The Green Havens. 20 x 28 & 16 x 20 Pole Cabins

Started by Watch Ryder, February 06, 2016, 06:01:28 PM

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Watch Ryder

Before I can start building, I have to get my stuff moved from the stiffling control of a certain state near NM to the freedom of the PNW.

I should add there are NO HOA nonsense, no building codes and it's at 3,500 feet up! :)

Here is the area I'm moving to:



For those wanting to cheat and see the quick-video build on video then I'll leave it here to tempt you with ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tA-w616Uio

To start with is the adventure of getting my building equipment and stores to my special place!

This is part of a trailer project to help with hauling stuff around.

It weighs in at about 200 lbs and only cost me $270.

The downside? I have to build it.










Watch Ryder

I'll be living out of this thing until the roof, floors and walls are ready.



I can't even drive my truck into my land yet! :)



Anyway, back to the other state where I have to complete the trailer build...


Watch Ryder

Wheel Bearing assembly





I took apart one hub assembly to have a good scan about inside. The Oriental Factory beings had pre-greased it but I added some more just to be certain.

Once the hub assembly was slid in I just had to add the crucial 'castle nut' flush then back it off 1/6 of a turn so the thing could spin freely.

The tools I used to get the hub cap off. You don't have to remove the entire hub assembly though, unless you re re-greasing it, or wanting to mount it to the axle easily.

I almost forgot to put the cotter pin through the axle!





Wiring the Red Mule's cabling for the brakes and signal lights was a bit niggly but I got it done.



This is crimped and heatshrunk. Earlier I had tried soldering it with a Harbor Freight butane torch but it wasn't fine enough and kept melting the adjacent wiring.









CabinNick

Where abouts in the PNW?  From he photo, I am going to guess S. Central OR north of Klamath?

Watch Ryder

I can't say exactly alas for OPSEC reasons... :)


Watch Ryder

4x8 boards to make up the box trailer:







Matching the bottom board to the frame.




Watch Ryder

Completing the Trailer Build.

Having a simple bed trailer is fine and dandy, but I wanted a real box trailer for cramming in many hundreds of pounds worth of equipment for a long haul to distant lands without messing with tarps and ropes etc.



The bed for the trailer was bolted down. I only used four bolts and thread-locked nuts but it will do the job ok.



The side bracers would take some work, these needed a custom fit and a lag screw going into the base-section of each 2x4.



The sides and the roof were braced from front to rear with 2x4s internally. MMM was a help with this as he'd already built similar boxes for his old pickup truck. He also helped with the roof section.



I wanted a door section for the rear piece for better practicality, but I had to build it first!

It was time for measurements and skillsaw moves...

Cutting the 8 foot length in half have me exactly 4 feet, perfect for covering both openings, one of which would be the door!





The front is now done, now onto the rear cargo door...



Some small noggins for the hinges and a hasp lock were what the door started with:



This gives you an idea of the interior specifics. The 2x4s brace the sides and allow the 4x8 sections to join together. I'll add some more for added structural strength later.





I deliberately made the hasp and bolt locks slightly offset so by lifting the door slightly it seals a lot better to the main-body of the cargo-box.

The trailer is nearly read to roll, both bracers are installed in the internal corners:



Then, having gotten it built, I set off, happy and glad to be free from the crushing confines of the city.

If pickups could be flown by raised spirits that thing would have been floating to the highway let me tell you.

Watch Ryder

The trailer didn't give me any issues, but I kept the speed to 55 mph which meant for a leisurely, but slow progress to the Hold, my first stop-off for cargo-loading.
The flapping thing that was the license paper seemed to holding too.



BUT, on arriving in Wyoming I saw that it had blown off!



No paper, technically no legality. I still had my little registration slips but no license paper/plate, with nearly 1,000 miles to go meant I had to be a careful Ryder indeed...


Watch Ryder

First I had to head to my friend's mountain retreat where most of my stuff was being kept!

I arrived at the Hold without incident though. I slept in the back of the truck just before the start of the private road. I would have slept down in Encampment camping grounds until the morning but it was full of cyclist and rv people.

