# My Construction Project Saga



## elfiii (Jul 14, 2013)

(Edit I started this thread for the other Mods and figured it might be worthwhile sharing with ya'll at this point.)

Since circa 1997 we have lived like this at deer camp. Living space in the middle, smoker on the left, shower house on the right.















I've had this "wild hair" (don't we all?) to make it more "livable" over the years. The name is the "Salem Springs Savoy Resort & Hunt Club" - home of the Dead Poachers Society. Naturally the accomodations need to be up to snuff to match the name.

Having put the money together to make it finally happen, I embarked on this massive construction project undertaking. A complete waste of time and money, no doubt.

Unfortunately the original shower house was built too close to the cabin to accomodate the footprint of the new digs so the first thing that had to happen was to build a new shower house and demolish the old one. So, on March 9 we began.





















Voila! Brand new deluxe shower house with none of the imperfections of the previous one. Note the antlers. We're talking "High Style" here.


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## Nicodemus (Jul 14, 2013)

Fancy!!!   


Need to put that antler towel rack lower to the ground.


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## Muddyfoots (Jul 14, 2013)

Nicodemus said:


> Fancy!!!
> 
> 
> Need to put that antler towel rack lower to the ground.


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## elfiii (Jul 14, 2013)

After a brief intermission for Turkey Season (hey, I'm addicted just like everybody else) and rain it was time to "get serious" as the project is now well behind schedule and it looks like much of archery season will be absorbed by ongoing construction.

Accordingly, Throwback on here was engaged for purposes of site prep and final grade, to wit:
















Once grading was completed it was time to stake out the foundation. Last weekend was "pull a string, square it, stake it, level it, get in out of the rain and mud".












This weekend, actual construction began. First stop Friday morning - Norcross Supply to pick up the assorted cedar timbers required for the post and tenon framing system. Those timbers weighed about 75 lbs a piece. After driving through a heavy downpour lasting about 15 minutes just before arriving at camp, the timbers each weighed about 175 lbs. Apparently cured cedar timbers are more absorbent than your average kitchen sponge!





Having successfully navigated the stretch of suicide road from ATL to Pine Mountain known as I-85 I arrived safely at camp. Yesterday morning we began in earnest by digging holes and pouring footers, the hard way. Doug and I give a fair impression of those famous Mexican twin  brothers - Manual and Casual Labor. The Labor brothers do work faster than us but the results are the same. For the most part. Today, my hands still have that "Post Hole Digger Curl".









Once that was accomplished it was time to turn our attention to the timbers. Waterproofing commenced apace.









Upon completion of this task, the sky could no longer hold it's moisture and we were subjected to heavy rain. I'm not talking about a Methodist shower either. This was an all out Baptist downpour. Luckily we got plastic over the remaining timbers in the nick of time.





Next weekend is another coat of waterproofing, 2 coats of primer on all the timbers and time permitting starting fabrication of concrete forms. Posts go in the ground 7/26, God willing.

I'll update as we go along.

The problem with projects like this is it all seems so easy in the planning - "Heck, we'll just knock it together and be done."

Once you get into the execution there is a lot of "Oh yeah, didn't think about that. Need to figger something out quick."

When we get the timber frame complete it will be down to cutting and nailing up 2x4's and plywood but the timber frame is the secret to the whole wretched mess because of considerations revolving around tying the new frame into the existing frame. For a "crapenter" (not a carpenter) that is "Things that make you go Hmmmmm...."


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## Hoss (Jul 14, 2013)

Now that's a project, Lee.  (Didn't you get about enough of this kind of stuff with the home makeover?)  Look forward to seeing the progress.


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## elfiii (Jul 14, 2013)

Hoss said:


> (Didn't you get about enough of this kind of stuff with the home makeover?)



I must have accidentally scratched the scab off cause I got the itch again.


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## RUTTNBUCK (Jul 14, 2013)

Looks good Lee!!.........I bet those November, and December showers don't take long!!


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## Milkman (Jul 15, 2013)

Lots of work but the end result will justify all the labor and expense.  Good looking camp  !!!!


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## elfiii (Jul 15, 2013)

RUTTNBUCK said:


> Looks good Lee!!.........I bet those November, and December showers don't take long!!



Actually it's not too bad in November Mitch. I have Visqueen windows that drop down and cover the screens and a couple of propane heaters. We use one of those plastic bag showers and we heat the water on the camp stove so you can take as hot a shower as you can stand. Showers usually happen midday during deer season unless somebody gets sweaty dragging one out after the evening hunt.

December is a different story. Nobody tarries long.  It will be a hop, skip and jump from the shower to the cabin once you're done.


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## . (Jul 15, 2013)

I don't see no Directv/dishnetwork equipment on them fancy digs.  What kinda operation y'all runnin' down there.


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## elfiii (Jul 15, 2013)

iflyfish said:


> I don't see no Directv/dishnetwork equipment on them fancy digs.  What kinda operation y'all runnin' down there.



Two words - "Deer" "Camp".


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## JustUs4All (Jul 15, 2013)

When do the invitations come out for the "House Warming"?  

I think I have some calendar openings around the third week in November.


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## elfiii (Jul 15, 2013)

JustUs4All said:


> When do the invitations come out for the "House Warming"?
> 
> I think I have some calendar openings around the third week in November.



That's good because that's probably just about the time I'll get it finished at this point.


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## JustUs4All (Jul 15, 2013)

I would happily volunteer to drive the last nail.


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## Jake Allen (Jul 15, 2013)

Now that, looks like a good, and worthwhile project!


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## elfiii (Jul 15, 2013)

JustUs4All said:


> I would happily volunteer to drive the last nail.



I got plenty of nailers. How good are you at wrasslin' cedar timbers?


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## Dustin Pate (Jul 15, 2013)

That is gonna be sure nuff nice!! I'd had a three point hitch auger that I would have gladly loaned you for those holes!!


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## JustUs4All (Jul 15, 2013)

elfiii said:


> I got plenty of nailers. How good are you at wrasslin' cedar timbers?



Long as the timbers  are on the fork lift that I am sitting in the seat of I am good to go.


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## elfiii (Jul 15, 2013)

Dustin Pate said:


> That is gonna be sure nuff nice!! I'd had a three point hitch auger that I would have gladly loaned you for those holes!!





You don't know how tempted I was to buy one!



JustUs4All said:


> Long as the timbers  are on the fork lift that I am sitting in the seat of I am good to go.



It's Deer Camp. We do it the old fashioned way - brute strength and main force.


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## Ronnie T (Jul 15, 2013)

RUTTNBUCK said:


> Looks good Lee!!.........I bet those November, and December showers don't take long!!



If yall would take a shower before ya left home you wouldn't even need one out there,,,,, unless you intended to stay two or three weeks.


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## elfiii (Jul 15, 2013)

Ronnie T said:


> If yall would take a shower before ya left home you wouldn't even need one out there,,,,, unless you intended to stay two or three weeks.



