Glenn's Underground Cabin Update

glenn kangiser · May 29, 2012, 12:38:10 AM

Sounds great, Andrew and thanks for the compliment. The garden is doing much better since adding the composted manure with wood chips. Manure alone left the ground still too hard by the time it mixed with the clay. The chips and twigs seem to be the key to amending the clay soil. We have never ever had beets like these grow here. [ouch]

Most of the other stuff is doing good too. Actually getting potatoes now.

So if three beets feed us and a group of about 40 people all we want for two days and have some left over yet, wonder what a couple hundred will do?

I think the UP is pretty dry right now isn't it? Heard of a forest fire there it seems.

Tonight was the Last Supper.....

Yes... it is true... tomorrow afternoon, Beefsteak goes off to that great butcher shop in the sky.....

Ernest T. Bass · May 29, 2012, 03:04:13 PM

There's a big fire going on a ways from here (I'm sure you're used to worse, but it's up to 20k acres or something..). However, we're actually having a very moist and warm spring.. Everything's a good 3 weeks ahead of last year. Funny that you mention the chips--that's something we've been doing a lot of, and we're also finding the clay to perform much much better with a good few inches of wood on top. Garden gets better every year!

Poor Beefsteak.. We're waiting for a visit from the butcher-man as well. Our evening volleyball audience attendance is about to drop..

May 30, 2012, 09:51:48 AM

Yes - the clay amended with sand still only makes bricks when dry. The wood chips hold around 5 times more moisture than soil. The manure makes a kind of softer but reinforced toughness in the soil if it does not have the chips - twigs - leaves etc. It is like the soil is held together with the fibers in the manure. The leaves and chips - grass clippings etc make it so the clay can not get a grip on itself as they continue to break down and decompose. Just my observation.

Beefsteak got a reprieve for a day? as the butcher did not show up last night... still on his way though.

Last but not least.... a reminder... if you have a dog who has a collar, make sure it fits properly. Our dog Princess, has gotten much fatter in the last year or so and her collar was overly tight, so I cut it off yesterday. It just kind of grew tighter .... never meant for it to be that way. [ouch]

glenn kangiser · May 31, 2012, 12:51:20 AM

The butcher did make it here today....

Fast , humane and efficient.... butcher estimated 1400 lbs and very fat.....Beefsteak...not the butcher. Looks like he will attend a lot of good barbecues for the next couple of years.... not gone... just in a different place.

The butcher was a bit nervous about the little fence jumper steer that belonged to our bulls mommy but eventually he got a clean shot at it and all was well. The problem here is we have about a hundred feet of corral fenced with poor barbwire fence on top of the mountain. Downhill both ways from there..... it needed to be a perfect shot... but he did good. [ouch]

On another note, got the kitchen floor repairs done. I did a quicky Paperbag floor repair. Filled the holes with non-shrink fast setting grout with sand added. set hard in about 30 minutes or less. I added Fibermesh to it and it worked great to fill in the the damaged spots and set fast.

Still drying but looking decent.

Thanks to Whitlock and our friend, Karen for making it possible for Sassy and I to get somewhere near ready for Mtn. Don and Wife's visit.

Sent a bag full of vegetables home with Whitlock for his wife too. Red and Golden Beets and onions. They are all getting big now.

Sassy · May 31, 2012, 01:08:25 AM

Sooooooo nice to get 2/3's of the floor fixed

Looks so nice & will be much easier to keep clean than crumbling clay floors not to mention I don't have to navigate all the hills & valleys

Whitlock & Karen were sure lifesavers! So much stuff to clean up outside & inside... The move didn't help things & then there was dust in & on EVERYTHING! It feels good to get everything back together & a good Spring cleaning.

It's always nice to have company, always get more things done

Guess we're ready for MtnDon & Karen - hope they are having a good time in Yosemite!

May 31, 2012, 06:40:14 AM

Quote from: Sassy on May 31, 2012, 01:08:25 AM

It's always nice to have company, always get more things done

Ahhh guests.. nature's catalysts of the 11th hour scramble to shove my stuff into every available spot and do some last minute repairs!
"OMG, Is your place always so tidy?".. "Why, thank you, yes, of course it is!"

glenn kangiser · May 31, 2012, 09:01:57 AM

You got it, Doc. Yesterday Whitlock made a 4'x4' x 8' pallet box and took a whole load of stuff to the other side of the hill with the forklift. [ouch]

We'll deal with it later.....

Today he may be back and we might tackle the shop.

...if we have enough energy left.

AdironDoc · May 31, 2012, 09:29:35 AM

I am so glad I decided on a PWF basement instead of piers. The cellar's already home to plenty of my tools, insulation batts, dry goods, etc. If I hadn't had that space, I'd have had to build another cabin to house it!

