Summer 2017 at Kullfallet

Here are some misc smaller projects I finished at Kullfallet last summer, but was too busy to blog about.

I am patiently awaiting spring to move back into the cottage. 

Overview

The Kullfallet cottage is really small. It is a 35 m2 house (375 sqft) with a hall/vestibule, a kitchen, a bedroom, a bathroom and a closet. It was originally built as a log house sometime in the mid 1800s, then expanded with a hall and a new roof in the early 1900s. It had been in serious disrepair for a long time when I bought it. 

The only original part left is the log frame and the chimney, everything else I had to replace. It might have been easier to just burn it to the ground and start from scratch. But in a way I'm happy that I kept it, because every time I enter the house, I see a bit of history in the original logs, reminding me of my Swedish heritage.

Kitchen

The kitchen floor got replaced. These were built just like in the bedroom, using 145x45 mm (6" x 2") joists, mineral wool insulation and spruce floor boards. I screwed OSB boards to the walls. I then applied putty to the walls with a paint roller to give them a rough finish, and two layers of orange paint.

I prepared the concrete foundation of the fire wood boiler, and finished off with some nice looking tiles.

I finished the walls, windows and trim, and then built the kitchen sink frame with its drawers.

The left-overs from the floor boards became a kitchen table.

Entrance

I put up wind and snow protection from decking board on each side of the entrance, and then built a bench, which I enjoyed sitting on in late summer evenings.

The entrance also got a concrete step.

Attic

I built a foldable ladder to reach the attic. To prevent cold air to come down from the attic, I built a mineral wool insulated hatch, with a counter-weight raising mechanism.

Bathroom

I nailed Masonite boards on the floor and ceiling of the bathroom, then installed a plastic carpet. Walls and ceiling were painted with three layers of moisture proof white paint. I found a cheap shower cabin online which was delivered to me by truck.

Although I still have to heat the shower water on my stove, this was a huge upgrade for me, because it meant no more showers outside in the rain, snow and strong winds.

Luckily I found a small sink that fit perfectly in the small space next to the shower.

I drilled two 100 mm holes through the walls; one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen, to provide ventilation.

 

Outhouse

Instead of installing a proper toilet and black water sewer system in the house, I decided to keep things simple and build an outhouse.

I dug up some peat from a nearby bog, which I sun-dried on a tarpaulin. The peat works very well for an outhouse to dry up liquids in the bucket, which will prevent odors.

As is custom in Sweden, a picture of the royal family hangs in the outhouse to provide some inspiration.

Firewood storage

I had a lot of old recycled wood, not really good for any important projects, so I decided to build a storage shed for firewood from it. Now temporarily used for storing construction wood.

Cellar

I am lucky to have a small cellar near my house. It lacked a proper door though, so I built one. This cellar will be really useful to store food in.

A lot of old rotten construction wood got burned that summer.