I kin tell you ain't been deer huntin' in West GA during early archery season. You take an ice cold shower before you go to the woods and another one when you get to your tree stand.


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## jmharris23 (Jul 15, 2013)

That looks great Lee!


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## dawg2 (Jul 15, 2013)

Dang, nice improvements since I saw it!


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## elfiii (Jul 29, 2013)

Well, 2 weeks later and we are coming up out of the ground and that's a good thing.






23 80 lb bags of concrete the hard way. Those holes in the ground held a lot more volume than I anticipated. Pi * the radius squared * the height might be the volume of a cylinder but that don't work in Pine Mountain. There must be a warp in the time/space continuum at those coordinates.









All the posts are set and have 2 coats of finish paint up to the braces. I'll waterproof the concrete later once it has set up good.





4 of the 8 sill plates primed, painted and ready to go.





More timbers primed.





Still got 4 timbers to prime and paint.

As per usual we hit a couple of "snags". The back post on the existing structure had a little rot at ground level. I cleaned that up yesterday and applied waterproofing. I plan on pouring a concrete ledger to support the existing sill and the sill that will tie in to the existing structure at that point.

The big problem is the existing structure is 2" out of square at the front right corner up top. The "crapenter" that built this thing must have been drunk when that post got set. There is no way a 4" x 8" cedar timber is going to "bend" 2".  We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Next weekend we get started on the floor system. Hopefully we get 7 of the 8 sills set and start hanging floor joists. I'm tired of grunt work and I'm ready to move on to the carpentry part.

I still have lots of details to figure out. I did put a lot of thought into it before starting but when you build on the fly problems pop up and that usually means a 34 mile ride round trip to the Home Depot in Lagrange and 2 hours shot out. The good thing is I "learned" on the original cabin and won't make the same mistakes twice.


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## Dustin Pate (Jul 29, 2013)

Looking good!


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## NCHillbilly (Jul 29, 2013)

Lookin' good, Lee! Gonna be all fancy down there-next thing you know, y'all'll be shavin' your beards and wearin' capri pants.


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## elfiii (Jul 29, 2013)

NCHillbilly said:


> Lookin' good, Lee! Gonna be all fancy down there-next thing you know, y'all'll be shavin' your beards and wearin' capri pants.



No shaving allowed at deer camp. As long as the capris are frayed cut offs you're good to go.


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## . (Jul 29, 2013)

Man that looks like too much hot sweaty work.  I'da been seriously thinking about trailering in something prefab and dropping it in place.   

The rent to own portable building place here has 2 room cabins for $19.99 a month x 80 years.  They'll even level it for ya.


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## elfiii (Aug 12, 2013)

What a difference 2 weeks make. Weekend before last all the sill plates and support piers went in. The support piers are lap jointed and concreted in.













This weekend the floor system went in. I cheated and used joist hangers.














The last of the timbers have been primed and painted.





Next weekend we go up top and finish the framing and hopefully get the roof system in. The weekend after that we deck and roof and we'll be turning the corner.

This weekend was blistering hot and muggy. Ain't looking forward to the next two weekends! Putting a steel roof on in 90+ degree heat is going to be you know what. 90 in West GA is like 105 anywhere else in this state. 

Once the roof is on at least we will be able to work in the shade. Mostly.


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## mtr3333 (Aug 12, 2013)

Awesome! Ain't nothing wrong with joist hangers. Very nice.


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## chadeugene (Aug 12, 2013)

Lookin' good boys!


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## jbird1 (Aug 12, 2013)

Good Stuff!


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## sman (Aug 12, 2013)

Nice.


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## Silver Britches (Aug 12, 2013)

Looking good!  No doubt some hard work, but it has to be enjoyable. Hey, at least you're in the woods.

Also, where's the fancy cleaning rack? You guys do kill deer don't you? 

Overall, a nice little place to get away!

Good luck the rest of the way and have a great hunting season.


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## BornToHuntAndFish (Aug 12, 2013)

Mighty good job well done.  Very impressive.  Lots for you & your crew to be proud of.  Sure is tons of hard work & sacrifice in ya'lls fine efforts.  Thanks for teaching us lots of lessons on how to make a home away from home hunting lodge & camp.  Hope ya'll have a blast enjoying the new deer camp this season & many more to come.  Best of luck to you & your crew this deer season.


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## elfiii (Aug 12, 2013)

Silver Britches said:


> Also, where's the fancy cleaning rack? You guys do kill deer don't you?



No deer camp is deer camp without one.


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## Miguel Cervantes (Aug 12, 2013)

elfiii said:


> Once the roof is on at least we will be able to work in the shade. Mostly.


Murphy's law says it'll be 68 degrees in the middle of the day in full blazing sun when that happens. You'll have to wear sweat shirts in late August just to work.  I'll be ready to go for round two if that happens.


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## elfiii (Aug 26, 2013)

Weekend before last was miserable. The young bucks didn't show and it was raining cats and dogs so it was up to Doug and I to press on.

Friday afternoon we cut the reverse of the dovetails on the posts and then fit the first cross member and notched up the dovetails. It fit so we tried it on the other posts and it fit them pretty close as well so we had a pattern to use for the other cross members.





Once all the cross members were in the next item up on the agenda was the rest of the top band.





That's where the fun began. The posts have been in the ground for a while and "adjusted" to the ambient temperature and humidity which is to say they were no longer either plumb or straight up top. All 4 members of the top band had to be "custom fitted". That means lifting them up top, holding them there, marking them, taking them down, cutting them, lifting them back up, measuring the fit, taking them back down, cutting some more, rinse and repeat. You got any idea how much a 4" x 8" 12 foot long cedar beam weighs? A lot. Lifting it up an 8' step ladder right near the edge of the floor and holding it in place and marking it for an almost precision cut is scary. Don't try this at home folks. We are trained professionals - AKA surviving contestants of the TV series "Jackass". 

The really bad part was one of the timbers "curled" on me really bad. It's the one in the foreground. I had to cut it half in two and then "ease" the lap joint. You can see the seam. Where it joins the other 12 x 12 frame we had to tie a rope around the top and pull it in at a 45 degree angle about 6 inches before we nailed it to get everything back close to "square". The good thing about dovetail notches is they pull the structure in on its' self over time so the frame will tighten up on its' own. Might take 2 or 3 years but it will get there.

All of the top band timbers are lap jointed into the dovetailed cross members and the dovetailed ends on the middle cross members are housed into the lap jointed band timbers with a snug fit. Not bad for a "crapenter".

Note the mud. It was infernal!





That brings us to last weekend and the roof system. Naturally nobody else showed so it was up to me. Friday morning was spent driving all over Troup Co. to the steel yard to get the steel roofing then off to Home Depot in LaGrange for lumber and plywood. When I got back to camp with the trailer heavily laden with building materials I discovered one of the sheets of steel was only a half sheet buried in the bundle so back to the steel yard I go.

Finally around 1:00 pm Friday I got started actually working. By dark I had gotten in most of the rafters, including notching them in with lap joints on the outside band.





