# Bought a Tiny Farm; Building a Small Log Cabin



## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Hi, all. I'm a hobby beekeeper with aspirations of doing it full time in a few years. As part of that plan, my wife and I bought a little piece of farmland and are building a small kit cabin. We're hoping to get moved there permanently in the next 6 months.

I'm trying to document the build as best I can on youtube:


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

Hunter63 saying Hey and Welcome......Form Wisconsin...
Keep us posted.


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## bobp (Mar 4, 2014)

Good luck. Where are you located?


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## Rob (Jan 4, 2018)

Nice video presentation. Going to be a nice cabin! Love the doors! Good luck with your endeavor.


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## melli (May 7, 2016)

Doesn't seem all that small...nice sunny locale with trees. Looks beautiful. 
Have they finished the framing? 
Any pics? 
What is the name of your septic system...I recall looking at that one when researching septic systems...forgot name (company).


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

hunter63 said:


> Hunter63 saying Hey and Welcome......Form Wisconsin...
> Keep us posted.


Thanks, Hunter. Love me some Wisconsin curds.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

bobp said:


> Good luck. Where are you located?


Thank you. I'm west of St. Louis. Just updated my info to reflect that.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Rob said:


> Nice video presentation. Going to be a nice cabin! Love the doors! Good luck with your endeavor.


Thanks, Rob! The cabin's a bit further along...I'll continue to post update videos as I get them edited if folks are interested in how it turns out.


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## Rob (Jan 4, 2018)

Art_Vandelay said:


> Thanks, Rob! The cabin's a bit further along...I'll continue to post update videos as I get them edited if folks are interested in how it turns out.


I would love to see it!


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

melli said:


> Doesn't seem all that small...nice sunny locale with trees. Looks beautiful.
> Have they finished the framing?
> Any pics?
> What is the name of your septic system...I recall looking at that one when researching septic systems...forgot name (company).


Small is relative, I reckon. Compared to our current house (2600 sq ft) and most new subdivision houses that are being built nowadays, it's tight in there. It's two bedroom, two bathroom; but they're very small rooms, and it doesn't look like there's going to be space for a proper dining table. So it definitely feels small for what I'm used to. That's one of the reasons we put it on a basement thought...doubles the available square footage, even if it's not finished living space...it gives us a lot of room for storage, plus utilities, laundry, etc.

I don't know the specific name of the septic system. I just figured it was a standard septic.

The framing is a trick question...there's not really true framing on this house. The house is supported by the log walls instead of frames. There are 2x4s on the exterior walls to hold the insulation, but it's not providing any structural support. 

Since you asked, I'll give you a sneak peak of a recent picture of the cabin build. Don't tell anybody though...it's supposed to be a big reveal later...


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## Rob (Jan 4, 2018)

That's a gem right there! I like that! Thanks for sharing!


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## Hitch (Oct 19, 2016)

I noticed there’s no wall insulation, what’s it rated?


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Hitch said:


> I noticed there’s no wall insulation, what’s it rated?


There is wall insulation, but it's not shown yet on this video. The kit comes with an optional insulation package for the exterior walls, which consists of a bunch of metal brackets and tongue-and-groove boards. The finished r-values should be 20 on the walls and about 37 on the ceiling/roof.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Part 4 of the cabin build.


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## Rob (Jan 4, 2018)

Very nice, Art .. I love the sound track choice to go with the presentation.  That looks like a very nice , well engineered "kit." Would you mind sharing who manufactures that? Also, have you experienced any snafus with the assembly of it? Thanks for sharing your cabin!


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Rob said:


> Very nice, Art .. I love the sound track choice to go with the presentation. That looks like a very nice , well engineered "kit." Would you mind sharing who manufactures that? Also, have you experienced any snafus with the assembly of it? Thanks for sharing your cabin!


Art, as I'm sure you know, the soundtrack can make or break a video. Sometimes I'll finish a video and love it because of the music, and sometimes I'll finish and hate it because I couldn't find the right song.

The kit is manufactured from Northern European Pine by a company out of Estonia called "EZ Log Structures." There's a construction company near me in St. Louis that's got one of these as a model, so that's how I heard of them. In addition to milling all the logs, they include windows, doors, and hardware to hold it all together. Then they stick it all on a shipping container and send it to your job site. I'm not affiliated with the company (just a customer), but EZ Log Structures is trying to grow their business here in the US. If you look at their webpage (http://www.ezlogstructures.com/products/), they've usually got a few kits on sale--that's the best time to buy them. This is the kit that I bought: http://www.ezlogstructures.com/products/estonia-70mm-2-34/. But I didn't pay the price shown here because it was on sale at the time.

