The Floor Disaster ... Still on Going

Then there is the disaster of the floor colour.
First there was grey, which is the standard premixed colour. I think it is meant to look like cement. It was livable but quite boring. So I thought I would improve on it.

I wanted barn-red, and this is what it ended as .... pink!!!

I am in the process of choosing the next, and hopefully last colour.

The Cold Weather is Here

Four days ago was the first snow, and the nights have been very cold ever since.

Now the Soffits

So the underneath is done, so now I started the soffit. I seem to be working above my head all the time (in more meaning than one!).
This is where the soffit goes:

Of course I have to make them myself and they need to have ventilation to avoid condensation I am told:

And here is the first one. There are 20 to do and so far I have done seven but I only have picture of the first one.

And the Work Continues

Still working working working, but I am making progress.

the chimney which used to look like this:

 Now looks like this:

 Like a "real" chimney.

the corner beam which used to look like this:

Has now been filled with insulation and looks like this:

the underneath of the cabin which looked like this (I am referring to the badly weathered and  messy insulation not the stands):

 First looked like this, with the vapor barrier .... and a stack of plywood ready to go:

 Then like this, with the first sheet of plywood supported by the now "famous" stands:

This is when I found out that positioning the plywood was not easy and I "invented" the idea of little handles. I feel like I re-invent the wheel everyday. I am sure that there is a way to do it, it may be handles like this or something else. I don't know. Those you just pull off when you are done and bend the small nail down flat with the surface.

Here is the first sheet done.

 Then all of it done.... well nearly

I had forgotten this part:

But this is now done too. I have to say that changing the insulation, putting vapour barrier and plywood under the cabin was a HUGE job. I am so pleased that it is finished.

Cat Sitting

I am cat / dog / house sitting until tomorrow. It is a good timing since it is nice to be able to have a shower after a day "playing" under fiber glass insulation.

On a totally different subject: today I got my new library card for Fort Smith !! I am so happy about this. So far I have been using my temporary library card from Hay River but now I have a permanent library card for Fort Smith. hurray!

Wood Stove and Vapour Barrier

I am obviously still working on the cabin and doing a little bit of everything. This Saturday I move the old wood stove. First I built a trolley so I could load it on it and move it around where ever I want. I don't want to use this stove, which I think is too small, but it is not garbage and I don't want to put it outside where it will rust.

I had borrowed a dolly to move it but was still surprised to see how heavy it was. Truly it was just at the limit of what I could handle on my own, especially loading it onto the trolley which is a good 7 inches off the ground.

See the corner is empty... now the floor in that corner is also painted so I can put the new stove whenever I get it. I would like to find some slate to put under it but this is NOT slate country and I don't think I will be able to wait until I get somewhere where there is slate so I may just put cement tiles or something like it. You can see I also put some floor cement in the joints of the particle board used as flooring because they were too wide open and were a real trap for dirt.

and this is where it is for now but since it is on wheels it doe snot have to stay by the door. I hammered some wood under it so the wheels are just just off the floor and not getting overloaded.

Remember I had built some stands to  lift the plywood while I am nailing it (or screwing it) into place. Well it turns out that those stands are great to sit or lie on while putting on the vapour barrier.

If I didn't know any better I would think that they were built that way on purpose. They are exactly the perfect height to rest on and hold the plastic with one hand while stapling it with the other.

I've changed some of the insulation on one side of the house where it was quite torn apart and damaged due to exposure to the elements... I gather that this is where the snow piles up with the wind... I don't know. But only one part of it needed changing. And now all of it is under plastic (fancily known as vapour barrier).