So the last time I posted a blog, I was pulling strings to make level guides for cinder block foundation posts. A whole lot has happened since then. Most notably, multiple trips to Lowes for cinder blocks and mortar, multiple weeks of mixing, lifting, setting, measuring, leveling and hauling those blocks. I wore through two pair of leather work gloves and all of my t-shirts. There was a 2 week trip to Minnesota for work, many days off due to rain and a broken winch cable. However since that time I have raised 11 cinder block pillars, laid the base logs into position, and set the floor joists.
I found that I could only lay, at most, 2 layers of block at a time as the mortar would squeeze under the weight of more. The first few days I could lay and set a layer at each pillar position and by the time I got back to the first the mortar was dry enough to continue. Being as they’re on a hillside, the pillars are all different lengths and as I finished the smaller ones I had fewer and fewer to work on. Now my mortar wasn’t dry enough to continue when I made a full round so I had to wait to continue. It seemed the work went slower and slower but eventually every one stood tall and straight. To my great surprise and pleasure, all but one pillar were right on-the-money level. I don’t know what happened with that one but it was easily remedied with a concrete cap stone.
Once the mortar cured for a bit (and by bit I mean a week or two) it was time to raise the base logs. These are the largest logs in the building. They sit on the very bottom of the walls and create the base upon which the walls are stacked. They each measure over 20 feet long and the largest is over 2 feet thick at its base. These logs were moved into position at the base of the foundation pillars, some of which are 8 feet tall, in order to then hoist them to the top. Using an Arctic Cat with its winch and chains, I was able to pull the logs pretty close to the pillars. Because they were so heavy that even the 4-wheeler couldn’t pull them, sometimes I had to thread the winch cable through a block pulley mounted on a tree and pull the opposite way. The pulley was a huge boon and made the job a lot more manageable. At one point I needed to turn the largest log to aim it down hill and in line with the pillars. Not thinking I wrapped a chain around one of the pillars and mounted the pulley to it instead of to a tree. As I pulled with the ATV the log didn’t budge, but my weeks of work came crashing down with disconcerting ease--the pillar lay broken on the ground like the statue of Saddam Hussein after the US invasion, and the log remained steadfastly where it lay. I had to come back with new mortar and rebuild the entire pillar before I could do anything else.
Raising the logs to the pillars turned out to be a job for more than one person. I listened to the voice of reason and recruited help for that task. First I climbed a tree that grows right next to side of the cabin and mounted the block pulley with a chain. Once I got the Arctic Cat maneuvered under the tree I strung the winch cable through it, down to a pulley mounted on the log then back through the block pulley and fastened it to the log. I was expecting a difficult pull but with the 3 pulley system, the log came up pretty easily. Dale and his brother Joel helped to guide and maneuver it while it was suspended and, in no time, it was resting solidly on the foundation. The other log was much smaller and lighter and the three of us were able to lift it into position with a little effort and little trouble.
