After pouring the concrete, we faced a five-day curing period. However, Rick, confident that the full weight of the cabin wouldn't immediately bear down, decided we could proceed sooner.
During the concrete's curing, we built a quick and inexpensive firewood holder for our fire pit. We also purchased a solar fountain for the pond. While it's a fantastic addition, it's not currently receiving enough sunlight to charge properly unless we remove it from the water and place it directly in the sun.
We also visited our new friends, Brenda and Shawn. It was inspiring to see their homestead firsthand, and they offered invaluable advice. We even got to test their prototype card game, which was a lot of fun. They treated us to a delicious carnivore dinner, and we left with a couple of comfrey plants, which are now planted next to our pond.
Rick was eager to begin a building project . It has been over a year in the making. He was determined to get started. The process took longer than anticipated, primarily due to the meticulous need to check and recheck for squareness at every step. Rick also made some decisions to eliminate certain cross braces. While he prefers to build things robustly, sometimes it can be overkill and wasteful of materials.
We can't stress enough how much we dislike moving and restacking materials, and this week involved a lot of it. We had to locate all the necessary supplies for the next phase of the project. Due to recent rain and heavy dew, everything needs to be kept covered, which means constant shifting. This week, we continued building from the ground up. We used house wrap on the underside to help support the insulation, along with insulation wires. The insulation process took a while because it was reclaimed and needed to be cut to size. Since the pieces weren't uniform in length, it was like solving a large puzzle. We're not complaining, though; it was free and saved us a significant amount of money.
Next came the OSB. Cat's sister and brother-in-law, who recently tore down a barn, gifted us a several pieces. We got those installed and added some new ones. Rick then noticed a significant problem and began measuring, which is when we discovered the new ones are not standard board sizes. He has been on a rant about the declining quality of building materials despite rising prices. He was surprised to discover that OSB boards are no longer truly 4x8 feet, which is incredibly frustrating when you design a build around standard dimensions, only to find a gap along one side. The joist hangers were equally disappointing; they no longer hook over the rim joists, and the points meant to secure them before nailing are ineffective. Even the joists themselves were cut out of square, varying by half an inch from one end to the other. The general decline in product quality is a common frustration. Now he has to cut strips to finish the floor. He's quite annoyed, but we'll adapt as best we can. That's tomorrow morning's task, and then the walls will go up, which we're very excited.
The post office now recognizes our address. The next step is to get all other companies updated.
We have walls! M &M came over to help, and we all worked incredibly hard. Tomorrow, we'll start on the bathroom. We'll try to accomplish anything else we can, as we're eager to get this done as soon as possible. We miss our bed and dresser.
Remember Small Steps Gets You Miles
Rick & Cat
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