Maine Cabin Masters (2017–…): Season 8, Episode 1 - Seize the Daylight Basement - full transcript

Probably one of
the bigger ones
we've taken on in a while.

It has walls
where we want windows,
basically.

Just push it
right towards the lake.

Ooh, caution.

We've got our first snowstorm
of the night.

We've got to get this thing
jacked up

and a foundation put under it.

We've got water coming up
and forming under here.

So we've gotta find a way,
we've gotta pump
the water out.

You've got bedroom there,
bathroom there.

This is going to be
the main room.



- Oh wow, you guys.
- Oh wow. It is so light
and open now.

So Ashley's driving,
you guys are looking nice.
What's going on today?

How am I doing?
Am I doing a good job?

You're doing a great job.

So where are we headed?

We're headed to Snug Harbor.

We are in Belgrade
on Great Pond.

We are meeting
Chip and Jan Rooney

and they have a cabin,
they've got a large family,

and the cabin
just isn't quite big enough
to fit all the family,

and the cabin
just isn't quite big enough
to fit all the family,

so we are renovating,
you know.

Doing a complete
overhaul on the camp.

Probably
one of the bigger ones
we've taken on in a while.



This is it.

- Snug Harbor.
- All right.

Snug Harbor.

Hey, guys.

-I'm Chip Rooney.
- And I'm his wife, Jan.

We bought the property
three years ago

and the one thing
that we do want
to take advantage of

is how close we are
to the lake.

So it's just the opening up
and maximizing all the space
that we can.

So it's just the opening up
and maximizing all the space
that we can.

Wasn't sure we were
in the right spot.

Doesn't look like much
work needs to be done.

The way that the camp
is built,

it has walls
where we want windows,
basically.

Because you walk in
and it's just dark.

You wouldn't even know
you were on a lake, basically,

when you walked in
the front door.

That's really
what we've had our eye on.

One of the things
we had never considered
was raising the camp,

but I saw another camp here
on Great Pond be raised

and they added
a daylight basement,
which transformed that house.

And they added
a daylight basement,
which transformed that house.

- It's a lot of space.
- And gave them
much more living space.

You can't change the footprint
of these cabins,

because of their proximity
to the water.

So that's one way to just
try and add
a little bit of space

to add a bedroom, maybe.

Open up the doors
and walk right out
to the patio, the water.

I envision opening
French doors
that go right to the lake.

We don't need a porch on here,
as well.

You don't want
the porch in front of
your view, either,

from your bedroom.

Well, you know, we've had
the loons to keep us company
at night

and that's just
the most relaxing sound
you could ever wish to hear.

That's our lullaby
in the summer.

So the camp is
currently on posts?

So the camp is
currently on posts?

Yes.

I mean, you can see right now
that it's pretty low
on the ground,

so it needs to come up
one way or another,

- so like you said,
it makes sense to...
- Right.

...lift it up.
Get a foundation under it.

Anything that you don't want
us to touch?

You know, honestly,
what we're looking to have
is a total gut in the inside

and just to open it up
to the lake.

And what are you looking
to have done on the interior?

I mean, do you want to keep
the rustic camp feel?

Well, what we want is
a compromise between camp
and comfortable.

Well, what we want is
a compromise between camp
and comfortable.

Okay.
- Just to
make it lighter.

And insulated, because now,
without the insulation here,

it gets cold quickly
in the shoulder seasons

and it gets really hot
in the middle of the summer.

You know, we're not big fans
of black and white and chrome.

We like the wood,
but it's just that
there's too much of it inside.

And it's just very dark.

Break it up
a little.
- Exactly.

It's a beautiful cabin, uh,
but we're just looking to
maximize the space

and an updated bathroom.

We'd love some custom beds,
a king, maybe some bunks,

We'd love some custom beds,
a king, maybe some bunks,

then maybe
a couple more bedrooms.

We have three kids,
although they're not,
you know.

They're college age
right now.
- They're college age.

- The next generation's coming,
so...
- Absolutely.

We're just looking
to add more room here

so we can all get together
during the summers.

So new foundation, get it up,

get the camp up
out of the dirt,

let more light into the camp

access to the basement
from upstairs,
daylight basement.

Love to get started
as soon as possible.
Try and beat the weather.

- Yep, we understand that.
- Yeah.

What do you have for a budget
for this project?

What do you have for a budget
for this project?

We are looking at around
$200,000.

-Oh.
- Okay.

You probably want to know
a timeframe.

- After black fly season,
we'll be back.
- Exactly.

Okay. All right.

-You've got about
seven months, how's that?
- Oh, wow. That's a long time.

Very good.

-We're excited.
- Have we heard
all that we need to hear?

Yeah, I think so.
I think we just need
a set of keys.

- Here you go.
- All right.

- We trust you guys.
- Fantastic.

