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Gulf Island Building.

1M views 8K replies 149 participants last post by  Katie Cabana 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi all:
Since the summer of 1997, I have been building a cabin and house on our 1/2 acre lot here. Before I dive into that part, I am going to show a few photos to set the stage a bit. We are remote here. No services of any kind, except that which we provide for ourselves. So don't expect to see any paved roads with big trucks delivering any materials.
We live at the head of a small bay, which is both a blessing and a curse.
When the tide goes out, we have to clamber over hundreds of yards of rocks to get to our boat. When it is in, I can float logs right up to my little railway to move them onto the log deck. Well, not any more, but more about that later.
This is the bay in front of us.
 

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#3,434 ·
So many times I have wished that I could have brought some drywall over here for the flat walls and ceilings. My niece's hubby is in the biz and he figures we could have all the flat stuff boarded, taped and first mud coat in one day.

I don't doubt it, as I still remember the first time I hired a board crew (2 guys) to do out a 1 1/2 storey, typical 1200 square foot house. They were done in 4 hours flat. All I heard was numbers being called and the whine of the guns.

They sure knew their business.
 
#3,436 ·
It certainly does take awhile to put this cedar up as the strips are only about 1 1/2" to 1 5/8" net coverage. But that's the easy part...what really takes the time is the whole manufacturing process in the first place.

Going through the gathering of logs...finding stuff that might be old and clear...getting it to the mill...doing the actual cutting, planing and dadoing. Followed by the necessary drying time and whatnot.

Once everything is up, then it will be time to add the finish. That one wall above took me most of the day from just before 10 am to after 9 pm. I didn't take much time off from that.

There are 102 pieces of wood on that wall, all of which needed to be hand cut. There is an angle at the right hand end on every board so that it will close with the far wall. I use the Japanese saw for that and the taper cuts up top.

There's a few odd jobs to attend to now, but I'm hoping I can find time to do the trims and window sill in that wall today. It will be nice to have it finished.

The opposite wall still needs some boards toward the top...nothing like as many or as long. I think that one is only about 8', so it's easier to find the shorter boards.
 
#3,437 ·
I just knew you did all of that yesterday, there is no way I could have done that much in several days and that is the truth. You aren't using the strip canoe router bits on the strips are you? That is a lot of work Keith but it sure does look good. That is one wall less you have to do now.
 
#3,439 · (Edited)
My stars, shiplapping all of them is a bunch of work and you are sure right, not many people realize all that goes into making things beautiful. What do you do with all your sawdust?
 
#3,440 ·
My stars, shiplapping all of them is a bunch of work and you are are sure right, not many people realize all that goes into making things beautiful. What do you do with all your sawdust?
Much of the planer shavings and sawdust from the mill gets bagged, and the missus uses it for the walkways here. It serves the dual purpose of keeping mud off our shoes in the wintertime, and it's soft to walk on.

Eventually, it breaks down and reverts to soil itself, at which time the lady of the mansion deposits yet more sawdust, ad infinitum.

Many times, if I don't have big piles of it in the house, I just scoop up a dustpan full and throw it in the woodstove.

If I'm machining all day, I need to clean up - which usually means I have 3 bags to fill.
 
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#3,443 ·
I picked up a few leaves at random, and this one came out at 20" across exactly.

So Barb, when you were saying a few days ago that you saw some maple leaves in Oregon that were a foot across, I think you short-changed the trees. They were likely bigger than this.
 

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#3,444 ·
Abundant arbutus berries usually predict the winter weather.

If the robins eat the berries early, it means we are in for a warm winter. If they leave them until much later, we are due for a cold one. The berries are still maturing, so we will find out later on.
 

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#3,445 ·
All this moisture is producing a variety of mushrooms on the island. Nowhere near as many as we have had in some past years, but a few different ones.

There seems to be a lot of these guys about.
 

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#3,452 ·
This one resides in my Japanese garden. It is a vibrant green all year, but reliably turns this lovely colour as soon as the weather cools every fall.
 

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#3,453 ·
The missus has these small pink lily like flowers by the potting shed...and it seems to me that they have been out since early summer. Does that sound right?
 

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#3,456 ·
Here's the big bloodgood maple, still in a small wooden container that I put it in originally when it was only perhaps 3 feet tall. Better make sure it is trans planted before next spring.
 

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#3,459 ·
Here's the real piece de resistance...

























...an old wooden wheelbarrow that has seen far better days. I'm thinking about giving it a rebuild.

New bottom, new sides, new handles, new legs...removable front perhaps so that wife number two can load and unload her plants easily.

Headlights for night work...turn signals...

Some kind of slick trick brackets to carry her garden tools in...

A removable tray if she wants to carry some yucky stuff...

How about a Honda motor to power it with...nice set of zoomie headers...full race cam...

What about the colour though...hmmm...that's a toughie...couldn't possibly be red...unless it was used in the Japanese garden. Red kind of belongs there. No...I think I would ban it from there so it would need to be something a little more quiet, classy even...

Not much to start with is there...

I'm listening...
 

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#3,462 ·
Keith, those are some beautiful shots and the color is totally outstanding. Did I see some Magnolia leaves in one of the photos?

The leaves are about half gone down this way but we did notice on the mountains there is a little color but not like it usually is. It usually looks like a patch quilt. We appreciate you sharing you beautiful plants and trees with us.
 
#3,465 ·
I don't think so Jim...I don't think there are any Magnolia's anywhere on the island here. Certainly over on Vancouver island, there's plenty. Perhaps you are looking at an arbutus leaf...I think they are somewhat similar.
 
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