HITTING OUR CEILING.
The insulation is officially done, which means that at one point this past weekend, I was standing (or balancing) on a piece of old, oak barn wood ten feet above our floor, precariously stapling insulation into our ceiling. As wild as that might sound, in reality, it went really well. In fact, it's given us the confidence that we should be able to hang our own drywall as well (or at least it's given us the delusion that we can do so), which we had been considering paying someone to do. Drywall should begin this week, in fact. And as soon as that's in, and the stove pipe is up, we can finally install ourselves!- Jesse.
CABIN PROGRESS.
We finished insulating all the walls of the cabin and made some crazy looking stairs for the front porch. We are hoping that when we return from the Green Living Fair this weekend, we can finish insulating the ceiling, install the woodstove, and then drywall!
A LITTLE MORE PROGRESS.
I got to make another trip back to the farm this Wednesday. Unfortunately, Hannah had to work, so once again she didn't get to come. It's a bummer––truly. It's not just that we're one of those obnoxious couples who suck at being apart––though we totally are––it's also that she hasn't been back to the farm since December and she misses it, the Smiths, the animals, the work. I am, however, excited for the next time she does get to go for her to see all the progress we've made. We've just about got a threshold for me to carry her through!––we just need to build some stairs to get to it...My goals for this trip were to cut some cedar logs to bring back and turn into shakes here in Nashville (check); finish the wiring (nearly check––ran out of wire again); put up some insulation (check––though still a lot left to do there). And although mulching a third of the high tunnel was not on the agenda, I ended up getting that done, too. It was bitterly cold working in the cabin, so when I would get a chill––which seemed embarrassingly often––I would go work in the high tunnel to warm up. It happened so much that I eventually accomplished an enormous task: mulching enough area for our early tomatoes. Starting early tomatoes, however, is a whole other issue. But more on that another time.
This week, our goal is to get a wood stove. We don't need a big one for our tiny cabin. Just something like the Smith's that we can cook buckwheat pancakes on, perhaps!- Jesse.
GETTING TO WORK.
As far as the cabin goes, the easy stuff is over. We have a frame, but now it needs insulation, siding, electrical work, a stove pipe, etc., etc., etc.. So this weekend, I made my trip to the hardware store, picked up a ton of supplies and got to work.The first step was installing the wiring for electricity, which I admit is a bit hilarious considering how far off we are from actually getting (solar) electricity. But, if you ever want electricity in your house, you gotta do it before you insulate. Eric and Cher from Bugtussle Farm––who were incredibly generous with their time and knowledge for me this weekend––said they had their sockets empty for TEN YEARS before they got electricity. When they were ready, though, they just plugged it in and turned it on (more or less). So we did a lot of electrical work and a lot of insulating. Nearly 4,000 staples later, we were finished with insulating the floor and almost two whole walls. All in all, if one can base success on soreness, it was a very successful weekend.- Jesse.
