Front Door

We got the new front door installed this weekend, but we had  a few challenges.  First, we had to straighten the wall.  I'll add a post on that later.  Then we had to move the door to the left to make room for the light switches on the other side because we changed the swing.  Finally we had to drop the door in the jam 1/4" because it was not hung correctly.

Gangway

We finally got around to fixing the retaining wall at the top of the gangway.  We had company coming and we didn't want anyone to hurt themselves by falling in the hole or tripping trying to get to the gangway.  So for now, we just put the top block back on the wall and filled it all in.  Eventually there will be a landing here and the dirt will all be grass.

Gangway

Kelly got all the deck boards for the gangway cut, pre-drilled and stained with almost no help.  I got them all installed and it looks awesome!  The plan is to do the same thing with the approach, but it has moved way down on the priority list.  We still need to get another barrel under the gangway as well to give it a little more flotation.  That is also down on the priority list a ways.

Sliding Glass Door

While Kelly was working on the boards for the gangway, I pulled the old 6' wide slider and installed our new 5' door.  We went with a narrower door to allow room for light switches on either side of the door.  This will also allow us to install hanging lights on either side of the door rather than the single light over the top like what is there now.

Gangway

Kelly has gotten tired of using the gangway as a balance beam, so the project for the weekend is to get the deck boards installed.  The plan is to stain the sides of the approach and gangway an orange/brown color to match the pressure treated material around the skirt of the dock and the deck boards tan to match the decking on the dock.

Utility Room

We got the rest of the framing in the utility room done today.  The ceiling is flattened off and the doorway is roughed in.  We also finished the framing above the girls bedroom door.  There is a little bit left to do above the bathroom and over our bedroom door, but it does not need to be done until we start to hang dry wall.

Utility Room

Tonight after work I went up to the cabin to get some work done while it was still cool.  I got the 2 walls that form the utility room done.  I still have to do the doorway that leads into the room and flatten off the ceiling, but it is starting to take shape.  We have figured out which fireplace to get, so I can rough in the opening for that and the book cases on either side of it as well.

The Girl's Bedroom

We got the last 2 trusses finished and the rest of the load bearing wall torn down.  That allowed us to start framing the entry into the girls bedroom.  We still need to carry the framing to the ceiling in the living room, but up to the 8' mark is done.  The closet in their room is also done, but it does not show in this picture very well.  Next up is the utility room walls.

Gangway

We got the concrete pored around the steal frame.  It took 25 bags of 80 lb concrete mix as well as a bunch of rocks we picked out of the dirt while digging the trenches.  With the weight of the steal there is roughly 3,000 lbs on the shore side.  That will hold against wind and waves, but we will have to pull the dock and gangway out of the water to prevent the shifting ice from crushing them.

Gangway

While Kelly was out picking up concrete for the landing on the shore side of the gangway, I built new pivots on the lake side.  When this was originally built, the pivot was too low so the gangway sat about 6 inches higher than the approach on the dock.  I also built some spacers to keep the gangway from walking side to side on the approach like it did last year.

Gangway

We decided its time to get the gangway in the water.  The problem is the water is still so high that we have no beach.  So we had to build the landing on top of the retaining wall to hold the shore side of the gangway.  This is the steal frame that will allow the gangway to pivot up and down but prevent it from moving side to side.