Reminiscence:: Stairs Through the Ages

Our very first project. We were so proud of this ladder!

It's been a big push the last few weeks, and we are moving right along on the house! We feel such a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment for the huge milestone of erecting our timber frame. We have installed the tongue-and-groove sub-floor and the sub-roof, and the stick frame walls are going up. Framing in the windows is really bringing the home to life!

Sub-floor in and midway through the sub-roofing.

 I've been reflecting on smaller milestones along the way and chuckle at our pride for each little project completed. I wanted to go back to our very first project that we did together on our property: building new stairs for our loft. The one that was in place when we moved in to our little cabin was just a single cedar log with notches for foot-holds. It was pretty and space-saving but resulted in a lot of pole-dancing going down it in the middle of the night as I made my way to the bathroom.

This was our first night in the cabin! 12-31-2013: The day we purchased the land. Note the lovely ladder we had to traverse to get in and out of bed.

I believe it was day four in the cabin when we embarked on the task to install a new stairs. If I remember correctly, we had a party to get to that night but really wanted to finish the ladder, so we were all efficiency that evening. It is just made out of 2x6's, but it is well built! The steps are routered, glued and screwed into the stringers.

Sawdust a'flyin'!

That's a sturdy ladder! Ridiculously proud.

Our next stair project was putting in new steps for our porch. The previous stairs were literally falling apart because they were exposed to the elements and not pressure treated and the base was planted directly on the dirt. We did this project in March of 2014. I know this because we were so proud of our new porch steps that we dated and put our handprints in the concrete landing. It was something to be proud of! At this point we still did not have a road all the way to the cabin, so Warren hauled the 80-pound bags of concrete a quarter mile up our trail! Two at a time (for some of them, at least)!

Five years later and the steps are still holding strong. 

Mark of approval.

These are the stairs I am currently working on. They are certainly a step up than our previous stair projects! I have been giddy as a school-girl as I complete each piece and it has started to come together. Warren designed the timber-framed staircase in CAD, gave me the drawings, and let me have at it. Still have a ways to go, but isn't that a well-designed flight of stairs?

Stairs 3.0. Warren designed them, I built 'em. Poetic? Warren had the vision, and I got to bring it to life. :)

It is easy to see progress every day as the house is finally going up, but most of the past five years has been a series of little milestones. Excitedly we would show friends and family the latest swath of land parked out, or the newest freshly milled log to add to our stacks of beam, or another finished beam, etc. They have always been supportive in our enthusiasm for these small accomplishments even though it probably seemed like little had changed from their point of view. Wow! That buried septic system.... sure looks.... great?