Just before 0600 hrs I woke up. There had been some drizzle in the night but it had mostly cleared up. Nevertheless I knew there wasn't much time, I knew the rainy weather came in waves and I didn't want to get soaked during the loading saga that was to commence...

First thing I did was make a four-point turn so that the trailer was pointing the right way back up the private road, then I proceed to unload the gear my friend had given me to store. This only took a few minutes and was a cinch, although the 50 lb of concrete was a bit tricky to move with.

It was the long trek up three ascents with broken terrain in between for most of it and a narrow trail to negotiate that would test my balance and hiking skills. I would have to empty out my cabin shed of hundred of lb in equipment too and return down the mountain with it. Thankfully the ground was not too damp or soft.

I wanted to be off the Hold by 1000 hrs but as the long, near sisiphean task dragged on I had to drink plentiful sugary drinks to keep my relentless pace of hiking up and down the mountain going.







Eventually all that was left in the shed was my friend's stuff. His Lee Enfield rifle, the hallowed Big Berkey water filter and a few odds and ends I could not stuff into the cargo-box nor pickup.



Nearly all the other stuff was loaded in fairly neatly though. I was utterly exhausted though, it was just after 1200 hrs when I decided it was time to depart the area. My feet were sore, I was too tired to collapse the failed Ram Pump project (it protudes onto my friend's neighbors land) nor could I re-barrier the gateway area.

As I drove back up the mountain road towards the highway I noticed how quiet it was, perhaps the rainy weather had kept the many cabin people at bay?

I wonder what the next few years will bring at my new distant destination...


Watch Ryder

It took me two days of traveling to get to the Green Havens. I calculated I'd used $130 for the 800+ mile journey. To do the same thing in Europe would easily cost double that, maybe even triple!

Driving at 55 mph for nearly all the way was a laborious task after the 500 mile mark
I passed a few Highway Patrol Enforcers but either my Ryder Luck was smiling, or they understood why I had no trailer number plate.
Once though an unmarked 'camouflage' pursuit vehicle lingered behind me, then it moved out and drove on ahead.

I slept at a rest area, with a trailer though I could park with the big rigs which I find are a light blocker and don't tend to move as much. I would have preferred to sleep in the trailer than cramp-sleep in the back of the Wolf, but I wasn't about to unload any of the stuff at the rest area. 12 hours of road time later I got close to my destination. Once I was under 50 miles to go time didn't seem to drag so much anymore.

Finally though I made it. The long exodus was at an end. The tall, green forests of the All-Forest were everywhere and the sun was blazing down.





The trailer held together, although one of the side bracers was loose and two of the bolts had come partially apart from their wooden noggins! All that had prevented the door from flying open was my trust hasp lock and the chunky padlock I'd used! Minor repairs were needed! Yet I had to unload all my stuff first.

Then there was where to put it all! I had no shed built yet and only the flimsiest idea for a land-building-plan. After a few hours I had some areas with gear and tarps to protect it all. At the days end my lady-friend called me up! I was on date-time in a few days. These previous and next few days will be most eventful I think...

Watch Ryder

 Here's the water tank in action:



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuR3zgtFAp8

I fill it up at the well and drive it back to the Ryder's Retreat for decanting into jerry cans.

Once I get more trees cleared and felled I'll buzz the trailer into the heart of the acerage.

Here's one more tree felled for construction. It's a bit wonky, but should make an ok eave log.





It may seem slightly close to the power tent but I got it to fall where I wanted it with wedges to direct the fall.

Watch Ryder

Had a busy day today. A wasp decided to sting the Ryder early on, the heat was on and I had logs to sort out! Resisting the urge to unleash chemical warfare on their nearby nest I shook off the feeling of liquid razor blades in my wrist. Then I planned my next step...

First move was to get the first log for peeling to the position I needed at. I used the trusty tirfor for this duty.

Next was to install a Skywire for hoisting the logs up and down. This is not a job for casuals, in fact it's quite foolhardy if you aren't careful. In the construction industry the technique is colloquially referred to as bondling but is heavily frowned upon. Nevertheless needs must when the Ryder is toiling to get a retreat built!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35o83wT3ni8

Using the largest diameter cable commercially available at a big box store I had 3/8s of multi-strand steel-wire. I used bull-dog clips on both ends to make a pair of loops. Then into these loops I used a shackle and a carabiner to make them connectable. Finally Two thick sections of rope on two trees made the Skywire nearly ready!