If you (or anyone) is interested, I'm in fairly regular contact with the lead salesman (he's Canadian, but lives in Europe), and I'll put you in touch with him. You can always ask him which models he's planning to put on sale in the future to see if there's a deal worth waiting for.

As far as snafus...I've got a crew of professional builders doing most of the work, so it's gone fairly smoothly from my perspective. They did take 2-3 days at first just studying the instructions and putting together a plan before they started stacking logs. They told me that if I'd have gotten a young crew and they just started throwing it together without without adequate planning, it could've caused problems. Of course, my build is way more complicated because it's on a full basement and it's going to be our actual home. If someone just wanted to buy one of these to use as a weekend cabin on a slab foundation, it'd probably be a lot easier (and less expensive) to do.

One thing I didn't think about enough before we started was the fact that--because the walls are just stacked logs--there's nowhere to run electric, hvac, and plumbing on interior walls. The exterior walls have a cavity since I'm putting in insulation, but we had to get creative for venting faucets, for instance, that are against interior walls. If you did one of these on a slab, it'd make it even worse since you wouldn't be able to run utilities under the floor.


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## Hitch (Oct 19, 2016)

The kit didn’t have an option to cut out cavities for electrical or plumbing? I’ve seen some kits where they are already cut out for you.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Hitch said:


> The kit didn’t have an option to cut out cavities for electrical or plumbing? I’ve seen some kits where they are already cut out for you.


I don't think so, but that would be a question I'd have to ask the manufacturer to be sure. We're running electrical on the interior walls using metal conduit. I actually really like the look to be honest with you. The plumbing is coming up through the floor whenever possible. For venting drains in a couple spots, we're getting creative and running exposed 3" copper pipe up through the roof, and using it as an accent piece.


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## catsboy (May 14, 2015)

Welcome to the forum. How long have been a hobby bee keeper? I have had a hive for three years and I also bought a farm recently and I'm planning to expand and see what kind of income I can generate with the bees. Are going to sell bee products and/or do you plans for "renting out" the hives to farmers?


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## dr doright (Sep 15, 2011)

Small? My first country home was 452 sq'. Was built on treated power poles, framed and sheathed in sawmill oak. That was around 1977.


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## Rob (Jan 4, 2018)

Art_Vandelay said:


> Art, as I'm sure you know, the soundtrack can make or break a video. Sometimes I'll finish a video and love it because of the music, and sometimes I'll finish and hate it because I couldn't find the right song.
> 
> The kit is manufactured from Northern European Pine by a company out of Estonia called "EZ Log Structures." There's a construction company near me in St. Louis that's got one of these as a model, so that's how I heard of them. In addition to milling all the logs, they include windows, doors, and hardware to hold it all together. Then they stick it all on a shipping container and send it to your job site. I'm not affiliated with the company (just a customer), but EZ Log Structures is trying to grow their business here in the US. If you look at their webpage (http://www.ezlogstructures.com/products/), they've usually got a few kits on sale--that's the best time to buy them. This is the kit that I bought: http://www.ezlogstructures.com/products/estonia-70mm-2-34/. But I didn't pay the price shown here because it was on sale at the time.
> 
> ...


Thank you very much. .. I appreciate that! They look like a very nice kit. Come spring, I may just make the plunge. Thanks again!


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

catsboy said:


> Welcome to the forum. How long have been a hobby bee keeper? I have had a hive for three years and I also bought a farm recently and I'm planning to expand and see what kind of income I can generate with the bees. Are going to sell bee products and/or do you plans for "renting out" the hives to farmers?


Thanks, catsboy. I've been keeping bees for 5-6 years. I don't have any intention to do pollination work; I'm not even sure there's a market for it here in Missouri...I just sell honey, wax, etc. Good luck with making an income from bees--I find that beekeeping consistently sucks up more money than it spits out.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Rob said:


> Thank you very much. .. I appreciate that! They look like a very nice kit. Come spring, I may just make the plunge. Thanks again!


