CountryPlans Forum

General => Owner-Builder Projects => Topic started by: pmichelsen on March 01, 2011, 12:29:03 PM

Title: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 01, 2011, 12:29:03 PM
I came across this site about a month ago and since then I have been addicted. And now I figured I would share some information on my project. I share my land with a group of long time friends, we have about 10-15 acres and on the property there are eight cabins. All of the cabins were built in the early to mid 1920's and all but one of them were fixed up back in the early 80's. Mine is the one that was never fixed up, sadly it is now too far gone to be brought back to life so I will be rebuilding the whole thing. Though I have been going to this spot since the early 80's I was only made a partner a few years ago.

The original cabin was built directly on a log foundation though when I rebuild I will be pouring a concrete stem wall foundation. The plan is to dig down four to six feet at each corner and the midpoint of the walls build some rebar cages pour these and then tie them into the stem wall, though most of the ground is solid I will be building near a slope looking over a river and want to avoid any shifting in the future. Though my cousin the structural engineer thinks this is overkill my father and I agree a little overkill never hurt anyone. On top of the foundation I will be building a ~1100ft^2, 2 bd/2 ba "cabin." Though we call it a cabin it will have the comforts of home as well, we do have water, power, septic, and propane on site, though we may look into solar in the future. We will use this cabin year round, spending most summer weekends there and then hope to spend a lot of time in the winter months there too.

We are also lucky that until we build our cabin we are able to use the other cabins on the property so there is no rush. The plan is to build as we have money doing things in stages, 100% of the work will be done by myself with the help of my father and probably some friend. We would like to build this without any permits but being in CA this could prove to be tricky so I am not going to give too much detailed info on the location. The only permit I know I will have to pull is for PG&E, but we have a plan to do that (my father has been a building inspector for the past 36 years).

I will post up a picture of the floor plan I have come up with for now, though I will most likely change some things down the road as I don't like the flow the way that I have drawn it. In the next month or two the lady and I are going to stake out the rooms with some string line and see how it feels and what tweaks we want. In the meantime here is a picture of the space we will be building; our deck will be over looking the river. The are to be cleared is to the right of the burn pile. Wow, this is a horrible picture, I will take a better one of the space next month.

(https://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff85/paulmichelsen/P1210011.jpg)
Title: Re: California Redwoods
Post by: glenn kangiser on March 01, 2011, 01:11:05 PM
PGE is pretty well one of the number one rats about building - sometimes having agreements with the county.

Any chance of going all solar and keeping them out of it?  ... then  again maybe your plan is good enough.  Just a thought.

Looking forward to seeing your project.
Title: Re: California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 08, 2011, 11:17:54 AM
Quote from: glenn kangiser on March 01, 2011, 01:11:05 PM
PGE is pretty well one of the number one rats about building - sometimes having agreements with the county.

Any chance of going all solar and keeping them out of it?  ... then  again maybe your plan is good enough.  Just a thought.

Looking forward to seeing your project.

Glenn,

I think we have the PG&E issue figured out, all of my electrical will be completed prior to starting any construction and it will be done with permits. Solar would be nice but I think connecting to the utility will better serve our needs, plus the pole is only 40 feet from my build site.

Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 08, 2011, 11:18:52 AM
I just took of a few days at the beginning of next month to head up to the cabin, haven't been up since January. While I am up there I plan to:

- Take some better pictures of my future build site
- Start of the spring cleaning (Mowing of the grounds, cleaning debris, cutting back over growth)
- Build new back stops for my horseshoe pits, and possibly lay the conduit for the lights/outlets
- Clean up the Bobcat and see if I can track down my hydraulic leak
- Fish
- Relax
- Weather permitting a little kayaking

Anyone else eager to get up to their property to start the season off?
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: rick91351 on March 08, 2011, 12:02:07 PM
Quote from: pmichelsen on March 08, 2011, 11:18:52 AM

Anyone else eager to get up to their property to start the season off?


Your property looks nice.  Special place.

Yes we are getting very eager!  We really want to get up there and start to work in the orchard.  We have 100 fruit trees in the ground and 25 more coming. Last I checked there is still 18 inches of snow. So I figure the middle April.  We have 50 more blueberries scheduled in May, and then we have to move 25 purple raspberries that were to frost tender last year to go up.  Cattle go up last last week of April.  Then there are fences to fix and wire to stretch and a garden deer fence we want to build.  Then there is the bridge over the creek and ........... and I am wore out just thinking about it all.  Then there is my regular job.... [waiting] Hey God!  You sure you can't make that a 28 hour day in the spring?
 
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: glenn kangiser on March 08, 2011, 01:05:43 PM
Quote from: pmichelsen on March 08, 2011, 11:17:54 AM
Quote from: glenn kangiser on March 01, 2011, 01:11:05 PM
PGE is pretty well one of the number one rats about building - sometimes having agreements with the county.

Any chance of going all solar and keeping them out of it?  ... then  again maybe your plan is good enough.  Just a thought.

Looking forward to seeing your project.

Glenn,

I think we have the PG&E issue figured out, all of my electrical will be completed prior to starting any construction and it will be done with permits. Solar would be nice but I think connecting to the utility will better serve our needs, plus the pole is only 40 feet from my build site.



On grid is nearly always cheaper than off grid for serious power.  I still like being off grid.

G/L on the hydraulic leaks,  I know that one very well.  What model Bobcat do you have?
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 08, 2011, 03:49:28 PM
Quote from: glenn kangiser on March 01, 2011, 01:11:05 PM
On grid is nearly always cheaper than off grid for serious power.  I still like being off grid.

G/L on the hydraulic leaks,  I know that one very well.  What model Bobcat do you have?

I am not looking forward to the leak search, I am hoping that I can pressure wash the whole thing and then track it down. I know the front ram has a slight leak but I feel as though there is a bigger one somewhere judging by my drip pan.

I believe it is a 843 or 853, can't remember it could even be a 900 series, haven't messed with it since last 4th of July.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Jens on March 09, 2011, 11:00:02 PM
where is this going on?  I love deciduous trees, but I miss my redwoods. :-\
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 10, 2011, 11:09:48 AM
The build site is up near the Avenue of the Giants in CA. I will take some shots of the big trees on our property when I am up there, I think some of the big ones are 6'+ in diameter. Sadly the owner of the property before us tried to log as much of the property as he could prior to selling so some of the good stuff might have been dropped.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: MelFol on March 10, 2011, 11:35:38 AM
Fabulous area.  We have vacationed the Sinkyone and along the Eel River several times. There is something special about being among those big trees.  Great area for a build IMO.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: glenn kangiser on March 10, 2011, 01:09:21 PM
Quote from: pmichelsen on March 08, 2011, 03:49:28 PM
Quote from: glenn kangiser on March 01, 2011, 01:11:05 PM
On grid is nearly always cheaper than off grid for serious power.  I still like being off grid.

G/L on the hydraulic leaks,  I know that one very well.  What model Bobcat do you have?


I am not looking forward to the leak search, I am hoping that I can pressure wash the whole thing and then track it down. I know the front ram has a slight leak but I feel as though there is a bigger one somewhere judging by my drip pan.

I believe it is a 843 or 853, can't remember it could even be a 900 series, haven't messed with it since last 4th of July.


That is the best chance - belly drains get stopped up too making cleaning the bottom hard.  I blow them out with the pressure washer until they drain too, sometimes from the bottom.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: duncanshannon on March 10, 2011, 11:33:21 PM
 w*

looking forward to reading about your project!
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 11, 2011, 09:17:04 AM
Quote from: MelFol on March 10, 2011, 11:35:38 AM
Fabulous area.  We have vacationed the Sinkyone and along the Eel River several times. There is something special about being among those big trees.  Great area for a build IMO.

I am lucky enough to have the Eel River flow through our property, and it is impossible to wipe the smile from my face once I hit about Laytonville on the 101. I am getting pretty excited thinking about being back up there and getting my hands dirty. Hopefully from here on I will be able to get up there at least once a month until December.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: MelFol on March 12, 2011, 02:18:51 PM
How far above the Eel are you?  I have friends near Redway who have a cabin near the river. It's been a while ago but they had three feet of water in the cabin.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 14, 2011, 08:07:03 AM
Since we have had the property I have seen the Eel rise quite a bit. I am building my place about 4-5 ft above the highest recorded water level just to be safe. It is definitely something we thought a lot about when choosing a build site. Thanks for the tip.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: fistbump on March 16, 2011, 11:41:54 AM
Is that Eel River in the picture? You are a very lucky man to be building in the redwoods and by Eel River. I have camped up there once and was blown away, I fell in love with those redwoods right away. I live in Indiana now and I do miss the striking beauty of upper CA. Good Luck!
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 16, 2011, 11:57:09 AM
Yes, that is the Eel in the background, I think that picture was taken last January so it was pretty muddy and that might be the worst picture ever. I will snap some clearer photos in a few weeks when I am up there.

I first went up there about 25 years ago and it has been the one constant love in my life since.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: John Raabe on March 16, 2011, 01:58:05 PM
PM:

Nice site. I wonder if the fact that your dad was/is a building inspector (and no doubt knows the lingo with the local inspector) might not make it worth your while to go topside and get the full set of permits. I can see that you aren't wanting to cut corners on the structure at any rate.

It does make things like remodels and future sales go smoother. However, it may also cause exposure problems with your site neighbors, I suppose.

Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 16, 2011, 02:59:57 PM
John: In all honesty I am not against going on the up and up with the cabin building and I have considered it, however the added cost and effort added to the fact that nothing on the property has been done with permits (including my buddies hefty addition we just finished) and I don't want them sniffing around.

The main reason though is the cost and effort, here are the issues: The way the deed was written we are not permitted to build any new structures on the land, we are only able to remodel the existing. Well my current cabin is in a horrible location (cliff is eroding underneath, proximity to other cabins, proximity to road, etc) add that to the fact that when the property was purchased they knew they wanted to move my cabin so on the plot plan they drew my cabin in the location I am going to be building. So, if I wanted to be on the up and up I would have to move my cabin to its new location and then "remodel" it. Even if we wanted to move the cabin (built in 1926ish) I don't think it would live through the relocation.

I am going to relook at everything this year and weigh out the added work and expense of moving the existing cabin, as I'm sure I could get away with just moving the floor and a wall or two.


Here is a shot of my existing cabin:

(https://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff85/paulmichelsen/DSCN1121.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: John Raabe on March 16, 2011, 03:10:01 PM
Thanks for that explanation - I can see that it's COMPLICATED!

Take good photos of the project as it progresses - that could help explain things that can't be seen should that ever be needed in the future.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 25, 2011, 03:06:03 PM
One week to go till I head up there, hope the property hasn't washed away.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on April 04, 2011, 06:54:20 PM
I just got back from my trip to the property, why do five days up there go by like one day down here? I took some shots of a few of the larger redwoods on the property and some of the water to give everyone an idea of the land.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/ujxcf802b/P1000692.jpg)

(https://s27.postimg.cc/ohppoqbmb/P1000695.jpg)

Here is a picture of me in front of that last tree, note I am 6'-02" and I think that tree has a diameter of around 8' (the picture is deceiving).

(https://s27.postimg.cc/8m0vlfl1v/P1000690.jpg)

Here is a shot of the river from our land, we have a road that brings us to the waters edge which is about 50 feet away.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/mbqtghis3/P1000702.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: handyman on April 04, 2011, 10:31:55 PM
    Is that the south Fork of the Eel River?  I bet there are fish in it.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on April 05, 2011, 07:49:55 AM
Yep there are lots of fish in there, mostly Steelhead and Salmon.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on May 23, 2011, 07:25:39 AM
Headed up to the the property on Thursday for a nice 6 day weekend, bringing with me a list of things to get done on the property and hopefully some fun in the sun too.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Sassy on May 23, 2011, 08:38:15 PM
That is a BIG tree!  Just saw your posting...  I think we were up in that area a few years ago - flew into Shelter Cove & stayed for a couple days & then flew somewhere else (can't remember) & rented a car & drove all over - seems like I recall the Eel river... gee, the memory is starting to go,  :D.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: duncanshannon on May 23, 2011, 08:43:56 PM
looks incredible! 
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Native_NM on May 23, 2011, 08:45:14 PM
Wow, wow, and wow.  What a great location.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Native_NM on May 23, 2011, 08:54:00 PM
Reading through your posts, the remodel constraints reminded me of a house under construction my brother showed me in the bay area when I visited a year back.   It was also a "remodel", and basically consisted of two short corner sections of the house.  The entire rest of the house had been torn down, leaving a small part of the slab and the framed section - maybe 4 feet of wall total.  The way he explained it, the historic regulations and property taxes made it impossible to build a "new" house.  The owners tore the entire house down, including most of the old footings and slab, leaving a small section in the corner, and then rebuilt around it.   They had to keep the same basic footprint of the house, but also had to "remodel" to the new earthquake code.  You all got some strange laws out your way!   ;D ;D
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on May 24, 2011, 07:41:47 AM
Quote from: Sassy on May 23, 2011, 08:38:15 PM
That is a BIG tree!  Just saw your posting...  I think we were up in that area a few years ago - flew into Shelter Cove & stayed for a couple days & then flew somewhere else (can't remember) & rented a car & drove all over - seems like I recall the Eel river... gee, the memory is starting to go,  :D.

Shelter Cove isn't too far away; my sister and brother in law like to fly up there for picnics on the weekends.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on June 01, 2011, 07:12:17 PM
Well after spending almost six days at the property I found it very difficult to come back to reality. Everything is so peaceful up there, just sitting watching nature or listening to the river rush by is very relaxing.

Of course the weekend didn't go by without a few little issues, our water system went down Friday around lunch time. When I tried to fire it back up the pump kept loosing its prime, after a little trouble shooting I was able to pin point a faulty check valve. I was a little worried about trying to track down a 2" check valve being the closest big town was at least an hours drive away. You can imagine my surprise when I decided to just check the garage to see if we had a spare, not only did we have one we had a SCH 80 spare 2" check valve. What are the chances of that. After getting the new check valve installed I thought I had the problem licked, until I came back later in the day to find the pump running constantly and really starting to heat up. It had heated up so much that some of the threaded connections had come undone. Which upset me for two reasons 1) the high temp safety wasn't working properly and 2)the pressure switch wasn't working properly. Once I got everything back together and the pressure switch dialed in we had running water for the rest of the weekend, I am going to look into the high temp switch next time.

I was also able to fix a leaky sink in one of my friends cabins, paint all of the eves on a cabin we repaired earlier in the year after a branch took out the porch, and get my horseshoe pits back in working condition.

We are already planning the next trip up and hopefully we won't have as much rain next time.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on July 14, 2011, 10:10:39 AM
Headed up to the property after work today.

Only plans this weekend are to pour some concrete for the horseshoe pits, not really looking forward to mixing 50 80lb sacks of concrete but there will be four of us so hopefully it will go quickly. I am also hoping that I can get started on some of the electrical work for my lights so that this fall we are able to toss shoes after the sun goes down.

And lastly, I hope to spend some quality time at the river kayaking and hanging out in the swimming hole.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on July 19, 2011, 02:47:31 PM
Well here is what 20 80lbs sacks of concrete looks like. I could not believe how fast my buddy and I were able to mix 45 80lbs sacks of concrete. We are both so used to working alone we forgot what it was like working with another person. We mixed up 40 sacks for the horseshoe pit pitching platforms (my project) and 5 sacks for the landing to his back stair case off of the deck. Took us about an hour to mix and then another hour or so in finishing work, I am going to leave my forms on until my next trip to really let the concrete cure.

