Biedler Blog: A Dream Come True

Okay, gang. Here are some 180 chronological photos of the process of the building of my research Quilt Cabin! A dream come true is the understatement of the year!

Dowsing for electricity to pin down the electrical lines from the well's pump house.

Bill Lewis gives instructions as to how deep to dig.

Bill carefully hand digs around existing lines.

We will run electricity and data lines in the same trench.

You can see my old storage shed off to the left in this photo.

Trees roots have compromised for a short time but they should grow back quickly.
We will bring in several loads of fill once the job is done.

Bill is roughly measuring and marking where the pier forms will go.

Coenraad Willemsen helping Bill measure.

Hugh Burleson (electrician)

Andy Nichols in red (electrician) and Alex Skott (carpenter)

My new friend Finn, Alex's dog. What a sweetie.
He kept dragging deer bones in from the woods.
He also loved to play fetch with the cedar bough branches.

Andy Nichols, electrician.

Surveyor's lines set up.

The gizmo they use to lay all the lines straight.

We have an excellent draining soil composed of mostly "sand and gravel"! Very easy to dig!

Bill, Coen and Alex.

Pier forms.

Only two trees had to be knocked down.

So many different kinds of mushrooms pop up in the yard!

Coen and Alex.

Hugh laying the pipes for the electrical and data lines.

Electricians, Hugh and Andy.

Hugh Burleson

YOu electricians will know what all of this is!

You electricians know what this contraption is.

The piers are in!

Pier forms stacked in the background.

Piles of lumber everywhere.

Notices the side braces to help keep the piers in place until everything sets.

Double bracing of all the main piers.

Once the building is up, you'll never see this exact view
again of the conjunction of our three buildings..

More pier forms.

I find tools fascinating!

Crib quilts in my present storage shed awaiting their new home!

My research files and the plastic bins full of doll quilts and fabric will all go into the new Quilt Cabin but the family history will stay in this shed.!

My TQHF research files.

Family history files.

The floor joists (?) and braces (?) are in! (Help me here guys)

A lot of people here on the island wear two hats. The gentleman on the left is also a musician.

Bill Lewis goes over things with Alex.

The trusses went up while we were away over Xmas.

Looking back down at the house from the deck of The Quilt Cabin.

Coen up on the roof.

They used this machine to lift the trusses to the top of the building.

Forms for the supports for the deck now go in.

The front and back end of the building will match the details on the main house.

Wow! The basic deck went up fast!

L-R: Collin Doherty, Tom Froning (visiting not working ), Coenraad Willemsen and Alex Scott.

The insulation is now in under the building.

Trimming the windows.

Laying down a protective barrier before the metal roof goes on..

Decided to add the larger window now but I will block its light most of the time to protect the textiles. The smaller window will enable me to see outside while I am working at the desk I set up in this room.

Hugh Burleson

Roni Alexander, Gary's sister, visits from Berkeley.

Ashely Woolworth from North Sound Communications

The yard is taking a beating but we'll fix that when everything is finally done.

Stairs all in except railing.

Lots of electrical outlets!

Preparing for the skylights.

Had an extra door framed in for possible future purposes.

The carpenters do wondrous things with these machines!

Looking down at my present climate controlled storage shed from the deck of The Quilt Cabin.

Nice overhang is important in this wet climate.

The VAC is now sucking all the electrical and data lines thru to the house from the shed. Amazing!

Good to have a record of where all the wiring is in the walls. This the south-east wall.

The northwest wall has a framed in door in case I want to add one later, a door that won't have so many stairs to it for my "old age" years! I also had outlets for lighting added for this "ghost" door when that day comes.

Custom built bookshelves will go on this whole back wall.

I'll have a view of the back yard and orchard from these two windows on the northwest wall.

My desk will go in this L-shaped corner. the window to the left will enable me to look down the driveway as well as to see the main entrance to the house.

The door is now in.

The two skylights are framed and insulated now.

Hubby comes out to test the WiFi pick up from the house.

A three inch snow in January.

No railing on the deck yet.

A week later the railing is all up!

It's looking more and more like a finished product!

A week later the insulation is in.

Using plain but high grade plywood on the walls.

Coen starts on the shelving while we are on the Jazz Cruise so I come back to a nice surprise.

Work is begun on the outer paint coat.

Well, the weather finally stopped cooperating so we tried to protect the steps from all the mud. They then laid down more plastic to protect the deck from the painters!

All the pick-up trucks and machinery that have been in and out have been hard on the yard.
Landscaping will need to be done when everything is finally finished,
which will probably require several truck loads of topsoil.

The space under The Quilt Cabin could come in very handy.

The view from the smaller current storage shed. the new shed is just to the right of the bench.

These boxes represent a lifetime of memories of raising a family.
Will the kids really want all this stuff some day? I'll let them decide!

Another day of Coen's shelf-building work and the excitement grows!

The shelving will be adjustable. Yea! Lots of extra boards to work with as needs change over time.

Coen as made a lot of progress with the two quilt display/storage slant boards.
Both display/storage units will be mounted on heavy duty wheels and will be easily moveable.