We had 12 years with Inge, the last few of which she was there every step of the way with us as we built the Crash Pad. A place she grew to love as much as we did. A place she spent some of her final days doing the thing she loved most - snuggling and hanging out with her family.

Finishing this story has been extremely difficult. It has taken me 6 months. Part of it was dealing with technical issues (full memory on my laptop). But I think really at the core of it, I did not want to finish it because I did not want to say goodbye to Inge. Something about being at ‘the end’ has been something I have had a hard time accepting. I miss my friend deeply, to my core. I’ve cried a lot as I have worked on this video ~ typing and editing through the tears.

But here we are. At the end.

It seems only fitting that we honor Inge with her own Crash Pad video. She was an integral part of the team. Building the Crash Pad wasn’t easy for any of us, and for Inge that was particularly true ~ especially on the coldest days. But she was there putting her best paw forward.

We are glad we finally got past the hard days of building to a point where we could ‘move in’ and Inge could finally enjoy comfortable days at this special place. Our favorite image of Inge is one Kurt took earlier in December of 2024 at the Crash Pad that was the culmination of everything he envisioned the Crash Pad would be ~ Inge content by the fire.

And at the Crash Pad entry there will always be this picture of Inge there to greet us…

We love you forever and always Inge! You are missed. Thank you for being on this adventure with us. ~F.K., Mother, Solrig

For anyone who has had to say goodbye to a furry family member, you may know the moment at which you are asked if you would like your friends ashes. We have said yes three times.

But for us the challenge became being comfortable with truly saying goodbye by releasing those ashes, and most importantly ~ finding the right spot to release our friends so that they could run free forever.

For many years we had the ashes of Dunker and Loki in our Swedish sideboard waiting for ‘the right time’ and ‘the right place’. For a long time we thought we knew the place, but we never made the time and eventually the place no longer felt right.

Perhaps it is because the universe knew someday the Crash Pad would be the place. Their place.

On our many walks at the property Kurt would tell us (me, Inge, and Solrig) how special this unique tree was close to the Crash Pad. It is a yellow birch that he called The Druid Tree. Kurt knew THIS would be the place.

We knew when we lost our dear Inge on the last day of January we would not be placing her ashes in the sideboard. We wanted her and Dunker and Loki to finally be at peace. At the Crash Pad. At the Druid tree.

On April 13, 2025 it was time.

One by one we held our friends ashes in our hands and each said our goodbyes. First Dunker, then Loki, and lastly dear dear Inge. With each goodbye Kurt then released their ashes at the base of The Druid Tree. It was emotional, full of tears and smiles of the memories we shared. It felt good to finally honor our friends properly by releasing them and letting their spirits run free. For us it is comforting knowing they will forever be at this special place by this special tree. With each visit we take to the Crash Pad from now on, it is good to know we will all be home.

Dunker

Loki

Inge

It was my hope I would get to see them all fledge. Not a birder, that’s not something I had ever paid attention to. But now I was all in, an avid Crash Pad Robin Family birder captivated by what was happening under our roof. Because the nest had been built so low to the ground (on our dog ramp!), I worried each night before bed about their survival with the foxes, coyotes, raccoons, and other animals in our ‘hood, but miraculously each morning they were still there!

On Thursday, July 11 our electrical crew arrived. All 4 birds were still in the nest and we told the crew to be careful while they worked around this area. I guess two of the robins decided it was a good time to fledge, because at some point that morning they disappeared ~ likely hopping out of the nest into the woods. I was bummed I did not get to see it.

On Friday, July 12 two robins remained in the nest. We went to bed that night hoping yet again they would stay safe through the night. When we woke on Saturday, July 13, one robin was left in the nest. There were no signs of disturbance, so we trusted the third robin fledged successfully.

I went out on the porch to capture a picture of the last robin. It looked at me, chirped, hopped out of the nest and hopped into the woods. AMAZING! I could hear it’s family cheering emphatically from the woods for it to come. It all happened so fast, I felt so lucky to see the last one go.

My heart will be forever warmed by our Robin Friends. For 10 days I left my camera set up on a tripod and tried to capture the cycle of life happening before me. This video is a compilation of what I saw over these 10 days. The very first pictures of the eggs and the hatch were taken by Kurt as he arrived on two separate visits. After he saw the eggs we thought they might have hatched and be gone by the time we returned a couple of weeks later, so little we knew.

I will always be rooting for our Robin Friends hoping they have made a life for themselves around the Crash Pad. But we are also happy (crossing fingers because I am home as I write this) that all our bird friends have finally left the porch so we can finish construction (and our bike storage). [*July 28: Kurt has returned to the cabin and we have no new friends on the porch; construction resumes].

The first thing to know if you are building a cabin on a rural property is that you will need to think about where your waste water goes. Our property is forested land that had never been built on and was not tied into a city system of sewer, water, and electricity. These are all things as a city dweller we take for granted. As a rural property owner we had to choose which systems would be installed and find someone to help us install them.

Soil Testing

One of the first steps of the build process was to work with our excavator to do soil testing. This step was done at the Crash Pad in late July 2022, before the excavation work began on the property to clear for the cabin (August 1, 2022). There was a certified soil tester from the state on site with the excavator. Our excavator went into the woods with a mini excavator to dig testing holes. The soil tester then evaluates the soil composition of the holes and advises if the soil composition will allow for a drain field (the ideal system). Three testing holes were dug on our property within a range that would be far enough from the cabin for drainage, but close enough for the system to be installed for a drain field. Unfortunately all three holes revealed clay soil, which can not be approved for a drain field (the optimal choice).

The Options

What is a drainfield?

In conventional, or soil-based systems, the liquid (known as effluent) is discharged from the septic tank into a series of perforated pipes buried in a leach field, chambers, or other special units designed to slowly release the effluent into the soil. This area is known as the drainfield. (epa.gov)

A drainfield would have been the cheapest option for us, but unfortunately after the soil test it was no longer a possibility. This meant we had two other options:

1. Septic Tank

2. Mound System

Kurt talks through in the video the different options and about what we chose ~ a Septic Tank.

Septic Tanks

Septic tanks come in different sizes. The bigger the tank, the higher the price. We went with a 2,000 gallon tank based on both cost and need. Kurt estimated that we would need to have the tank pumped twice a year and that cost savings far outweighed a bigger tank or a mound system.

Think about the Visual

We strategically drew out a plan for our excavator showing where we wanted the tank. Visually, we didn’t want the septic tank to be part of the view from the main living area or from the kitchen. We would highly advise that you are involved with the decision process for tank placement ~ you often see horrible placement on rural properties. If you are going through the work to build your dream cabin ~ don’t assume your builder or excavator will put your tank where you want it. You don’t want to be sitting looking at your beautiful view with a tank and pole in the middle of it reminding you of your waste, and you also don’t want that to be the first thing you see when you drive up to your ‘dream’ cabin.

Also, your tank needs to go where it makes sense. We have our tank placed directly behind our bathroom. It is definitely not the first thing you see on approach to the Crash Pad, in fact you may never even know it is there (until we tell you to flush with the green button and why).

Build Process

Before any step in the build process, the excavator installs the septic tank and digs the area for the foundation. That is why soil testing was one of the first things we did before even clearing the land for the building. If we had decided we wanted a drain field, that would have meant testing the property in locations further back, which if successful would have meant a longer driveway - which means more expense both during excavation, but also snow plowing. The likelihood we would have found acceptable soil for a drainfield further back on our property seemed slim, so we stuck with the original spot we had chosen with our architect for the Crash Pad.

Once the foundation was in, the excavator then came back and hooked up the septic tank through the foundation and then filled in the interior of the foundation and graded the exterior.

After that, the plumber comes at it from the inside and connects all the water and waste pipes leaving the building to the septic tank.

Water Usage

We were lucky to live in Colorado in our twenties, where we saw first hand how important water conservation is. It left an imprint in us. To this day, whenever we see water being wasted it drives us nuts. Water Conservation takes on a whole new meaning when you have your own well water, and a septic tank. We oversaw the installation of both and are keenly aware of how vital they are for the Crash Pad. Monitoring every single drop of water we use is particularly important because we don’t want to fill up our septic tank unnecessarily.

We have made conscientious decisions when picking out fixtures and appliances that use water.