The pads are 6 inches thick with #3 rebar, hopefully they aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Now I just need to figure out what media I want to use in the pits, build my light poles, run electrical, and re grade the area around the pits.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/9kx86qat9/P1010191.jpg)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/74vesvsql/P1010187.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 14, 2011, 08:28:33 AM
Well after a lot of thinking I have decided to quit my job and move on to greener pastures (hopefully). My current employment ends next Thursday and then I gave myself a week off before starting the new gig, and of course I am going to use that week to head up to the property. The downside with starting a new job is that I doubt I will be taking any more vacation this year, the upside is that I will have more money to put into the cabin fund!

While I'm up there I plan to work some more on my horseshoe pits and then really do some planning at the build site. I'm thinking about laying out all of the walls with string line so that I can get a feel for the space and see if any changes need to be made. This is mainly for my other half as I can't seem to convince her that nearly 1200 ft^2 is plenty of room for a cabin.

I'm hoping with the extra money going into the fund that next year I will be able to get my power run to the site and maybe even knock out my foundation. That will mainly depend on whether or not PG&E takes me to the cleaners, I know my father just gave them 5k+ to run an underground line from a pole in his backyard to the panel. Seems a bit like high way robbery if you ask me, especially considering he did all of the hard work, digging the trench and laying the pipe. It would be much cheaper to go over head with the line but with the amount of trees in the path I would much rather have it under ground, plus I think it looks A LOT better.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: BRUTAL on September 21, 2011, 08:39:25 AM
5K???THAT IS ROBBERY. HL&P IS RUNNING MINE FOR FREE UP TO 800' THATS ABOVE THOUGH. IM MEETING WITH THEM TOMMORROW AND HAVING THEM RUN 200' ABOVE TO THE TREES, THEN IM TRENCHING BACK TO THE CABIN. IF THEY TOLD ME IT WOULD BE 5K....WELL THAT WOULD BUY ALOT OF SOLAR PANELS...... ;D
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Squirl on September 21, 2011, 09:45:41 AM
NYSE&G told me 500 ft free, 12.50 a foot after that, plus 300 per property in between for a utility easment. I wanted to go off grid anyway.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 21, 2011, 08:37:59 PM
Just to really make you sick here is a picture of how far PG&E ran the wiring. The new meter location is where I was standing when I took the picture and you can see how far the pole is. 5k doesn't go very far in CA, and my fathers requirements were much to great to even consider solar. And I could go overhead at my property however I don't like the look of overhead lines and with the amount of limbs that fall each year it would be a lot of hassle. Hopefully PG&E won't clean me out nearly as bad as my father but I am going to be ready for it either way.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: duncanshannon on September 22, 2011, 09:58:41 AM
wow! that is robbery!

Wisconsin power co wants $4 / foot for an improved lot and $6 / foot for unimproved.

Problem for me is I'm 2000' feet or so down a private road from where the power is today... not to mention prob. 300' up from the edge of my lot to the probable building site.

I'm not building for a few years... hoping that the the owners of the other raw land near me bring power down my way. Will be taking a serious look at solar too.

Interesting looking building in the background. The continuous roof looks like it spans two different buildings.

ps. those are some serious pits!
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 22, 2011, 10:16:54 AM
That building in the back is a seedy motel, hence the massive fence my dad and I built along the back. This property is next door to my parents home and has a small house on 3/4 acres. Here are a few pics of the lot after my dad removed the 20+ dying trees and then one of the bar my dad set for my horseshoe pit (note that was right after he planted the grass, it is much thicker now). You can see why I am going all out on my pits, I can't let him show me up  ;D.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: mogie01 on September 22, 2011, 11:51:57 AM
Wow, your dad did a great job on the yard, it looks great!
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 28, 2011, 07:44:25 PM
Well we just returned from a trip up to the property, like always a small project like building a simple two foot retaining wall turned into a major ordeal. While digging the post  holes I ran into some major roots, one of them being two feet in diameter. Luckily I had packed my Sawzall, and a good sized digging bar, and after fighting them for two days I was able to break through. Unfortunately I had to modify my plans slightly and space the posts a little further apart than I would have liked but in the end I think it turned out alright, after all this was just for my horseshoe pit.

We even had time to take in some swimming and fishing, because that's what having property on the river is for! Here are some pics of the finished project. All I have left now is to run electrical and weld up my light poles so that we can play after dark. The steel is on order now all I need to do is find the time.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/5jp6u2du5/P1010287.jpg)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/q1a55ppxp/P1010288.jpg)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/z04swhk7h/P1010286.jpg)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/i9tf75lsd/P1010268.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on April 12, 2012, 06:19:08 PM
Headed up to the property in two weeks with some friends, doubt I will be able to sneak any work in as we are going to celebrate a friend's birthday. Though I'm sure we will get in some fishing and weather permitted I have a little 7-8 mile kayaking trip planned. I had hoped to break ground this year but it's looking like my cabin money is going towards a new truck in the next month or so, plus work has kept me pretty busy.

The good news is that this time next year I should have a decent pile of cabin cash to hopefully knock out my foundation. And who knows maybe my stocks will really make me some money this year and I can cash in.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: duncanshannon on April 12, 2012, 07:28:33 PM
Good luck!

If you don't mind me asking... how much do you figure you need to get started?  (I'm wondering how much I need to get started...)

Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on April 13, 2012, 11:24:25 AM
Well my case is probably different than most here because of my electrical needs and the type of foundation I am doing.

- I believe I mentioned before that to run my electrical from the power pole to my build site is going to set me back $8-10k, and because I am building under the radar I must have all of this work completed before I can even start anything on the cabin.

- Once I have my electrical squared away I can move on to my foundation which will be a stem wall, along with the stem wall I will also be pouring concrete columns in the four corners and at the mid points. I will utilize rebar cages that will also be tied into the rebar used for the stem wall. I think I am going to go down around six feet for each column. Reason for all of this is that I have concerns with the earth shifting as my build site is at the edge of a hill. Better safe than sorry, and in my family we tend to over build things. I estimate the foundation to set me back around $8k.

So before I can do ANYTHING I need to spend the $8-10k for electrical then after that the additional $8k, so I'm looking at around $16-18k to get going. Unfortunately my requirements and build site don't really allow for off grid so there isn't much I can do about the price for electrical, that is what our public utility is charging. And that is with me doing all of the work, digging the ditch, installing the conduit, etc. all they are doing is running the wire and signing off.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on May 24, 2012, 10:26:38 AM
Good thing my father has a good head on his shoulders, tossing around some ideas to avoid the massive PG&E bill for running my power we devised a plan. Instead of putting my meter next to my build site and having PG&E run the electrical out there. I will now place my meter next to the power pole and run my own electrical out to the build site. That means all PG&E has to do is run power down the pole to my meter, this also means no more 40" trench for electrical I can now do it at the standard 18".

So now I will build a stand for the meter and then build a second one at my build site with my sub panel. I still have to meet with PG&E and the county to make sure they are alright with this plan but I don't think they will have a problem. And of course all of this is to get power to our "pump"..
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on August 29, 2012, 09:39:28 AM
Headed up to the property on Friday for a nice long weekend. Along with me is 200' of conduit and a bunch of wire.

Plan for this weekend is to finish installing the conduit from my buddies cabin to our horse shoe pit and get all of my pull boxes installed so that once I weld up my light poles we can drop them in and run the wire. I only need to dig another 100' so I should be able to knock that out pretty quick over the weekend.

If I have extra time I will begin to move debris out of my way and start digging the trench over to my build site to prepare for the electrical to run out there. I'm still on the fence as to whether I am going to dig that by hand or contract it out to someone. I would rent a ditch witch and do it myself but I am concerned with the amount of rock and roots and I would rather someone else risk their equipment rather than me screwing up a rental and be stuck. I figure guys up in the area that do that type of work know what they're getting into. Other option would be to buy a back hoe attachment for my Bobcat, decisions decisions.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: SkagitDrifter on August 29, 2012, 10:20:03 AM

Now those are some real horseshoe pits.  Great job.
Would love to see pictures of the lighting for the pits when you complete it.
Beautiful place you have there- looking forward to seeing more of your progress.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 07, 2012, 01:23:00 PM
Well like most work trips go I didn't get as much done as I had anticipated, but I am happy with the progress...

Saturday: Slept in and didn't get started until almost 9:00am, went out to the site and started digging from where I had left off over memorial day. Unfortunately digging with a shovel is just not possible due to the amount of rock and hard soil. So it was a little bit at a time with the pick ax followed up with a clean out using the shovel. By about 11:00 I saw my buddies kids stirring about so I knew he wouldn't be too far a long, they didn't arrive until around 1:30am the night before so I cut him some slack. We dug for a good few hours and were able to get 25 feet to full depth (18") and another 15 feet to 6". After that we ate lunch and headed to the river for lounging and swimming.

Sunday: I was out digging at 8:00 and was able to get the 15 feet from Saturday down to full depth and another 10 feet to full depth. My buddy came down and was in good spirits so I had high hopes, at this point we still had another 75 feet to dig. After a few swings of the pick ax my buddy realized that while his body was ok his hands were a whole different story. So we began to look around for other options and we came to the conclusion that we either needed to buy/rent a roto hammer with a spade bit or do something with our Bobcat (the Bobcat has a major hydraulic leak). After making some calls we found a few places open and decided to hit the road. First stop was to pick up 5 gallons of hydraulic fluid from there we were trying to find a place that had a roto hammer. Sadly after checking three towns we gave up and came back. We filled up the Bobcat with fluid and started it up, it was leaking pretty good but we decided to monitor it closely and go for it. Our plan was to position the bucket straight down so that the teeth were in line with the trench and then skid side to side. Doing this we were able to get another 50-60 feet down to 12" and we called it a day.

Monday: Today was the day my buddy and his family were headed home so I knew I didn't have a lot of time with him. I got out there early and dug everything we had started to full 18" depth. Even though we still had another 15-20 feet to dig I decided to cut my losses and work on getting all of my conduit installed in what we had dug so that I could use everyone to help burry the trench. By the time my buddy came out I was gluing conduit and getting ready to burry. With his help, along with his three kids and my significant other we were able cover up our three days of hard work. Sure is a lot easier to fill the trench than it is to dig it.

I have already taken off a Friday in October so that I can work another solid three days. The plan for that weekend is to dig the remaining 15-20 feet and dig my two post holes down to 4 feet deep. Ideally I will install my posts too but I don't want to get carried away. Even if I do get the posts installed I don't want to try and pull wire alone so I would have to come back anyway.

Wow that was pretty long winded and I don't even have any pictures to show for it. I promise to add some photos once I get home from work.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 07, 2012, 08:39:45 PM
Here are a few shots from labor day weekend.

This one shows when we stopped for a sandwich break:
(https://s28.postimg.cc/dy09ruet9/P1010909.jpg)

This picture is after we had buried all of the conduit, I added a box here so that I could add other things in the future:
(https://s28.postimg.cc/3mnwz6n3x/P1010938.jpg)

And finally the spot we stopped, hopefully in a month I will add pictures of it all wrapped up:
(https://s28.postimg.cc/yscm9o96l/P1010952.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Huge29 on September 08, 2012, 03:40:05 AM
Serious horseshoers going on here!
Quote from: duncanshannon on September 22, 2011, 09:58:41 AMProblem for me is I'm 2000' feet or so down a private road from where the power is today... not to mention prob. 300' up from the edge of my lot to the probable building site.

I'm not building for a few years... hoping that the the owners of the other raw land near me bring power down my way. Will be taking a serious look at solar too.
Why not approach the neighbors then approach the utility together?  That may result in not duplicating efforts, ensuring the trunk line is large enough for everyone and potentially more help in them seeing higher volume of sales??
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on October 18, 2012, 01:18:28 PM
Well once I am done with work today I am headed up to the property to pick up where I left off. We had some rain up there Monday and Tuesday of this week so hopefully the ground will be a little bit easier to work with. I have my light poles semi welded up, I will have to add an addition four feet to them tomorrow. I would have done that when I welded the arms but they would have been too long for my truck and I didn't feel like pulling a trailer.

Welding up the poles, like everything else, turned into quite a job. The basic pole and arm by themselves was pretty straight forward but making an adapter to tie into the goosenecks was a little more work. I ended up welding a plug that fits inside the end of the arm, the plug consists of a piece of tubular steel that I welded ends on, I then drilled a hole through the ends and welded in a piece of pipe that I machined to accept the gooseneck. After that was done I tapped the pipe for two set screws and also tapped the plug for two set screws that way I can remove the whole thing for assembly and maintenance. I then have a cap that will cover the end of the arm and hide the connection from the gooseneck to the plug.

Trying to figure out all of my connections so that everything can be accessed in the future and be up to electrical code was a little tricky. Granted it didn't have to be up to code but any time I can make something to code I do.

Amazing the amount of work I have put in just so we can throw a few horseshoes once the sun sets...

Here is a picture of the plug and the yet to be drilled cap.

(https://s27.postimg.cc/83exzibxf/IMG_1788.jpg)

Hopefully I will have more pictures of my progress next week. Of course I would love to be able to have the poles installed and all of my conduit run by the end of the weekend, I'm just not sure that is a realistic goal. I figure if I can at least get all of my conduit run and the holes for the poles dug I should be in good shape. Realistically I need another person to help me get the poles in the ground and they weigh a few hundred pounds each. Plus I will need a second set of hands when it comes time to pull the wire anyway so another tip is in the near future regardless.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on November 12, 2012, 11:02:37 AM
I realized I never posted an update after my last trip. On my last trip I was able to install 95% of my conduit and get my light poles welded and in the ground.

I went up this last weekend for another run at my light poles and I think I had a good run. I was able to get my lights wired up and the final 5% of conduit run. The only things left to do are run the speaker wire, pull wire to the old pump house, and paint the poles their final color.

The speaker wire and wiring the old pump house I will complete in a few weeks, the painting is going to have to wait until the spring. Things are just too wet and cold up there now to paint. I think they should be alright over the winter since I did get a good coat of primer on them. Possibly a light sanding in the spring.

My friends and I always do a trip to the cabin the third weekend in January and I'm glad everything will be functional by then. If you couldn't tell we really like playing horseshoes.  :)

Here are a couple pictures from yesterday evening:

(https://s28.postimg.cc/h95rnav99/IMG_1989.jpg)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/psp5l23lp/IMG_1990.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Danfish on November 13, 2012, 12:18:54 PM
That's one impressive amount of work on the recreation site.  Sure looks like there are many hours of enjoyment for you in your gang in coming years.  Great job!!!
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on December 27, 2012, 10:34:21 AM
I was up at the property two weeks ago to put some finishing touches on the horseshoe pit in preparation for my annual trip up there with my friends in three weeks. There are nine of us in our group and every year around the third weekend in January we all head up for our annual "MansTrip." It's a time for just the guys to get together and in all honesty, be kids again.

So I pulled speaker wire to each of the light posts on the horseshoe pit and mounted my marine speakers right under the arm that sticks out for the light. The other end of my conduit is in the old pump house that is visible in the picture above. In the pump house I removed two old pressure tanks and put a shelf for my stereo and ran some electrical in there. I will use this area to store the rakes, brooms, canopies, and other items for the horseshoe pit. 

Unfortunately the trip didn't come without setbacks, I went up on a Thursday night, got in around 11:30 and by Friday night the water system had gone down on me. Over the last few years we have had quite a few problems with the system and quite a few people who have known enough to get themselves in trouble have worked on it. I am still hoping I can limp it along until spring, and then I will pull everything out and redo it all. Sadly not only do I need to re-plumb the system I also need to build a new enclosure for the system. With the amount of moisture we get up there wood just doesn't last long so we are looking at building the enclosure out of stainless or aluminum.

