Glenn's Underground Cabin Update

Texas Tornado · December 13, 2010, 07:48:06 AM

Glenn I would like to see it all posted in a thread.
There are many of us wanting to go as natural as possible and this goes with it.
Irene

glenn kangiser · December 13, 2010, 11:40:37 AM

Thanks for the interest, Irene. I will start a quick one now in Off Topics as I have to get to work then I will add to it as I get time.

December 13, 2010, 12:15:14 PM

Started the EM topic.

http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=9956.0

glenn kangiser · December 14, 2010, 01:35:38 PM

They're BAAAAAaaaaaacckkk......

ScottA · December 14, 2010, 06:30:09 PM

Hey, I see those all the time flying around here. They like to come out after dark but I see them in the daytime too.

December 14, 2010, 06:35:52 PM

Yup... no numbers - we think they have something going in the national park outlying areas but likely best left alone.

At least he didn't put on the brakes this time when I took his picture and make me wonder if I did the wrong thing....

glenn kangiser · December 14, 2010, 09:53:33 PM

I went to the feed store today and was able to get the rice bran in pellet form for the above chicken salad feed mix so am looking forward to the arrival of my gallon of EM inoculant.

I also picked up a bale of rice hulls. These were available without special order but I got the last bag of hulls. Seems they were used in some recipes. About $10 a bag average. Good for a start experimenting, until I get my rice farm into production.... [ouch]

glenn kangiser · December 18, 2010, 11:20:47 PM

Major rainstorm this weekend and now we know why I always recommend French drains in the underground houses I help others with.

Not like it is a major problem but the gophers seem to have rerouted some of my drainage to make water leak into the bathroom from behind one of the walls. I moved some plants and rocks at the top today and stopped a good portion of it. I found a major gopher hole headed straight toward the wall. Gophers don't generally bother the plastic so it goes to the bottom of the wall and comes out on the floor near the shower.

Tomorrow I will likely try to find the rest of the leak and am considering adding a french drain on the inside edge of the wall to take the water to a drilled drain hole or the gray water drain.

SOoooooo - don't do as I did - do as I say.....

Fixed fairly easily but a bit of a nuisance. We have had about 3 inches of rain in 24 hours with possibly 7 to 10 more on the way in the next week. A little scooping and mopping will keep us sufficiently dry until I get it fixed.... or summer arrives ...whichever comes first.

Be sure to include those French drains.

Sassy · December 20, 2010, 10:24:19 PM

Just received the probiotic soap from Andrew & family... felt great washing my hands with it. Can't wait to take a shower & wash my hair with it & see how it works. Smells nice & clean.

http://home-n-stead.com/soaps/index.html

December 20, 2010, 11:03:53 PM

Thanks, Sassy! Glad you like it so far. We've had mixed results with hair in the past, both from our family's experience and others. It depends on your hair type, your water, etc. Some people love it, others get gummy hair.

I did make a few goat's milk shampoo bars that worked well for everyone who tried it, but we haven't gotten to the point of selling 'em yet.

glenn kangiser · December 20, 2010, 11:17:31 PM

Hmmmm, Andrew ... this could be a problem .... I don't have much hair on my head...plenty on my back though... but never mind that .... I shower with my hat on.... will it hurt my nice Aussie leather hat.....

... believe me, it does need a shower once in a while.....

Still getting some water down at the bathroom floor so went looking for gophers again today. Found this one - plugged him off and put a new heavy 20 mil membrane over the area there. Our clay seals it right off tight, but a gopher hole in it defeats that temporarily.

The bad thing about gophers is that they could bring it from 20 feet or 200 feet away. That is why I now recommend the French drains. The gophers are our underground irrigation and drainage experts here, many times bringing a nice spring right out the side of the mountain or...... behind my wall once in a while during a rain. They just plain don't play well with others....just concerned with their own interests....

If I continue to get a problem from them, there is not much telling how far they could come from so I have a couple more plans.... a garden shed with roof above the area... an old plan anyway, and begin putting the French Drain in the back floor just inside of the wall. Got a little more I want to do that way anyway. I think I can hook into the gray water drain from the shower and put a cleanout on the line in case of silt, but the water is generally clear anyway.

glenn kangiser · December 21, 2010, 01:49:36 PM

Hey Andrew, I tried your EM soap in the shower last night. I am seeing a pretty massive amount of suds for little wear on the bar. It felt nice and soapy. I used it to wash my hair also. On the pro's side it lathered well - was not perfumed and I didn't lose any hair.

On the cons side, I didn't grow any new hair...... that I can see....yet.......

It seemed to work well and was marginal as to needing a conditioner afterword. I did not use conditioner and what there was combed fine.

Great to use a great home made product that was made by one of our friends rather than big industry... who is currently trying to buy politicians to make laws to prevent small farm and family businesses from doing nearly anything.

The criminal politicians continue to sell out small business on a daily basis. Nothing but a bunch of prostitutes selling their representative positions out to corporations for money one way or another.

ben2go · December 21, 2010, 02:52:07 PM

How does it feel to be clean for the first time this month?I think you took your Christmas bath a few days to early.

I know I did.

Ernest T. Bass · December 21, 2010, 11:51:19 PM

Thanks for the plug, Glenn. Your check is in the mail.

About that hairless vacancy on top.. Ya' never know with those EMs hard at work. I would suggest keeping the area of concern well watered (showering sans hat) and some occasional sunshine. Something might sprout...

December 22, 2010, 01:18:54 AM

Thought I'd get a jump on the Spring cleaning, Ben. Don't want to hit it too often and chap my beautiful skin.... I am very vain, you know.

I had actually expected the bar to weather away a bit more, Andrew. Now, if I take my hat off to shower, how will I get it clean?

