My 15.75 x 30 Jemez Cabin

Started by MountainDon, December 20, 2006, 02:03:09 AM

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DirtyLittleSecret

Pics are required!
BTW: Cherokees no likey das plow.
Thumb, meet hammer...hammer, meet thumb...

MountainDon

Right on DLS. If you did manage to mount a plow there would soon be damage to the unibody/suspension link mounts in short order.


Pictures? Sure why not.  :D

First a couple I took looking up from the bottom of the hill with the cell phone camera. I attacked the snow a couple times, sunk and dug in, then turned around and backed up a ways.





Then here's one with the snow on the north side of the cabin as it was when we arrived.



And then a couple pictures taken the following morning; first looking to the north (Redondo Peak is in the clouds)...



... and then one looking down the south slope. Taken during a brief respite in the morning snowfall.



BTW, yesterday I spoke with the realtor we used and he said he only got about 4 inches of snow (800 foot lower elevation). Oh well, better safe than sorry.


Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.



MountainDon

Yes, I did. It was there covered just as we left it. Next trip up we'll drag the trailer along and retrieve it.

One more photo... a rather good sized tree on FR10 a little ways past the locked FS gate.



Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

John_C

Just in time to... umm summerize it.

Something is just wrong about that.
???


MountainDon

#730
A while back someone asked about what we were going to use for the bed. Here's what I've done. First of all though I want to declare that this is not a fine piece of furniture. Well, that's obvious. All we want is something to hold the queen size mattress up off the floor. We like firm beds so we're not even bothering with a box spring.

This is basic: 2x4's and 3/4 plywood, glue and screws. The legs will be section of redwood 4x4's at each corner with possibly a center leg (2x4) centered in each side. There are two of these boxes, each 30" x 80". The leg height is to be determined, but will be long enough to provide room for storage boxes. We're going to use some plastic under the bed style boxes with lids for out of season outerwear and so on.







They may not be elegant pieces, but they're going to be covered by bedding anyhow. Oh, the wood was all clear coated (2 coats) with Minwax water based poly.

Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

ListerD



This photo just cracks me up!!!  :)

Are those barn door thermals?
"We shape our dwellings, and afterwards our dwellings shape us" -- Winston Churchill

MountainDon

"barn door thermals" ?    ???   Do you mean thermal underwear with a "trapdoor" seat?   No, they're just some winter pants of some kind. Jacket, boots, snow shoes and gaiters make up the balance of the ensemble.  :D  I do believe she was wearing "long johns" under the pants.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

ListerD

Yup, trapdoor is what I meant... I was laughing too hard to type I guess.

My dad wore them in the winter and I used to think it was funny as hell. Childhood flashback.
"We shape our dwellings, and afterwards our dwellings shape us" -- Winston Churchill


Terry

Mt. Don,
Thanks for remembering the photos of the bed construction. That's exactly what I need.  :)
Terry

Born Free - Taxed To Death

MountainDon

Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

MountainDon

#736
We drove the Jeep up to the cabin door!! No I didn't get crazy and charge the hill using brute force. I used my head and decided to explore the back way.

We took a minor forest service road that connects to the road that passes by the side of our neighbors land. We were able to negotiate that with little difficulty and cross over to our place in the woods.



It's a few more miles and a much rougher, eroded route, but it worked. I think it could still be a month before our hill has melted down enough to be drivable. Saturday AM when we got there the hill snow was frozen solid (20 degrees) and icy. Too dicey to try.

We saw 6+ deer on the way up Saturday. Saturday was windy, but Sunday dawned with a dead calm. We did more outside cleanup and burned a lot of it. Sunday we saw 12+ turkeys.

On site we burned more piles of slash and a bunch of the fall/winters drop of pine needles.

Some idiot had smashed down the FS gate on FR 10. When we came back down this afternoon the FS had a crew repairing it. They were almost done and we chatted while they stowed their welder and tools. The one guy is a cousin of our neighbor with the skidsteer. We've met/run into other cousins of his up there as well. I believe all the Hispanics up there are related.

Next weekend I may haul the interior window trim and sills up and install them.

Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Homegrown Tomatoes

Don, here's hoping you have a productive weekend. I'm hoping just to finally get the door on the chicken house this weekend so we can quit taking a sheet of plywood off and on every day. 

MountainDon

It's been snowing up there off and on for much of the day; maybe another 6 inches. We seem to be getting the winter we didn't have earlier, now that it's spring.

We're staying home Saturday, do some chores around here. Plus we're making a couple target frames for the shooting range.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.


MountainDon

K is recovering from a bad cold that arrived Friday. I'm working my way out of a sinus infection.

Today we felt good enough to drive up to the mountains and recover the sled (snowmobile). It was unscathed, untampered with.  :)



It is surprising what 2 weeks of sunny and warmer weather will do, even if there was 10 inches of snoe half way between. The snow had melted off the last hill sufficiently to allow us to drive up to the cabin the front way. We dropped off the lumber for the finish trim around the inside of the foors and windows. Next time we'll get that job done.

It was sunny and 57 and the air smelled so good it was a shame to have to go back home and to work tomorrow.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

ScottA

Looks like a nice day in some beautiful country Don.  :) Glad you got your snow machine back intact.

Redoverfarm

Well if there is an upside Don you have all summer to repair/replace the clutch. 

MountainDon

I'll be doing that John, and then putting it up for sale.

We discovered that it's easy enough to snowshoe in and out and less bother. It's actually nicer to snowshoe the three miles in the winter the winter than it is to hike it in the summer. It was a good experiment.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

glenn kangiser

Kinda like four wheel drive.  Not there to keep you from getting stuck - just there to make you get stuck harder.
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

Glenn's Underground Cabin  http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=151.0

Please put your area in your sig line so we can assist with location specific answers.

MountainDon

#744
We spent 2 days, 1 night up in the mountains. We burned some more slash.

I also finally got the fresh air inlet for the wood burner stove installed. Hooray!! It makes quite a difference in the burn. I highly recommend a fresh air feed for any wood stove. I guess I did manage to build the cabin as tight as I wanted. I had had some trouble getting the fire going; usually had to open a door/window. Plus the fire didn't always hold when set with a low draft.

The air adapter uses a 3" pipe. I adapted it up to a 4" pipe in order to use a dryer vent unit. I bought a new 4 1/4" rotary saw to make a nice neat hole.



I placed a generous amount of sealant on the flange back before pressing it in place. Here's the finished outside. It will receive a coat of dark green paint when I complete the end wall and porch/stairs.





I'll add a layer of insect screening to the 1/4" hardware cloth so I'll have bug and mouse infiltration covered.  The dryer flap will be secured in the up position with a pop rivet instead of the screw at some point. I tried to remove the flap without damaging the hood, but gave up. I'm going to slide a small section of flashing under the Hardie plank above the vent hood as a drip shield.

Here's the interior ducting. (Matte black paint to come later) I originally was going to bring the pipe through the wall more in line with the stove fitting. I changed my mind for three reasons; 1. On the exterior it would have been right at the siding lap, 2. Higher up are a couple of 12-2 wires crossing horizontally, 3. I wasn't sure if there would be any condensation problems in or on the pipe and didn't want moisture running into the stove.

The sheet metal box is from Vermont Castings, the stove manufacturer. It fits perfectly around the thermostatically controlled air inlet flap valve.



The 4" diameter of the adapter stops right at the T&G. I used flex pipe, but may make an offset airbox over the summer.  ???

I also got around to mounting the knobs on the cabinets. They're cheap chinese (Lowe's) ceramic and brass. Sorry about the mess on the counter.  d*



Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.


Redoverfarm

Looks good Don.  It will make a difference.  Actually you can get a house too airtight when it comes to wood stoves.   On mine I had set a 4" Sch 40 PVC through the block while I had it laid.  I had to adapt to 3" on the stove side to metal.  On the exterior mine terminated at the rock edge.  I just cut a shield from screen to cover it.

I was meaning to ask you how you attached your hardee board siding.  I am sure you might have mentioned it a while ago when you were doing yours.  Did you hand nail or use a air nailer? Neighbor is going to use it and I thought I would ask.

