The cabin door is hung!

I finally decided that it was time to get the proper cabin door installed. Now that door is fully framed inside and out, I started by placing 3/4" cedar around the entire rough opening.

This process took quite awhile and it took hours of hand planing to remove enough wood to get a workable opening for the door.

While I was planing the cedar door jambs, Peter and Sadie came over to help for awhile. They helped by mounting a deadbolt into my custom made ledge and batten door:



I really appreciated their help, as it shaved a couple hours off the project. It turned out great!



Next, I installed the pintles into the door jamb. These are custom-made wrought iron pintles from blacksmiths at Horton Brasses. They hold large wrought iron strap hinges. I mortised these pintles into the door jamb, and I think it turned out nicely.





I then hung the door! Sounds simple, but it took some time.

Here is a view of the closed door from the exterior.





And the door when it sits open:



The black deadbolt turned out to be a nice and simple solution. I still need to attach a handle to the door.

Interior pictures of the exterior of the door. This door swings inward.





Some interior pictures of the interior of the door:







Getting this door hung and locked seems like a major milestone in this cabin project!

I've started the last large sub-project: building the exterior stud frame. The idea here is to construct a non-structural frame which provides space for insulation as well as windows and door framing.

I started by lag bolting 4x4 beams to the sill plates. This provides a strong and stable ledge upon which the rest of the stud frame can sit. I fear that unless there is a super stable ledge like this, the exterior frame might sag over time.

The studs are on 24" centers. The first part of the exterior frame extends from the 4x4 ledge to a plate which sits at approximately the same height as the tops of the interior 4x7 girts. This wraps around the entire cabin, uninterrupted except at the door opening.



Once the window framing is in place, I will cut out window openings.




It is slow going. Its going to take me several full days to complete this process and do it right. However, I am excited to finally get the window openings framed so that I can cut out the openings and get a lot more light into the cabin!

I will infill the studs with insulation and cover with either 30# roofing felt, Tykvek, or both. I'll place horizontal 1x4 nailer over that and then put up the board and batten siding over that.

Simultaneous to all of this work, I've restored three large picture windows that I salvaged when we performed a house remodel in 2005. This restoration involved scraping glazing and paint, re-glazing the windows, replacing glass panes, and painting the windows. I find window restoration to be miserable work, but I think the old windows will look perfect in this cabin.

The interior is mostly done, with the exception of the windows, window sills, and trim.

I got the remainder of the flooring installed, I got the ladder/stairs installed, and I got the loft railing secured and installed. This cabin is usable, although working doors and windows would be nice at this point.





The loft railing and the stairs were pre-fabricated in my workshop, but with only a little bit of planing, everything fit like a glove.



I used beautiful black oxide square head lag bolts to secure the loft railing and stairs. Worked like a charm!



Here is the backside of the loft railing. I still need to trim the pegs...



I even moved a little furniture into the cabin... Here is a bench/chest in the loft:



The flooring turned out well. I still need to do a final sanding before I oil it. This goat barn flooring is a bit rough. There were some 1/8" gaps in places and some height differences between boards. Sanding should help that somewhat. Overall, I am very happy with this flooring.



Here, the bottom of the stairs terminate on a piece of flooring. However, I've replaced that piece of flooring with two custom pieces of cherry that I harvested and milled from Moscow.



Things are going well. I'm working on the exterior frame now so that I can finally add windows, insulation, and hang the door. More on that soon...