Phase One Complete

OK it has been some time since my last posting; with the kid's sports, helping them prepare their animals for the 4-H fair, and knowing that we would not be hauling the timbers out West this year I did relax my pace. But now after our family trip to Montana I am glad I was not farther along. It would seem that the plans will need to change and therefore so will many of the timbers. The objective for the trip was to select the building site then layout and pour the concrete footings. Mostly it was nice for the whole family to finally see the property just outside of Wolf Creek.

I do though have some progress to report during this time frame. I purchased some redwood boards (~120 year old) from a wood silo that had been disassemblied from a farm in northern Wisconsin. My Dad and I drove up to hand select the full 2x6" tongue and groove boards. The wood was solid but very rough as could be expected from the years of exposure. I hand sanded one piece retaining some of the original gray patina and then lightly planned another piece exposing that beautiful old growth grain. I like the look of both so I am still undecided which way I will proceed.




DAY #1 - Explore and Select the Building Site

The first task at hand was to walk the property and decide on the building site. The land seems much larger than our home in Wisconsin even though it is almost half the size. The three main areas under consideration were the lower rock ledge, the lower meadow, and the upper meadow.

Lower Rock Ledge




Lower Meadow
















Upper Meadow



We decided to save the upper meadow for the building site for the main house someday, due mainly to its view potential and rock outcropings. The lower meadow was selected for the cabin site and the lower rock ledge will make a nice trail destination to place a reading bench someday. The last thing that clinched the deal for the cabin location was the cougar scat that we found in the "front yard". Bronte can finally have that house kitty she has been asking for.




DAY #2 - Layout and Dig the Holes

With the location decided on, Clayton and I got an early start laying out where the cement piers would be located. I decided to use Bigfoot footings forms, 8" concrete sono tubes, and support weldments I had fabricated and shipped out prior to our departure as the cabin's foundation system. But first we had to dig/pick the (9) 3 feet deep holes. The whole crew really worked hard and we actually completed all of the layout and excavating in a single day.



I was pleased with our progress this far.

In order not to waste valuable time in the morning we decided to make the material run yet that night. The cement stage required a trip back in to Helena which is ~30 minutes from Wolf Creek. We had purchased the measuring and layout supplies when we first arrived by plane in Helena before driving out to Wolf Creek but with all of the luggage we knew we would need to make a return trip.

What a load it was; (27) 80# bags of concrete mix (~2,160#), (9) 24" foot forms, (9) sono tubes, misc. supplies, and (2) tired kids. Afterall it was only a rental. Off we went towards the mountians praying that first we would make it there and secondly we would make it up the mountian road.



Everyone was exhausted but we arrived back in Wolf Creek with all of the materials ready for tomorrow and the transmission still intact on the rental car. I was very happy with our progress on the first day of work.


DAY #3 - Level the Forms and Start Pouring Concrete

The Bigfoot footings and sono tubes were placed in the holes and then leveled. I was surprised by the amount of slope the site ended up having. Keeping the back corner of the cabin at a mininum height still required the opposing corner pier to be ~4 feet tall.

But wait, we decided to change things up a little. In order to take better advantage of the site, slope, and views we decided to move the porch to the front of the cabin and make the main cabin 14x20' now. This requires the digging of (2) extra holes for the porch foundation. The leveling took much longer than the "crew" desired but in the end I would rather spend the time now than have regrets later. Dan was great in helping my fatigued brain in assuring we were good to go. Once the tubes were individually marked, they were cut to length, the tubes were then screwed to the plastic footing forms, remeasured for level, and then the holes were back filled with dirt.




With the leveling complete, Bronte and I took a break before we started mixing the concrete while Clayton was looking like he was done for the day.



Logistics: Keeping with the only hand tools/traditional/add complexity to the project theme the cabin's location required us to hand carry the cement bags (ultimately more than 3,000 lbs) and haul the water from the road ~150 yards to the site. Dan parked his truck with a water tank on the road allowing us to carry water by pail to the site. Cement was mixed by hand in a wheel barrow and then shoveled one shovel at a time in to the 8" sono tubes.

A big thank you needs to go out to Dan for being a strong back and for all of his support. I suggest he gets a mule though for all of the crazy projects he attempts on the mountain when he is not relaxing helping us.


But how can we make bricks without straw? You will glean the fields by night and work by day. The brick count will not fall by a single brick or you will feel the lash of the brick masters whip. Let your Moses help you now. Let it be written. Let it be done.

We started with the taller piers and finished (4) yet that day. The footing forms alone took (3) 80# bags of cement mix so progress was slow but measurable. Sherry and Clayton ran to Helena for (23) more bags of cement (this time 60# bags though for easier hauling to the site from the road). Bronte was "Aqua Girl", running back and forth hauling the water from Dan's truck. When they returned from Helena with the cement we carried the bags to the site, covered them with a tarp, and called it a day. A shower, supper, and early to bed was the agenda for the remainder of the evening. The crew needed a break.


DAY #4 - Boating and Fishing

To avoid a mutany and/or locking up my back we decided a day off was in order. We took a boat tour of the Gates of the Mountains region just up the river from us. We took a relaxing (3) hour boat tour, learned much about the Lewis and Clark expedition, and the Man Gulch fire that also occured 60 years ago this year near the "gates" area while crusing the slow moving Missouri River.

"Typical" view as you move up or down the majestic Missouri river.

A wolf print Bronte and I found on a short hike we took at a rest stop.

An Osprey nest that has been used for several years based on its height.

There was an area with several petroglyphs on the rock faces, one of my favorites.

The famous "gate" opens to the front of the picture. To the left was the location of the 1949 Man Gultch Fire.

Later in the evening we went fishing not real Montana fly fishing but Midwest worm and bobber fishing. The fish had plenty to eat off the surface of the water, they were jumping and surfacing everywhere but we landed none. No problem though, it was a beautiful night and we saw Muleys come down to drink everywhere you looked it seemed. Even with no fish it was still a perfect end to a nice relaxing day.


DAY #5 - Finishing the Cement Pier Systems"

After recharging our batteries Bronte and I got an early start the next morning. The shorter piers went much faster as we were cleaned up and completed by noon.
The overall concept went well. Once the tubes were filled to the top with cement I would round the edges as best as I could, slip the angle iron weldments through a 2x6with holes in the center, and slide them into the column of cement. The 2x6s served as a spacer to expose a consistent amount of the weldment from the top of the leveled tube. Once the weldment/2x6 was pushed flush their tops were rechecked for level and then lined up with the other piers in their respective row. The thinking with that the weld pads was to allow air circulation for the timbers and "hide" the surface contact reducing the opportunity for water to pool against them and the supports. We then made some last minute measurements, removed the 2x6 spacers and sono tube forms and admired our 2 1/2 days of hard labor.





Overall I was VERY pleased with how everything worked out. Again a HUGE thank you needs to go out to Dan and Dawn for allowing us to stay with them, Dan for all his help and use of some of his tools, and Sherry/the kids for all of their hard work. With Stage #1 complete we were off to Glacier National Park.

The last night in Wolf Creek and one of my favorite pictures from the trip - until next year.

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