Subterranean Homestead

Years ago I dreamed of the lush green subterranean sanctuaries I’d read about in George Sand’s Emmanuel Swedenborg influenced novels. 

Today, my own fantasy of secret grottos is emerging from Kevin’s brickwork. I can just feel a fairy tale coming on.

Curvy in nature like a steam through the woods, the grotto walls descend and rise in a flow as graceful as rolling hills.  Morning’s first breath of fresh air comes to mind.  And here I am thinking ivy and maybe a faint waterfall feature…all hidden away from the mighty southern summer sun.

 Here Kevin is filling cinderblocks with concrete and setting the pillar foundations that will support the deck coming off the kitchen and living room above.

Each pillar base consists of 3 threaded 3/3 to 5/8 anchor studs with nuts.  The nuts are the leveling agents.

The pillars are specially selected logs; however trees as they grow towards the may bend and sway and not be completely straight.

Using a template matching the pattern of the 3 anchor studs Kevin will drill holes into the bottom of the each log.  From there he will set each one using the leveling nuts to align each log vertically.   

In tune with the waves of brickwork the log columns are 7 to 8 inches diameter and range from 32 inches to 6 feet in length.

Next the headers that go between the pillars are repurposed from an old house torn down just round the corner.  He will notch the top of each pillar at the appropriate height.  The 12-inch floor/deck joists will sit atop the headers and cantilever out between 1 to 2 feet.

~Cheryl

Going Gable

The original plan was to give Arthur’s room a shed slanted roof.  But that has changed now, its gone gable!

A few more 2 by 8’s, and a few more sheets of plywood later, Arthur so far has the better bedroom in the house.   The master suite is just big enough for a bed and a few shelves…but then again, I will have an office / craft room and an organized kitchen and Kevin has his living room view so it’s all good …

And, yes, we broke down and bought plywood, couldn’t find big enough trees LOL!  J

~Cheryl 

Half sheeted and not tucked in

Half of the roof is sheeted. 

Kitchen and living room areas are now under cover. Arthur’s loft above Kevin & my bedroom and my office are on the waiting list.  

Kevin and Arthur climbed aboard to enjoy the spoils.

Arthur rolled a bottle of water from his spot in the name of gravity and momentum. The X & Y factors of motion. 

They invited me up…..ah, I think I’ll just keep my view from the ground for now.      

Watching them I drifted into a heady admiration, smiled and reflected on the perseverance, sweat and time that went into cutting those boards and then the energy Kevin exerted to haul them to roof level to set them.

New logs are on the way.....

Yeah, I’m happy.

~Cheryl

What's wrong with this picture?

That beautiful limb isn't long enough to meet the beam!

Time to find a new tree!

Yep, we're going for the real rustic look!  Its also happens to be in the budget!


~Cheryl

It's Like Trees In The Sky

It’s like trees in the sky

It’s beautiful.

The moments unfold more gradually these days. I’ve been temping 8 to 5 come lately and around 6.30 in the AM Kevin tells me of his daily plans. Yesterday it was rafters.

I often think how his day is going and about what progress he has made. I was delighted with the sight that greeted me as I drove down our road and pulled into the gravel drive.

These 11 rafters that reach into our woodland skies will roof the living room and Arthur’s loft.

I imagine myself inside the dry walled in house and making decisions on where to place the furniture Kevin will build. I envision a rustic luxury of open space, of abundant cabinets and built in bookshelves. I wonder at my bare feet on hard wood floors cut from local timber. I marvel at the idea of coffee on the deck overlooking the surrounding woods and lake. And I am fascinated that Kevin has already picked out where our Christmas tree will sit.

Reality Check: All the milling of logs that Kevin and Arthur accomplished this last summer in preparation for this build has dwindled. Kevin’s board count for the framing was almost spot on, but now I find him calculating his needs for the remaining rafters, roofing and a few minor interior walls. Already he’s pulled in logs from down the road and 2 huge pines that stood less than 100 yards from the new house site. I keep telling him no more clearing on our property, but apparently thinning is a different concept.

Our house is made of trees I’ve seen, touched and watched morph into something equally as beautiful that reaches upwards just like them.

My trees in the sky.

It’s beautiful.

~Cheryl

When all else fails, add an extra Axel!

Always on the lookout for fallen logs to mill for lumber for the house Kevin found several down the road from us.  (Recently cut down by our local Asplundh crew on a mission to keep the power lines clear)

Between the back hoe, chain saw and a obviously too small homemade trailer, Kevin got as far as loading.

As we began the trek home with me as a precaution following him with my hazard lights on the left trailer tire hissed and blew.  So home we went to get an axel we’d acquired from the mobile home we scraped out earlier this month.

After lifting the trailer with the backhoe we positioned the new axel and Kevin chained it all together.

These logs are expected to go into rafters, floor joists, sub floor boards and roof sheathing.

~ Cheryl 

Aluminum Playday

Kevin (and Arthur and I, but mostly Kevin) have taken to scrapping old trailers.  Recently we took one down not far from the house.  Aluminum and steel are the main items for the Reclamation Centers (Recycling).  Copper wire is also something to keep an eye out for.

This melting expedition included aluminum from that scrapping job as well as our own private collection of candy wrappers (from Christmas) and assorted aluminum pieces saved from the trashcan in the kitchen.   The more we can return to nature, recycle or reuse the better.  

Kevin has played at melting down aluminum for a while now and the experiments have been simple, mainly seeking out suitable molding mediums.  He and I had spent hours designing lovely patterns in plaster of Paris only to find that the hot aluminum cracked them. So this time we played with both sand/dirt and concrete. 

As you can see from the collage, with our makeshift furnace and crucible we are very much novices. Our process is refined bit-by-bit, experiment-by-experiment. And it doesn’t hurt that Kevin likes playing with fire, and concrete and wood and, well the list goes on an on….

For me, I’d like to create aluminum focal points for the jewelry like sun catcher creations I build.  Ever the master fabricator, Kevin will design as well as see the project into production.

From these humble beginnings we have high aspirations. Exploring where our creativity motivations take us has become a major component in our lives.  The impulse to create is strong and we are delighted to answer the call.

~ Cheryl