I'm watching....want to see how your interior develops. 

Quote from: considerations on June 27, 2011, 07:21:23 AM
I'm watching....want to see how your interior develops. 

Me too!   Since 'The Boss' is coming up this weekend it should begin to take shape   She's very 'Americana' and rustic so our little cabin will have LOTS of wood, undoubtedly some wrought iron, anything red and 'country', bronze (taps and such) and what not.  Our home is much that way.

We arrived late Friday as I had to work part of the day and my wife and son were delayed in loading the trailer.  The trip up was long and tiring as the old Jeep has decided that after 250,000 miles it doesn't really like pulling a trailer anymore and we had to turn off the AC and roll the windows down to keep it from getting too hot.  All we pulled up was a pantry, some floor tile, tools and supplies.

So, next on the agenda is a 'Ranch Truck' to haul gear etc to the property without having to worry the old Jeep anymore.  Which we will keep for light use until either we replace more parts or it gives up the ghost (I think that means we'll have it for a few more years!).

After a little clean up and some late dinner we crashed for the night and got up early Saturday to get started on our weekend of cabin building   It has been two years since we bought the property and one month shy of two years since we began our construction and while sometimes it feels like a LONG time, at others not so much because, perhaps, we love what we are doing


The first thing we did was to cut down a big pine.  It was more then 20" at the bast of the tree and took my 20" Huskvarna saw a while to notch out just right.  Once dropped we bucked it up and hauled it to the mill for milling the next day.


We brought the new pantry in to give us more storage room while we wait for the drywall to be finished (then we'll bring the rest of the cupboards in) and installed the floor in the kitchen and bathroom.


After the floor was installed we applied a coat of mud to the drywall (we're not drywallers but hey, it's a cabin!) which cleans up easily of the new floor


The bathroom was a bit of a challenge as we had to install around the toilet but it worked out well enough.  We'll seal it around the toilet later.

Also, we installed the tile over 3/8" underlay so it will match the wood floor better once it goes in.


My wife was experimenting with curtains and wanted to make them herself so here is her first attempt.  They worked out nicely (made with a sheet of material to block out the sun) and kept the cabin cool but she's going to redesign them as she didn't like the look.  When done, the cabin will stay COOL all day in the summer   Just this set made a huge difference!


We found this sink at Home Depot and it fits perfectly!  It's a small cabinet that will fit in a little nook behind the door.

We also wired out the bathroom so we had light etc in there -- something we did not have before.


With the interior work on the cabin done for this trip, we began milling lumber while my wife experimented with some Chestnut stain (which is what we will finish the exterior with once all the siding is completed).


The base of the big pine on the mill.  We had to jack up one end to get the heart in the right place.


We milled 5/9x12 1/2 x 8' boards out of this log!  They were awesome!


It was so amazing to mill such a big log on our little mill...and the lumber coming off of it is like artwork!

I cannot imagine doing anything else with trees we fall -- except the logs we use for the porch.  Too awesome.

We also used the jeep to haul a big log out of the 'bottoms'  where it had been resting.  The old Jeep just crawled down into the bottom corner of our property (to get there is about 1/2 mile around and across another piece) and then out with the log in tow.  It might not like towing a trailer anymore but in 4 low it pulls big pine logs out of the woods like a skidder

Next trip we will be working on exterior and if we're lucky the well for the orchard and greywater drain etc.

Cool update on a great project. Coming along nicely!

Thanks John!

I can't believe it's been TWO YEARS already!  At least it's 2 yrs since we bought the property and 1 yr 11 months since we started the cabin.

Now I still have to finish the interior, finish the exterior, get the well water plumbed into the cabin, install the grey water drain system, build the wood shed, root cellar, outhouse, pump house etc, install the irrigation well and get the fruit trees in and so much more!

Heck, each trip I want to do more and more and more but I just never have the time.

Now we're looking at buying a truck (probably something within the last 2-5 years with under 50k miles on it) so we can haul more with less worry. 

So much to do, so little time!
Erik

Great progress!  It's looking like home inside the cabin 

We've been at it 9 yrs - have lots done but still have lots to do & are always thinking of new projects.  I try to tell my brain that this is a lifetime project, at least that's what Glenn keeps telling me, he always quotes "when a man finishes his house, he dies."  Good excuse, huh?   

Keep posting those pics 

Well that makes me feel better with 6 years and counting.

haha well um, thanks I guess!  Though BOTH of you have homes much more complex and large then this but I'll still take it   After all, I DO have to drive 4 1/2 hours in a Jeep with no AC just to get to mine

But maybe not after we buy a truck!

