#ThrowbackThursday: Two Decades of Float Cabin Maintenance and Improvements

Our cabin at the wall of Hole in the Wall.

You've just seen our float cabin inside and out. This post shares what it has taken to maintain and make improvements over the years to make our off-the-grid cabin a home.

Our float cabin at Hole in the Wall on Powell Lake, BC, was built in 1997 by our good friend John. He has an extraordinary talent for lashing together cedar log floats and building cabins from the waterline up.

We purchased the cabin in 2001, and with John's expert help we've maintained and improved it. He's a Jack of all trades who never ceases to amaze us.

John and our Cabin #3, the third one he built.

Here are some of the projects I've written about since I began blogging in 2006. Follow the links to see the stories.

Floating woodshed in 2007.
Repairing our log boom in 2008.
Adding barrels for extra flotation in 2008 and 2015.
Woodstove blow back solution in 2009.

Wind generator in 2009.
Bathroom and porch addition in 2011.
Indoor plumbing in 2011.
A new coat and colour of paint in 2011.

New propane stove and refrigerator in 2011.
Custom shelves made by John in 2012.
Upgraded ceiling insulation in 2014.
Pine paneling in 2014.

Making a new anchor in 2015.
Float log burning (carefully) for dry rot in 2015.
Solar system upgrades in 2015.
Enlarging our protective log boom in 2016.

A new front deck in 2017.
Xplornet satellite Internet in 2017.
Float cabin anchor repair in 2017.
Renewed floating garden in 2019.

The most recent project was replacing the main deck. John did the whole project for us. He arranged for old growth cedar boards to be cut to specification. The largest load went up on our barge.

The side and front deck.

Main cabin cedar deck replaced in 2020 - Part 1.
Main cabin cedar deck replaced in 2020 - Part 2.

In writing this post, I was amazed at how many projects we completed with John's help over the last two decades. And there's one more big one to come. Once the weather clears, John will repaint the exterior. We like the current pale yellow with forest green trim, so that's what he will use.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I'll get back to you. -- Margy

"Off the Grid" by Wayne Lutz

Our float cabin on Powell Lake is the perfect home for Wayne and me. And its water access only location 25 minutes up Powell Lake makes it totally ...

Off the Grid

Coastal BC Stories

from
www.PowellRiverBooks.com

The 10th book in the Coastal BC Stories series by Wayne J. Lutz lets you know more about what it's like to live off the grid. We were true city-folk when we bought our cabin, but have learned how to generate our own power, use propane for appliances, maintain a kitchen garden, live in harmony with nature, and exchange our hectic lives for a more simple lifestyle. If you've ever dreamed of living away from town in an off-the-grid cabin, you'll enjoy reading Off the Grid.

Print for $10.95

Kindle for $2.99
E-book for $2.99

Check here if you need a Kindle or Kindle App.

Or go to PowellRiverBooks.com for more ordering information. -- Margy

#ThrowbackThursday: Float Cabin Video by faircompanies.com

The wall at Hole in the Wall, Powell Lake, BC.

It was an honour for Kirsten Dirksen of faircompanies.com to take my raw photos and video clips to create a YouTube movie of our life on a Powell Lake float cabin and post it on her *faircompanies website.

Click on the image below to see her production called Off-grid float cabin: retirement tiny dream home in BC wilderness.

A water-access only float cabin location.

In 2012, Kirsten invited me to participate in one of her excellent video projects. I filmed at the cabin using my old point-and-shoot Canon Powershot 710.

Then I used Dropbox to transmit the large files all the way from Powell River to Kirsten, who lived in Barcelona, Spain, at the time. Kirsten edited everything into the professional production you see above.

Because of her strong following, we have received over 1,700,000 views and over 1,700 comments in the last eight years.

Coming home, satellite Internet, our work raft and woodshed.

I never get tired of my front porch view.

Kirsten is well known in the YouTube world for her off-the-grid and tiny homes videos. Here are some ways you can link to her works.

Kirsten's YouTube Channel
*faircompanies YouTube
*faircompanies.com
Twitter @kirstendirksen
Kirsten on Facebook

Thank you Kirsten! You really captured the essence of life up the lake. -- Margy

#ThrowbackThursday: Cabin Finishing Touches

A remote float cabin comes with lots of maintenance and improvement projects. After about a year of making changes to our guest room, bathroom and kitchen, I wanted to add some finishing touches inside.

My plan included new ceiling insulation, painting and pine paneling in the great room downstairs and the loft bedroom. These were jobs for our good friend John. To make it easier on all of us, we scheduled the work while we were away on a trip.  