Saturday morning was slow progress. I had to take the roof off of the existing structure, "shave" some overlap on the plywood decking and then cut the existing rafter tails off flush with the existing cross member. Since the addition has two different roof lines at 90 degrees to each other I had to cut and fit a 12' 2 x 8 nail board for the rafter tails where the "front" part of the addition joins the back part and then lag bolt it into the posts. I may support the rafter tails with a ledger later. Haven't decided yet.

After that it was on to purlins and decking. By dark Saturday the frame was done and the decking laid and screwed down. Never you mind about that "daylight" you can see in a couple of places. Like I said, the top was out of square so the plywood didn't hit center on all the rafters and purlins. Nobody is ever going to notice an extra purlin here and there.





That was all followed by the next disaster. Yesterday morning I awakened about 7 and the first thought on my mind was the realization the steel yard didn't sell me enough steel. He sold me exactly half what I needed. 

Lord, I pray for Your forgiveness for the long string of profanity I let fly yesterday morning. It was un Christian like, a violation of #7 on top of #8 and for this I am heartily sorry and repentant.  You do have to admit it was some fine swearin' though.

Here's what it looks like up top, sans 9 pieces of steel roofing.






So, here's where we are. The roof is decked and mostly roofed. Both the roof and the floor on the addition tied in perfectly with the existing structure. The new rafter tails that tie in with the existing structure are "iffy" because the carpenter bees made homes in the existing rafter tails over the years and they are full of holes and the new rafter tails butt up against the old ones perfectly. I'll definitely have to put a ledger in to support the new rafter tails but that's just screwing up a 12' 2 x 4 under the ends of the rafter tails, 5 minutes max and I'm good to go.






I cleaned up the job site yesterday when I finished screwing down the steel I had. With the roof almost done and the site cleaned up it's a sign I've turned the corner and I'm on the home stretch. All the hard scary part is done and all that's left is studs, purlins, siding, a back door and steps, "winders" and paint and she's dried in, done on the outside and ready to be tricked out on the inside and that is a satisfying feeling.

Hopefully the full crew is laid on for next weekend and by next Sunday afternoon I'll be completely dried in.


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## GoodRaven (Aug 26, 2013)

That's a mighty fine deer camp you have.  The work you did looks much better than the average "crapenter" work.  Great job Elfii, looks like you will be feeling the satisfaction of actually completing a job well done very soon.  Enjoy it!


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## shakey gizzard (Aug 26, 2013)

Lookin good! Where's the garden?


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## Miguel Cervantes (Aug 26, 2013)

elfiii said:


> Hopefully the full crew is laid on for next weekend and by next Sunday afternoon I'll be completely dried in.


I guess this is the point at which we see if that 68° high temp shows up for this coming (football opener) weekend huh?


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## elfiii (Aug 26, 2013)

Miguel Cervantes said:


> I guess this is the point at which we see if that 68° high temp shows up for this coming (football opener) weekend huh?



They can listen to the Georgia game on the radio while they work.


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## Miguel Cervantes (Aug 26, 2013)

elfiii said:


> They can listen to the Georgia game on the radio while they work.


Thank God I'm not a Georgia fan.


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## mtr3333 (Aug 26, 2013)

That's awesome. And, if the desire to break from work to hunt overcomes you. Well, there you are!


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## mtr3333 (Aug 26, 2013)

Miguel Cervantes said:


> Thank God I'm not a Georgia fan.



I'll bet you will be 2 or three times this year...


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## Pilgrim (Aug 26, 2013)

WoW!  That's really cool.  What an undertaking!  I wish I could build like that!


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## Mako22 (Aug 26, 2013)

Very nice and very well built, I like it. That place should last well over 100 years with those huge timbers in it. Keep the pics coming. I am rebuilding my shower house right now for camp but it is no where near as nice as yours. BTW I finally broke down and bought a portable hot water on demand camp shower and I love it. I'm framing a nook for it to fit into in my shower house so it will not get wet when I use it. After 5 years of heating a big pot of water on the propane stove and taking a sponge bath I finally got a real camp shower.  This is the one I got in case you are interested: http://www.opticsplanet.com/camp-ch...BAAJg&ef_id=Ug0hSAAABGP838ki:20130827012033:s


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## elfiii (Aug 26, 2013)

Woodsman69 said:


> Very nice and very well built, I like it. That place should last well over 100 years with those huge timbers in it. Keep the pics coming. I am rebuilding my shower house right now for camp but it is no where near as nice as yours. BTW I finally broke down and bought a portable hot water on demand camp shower and I love it. I'm framing a nook for it to fit into in my shower house so it will not get wet when I use it. After 5 years of heating a big pot of water on the propane stove and taking a sponge bath I finally got a real camp shower.  This is the one I got in case you are interested: http://www.opticsplanet.com/camp-ch...BAAJg&ef_id=Ug0hSAAABGP838ki:20130827012033:s



Reckon if I put wheels on it it will pull as good as your camper rebuild?

The shower looks like a hot tip for sure. What's its' fuel source and how many gallons will it hold? I been boiling water on the camp stove as well for my bag shower.


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## pnome (Aug 26, 2013)

Nice work so far!


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## Mako22 (Aug 27, 2013)

elfiii said:


> Reckon if I put wheels on it it will pull as good as your camper rebuild?
> 
> The shower looks like a hot tip for sure. What's its' fuel source and how many gallons will it hold? I been boiling water on the camp stove as well for my bag shower.



It hooks up to a standard 20# propane tank from your gas grill and the water supply is off of a 12volt pump ($35 Harbor Freight) drawing water from a 50 gallon plastic barrel. The system is a portable hot water on demand type so as the water flows it gets heated. I love mine and all I have to do is hit the switch to the pump get in the shower and turn the water on at the shower head. I am taking navy showers as it will drain that 50 gallon tank pretty good if I let it just run on and on.


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## Silver Britches (Aug 27, 2013)

It's really looking good, elfiii!  That'll be something you can be proud of after it's done.

I bet a lot of ibuprofen tablets have been taken during this project! 

Anyway, Woodsman offered a great idea about the portable hot water heater. A guy had one several years ago in our club and it was really nice. Not sure if it was the same device Woodsman uses, but it did a great job on heating the water.

Here's a link to what Woodsman recommended, but at a cheaper price. Camp Chef Triton Hot Water Heater - 5L 

Here's a video of it from Youtube.



Here's a great way to use the device inside.



I'm still old school and taken baths by pouring water over me from gallon jugs. I just need somebody to hold a gun on me to make myself completely rinse off. Good Lord that water is cold!

By the way, Dawgs play Saturday night at 8. So there's no excuse for you not having any help this Saturday!


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## Mako22 (Aug 27, 2013)

Silver Britches said:


> It's really looking good, elfiii!  That'll be something you can be proud of after it's done.
> 
> I bet a lot of ibuprofen tablets have been taken during this project!
> 
> ...



That's the one, when you first turn it on the water comes out cold from the line but as it passes thru the heater it can and will scald you. I had to play with the settings to get the temp right to keep from scalding myself but once you figure it out its easy to use.