The final part was to tension the thing. A turnbuckle is doable but awkward as you're wire length has to be adjusted to quite narrow tolerances.
A pull-lift (comealong) is ideal and extremely proficient at tensioning. I had neither so instead had to resort to the cheapo harbor-freight ratchet reel.
This bonked me on the head earlier in the day () and my lesson-teaching :thumb: resulted in a crescent wrench now being the method to tension it up.

But tension it I did somewhat, from there it was just a case of clipping on the trusty chainblock and I had my Skywire set up. For now I'll be using it to land the logs on a pair of sawhorses. Later in time though the cabin will be constructed with the Skywire between two of the bigger trees.

This was the first lift. It was capable but you can see the lack of tension caused serious sag in the cable. The weight of the log didn't help either. As it's green there must be about 250 to 300 lbs in the thing!

It's about 15 foot long and a lotta bark to come off too!



Once it was in place it was peeling time! After about 30 - 45 minutes this thing was the result...

http://i.imgur.com/RhEFiBg.jpg

Compared to when I was at the Mountain Hold it was a lot more easy, but the lack of high elevation was a factor there, as was the fact I didn't have a Skywire set up for peeling logs.

This is after I re-tensioned the line, you can see the difference. It should be ok for most of the post lengths, for the jumbo-logs that are 30 foot long it should be interesting though.

I decided that a production-line effect was needed, so I clumped a few mish-mash logs next to the peeling-zone, removed a few dead treelings and this was the result:





So it's just a case of 'roll-off', lift-on with each log. They can dry out over the rest of the summer all being well.

Watch Ryder

Despite it being 100 degrees in the shade, I managed to finish off the peeling and get the mighty 30 footer stacked in the racks!



This wasn't as easy as it sounds as several stumps, a tall dead tree and several small trees barred the great logs passage!



With my shirt feeling like an oven was slowly cooking me I kept on at it.
Eventually the log was tirfored into position with a post log for company.

Using G-Man's metal sawhorse I got the big log landed for peeling and it took the weight without buckling.



Just to give the impression of the awesome weight and size of the big ridge/purlin/eave log:

https://youtu.be/QCWwqAeqUZc

Watch Ryder

Over to you folks!

What do you think of this crazy project so far? :)

I don't think the forum sees too many log post cabins? It mostly tends to be concrete pillars as a foundation on here?

I'll be setting my logs DIRECTLY into the ground just like the old-timers did in the days of yore. I'll be using an ancestral technique too for preventing the rot getting to it. :)


Watch Ryder

Some Videos of the action now follow.

Getting a dead tree down:

https://youtu.be/Z1Ts7inW0KY

Once it has been felled the glamor is over and the hard work begins.

This is moving it with the mechanical mover:

https://youtu.be/stvclLVMYBo

On and on the move goes until it nears the processing area:

https://youtu.be/52Sdpb_QZkk

Then it's peelin' time!

https://youtu.be/wF3Ty2vHrgQ

Watch Ryder

This is my water replenishment tank!

https://youtu.be/EuR3zgtFAp8

Only 35 gallons but it's a start.

Another hot day today and another tree for the felling. This one will hopefully be the ridge-pole. I had a fun time chainsawing it down too. I got the Tirfor deployed to make sure it fell the right way, gave it my three cuts, re-tensioned, one more cut and SWOOSH down went the great tree.

https://youtu.be/-0PXQQwcQJQ

After a cable-pulling session through the day (I had to move other obstacles etc), I had the mighty 30 footer ready for lifting and peeling.



I wonder how many more times I must call upon Trebor the Tirfor? I hope he lasts as I paid a small fortune for him to be deployed. He gets a daily greasing to make sure his joints are ok so we shall see...



Bit of a traffic congestion here, the other tree will have to wait a few more days as he isn't a priority.



Finally in position for lifting and peeling:



I had a quick check of the log and saw this!



