Glenn's Underground Cabin Update

[inez sumadi]

you are the best glenn. thanks for having us.

[Gary O]

Glenn, all this wordy guy has to say is, Amen.

[ben2go]

you are the best glenn. thanks for having us.

Thank you for allowing Glenn to share your story with us.It's great to have Glenn share stories from other cultures.I feel more educated after reading his posts.

[glenn kangiser]

You got me there, Inez....

Now you are making my eyes water..... sniff.....   I miss all of you.

Thanks for joining the forum to say that.  Please feel free to comment or question here whenever you like as you read through our topic.  I know you are mostly city kids but if you ever have a a question on building or anything else in our Off Topics section, there are lots of people here who help freely.

My love to you and all of the other International students we have the honor of meeting.  Our House Is Your House. 

Look to us as your backup family here in the states.  If you have other friends we have not met who are homesick, need local family support or just someone to talk to, please put us in contact with them and have them check us out here.

Inez, as my friend, Ben stated, we love to hear more of other cultures and people from around the world.  I love vernacular architecture from other countries as well as historic pictures, etc.  I know you have limited time so if you want to add things on this topic that is fine since you are associated with us in Mariposa.  If you don't have time that is understandable. 

Inez is from Indonesia.  A few Pictures of your country would be great.  Here we post them to Photobucket then paste the IMG tag (Photobucket link).  I can also copy them from a FB album and post them here if you are short on time.  A movie about Indonesia's Krakatoa, was made at our Mono Lake in 1953.  Some of the set is still on the lake and if you fly around the Islet in a plane as I did years ago, you can see it.  Don't know where those pix are now though.

http://www.videodetective.com/movies/trailers/krakatoa-east-of-java-trailer/746609  Link to 1969 movie trailer  Krakatoa, East of Java

My understanding is that Krakatoa is actually West of Java....

More research shows that the original movie made on Mono Lake, California in 1953 was "Fair Wind To Java".. found only a short trailer on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na-j2rI8P0I

[glenn kangiser]

Hey diddle diddle,
The Cat and the fiddle,
The Cow jumped over the moon,
The little Dog laughed to see such sport,
And the Dish ran away with the Spoon






...but wait.   That's not a cow... It's Bully Boy,

and that's not the moon --- It's my fence...   [ouch]

As you can see, after talking to John here, I realized that fences don't keep cows in if they want out.  They just need to want to stay in and be happy with enough food.  My fences suck....but they most of the time keep the cows in.... if they want to stay in.  A good fence with strong bracing like John makes takes a lot more work and time than I had.  

Bully Boy and the rest will not go down the hill without momma and calf.  He makes a squeaky little moo to her if he wants to go down the hill but when she doesn't follow he comes back....and the two steers follow him back.  The other day he wanted to see how she was doing so he hopped the fence.  We put some hay out on the other side to get him to hop back out....  he briefly caught his foot on it so I put a 2x4 across to discourage him a bit from going over again.

Just getting caught up enough on out of town work to do a few things around here.  Like yesterday.. I got the hydroponics up and running....  

[ben2go]

Well I'll be dog, if he can't leap like an antelope.

[bc_islander]

Hi Glenn,

Sounds like work has been a pain in the behind.

A toxic workplace does no on any good, that's for sure.

My family does the cow thing as well. Mostly for manure (which I get to dig out of the too low barn with my mini excavator) 4 hrs and 30 minutes of cleaning cow poo off afterwords. The garden certainly likes it though!

We are doing a multi generational 18 acre permaculture farm so organic manure is just the ticket for big beets and bonus broccoli!

I am doing a post and beam with papercrete infill, passive/active solar and earth sheltered too and (plunger pile floor for sure!).

[glenn kangiser]

His agility is pretty amazing, Ben... getting about a thousand lbs of meat flying through the air must take some strength.  Getting my 200 or so flying would only take a good boost from a horn I think - fortunately he is usually gentle ...but I still watch all of them pretty well....


Yes, bc... most at the jobsite agree that it is the worst by far of any job they have ever been on.  That is the reason I was there.  Still playing with it a bit and back to Safeway Monday then prison the next week to finish there.