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## Silver Britches (Aug 27, 2013)

Woodsman69 said:


> That's the one, when you first turn it on the water comes out cold from the line but as it passes thru the heater it can and will scald you. I had to play with the settings to get the temp right to keep from scalding myself but once you figure it out its easy to use.



Where have you placed yours? I think what the guy did in the second video is great.


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## Jeff C. (Aug 27, 2013)

Heck of an addition to a nice camp, elfii. Dang near a storm shelter


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## BornToHuntAndFish (Aug 27, 2013)

Glad to see ya'll are making good progress, elfiii.  Won't be long & ya'll be in the middle of deer season having a blast with all the new hunting camp upgrades & mulling over stories & memories of all ya'lls back breaking fine hard work & efforts.  Way to go!


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## Mako22 (Aug 27, 2013)

Silver Britches said:


> Where have you placed yours? I think what the guy did in the second video is great.



I was using it last season sitting on the ground with its legs on and running the sprayer under the door of the shower. I am right now framing a new shower house and the hot water shower will be installed into a nook in the wall. The guy in the video has a continuous water supply hooked to his so his could run long enough to kill you if you didn't vent it like he did. Mine only runs in short burst (Navy shower) as I only have a barrel of water and don't want to run out. I also designed openings in the top of my shower house to allow fresh air in. I have a thread in this forum about it. If I was Elfii I'd get one since he put so much effort into rebuilding his shower house.


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## Triple C (Aug 27, 2013)

Love the looks of your camp!  Old school with a few modern conveniences.  Keep the updates coming!


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## DYI hunting (Aug 27, 2013)

Dang elfii that's a nice setup. If I compare the camps we've had over the years to yours, the phrase living under a bridge in a cardboard box come to mind.


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## elfiii (Aug 27, 2013)

Silver Britches said:


> I bet a lot of ibuprofen tablets have been taken during this project!



Eating it like candy Britches. You should see my shins. When you are pushing sheets of plywood up a ladder and the plywood escapes your grip there's only two things that can happen. Either you bail off the ladder before the plywood gets you or if you don't have time for that you got enough time to think "This is going to leave a bloody mark."


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## Miguel Cervantes (Aug 27, 2013)

elfiii said:


> Eating it like candy Britches. You should see my shins. When you are pushing sheets of plywood up a ladder and the plywood escapes your grip there's only two things that can happen. Either you bail off the ladder before the plywood gets you or if you don't have time for that you got enough time to think "This is going to leave a bloody mark."


You forgot to tell them about the magic elixir that accompanies the ibuprofen...


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## Silver Britches (Aug 27, 2013)

elfiii said:


> Eating it like candy Britches. You should see my shins. When you are pushing sheets of plywood up a ladder and the plywood escapes your grip there's only two things that can happen. Either you bail off the ladder before the plywood gets you or if you don't have time for that you got enough time to think "This is going to leave a bloody mark."



  

Well, if you have any "talent" you'll just ride that plywood down the ladder without even batting an eye!  

Again, nice work you all (or just you ) are doing. Can't wait to see the finished product.


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## elfiii (Aug 27, 2013)

Silver Britches said:


> Well, if you have any "talent" you'll just ride that plywood down the ladder without even batting an eye!
> 
> Again, nice work you all (or just you ) are doing. Can't wait to see the finished product.



"Talent" I got. "Practice" I need and thank God that part is over.

Thanks for the compliment. I learned from my mistakes on the original build plus I had no money and used reclaimed timbers and I was in a hurry back then. This time around I have thought the project through for the most part, identified my mistakes and figured out the right way to do it. There is still some "on the fly customization" involved but it's coming together much better than I expected. Now that the roof is on the rest is just nailing up studs and purlins on center. Even I can't screw that up. 

Looking forward to getting her dried in and painted. Then I can focus on deer season. I'll hunt the morning hunts and drive nails and screws in the afternoon. Once I got the "kitchen" and bunks built out in the new addition the last step is knocking down the existing wall between the two and I'm absolutely done for this year. Next winter I run some electric circuits connected to a junction box I can plug my generator into and I got lights, camera, action. Next Turkey Season will be the bomb. Just hunt, no work, deluxe accommodations. Streamlined promenade brutha!


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## Throwback (Aug 27, 2013)

looks like that high quality "straight out of  Big Springs" grading job worked out good! 

how did the "southern engineered" drainage ditch work with the monsoons we had since I dug it?


T


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## whchunter (Aug 28, 2013)

Construction looks great. 

You and your friends can look back with pride for many years to come on the completed project . I bet you guys will be happy campers when you start using the finished product. Was wondering about your construction method. Your dovetailing etc.reminds me of old dutch and primitive early american. Was there a reason for your selected method of design? Never knew about temp changes effect on columns but makes sense. I guess a temp band at top might have prevented....??? Didn't see ground stakes at bottom of your braces. Maybe they just weren't visible in pics. I hope you show more pics. 
How many club members and how did you guys agree to share work and exspenses?  It's hard getting our club members to show up for normal work days. 
Members kids and wives who hunt free are never around when there is work to be done.  But they will be the first in line for meals and will always be there to hunt.


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## Meriwether Mike (Aug 28, 2013)

That's going to make a fine set up for sure. You will be able to enjoy it for years to come.


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## elfiii (Aug 28, 2013)

Throwback said:


> looks like that high quality "straight out of  Big Springs" grading job worked out good!
> 
> how did the "southern engineered" drainage ditch work with the monsoons we had since I dug it?
> 
> ...



It turned out perfect. All the water coming off the hill runs off just right. That tractor man from Rough Edge does tip top work. Reasonable prices too.

The monsoons have pretty much taken the final grade down to hard pan so I'm getting a lot of runoff around the cabin from the roof drip line when it rains. Gutters are going to be a "must have". 

Sammy did a bang up job on my tractor. It's like brand new. He even Armor-All'ed the seat. I almost hate to put it to work and get it dirty again. He filled the rear tires with water and antifreeze and it will flat pull now.  Thanks for the referral.

How are you at killing hornets? The box blind has a nest in it.



whchunter said:


> Construction looks great.
> 
> You and your friends can look back with pride for many years to come on the completed project . I bet you guys will be happy campers when you start using the finished product. Was wondering about your construction method. Your dovetailing etc.reminds me of old dutch and primitive early american. Was there a reason for your selected method of design? Never knew about temp changes effect on columns but makes sense. I guess a temp band at top might have prevented....??? Didn't see ground stakes at bottom of your braces. Maybe they just weren't visible in pics. I hope you show more pics.
> How many club members and how did you guys agree to share work and exspenses?  It's hard getting our club members to show up for normal work days.
> Members kids and wives who hunt free are never around when there is work to be done.  But they will be the first in line for meals and will always be there to hunt.