On the exterior
of the Rooney camp,

we need to demo anything
that needs to be ripped down,

so that we can get in here
and start excavation, jacking

so that we can get in here
and start excavation, jacking

and getting ready
to pour in new foundation,

getting the daylight basement
underneath.

The Rooney camp was originally
around 750 square feet.

We are going to double that
to over 1,500 square feet.

Cool.

Yeah, cool.

- Big.
- It's big.

It is big.

Plenty of space,
but it needs to be updated.

It feels like an old lodge.

Yeah,
it kind of has that feel.

Sheathing, siding,
structural framing.

So we're going to need
to add framing materials

So we're going to need
to add framing materials

but, which will be good,
because then you can run
actual electrical wires.

You can see in here, like,
like these walls,
it's just one layer.

- It's inch and a half.
- Yeah.

This is just one layer.

- Oh, really?
- Yeah.

Tell me how much it flexes.

Is there any flex?

Yes.

- Is it really?
- Yeah.

It's hot.

On the interior
of the Rooney camp,

we are going to create
a larger main bedroom,

we are going to create
a larger main bedroom,

open living space,

keep the loft,
keep the bathroom
and a small bedroom

on the first floor.

In the daylight basement,
we're going to have
a set of stairs down to that,

which will have
a small kitchen,
third bedroom

and a small half bath.

And a living space
with double doors
that go out onto the lake.

- Right, first step
is going to be...
- It's not bad.

- ...digging it out
and lifting it up.
- It's not bad.

Yeah, so this whole stairs
and deck's coming right off,
completely.

Yeah.

Within two months,
we want the foundation poured,

because after that
it's going to be freezing.

If not, quicker.

If not, quicker.

- Yes.
- You can't pour foundations
in winter?

You can,
but it's cost prohibitive.

So we won't call the guys
right now.
We'll make some other calls.

- Call the concrete company.
- Yeah.

And the jacking company.

I'm driving.

- Who's going to call shotgun?
- Shotgun.

Shotgun.

Well, this is
more deconstruction,
right Chase?

Yes.

Welcome to the Rooney camp.

So it might look good
from the outside,

but you can see that
this back sill is sitting
kind of in the dirt.

They want to lift it up,
so they figure
if they're lifting it up,

might as well get it
on good foundation.

It's going to get lifted up.
Daylight basement underneath.

Everything in here
we're going to try
and carefully disassemble.

Today, it's really just
a matter of getting it
cleaned out underneath,

getting it peeled off inside.

You know, there is some good,
salvageable stuff,

so we'll just take our time
and get it prepped and ready
for jacking and excavation.

What do you want me to do?

I don't know what
we can do today.

You know,
where it's all the log...

- No, exactly.
- You know what I mean?

Yeah.

I didn't realize that
when I first came in.

- I'm like,
there's no framing in here.
- Yeah.

There's a deck and
steps on the front
that need to come off.

She's heavy.

Bring it here out of the way
on the lawn.

So this cabin was built
where the exterior sheathing,

it's one and a half inch
tongue and groove pine boards.

It's your sheathing.
It's your framing.
It's your siding.

Because of that,
there's a lot more flexibility

and we need to kind of
lock everything together

so that when it's lifted up,
it doesn't move too much
on 'em.

Looks like that's holding it,
too.

Well, if you look down below,
it looks like it was there

and we just kind of
added around it.

All the steps in this deck's
going to get removed

and we're going to take it
somewhere else, reuse it.

But they did a heck of a job
attaching it,

so we're just trying to fight
our way through, right now.

Just push it right
towards the lake.
Nice and easy, right guys?

Do you agree, Dixie?

Do you agree, Dixie?

I thought we were going to
lay it down.
We're going to let it drop?

I mean,
I'd let it go that way.

- We'll lay it down that way,
yes.
- Ready?

She's still attached.

Still attached over here.

Maybe take his leg out.
Let it roll.

That's what I was going to do.
Just take this leg out
and just let it drop down.

Don't be underneath it,
though.

Ooh, caution.

She's coming down.

Well, we're just basically
dismantling the deck.

It's coming. It's coming.

Okay. See what happens.

Keep coming down with it.

Beautiful.

Yeah!

It's demo day at the Rooneys'
and we brought a team.

Our goal today
is to deconstruct this place

and get it ready
for the jacking team.

The jacking team's
going to come in
and lift this place up,

The jacking team's
going to come in
and lift this place up,

then our excavation guys
are going to come in,

dig out underneath it,
put their forms in,
pour a foundation,

set it back down.

Save the flowers.
Get myself a new haircut.

We got things
pretty cleared out
under the Rooney camp

and we're trying to get
everything out of the way

so when it comes to
jacking this up,

there's nothing that's
going to slow them down.

Brad, this is a test.

- Brad.
- What?

Chase wants to save the doors.
And those built-ins.

I didn't do it. It wasn't me.

I didn't do it. It wasn't me.

Do you know what?
They're just finished nails
and they can easily pry off.

