Looking behind the siding

Last week, I spent five days at the cabin. It was the longest time I've spent there, previously I've only been over on weekends. I was a bit worried how it would go, as there's no sauna or shower and everything is very basic. It went quite well, even though it rained most of the time. I even managed to make my meals from scratch in my makeshift kitchen, and I even started learning how to barbecue 😊 

I also noticed something on the bedroom wall I hadn't noticed before. There was a little newspaper remnant stuck to the logs that says 1900! Newspapers were sometimes used to paper walls for windproofing. So it seems quite likely that my house is built 1900, not 1920 as stated in the building registry. So she is 124 years old now! Pretty cool.

I attempted to continue work on removing the concrete shell from the foundation, but I felt that I needed to know how they had constructed it before continuing. So I decided to strip the siding from under the east window. 

The logs were in very poor shape, most of it looked rotten. There were also newer patches with glass wool sticking out, which made me very nervous as it's not a good material for old houses. I decided to check under all the windows to see the condition. Why the windows, you may ask? Well, basically because the siding is made up of shorter planks under the windows.

The north window was not looking too hot, either. On the plus side, no glass wool here! Also, seeing this slat pattern on this side as well is telling me this house has most likely been rendered earlier in its lifespan. Interesting and not so typical for small houses like this, usually these houses have wooden siding like it has now. The problem here has been that the bottom log is partially inside the concrete, and rain has kept the bottom logs wet. There's metal flashing, but it should have reached to the edge of the concrete sill to move rain water away from the structure.

The south side was in the best shape, which was slightly surprising as there had been rose bushes here. 

On all sides, the siding I pulled had rotted at the bottom. There were also cracks in the wood and signs of bugs, so I decided to not reuse this wood for anything.

 

As it rained a lot, I also did some less crucial work indoors. I did some repairs on the kitchen door, and got the lock working. I decided to wash it, too, and the difference was dramatic 🤩 These things feels trivial at first, but small things can really compound and make a difference. The first nights I spent here last summer, I barely slept a wink. I still don't sleep as well as at home, but I can notice an improvement with every little piece of progress.

I will be working on the cottage a lot this summer, so there'll be more updates soon. Have a great summer!