The name of the game is... Overkill

Once again, the three of us were up at 5:30 on Friday morning and on the road up to the mountains. We spent the whole of Friday fixing what we had done wrong last weekend. Getting a 16x24 level surface on the side of a mountain square isn't an easy task. But we got it close and a builder from the area (who is going to tackle the roof because I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid) came by and looked at it for us. At this point, we are flying with no permit or respect to code but he explained that I might want to start getting those ducks in a row for issues later on down the line. That was a blow because if the inspector requires blueprints, I'm going to wreck my budget finding an engineer. The silver lining with his visit was that he said the concrete piers, pressure treated lumber, and all the screws and brackets we've used were a bit overkill but would only help us in the long run with the inspector.

 

We worked up until we couldn't see the lines for cutting and thought that might be a good stopping point in the evening.

This thing is solid. We installed staggered floor joints every 4 feet and then screwed the advantech osb on the "correct" way (going opposite direction of the joists) to keep the subfloor rigid. Here is Greg lying around on the job.

Once we got the subfloor done, it was time for an old timey barn raising. The general rule is one person per 8 feet of wall but that is for 8 foot ceilings. This bad boy is 10 feet all and there were lots of groans getting that first wall raised and braced.

And we kept going...

 

And going...

And going until the four walls were up, nailed down, braced every which way to get plumb... And then bracketed (which is once again overkill, but we decided you can never have enough brackets). We got the cripple studs and loft supports up so we only have the joists left to do.

All in all, this felt like the most productive weekend up there. Maybe because the walls and loft give it the almost appearance of an actual structure. I could already picture where the stairs and wood stove and kitchen were going to layout.

4 things to mention:

1. Buy at least twice as many screws as you think you might need. We found out the uber wireless nail gun that I'm borrowing from a buddy doesn't like the hot dipped (overkill) 3" nails so we ended up screwing most of the structure together (big overkill)
2. Mad props to my brother-n-law Greg. Saturday night, we went to Applebee's and had a sampler appetizer. He went to town on the boneless buffalo wings and blue cheese dip but ended up waking Ted and I at midnight with his loud projectile vomiting from the bathroom. He was a trooper on Sunday working through the ick and finishing strong helping us lift the loft supports in place.
3. It's an odd but wonderful feeling getting to know your neighbors. Trish and I haven't met any of our neighbors in Lubbock, but I already know 4 of my neighbors on the mountain on a first name basis. I would usually feel bothered having to stop what I'm doing to have to entertain small talk and pleasantries with each and every person that stops and gets out of their car to introduce themselves and wish me good luck on the project but instead I'm finding comfort in it. This mountain is truly shaping up to be that place where I can build life-long memories with my friends and family.
4. Last but not least, I have to lift my wife up on a pedestal. She is truly an amazing woman to let me spend the last three (and several more in the future) weekends working on our cabin. Being pregnant is no easy feat and I always come home to a spotless house and big hugs. She knows all of this work is for the little beast she's growing inside of her and the future we want to give our children that doesn't just involve the concrete city we live in. Love you babe

 

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