FIDO + FOREST JOURNAL // RAISING THE ROOF: PART 1 // ARTICLE 003

Saying that a lot has happened since I last wrote is a small understatement.  We finished the walls, framed in the roof and loft, sheathed in and installed the steal, installed windows and doors, put the floor in, and oh yeah... I've also been growing a human, so there's that. Life has been a little crazy and sharing our journey on this blog took a bit of a back seat.  I'm going to do my best to update this a bit more regularly but I gotta say, growing a human is more exhausting than I could have ever imagined and I definitely can't make any promises

I've been taking lots of video and photos documenting the process along the way and it's A LOT to get through when all i'd rather be doing is sleeping. I honestly haven't had that much motivation as I feel like I'm stuck in a creative rut right now. I managed to pull together a quick video of Part 1 of raising the roof on the cabin. In the early fall, 3 of our good friends came up to help us frame the roof (and by help us I mean help Mitch, because let's be honest, I was just hanging in the hammock and taking photos the whole time). We couldn't have done it without them! Building with logs almost seemed simpler than trying to frame anything up on an un-level non-square building! Looking back at this video makes me realize just how much we've accomplished this fall, one weekend at a time. Hope you enjoy! 

FIDO + FOREST JOURNAL // NEVER ENOUGH LOGS // ARTICLE 002

Last year we ended the season knowing we didn't have enough logs to finish the walls. In hindsight we should have known better - they did try to warn us after all. We'd put extra effort into doing the math and picking the right sized logs, but there are just some things you can't know until you are knee deep into the third technique of fitting logs together and there is no going back to last spring to cut more. 

In the winter prior to starting our build, we had the privilege of meeting the most amazing couple from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.  After having sailed the world’s oceans in their sailboat (built by them) Chris & Anni Law founded Ski Tuonela. They built the most amazing village of cabins nestled in the deep woods off the Cabot Trail and has been in operation for 20 years! Truly a hidden gem. When we visited their little slice of paradise, to say that we were amazed is an understatement. We spent three gloriously lazy days by the wood stove in our little one room cabin with a loft. We read, napped, hiked, ate, and dreamt about how the logs we cut in the spring would soon become walls. Walls filled with memories and good times. We spent some invaluable time with Chris and Anni swapping stories (they have too many to count) and they shared some of their cabin knowledge with us. 

There were two things they could not have been more right about:

1. V-notching is an absolute must.

2. You will never have enough logs.

Both things we were certain we had covered. 

See - V-notching is a ton of work. It significantly increases the production time of putting one log in place. Instead of just scribing the two notches and fitting those to the log below it, you scribe the entire log end to end. The patience and precision required to do so is something we definitely didn't take into account. We were completely naive - i'll admit it right now. We thought we knew everything and knew exactly what we'd do. We confidently told Chris and Anni we were just going to scribe the notches, and then "run a chainsaw between the logs" to even out any lumps and bumps. There'd be gaps we'd have to fill but "Hey - this is a rustic log cabin - a few gaps is no big deal." ***Insert Family Feud wrong answer sound*** YOU'RE WRONG! Try again!

Chris and Anni looked at us like we were crazy. They didn't try to push us into doing it a certain way, but definitely shared their opinion. Basically "You gotta v-notch." And they were right. After "running the chainsaw between the logs" we realized just how inaccurate and sloppy it was and just how big the gaps would be. We needed to switch gears, and fast. So, we bought ourselves a proper scribe and tried to find anything online to teach us how to use it. we managed to find a couple videos on youtube and then trial and error got us through the rest. The logs fit together beautifully after using the scribe and although each log took about 3 hours to put in place, we were glad we switched it up.

Now the logs. We thought we had more than enough. At an average diameter of 8 inches (some bigger) we figured we'd need 48 logs to make 8 foot walls. Makes sense right? 8 feet is 96 inches. Divide that by 8 inches a log and that give you 12 logs per wall. 48 logs sounds about right. So we cut 56 to be sure. We had more than enough... or so we thought. What we didn't take into account was the v-notches which we didn't think we'd ever do (it removes more material from the log essentially lessening the height of the log by a couple inches), and that some logs would just be too gnarled up to even use. When it came down to it we ran out. And once again, Chris and Anni tried to warn us. I believe the exactly words while shaking his head was "Oh, you'll never have enough logs, it's just the way it is". Mitch and I looked at each other "Oh, we cut quite a few more than we needed so we think we are actually pretty good" .. Chris: "Yeah, I thought the same, but ended up puttin' green ones on to finish her off." Little did we know we'd be doing that exact thing. 