If my stock keeps performing the way it has the last few months I should also be breaking ground on my structure in the spring. My plan for this year is to at least get my electrical run to the site and possibly my foundation poured. Hopefully 2013 will be the year of the cabin!
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on January 24, 2013, 11:02:40 AM
This last weekend was my annual trip with my friends up to the property, two of us are owners and have cabins on the property and the other seven are our friends. I can definitely say all of my hard work on the horseshoe pit paid off, everyone was very impressed and we were able to play five double elimination tournaments over the weekend. I think we played until 11:30pm each night. Was nice to have the lights and background music was a nice touch.

One thing that made it a little better was bringing out a portable fire pit off to the side of the horseshoe pits so we could warm up in between games. It was such a hit I think i am going to build a permanent one this summer with some seating around it for the spectators.

Here is a picture of our motley crew, you can also see the newest addition that my buddy made, a horseshoe shaped score board. He designed and cut it out on his water-jet machine, it's made out of 1/4" aluminum. We are unsure if we should powder coat it or not, in the day light it gets a nasty glare. We use two spring clamps to mark our scores. You can also see the bracket on the light pole for my outdoor speakers, I pack them up when we leave, no sense exposing them to the elements.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/qae78g4pp/P1060099.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: lavarock on January 24, 2013, 03:13:42 PM
That is one sweet horseshoe pit!  Well done and good luck woth your future project!
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on May 23, 2013, 12:52:02 PM
Headed up to the property tomorrow for the long weekend.

We're hoping to complete phase one of our water system rebuild. Phase one includes rebuilding the enclosure that houses the pump and filters. Since my buddy and I are still fairly young we want to build something that will last all of our lives so we don't have to rebuild this enclosure again. So we ordered a few hundred feet of 3" and 2" tubular aluminum, the plan is to concrete the four main supports into the ground and then weld everything in place as we build.

Once we get the enclosure finished up we are going to rip out all of the plumbing for our system and start from scratch, hopefully simplifying and alleviating a lot of headaches we have had over the last few years.

If I have time this weekend I will also put a coat of paint on my light poles at the pits.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on May 28, 2013, 09:43:17 PM
Well we got phase one complete of the pump upgrade, and not a moment too soon. Roughly 30 minutes after we finished yesterday the power went out on us and stayed off for about 16 hours. Overall we're happy with our progress, all in all it took the two of us about 2.5 days, though we took frequent breaks for family time in the badminton court.

On the next trip we will be adding gas shocks to keep doors open while working, a new floor, and replacing all of the plumbing. We also plan to arrange things so they are more easily accessible, such as the filter housings.

Here is how we left it:

(https://s27.postimg.cc/qda2cabyr/P1000216.jpg)

(https://s27.postimg.cc/agbafkjkj/P1000217.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on July 02, 2013, 09:53:32 AM
My buddies and I decided we need to take advantage of the long weekend so we are headed up to the cabin tomorrow after work. This trip will mainly be R&R, though I will try and get a coat of paint on my light poles and do some digging around our holding tank to prep for our plumbing work in two weeks. Aside from that we are planning a kayaking trip and much time down in the river.

I also placed an order over the weekend for all of the fittings we need to re-plumb our pump and filtration system. It's amazing how fast things add up when ordering 2" SCH 80 and 2" copper, but I really believe we are doing it the right way now and we will have a lot less headaches going forward. That right there makes it worth every penny.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on July 25, 2013, 11:12:00 PM
Well I was up at the property last weekend, went up Thursday afternoon and came home Monday. Most of the time was spent hiking, swimming, and playing games with the kids. I was up there with four of my friends and their families, kids ranging from 7-17. It was my idea of a perfect weekend and what having a cabin is all about, being able to make memories and continue traditions.

Sunday after everyone had packed up my buddy and I decided it was time to tackle the water system. Over memorial Day weekend we had done the work above (new enclosure) so now all we had to do was rip out all of the plumbing and start from scratch. We also had to replace the base of the enclosure, which we did out of Trex.

I am happy with the work we did, I think we made it a lot cleaner and hopefully we won't have as many problems.

Before:
(https://s28.postimg.cc/qv5cx04vx/P7040211.jpg)

After:
(https://s28.postimg.cc/5mrofkqf1/P1000250.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on August 28, 2013, 08:17:49 AM
I had a major development in the future of my cabin life happen yesterday, if everything works out I think it will be a much solution for me. I should know by the end of the weekend if this new development will work out or not and will post an update at that time.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on August 30, 2013, 01:47:05 PM
Well as I said the other day there was a major development. As I mentioned in my original post the property is owned by a group of us and my cabin was the one that never got fixed up in the 80's and as a result I was going to need to start from scratch. Well a few months ago the majority of us (there are seven total in the group) decided that we did not like what one of the owners was doing with his place. Basically renting it out to growers in the area to be used in case the DEA cracked down on their homes. To be fair the person in the group doing this became a member by default when his father passed away.

So the rest of us decided that they needed to go and asked if he would be willing to sell his place. Fortunately he agreed for a set amount, well as of this morning I am the one that bought him out and I will be taking over his cabin. It will still need some work but nowhere near as much as the other cabin. And for the price there is no way I could have built one for anywhere near that amount, plus the place comes fully furnished and ready to go.

I'm headed up there in two weeks so I will post pictures of the place and detail the work I plan to complete.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 15, 2013, 10:35:39 PM
Well here are a few pictures of the place I just bought, I really couldn't have built something for the price I paid. It does need some work but it is a good starting place.

Inside:
(https://s27.postimg.cc/3kmev42mr/P1000259.jpg)

Front:
(https://s27.postimg.cc/ddz0u6fdf/P1000276.jpg)

Deck:
(https://s27.postimg.cc/eit2zk1ub/P1000270.jpg)

View:
(https://s27.postimg.cc/ufruw9u8j/P1000272.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 15, 2013, 11:13:41 PM
I'm even lucky enough to have one of the larges trees on the property right next to me...

(https://s28.postimg.org/cigicfa9p/P1000305.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: rick91351 on September 16, 2013, 12:48:46 AM
Very nice - very lucky to have the opportunity to Ca$h in - in that area.  That whole area is just so special.   
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Danfish on September 16, 2013, 09:51:26 AM
Wow...looks like you made a good choice.  Now you have a real comfortable base camp while you work on the other cabin.  Congratulations!
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: UK4X4 on September 16, 2013, 12:17:13 PM

That trees looks to be the same width as your truck !
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 16, 2013, 03:51:06 PM
That tree is probably wider than my truck, it's really amazing just how big the giant redwoods can get. I'll add in a better picture of it when I get home tonight and you can see how it dwarfs my fullsize truck.

Since moisture is an issue up there and the weather seems to eat decks for dinner, I'm looking at doing LGS joists and beams. My deck posts were always going to be tubular steel but now I figure why not go all out. Here is an article I found on the topic that seems to be fairly informative:

http://www.jlconline.com/framing/framing-decks-with-steel.aspx (http://www.jlconline.com/framing/framing-decks-with-steel.aspx)

Has anyone tried this?
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 16, 2013, 09:16:54 PM
Here's another picture of that tree next to my truck...

(https://s27.postimg.cc/v6r2974mr/P1000288.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 20, 2013, 03:21:40 PM
I am definitely going to go with LGS for the joists and beams. I think I have tracked down a supplier too so once I have the money I will be ready to go. Looks like I can provide drawings to the supplier and they will precut everything so installing on site will be a piece of cake. I need to get busy now digging the the footings for the posts, the footings will be fairly deep with rebar cages that tie in to J-bolts so that I can attach the steel posts. I will then have my buddy water jet and bend some saddles for the LGS beams to sit in. Hopefully this will make for a fairly bullet proof deck, but being that I'm so young I really need to go crazy so that I only have to do this once.  ;D
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on October 03, 2013, 11:07:43 AM
Took off tomorrow and Monday and I'm headed up to the cabin after work. My parents are going to come up tomorrow evening and stay through Sunday so they can see the place. I will be getting my dad's advice on some improvements I'm looking at doing and an addition I have been tossing around in my head since my last visit. Plus it will be nice to enjoy probably one of the last nice weekends of the season. I'm hoping to get in the river but we shall see, looks like the high is supposed to be 80 with the low around 34.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on October 29, 2013, 08:57:30 PM
Headed up to the cabin Thursday after work with a fairly small list of things to accomplish:

- Flash the edge of the roof
- Build a new staircase up to the deck

When the previous owner roofed the place they didn't flash the edges so some of the plywood and rafter tails are showing early signs of dry rot. So I will be fixing all rot and flashing the edges to limp the roof along another couples years till I can replace the whole thing.

I will be replacing the whole deck next year or the following depending on the availability of funds ;) but the stairs can't wait that long so I am going to build a new set.

I'll post some pictures when I return.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on November 13, 2013, 12:10:41 AM
Well as I began tearing off the old stairs I kept finding more and more rot. I kept replacing stuff but then had to remind myself this is only a temporary fix to get me through till next summer. So I only replaced what was absolutely necessary to make everything safe enough for my rowdy friends to come and go.

In the first picture you can see near the top of the stairs the stringer was pretty much completely rotten. After finishing up the stairs I flashed the roof and then spent the rest of the weekend cleaning up the grounds. I was fortunately enough to be able to watch a bald eagle eat a fish it had pulled out of the river and from the deck watch a river otter play in the water for a while.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/dym015upp/P1000324.jpg)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/o7eh6zirh/P1000329.jpg)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/oivxjqz7h/P1000340.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on December 08, 2013, 09:35:04 PM
Went up to the property over Thanksgiving and worked on the deck with my buddies. The beam in the front of the deck feel victim to wood beetles and had pretty much failed. The plan is to hopefully replace the whole thing next summer but I wanted to make it safe until then. I used concrete anchors to attach a bottom plate to the footing and then ran a double top plate attached to the bottom of the deck joists. We then used a few bottle jacks and lifted the deck back up to as close to level as we could get and put studs every two feet. I went back and used some OSB to add strength. I think this should last till the summer then I will tear it all out.

Before:
(https://s27.postimg.cc/3xpkld1tf/P1000278.jpg)

Putting in studs:
(https://s28.postimg.cc/44w2gfpod/P1000371.jpg)

All studs in:
(https://s28.postimg.cc/46609uri5/P1000375.jpg)

OSB attached:
(https://s28.postimg.cc/5inpbqoxp/P1000381.jpg)

While I was up there I put in a new sink and fixture, the sink was one that my dad pulled out of a house he is remodeling and the fixture was one he ordered and didn't like.
(https://s28.postimg.cc/6wfc71o71/P1000391.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on August 12, 2014, 08:59:51 PM
Well it's been a stressful few weeks up at the property, the Lodge Lightning Complex fire is just 2 miles away from my place and when I went up last weekend to further work on my fire break I saw that someone had broken in. Fortunately they didn't take much, food, beer, clothes but the weird thing is that they hung out cooked meals and watch movies.

Fortunately it's looking like the amazing Cal Fire is going to be able to hold the line and my place is going to be fine, now I just need to figure out what I'm going to do for better security. I'm thinking of a simple alarm that will just make a bunch of noise. Friends have told me to just install satellite internet so that I can have cameras, but I really am fighting to not be connected up there.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Tickhill on August 13, 2014, 04:48:33 AM
Sorry to hear about the break-in. Trail cameras would be the first order of business, placed in several different locations around your home. It won't stop someone from breaking in but you will have proof of who was around your property with date/time stamp. One mounted in an old birdhouse (decorative) on a wall facing the door would also be handy if they got inside. B and E is just gonna get worse as this things winds down.
Tickhill
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: UK4X4 on August 13, 2014, 05:10:18 AM
If you have cell coverage - this would work to text you when someone enters the property, just need a sim card

http://www.diycontrols.com/p-6195-agm-gsm-cellular-remote-alarm-module-rm200gsxmusb.aspx (http://www.diycontrols.com/p-6195-agm-gsm-cellular-remote-alarm-module-rm200gsxmusb.aspx)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on October 05, 2014, 07:37:17 PM
Anyone have recommendations on a decent trail camera? Just got back and there was another break in  >:(. Talked to the local sheriff and he has agreed to add our property to the list of daily rounds they make, hopefully it will be a deterrent. He also said he would add it to the patrols done by the K9's in case they do find someone and they run  ;D.

Headed back up next weekend to possibly install and alarm and set out some trail cams, was looking at this one: http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=34901896&cp=4406646.4413993.4414427.13218606 (http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=34901896&cp=4406646.4413993.4414427.13218606) seems to have decent reviews.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on October 14, 2014, 07:30:28 AM
I ended up ordering a Honeywell Vista 20p for my place http://www.security.honeywell.com/hsc/products/intruder-detection-systems/control-panel/burglary/ademco-vista/14958.html (http://www.security.honeywell.com/hsc/products/intruder-detection-systems/control-panel/burglary/ademco-vista/14958.html) seemed to be a good starting place giving me room to upgrade should I see fit down the line. I am going to start with a few motion detectors throughout the place and a sensor on the main door. I also added a lock to my breaker panel and shut down the power for the place when I'm away, hopefully this will keep the intruders from doing laundry and running my utility bills up. Two weekends ago I also used some sheet metal screws and screwed all of my windows closed just in case they were coming in through there. Not an ideal fix but I figure I never open them anyway, mainly use the sliders for ventilation, and I did leave the screws off of the bedroom windows for egress.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on November 13, 2014, 04:34:45 PM
Went up to the property last weekend to install my alarm and upon arrival I found I once again had unwanted guests. I really think they believe I don't notice they have been there, they tried to hide their trash in the woods and they washed and put away all of the dishes they used. Judging by the food scraps being untouched outside and the fact that the dishes they put away were still wet I must have just missed them. Which is what I am afraid of, if I find them I'm not too worried, but if my better half were to arrive to house guests I don't know what would happen.

Fortunately I think I have found how they are getting in, it looks as though they are coming in through a skylight in the bathroom. Before leaving I put four carriage bolts through the skylight and took measurements to weld up a set of bars. While I really don't want to have to install bars on windows I'm desperate at this point, next year when I tear the roof off I will install a skylight that locks better than the current one. While at the cabin I also installed an alarm, one sensor on the front door and motion sensors throughout. At this point I only have it hooked up to make a lot of noise for 20 minutes and hopefully that is enough to scare them off should they get in again. If it seems like they are going to continue to mess with the place I will be adding satellite internet to the cabin with remote monitoring.

It really does make me sad that it has come to this and that you can't have nice things anymore without someone trying to help themselves.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: rick91351 on November 13, 2014, 08:06:08 PM
I sort of wonder if you just left a letter in plan sight.  Asking them not to use the house anymore.  However there is a good benefit to this.  They are neat and                                                                              pretty responsible so it seems.... They might be keeping the riff raff out....  Wink!!!  You might arrange for them to be caretakers.  If you can come to terms.

Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on November 14, 2014, 06:03:11 PM
Someone else said the same thing about making them caretakers.  :D
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on December 24, 2014, 02:07:57 PM
Got word that a tree blew over and into my cabin during the recent storms... ??? So looks like I'm headed up to play lumberjack. And here I thought it was going to be a nice relaxing weekend at the cabin...
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: MountainDon on December 24, 2014, 02:45:53 PM
I do hope the damage is not too bad. Merry Christmas and be safe.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on December 29, 2014, 12:16:33 AM
Fortunately the damage wasn't too bad but trying to cut the tree out of there without causing further damage had me scratching my head. I hopped up on the roof and cut the limbs I could reach and while I was figuring out my next move someone saw me from the road and walked over to see what my plan was. We agreed that the tree needed to be supported so that when I started cutting the top of the tree it wouldn't swing and kick the trunk up in the air causing the top of the tree to crash through the roof. He then said that he would help for a few hundred bucks (side note he is a well known logger that has logged on our property back in the 70's) for a few hundred bucks it was a no brainer. He went home grabbed his climbing gear, block and tackle and we got busy.

