The cabin arrived mid March 2022 and it turned out to be a bitter sweet day.
Over the moon with the cabin itself and that it made the 200mile journey safely. The happiness was all a bit tainted however.
The haulage company, even after lengthy discussions explaining the condition of the site, pictures and even videos sent to them of the route to the foundations… ended up, wouldn't deliver it the last 150mtrs. The lorry driver refused to enter the site. Not his fault and fully understandable, as the last section is crossing field but very frustrating as this was explained to them in great depth before agreeing to even use the company.
A few discussions and deep breaths later the cabin was lifted and left just off the roadside. Couldn't do much else. Gutted. I was too annoyed to really appropriate the cabin at this time and there was no affordable solution on what to do next. We had spent nearly everything just to get to this stage.
How the hell do we get it to the foundations now.
After phoning nearly everyone I could think of, it took another 2 weeks to get a solution. The weight of the Cabin and the increasingly wet conditions ruled out most obvious options.
A crane was going to be an absolute fortune and no truck driver would look at entering the field without industrial mats or a hardcore road. We really were stuck and left to find a solution that we could afford.
Luckily I knew a man with all the right gear..............
Ewan (same groundwork contractor) once again stepped up and by pure determination or even good planning we got it down to the foundations using 2 large forklifts and a tractor/trailer. not the most conventional way and a risk on our part but needs must.
Sigh of relief all round!! Big shout out to the guys and Ewan Fraser for making this happen or our guests would now be staying at the roadside.
Honestly lost a few nights sleep over that fortnight.
Finally 2/3weeks after its arrival to site, we could enjoy the cabin and see how it now looked in its final spot. Looks good! If you ignore all the mud.
I plumbed in the water, waste and the electrician connected the power. Huge milestone reached!!
Now, we could move on and start the decking/seating areas
With the boardwalk being a sleeper design we wanted the seating areas to tie in nicely, so continued the theme…..more sleepers.
Posts set and frame built, we then moved 10tonne of hardcore and gravel with, yes you guessed it, a wheelbarrow across the very muddy site. The base layer for 2 seating areas were done.
We planned for one area but Studiomam showed us how it would look with an added gravel area in front of the cabin. A circle area that continued under the boardwalk. Looked great so that was decided. 2 seating areas.
It started to head in the right direction, just had to backfill around the edging.
The outdoor bath or wood burning tub (wasnt decided at the time) was planned to sit at the end of the cabin.
To add a little privacy we used all the wood left over, sliced it up in lengths and came up with this. Was a bit plan as you go with this part, just tried to use what we already had.
Again, slightly squint and no two pieces the same, but this makes it unique and very rustic.ha Works for what we intended and looks nice.
Its crazy the difference a couple months can make.
There was always just that one big job left, that would make the biggest impact......
Did I hear someone says its finally time for grass??