Lane 3

The Cabin Project

People have asked about pictures I’d posted on a little cabin I built a couple summers ago. Seeing as I’m very tired of writing about insurance, now seemed like a perfect time to take a break and write about something fun.

My mom owns some timberland near Millerville Alabama. We were attracted to the property because it has some great views of the Talladega range, it is mainly hardwood as opposed to planted pine, and there are a number of streams running throughout.

The previous owner had built a cabin about 25 years ago aside the Hillabee creek. All the locals had told the guy he was crazy to build there, but he did so anyway. As it turns out, he picked the lowest spot within in several square miles – the junction of three creeks. When Hurricane Opel passed through many years ago the high water mark was about first floor ceiling level. To make a long story short, as pretty as it looks you would not want to spend the night in it (unless you like mice and don’t have any mold allergies).

So, building a new cabin was high on my list of things to do. Learning from the mistakes of my predecessor I picked a site on the highest hilltop. For most weekends throughout the spring and summer of 2007 my mother, son and I would put in six or eight hour days sawing and hammering. The site has no electricity so all the work was done with hand tools.

It is a simple 12 by 12 single room with a vaulted ceiling that holds a small loft. We wrapped it with plenty of porch so you would have room to enjoy the view and to grill up something tasty to eat.

The work I’m sure will never be finished. For example, after waking up a couple months ago with the inside temperature at 30 degrees, I finally put insulation in the ceiling but still have yet to drywall it.

It was a great project – one that brought good friends and family together. And, now we have a cool get-away where we can hunt, shoot, hike, scratch, and spit ’til our hearts content. A nice change of pace from Atlanta…