First we stabilized the tree by running a line from the midpoint up in to another tree to the right of the cabin. Then he climbed the cluster of three trees and secured his block up there so that we could lower the cut pieces down. After that he went to town and I lowered the pieces after he cut them. Once we got it cut back to where we could work from the roof, I would hold the log and he would cut then I would toss them to the drop zone. In the end he charged me $150, a small price to pay to have it done right. He is going to come over in the spring and help me fell a few other trees that look questionable. It's a good feeling to know there are still some decent people out there.

(https://s28.postimg.cc/ppwym3419/P1010208.jpg)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/5jtgn78dp/photo_2.jpg)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/wixbicuul/photo_3.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Danfish on December 29, 2014, 10:39:05 AM
Great...glad it worked out with no damage!

When it comes to large trees around structures it pays to have a professional on the job!!!
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: rick91351 on December 29, 2014, 10:53:31 AM
 I love your line ......  It's a good feeling to know there are still some decent people out there.

Yes there.  There are a lot of them out there. 

As far as the tree goes so glad it was not one of those size huge ones you have there. 

Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on August 31, 2015, 07:40:18 PM
Looking for suggestions on exterior sliding door material...

A few weeks ago while at the cabin I was assessing some dry rot damage to the exterior and noticed one of my sliders is about shot (I think they're Pella wooden sliders). So I'm going to yank it out and replace it, but I don't know what with. Seems the options are: vinyl, composite, aluminum. I'm going to stay away from wood this time because it just gets too darn wet in the winters and things don't dry out.

What does everyone recommend? I'm fairly certain this is a standard sized opening, though I will be trying to order it in black if possible to match my other windows and sliders.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: MountainDon on August 31, 2015, 08:33:21 PM
 Black is most likely not available in vinyl.  i've never seen anything darker than light tan. It absorbs the sun, gets hot and can warp. A neighbor painted the exteriorof two vinyl windows a dark green and they didn't make it through the summer. NM summer mind you. Facing SW.

Aluminum clad wood gives the weather protection of metal, beauty of wood inside.

Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 01, 2015, 10:03:17 AM
I'm going to spend some time next weekend looking at as many doors as I can but I am liking the Andersen 100 Series (http://www.andersenwindows.com/products/100-series-gliding-patio-door/) I see they're available in black and have the grill option I'm looking for.

I will also check out my options with aluminum clad. Keep the recommendations coming...
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 13, 2015, 07:48:40 PM
Looks like I'm going to go with a MasterPiece composite door, they aren't too bad on the pocket book and they are paint-able. Looked at the extent of the damage and it looks like it's just the sub-floor and a few joists have some dry rot, so it shouldn't be too bad to fix.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on January 27, 2016, 10:18:53 PM
Had some wind while I was up there last week, the downside to giant redwoods is their giant branches. One of them had about an eight to ten inch diameter and was about 15 feet long. Fortunately I'm replacing that deck anyway.

*sorry, don't have this picture anymore*
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Watch Ryder on February 06, 2016, 08:26:03 PM
You know I was wondering that your home invaders / visitors may be friends of the dude you bought it off? Normally to do what they are doing implies a connection and not some random punks.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on February 09, 2016, 08:21:41 AM
Quote from: Watch Ryder on February 06, 2016, 08:26:03 PMYou know I was wondering that your home invaders / visitors may be friends of the dude you bought it off? Normally to do what they are doing implies a connection and not some random punks.

That's definitely something that we considered, fortunately it's been about 15 months since the last break in so I think either they moved on, or I've added enough discouragement to have them look for an easier target.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on May 09, 2016, 03:23:49 PM
Haven't been able to get a hold of my neighbor that helped remove the tree from my roof last year, he said he would give me a hand dropping the trees that are growing over the cabin. And I want to drop the trees before I put the new roof on, so I ended up calling the guys I used to drop the Doug Fir that was growing up against the cabin a few years ago.

Downside being it's going to cost me a lot more than if my neighbor had helped, but the upside is that we will drop, cut, and chip all of the trees in a few hours. Whereas with the neighbor, he was just going to drop the trees and I would have been on my own for everything else. We're shooting to do the work on Thursday and it's supposed to be a beautiful day, I'll post up some pictures after I get back.

Once the trees are down I can start ripping the old roof off, this is something that should have been replaced many years ago. I have no idea how it hasn't sprung a leak yet.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on May 17, 2016, 03:58:51 PM
Well we were only able to drop two trees, the one that was over the cabin and another one that looked sketchy. I wanted another two out as they look sketchy as well so the crew is going back Thursday. Worked out a deal to drop the other two trees, prune all of the trees on the grounds that are near cabins, and grind out all of the stumps. The down side is that it is costing about four times what I was budgeting; but that's still a lot less than the bill would be should one of these trees go over on their own.

Just going to have to push the new roof out by a month or so, up side is that my dad's friend just dropped off 1400 sq ft enough Gracie ice and rain shield for free, he bought it for a job and ended up using something else. I think I might just lay this on the whole roof instead of just the perimeter, that should really ensure it's sealed up good. 

Here are three of the four offenders, all Tanoaks, and from what we've seen starting to rot from the inside out. ...

(https://s28.postimg.cc/cn3tviwv1/P1020094.jpg)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/odhrcwpnh/P1020095.jpg)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/lxfxz27kt/P1020096.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on May 31, 2016, 08:23:02 AM
Well, the trees are gone and after looking at the inside of the trunks, I'm glad I took them out.

The victory wasn't without a few issues though, while removing the chip piles one of the hydraulic lines on my right ram blew on the Bobcat. And the other issue wasn't as bad, but when I got home last night I realized that I had left my wallet at the cabin  d*. So I'll be taking an eight hour detour after work today.


(https://s28.postimg.org/d7h3luqvh/P1020226.jpg)

(https://s28.postimg.org/gd1pc29hp/P1020229.jpg)

(https://s28.postimg.org/8j13qo1ot/P1020231.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on August 05, 2016, 05:52:28 PM
With the trees gone it was time to do the roof. The plan was to go up Saturday the 30th and work through Sunday the 7th, just my dad and I. But my dad ended up going on the 29th, and three buddies decided to head up and lend a hand for the weekend. My buddies really saved us, we had the old roof off and in the trailer in a matter of hours and then they got busy laying down the Grace. By the time they left Monday afternoon, we had 75% of the Grace down, all of the dry-rot cut out and replaced, new sheathing on the overhangs and gable ends, drip edge installed, and a few courses of shingles. My dad and I finished up last night around 9:00pm, we probably would have been done Wednesday; however we ran short of shingles not once, but twice!  :( I think we're both to blame on that one, closest supplier for the shingles was a three hour round trip.

One other set back was the dump closest to the property (45 minutes away) only accepted cash and the tipping fee was $180/ton. I didn't really have any way to pull out that much cash on a Sunday, so I had to go to the main transfer station which was two hours away from the property. Fortunately I had rented a dump trailer, so once I got to the transfer station I was in and out in under ten minutes.

And the new roof color is still growing on me, my dad's buddy owns a roofing company and he just added my shingles in when he was placing a big order, as I told him I didn't care with regards to color.

Here are a few pictures and a time lapse video, sadly I didn't get the camera setup until day two... that's one of my buddies having fun with the camera.

Before:

(https://s28.postimg.cc/500pttcwd/Before_1.jpg)

After:

(https://s28.postimg.cc/rr9sg7xxp/After_1.jpg)

(https://s28.postimg.cc/3m92yidn1/After_2.jpg)

Time Lapse:

https://youtu.be/sWqQXtVa6WQ
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: nailit69 on August 05, 2016, 06:55:41 PM
Looks awesome... like 90% of the roofs I see... the color looks great... i'm probably going with a similar color (Estate Grey) or maybe green, but I don't really like green, but it might go better with the siding finish i'm going with.  Did you get the stuff with scotchguard moss killer or just regular?

I need to get back out to my place soon to put my roofing on and finish up some loose ends before winter sneaks up on me.  Unfortunately (fortunately) I just picked up 3 new houses to frame and one of them is pushing 4000 sq. ft. so the rest of my summer just got real.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on August 06, 2016, 12:26:45 PM
Good eye, I went with Owen Corning Duration shingles in, estate gray. Didn't get the scotchguard moss killer, I'm hoping now that I've removed a lot of the trees I won't have issues with moss. I guess time will tell.

Forgot to mention, not sure if you can see it in the video, but we used a Genie Lift to get the shingles up to the roof, and as a working platform to shingle the front. My dad picked that up at auction two weeks ago for $75, that thing was a back saver. I carried 20 bundles of shingles up to the roof using a ladder a few weeks before we started, and man, it was so much easier using the Genie Lift.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: ChugiakTinkerer on August 06, 2016, 01:44:36 PM
Quote from: pmichelsen on August 06, 2016, 12:26:45 PM
Good eye, I went with Owen Corning Duration shingles in, estate gray. Didn't get the scotchguard moss killer, I'm hoping now that I've removed a lot of the trees I won't have issues with moss. I guess time will tell.

Forgot to mention, not sure if you can see it in the video, but we used a Genie Lift to get the shingles up to the roof, and as a working platform to shingle the front. My dad picked that up at auction two weeks ago for $75, that thing was a back saver. I carried 20 bundles of shingles up to the roof using a ladder a few weeks before we started, and man, it was so much easier using the Genie Lift.

Yay dad!  Sounds like he scored a great deal.  That's a good idea and something I need to keep an eye out for at auctions in my area.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: nailit69 on August 07, 2016, 05:24:31 AM
Grace Ice and Water shield too... thats a tight roof.

I'm going to do the 4/12 portions of my roof in Grace in case I get any snow buildup at the transition from the 12/12.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on August 07, 2016, 09:28:05 AM
Doing the whole roof in Grace was probably overkill, but a friend of my dads bought it for a job that he never ended up doing and was tripping over the stuff in his warehouse. When he heard we were going to be roofing, the stuff showed up in my dad's shop. If I hadn't gotten it all for free, I probably wouldn't have done the whole roof in it.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: nailit69 on August 07, 2016, 03:27:38 PM
Not overkill... insurance.  You can't beat the price either... that stuff is expensive.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: kenhill on August 08, 2016, 02:50:46 PM
They sell a zinc metal strip that you nail near the ridge to prevent moss.  It slowly laches out the zinc to prevent moss build up.  It comes in rolls in the roof ing sections.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: nailit69 on August 08, 2016, 07:32:20 PM
I've never been a fan of the strip... it works but not that well and not that long either.  I've found if you use that, it needs to be placed less than 8' apart and on shallower pitches it doesn't seem to kill uniformly... around here anyway but I live in moss country and that shit grows on everything.  I re-roofed my house 6 or 7 yrs ago and the moss is just starting to take hold again and I have no zinc or scotchguard.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Don_P on August 09, 2016, 06:55:47 AM
It is very location dependent. I used the cheapest 3 tabs on the house, they are growing moss and lichen and are done, but actually made the stated life. The barn is in dimensional algae retardant shingles, also deep woods and are clean so far, about 15 years. They are also about done though, they are coming apart on the steep slope, I did 6 nail them but it is a 12/5 pitch on the sides. The barn got certified organic last week... I'm not sure they didn't just mean it will compost well when it's done  :D.

Zinc or copper strips, acid rain... galvanic reactions, a battery, hmmmm.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on August 18, 2016, 09:59:52 AM
Headed up to the cabin in the morning with a buddy to deliver a new fridge, noticed the old one was crapping out on me while I was working on the roof. I might load up my trailer while we're there and do a dump run to clean up a bunch of crap that's been hanging around and driving me crazy, but we'll see. Just unloading the fridge, then grabbing some beers and heading down to the river sounds pretty appealing as well. It's just a quick trip, coming back home Saturday morning.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 10, 2017, 11:29:32 AM
I've got a question for the builders...

I'm going to start on a little shade structure next to my horseshoe pits to keep us cool in the summer and dry in the winter but I'm having a hard time figuring out the beams.

The structure will be 10' x 10', with a pyramid hip roof. When I was originally picturing it in my head I planned on using 6" x 6" for the beams, but now I'm realizing 6" x 6" aren't really meant to be structural beams so may run into issues. But at the same time I'm also feeling like I could be over thinking this. The roof will be plywood and comp shingles.

*decided to go a different route so I'm not going to dig up this photo  ;D *
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: ChugiakTinkerer on March 10, 2017, 01:14:51 PM
You're probably overthinking it.  As drawn, each beam is supporting 1/4 of the total roof load.  That is 25 sf per beam.  If you have a big snow load you may need to be concerned, but assuming the live load is 30 lbs and the dead load is 10 lbs per sf, that totals to 1,000 lbs per beam.  Running a 6x6 through the beam calculator, it passes with a beam made of #2 Spruce-Pine-Fir.  A beam made of Douglas fir is much stronger than the SPF.

If snow is a concern then you probably should bump up to a 6x8.  The SPF#2 beam in the above calculation has a max load of 1,060 lbs, so it just barely passes.  For accumulated snow on a 6x8 beam (using 5.5" x 7.25" dimensions) it can hold up to 1,840 lbs.  That would amount to 63.6 lbs per sf of snow, which is probably greater than you ground snow load.

Edit: Whoops, forgot about the overhang.  That adds to the roof area and overall weight.  So that 6x6 of SPF at #2 grade won't be adequate to support 30 lbs of live load.  If your roof load is anything near that you definitely should look at 6x8 or perhaps even deeper.

The Timber Frame forum at ForestryForum.com has a lot of useful information when dealing with wood of these dimensions.  You might check out some of the older postings for some design ideas.

http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php/board,11.0.html
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: MountainDon on March 10, 2017, 03:11:36 PM
We built a 10 x 10 gazebo back before we built our cabin.  I used 2x6 like you have pictured, and added a 2x6 flat on top to provide resistance to upward horizontal rafter forces. It is a 6/12 pitch IIRC.  I also used a short section of 4x4 as a kingpost for the main hip rafters to be nailed to.  I believe Don_P commented once that he likes to use doubled hip rafters and bevel them so the sheathing has a nicer fit. Our 4x4 corner posts were set fairly deep in the ground.  We are going into our tenth summer; made it through all this time with no visible issues.

link (http://countryplans.com/smf/index.php?topic=2335.msg32610#msg32610)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Don_P on March 10, 2017, 04:24:46 PM
Without a post supporting the peak the hips are thrusting against the corners. Make sure they are well connected to form a tension ring. A metal strap wrapping outside around the corners in the birdsmouth area and very well connected would work at this size. I do like to double hips, these are beams and should be sized as such.