I used to have to dig out my uncle's barn in Oregon with a shovel.  He waited about four years before he would give one of us kids money to dig it out.  By then it was so deep that the manure would suck your boots right off of your feet if you were not careful.  After a few days work digging in manure up to our knees we would get our $2 or so as I recall.  [idea]

Nice to hear of the organic farm.  My plans are to clean out the corrals today and put that in our garden then plant the winter vegetables (Cauliflower, Broccoli, Cabbage) I picked up yesterday.  Back into experimentation with the hydroponics so I put a bunch of them in the hydroponics and will plant the rest in the garden.  I want to compost it but no time.  Most of it is beat up pretty good though over the summer with some fresh mixed in.  

Your cabin or house sounds interesting.  Looking forward to seeing pix of it.

[mtman]

...but wait.   That's not a cow... It's Bully Boy,

Look, Glenn has a high jumper!!
Oh, and that's Mr Bully Boy

[bc_islander]

I used to have to dig out my uncle's barn in Oregon with a shovel.  He waited about four years before he would give one of us kids money to dig it out.  By then it was so deep that the manure would suck your boots right off of your feet if you were not careful.  After a few days work digging in manure up to our knees we would get our $2 or so as I recall.  [idea]

I only charge my Pa $20 an hour for wear and tear and cleaning so not much changes from Oregon to BC!

Nice to hear of the organic farm.  My plans are to clean out the corrals today and put that in our garden then plant the winter vegetables (Cauliflower, Broccoli, Cabbage) I picked up yesterday.  Back into experimentation with the hydroponics so I put a bunch of them in the hydroponics and will plant the rest in the garden.  I want to compost it but no time.  Most of it is beat up pretty good though over the summer with some fresh mixed in.  

Hopefully with the Bobcat! We have had a real pain in the arse with clubroot virus on the brassicas. Thankfully no squirrels, coons, skunks, gophers or rabbits though we do have possums thanks to a monumentally stupid someone who imported them. Killed all the ground nesting birds in a couple of years.

When you get your hydroponic system up and running start growing tilapia in the nutrient tanks. Fish poo is good for plants and tilapia like eating veggies! Win win. Though you do have to keep the tank and greenhouse tropically warm. Not such a bad thing either. My gramps used to grow amazing butter lettuce using NFT in 4" PVC pipes. SO nice to have no dirt on the roots!

Your cabin or house sounds interesting.  Looking forward to seeing pix of it.

Trying to upload now but as I am on a boat (MV Velero IV) floating around off LA doing oil rig surveys with our little submarine www.Nuytco.com and the cell data tethering iPhone the net result of which is that my connection is somewhere around 100k/second. Less than a 14.4 modem for those who remember them!

[glenn kangiser]

Thanks for all of the effort you are going to to post here, bc.  I was going to try tethering but ATT blocked the easy way on the Android.... so much for getting an open platform.  There is another way but I need to study a bit on how to do it.  Somehow proxying through the phone.

I wanted Tilapia but our police state does not allow them as they are not native.  I can however grow Catfish and have some ordered for when I get caught up to get them.  I think I would rather make a pond here for them than take them down to my spring.  Fishing would be out the back door then.  Heating would be a bit of a pain for me as we are off grid, though I do have some solar stuff I could use for that.  Not much time though.

I have a tractor with a scraper that will get stuff from the pen a bit easier than the Bobcat but may use the Bobcat to put it over the fence.  The tractor may do that too though.  

[PEG688]

If I lived closer I bring a trailer by so you could "give me some $hit" Glenn

[Redoverfarm]

Glenn run a little electric fence in the areas they are prone to like to escape from.     Just a couple times to realize that you have wised up to their antics they will be content to stay where they are.  I am always amazed when it is new to them and they stick their nose to smell it for the first time.  Sort of like your jumping bull but backwards   

[bc_islander]

Thanks for all of the effort you are going to to post here, bc.  I was going to try tethering but ATT blocked the easy way on the Android.... so much for getting an open platform.  There is another way but I need to study a bit on how to do it.  Somehow proxying through the phone.

Did you try PDA Net? I don't know how it works in Droid world but it is great on the iphone. Hides your tethering from the man and allows simple USB or wireless tethering. I am currently running two laptops and my other iPhone through the one connection. That of course has nothing to do with how slow my internet is!