The walls were stained near windows, doors and the woodstove. To brighten the room, we used white semi-gloss paint under the peak of the roof. John suggested replacing the cedar strips and I quickly agreed.

Before above, after below showing painting of the front wall.

John used rigid plastic panels to cover the ceiling insulation stained due to woodstove moisture. New panels fit between the rafters up to the peak of the roof. The new insulation gave us an attractive ceiling and helped the cabin retain more heat in winter.

Before above, after below showing the new panels for ceiling insulation.

We covered the side and front walls of the great room downstairs with pine paneling. John installed it horizontally on top of the old fiberboard. It was an easier installation, with the added bonus of increased wall insulation.

Pine paneling in the great room from the north to east to south wall.

In my kitchen, I spray water when I use the sink's hand pump to draw water up from the lake. We found a small piece of maroon Arborite (formica) for a backsplash.

Installation of the sink's new Arborite backsplash.

The loft bedroom got pine paneling for a headboard to our king-size bed, made from two twins. Getting a king mattress up the lake in the back of our boat and up the narrow stairs would have been too difficult.

Pine paneling for our king-size bed in the loft bedroom.

The finishing of finishing touch was a new sofa that did come up the lake by boat. It's the only seating in our living room, so it's an important comfort and decorative feature.

And a tribute to our beloved Stick Tail who lived to 23 years.

Thanks for visiting my #ThrowbackTursday posts about float cabin living. Next week I'll share a YouTube video about our float cabin home created by Kirsten Dirksen. -- Margy

Available Online: "Farther Up the Lake"

We're don't get many visitors up the lake, but when we do we like to share stories about float cabin living. John taught at Mt. San Antonio College with Wayne before our retirement. He's the person who coined the phrase "complicated simple life."

Are you interested in off-the-grid adventures? Farther Up the Lake is filled with stories about living in a remote water access floating cabin on Powell Lake in Coastal BC.

A Great Book
for the Outdoor Enthusiast

Farther Up the Lake

Coastal BC Stories

Want to know more about float cabin living? Following in the footsteps of the most successful book in the Coastal BC Stories series comes Farther Up the Lake. Head up Powell Lake to experience life in an off the grid float cabin, experience winter on the lake, spend the night up at the head, go beachcombing for logging history, and much more. Read Farther Up the Lake by Wayne Lutz and see how much fun it can be to go up the lake. 

Go to PowellRiverBooks.com for more information.

Available online in print and ebook formats
from Amazon and many other book sellers.

#ThrowbackThursday: Float Cabin Tours - Sleeping Loft and Great Room

Welcome to my fifth installment of float cabin tours. So far you've been welcomed aboard, examined our floor plans, viewed our off-the-grid kitchen, and walked through our new bathroom and guest bedroom.

Birdseye view of the living room.

The tour continues with our upstairs sleeping loft and the downstairs living room that's part of an open concept great room.

We spend most of our indoor time in the living room, more so in winter. The square footage is small, but ample for two to live comfortably.

A new corner shelf.

The living room only needed updating. The woodstove was painted with high heat enamel to refresh it and protect the metal. John built two custom shelves, one for books and storage, and one for a sofa end table.

Wayne and Sticktail enjoy the sofa.

Our old sofa was well loved but needed replacing. We splurged on a new one that we brought up the lake in the back of our boat.

The loft bedroom with a king bed.

Upstairs is our sleeping loft. It's 225 sq.ft. under the roof with two twins made into a king bed. The front is open to the living room's cathedral ceiling.

The center ceiling is high then slopes down to short walls good for storage.


Come take a YouTube video tour to see for yourself.

Thanks for taking the tour today. If you have any questions, please ask. We enjoy sharing about our off-the-grid experiences. -- Margy

Available Online "Cabin Number 5" by Wayne J. Lutz

You've just been reading a series of posts about our float cabin on Powell Lake. It was built almost single handedly by our good friend John. He took several years off after building our cabin, but the dream of a new one for himself was strong.

Cabin Number 5

Coastal BC Stories

from
PowellRiverBooks.com

Cabin Number 5 is the nineth book in the Coastal BC Stories series by Wayne J. Lutz. In it he follows along as John constructs his new float cabin from the water up. John purchased massive cedar logs and cabled them together into the floating foundation. Over the months and years, when time and money were available, the cabin grew board by board. If you've ever dreamed of living in an off-the-grid cabin, or wanted to build one for yourself, you'll enjoy reading Cabin Number 5 (yes, it's the fifth one John has built or remodeled).

Go to PowellRiverBooks.com for ordering information.

Print for $9.95
Kindle for $2.99 
Kobo for $2.99 
Smashwords for $2.99 

Also available at other online bookstores.