Shower:

The Shower unit we installed is a low flow unit; it is a watersense product ~ which means it is efficient and helps us save water. Our plumber said he could take out the ‘low flow’ part of the unit if we felt the pressure was too low, but we love it as it is and it actually has better flow than our unit at home.

To get hot water to the unit, we let the initial water flow go into a bucket and rarely fill the bucket up more than 1/3 per shower before we have hot water. But using the bucket helps us to additionally save water from going into our septic tank. We take the water and dump it outside, or can repurpose it for other things like cleaning our bikes or the windows.

Toilet:

We chose a dual flush toilet. In the video Kurt talks about how much water we believe we save by using the green button to flush instead of the full flush lever. Having a dual flush toilet helps you save a half of tank of water per flush!

Washer Dryer:

In our plan with our architect we had spec’d out a combo washer/dryer unit to save space. But we were also interested in a unit that efficiently used water. This Summer we are happy to have our Washer Dryer combo unit in place for our longer stays at the Crash Pad. But we only wash essentials, like bike kits. We still take our bigger loads of sheets and towels and most of our clothes home to wash after a visit so that our water usage continues to remain as low as possible, limiting what goes into the septic tank.

Washing Dishes/Dishwasher:

If you do the math on washing dishes in a sink by hand or using a dishwasher, using a dishwasher is more efficient for water usage. We currently save up our dishes during the day to wash at one time in a camp sink inside our utility sink to limit the water used. Next on our purchase list when we get closer to the kitchen build will be a water efficient dishwasher.

It’s the small things:

And there are common sense small things we can do. Like when we wash our hands, brush our teeth, etc. ~ we don’t stand there with the water running.

Monitoring

We have peered down into the septic tank much more than I ever thought we would, because as a cabin owner in charge of our own build you pay attention to every single detail ~ including where your waste water goes. We also have looked down it a lot because unfortunately an important step was missed during the build, the box with the alarm system went missing and was never installed. So we have to visually monitor the septic tank to decide when it needs to be emptied.

On the tubing in the tank there is a ‘float’. I have learned from ‘our septic guy’ that when the float is basically horizontal, it is time to call them. After that point there is still room, but the tank is almost full and needs to be emptied. If the alarm had been installed, a red light would go off in the cabin (likely by the toilet) alerting us the tank needed to be emptied. But since the alarm has not been installed, we have to manually pull off the lid of the septic tank and look in. I’m sure our septic guy has never seen two people as interested as we are when they come out, and asking so many questions and taking pictures!

We hope to eventually get an alarm and get the electrical hooked up for it, but it is further down the list of things we need to get done.

Off Grid?

So are we off-grid? I guess in this respect, yes. People often think of being off-grid as one thing, mainly electricity comes to mind. But off-grid can be a combination of things, and can be partial. The Crash Pad water and waste is indeed off-grid because we have a well for water and a septic tank; so in that regard ~ this is what it means to be partially off-grid.

Future?

We currently have no plans to live at the Crash Pad full time, but if we ever did we would likely have to consider another septic tank, or a larger one, or a mound system. For now our system is working great (sans the missing alarm system).

Bears

We are very aware there are bears here, but in the years we have been coming up here we have never seen as many as we have seen this year. So far between us we have seen about 11 bears!

The first sighting of the year was just around the bend at Lake Helane right after we took this picture. It was a heart thumper and as we discussed turning around (and having to go up a big hill we had just come down), we met our neighbor Nancy (who we had not met before). The three of us decided to ride on, making noise as we rode past where we had seen the bear.

During the Hungry Bear event, many people were commenting on the bears they saw, and unfortunately that morning some of our neighbors lost a chicken to a bear intruder.

Speaking of the Hungry Bear, as I was waiting at the end of our driveway to get picked up to do the rest of the event with our neighbor, I looked towards my neighbors driveway while I was waiting and saw a big ol’ bear rump headed in the direction of our neighbors house, and therefore the Crash Pad, just feet from where I was standing. PANIC! I decided to remain where I was since it seemed to be headed away from me, and the event cyclists were starting to ride by, but whoa…..!!

And just a few days ago (it is July 3 as I type), Kurt was in the middle of a climb on a gravel ride and came around a corner and BAM ~ BEAR IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD! He pulled hard on his breaks, which are disc breaks so they squealed, luckily scaring the bear and it ran off into the woods. The bear was about 20 feet away from Kurt. I got a text right after:

And then there is the bear who walked right in front of our living room windows while we were watching a movie! It was one of those moments where I could barely operate my camera, so these are the images I got:

It has been a busy bear season in this area! We appreciate nature and bears, but just don’t want to be too close, and definitely don’t want the dogs to encounter one!

Eastern Phoebe’s

Then there have been the Eastern Phoebe’s who decided to build a nest on top of two 2 x 6’s we had leaning against the wall in the porch. We had planned to work on finishing the siding in this area, but work had to stop ~ there were eggs in the nest.

By the end of June the babies had hatched and flown away. So Kurt decided it was time to remove the nest. Sadly, he noticed too late there was a new batch of eggs in the nest. Sorry Phoebe’s!

Robin’s

We had hoped after the Phoebe’s had hatched we could have the porch back for construction tasks, but unfortunately that has not been the case. In Mid-June Kurt arrived to find a nest of vibrant blue eggs on the porch.

We had hoped by our next trip up they would have hatched and flown away. Instead, on June 30th Kurt arrived to find this:

Unfortunately the nest spot chosen was not ideal, this is the dog ramp we have to get the dogs in and out of the Jeep. We leave it on the porch, which apparently looked like a great place to build a nest! It’s not ~ it is only about 1 1/2 feet off the ground! There are a lot of critters here, so we are silently cheering this family on hoping they make it to fledge without interference.

I have been sipping my morning coffee while watching the babies grow and constantly be fed. Both the mom and dad have been actively watching and feeding the babies.

Fisher Cats & Coyote’s

This was interesting footage from the back of our property in February. We believe the first animal is a fisher cat and then a coyote after that.

This footage is from the trailcam at the back of our property where there is very active wildlife evidenced in the footage we catch and the well worn game trails. We debated if this was a wolf or coyote, but landed on coyote after googling images.

Wolves & Foxes

But there are definitely wolves on this property! The one thing we really worry about seeing is wolves, because of the dogs. We have heard stories from people in the area who have lost their dogs to wolf attacks, so are very aware when we are outside with the dogs. We know they are on our property because we have seen them on our trail cams several times, and have also heard them.

Is this a wolf or a coyote? Kurt leans towards coyote because of the ears (as with the above footage). I can’t find the wolf footage unfortunately.

Unfortunately I don’t have the fox footage any longer, but it was eye opening to see it so close to the Crash Pad.

Deer

And of course there are the deer, which we frequently see on our property. I don’t have any recent pictures ~ but Kurt saw a mom and her two fawns out the kitchen window recently. Here is a trail cam video of momma and baby on our property from last year instead:

Mice

Luckily I don’t have any footage of this, but we know there is an abundance of mice on our property. We have had a pile of siding for our front porch sitting on our screen porch area for a year and know it was a mouse haven from the get-go.

And we have a pile of debris that we plan to load to the dump this week. If it is anything like the piles we got rid of last year, we know we will be disturbing abundant mouse housing.

But that is not all! City mice have come up to the the Crash Pad with me! A month ago on my drive up here, 15 minutes from the cabin I felt something on my ankle I thought was my shoe lace. NOPE ~ gulp, turns out it was a mouse who decided to run up my thigh while I was driving! I immediately stopped the car (going up the hill under the Birkie bridge out of Hayward if you know the area). It was me and the dogs. I hopped out of the car hoping the mouse would follow, but it was nowhere to be seen! My only choice was to drive the last 15 minutes to the cabin ~ at 70 miles an hour (not kidding, someone let me go by and flipped me off. They had NO IDEA what was going on in my car).

Kurt arrived that night and the next day super sleuth Inge got her nose on the mouse. I tried to run it into the woods, but it just came back. Kurt thought it was a baby mouse and said it was definitely a city mouse, not one of the country mice, so had been in the car with me from home. As it was trying to make it’s way back to the car I told Kurt the only option sadly was to kill it, which eventually he did.

Fast forward a month later, a mouse nest was found in the car along with a dead mouse by the driver’s pedal, and a live one found the next day in the car bay at the service station! Plus I’ve killed multiple mice in the garage! I’ve also had the car detailed to get rid of the smell.

