#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.

#ThrowbackThursday: Float Cabin Tours - Bathroom and Guest Room

Last week I shared the remodeled kitchen in our float cabin. From Summer 2011 through Spring 2012, with the help of our good friend John, we completed several float cabin improvement projects. The most involved was the addition of a bathroom and side porch.

Follow these links for details about the construction process.

Framed next to guest room.

Under Construction schematic video
Up Goes the Frame
Site Supervisor
Night Watchman
Bathroom and Porch

There's a compost toilet, tub, a pantry and a repurposed nightstand for storage. And now there's no need to climb the cliff to an outhouse.

The new bathroom.

It's nice to have indoor "plumbing" after all these years. Our kitchen sink hand pump for water and the woodstove for heating it are still integral components of our new bathroom.

But the most welcome addition is the compost toilet. An added bonus is that it is an approved black water solution that meets our water lease requirements.

A room for guests.

While we were at it, we remodeled the adjacent downstairs guest bedroom. The old window became the doorway into the bathroom. For a new window to let light into the room, John cut a hole in the back wall with his trusty chainsaw.

A new window.

We don't have many overnight guests, so the extra "bedroom" is a handy place to keep several days of wood in an indoor storage shelf.

It's also a good place to keep my books and crafting supplies, and as a nice spot to lounge in the sun to read, thanks to the new window.

Come take a YouTube video tour to see for yourself.

To read more about off-the-grid life in a float cabin, check out two of Wayne's books in the Coastal BC Stories series. -- Margy

Up the Lake -- Print for $9.95 or free Kindle introductory offer in most countries or $.99 USD elsewhere. Other free e-book offers are available at Smashwords and other online booksellers.

Farther Up the Lake -- Print for $9.95 or Kindle for $1.99. Other e-book formats are available at Smashwords and other online booksellers.

#ThrowbackThursday: Float Cabin Tours - Kitchen Kapers

Welcome to my next installment of float cabin tours. You've been welcomed aboard and you've seen our cabin's floor plan. Today I'm taking you through the kitchen we remodeled in 2011. The biggest changes were new propane appliances and extra storage space.

Float Cabin Kitchen

We kept our L-shaped counter and sink with a hand water pump. With limited electric power, having manual and propane appliances helps.

L-counter with sink and hand water pump.

Because we live in an area with off-gridders, propane appliances are available. We upgraded to a home-sized Unique brand propane refrigerator and a larger Premier brand propane range. And John built us a custom shelf for our electronics and the storage of large pots. Here are links for more detailed information:

Delivering appliances up the lake.
Selecting a propane refrigerator.
A new propane range.
A custom kitchen shelf.
Hand-powered water pump.
Dining al fresco in all seasons.

Dining al fresco in all seasons.

To save space, we eat at the picnic table on the front porch or on TV trays in the living room.

If you ask Wayne, he'll say the best upgrade is the refrigerator. We have plenty of room for milk (Wayne loves milk and cookies) and freezer space for ice cream.

Thanks for taking the tour today. Come back next week and see where guests can stay and our bathroom addition. -- Margy

#ThrowbackThursday: Float Cabin Tour - Cabin Floor Plan

The living room side of the greatroom.

Before I proceed with the video tour inside our float cabin home, here's an overview.

Our cabin is the third John built, so it's called Cabin #3. It's small enough (675 sqft) to easily maintain but large enough not to be cramped.

First Floor

The first floor has the most living space (500 sqft). There are two small bedrooms (7'x10'), one for guests (which we rarely get) and one for storage. We keep a week's supply of firewood (Wood Storage Shelf Construction) in the guest room. That's especially handy in winter.

Sink with hand pump and propane fridge.

Downstairs is greatroom style. The kitchen with propane appliances is on one side and the living room with a woodstove on the other. We have a portable TV for Internet streaming. It's compact and functional.

Compost toilet, tub and storage.

In 2011 we added an indoor bathroom off the guest room to replace our outhouse four flights of stairs up the granite cliff. This one change to our cabin made full-time living much easier.

Second Floor

The loft master bedroom with a king bed and view.

The second floor is a sleeping loft. Two twin beds together make a king. The loft and high ceiling over the living room make the cabin feel spacious. A window high on the opposite wall gives us a captivating view of Goat Island.

