As we searched long and hard for a cabin over multiple years, we always found cabins that were too big, too small, too old, too noisy, or just plain horrific. Details of those cabins can be found at our sister site, www.crusticamerica.com. Little did we know that we would soon own a crustic cabin ourselves and spend over a year restoring it back to, what we hope will be, close to its original state. We hope to be able to detail the history of the cabin and area, local vendors/partners we used and had good luck with, and the overall “process” to restore a 1920s log cabin in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.
The cabin went into winter with all systems firing. The EdgeMelt Ice Dam system was wired up (with over 100A of electrical circuits driving things) and it worked wonderfully to keep gutters clear and any ice from forming on the edges of the roof.
The garage got a ChargePoint EV charger for the new Rivian R1T electric truck. We can say that perhaps this is the oldest log cabin to have a 60A EV charger in it up in the Northwoods!
Still a few odds and ends to work on like some cabinets to install in the bathroom and a ton of basement wiring along with some added garage wiring and lights, but closing in on that elusive last 5% of things.
A two sport day with the Polaris General 4 and Indy 650 XCEV Charger installed in the garageA view into the fireplace room The Rivian R1T enjoying a winter day
While we have done a lot over the summer with those pesky punch list items, there still is plenty to wrap up on the cabin. Some great progress has been made along the way. So, what are the latest updates?
Landscaping
Landscaping and grading has been done throughout the driveway and yard. New driveway gravel has been laid down, french drains installed, and everything graded to keep water away from the cabin. We also took the opportunity to add a gate to the driveway and narrow the driveway quite a bit too. Since we aren’t running a bait shop, we don’t need the wide parking spaces anymore. Turned out very well and we even have fresh grass growing in some areas. Also am close to the fire pit being completed in the backyard, using Duck Creek bricks from the original masonry chimney that we removed to create our hallway.
Fire pit created with Duck Creek bricks from the original masonry chimney
We also had Healy’s America’s Best Tree Service out for round #2 of tree trimming and cutting. They do a great job. There were a few dead pines that needed to be removed as a fall in the wrong direction would have been a bad thing.
Final landscaping and grading completed in the back yard area.
Over the July 4th holiday when we were all up, we did find that our porch ceiling had a few bat friends. So, the ceiling was torn out, the bats found a new home (on their own) and we were able to seal things up. We also took the opportunity to re-insulate the porch ceiling, add a nice green metal ceiling to the porch and stain and seal the previously unfinished logs in the porch as well.
Stained and sealed logs in porch.
The garage doors got new coats of dark green paint that matched up with the Andersen window green color. The previous paint let too much of the white door finish bleed through and were too teal, so we needed to get the right finish on them before winter.
Fresh “Andersen Green” paint for the garage doors
One of the coolest things we did was to find the original craftsman who created our carved door. Jeff Ayers who happens to live in Land O Lakes created the door about 20 years ago. That door has been removed and given back to Jeff for a complete refinish for another 20 years of life. Hope to have the “after” pictures soon!
Carved door before its refinish
And last for now, we installed our new ice dam prevention system from EdgeMelt Systems in Nashotah, WI. This system is a combination of aluminum plates, valley plates, and heating cables to allow us to keep our gutters, valleys, and the bottom edge of the roof clear and open, even with the snow we get in the northwoods. Our electrician is getting the final wiring completed soon. Then, that system will automatically kick in when temps are between 20-35 degrees and there is snow on the roof. Below that, and there isn’t a danger for things melting/re-freezing and above that, things naturally are melting.
EdgeMelt System installed. You can see the shine of the plates along the bottom edge of the roof and in the valley as well.
Still plenty of touch up items to do in the weeks and months to come so we can enjoy the winter in the Northwoods. As I always say, “we are close”, but of course, that is probably always going to be the case.
With summer well underway, we are getting a ton of outdoor work done to hopefully wrap things up soon!
Landscaping and grading has begun again with river rock going in along the sides of the cabin, small rock borders going in, and a ton of fill being used to even things out.
Then driveway gravel goes in as well. We are narrowing the driveway a ton to begin to cut down on the sight line from the road and also adding a parking pad for trailers next to the garage.
A small deck was added off the porch door as well (Trex Spiced Rum decking). Yes, I know, it’s not real wood, but any advantage we can get with maintenance, we will take!
Small things inside included the stone backsplash above the stove, fully painting all basement walls with waterproofing paint, addition of crawl space fans (with humidity controls) and a similar exhaust fan for the basement that is temperature and humidity controlled.
The Ice Dam system from EdgeMelt goes into place in a few weeks to get ready for the winter and our punch list continues.
The progress continues as we start to clean things up a bit, get some more lighting installed, and get the “old” bathroom completed.