People have told me I need to sell the car or take it out in a field and burn it. I agree, but our finances don’t. So I am hoping no more mice (city or country) decide to take up residence in our vehicles. But country mice are tenacious, so when we remove the debris pile I’ll be parking my car over at the neighbor’s house!

Everything seems abundant this year after a mild winter and a very rainy summer, both at the Crash Pad and at home! We just hope we don’t arrive to the Crash Pad at some point to find a bear sleeping on our porch.

Kurt has mentioned several times it might be a good idea to screen in the front porch because of mosquitos. We are starting to think screening the porch to prevent it from being a future nature reserve might be a good idea as well!

The conversation we had with the architect during the design phase about not wanting a flat roof was coming back to haunt us.  When he first showed us the design, that was one of my first comments “We don’t want a flat roof in Northern Wisconsin”.  But he convinced us, and we agreed, that a flat roof over the bedrooms would be more cost effective.  Less square footage equals less money, meaning staying closer to our budget (that was the theory).  Also, flat roofs are not really flat they have a slope built in that you don’t see.  In our case you wouldn’t see any slope because of the parapet wall surrounding the edge of the roof.  Flat roofs are on almost every commercial building, so again in theory it all made sense.  And lastly, theoretically a membrane roof would be cheaper than the metal roof we wanted on the pitched part of the cabin over the living area.  It all made sense and we hesitatingly agreed to move forward.

If we could turn back time, we would have never moved past that design conversation and instead pushed for a pitched roof.  But we can’t.

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Even though we were having no luck finding a roofer, we thought the following Spring we would be able to.  So we decided to erect the cabin with a contingency plan to get us through until Spring.  Kurt had been talking to people involved with our project, and who had built in the area, about how to protect the roof for the winter and felt we had a workable solution.  Over the pitched roof we would have an ice and snow shield layer installed to protect it.  Over the flat roof Kurt and I would have to get up there and build the sloped roof ourselves in order to protect it for at least the first winter.

Our SIP builder put on the “ice and snow shield” over the pitched roof.  It was up to us to take all the research Kurt had done on sloped flat roofs and get up there and get it done.  Time was not to our benefit, nor was the weather, but we had no choice.  Rain and melting snow was already coming in the building.

We naively thought we would be able to use the cabin over the winter because it would be enclosed and we would have a wood stove.  We were wrong.  The only time we spent at the cabin over the winter was for a day at a time almost weekly all winter long (driving up and back for a total of 6 hours round trip) in panic mode just trying to get this little place to survive its first winter.  It started with using a wet dry vac to suck up the water coming through the roof that was all over the floor (gallons!) and ended with us finally having to shovel multiple feet of snow off the roof continuously until Spring.

Immediately after the Crash Pad was erected, Kurt and I were there alone for a planned week of building the sloped flat roof.  We had already endured our first snow during build week, and were nervous about the next snow coming.  We had already seen how much water would come in the building without a roof on, and we were certain if we didn’t get up there and cover the flat roof, the cabin would be a total loss by Spring.  We knew that would be the end of the dream and a financial disaster.  The stakes were high, and so were the nerves.  But we make a good team, and we know how to dig in when the work needs to get done.

On October 18th the SIP crew finished the final install of windows and doors in the morning and were gone by noon.  Meanwhile, Kurt and I had set up the compound mitre saw.  I received a tutorial since I never took shop class in high school and had never used a saw like that in my life.  Then we got to work on me cutting up the wood, and Kurt building the parapet walls.

It was 23F the morning we started, and the only saving grace of the week was by the end of it the temps were in the 70s.  At least one positive!

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After the parapets were up, we progressed to figuring out how and where exactly to build the slopes.  It involved figuring out heights needed with two by fours so that they graduated down towards the scupper (An opening we left in two places between the parapets where the water is directed away from the roof).  We also had to figure out how to slope the corners to meet up with the other slopes and how that would direct the water away from the building and out the scupper.  At one point after discussing it and feeling stuck, I spent a good amount of time on the phone with the architect who tried to figure it out with me.  But he also isn’t a roofer - so it was a bit of the blind leading the blind.  In the end we were getting the math to work and were ready to go to the next step, laying down big sheets of CDX plywood.  The goal was to then put on a special adhesive, that we would then roll the roof membrane onto.

It was on October 21, 2022 of that week ~ a Thursday, we were almost done…  that our neighbors Scott and Stacey from down the road rode their bikes up the driveway.  We were up on the roof and I walked over to say hello.  They asked how it was going and I said ‘horrible’.  We explained what we were doing and they felt our pain.  Turns out years back they had a metal roof put on their new home that was incorrectly installed and they had to tear the whole thing off.  But they had found a good roofer and recommended them highly.  It was Paul’s Sheet Metal in Rice Lake (a town about 1 ½ hours away).  After Scott and Stacey rode away, I called Pauls’s immediately.  I had to leave a message, so we crossed our fingers and kept working.

Not long after, Paul’s called me back.  Miracle of miracles they said they would take a look at our project.  They said they had to be in the area that Saturday to pick up something and could stop by.  We met them on that Saturday morning (October 23, 2022), they took a look, and said they would help us!  We couldn’t believe after so much trial and tribulation we FINALLY had a roofer at the 11th hour.  And we will forever be grateful for the cycling community near the Crash Pad for always being so welcoming, kind, and helpful.  Without Scott and Stacey having rode up our driveway at THE moment we needed them too, who knows how that first winter would have gone.

We felt secure in our conversation with Paul’s, but they said they would need us to rip out the sloped roof we had almost finished.  They would start fresh (and do it right).  Luckily they said they could use our parapet walls, so all was not lost.

Kurt and I only had 24 hours left of that week to finish up any work because we had to get back to work the following week.  So up we went on the roof to demo 90% of the work we had done that week.  Bittersweet, but 100% worth it knowing we had someone coming behind us to do it right!

One thing we did not realized until Paul’s asked us, was that we needed the wood stove pipe installed through the sloped roof before they could roof that part. So off we went to purchase a stove. Unfortunately, because of the explosive building in our rural area, the stove install could not be done in time for the roofer’s to roof that until the following Spring or Summer! So our stove sat on the showroom floor for months, and the south pitched side of our roof would not have a roof until 2023. It also meant we would have no heat source for the entire winter.

When we got back to Minneapolis, we received the price quote from Paul’s and were devastated. The bid for the flat part of the roof was three times what we had expected, and way over budget. We did not have the cash on hand, but knew we absolutely needed a roof on before winter. That gut sinking feeling of remembering back to that conversation with our architect about not thinking a flat roof was a good idea came back to haunt us. But here we were.

After working with our financial planner on a game plan, we signed the contract and got on the roofing schedule. And then we had to patiently wait. The unusually early and snowy winter kept coming. But amazingly some time before Thanksgiving of 2022 there were two great weather days that allowed the roofers to come install the membrane over the flat part of the Crash Pad (but not the metal cap until Spring), and metal roof on the north side of the pitched roof. On our trip up on November 26, 2022 we were so relieved to see this:

And so she sat like this until early June of 2023 when finally the wood stove pipe was installed, the siding had been put on, and the finish work was finally completed on the roof.

A long winter of stress was finally over!

Would we do it again? Absolutely not!

Are we glad it is done? Absolutely.

For more to the story, watch the video above.

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Reflecting on this milestone week now, there are very mixed feelings.  We remember the excitement of seeing the SIP panels arrive after so much planning, but we also remember the dread we were feeling by the end of the week as snow started to unexpectedly fall.  But before we get to the ‘end’, let’s start at the beginning.

SIP Design Phase

Once we decided to move forward with a SIP (Structural Insulated Panel) build in the architectural design phase (see Three:  Why An Architect?), the final design and engineering was completed by our architect, Extreme Panel ~ the SIP manufacturer, and the structural engineer.

Extreme Panel was suggested to us by our architect (Steven of Loon Architects) who knew the owner of the company, Josh.  Extreme Panel is based out of Cottonwood, Minnesota, located west of Minneapolis and about a 5-6 hour drive to the Crash Pad site.  Steven and Josh were able to have multiple conversations about our project before a structural engineer was brought into the final phase.

Structural Engineer

A structural engineer signs off on all the structural elements of the building before the panels are constructed and the building goes up.  This is a pretty crucial step so that your cabin does not become a house of cards.  And even more comforting to have had done when it turned out to be one of the snowiest winters on record after it was erected. 

