Day after day alone on a hill

With the exception of Thursday, I have been the only one on the site this week and I have felt a bit like Paul McCartney's fool on a hill, silently watching the world go round from my cocooned home in the wilderness. Half the team were away this week for the funeral of Kevin's step daughter, the weather on Monday and Tuesday was atrocious and we were without sealant until Wednesday evening. Nevertheless there were things that I was able to do by myself and on Thursday Mark, Dexter and I finished off laying the logs for the main level in the cabin and we cleared the decks ready for putting up the posts and beams for the top floor next week.

Snow came and went twice but you wouldn't have thought it would have had the time to do so twice but the temperature changed so quickly. The dirt road on the hill out of Wardner has been the only really tricky stretch to contend with and I have been thankful for the Jeep's four wheel drive and excellent heater. For a single skinned vehicle it is remarkably warm.  I now have my full arctic survival pack in the back of it along with enough rations for a week.  I think I've now worn some of my army kit more here than I did when I was serving - crazy. My cold weather flying jacket in particular has been fantastic being perfect for working in these temperatures and my arctic hat, which I wouldn't be seen dead in twenty years ago, never leaves my head.

Kevin, Kyle and Matt should be back Wednesday or Thursday but we won't necessarily have to wait for them before we start the next stage. There are tongue and groove floor boards for the top floor to make and if the weather permits early during the week we may make a start on the beam work under Owen's direction. We will need to get the next floor level on the main cabin and the garage before we can take the logs any further on the gable ends or the dormers. In case you were wondering, we have used just over half the logs and there are about 160 left for the remainder of the log work. I am hoping that there will be a few left over as I have a couple of ideas that could usefully employ any.

This is how it looks now from the road (track).....

... and from the back of the cabin (lake side).

Inside, things are looking a bit cleaner.  Here I'm standing where I will probably put a dining table looking over to the living area in the centre, the galley on the left and study on the right, not quite all in the picture.

From the living area looking towards the garage. There will eventually be two walls between here and the garage, both on the other side of those beams you can see on the floor. The outer wall is the barrier between house and garage (planning requirement) and the space between the walls will house a walk-in pantry, laundry, utility/mud room and downstairs loo, which will have the window you can just see on the left behind the tarp. 

From the galley looking towards the front door (behind the tarp), the dining area (when not eating at the breakfast bar in the galley) and the study/home office area on the left of the picture, again not quite seen.

Centre of the cabin looking directly out through the great room/living area.

The front of the cabin. You can just make out the covers hiding the deck foundations and you have a better view of the loo window and side door into the garage.

I have been busy in the evenings going over my thoughts for the kitchen. I can only really visualise the main floor at the moment because I am not sure of all the detail of how the roof lines are going to affect the rooms on the top floor. I shall have to wait until the beams and rafters are in therefore before I can really start planning the bedrooms and bathrooms. I am probably going to have an island in the galley with enough space for the hob and seating for five/six people. This will be the main everyday eating area and the dining table will only be used for special occasions, the rest of the time it will be an extension to the study.

The cold weather has frozen the lake a couple of times and I have seen coyotes on the ice hunting for duck and geese. Tracks in the snow have been revealing and besides the usual deer and elk I have been visited by a medium size feline predator as well as the feral cat. A redheaded woodpecker has also been a frequent visitor despite the fact that I stupidly cut down their favourite dead tree. A pair of bald eagles, with their one offspring for this year, have been around occasionally although their normal hunting area is about 20km south of here.

I also need to get out and zero my new rifle and to check the sighting on my .22. I think there is an area near the cabin that people use. Owen will know. Might be a good job for this weekend.

With a little help from my friends

It has been a mixed week.  Progress on the cabin was steady for the first three days but then we had our first real taste of winter. Temperatures plummeted to -10c to -20c and we had our first proper dump of snow. Better than slush and rain granted, but nevertheless it had a big impact. The freezing temperatures have stopped us using the sealant and combined with the snow it has slowed every process and task down. Even clearing the snow off the main floor takes a good half an hour and sometimes it has to be done two or three times a day. It has also increased the risk of injury and I almost became a casualty when a crowbar fell off the scaffolding and hit me.  Luckily it hit me on the head or it could have done serious damage!  But seriously, I was lucky, my hat softened the blow (a bit) but I had a headache for two days and the bump on my head has still not completely gone.

