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Small Cabin Forum / Member's Projects and Photos / Our Hand Hewn "Cabin"....in the making
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silverwaterlady
Member
# Posted: 3 Sep 2013 06:19
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I second that. Bet it makes life a little easier!

Smawgunner
Member
# Posted: 8 Sep 2013 18:35
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Spent the weekend at the cabin chipping away the work. Didn't get as far as I'd like but did get some clean up done and the back prepped to be sided. Got a few sheets of felt paper on,..then the cedar siding goes on. Built a nice bench seat from the left over wood from the old addition. The seat is a nice hand hewn oak log that use to be a floor joist
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trollbridge
Member
# Posted: 9 Sep 2013 10:49
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This is really a labor of love but will be so worth it in the end!

Smawgunner
Member
# Posted: 15 Sep 2013 20:01
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Slow progress. Framed the back door and got some roofing paper on. Did get LOTs of burning and cleaning up done. Found an old buggy step buried near the house. Walked the property line to try to find the boundaries and found another marker stone. These were used WAY back then (this one probably around 1800) to mark corners and intersects. Getting chilly out. There may be only a few more times that I can spend the night in the back of the truck without freezing to death. Was 43 degrees this weekend. Paw Paw are ripe and delicious!!!! That fruit is simply amazing stuff.
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Bevis
Member
# Posted: 16 Sep 2013 01:21
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good a productive time. Like this remodel.

creeky
Member
# Posted: 16 Sep 2013 09:29
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looks great.

Smawgunner
Member
# Posted: 22 Sep 2013 20:25
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Picture perfect weather. Cut in one of the windows. Ate more Paw Paw, worked on the cabin, marked some property boundaries and my wife and I just enjoyed ourselves. According to MyTracks, we hiked 3.9 miles.
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Smawgunner
Member
# Posted: 29 Sep 2013 18:58
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Weekend at the cabin was amazing as usual. Weather was picture perfect. Got both windows in with help from friends. I still find it so hard to imagine 10 kids and 2 adults growing up in this place in the late 1800s. Marked about 30% of the property boundaries and in the process discovered a 25 foot cliff face and 6 ft waterfall! Had no idea it was there.

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Smawgunner
Member
# Posted: 6 Oct 2013 09:37
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For 8 hours of nonstop work...doesn't look like much. Part of the reason is NONE of these stupid siding planks were squared and all of them had to have the ends cut. What a great day though...each time I'm down there I'm just amazed. I'd rather spend time there than on a beach with a drink in my hand...although the beach is a close second.

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KSalzwedel
Member
# Posted: 6 Oct 2013 11:53
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Looks nice. Is it cedar?

Smawgunner
Member
# Posted: 6 Oct 2013 12:04
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It is cedar. Never worked with it before. I'm guessing it'll grey out with the weather? And then I may whitewash it to match the rest of the house....thats my hope anyway.

redbeard
Member
# Posted: 7 Oct 2013 22:53
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Dang...good job! Lookin good.

Smawgunner
Member
# Posted: 20 Oct 2013 21:10 - Edited by: Smawgunner
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FINALLY! got the back all buttoned up. The weather was unbelievable ...a cool 60 degrees and sunny! Tons of woodpeckers about this morning. Lots of deer too. Got a picture of the front today with the leaves turned. Next project is to shore up the foundation. Stay tuned!

Before pic
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After
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davey25
Member
# Posted: 20 Oct 2013 22:51
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Looks great..time for a big bonfire to clean up all that old wood

Bevis
Member
# Posted: 21 Oct 2013 18:21
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Place looks good up there in the golden yellow leaves... I'd let you have the beach over the country/hills...

hattie
Member
# Posted: 21 Oct 2013 21:55
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Beautiful!!! You are doing a GREAT job!!!

Rossman
Member
# Posted: 22 Oct 2013 21:37
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Loving this thread!! Amazing transformation so far!

silverwaterlady
Member
# Posted: 23 Oct 2013 06:29
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Wow! What an amazing difference. Thank You so much for taking the time to keep us updated on your progress.

Smawgunner
Member
# Posted: 27 Oct 2013 15:35 - Edited by: Smawgunner
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Spent Saturday replacing the rotted clapboard on the front of the cabin. Got that all taken care of and it looks great (forgot to take pictures)! Started to do the same on the side and ran into at least two Big Brown Bats behind the plywood so I stopped. If I disturb them they'll die at this point. I relocated one (to a dark corner of the cabin) that we uncovered in the front and he was moving mighty slow...not sure if he'll make it or not.

