My 15.75 x 30 Jemez Cabin

Started by MountainDon, December 20, 2006, 02:03:09 AM

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MountainDon

#600
Another weekend, a little more progress...

It snowed again up there. Most of it has melted off, except for north facing slopes. The last hill up to the cabin is the steepest and is north facing and also shaded to the west. It's the last thing to melt clear in spring and the first place to hold early snows in the fall. That's just enough snow and enough slope to make going up in 2WD too exciting. Good thing I have 4WD. ...yesterday 2:38 in the afternoon...



I set and screwed the Hardi backerboard down to the floor in preparation for the porcelain tile.



Unfortunately at this point in the season it's probably a bit risky to think of installing the tile because we're getting close to having freezing temperatures every night. That will have to wait till spring or early summer.

There's other stuff like interior trim and finishing to do though.

I got my water heater going.   ;D ;D



Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Sassy

Great progress!  Gets pretty cold up there... 

I'm familiar with that type of water heater...  had to heat up a bit of water a few times when we 1st started living in our 8'x12' plastic walled cabin...  we had the wood stove but it still got mighty cold! 
http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

You will know the truth & the truth will set you free


MountainDon

I want a pot with a spigot.   :)
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

apaknad

love your new water heater don. i really like the way you hid the cord and plug in the back. ;D
unless we recognize who's really in charge, things aren't going to get better.

ScottA

Comming together nice Don. I like the W/H.  :)


Whitlock

Nice water heater [cool]

I was up at the cabin today and I noticed on my insulation that you are suppose to take the paper off when you install it around any heating units or wood stoves?
It says it right on the paper.
Might what to take a look at yours next time your up there.


Your place is looking good,W
Make Peace With Your Past So It Won't Screw Up The Present

MountainDon

Thanks Whitlock. I've monitored the surface temperature around the stove and it simply doesn't get hot enough to worry about. It will be covered with T&G MTL; the side wall is 5/8 type X gyproc.  I used the stove manufacturers minimum clearance plus 1.5 inches. The insulation is kept away from the stove pipe where it penetrates the ceiling and passes through the attic space by an air spaced double wall galvanized steel assembly. The ceiling insulation paper was removed in a ring around the penetration as well.

I've also monitored the surface temp around the stove. With a really good roaring blaze in the stove, with the stove pipe up to 300 at times and the stove top hitting 600 the walls were relatively cool; 85 - 95. The rear of the stove reached a little over 200, much cooler than the sides or top.

Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Homegrown Tomatoes

Don, you crack me up with the temperature monitoring, etc.  Sounds just like my husband.  He likes numbers, too, and is constantly looking at the details.  (I'd be willing to bet that although you're detail-oriented, you are a bit better at seeing the big picture, though.)  We were looking at the cabin we're thinking of making an offer on last weekend, and DH is taking pictures of things like a rust spot on the metal roof next to the stove pipe, the wiring to the hot water heater, the plumbing pipes coming from the loft, the satellite dish on the barn ??? and the place where they boxed in the plenum with plywood.  I took pictures of the woodstove and clearance, the cordwood walls, the views from the windows,  the appliances, etc. 

MountainDon

I got a little work done this past weekend; number one was to haul up materials (redwood) to finish the ceiling, sand it, cut to fit, install, and apply two clear coats. Number two was give the cabinets a second clear coat and to screw the upper cabinets into place on the south wall. The cabinat bases are just pushed up against the wall for now. Number three was to apply grout to the joints between the backer board panels. I used grout left over from other tile jobs around the home. Normally the thinset is pressed into the joints when the tile is installed. I wanted to fill the cracks because the tile won't be installed until spring or early summer.






There's an incoming snow storm predicted for Thanksgiving Day. If it's a relatively light snowfall I'll be  :) . If it's heavier I'll be  >:( .  I'm going to mount the winch and we're planning on going up Wed night and see what happens.   :D



Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.


MountainDon

#609
Quote from: Homegrown Tomatoes on November 18, 2008, 01:28:54 PM
Don, you crack me up with the temperature monitoring, etc...

;D I like numbers!  :)

Here's some more, FWIW. I have a weather station up there with several temperature sensors, one in the RV, one in the cabin, another in the shed  :o and one outside about 15 feet about ground level. I'd like a sensor at ground level too, but I don't want to get ridiculous!

Over the past week the recorded highs and lows are interesting:

location        high       low
RV                67         23
cabin            60         32
shed             60         18
outside         60         18

The RV, an early 80's model, is typically poorly insulated, the cabin is insulated quite well, except for the attic/ceiling. It's only R13 right now; spring will see blown in cellulose to bring that up to R40 at least. The shed is totally uninsulated and has great full width eve ventilation on both the low and high sides of the shed type roof. The outdoors is, well outdoors.

