20x32 1.5 Story Cabin on its way up in NE Wisconsin

[peteh2833]

Wasn't trying to give you a hard time. Just looking forward to the pics of the place. Looks great. Can't wait to get to that point. I have the 4 walls framed and sheathed on my 20x30. Next the loft floor joists and then the roof. I hope to have the roof on by November. Pete

[glenn kangiser]

Even not finished it looks pretty cozy.

[soomb]

What are you using for your "bird blocking"?  in the loft pics the space in between the rafters is filled with..?

[TheWire]

soomb,

There is standard metal window screen cut and glued with building adhesive in the openings between the rafters.  I didn't think I was going to get the soffit in this year.  The fascia boards are pressure treated so there is no rush.  In moving in upstairs and it getting chilly, my wife bought a $5 fleece blanket and cut fleece to fit the openings.  I told her I thought she would need pins or staples to hold the fleece in, but amazingly it sticks to the screen like velcro. What I thought would take her hours, took her about 45 minutes.  It did however take her a lot longer to cut and glue the screen, but the place is basically bug proof.

I will take the fleece out before putting in foam air vents and insulation.

Jerry.

[soomb]

Necessity: The mother of invention

[TheWire]

Here are some pics of our inverter system.  We have had it running for 2 trips now and its working good.  I'm using 4 6volt 225ah GC2 batteries and a Xantrex 2kW Prosine inverter/charger.  Its on wheels because I plan in keeping it under the landing of the stairs.  I have a standard 120V plug for temporary 120v connections but it will tie into the cabin's load center through the lower twistlock plug.  I also need to vent the battery case, which is a heavy plastic pickup truck toolbox.

It runs CFLs for hours without much of a voltage drop and handles a microwave without any issues.  The only issue I'm having now is my generator puts out about 85volts unloaded & the charger in the inverter sees this as a low voltage condition and won't begin charging.  I currently plug a 100W light bulb in the generator to put a load on it and get the voltage in the range the charger will see as OK to begin charging.





Jerry

[glenn kangiser]

I find a similar issue with my soft start Bosch Rotohammer.  I need to start a drill or other motor before it will start the first time - then after that it will restart until unplugged.

Some of these electronics are just too smart for their own good.

[TheWire]

Well its been a long time between posts.  Taking the slow road to getting our cabin done.

Being deep in the woods, finding a hole in the trees to get good solar exposure was a challenge.  After lots of observing, the best spot seemed to be on the corner of cabin. 

I installed a 20' 4" steel pole and put 320 watts of solar panels on top of the pole.  The panels are in series and put out 80 volts into an Outback FM60 charge controller.

Rasing the pole Iwo Jima style.


Upper pole bracket, J-Box & lightning arrestor.


Lower pole bracket. (Raised to prevent issues with frost heave)


Solar panels are up!




Also got the batteries and inverter permanently installed.  Still need to put a door on the front of the battery bank.

Prosine 2kW inverter.


Outback charge controller and DC breakers


120 volt breaker panel.




Jerry

[Shawn B]

I like the all copper bus connections, and the DIN rail D.C. circuit breakers.

[TheWire]

Its been a while since my last post.  We had been using the unfinished cabin on a regular basis but not making a lot of progress.  I have been kept busy with my family and growing company.  I had started the cabin in 2007 without a building permit, but I decided to go legit this past spring and get an after the fact building permit.  I was worried about what a hassle this might be but the town thanked me for my honesty  .  The inspection went smooth and in the end I needed to add the permanent stair railing, back steps and a couple more smoke alarms.

I hired a friend who is a building contractor to help get the project moving again.  We made a lot of progress.  We finished the outside in 2011 & have been making good progress on the inside in the months since the inspection.

Window seat



Kitchen, Its great to have a functioning place to cook


Dining



Wood stove



Top of stairs


Labor day party (Cabin in the background):




We have some trim, stair railings, stone behind woodstove and bathroom and one of the 3 bedrooms to complete.  Each of these should be about 1-2 weekends.

