14 x 24 Olympic Peninsula

[Phssthpok]

That's interesting.  They are considered exotic in these parts.  Weeping willows are more common, but they may not be native to this part of the country either.

According to the Arbor Foundation and other sources they're not native to North America at all, having been developed in, and brought over from, the Orient (apparently they're quite popular as Bonsai plants), but they really like the environment up here.

If I can remember to, I'll snap a photo or two of the CS willow at my friends place when I head up for another tound of building over the 4th. He started it from a 3 foot twig three years ago, and if memory serves it's about 7-8' tall already.

[poppy]

As promised, here is a pic. of my newly dead corkscrew willow which is about 20' tall.

[Phssthpok]

And as I promised Here's the CS willow at my friend's place that started off as a 1" dia., 3' tall twig three years ago:

10 foot tall and growing!


Close up of branches.


Leaf detail.

[considerations]

Wow, even the leaves are twirly!

[considerations]

[considerations]

Before skylights



After skylights:


Whew...


I don't have much spare time these days, work is getting in the way (right, complain about having a job...that's smart)
However, the insulation is coming along in all the places where the wiring is done and no plumbing is going.

Monday I go shopping with the "electrical guy" for the wire needed to run through the conduit to the solar panels...the trench is dug and the conduit is laid.

I've been checking in on you all, just not had time to say much (likely a blessing). 

[John Raabe]

Let there be light.

[poppy]

The skylights look good, but I have to ask:  How are you going to avoid too much solar heating through them in the summer?

[PEG688]

The skylights look good, but I have to ask:  How are you going to avoid too much solar heating through them in the summer?

For the two weeks or so that "too much solar heating" is a issue here in Western Washington and that included the Olympic Peninsula where Consideration's is located , we open a few / all the windows. That mostly takes care of it. 

  You did head out the openings didn't you? In the one photo , maybe mid constructions, I don't see any headers I'd guess that was the case , just a mid -work photo.

Why'd you do them later as opposed to when the roofing got put on? On sale skylight , impulse buy, other factors? 

Looks good either way!

[considerations]

"The skylights look good, but I have to ask:  How are you going to avoid too much solar heating through them in the summer? Huh?

For the two weeks or so that "too much solar heating" is a issue here in Western Washington and that included the Olympic Peninsula where Consideration's is located , we open a few / all the windows. That mostly takes care of it."

Right somebody must not be familiar with a western Washington climate.....I'm putting up thermal curtains that stick to the top and the bottom when I don't care for the temp or the amount of light (not likely) coming through the shaft, hot or cold. 

"You did head out the openings didn't you? In the one photo , maybe mid constructions, I don't see any headers Huh? I'd guess that was the case , just a mid -work photo."

Your most beginning beginner doesn't know about "head out".  The sides are a box made of 3/4" treated plywood that sits in the roof hole, which is framed. The box is the "shaft" from the glass to the ceiling line and it all gets covered up with drywall at some point. There is a little roofy thingy called a cricket on the top of each one to divert water, tree leaves, etc.  That is over another fancily bent up piece of horizontal metal that also diverts water, which is over  massive amounts of black and grey goo designed to keep water out....I hope that's what you meant.  There is another fancily bent piece of metal at the bottom that diverts water coming off the glass.

I calmly held ladders steady, watched, took pics, and shelled out money for someone else to clamber on that roof.

"Why'd you do them later as opposed to when the roofing got put on? On sale skylight , impulse buy, other factors? "

The roof was finished in October last year..the steady rains started in September if I remember correctly.  Putting in skylights after the rain has started here is a losing proposition. I did buy them on sale in September, but after all the rush to weather in and magnificent and artful "tarpage" to keep that OSB dry until the metal was installed, it seemed not fruitful to risk putting holes in the roof until this summer. 

"Looks good either way!"

Thanks, I'm pretty tickled.  It was like a cave in the loft, and I love light.  Plus they are low enough at the bottom to double as picture windows.

[MountainDon]

Those look super.

As for solar gain vs the extra light, everything is a trade off. Here in the desert if we were concerned about nothing but keeping the summer heat out we'd live in windowless dark boxes. We have a couple of skylights here in our suburban desert home we have some skylights, both with fairly long roof to ceiling light shafts. The bottom end has a clear acrylic panel insert. This seems to help keep the heat from the sun from becoming oppressive. But it is a trade of I'm sure.

One of ours is in the centrally located bathroom. The skylight removes the necessity for turning on a light during daylight hours. Another is in a closet, again no lights needed during the day. We would not want to be without them.

[diyfrank]

The skylights look good from the outside and brightens things up nicely on the inside. 

[PEG688]

Your most beginning beginner doesn't know about "head out". 

