"Are you moved in yet?"

For the past 3 months, this is the typical first question I get every time I see someone at church, at the grocery store, or just around town.  Whether easy small talk or genuine interest, this is exactly what happens.  It's not unlike the 8 month pregnant woman who has endured 7 months of "how are you feeling" or "you're almost there."  At some point you just want to be able to say--"yes, we're moved in".  We are now VERY close, and have moved some of our furniture in to the new place, but alas we are not officially "living" there yet until I get the final inspection.

Even on a relatively modest project such as this, without running water or a central ventilation system, there are innumerable codes and rules that must be followed (a/k/a hoops to jump through).  Overall this has not been a big hurdle, but now as I prepare for the final inspection, I'm trying to make sure I have everything ready to go.  Deck railings have to be finished and there are very rigid rules on spacing between railing spindles, etc.  The interior stairs are now basically done, with the exception of a few more coats of sealer and probably a hand rail at some point.  There are also a few odds and ends trim pieces to put up.

The one exterior deck is now complete and, once I complete the spindles for the other side, I should be ready to have the inspector come out to give us the okay to move in, which basically means spending the night.  In our state, most of the dwelling regulations are driven by a space where a person sleeps.  If you spend only non-sleeping time in the space, you're generally exempt.  At times this has made me want to build a tipi for "sleeping" and a really awesome "garage" to "spend our days".  Instead, we've built a very modest house, and once time and money allows, I plan to construct a sizable "shop" in which to house my tools, our garden equipment, storage, place for canning and butchering, and a rec space to house a ping pong table and other things to entertain crowds, or just our family.  By doing it this way, the square footage normally dedicated to these things in a traditional house (and taxed accordingly) is now considered agricultural space, and therefore much better on the tax bill and, as indicated above, subject to more relaxed code requirements.

In the coming weeks, once I'm no longer spending every non-job minute working on the house, I hope to offer some reflections on this process and why we are doing what we are doing, to hopefully answer the almost as innumerable questions of "how are you going to fit that many kids in such a small house" or "how are you going to live without running water?"  I'll also try to put together a detailed cost list, so you can see what this project cost us.

Kids' bedroom

Dining Room

Living Room

Heavy Timber stairs with railings

Completed Deck

Finishing touches

The project is finally nearing the end--well, end inasmuch as we'll be able to move in soon.  It's not soon to end to the extent that we won't have running water at first, as I didn't have the money to install the septic and plumbing before winter.  There will still be much to do over the coming year but, wonderfully, it will be done by walking out my own back door.

For a variety of reasons, I decided to hire the builders to come back and do the trim.  Once again, this was a regret-free decision, as these guys do exceptional work.  I also purchased pine from them for trim, at a price a little cheaper than Menards, and made from the same species of wood as the logs.  Because the logs were out in the elements and in the sun for much of the year, they are more yellow/orange than they were when new, so the trim is a little lighter than the logs, but with time, they'll look the same.

After considering the various options about what type of sealer to use inside the cabin (and whether to use sealer), we went with a water-based Minwax Polychrylic.  It goes on very well and we've simply sealed all the wood with two coats.  I haven't stained anything--just sealed it.  Having the sealer will keep the wood (trim and logs) safer from stains and little dirty hands, will minimize the degree to which the logs turn orange with age, and should help keep them more stable.  Logs, like wood floors, change size over the course of the year, depending on the humidity.  In the summer, the air is generally more humid, so wood expands.  In the winter, as the air dries out, it shrinks a bit, which is why you may see joints in your hardwood floors in the winter that are absent in the summer.  It's also why doors on old houses may swing freely part of the year, and stick the other part of the year.

The logs have been sealed and most of the trim is up.  I'm waiting for the trim to get finished next week so I can sand the upstairs floors lightly and seal with the final coat.  Then it will be time to start moving furniture upstairs.  In particular, I need to get our queen sized box spring upstairs before the railing goes up; otherwise, it likely won't fit.

In one week we should be done with all the trim and the ceiling sealed with poly.  By next weekend, we should be enjoying the fire from the comfort of our own furniture.

Trim detail and car siding around chimney

Pine doors and trim

Sealing and drying trim