Yes.

We knew we had to
take out the kitchen.

I challenged Brad to save
as much as he could.

We need to take our time,
deconstruct everything,

which is a challenge,
you know.
It's difficult.

Were you able to save
any of the uppers?

Bradley.

There's no rush. We have time,
so take your time.

There's no rush. We have time,
so take your time.

Be careful
taking this stuff out,

because we will definitely
reuse this somewhere.

Do you like how
I just ran up here

because I didn't want
anything to do with that?

It was great to see Brad
try to do something calm,
collective, cool.

Didn't go so well.

In his defense,
if there's one thing
I haven't taught him,

it's patience.

What's wrong with that?
Two pieces.

Nice job, Brad.

I think the upper cabinets,
Brad kind of went
a little bit quicker.

I think the upper cabinets,
Brad kind of went
a little bit quicker.

He was able to save
most of the base cabinets.

Go Brad.

Yes, Brad got a passing grade
on saving the kitchen.

I guess we don't need
to take that out today, do we?

There's, like, no way
to get it out of here,

- so instead of having it
sit out in the rain...
- Yeah.

- ...makes more sense
just to leave it inside.
- Yeah. Definitely.

What's up?

- Morning.
- Hi.

- How's it going?
- Good, what are you doing?

Just doing demo.

Demo, demo, demo.

Um, if you want to
take off the window boxes...

Demo, demo, demo.

...take down all the brackets
and everything,
set them aside.

Say that again.

Window boxes and brackets.

The planters,
they're in really good shape.

They are solid, you know,
haven't deteriorated at all.

We'll freshen them up,

um, but they're in
really good shape
right now,

so we don't really need
to do too much to them.

We'll put new flowers in them
and put them back
once the camp gets done.

So this is just material
from underneath the camp,

from the lattice work,
and I'm just de-nailing it,

getting it ready
to put into the camp
as bracing

for diagonals,
for tall ties,
whatever we need

just to help support the camp
a little bit more

when it gets raised up.
Extra bracing is always good.

We're saving all these.
I mean, they're
really good doors.

They've got all the latches
on them.

There's five or six
of them here.

That's, uh, five or six doors
we're not going to have to
make for another cabin.

There's a lot
of fun stuff that we can save
from this camp.

There's a lot
of fun stuff that we can save
from this camp.

It may not be stuff
that we ever use in this camp,
necessarily,

but it's worth keeping.

There's lots
of light fixtures.

Even the walls
in between the bedrooms.

We might be
tearing those down,

but the wood is nice
and if they can take it out
in chunks,

which I think is
what the plan is,
they'll find a way to use it.

This is basically
a brand new glass enclosure

for this brand new
fiberglass shower enclosure

and we've just been
having issues
with supply problems,

and we've just been
having issues
with supply problems,

so this is just
a good example of something
that we can reuse.

- Haven't had a cold shower
since college.
- I have to at night.

Oh, I take a hot one and then
the last thing I do,

no, the last thing I do is
have freezing cold water
on me.

- What?
- Oh, yeah.

- Why?
- I don't know, it just, like,
I don't know, I like it.

I go right to freezing cold
for about two seconds.

- No way.
- Oh, yeah.

Just, you know. I don't know.

Just, you know. I don't know.

That's the last thing
I would ever want.

Sometimes in the summertime,
I take nothing but a cold sh--

No way.

Jeepers creepers.

Yeah, we might get
a little demo today.

Let's see, though.

This is holding
the tops together.

It's got some big nails.

Big nails down there, guys,
at the bottom.

I'll let you guys
get out of the way.

Good thing I've got
my steel-toed boots.

There you go, buddy.

Got a lot done.
- I think we're done
for a while.

No, we aren't.

What's the next step, boss?

We need to get this stuff
out of here.

We need to get landscaping,
all the plants out of here.

Put up an
erosion control fence

and kind of see when
excavation company's
going to get in here.

And kind of see when
excavation company's
going to get in here.

If they're going to
be a while,

there's no reason why
we can't really start
framing up

and going on inside.

Anything we do on the interior
is just going to give it
that much more support

when it's lifted up,
so we've got a good game plan.

- Right.
- Nice work.

- Let's go get dry.
- Yeah.

Let's get out of the rain,
man.

Jan asked for a new
king bed and bunk beds
for their three kids,

so today, I'm visiting one of
Maine's best furniture
designers and builders.

So this is where I keep
the pieces
that are already built,

- waiting to be picked up.
- Gosh, wow.

We're looking for
a king size headboard,

and twin bunk beds.

Yeah, I make a lot of those.
I actually have a bunk bed
right here.

Oh. Whoa, cool.

This one's a twin size, yeah,
and I make it out of, uh,

old three by fives
and three by sixes.

And then the, uh, rails
are actually rafters
from an old barn.

And then the, uh, rails
are actually rafters
from an old barn.

The Rooneys want
more sleeping space.

