BLOK Ranch cabin

Started by NM_Shooter, June 30, 2008, 11:45:57 AM

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NM_Shooter

Thanks... no well. I have a spring that is 300' away and 15' uphill.  I could pipe in some water if I could keep the cattle off of it.  One of the other neighbors has a wonderful spring right behind his cabin (the bolt-together cabin).  It must flow over 100 gallons per minute year round.  We go there for drinking water. 

Yes, an outhouse.  I made the mistake of having a backhoe dig it while I was not there.  It turned out to be on top of a shale pile, and the hole he dug for me is 6 or 7 feet deep, 6'wide and 6'long.  I will have the only outhouse with a deck, just to keep the potty on top.  Should be good for 100 years though. 

If I were to dig a well, I would be in water at about 30', probably less.  The stream from the above mentioned spring runs behind my cabin where it turnes into a mosquito marsh.  We have 30 to 50 springs on the property that flow year round.  Elk wallow in quite a few of them, and in some spots the grass grows over the top and when you walk on the ground you can see waves.  It is a bit surreal. 

Way off grid.  Closest power lines are 8 miles away.  We can go to our west ridge and get cell service though, which is nice to be able to call home to check in. 
"Officium Vacuus Auctorita"

Redoverfarm

Frank sounds like you have the making of a two hole'r on the privy.  Is it too rough to bury the spring/water line or is the spring on someone elses property?   You could even bottle water and retire. ;D


Whitlock

More like a four holer. Sure is nice to have water might want to put in a cistren to keep it clean and away from the wild life.

I bet it is cold up there now


Nice place,W
Make Peace With Your Past So It Won't Screw Up The Present

NM_Shooter

Quote from: Redoverfarm on December 19, 2009, 06:30:38 AM
Frank sounds like you have the making of a two hole'r on the privy.  Is it too rough to bury the spring/water line or is the spring on someone elses property?   You could even bottle water and retire. ;D

A two holer?  I'm not that social  ;D

In order to make my spring work, I would have to build a springbox and then fence the spring off to keep the cows and elk out of the what is effectively a mud wallow.  I'd need a bunch of gravel, and I'd have to let it clean out for quite awhile.  The meadow that the little creek flows through is covered in a good layer of topsoil, so trenching would not be too bad.  I may eventually try to figure out a way to do that.  Unfortunately, while my cabin is downhill from the spring, there is a small hill between me and the source, so I'm not sure I could completely drain the line in the winter.  

Funny you should say that about the bottled water.  The water from my neighbors spring is very, very good.  Almost ice cold, clear as a bell, and it has an interesting "sweet" taste to it.   Here's a picture of his spring :

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors water!
"Officium Vacuus Auctorita"

NM_Shooter

Lots of snow this year... one of the owners was able to get on the property but had to stay on the trails by the river for fear of bogging down in the powder.  I have no clue how my cabin is weathering... Here's hoping the roof is still intact!

Cabin fever has set in.  I am passing the time by running power and water down to my RV barn and making plans for my pre-fab outhouse. 
"Officium Vacuus Auctorita"


OlJarhead

Quote from: NM_Shooter on February 12, 2010, 02:26:03 PM
Lots of snow this year... one of the owners was able to get on the property but had to stay on the trails by the river for fear of bogging down in the powder.  I have no clue how my cabin is weathering... Here's hoping the roof is still intact!

Cabin fever has set in.  I am passing the time by running power and water down to my RV barn and making plans for my pre-fab outhouse. 

I hear ya!  After our last mostly failed trip becuase of several inches of ice, I'm dying to get moving again! It's been since the beginning of December since I've actually gotten any work done and that was not the most productive weekend either :(

But next weekend we're going out WITH CHAINS and plan to get the door on and maybe work on the gabled end wall.

Then in March I'm planning a week at the cabin :D  I can't wait!!

NM_Shooter

The guy with the bolt together house went in on sleds and took this picture of my cabin.  Can you guess which way the wind blows?   ;D

6:12 was not enough pitch to shed snow on the leeward side.  Hope it's all standing in the spring!  Good news is that the snow is not up past the walls..... something to be said for building on stilts I guess.

BTW... let's just call that color "primer".

"Officium Vacuus Auctorita"

Redoverfarm

Nice Pink house Frank. ;D  I would say the majority of the snow on the back was just blown off the front and after clearing the ridge it just settled on on the other side.  Went up on a mountain today outside of town to go to the barber.  Yes country barber.  Anyway the snow had drifted and laid wellover the top of my truck along the narrow road.  Just one vehicle wide for 1/2 mile stretch about 12' tall.  Thank goodness I didn't meet anyone as it was a long backup to find room to get by. 

poppy

Looks like you forgot to lube the roof.  ;)


MountainDon

Quote from: poppy on February 19, 2010, 08:07:42 PM
Looks like you forgot to lube the roof.  ;)

Next fall spray that side with PAM.  :o It works! I had an aluminum shovel that was real bad for snow sticking to it. PAM did the job; made it slick enough that it didn't stick much at all.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

NM_Shooter

Pam, huh?  Might try that.  Will have to remember it is greased before I climb back up there in the spring to rig the solar panel  ;D
"Officium Vacuus Auctorita"

Jens

I've always just been perplexed at how they manage to get her in that little can  ???
just spent a few days building a website, and didn't know that it could be so physically taxing to sit and do nothing all day!