The forecast for the coming week is for more snow but, temperatures are due to rise and so I am hopeful that we will be able to resume using the sealant. If this becomes impossible we will have the choice of switching to using a gasket to seal the logs. I would prefer not to have to do this but the only other alternative is to suspend log laying until the temperatures rise and that could be weeks if not months and I don't want to do that.

I have put the snow plough on the quad and tested it out although, with only six inches of snow, it wasn't really necessary. However, I anticipate that it is going to become quite important over the coming weeks and I am glad that I bought the quad and plough when I did. My clothing is holding out quite well and I am suspending buying any expensive winter construction clothing for as long as possible. The exception has been that I have invested in a pair of proper winter construction boots. Keeping fingers and toes warm is critical to being able to work in these temperatures and I am hopeful that these boots will do the job. I already have good gloves but they don't last with the heavy work and have to be replaced about once every 4 - 6 weeks even with due care and diligence.

The quad complete with snow plough. The blade is raised and lowered using the winch and it can be manually turned and fixed to face to the right or left if required. Its old and slow but a good workhorse that I am beginning to really appreciate. I took it for a ride this afternoon (Sunday) to visit friends and it performed really well on the track up to the ridge above me which has now been closed to normal traffic due to the snow.

Snow clearing is a priority to preserve the integrity of the sub-floor; to reduce the risk of injury, and; to prevent the loss of tools and construction items such as screws, nails, etc. 

Anticipating that falling temperatures would freeze the ground and make it difficult to dig by the end of the week, on Monday we decided to dig the foundation holes for the decking that will surround the house.

We placed the foundation bases and tubing, down which the concrete will be poured.  More of this later when we pour the concrete.

We even managed to back-fill and cap off the tubes. Here you can see the foundations for the deck for the room above the garage.

If the weather had held, we would have finished the ground floor level of logs. As it was, we fell short by a couple of layers around about 3/4 of the perimeter.

Even so, we made good progress and virtually all the logs are now cut, ready to lay, to finish this level.

For those that are interested in the detail, I thought I would show the process for preparing the logs to be cut.

The tools required are generally these. For the uninitiated the second from the left is a draw knife. Like most tools one starts off using far too much brute force and energy but one quickly learns to let the blade do the work. It doesn't take long to become quite skilled in its use and consequently a big fan of it as a tool for lots of jobs one used to do with other tools.

The first task is to brush off and clean the log of all the dirt, chips, scrapings and ice. This applies to all four surfaces.

I then generally remove the strip of wood on the edge left over from the machining.  I leave a slight bevel on the edge to encourage any rain to run off rather than into the joint.

Then any remaining bark that some of the logs still have must be removed. The bark harbours disease and parasites and must be removed to prevent rotting etc.

The last task is normally to remove a lip from the underside of the log that prevents it from lying flat on the log below when it is placed on the wall. Failure to do this will cause the wall to lean. The lip is generally only 1- 2mm high but, multiply that over 18 layers and you can see the problem - a bowed wall.

Some will be interested to see that I also took possession of my 'sporterised' .303 this week. It is light, well balanced and the action is surprisingly smooth and quick. You may also be interested to know that the world record for a bolt action rifle was set in 1914 by a musketry instructor in the British Army—Sergeant Instructor Snoxall—who, using a .303 placed 38 rounds into a 12-inch-wide target at 300 yards in one minute. I am not surprised that his record has lasted this long.

Happiness is a warm gun

Some have inquired after John the homeless man. Finding him work with my builders hasn't worked out, not yet at any rate. Unfortunately, he doesn't have any building skills and that is what is needed at the moment. I, along with 2 or 3 others, keep a close eye on him and make sure he has what he needs to survive. I have discussed with him living in my trailer over the winter but he has declined the offer partly because it is 8 km from the Highway where he is at the moment. He has chosen his campsite well because it affords him easy passage into Cranbrook each day, where he has to go in search of work, charity and essentials (toilet, warmth, food, water, company etc). There is also the option for him to go into the mens' shelter accommodation in Cranbrook but he has declined that option as well. He is determined to prove to himself that he can survive the winter in his camp, with a little help from his friends. I saw him yesterday, helped him with his laundry, bought him some food and water and brought him back to his camp. I will continue to watch over him.