First, let’s just say that the heating system has gotten tested beyond the norms with lows overnight hitting in the 20-25 below zero range (without the wind chill). Our new Tempest Weather System by Weatherflow has been great at keeping us informed as to what is going on.
Temperature as of 5:00am on February 11, 2021
Bathroom #2 is nearing completion. If you remember, this was the only bathroom in the cabin and had been added on to, remodeled, hacked together, and who knows what. Pipes were thrown into walls and yes, we did find aluminum foil used as a vapor barrier in one area. The logs were also behind pine paneling which was removed to show off the logs in the bathroom. The shower was relocated, a half wall was added, toilet was moved, and interior walls were insulated (for noise reduction and fire stops) and repaneled with our favorite, Duragroove paneling.
Old Bathroom brick flooring leading to the relocated shower
The floor got a fresh layer of bricks as a nod to the bricks from the old chimneys and the shower got some cool Emser tile and a rock tile floor. The vanity gets a Kohler vessel sink cut into a cool vanity we found from an unnamed Swedish retailer (yes, it is made of real wood and not MDF).
Vessel sink getting cut into the vanityNewly relocated shower, complete with window to let some light in
The kitchen is getting some love too with lights being hung over the island, installed over the bar area, and under the cabinet and shelving. We stuck with metal lights in cast iron/distressed metal finishes in keeping with the historic looks of things. Cabinets and new hickory and live edge pine counters come in a couple of weeks to wrap up the kitchen.
Example kitchen pendant light. Damn heavy at over 20 lbs each!Lights over the bar area which will get a pine live edge counter top
We also tore out the old and strange closets from the smaller original bedroom to make some more room and get some fresh wood and insulation in the walls. Since there wasn’t flooring in the closet, we opted to use up some of our bathroom brick flooring, rather than try to match up the wood flooring. Turned out well and the log dresser fits well over the new flooring.
Log dresser over new brick flooring next to rebuilt small closet in original bedroom
As we try to stay warm, we continue work on the kitchen and clean up all around. We are getting to punch list items inside in most areas. We still have some grading work and our ice dam system to install (got too cold too quick) outside in spring.
And our log guys, Nate and crew, return for log repairs toward the beginning of March as they do their repairs in winter when they cannot stain and seal.
With the master bathroom done, we turned our attention to the “old bathroom” as we call it. Until we added the second bathroom, the old bathroom was the primary bathroom for the cabin and had been added on to in prior years to get in a shower and a horribly constructed roof (which was completely re-pitched).
We exposed the full logs of the original cabin to make up the wall, added some spray foam next to and behind the shower, and used our beloved Duragroove for the other walls and ceiling. We will retain a built in cabinet for linens, but add some fresh doors.
The shower gets some nice Emser, concrete look tile with a river rock floor. And the floor in the bathroom itself gets bricks for the flooring as a nod to the many exposed brick chimneys (dating back over 100 years in some cases) that were/are in the cabin.
New brick flooring with new tile shower. Exposed logs (which were behind pine paneling in the past) in the shared wall between the Old Bathroom and the kitchen.
We kept the exposed brick chimney in the kitchen (which was for the old kitchen stove, we think), but took down the huge brick masonry chimney that was used only for the boiler. We needed that space for our new hallway. We did however keep the Duck Creek brick to from that chimney to be reused for a fire pit in the backyard in the future.
Once the flooring is sealed and grouted, we will stain and finish the logs and then get our new vanity, vessel sink, and other accessories installed.
Cabinet frames have gone into the kitchen and the island frame and bar areas have been built out. Thanks to Scott Peterson and Peterson Custom Cabinets for their hard work! Doors and drawers are coming soon as are thick slab hickory countertops for the island and countertops and a live edge pine counter for the bar area.
Kitchen cabinet frames. Red cabinets for the “stove” wall and black cabinets in the island and bar.
Electrical work is now happening in the kitchen to get the lighting, appliances, and related items connected.
One of two very heavy iron light fixtures to be installed over the island
It’s been a bit since the last update, but we’ve been chipping away and making progress for sure! So, what has happened in the last month or so?
Laundry and Mud Room Are Done If you may remember the old “Bait Shop” was becoming the new side entry way into a combined mud and laundry room. With some tile going down, counters installed, sink installed and faucet in, the room is really taking shape.
Mud and Laundry Room
After the mud room came the master bath, complete with a new vanity, mirror, lighting, tile shower, and wood-look tile floor. It came together really well with attempting to use modern materials with an older/rustic look to things. The copper sink and old-school water pump style faucet helped as did the cast iron black shower fixtures and concrete look tile.