  It appears that you cut out part of one rafter to make the skylight fit, maybe thats not what I'm seeing , bad camera angle maybe?

  But IF you did cut out part of one rafter on each side you should cut a 2x12 "header" pieces , well two really top and bottom of the skylight rough opening, that connects the two side / full length rafters to the cutoff one. The sky light chase or box as you called it only really hold the sheet-rock or wall finish materials. So did you have to cut a rafter out to get the skylights in?  What did you space your rafters 16" OC , I don't recall you doing 24" OC spacing there.

What size are those skylights anyway?

   On the beginner part you've done way better than I thought you would , in part because you asked questions BEFORE you started each phase of your adventure. You've done really really well IMO with this project!

So here's a "You Go girl!" for ya  



qoute]

[considerations]

"It appears that you cut out part of one rafter to make the skylight fit, maybe thats not what I'm seeing , bad camera angle maybe?"

Nope, rafters are all intact.  I didn't want to play with that idea at all.

"What size are those skylights anyway?"

2' x 4'  The box/shaft fits between the rafters, but there is a thicker part that sits on top of each rafter outside as well.  The rafters are 22-1/2" apart....mostly.

"On the beginner part you've done way better than I thought you would, in part because you asked questions BEFORE you parted each phase of your adventure. You've done really really well IMO with this project!"

Coming from you that means a lot.  

I think I have ended up with a real taste for humble pie...at least I seem to eat a lot.  Sometimes the answer to the question is just "yard out the wallet and bring in someone who knows how."  

This, however, has turned out to be better than being stymied/delayed, or have the whole thing collapse, or worse.  

I do have some good ideas though.  I came up with the "cricket" thing, even though I didn't know there was such a thing.

Anyway you folks down south are going to laugh, we're headed into a heat wave up here....should be in the 80's and 90's for the next two weeks....the webs between my toes are going to shrivel....erg.  

I think I'll work on the insulation under the cabin...its the coolest job available. (and the dirtiest).

Oh, and I'll let you'all know about the "solar gain".   

[PEG688]

After skylights:

Ah,  I see it now,  with that bright light, and now that you mention it thats the plywood chase glaring in the sun! It looked like a rafter cut out when I was first looking at it.

  Ya it's TO HOT ! I agree. Did you get that rain and thunder and lighting last night? We got I'd guess 1/2" of rain , big drops sort of like back in Rhode Island for awhile , then we had about a hour and a half of normal rain.
It started about 7 pm or so. Cooled it off for the night but tonight no rain , to warm.

   

[considerations]

Yes it really rained...whew.  And the oddest sunset, the whole sky was glowing orange, yellow and pink.  It was so bright I went outside to take a look and some photos.  Very odd. Then the thunder came.

[considerations]

I've had to upgrade the size of the solar stuff to get closer to meeting the needs of a larger abode.  Ergh the electronics are expenso!




Anyhow, its almost done.  I've moved from an Exceltech 250 watt inverter to a Xantrex Prosine 2000 watt and from a 30 Amp DC breaker to 250 amps (ouch) along with various and sundry other stunningly expensive and remarkably small pieces to get this done.



The little stuff works fine for the 5th wheel, but I think the new will be big enough for the cabin.  There are lots of mysteries involved with this latest chapter....I wish electricity was more like water....I understand water much better.    Don't worry, I have an electrician/solar person on this project.

[glenn kangiser]

Looks great, Cosiderations.  You get enough sun for solar up there? hmm

[considerations]

"You get enough sun for solar up there?"

Not all the time, ergo the two generators......however, solar is not the end game.  I'll be adding more panels and a windmill.  There is one place on the property that is like the Bay of Fundy for wind....which I get a fair amount of in the winter...so, like always, I'll manage.

I've never felt deprived with the available power so far. And this year, I have a wood stove to augment the heating...wha hoo!

[Dandlite]

some wind stuff...
not sure what kind of power you need but you may want to look into the airX or the new air breeze...from southwest wind power...i have 3 airX's and really like them for my needs...they are small but light and would be easy for you to get up on a simple pole...and you can add more later if you want...where i used them was an excellent wind and solar site...and yes as you said in the winter when the days are short and the solar doesn't have the time on, the wind will help out a lot...sometimes mine would not stop running all night...some of the bigger ones may cost more for the tower and installation then the turbine itself...guess it kinda depends on the power you need and the money you have to spend...i had about 900 watts in solar and another 500 or so from the wind generators...but many times the total power from the generators per day was more then the solar...if you were living on a 250 watt inverter...well...something like these may be ok for you...the pole and wire shouldn't be over 100 bucks to get one of these up and running...a few hours...hook to the batteries and watch it spin...simple...Dan...
P.S. what a great job so far on the place...i'm gonna build the same thing soon...2 buildings probably...similiar to the dog trot on here...whatever a dog trot is...!