Figuring out tributary area and beam moments on hip roofs is kind of tricky. Remember this is all done in plan view from above. Draw a triangle that represents one panel of the roof. The base of the triangle is 10'. The height is 5'. Half of each hip jack rafter is supported by the hip, half is supported by the perimeter carry beam. So, within the triangle that represents the roof panel, at midpoint draw a line that represents your king common and which has a horizontal span of 5'. Halfway up that span, at 2.5' make a mark and draw a triangle with the same 10' base and a 2.5' rise. This represents the inboard trib area to the beam. Notice it is a beam with load increasing uniformly to center of beam span. It has an area of 12.5 square feet. The overhang is treated as a typical uniform load, I'm assuming 1' wide x 10' long. Each of these produces a max bending moment that occurs at midspan but they are figured differently. Since both occur at the same point they can both be simply added together and checked against the max allowable moment for the size species and grade. That drawing also produced 2 more triangles that each represent the area tributary to their respective hips. Each of those represents half of the trib to their hip since the same thing is going on with their adjacent panels.  I need to reboot this beast and work on some drawings for a bit but this might be a fun exercise for you all. We'll need snow load info, species and grade, remember at 5" and thicker to use the heavy timber design values. I believe you'll find the appropriate equations in awc.org's DA-6.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: MountainDon on March 10, 2017, 04:32:01 PM
Good to mention the corner straps; I forgot.  I did not do that in the beginning but after sitting there many nights under the roof and doing more thinking, I added galvanized straps wrapped and nailed around each corner, just to be sure there was more holding the top together. I had entertained using steel rods crisscrossing inside tying diagonally opposites together.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 10, 2017, 11:59:19 PM
Thanks for all of the info everyone, forgot to mention we do not have to worry about snow. And the common rafters will have ties, mainly so I have something to hang a few lights from.

Commons and creepers are 2 x 8
Hips are 2 x 10

edit: Was also planning on doubling up my hips, just seems to make sense to do so. And will be pouring substantial footings for each post.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Don_P on March 11, 2017, 08:03:46 AM
I haven't tried to do any math but my gut says that is way more than enough. Check that your rafter and jack plumb cuts are fully supported on the hips. If the roof is "tied" there is no thrust to worry about. With a hip you need to tie in both directions. This can be ceiling joists running one direction with lumber or steel strapping running above that in the other 90 degree direction. I think at this size if the king commons are well tied that would be sufficient. Without snow minimum loading is 20 psf live, 10 psf dead.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 13, 2017, 11:19:31 AM
Another question I had is the recommended joint for the beams at the corner, I was planning on doing a simple lap joint. But I'm not sure if there is something better I could be doing.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Don_P on March 13, 2017, 05:53:12 PM
The problem with a simple half lap is one side has a 50% notch unsupported and loaded. I inset the notching to get at least 1" of support for each member. Ignore the square tenon these were 8x8's but look at the way the notches work. You still need to tie it down sufficient to resist the roof uplift.
(http://timbertoolbox.com/tf/cornerpost3.jpg)

(http://timbertoolbox.com/tf/cornerpost1.jpg)

(http://timbertoolbox.com/tf/cornerpost2.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 13, 2017, 08:04:12 PM
Found this one online...

Couldn't figure out what this image used to be, wasn't mine, sorry.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on April 12, 2017, 05:49:08 PM
Well I think I might take the easy way out on this one and fabricate brackets to support the beams and weld them to steel posts. I'll add some j-bolts to the footings to secure the posts, now I just need to find a way to securely tie the hips to the beams. I'll have to think about that more...
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Don_P on April 12, 2017, 09:22:52 PM
An L on top of the beam flatways with upright tabs welded at 45 degrees to the L to bolt through the hips would work. Make the L out of ~1/4x4"x~4' and lag down into the beam well. That should take care of the thrust as well.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on April 14, 2017, 09:09:48 AM
I think I smell what you're stepping in Don, I like that idea and it should be pretty easy to do. I think my dad has a bunch of flat that were drops from a job he was on. I like this plan, I've got all of my brackets drawn up, now I just need to figure out what I'm going to use as posts (probably old oil field pipe as it's cheap) and send the drawings off to the water jet.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on May 16, 2017, 11:27:45 AM
Headed up to the cabin next weekend with the goal of getting my Bobcat back in working order and doing some general clean up. I blew a hydraulic line in the Bobcat last Memorial Day weekend and I still haven't fixed it. I'm actually pretty embarrassed that it has been a whole year. I did attempt to fix it over Easter; however I found that I got an incorrect part. The original issue was one of the soft lines for the right side lift cylinder, but I figured while I was in there I would change both lines... well I made an assumption that both lines would be the same, and well, you know what they say about assumptions. I now have the correct lines to replace both soft lines for the lift cylinder. The left side appears to have been changed out already, so I'm hoping those are okay (they were a little tougher to get to). While there over Easter I also removed the cylinders from the grapple bucket, they haven't worked in years, the seals were all shot. I rebuilt them and it will be nice to be able to use the grapple bucket again. For the past five or so years we've had ratchet straps holding them open  :-[

Assuming the Bobcat is back in action I'll clear a lot of brush and trees that fell earlier this year and restock all of the wood sheds. 
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on May 31, 2017, 10:23:14 AM
Well it was the classic two steps forward one step back with the Bobcat. The good news is that it runs again and all of the work I have done appears to be good. The bad news is that as soon as I toggled over for the grapples on the bucket, I found that the soft lines in the bucket were all bad. And if that wasn't bad enough I also did not bring wrenches up there with me to remove all of the soft lines inside the bucket to have new ones made. So next trip I'll have to remove all of the hoses to have replacements made, I'm going to have all new hoses made for the bucket, there are six in total.

Other than that I helped my buddy frame in a new deck on his place and mowed down all of the brush on the property.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on August 01, 2017, 02:52:07 PM
A real bummer about Photobucket, I'll have to look into something else in the future.

Had some good news on the Bobcat, in July a few of my friends were up at the property (our property is 5 acres with eight cabins, we each have our own cabin) and knowing one of my friends gets bored easily I mentioned that if he got bored he was more than welcome to pull the bad hoses off of the bucket for me  ;D. Well in the two weeks he was up there he did get bored and he not only took the bad hoses off, he had new ones made and installed them. So it seems as though the Bobcat is 100% back in action! I'm headed up there on Friday so I'll be able to confirm.

This weekend's goal... prep the site for some dry-rot repair I'll be doing in September.

When I purchased the cabin I found that the previous owner wasn't a fan of maintenance or proper building techniques. As a result when he added a sliding glass door to the master bedroom, the flashing was done incorrectly and the door, wall, and now floor have dry rot. So I will be reframing the wall, floor, and installing a new door. But to access the wall the deck needs to be removed; however if I remove the whole deck I will have nothing to stand on to install the new door. The plan for this weekend is to put down some piers under the deck and frame up a little wall to support it so that I can cut it free from the cabin, but still be able to support my weight as I work. If time permits, I will start to remove the shingles from the exterior wall, I'm hoping I can remove them, number them, and then reinstall them after I build the new wall.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on August 08, 2017, 07:17:08 PM
I think we all encounter the trips where nothing seems to go right and I guess it was my turn. On the way up the front right tire in my truck blew out, nothing like trying to change a flat inches from the slow lane at 10:00pm...

Once we finally got to the cabin at around midnight, we found that the intruders are back at it. The busted out a single pane of one window, and found they couldn't get in that way, so they kicked in the sliding glass door that I plan on replacing soon. Needless to say, spirits were at an all time low that night. In the morning I found that they had broken into all of the cabins on our property (there are eight of us on the property). So I got to spend a good chunk of the day with a deputy documenting all of the property damage, property theft, and dusting everything for prints.

Despite all of the bad, I was able to get the deck braced so that I can remove the ledger and repair the dry rot. I was also able to secure the now destroyed door to hopefully keep them out in the future, and we even found time to hang out at the river. And on the way home I stopped at a local lumber yard and ordered the new slider, they sure don't give them away!
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on August 08, 2017, 07:23:02 PM
Deck braced so that we can still work from it once the ledger is removed:

(https://s1.postimg.cc/5d4ni0yq7/IMG_7656.jpg)

She ain't pretty, but hopefully it keeps the riffraff out:

(https://s1.postimg.cc/767k6cjwv/IMG_7694.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: MountainDon on August 08, 2017, 07:34:26 PM
Sorry to hear of the breakin. That does dampen ones spirits.   >:(
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on August 08, 2017, 08:47:26 PM
Quote from: MountainDon on August 08, 2017, 07:34:26 PMSorry to hear of the breakin. That does dampen ones spirits.   >:(

It does, but as my wife put it, we are safe and it's nothing I can't fix.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 05, 2017, 10:27:08 PM
Well, fortunately everything was as we left it. But the weekend wasn't without incident...

I tried to spend 4-5 hours a day working on the grounds, as I've stated before our old caretaker was pretty much worthless, so I'm trying to get the place back to presentable.

Sunday I spent 2-3 hours on the Bobcat (yes it's fully operational again :)) moving around debris and regrading some low areas. When I was finishing up, I smelled something burning, and though maybe I got leaves stuck somewhere on the engine and they ignited. I hopped out and checked the whole thing over and there was nothing burning. False alarm. After that my wife and I were watching a movie and I had to get up and check on the Bobcat, I just had this weird feeling that the Bobcat was going to catch fire and burn the garage down. The garage is across the property from our cabin, so my fear was that by the time I noticed we would have a big fire on our hands. After checking, everything was fine, and the Bobcat had cooled down.

About an hour after that, we heard a fire truck, and I don't think I have ever heard or seen an emergency vehicle in all my time going to this property. What was more alarming is that after we heard the sirens, they stopped right around our property. I was putting my shoes on and my wife yelled out, "I see smoke through the sky light". I ran as fast as I could to the garage, and on my way there I quickly noticed it was not our property that was on fire. Our next door neighbor's property was engulfed in flames. Once the fire got to his propane tank (250 gallons) there was a massive explosion and flames must have been 50 feet high. I ran back to our cabin to tell my lady to pack our stuff, as we may have to cut out, then went back to make sure the neighbors were ok.

Everyone was fine but their four car garage with an apartment on top was almost gone, along with other structures on the property. All in all it took about three hours and eight engines to put the fire out. Fortunately for us there is a creek that runs between our properties, and that seemed to provide a natural fire break. Nevertheless, I had two hoses running making sure our property was well saturated. 

The neighbor thinks it was some rags he left in the garage after staining his deck. Scary stuff, and I spent most of the next day making sure our whole property had debris cleaned up, roofs cleared of leaves, decks clean, etc.

Here's a shot after they had been fighting the fire for about 45 minutes:

(https://s26.postimg.cc/3k56cb6nt/IMG_7849.jpg)

Here is the size of the embers that were falling on the opposite side of our property:

(https://s26.postimg.cc/cqivlumih/IMG_7863.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on October 02, 2017, 02:11:21 PM
Got the call on Friday from the supplier I ordered our new door through that it's finally in and ready to be picked up. The plan is to head up on the 14th and grab the door on the way up. I took the 16th - 20th off of work to give myself two weekends and a full week. I want to make sure I take my time, especially when removing the existing shingles, I'm sure I'll crack a few but I'd like to reuse as many as possible. It's always tricky trying to plan your attack when you don't really know what you'll encounter once you start taking things apart. But I've learned to buy more than I think I'll need, extras can always be returned.

Hopefully I can setup my game camera again to do a time lapse, we'll see how it goes. Really looking forward to this project being in the rear view.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on October 13, 2017, 10:24:04 AM
Headed up to the property in a few hours, the fires on the road up have been pretty brutal this past week, so hopefully I can get through. It's gut wrenching to see the amount of devestation these fires has caused, and they are only ~10% contained at this point.

I took all next week off of work so that I can take my time and hopefully mix in a little r&r.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on October 23, 2017, 07:33:06 PM
Well something happened during my trip that I'm just not accustomed to... the dry rot wasn't as bad as I had thought  ;D. It had eaten through the sheathing, king and cripple studs, drywall, t&g pine, baseboard, three layers of sub-floor, and one floor joist. But I was able to fix everything fairly easily, started work Saturday morning and by Wednesday evening, everything was back together. Which worked out well for me because the rain came on Thursday.

(https://s1.postimg.cc/82x4s714wv/HZXQ7309.jpg)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/9gjnw8hju7/IMG_8085.jpg)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/1s24ubh0u7/IMG_8088.jpg)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7e3v86jly7/IMG_8092.jpg)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/454rbiumb3/IMG_8097.jpg)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/54kuoozqcf/P1030005.jpg)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/82x4s792en/P1030009.jpg)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/54kuop0dhr/P1030025.jpg)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/7vtwwrmp9b/P1030027.jpg)

(https://s1.postimg.cc/8ad41t2sov/IMG_8119.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: jsahara24 on October 23, 2017, 08:47:37 PM
Looks great....nice work
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on October 24, 2017, 10:01:21 AM
I had to get creative when trimming out the inside, being the walls are close to 90 years old, they aren't as true as they could be. As a result the door jamb sits flush with the t&g on the interior at the top, but near the bottom the t&g is a bit proud of the jamb. To keep a consistent reveal on the jamb, I added a tampered notch to the backside of the molding. I know it's not the best approach, but I honestly don't think anyone will notice unless they're really looking for it. And you'd have to stand in the corner of the room to see it.

Here you can see I tried to keep the reveal as consistent as possible:
(https://s1.postimg.cc/919eu9qoz3/IMG_8134.jpg)

Here is the taper I had to cut out on the backside:
(https://s1.postimg.cc/8jjd5ooo8v/IMG_8136.jpg)

Tried to capture all of the colors that popped out when the rain started (not sure if I captured it or not, you might have to take my word that it was beautiful):
(https://s1.postimg.cc/9mj2gkhi3j/P1030032.jpg)

My pup wasn't a huge fan of me doing cleanup with the Bobcat, but she was a fan of the new door as a viewing spot:
(https://s1.postimg.cc/9izgiup2j3/IMG_8123.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Rys on October 24, 2017, 02:23:10 PM
Those trees are awesome!
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on November 16, 2017, 01:17:47 PM
Not sure if I mentioned previously, but that same friend of my dad's that hooked me up with the Grace ice and water shield has struck again. He owns a company that maintains cell sites in CA and OR and he is finally closing up shop and retiring. So that means a lot of the stuff he has in his warehouses are being sold off, or in this case given away...

(https://s33.postimg.cc/pluix97a7/IMG_8290.jpg)

It's a 65kW propane generator, he is also tossing in as many transfer switches I want as well as a 250 gallon propane tank. The generator was dropped at my buddy's warehouse yesterday, I told him it was on it's way but didn't tell him how big it was. He sent me that picture when it arrived asking if I was trying to power the cabin or the whole town.

Now I just need to figure out where I want to put it and get a pad poured.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: ChugiakTinkerer on November 16, 2017, 02:21:58 PM
Wow, 65kW is a monster!  Good luck with the installation.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 21, 2018, 09:05:24 AM
The wife, pup, and I are headed to the cabin over Easter. Haven't been up there since New Years, hoping the place is still in one piece. One thing I've been considering doing is adding a electronic lock with a keypad to our community laundry room (has laundry and full bath), putting a coffee maker in there, and then giving the code to all of the local law enforcement and offering it to them as a place to take their breaks when they're in the area. I know the sheriff stops in every once in a while, in January I met our local game warden and I gave him the code for our gate and permission to enter our property. I figure the more people like that I can get stopping by the better.

Just a thought. The lan for next weekend is to take down the section of our deck that faces the river. This is the section that is in the worst shape and removing it will also give me access to where I will be redoing part of the foundation. The previous owner added an addition out over the old deck, and I've never ben a fan of the post and beam foundation they installed to support it. My plan is to suspend the addition with an i-beam or two, dig down a couple feet, pour a stem wall, and a slab for a nice little basement workshop. Only going to have seven feet of headroom, but for a little workshop, that's all I need. With the deck removed, that will allow me to get the Bobcat in there, I don't think I'll dig with the Bobcat, but it will make moving the dirt a lot easier.

