Finishing Up (for this year . . . kind of)

I went back up this weekend to finish up most of what I wanted to get done this year. The west gable needed sheathing, and that went pretty fast. I then put up Tyvek on that gable and on the dormer. That pretty much did it! Now I expect the cabin to be able to make it through the winter.

There were a lot of little things that still needed to get done. I got the deadbolt in and I moved some gravel along the patio to take care of settling/erosion issues. I also braced the patio roof. After that, I cleaned up all the mess I've left over the summer.

There's still a ton of work left, but it's at a point where I don't have to worry about it anymore. Hopefully we'll be able to enjoy it some this Fall!

Wrappin' It Up

We were down in Mankato for the first part of the weekend (which was a lot of fun, by the way), but I was able to head up to the cabin on Sunday and get a little more done on Monday. It's time to get the sheathing on the gables and wrap the house in Tyvek. Since I don't have scaffolding, it wasn't immediately obvious how to work up there under the rake, but Jim had a suggestion that worked out well. The ladders were set straight up and held in place with straps so they couldn't tip. Then, the ladder jacks were used on the inside of the ladders to hold up the aluminum plank. It worked great, and was easier to put up and adjust than scaffolding would have been. The sheathing went really fast, and the Tyvek wasn't too bad.

I had a little extra time to work on "fun" stuff. I walked down to the lake at sunset, and there were wood ducks everywhere. Cool. Also, a few weeks ago I put in a micro food plot. It may be too small to really bring in deer, but I wanted to get at least something started this year. Really, I just want to see if I could get something to grow and to learn what I could to be ready for a bigger effort next year. It looks like the seeds have sprouted well, and if I were a deer, I'd be eating there.

The final task was to put in the exterior door. Marie had painted it a few weeks ago, and it seemed about time to install it. It only took about an hour or two. It's really nice to be able to lock stuff in the cabin now. With the one gable sheathed, the Tyvek on, and the door in, the cabin feels noticeably less drafty compared to the start of the day. However, Luke doesn't seem to like the door. In - out - in -out -in - out - you get the idea.

Next weekend I hope to get the other gable sheathed and to take care of some of the remaining little details. It's getting really close to being ready for the winter!