12'x20' Okanogan Cabin... already likely to go 14'x24' or bigger

Started by nailit69, January 25, 2015, 12:08:25 PM

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nailit69

Quote from: SkagitDrifter on March 02, 2015, 04:45:59 PM
Way to push it and make it happen!
Hard to believe The snow is all gone up there already.
What is the elevation at your place?
Poor snow year up at my place- bought a new snowmobile- that's got to be the reason.

It was a push... i don't really feel it but my a$$ is whooped... my daughters BF is beat down and can barely move.  We got a lot done in a short amount of time... feels good though.  We can't wait to get back up there in a week or two and get some block set.  If we can keep up this pace we should have a cabin up and dried in by the 4th of July... fingers crossed.

We're up around 2500'... night and day from the last trip up... 12"-18" last time and nothing 2 weeks later.

So if you bought a new snowmobile, does that mean you have an old one for sale?  I'm looking for one.

nailit69

Thought i'd post a few more pics from our last trip up to "The Ranch"...

Finishing up the hole...



First sunrise...



Tying up the last of the bar...



Cleaning up after the pour...



View from the front of the cabin at sunset...



Terraced off a small garden area...



Great weekend... can't wait toget back up there.

Unfortunately the tranny in the truck is acting funny after hauling that much weight so now I'm probably going to have to find another truck if we want to continue the pace we want to keep.


pmichelsen

Quote from: nailit69 on March 05, 2015, 08:48:43 AMUnfortunately the tranny in the truck is acting funny after hauling that much weight so now I'm probably going to have to find another truck if we want to continue the pace we want to keep.

Sounds familiar, I blew the tranny in my truck hauling loads of sand through the mountains to my place.

Yonderosa

Property looks nice and you're off to a flying start.  I'm looking forward to following your progress.
http://theyonderosa.blogspot.com/

"The secret to life is to be alive.  To live ultimately by one's own hand and one's own independent devices." -Ted Nugent

nailit69

Quote from: Yonderosa on March 09, 2015, 10:25:28 PM
Property looks nice and you're off to a flying start.  I'm looking forward to following your progress.

We're heading back up on the 20th (fingers crossed) to lay the block... gonna try and set 500+ block and get it all grouted in 3 days so we can build the floor on the next trip up... might have to split the block into 2 weekends but that throws my schedule off by a month.  After the block and floor system is done things should get a little easier.  Still a lot of sitework to be done but cabin first cabin first cabin first... I want to do it all and do it now but I gotta save a few bucks to keep the lights on at home.



nailit69

Well... looks like we'll be heading back up to "The Ranch" late Fri./early Sat. with another lofty goal... we're gonna try and get 512 block set and grouted solid and anchor bolts set, AND... pour the basement slab... and do it all by Monday afternoon. I'm going to call in a cement truck monday (if they'll come) since I figure i'll be at about 8.5-9yds anyway and it's about $400 cheaper than buying bags and mixing by hand.

I need to borrow a car trailer to get the last of my "scravenged" materials up there...180 block and hopefully a glulam for my ridge beam that I found on Craigslist.  Initially, I thought it would be a good idea to round up what I can over here and bring it over there... not anymore... it's not a good deal if I still have to haul it over there.  I'll just buy the remainder of my material there and stimulate the local economy... and they deliver to the cabin.

Next trip up... Floor System!!!  For me, that's when the real fun will begin.  I'm planning on staying for a week when framing begins so I can get it all built in one shot... not leaving anything behind that might grow legs and walk away.  After that... I can start taking the TDI Jetta over and save tons of money on gas... there and back for $30 vs. $160 in the truck... I like having my truck though cuz you just never know.

OlJarhead

Midway's prices are pretty good and there delivery is cheap :)

Curious, why grout rather than SBC?  Honestly, I wish I learned to grout as I think it might be easier for smaller jobs but doing SBC has saved me and as it's stronger I'm pretty happy with it.

rick91351

Quote from: pmichelsen on March 05, 2015, 11:05:24 AM
Sounds familiar, I blew the tranny in my truck hauling loads of sand through the mountains to my place.


;D  Brand spanking 'new' rebuild.....  In the old plowerstroker.  Three years or 100,000 Jasper - or could have done Ford for unlimited miles and two years.  Figure on trading with in three years so....... :D  Both were $ of each other.
   
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.


nailit69

Quote from: OlJarhead on March 16, 2015, 10:52:14 AM
Midway's prices are pretty good and there delivery is cheap :)

Curious, why grout rather than SBC?  Honestly, I wish I learned to grout as I think it might be easier for smaller jobs but doing SBC has saved me and as it's stronger I'm pretty happy with it.