Got the dovetail idea straight out of Foxfire #1. The original cabin was built out of reclaimed cedar timbers and when we first built it the dovetails had a lot of gap in them because the timbers weren't straight. Over the years they have pulled the structure in on itself and now the joints are tight as Dick's hatband. I only used enough 20 penny nails to anchor the timbers. The dovetails did the rest just like the old timers said they would. I'm a believer and got the proof.

There's 5 of us. I own the land and everybody that hunts with me is a close personal friend. There are no cash dues. Dues are sweat equity and backbreaking work.

We started out in '97 cutting in over 4 miles of internal roads by hand. From there it was on to clearing food plots, building the original cabin, shower house, brick BBQ pit, the barn etc. etc. Once this addition is done from here on out it's down to maintaining roads and taking care of food plots. After 16 years everybody that hunts with me has earned their keep. Where we are in West GA the habitat doesn't produce a lot of monster bucks. There are a few bigger ones but 135 class is about the top of the heap in our neck of the woods. Other than that we have built a deer hunting paradise over the years and it suits us.

The last thing on my wish list is I still need a shed to get my trailers in out of the weather and I'll be done. I might pay somebody to build that for me. I'm gettin' too old for this stuff. I'm built for comfort. I ain't built for speed.


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## whchunter (Aug 28, 2013)

*Foxfire*



elfiii said:


> It turned out perfect. All the water coming off the hill runs off just right. That tractor man from Rough Edge does tip top work. Reasonable prices too.
> 
> The monsoons have pretty much taken the final grade down to hard pan so I'm getting a lot of runoff around the cabin from the roof drip line when it rains. Gutters are going to be a "must have".
> 
> ...



I like Foxfire. They keep that old school stuff alive.


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## elfiii (Aug 28, 2013)

whchunter said:


> I like Foxfire. They keep that old school stuff alive.



I built the original cabin with a crosscut handsaw, hammer, drawing knife and chisel. We have the entire series and I read from it regularly.


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## Throwback (Aug 28, 2013)

I can kill hornets too. Man of many talents. 
T


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## elfiii (Aug 28, 2013)

Throwback said:


> I can kill hornets too. Man of many talents.
> T



I'm going to give this a shot.

http://www.domyownpestcontrol.com/pro-control-plus-total-release-oz-p-194.html

Who wants to be brave and toss it in there?


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## elfiii (Sep 2, 2013)

So, Friday morning was spent riding around all over Troup Co. picking up building materials. Again, actual work began around noon. I got the rest of the roof on and screwed down - note to self, if there is a "next time" go with 24 gauge roofing, not 26. 26 is too "flexible".

Doug got there around 2 and things started to happen. We proceeded to lay another layer of plywood on the floor since the existing floor was a little "squishy". Don't ask. It's a long story. The bottom line is if you are going to have Home Depot pick your lumber order for you, be specific. There is lots of "1/2 inch" plywood to pick from. Don't trust them. Take a tape measure and measure the lumber, especially if it's plywood. 'Nuff said.

Friday night we knocked off with most of the studs run.






Saturday morning we cranked up around 0830 finishing out the studs and running purlins. Barry showed up around 0930 making us 3/4 of a full crew and we picked up even more speed. (You're a deadbeat for not showing up Pat.)





We worked straight through Saturday from the time we started, no lunch break. Grab an ice cold water or Gatorade out of the cooler and keep on truckin'. BY quitting time Saturday we were dried in.










Yesterday I was by myself. I built the stairs (short on lumber there), got the screens on the windows and started trimming them out.

Here's the inside view. This end will be the new "kitchen" because you have to eat decent at deer camp.





This end will be the new "bedroom".





Like all of my big projects there's always the one major ( substitute your favorite expletive here) "mistake". That top front right corner of the existing structure being 2.25" out of square reared it's ugly head right at the last.





I'll fill behind the gap with a piece of plywood and then wrap the corner with a pair of 1 x 6's. That means I have to wrap the other three corners of the addition the same way so it "looks good". Nobody will notice the imperfection but it will be there for all time and I will remember it and it will hain't me like all the other hain'ts that hain't me.

The big stuff is done. Now I'm down to the "Land of 1,000 Details" that make the difference in appearance and function. There's caulking to do on the inside and outside, paint on the outside and then we are down to the tricking out the inside part. The "kitchen" gets built out entirely and once that is done the demising wall comes down, the bunks get ripped out and relocated to the new "bedroom". After that there is a landing to be built off the "back door" steps and a stone path to be laid to the shower house.

The updates probably slow down from here. Somehow I got to get food plots in and stands hung for deer season.

P.S. My Dawgs lost Saturday night and ruined a productive weekend!


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## Miguel Cervantes (Sep 2, 2013)

Dadgum Lee y'all made some good headway. Dang good lookin project.


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## elfiii (Sep 2, 2013)

Miguel Cervantes said:


> Dadgum Lee y'all made some good headway. Dang good lookin project.



We should have set those posts out of square so the top band of the addition mated with the existing Hugh. You should have slapped me up side the head when we were setting posts.


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## Mako22 (Sep 2, 2013)

Looks great, so what happens with the old part?


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## Miguel Cervantes (Sep 2, 2013)

elfiii said:


> We should have set those posts out of square so the top band of the addition mated with the existing Hugh. You should have slapped me up side the head when we were setting posts.


The true sign of a professional is how well he covers up his mistakes.  Ya done good.


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## elfiii (Sep 2, 2013)

Woodsman69 said:


> Looks great, so what happens with the old part?



It becomes "living room" and dining area.


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## Fortner (Sep 2, 2013)

Very nice elfii! This gives me inspiration to go renovate my old shack


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## elfiii (Sep 2, 2013)

Miguel Cervantes said:


> The true sign of a professional is how well he covers up his mistakes.  Ya done good.



There were just too many different pieces of wood meeting up at the same time and place. The geometry just wouldn't work out for me. It will still be visible from the inside but since the floors aren't level and there will be a reducer strip between the two that will detract attention from the big imperfection.



Fortner said:


> Very nice elfii! This gives me inspiration to go renovate my old shack



Pay the money, hire it out. elfiii is good. elfiii is wise.


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## Miguel Cervantes (Sep 2, 2013)

elfiii said:


> Pay the money, hire it out.


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## AL trout bum (Sep 2, 2013)

Wow. This is a really col project. I must have missed it before. Looks good!


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## BornToHuntAndFish (Sep 3, 2013)

Way to go making lots of progress while looking better & better.


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## bigelow (Sep 3, 2013)

nice


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## mtr3333 (Sep 3, 2013)

Very Nice!


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## carver (Sep 11, 2013)

After that there is a landing to be built off the "back door" steps and a stone path to be laid to the shower house.


Looks great!For your walkways try a walkmaker.Just mix concrete and pour it  into the mold,it works good.


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## BuckHunter31 (Sep 11, 2013)

Very nice!!


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## Gaswamp (Sep 11, 2013)

enjoy reading about the work


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## SowGreen (Sep 11, 2013)

Dang dude, nice work! At our camp we fill in any and all imperfections with spray foam.