Eben makes the most beautiful
barn board furniture.

Like, similar to us,
he likes to take something old

and make it into
something new.

So how about this one here?
This one's got really cool
knots and grain in it...

- Yeah.
- ...and when we sand that down
and smooth it out,

It's going to look
really nice.

I trust you.
You're the professional.

- All right. Let's take it.
- Okay.

- All right. So you want to
talk about design?
- Yeah.

I've done these, uh,
headboards before,

with some cool cutouts on them
like a fish or a bear.

- How 'bout loons?
- Yeah, a loon would be cool.

- How 'bout loons?
- Yeah, a loon would be cool.

- They love loons.
- Yep, I could put
a couple of loons on there.

- Really?
- Yep.

- Nice.
- Like, make a carving.

These beds are going to
fit in great.

We needed extra sleeping,
so we're going to have
the bunk beds.

They wanted us to enlarge
the main bedroom.

So, king bed. I mean,
this is checking
all the boxes.

Really love being able to
go out and work with people
that are so talented

and make these
beautiful pieces

and I love that I'm getting to
be able to bring them
into these cabins.

And I love that I'm getting to
be able to bring them
into these cabins.

And uh, this is just
like a thing that will show
the color

and it dries up real quick,

but if you see,
look how beautiful
that color is.

Wow.

It turns, like, a rich brown,
red-brown, pumpkin color.

Look at the grain
and the knots and stuff
in this.

Yeah.

And the nice cracks
coming through the center
of it.

Well, I'm excited to see
how this is going to turn out.
This is beautiful.

Yeah, me too.

We just, just, just
started the new build
this fall.

Still have to jack it up
and we've got a ton of work
to do.

Yeah, that's great.
That gives me some time,
though.

Okay, so great.
Well, I can't wait.

Okay, so great.
Well, I can't wait.

If you have any more questions
or anything, give me a shout,

but other than that,
I will see you in the spring.

- Awesome, so nice to meet you.
- Yeah, you too.

- Take care, thank you.
- Yeah, see you.

Bye bye.

Eben's got the plan.

I'm very confident
that he is going to
come through with it

and make some
beautiful pieces for me

and I'll be back
in the spring.

I'm at the Rooney camp,
and we're finally
getting jacked.

We got our first snowstorm
in the night.

We got our first snowstorm
in the night.

We've got to get this thing
jacked up

and a foundation put under it
before it gets too cold.

It's been a wet,

rainy fall.

So the first step
in renovating the Rooney camp

is to get the camp jacked
and lifted up

so that we can get in,
excavate and dig out
for the new foundation.

This all needs to happen
before it starts getting cold

because once
the ground freezes,

it's going to be harder to dig
and harder to pour concrete.

I'm back at
the Rooney camp today.

Last time I was here,
it was about two weeks
before the new year.

This is how
the professionals do it.

Those are going to be
right in the window openings.

So we'll be able to frame
right around that

and have our walls
right there.

This is amazing to see.

Concrete guys
and excavator guys

are going to get in here
next week.

Look at that.
Beautiful, beautiful,
beautiful.

Okay, right there.

We're going to build
a structure around this
today and tomorrow.

It's going to keep
the snow out

and we're going to be able to
keep heat into it.

We have
the lowest temperatures
in three to five years

coming up next week.

So we're going to
spend the time
the next couple of days

and tent this thing,
keep some heat in it.

Just behind this plastic,
there's a major difference
in temperature

without the wind.

Once again,
the guys killed it.

It's nothing
we've ever done before,
but, uh,

they conquered.

Most people don't
do earth work
in the winter,

because of the frost.

And when you get
snow on the ground,
that insulates it,

but there's no snow
under there.

So we're doing this so we can
keep it at a warm temperature,

because the thicker the frost,
the more time and energy
and cost it's going to take

to break it up.

So by having this, then,
we'll get a huge heater
in there

and it's going to
warm it right up.

That ground
will start melting,
no problem.

That ground
will start melting,
no problem.

Whoo!

I literally was sitting
on that

and putting all my pressure
into that

and the wind
was holding me up.

My eyes right now
are actually getting frozen.

My mustache is frozen.

So I stopped into Rooney.

They're about
two or three weeks

into the excavation portion
of it.

The timeline's all askew.

You know,
this is a long project
over the winter.

But as you can see,
they're running into
some serious issues.

We've got water coming up
and forming under here.

We did not expect this.

In reality, his tracks
are probably
at finished floor.

In reality, his tracks
are probably
at finished floor.

So we've got to find a way,

we've got to
pump the water out
into a plunge pit

and then try to dry it out
before we start doing
the footings and stuff.

But that is amazing.

I mean, they're about
halfway in, though.
He's making good progress.

Our hole is filling up
with water really,
really quickly,

and we gotta figure
something out.

What we're gonna do is,
we're gonna build a punch pit
and pump the water out

with a two-inch trash pump
into this,
it will dissipate out.