If we had more space it would feel like work to keep it clean and maintained. If you are planning on building or purchasing a cabin, think about that. Bigger isn't always better.

Come back next week for the next installment of the video tour. See all that we can do in a kitchen with just 130 square feet. -- Margy

#ThrowbackThursday: Float Cabin Tour - Welcome Aboard

In 2001, Wayne and I discovered our float cabin on Powell Lake in Coastal BC.  In the beginning, we could only be here on school holidays since we were both educators. Retired we can be in our off-the-grid cabin home about 75% of the year in all seasons.

Logging Camp Photo: Powell River Museum

During the heydey of logging along the BC coast, floating cabins and shops were common. They were used for remote camps to provide homes and work platforms up rugged inlets and on large lakes. Today, float cabins are used on fish farms and for off the grid living.

Float Cabin Photo: Powell River Museum

On Powell Lake, the original float cabins were simple homes, economical getaways for mill workers, or logging camps dating back to the early 1900s.

Currently, there are about 250 float cabins on Powell Lake. They're spread along the 480 kilometres (300 miles) of shoreline. That makes most locations private.

Why did we choose this lifestyle?

• It's unique.
• Float cabins are a part of coastal history.
• We wanted a place to retire that was different from our city life.
• It's remote and uncrowded.
• We are surrounded by nature.
• We get to enjoy the seasons.
• We are off the grid.
• We can live a simple, tiny home lifestyle.
• We like boating to our water access only home.
• Town is only 25 minutes away for resupply.
• There's a distributed community for support and friendship.
• It was love at first sight.

Several years ago I created short video tours of our float cabin home. Here's the first in the series called "Welcome Aboard."

Since this video was made, we no longer have a stairway up the cliff and the shed on shore has been removed to comply with British Columbia water lease rules.

If you would like more information about float cabin living, here are some quick links:

Float Cabin Living
Float Cabin Construction
Cabin Accessories

Also check out Wayne's book Up the Lake. It's free for Kindle in most countries and most online booksellers. See the next post for more information.

Have you ever discovered a place that has captured your imagination and heart? Tell us your story. - Margy

#ThrowbackThursday: Spring Birds

This week while Wayne and I are sheltering in place in Bellingham, Washington, I'm sharing some of the birds that I would normally be welcoming to our float cabin home on Powell Lake in Coastal BC. I may not be there this spring, but I'm sure they are.

Follow the links below to learn more about each one.

One of the first to arrive in spring is the American Robin. The weather may still be cold, rainy and cloudy, but they foretell the longer days, warmer weather and blooming flowers to come.

An American Robin sitting on driftwood at the float cabin.

One of the most unusual birds that comes to visit our float cabin is the Great Blue Heron. They are frequently seen in town, especially at the marina, but each year one will come for an extended visit to our log boom to fish. They have such a distinctive prehistoric cry.

A Great Blue Heron visits our log boom to fish for his dinner.

Once we had an unwelcome spring visitor, an American Flicker. It wasn't the American part that made her unwelcome. It was her desire to drill a hole in our wall to build a nest. We chased her away, blocked the hole she started under the eaves and put up "scary" things to deter her return. It worked, but we still have a spot as a reminder.

An American Flicker tried to nest in our cabin wall.

It wouldn't be Canada without Canada Geese. They come to Hole in the Wall where there are shallow beaches to raise their families. Later they bring their goslings by the cabin and try to sneak vegetables from my float garden.

Geese pair for life and arrive in early spring to prepare for nesting.

In 2010, Red Throated Loons arrived at Hole in the Wall. They took over territory from the Common Loons that previously came to visit. They are beautiful birds and when they come into our "front yard" you can hear them coo lovingly to each other. Here a short video.

Towards the end of spring, the Barn Swallows arrive. One pair usually builds a nest under the eaves over our front porch. In the beginning, nests would fall from the narrow ledge. Wayne and I stepped in to install a platform and added a padded cushion below in case any babies fell from their lofty perch.

Mother Barn Swallow sitting on her eggs under the eaves.

I will miss welcoming these annual visitors back home. Hopefully, they'll still be there to welcome me back by early summer at the latest.

Which birds do you like to welcome back each spring to your home? -- Margy