) Rest a day, you'll get all your energy back and things will be right as rain..

glenn kangiser · June 01, 2012, 12:33:55 AM

Mtn Don and Karen made it here this morning. We have been checking out the local CP forum members projects and had a pretty decent dinner at the Bug Lodge. More to come when off my mobile .

June 02, 2012, 01:51:15 AM

We have been having a blast showing Don and Karen the countryside.

Don got to check out the door to the underground complex and explore lots of other things around here.

He mentioned he wanted some vegetables from the garden so we have been eating some of our meals from the garden and some wherever we end up.

Sassy and Karen have been sharing some of the kitchen work and coming up with some great meals, smoothies etc.

Today we went to the Gold Coin... a remodeled sports tavern restaurant in the old John C. Fremont Adobe.

Karen asked if there were any dancing places in Mariposa. I said sure... The Bootjack Stompers. Square Dancing etc.

She said no... like.. she wanted something with more class....

I pointed her gaze to 4 locals sitting at the bar in the center of the room. "See those guys there, Karen."...... "Them there are locals.... would you want to dance with any of them... ?"

She took a look and replied, "No...... " There you have it.... you're in Mariposa.

glenn kangiser · June 02, 2012, 11:05:04 PM

We took Don and Karen to my buddy, "J's" place and let them check out his hybrid underground/log cabin.

The kids were very entertaining and even though his wife was just getting over a back problem, they were happy to show us around and let us see the fine craftsmanship that went into the building of their home.

On the way out we stopped by our friend, Rick's place and saw his garden and Tilapia aquaponics project.

The great visit continued yesterday as we managed to get up to Harry's place and let Don and Karen check out his great project.

A 50' diameter yurt Harry is skillfully plugging away on and every so often he shares a bit of his project with us, especially if it is something that can be of use to others.

Don had a bit of a heating problem on his Jeep that we traced to a bad water pump seal so we checked on the parts, found them all locally and had a little Jeep fixing party up in the shop.

I'm not elaborating much on a lot of this because I need to leave a bunch of story for Don and Karen to fill us in on after they return from their trip.

Ernest T. Bass · June 03, 2012, 04:27:54 PM

Looks like you guys are having a good 'ol time! Is that a commercial log home chink on "J"'s place or regular ext. caulk? Still haven't chinked the vertical log cabin and still can't see spending $600+ on it.. The joints are too tight for clay or cement though.

glenn kangiser · June 03, 2012, 11:59:30 PM

No, Andrew. That is an old time Mother Earth News homemade recipe using ashes, salt and something else as I recall. I can check it out further if you like. I forget what he told me now.

Yes - for sure on the good time. We Grabbed our share then passed Mtn Don and Karen on to Dave Sparks and his wife a few miles away from us... after we exchanged a bit of dialog and a beer...

glenn kangiser · June 04, 2012, 09:17:14 AM

OK - we didn't exchange the beer... that would be gross...

Possibility of having a real job so have to go take a look at it today. My friend Lauren made me a cool paracord belt to keep my pants from falling down as I'm walking around checking out the project.

Wonder how he does that ... must have been good in Boy Scouts or something.

I'll have to get back together with him and ask. I think it is a kind of a hobby sideline for him. Nice work Lauren.

June 04, 2012, 11:55:10 AM

Quote from: glenn kangiser on June 03, 2012, 11:59:30 PM
No, Andrew. That is an old time Mother Earth News homemade recipe using ashes, salt and something else as I recall. I can check it out further if you like. I forget what he told me now.

Wow, I'm surprised it doesn't just crack and fall out... Wonder it would stick in a vertical seam? I've found clay chink recipes that claimed the addition of certain amounts of salt and/or ashes would make it extremely water resistant and tough, but I've done some experimenting and never really got astounding results..

fardarrigger · June 04, 2012, 12:43:59 PM

Hi Glenn. I'm glad you like your belt, and that it can keep up with you. Being paracord, you can probably tow your truck with it, lol. Funny how it looks dark blue here. It's black! Honest

ben2go · June 04, 2012, 12:44:45 PM

Quote from: glenn kangiser on June 04, 2012, 09:17:14 AM
OK - we didn't exchange the beer... that would be gross...

Possibility of having a real job so have to go take a look at it today. My friend Lauren made me a cool paracord belt to keep my pants from falling down as In walking around checking out the project.

Wonder how he does that ... must have been good in Boy Scouts or something.

I'll have to get back together with him and ask. I think it is a kind of a hobby sideline for him. Nice work Lauren.

There are books,videos,and forums on how to do those.They are pretty awesome.

glenn kangiser · June 04, 2012, 11:28:36 PM

Quote from: Ernest T. Bass on June 04, 2012, 11:55:10 AM
Wow, I'm surprised it doesn't just crack and fall out... Wonder it would stick in a vertical seam? I've found clay chink recipes that claimed the addition of certain amounts of salt and/or ashes would make it extremely water resistant and tough, but I've done some experimenting and never really got astounding results..