???
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

glenn kangiser

Interesting.   Looks like it would be a 3 Dog Night for me. d*
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

Glenn's Underground Cabin  http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=151.0

Please put your area in your sig line so we can assist with location specific answers.

MountainDon

With the wood burner going on the lowest air inlet thermostat setting, the indoor cabin temp only dipped to 64, while outside, and in the shed, it dropped to 26 last night.   :)
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

glenn kangiser

That's looking good and I know you have plenty of wood. :)
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

Glenn's Underground Cabin  http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=151.0

Please put your area in your sig line so we can assist with location specific answers.

apaknad

coming together very nicely MD.
unless we recognize who's really in charge, things aren't going to get better.


considerations

I've forgotten, Mtn Don....are you two planning to live in the cabin full time?

MountainDon

Quote from: considerations on November 25, 2008, 10:52:08 AM
I've forgotten, Mtn Don....are you two planning to live in the cabin full time?

Not unless I/we become hermits.  ;D  In a normal winter the place gets snowed in by mid December or thereabouts. We do have a snowmobile though. That's one reason why we've decided we'd like an underground water cistern.

It's really a weekend and summer place. We work Tuesday through Friday throughout the school year. We have June, July and half of August off, so for that period it would become full time. We first bought the land as a place to get away from the desert summer heat. We've parked the RV there, taking the odd trip here and there and moving it around a few times till we decided on the actual best spot t0 build. The RV will become the guest accommodations.

Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

MountainDon

Our original Thanksgiving plans were to rent a Uhaul truck on Thursday and move some furniture, the propane cookstove and assorted belongings up to the cabin. However, the weather had plans for snow on Thursday, with no promises as to the amount. As I did not want to be known as the guy who got a Uhaul truck stuck in the snow on my sort of rough road, we changed our plans. Wednesday after work we set off at 4 PM with the trailer loaded with stuff and the winch on the front of the Jeep. We rented blankets from Uhaul for the packing. We got there about 6:15 or so after stopping at the Subway about half way up to the cabin. We started a fire. In the stove.  :D After unloading and some arranging and re-installing table legs we set off for home.

Back home we loaded the trailer again. Our son came by as planned after he finished work. We all then drove back up to the cabin with the sofa bed, end tables and a few boxes of stuff. By 1 AM Thursday we turned in for the night. That was a busy night, but we beat the snow.

That's enough for now... more later. with pictures. Right now we have to make a run to Home Depot.

Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

ScottA

Who wants to bet Don gets snowed in at his cabin before this is all over?

PEG688

Quote from: ScottA on November 28, 2008, 05:48:26 PM


Who wants to bet Don gets snowed in at his cabin before this is all over?



Very possible I say, remember was it last year or the one before    ???  , the guy who got a rental car stranded over on the Olympic Pennsular , over by considerations place. Mud slide IIRC.  The bill got huge but some how it got negotiated down some what.  Made the national news I think.
When in doubt , build it stout with something you know about .

MountainDon

#619
What, me worry?



Beautiful, isn't it?

We had 3 inches of snow at the cabin, about 4 inches in places along the road near us. No tracks other than deer, rabbits, mice, bird of some kind.

Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.


MountainDon

Okay, where was I?   ???

Oh yeah, with winter getting closer and closer it's not realistic to expect to be able to do much more real work on the cabin up there. So we decided to move some furniture and stuff up there, so when we do go up we can stay in the cabin instead of the RV. The RV furnace sucks propane, which is epecially galling when you look at the woodpile.

So here we are... (Son and K pictured.) Things are a little messy...



Here I am assembling the RCH DC voltage ceiling fan.



And the fan mounted to the ceiling...



Those are air foils, not less efficient flat paddle blades.  :D

The view out the door, approx 5 PM Thursday



Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

MountainDon

#621
5:45 PM Thursday, looking north to Redondo Peak (hidden)



Same view, 10:45 AM today...



And finally I am about to be pelted... it was ideal snowball/snowman snow.



It turned out to be a shoulder wound...  ;D ;D   ... I didn't even drop the camera.  ;D


Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

MountainDon

#622
It was snowy and somewhat cold, but not bad enough to prevent trying out the Romanian army surplus 22LR bolt action rifle our son recently picked up.



It does shoot straight, round after round, but K needs practice. She did better with the snowball. Maybe grenades are more her style of weapon.   ;D
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Redoverfarm

Looks like home Don.  What is the building in the distance on the picture of Thursday Morn?

MountainDon

That's on my neighbors property. It's an old mobile home. It belongs to his son. They've both been great assets as neighbors. Our access road comes up beside them (just a little to the right of the building as pictured).

Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.