I'll be sure to post some pictures when I return.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: ChugiakTinkerer on March 22, 2018, 11:11:11 AM
Sounds like a fun project.  Is it feasible to raise the deck by 14"?  You could have a couple steps leading up to the "viewing platform" and get some decent headroom in the shop below.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on April 03, 2018, 07:06:14 PM
Another good weekend at the cabin in the books, sadly as you all know all to well, there are always issues you don't expect. This trip that unknown issue was showing up to find we didn't have running water. We got in around 11:00pm, so I decided to dive into our water issues the next day. After a night's rest I went to work on the water system, and fortunately it was a relatively easy fix. I quickly found that our pump had given up the ghost, unfortunately when shutting down the system to remove the pump I broke the ball valve. In its defense it was probably 25+ years old. With essential items, like the water system, I have tried to ensure that we have spares on hand to minimize downtime. So I have a large supply of schedule 80 fittings, valves, and pipe as well as a backup pump.

Once that was taken care of I spent time cleaning the grounds and took advantage of a burn day to clean up debris. After the chores were done I got to work taking off the old deck, this took a couple days but I made sure all nails and screws were removed and the old wood was stacked in an orderly manner. Overall I was happy with the progress, kind of wish I had been able to take down the wall I built to support the deck back in 2013, but it won't be in the way when bringing the Bobcat in to haul the dirt that I dig out from under that room.

Pretty scary looking at just how bad the deck was, even though I knew it was really bad, it's really eye opening to see just how dangerous it was.


(https://s9.postimg.cc/n3c0c9x67/IMG_9400.jpg)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/5dabr96qn/IMG_9415.jpg)

(https://s9.postimg.cc/oidl110u7/IMG_9423.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Adam Roby on April 03, 2018, 09:51:34 PM
Woah, that's a lot of damage.  Was it due to not using pressure treated lumber?

My deck at home (porch I guess) has a very heavy roof over it.  Its probably 12'x16', 4' high roof in the center with asphalt shingles.
The girder is completely rott, floor boards 1/2 rott, and 4 corner posts botton 1' are rotten.  I need to try to secure the existing joists with a new girder and those foundation screws, then somehow replace each of the posts and hope the roof doesn't come down at the same time.  Might just be easier to replace and start over but it'll cost be a few extra grand to do so.  The previous owner who build this deck used standard lumber, no pressure treated, and not done very well.  Sigh... 
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on April 04, 2018, 08:37:24 AM
Quote from: Adam Roby on April 03, 2018, 09:51:34 PMWoah, that's a lot of damage.  Was it due to not using pressure treated lumber?

I would say it's a combination of things, not being PT lumber, gaps between boards being too tight, and no maintenance. I knew the deck was trashed when I bought the place, I have just been trying to limp it along for as long as I could. However it has gotten to the point where I know I'm only asking for someone to get hurt. So the deck will come off, and I will build a small deck to access the cabin to hold me over until I have the finances in place. My top priority is redoing the foundation under that room that the deck was attached to. It's a post and beam foundation, no disrespect to people that use them, but I just don't trust them.

With the deck out of my way I can get under there and temporarily support that room while I dig out for a continuous concrete stem wall. I will also take advantage of the deck being off to install a complete french drain around the cabin, something I've been wanting to do for a few years now.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: ChugiakTinkerer on April 04, 2018, 11:03:46 AM
My house had a small deck on it when we bought it.  It was untreated and painted, and had started to rot.  I figured I probably should do some repairs so I started poking around with a screwdriver testing how bad the rot was.  Some boards were okay, with a few soft spots.  Then I came to the brace that was supporting the cantilever portion and the screwdriver sunk clean through until the handle hit the board with a thunk.  I think I looked like a cartoon character the way my eyes bugged out when I saw that.  The deck came down that weekend.

Edit: I meant to say I took it down, not that it collapsed.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on August 15, 2018, 09:13:10 AM
Heading up to the property on the 24th to finally finish the deck removal, I have a 20 yard dumpster being delivered, so I'll be able to get it torn off and do a general clean up. I also plan to dig out for my future workshop under the cabin. My wife and I are expecting our first child in October, so this is my last big push to get stuff done before the baby is here.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Don_P on August 16, 2018, 10:03:51 PM
Congratudolances  :) Yup there will be a lapse but kids bounce pretty well, you'll be back to using it soon.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: NathanS on August 17, 2018, 02:37:44 PM
Congrats! They sure do change things... we have a 1 year old and I can tell you things go a LOT slower now.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: MountainDon on August 17, 2018, 07:35:56 PM
Best wishes on both the ongoing repairs/renovations and the family addition.     :)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Rys on August 18, 2018, 04:39:53 PM
Congratulations!
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 04, 2018, 07:46:53 PM
Always great when I can spend a decent amount of time at the cabin; however I never get as much done as I want. Oh well, it's eating the elephant as they say.

I arrived at the cabin the evening of August 24th, upon arrival I assessed the situation with my dad, who was going to lend a hand for a few days. The plan was to entirely remove the old deck and get the wood staged to be placed in a dumpster I was having delivered on the 29th. Once that was complete we would build a new landing out the front door to suffice until I'm done with the foundation stuff and ready to build the new deck.

Saturday the 25th, we made quick work of removing the old deck, to ensure we maximized space in the dumpster all nails and screws were removed so that the old decking could be stacked neatly into the dumpster. By mid morning we had the old deck off and I jotted down a supply list and made my way to the lumber yard ~ 1.5 hours away. Upon my return we decided it was too late in the day to remove the last of the deck and put up the new deck before dark (so the pup could still get in and out) so we decided to focus on building a structure to hold the temporary beam we would be placing under the cabin to support it while completing the foundation work. We needed this structure to hold them beam up so that I could get posts under it (it was fairly heavy).

Sunday we removed the last bit of deck and built the new deck, nothing fancy and I reused as much material as possible to keep cost down. Once the new deck was wrapped up we switched gears to getting the temporary beam secured. The plan is to remove the post and beam foundation that the previous owner used for the addition and replace it with a poured continuous perimeter foundation with stem wall. To do this we are supporting the river side of the addition with a 4x10 and posts that are set at the depth of the new foundation. We welded up some simple brackets out of 1/2" plate that bolt to the posts and then use four concrete stakes to hold them in place. Before measuring for the new posts we jacked the room up about 3/8" off of the existing foundation and took our measurements. This way we know the new beam is supporting the load.

With this new beam in place I can now excavate for the river side of the new foundation. Ideally I'd like to pour the whole thing in one shot, but I'm not sure I can safely support the room to do that.

After we had this done I spent the rest of my time cleaning up my left over garbage from past projects and relaxing. The plan now is to excavate and pour the new foundation in the spring.

Here are some pics...

What the area looked like before starting (this picture is from the spring when I took off the river side of the deck):

(https://s22.postimg.cc/58pslw30x/IMG_9423.jpg%5B/img%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cbr%20/%3EAfter%20all%20of%20the%20decking%20had%20been%20removed:%3Cbr%20/%3E%3Cbr%20/%3E%5Bimg%5Dhttps://s22.postimg.cc/46fm3ex35/IMG_0070.jpg)

Shot of the new temporary deck:

(https://s22.postimg.cc/t291qvwlt/IMG_0092.jpg)

This is the post and pier foundation I'm replacing:

(https://s22.postimg.cc/jrwxnbyqp/IMG_0073.jpg)

New beam in place:

(https://s22.postimg.cc/ku745w4pd/IMG_0076.jpg)

A look at the posts (deepest hole was just under four feet deep):

(https://s22.postimg.cc/46fm3dui9/IMG_0074.jpg)

(https://s22.postimg.cc/46fm3d7cx/IMG_0093.jpg)

Home made temporary brackets:

(https://s22.postimg.cc/70irgsu3l/IMG_0089.jpg)

The area all cleaned up:

(https://s22.postimg.cc/vh0xbc7pt/IMG_0090.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on November 21, 2018, 01:27:47 PM
Headed up to the cabin Friday morning, this will be my daughter's first trip to the cabin. On Friday she will be six weeks old, gotta start them young!

Unfortunately sometime after I left Labor Day we had another break in, this time they did not touch our cabin but made their way into my buddy's cabin. Even more unfortunate is that my buddy had keys for our common garage in his cabin  >:(. They cleaned his cabin of all electronics and tools and we think they took all of our landscaping equipment (blower, line trimmer, chainsaws, etc) as well as our compressor. I won't know for sure what's gone until I get up there are look around, as my buddy's son is the one that discovered the break in and he doesn't really know what we had.

I think I've mentioned in the past but our property is an old resort that is roughly 10 acres and contains eight cabins, my wife and I own one cabin and other friends own the other cabins. However my wife and I are really the only ones that use property, everyone else maybe visits once or twice a year. However the compound is setup as a corporation and I'm the president so a lot of this stuff falls on me.

Over the next few months I will be building a way to secure the items in our garage and we have a number of game cameras we will be putting up all over.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: MountainDon on November 21, 2018, 07:05:28 PM
Sorry to hear about being broken into.   I hope the perpetrators do get caught eventually.  The 2 guys that broke into our cabin were caught, we got lucky. One is serving time in a state pen while the other got off drugs and is working and making an attempt at restitution.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Adam Roby on November 21, 2018, 09:12:25 PM
Sorry to hear about the break ins... its a topic that angers me to no end.

Has anyone ever build good hiding places to store stuff when you are away?
I was just thinking when I redo my cabin to add a fake wall, maybe 2' offset that is accessible by some hidden door, like move a sofa and press the wall and a hidden panel opens.  Keep all the expensive tool there.  If someone does break in, they might think you bring stuff in every time and not dig around too much.  Maybe lock the door but leave the curtains open, so when they look they see nothing, no electronics or tools, maybe make them think twice about breaking in if there is nothing worth while to steal. 

I have a small car port, planning on parking the tractor there.  Currently there is a huge pile of old wood.  I was thinking to build in a hiding place for the generator in there, and make it look like a big pile of old wood, but lift up on a specific plank and the lid opens to reveal the hidden genny.  Some of you must have implemented some of these techniques before?
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on November 22, 2018, 01:17:32 PM
The new basement that I'm adding will be my secure storage, and where I keep all of my tools.

But I'm doing a hidden wall like you're suggesting at my home, behind it is where I will store my gun safe and other valuables. I have a built in bookcase designed that will open with a small room behind it.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on November 28, 2018, 10:49:22 AM
Spent the weekend up at the cabin and finally had a chance to go through everything and really see what was taken. Looks like it was about as I expected:

Blower, line trimmer, battery charger, gas cans, 2 cycle mix, tree pruning equipment, etc.

They also took random stuff like a roll of big contractor debris bags.

It seems like one of the main targets in the garage was my Yamaha Zuma. I didn't feel like insuring it anymore so I've kept it up there to mess around and do stupid stuff with. I had a cable running through the rear tire that was locked to the frame and I parked it with the steering locked to one side. They cut through the cable but weren't able to break out the ignition to free the steering. Looks like they used a jigsaw we had in the garage to try and cut the ignition. Never ceases to amaze me what thieves will do. Oh and they stole the shroud that covers the battery for the Zuma.

They messed with my Bobcat a little bit, but I have a lock especially designed for skid steers on it, so they really couldn't do much there.

After my buddy's son was up there it looks as though they came back as the latch that locks the garage was so mangled I could barely get the padlock out. I'm guessing they were coming back for the Zuma.

I replaced the latch and added a second one to the other side of the door.  I also added a bunch of blocking to reinforce the door, at the end of the day if they really want to get in they're gonna get in, hopefully this is a big enough deterrent.

When I'm up there for NYE, I'll bring the Zuma home, repair it and sell it.

They didn't steal either of our plug in electric blowers so I used one of them to clean off my roof, let me tell you that will be the last time I use one of those. A little too dangerous with the cord being a trip hazard, I had to watch myself very carefully so that i didn't end up over the side, with the deck gone it's a lot farther to fall.

All in all it wasn't too bad, and we still had a good trip. My daughter did great on her first long car ride (was about four hours) and seemed to acclimate to cabin life quickly.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: rich2Vermont on December 01, 2018, 06:23:53 AM
So sorry about your break ins. I'm lucky that I haven't had that problem, at least not yet. I do keep a couple of trail cams there - one in plain sight, one more hidden. At least that way I know when I've had visitors. We're off-grid with no cell coverage, but at our new place and eventual retirement home, I have a couple Blink cams installed and I get alerts with video whenever there's motion detected. Definitely worth the couple hundred bucks.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on June 01, 2019, 02:18:17 PM
Spent Memorial Day weekend up at the cabin, I switched jobs a few months back and went from unlimited PTO to five days a year. So my cabin work time will be greatly reduced, but I was able to start digging out for the new foundation/basement. Still have about 2/3 of the way to go and I'll need to dig the perimeter another foot deeper for a footing, but it's a start. The plan is to head up again in a few weeks and dig the rest.

All in all it wasn't too bad digging. I started out at the edge and dug a trench to my final depth for the slab floor, and then just started digging my way under the cabin. When my buddies saw these photos the light bulb clicked on as to what I did last year. They all had trouble grasping why I had installed the temporary posts so deep.

(https://i.postimg.cc/Y9ggz6zX/IMG-1928.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/T16b7KkT/IMG-1930.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/0j0wL93D/IMG-1936.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on August 14, 2019, 05:34:07 PM
Work has been slow on the new foundation, with the new little one it's not quite as easy to just go away for the weekend and work. I was able to sneak up one weekend in July and my father came up to lend a hand. I had him man the Bobcat while I dug, it worked out pretty well, and I think we were able to get about 90% of the digging complete. I didn't want to remove too much dirt before I'm ready to pour, starts to get a little sketchy working under there.

The plan is to head up for Labor Day and finish digging, form the footing, and pour the footing the Tuesday following Labor Day. After that I'll be able to set forms for the stem walls and then get those poured. I probably won't pour the floor until next year, but as long as I get everything framed in this year I'll be happy. We've been working on getting all of the rebar cut and bent ahead of time, so hopefully getting the footing ready will go quickly.

I was also able to finally get my posts for the gazebo welded up, I'm hoping to pour the footings for those when I do one of my foundation pours.

(https://i.postimg.cc/SR3ZkPKG/IMG-2214.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/JhMprZRS/IMG-2220.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/G23gQYNv/IMG-2210.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/bJXNSyBX/IMG-2188.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: ChugiakTinkerer on August 15, 2019, 12:38:59 PM
I can sympathize with slow progress.  I'm planning on getting back out to finish the roof next week.  It's like watching a glacier flow...
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 05, 2019, 09:26:11 PM
Well it was another productive work weekend up at the cabin, got up there Friday night around 11:00, took a bit longer since I was towing the trailer and I saw many people towing being pulled over so I set the cruise control at 55 and parked in the slow lane the whole drive.

I spent Saturday and Sunday digging out more to prep for my footings, the goal this trip was to pour the footings that my stem wall will sit on. Monday I had to do a bit of final trimming to fit the forms in just right, but we got all of the forms and rebar in place. I was ready for my concrete Tuesday morning, or so I thought. Before dinner we spent time getting everything cleaned up so that the next morning our focus would just be pouring concrete. After we got everything cleaned up I noticed one of the forms seemed off a bit. Pops and I talked about it a bit and he shrugged it off saying our footing was 18" and the stem wall is 8" so we had some wiggle room. I was tired and hungry so I brushed it off and made dinner.

After dinner I went back out to take final measurements so that I could confirm the amount of concrete I needed in the morning with the yard. Once out there with a clean head I looked at the form I felt was off again. It was way off. I grabbed my plumb bob and took some measurements, immediately I realized what had happened. When we were setting one of the forms we measured 13" the wrong way, so one of my footings was out 8" the wrong way which put all of my vertical rebar way out of line. So all Monday night I couldn't sleep thinking I might have to call off the concrete to fix this mistake. Which would have made this a wasted trip really, as I took a day off specifically to pour concrete (I only get 5 vacation days a year and the concrete company is only open on weekdays).

