 
Update December 12, 2006...Hey everyone,
Here are the latest pictures from the Rabe house and yes
at long last we are getting a roof! Unbelievable! We need
the snow to stay away just a few more days and we will be
set.
Talk with you later,
Dan and Shelly
Update: April May...Hello
there... I know we haven’t updated in awhile but winter
has dealt us some serious blows. We were stalemate through
most of March as we watched inches and FEET accumulate on
and IN the house. We bought a snow blower and used it some
many times now, it needed new parts.We slowly but surely
kept adding the layers of roof and Dan was able to seal
up the roof with plywood and plastic as to keep the rain
and snow out. We started to dry out, which was very nice
to see. We know we still have friends because they kept
coming up to help us work. Several people worked in rain
and snow to keep us going. My parents showed up in January
when we had good days and then snow days and when they left
the rains came and I felt we were floating away through
March. The experts call this the worst rains in 35 years.
I say it is because the Rabe’s decided to build a
house through winter. We had some crazy 58” in rain
in March and April. Years from now, I know we will laugh.
January 13th pictures were from the beam and rafter raising
with the crane. From there, Dan and my dad built the mud
room, the porch was finished, and work started on the roof.
Dan was able to get the tongue and groove on the porch and
then go up from there. Since the sun has been shining for
about two weeks, we have finished the tongue and groove(which
is the first layer of the roof) over the whole roof. Dan
has built some side walls to the shed dormer and started
the two dormers in the front. A layer of plywood went on
next and now we are ready to start the insulated part of
the roof. We are working in electrical issues and deciding
where lights and fans go in the ceiling so we can lay wire
and drill holes. Real Log Homes finally finished a 4 day
job after 4 months and all the important logs are up and
we will clean them up to make them look nice. I have started
sanding so if anybody is bored they can always come sand
with me. The pictures show lots of snow but most of the
pictures were taken from inside the house. Check out the
one where my dad is using the snow blower on the inside
of the house and blowing it out the windows. I know, another
one I will laugh at years from now. Thanks again to all
of you who are spending countless hours on our dream. Your
friendship and love means the world to us and we appreciate
you! Enjoy the snow pictures and by the way our dogs’
name is “Mocha”. He loves the snow and sitting
on the deck.
Come up and see us. You are always welcome:)
Dan and Shelly Rabe
Update: March 6th...Hello
friends, It has been a long time since our last update.
It is February 16th and so far we still have no roof. BUT,
Dan has been a busy bee these last very sunny days and has
completed the mud room along with my dad and mom working
their butts off. Mom ruined a new sweatshirt while learning
that building is not a clean job. Dad focused on the fact
that it has been 26 years since he built our house in Weimar,
and it really is hard work. He did a great job and was a
lifesaver when Dan and I had to go to work. They spent several
days working on the house and got a lot accomplished. You
will see in the pictures that there is a mud room off the
side of the house, the porch has been built, the half circle
window above the front door was built and T&G is going
down for the first layer of the roof! Dan hired a friend
to help out and get more roof on. Mother Nature has been
kind. Keep those good thoughts and prayers coming our way.
The dog in the pictures is our new addition. We are sharing
him with a friend. Actually, we are long term babysitters.
His name is “Mocha” and he loves living up here.
Thanks to Dad and Mom for their hard work and bleached clothes.
We couldn’t have done the last weeks without you.
Enjoy the pictures and “Think NO Snow”
Love to you all,
Dan and Shelly
Update: January 7th...Hello friends, We
have had several days of rain and quite a few setbacks but,
we’ve kept going and thanks to several people that have
been up to help us,
we have been able to get a lot done. Thank you Kevin and
Ryan, David, Lee, David R., Courtney, John and Deena, the
Casbeer clan, Warren, Paul and Linda, Rion and AnnMarie,
Jim, Don and Mocha, Lori Hawkins, Jonathan Poganski, and
Paul Kenneweg. Your guys have been a great
big help and we couldn’t have done things without you. We
are really grateful. Dan and I finished the shed dormer
rough framing today. We are stacking a few more logs and
then the crew from Real Log Homes will finish the rafters
and the beams and get us ready to finish the rest of the
roof. We got 38 inches of rain in the month of December.
