The Country Cottage

Poly, Poly, and more Poly

The only thing we need to do to ‘weather proof’ the cottage is to install the ceiling on the front and back porches. In order to accomplish this, we purchased 55 boards measuring 1x6x14 foot from Friend Lumber. The boards are yellow pine car siding.

Half the boards have one coat of polyurethane on them and the other boards do not.

We transformed the basement into our polyurethane workshop. First, we laid down drop cloths and we laid down cross boards. Next, we wipe down all of the boards to remove the dirt, dust and grime. We used 220 grit sandpaper and using minimal pressure, we sanded all the boards. We wiped back down the boards to remove the dust, allowed them to dry, and applied the first coat of polyurethane. After we let it tried overnight, we sanded the hem again, wiped them down and applied a second coat.

First the first coat, we had the boards on the floor which make our backs pretty achy. For the second coat, we moved the boards up on saw horses, which went way better.

As it turns out, we needed several more boards, but more to come on that on a later blog.

Prepping for Freezing Temperatures

Since the well water was connected over the summer and we have water hooked up in the house, we had to get back to the cottage to prepare the water lines to prevent them from freezing when the temperatures drop this winter.

On the exterior, we had to finish putting roofing tar around the water pipe where it enters the house. I also applied flex seal sealant after I built up the tar seal. Then, we had to backfill the dirt and white gravel/rock. Thank goodness Dad brought the front end loader on his tractor to help. He made it look easy and was able to fill it in very quickly.

After we put the pipe from the well to the tank via this hole, around the pipe needed to be ‘built up’ using roofing tar. This would create a waterproof seal.

This photo shows another view of the hole that goes into the basement and the trench from farther back.

A view from the house looking out toward the well.

On the inside of the house, we drained the tank. For more information about how we did that, you can check out this post.

Rock on the Retaining Walls

The summer got away from us. Life sort of took us by the arm and ran us (instead of us running it). We had a wedding, unexpected health change with a parent, death of a best friend and back to school. As such, we weren’t able to do much work at the cottage.

Over the summer, we had ordered one inch veneer rock from the same quarry we used for the house. In fact, the one inch veneer came from the same vein as the other rock we procured. While doing any work with the retaining walls may seem a bit out of order, we were able to control cost by having the additional rock we needed for the house and this rock on the same delivery.

A pallet of the one inch veneer stone. We may use this on the fireplace as well.

Before leaving to return home, Rick prepared the walls by installing metal lathe. I had also collected several rock and placed it along the wall.

While we were away, Adam Scott, mason, was able to complete a project to cover the concrete retaining walls with the same rock as we put on the house.

In this before photo, you can see the retaining wall as concrete.

Here is a close up of the same wall after it was covered in rock.

After shot of the other wall, plus a model, Baby Girl, the golden retriever, who enjoyed walking up and down the ledge/cap of the wall.

Bob & Imogene’s House

Bob and Imogene (Genie) Schultz lived on the property and in the home we demolished for many years. It is believed that they moved into the home in the 1950s.

Red Hubbard built the house in the 1930s. He also built Rosco and Vera Jane Mayberry’s house up on the hill. Vera Jane’s maiden name was Randall. Grandma Roma was a Hubbard. She would know Red’s legal name.

The back of Bob and Genie’s house partially demolished.

Red Hubbard also built Dad’s house. It was the only one that had a basement and Red lived in the house after he built it. He also sold the other two homes and property after building them.

Dad moved into his house in 1983.

The back of Dad’s house. If you look closely, you can see the original house (right side) and the addition (left side).

Bob and Genie grew two massive gardens each year and then canned the vegetables to consume all year long.

Bob passed away July 2006. Genie is still alive and resides in some senior apartments in Houston, Missouri.

Bob and Genie had a couple milk cows and chickens, which they kept as a good source.

They raised three daughters in the home. Linda lived in Indiana and passed away recently.

Sarah Vanzant lives in Springfield, Mo.

