When we first met we both had a long-term vision of owning a few acres of land in an area of natural beauty that we could share with family and friends. We devised a “search plan” for available land and established some basic principles upon which our decision to purchase would be made. One important concept was that we wanted the land to be protected from encroaching real estate development. Locating land near national forests and state parks or designated preserves was therefore one of our “basic principles.”
We eventually located land that was an “in-holding” in the Daniel Boone National Forest. One whole section of the land borders the national forest proper, and is therefore unlikely to see much development. I tracked-down the owner of the land who had moved to Tenessee. He wasn't much interested in selling it, but each time we returned from a hiking trip I called him up. Eventually, I must have wore him down, because he finally agreed to sell us his three acres.
Deconstruction and then some Construction
The land had an existing, though dilapidated, cabin that we took apart. The remnants of the existing cabin were formidable, two stories with very heavy oak and walnut woods that had been saturated with water from a leaking roof and damp forest. We organized a “work party” where family and friends came down and helped us take this old cabin down. We spent several weekends pulling nails to salvage wood and took many trips to the local dump with old box spring mattresses and other “junk” that were left to rot in, or around, the old cabin. We also had to restore the road to the cabin in order to get a truck close enough to haul out all the junk.
We spent a year doing some modest landscaping to minimize erosion and to restore some of the natural space of the area. During this time I researched construction techniques and chose to build a post-and-beam style structure. I designed a set of plans and checked on their structural integrity by consulting an architect. The following year we staged a work crew (another work “party”) to begin building. The construction of the building was divided into several smaller projects, both to simplify the process and to fit within our available schedules for time to work on the weekends. A deck was first constructed to provide a flat place on an otherwise very steep hillside. We then constructed the supports for a loft and roof, and then the roof itself. Finally, we built walls using conventional frame construction techniques and integrated these with the post-and-beam portions of the building.
We spent a year doing some modest landscaping to minimize erosion and to restore some of the natural space of the area. During this time I researched construction techniques and chose to build a post-and-beam style structure. I designed a set of plans and checked on their structural integrity by consulting an architect. The following year we staged a work crew (another work “party”) to begin building. The construction of the building was divided into several smaller projects, both to simplify the process and to fit within our available schedules for time to work on the weekends. A deck was first constructed to provide a flat place on an otherwise very steep hillside. We then constructed the supports for a loft and roof, and then the roof itself. Finally, we built walls using conventional frame construction techniques and integrated these with the post-and-beam portions of the building.
Enjoying the process as well as the outcome
This project has been an ongoing, long-term effort in which each member of our family and many of our friends have participated. We have kept to our original intent, to restore the land, and to encourage a sense of place and a connection to the natural world for our family and friends. The going is, at times, slow. But the rewards are many. We continue to build, within our budget and at a pace that allows us to enjoy the process as well as the outcome.
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