As you can see here, the front deck (and the rear) are finally complete, with the staircases on.  The only thing left on the outside is exterior lighting.

Inside, the last “large” construction detail is the rail across the loft and down the stairs.  Here you can see the beginnings of it.  The posts here have been trial-fitted, and next week, the carpenter (who is a much an artist as a carpenter) will be putting in the rest of the pieces, the softening and finishing the surfaces of the rails.

The kitchen cabinets are completed now, and we’ve put some of the pulls on the doors.  These are cool – they’re cast with the footprints of bear on them….

Laying wood flooring is back-breaking work no matter how you look at it.  But, you get to use really cool tools like that pneumatic flooring nailer on the right.  We laid three times as much wood floor on this project than we ever did in the others.  And we still weren’t done.  We got the carpet company to lay the last two small rooms and hallway.

Now it’s all in, its looking GREAT!  Still a bit dusty, but remember it’s a construction site.

So, what’s left?  Beginning next week we’ll see the railing finished.  Then, the finish trades will get done starting the middle of the week:

Finish Electrical – all the light fixtures, switches, fans, etc.  (Had to MAKE an 8 foot downrod for the fan in the greatroom – you can’t buy them anymore.  Thanks to our neighbor Gene who is a seriously great machinist, with the tool set to boot.  I got the pipe and painted it, but he’s got the mill he used to drill the holes in it we need so we’re all set.

Finish Plumbing – the plumber will come back and put in all the faucets and fixtures, add a hose bib on the outside, and punch a hole in the foundation so we can hook up the cistern for water.  We’ll be seeing the shower doors installed as well.

Finish Carpentry – all the baseboards and final carpentry trim will go in as well.

Believe it or not, there’s still quite a bit to go after that, but that’s the next two weeks worth.

Bearly-A-Cabin has been painted, the doors are on (and in), and the deck on both the back and front.  Next visible project is putting the stone on the chimney.

You can see our stone guy, Alfredo, and his crew, putting up the chicken wire prior to the scratch coat of mortar.  And you can see the chicken wire all done.  The stone is due to arrive late next week, so next time we post, you should be able to see how it looks.

The doors look great.  They’ll be stained a bit darker than the bare wood you see now, but the knotty wood is really nice to look at.

Finally, after the excavation mess to put in the electric conduit, we’ve gotten the new part of the driveway in.  This is the bottom layer of cinders that make up the driveway.  There’ll be plenty of room to turn around, and it’s going to be easy to plow when it snows.

You’ve got to contend with the snow – getting there, and keeping it out of the house which has no doors yet.

Then, there are things you need to do inside that are sensitive to the weather.  Like dry walling, which is happening right now.  The drywall guys got it all up last week, but now they have to tape and mud the seams, and mud and texture the walls.  That drywall mud is water based – so…gotta keep the house closed up.  You can see the big propane heater here.  They’ve got the doors covered with plastic, and with the house sealed up, this heater keeps it nice and warm so the mud can dry – before it freezes.

Now it gets more exciting, even as progress appears to slow.  That’s an illusion though. There’s a lot to do inside, and still quite a bit outside.

The rock hammering is mostly done, with a trench for power still to go.  The septic system and water cistern are being delivered to go in those holes.  And, the decking will finally go on, the doors installed.

Inside, there’s quite a bit of finish carpentry and paintwork, as well as electrical and plumbing fixtures. We’re starting to think about when the flooring can go in.

We’ll be done sometime in the spring!

http://www.experiencelifemag.com/issues/october-2011/wellness/how-forests-boost-immunity.php

Just one more reason why you should take a vacation in the woods. Shown in the Picture is our forest around Classy Cabins.

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This is the view out the Great Room windows taking shape now.  Picture the fireplace in the center with large flat screen TV above it.  It’s going to be spectacular!

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