Okanogan 14x24 by a lurker :)

Started by Oljarhead, September 21, 2009, 02:53:09 PM

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Nate R

Quote from: Toyotaboy on March 20, 2019, 09:07:54 AM
That is one thing I do not own, snowshoes.  d*

But after this year, I will have a pair.

It takes about a day and a half to get my place really warmed up with the wood burner.

Toyotaboy

I bought a pair this year, and am glad I did!

Is your floor insulated? Or the crawlspace walls? Curious about the heating time vs insulation/thermal mass.
Hoping to start my 20x30 Northern WI build soon.

MountainDon

Regarding warm-up time: with the floor insulated (R25) as well as walls (R19) and ceiling (~R50) we can raise the interior temperature 20 degrees an hour average using a small wood stove (VC Aspen) and a wall mount direct vent propane heater. The propane heater is rated at 18000 BTU but with the altitude correction is will have a maximum around 14000 BTU. The 8800-foot altitude will also reduce the output of the Aspen wood stove from its max of 18K to around 14K as well.  The ceramic tile floor is warmed nicely after 24 hours; becomes almost barefoot friendly.

If there is a lot more thermal mass than average on the inside of the insulation the warm-up time will be extended. Air leaks, drafts, will also make it slow to become comfortable.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.


Toyotaboy

Nathan,

The 4 ft crawl space in not insulated but the overhead in the crawl space is. 14 inch I beams with insulation keeps the floor warm after it's warmed up. The rest of the place is 2x6 construction with insulation and drywall. All UDC to code.

We were so air tight that we had oder problems with the composter toilet when using the wood burner. I ended up making a nice floor
vent directly under the front of the wood burner to the crawl space. This alleviated the draw from the bathroom. But I have to remember to close it when we leave.

What also helps in the ceiling fan to push the warm air down from the loft.. This has been a tremendous help in circulating the air and helps with warming the whole place up. 

Sorry to jack the thread Oljarhead.

Toyotaboy

Nate R

Thanks for the feedback Don and Toyota! Interesting to hear.

I'm doing an insulated slab on grade, and am hoping to use that thermal mass for comfort in the warmer summer days (cool nights, usually), but know I'll be paying a price in winter warm up time. (Weekend/Recreational use). So interesting to hear you're achieving 20 deg/hr or so, Don.

I'm getting the equipment together to datalog the thermal performance of my structure, mostly for my own curiosity. I intend to record inside and outside temperature and humidity, as well as the slab temperature and soil temperature around 4" depth. Probably at 1 hr increments, so I can see how cold/warm things get when unoccupied and when occupied, etc.
I may be able to integrate my solar datalogging into that too to roughly see how much impact sun has, etc.

<highjack over/>

OlJarhead

No problem on the highjack :D

I use a cold air intake on my stove that comes from the outside so it drafts that way and doesn't cause issues.  The floor is R21 and the walls are R19 with an R21 roof and it takes about the same amount of time as Don's.  I can warm it above freezing from 18F interior in about an hour or so and after 6 hours or so it will be about 65-70F depending on the inside temps.  I use an 18k BTU propane heater to augment the stove (same stove as Don's) and at 3200 feet have a little more heating power than Don does.

I do find, however, that it takes a full 24hrs or so to heat every surface, cupboard etc and that's just how things work but I do that without the propane heater.  I only use it until the cabin hits 60F then I shut it off and only use wood.

Once it's warmed up it's very easy to maintain the warmth with the little stove.


KodiakRanch13

Appreciate all the good posts Gents.  Newbie here, I purchased some property in Aeneas Valley a few years ago and hope to get started on a small build this Summer, 12x16 are my first thoughts as I want to avoid permitting etc.  Little research and general word of mouth has been 200SF and less wont require a permit for my shed, if I'm wrong let me know!  Thanks again for all your info and maybe I'll run into yall one of these days.

-Kodiak (from Eastern Washington)

OlJarhead


OlJarhead

Did I ask this before?  I'm looking for ways to connect a D Log wall to a standard frame wall.

The idea is to make the addition with D Logs.  It will be 12 feet deep to the back of the cabin and come even with the current deck roof.

My though was to create a recess into the 2x6 wall for the stacked logs to be secured to but other than that I'm just not sure.

Thoughts?

OlJarhead


My thought is that I can cut out the 8" needed for the log wall to be recessed into the framed wall and then frame the wall with 2x6's on either side and one 2x8 across them (so like a 6x8" pocket inside the wall) then cut the D logs square at that end and slide them into the wall.  I can then chink them at the corner to ensure a good seal but leave them free floating inside the wall to allow for shrinkage that likely will occur.