Tuesday morning as soon as their was enough light to see I said **** it, I'm fixing this. Concrete was due to arrive at 8:15am, I started working around 6:45am. With 20 minutes to spare I got everything dialed in and back in line. Also lucked out and had an amazing driver that was willing to think outside the box and we were able to chute everything in. I thought I was going to have to wheel barrow some of the concrete to the back footings.

Now on my next trip I will extend my verticals up add in horizontals and then build forms to pour the walls. For the walls I will be hiring a pumper so it will be a whole lot easier. All that I will have to do is run the vibrator and screed/edge the top of the walls. This project is getting closer.

I'll post some more pictures after I visit my parents this weekend. My mom took a bunch of photos, and she was also a huge help looking after our daughter with my wife.

Onto the photos:

I'm not shrinking I just keep digging deeper:

(https://i.postimg.cc/dVgz0Wbs/IMG-5854.jpg)

A foredog's job isn't easy:

(https://i.postimg.cc/cC1zzPnm/IMG-5815.jpg)

Concrete (the piece embedded behind the verticals is a keyway that will act as a water stop when I pour the stem walls):

(https://i.postimg.cc/ZRxgVJCn/IMG-2698.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/Gh5fM7hF/IMG-2695.jpg)

Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 18, 2019, 12:46:35 PM
Heading up the first weekend in October on the list of things to accomplish:

- Strip the forms from my footings
- Get my horizontal and vertical rebar in place for the walls
- Form three of the walls
- Move one of my temporary posts that ended up being right in the way
- Setup a game plan to form the last wall

If I get all of that done in two days I'll be one happy camper. After that I will shoot to get back up there at the end of October to dig out the dirt against the existing cabin foundation, form the last wall against the existing foundation, and then pour the walls. It's amazing how fast the money seems to disappear as I'm buying materials for this "little" project. It's going to feel real good to have this one wrapped up, though I'm not going to pour the floor until sometime next year.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on October 07, 2019, 09:53:44 AM
Another successful weekend working at the cabin, unfortunately I wasn't able to get away as early as I had anticipated on Friday so I didn't get up there until 9:30pm Friday night. However my dad had gone up Thursday afternoon, so he was able to get things prepped for us (stripped the forms on the footing, got batter boards in place, etc). So Saturday morning we were able to hit the ground running. The first thing we did was to move one of my temporary posts so that it was more out of the way. Then my dad started tying rebar while I built the forms.

I'm using snap ties coupled with Jahn A brackets to hold the walers, so far I'm liking this method. It makes putting a wall together go pretty quick. Especially since I had predrilled all of the holes in my plywood, so all I had to do was cut the plywood to the height I want my wall, oil, and set into place. What made it even better was that my wall is five feet on one side and three on the other. So one cut and I have to halves of the form ready to go.

I'm planning one more trip at the end of the month to dig out along the existing cabin foundation and form the final wall. Then I will pour the walls, but as I mentioned I'm hiring a pumper for that, so I'll just be running the vibrator.

Here are some pictures from the weekend...

Half of the forms in place with snap ties, and the rebar for the tall part of the wall:

(https://i.postimg.cc/C53vpHvq/IMG-3064.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/T3vXxnFG/IMG-3066.jpg)

My dad tying rebar on the lower sections of wall:

(https://i.postimg.cc/WzmxbHQv/IMG-3070.jpg)

Starting to set the forms on the inside:

(https://i.postimg.cc/D03thTp6/IMG-3072.jpg)

Forms for the three walls pretty much complete:

(https://i.postimg.cc/dQTsKQ32/IMG-3073.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/KzGG2tK4/IMG-3074.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/bvM76bQK/IMG-3076.jpg)

A look at the snap ties and rebar:

(https://i.postimg.cc/bJhG2GZj/IMG-3075.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on November 06, 2019, 09:21:28 AM
Another successful trip and pour up at the cabin.

The goal for the weekend was to dig out the fourth wall (against the existing foundation) epoxy rebar into the existing foundation, build my grid, form, and then pour all of the walls. Well my dad was concerned that I was too ambitious and we wouldn't be able to do all of that in two days. So he went up a few days early and knocked out what he could by himself. He even spent his 72nd birthday up there by himself working.

We got everything knocked out and I even had time to clean up the grounds and do other maintenance I've been putting off the last few months.

Monday morning the pumper showed up at 8:15 and the concrete truck got there around 8:40. By 9:30 both the pumper and the truck were doing there washouts and heading down the road. Couldn't have gone better, all I had to do was run the vibrator and then screed/trowel the top. Feels good to have this one done. Still to do will be to pour the floor and frame the walls the rest of the way up.

Some pics of the process:

(https://i.postimg.cc/rpQqNJnZ/IMG-3386.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/Hs6NshNL/IMG-3397.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/zDsSNZ8N/IMG-3401.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/W3KmtxZM/IMG-3415.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/C5qG8JC9/IMG-3416.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/W3pr3XC2/IMG-3417.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: MountainDon on November 06, 2019, 09:10:05 PM
 :)   Doing good.

Any fires near you?
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on November 13, 2019, 01:04:59 PM
Quote from: MountainDon on November 06, 2019, 09:10:05 PM
:)   Doing good.

Any fires near you?

Closest fires were about an hour and a half south of me. Spent part of the weekend cleaning all of the roofs and doing some defensible space clearing. I'll do a bit more over Thanksgiving, but CalFire knows us and knows that I keep the area clear so they've told me if there is a fire they will do their best to defend it. It also helps that we're on the river.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on December 11, 2019, 10:51:07 AM
I had planned to go up to the property over Thanksgiving to strip the forms; however the week before Thanksgiving I got a call from my dad asking if he could go up and strip the forms. Apparently he was bored at home, truthfully I think he was dying to see how the pour turned out.

All in all I'm pretty happy with the pour, yes I had one void where I didn't vibrate enough and while it is a bummer, if that's the worst of it, I'll take it. The void will be under the threshold of my door, and I'll form and fix that spot when it's a little warmer up there. In the spring the punch list is:

-   Start framing the walls to the bottom of the floor,
-   Pour the basement floor,
-   Patch the snap-tie holes, and fix my void,
-   Finish the framing and the shingle to match the rest of the cabin,
-   Plumb/wire an area for my washer and dryer,
-   Coat the exterior concrete walls in HLM 5000 (or similar),
-   Install dimple board on the exterior walls,
-   Run my French drain,
-   Backfill with ¾" crushed

Still a decent amount of work, but I'll chip away at it. Here are the pictures...

(https://i.postimg.cc/XYDxXX60/IMG-3652.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/wj0L0B6b/IMG-3653.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/QdsJfPcV/IMG-3654.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/Dz0sDK0f/IMG-3656.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/hP89QrNn/IMG-3657.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/Fsk0Gp2w/IMG-3659.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/9XnGGKNG/IMG-3661.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: MountainDon on December 11, 2019, 06:30:06 PM
It looks like pretty good concrete work.  The void under the door sill does not appear to be too big a deal, a nuisance to have to work with, but not a deal-breaker.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on December 12, 2019, 04:45:14 PM
Thanks, I think the void is really only hurting my pride.  ;)

Forgot to mention, I'm leaving the all-thread in case I want to bolt some shelves to the wall or something else. Worst case I'll cut them flush, but I figured might as well leave them for now in case I can utilize them in the future.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: NathanS on December 12, 2019, 10:57:24 PM
Looks awesome. Bag of rapid set and that little spot will be done within an hour of your next visit.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on February 24, 2020, 06:25:40 PM
Heading up in a few weeks to get my rebar and pea gravel in place for the basement floor. While there I'll also measure for the lumber to frame up the walls and hopefully fill in my void.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 16, 2020, 02:57:50 PM
Did a quick weekend trip up to the cabin, I'm definitely still acclimating to working with a toddler. Our daughter is now 17 months old and I'm finally starting to realize and accept the fact that I won't get nearly as much done during our weekend trips when it's just my wife, daughter, and I.

But nonetheless I was able to go to the quarry on Friday and get a load of pea gravel and form/pour my one void. Saturday I got my floor drain roughed in, spread the pea gravel, and got my rebar dowelled and tied.

On our next trip I'll get the front wall framed so that my temporary beam/posts can come out, and dig/form my generator pad. Assuming I'm able to tackle that I'll pour the floor and generator pad the last day of our next trip. Slowly but surely.

Some pics:

Void filled in:

(https://i.postimg.cc/j2zps7pp/IMG-4946.jpg)

Gravel, floor drain, and rebar in place (final drain height will be determined after I decide how thick I'm pouring the floor):

(https://i.postimg.cc/509Y5B33/IMG-4947.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/sgFMHdm1/IMG-4948.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on April 14, 2020, 07:20:10 AM
Went up to the cabin Friday night, worked Saturday, and came home Sunday morning. Wasn't able to get a whole lot done, but I did get the area prepped for the generator pad. In the first pic you can kind of see in the background where I started prepping for the pad up behind the bench. I liked that area because it was a little more tucked away, but the more I thought about it the more I realized it would be a pain in the butt to try and set the generator up there. So I decided to move it down a bit. Only down side to this location is that it will be in the line of fire for people that aren't that good at horseshoes...

I also started digging the trench for my conduit, but that will go much easier on my next trip when I bring up my rotohammer with a spade bit. There is A LOT of rock in the soil up there. I did have one mistake that I realized at the end of the day. My pad is supposed to be 5x10 and currently it's 4x10. Won't be a huge deal to add on that extra foot and that's a result of not looking at my drawing until the end  d*

(https://i.postimg.cc/Ls8SbT57/IMG-5231.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/qvCMGQtG/IMG-5230.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/G3WcmGg8/IMG-5232.jpg)

The weather up there was perfect...

(https://i.postimg.cc/vmzY8t07/IMG-5223.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: ChugiakTinkerer on April 15, 2020, 01:31:25 PM
It looks gorgeous!

And take some satisfaction that you caught the mistake before pouring the concrete.   ;D
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on May 14, 2020, 09:05:59 AM
Heading to the cabin tonight for a long weekend. While up there I will correct my generator pad mistake, add in the conduit, and install my rebar grid. On the basement I will frame my wall from the new foundation up to the cabin so that I can remove the temporary beam. Monday morning I have concrete scheduled for delivery, which I hope is my final pour for this project.

I'm also hoping to button up so misc stuff I have put off as well as mow the grounds to prep for Memorial Day weekend up there.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: jsahara24 on May 18, 2020, 12:28:14 PM
Quote from: pmichelsen on May 14, 2020, 09:05:59 AM
Heading to the cabin tonight for a long weekend. While up there I will correct my generator pad mistake, add in the conduit, and install my rebar grid. On the basement I will frame my wall from the new foundation up to the cabin so that I can remove the temporary beam. Monday morning I have concrete scheduled for delivery, which I hope is my final pour for this project.

I'm also hoping to button up so misc stuff I have put off as well as mow the grounds to prep for Memorial Day weekend up there.

How'd you make out?
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on May 19, 2020, 06:59:10 PM
Grab some popcorn, this is a lengthy one...

I had a productive weekend up at the cabin. Friday morning I unloaded all of my lumber, hitched up my trailer, and headed to the quarry to get some more pea gravel. Once back I jumped right into digging the trench for my conduit that will go from the generator to a back board I'll mount off to the side. After I had the conduit in I fixed my forms by adding the extra foot. With the forms fixed and conduit in I made sure my pad would have a consistent thickness using pea gravel to fill in the low spots. Then it was time for rebar, it's kind of a shame that no one will really ever know/see the time and effort one puts into make a nice grid. With that done and the weather being decent, I fired up the high brush mower and started mowing down the grounds and doing a general clean up in preparation for Memorial Day weekend.

After dinner I turned my attention to the cabin. At this time the cabin was still being supported by my temporary posts and beam. Before Monday I would need to remove the temporary stuff and actually frame my wall in so that I could pour the floor of the basement. The first step to framing the wall was to remove the blocking that was between the old deck joists to expose the cabin floor joists. By the time I had finished that it was a little after 8:30 so I called it a night.

Saturday morning the weather was still decent so I jumped right in and snapped a line so that I could cut all of the floor joists. The plan was to cut them back enough allowing me to nail a rim joist that would sit behind the sheathing. With the rim in place I attached my double top plate followed by my pressure treated sill, now I was ready to try and level her out. I used so blocking and three bottle jacks to slowly lift the cabin up off the temporary beam and as level as I could (this part is always nerve-racking for me, especially when up there all alone). Then it was just a matter of cutting studs to fill in the gap. After dinner I pulled out my temporary beam and posts, felt really good to hit that milestone. What didn't feel good was trying to maneuver the 20 foot long 4"x10" beam by myself.

Sunday the weather was pretty crummy so I spent most of the day just cleaning up. The big milestone for Sunday was my help showing up. I feel as though I can do a lot of stuff, and I'm willing to try mostly anything; however trowel finishing flat work is not something I feel comfortable doing, especially on something I have to look at for the rest of my life. So I placed an ad on Craigslist looking for a concrete finisher and I found someone, but you never know if that person is actually going to show up. So when my random helper from Craigslist pulled up in his RV I had a huge feeling of relief.

Monday morning as promised the rain came in hard and heavy, fortunately I had a canopy setup for the generator pad and the basement floor was obviously covered. Everything went off without a hitch and I had estimated my concrete so close it scared me. I'll upload some pictures tonight after my daughter goes to bed. But this last weekend was a huge milestone for me and I'm glad it's now in the past.

Oh yeah, of course the weekend couldn't go without any issues... my water heater went out on me Sunday night during my shower. I knew I was on borrowed time. So this weekend I'm bring up a new one.


(https://i.postimg.cc/90jJKCLH/IMG-5568.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/KvfJpXLC/IMG-5570.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/K8sQFn0N/IMG-5578.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/KY6N3mS3/IMG-5581.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/QCsJSSMX/IMG-5584.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/d1G98gwH/IMG-5598.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/T3PQZkJ1/IMG-5600.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/4y5b0tKp/IMG-5601.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: ChugiakTinkerer on May 20, 2020, 09:15:25 PM
Looks like a very productive weekend.  Congrats!
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: MountainDon on May 21, 2020, 09:29:04 AM
Nice to see progress
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on May 27, 2020, 09:23:22 AM
Did a family trip for Memorial Day weekend, main things accomplished were replacing the water heater that had gone out on me the previous weekend and framing in another wall.

(https://i.postimg.cc/yx4845fs/IMG-5674.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/Y97s5z1T/IMG-5675.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/6q5136b0/IMG-5676.jpg)

Hopefully my next trip up I can install some z flashing at the bottom of the walls and then sheath them as well as frame in the last two walls. Feels good to be making progress on this project. We will also be setting the generator in July, I know my buddy will be happy to finally get it out of his warehouse. Our neighbor up there is going to let us use his backhoe to pick the generator off the trailer and set it into place.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on July 01, 2020, 09:55:59 AM
I framed up the last exterior wall a few weeks ago and now I'm ready for sheathing. The family and I are going up tomorrow after work for the long weekend, I should have enough time to get the sheathing installed and the area secured. My buddy and his family will be at the property so I'll take advantage of having another body and move the washer and dryer down there over the weekend. They have been stashed in our guest room for just about five years now, hard to believe it's been that long.

I'll spend the rest of the year working on shingling, waterproofing, and running water and electricity to the space. I also need to make a door, I'm considering just welding something up so that it's secure.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on July 06, 2020, 11:20:10 AM
We spent the long weekend at the cabin. Friday morning I was able to get all of the flashing and sheathing installed then Saturday morning I got all of my felt up. I feel pretty good about how it sits now, I don't really want to shingle until I figure out how I want to do the deck and what the heck I'm going to do about the section of cabin near the tree. I'm trying to design something that will allow me to brace back to my new foundation. There isn't a lot of weight up there and if I can avoid putting anything in the ground that close to the tree I'd like to.

