I will be taking a break from work on Skookum to spend some time kayaking and backpacking. Below is an update of the progress and getting the place buttoned up for my break.
Meg helped me put up another 10 ft of wainscoting and I do like the way it looks! The left photo shows the insulation underneath and the right photo shows the finished product.
I sawed off all the logs that were sticking out too far. The picture above shows my platform on the tractor. I had to stand on the tractor side of the platform because when I moved towards the front the rear wheels came up — a bit precarious. It was slow and tedious, I pretty much ruined a chain when I hit a SIP screw, but in the end it’s done and I did almost no damage to the SIP panels.
I got a second-hand plate of glass for the kitchen window, so we had to make our own frame (left). To drop the glass into the frame, we laid the frame across the tool chest and cooler, then laid the plate of glass crosswise on the frame. Tim and I then crawled under the frame and lifted the plate of glass up, rotated it, and lowered it into the frame. It took some tries because there wasn’t much extra space. We then used glazing putty and silicone caulk to seal the edges before screwing in a wood edge to hold the glass in place. Afterwards, we slid the whole assembly into the openings (right photo). The window immediately started catching flies.
All the windows are now installed (except a small one I will eventually put in the bathroom). The left photo shows the two large windows in the north-east corner, and the right photo shows the window in the back of the cabin.
The left photo shows a section of the framed and sheeted gable from the inside. The right photo shows some of the same gable after applying some spray-on foam insulation. I was running low on foam — it goes fast! — so I need to add some more. Hopefully this provides a tight seal and I’ll put bat insulation over the foam. I made a big mess with big globs of the foam dripping off, but most of it ended up on the wall.
I spent half a day grinding and then sanding the ridge pole and purlins. It’s a nasty, ugly job but I got most of it done and the beams looks quite nice. Ultimately they will be coated with a polyurethane that will give them a light honey color.
Since I will not be up to work on the cabin for a while, I installed a door latch and lock on the front door, enabling me to lock the place up while I go goof around for 2 or 3 weeks!