[Mike 870]

Dan,

Thats great you are having good luck with your wind generators.  I think this is the first positive thing I have read about Southwest WP on the net in a long time.  Please keep us updated on how they hold out and how their customer service is if something goes wrong.  I have always been interested in small wind but keep reading poor reviews.  OK sorry, thread hijack over.

[Redoverfarm]

Hey Consideration sorry for the hyjack but they started it.  Dan I was always told that the term "dogtrot" came from when they had two adjacent cabins which were not attached by the wall but maybe a roof. The open area between the two cabins was the area that the dogs would run through.  Therefore "dogtrot".   Here is one discription

"The Waldron, Crudup, and Wade families gathered in front of the family homeplace in the early 1900s, which was located in Fayetteville at the present-day site of Harp's Food Store on Garland Avenue. The cabin is a fine example of the "dogtrot" style of architecture—a house with two rooms separated by an open breezeway. The cabin style takes its name from the breeze-catching quality of the hallway, which attracted canine--and human--inhabitants of the house looking to escape the summer heat. "

Another example

http://northbysouth.kenyon.edu/2002/Space/Evans%20Dogtrot%20Page.htm

We now return you to your regular scheduled programming. 

[considerations]

Hi jack away!  I am focused on those small windmills that pick up in light airs....one at first, we'll see how it does.   

I miss you all and wish I had more time, but it's screamingly fast paced these days...I only get to cram in a few hours on the cabin each day....the nominal chores to keep the critters happy and the jungle at bay...then back to earning the bread and butter..oh, did I mention sleep?  I really want into that cabin by winter.

Once in a while there is time to log in and lurk a little to see what folks on the forum are up to, but I don't always take the time to participate. 

The future is not certain as the Senator is not running for re-election, which only provides more incentive to throw myself at the cabin project and get as much done as possible - soon. 

Telecommuting really spoils a person.  The idea of having to primp and commute and spend the day away from home is not very attractive...so I'm hoping that I've developed enough of a rep as a solid legislative staffer that someone from the new cadre of legislators will "pick me up".  That would be ideal, as much as I despise budgets....finding a similar job in this neck of the woods is unlikely, and the skill set I've picked up over the last 5 years is somewhat specialized.   

[Dandlite]

ooooppppssss...kinda proud of meself...
first day and already getting in trouble...
on the wind stuff everything is relative...i also read everything on the net i could find about wind before i bought the first airX...liked it so much i bought 2 more...was going to buy 2 more when that project came to an end...the main knock is in the light winds they put out very little...but again 50 watts all night adds up when the sun is off...i've already talked to them about upgrading the X to the breeze which can put out almost twice the power of the X in the 10-15 mph wind range...that's a big step forward...there's also something "kinky" about watching them for me...watching a solar panel is boring...watching them spin is kinda like sitting by the fireplace and watching that...it just never seems to get boring...making your own power company kinda fits in with the building your own house thought pattern...it's not for everyone that's for sure but works for me...i was about 1/2 mile from power...20-25k to bring in the electric...that may sound crazy to some who call the electric company and have a switch turned on and they are lighting up the microwave cooking some pop tarts...where this property is some may be 10 miles or more from the nearest pole...some still haul water from town...also have some petrified wood on the property...i think it's 200 million years old and ya can hold it in your hand...makes me wonder how did the cave men do it before Exxon Mobil...? good news is at least i don't have to worry about godzilla coming in and busting up the place...the rest becomes easy to figure out...
on the dog trot...thanks red...i kinda figured that's where it came from...if i ever get this project started again rover (the dog) and me will probably be doing more of a "slow" dance from building to building rather then a "trot"...just an age thing...!

this is on topic...i think...Cons let me know how the critter keep out stuff works underneath the house...that is a problem as the mice in the hi desert are everywhere and will get into everything it seems...even under the hood of cars..."hitch-hiking" mice...that's different for me...i did also have an eagle near by...pretty neat...i thought about growing some more of them to keep the mice pop. down but that's a back burner thing for now...

P.S. do i have to start a Dan's jail thread now...? i thought i was kinda on topic...
P.S.S. i'll be good...just don't bust me down to "minus" newbie status...

[poppy]

Dan  w*t the forum.

Speaking for old farts everywhere with tired eyes; short paragraphs and the shift key are your friends.

I don't mean to nit-pick, but posts are so much easier to follow, if you do what I am doing here.

Having unloaded that, I am very interested in what you have to say on the wind turbine subject.  There may be one or two in my future.