A hidden stone must have done that, just as well I leave the bark on for when Trebor moves the logs around! Still the rock has helped remove the bark without damaging the sapwood.

I will be very glad when the long girder logs are all stacked in the racks! Two are down and I have another three to go! The difficulty isn't so much the weight of them, it's finding a tree that is near-to-dammit straight. Once you go over 13 - 16 feet in length of a tree there's a much greater chance of bends, kinks and swerves to contend with. I don't mind a slight curve but many are only suitable for posts, some barely capable for a 14 footer!

Sometimes I feel like this Sisyphus but it'll be worth it!

The Labors of Ryder continue...



Watch Ryder

How much can my Trebor Tirfor take I wonder? I decided to try and find out:

https://youtu.be/1-RWLNEok9Q

This tree was over 1500 lbs (est) and about 70 foot long. The Cable Puller did its duty though as it hauled ass enough for the tree to be in a position for me to trim off another 30 foot section. This tree had a dizzy swerve though so only 14 foot can be used for construction duty alas. Still, it was a good test of Trebor.

Déjà vu was setting in as I went to lift the great log from the previous day. It groaned and moved but the Harbor Freight tensioner keeping the line taut was no match for the battle and it paid out instead.

I moved on to felling the last of the long girder log-trees.

This is a fir tree, just look at all the branches I have to sned off!







Two are in awkward spots to drag out with Trebor so I concentrated on the easy one first, I trimmed, de-limbed and pulled it in closer.





Tomorrow is city-visit day when I have to re-supply and do chores. No video today, hopefully there's enough to be keeping you entertained already until the next one.

Watch Ryder

Wednesday was a full day of graft!

I deployed the new cable tensioner which I hoped would be capable of getting the Sky Wire taut enough to take the great 30 foot logs.



Up we go!



The cable dipped, but was much more capable at taking the 1000 lbs+++ log.

Lifted and in place on the saw horses!



The ridge log isn't perfectly straight, but it will do for my cabin, I'll possibly hew it straight next year, for now my priority to getting it peeled and stacked in the racks for drying.

During the peeling process I used my rigging techniques to turn the log using the lifting equipment. I could have rolled it, but the risk of it falling onto the deck and breaking a limb wasn't worth it.



Indeed the saw horses collapsed 3 times, but each time the chain block prevented the log from falling very far, which was just as well.

Almost done now!



Fully Peeled! The only tricky bit is rolling the big thing on the racks (some stumps are in the way).



I get the Tirfor on the case and soon it is...

Stacked and in the racks!



Only another 3 of these big beauties to go!

G-Man stopped over for an unexpected visit, he was most impressed by the progress. Hopefully I'll get the entire log panoply done with more projects to spare by winter!

Look at all the mess from the 'clothes bark'!!



It'll take a while to pick all that up, but tomorrow is another day...

Watch Ryder

It's getting a pain to move the logs about now, but the mountain-like challenge is slowly showing progress. There were set-backs though, another tree I'd felled failed the final appraisal and can only do duty at a 14 footer. It means I have to yet again fell another live tree, this one at the very fringes of the Acerage, in the midst of the All-Forest!

Some of you may be wondering what I mean by that, well the All-Forest is a place of primordial mystery and challenge, some even say that creative forces brought us into the world somehow there. For me the All-Forest that I see nearby is a large, dense forest of young and old trees. Some of it sprawls onto G-Man's property too! Getting the last girder log tree felled and moved to the processing area will be a PITA, I hope it falls the way I want it. The other part is the Small Forest which is very close to the cabin site.

Here's the next girder log being brought in:



One of the issues I'm noticing with trees is getting perfectly straight ones is near-impossible. Part of the issue is in areas of powerful summers they tend to 'lean in' towards the sun. So a tree that is great for a 14, 17 or even 20 foot log will rarely be suitable for a 30 footer. Oftentimes I've had to make do with a slight bend here and there so when mounting it on the posts in future times I'll have to just cut away, notch or shim where necessary. Some of the bends on these trees are like miniature banana angles! LOL

No way, just no way for this one, only a 14 footer for you:



This log was originally going to be a 30 footer as well (the other part is next to it), but like the quest for righteous men in Gomorrah, few make the grade. It will *only* be a 20 footer for the ridge pole now:



This is the 30 footer that just about made the grade, a slight curve but nothing too excessive.