In the last six weeks,
we've been dealing with
sub-zero temperatures

every night and tons of snow,
and now, this.

What's gonna happen is,
we're gonna... we'll...

We'll pump all the...
Pump that water into here

We'll pump all the...
Pump that water into here

with a two-inch trash pit,
it's just gonna contain it.

Couple of different names
to this, but I just call it
a plunge pool,

so when we pump out
all the water,
it's gonna come in here.

It'll dissipate out.
It's gonna hold in
all the materials in the spot,

so that dirt will stay
and the water
can filtrate out.

It's to contain
all the sediment.

Hopefully, this ain't gonna
dry out, but it's not going
as planned.

It's my own fault, right,
if I fall in?

It's my own fault, right,
if I fall in?

You know, the big puddle
of water is a huge issue,

because it's making everything
muddy, uh, we can't see
our grade,

and we just gotta keep
fighting it.

When we do the concrete,
it has to be dry.

We're into our
fifth month at the Rooney camp

and everything's dried out
enough so we can get ready

to pour the foundation
for the new daylight basement.

Once the concrete is set,
we'll begin to remove the tent
around the camp

and start building
our support walls
to lower the camp.

So, we're
at the Rooney camp

and we're getting close
to the finish line.

Water has been
a big issue, here.

Water has been
a big issue, here.

It was like that before,
water keeps just coming,
because it slopes so much,

water's coming beneath it,
but this system

with the stone base as well,
will capture that
and go out to the plunge pit.

It's been a long process,
but I'm really happy
with the way it's come out.

Spring's here
at the Rooney camp.

Over the winter,
the camp was jacked-up
and foundation poured.

Now, it's all left
to remove this I-beam,

so that we can put a staircase
up to the first floor.

There'll be
a small kitchenette
back here,

and then, a small room
to your left,

and then, a small room
to your left,

and then, nice and wide open
with couple of full-size doors
looking out over the water.

The extent that this
was jacked and leveled
and the foundation poured,

is nothing we could
take on.

You know, now that
the weather's good

we're ready to,
uh, get started.

So, upstairs,
at the Rooney camp,

uh, we opened it all up
and we started
reframing walls.

Stairway down
to the lower level
is gonna be right here.

Stairway down
to the lower level
is gonna be right here.

Got a bedroom there,
bathroom there,

this is gonna be
the main room.
We enlarged that space.

We opened up the wall
in between the old porch

and made it all
one big living space,

and there will be a loft,
up over this front half.

These guys have gone
ahead and they've notched out
our header beam, over here.

Uh, we're just cutting
our laps, getting our beams
set for our loft,

and we're gonna hope
we get those all up today,
and start decking.

And we're gonna hope
we get those all up today,
and start decking.

-

Love it.

Coming up!

The stairs are gonna be
36in wide,

but I also want to compensate
for when we...
When we trim them out

and make it look nice.
So, I'm gonna do a 40in open.

Give us a couple extra inches
on each side.

We can't put the stairs
in yet, but we can
get them prepped.

Nice day for demo.

There!
How do you like that one?

Hello.

I'm not really here
to work, today. I'm just here
to check in on the place.

So I just thought,
why not take a drive out here,
and just check out the camp.

Ashley!

- Honey!
- Hello.

I know she's up there,
she's hiding from me.

Ryan sees me
and instantly
I become his assistant.

Ryan sees me
and instantly
I become his assistant.

Ashley! Ashley!

What's up?
What you doing?

Wanna help me
for a little bit?

Not until you get some stairs.

I'll see you when
I'm building the stairs.

Ashley!
We've to pick up this mess.

Ryan always
needs something from me.

It doesn't matter what
I'm doing,

he always just considers me
his personal assistant.

Oh, you got my dustpan.

- Dustpan, sir.
- Thank you.

It's the only one
available, today.

- Looks good doesn't it?
- Looks real nice.

So, I have been
to Rooney camp all winter.

So, I have been
to Rooney camp all winter.

They had a lot of work to do
before we could get in here.

They jacked it up,
put down the foundation,
and now, it's go-time, for us.

So now that the walls
are all framed up

and the loft beams
are in place,
we're working this way.

We're replacing
these two logs
with four-by-six beams.

So the next step,
will just be to lock in
a couple of collar ties,

and then,
we can safely remove these.

The guys
are taking out the collar ties
from the camp.

The guys
are taking out the collar ties
from the camp.

There you go.

They're beautiful oak
logs and we're gonna

reuse them for railings
for the new loft.

All done for the day?
It's Friday, guys.

- All right, good job, guys!
- Friday, looks good.

- Let's got to the wood shed.
- Let's go!

- Yeah!
- Time for a beer.

So, I'm here today,
at Lovejoy Rustic Furniture.

Eben gave me a call,
said the beds are ready.

So I'm here to check 'em out
and pick 'em up.

