Summer Camp at Rabbit Rock 2005 A Photo Essay

Larry L. Dill's   New Hope Journal   Personal Essays and Public Opinions since 1979           September, 2005

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The Zen of Personal Architecture The Building of Rockledge, "Le Petit Salon de Roc" A Photographic Essay by Deborah Gaddy with Commentary by Larry L. Dill Page Four

By the time I got the front wall rocked up, I only had enough rocks left to go up about half way on the other three walls. I had been planning from the beginning to possibly do the top half of the first floor walls with half timber and stucco.  So I was not disappointed to run out of rocks.  I used the conventional wire mesh in between the timbers but again as in the rock walls I was not doing a conventional wall in which some kind of backing prevents the mortar from falling through the mesh onto the other side. My plan was to carefully work the first course into the mesh, pick up what fell through and keep working the wall until I had a solid piece of concrete wall. Once the wall was solid on both sides I would keep adding more layers of mortar until I had a wall that was sufficiently thick to endure and smooth enough to be asthetically appealing.  The uneven curves of the logs worked against me, but the rustic nature of the log and rubble construction made it possible for the stucco to be very rustic too. What you see in this picture and the two that follow is just the first course of mortar. I will go on to dry in the upstairs and install the doors and windows before going back to finish the stucco.

This is another view of the newly completed down stairs walls.  The large opening in the foreground is actually a window and not a door.  This nearly floor to ceiling window will be right next to where my reading chair will sit and will receive the last rays of the evening sun just before it sets over Sugar Top.

Here is a view of the back of the cabin and the rock work and first course of stucco.  The rear door will be directly opposite of the front door and both doors will be full 12 pane French doors.  In the loft areal you can see where I have framed out the back wall (the front loft wall will be similar). The front and back walls will be sided with pine boards (as have been begun here) and will be covered in tar paper and then rough cedar shingles.  Both front and back loft walls will contain one six pane window mounted diagonally for effect and will hinge on their upper and lower corners.

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