One day we'll go back to visit Chris and Anni - as new members of a a special un-spoken of club, showing off of our proud accomplishment in a picture in our hands, telling them "You couldn't have been more right."

FIDO + FOREST JOURNAL // WE'RE BUILDING A LOG CABIN // ARTICLE 001

People tell us we aren't your average 20 somethings, and I guess they're probably right. We’ve never really been into doing things the traditional way. We’re pretty good at doing things that make us happy versus what people think we should do. And call us crazy but we’re the type of people who like to spend all of our free time in the woods doing manual labor.

Yep, we’re building a log cabin. We have no previous experience - except Mitch, is conveniently a certified arborist, who kinda knows his way around a chainsaw, and is technically a tree expert, so that might qualify us a bit more than most, but seriously, we still had (have) no idea what we are doing. 

Whenever we tell people we are building a log cabin, we get some crazy looks. And a lot of questions. They look at us with awe and wonder like we are some sort of magical super hero unicorn humans taking on something so big and crazy and completely foreign to them. And sometimes I forget it’s not normal to be taking on something like this, until I talk to a stranger, or a colleague, or a friend, and they are completely bewildered.

We get questions like:

“Just the two of you??” 

Yep, just the two of us. 95% of the time yes, it's been just us. We’ve put in a lot of hours and made a lot of sacrifices, but there is nothing we would rather be doing - especially with each other.

“Wow, that must be so much work” “How/where did you ever learn to build a log cabin!?!"

IT IS a lot of work! We couldn’t have imagined just how much work it would become, but that is what will make it all worth it in the end! Nothing good comes easy! Its a lot of trial and error and not setting crazy expectations you can’t meet. And finally coming to the conclusion it doesn’t have to be perfect.

“You must be at each others throats all of the time”  

Nope, we’re actually a pretty great team. Obvisouly we aren’t perfect, and doing something like this puts stress on any relationship, but we genuinely enjoy spending time together and working towards common goals. We’re supportive of each other and just enjoy being in each others company in general. Doing this together is only making us stronger and teaching us so many lessons along the way! It makes me sad that people think because you are doing something difficult and stressful with your partner, the first thing they think of is something so negative! I’m super proud what we have accomplished together (with minimal visions of wanting to throat punch each other ;)

In the Winter of 2015 we started on this crazy journey of ours.  It’s something we always talked about, but it was more of just a dream. Maybe one day we would build a cabin, but we never thought that dream would come true so quickly!

We entertained the idea of buying a piece of land, but we kept coming back to one place. Mitch grew up on a farm on the Northumberland Strait in northern Nova Scotia. It’s our most favourite place in the world. We spend the majority of our free time there. There’s lots of land. It just made sense. Why not build there? And so, with access to free land with an unlimited source of building materials (red spruce), we decided right then and there we were doing this for real. I think a lot of people just thought we were talking the talk and I think we surprised a lot of people when we actually started making it happen! 

In the Spring 2015, we cut and debarked 56 logs. We let them dry for a year. It was the longest. Year. Of. My. Life.

In the Spring of 2016, it was go time. We had a lot of failures and lots of trail and error, but once we got into the grove of things we figured out we were actually pretty good at this! The higher the walls got the more impressed and excited we were about our accomplishments.

One of the biggest lessons we learned last year was that everything takes much longer than you expect and that you will never ever have enough logs (ok two lessons). At the end of the season last year, with some help of some awesome friends we framed up the floor before calling it quits for the winter. We realized we were short about 12 logs (3 courses high) and would have to pick back up where we left off next season.

Which brings us to now! We have a LOT going on in our lives right now. I can honestly say 2017 has been a rollercoaster year in the best way possible. Most recently we purchased our first home. A bungalow in our favourite town in the world (Truro). We are gutting the kitchen and ripping down walls and making the drive from Sackville to Truro every second night. Exhausted is an understatement but finishing the cabin is on the forefront of our minds! Remember how I said we were a little crazy? In the middle of all this, all we can think about is getting back to the woods and finishing what we started as soon as possible so we can enjoy our little slice of wilderness. So that's where you will find us this weekend. Dirty (probably wet from the rain) and happy as can be building something together we are so incredibly proud of.

Until next time!

Lauren & Mitch