Activity 2015

This is the deck house with the completed porch. October 2015

This is the deck house as Chris W. and Chris L. with Dave and Chris W.'s Dad have completed it in many hours of work so far.

The dry rot was removed and replaced with sturdy underpinnings and foundations.

There will be a small porch and stairs made to the front of the deck house (see hinges on the left of the front/east side where the door now hangs). We hope to finally have shutters which will be on hinges and hang from the top to provide protection from the weather and winter as well. Chris W. plans on constructing a single Murphy bed which will hang from the north wall.

We expect that the Forest Service will accept this 40 sq.ft. construction which meets code, and confirm the permit.

Chris W. reports: As you can see there was a lot of dry rot in the "foundation."  We jacked the building up, replaced the rim joices, joices, and put in pier blocks to help prevent it from rotting on the under side again.  It was in pretty bad shape and would have been easier to just tear down and rebuild; however, I understand the sentimentality and did my best to keep the originality. (Mom Coralie says, "It was built in 1927.") It still has a long way to go.  I am in the process of putting the original bat and board siding up.  I am going to need to put a sheet of plywood up on the side where the stairs were to help give it sheer strength, because it wants to flex due to its shape and height.  This is why you see some temporary cross bracing in some of the pictures.

Charlene asks, "Wow Chris and Sarah! What an undertaking! It looks like there was a lot of decay, but considering the age of the building, it is understandable. It’s not just the sentimental value (as important as that is) but I understand that the Forest Service wouldn’t have allowed us to tear the deck house down and rebuild it. We would have had to forfeit it if we had. (This, Camela says, is an incorrect statement.)

What are the chances of utilizing some of the original material to make shutters to hinge from the top? They would then be good protection from sunshine (heat), rain, leaves and of course snow.

You are doing a great job. We really appreciate it. Do I have your permission to post these pictures to our private website?"

Chris says that he has saved as much of the original wood as he could in the deck house.  Once the walls are complete, he can then determine if shutters are feasible with the wood that remains.

Sarah adds, "We had a lovely time at the cabin.  Spent a little bit of time in the water as it was very warm up there.  Chris didn't. Most of his time up there he was working on the deck house.  There were many trips down to the hardware store in Pollock Pines and in Placerville.  Chris and his dad worked from breakfast to dinner repairing and stabilizing the deck house."

It is a sad fact that the Forest Service requires the dismantling of the deck house, which dates back to the 1920's when the original cabin was built. It was formerly used to accommodate Gram's helper. Our generation has used it to sleep outside on the tatami and futon mattress with muslin curtains and a driftwood headboard.

Dave and Chris W. took down the electric wire, which hung between the outside light on the 2nd floor and the outside light which was mounted on the east peak of the deck house roof. The electricity in the deck house (one light and an outlet for a lamp) will have to be brought up to standard. The sink, which has no drain to the septic tank, will be removed. The toilet and its room will be taken down. We will be allowed to keep part of the wooden porch and the rock stairs.

The sump pump in the septic tank had to be repaired at a cost of $350.

This is the new plug with 110V outlets behind the stove in the kitchen.

This is the open septic tank with the last fix.

This is the state of the deck house take-down in mid-June