Interior walls

A lot of work was done on the cabin last week. Randy and I went up there Thursday to meet with Scott and the cabinet builder. About 10 people were working in the house; it looked like he'd raided a high school to find workers. I had a hard time finding a place to stand so I wouldn't be in the way while I waited on Scott.

When Randy went back Friday and took pictures, the wood paneling was in place in both bedrooms and most of the living room. All the sheetrock was installed in the kitchen -- the only room with sheetrock walls.

Randy and I didn't know until we got there that there was snow on Lookout Mountain Thursday. The tree branches were coated in ice, and snow was on roofs and in patches on the ground. The ground had been covered, but the snow was melting by the time we got there at 10:30.

Between checking on the house and transporting the claw-foot tubs, which we'd been storing at my parents' house, Randy managed a trip to the George Dickel Distillery near Tullahoma, Tenn. Tours of the distillery, which is less than a two-hour drive from the cabin, are free.

The completion date for the cabin is now March 1 instead of Jan. 30. Randy and I met with Scott and some people from the bank the week before last to discuss options since the house wasn't going to be finished by the original deadline. We're going to have to convert to another loan type, which is going to be a pain. Scott brought a schedule showing what he was going to do each week and so far he's following it. We were worried he wouldn't be able to finish the house, and we knew we couldn't get anyone else to finish it for the amount of money left out, so that's a relief.

Randy brought up the claw-foot tubs so Scott can

figure out where the plumbing lines need to go.

The back of the house; workers framed the windows this week.

The master bedroom has a vaulted ceiling. Ron (left), Scott's brother, leads the construction crew.

A worker cutting paneling in the living room.

View out kitchen windows

Sheetrock completed in kitchen

Even though the chimney isn't enclosed, the workers have been building fires in the fireplace to keep warm. I don't blame them.

The interior doors are supposed to be installed next week.

Randy's sister, Sonja, and his brother-in-law, Eddie, went with him to the George Dickel Distillery.

Windows installed

Not much has happened with the cabin since Thanksgiving. Most of the windows and some insulation were installed last week. The flooring and interior walls should be going in soon. The house is supposed to be finished by Jan. 31.

Front door and dormer

Kitchen

I've been working on getting things ready for the inside of the cabin. Since we can't afford to buy all new furniture or expensive antiques I've been buying things at thrift stores and yard sales and refinishing some of them. I'm giving everything a distressed finish to go with the old look of the cabin. My grandmother is making quilts for the two twin beds that will be in the downstairs bedroom. That will be the kids' bedroom when we're there, so I'm going with a primary color theme since it works for a boy or girl.

My grandmother is making quilts like these from

Pottery Barn.

I painted the yellow antique desk and toy box

to go in the kids' room. The blue desk was

given to us awhile back. I had meant to refinish

it, but I'm glad I didn't since it matches

the quilts.

I bought this nightstand at a yard sale.



Here's the nightstand after I painted it,

distressed the finish and changed

the drawer pulls.

I had to make an emergency trip to the cabin yesterday to check out the siding color. Randy said he was getting "bad vibes" about it from the builder. He was on a business trip and kept calling me, wanting me to mourn the house with him. We'd killed the cabin by staining it, he said.

I was worried, too. Scott said the color looked silvery gray -- not good seeing how the roof is silver. Scott had brushed some stain on a board for us to look at before putting it on the house, but I figured tinted stain could be like paint, never turning out exactly the shade you thought it would be. And what if it were too opaque and the wood grain didn't show through? What if it looked like we'd painted the house silver?

Still, it was done. So I didn't see the sense in panicking. If it looked horrible, it just did. There was nothing we could do about it. But I was curious, so I went, even though we hadn't planned to go this weekend. I asked Randy to stay home with the kids so they wouldn't be in the car all day -- again -- and because having them in the house without railings on the porches is nerve-wracking.

Mom and Dad went with me. I think Mom was worried I'd fall on the stairs; they've just been built and some are boards only a few inches wide. If you fall through, you fall all the way to the concrete floor in the basement.