In essence I'd build the back wall (12' deep) then the outside wall and the front wall (to the porch) and a log wall back to the main cabin (beside the porch) giving basically 3 walls with the corner walls of the cabin being the inside.  This addition would be L shaped around the corner of the cabin and made with 8" D logs.  The roof would be a 3.3x12 pitch to match the front porch but rise to 3.3x12 pitch (or higher) on the back side (in order to match the pitch and keep it reasonably strong).  I'll just run the rafters on the front back to the hip which will be set back from the corner to allow the 3.3x12 pitch of the porch to continue across the front.

The front will remain at 10 from the cabin like the porch but the side being 12' out will need a stronger roof.


OlJarhead

While I am working on getting logs ready to mill etc for the addition I'm working on other parts of the cabin.  In this case a door!

My bathroom hasn't had a door and the opening is just 25" so I'm making a 24" door to fit the opening with pine I've milled up myself.  In this case the frame is made of 1" pine boards glued up to give me a thicker frame.  Some appear to this this is stronger than making the styles and rails with 2" stock but all I had was 1" rough cut so that's what I'm using.  Actual dimension will be 1 1/2" thick due to planing.


After gluing up the styles and rails I had to set about making the mortise and tenons for the frame.  I used a router with 3/4" bit and a chisel.


Tenons were done with a dado on the tablesaw and a jigsaw


I made a down and dirty Jig so I could use the router and be accurate.  The result is a fairly tight fit of all rails but I have to do the 2nd style still.

Then I'll cut T&G grooves in the styles and slot T&G pine boards for the panels.  Center board will have two tongues so the outer two will have tongues in the styles and grooves to match the middle board.

The idea is to have it look like the cabin walls more or less :D  and to be home made.

I plan to pin the tenons with oak dowels after gluing it all up for added strength and the hinges will be face mounted (ala barn door style) and face mounted on the wall.  The door will swing out and have a slide lock.

Heck, it might even be civilized soon at the cabin ;)

OlJarhead

Been a while!  I finished that door so better post a pic for y'all...and then fought a rat for a while (or more than one) but was there last night and all is well and I'm working on some new projects for the cabin still :D

MountainDon

Rats can be formidable foes.  They can be clever. I had one a couple of years ago that I caught in the act of entering under an eve/hole.  It seemed to look at me as if I was the intruder and didn't back off while each stood our ground.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

pmichelsen

The mice have been a real problem at our place, they've built nests in most of our clothes and we find droppings everywhere. It's always something. 

greg49

I build my own mousetraps, simple, cheap, and effective. The best part, though, is that I have caught up to a dozen mice overnight, without any attention until it's time to dump the dead mice in the morning. I am sure this contraption could be sized-up to work for rats, but I haven't done that.

The first thing I need is a 5-gallon plastic bucket half full of water. This will be the trap, and this is the part that probably needs to be larger for rats. Now I just need to convince the mice to jump in. Fortunately that is much easier to do than it sounds.

I use a short piece of 2X4 or 1X4 about 3 feet long, a clothes hanger, a couple of small fencing staples, a can with a tight fitting plastic lid that peanuts or lemonade mix or something came in, some duct tape, and some peanut butter. 

Then I will put something together that looks kind of like a paint-roller with the can as the roller, the 2X4 as the handle, and the coat hanger and staples to hook them together. I use the duct tape to make sure the plastic lid stays on the can. Then I smear peanut butter on the 2X4 to make a nice, wide scent trail all the way to the end of the board. After I have smeared most of the upper surface of the board with a very thin layer of peanut butter, I put a heavy coat of peanut butter on the can that acts as a roller. I usually use the old-fashioned kind of peanut buttter that separates and has to be stirred, and smear it as heavily as I can onto the roller.

Then I just set this up, one end of the 2X4 on the floor and the other leaning on the top of the bucket like a ramp, in the area the mice are most active in. As can be seen from the ingredient list, there is nothing in this contraption that will harm pets, but a curious pet could spill the container of drowned mice and make a big mess, so I always make sure my dog can't get at the trap.
Happy hunting.


OlJarhead

Them rats!  d* d* d* :o ???  I've fought them a lot but have them stymied for now and will work on some other things for them this spring summer.  Here are some pics of the door:



 




greg49

That is a very nice looking door, nice and solid too.

OlJarhead

Quote from: greg49 on January 22, 2020, 02:17:09 PM
That is a very nice looking door, nice and solid too.

Thanks :D  and made with a saw that didn't cut straight lol  d*

Got a new table saw now :D  Making a table for sister before getting back to furniture for cabin but have to slow down a bit.

I have plans to put a D log addition on the cabin too.

greg49

Yeah, a man needs new tools every once in a while.

OlJarhead

Amen to that! and because I have the best wife ever I also just bought a Woodriver No.7 hand plane! :D  WhooHoo!