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## Throwback (Sep 11, 2013)

carver said:


> After that there is a landing to be built off the "back door" steps and a stone path to be laid to the shower house.
> 
> 
> Looks great!For your walkways try a walkmaker.Just mix concrete and pour it  into the mold,it works good.



don't give him anymore ideas. Pat is about wore out as it is. 

T


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## Miguel Cervantes (Sep 11, 2013)

carver said:


> After that there is a landing to be built off the "back door" steps and a stone path to be laid to the shower house.
> 
> 
> Looks great!For your walkways try a walkmaker.Just mix concrete and pour it  into the mold,it works good.


If he plans on mixin any more concrete he'd better call a truck and have it delivered.


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## elfiii (Sep 12, 2013)

SowGreen said:


> Dang dude, nice work! At our camp we fill in any and all imperfections with spray foam.



I knew somebody would come to my rescue with a good "redneck" idea. You da' man!


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## Killdee (Sep 12, 2013)

A fine job yall did sir, had I know it was going on I would have stopped by and supervised at least.....


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## Lukikus2 (Sep 12, 2013)

Nice.  

Should have left the old shower house up and bunked up the young whippersnappers in there for being a no show. 

And if no one's told you. If you're over forty you're to old to ride the plywood magic carpet. 

So it's been you in the stopping up the Pro loading at Home Depot.


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## elfiii (Sep 16, 2013)

Killdee said:


> A fine job yall did sir, had I know it was going on I would have stopped by and supervised at least.....



If it's done by the gun opener (and I'm real close) I may do another "Chilifest" the night before. You're on the list. It will be regular chili though. I lost an entire freezer full of venison back in June when that bad storm came through.


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## Silver Britches (Sep 16, 2013)

To enhance the beauty of that fine camp house, I'd like to suggest something like this.


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## elfiii (Sep 16, 2013)

We're headed down the straightaway to the finish line. Friday we finished all the exterior carpentry except trimming out the vents over the new back door. Neither Loews or HD had any straight 1 x 2 firring strips. We also got it caulked, sealed and a coat of primer on everything outside.





Saturday morning we moved inside and started working on the kitchen. Once the counters and shelves were in we stripped the existing demising wall and it was time for the wall to come tumbling down.









Since I built the original cabin to last, the wall didn't exactly "tumble down". It took some brute force and main strength. The nails they made back in 1997 were some tough stuff but we finally busted through.

This is how it used to look:





This is how it looked on the bust through:





Yesterday was spent making windows, finishing out the kitchen and we got our first set of bunks in. That's where we ran out of steam and time.













We hustled up all the construction debris that would burn and into the burn pit it went. My mental lumber take off was pretty good. There wasn't much scrap left. Whatever 2 bys and plywood we have left at the end become shelving material.





Here's how it used to look from the front:





Here's how it looks now:





We have to get the finish coat of paint on the outside and move the existing bunks into the "bedroom" and we're done with all the big stuff except gutters across the back side and the walkway to the shower house. After that it's whatever small project can be done between the morning and evening hunts. There are a million of them but I missed opening day of archery for the first time ever. It's time to get down to business. I got stands to hang, food plots to put in and deer to kill.

One thing I did notice - the addition has white primer on the outside and it was considerably cooler inside than the existing cabin which is painted in a deep forest green. Things that make you go "Hmmmm...." for next year. White is just as invisible from the road looking in  through the trees as deep forest green is.

Hey SowGreen, the foam did the trick.


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## SowGreen (Sep 16, 2013)

A little redneck engineering never hurt nobody. Cheap too.


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## Paymaster (Sep 16, 2013)

Man! That is one nice hunt'n cabin!


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## Killdee (Sep 16, 2013)

A jam up job indeed!!!!!


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## Miguel Cervantes (Sep 16, 2013)

Lookin good Lee.


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## Slewfoot (Sep 21, 2013)

*Excellent*

Great job Lee, but it is time to get down to priorities and dust off the bow


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## jbird1 (Sep 21, 2013)

Good stuff!!


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## Gadestroyer74 (Oct 1, 2013)

Sure have enjoyed reading and seeing the picture you done good..


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## Gaswamp (Oct 17, 2013)

Hoss said:


> Now that's a project, Lee.  (Didn't you get about enough of this kind of stuff with the home makeover?)  Look forward to seeing the progress.



Yeah but the home makeover is for the wife;  this be all Lee


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## elfiii (May 22, 2016)

The saga continues. The Rule of the 6 P's is true - Prior Planning Prevents......

When I built the original cabin I believed the people who told me "Cedar won't rot inside concrete". The truth is Cedar won't rot in concrete provided you waterproofed it first. I didn't do that on the original cabin so now, 20 years later, here's the problem:





Out of 5 posts on the original cabin that one and 2 more were shot out. That one is rotted off 6" above ground. So - the Great 2016 Cabin Repair Project commenced.

After some preliminary demo work the first thing that had to be done was to brace the floor tenons so they could support the roof tenons. Each floor tenon got a 4x4 brace on either side of it anchored in concrete.









Once that was done and the concrete had a little time to cure it was time to demo the walls and sheathing and brace the roof tenons. At the same time we demo'ed the floor system including the sill plates.









Meanwhile, back at the ranch I was fabricating replacement posts and sill plates.













This weekend was the "Big Push". We had to bust out the old concrete footers, cut off the old post timbers, cut reverse lap joints in them, cut lap joints for the floor tenons on the replacement posts and sister them in to the old posts with through bolts. Then build new forms and pour new footers. A daunting task!

The jackhammer showed up Thursday evening and I was sorely tempted to give it a shot but being by myself prudence dictated I eschew the opportunity to do myself great bodily harm and await inbound reinforcements.





Friday morning we began in earnest and it's a good thing I finally decided to tackle this project this year. The corner post and the next one in from it were rotted out up to ground level. A couple more weeks and the back side of the cabin likely would have "sat down on the ground". You can see in the pics below what I mean. When we busted the concrete away from them that's all that was left of the post.









Now for the tricky part - cutting off the existing posts above ground and cutting the reverse lap joints and bore holes for the through bolts. But first we had to brace the existing post timbers because once we cut them off they were hanging in the air with nothing to support them. With the exception of one of the existing posts being somewhat of a "twisted sister" everything married up perfectly once we were done.









Now we were down to waterproofing, building forms and pouring concrete. We got the posts all waterproofed and forms built by sundown Friday.





Saturday morning we were at the front door of the Ace Hardware in Pine Mountain when they opened up. We loaded up 20 80lb bags of Sakrete, stopped off at Eddie May's for the breakfast buffet and we were pouring concrete by 9:15am. Finished up about 11:30 am.





The ugly, hard, nasty part is done, thank you Jesus! From here on out it's putting it back together again. Since it's pretty much stripped down to the framing I'm going to trick it out a little bit as I put it back together.


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## davidhelmly (May 22, 2016)

That looks like a HUGE job but from the looks of it you have it under control! The next time I need some major repair advice I know who to call!! Keep up the good work and stay safe!!