Quote from: OlJarhead on July 05, 2011, 08:54:17 AMThe trip up was long and tiring as the old Jeep has decided that after 250,000 miles it doesn't really like pulling a trailer anymore and we had to turn off the AC and roll the windows down to keep it from getting too hot. 

Cherokee's always run hot, the way they were designed.

Ditch the stock radiator for an all metal 3 row aftermarket type. There is also at least one company. Flowkooler is one. 

Quote from: MountainDon on July 07, 2011, 02:04:10 PM
Cherokee's always run hot, the way they were designed.

Ditch the stock radiator for an all metal 3 row aftermarket type. There is also at least one company. Flowkooler is one. 

Oh I know Don, but I replaced the radiator with a 3 core all steel one a year and a half ago along with all the rest of the cooling components.  Worked well until recently and now it's just not happy.  Pegged and lit up the dash on the way up a hill running in 3rd (auto) pulling a light load with AC on.  Had to kill the AC and run the entire trip without it but that still wasn't enough and at one point I had to kick on the heater too.  In 82 degree weather that's just not acceptable.

Truth is, it's pulled trailers just fine and with the top end rebuilt last year I figured I'd be good for a while now, but it appears something else is amiss so back to the drawing board.

But don't worry, I'm keeping it!

http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/SCK240.html
Could this be our stove!?  I think so!

I've been reading reviews and small appliances aren't always high on the list, and sadly too many write reviews with too little time owning the product but all in all I do think this might be a good stove for our little cabin.

Have you checked availability at the big blue and orange boxes? When we were looking a few years ago they both had 30", 24" and 20" wide gas ranges with lower costs and delivery free to the store if not carried in stock.

One thing to check is what the electronic ignition really means. If you will run the inverter every time you use the range top or oven that's not a concern. But if the inverter is usually off or has to be turned on each time that could get tiresome. The range burners can be lit manually if necessary. However, one of the units we considered had issues with the oven. If there was no power the oven would not work. I found that deep inside the owners manual.

We bought a pilot light model.

Downside of a pilot light unit is the slight extra gas use and the heat given off in warm/hot weather. In cool/cold weather it a good thing. I installed ours with a gas shut off right behind and slightly about the upper rear edge so we can kill the pilots if we so desire; a relight is simple with one of those butane fire sticks.

I found one or two at Lowes that I was considering but the reviews weren't very good so I began to look for something with some decent reviews and found this one.

The inverter runs all the time when we are there and will soon run all the time period as we will be installing a fridge next weekend.  I figure at least until winter we'll run the inverter 24x7 and even in the winter might if we want to run the heat tape to prevent freezing of the sewage pipe.

I also thought of setting a time to turn off the heat tape after 24hrs but am still in the 'considering' stage on that.

Our neighbor never shuts the inverter off, but then he lives there so I guess it's a little different.

After a long and painful search I've finally settled on a 21" PVC pipe 11' feet long to build my irrigation well.  This, if cut to 5.5' and placed 5 feet in the ground side by side (and drilled full of holes) will give me a capacity of 140-180 gallons of water depending on the water level in the pipes.  The ground water in the area I'm placing the 'well' is often at the surface even at the driest part of the year so I'm confident I can get at least 4 feet of water in the well -- though until it actually is in and working I'll not really know.

I got the idea from a friend who's been doing remote watering wells for livestock and wild life.  Basically you get to a spot near a stream and dig a hole just far enough away from the stream channel that it won't disturb the stream itself but you'll get plenty of seepage into the well through the saturated ground near the stream.

Then you place a 75-100 watt solar panel above the well and a 12vdc well pump into the well and install and let it go.  The deeper wells (10+ feet) can be left to pump as long as the sun is out if that's what you want but since I KNOW I won't get more then 5 feet deep I'm doubling up the capacity and putting in a timer so the pump will only run 2 or 3 times a week (as needed) and for just long enough to deliver the water needed for my orchard and nut/hardwood trees.

This weekend we're heading up to get this done as well as get the grey water system installed, dig the privy hole and with luck and time, complete digging the root cellar.

The pipe I found for $240 which while sounding pricey turns out to be the best deal I could possibly find! 

OJ, can't wait to see the pics and description of your water project. Good timing as far as $ on any solar additions for your pump also.

Have you thought about a reverse drywell for you irrigation well?  Holes, groundwater, and septic have been on my mind a lot recently.  You can build one out of block and gravel. It may be a little more labor, but not much.  You might be able to save a few dollars.  There is a good diagram of how to build one here:
http://www.oneontablock.com/PDFS/drywell.pdf
or here:
http://www.pumpseptic.com/septic.htm

If it is near a water feature you could probably get good bank run gravel nearby or maybe sift it out of the excavated soil.  If you are only looking for around 200 gallons, you could probably get away with a 36" inside diameter, or a 7 block course. For a 5 feet tall area you would need around 7 courses or 49 blocks. When I last checked they were around $1.50 from the big box stores. So around $73.  You would have to deal with extra weight over PVC though. Just an idea.