Midway does have reasonable prices... delivery of the mini excavator wasn't all that cheap though.  Hoping they'll work w/me on pricing or delivery fees if I buy it all there.

Not sure what SBC is but "Grouted" has always been filled with concrete where i'm from... i'm setting them in mortar and filling them with concrete.  I called the local Redimix plant and apparently they can't even come up the road due to weight restrictions until sometime in May/June after they're lifted... looks like it's gonna be a bag mix show for the walls.  After pricing out bag mix it's gonna cost me $150 less than if I call a truck anyway... usually it's the other way around.

Come by this weekend with 100 gallons of water and i'd be happy to teach you to lay block or at least put on a demo for you... beer and lunch provided  ;).

rick91351

Quote from: nailit69 on March 17, 2015, 06:35:47 AM
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<,snip >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Not sure what SBC is but "Grouted" has always been filled with concrete where i'm from... i'm setting them in mortar and filling them with concrete.  I called the local Redimix plant and apparently they can't even come up the road due to weight restrictions until sometime in May/June after they're lifted... looks like it's gonna be a bag mix show for the walls.  After pricing out bag mix it's gonna cost me $150 less than if I call a truck anyway... usually it's the other way around.

Come by this weekend with 100 gallons of water and i'd be happy to teach you to lay block or at least put on a demo for you... beer and lunch provided  ;).

Years ago when I was a ready-mix truck driver we delivered grout to more block layers than were in the valley I think.  Everyone loved our grout. Pumped easy and the company was real easy on block layers for some reason. No truck time if they pumped us right out even then there was a couple they would not even charge truck time for those all day horror stories.  I so know what you mean the 100 gallons of water.  Wish I could drop in for the demo but Boise is a little far. I really wished I would have spent more time watching the block layers back then!

Rick   
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

OlJarhead

SBC = Surface Bonded Cement.  In short you mortar only the 1st course and then every 6th course from there (if you that many) then spray or trowel on the special SBC mortar (it has fibers in it and will be labelled as SBC) and let it cure (a few days of spraying it with water occassionally to keep it damp -- though I've let it dry and it seems fine then too) and finally fill the voids with cement where needed (corners, rebar sections etc) or dirt (where cement not needed).  Of course the top 6-8" is the 'bond' layer and is cemented also. 

On a side note SBC doesn't have to have filled cavities where not needed (you can put roof felt under the bond blocks where you don't need to fill) and is actually much stronger than standard mortar.

My problem, of course, is I'm sloppy and impatient LOL  d* and struggle to make it look very neat.  However it's super easy and strong so I'm happy with the little I've done.

Lunch would be fun but wouldn't be able to bring water LOL and of course, I'm not up at the cabin at the moment.  With luck I'll get back soon but am in the process of getting a house ready to sell so my time seems to be slipping away from me! LOL

nailit69

Rick... Glad to hear the truck is all better, hopefully it'll stand up to a few more years of use.  The Redi-Mix company we used to use was like that... owner was really cool, big discounts for cash, no truck time, Saturday mud at weekday prices, if they had extra they'd swing by and see if we wanted if it was on the way back to the plant... then Big Concrete bought everyone out and nothing has been the same since.


Ol J... Never heard of SBC but I don't do a lot of block... been a few yrs. since my last time.  I usually do a partial fill on shorter walls... on someone elses job.  Since this is for myself, I want it stout... really stout.  I'm going solid fill concrete with bond courses and horizontal #4 bar @ 2'/4'/6' and the top course @ 6'-8" with my 5/8"x10" anchor bolts hooked under the top bar.  I was going to use split face block but they only have standard (no corners) and only have about 120 of them.  I found all the nearly new 250gal. water tanks with the cage around them that I want for $75 ea... i'm picking up 4 today and taking 1 with me... I shouldn't run out of water this time.

Don_P

SBC is nice and has a place but is no substitute for steel reinforced grouted work. On the inside tension face it can be added later if desired. The beauty of it is it puts (small synthetic fiber) reinforcement on the surface of the tension face, furthest from the neutral axis where reinforcement does the most good with the least material. We tend to go a little overboard thinking of it as a miracle product. With most things look to what the standard is, it usually is what it is for good reason.


OlJarhead

Quote from: Don_P on March 18, 2015, 07:01:27 AM
SBC is nice and has a place but is no substitute for steel reinforced grouted work. On the inside tension face it can be added later if desired. The beauty of it is it puts (small synthetic fiber) reinforcement on the surface of the tension face, furthest from the neutral axis where reinforcement does the most good with the least material. We tend to go a little overboard thinking of it as a miracle product. With most things look to what the standard is, it usually is what it is for good reason.