Now, as they say, we come to the tragic bit. The step-daughter of my master-builder and friend, Kevin, was killed last Friday, in a car crash in Utah in the USA. She was 18 years old. This brings to ten the number of teenagers belonging to the small communities with which I am associated, who have been killed in car accidents since my arrival here. This incident over-shadowed the fact that Kyle, Kevin's son, wrote off his truck last weekend but thankfully he and Matt were both miraculously uninjured. I can't help but think there is something wrong here. Our thoughts, prayers and hearts go out to Kevin and his family. But nothing can really soften the pain and sorrow that this bereavement brings and that will remain with them forever.


I have found few words that express better the sentiment of what we all want to say than those chosen by Edward III when he wrote to the King of Spain to inform him of the death of his daughter, the Princess Joan of England, who died of the plague in 1348 on route to Spain to marry the heir to the Spanish thrown. 

"No fellow human being could be surprised if we were inwardly desolated by the sting of this bitter grief, for we are humans too. But we, who have placed our trust in God and our Life between his hands, where he has held it closely through many great dangers, we give thanks to him that one of our own family, free of all stain, whom we have loved with our life, has been sent ahead to Heaven to reign among the choirs of virgins, where she can gladly intercede for our offenses before God Himself."

So, there is little new, it seems, when it comes to the human condition. As a generation we have been luckier than many that have gone before us, but that doesn't soften the blow of personal grief, loss and bereavement that, sooner or later, comes to us all.

Boy, you gotta carry that weight - carry that weight a long time

It has been a good week but hard work and the logs have been heavy. The team have really pulled out all the stops to move things along. Matthew has been off for a couple of days but we have been joined by Dexter who has building experience in Northern BC. He has returned to his routes to be closer to his wife who is expecting a baby. 

All in all it has been a successful week although we weren't able to work on Friday because we ran out of sealant. Actually, we would only have managed a half day anyway because at lunchtime it started to rain and that would have stopped us using the sealant.

Each morning Kevin has divided us up into teams. Depending on numbers, it is normally a cutting team (Kevin plus one if available) and two laying teams of two people each.  Between cuts Kevin has inspected our work and made us redo anything that doesn't come up to his high standards.  Twists in the logs sometimes make it difficult to keep the walls vertical and braces and the occasional use of the sledge hammer has been required to keep things straight.  Dexter's 210 lbs have come in handy more than once.

We started the week with putting a metal flashing on the edge of the sub-floor to protect the floor boarding from the elements once the logs are laid.

By the end of the first day we had laid three layers around the sides that will have conventional windows and put the frames in.

Tuesday the sun decided to come out and I took this photo of the basement while discussing options for its development with Owen. I shall probably not do anything with the basement until I have lived in the cabin for a while and have a better feel for what is needed down there.

By close of play Tuesday we had raised some of the walls 11 rows high.   A dining area and study will be on this side of the house...... 

... and the kitchen will be on the other side with a back door leading out on to a covered deck and steps down to the yard.

Braces were put on the window frames and walls to keep them vertical, with Kevin keeping a beady eye out for quality assurance/control.

Wednesday we topped off the windows leaving an inch gap above the window frames for log shrinkage.  New logs would require a 3" gap because they shrink more as the moisture in them drys out.

By Wednesday evening the structure was starting to take shape and look like a cabin (dacha) rather than the Tzar's Winter Palace, as some have been imagining.

Thursday we got to work on linking the garage to the main cabin, front (all my work) and ........

  .... rear, which was easier said than done but we got there in the end.

One can start to gain an impression of what it will eventually look like from the road.

