Building our dream home in the NC mountains

It's almost mid August 2011 and the love of my life and I are getting ready to begin a year long adventure building our dream cabin in the mountains of North Carolina. We're actually in Oregon, as we speak (8/11/11) wrapping up a glorious 10 day vacation with my wife's sister and brother-in-law at their cabin in the mountains.

Why the title "The Maple Tree Adventure"? Our property is on Maple Tree Lane at an elevation of 4200'...sounds like an adventure to us.

We've talked about this for a long time and now that it's a reality, we are excited to start the process. The process should take about 10 months. The build should be completed by next fall 2012.

Our goal is to offer up a blog entry daily. Some posts might include a photo, others may not. The adventure takes my wife and me in different directions for awhile. She teaches school and will finish out her career in June 2012 in Raleigh. I, on the other hand, will head to the mountains to get the cabin rolling in the next week or so (8/16/11).

Keep us in your prayers, leave your comments and plan to visit us next spring 2013.

Kent & Darlene
210 Maple Tree Lane
West Jefferson, NC 28694

(828) 406-4823

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Crackling fire and the high wire

Today was another beautiful day in the high country. Not a cloud in the sky. Tim, James and I finished adding the last parts of the chimney piping. It's not rocket science but does take some care so as to make sure the fireplace works properly and safely.


This photo is at the top of the vaulted ceiling where the chimney piping exits the cabin and aims skyward. James is handing one of the 4' long sections to Tim (way up in the rafters).

We had to add support brackets to the pipe about half way up to keep the weight of the piping to a minimal on the stove itself. Good thing the instructions for the stove spell out each step in detail.


Once most of the piping was in place, Tim made his last accent of the roof. Our roof ridge is about 40' from the ground and has a steep pitch and dangerous to navigate. The last piece of piping had to be lowered from above and set down carefully on all the other pieces so as to made a secure and tight connection.

Once the last pipe was in place the rain shield and chimney cap were bolted in position. Thank you guys!!!

I must tell you that I appreciate the efforts of both Tim and James as they continually go above and beyond the call of duty. I'm just really glad that Tim has made his last trip to the summit 'on the high wire'.

Tomorrow we have our framing and hvac inspection. Once signed off we head to plumbing installation and electrical wiring. There's a bit more to finish on the outside and then Dar and I take over to complete the interior.

More coming,
z

No comments:

Post a Comment