Glenn's Underground Cabin Update

[glenn-k]

I'm not really too worried about it -- she doesn't worry about it because she doesn't understand it.

[MountainDon]

The first set was more interesting , sort of a Startrek jumble of space junk

The first set was definitely more interesting to view... Looked like a garage sale.   Reminded me of a four-wheeling buddies old Scout 4x4. There's bits of aluminum foil wrapped around fuses here and there. Wires that appear to be jury-rigged (they really are) but they're permanent jury rigs. But whenever something stops working he always knows what piece of foil needs renewing or whatever. Disreputable looking vehicle, but quite capable on the trails.

[peg_688]

She might now that she's seen it in print and your admitting it. You could just tell her you typed it for the shock / joke value   Like it really wasn't unsafe / shakie at best , opps there goes yer way out  

[glenn-k]

I don't think it's unsafe unless someone throws a small child across the terminals.    Even that wouldn't hurt much --- maybe a steel bar thrown in there would do some damage - but then it would in a regular electric panel too.  I guess it is time I rework it though.  Add some plaster walls and doors etc.

I do plan to upgrade the battery room in the near future and will add more safeguards at that time.  This system grew as I needed it to because I didn't really know where it was going and hadn't planned it to be this big originally.  It's just that everything is so much better when it is big enough that you don't have to fool with it all the time.  No generator or charging to worry about  for 6 to 8 months  at a time.  Irrigation system is there also - timers for drip -etc.  It's kind of a regular utility center all in one place.

[MountainDon]

...and will add more safeguards at that time...

That sign out front may be your best safeguard! !  You really don't want any county inspector poking into that... well if he did maybe that would serve him right.  

[glenn-k]

My understanding is that they are not real interested in the low voltage stuff around here.  After it comes out of the inverter- maybe.  I assume as more people get it they will have more interest.

I know the real local solar installer wasn't too worried on the job he did - taped the conduits in with black electrical tape.

[MountainDon]

The electrical inspector here was a real hard case. I'd used red and black wiring in the DC section and he flipped out (& red-tagged) it. Plus I had the disconnect switch 2 inches higher than code, so he red-tagged that as well. The disconnect was an easy fix; the colors required heat shrink tubing over all exposed wire ends.   Now it all looks like the AC wiring; except for where the heat shrink got scraped off somehow.  :-? Good thing I never had the batteries installed at that time. Mind you he's the only unfriendly I've seen around here. The guy who inspected my first permitted job was cool; his first trip out was the last of the day and I showed him my home brew setup and we sampled a couple different brews out in the yard.  

[glenn-k]

So far I haven't prostrated myself to them.  Don't want to scratch up my knees.  Guess I better get out my land patent protection signs too.  

[glenn-k]

The only place   covenants, reservations, conditions and conditions can be put on the land is in the land patent. All others are a collateral attack on the patent. "U.S. v Coronado Beach. 255 U.S. 472. ( Decided March 28, 1921)

Our land has an early patent signed by Abe Lincoln.

http://www.landrights.com/patents.htm

[Timwarner]

Following this thread is really great.  But before I built a Mike Oehler-type house I would like to figure out how best to integrate John Hait's and Don Stephens's ideas: i.e., thermal umbrella and earth tubes.  The problem is that these ideas take you in different directions. For example, if you're going to use the house walls and floor to heat the thermal mass under the umbrella they can't be insulated.  Has anyone resolved these design issues? Recommendations??

BTW I'll try to use a lamella roof, like the one I built for my workshop.

[jraabe]

What an impressive bit of framing. I can see that Tim is not afraid of working out a new theoretical idea.

I haven't followed the earth umbrella concept, but would have this one caution. Almost every attempt at storing heat in the earth that I have seen is workable in only a narrow range of soil and climate conditions, yet it is usually tauted as the "next big thing" in earth responsive architecture.

I like to let other people do their work on the low serial numbers. If a concept sticks around 10 or 20 years and has worked successfully in many different environments then it might be something to try.

Just my opinion of course, and perhaps not worth 2¢

[MountainDon]

That's a beautiful looking roof/ceiling! It desrves a big WOW1    What's the rests of that building look like, Tim?

The Brown Derby in CA is a well known example, as is the Atrodome

[glenn-k]

Great looking roof, Tim.  Welcome to the forum.

I haven't tried John Hait's concept yet.  I read a little about it but don't have that book -- I have his Rust Battery book- I like his concepts.

Bruce - Lodestar - our member - did a great project in Montana I think- and it worked great for him.  You could search his postings here.

http://www.countryplans.com/search.html
SEARCH

If that doesn't get it try his member name.