Carol Collins, their youngest daughter, retired this year and lives in Jefferson City, Mo.

Bob and Genie provided child care for my youngest brother, Logan, when he was a young child ‘up until I could drive.’

Connecting Water

We were able to use the well from the previous house to reconnect to the new house as our water source. I grew up on well water and love the way it tastes, especially this particular well that connects to an underground aquifer.

This is a line for where the trench needs to be dug.

Trench dug from the house to the well head.

The sleeve (hole) in the foundation where the water pipe will enter the house.

Looking out from the house toward the well.

New cap put on and pipe connected. Electricity was also connected.

The water tank inside the house sits in the future utility room.

Septic Tank Installed

We decided to go with a septic system instead of a pond. In doing so, a very large hole had to be dug in the back yard to set the tank down in. This is a really big deal in the rocky Ozarks.

Rick looking at the ‘test’ dig that was made to see if a septic tank would be feasible.

Tank was installed, filled with water to prevent it from ‘floating’ up and back filled with gravel.

Another view of the tank and proximity to the house.

The mounds of dirt and rock from digging down to install the tank.

Lines that go out away from the tank and house. The dig for these lines was nothing short of extreme. Jordan was running the equipment and told me he removed several boulders the size of Honda civics.

Charlie Brown, rescue dog extraordinaire, climbing the dirt/rock ridge and loving farm life.

The line between the tank and the three lines.

Another picture of the line that goes between the tank and the lines.

Attention to detail

Brick was laid above the foundation and below the rock in order to allow a piece of treated lumber to be bolted to the house. That piece of lumber will be important to attach the porch to the house. Brick is more uniformed and smooth than the rock which will work much better in allowing the lumber to lay flat.

Notice the three rows of brick directly above the concrete foundation. That is where the treated lumber will lay up against the house for the front porch.

When the brick was laid, there were small sized holes in the joints, especially around the bolts that will hold the wood. These little holes can become homes for unwelcome guests.

The brick is on three sides of the house because we will have a front porch, back porch, and side deck.

If you zoom up on this photo, you will see a row of brick all the way down the middle of the house (between the upper level and lower level). This is where the back porch will attach to the house.

So, MLM and I mixed some mortar and spent a few hours filling in the holes with the ‘mud’ mix in order to prevent wasps, hornets, and other critters that we don’t want to take up residence near the house.

Close up of the mortar MLM and I applied to fill in the holes/gaps.

This attention to detail will help out for years to come. Because once the treated lumber is installed, the wasps can still find a way behind it and down into any little holes to create a residence.

Reclaimed Oak

Rick Ichord gifted us several old fence boards that he removed from his property. They are oak and he is replacing his fence with Steel instead of wood. Since we needed to figure out what to put on the underneath sides of our porch overhang, I decided to use the reclaimed park for this purpose.

Step 1: This is the boards after I used a chop saw to remove the old nail holes, rot, or splitting.

Step 2: This is a stack of 22 boards after I jointed them. Jointing makes a board straight on one side.

Step 3: Here is an old fence board going into the planer. So, you can see the before and on the other side when it is coming out, you can see the after.

Step 4: I ran them through the table saw to make sure the were all the same width.

I will need to put it through a shaper to get the tongue and groove in each side. Plus, we will need to add any decorative touch we want to add. However, wanted to get the material as close to an end state as possible.

Learning How to Build a Box

Rick showed MLM how to create a box that will hold the piers for the deck posts on the west side of the house. They built a total of 7 boxes. Now, we need to dig holes down to the level where the ground was previously (aka to the level where no more settling will occur). Then, a footing will be poured. The box will be set on top of the footing – connected by some rebar.

Lots of practice using the screwdriver.

Odds & Ends

This past week, we did prep work. Specifically, we dug out the end of the sewer line which had been inadvertently covered with dirt. We also worked to spread an entire dump truck load of topsoil across three sides of the house and around the front and side yards.