For some reason it was ‘optional/advised’ to have a structural engineer involved on our project.  Although normal, we do not know why this wasn’t an inherent part of the architectural design phase.  Our advice:  ask your architect during the design phase if they have a structural engineer lined up for your project, even if it is a SIP Build.  It is crucial to have the structural engineer’s review and drawing set before anything is constructed or built.  

At this phase, there was a three-way conversation that took place between the Architect, Extreme Panel, and the Structural Engineer.  Once everyone was in agreement, it was our architect who signed off on the ‘Red Line’ drawings which would then be used for the SIP Panel build and subsequent construction of the panels at our job site.

But before we could even get to this phase, there was the final nail-biting phase before the panels could be manufactured of finding a structural engineer during the Summer of 2022.  Our architect’s ‘usual guy’ had what we all felt was a pandemic price increase compared to previous projects they had worked together on, so our architect set about trying to find someone else within our budget.  Not an easy task during pandemic times.

It is important to note that although it was Summer and the build seemed months away, we had very tight timing in this phase of the project.  We had to have final approved structural engineering drawings for Extreme Panel, and make our payment to Extreme, long before we wanted the panels at the job site in order to get in their build queue.  Every day that went by that our architect could not find a structural engineer, our build date would move back, and at a certain point it would not be possible for the stars to align before winter.  The cabin dream would be over before it really began.

And at this phase, we foolishly thought we would be able to use the cabin over the winter.  Oh goodness…  What we didn’t know.  

Back to the search…  Email to Steven on July 20, 2022:

Hi Steven,

Nice talking with you yesterday and I am glad you have had a few nibbles from Structural Engineers.  We hope you get a full on bite ASAP!

Just to let you know, on our walk this morning Kurt said he is about ready to pull the plug on this year on Friday because of the challenge with finding a Structural Engineer.  That is sounding like his deadline if that helps in your discussions.

Good luck rounding someone up!!!

Thanks,

DeAnn

And THEN…

I remember exactly the day Steven called me saying he had found a structural engineer for the Crash Pad.  July 21, 2022 around 10 am.  I had met a friend for coffee when my phone rang.  I dashed over to my car and sat in the car having THE conversation with Steven that this project was going to be a ‘go’ ~ he had finally found a structural engineer!  Friday, July 22, 2022 email to Steven:

Thanks for all your work this week, we had literally 90% given up for the year and it seems we might be ready to rock and roll (fingers crossed).

This was what Kurt had come to call, another ‘cabin miracle’.  There have been so many moments along the way where this build could have been a non-starter, but through whatever forces - every time we thought we might run out of our ‘luck’, another miracle moment would happen propelling us further along on the Crash Pad journey.

If you have never worked with a structural engineer before, they are the ones that are sure that the architect has put enough structure into the building so it does not fall down.  For the Crash Pad, this was adding footings in the cement foundation for the load bearing walls to rest on, understanding and ensuring load disbursement was correct, ensuring load bearing walls were correctly engineered and in the right places, ensuring structural beams were correctly placed, and reviewing the SIP ‘red line’ drawings with Steven and Extreme Panel, and ensuring that the panels were constructed in a structurally sound way. 

In mid-August 2022 our cement slab was going to be poured, so our structural engineer was vital in that process so that we had drawings of where the structural footings needed to be poured.  We also needed approved foundation drawings to pass on to the concrete company.  The foundation is vital to have done correctly.  We’ve had some nerve wracking moments with that, but so far we believe all is well.  Another story for another day.

SIP Builder

When you act as your own general contractor, there are many concurrent deadlines happening, one of which in regard to this story is finding a SIP Panel Builder.  It is important to note that there is a difference between a ‘builder’ and a SIP Panel Builder.  People will ask ‘who is your builder’, it is not the SIP builder, they don’t do all the work a ‘builder’ does.  Essentially after the SIP build, we were the ‘builder’.  Anyhoo..

Well before we were finalizing the drawings with the architect and the structural engineer, we were working hard to secure a SIP Panel builder.  Extreme Panel has a network of people who only build SIP Panel buildings.  Steven had passed on two names to us in March of 2022, and only one of the people called us back, Ryan.  By May of 2022 we were already firming up with Ryan that he would work on our project and we stayed in close contact with him right up until that ‘green light’ moment when we had a structural engineer in July.  Finding Ryan was another ‘Cabin Miracle’.  Ryan had a full schedule, but he liked our project (many people have told us that) and agreed to work with us.  If Ryan had not been interested, this would have been another moment where the build did not happen.  

It was also during this time that we were completing the window order and hearing the words ‘backorder’ now and again.  Ryan, who does not regularly install windows and doors, agreed to install ours.  It was vital that we had the window and door delivery during a specific day during the SIP build week.  We had to coordinate closely with Ryan and our window supplier when to have the windows and doors delivered to work with his schedule right up until the week of the build.

The schedule of the build depended on both Ryan’s schedule, and Extreme’s Schedule.  Already in May Extreme was booked out until September, so we needed to sign contracts quickly to make sure our project stayed on track before Winter set in.

On July 22, the exact same time we were working hard to firm up the structural engineer, we signed a contract with Ryan to build our cabin.  It was also on July 22 that we signed our contract with Extreme Panel and wired them the money to get us on the schedule.  From that moment on everything was moving forward, and moving quickly!

We had so many questions for the build.

• Does Ryan have insurance?  Yes.

• Do we need insurance?  Yes, you should have insurance.

• How do we get insurance on a build?  It is really hard!  I was initially working with the insurance company for my small business, but it was going nowhere.  Finally we found someone in Hayward after Mo from ROAM once again gave us good advice.  We connected with State Farm in late September 2022 and had the right insurance in place by early October 2022.  They have been great to work with.

• Do we need to rent a container to store things in?  Our SIP builder did not need one, and he did not want any extra things on the property because he had limited room to move around and put the equipment and panels.  Additionally, he had his own trailer.  

• Do we need a dumpster?  Again, no room for it during the build, but we would recommend having a dumpster onsite immediately after the build, we were not able to do this part until 2023 and had to live with a lot of piles that made good homes for mice.

• Should we rent a port-a-potty?  Everyone said no, but we suggest you do it throughout the construction.  Even if like us your project is in the middle of the woods. We rented one.

Between the panel delivery timeline and Ryan’s availability, we set a schedule for the second week of October, 2022.  And that brings us to build week…

Build Week

A few days prior to the build, Ryan had the Terex crane delivered to the site.  This is the key piece of equipment his team used to move around and install the SIP panels.  [Side note:  one of the many emotional challenges about a build is you have the land graded by your excavator before any work starts, and then big equipment like the Terex, and cement trucks, and well digging equipment, and the list goes on and on and on… are onsite for the build and pretty much destroys the grading.  You have to have your excavator come back and do a final grade; which thankfully was finally done in late 2023].

On the afternoon of October 10, 2022 we packed up the Jeep, hooked up the Silverhytten (our Airstream Basecamp), and drove off into what was truly the unknown.  We were excited, nervous, and everything in between.  The schedule was for the SIP Panel build to be completed by the end of the week.  But first the panels needed to arrive.

Extreme Panel schedules the delivery of the panel with a third party trucking company.  When we got the confirmation on October 10 that the truck was coming on Tuesday October 11, 2022 it was game on.  We confirmed our schedule with Ryan and would all meet on site Tuesday morning.

Early Tuesday morning the trucker with our panels called while we were getting ready for the day back at the campground.  He wasn’t sure he was in the right place, and he wasn’t.  Unfortunately Google Maps didn’t quite understand where our property was and this huge loaded truck was about a mile too far down the narrow gravel road.  We drove over to meet him and after discussing that he needed to turn around he pulled off amazing maneuver #1 - turning that huge truck around at a Y intersection down the gravel road!  Once he was turned around, he followed us back to our property.  

At The Crash Pad we have an even more narrow driveway than the road he just turned around on, and the plan needed to be for the driver to back that huge loaded truck down our driveway!  When your entire cabin is on a truck backing down a driveway, we can attest - it is nerve wracking.  Too far to the left and the truck started looking like it was going to tip.  Too far another way and the truck might hit some trees and ruin your panels/cabin.  Eeks.  But damn this driver was GOOD at what he does, he backed that thing down our driveway and got it to exactly where it needed to be.

