Two MAJOR milestones.

Friday was a major turning point for KnArrow Haus. We signed papers for a construction loan and we were "cleared to cover" by the inspector!

Construction Loan

We drove to Leavenworth on Friday morning to sign documents for a construction loan. Now we'll have the funds necessary to finish the cabin. Getting this loan approved was a bit of an ordeal because we had to document *everything* we've done and spent so far. Normally construction loans start with just dirt. And because I'm an owner-builder, they wanted additional confidence that I know what I'm doing and can actually complete the cabin within a year. The loan funds on Tuesday.

We had a sweet little visitor come with us in the car ffor the day.

We ate lunch in Leavenworth, then drove to the cabin to meet the inspector for our framing reinspections and insulation inspection. He was delayed and didn't arrive until nearly 5pm. So to make effective use of the time, we worked forming around the stairwells to contain the heated concrete floors, which will be poured on Tuesday.

Installing the forms on the upper stairwell.

Forming up the bullnose for the steps to the basement.

Measuring for the stair tread form on the top floor.

This DeWalt brushless impact driver has been an amazing work horse.  

The brushless driver sips battery charge, and often lasts the entire day on one battery. It was used last year to install thousands of siding screws. It's driven hundreds of framing nails. And it's even been dropped several times from as high as 25 feet. 

Cleared to Cover

The inspector finally arrived at 5pm. He was exhausted. We were tired. But he went methodically through all of his notes and checked everything off that we had done to correct the items on his list, including the stamped engineering documents. There are still a few items on the outside -- bigger bolts on the beam brackets, and propery support for the front porch -- but they will be checked at final.

Then inspected the insulation and found only one problem with the fireplace insulation. There can be NOTHING within 1/2 inch of the fireplace insert and there were some little bits of FSK membrane just barely touching. While we was there we improvised some fixes with some metal strapping. Finally, he said if we promised to fix it properly and send him the pictures, he would pass us.  He was so happy that he gave me a hug and a kiss. Sweet guy. 

Here are the final corrections we made the following day after buying a 1'x2' sheet of 26 gauge galvanized sheetmetal.

Now that we've passed all those inspections, THERE'S ONLY ONE INSPECTION LEFT -- the FINAL INSPECTION.  That won't occur until Summer, if things go well, Spring.

At this point, the second half of the project commences on Tuesday with concrete floors. Doors on Friday. Attempting to get drywall the following week. It's all final finishes on the inside from here on out.