Your welcome...sorry I called you Art! LOL


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## Hitch (Oct 19, 2016)

Art_Vandelay said:


> Thanks, catsboy. I've been keeping bees for 5-6 years. I don't have any intention to do pollination work; I'm not even sure there's a market for it here in Missouri...I just sell honey, wax, etc. Good luck with making an income from bees--I find that beekeeping consistently sucks up more money than it spits out.


Do you sell under the name Vandelay Industries Honey?


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Hitch said:


> Do you sell under the name Vandelay Industries Honey?


LOL, no but that is funny. I doubt a lot of people will understand that reference, but I certainly appreciate the deep pull.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

I got Part 5 edited and uploaded. My favorite part of this one is when I show the window. We just love the windows that came with the kit. I'm not sure why they're not more common in the US.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

And here's Part 6. That should be all for a while...this video is pretty much caught up to where we're at now.


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## Rob (Jan 4, 2018)

That's coming together quite nicely.. Thanks for sharing your adventure. I have a soapstone stove and love it!


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Rob said:


> That's coming together quite nicely.. Thanks for sharing your adventure. I have a soapstone stove and love it!


Nice! I heard the soapstone will hold heat for a long time, so I'm hoping it'll help keep the house warm even when we're away at work for the day.


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## Rob (Jan 4, 2018)

You'll love it! Here is a pic of mine I just took for you.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Rob said:


> You'll love it! Here is a pic of mine I just took for you.
> View attachment 64175


Love it. Love your hearth too.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Just posted Part 7 after spending the last couple days pouring the slab and moving a gazillion pounds worth of tongue-and-groove board into the house.


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## Birchwood (Nov 12, 2017)

Really enjoying your post Art - looking great!
Moving to a smaller place will be fine, since you will be outdoors most of the time trying to git er dun everyday on the homestead (if our experience is any indication!)
I wish we could have bees - but my wife is allergic to bee-venom and I just can't chance it.
We L'dOL at your comment about the copper vent - if you can't hide it make it a Feature!
Keep the postings coming!


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Birchwood said:


> Really enjoying your post Art - looking great!
> Moving to a smaller place will be fine, since you will be outdoors most of the time trying to git er dun everyday on the homestead (if our experience is any indication!)
> I wish we could have bees - but my wife is allergic to bee-venom and I just can't chance it.
> We L'dOL at your comment about the copper vent - if you can't hide it make it a Feature!
> Keep the postings coming!


Thanks! Yeah, we're up to two copper vent pipes now. I guess we'll just keep adding "features" until all the plumbing is up to code, LOL.

Does you wife go into anaphylactic shock when she gets stung? We all have varying degrees of reactions to getting stung, but you don't want to mess around if her throat closes up. I actually carry an Epipen with me just in case the mailman, neighbor, etc. comes up to me when I'm working the bees. You never know who's gonna have a bad reaction.


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## Birchwood (Nov 12, 2017)

yeah she is considered "severe allergy" level - about 8-9 years ago she had a yellow jacket land on her neck, and she swat it so hard there was this red mark - I wasn't sure if she was stung or just a mark from how hard she slapped and dialed 9-1-1 in shear panic, knowing we are 35 minutes drive to the nearest hospital! Grabbed her EpiPen and stuck it in her thigh (then I got a wack!) in six minutes we had a medevac helicopter landing in our pasture with paramedics! I was shocked at the response. All turned out okay but I was really terrified for a while.
Since then I don't take any chances.
So all that to say - I would love to have my own bees but support a local apiarist instead


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## Sole soil (Jan 29, 2018)

With the basement it would have been easy to run the wiring up through the floor and within the door jambs. Takes time to cut electrical boxes . Nothing wrong with your system, just another option. I have two log structures, home and a recreation cabin. Once you live in one , hard to live in anything else.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Sole soil said:


> With the basement it would have been easy to run the wiring up through the floor and within the door jambs. Takes time to cut electrical boxes . Nothing wrong with your system, just another option. I have two log structures, home and a recreation cabin. Once you live in one , hard to live in anything else.


Wow, those are no joke. That house looks amazing.

We did run wiring up through the floor, but there aren't door jams in all the places we need to have an outlet or a switch. So the conduit seemed like the best solution, and so far I'm liking the way it's turning out.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Parts 8 and 9 include failing, and then passing, some critical inspections.


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## Mickie3 (Aug 28, 2010)

On the 2nd video above, when you are talking about the inspectors, the picture is of a group of turkeys. Co-incidence? I think NOT.