At this point the SIP crew moved into high gear unloading the truck and sorting out the panels and started prepping for the build.  This was THE moment!  We went back and forth to the campground checking up on the progress on a gorgeous Autumn day (in the 70F temps!). Leaves were falling, the Crash Pad was going up ~ this was really happening!

Windows and Doors

Window and door installation is not usually part of the work Ryan does, but he agreed to install ours at the end of the build.  

We were concerned before the build about being able to coordinate the delivery and if we would need to have a container on-site for storage.  But Ryan didn’t want a container on-site due to space issues.  Luckily the window supplier was able to coordinate a delivery for us during the build that worked with Ryan’s schedule.

Windows were another thing Kurt and I had to rely on our architect for ~ where the heck does one get windows and doors?  Also, windows and doors are something you need to have planned well in advance.  Backorders were common during the time we were building and our delivery date did get pushed back.  If we had been unable to have the windows and doors delivered during the SIP build, it would have been challenging to get the SIP crew to come back and do that work.  Luckily we were able to get the delivery scheduled on the day the SIP crew was ready.  Except the front door, which we had to go pick up.  Driving with glass is terrifying, you don’t want to do it.  Trust us.

What we didn’t know when we had our architect connect us with someone to do our windows, was that we could have worked with Cable Lumber.  Which became, and remains, our go to for many things during the build and is much closer to the Crash Pad.  Instead, we used our architect’s connection from another project up in Ashland, WI.  It all went well, but if we had known about Cable Lumber in the planning stages, we would have worked with them and they would have been much closer for deliveries and any needed pickups.

We used all Anderson Windows and doors specified by our architect and so far have been very happy with them.  We only have had two issues and Anderson has been great working with us.  We found out during the install that the window by the front door was not executed properly and a new one was ordered without hesitation, or expense to us.  The front door has never closed properly, so over the summer this year Anderson sent out ‘their guy’.  He could tell us what was wrong, but was sadly not the one to fix the issue (it was not installed properly and is not level in multiple places).

Final Day(s) of the Build

Unfortunately our beautiful build week weather declined by the end of the week and it snowed.  The decision was made to stop all work on what would have been the final day (Friday, October 14) and resume work the following week pending weather.  On Thursday, October 13, 2023 in the darkness of night the SIP crew tried to wrap up getting the skylights in and getting the weather wrap on the roof.  And then we all drove home in the dark.  We had hoped to resume Monday, but…

Monday, October 17, 2022 6:07 AM:

We’re going to postpone until tomorrow due to road conditions and high winds today. ~ Ryan

On October 18, 2022 we were all back at the job site.  The SIP crew finished up in the morning, and Kurt and I took over on the next project that needed to be completed before winter.  The final days felt a bit like the beginning of the biggest stress of our lives that lasted pretty much until early Summer of 2023. 

And this is where we will leave it until the next story, which we call ‘The Time of Despair’.

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This is exactly where we are at with the Crash Pad on August 19, 2023.  One year ago this month (August 1, 2022 to be exact), we broke ground on the Crash Pad.  Today we have a standing and functional building!  It hasn’t quite been the journey we expected, nor are we at the finish line.  And despite a very long, hard winter that started when the building went up in mid-October 2022, and did not end until late April 2023, WE.DID.IT!  The building survived, and much to our amazement, so did we.

Our big goal at the end of the Winter was to be in a position to start staying in the Crash Pad in Mid-May of 2023 so we could start to actually enjoy it, get to biking, and have more than a 3 hour afternoon to work on it (which was the case with day trips all Winter).  This meant we needed to line up ‘The Big 6 Week Push”.  

From the end of April to mid-May 2023 we had 6 weeks to get the Crash Pad in a livable state.  Many contractors later, we made our deadline!  Now when we look back, we are both amazed that we got to the finish line.  Somehow we found the strength to push through, but looking back it seems pretty amazing that not only we did it ~ but we did it successfully.  

In working on the video edit for this story, it is easy to see so many moments when this project could have completely fallen off the rails.  It is actually quite terrifying when you allow yourself to think about it.  But, thanks to our partners, everything went well.  Pretty amazing really considering all the nightmare stories that you hear about building projects.  And the biggest reason we do not have a nightmare tale to tell is our amazing partners.

We would not be here if it was not for the team of tradespeople we had as our partners on this project.  In this story we are discussing all the steps it took to get to May 2023, and recognizing our partners with gratitude and thanks [The full list of steps and partners is listed at the end of this Story].

Although we are far from done, it is an immense feeling of satisfaction to look back at what we have accomplished in one year.  ONE.YEAR!  We challenged ourselves, we pushed ourselves, we worked hard, our goals were met, and here we find ourselves at the beginning of August getting our second wind.  A new push begins.  Thanks to a ‘break’ the last 3 months, we are starting to visualize the next phase of the Crash Pad, and how our lives flow with it.  It includes much more regular exercise, hopefully much less stress, hopefully losing the weight we gained over the last year, ENJOYING our time at the Crash Pad, and making a significant leap in the interior progress now that the exterior (except landscaping) is 95% complete (we have the front porch and the screen porch left to finish).

We are sharing our specific experience not as an instructional how to, but as one example of what it was like for us to take a piece of forested property and turn ‘a dream’ into a reality.  Because we did not have the luxury of having a general contractor or builder, we have intimate knowledge of each step of the process.  Even if you do have the luxuries of having someone make your dream come true for you, you should still be actively engaged in the process and understand all the steps along the way.

Stages to get from December 2021 to May 2023:

• Land Purchase - December 2021 [McKinney Realty.  Cable, WI]

Having camped at ROAM Adventure Basecamp a number of times, we had a criteria for the land we were looking for.  (Refer to Story Two:  The Plan for more on this).

• Choosing the type of build and working with an Architect. [Loon Architects.  Minneapolis, MN]

The next phase after the land purchase was to decide on what type of build.  (Refer to Story Three:  Why An Architect for more on this)

• Permitting Process.  [Town of Spider Lake, WI and Sawyer County, WI]

After we had our design in place, it was time to start working with our Excavation team and get permits approved.  If you have a builder, they will go through this process for you, but since we are our own GC’s, we had to do 98% of the permitting process.

• Conditional Use Permit.  Approved June 2022.  Submitted so we can have a permit to build on land zoned as forestry.  It is legal to build on our land, we just had to go through the formal process to be approved to do so.

“No structure can be built, moved or structurally altered and no land use can be substantially altered until a Land Use Permit has been issued.”

• Driveway Permit.  Submitted with Conditional Use Permit, but rejected at meeting because of a small measurement issue on the hand drawings.  Approved at July 2022 meeting (luckily this month delay did not set us back!).

• Sanitary Permit.  We worked with our excavator and Sawyer County on this permit.  Submitted July 18, 2022.  Approved July 19, 2022.

*Excavation Begins August 1, 2022 [JD Excavating, Stone Lake, WI].

After all of the above permits were approved, we were able to begin excavation work!

Meanwhile, we kept working on permitting…

• Building Permits.  

  • 1.  LUP (Land Use Permit) Town of Spider Lake.  This permit insures we can build.  Submitted July 25, 2022 for Spider Lake PRC (Planning Review Committee) Meeting.  Approved August 3, 2022.      

  • 2.  UDC (Universal Dwelling Code) State of Wisconsin permit to build.  Had to have the LUP approved in order to submit.  Submitted August 10, 2022.  Does not go through a committee meeting, we worked with the building inspector.  Approved shortly after submission.

• Perc Test/Excavation/Septic/Driveway [JD Excavating.  Stone Lake, WI]

  • The Perc Test was done with the Excavator and Sawyer County.  This was done before excavation.  Three pits were dug to see if we could have a drainfield; unfortunately the water drained too slowly in all three pits.  It was determined the clay content of the soil would require a mound or a holding tank.  Due to cost, Kurt did some math on how often we planned to be here and what would be the most cost effective option, and chose a holding tank which was cheaper than a mound system.  We plan to have to empty the tank twice a year currently.

  ---

• The Septic tank was installed by day 2 of the excavation (August 2, 2022).  After the plumbing lines were installed and the footings for the foundation were poured, the excavator then came back and hooked up the septic tank to the plumbing lines.

• The Driveway was installed August 2, 2022.

