasks here on XP but I'm constantly working here and there as I work my way through some of the more painful / boring aspects of a home build. The previous owners had reinstalled one of the barn doors and it worked so so, so I decided to reinstall the other one.....

View attachment 673436

I had to rebuild my stone wall (reduce the length of the stone wall), dig a small trench (so that the barn door could slide back & forth), reinforce the wood behind the metal facing & add one bolt to the top rail.....the task was fairly simple and it couldn't have taken me more than 3 hours to complete that task.....Trapper often hangs out with me and is slowly becoming that loyal dog that we all dream to have as she slowly (very, very slowly) becomes an adult dog.....

View attachment 673437

I think I came here late April.....I can hardly believe that I've sidestepped that damn barn door for so long.....but I sure did. Now I have plans to replace the brown / beige metal sheeting with wood.....hopefully before winter arrives.....

View attachment 673438

Every morning for this past week has been spent standing here at my "staining station".....today I begin coat number four.....there's a story to be told about the staining.....and it's not such a good story to be told.....

View attachment 673439

17 of the 20 Quaking Aspen trees that I planted are really doing well.....slowly I'm adding bulk cedar mulch to the garden beds.....maintaining moisture is the key to success in these high temperatures.....

View attachment 673440

And the wild grasses that I transplanted seem to have taken hold as well.....my clothes dry on the wire fencing.....I refuse to visit a laundromat so all my clothes are washed in a 3 gallon plastic bucket.....

View attachment 673441

And that's all I got this morning.....

View attachment 673443

View attachment 673444

View attachment 673445

The barn has shaped up nicely. Love the stone wall.

 

[longhorn1]

Jerry, headed to Montana Tuesday. The first fire domino fell this afternoon. 6 days of my Finley Point (Flathead Lake State Park) were cancelled by the new Boulder Fire on the East side of the lake. Wind direction changed, moving in a westerly direction, and the fire exploded moving across the road and destroying up to 20 homes along the lake. Finley Point evacuated the campground. We are going Hell Creek SP over toward Fort Peck. Hoping the rain might fix things, but that is wishful thinking.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

BigDawwg.....yea, I pretty much missed that one but if you'll notice on the seventh picture in that post I've actually marked the pipes' location on the sheetrock. I take pictures of everything before closing in the walls. Sometimes I'll even put the tape measure in there so that I'll know distances between junctions, bends, or whatever. Today I noticed the electricians doing exactly what you suggested.....

JD.....I've got friends living in that area and I messaged them a few days ago.....no response so it's got me wondering. It's currently raining here.....what a welcome sight it is. We've had smoke in the air for the last month.....as you say, hopefully things will change now.....



July 31, 2021.....Saturday was a big day here in southwest Montana.....it was almost lunch time when I looked down my driveway and saw the truck coming our way.....thankfully it was the 3 highly skilled carpenters that I'd hired to install my windows & doors. One thing I won't do on my own is to attempt to install a $3,000 4 panel window (as a matter of fact Anderson voids the warranty if the homeowner does the installation).....



Then 2 more windows.....one at 48" x 48" on the south side of the cabin.....



And a 36" x 36" window on the north side.....they also installed a new entry door as I had removed the original entry door earlier in the day.....



Next up was the installation of the interior doors.....





The carpenters told me that they'd charge me double if I attempted to help with the install.....so we spent our day hanging out & watching it all come together.....



We did get a load of laundry done.....it's funny these days as we're now living as close to a normal lifestyle as we have for nearly 4 years.....



We got some work done in the barn.....



Trapper literally follows me everywhere these days.....



Tanner.....not so much anymore.....sometimes I (we) feel the repetition of life here.....