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## Triple C (May 22, 2016)

I love this thread.  Remember it when you started you redo several years ago.  Let the journey continue...before you get too old.


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## Browning Slayer (May 23, 2016)

When you finish, let me know, I'll be happy to come down and hunt.. 

Awesome work!


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## Miguel Cervantes (May 23, 2016)

That  place looks familiar. I still have tar on my shorts from the last episode of construction.


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## Throwback (May 23, 2016)

I don see any of the trashy locals in those pics


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## shakey gizzard (May 23, 2016)

Throwback said:


> I don see any of the trashy locals in those pics



Nobody shows up on a workday at any deer camp!


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## elfiii (May 23, 2016)

davidhelmly said:


> That looks like a HUGE job but from the looks of it you have it under control! The next time I need some major repair advice I know who to call!! Keep up the good work and stay safe!!



My advice today is the same as it was 3 years ago. Hire somebody and pay them to do it.


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## davidhelmly (May 23, 2016)

elfiii said:


> My advice today is the same as it was 3 years ago. Hire somebody and pay them to do it.



I understand that better than you can imagine!!


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## smitty (May 24, 2016)

Getting it done !!That's what weekends are for !Great read and job !


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## elfiii (Jun 6, 2016)

We're almost back in business. It was a long, long weekend. I broke down the concrete forms Friday and made my lumber run. Saturday was a 7 am to 7 pm day. Sunday was 7 am to 4 pm. At least we're dried in. Now we're down to the Land of 1,000 Details but that's OK.

That last piece of plywood flooring didn't want to go back in the way it came out but we "persuaded" it to fit. The pics speak for themselves.


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## Bucky T (Jun 6, 2016)

Looks Great!


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## OmenHonkey (Jun 6, 2016)

Very Cool Elfii!!


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## Throwback (Jun 6, 2016)

and a case of callaway blue to drink!


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## davidhelmly (Jun 6, 2016)

Looking good!!!


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## elfiii (Jun 6, 2016)

Throwback said:


> and a case of callaway blue to drink!



Best water in the world.


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## Triple C (Jun 6, 2016)

elfiii...Do you and your crew hire out???


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## elfiii (Jun 6, 2016)

Triple C said:


> elfiii...Do you and your crew hire out???



I got just 3 words for you Trip -

"No".


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## Jim Thompson (Jun 6, 2016)

Yall do all that I am stuck with such a lack of talent that I have to leave my shoes tied at night


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## BuckNasty83 (Jun 6, 2016)

Looks good.  What's next? insulation and sheet rock?


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## Last Minute (Jun 7, 2016)

Now that's a hunt camp! Id call it the "Lodge Mahal"...Nice work!!


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## mguthrie (Jun 7, 2016)

I didn't realize you had carpenter skills like that elfii. Nice WORK. I frame houses all week long. The last thing I want to do is build stuff at deer camp. Just wondering. Why did you use cedar instead of P.T. Posts? You put a lot of work into waterproofing them.


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## Browning Slayer (Jun 7, 2016)

Looks awesome bud! That sho is plenty of work!

I still stick to post#107..


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## elfiii (Jun 13, 2016)

The saga goes on and on and on. Friday morning was Sherwin Williams, Lowes and HD in LaGrange. I spent a fortune! Everybody is proud of their shoe moulding and R4 foam board insulation!









Materials laid on, work commenced around 4 pm Friday. Caulking and painting insulation for starters.





Quittin' time came around 7:30 pm and it was shower and dinner





a movie on the laptop





a night cap and dessert.





Saturday morning work commenced again at 7:45 am. Battens on the exterior were installed on the siding and caulked.





Another coat of paint went on the insulation and then the crapentry commenced. Firing strips cut and installed.









From there it was cut and install insulation and then back to crapentry to reinstall the first set of bunks and some shelves.





I finally knocked off around 4:30 pm yesterday and made it home around 8 last night. It doesn't look like I accomplished much but I'm broke off jagged at the stump. I was a one man perpetual motion machine in the unbearable West GA heat. Still have miles and miles to go before I'm done. Back at it again this coming weekend.


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## Silver Britches (Jun 13, 2016)

elfiii is on it! You be careful out there in this heat, man. Don't want to over do it. By the way, did you have that fan on it's highest setting? 

Oh, and don't forget where you put the hammer. 

Take care out there, dude!


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## elfiii (Jun 13, 2016)

Silver Britches said:


> By the way, did you have that fan on it's highest setting?
> 
> Oh, and don't forget where you put the hammer.



It never came off the high setting.

Which hammer?


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## westcobbdog (Jun 15, 2016)

elfiii said:


> It never came off the high setting.
> 
> Which hammer?



Looks good, guessing that insulation improved your interior temps tremendously?


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## davidhelmly (Jun 16, 2016)

It is looking good, any idea yet on the date for the cookout after completion?!


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## elfiii (Jun 20, 2016)

westcobbdog said:


> Looks good, guessing that insulation improved your interior temps tremendously?



Right now it holds the heat in real good.



davidhelmly said:


> It is looking good, any idea yet on the date for the cookout after completion?!



I don't even have a completion date yet!


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## elfiii (Jul 11, 2016)

OK, a lot has happened since the last update but it doesn't look like much. I have the first and second layers of insulation up on two of the walls of the original cabin and three of the walls on the addition.

















I still have to come back with another layer of insulation on all of the "purple" area. So far, so good except it's come with a "price". "Thas will leave a nasty scar senor."





This last weekend was a break in the action on the insulation. It was time for some electrician work. First thing was the trench for the wires to the generator. I started out as Manual Labor, the older brother of Casual Labor. It's funny how something as slimy as Georgia red clay mud can turn into 5,000 lb test concrete in a jiffy. I'm built for comfort. I ain't built for speed!





Thanks to StriperrHunterr's fascile mind and once I got far enough away from the cabin for it to work I quit the subtle tactics and employed brute strength. The New Holland and the subsoiler implement made short work of a difficult task.





Now it was time for conduit. My two electrician buddies told me with underground cable it's either 6" deep with conduit or 12" deep with just underground cable. I doubled up and used underground cable in conduit 12" deep as well as 10 gauge wire for the AC and 12 gauge for everything else. Anything worth doing is worth over doing right?









You can't see it but right where the wire makes that turn in the last picture I hit a rock while digging the trench. It was not an ordinary rock. It was a big rock. A very big rock. I dug for 20 minutes and couldn't find the sides. So, I had to resort back to manual labor. Lucky for me it was sandstone. I busted it down to a depth sufficient to meet code. But it's not like I pulled a permit or anything.

With conduit laid and wire pulled it was time to go inside and start hooking up receptacles. My bony old tired butt is hurting today from sitting on a plywood floor hooking up receptacles.





Suggestion to electrical component manufacturers. Make the lugs on a 20 amp receptacle bigger. 10 gauge wire don't want to fit very well.

Once all the receptacles were hooked up it was time for a test. Everything worked except for one circuit. When I hooked the three common wires together on the first box the middle wire had insulation on it that kept the other two from making contact and completing the circuit. I finally tracked it down, clipped off the crimp cap, stripped more insulation and re-crimped them and I was in business.