Bandit

  I would check out Fluid film , it is  solvent free , with a natural lanolin base , here in the North East We spray it on a snow plow and the snow just slides right off .
    Bob
     http://www.fluid-film.com/
          http://www.fluid-film.com/applications/home/index.html

NM_Shooter

Hmmm... Location, location, location.

This is my neighbor who is 1/2 mile to the S of me.  He is on the leeward side of a tree covered hill and gets almost none of the wind.  The landing that he is standing on is about 3 or 4 feet up from the ground :



Same weekend..... no snow on my roof (he said the other side was clear as well) :



A benefit to being in the wind is that my snow blows off the roof, and the mosquitos have a hard time getting any traction in the summer  ;D
Downside of being in the wind, is that, well, it is always blowing like crazy there.  I still need to build my windmill.
"Officium Vacuus Auctorita"


John Raabe

Very interesting - the photos tell it all!
None of us are as smart as all of us.

MountainDon

Lots of snow on the lee side.   :D
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

NM_Shooter

Oh man, I'm getting twitchy and itchy to get started.  I think this is going to be an April tradition for me. 

Plans and priorities for this year :

Entry porch
Wiring and plumbing
Sheet rock
Flooring
Beds
Cabinets / counter /sink
Outhouse
Mechanical shed (propane, batteries, water)

2011 : guest bunkhouse

I wish I could start building some of the outhouse / beds / mechanical shed and cart them up there in sections.  Unfortunately, so much of this is build-to-fit that cutting and building here could be a recipe for disaster. 
"Officium Vacuus Auctorita"

MountainDon

You might be able to work out a modular outhouse. Then all you'd have to build to suit the site would be the foundation and perch it on top.
???
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

NM_Shooter

Unfortunately (fortunately?) the outhouse is going to be huge to cover the hole.  I'm going to go with an 8X8 base, and a little house on top.  Probably make the wall height 6' with a 6:12 pitch.  I'll use it as a storage closet for stuff that I don't mind getting a bit, ummm... aromatic (mop, bucket, broom, spare propane, whatever).  Room for a handwashing sink too.  Maybe you are right... I can probably get that framed up here, much like the walls for the cabin.

I can probably pre-cut the porch deck surface too, maybe pre-drill it as well. 

Hmmmmm.......
"Officium Vacuus Auctorita"

OlJarhead

://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q46/nm_longshot/0306001229.jpg
OK that picture just looks strange!  I guess all the white snow with the colors of the cabin make it look photo-shopped into the scene! haha  ???

But I digress!  Isn't it awesome?  TO have these projects and get the kind of ichy feet it takes to drive out there and work like crazy? hahaha I find myself sitting and pondering my next project out there and can't wait.

I wish I were rich and didn't have to work at all, then I'd have LOTS of time to work on the cabin :D


diyfrank

I've seen some out houses that the state sets up in the national forest around here that have a huge hole and much smaller house over it.  The entire hole is covered and has a large vent pipe coming up from one half and the crapper sits over the rest. Maybe a big hole and small house would be a better way to go. ??
Home is where you make it

NM_Shooter

I thought about that... but most of the state houses have concrete bases.  I have to have wood, and will need weather protection over it. ???

"Officium Vacuus Auctorita"

NM_Shooter

Getting close to my first trip up for the year and getting excited!

Picked up my 190W solar panel today ($460, affordable-solar.com) and my Morningstar 15A MPPT charge controller.  The panel is much bigger and heavier than I had hoped.  But I think it was the right thing to do.... I was considering a 100W panel, but they were all darn near $500.  The 135W panel was $417.  I figured to spend the extra $43 for another 55W.  Now I need to get my mounting method figured out. 

I've also been working on my new furnace for a couple of weeks now.  One of the bargain steals I bought, was a 16kbtu RV forced air furnace for $10 or $15... I can't remember.  Probably above in the thread somewhere.  Anyway, the thing would not fire.  I took it apart and found that the relay that controls the gas solenoid was bad... looks like it was crushed during assemby, and probably never worked.  Probably why the furnace looks new.   I swapped out the relay today, reassembled, and it works just fine now.  The furnace that I have temporarily rigged up there is a 25kbtu furnace, and is just too much.  By the time the heat exchanger cools off the cabin is much too warm.  I'm hoping this little one will work much better. 

My cheap gas used RV water heater fires right up too.  I may follow Mtn Don's lead and just leave the pilot on the tank all day to keep the water warm.  Maybe hit the main burner in the evening if more than a couple of folks need a shower. 

I'm also copying his black pipe for gas distribution,  running copper into the cabin only where needed, and keeping most of the connections out of the cabin. 

"Officium Vacuus Auctorita"

MountainDon

You can use the 25K furnace to melt the snow that's still laying about...    rofl rofl rofl

....sorry.... couldn't resist.   I hope you have good weather so you can get your planned jobs done. 
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

NM_Shooter

Yeah... I'll bumper mount that thing next to my winch! 
"Officium Vacuus Auctorita"