I like the siding color. When the whole house is done, I think it will look weathered. Scott said he wanted us to look at it before he stained the porches. That was another comment that worried us. I think the railings and posts definitely need to be the same color. If they're not, it won't look like the wood naturally weathered. Here are more photos:

I think there's enough contrast between

the house color and roof color.

Some of the railings were built this week.

View from the master bedroom balcony

This is lattice for plants to grow on. I didn't know

it was in the plans and am not sure it looks cabin-like,

but Mom and Dad and Randy like it, so maybe it's OK.

Siding

Sonja and Eddie took these pictures of the cabin Friday. A crew was putting pine siding on the house. We had planned to use cedar siding, but Scott called last week and asked if we would go with pine. It's more readily available, he said, and waiting on an order of cedar siding would slow down the project. Randy and I spent a couple days thinking about it and googling "Virginia yellow pine," which apparently is quite rare. Frustrated by the lack of information, Randy finally called the Southern Pine Council and the local sawmill Scott is buying the siding from.

Virginia pine trees don't grow very large, so their commercial applications are usually limited to pulp and packing crates. The pine council guy said if it was milled for siding, he didn't think there would be a problem with using it for that and it would probably have an interesting, unusual look because of the numerous small knots. He also said a small mill would be making it because larger ones wouldn't take the time to mill siding from such small trees. The owner of the mill said he's sold a lot of this siding for cabins in Mentone because it has such a rustic look. He's planning to build a cabin there and says he's going to use it.

So we told Scott to go ahead. Since this siding is cheaper than cedar, we're going to trade it out for the extra interior rock facing on the chimney.

We're going to look at the cabin tomorrow, and are going to meet with Scott Monday to pick out a stain color for the siding. The stain product is also a weather protectant. We're going to go with a gray shade; I think that will give the house an aged appearance.

I would have liked to have used salvaged siding for the house, both for the look of it and to avoid contributing to deforestation, but like a lot of salvaged items I'd like to buy for the house, it's way too expensive.

Metal roof

Randy took these pictures of the cabin Sunday. My parents drove up yesterday and said a lot of workers were installing the rest of the metal roof.

Temporary supports are holding up the porches,

but footings have been poured for the permanent ones.



You can see the metal roof and the framing for the
chimney in this picture.

The living room will have a high ceiling.

Scott decided to build an exposed-beam

ceiling in the living room and master

bedroom. He said that's how cabins in

Gatlinburg are being built. The pine

boards will be stained to match the

flooring.

This upstairs window overlooks the living room.



The ceiling over the dining area in the kitchen.

I think these beams will remain exposed.

Porches added

Randy and I went by the cabin Sunday after dropping off the kids at my parents' house in Birmingham. They went to a birthday party for a little boy my mom babysits who is about Caden's age. When we returned that evening, Caden had a temperature of 103.4. It turned out to be an ear infection, so at least he didn't infect the other kids with anything. He felt pretty bad for a few of days (several people, including his teacher, remarked at how well-behaved he was), but he's back to himself now.

The porches were added to the cabin and the fireplaces and dormer window had been framed. I just talked to Scott and he said the metal roof is going on today. Randy might go up there again this Sunday, so I should have more pictures next week. Here are some more from last Sunday:

The back of the house: The

master bedroom is on the top

floor and will have french doors

leading to a small balcony. The

bay window below it will be in

the kitchen.

View from the back porch


Dormer window above front door

Upper floor: master bathroom, closet and

bedroom. I climbed part of the way up there

(the stairs haven't been built), but wasn't sure

I'd be able to get down, so I haven't explored

that part of the house yet.

Framing for the fireplace in the
living room

View looking out front door

Halloween pics

For the relatives, here are some pictures of Ansley and Caden in their Halloween costumes last night.

Ansley was a "bat princess" and Caden

was a "skull ninja."

They could only dress up in
costumes depicting the "wild,
wild West" for school. Caden was
Zorro and Ansley was an Indian.

Most kids were plain old cowboys

and cowgirls, so at least they didn't

conform completely.