Here is a link to the whole album:
https://plus.google.com/photos/111719321053513944471/albums/5194088687804591393

[mbauer013]

Great to see another great looking Wisconsin cabin going up, we are planning one west of you in the Exeland area (near Ladysmith).  How were the inspectors with your PWF?  I have thought about this option since the land we own is said to be near unsuitable for a basement or crawlspace foundation due to high amounts of rock and supposed high water table (though we are on a 10% slope and 150 ft above the valley).  Wisconsin can be so hard to deal with the bueracrats, I almost hate to suggest any unorthodox building practices.

[MNJon]

Jerry, Awesome work on the place. I am building in the Leech Lake area in Northern MN. I am hoping to start this spring/summer and am planning on something similar to your place. Couple questions for you. I may have missed it, but what does your floorplan consist of behind the kitchen and across the hall? I am needing 1BR on the main and 2BR upstairs, which it looks to me like you have done. Full loft with vault in the middle? Anything you wish you would have done differently?

Thanks-Jon

[C.Oden]

MNJon - question for you too!
Are you still building off grid? Is so - decide on solar or??? I may hav eto go that route and looking to pick brains of others on it all.
Looking to build in same general area I believe. Between Effie and Marcell to your east. Where abouts are you when you say Leech area?

And Jerry - I echo the looking awesome and would love more photos!

[MNJon]

C.Oden- Yes, still off grid. I am going to start building the solar system this summer. I think I am going to start with about 1,000 watts of solar off ebay along with a Midnite Classic or Outback CC. I am still deciding between 12 and 24V and the size of the bank. I figure if I start with a 4 Batt bank at 12V, when I upgrade the inverter I will switch to 24V and buy new batt's. I will start a new thread on it once I do.

I am in Longville, about 20 minutes east of Walker. Maybe we will be able to check out each others sites eventually.

[C.Oden]

MNJon - sounds like a plan. When the snows gone I'll be up that way.
I used to have a family cabin on Woman. Spent many hours fishing it and Leech. Love the area

[sharron]

Hi Guys,

I finally had to register after reading your last few posts.  My husband and I have decrepit old cabin on Upper Bottle near Park Rapids, Mn.  We hope to replace it with something modified from this site as finances allow. 

We live in Texas, but return to my husbands old summer vacation stomping grounds every July for 4 weeks. We just love the beauty of the area.

Maybe we can see what MNjon comes up with some time.

Thanks for sharing your projects.
Sharron

[C.Oden]

Hey Sharron ! Welcome to the zoo.   
You couldn't pick a better time of year to escape Texas than July! My sister is near Waco and brother near Shelton and neither one ever comes up here. To "cold" - lol
If they only knew how seriously hot and humid the past 10 years have been.....they'd be right at home.
The folks here have lots of ideas that make sense and I'm finding more and more from area which is cool. Maybe someday we can all setp up a labor pool for a weekend to get everyone moving along.

Anyhoots - glad to read yor post and happy ya here

[MNJon]

Welcome Sharron! You are welcome anytime! I am going to start a new thread with where we are at our current state and expand as we build on. C. Oden, Sharron, and any of you are welcome to stop over anytime! I have lived all over the world while in the Air Force and  Longville is one of my favorite places in the world.

[TheWire]

mbauer013,

With my after the fact building permit and having most of the drywall installed, I gathered as much info as possible to provide to the inspector.  This included foundation design, engineering calcs, beam sizing, etc.  I also opened the door on the crawl space, found pictures of framing details, was prepared to remove electrical outlets to show them the wiring, etc.  When the day of reckoning came the inspector looked for smoke alarms, egress windows, stair landing size, placement of outlets.  She never looked in the crawl space or even in the utility room with the batteries, inverter, breaker panels.   She also didn't mention looking at the design data I sent her.  I had prepared so much, I almost wanted her to scrutinize everything.  But I kept quiet and listened.  In the end I had to add a couple more smoke detectors, permanent stair railings, back steps and an outlet near the loft railing "so I wouldn't run a cord across the hall to plug in Christmas lights on the railing".  I passed, did not hide anything and most of what she wanted I was going to do anyway.  I feel very lucky, but I also know its a complete roll of the dice on how other inspectors might handle a similar situation.

