What a crazy two weeks!
Sickness has been going around work like a wild fire. We’ve watched person after person drop off the schedule. My body fought this as long as it could – to be fair by the time the weekend hit, I was so focused on getting things ready to flip my Yurt before the rains started, I stopped taking proper care of myself. I was not eating enough, or sleeping enough. This makes one’s immune system incredibly weak. I should know better.
So going into the weekend of April 6th, I was sick. Unbelievable sick.
Spending very nearly three days in bed I slept, read my Bible or listened to Bible studies.
Finally, by Monday, God willing I was feeling on the mend.
So I began work again on my Yurt. The plan was to take down the entire yurt in 1-2 days, rebuild the floor, adding further leveling support and to replace the plywood that had been damaged by the rains last June. And to reassemble the Yurt in another 1-2 days just in time for me to go to work this weekend on the 12th.
That was not happening. The take down process was long and arduous. Having spent the better part of a year, I should not have been surprised by this. As I seem reluctant to learn, I seem to always bite off more than I can chew.
I have left the mud room and front steps intact. I may move the front door to another side to accommodate more sunlight during winter months, but we’ll see. I still have time to decide on that.
That leaves the loft. Originally the plan was to have multiple friends over to try simply lifting the loft off in one big piece. Unfortunately due to time restraints and the lack of organization, no one could come help. So I had to disassemble the loft. I have plans to make it bigger, better and more epic for the kids anyways.
Once the loft was down all that was left was the kitchen sink. Ha! So out it went. Then I could start removing the actual floor and plywood that needed replacing.
I still had lots of left over from the demolition left around the yurt that I will have to clean up. So please excuse the mess.
Finally by Thursday, I was able to get the entire Yurt down and the floor ripped apart. Three days to take down the Yurt. Unbelievable! Almost a year’s worth of work taken down in three days.
The reward will be worth it. With the new donated wood supplies, I will have a more uniform floor structure under the plywood, preventing any kind of depressions in the floor. It should also allow for me to add finished flooring in my Yurt. The Co-op in town has already donated a Bax of vinyl flooring, to allow me to cover the kitchen/bathroom floor with a waterproof membrane! I am so grateful for this gift!
As you can see, I’m leaving the fire treated timbers underneath the new floor frame. This is to further reinforce the floor for strength. The fire-treatment has proved incredibly resilient. While there was signs of minor mold above and below on the plywood floor the fire-treated timbers show no signs whatsoever of mold or infestation.
What a process! The finished work looks impressive to say the least. Walking on this feels incredibly comfortable, with no shake or flex! As I add the plywood sheathing on top it will only strengthen the structure further.
However! Before I do that since the floor is open and now is the easiest time to do so, my dad gave me all the foil insulation (astronaut insulation as Jaime calls it) that he is unable to use for his own home. I will be stapling all of that in between each one of these ‘cells’ to create an air pocket under the floor that can warm up and keep the floor warm in the winter time. And cool during the summer time. I am so grateful for the lack of rain so far. I pray God will hold the rains until I can get the rest of the floor finished and my Yurt back up atop.
I will post again with the insulation and floor completion. Thanks for tuning in!
Today’s reading: 1 Sam. 19, 20, 21 and Luke 11: 29-54
I love you all! Talk soon!
-H.