Here are a few pictures of the new cabin our family is building in
Cascade, Idaho.
The first picture was taken in October 1995 as we were starting to put the
tar paper onto the roof. We were on a tight schedule in order to get a roof
on it before winter snows started.
The next two pictures were taken in October 1996. The exterior is almost
finished here except for the fascia and deck. Note that we have already
had snow!
The next picture shows the rear of the new cabin in October 1996. The old
A-frame cabin is quite visible. This camera angle shows our view over Cascade
reservoir.
The next two pictures show the cabin under about 5 feet of snow in February
1997. We were able to get in via snowmobile, snowshoes, and/or cross-country
skis.
The final two pictures show the cabin completed, both inside and out, taken
in August 1997.
We started the cabin project in the summer of 1995. The first phase of
the project was installing the septic system and excavation. My father
brought his backhoe and dump truck about 220 miles from his home town to
do all of the excavation work we needed. We spent about 4 weekends getting
this all done, including have a contractor form and pour the foundation.
The foundation was the only part of this entire project that we contracted
out!
Next we started framing. It was already September, so winter was rapidly
approaching. We managed to work very hard and have a roof on it just as the
snow started to fall. We closed it up for the winter with house wrap.
During 1996, we primarily worked on the inside of the cabin. First thing we
did was cut open the window frames and install the windows so that we would
have some light throughout (no power yet). Next came the plumbing and
electrical rough-ins, followed by insulation and drywall. And while Steve
Gross (my brother-in-law) worked on taping and texturing the drywall, I went
to work on the outside installing the vinyl siding, aluminum soffit, and
steel fascia.
It was a near record snow pack over the winter of 1996-1997, so we were not
able to drive to the front door until early May.
We did make a few weekend trips to the cabin over the winter to finish the
texturing and painting upstairs. We used a snowmobile and/or snowshoes to
haul our stuff from the main road up to the cabin.
Since May of 1997, we completed the floor covering and molding throughout;
built the banister on the stairs; demolished part of the old A-frame cabin
(it was too close to the new cabin); and built the deck. On August 1, 1997,
we had our final inspection and passed with flying colors!
In the summer of 1998, we completed the remodel of the remainder of the
old A-frame cabin to become a storage outbuilding for our snowmobiles,
4-wheelers, shovels, wood, etc.
Now, after 3 years of hard work, our families have a vacation property that
we can be proud of. We can also say that we built it ourselves!
on January 13, 2003
E-mail me at
tom@4schmidts.com