Master BathMaster Bath
Master BR and Other Areas
We continued to work on the completing the trim and electrical and plumbing in other areas as well. Things are coming together and we should have kitchen cabinet frames in soon along with appliances.
A lot has been going on at the cabin as we dodge snow, followed by 70 degrees followed by snow. Here are some of the big updates:
A nice 24″ blanket of blown in fiberglass went in over an inch of spray foam in the attic
Grading is almost done with all gutters in and all downspouts going into underground piping to keep water away from the cabin
Retaining walls have been built to get the proper pitch and grade
Gutters are up all around
New stone wall has been installed near the front door and along the porch side
New engineered flooring was installed over the radiant heat subfloor
The old bathroom got a new look with exposing a log wall and putting up new Duragroove paneling on three walls and the ceiling
Original floors have been sanded down and will be stained and finished this week
The water softener system has been installed with a sediment filter, pH adjuster, iron/manganese filter, water softener, and a coconut/carbon final filter. With these, we will not need drinking water faucets or a separate RO system.
LP tank has been moved and new LP line trenched in to the Generac backup generator and to the cabin itself
Electrical work continues with all attic work completed and began to get interior rough work done in some areas and fixtures installed in other areas
New retaining walls, new Carrier A/C system, and Generac Backup GeneratorLet there be light. New LED hanging light over the side doorThe Northwoods Special for water treatmentKitchen floor sanded down and ready for a finish
Wow, time flies in the Northwoods! Last update was quite a bit ago and so much has happened since then. What you ask, well, here goes:
The staining on the outside has been completed with a lot of stain and clear coat. The colors between the 100 year old pine logs and new cedar siding are close to matching!
Inside, the logs got fully cleaned, the old oakum removed and replaced with more modern chinking, and the old kitchen wall stained. Also all of the Andersen windows in the old log portion got matching stain as well and were caulked in for the winter.
Outside, we used a combination of coats and colors to give the Smartside on the garage a woodsy look. The stuff we used looks great was the most horrible stuff to deal with as it set up within about 15 minutes of brushing it on which made babysitting drips a constant battle.
Gutters went up all around and landscaping and grading started.
We also got most of the plumbing roughed in and got electrical in the “new” area working as well.
Next up in our push for winter is getting the ice dam system on the roof, getting the remaining interior walls and windows stained, getting cabinets and appliances in, engineered wood and tile down, and original wood floors refinished.
Trying to beat the weather a bit as we still don’t have running water or full boiler heat as of yet. Fun times all around!
We have color! It was the week to get some stain on the logs and see if our efforts have paid off. Nate and crew were onsite to begin staining. See below for the original cabin ion 1920 and the freshly stained cabin in 2020 (still need to rebuild the stone wall in front and put on the final clear coat). We are getting there!
1920 and 2020
This week we will see completion of the staining, top coating, chinking, and some interior log work as well as hanging of some of the lights, install of the switches in the newer area and completing the build out of the old bathroom.
I pulled out the old kitchen island this week too, to prepare for floor refinishing and new island and cabinet installation.
No more island in the kitchen
We will also hopefully make some good progress on the plumbing this week as right now, there is no running water anywhere and the porta potty is not a great thing to use each and every day. 🙂
The backside with two coats on the pine logs (left side) and one coat of a different base color on the cedar log siding (right side). Another coat of a different color will be applied to the cedar to get it to match up the pine.
It’s really starting to take shape inside this week. With interior walls getting sound/fire insulation and exterior walls getting some nice thick R-19 as well. Then the Duragroove went up on the interior walls and ceilings while pine log siding went on the exterior walls to add some character.
The master bedroom with pine logs on the exterior walls and Duragroove on interior walls. Interior walls also got mineral wool insulation for sound/fireproofing.
Plumbing began to get roughed in, but the bad news is that no bathrooms were working this week. Time for a nice lake swim to “shower up” each day along with a porta potty. Hopefully we’ll have working facilities soon.
Shower going in with the Schluter system to make the tile job a bit easier.
Next week Nate and the log crew return to get some stain on the logs. We’ve had Barb at the Paint Bucket in Eagle River working to match up our stain choice on the 100 year old pine logs with the brand new white cedar siding which is no small feat!
T&G Pine to be stained to match the original pine paneling leading from the living room down the hallway to the bedroom.
The formulas for the old pine versus the white cedar will be completely different to account for the age and character of the different woods. For those playing at home, the old pine logs will get a blend of 50% Sashco Hazelnut Stain and 50% Sashco Chestnut stain that has been tinted with two parts black for every quart.
Then the white cedar siding will get a base coat of tinted Sashco Weathered Wood with a top coat of Sahsco Chestnut. The pine will then closely match the cedar. Fingers crossed.
