I had to be at the plant all day yesterday and gotta go in the office today, but I'm thinking about taking tomorrow off and heading up to the cabin. It looks like a nice weekend and plan on being up there.

My contractor told me that the blocks were delivered yesterday and I think he was laying blocks after lunch. Hopefully he will text me pics today. It's killing me not being up there while all this is going on.

My plan was to take time off during the process and helping on all aspects of the construction, but it's probably best this way, because I'm going to need all the days off I can once it gets shelled as I'll be doing all the work from then on.

Plus they might charge me extra if I helped...

Exactly. Let the men work and stay out of their way. Nothing is more damn annoying than someone like you with enough knowledge to stand around and make "suggestions"

It really is looking great and I enjoy the updates and the pictures.

Getting some block layed... He didn't' follow the dimensions on the plan for the vertical re-bar and ended up getting one right in the doorway... No biggie. I'm pretty stoked right now, at least until the bill comes in

What is the latest consensus on crawl spaces? Vent or not to vent? Vapor barrier? I'm going to go ahead and do something now after I smooth everything out and kind of grade it off...

Almost ready to start framing... A few finishing touches on the foundation on Monday. Material will start being delivered on Monday and I think framing will start on Tuesday. Hopefully in about a week, weather permitting, we will have a cabin blacked in including both decks...

So far on the foundation I have about $2600 in materials, including excavator rental and about $1000 in labor, for a total on the foundation of $3600. I also paid $300 to have about 30 trees cut down to open up the view.

This is where we are today...

Great thread, awesome cabin site, pics, etc. Looks like y'all will have an amazing place when it's all finished. Looking forward to seeing the pics as the build continues.

Looking great Irishguy!! I'm following your build too as I would love to get the wife to downsize to something like this. Especially if we could build it for around $60 a square foot or less

Looking good

. I'm old school and I say vent and vapor barrier

Nice!

That's my plan. I had them install manual vents that I can either open or close depending on the season, weather, etc... I also plan on installing a vapor barrier. I am leaning against putting in insulation between the floor joists.

The floor is probably the least important to insulate from an energy saving standpoint in the south. You can always put some rigid foam in there later if you need it.

Although I'm over here in Mississippi at an unnamed power plant inspecting and sketching up repairs for stuff, my crack framing team is moving right along and texting me updates... The first floor is framed! Woot!

Mrs. Irish and I stopped by Dixie Salvage in Ft. Payne yesterday and bought 5 fiberglass and glass exterior doors and 38-4x8 sheets of T-111 5/8" reverse B&B siding for the 2nd floor sub-floor and the roof decking. The pretty side will go face down and will become the ceiling of the floors below.

I believe I'd go this weekend and set some lawn chairs and a case of beer on that and look at the stars.

I'm hoping to finish up at the plant today, spend one more night in Mississippi and head to the cabin as early as tomorrow afternoon... Fingers crossed.

I think we are going to whitewash the rafters, girders and underside of the sub-floors above each floor that will be exposed. We had first thought of staining all that or even leaving it all natural, but after looking around at various ideas I think whitewashing is going to lighten the interior up and still keep all the interesting texture of the exposed wood work.

I'm going to actually use an old recipe with hydrated lime, water, salt and maybe add a little powdered milk to it too. Still looking and studying recipes for whitewashing.

Has anyone ever done any old fashioned whitewashing?

This picture here is kind of what I have in mind for all the ceilings in the cabin...

wooo, that looks good ....

Latest pics from this morning... Coming on up!

coming along nicely! good call on the white wash