• Foundation

  • After the excavation was complete, the cement footings were poured and completed by August 12, 2022

  • The forms for the foundation walls were put in place by August 15.

  • The foundation walls were poured and the excavator came back to fill in around the foundation.  This work was completed by August 28, 2022.

• Solar Panel Discussion with.  August 15, 2022.  

• Well Drilling was done on September 1, 2022 and the well trench to the Crash Pad was dug on September 2, 2022

• Electrical On Site discussions with neighbor and September 1, 2022.

• Plumbing lines were in by September 10, 2022.

• Well completed by September 10, 2022.

• Electrical lines went in September 12, 2022.

• Foam base and Radiant Floor Tubing installed by September 18, 2022.

• Electrical Pedestal built by Kurt September 18-19, 2022.

• Foundation poured by October 2, 2022.

• Electrical box installed by October 2, 2022.

• SIP’s arrived October 11, 2022.

• SIP Panel Installation October 11-18.  *Future Episode:  SIP Panels.

• First Roof Attempt October 19-22.  *Future Episode:  The Roof.

Second Roof installation Part 1.  Fascia, Membrane, Half of Metal Roof, Winter Membrane all installed by November 13, 2022.  *Future Episode:  The Roof

• Winter Work (Us)

  • Install Porch Wall

  • Complete exterior Tyvek coverings

  • Electrical Room Wall for Electrical Box

  • Front Closet Framing

  • Multiple framing attempts for other walls (which we Kurt has redone).

• Electrician on-site for run through.  December 29, 2022.

• Electrical wiring (majority of work completed but not finished) and electrical fuse box in.  3 working outlets!  March 10, 2023.

• Plumber:  Wall between kitchen and mechanical room in.  Navien On-Demand Water Heater in.  On-site discussion of next steps with Kevin.  March 19, 2023.

• Plumbing 90% completed.  

• Temporary Propane Tank installed.  Well Pump Wired.  Hot water and heating test completed and successful.  April 29, 2023.

• Siding work May 10, 2023.

• Floor Finishing done.  May 4, 2023

• Wood Stove installation.  May 22, 2023

• Roof completed. May 28, 2023

• Toilet installed.  May 26, 2023.

• Dumpster. May 31, 2023.

• Porta Potty - ongoing until Summer when we got a working toilet!

  ---

Partners:

• McKinney Realty, Cable, WI

• Loon Architects, Minneapolis, MN

• Town of Spider Lake, WI - Permitting

• JD Excavating, Stone Lake, WI - Excavation, Septic, Driveway, Final Grading

• Hayward Concrete.  Hayward, WI - Footings, Foundation, Slab

• Butterfield, Hayward, WI - Well

• Andry Rasmussen, Cable, WI - Plumbing

• Carlson Electric, Hayward, WI - Electrical

• Jump River Electrical Coop, Hayward, WI - Electrical lines to property

• Extreme Panel Technologies, Cottonwood, MN - SIP Panel Builder

• Carlson Building Supply, Ashland, WI + Anderson Windows - Windows & Doors

• Paszek Construction Services, Rhinelander, WI - SIP Panel Install, Window & Doors Install

• Paul’ Sheet Metal, Rice Lake, WI - Metal Roof with snowbars, Fascia Membrane Roof with metal cap, Scuppers and Downspouts

• Como Propane, Cable, WI

• Elite Crete, Drummon, WI - Concrete Floor Polishing

• Stove Works, Hayward, WI

• Rick Obremski & Son, Drummond, WI - Siding & Soffits

• Cable Lumber, Cable, WI

• Ron’s Septic, Hayward, WI - Porta Potty

• Woodland Rolloff’s, Hayward, WI

We both came from modest upbringings.  ‘Architect’ was not a word we ever heard discussed in our own homes, nor with people we knew.  We have known for a long time that we wanted to build our own place, but having an ‘architect’ never necessarily was part of the plan.

WHY AN ARCHITECT?

Why not a prefab?

I have been a subscriber to Dwell Magazine since almost its inception, therefore I have perused a lot of articles about spectacularly built properties.  Some designed by architects, many pre-fab.  The architect designed projects never seemed they would be part of my future, but the pre-fab ones definitely spoke to the hopeful me, and Kurt.  So that is where we started first.

We found some super great designs, but what we didn’t find were many readily available buildings in the U.S.  Nor after reading the fine print of all the related costs, after you buy the building, affordable.  It is easy when looking at a fancy pre-fab website to be enticed by what appears to be a very affordable option.  But when you look further into the details, there are many additional costs that add up quickly.  

Additionally a pre-fab requires clearing the land enough to accommodate a semi truck turning around and a crane to lift and move the building.  Because we wanted to keep as much of our wooded site as we could, this was not an attractive idea.

Why not buy plans?

Kurt also researched buying plans to be built, but we had concerns about the plans meeting local codes and if the design would hold up to the Northwoods elements, especially snow.  In hindsight he wouldn’t have been as nervous and the cost of the plans would have been much cheaper than an architect.

So then WHY AN ARCHITECT?

And so, this is when we found ourselves in Architect territory.  Partially because there was turning out to be no other option, and partially because an architect felt better as it meant we would have a partner, who could give us something unique, and tailor the property to what we wanted.

Why not traditional ‘stick built’?

Stick build (the way buildings are traditionally constructed) might have been an option if the trades in our area were not booked out for years.  In our area many people decided to turn their cabins into permanent homes, or build new homes to move to, stressing the limited trade resources and creating long leadtimes.  We initially had assumed we would have to go with this option, but what we were more interested in was a SIP panel building.

Then what DID you do?

It turns out a SIP Panel (SIP = Structural Insulated Panels) build would be the easiest, fastest, and most cost effective build option. We worked with our architect to design a SIP Panel home. We will be doing another story for you on this type of construction, stay tuned (stay subscribed, or subscribe).

How did we find ‘our’ architect?

But we aren’t ‘Architect’ people, so how do we find one?!  Well, I realized I knew some people, who knew people, so we started there.  We hit many dead ends, but all it takes is one person to show up in your life and point you towards a path you didn’t know existed.  In our case, it felt like ‘Cabin Miracle #1’ (more on those later).

As we have discussed, throughout 2020 and 2021 we were spending a lot of our time camping at ROAM Adventure Basecamp.  It was here that one day we started chatting by the sauna to a very nice man.  That man turned out to be one of the owners, Mo.  We saw each other frequently during our stays (30 days+ while we were building the Crash Pad!) and slowly started to get to know each other.  When we started getting serious about looking for land, I zipped off an email to Mo:

November 2, 2021:

“Hi Mo…

Last year you mentioned to us who your architect is for the buildings at ROAM, do you have their name and more information?...  We actually are planning on coming up this weekend to look at some property.  All of our visits have given us an itch we need to scratch.  We are thinking about a cabin property...  Any and all advice taken!... Please and thank you.”

As Mo does, he made a good suggestion ~ ‘An architect who recently stayed in one of our cabins likes small build projects, perhaps you should reach out to him…  He seemed like someone I would enjoy working with.  He really liked the cabin design at Roam and I think he would be good with smaller spaces.’  And so we did.

November 14, 2021:

“Hello Steven,

We are DeAnn & Kurt and live in Minneapolis.  We are frequent visitors to ROAM Adventure Basecamp up by Cable, WI and the owner, Mo, gave me your contact info when I told him we were looking at land up that way.  Mo said you really liked the cabin design at ROAM, and so do we ~ we love ROAM!  Well, looking turned into buying pretty quick, and an offer was just accepted for 10 acres near ROAM.

We have a pretty good vision of what we want to do on the property, and understand work may take time, so we are starting to reach out to Architects, while also exploring pre-fab options (which we aren't sure will work out).  We are wondering if you might be interested in talking, and helping us learn more about you and your business and what we could do.”

November 14, 2021:

“Hi DeAnn and Kurt,

Exciting news about your new land. I did love it up there at ROAM. I had a job site nearby; I think on Lake Gilmore near Minong Wisconsin. I noticed ROAM nearby and try to stay in and experience tiny houses when I get a chance. We have been working on several small building designs and would love to talk more about your goals…  Sincere Thanks, Steven”

Concurrently, we had reached out to other architects I knew, new of, or was referred to and received comments like:

• A small cabin in MN/WI is certainly in our wheelhouse.  I should let you know that we are out until about next fall to start the design work on a new project, and will not be able to commit (send contracts) for new projects until after February 1st.  Great response, but the timing to meet seemed to late for us to get started.