Meanwhile the next big 30 plus footer was brought in position, I had to fiddle about with the slings before getting it balanced. It was so long it was almost too wide for the clearing! LOL



By getting the other end pushed down I could really get this moved in using just a chainblock for the central fulcrum point.



Then it's just slinging up for the central balance and up she goes onto the saw horses!


Watch Ryder

Today was a semi-rest / writing day.

What work I did do entailed getting the hanging log peeled and trimmed down to about 34 feet long. The peeling was a lot harder than normal. Despite the tree being cut down green the bark on the sunward side was actually semi-dried out!



G-Man was telling me that some people just have a log cabin kit delivered and they just put it together, that's ok but folks like us prefer the real deal making it raw kinda thing. It's cheaper but more importantly there's a sense of having done it entirely yourself instead of relying on outside forces via the $$$$.

It was a working Sunday the next day, I peeled three logs to various states and got the big thirty-five footer stacked in the racks! It was hard work to roll being extra big and I had to get extra noggins bashed in to support the weight and length.
There is a bit of a bend on it, but I have a plan to pin it down straight once it is lifted onto the posts.





As an aside I had some hatchet-throwing fun and even scored a few hits!



By the end of the afternoon I was aching all over. My left knee and side-back muscle were not very happy. Just as well Monday-Tuesday are rest and meeting days.

I saw this weird grey snake slithering towards some of the fence-foliage. It looked like it was not much bigger than a large worm but slithered into a small treeling I'd propped up near the gateway. Hopefully it won't slither into my tent!

After that a pair of deer showed up to say hello! It really was a day for the forest friends!



A little video to keep your appetite whetted folks!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybVhPII1V3E


Watch Ryder

Been a busy Ryder today getting some log moving and peeling done.

I pulled this great big tree off it's stump with a CLUMP!



Down it went onto a log for easy rolling and then it was Treboring time!

Peeling these things wasn't easy:



That's as far as this big lump for today:



This will be a road for helping turning the White Wolf around in future times...



The cabin site looking towards the sun:



The Gateway:



I have to clear this lot for getting the turn-around road made...


Watch Ryder

Today the 4th great log of girdage was peeled.

First I had to drag the thing into position using Trebor and Chainblock:



Then peeling commenced!



Ready!



It's not true straight but should do for my style of cabin. :)

Watch Ryder

Saturday started well as I stacked the next log in the racks. I cut down another blocking tree too, then dragged it to the processing area. I'll get that peeled tomorrow.



I cleared some of the lane trees but managed to nick myself with the branch saw. It wasn't serious but I applied iodine just in case.

When visiting a neighbour I received some excellent news! He is wanting a lot of trees cleared from his easement road due to dangers in snowtime. Many of them are superbly straight and will augment my existing stock!

Tomorrow is range-day and cutting day! Can't wait! 

The past few days were out on the valley heights picking out trees to cut down. I started out early in the morning too and was on my first tree felling when a most crazy thing happened.

I'd made my first wedge-cut for direction before following through with the back-cut. The tree was not happy about my direction and tried to fall back, trapping the chainsaw. I was not perturbed though as my mallet and steel wedges soon had the tree back on track to fall the way I wanted. However, at the very moment I had freed the chainsaw and the tree was falling back along the side of the road, my neighbour drove up!
It was like something out of an action movie. The tree was falling along the road as he was just driving on by with a trailer attached to his truck! Fortunately my fall was accurate as I intended and the tree landed without incident. It would have been cool to have videoed it though.
My neighbour saw the funny side too and there was no bad vibes. 

I did another two trees along the road without any incident.

This tree looks like someone tried cutting it many years ago and decided to think better of it?



I set up a target on a friends private range.



Then it was time to get busy with a Mosin Nagant, AR 15 and the trust FN FAL! Nothing like a Sunday for a range-day.