[TheWire]

Here are 2 pictures of my 1st & 2nd floor plans.  The 1st floor storage room will become a bathroom.  The 1st floor utility room houses the batteries, inverter, charge controller, water pump, on-demand water heater and lots of shelves.



The second floor has 2 big bunk rooms, a small office and a 8x10 opening with the stairs and chimney coming through it.  It gives a open look from downstairs without consuming too much second floor small.  The bunk rooms are for the kids now, but could easily hold a couple adults and children once the kids have their own families.



If anyone would like these in PDF or 3D Home Architect format, please PM me.

Jerry

[TheWire]

MNJon,

I'm really happy with the way the whole project turned out.  It exceeded my expectations and more than once I upgraded finish items like 6 panel pine doors & hickory cabinets because the used finish items I scoured craigs list for & stored for years didn't fit in.  As far as what I would change; When looking at the layout of the 1st floor, I lose some space to the front to back hallway & the living room, which is on the side with the window seat, might be a challenge for furniture layout.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Jerry

[mbauer013]

mbauer013,

With my after the fact building permit and having most of the drywall installed, I gathered as much info as possible to provide to the inspector.  This included foundation design, engineering calcs, beam sizing, etc.  I also opened the door on the crawl space, found pictures of framing details, was prepared to remove electrical outlets to show them the wiring, etc.  When the day of reckoning came the inspector looked for smoke alarms, egress windows, stair landing size, placement of outlets.  She never looked in the crawl space or even in the utility room with the batteries, inverter, breaker panels.   She also didn't mention looking at the design data I sent her.  I had prepared so much, I almost wanted her to scrutinize everything.  But I kept quiet and listened.  In the end I had to add a couple more smoke detectors, permanent stair railings, back steps and an outlet near the loft railing "so I wouldn't run a cord across the hall to plug in Christmas lights on the railing".  I passed, did not hide anything and most of what she wanted I was going to do anyway.  I feel very lucky, but I also know its a complete roll of the dice on how other inspectors might handle a similar situation.

Wow sounds like you did get lucky!  So do you bring in water for your cabin?  I noticed no bathroom so I'm assuming no septic or well.  That's a pretty neat idea if I am seeing it right that you just use a water pump to supply the on demand water heater for hot water.  Nice cabin!

[TheWire]

We have an artesian well about 40' behind and 10' below the cabin.  It keeps a buried plastic tank full and never freezes.  I use a small 12V submersible pump to pump it to a plastic tank in the cabin.  Then an RV pump and a small expansion tank provides water pressure to the cabin.  We eventually will get a septic or holding tank and convert the storage room to a bathroom.

[oifmarine]

Looking good!   

[Megaminya]

Our 35 year old family cabin in NE Wisconsin was getting a little cramped with multiple families using it.  It sits on 40 acres and other members of our family own several hundred more acres attached to this property.  10 years ago I built a 3000 sq. foot log home near Green Bay and did everything but the concrete, plaster and roofing.  I got the building bug again and I am building a new cabin about 50 yards from the old. 

CountryPlans has been great for our 20x32 1 1/2 story thats well underway.  We completed the foundation and 1st floor deck this fall, then tarped it for the winter.  We started back up this April.  We finished the rafters this weekend.  With having a log home to care for, I'm looking to go as maintenance free as possible on our cabin.  I wanted to share our progress with the pictures below and the full photo album is at: http://picasaweb.google.com/jerry.wenzel/Cabin.   I want to thank everyone in the forums for all the help!

Jerry hi very interested PWF but almost no information because I live in Russia and we have no one does this PWF so if you have a video or photo material by asking you to share a basement construction technology PWF

The sight before:




Grading:




Permanent Wood Foundation (With the old cabin in the background):



1st Floor Framing:



2nd floor joists:




Rafters: