After a two-month hiatus, I made it back up to the shabin last weekend to do some more work. After opening all the shutters, I uncovered this cute pair of sleeping critters. I would have expected them to take off right away, but one of them opened its eyes and watched me, before flying away after I was out of sight. The other kept sleeping for a couple of hours before disappearing. I will apologize for the quality of my photographs. I forgot to bring a real camera and had to use my iPod touch instead.
It is getting colder, with temperatures below 40 degrees at night, so I now need heat. I eventually plan to install a vented propane heater. My cheap stop gap so that I can keep working through this winter is this kerosene space heater. It did an admirable job heating the uninsulated cabin all night using very little fuel. It is a bit stinky and requires cracking a window to supply it fresh air, so it is not a permanent solution. It did give me some idea that insulating the cabin will mean we can get by with quite a small heater.
I finished the electrical work I started back in September, meaning I wired in one last outlet, lights for the kitchen area, and this ceiling fan. The fan is out in the open vaulted part of the shabin, and did a great job circulating the heated air around the building. The fan was rescued from our house, which is now undergoing a major renovation.
Also rescued from the house were the cabinets I installed for my mud room project previously posted in this blog. I believe I will be able to use all of the cabinets to create the shabin's kitchen as well as general storage for stuff in the living area. I spent much of my time moving the cabinets from the truck into the shabin, and then reorganizing the piles of tools, hardware, and other stuff that had collected around the shabin into the cabinets. As space is a premium, this was necessary, despite having simply set the cabinets temporarily on the floor. Once I have the interior insulated an paneled, then I can start hanging cabinets on the wall.
And, speaking of insulation, I also brought up all the insulation and started work on installing it. I found a relatively new product that is not made with fiberglass. As anyone who has installed fiberglass insulation would know, the old stuff is very itchy and it take days for any glass fibers to work their way out of one's skin. This stuff feels like cotton and is a joy to work with. It is otherwise identical to fiberglass in its insulating properties and installation method. Because the shabin was conventionally framed with 2x4's that are 16 inches apart on center, I am able to just press the insulation batts into the voids between studs.
This was just a quick trip up at mid-day Saturday and returning mid-day Sunday, but I fell like I got a good deal of work done. My next trip will be to finish the insulation and, hopefully, get started paneling the interior.
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