A week after arriving to find the property overrun with cows, I returned and found they had all departed. Apparently they were just passing through, on their way to green pastures. I can’t say I was disappointed.

I did some more drywall mudding, mostly on the inside corners, which seem to take me the longest. Currently I have two coats on everything, with one more to go.

I discovered the lockset on the utility building was jammed or something and I couldn’t get inside. It took about five minutes to drill it out and get inside. The ease with which I was able to get inside the locked room was discouraging so I replaced the ruined lockset with a heavier duty model, also replacing the set on the front door. Now all three locks are keyed to the same key.

I finished the wiring in the loft, adding boxes and wiring for a light and fan. I ran some 8/3 wire from the utility room to the opposite wall of the cabin for the eventual solar panels. I also ran some cat5 and low voltage wire from the utility room to a spot over the front door which will be used for a security camera at some point in the future.

I put in most of the batt fiberglass insulation in the loft ceiling, mainly to get it out of the way. The rolls had been sitting up in the loft for almost a year.

Finally, I started my big experiment in blowing cellulose insulation into the first floor wall cavities. The cavities are accessible from the loft due to the balloon framing. My DIY insulation blower consisted of a cheap 1HP Harbor Freight dust collector, some hoses I had laying around, a trash can used as a hopper, and a drill with a joint compound mixer used as an agitator. The setup actually worked quite well and I was able to fill about a third of the cavities in one afternoon. It was a bit more messy than I anticipated and I had to agitate the insulation in the hopper more frequently than I expected. Overall, I’m happy with the results. Based on the progress so far, it will take about 15 bags of cellulose. At $10 per bag, total cost should be $150 for materials. See the pictures for more info, including a rare picture with me in it.

On Saturday I went out to the cabin and put another coat of mud on the sheetrock. I was surprised to find the place overrun with cows. Part of our property is fenced but the part where the cabin is located has no fence separating it from the adjacent neighbor who apparently owns the cows. I’d guess there were about a hundred or so.

Last Fall/Winter we hung most of the drywall but were about four sheets shy of finishing. Last weekend I finished up the area under the stairs, one bathroom wall, and a few miscellaneous smaller pieces.

A few weeks ago I noticed the box for the living room fan didn’t have a wire in it so I was a little worried we had run it to the wrong spot but I was able to remove the box from the hanger bracket and find the wire and run it into the box.

The majority of two days of work was spent applying a first coat of joint compound to the walls and ceiling. There are a few skills I’m fairly terrible at and mudding is definitely one of them. I watched several instructional videos prior to starting and while they were somewhat helpful, my process and results differed significantly from the videos. With most skills proficiency increases with repetition but this is probably my fourth or fifth significant attempt at mudding and if I’m getting any better, I can’t see it. In any case, eventually I’ll get it done.

Saturday at the cabin was cold and windy again, making work outside unpleasant and progress slow. I primarily worked on the cedar trim for the front corners. The front corner trim is complicated by the presence of the porch which required some creative cutting to make the trim reasonably attractive and weatherproof.

I also added a soffit on the utility room roof overhang. For the soffit I used two cedar boards with a gap of about an inch for ventilation. I backed the soffit with some metal screen material to keep insects out.

Finally I started running some 8/3 wire from the loft down to the utility room which will be used for the solar panels on the opposite roof. I have to do some prep work for the solar panels prior to closing in the loft ceiling, mainly running the wire and adding mounting brackets so I can bolt them through the roof while I have access.

Saturday at the cabin was cold and windy again, making work outside unpleasant and progress slow. I primarily worked on the cedar trim for the front corners. The front corner trim is complicated by the presence of the porch which required some creative cutting to make the trim reasonably attractive and weatherproof.

I also added a soffit on the utility room roof overhang. For the soffit I used two cedar boards with a gap of about an inch for ventilation. I backed the soffit with some metal screen material to keep insects out.

Finally I started running some 8/3 wire from the loft down to the utility room which will be used for the solar panels on the opposite roof. I have to do some prep work for the solar panels prior to closing in the loft ceiling, mainly running the wire and adding mounting brackets so I can bolt them through the roof while I have access.