Jonesy has been experimenting with the earth tubes.

[MountainDon]

It's raining and my two, mostly decorative for most of the year, rainwater collection urns are running over. Then I realized that you Glenn, have the near ideal rainwater collection system.    

[glenn-k]

Works great in the winter - garden collects the rain and it grows.  

Other than that - I have about 1000 square feet of tin roof on the shop that would collect a lot if I wasn't so lazy and think that it is easier to pump fresh water from the well with solar.   :-/

[MountainDon]

It is easier, and so what. The rain falling on the ground, soaking in and all should be counted as a good thing. You seem to be pretty green anyways. No grid tie is a carbon credit if we're going to look at things that way. Growing food with a drip system is more efficient than many other ways. You even feed the animals,   that's more than your average suburban American can lay claim to.    

Eating the wildlife must count as a credit also if it means you buy less methane producing beef. If I'm lucky I'll be blessed with an Elk this fall. We saw them or traces of them last summer and fall and a few weeks ago up in the mtns, on or near our land.  

[glenn-k]

I am wanting to do water collection ponds on the side of the mountain, and started this year but the first thing I ran into was a telephone cable that was several feet over from the sign line.  - Maybe next year but they won't tone it to locate it when we ask -- always some excuse- sore foot - no equipment etc.

There was a story here somewhere about the guy in China who greened up his whole mountain.

[glenn-k]

and - except for our garden - the green part of the year is almost gone except oaks and other native plants - and we start the beautiful brown fire season. :-/

[MountainDon]

Our Mtn. property has a lot of sloping ground and one thing I'd thought of was to terrace or sculpt a few areas to hold water rather than let it run off. It's a longer range project tho', won't be this year for sure. I know for certain there's no telephone or other cables in the way.    

[MountainDon]

And good luck on brown/red fire season. We have a little time to go before we get into prime fire season this year. But ya never know.

[glenn-k]

Got out tonight on the side of the mountain with the Bobcat - 30 to 40% slopes and cleared off a fire trail about 30 feet wide and 300 feet or so long (horizontally).  Took down a bunch of brush and a few small trees that would easily link to others with crown fires.  Over 220 houses burned in the Tahoe area in the last couple days.  We have lots of dry tall grass, greasy desert type brush and Oak trees down the hill.  There is a housing project "Ranches" below us about a quarter mile and I don't want to trust that many people too much.  It takes only an hour or two -maybe less under the right conditions - for a fire to make it from bottom to top.

While the underground complex is safer than other places around, it could still catch in a few areas and have a toasty good time.

They recommend weed eating for a hundred feet around the area, and I did some but what is left will still burn.  Dirt won't burn - always a chance of it jumping a line but the airport is below us about 2 miles as the black chopper flies.

[glenn-k]

Note -

With Yahoo Photos closing in September I had to move and rearrange my photos,  I put them on Photobucket - Yahoo was a very inferior service not allowing posting to our site anyway.  Photobucket has mad it much easier to deal with the photos so I have moved in many that were missing and moved the RV Garage ones out.  At the first entry - page one of this thread is a link to the new grouping and I am including a link here also. Order may be off but most are labeled.  You may post questions here about any you may want to know more about.

https://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/Underground%20update%202005-01-30/

[glenn-k]

I put together an early framing and construction slideshow.

https://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d184/glennkangiser/Underground%20update%202005-01-30/?action=view&current=3bd6d9b8.pbw

[jraabe]

Nice way to document the project. It seems to get easier to do this show and tell every year. 8-)

(We're all becoming photographers and movie makers... or at least "content providers"!)

[fourx]

Got out tonight on the side of the mountain with the Bobcat - 30 to 40% slopes and cleared off a fire trail about 30 feet wide and 300 feet or so long (horizontally).  Took down a bunch of brush and a few small trees that would easily link to others with crown fires.  Over 220 houses burned in the Tahoe area in the last couple days.  We have lots of dry tall grass, greasy desert type brush and Oak trees down the hill.  There is a housing project "Ranches" below us about a quarter mile and I don't want to trust that many people too much.  It takes only an hour or two -maybe less under the right conditions - for a fire to make it from bottom to top.

While the underground complex is safer than other places around, it could still catch in a few areas and have a toasty good time.

They recommend weed eating for a hundred feet around the area, and I did some but what is left will still burn.  Dirt won't burn - always a chance of it jumping a line but the airport is below us about 2 miles as the black chopper flies.

What happens if, God forbid, there is a fire? Is there a seperate rural fire service ( funded by a levy of home insurance here ) which fights the fire, or does the local town brigade respond to fire calls in rural areas?