Here's for experimenting with the EM's ...you never know.....

glenn kangiser · December 22, 2010, 08:21:19 PM

Update on the EM experiment - the EM I made right is fermenting nicely building great pressure from the fermenting Organic Blackstrap Molasses. Just did a gallon of it and one of the first places I will use it will be on the area near my post build drainage system.

As I mentioned previously, I always recommend French drains now for underground cabins. After a few years the gophers reroute drainage a bit. I completely reworked the area directly above the bathroom - plugged gopher holes - put a new membrane over it, but still getting some water coming in at the bottom of the wall plastic. The area with the proper uphill patio is not a problem as it also has a shop and greenhouse as backup.

The bathroom has more of a wraparound drainage above ground and who knows how far a gopher will dig to try to defeat me.

The ground under the cabin is claystone so water moves along under the floor area making it damp, except in the bathroom, it came out on top of the 3/4" thick concrete slab.

This is how I will attempt to defeat that. ...

I have intercepted the water just inside the exterior wall at the side of the bathroom. I dug a trench to collect the water after which I can either put in a sump pump or.... hook into the graywater drain for the shower.

So here we go - the first build was a rush as winter was beating at the door.... but....

We have had the use of the cabin for almost 9 years - If we were to rent a house for 9 years, it would have cost around $1000 per month in our area and would not have been near our property. To me it seems it has not been a failure, but a success with a few problems to continue working on.....he says while sitting in the 80 degree room in front of the old Round Oak Wood Stove. [ouch]

Redoverfarm · December 22, 2010, 08:28:44 PM

Practice makes perfect.

I had thought before about the comments you made about your round Oak Stove. You might check this out which is geared toward the restoration and discussions of the same kind of stoves.

http://myantiquestove.ning.com/

glenn kangiser · December 22, 2010, 08:41:38 PM

Thanks for the link, John.

That is Chief Dowagiac who Dowagiac Michigan was named after. That is where the Round Oak Stove plant was. That is a model nearly exactly like ours he is leaning on in the Logo.

Seems this stove is one of the best old stoves made - under fire air at the ash door, center fire air at the door and above fire air at the chimney. Completely controllable. Nearly airtight due to high quality castings and still working 24 hours every day all winter long 91 years or so later.

We burn about 2 cord of wood a year to keep the main part of the cabin warm.

ben2go · December 22, 2010, 09:08:44 PM

Those are some of the coolest stoves I have never saw.To bad it would cost a few years of your life's work to have a knock off made of some of those.

glenn kangiser · December 22, 2010, 09:43:36 PM

If you go to a rebuilder they get spendy Ben - maybe a few thousand. We watch classifieds - Craigslist etc. Found ours for around $900 semi-restored and ready to go back to work.

December 23, 2010, 04:24:34 AM

Got the rest of drain in the bathroom dug out. Started on the east side future closet area by the stove now. Struck water at 6 inches..... No wonder that floor gets damp. The Gophers have been working overtime. It is amazing how they can change water flows around here.

Planning to rig up a core drill tomorrow and see if I can drill a gravity drain to the outside. If I can't do it Whitlock says he has a mining jackleg air drill that will do it. [ouch]

glenn kangiser · December 24, 2010, 12:12:28 AM

Drilled about 4 feet through claystone and rock today - broke the pipe the core drill was attached to and lost it forever, so went to plan B. Dug a sump and put a pipe out of the wall up high to pump it out.

May still get Whitlock down here with the big drill eventually but we have company coming the 29th so not time for that right now. [ouch]

glenn kangiser · December 24, 2010, 12:45:57 PM

Andrew... your soap is a miracle product... had a sticking door - applied it and the door does not stick any more. [idea]

OK - so any soap would have worked but I thought it was significant that yours did too.

Digging out the French drain around the perimeter of the future closet area. Since the area was damp, I applied AEM at the rate of 1 to 20...(they claim wood damage will cease if it is not too late).... same as you would with a flood damaged house. Musty damp smells seem to be going away. Around 10 inches or more of rain here in a week got lots of places so I don't feel bad about getting a little damp here in the underground complex....

Mixed up the AEM in the sprayer so took it out and sprayed the dog - Spike stinks terrible when wet - this will be a good test of EM... also sprayed the cows - their food, the barn yard - the garden ....even added a bit of water to the measuring cup I used and drank that....maybe I won't stink after that takes effect..... if it moved I sprayed it.... if it didn't move I sprayed it...testing of EM has begun at the Underground Command Center...

Redoverfarm · December 24, 2010, 01:29:17 PM

It always happens when company comes. At least that is a given

. Water pump quites, septic backs up, furnace quites and the list goes on for Christmas past. Hopefully this year will be a freebee. Hope you get everything ironed out in time to welcome Christmas and New Years. No wonder you have water with the amount of rain report for the area in the past week or so. Shoot even the Ark would have leaked.

glenn kangiser · December 24, 2010, 01:50:54 PM

That's the way I see it, John. It's not my fault......

I think I have it under control at this point.......

I have 2 students coming from the University in Reno - one from Japan, one from Tiawan. Actually it is the one I was discussing US/Japan History with. When I say come anytime - even if not with the group, I mean it. They wanted to see Yosemite with snow as when they were here earlier it was just before the snow. I sent them links to Amtrak bus/train (way cheaper than Greyhound) and Yarts bus (comes to Mariposa) connections so they could plan the most reasonable time effective trip they could. Travel around here is not so easy as we are way out in the boonies.

Back to preparation for their visit for me. It is fun having guests from all over the world.

They did not get stay here last time as they were guests at other hosts, so the Underground Command Center will be a first for them too.