For the most part things went pretty smooth, the only issue I had was making some bone head mistakes when framing my walls so I had to add in some blocking, not a huge deal just took some time. Also trying to hang my felt alone was a bit of a challenge, my wife tried to help with the first course, but our daughter is almost two and doesn't want to sit still for anything.


Starting sheathing:

(https://i.postimg.cc/J4j3JYPv/IMG-6109.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/GtVM2B3D/IMG-6110.jpg)

Felt going on:

(https://i.postimg.cc/VL0GhF4W/IMG-6129.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/wvBFQ57J/IMG-6150.jpg)

It's hard work being a dog:

(https://i.postimg.cc/yY5qgdpv/IMG-6112.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 09, 2020, 08:28:53 AM
I was at the cabin over the weekend, main focus was hanging out with the family and relaxing, but I was able to accomplish a few things while there.

Finally had a chance to patch all of the snap tie holes with some Ardex. Once that setup I did a coat of HLM 5000 and now I have to decide if I'm going to do additional coats or if I'll just install the dimple board.

Two weeks ago I had 13 yards of 3/8" rock delivered to use as back fill and I brought up ¾" drain rock to use for my French drain. I'm getting close to being able to back fill and get the exterior water tight.

(https://i.postimg.cc/QMncPDjm/IMG-6873.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/XYSHHwsq/IMG-6874.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/brrWPpnv/IMG-6875.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/90D8S13R/IMG-6876.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/QCV8zLxQ/IMG-6877.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/bYFNtv33/IMG-6878.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/zffMmTgr/IMG-6882.jpg)

Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: MountainDon on September 09, 2020, 02:29:03 PM
Looks very different from what you started with.   [cool]

Are the fires any ore or less immediate danger?   
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 09, 2020, 04:56:57 PM
Quote from: MountainDon on September 09, 2020, 02:29:03 PM
Looks very different from what you started with.   [cool]

Are the fires any ore or less immediate danger?


Thankfully we're out of the danger zone, though we barely missed one on the way home. The Oak Fire is burning outside of the town Willits, we drove through at 11:30am and the fire broke out at 1:30pm and completely shut the hwy down. Just checked and it looks like the hwy is still closed. Willits is about 45 minutes south of our place. It's pretty scary out there.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on February 05, 2021, 09:00:44 AM
I've been going back and forth on what to do for a door to the basement. It's a weird size, really should have thought more about that when framing the opening, and I think my original thinking was that due to the height it was going to need to be a custom door anyway. Originally I was going to weld a steel frame and skin it with some light gauge steel, and use some channel to make the door frame. I started to think about how long that was going to take me and I decided to explore having a custom steel door/frame made, one saying that always stays in the back of my mind, "you can always make more money, you can't make more time".

The custom door came in about what I thought it would ($1,500) so I went ahead and ordered it. This way all I need to do is paint it and install it. The door should be done next month and I'll be able to get it installed and have the downstairs a little more secure, I've been a bit nervous as I'm storing a generator, welder, and some tools down there and the only security is eight screws holding the plywood on the wall. 
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 23, 2021, 08:39:05 AM
Spent a few days up at the cabin this last weekend and finally installed a door to the basement. Hopefully on the next trip up I can get some trim installed. After that I really need to figure out what I want to do for a deck so that I can get a ledger installed and start shingling.

(https://i.postimg.cc/HnY0BRps/IMG-9278.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/Z5sTRd9f/IMG-9280.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/GpZdPnxG/IMG-9290.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/8kLPHc35/IMG-9293.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: ChugiakTinkerer on March 23, 2021, 08:53:56 AM
It looks great!
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on March 24, 2021, 10:37:42 AM
Quote from: ChugiakTinkerer on March 23, 2021, 08:53:56 AMIt looks great!

Thanks! It feels good knowing I have some fairly secure storage up there now.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on November 16, 2021, 09:05:11 AM
My wife and I welcomed another baby girl over the summer and haven't been up to the property since June. We're heading up for Thanksgiving and I'm hoping to finally get the footings started up at the horseshoe pits for the shelter I've been working on for YEARS now. Ideally I'll get them laid out and dug, then during Christmas I can pour them. I also need to finish part of the cabin foundation that I didn't replace when I dug the basement. Fortunately I was able to salvage enough structural steel from a few jobs to cobble that together. Hopefully next summer when the girls are a bit older.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: jsahara24 on November 19, 2021, 07:46:00 AM
Congrats on the baby!  Kids certainly slow down the trips, but once they start getting older hopefully they will be asking you to go!

Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: NathanS on November 19, 2021, 10:58:01 AM
Congrats! We've got another on the way, my building projects are all pretty much on hold now too.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on November 23, 2021, 05:59:25 PM
Quote from: jsahara24 on November 19, 2021, 07:46:00 AM
Congrats on the baby!  Kids certainly slow down the trips, but once they start getting older hopefully they will be asking you to go!

Fortunately even at this age (our oldest is 3) our older daughter loves going to the cabin, as soon as she knows we're going she starts packing books and toys so that she's ready.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on December 28, 2021, 10:15:00 AM
Our Thanksgiving trip up to the property ended up being a bust...

The wife and kids got up to the cabin around 4:30pm and while starting up the pellet stove my wife found that it gave up the ghost and was not working. Not what you want to see when it's 42 degrees inside and you have a three year old and four month old. She was able to get the propane wall furnace going but that takes a while to heat up the place, when I arrived around 10:00pm it was still in the mid 50's inside. The next morning the water system was out, one of my buddies was at the property earlier in the week so I knew there was an issue, but I had walked him through the repair over the phone.

Well I found other issues, I was able to get it to run but there was a slow leak on the inlet side of the pump so it would lose it's prime. Unfortunately I did not have the tools/materials needed to make the repair. So with that coupled with the fact that it was still only in the low 60's inside, we decided to head out the next morning.

We are headed up on Thursday evening, this time I'll have all of the parts and tools needed to get the water system back 100% and I'll also be bringing up a portable heater to help take the edge off the place. Still trying to decide what I want to replace the pellet stove with. At this point I'm leaning toward a freestanding propane stove.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on December 28, 2021, 10:28:01 AM
Quote from: NathanS on November 19, 2021, 10:58:01 AMCongrats! We've got another on the way, my building projects are all pretty much on hold now too.

I was supposed to have the basement at our main house finished out before number two arrived, unfortunately due to our architect and the city working at a snails pace it took 11 months to get our permits. So next month I'll be starting that project while trying to wrangle two kids. Not looking forward to it, hopefully grand parents will be able to help out, I'll be trying to do this over nights and weekends.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on January 03, 2022, 11:50:22 AM
The water system is about 95% fixed, there is one dressler that I couldn't quite get to seat properly, but I suspect is will close up on its own. I had forgotten it was even there until I started working, I also didn't realize there was never a shut-off install on the outlet from the tank. With no shut-off it made my work a lot colder, as I was fighting back 4500 gallons of water while trying to get all of the connections to seal up. My goal was to add the piece of flex in line on the intake side, there is a decent amount of vibration with the pump and it had disfigured the sch 80 so it was sucking air.

I did verify that I have a sch 80 2" ball valve on hand, so over the summer (when it's a bit warmer) I'll dive into the tank and plug the outlet so that I can remove the piping, install a shut-off, and get rid of the dressler. I imagine there was a leak years ago and with no shut-off the dressler was the only option. Lots of band aid repairs over the years fixing the system "good enough", it's taken a while to find all of these are remove them.

But we did make it to the river every day to throw rocks and just be out in nature. I hope my kids take to the place the way I did, but I'm going to try to not force it on them. I introduced my daughter to sparklers on NYE and I shot off some pyro-gyros, they scared her a little bit.

All in all a good weekend, though it was 38 degrees in the cabin when we arrived.

The water system:

(https://i.postimg.cc/66LPChF3/leg-1.jpg)

New flex installed ($220 in fitting right there):

(https://i.postimg.cc/yN2mGWrx/leg-4.jpg)

The dresser that was giving me grief:

(https://i.postimg.cc/fyNxwpsh/leg-6.jpg)

Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on February 01, 2022, 12:47:43 PM
I went up to the cabin last Wednesday night for a long weekend with my buddies talking trash and hanging out, they were all scheduled to arrive the next day early afternoon. When I pulled up around 10:00pm I immediately noticed the power line was hanging a bit lower than normal, and the previous weekend I knew we had some major winds. But as I drove through the property some of my motion lights came on, so I thought maybe all wasn't lost.

I drove down to my cabin and figured I better go have a look around to assess the damage. Took a look at the weather-head on my cabin and saw that I only had one phase connected and the other phase and neutral had been ripped from the weather-head, bummer. I followed the line back to the pole and found my problem, the pole had been snapped in half and there was a jumble of power lines laying on the ground tangled in tree branches. The drops for four of our cabins were all laying in a pile, but surprisingly they were all still live, and laying next to our 100 gallon propane tank. That's probably not good.

I headed back to my cabin and since that one phase was still connected and I have a ground rod, half of my circuits were still hot. I sent my buddy a text asking him for the utility company's downed power line number, he sent it back over and I gave them a call. It's amazing how fast they answer that line. The dude on the line said they would have a crew out immediately to fix the problem.

I went about my arrival procedure, unpacked the truck, lit the wall furnace (it was 38 degrees inside), and then figure I might as well turn in since there wasn't much else I could do, it was about 11:00pm at this point. I woke up around 1:30am and saw I had a missed call and noticed that I now had zero power. So the utility company had come out and killed the line, went back to sleep for a few more hours and got up at 5:30am. I could hear people talking so I figured I'd go see what was going on.

The utility company had a full crew there and I spoke with the foreman, he informed me that they were getting all setup and would have the pole replaced and power back on shortly. And to my surprise, by 9:30am they had pulled out the broken pole, set a new pole, remade all of the connections, and turned the power back on. I was impressed.

I spent the rest of the day framing the last wall in my basement project and doing other little odds and ends I never have time to work on when the family is with me. All in all a good trip. Oh and when I arrived the water wasn't working in my cabin, I was a bit bummed but wasn't terribly surprised. So I headed down to the pump to troubleshoot, but when I opened the panel everything was as it should, then it hit me, I never opened the gate valve at my cabin.


(https://i.postimg.cc/vTqWdyw4/pg-1.jpg)


(https://i.postimg.cc/7Pm1z3Jq/pg-2.jpg)


(https://i.postimg.cc/kXGQv2WK/pg-3.jpg)


(https://i.postimg.cc/TYsr7TcS/pg-4.jpg)


(https://i.postimg.cc/CxXpxnsN/pg-5.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: jsahara24 on February 02, 2022, 09:08:40 AM
Nice!  That's quite the turn around time, sounds like they were waiting for your call...haha
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Adam Roby on February 04, 2022, 11:04:24 AM
Amazing service, all things considered.  The cabin I bought had been abandoned for probably 20 years when I bought it.  The power was still going to the cabin, but has been capped off.  The lines really looked bad, cracked, weathered.  I wanted to be off grid anyway, but thought I would be charged to remove the line but wanted to be safe.  NY power came and removed it without any fees what-so-ever.  They said it was good that I called, as some of the lines were bare and could have eventually caused a fire.  Glad it all worked out in the end.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: Don_P on February 04, 2022, 11:52:47 AM
I called in an outage here one night not knowing where the trouble was. About 2am awoke to lights and logging going on down in the bottom. I went down to find 3 trucks and guys in trees with flashlights. I apologized for scrambling them, we are the end of the line, and to let them know it was not an emergency, they could come back in daylight. Nope, the call came in, we have to respond. It had also thrown the breaker several houses up the line. I wait till dawn now and let one of the others call it in but those guys have my respect. No way would I be in a tree with a saw by flashlight sawing branches off a wound up bowstring.
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 23, 2022, 02:23:34 PM
A small update, been remodeling our house so that's been taking all of my free time. 

Over 4th of July weekend I attempted to pour footings for a gazebo like structure I've had in the works for the last 8-10 years. Hard to believe it's been that long, but it keeps getting put on the back burner while I work on other stuff up there. But over 4th of July weekend we had planned to be up there for three whole days (head up Friday night and drive back Tuesday morning) and the only things on my list were: mow the grounds and work on footings...

I had a number of setbacks while working the biggest being the rain. It rained a bit one morning while I had concrete in the back of my truck which ended up basically turning the actual bags into mush, so when I attempted to pull them out of the truck they just disintegrated and concrete went everywhere. Man I was pissed, not only was the concrete expensive ($10/bag up there) but now I didn't have enough to finish my project. If I remember correctly six of the bags were lost in the weeds. I tried to scoop some of it up but it was pretty much a write off. So I was only able to pour two of my footings. 


Here's where I left it...

(https://i.postimg.cc/vHdQ6CR1/c3.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/02d9GZxV/c2.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/BZFSb4z9/c1.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on September 23, 2022, 02:29:11 PM
I was kind of at a stand still on the house project, I had passed my underground inspection on a Tuesday, but my pumper wasn't available until the following Wednesday. So I had a weekend where I couldn't do much at the house, so I decided to go up late on a Saturday night and work Sunday on my little project. 

I got up to the cabin at around 11:00pm Saturday night and made my way to bed around midnight. Unfortunately my buddy had rented his cabin to someone so I didn't want to start working too early. The dog and I headed out to start working around 7:30 and after mixing the first two bags it quickly became obvious that I did not have enough concrete to do both footings  d* . I had forgotten how deep I had dug them and the footing I started with end up taking 11 80lbs sacks and I only brought 12. I had four smaller 60lbs sacks in the garage, but that still wouldn't have been enough to finish. So I guess I'll finish the next time we come up. Turned out that I knew the family renting my buddy's cabin so I chatted with them for a few hours, then the dog and I hit the river for a quick swim and by noon we were on the road headed home.

In the second photo you can see where I stood up two of the posts, hopefully I'm able to get the four posts stood up and grouted and the 4" x 12" set in them before the end of the year. I know I won't get to framing this year.

(https://i.postimg.cc/TY5FGTJQ/pit-1.jpg)

(https://i.postimg.cc/zGmMG4dN/pit-2.jpg)

Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: pmichelsen on December 13, 2022, 09:21:38 AM
I really need to calm down on my digging...

The family and I went up for Thanksgiving, we all ended up being sick and we didn't want to subject our wider family to our germs so we packed up the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and headed to the cabin. Upon arrival I was reminded that I need to prioritize some additional heat in there, with our pellet stove crapping out last year we only have the propane wall furnace and it isn't quite up to the task of taking the chill off when it dips down. When we got there (10:30pm) is was right around 40 degrees inside, and with two small kids, no one is happy. But other than that it was a good trip. 

I had only planned on doing general cleanup of the property and pouring the last footing for my little gazebo I'm building. I brought up (5) 80 lbs sacks of ready mix, thinking I would have plenty. I was wrong  d* . Fortunately I had (2) additional 80 lb sacks as well as (3) 60 lb sacks, but I was still a tad short. I don't know why I dug these things so deep, but at least they shouldn't go anywhere. 

I think we're going to head up for New Year's, assuming we do I'll get the last post set and take measurements for the beams. 

(https://i.postimg.cc/YC8CL3kd/thanks.jpg)
Title: Re: 28 X 40 California Redwoods
Post by: jsahara24 on December 21, 2022, 09:12:10 AM
Sounds like a nice trip over the holiday.....As for the footer I think your gazebo will be pretty sturdy!! haha...