In 2010, Audrey and John arranged for the construction of a small, moveable fire and critter resistant cabin. Marvin built laminated rafters which serve as the frame for the cabin the previous winter in his garage. He made several sample rafters before deciding on the shape for the jig which was used as a template for the rafters. Then he used commercial grade glue to laminate the 1×4’s to each other, air pressure in fire hoses to squeeze them together, and a come-a-long to bend each stack of 1×4’s. To keep the glue warm as it cured, he re-plumbed the house water to bring hot water into the garage. The hot water filled hoses nestled near the rafters as they cured. Once Marvin had more than enough rafters, he patched any imperfections and sanded them. In June, he, Audrey, and John worked for several weeks in their garage on 42nd Avenue to finish the sanding and put several layers of waterproof varathane on each rafter.
Jeff Wilson and his construction crew built the cabin in about 6 weeks. He did the initial framing in his driveway, took everything apart, trucked it up the Blackfoot and reassembled it. Steel siding and clear polycarbonate panels were used because they could be shaped to fit the rafters, and were resistant to fire and varmints. Bruce prepared the cabin to eventually have power and lights.
