Happy New Year 2013!

Well here's to healthy, happy and prosperous 2013. It's only been 7 weeks since we closed up the cottage for the season and I'm already getting the itch... Since, the plan is to open sometime in March (weather permitting) I'll be back on the rock in less than 90 days, nice!

On facebook today, the Village Pump posted some new info about the Battle of Lake Erie. Starting to look forward to the Bicentennial celebration already. Should be tons of fun with various festivities planned on and around the lake all summer. The big shindig on Kelleys is happening on Labor Day Weekend. This gives me a deadline to have running water, at least one bathroom, and air conditioning working in the new cottage as soon as possible but NO LATER than August. Let's do this...

Get ready for Labor Day Weekend 2013

Big year!

The cottage really took shape this year! It is amazing to see the progress we made on such a colossal undertaking built on blood, sweat, tears, beers and advil. I am very proud of what we accomplished and very thankful to everyone who helped throughout the year with special thanks to...

Contractors - Sam, Chris, Tim, Tom and Joe
Neighbors - Chris, George and Capt Ron
Friends and family - Brad, Scott and Matt

Big shout-out to my uncle, Al Stenger! Thanks for multiple trips up to the island, tons of quality work, good advice, good times and lots of laughs.

It's hard to believe we went from this...

August 2010

To this...

November 2012

In 27 months! Sheez!

To my wife Bonnie, who shares the dream of our Kelleys Island cottage with me, none of this would be possible without you taking care of business at home while I spend hours and hours and weekends and more weekends working on this project. I love you!

Last working weekend

Made it up to the island last weekend for the final closing ceremonies of the season. Totally lucked-out with great weather. Also, pleasantly surprised by how dry the property was after Hurricane Sandy and a week of solid rainfall.

The plan was to insulate the water tank and build the frame around the insulation in preparation for future vertical (decorative) decking. Uncle Al came up Saturday and installed all of the outdoor receptacles, wired up the water pump, and installed a switch plus two overhead lights in the crawlspace.

I also finished hanging drywall in the master bathroom. Unfortunately, because of the size of the room and the lack of lighting, I couldn't snap any usable photos.

Onto the progress...

Water tank wrapped with 2-inch foam board insulation and framing underway

Water tank receptacle mounted to framing

Water tank insulated and frame finished

Next year (Spring 2013) I will hang vertical decking around the tank framing and install stairs on the north side. Then back-fill the gap with pea gravel to let rain water drain through and provide a nice finished look on top.

 Receptacle wired up

Big Al installed this receptacle to be used for either the water pump or heat tape, depending on the season. This electrical box also feeds the outlet on the water tank, nice. In preparation for the coming winter cold, I wrapped the water line with heat tape to prevent freezing. 

Crawlspace light switch and water pump wired up

Thank again to Al, there is a light switch directly inside the crawlspace entry door that can be reached from the outside. This is super convenient to be able to switch on several overhead lights in the dark crawlspace. Also, the water pump is wired up and ready to go for next Spring. Lastly, notice the white pex tubing, this will be used for the water main line that will be connected from the water pump to the pex manifold.

Inside progress looking towards the back door slider

Election Day

Today is election day for the US President. I voted on my way into work this morning. Anxiously awaiting the results this evening. Other notable items, the US is recovering from hurricane Sandy. The east coast was absolutely hammered with storm damage... I am wishing them a quick and safe recovery.

Planning to venture up to the island for the last time this year. The weather is forecast-ed to be clear and dry all weekend. Just perfect for final work efforts and closing-up for the season. I hope to finish drywalling the bathrooms and insulating of the water tank.

Winding down...

Well, although it has been unseasonably warm this week (70 deg or higher), it was cold and damp last weekend. I did manage to work on the drywall for both bathrooms. Just dealing with drywall is a pain in the rump. It's very awkward, heavy and fragile. Before I could even begin hanging the drywall, I had to add furring strips to both bathrooms to get the room width to exactly 60 inches to perfectly fit the tub / shower.  Here are some photos of the progress in the main bathroom.

Looking in from the family room to the main bath.

Plumbing wall stubbed-through

Main bath - drywall done

The season is rapidly coming to a close. I think my next trip up to the island won't be until Nov 9th. Probably will wrap-up that weekend for the season.

Fun "Fall" weekend

Al and Lori joined Bonnie and I for the weekend up on Kelleys. We had some big fun giving Lori the tour of the island and hitting all of the local spots. Saturday night, we watched the Buckeyes game from the Caddyshack, ate some world-famous "grilled wings" and enjoyed one of the last outdoor party evenings of the season.

Me and Uncle Al

We made our way home on Sunday and managed to bring a load of wood from our cottage. Here is Lil' Neil trying to help unload...

Other notable things for this week... The Ohio University Bobcats (7-0) appear in the AP ranking for the first time since 1968! The Cleveland Browns got their first win of the 2012 season and Jimmy Haslam has officially taken over as new owner.

Waiting for the weekend

Looking forward to spending the weekend (at the Cedar Cottage) on Kelleys with Bonnie, Al and Lori. The plan is not to really do any work on the new cottage but just have fun, fall style. I'm attending a week long training class in Pittsburgh and will be driving home Friday, late afternoon and then directly up to Kelleys. Going to the Buckeye Bar to watch the Ohio State game on Saturday, etc.