Currently the bar looks like this:
Six drawers in place and the waste bin under the sink is new.
The one you see on the right will not stay there; that will get the final three drawers, which are wider and intended for heavier loads.
I ran out of drawer sliders, so the last three will take a few days longer.
When I started planning the kitchen, I thought I would just buy Ikea cabinets and easily be done wit it. But then I thought;
I’d like a bar with barstools and proper bar height, so Ikea become a non option, as Ikea kitchen look like crap from the back.
Besides, they are made of particle wood which does not fit the log home.
So, instead of having a few boards to slap together, I had to design and make everything from scratch.
This also includes drawers, the first three of which are now in;
Above, the first three drawers are in, in closed position.
Below shows them opened up.
Obviously, they need to be stained still. Oh and notice the running faucet?
The faucet is connected and the sink drain is going through the floor (I still need to
connect it so the septic pipes below the home, but at least the kitchen can now be used to do dishes.
Only in Texas they would name spices for meat ButtRub 🙂
But I have to admit, I never thought Butt Rub would taste so good.
Or should I say, no holds barred when it comes to making a bar? I’m kinda making it up as I go along, although following guidelines such as a 3.5 inch toe gap, 10.5″ bar counter tap overhang, 36″ countertop height and 42″ bar height. On the front side, there’s space for a dishwasher and another possible build in device, and 3 sections of drawers.
It’s 8 feet wide, which easily seats 3 people.
Obviously, the countertop is still missing, as are the fronts and drawers, but it’s starting to look like a bar .
The countertop will come from Ikea, and I’ll pick up a sink there too, that I already planned for in the cabinet division.
It may look huge on this picture, but it will move back and to the right a little, so it’s making the kitchen area about 20% of the great room.
The bar top is simply two layers of 3/4″ Birch, for economy reasons; counter tops are all 24+ inch wide, which would be way to wide for a tall bar,
so I’d have to cut it and throw away half. I managed to make all this from just three 4′ x 8′ boards. I might put a layer of epoxy on top after staining it to keep the wood nice;
that makes it super shiny glass like.
To support the bar overhang, I added 5 supports. It’s the first time I’m using almost all my power tools on 1 job;
Circular Saw, Jig saw, Router, Sander, Drill, Screw driver and Brad nailer. The brad nailer makes glueing things together so much easier;
just ad a few brad nails to keep the parts in place whilst they dry. (the white PVC vertical is just to keep the bar level whilst drying).
Today I started on what will be the kitchen in the great room. It will be an open kitchen,
with a bar and countertop on one side, and fridge and range on the other.
These three Birch Plywood boards will become the bar.
After a few hours of work, this is the intermediate result:
I know, It doesn’t look like much yet, but trust me, it will.
After this, it was time for cooking on the grill outside; Jalapeño Sausages and Brussel sprouts.
Daylight savings ended here this Saturday, so it’s now dark at 6PM, but I had a nice sunset BBQ on the deck outside,
as it is still 69 degrees out there (21 celsius) and it’s now 7PM.
Today the east extension wall was up for siding.
This involved a different approach as loose soil, tree roots and steep inclines,
makes the use of ladders there unsafe.
So we engineered a platform to work from using the scaffolding and some heavy boards.
As you can see, we made it to just above the window today,
and will finish the top tomorrow.
Usually it’s not good when you get framed, but in this case it is a wonderful feeling; for the first time I have outer walls on all 6 ends,
and I closed the window openings with clear plastic, so I have an actual feeling of being indoors.
Here are some pictures taken showing how it looks now.
Well, frankly, it’s hardly a question when it comes to US homes; most have walls made from OSB (Oriented Strand Board).
My log walls obviously don’t require OSB, but the gable ends and extension does, so work has been done on those today;
As you can see, half of the western extension wall has been done, and almost all of the eastern Gable End.
The windows that were visible when stick framed are covered for now, so it is all protected from the elements.
Once the windows are to be put in, it’s easy to cut out the holes in the OSB.
You can also now see the little diagonal connection I made between the front and side decks.
When all OSB is in place, the only entrance will the the front door, so being able to access the main deck from the side decks became essential.
These famous words of John Hannibal Smith describe the feeling when I climbed the scaffolding on the deck I made;
Now I can reach almost anywhere without any problems. Well, almost… I kinda cheated as I placed the top half of the scaffolding from above,
as I was reluctant to climb up and hold the steel parts that make the scaffolding’s second level.
I’m fine with climbing on it, but assembling a heavy railing on top of the second floor is not fun for those of us with Vertigo.
Likely I will ask Dave to do the top ends of the gable end walls (The top triangles closest to the rooftop)
Or maybe I will manage standing on the lower scaffolding floor, I will see how safe I feel doing it.
That’s right, I had to stick up 25 8ft 2×4″-ers also know as stick framing. Basically, it’s a skeleton of 2 x 4’s on which OSB boards will be screwed.
So this wall is made of 200 ft (61 meter) 2×4 pine.
The framing is good old fashion hammer and nail work, although I used screws to keep the wall flush and still reposition-able.
I’m standing in the main bedroom, behind what will be a 36×48″ window.
The next layer will be OSB boards, then a moisture protection and finally cedar siding. That’s boards horizontally placed with an overlap of about 1/5″.
