Bunkhouse Build Update – November 18

When I first set out to build this bunkhouse, the goal was simple: have it functional by December 1 so the bulk of the heavy work would be done before winter settled in.

Well… winter didn’t wait for the calendar.

The snow started on November 7, the temperatures dropped, and they haven’t let up since. And with the forecast showing more of the same, the job has gotten a whole lot more “interesting.”

The bunkhouse foundation buried under early November snow — a reminder that winter showed up long before the build was ready.

Cold Hands, Cold Tools

Working with hardwood flooring in November is one thing. Working with hardwood flooring while your fingers feel like they’re made of ice is something else entirely. Gloves help, but it’s tough to run a saw or sink screws with any finesse when your hands are wrapped up like you’re heading to the South Pole.

And then there’s Biko and Laddy. I like bringing the Aussies up with me so they can run around and burn off energy. But if I set a glove down for two seconds, Biko grabs it and the whole build turns into a keep-away game. It’s cute the first time… less cute the fifth.

The Hill, the Snow, and One Very Tired ATV

Getting supplies up the hill has been its own adventure. My ATV tires have definitely seen better days. Add fresh snow on top of a thin layer of mud, and pulling a loaded trailer becomes a gamble every time.

The last time I tried taking my truck up there, I somehow punched a hole in the oil pan. Thankfully the warranty covered it — but the idea of sliding downhill into a tree isn’t a lesson I’m keen to repeat. So the truck stays parked for now.

The Plywood, the Snow, and My Leaky Giant Tarp

It feels like it’s been wet-snowing nonstop. The subfloor plywood soaks up moisture fast, and even though I’ve got a monster tarp covering everything, it has just enough pinholes to remind me what plywood looks like after a little too much water.

When the flakes get too heavy, I just can’t work. Otherwise I’m laying down flooring on surfaces that start to ripple like potato chips.

The Beech Flooring Puzzle

Right now I’ve got about 252 square feet of flooring installed, with around 180 square feet to go. But every board feels like a puzzle piece from the wrong puzzle. When I milled the beech earlier, the mill wasn’t perfectly aligned. So a 12-foot board might be 5" wide on one end and 4.5" on the other.

This isn’t Aspen — it’s a bunkhouse — so I’m making it work. But it does slow things down.

I ran out of boards, so I went up to get the beech logs I’d staged earlier… and realized pulling them down with the log arch would probably drag my ATV sideways and roll me down the hill. So I ditched the arch and skidded the logs behind the ATV instead. Even then, they slow-tobogganed through a few sections, so I’m glad I didn’t push my luck.

Now I’m re-aligning the mill before I cut more boards. Of course, the mill was frozen in place and half buried, so I had to dig it out and use a torch to melt the ice around the bolts. Ice is easy. Frozen sawdust? That’s a whole different beast.

Thawing out the sawmill bolts — frozen sawdust is stubborn stuff when winter shows up early.

A Hard Job Made Harder

This was always going to be a big job. But with this early winter, everything takes twice as long. Sometimes three times.

That’s part of why I’ve been writing so many Off Grid Mindset pieces lately. It’s not just for readers — it’s for me. A reminder of the obstacles I’ve already overcome in the last twenty years, and the mindset I need to keep moving forward when the conditions get rough.

The bunkhouse will get done. It won’t be December 1 — but it will happen.

And when the first group of students steps inside and feels that heat for the first time, none of this struggle is going to matter.

Checking the mill for level — a small adjustment now saves a lot of crooked boards later.