MountainDon

#746
Thanks John.

I used an air nailer with galvanized ring shank nails and set the pressure low enough to prevent drive through. I had to whack each nail with a hammer to finish. I had no problems with splits or anything. I followed Hardie's edge set back instructions.

Better would have been a coil roofing nailer; no problem with drive through with those. That's what PEG recommended, but I didn't/don't have access to one.

I also used the SoloSider adjustable overlap hanger tool as I did it all myself. The adjustment made it easy to allow for slight variations on the width dimension. Yes, there was a slight uneveness; just like PEG said there could be. Or did he say would be.  ???

Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

waggin

Redroverfarm,

Unless I was doing something wrong in nail selection or technique, trying to hand nail Hardiplank almost always results in bounce/rebound (not sure what the real technical term is) and delamination.  I air nailed mine at installation time, and any other work I had to add or fix later, I pre-drilled pilot holes before hand nailing. (no more access to the nail gun) 

Don,

That hole saw probably became disposable after the first hole, I'm guessing.  Anything I've used on my siding killed every cutting implement I used.  I have a few more holes to drill for some deck rail anchors at 1-3/4" dia, and I think I can get by with either a hole saw or forstner bit.  I only got 4 good holes from a cheap forstner bit, then two more under protest.  I looked into a carbide tipped hole saw...$45+  :o , so it looks like I'm going "disposable single project use."  If anyone has any tips or thoughts as alternatives, I'd love to hear them.  I'm leaning toward a couple of cheap disposable hole saws for the last 6 holes.

That Solosider looks slick; I used homemade wood blocks w/no adjustment potential.

As a resident of the rainy Pacific NW, I see the porch ledger board and wonder if there's some flashing in its future?
If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy. (Red Green)

Redoverfarm

Quote from: waggin on May 05, 2009, 01:24:46 PM


That hole saw probably became disposable after the first hole, I'm guessing.  Anything I've used on my siding killed every cutting implement I used.  I have a few more holes to drill for some deck rail anchors at 1-3/4" dia, and I think I can get by with either a hole saw or forstner bit.  I only got 4 good holes from a cheap forstner bit, then two more under protest.  I looked into a carbide tipped hole saw...$45+  :o , so it looks like I'm going "disposable single project use."  If anyone has any tips or thoughts as alternatives, I'd love to hear them.  I'm leaning toward a couple of cheap disposable hole saws for the last 6 holes.

That Solosider looks slick; I used homemade wood blocks w/no adjustment potential.

As a resident of the rainy Pacific NW, I see the porch ledger board and wonder if there's some flashing in its future?

You can pick up the diameter hole saw at Lowes which is "bi-metal".  I think you would have better luck with it than a Forstner bit.  Probably last a little longer.  Hopefully for the limited holes you have to drill. It doesn't take much to dull a Forstner.

I have been looking for a diamond hole saw.  I have 6 holes to drillin 1/2 marble tile.  I bet that is going to hurt. 1" to 2-1/4"  [shocked] probably at the $$$

MountainDon

Re: hand nailing Hardie plank/board. I hand nailed the 4x8 Hardie Panels when I built the shed up at the cabin. I used galvanized roofing nails for that. The only problems I encountered was an edge break when I was too close to the panel edge becasue of a warped wall stud.

Redoverfarm nailed hole saw. I bought a bi-metal hole/rotary saw at HD. It went through the Hardie cement fiber with ease. I used the Ryobi 18 V drill which worked better with the Li-Ion battery than the NiCad, even though the NiCad was freshly recharged and tested full. The holes through the OSB under it and the hole through the 1X interior T&G went like a knife through butter. That saw has plenty of life left in it. A Forstner bit would dull quite quickly though on the Hardie plank.

The ledger board for the porch is spaced out 3/16". I used hot dipped galvanized washers with the lag screws being staggered, near the top and bottom edges of the ledger. Behind that is a sheet of galvanized steel flashing that goes up the wall under the Hardie plank. The air space behind the ledger is to allow that area to dry out when it gets wet. 

I have a diamond hole saw suitable for drilling through tile for faucet fittings. It worked well for that job.

Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.