• I will add that it is very difficult to build a small cabin for what you have indicated is your budget. (response to an online inquiry form I filled out with a Minneapolis architecture firm).

• my educated guess is more $***-$***K construction budget right now. So, it isn't that we wouldn't be interested in helping you, it is just making sure the budget is realistic for a new build.  This was over our budget.  At the time it seemed really far out, now it seems quite reasonable.

• Currently we are scheduling new projects to start design work in February.  Again, this seemed too far out, we wanted to get going!

We also told one we wanted to work with him, but he went a little bonkers on us revealing before we even started that he would have been a nightmare to work with.  We are so thankful this happened before we signed anything, or worse were too far down the road to turn back.

November 18, 2021:

Zoom Meet & Greet with Architect Steven

The Process

Architectural Drawings

There were essentially four sets of drawings we had to work with at different stages of the project.  These are by no means the official terminology of our architect, but terms I will use.

• One:  Meeting Set

  The first drawing set we approved was really more of a general ‘outline’ of what the project would look like.  It had the features, bike storage, gear storage, kitchen, patio, etc.  This was an exciting step when we had ‘the meeting’ of him showing us how he translated our wants and vision into a building.

  We also got to see our building in a 3-D rendering in Autodesk, which was extremely exciting.  This was the moment when we got to see our vision really come to life.

• Two:  Bid Sets

  The next ‘big’ set of drawings I picked up were drawing sets you would normally give to people you are asking to bid out your project ~ like general contractors, builders, etc.  But we were unable to find a general contractor, and our builder was actual the SIP Panel manufacturer.  

• Three: Build Set

  The final ‘detailed’ set was to be used by the company who installed our foundation, the electrical team, the plumber, etc. etc.

• Structural Engineering Set

  The last uber detailed set of drawings is actually developed by a structural engineer that was hired by our architect.  This drawing set is incredibly important, especially with the amount of snow we had this winter.  The structural engineer decides on the construction for the load bearing walls, this includes not only the walls, but what type of footings are needed when the cement foundation is laid, and where the footings are placed to take the load.  This step is incredibly important as it establishes what load the building can withstand; given it was one of the snowiest winters on record, we are thankful for approving our architect to work with a structural engineer because without it, it is possible our building would not be standing right now.

• SIP Panel Set

  Used by our SIP Panel builder for assembling The Crash Pad.

  Also used by the electrical team, as all channels for electrical are pre-built into the panels and detailed in these drawings.

Above and Beyond

Because we did not have a GC or a builder, our architect had many upfront conversations with building partners.  We are thankful for his contacts and ideas that allowed us to explore materials and systems early on.

Our architect listened to what we said we wanted, and understood our vision, and he delivered.

When we started this project, we knew absolutely nothing about what goes into a build, what it means to be your own GC, or where to find materials.  As the project moved on and it became clear we were going to have to be the general contractors for the build, our architect was available to help guide us through some of the most challenging steps.  Without his help we definitely would not have been able to move the project forward in 2022.

Advice

Vet your architect well before you sign a contract with them.

• Listen to any and all red flags and fireworks.

• Hire someone who will add value to your project, not just execute your list ~ but enhance it.

• Make sure they listen, thoughtfully.

• You are partners, make sure you choose someone who will be a good partner.

Don’t let time dictate, listen to your gut and follow good decisions.

Get estimates as far in advance as possible, especially in the case of a SIP panel build ~ if you want to change something in the design because of expensive bids you want to do that well before you have that ball rolling.

Yup, you will go over budget. Know that.

Yup, your project will probably take longer than you had hoped. Enter with patience.

Through my blog and complimentary videos, I plan to share with you both feelings (the ups, the downs, and all the in-betweens) of building something out of nothing, as well as the facts (what it is like to work with an architect, how a SIP Panel building is planned and built, what it is like to be your own GC).  All through our lens.  This isn’t about being a how-to, or getting thousands of subscribers because we want to be ‘influencers’, what this is about is sharing our experience to inspire, motivate, educate, and entertain.  This is my creative project, I hope you enjoy it!

We also post our videos on YouTube for people who prefer to follow us there.

*But only blog posts are shared here. My blog posts will always be more in-depth than YouTube (because I am a writer, not a filmmaker), but you are welcome to join us there!

Find Us on YouTube

In order to get what you want, one of the most important things you can do is sit down and think about what exactly it is you want, why you want it, and a vision for what it will be when you get it.  In our case, this was physically writing up The List.

A good list will give you focus on your project, and ultimately drive the design direction.  The List set our foundation, drove decision making, and kept the focus on what can be at times an overwhelming reality of building a property.

We put our list down on paper in September of 2021, after years of thinking and talking about it, coming home from a trip to The Gunflint in Northern Minnesota.  We knew it was time to get serious, but little did we know once we made that decision, how quickly it would get serious.  The List was crucially important.

Number One on our list:

1. On gravel roads (ideally near National Forest)

Some of the things on our list likely won’t happen, but we added them anyhow.

2. Ability for Larger Garden

3. Small Fruit Tree Orchard

This was Kurt talking; I don’t even remember this being on our list as I type this.

4. Minimum of 10 acres (flexible)

Accomplished!

Maybe someday/sort of incorporated into final design:

5. Ability to have 1 or 2 cabins for rentals

6. House & Barn

   1. Windows with property views

   2. Workout Room:  Biking, Yoga, Core/Strength

   3. Bike out the door & bike storage

   4. Vehicle Parking

   5. Studio/Work space

   6. Camper Storage

   7. Sauna

7. 30 Minutes from medical care (no more than one hour)

8. 30 Minutes from grocery store

9. No more than 3 hours from a larger metropolitan area

Accomplished!

This list further evolved and eventually forms of it made their way into our Design Specifications document we shared with our architect.

Design Specs

One of the most crucial documents in our planning stage was the Design Specifications document I put together in Google Slides.  The List gave us the framework for this document, from which we got more specific on our direction.  

At this point, we had purchased the land and knew we wanted to move quickly.  At the time we did not have a full concept of how long it would take to build a cabin, but we knew we wanted to be aggressive in moving the project forward.  Creating our Design Specs was definitely an important step in both giving the architect we worked with our full vision, and creating a cabin that matched our vision.  

We don’t have a cabin standing today out of pure luck (okay maybe a bit of that too), but one of the main reasons we have a cabin standing today is because we had a vision we were able to clearly communicate.  A few days after our first meet and greet with the architect (November 18, 2021), we provided him our Design Specs.  In the overall timeline, this was created 6 days after we purchased the property (November 12, 2021) and 4 days after I reached out to our architect (November 14, 2021),

What we know is that all the ideas we were able to communicate clearly and concisely in this document factored into our final design.  We went from a rugged sketch we made together at the dining table to breaking ground in 10 months.  That SEEMS like a long time, but trust us it is not.

Through my blog and complimentary videos, I plan to share with you both feelings (the ups, the downs, and all the in-betweens) of building something out of nothing, as well as the facts (what it is like to work with an architect, how a SIP Panel building is planned and built, what it is like to be your own GC).  All through our lens.  This isn’t about being a how-to, or getting thousands of subscribers because we want to be ‘influencers’, what this is about is sharing our experience to inspire, motivate, educate, and entertain.  This is my creative project, I hope you enjoy it!

We also post our videos on YouTube for people who prefer to follow us there.

*But only blog posts are shared here. My blog posts will always be more in-depth than YouTube (because I am a writer, not a filmmaker), but you are welcome to join us there!

Find Us on YouTube

“You have to follow where life’s momentum is taking you.” ~ Kurt

It is hard to believe over a year has gone by since we purchased property in Northern Wisconsin to build a cabin/part-time home.  In many ways I wish we were SO much further along, in many ways we have come SO far.

In our world, outward appearances of our life to others are much different than the reality to us.  To many people it may seem like we made our decision to buy rural property and build a cabin happened quickly, but from our vantage point it was years in the making.  We have always discussed big ideas, and made big plans, over many walks, dinners, drinks, off-the-grid camping trips, and chats in the kitchen.  And when we finally decide to hit ‘go’, it happens fast.  It has happened before, like when…. we were packing our belongings to move from Iowa to Colorado, we were selling our house and moving from Colorado to Northern California, we were leaving California and moving to Minnesota… 

Although the decision process was the same building up to 2021 ~ we knew what we have known for a long time, we were done with the big up endings of our lives to new places for new adventures.  But we were not done with new adventures.  This time what we knew with certainty was ~ Instead of Breaking up, we needed a Break.