Hi!

Hey!

- Good to see you again.
- You too.

How's the camp coming?
- It is good.
We're so, so, so close.

- This is the bunk bed,
right here.
- The bunk beds.

- Wow!
- Yeah, it's all...
It's all apart,

- but it's super simple.
It's just a mortise and tenon.
- Look!

- Those are the...
Those are the... Those...
- Yeah, so the ladder's built

- right in, and then, uh...
- Cool.

...this is tenon
that fits right in
to the mortise...

- Okay.
- ...and, uh,

Then it's just got
a couple screws
through in together.

Let me see,
here. Wait.
- Yeah.

- Super simple.
- Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
What's this part?

So, these, uh,
make a platform
for the mattress,

So, these, uh,
make a platform
for the mattress,

so you don't need a box spring
or anything.

- Yeah.
- You just set two-by-fours
right in here.

So this one would go this way.

Yes.

Yeah, sorry, yeah,
I was backwards.

- Just put it right in there--
- And then, it just,

- basically, just, sits right--
- Yeah, and then, the platform
sits right there...

- Okay.
- ...and there's plywood

For the, um,
mattress to sit on.

And that gets
screwed in where?

It gets screwed in
from the backside.
There's big long lag screws.

- Okay. Perfect.
- Yeah.

And then, I have
the headboard, over here,
for the king bed,

- but I have some
questions on it...
- Okay.

...that I need some advice.

...that I need some advice.

We decided to do
the loon cutout.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- And, uh, I made one

but he seemed a little lonely,

so I made this other one.

- I don't know if, uh...
- The lonely loons.

...is that too kitschy,
or, like, and should we put it
in the center

or how should we orient these?

I don't mind two. No.
I think one looks...

- One does look
too lonely, right?
- Yeah. Yeah.

- He needs another guy.
- He's just, kinda, like...

- Yeah.
- Where's my buddy?

Yeah, but should they
be looking at each other?
Or like?

You know, is this one
longing for love?

Looking away or something?

So, it was nice of him
to leave that final
little detail for me,

So, it was nice of him
to leave that final
little detail for me,

so I could have
a little bit of, you know,
my touch into the project.

Here you go.
Follow your little buddy.

- Yeah, I like it.
- Loons mate for life.

So they all need a partner.
It only makes sense
to have two loons on there.

What do you think, huh?
How many...
should we give her?

- I'd put...
Put one, right in his head.
- Middle?

- Yeah, sure.
- In his head?

Right in his head.

Bam!

- Now, his body.
- Sure.

- Now, his body.
- Sure.

- Think that's good?
- Great, that's not
going anywhere.

There we go.

This looks great.
They're gonna love it.

Eben has completed
two custom beds
for the Rooneys.

Um, a king-size headboard
and a bunk bed.

- I'm excited to set these up
in the camp.
- Yeah, I can't wait to see it.

I'll send you pictures.

We're here
at the Rooney camp.

Things are shaping up
really well, over here.

Spray foam is all in.
Electricians have all come
and gone.

We are having
what we call
a pine party.

Morning, everybody!

Morning, everybody!

Morning!

Look at this premixed grout.
I've never seen such a thing.

You're just getting old.

It's a crazy world
we're living in.

Today I gotta grout
the shower.

We've worked as a team
to get it where it is

setting the tile. But
today's a big day, it's really
going to come together.

Tile work is not in
the Cabin Masters wheelhouse

'cause it takes time,
it takes finesse,
you gotta go slow.

The thing about tile,
is that...

and homeowners don't realize
is you make a mess.
You make a complete mess.

And then it slowly starts
cleaning up,

and it looks beautiful
by the time it's done.

Say you had a darker grout,

Say you had a darker grout,

we can't have
a white mud poke through,
so if you don't get, you know,

get all this,
you'll have flakes in your
in your grout.

So you have to spend
a lot of time
scratching everything.

We've whitewashed
some pine for the ceilings,

and then, we have polyed
all our wallboards

so right now, we've got
a good crew here.

The doors are showing up
this morning which is awesome.

The first one came off
the truck, no problem.

Second one...

Let's slowly, all at once,
just to, kind of, pick
and walk away from it.

-

-

-

-Go back down on
you guys side.
- Yeah.

I showed up this morning
at the Rooney camp,

and also, I see
the door showed up.
The two basement doors.

I think this, that
brace has to come off here.
- Yeah.

The framing
pulled apart.

Kind of, stopped
what we were doing
and regrouped,

but it will be
a quick, easy fix.

We just need to,
kind of, pull the existing
staples out

re-secure it,
there's enough room
above the door

to put a new top piece
to lock it all together,

so it shouldn't be
an issue at all.

So it shouldn't be
an issue at all.

The crew just finished up
the upstairs floors

and the stair treads
down to the basement.

Next up, will be
to stain everything
and get a coat of poly on it,

so that it's protected
from the weather
and the elements.