For those that are interested in the detail, this photograph shows a plan view of one of the joints between he garage and the main cabin.  The logs are not over-lapped here because there would be deep gaps on the inside of the joint due to the shape of the rounded side of the D shaped log.  Instead they are tied together with one of the 12" screws, from the top, diagonally into the opposing log and from different sides alternately every row.  Here you can see the screw coming in from the right in the centre groove where the sealant goes. The gap between the logs will be filled with caulking.

And this photograph shows just how deep the screws go into the row below to pull them together effectively.  The screws have lasted well and to date only one has broken due to over-torquing.

The work has been hard and we have had a second casualty, Ron, who has had to pull out due to back problems.  We are all pretty exhausted by the end of the day and generally I find myself in bed by about 2130 hours at the latest ready to be up for 0630 hours the next morning.  My main concern now is the weather.  We have had more rain and slushy snow this weekend and the forecast for next week is not good. I am hoping that the met forecasters' accuracy rates stay at normal levels and actually next week will be bright and sunny - fat chance.

There is a lot of interest locally in what I am doing here.  D shaped milled logs are not common, in fact log houses generally are less common that you might imagine.  Even the planning department seemed unsure of a lot things when we went through the building permit application process.  On this development there are only two log homes, mine and one other also owned by a Brit. I quite often get visitors who just drop in to see what I am doing and my neighbours frequently come along to check on progress and offer words of encouragement.

Till next weekend.

Here comes the sun and I say it's alright

After cold nights the sun brings much appreciated warmth and with it the hopes and expectations of great things and this week I was not disappointed.

Monday, we moved logs, made right angle supports,  benches and jigs for sawing the logs .....

 ... and window and door frames.

Tuesday we put mud sills on the garage and ....

...  Matt and I layed the first log. The first layer was glued and nailed into the mud sill (main house first layer will be glued and screwed with the 12" screws into the rim joists).

Work was interupted by the arrival of the last logs from Burn's Lake in Northern BC, ...

... by the end of the day we had layed the first two layers in most of the garage. The second layer (and subsequent layers) was glued, with a special water and air proof sealant to the layer below. It was then screwed down onto the layer below to ensure as close a fit as possible and maximum strength.

We have to tie the garage logs into the main house logs and therefore before we can start on the latter we must bring the garage logs up to the same level.

Wednesday we really started to get going but at the cost of a squashed finger for Matt, who bravely soldiered on but left on Friday for some TLC at home in Cardston.  Hopefully he will be back on Monday ready to work with the other nine digits. Seriously though, some of  these logs are very heavy and fingers and toes in this cold weather are very vulnerable. What happened to Matt could easily happen to any of us.

By close of play Thursday one could even deduce that we were building a garage.

Door frames for the house (on the left) were also put in.

On Friday it wet snowed all morning and that meant we couldn't lay logs because all surfaces have to be clean and dry for the sealant. So, Mark, Ron and I spent the day cutting logs for Monday when (weather permitting) we shall resume laying - starting on the main floor level.

Saturday has been an admin day, getting my laundry done, doing the weekly shop and exchanging summer clothing for winter clothing at the lockup. My firearms licence has finally arrived and so I also took my rifle and shotgun into to be verified at the gun shop in Cranbrook so I can register them. Next step is to buy the .303 from Bart, next time he is down from Calgary.

Tomorrow, Sunday, I shall spend cleaning up the work place and doing some yard work - should be easier and more fun now I have the quad. A lot more animals, especially deer are in and around the property now that the cold weather is forcing them down from the mountains. I have had herds of elk as well as different types of smaller deer and there are still quite a number of geese on the lake. The elk are wary of humans as they are hunted for their meat and so disappear as soon as they see you. The smaller deer in contrast are very tame and are not bothered by the noise generated by the building process. It is quite common to look up from what you are doing and see several within a few feet.

The view from what will be my study window is breathtaking enough, but .....

... sometimes I see something that reminds just why I chose to come here and there just aren't the words to describe it, or are there? For me the words of Omar Khayyam as translated by Edward FitzGerald come pretty close.


Awake! for Morning in the Bowl of Night
Has flung the Stone that puts the Stars to Flight:
And Lo! the Hunter of the East has caught
The Sultán's Turret in a Noose of Light.