Watch Ryder

In the days following the range day I had mixed and unexpected news. My trusty neighbor , G-Man, had to leave for nearly two weeks. It meant my internet time was severely clipped! The last of the girder logs went into the racks BUT the others do not meet my exacting standards. So some will be demoted to post duty at a later stage. This means I must once again hunt down more 30 footer logs!

Nonetheless I got stuck into the work-as-usual with a gusto! The big drama day came when I was dragging what would be the massive ridge log behind the White Wolf! You should have seen it, if I had taken my camera it would have made for a cool video.

This was romper-stomper action, I was concerned my truck wouldn't be able to get moving but move it did, in an angry ox moving a plough kinda way! You should have seen what it did to the road! LOL. The big log was no less than 36 feet long and 14 inches in diameter at the base! The primordial thing left a trail like a torpedo had been fired along the surface of the road! I made sure to drag it along the middle, creating a mini-median as I rolled along. I was in first gear the whole time too. However, the wire cable I was using to drag the mighty-log snapped about 3/4 of the way back to the Havens. That's how hardcore it was! So I had a log in the middle of the access road and it was scorcher hot! What to do?

I felt the load ease so I stopped and retrieved the snapped portion. Thankfully it was only the end piece where the loop was, meaning I could make another loop using the existing cable-clamp. Doing so was a mini-saga in itself. Eventually, after returning to base to get tools and rope, I was able to manually rock'n'roll the log enough to get the loop back under. Then using a rope around a tree with a mallon link I used the White Wolf to drag the metal wire fully under the log so I could reeve the long end's eye through it! Then it was just a case of driving onward.



This time the wire held the rest of the way, on my return I had another challenge though, how to get the thing into the cabin site?

The cable had really tightened against the ball:



After a session and a half on the Trebor-Tirfor I was able to get the log in position. I'll let the pictures do the talking:







Here it is at the Cabin Site with all the others i need to do:





More musical logs the next day as I peeled and got logs moved.

Another big log in the racks, not straight-enough for a ridge log though:



This picture is starting to reveal the method behind my meanings. The far-right part of the picture is where the post-logs will be racked. They need to be out of the way so I can get the thirty-plus footer logs in to the left and top of the picture. That way the cabin site area is clear for marking up AND when I come to start making posts erect, the post-logs are easy to get to.

Also notice the Sky-wire chainblock. I actually move the entire log using this by raising the log to as high as it will go, then pushing one end to the point that the entire chainblock assembly skids along the skywire. In this way getting the post-logs into the side-racks is possible. I could use the Tirfor, but moving that thing back and forth all the time is a PITA and my back is aching just thinking about doing that.



On other news, there's smoke in the air from distant forest fires, hopefully not to close to the Green Havens though...

Watch Ryder

Today the smoke cleared completely. Good news for meaning forest fires had faded away, bad news for scorchio suntime! I had a banging headache from the sun two days ago and don't want it to come back!

Moving the post logs that were in the way took a bit of time, I got the remainder of one peeled then got the other two stacked in the side-racks!

The big thirty-six footer, which I will call the Gungalog, as it reminds me of Odins straight spear shaft Gungnir, was moved slowly using the following method.





I took my chainblock and slung up Gungalog with a cradle-angle method, maximizing lifting force (at the expense of load security). In this way I was able to drag-lift the great thing into position.





I went for a test lift too and the Skywire had a fit! The power-pull tensioner gave a few jolts and starts and paid out a few inches! I jumped about and tensioned the Skywire and did battle again.
This time the log lifted and I was satisfied the Skywire would be sufficient in later days. Also, when the logs are fully dried-out they'll be much lighter, easing the burden on the lifting systems.

I took my time on the peeling the log, as this will be the main load-bearing bit I wanted it to look the part! Another day was ending as I jacked in work for the day, Gungalog was only partially peeled but I had scouting to do.



I wandered to another distant cabin and got some ideas for my solar setup. A nearby tree to where the cabin site is would be perfect for mounting a big solar array. I also will add a garage onto the cabin too, that way I don't have to go out in the rain if I'm driving somewhere. It may mean I have to lap the posts and do some pinning to extension logs, but that's over-the-horizon talk!