Yesterday was the big event. 





I should have gone with the 15K BTU unit. The 12K is rated for the space I have but it just couldn't get the job done. I wired the circuit for 20 amps with 10 ga. wire and a 20 amp receptacle but in the interest of not pushing the generator too hard I went with the smaller unit. It's all good. The 12K only pulls about 10 amps and with everything on except the toaster oven I'm only using 30% of the generator's capacity. The thermometer on the outside of the cabin was 100 yesterday and the temp on the thermometer at the other end of the cabin on the inside said 86. It was a "dry" 86 so it wasn't bad. 

I still have lots of insulation work to do and once it's done I should see some improvement on the climate control.

So, I'm down to finishing the insulation and painting the entire outside of the cabin. It's always been a "forest green" color but that makes it a heat sink in the Summer time. I'm going to paint it solid white and that should help some.

So far I haven't made too many mistakes except for only one layer of insulation on the South wall of the original cabin. I can live with that. The only real problem I have is this project is dragging on and on and on. I haven't checked trail cameras in 2 months and I'm way behind on getting started on food plots. It is what it is, we're here because we're here and you don't get what you want, you get what you get.

The really, really good news is with all that insulation we'll burn half as much firewood to keep us warm in the Fall and Winter and that's always nice. In fact I wish it was Winter time right now. You haven't lived until you've endured 100 degrees in West Georgia for days on end.


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## StriperrHunterr (Jul 11, 2016)

Looks good, buddy, but that idea was yours. I just seconded the motion, without knowing there was a first motion.


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## elfiii (Jul 11, 2016)

StripeRR HunteRR said:


> Looks good, buddy, but that idea was yours. I just seconded the motion, without knowing there was a first motion.



Nope. It was your idea from start to finish. I was all can't see the forest for the trees.


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## doenightmare (Jul 11, 2016)

Looking good elfiii - you are a tough ole' bird to do that work in this heat. Please make sure to have my room complete by huntin' season.


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## Triple C (Jul 11, 2016)

doenightmare said:


> Looking good elfiii - you are a tough ole' bird to do that work in this heat. Please make sure to have my room complete by huntin' season.



X2.  Let me know when the insulation job is complete and I'll take that lower bunk on the right...

Enjoying the ride-along!


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## elfiii (Jul 11, 2016)

Triple C said:


> X2.  Let me know when the insulation job is complete and I'll take that lower bunk on the right...
> 
> Enjoying the ride-along!



At the Salem Springs Savoy - home and global headquarters of the Dead Poachers Society hunt club it's first come, first served. No dibs on anything except for the proprietor and club president who I just happen to be. I will put you and doe on the starting line together just to make it a fair race.


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## Silver Britches (Jul 11, 2016)

You're working you tail off, dude! Look to be making some great progress as well. 

Drink plenty of water while you're out there!


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## elfiii (Aug 1, 2016)

I'm closing in on the finish line. The inside is done except for a couple of details.

















Got the outside almost painted.

















I need to put one more coat of paint on the outside and plug some holes where the sugar ants are getting through, clean up the job site and I'm done for this year. Actually I'm not done but I quit. I hit the wall this weekend. It's time to get started on food plots.


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## Triple C (Aug 1, 2016)

Elfiii...You done good!!!


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## elfiii (Aug 1, 2016)

Triple C said:


> Elfiii...You done good!!!



Thanks Trip. The A/C struggles on hot afternoons but a "dry" 80 degrees inside beats a wet 94 outside all afternoon long!

I had the inside down to 68 Sat night and it was still 80 plus degrees outside.


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## dixiecutter (Aug 1, 2016)

looks good bro. been seeing this thread a long time. hope there's a lot of deer around there for that level of commitment! i joint like that would ruin my marriage lol. if i get mad- i'd go there. if i get kicked out- i'd go there. when weather good-i'd go there. weather too lousy to do anything at home- i'd go there. sending you a pm


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## dixiecutter (Aug 1, 2016)

deleted


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## JustUs4All (Aug 1, 2016)

Lots of hard work right there.  let the enjoyment begin.


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## Dustin Pate (Aug 2, 2016)

Looks mighty nice!!


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## 01Foreman400 (Aug 2, 2016)

That's awesome!  Great job!


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## Bucky T (Aug 2, 2016)

Looks great!


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## Browning Slayer (Aug 2, 2016)

Lee, just let me know when you finish and I'll be happy to come and stay!!!

Looks great brother! Like stated before, if I had that, I would be arguing with my wife on purpose!


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## j_seph (Aug 2, 2016)

Had you done the insulation last it would not have gotten so hot inside so quickly

Looks good and you have skills too!!!


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## elfiii (Aug 2, 2016)

dixiecutter said:


> looks good bro. been seeing this thread a long time. hope there's a lot of deer around there for that level of commitment! i joint like that would ruin my marriage lol. if i get mad- i'd go there. if i get kicked out- i'd go there. when weather good-i'd go there. weather too lousy to do anything at home- i'd go there. sending you a pm





Browning Slayer said:


> Looks great brother! Like stated before, if I had that, I would be arguing with my wife on purpose!



I knew ya'll were the smart ones in the crowd. 

The good news is I'll be done just in time to not need the A/C until next year.

If you look at the last pic there's a "dark spot" at the bottom of the corner timber on the porch. It's actually a hole in the timber. That one and the one on the other corner are both rotted out at ground level. That's next year's project.

Every project I do on this beast I swear it's the last time in my life I'll pick up a hammer and framing square. But then it's not. I plead insanity yo honna man. I'm just crazy about this stuff.


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## BornToHuntAndFish (Aug 2, 2016)

Heckuva good job by you & your crew.  Very inspiring.  Learning lots from all the fine efforts.  Looking forward to you & your dedicated crew enjoying the fruits of ya'lls labors in the coming hunting season.  Way to go!  Thx for posting.


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## jbird1 (Aug 2, 2016)

Good Stuff!!


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## Triple C (Jun 14, 2019)

Elfiii...What's on the drawing board for the next project at the Dead Poacher's Society Hunt n Drank Club???


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## Para Bellum (Jun 14, 2019)

Reminds me of my old camp.  Me and my Dad used to love to fix it up.  Looks real good brother.  Y'all will enjoy the heck out of that this winter.


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## elfiii (Jun 14, 2019)

Triple C said:


> Elfiii...What's on the drawing board for the next project at the Dead Poacher's Society Hunt n Drank Club???



Some 'lectricity if I can ever get my electrician to show up and do the work. I'm tired of pushing the generator back and forth between the cabin and the barn. Hopefully I'll be done by July 4.


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## chase870 (Jun 16, 2019)

elfiii said:


> Some 'lectricity if I can ever get my electrician to show up and do the work. I'm tired of pushing the generator back and forth between the cabin and the barn. Hopefully I'll be done by July 4.


Remind him to always keep the CPA happy


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