The Beauty of Junk

Using reclaimed wood for building projects is becoming more and more popular.  The very idea of this cabin came to my mind after I acquired the wood which is now the siding of the cabin.  I spent hours with a reciprocating saw carefully removing 1 fence panel after another, trying to avoid cracking the weathered wood.  The cedar shake shingles I used for siding on the front are reclaimed as well.  I was in the attic of my grandmother's garage and found a bundle covered in dust.  Other structural elements such as the plywood for the roof and floor were recycled, along with some other structural framing.  There are some pieces of an old barn in the walls.


The theme I'm getting at is: Try to see the potential beauty for the junk around us.  Reuse and excercise your creativity!  You can build an awesome, unique, rustic-looking piece of furniture or a utility piece for practically free!  And a lot of old materials out there are made to a higher quality than what you will find today (Don't let the rust fool you).

Listening to the Brewer game on my deckboard table

I spent the weekend building for the first time this year.  I made a built-in bed, but the biggest addition was enclosing the porch.  I also built a table/stool for the cabin with reclaimed deck boards (2x4) and half of the porch structure is reclaimed as well!

This is the front railing added this summer

The side wall built with leftover reclaimed siding boards.

The deckboard table is in corner, along with maple bench.

I've started a new tradition of taking a 4wheeler ride at dusk.

Thanks for checking back!

Maple log

My front porch needed a bench, so I decided to build one from scratch. I brought a big maple log from work to the property and made a simple bench.

I cut the edge off two opposite sides of the log with the 192.

This is the finished top section which will sit on two cutout sections from a different log. I ended up using the larger saw on the second side.

Finished bench.

Updates

It has been a while since I made any updates, but the cabin is nearly complete, minus a few small touches. There is a new window, hardwood floor, and the interior is complete. I will eventually do a little more insulation and build a bed, but that will wait for the spring.
Abbie looking out the new window. Purchased at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. It's in great shape and I sanded it down and restained it. It really brings in the light too.

Installing the new window. I had to rip the siding off and build a header since this window wasn't initially planned.

The final interior wall has been sided and all windows are framed in. This is one of the single pane windows which I built(minus the framed glass). In the final stages of building I will make some insulated curtains for these.

Mid-September

The weekend in mid-September was when I was able to stain the deck, finish the interior some, and enjoy the woods a bit more than I was able to do all summer. It was a nice change of pace with most of the cabin enclosed and sleepable. The lower picture is of a ton of vultures Abbie and I ran into while four wheeling on the trails. I stayed just long enough to get some pictures, but didn't want to stick around to see what they were looking to eat. I also installed a third window this weekend as well.

First night in the cabin

Labor day weekend was the first night I spent alone in the cabin with my dog Abbie. I was a bit nervous being in the middle of the woods in the cabin, but felt really safe inside. Before this, I was sleeping in my families cabin on the same land. I should mention that Abbie kept me company the whole time throughout this process!

Lantern and cot.

Abbie.

Interior work

At the end of August, I started working on the interior. The first thing I worked on was a bench and shelf, along with a window. I also started to finish the interior walls. I decided to go with wood on the interior and I'm happy with the result. This weekend I also stained the loft to match the window and deck. The window is just a single pane barn sash. I have plans in the future to build a shutter for it for nighttime and cold weather.

The shelf unit and window.

A small shelf above the door.

The turkey feather and the view from the new window.