We had been looking at rural properties for years, which has been a priority of Kurt’s, and were never able to find the right place:

• UP Michigan

• Driftless, WI

• SE MN

• Northern MN

We never found something that had affordable property with out-the-front-door recreation under a 3 hour drive from Minneapolis like we wanted.

Thanks to another cyclist’s intel… In 2020, we started spending a lot of time camping with our dogs and gravel biking in Northern Wisconsin (in particular, Roam Basecamp). On November 6, 2021 we nipped in our last gravel camp of the season, and it was during our last ride that I turned to Kurt and said “I want to ride as much gravel as I can, for as many years as I can.”  You see, I was 50 and Kurt had just turned 51, it felt like time to do what we were doing in the way we wanted to do it was running short. We knew that in order to do the things we wanted, it meant being somewhere more than on weekends and trips out West. We also knew that packing up and making a big move again wasn’t the answer. What I didn’t know it meant was that here I was, without my knowing it was happening, I had fallen in love with a place that I swore to myself I would never return to ~ Wisconsin.

We looked at exactly one property immediately thereafter, it wasn’t for us.  We returned home thinking it could be years before we found what we were looking for, but as soon as we got back home, ‘the one’ popped up for sale. We had hoped to get up to look at the property the next weekend, but the realtor said it would go fast (indeed later, we found out other cyclists were eyeing it up). That Tuesday while I was in a virtual cycling class, Kurt came in and said “I did it”, meaning he put in an offer on land we had never seen! After years of dreaming, Kurt was ready, I suppose I was too but I rode the rest of my cycling class slightly terrified, and yes ~ slightly excited.  By November 12, 2021 ‘our’ offer was accepted, and by December 17, 2021 we closed on the property.

In what felt like an instant, all those years of talking, ideating, and dreaming clicked into place, propelling us forward into a reality of us being exactly where we had no idea a few short years ago we needed to be.  Northern Wisconsin.

For us this property, this cabin, this new lifestyle, is about doing things we have wanted to do more of for a long time, mainly:

1. Spend more time in nature doing the things we love.

2. Move.

If it was just one of these things we would not have put the wheels in motion. But when our two priorities came together, in the way that felt right, we were ready. Ready to get away and decompress in the woods, and ready for change because we were feeling restless in our lives in Minneapolis.

But we weren’t quite ‘moving’. Let’s backtrack on that for a moment. We moved to Minneapolis from San Francisco in 2006. We left California because financially we were paying to play, literally ~ and it was time to be adults and start thinking about not treading water, but getting our head above water and saving for retirement. BORING, but smart. We never stopped thinking about California, but we also knew what the price of living there cost us, so moving back in our eyes was never really going to be an option. Nor were most places out West. We had also lived in Colorado, the place we really ‘grew up’, but also the place we knew we were not likely to return to. People suggested Portland (rainy winters again, but worse? no thanks). We looked at Austin (not sure Texas is ‘the’ place). Meanwhile, climate change had accelerated adding a second layer to our decision making. Honestly, it was starting to feel like we were running out of places to go. We started to realize we actually really liked it in Minneapolis (except the long winters), and with the property and our current jobs, we realized we could share our lives living in the City and Far Far out of the City.

So here we are, with ten acres of wooded land in Northern Wisconsin and building a cabin/part-time home so we can do the thing we love more ~ gravel biking, and we can escape for extended periods from our life in the City. As I type this at the end of January 2023, a building stands, a calendar is laid out for the work to be done this year, and as soon as the snow melts we hope to start spending time living in, and not just working on, the Spider Lake Crash Pad (the name our architect gave it that has stuck).

Through my blog and complimentary videos, I plan to share with you both feelings (the ups, the downs, and all the in-betweens) of building something out of nothing, as well as the facts (what it is like to work with an architect, how a SIP Panel building is planned and built, what it is like to be your own GC).  All through our lens.  This isn’t about being a how-to, or getting thousands of subscribers because we want to be ‘influencers’, what this is about is sharing our experience to inspire, motivate, educate, and entertain.  This is my creative project, I hope you enjoy it!

We also post our videos on YouTube for people who prefer to follow us there.

*But only blog posts are shared here. My blog posts will always be more in-depth than YouTube (because I am a writer, not a filmmaker), but you are welcome to join us there!

Find us on YouTube

Welcome to my new creative home on Substack! I am excited to have a space tailor-made for me to focus on my writing, enhance it with videos, and share it with you all in one place (without a culture of ‘likes’ or the need to monetize my creativity). I am hopeful instead of scrolling this year (and beyond), you will take the time to do some reading and get a little deeper than the surface ~ hopefully that is why you are here!

What is this space about?…

In December 2021 we purchased 10 acres of land in Northern Wisconsin with a plan to build a Cabin/Part-Time Home. When it is at a stage we can move in, we will be splitting our time between The City, and Far, Far, Out of The City. We have learned A LOT during this adventure. A lot more than we ever expected to. Our first year was full of twists (sometimes in our stomachs) and turns (good ones we call ‘Cabin Miracles’). I am excited to bring you along on the journey!

If you love home shows, want to know more about what it is like to build in a rural area, love the North Woods, are curious about being your own GC, want to know more about SIP Panel building, are interested in what it is like to work with an architect, love the process of designing, like small space design, like cycling (because that is why we are building this place after all) and all things related (eating, training, aging, travel), and like to hear the truth (even when it is difficult and emotional), and more ~ this is the space for you! We are not experts, this is not instructive, this is simply a space about sharing our stories and experience in hopes of inspiring, motivating, and educating.

I am first and foremost best at writing. That’s why I am here. But, I thought it would be fun to try my hand at making some videos too. Over the last two years I have developed an appreciation for people who are creating ‘slow living’ videos on YouTube that have helped me relax and de-stress.  People like Jonna Jinton, Gorogoro Kitchen, Becki and Chris, Dani Connor Wild, Wild Rosie, and Hige and Me, so I thought I would expand my skillset and grow my creativity into video to compliment my writing and bring it a bit to life.

This is the first video in a series I am calling Spider Lake Crash Pad; that is the working name our architect gave to our new build and it stuck. In the Prologue I am hoping you get a sense of what the early phase of our build last Summer was like.

In the next post (technically the ‘first’ post), I will be explaining more of our ‘why’ for the Spider Lake Crash Pad. I am currently starting to write that post and edit that video with plans to release it in January.

We have literally had people drive up/ride up our driveway asking about our build process. And we have had the help of SO many people without whom the Spider Lake Crash Pad would not currently be standing (yes, there is a building now…). Because you are there wondering, or because you shared your resources with me ~ I (actually we; Kurt my husband too) want to share details on our partners, resources, materials, etc. [Don’t worry, no content is ‘sponsored’ by anyone but me. :)].

You can subscribe to this blog to get e-mail updates on every post, you can subscribe to this blog on the Substack app, and/or you can can subscribe to our newsletter for less frequent updates that are summaries of what I have been up to.

I have no plans to be an ‘influencer’, or ‘YouTube Star’, but I would like it if you followed along here, and also over on our YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/@aventyrcc), where you can subscribe to be notified of our latest videos).

I love that I can offer you multiple ways to connect with us at your own speed and in your own style.

I specifically chose to start this project in the depth of Winter to help me get through the hardest part of the year. I hope it helps you too. Instead of feeling alone, I am hoping together we can build community here and share stories at a deeper level than other platforms allow. I am also motivated to do this personal project by you. You who were there for my small business when it started, when it was going, and when I closed it at the end of 2022 ~ and are still here supporting me. You who have biked up our driveway at the Spider Lake Crash Pad to welcome us to the ‘neighborhood’. You who have given us valuable information, and assistance, to keep the Spider Lake Crash Pad going. You who might want your own ‘Crash Pad’ someday. You who ride bike with me, virtually and/or in person and support my fitness journey. You who are an aging athlete and care what I have to say about my journey. You, who I haven’t even met yet but might find this story helpful or relatable.

Thanks for being here!

DeAnn

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