I wanted Tilapia but our police state does not allow them as they are not native.  I can however grow Catfish and have some ordered for when I get caught up to get them.  I think I would rather make a pond here for them than take them down to my spring.  Fishing would be out the back door then.  Heating would be a bit of a pain for me as we are off grid, though I do have some solar stuff I could use for that.  Not much time though.

I have never tried eating catfish but they should be more cold tolerant anyway. Are they vegetarian like tilapia? That is the major drawback of most farmed fish. Take sardines from Chile grind em up and feed it to fish in Canada while poor folk down south have a net protein shortage. Gotta love big business. sigh.

I have a tractor with a scraper that will get stuff from the pen a bit easier than the Bobcat but may use the Bobcat to put it over the fence.  The tractor may do that too though.  

Tractor and a Bobcat. Darn you have all the toys!

[glenn kangiser]

If I lived closer I bring a trailer by so you could "give me some $hit" Glenn

OK, but you would have to sit through a Barbecue and listen to my bull first before I would give it to you, PEG. 

[glenn kangiser]

Glenn run a little electric fence in the areas they are prone to like to escape from.     Just a couple times to realize that you have wised up to their antics they will be content to stay where they are.  I am always amazed when it is new to them and they stick their nose to smell it for the first time.  Sort of like your jumping bull but backwards  

I was thinking about running it again if necessary, John but the 2x4 seems to be working.  They are not real insistent right now.  Just if it gets too easy they will do it.  It is really interesting to watch that first test jump... I think one of them made it about 20 feet last time it got them.

I got the corrals scraped out a few minutes ago.  Picked up a few yards of the good stuff.  Piled most of the fresher stuff in the compost pile and took some of the more beat up stuff to the garden.  Right now I am avoiding going out there and manually spreading it with a shovel..... Maybe I will go get on the Bobcat or BushHog and get some decomposed wood chips too, then work it in with the rototiller.  

[glenn kangiser]

Oh yeah....  I blocked the boys outside in the walkway while I cleaned the corral.  Next I opened Bossy's corral and cleaned hers with her and the baby in there.

I tried to back up every time she headed for the open gate and run her back in.  I was pretty successful until one time she headed out and I had the tractor skiploader bucket high in the air to miss the haystack.

She headed for the gate and I rushed to back up from farther up the hill.  The bucket hit the haystack and the top third of the stack hit the ground.. maybe not that much but about 8 bales. [ouch]

I restacked them for Sassy's feeding then put the fence back up (not actually Sassy's feeding... but ..like ..I mean for Sassy to feed the cows in the next week or two) --- Bossy headed back inside so no problem....

[bc_islander]

Finally figured out how to post pictures.

Challenging from out here on the boat but doable.



Here is the cob oven



The building so far with the carport in the back (rubber-R-slate) roof on cement impregnated burlap over page wire.

Gotta love the Tirolessa Mortar sprayer!



And the oil rig we are working on right now.

Fun times except when the sour gas siren comes on!

[bc_islander]

Piled most of the fresher stuff in the compost pile and took some of the more beat up stuff to the garden.  

Don't forget to cover you manure pile while it is composting. Keeps moisture in if its hot and rain out if its wet.

[glenn kangiser]

Cover the pile... guess I could get an old tarp and throw over it....

I tried one program called Proxoid.  It may work but for good measure I just got PDANet for Android per your suggestion.  Thanks, bc.  I will try it next time I'm out with time to play.  

Ummm, I have a couple more toys too, bc.  I have collected them over the years.  

Sawmill, 35' reachlift, cranes.. drilling rigs...Ironworker..rock crusher... stamp mill and Huntington mill to put together...... I forget.... [ouch]

[glenn kangiser]

Nice pix, bc.  Just got a look at them.  Thanks for posting them.

I started the Tirolessa.  Never finished it... story of my life.... [ouch]

Love the rig picture ... Impressive.  Sour Gas.. I'm guessing Hydrogen Sulfide?  I did some welding for land based rigs years ago.  Drilled water wells for about 10 years and hit a couple with some gas.

