Drywall is Installed

The Dalmatian Room

We have sheet rock! Drywall! Whatever you want to call it, there are walls in our log cabin. And...the building inspector signed it off today. The next step is taping and painting. We are hiring a professional to tape the drywall and "mud" over the nail and screw holes. In the meantime, Gary can install the electrical outlets and switches all over the house.

Entryway looking toward the guest bathroom and guest bedroom

Great Room Ceiling

The great room ceiling will eventually be covered with tongue and groove, but we just wanted to get the ceiling in sooner. We knew it would be a slight added expense, but in the meantime, Debi can clean up the tongue and groove that got the black mold. Then Gary and the Kayser boys can put up the tongue and groove as they have time.

Great Room looking toward master bedroom and kitchen pantry

The wall that you see to the right of the pantry will be Debi's "Baking Center". The counter will be slightly lower so that rolling out pastry and bread dough will be easier. There will be cupboards above the counter to hold pie pans, cookie sheets, and all things associated with baking.

Wood Stove Hearth

Where you see "cement board", there will be river rock on the walls, and slate on the flat part of the hearth. There will be river rock on the face of the hearth. About five feet up (where you see the cement board go from four sheets to two sheets) there will be a log mantel.

Death of Our Favorite Tree

The Death of Our Favorite Tree

Our favorite tree on the property was cut down today. For over a year we have been watching it lose its vibrant green color. We've watched it become less full. We've seen needles all over the ground. When we touched the branches, needles came off in our hands. Gary talked with a student in one of his classes, and he told Gary that he had lost a Redwood, too. Our friends, Ron and Roz Chamberlin, lost two of their Redwoods this past year. Despite all of our watering attempts, we knew that it wasn't coming back to life after this past winter. So, today Gary cut it down. It was a sad time for us because we loved this tree.

Favorite Tree in December 2008

This is what the tree looked like after a snowstorm in December 2008. It is nice and green and very full. You can see how tall it is when you compare it to the 5' 2" person standing next to it.

November 2009

This is when we realized it wasn't doing too well. Gary said to wait one more winter and spring before we cut it down, but I think we both knew that it was already dead.

Gary "Vacuuming" the Tree

Gary's brother (Stan) suggested he use a shop vacuum to take the dirt away from the roots. Gary is hoping to use the tree stump for a really cool sink base in the half bath.

Clutch of Quail Eggs

When Gary was trimming the bottom branches of the tree (prior to cutting it down) we found this nest of quail eggs under a box, which was next to the tree. Debi had seen a quail fly out from under the tree when Gary was cutting the branches, but we didn't know the mother quail was on the nest. We hope she will come back and finish sitting on them. We hope we haven't scared her off.

Concrete Board Installation

Concrete Board on Hearth

Gary began to install concrete board in the cabin. The concrete board must be installed in areas where tile or river rock will be placed. This is a picture of the hearth in the corner of the great room. We will be purchasing a new wood stove later this year. The concrete board will go up the wall, too. There will be a mantel about five feet above the hearth. Gary is hoping to build a mantel that will incorporate a log.

Pantry

This is the kitchen pantry. Concrete board is installed where river rock will be placed. The river rock doesn't have to be installed to pass the final inspection, so when we move in, it will still look unfinished for awhile. You'll just have to use your imagination and pretend that there is river rock there!

Tongue and Groove Installation

Master Bath's Water Closet

Last week, Gary started to install tongue and groove on the ceiling and interior walls. It's starting to look like a real cabin! This is our master bathroom's "water closet"--just the toilet will be housed in this little room. It has a pocket door, but the interior will be all tongue and groove. Gary is partly done with one of the walls in the picture above, but you can imagine how it will look when it is finished.

Entryway

This is the entryway. The picture is taken from the end of the hall looking toward the front room--also known as the "piano room".

"Powder Room"

This is the half bath--so named because it is just a toilet and sink. (Some people refer to these bathrooms as the "powder room".) It is in the hall of the entryway (to the left) as you first walk in. (You can see the front door opening into the entryway in this photo.) We used half-round logs on the exterior wall of this bathroom and added a full log on either side of the doorway to add a rustic touch. The concrete board you see in this picture shows where river rock will be added later. The trim hasn't been installed around the door yet, but it is looking good!

Black Mold Disaster

Treating Black Mold on Tongue and Groove

Last week, Gary started to install the tongue and groove in the ceiling of the entryway. About the third row down (in the pile of wood) he noticed black mold on one of the boards. He put the board aside, and reached for the next one. It also had black mold on it. He knew that black mold is a very bad thing to put into a home. We remember an episode of "Extreme Home Makeover" where a family had to leave their home due to black mold. Gary continued to search through the pile of boards and found more infected boards. After going through the entire pile, he was only able to save about 10% of the boards. Even when he wasn't sure if a board contained black mold, or if it was just a black "character mark" on the board, he laid it aside. Then Debi started to do research on the internet about ways to treat black mold. Gary also contacted our log manufacturer to ask them their opinion. (We need to insert here that it was our fault that the wood got wet--not the manufacturer. We saw the cover on the pile of tongue and groove flapping in the breeze, and didn't think anything of it. If anything, we thought that is water got on the boards, they would warp. We never imagined that black mold would be a problem.) The wood has been sitting outside (wrapped and covered--except for that corner flapping in the breeze) since October 2008, and the first time we opened the wrapping was last week.

After speaking with our log home manufacturer to get their ideas for eliminating the black mold on the tongue and groove, Debi mixed three parts water with one part bleach and used a sprayer to coat the boards. She wore gloves and a mask to avoid any mold contamination. She let the solution sit on the boards for about 10 minutes and then wiped each one with paper towels. We read that it was important to not use a cloth that would cross-contaminant the other boards, so after each swipe of the paper towel, it was thrown away. Then the board was turned over and the process was repeated. Next, the boards were stacked (with spacers in between each board) and left outside to dry in the hot desert sun. The process was time-consuming, but it worked!
This is a sample of the type of mold Debi had to deal with last Memorial Day weekend. She has treated about 1/7th of the pile of boards. Now that school is over for the year, she will be using several days of her summer vacation to finish the project.
Here's another sample of the black mold. These were some of the worst boards. Most of the boards weren't this badly damaged. Gary has already been able to use some of the salvaged wood on the walls.

Our next post will show how the tongue and groove has been installed in the entryway. It looks like this "Black Mold Disaster" will just be an inconvenience, and that we will be able to use all the boards after all.