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## melli (May 7, 2016)

Art_Vandelay said:


> Parts 8 and 9 include failing, and then passing, some critical inspections.


Really enjoyed those last two videos...Being at the mercy of Building Inspectors can certainly be stressful. We used have inspectors whose sole purpose in life seemed to be, to fail inspections. The stair headroom is always something they look at. Here it is 6'6" min. The window height off floor in bedrooms is 1.5m (5ft) in our codes (for an egress window - just need one). 5.7 sqft min egress area for window in bedroom seems like a lot (ours is just under 4sqft). Guess you have bigger people. 
Although problem solved...options would be another window or a door. I know basement egress windows can be hard to be within the height requirements, since many basements are in the dirt (therefore window needs to be at top of wall). So, they allow a pedestal. Perhaps a 'temp' pedestal in bedrooms would have sufficed? An inch or so seems silly to get worked up over, especially since you have the easiest egress windows on planet. 
Glad you've moved on to the next phase...nice to see that roof on! Congrats.

Shame about the electrical trench...obviously, they sent an apprentice without a clue. 

Those metal stairs are sweet! Sort of wish I had them in mine...would have solved a lot of problems once I changed plans and put in full height second floor. I have issues with my stairs crowding utility room...


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

melli said:


> Really enjoyed those last two videos...Being at the mercy of Building Inspectors can certainly be stressful. We used have inspectors whose sole purpose in life seemed to be, to fail inspections. The stair headroom is always something they look at. Here it is 6'6" min. The window height off floor in bedrooms is 1.5m (5ft) in our codes (for an egress window - just need one). 5.7 sqft min egress area for window in bedroom seems like a lot (ours is just under 4sqft). Guess you have bigger people.
> Although problem solved...options would be another window or a door. I know basement egress windows can be hard to be within the height requirements, since many basements are in the dirt (therefore window needs to be at top of wall). So, they allow a pedestal. Perhaps a 'temp' pedestal in bedrooms would have sufficed? An inch or so seems silly to get worked up over, especially since you have the easiest egress windows on planet.
> Glad you've moved on to the next phase...nice to see that roof on! Congrats.
> 
> ...


I floated the idea of just building a small platform in front of the windows to meet code. But thankfully my general contractor talked me out of that in favor of doing a more elegant and permanent (and complex) solution. Lowering the windows was the right thing to do in the end, though I think it's crazy we were required to do it in the first place.

The metal stairs are really nice. They weren't cheap, but they do have a smaller footprint than traditional stairs would, which is important when you're square footage is so limited. I think they're gonna look good when it's done too. But good thing we have the french doors in the basement, because you can't carry anything large up and down the stairs due to the tight corners.


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## melli (May 7, 2016)

Yeah, it was the sticker shock, I'd certainly be faced with, that deterred me from a spiral staircase. That being said, it will be a nice centerpiece to home.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

This is a bit of a deviation from the house build series, but I'll throw it up here anyway. This shows my build of a tiny footbridge last week.


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## RazrRebel (Apr 16, 2013)

I got the Art Vanderlay reference, love me some Seinfeld!


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

RazrRebel said:


> I got the Art Vanderlay reference, love me some Seinfeld!


Aid to the mayor and a top computer salesman.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Art_Vandelay said:


> Aid to the mayor and a top computer salesman.


Soon after I posted this I realized I gave the credentials for Lloyd Braun. My bad.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Part 10 is up. There was a lot of time between this and the last video because progress has definitely slowed while single items (electricity, floors, etc) have been holding up the rest of the work.


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## melli (May 7, 2016)

Although, with summer coming along, it must be nice to have a wood stove!
A wood stove is pretty much a necessity up here with power outages and high heating bills. Regs are different everywhere, but are you not required to have a non-flammable wall around wood stove? I guess the beam painting is for rust prevention.
Looking great! Looks like you will be in there, in short order.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

melli said:


> Although, with summer coming along, it must be nice to have a wood stove!
> A wood stove is pretty much a necessity up here with power outages and high heating bills. Regs are different everywhere, but are you not required to have a non-flammable wall around wood stove? I guess the beam painting is for rust prevention.
> Looking great! Looks like you will be in there, in short order.


Thanks, melli. There are required minimum distances the stove has to be from the walls. This particular stove has a heat shield and a double-walled pipe, so the minimum requirement to the back wall was just 6". If I didn't get the shield and went with a single-walled pipe, it's have to be three times farther (18") from the back wall.