Are you doing all this excavation by hand?

"Could this be our stove!?"

I've only found 3 Mfg's that make freestanding "gas" ranges that do not have a glow bar in the oven.  The one you reference is Premier, the other two are Brown Stove works and Crosley.  I've been leaning toward Premier also, but have a real attraction to the SMK model, which has sealed burners on the stove top.  I'm very attracted to spending a little more up front and a lot less time cleaning under the top of an open burner stove.

http://www.ajmadison.com/b.php?Ntt=Premier+SMK240   

Seems its on sale at this source making it only $9 more than the open burner model for the moment.

Quote from: Squirl on July 13, 2011, 08:48:58 AM
Have you thought about a reverse drywell for you irrigation well?  Holes, groundwater, and septic have been on my mind a lot recently.  You can build one out of block and gravel. It may be a little more labor, but not much.  You might be able to save a few dollars.  There is a good diagram of how to build one here:
http://www.oneontablock.com/PDFS/drywell.pdf
or here:
http://www.pumpseptic.com/septic.htm

If it is near a water feature you could probably get good bank run gravel nearby or maybe sift it out of the excavated soil.  If you are only looking for around 200 gallons, you could probably get away with a 36" inside diameter, or a 7 block course. For a 5 feet tall area you would need around 7 courses or 49 blocks. When I last checked they were around $1.50 from the big box stores. So around $73.  You would have to deal with extra weight over PVC though. Just an idea.

Are you doing all this excavation by hand?

This is very similar to what we are doing but I think using the pipe will be much easier (less time consuming).  We'll have a bobcat do the excavating (a friend of mine will run that) and the goal is to set the pipe 10 feet into the ground so that you can get it full to the waterline.  If however, as is often the case with our ground, you can't go down past 5 or 6 feet then the idea is to cut the pipe in half and drop the two halves in side by side.  Since the water line is essentially ground level where I plan to put the well, or at least there is water trickling at ground level when the stream gets low anyway, then I should be able to fill both pipes in the shallow design.

Our hope is to get the well dug, set and backfilled in a short period of time so we can move to the greywater drain and other projects   Then within the next few months to get the pump and solar so we can have it all ready to go by spring.

Quote from: considerations on July 13, 2011, 09:08:54 AM
"Could this be our stove!?"

I've only found 3 Mfg's that make freestanding "gas" ranges that do not have a glow bar in the oven.  The one you reference is Premier, the other two are Brown Stove works and Crosley.  I've been leaning toward Premier also, but have a real attraction to the SMK model, which has sealed burners on the stove top.  I'm very attracted to spending a little more up front and a lot less time cleaning under the top of an open burner stove.

http://www.ajmadison.com/b.php?Ntt=Premier+SMK240   

Seems its on sale at this source making it only $9 more than the open burner model for the moment.

I don't think I saw any sealed burners in the Premier 24" but I could be wrong.  We mostly were looking for highly rated stoves, ready for LP and at a reasonable price.  As it is we went from thinking we'd spend $350 (from last years prices) to over $500!  We bought from AJ Madison also.

Anyway, I kinda wish I'd paid closer attention and found the model you showed in 24" but wasn't thinking.  Oh well, we'll live with it

nice cabin build and like the potable sawmill, had a guy cut me a few 4" x 6" out of red cedar on one a couple weeks ago they work great.

any functioning stove is a good stove 'specially when it has an oven!

Quote from: considerations on July 13, 2011, 12:41:28 PM
any functioning stove is a good stove 'specially when it has an oven!

Amen!  I can't wait for the time we're at the cabin and can enjoy fresh baked biscuits with breakfast or fresh bread with dinner!

Have pipe, will travel

I'm getting pretty stoked!  The pipe, which weighs about 500lbs! Is loaded on the trailer and ready for transport and my buddy will be over in a few hours to head to the property for a long weekend (took some PTO for this weekend) of digging

With luck we'll come away with a new well, grey water drain system, privy hole and root cellar hole   Maybe even a shooting range and some yard work

Also plan to work on some drywall and get some clean up done.

It's amazing how excited I can get before a trip to the woods!
Seeya!

You are very ambitious!   

We're very happy with ours.



Sometimes we'll pick up a u-bake pizza in town on the way up.  The next size down from the biggest fits just fine.


I don't have a good picture of it or remember the model number.  I purchased it through Sears and picked it up in Omak.