Smawgunner
Member
# Posted: 3 Nov 2013 19:03 - Edited by: Smawgunner
Reply 


Got lots done over the past two weekends. This weekend I bought a camping trailer so I can stay the night while working on the cabin. Also a place that my wife will feel comfortable sleeping! That took half the weekend. Then worked on making a front door. We're keeping the outside looking run down and the inside is going to be cabin rustic, so I took the original doors and added screwed old wood to the inside. Got most of the foundation done and I'll be mortaring all of that when/if it warms up. Found two HUGE rock slabs that I think were used for landings or steps to the porches. One probably weighed over 200 lbs. We moved both of those to the rear of the cabin and used them as steps. Still need to shim and shore those up a bit.
Found a 1944 Centavos coin, an ice skate blade and a cool small medicine bottle while digging around.
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Kudzu
Member
# Posted: 3 Nov 2013 19:40
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Looks great

gersus
Member
# Posted: 3 Nov 2013 20:13
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Wow! Awesome property and an awesome old log house! Nice work!

hattie
Member
# Posted: 4 Nov 2013 12:28
Reply 


It just gets better and better!!

bldginsp
Member
# Posted: 4 Nov 2013 14:57
Reply 


How about the rodent/bat dung issue on the inside old logs- how did you deal with that, and how did it work out?

Smawgunner
Member
# Posted: 4 Nov 2013 18:27
Reply 


Quoting: bldginsp
How about the rodent/bat dung issue on the inside old logs- how did you deal with that, and how did it work out?


Haven't figured that one out yet LOL. We've been working on the outside first..gotta seal it up and then work on the inside.
I'm going to use a shop vac first and a long pool cleaning hose to exhaust it out the window. I'll vacuum between the logs to start with. The face of the logs are what I'm most concerned about. I need to clean them with something although they were boarded up for most if not all of the life of the cabin so they didn't get much droppings on them. It's the top of the logs where the mice, squirrels and bats could live and run around that got the brunt of it. But that will be all sealed up with chinking when I'm done.

bldginsp
Member
# Posted: 4 Nov 2013 18:57
Reply 


You might consider shellacing it before you close it up. Shellac is one of the best sealers ever used. It's used on pine to prevent pitch weeping thru

Smawgunner
Member
# Posted: 4 Nov 2013 19:04
Reply 


Quoting: bldginsp
You might consider shellacing it before you close it up. Shellac is one of the best sealers ever used. It's used on pine to prevent pitch weeping thru


On top of the logs or on the sides...or both? I'd like to leave the sides dry and in original condition...but clean. Shellac leaves a shine right? Thanks for the tip. Is Shellac cheap?

creeky
Member
# Posted: 5 Nov 2013 09:07 - Edited by: creeky
Reply 


a trick a buddy of mine showed me for cleaning my woodworking shop when things get outta hand. get the leaf blower out.

before you get too buttoned down just get in there (with a mask on of course) and blow the whole place out. you'll be surprised how effective it is. plus you can get into nooks and crannies that would otherwise be inaccessible.

and it's fast. easy to repeat as necessary. instant solution for the droppings and cobwebs ... just, you know, lots of dust ... don't want to breathe it.

i would also consider following up with a paint sprayer. would give you a nice clean surface.

oh. and nice build. what a great property.

bldginsp
Member
# Posted: 5 Nov 2013 17:25 - Edited by: bldginsp
Reply 


You would only need to put it on the affected wood surfaces. Two coats of a thinner mix would probably make a big difference. Only two coats will not produce a shine. The cheapest way to get shellac is probably the Bullseye floor shellac they sell in the stores. It's on the thick side so cut it with alcohol maybe 50-50 or 25 alcohol 75 shellac. You can buy dry shellac and dissolve it yourself but those kinds tend to be pricey because they are for specialist woodworkers/refinishers.

I still think you should get in there with a power washer first. It will remove perhaps just the first layer of wood, which is where the higher concentration of bat pee is. Liquids do not absorb far into side grain of wood so you problem is only on the surface. Then let it dry thoroughly and hit it with the shellac.

If your beams are going to be exposed I would suggest using shellac as a finish for them as well. You can avoid shine with a quick rub out with fine steel wool. But just a coat or two wont be enough to create a heavy build, as with thicker varnishes like polyurethane, linseed or lacquers.

Another thing I suggest is to hit it with a wash or two of the amino acid formulations they sell in pet stores for removing pet urine odors from carpets etc.

I know I'm suggesting a lot of work but from your description your building was inhabited for a long time by a lot of bats and rodents, and if you don't work your butt off to deal with it, it's going to stink. Very cool old building and I'm jealous. But I can't stand animal stink. And the only way to deal with it later is to go back into remodel mode and rip the walls apart.

In houses and apartments where the tenants/owners let the dogs and cats pee all over, if you just replace the carpet it still stinks cause it gets into the floor boards. Only thing to do is replace all floor boards that are peed on. You don't have that option where they lived and peed on the top surface of the wall beam, so you need to try to remove as much of the urine as you can, and then seal in the rest.

IMNSHO ( in my not so humble opinion)

Danielcan
Member
# Posted: 5 Nov 2013 19:49
Reply 


What about an ozone type machine that pumped some kind of neutralizing chemical into the air, kind of like insect fumigation but for droppings. Get in touch with some big insurance restoration company, or pest company, maby they will know.

Just trying to think outside the box

P.S. sure would love to see some photos of your deer.

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