Shivam
They reached the bedrock by digging into the spring by hand. Then they brought in bulldozers to dig out the lake itself and build a dock.
With the location confirmed, the lengthy process of reconstruction was ready to begin. Richard had his plans and his labels ready, and knew what had to be done.
Richard wanted to “remain true to the spirit of the original construction,” but that proved quite difficult. For one thing, they reached bedrock at about six feet below the ground, so they needed to build the cabin a few feet above the ground.
They poured the basement floor with concrete, and though it pained Richard to get materials from living trees, he decided that it would be worth it. Other changes included the use of white oak to form new floor joists and split cedar shakes as shingles. A rustic front porch was also added to the cabin.
It wouldn’t be a log cabin without a hearth, but Richard had to approach it carefully. The Aiken family purposely chose a Rumford fireplace, common between 1796 and 1850.
They built stairs out of a fallen oak tree, saving more trees from being cut down. How gorgeous is that staircase? Truly one of a kind.