From what I've read it's actually stronger than standard grouted walls but I think that's because you still use steel re-enforcement etc for a foundation.  Perhaps I misunderstood?

nailit69

For now i'll stick with what I know and the material i've ordered... ;)

rick91351

Quote from: OlJarhead on March 18, 2015, 04:30:36 PM
From what I've read it's actually stronger than standard grouted walls but I think that's because you still use steel re-enforcement etc for a foundation.  Perhaps I misunderstood?

OJ I have read and studied that as well.  Have read the claims and all.  Often wondered how it would work doing both.   Like the idea of not messing with the mortar.  Like the idea of steel in let's say infill.  (Grout)   
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

nailit69

Well, it turns out 65 hours isn't enough time to lay 500 block... not without experienced help anyway.  We wound up staying for 5 days instead of 3, the Innkeeper gave me an extra day for free... and all the water I want so I put my new tank to good use, 350 gallons worth.  We gave it hell, worked everyday from sun up til sun down for 5 days straight and were only able to get about 400 block layed.  If it wasn't for the 2 popouts I could have easily had it all done in 3 days and I could have just cantilevered the popouts but it's way too late for that now.  I have one more popout to finish up but it's well past half done so should be a piece of cake.  I have to work this week/weekend but heading back up on the 3rd to finish up... doesn't really affect my schedule as I had planned on it taking 2 trips anyway.

I had been borrowing a generator from work but figured it was time to buy my own...  picked up a nice little 4k Champion w/remote start/30amp RV plug and put it through a 24hr. torture test... it performed as expected.  It ran for 24hrs. on less than 6 gallons of gas which is nice... they claim 12hrs. on 4gals. so it gets great mileage.  It is "computer controlled" and doesn't actually kick on for about 5 seconds after it starts... oh well... the lights won't come on right away.  Overall, i'm pretty happy with it so far... i'll change out the oil and do it again next week.

I missed out on a nice glu-lam ridge beam... guy wouldn't hold it til I returned... oh well, I was looking for one when I found that one.

Couple of pics... I didn't get any of the night we left though so we're almost done.









More to come... can't wait to get the floor on so I have a place to post up and camp out.


nailit69

Well, we went back up last weekend, got the block all done and almost got them filled w/cement but ran out about 15-20 bags short i'm guessing... we'll finish it off on the next trip.  Man... i've laid a few block in my time but it's been about 5 years since my last time and it was a small job and I forgot how hard block laying is.  If it was straight runs it would've been so easy but I had to add 2 popouts and increase the difficulty factor x10... it added a lot of time, 100+ cuts,  and about 20 more block to the job.  It will be worth it in the end as it'll add a few more sq. ft. in a couple of key places and give me room in the basement for another feature I want to add later.

I'm planning/working on a set of exterior doors for the basement... I need them to be 6'-0" wide, well insulated, weathertight, steel faced & reinforced, etc..  Hoping to keep a few things down there when we're not around (snow machines, quads, a boat, dirt bikes, etc.) and not have them disappear.  I want to put a floor hatch in the kitchen floor and be able to bar the doors from the inside and also use the basement as a pantry as well while having access from inside the cabin w/out having a set of stairs.  I'm also trying to come up with a way of covering the doors and windows w/steel shutters when we're away so the only way in is through the wall. 

Maybe i'm just going overboard though... the closest (yr. round) neighbor is on a hill about 300yds out but in very plain sight so the likleyhood of someone coming up and snooping around is low, nothing has been touched so far, knock on wood, but i'd still like to sleep well knowing the place is secure.

Here's the only picture I took... busy working I guess.



rick91351

There are great benefits of having your cabin or house hidden in plan sight.  We are very lucky our set backs are far enough that we are not on public display.  Yet close enough that if there is a strange rig around here people notice.

I really like your idea of the reinforced door to the 'toys'!  Really do not know about shuttering and all that unless the tweakers are real bad!  Most people with that intent if they cannot  back up to the door - pop the lock - load and begone in minutes will pretty much leave you be so we have found.  Plus - One reason you have insurance and don't keep your irreplaceables there unless you are full timers.  Funny my folks who owned this ranch before us.  They wanted to move up here or build a cabin up here.  They had such a fear of getting it broken into they never did.  Yet they were insurance 'poor'.  I swear they had insurance in the insurance.   ;)

One thing we do - do about this time of the year when the people start retuning to the area and until hunting season is over in the fall walk down and close the gate to our road in the evening then open it oh some time after breakfast and coffee and going that way away.  Best thing you can do is get to know those around you.  Naturally they will start looking out for you and you for them.  We do have some up here that are sort of sticky fingered however. You sort them out pretty quick!   >:(

BTW It is so remarkable the similarities in topography even climate between the Okanogan area and here where our ranch is.
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

nailit69

There are great benefits of having your cabin or house hidden in plan sight.  We are very lucky our set backs are far enough that we are not on public display.  Yet close enough that if there is a strange rig around here people notice. 