The record is 45”. Thankfully, only 1-2” of snow so far.
It is really pretty but, it will be prettier when their
is a roof over our heads and we can look out the windows
and see the snow. We got hit pretty hard with rain
and so far our new driveway and road held up. California
has definitely had some rain. The trailer is doing great
and staying warm. Most of the pictures you see are
friends that came up to help. Shelly is the one taking the
pictures so that’s why she is not in them a lot. Quit asking
me if I am really helping...HAHAHA. Some people think I
am lying about helping Dan. I will tell you though, he has
done an amazing job on our house and he is really handy.
I am not supposed to tell people though. The last month
has flown by and we were out of sorts but hopefully now
we can get back on track and get this baby done. Thanks
for all your good thoughts! We need mother nature to hold
on for just a few more weeks. Keep praying! You are welcome
anytime just call for directions!
Love to you all,
Dan and Shelly
Update:
November 1, 2005: Wow! The month has flown by and
the house has changed drastically. We have been stacking
logs for about 3 weeks and we reached the top of the windows.
New pictures should be finished sub floor, 1st logs down,
and then the stacking of all the walls. Enjoy! We
have had great friends come up and help us. Don Chesney,
Uncle Paul, Kevin, and Ryan Dennan, Jim Erickson, Paul and
Traci Tallman, John Poganski have all helped lay down a
few logs. Thanks to everybody!! We have had rain and
things are getting scarier as far as weather but we are
still confident we can get it weather tight before too long.
Dan and I laid 15 logs yesterday, and there is only a few
courses to go and we can do the second story floor joists
and the roof rafters. Septic finally got finished
after a “drive over the infiltrator” accident. Thank God
we did not do it. The backhoe operator got to fix that mistake.
Power to the house had a set back but after digging up a
pipe that was shattered, we got that repaired, and we are
ready to pull power to the house. Again, you would all be
very proud of us and I hope the pictures show it. I am very
proud of Dan and all that he has accomplished. He really
is doing a great job. You are all welcome to come
up. We have gloves that fit every size hands. Enjoy
the pictures, and Thanks to Rick Carlton for allowing us
the chance to show our far away friends the progress. You
are the best, Rick!
Love to you all,
Dan and Shelly
Update: September 30, 2005: We are moving right along. Concrete form boards
were pulled off. Green board attached, pony
walls built, and finally the floor joists went
in. Dan, Jim Erickson and David Rehban spent all
4 days last week hammering and we able to finish
the floor joists and girders. They worked so
hard and saved us a bundle. We again realized
that we have really good friends. We got rough
plumbing done and as soon as we finish rough
electrical and insulation we will be ready to
lay down the plywood. Septic tank went in and
the transformer was set and our friend Courtney
spent the day watering down the dirt and logged
2kw on our meter. Now we already have a bill to
PG&E.
The logs were delivered and we had a very busy
day with the forklift, 2 18-wheelers, and some
friends hauling logs around all day. We have
waited for that day for a long time. It was very
nice to see.
Power, water, and almost septic are completely
done. The pictures will changed drastically next
week as the walls start going up and we get
stacking. Everyone is always welcome just bring
your gloves!
Update: September 3, 2005: So much has
happened since our last update. We finally broke through
the lava cap and got the power installed. We hope to set
the transformer and get power hooked up. PG&E said they
were coming in 2 weeks. We built the well pump house. Just
a few more things and it will be ready to roof. Dan got
water pipe trenched dug to the garage, got all the pipe
in, and we have water! You will see the house marked
out in chalk and then the footings were dug and then, all
of the sudden, actual walls of the foundation in the house
and garage. We put the sand and plastic down in the house
area, rocked the garage and now we are ready for the slab
in the garage and the sub-floor in the house. Now
for the best part...LOGS are being delivered this Wednesday
and Thursday. Winter is coming. We still have time
but there is a crunch. Dan got to finally see the
bear. Shelly is still waiting.
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