My 15.75 x 30 Jemez Cabin

[glenn kangiser]

B-b-b-bye, MountainDon -- w-w-we'll miss you. :'(  

Have a good time --- don't forget to check in or come back.

[fourx]

RVs are Campervans downunder, Don, and the folk most often found in them are on a post-retirement around Australia trip. They are known as ""Grey Nomads""

[desdawg]

Happy building Don. The mountains I am in are hard packed clay and rock. I have found this tool to be a very good investment.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=46935

[glenn kangiser]

That is a pretty exact knockoff of the Bosch Brute but $1000 cheaper.  I have an old Brute but I bought it from a rental company and I don't think it is putting out full power as it barely shakes your teeth.

Possibly it is time for one of these.  Have you put quite a bit of time on this machine yet, desdawg?  Is it hard hitting?

[desdawg]

It works well. One handle has to be detatched to fit in the case and it is made of plastic.  I wouldn't want to give it to an employee to use but I take care of it. I try not to do any more hand digging than necessary but when it is necessary a pick, shovel and bar are my least favorite options. That ground up there is hard and hand digging is a very slow process. I was looking at Don's footings and wondering what kind of ground he is in. Most mountains are made of rock. As usual I am a day late as I think he has already headed out.

[glenn kangiser]

He may check in before he is done digging though.

The handles on the Brute are plastic also.  One of them was replaced before I bought it.  I think I would have been better off with the new Harbor Freight one than the worn out one I have, but after it warms up a bit it is still pretty effective.

[PEG688]

Good Luck ya ole Green faced guy

We'll see if we  learnt  ya anythin here

Take lots of photos and IBProfin

[MountainDon]

That Brute replica looks pretty cool!  

My ground has a layer 6 to 12 inches deep, of pretty typical forest soil, on top of a mountain of pumice. We're about 7 or so miles south of what was a very big volcano some 1.something million years ago. It is considered dormant. There are many hot springs in the area and good geothermal potential. There's a pumice mine a few miles north of us (stone washed jeans, and other uses) as well as a site to the south that is mined intermittently.

So hopefully I won't run into any errant rocks or boulders; there are some in the area. A back hoe or auger has sufficed for some neighbors.

FYI, there is an alternate story topic to be found...
http://www.countryplans.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1181361337

[glenn kangiser]

Pumice -- could be a lightweight aggregate for mortar between cordwood rounds.  Sawdust from cutting all those cordwood rounds mixed with lime makes insulation.  Added to the mortar makes insulating mortar.  

Sorry Don -- just thinking out loud checking out your natural resources.

[MountainDon]

I have a neighbor to the east who is thinking of building a pumice-crete cabin. There is at least one contractor in Santa Fe who builds with pumicecrete.

[glenn kangiser]

My thought is that it would eliminate a lot of the trouble and expense you would go to getting building materials up there.  If dealing with inspections and codes you could use John's idea of just a long header on each wall with maybe one support in the center to cut down beam size - then do as you want with the infill.

If no codes -- then have fun.

[MountainDon]

There are days you shouldn't leave the chainsaw at camp.



Good thing I had the hatchet in the Jeep. Even better it was sharp.    



Note the blaze orange paint job. I've painted nearly every tool I might lay on the ground bright orange or yellow. When I find the missing ones I'll paint them too.  

[glenn kangiser]

I did similar a couple weeks ago - gave away my old motorhome to get rid of it and had to get under a 4 to 5 inch oak limb.  They gave me a 100 to deliver it about 8 miles away.  No saw but had the trusty ax.  Took it out in a couple minutes.

[MountainDon]

So what's been happening in our Jemez Mountains?

Well, we took a page from Pete (fourx) and decided to live in the RV in each of the potential building spots, just to see how they felt. I'm not planning on this being a long term, check all the seasons thing, but we figured some more careful thought might make some sense. I'm not certain at this point, this AM as I was packing up the last of the stuff to take back home DW was standing there in "what if?" mode and came up with another thought. (Too many thoughts; not enough action?)

Anyways time is not all wasted. We've narrowed it down to the same general area and did agree on a space for a gazebo that will function no matter which exact space is chosen for the cabin. I got a start on that. More on it and photos when I locate the memory card.   :-/  It's here someplace; or up in the RV.   :'(

We did accomplish one other task though. We're sitting in the middle of what the Forest Service has rated as "Extreme" fire hazard. There was a small amount of rain over the past 2 days, but the forest is toasty. Since access to the property is via a solitary two track dirt road a few miles long that could be a problem if a fire came in our direction.

We have access to a portion of the National Forest on one corner. We've hiked all through the area and I had noticed it would be possible to drive a twisty route through the trees for about 3/4 of a mile and end up on another forest service road with exit/access in two other directions. All we needed was a route through our thick trees and a gate through the four strand barbed wire fence.

So with the help of my neighbor and his skid steer we decided to make our escape route and hope that it is never needed. Pictures and video are on that elusive memory card. Will find and post.

[glenn kangiser]

Becky bee says not to build in your favorite spot or it won't be there anymore, Don. .

[MountainDon]

Found the memory card!

Road under construction. FYI, for those who have never seen a road made thru a forest, you don't just cut tress down and leave the stumps. The stumps will come back to bite something under some vehicle someday; tie rods, shock mounts, who knows what. Trying to remove the stumps later is very difficult. Here's James at the controls of his skid steer pushing a small Ponderosa Pine over.

The road we made also connects to the third neighbor's property, giving us all a back door for emergency use.

[MountainDon]

Pushover, The Video  (467 KB)

[glenn kangiser]

Good Plan, Don.  I try to clear off the fire trails I made below me every spring.  Considering working on a bit more of the downhill brush each year.

[MountainDon]

Some trees put up more resistance than others. This one required digging around the root ball. A bigger machine would have worked better too. Took about 5 minutes; still better than hand tools.  

[glenn kangiser]

Half the fun is trying to do too much with too little.

[MountainDon]

The Gazebo. A square gazebo, not the usual hexagon or octagon. Too many corners. Besides I've already got a similar one in the suburbs and it's quite fine. 10 foot by 10 foot. As per what is becoming norm, the gazebo went thru one metamorphosis's since the holes were dug.   :-/

This is me, Manuel Labor



The fruits of my labor



The fourth ACQ treated, below ground grade, post is in place, 40 inches deep. Earth/pumice mix to be rammed into hole.



Dang! The birdsmouth was off 1/4". I shaved the top plate to make it drop over. Ends to be trimmed.



The four corner rafters in place is something worth smiling about.



Then the rain came and we watched the temperature drop from 75 down, down... Mountain weather can and does change rapidly.



Storm clouds recede across the neighbor's meadow. Horses way off in the distance. They love carrots.  



Elks calling card right in my backyard. Caused by rubbing the velvet off their antlers.

[MountainDon]

I haven't been able to get much real work done; a big disappointment for me but that's just the way things go sometimes.

Roof sheathed


#30 roofing felt installed


Roof viewed from underside, hole in center is for a ventilating cuploa


Next week we hope to complete the floor/deck and move on to framing the walls to be screened in.

[glenn kangiser]

It's still progress.  

[John Raabe]

Nice little Gazebo Don!

Looks like a great place to hang out.

[MountainDon]

It will provide a refuge from the mosquitoes, deer flies, horse flies, gnats, etc, that lived here before we moved in.  :'(  Not to mention shelter from the rain... this past week to ten days has been rainy in the afternoons.