As his logs shrink he is getting some cracking at the edges. I don't think it is as flexible as the $800 stuff..... He said he will have to go back and re-do some of it as the logs shrink but that could take 2 years.

glenn kangiser · June 04, 2012, 11:32:26 PM

Quote from: fardarrigger on June 04, 2012, 12:43:59 PM
Hi Glenn. I'm glad you like your belt, and that it can keep up with you. Being paracord, you can probably tow your truck with it, lol. Funny how it looks dark blue here. It's black! Honest

Thanks, Lauren. It seems to have a bit of stretch that kind of keeps the pants tight without being overtightened, yet it doesn't really give past a certain point either. Must be something to do with the weave.

PEG is happy as it keeps me from looking like Fred....

glenn kangiser · June 04, 2012, 11:35:21 PM

Quote from: ben2go on June 04, 2012, 12:44:45 PM
There are books,videos,and forums on how to do those.They are pretty awesome.

I think I'll just buy mine from Lauren as that would be another thing I would have to try to learn.

Getting proficient at it seems like it would take a long time.

June 05, 2012, 07:52:08 AM

Had a bit of heartburn from eating Ice Cream too late. Got up about 2 to drink some vinegar and sleep in the recliner. [ouch]

We moved the old cats cat box out onto the bridge so she has to go through the French Door to get to it. I heard the squeaking of the hinge in my light sleep and thought it was her.

Dreaming I got up to check it, I found, instead of her, a cream colored large kitten.

I picked it up and rolled it over in my hands. It said, in a meowy little kitten voice.... "I'm hungry and I want to eat.... "....

"Oh... you can talk...... that seemed to be enough to wake me up.....

rick91351 · June 05, 2012, 08:02:29 AM

Don't know why you can't communicate with a kitten like that. Bet you talk to iron and steel all the time like that. Use the force Glenn, use the force...... Not that force Glenn. Come to you it will!!

glenn kangiser · June 05, 2012, 11:02:36 PM

Crimoney, Rick.... you are sounding more like Yoda all of the time.

Working on a job that is a real challenge today... getting a 25 foot elevator tower into a 12 x 15 foot space with a wall that is a bit over 8 feet above it on the good side.... guess I need to remember to take a picture tomorrow.

Oh yeah.. I did take a few when I checked it out yesterday.

It comes in from underneath in two pieces - by hand with comealongs and chain hoists. No equipment access except for a man lift that can operate vertically only - no room to maneuver. [ouch]

Have to miss the hanging wall on the far side too..... all the while about six managers are making sure you have your safety glasses on.

The pieces weigh about 550 and 750 lbs and have to get jammed through that ceiling using a stationary chain hoist. A bit of calculating and measuring is in order... got the first frame in today.

Oh, yes... and try to stay within budget too.... not gonna worry about that one too much... one of those things that is done when it is done... but I have a pretty good plan for tomorrow I think......

glenn kangiser · June 07, 2012, 10:53:51 AM

Got it in yesterday. Finished about 5 by the time I cleaned up. Already scheduled for Walnut Creek. Got them to hold off until Monday. Had a revelation on the way home yesterday that caused me to stop at Harbor Freight and get more tools then load some 12' 2x6's and nails when I got home to make a hoisting beam and got it in place fast. Hooked the new Comealong to the old one and made it in one pick. [idea]

Funny how the safety clowns must be there every minute of the day when they have nothing better to do... harassing me about wearing my safety glasses, welding screen, harness, etc. even when they are not necessary.... but when another job comes up that they actually need to work on it is perfectly OK for them to leave me unattended for the entire day.....

What if a big case of stupid strikes me.... then what will I do?

By the way... it was their guy (gen. contractor owner) who cut through all of the communication cables and alarm wires with a Sawzall removing more of the ceiling for clearance for my work. The wires were totally exposed right next to the cut in the 7'x 7' opening. I took photos and sent them to the office before I started work. Wonder where his safety guy and supervisor were then to stop things like that from happening?

Maybe I should run back to the valley and make a report...

glenn kangiser · June 08, 2012, 12:35:18 AM

Spent the day unloading the trailer of unnatural resources and am going to get another load tomorrow from the place we sold.

I made 2 boxes 4'x 2' x 8 feet and cut materials for two more. That will fill most of my trailer - 8'x16' with about 6 feet left for machinery. [ouch]

I will take the nail gun and saw along and run the gun from the compressor on my welder... or... I did still leave one in the shop down there. I hope this load is the last one from the shop. I'm tired of moving stuff.

Then comes the chore of figuring out how to get it all covered up by winter....