Nice rockwork and cob oven.  Cooked in it yet?

Your place looks great.  I never did try the Rubberslate.  Do you like it?

[bc_islander]

Yikes!

That's a good pile of resources as my dad calls em.

Hey on another subject where are you getting the AE anti stink (microbes?) from?

I have heard that certain kinds of enzymes will dissolve the egg casing of fleas, lice, etc. wonder if there is any crossover to the stuff you are using to keep the skunk out of the dog and the health in the chickens.

[bc_islander]

Nice pix, bc.  Just got a look at them.  Thanks for posting them.

No worries. Thank you for keeping this thread going for so long! I just finished reviewing all 145 pages. A few hundred more pages of how to's and FAQ stuff and you will have your book already!

I started the Tirolessa.  Never finished it... story of my life.... [ouch]

Tirolessa is from Mortar Sprayer Nolan is a stand up guy. I got an 18cfm gas powered compressor and it runs the 3 hole sprayer just fine. It will shoot up to 1/4 aggregate, clay slip, fine papercrete, etc. great tool to have.

Love the rig picture ... Impressive.  Sour Gas.. I'm guessing Hydrogen Sulfide?  I did some welding for land based rigs years ago.  Drilled water wells for about 10 years and hit a couple with some gas.

Yep good all H2S (I think) anyway when the siren goes get the hell out of there cause you die if you breath the stuff.

Nice rockwork and cob oven.  Cooked in it yet?

Built the rockwork with the little excavator. Bit challenging with no thumb but still beats doing it by hand! The oven great. Couple hours to fire and the first pizza cooks in about 30 seconds. By the time everyone is stuffed its down to about 8 minutes per pie. Thin crust only and ingredients straight out of the garden.

Your place looks great.  I never did try the Rubberslate.  Do you like it?

Thanks! Its been a few years but this last stretch of work will have me out of debt and then it is off to scrounging and building full time! I snaked a 40' old growth cedar out of the bush (been sitting for 80 years still totally sound) and Alaska milled it into 3 4x14" beams for the studio. I agree with you about code. Build where it isn't then exceed it! By the time I am done there will be no span more than 10'  cause every few years we get a huge dump of wet snow and it kills shed roofs!

Love the rubber slate! Will definitely use it for the floor in the car port. Maybe even the patio around the pizza oven unless I find a good source of pavers. (Thanks for the tutorial by the way.)

I built a 200 gallon tow mixer that eats cardboard for breakfast but the rubberslate is easier with shredded paper (toss dry into the cement mixer with sand and cement) from where ever. I have a deal with the industrial shredding company to get 5 tons but now have to find a 5 ton truck to move it or a place to stockpile/load etc. $100 for five tons beats hours with the tow mixer any day.

[glenn kangiser]

I keep the thread going then answer questions others may come up with on their projects.  I also like to present new ways to do things I have learned over the years.

I have a 400 amp Airpack Miller welder with a 40 CFM compressor that would do a nice job with the sprayer.

On the code thing I would offer to set 5000 lbs on top of my roof if an inspector would also let me set it on his roof.

I built the great wall of China using my Bobcat (the mini one I show to all of the Chinese students who arrive here)  It is about 40 feet long and 10 feet high. It is surprising how good you can get setting and turning rocks with a machine - even if it is not ideal.

I want to build another clay oven outside where it does not need a chimney so it will stay hot longer.  We have cooked quite a few things in our oven but with the chimney draft it cools too fast so needs a few coals.  So many things to do - so little time.

I read about the tow mixers.  There were some people in this area using a cement mixer also.

[bc_islander]

Yep 40 CFM would definitely do the job. Bigger is usually better when it comes to spraying stuff.

Ha! I like that idea (now lets try 125,000lbs) what 5 ft of wet snow will be sitting on top of my place! Big beams means no shovelling.

Haven't tried the Bobcat but I know lots of people swear by them. Nice work on the wall too!

If you don't have it already Kiko Denzer's book is a great resource for clay oven types. The secret to long lasting heat is the insulation under the base and the double or triple layer insulation over the fire chamber. (Test the draw before you insulate of course!)

Where do I look for that anti stink stuff you have been talking about?

Thanks in advance.