The only requirements for non-flammable material is for the hearth. It's got to sit on non-combustible material at least 1/4" thick. So I've got cement board with ceramic tile under it to meet that requirement.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Here's Part 11. It shows the new hardwood flooring and construction of a firewood shed. But it's mostly the firewood shed.


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## melli (May 7, 2016)

Another great video....and I found myself wondering what track you added to the video...kind of like that song...never heard it before. 
I guess your pretty close to moving in, if your not already in? 
Buckwheat sprouted? Envious of your soil...


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

melli said:


> Another great video....and I found myself wondering what track you added to the video...kind of like that song...never heard it before.
> I guess your pretty close to moving in, if your not already in?
> Buckwheat sprouted? Envious of your soil...


Thank you, melli. Don't be too envious of our soil. Most of my pasture is very rocky, which is why it was pasture and not row crops. Only at the bottom of my property is the soil thick due to thousands of years worth of my hill getting washed down to the creek valley.

No, we're not already in the house. The video is pretty much real time. We're waiting on someone to get our cabinet installed. We've got the cabinets, but the finishing work is hinging on them being installed.

Regarding the music...some people hate the music I put on my videos. To me the most interesting part of editing the videos is finding a good song and trying to sync up the footage with the tone of the music. Plus I hate the sound of my voice, so I probably lean too much on the music and too little on actual narration. The song is called "The Fairies"...here's a link:


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

I've been so busy trying to finish the new cabin (and getting ready to sell my house) that I've barely had time to eat, much less make videos. But I managed to get one together and we're getting close to being done with it. We still need to do some landscaping, build a garage, etc., but we plan on moving our big stuff (washer, dryer, couch, bed, etc) to the cabin this coming weekend.


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## Rob (Jan 4, 2018)

I am just getting caught up on all the videos you posted in my absence .. What a beautiful cabin you ended up with, and the four legged inspectors seemed to give it their stamp of approval as well. Well done and thanks for sharing your adventure.


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## Rob (Jan 4, 2018)

I wonder why the year shown in the new posts still shows 2018?


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## Sole soil (Jan 29, 2018)

Congratulations, best wishes on your dream.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Rob said:


> I am just getting caught up on all the videos you posted in my absence .. What a beautiful cabin you ended up with, and the four legged inspectors seemed to give it their stamp of approval as well. Well done and thanks for sharing your adventure.


Thanks, Rob. Of course, at this point we've been in the new house for about 7 months. I was lucky enough to sell our old house the first day it was listed, so that took some pressure off of us. It's about 0 degrees outside right now, so we're sitting in the cabin with a roaring fire. I still need to repair the leaking pond, but it's up to about 7 feet deep and frozen enough that I'm planning to try ice skating on it this weekend.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Sole soil said:


> Congratulations, best wishes on your dream.


Thank you!


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## Rob (Jan 4, 2018)

That's wonderful Art. Have you been pretty pleased with the cabin so far? I, too, have been enjoying a roaring fire .. Those soapstone stoves are nice, aren't they!! I had some setbacks for a while, but hopefully they are behind me now and I can move forward.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Rob said:


> That's wonderful Art. Have you been pretty pleased with the cabin so far? I, too, have been enjoying a roaring fire .. Those soapstone stoves are nice, aren't they!! I had some setbacks for a while, but hopefully they are behind me now and I can move forward.


I love the layout and design of the cabin. It's just about a perfect fit for us. I will say that having a wooden house can cause a bit of anxiety...I have to worry about wood-eating insects and water a lot more than I ever did before. So I think after a couple years when I'm confident in my ability to control those threats, it'll be great.


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## Rob (Jan 4, 2018)

I am not sure how dry you exterior wood is, but this stuff is pretty good: https://store.permachink.com/p-38-shell-guard-rtu.aspx


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

Rob said:


> I am not sure how dry you exterior wood is, but this stuff is pretty good: https://store.permachink.com/p-38-shell-guard-rtu.aspx


Thanks for the link, Rob. Looks like something I might use in the future. I'll hold on to the website.


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## LostCaper (Oct 10, 2016)

Art_Vandelay said:


> And here's Part 6. That should be all for a while...this video is pretty much caught up to where we're at now.


Real nice. I will be building in the spring.


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## Art_Vandelay (Jan 6, 2018)

LostCaper said:


> Real nice. I will be building in the spring.


Good luck with your build. Be sure to post some pictures!


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