The door was something I always wanted to do.  That is, make a door entirely without any hardware to hold it together; just glue, mortise and tenon and nothing else (except maybe the dowel pins).  Now I need to make the bars and some wainscotting and of course, finish all the other stuff inside and out so I can finally start on the addition!

OlJarhead

Going to order some square hole drill bits too :)  Can't wait to see how well I can make mortises with them.


OlJarhead

Not much cabin work going on and some life/work changes have us using it again for long weekends and a get-away place so we're there less often :(  But I have plans to get the sawmill up there soon and to start milling paneling (for other projects as well) and D logs for an addition and a 2nd cabin :)

Hope everyone is fairing well in this crazy time

OlJarhead

So I thought I would write down my cabin trip update for the record since it's been a while!  No pics to share at the moment but perhaps some later.

I Arrived at the cabin about 2:30 and it was 100F, which I have not seen in several years, maybe even 10 or 11.  I had not mowed other than the driveway and I was pretty worried about the tall grass and recent fires.  1st task was to get the mower off the tractor and then down to Eric Juniors (that's what I refer to him as since he's younger than both me and my other neighbor named Eric) and hook up the box blade he fixed for me.  He wasn't home but I got the blade installed and started a 3 plus hour blading session.  During this period I managed to get the entire driveway and road to the top of the hill cut to dirt other than a few sections which I could do more on.  At about 6pm I took a break and rinsed the dust off my arms and face and poured a stiff drink (tall) to cool off with (still had plenty of ice in the cooler).  It was nice to kick back on the deck and listen to the wind in the trees.  Its breezy but at these Temps that's not necessarily a good thing.  While it helps cool you down it can be dangerous if a fire kicks up.  Hence all my tractor work.

It was warm and I wasn't in a hurry so I enjoyed the cold drink and light breeze and watch the thermometer and my watch that I'd set on the deck to get a reading off (it's one of those Casio's with the barometer etc on).  After a few minutes my watch finally gave a temp of 91.8F which I suspect is about right.  Funny, it feels a little cool compared to when I arrived.....it may have been over 100 as it was 108F in OMAK...

I got myself back on the tractor and got back to working in the driveway and fire brake roads I make to help protect the place and spent more time around the cabin with some weed eating and tractor work.  I gave up around 9pm, had a shower and a couple cold drinks and hit the sack in the 80F cabin with the windows open and hopeful a cool evening breeze would cool the place down.

By morning it was 74F inside the cabin and while that's much better I would have liked 64!  I had coffee and got back on the tractor shorlty after 8am (I'd slept in since I was up reading a new book later into the evening).

Since it was cooler and morning I decided a little mowing wouldn't hurt and got right to it.  I mowed a section by the fire brake/road but thought better of it after a short while and took the mower off.  I was worried about hitting a rock and starting a fire!

Next I got the old disk's hooked up and headed back along the 'road' to disk up as much as I could.  I spent a few hours at it and then moved the mill and disk's down the cabin where I had some raw dirt to set them on with a decent amount of space for fire protection around them.  I knew from past fires that the firefighters will try to protect/save anything where the home owner tries to provide a 'defensible' space.  Finally, I got the box blade back on the tractor and hit the road again to widen it to about 20 feet in most places.  It's not perfect but it will provide some help I hope! 

Left the place with the gate open (in case the firefighters have to get in there) and headed home.  We moved back to the Tri-Cities so I am once again 4.5hrs away but that's ok.

Anyway, no major fires in the area yet and we can hope they don't come but this is life with a cabin in these woods!

Cheers
Erik

MountainDon

Hi Erik.   No fires in our neck of the woods either and for the past week - 10 days we have been enjoying some rain. Enough to be able to burn some slash legally but not enough to require road repairs on hills. The forest was dry enough unti recently that it was locked up. That made for some real quiet. Hardly any aircraft traffic either because on reduced airline travel. Usually planes are going over leaving contrails at 30,000+ feet but hardly at all now.

55F  or so overnight is nice. Days maybe high 70's. Nice too. 

Lots of elk (maybe some deer but there is a good amount of fresh elk droppings) passing through. I got a new game camera this week so we'll hopefully see what animals have beed making all the tracks we see.

Take care. Cheers.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

Gary O

Sounds like a very good trip

No fires to speak of here, either

But......no rain....for months

Temps in the 80s and cooling to the 40s....and into the 30s

Storms in the forecasts.....which means lightening

Keep a fire

Out....keep a fire out
I'm enjoying all that I own, the moment.

"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air." Emerson

OlJarhead

Nice to hear from you both!  and glad there are no fires!

I sure hope to get back there soon but it may not be until Labor Day at the rate I'm going...but darnit!  This fall I better get more cabin time or I'm going to retire! ha!