Cherylwood Forest's Castle

 

I think progress, invention or production should have been Kevin's middle name. I am in awe of the imagination, determination, time, energy, and sore muscles this man puts in for me.....the castle that Kevin built.

.....2 sides of the house are now clothed in wood siding, hand tongue and grooved by Kevin and router The fresh blanks were then blanched with bleach eliminating uninvited mold. Then all set into place

by hand.

We decided to stain the wood rather than paint so took a long visit to Lowe's to pick a color. After drooling over several handfuls of paint chips, I fell in love with a dignified plum and Kevin got busy concocting..... several 5 gallon buckets of mineral spirits and a secret ingredient list....just enough color to bring out the wood grain and give it that dusky evening shade of purple. I think it will be gorgeous with the green tin roof.

No homeowner associations or covenants for us!

As you can see the house and carport now meet at the breezeway. We were thinking about a mote............

….........all for now.

~Cheryl

Calculations, Pulleys & Muscle

Kevin maneuvered this 14 plus foot chunk of wood through the framework maze of the house, over piles of lumber, under scaffolds and around ladders.

Keep in mind this particular beam weighs only around 150 –200 pounds; minimal in comparison to the beams that support the floor or the logs Kevin cut lumber from.

For a minute, imagine the ingenuity and strength needed to manhandle objects this large and heavy, now imagine these tasks being done by only “one” person. Even with the tractor used like a crane to move the logs Kevin still has to engineer them to the mill the same way he sets the beams. It blows me away.

When I come out to take pictures Arthur has a rope pulley on one of the 4x6’s off the wall and Arthur is holding steady this beam so Kevin can manhandle it to balance off the side of the house towards the grotto columns.

The first side is set and clamped into place than the next as the pictures show.

Yeah!

This is the first supporting beam for the Sun Room that runs the length of the southern side of the house, off the kitchen and living room.

The name alone, Sun Room, conjures up all kinds of glorious ideas. With a view of the trees and the lake in the distance see it as a lounge for the soul, a place of contemplation and reflection. I am feeling a soft sigh rest deep inside me.

It makes me smile, this house, this labor of love, creativity and sweat is Kevin’s legacy, one this family will cherish forever. 

~Cheryl

P.s. And when I say beer belly I say it with love. :)

Morningsides

Between the rains and 100 plus degree weather and having to go into the city last Sunday to buy a new refrigerator, Kevin & Arthur have been working on the roof.

The softness of the early day is enchanting to me. So, on this wonderfully cool morning I walked to see the north side stepping into the trees to scope out a view for the camera lens.

I love the peak over Arthur’s room and the high ceiling office to the left of it where I will carry on with my writing adventures and of course continue this blog of Kevin’s artful projects beyond building the house.

South side led my bare feet onto the lawn wet from last nights rain. Here I visit with kitchen daydreams of entertaining and gathering with friends. …or maybe I’ll just it on the deck and write…and let the charm of it all take over me….

This is after all Cherylwood Forest…..

Yes, to me it’s magical; to Kevin with his degree in engineering and Arthur with his love of numbers it’ mostly mathematical. Calculating corners, angles and precision cuts, the hoisted green tin now sets the tone and protects our future lying snug in place boasting smooth overlaps and ridge cap.

Kevin says let the rain come, gutters go up next.

~Cheryl

Skeleton of Probabilities

In gestation, our future grotto emerges and calls out for attention.

I answer, cooing back with quiet plans of contemplation and cocktail party invites.

The groundwork laid, poles set, and imaginations inspired. I see a labyrinth of props and agendas, a skeleton of possibilities.

I watch the unfolding like the faithful audience at a continuous theatre of improvisation.

Clean-shaven, including a missing mustache for the summer, Kevin with the blueprints only in his head allows his creative strategies and arrangements to link themselves together.

I follow promising patterns and delight in the unexpected.

I know Kevin stands, stares and calculates but I wonder at night does he dream of positioning hypothetical boards and structures; building castles in the air before committing them to lumber?

~Cheryl

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