We're gonna have
Floor Ever Maine come in
and do the basement floor.

So can't really do too much
more downstairs, but we'll get
everything ready in place,

so once that's done,
it's put everything together
and hand the camp back.

My dog was in here
and he tracked it all up.

I was thinking sage green
with maybe some browns

swirled in, to kind of,
go with all the wood

-we have going on here...
- Yeah.

- ...kind of tie it
all together.
- Yes.

- Think it'll look great.
- Yeah, couple...
Couple different colors.

- I think green and brown
would look awesome.
- Cool, yeah.

Today, we'll do
the prime coat,

and then, we color,
and then, the top coat.

And then, we color,
and then, the top coat.

Cool, what do you call it?

- It's an epoxy floor.
- Okay.

- So, let me know
if you need anything.
- Great.

Floor Ever Maine
is here, today. We're gonna
start with a clear coat,

a base coat, and then,
they'll add the color.

If we were just to leave
the floor, it's just like, uh,
just a normal cement floor,

so by adding this,
is adding some color,
some green and brown.

It's gonna liven up the space.

People are gonna be coming in
and out of the lake,
so that epoxy coating

is just really gonna protect
the floor, they'll be able
to maintain it better,

they can sweep it, mop it,
just clean up

and without that,
it would just be
a boring cement floor.

And without that,
it would just be
a boring cement floor.

We're able to save
the collar tie from the camp

to install as the railing
in the loft.

It's always nice
when we can take old pieces
of camp and work 'em back in,

in a different way
and they look really nice

and just really complement
the whole build.

I've took these planters, um,
off the house, last fall,

I've took these planters, um,
off the house, last fall,

and now,
this is the original color

but I wanna add
my own little touch to it.

They wanted to keep
these exterior colors,

so the exterior door
is still the same color
that they wanted.

Camp just needs
a little bit more
pops of color.

So I thought painting
the planters would be
a great way to do that.

So I chose
that beautiful blue.

All right.

Whoa. Oh, yeah,
that looks great.

I like it.

I'm gonna have one here
and one there, and then,
two on the other end.

Those railings look nice.
I'm glad that you used
the beam that we took out.

Those railings look nice.
I'm glad that you used
the beam that we took out.

Nice job.

- Chase, what do you
got left to do?
- Poly the floors!

Okay, so, a couple days,
and then, my team can come in?

- Yeah.
- Cool.

I'm gonna, um,
get out of here, so I can, um,
get the dogs home.

See you. Don't leave this.

- Okay, thanks, guys!
- Love 'ya!

- All right, yeah.
- See you.

Good job guys!
- Bye.
Good job, everybody.

Over the last week,
Chase finished
the poly job upstairs.

Over the last week,
Chase finished
the poly job upstairs.

The kitchen is installed,
and, so, now, it's time
for my team to get moving.

Hold on!

Audet Landscaping
came in and finished up
all the landscaping.

We finished up a few odds
and ends,

and my team and I
were able to come in
and get it all decorated.

Ashley!

Chase!

Why are all
the pillows on one side
of the bed?

So that you could see
the beautiful loons.
- Oh.

- Oh, no he's coming.
- Don't get too comfortable.

Come... Come have
a seat. Look, this is what
it's all about.

The beautiful view, right,
I suppose we cannot
put it off any longer.

Time to give it back, Chase.

-All right, let's go.
- All right. Fine.

You guys up for a...
An exciting summer
on Great Pond this year?

I'll come down after class.

I'll come down after class.

-Hang out for a couple days.
- I'll come down
for the free meals.

-I think, hopefully.

This place is so fun.
Who wouldn't want to be here?

Tell me when I can look.

Awesome!

Boy, that had to be
a lot of work

- to get that done.
- What a pop of color.

Oh,
over the winter, too.
- Oh, my God!

- I can't imagine.
- Mom, look at the flower beds.

Hey there,
how are you?
- Hi!

- Hey, guys!
- Come on in.

I think what
immediately caught

my attention was the fact
that the side of the cabin
facing the lake

was now predominantly glass,
and, you know,
it just opens up the place,

and I... I can't wait
to see it from the inside.

We decided
to bring our kids.

We decided
to bring our kids.

They really wanted to see
what you guys have done.
- Of course, of course.

- So, this is our
daughter, Josie.
- Josie.

- Hi.
- My son, Chase.

- Another Chase.
- Hi, there.

- And our son, Kellen.
- Kellen.

- Pleased to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.

- Nice to meet you guys.
Well, come on.
- Yeah, thank you.

I love the way
the color blends in.
- Oh!

- No peeking
through the windows.
- Okay.

Okay!

- It's so hard not to.
- It's so hard not to.

Updated your window boxes.

- I love the pop
of color, Ashley.
- Yeah.

- So much...
- I thought it was
a pretty color,

- it matched really well.
- It totally does.

First step
was getting this camp
up in the air.