Yea... it's about 150-200' back from the road but in plain sight.  Fortunately, not a lot of people frequent the area but it does have it's share of traffic... UPS delivers up there... in a 1 mile radius there's probably 10 cabins and a couple of houses, not all are full timers and some places look like they've been untouched for years.

I really like your idea of the reinforced door to the 'toys'!  Really do not know about shuttering and all that unless the tweakers are real bad!  Most people with that intent if they cannot  back up to the door - pop the lock - load and begone in minutes will pretty much leave you be so we have found.  Plus - One reason you have insurance and don't keep your irreplaceables there unless you are full timers.  Funny my folks who owned this ranch before us.  They wanted to move up here or build a cabin up here.  They had such a fear of getting it broken into they never did.  Yet they were insurance 'poor'.  I swear they had insurance in the insurance.   ;)

I've got an idea for the steel shutters but we'll see how things go first.  I'm going to have to check out my insurance options... I hear they won't insure the cabin from fire since we're 15 miles from the nearest hydrant and fire protection may or may not be provided by a private service.  I don't plan on keeping any valuables there but if I leave a snowmobile or a quad for a few weeks while i'm away i'd like to know it'll still be there when I return.  My grandparents had a cabin in the Blue Mtns. and they never locked the place up... when they did, someone would break in... instead, they left a note saying "take what you need, leave what you can, and thanks for not trashing the place"... had lots of "visitors" but never had any problems.

One thing we do - do about this time of the year when the people start retuning to the area and until hunting season is over in the fall walk down and close the gate to our road in the evening then open it oh some time after breakfast and coffee and going that way away.  Best thing you can do is get to know those around you.  Naturally they will start looking out for you and you for them.  We do have some up here that are sort of sticky fingered however. You sort them out pretty quick!   >:(

I need to start thinking about a fence and gates but that'll probably have to wait til next year.  I'm pretty chummy with one of the neighbors and got him a used 325gal. water tank/tote (cost me $15) for a few loads of gravel and some dozer work when I start backfilling so he's in my back pocket, he usually stops by to chat and have a beer with us when we're there.  The other neighbors are a friendly older couple and always honk/wave as they come n go.  The neighbor on the hill is more of a loner/bachelor... not a lot to say, waves, etc., but sounds like he's not a real social person.  A couple of other full timers but everyone else seems to be passing through... some go by and never come back, I assume they're exploring and found another road out.

BTW It is so remarkable the similarities in topography even climate between the Okanogan area and here where our ranch is.


rick91351

Insurance is a strange animal and depends on who is underwriting.  We were cautioned to get liability on this ranch when it was bare ground.  By one my insurance agent and two my attorney said our risk was way to high in this.  So I asked my insurance agent to get us insured.  Only one we found that would was Farmers Alliance a branch of Farmers.  But my agent did not find that.  It was only after I started looking myself and questions other agents and district managers did we score.  Funny my agent was a Farmers agent at the time.

So we started building the house, Farmers would not touch it but Auto Owners would.  We are not in a fire district and sounds sort of like you.  To the west our closest neighbor is about ten miles.  The closest one after that is like thirty miles to the west.  North is a mile to our neighbor.  Then a few to the east and south.  So anyway Auto Owners wrote our owner builder construction insurance.  It was not all that bad.  I did have a guy hired to help me frame and he was uninsured and I told them that.  That was okay but and subs I hired had to be insured.  As soon as we finished Auto Owners said they did not have proper data - so they said or claimed - in costing out a policy such as this.  But Farmers Alliance was happy to write it and we were well please when it came back from underwriting.  You might try them.                 
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.

nailit69

I'll have to look into it a little more... my daughter is w/Farmers now, maybe they can bundle and save... oh wait, that's Progressive  ???.

rick91351

You wrote you grandparents had a cabin in the Blues!  Around LaGrande?

I would sure do some shopping as far as insurance.  I have seen several on here find out the hard way! 
Proverbs 24:3-5 Through wisdom is an house builded; an by understanding it is established.  4 And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  5 A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.