First step
was getting this camp
up in the air.

They came in, you know,
ran steel I-beams under it.

Lifted it up.
There were steel I-beams
chained together,

holding the whole place up,
and then, got a foundation
poured.

January, February, I mean,
it was...
- Yeah.

- Cold.
- It was cold, it was brutal.

So, how many people
do you think were involved
in this, Chase, totally?

In the 20s,
at least.

- Yeah. That's amazing.
- Okay. Wow, more.

'Cause it must
have been a ton of work.
- Yeah, yeah, true.

It doesn't include
the electricians,
the plumbers...

- Yes.
- ...the insulators,

- So yeah, here we--
- Well, we owe them all
a big debt of gratitude.

Seriously.

You guys haven't even seen
the inside yet, though.
- No!

You guys haven't even seen
the inside yet, though.
- No!

- Let's head on in.
- All right, let's go.

- Let's go.
- Yeah.

Oh, wow!
It is so light and open now.
- You guys.

This was our kitchen.

- Yeah.
- Kitchen, right.

It feels...

...like a real
living area, now.
- Yeah...

I don't... I don't miss it.

I know.

You know the old...
The old collar ties,
we took those down

and put them up there
and used them as the railing
in the loft.

and put them up there
and used them as the railing
in the loft.

- Yeah, remember those?
- Oh, my God.

It's awesome.
- There were a bunch
going across.

- It was scary.
- Yeah.

Boarded all the walls,
framed everything in.

We were able to spray foam
ceiling, walls, everything,

get some good insulation
in here.

Check out
some of the other rooms.
- Oh, my Gosh!

Chase, we could
share this room!

I call bottom bunk.

Oh, just like the old days.

I had no idea.
The wood, the smell of

I had no idea.
The wood, the smell of

everything, it's just so much
wide open, um, uh...

I'm just... I'm speechless.

Oh, honey.

This is beautiful.
- It is truly
our bedroom.

Look a the loons.
The detail on the bed.

Before it was just like,
okay, we had a bed in here,

but now, it's, like,
this livable room.

Oh, I love the loon bed.
This just fits right in.

Oh, I love the loon bed.
This just fits right in.

It was just a very sparse,
kind of, room before.

- Wow.
- Oh, my Gosh, you guys
come look at the tile.

Isn't it gorgeous?

- Check out the loft.
- Oh, neat.

There's so much space
up there still.

The details, I mean,
just putting my hand
on here, the details

of the woodworking is amazing.

Oh, I have some details
that are even
better, downstairs.

- Let's head down there.
- Let's go.

- Let's head down there.
- Let's go.

Look at the floor, Jan.
- This is
the coolest part.

That is so cool.

- Look at the floors!
- I love the color,

how it is blended.

It is gorgeous!

- It's the best in the house.
- Oh, my God.

Walk here, and you feel
like you're already outside.

You totally feel
like you're outside.
- Yeah, yeah.

We just...
We are just right there.

I can't get over
how much they did
with the kitchen, honey.

- It's such a small amount
of space.
- Well this is not

- a kitchenette.
- It's completely functional.

- This is a kitchen.
- Yeah, it is.

I can't believe how much
space we have on that.

If you call it
a daylight basement,
that's not a basement.

I mean, that is just
a beautiful
ground-level floor.

I mean, that is just
a beautiful
ground-level floor.

The floors are gorgeous.

I mean, they're just
beautiful. It...
That's like a piece of art.

We should go
check out the new patio,

and get outside, and we can
give you your keys back.

- Okay.
Enjoy
the whole place to yourselves.

- That sounds awesome.
- That's crazy.

This place
is really about family.
It's about having uncles

and grandparents out here
and people we don't usually
get to see during the year,

and so, I think
it's really unique
to have a place

where we can now host
our own family,

instead of going
to their cabins and it's...

It's time to start
new memories for our family.

Yeah, you had 200,000
and 7 months
to get this project done.

Yeah, you had 200,000
and 7 months
to get this project done.

There were some cold months
in there...

...but we were able
to get the camp lifted

get a whole
second floor, underneath,
walk-in basement for you.

You just need the set of keys.

Thank you very much, Chase,
it's just remarkable

what you and your team
were able to accomplish

through the winter time. I--

- We're amazed.
- Thank you.

- Thank you so much.
- Really appreciate it.

- You're very welcome.
- Absolutely.

Let's go enjoy
this Great Pond.
- Yes.

- Yeah, please enjoy.
- Okay, bye, guys.

Thank you!

- Enjoy it!
- Thank you.

I had no idea,
what my parents
had asked for in the cabin.

This was
completely blind to me.

Maine Cabin Masters, thank you
so much for helping
my parent's dreams come true

Maine Cabin Masters, thank you
so much for helping
my parent's dreams come true

with this cabin,
we're all gonna love it
for years to come.

- Thank you,
Maine Cabin Masters!