16x26 2 story house in Alaska

mountainmomma · August 15, 2009, 01:34:02 PM

My beau and I have been livng in a 12x16 butt and pass log cabin for many years now with our dog and two cats. We're ready for some more space
This is a link to our blog that shows the progress we have made in building ourselves a 16x26 2x6 frame house. With help from friends every now and then we have been doing all of the work ourselves .
http://www.janeandeli.blogspot.com
To view the oldest post, scroll down the page a little and click on April 2009.

poppy · August 15, 2009, 02:54:27 PM

Nice build, Thanks for posting.

August 15, 2009, 10:20:16 PM

Very nice blog! Thanks for sharing it.

Nice looking house, you guys have got a lot done this year.

What are you using to tie off to while working on the roof? I'm about to that stage on my house. I have the harness's just trying to figure out the best tie off system.

Got any interior pic's of your cabin? I can use any ideas of how to maximize the space in a 12x16 house.

mountainmomma · August 15, 2009, 11:06:45 PM

Thanks for the kind words.

Beavers, at the beginning of our blog, I posted some general floor plans. THey have changed a litle bit but that ought to give you an idea of waht we are doing. At this point, however, we won't have any running water. So there isn't a bathroom. We will have a composting toilet under the stairs though.

While they were on the roof, my beau and his friend were tied off to bracing in the rafters, then, once the sheathing was on, they were tied off to a roof anchor that screws/bolts into the trusses. And, there was also one line that was tied off to a pile of very large logs (at least 10 feet long and about 1 ft in D)

We still need to put on the metal roofing, put in the windows and finish the Tyvek before the snow flies. Then, the interior work can begin.

Beavers · August 15, 2009, 11:33:52 PM

I'm fresh out of piles of large logs.

Guess I'll try to rig up some kind of brackets to attach to my ridge beam to tie off to.

I saw the floor plan you posted on your blog. I was actually curios to see how you made your log cabin livable for 6 years. I figured you guys must of come up with some great ideas over the years.

August 16, 2009, 12:59:57 PM

I second that, I would love to hear how you made it 6 years in Alaska in a 12x16.

mountainmomma · August 16, 2009, 03:12:55 PM

Well, we have a little sleeping loft. That makes a HUGE difference. I'll put together a floor plan on that same program to show you how we have it set up. Again, we have no running water so, its really pretty much an open space.

soomb · August 16, 2009, 06:12:00 PM

you live there full time? How far from town? Electric?

mountainmomma · August 20, 2009, 11:54:36 PM

Lets see if this works. Its been a LONG time since I used Photobucket so I'm not sure if I'm doing it right.
This is the gneral layout of our 12x16 cabin. I presume that you are interested in actual pictures of the space but well, as you can imagine it is quite a mess since we have SO much crammed in there. There is a dog bed between the fridge and the stairs.
Under the kitchen sink there is a mop bucket that catches the dirty dish water. Above the kitchen sink, I made a "shelf" that holds a water cooler. I heat water on the stove in a big pot to wash dishes. The "stairs" to the loft have a 1 ft tall rise for each7 inch tread. Nothin about this place is to code. But, its worked.

August 21, 2009, 01:32:09 AM

Cabin in the summer

Cabin in Winter

Cat on the big steps

Dog and Cat on Dog bed beside fridge

rwanders · August 21, 2009, 01:35:05 AM

It's always interesting how people who have no experience in Alaska react to life here-----I have been here 42 years and have lived in every situation from tents and rude log cabins to very nice "suburban" homes. Alaska is not something that can be easily described or easily forgotten once you have lived it. Good luck!!

mountainmomma · August 21, 2009, 01:35:46 AM

The 16x26 house we're building now

John Raabe · August 21, 2009, 10:25:34 AM

Thanks for sharing the photos and your great project. That little cabin looks comfy and snug but the 16x26 two story will seem palatial I expect.

poppy · August 21, 2009, 10:46:55 AM

I've really enjoyed reading your posts and seeing the pics.

That winter photo of the small cabin is post card ready.

August 21, 2009, 07:34:50 PM

Looks real cozy & I love your animals! Good progress on your new home! Keep the pics coming

Beavers · August 22, 2009, 08:41:01 PM

Mountainmama,

Thanks for posting the floorplan and photo's of your cabin.

What kind of wood stove do you have? I haven't been able to find many small stoves that don't require a ton of clearance from the wall.

mountainmomma · August 22, 2009, 11:22:00 PM

If you are lookinng for a woodstove that doesn't have to have much clearance, get a soapstone one. That is what I dream about getting for our new house. Specifically, I want a SCAN woodstove. Right now I have a little POS that I got on sale at our local distributor. It is called a CASTHEAT. Do NOT buy one. I have had to replace everything on it except the body and it still is terribly inefficient. Jotul makes a great tiny stove though and actually I think that they took over SCAN. I have my woodstove in a little nook as you probably saw in my floorplan. I used scrap pieces of roofing that I found on the property to reflect the heat away from the wall.

mountainmomma · August 22, 2009, 11:24:26 PM

I need to order our custom cut metal roofing and I am not sure how long to get it. The measurement from the peak of my roof to the edge of the fly rafter metal is about 153". How long do I order the metal to be?

Beavers · August 22, 2009, 11:29:33 PM

Thanks for the stove info. I've looked at the Jotul and the Vermont Castings small ones. I'll check out the SCAN and stay away from the Castheat.

Thanks again,
Beavers

MountainDon · August 24, 2009, 09:28:26 PM

We have the VC Aspen and love everything about it except what it cost. But you get what you pay for.

August 24, 2009, 09:46:40 PM

Whatever wood stove (or other fuel) you choose, don't fail to get a good carbon monoxide and smoke detector----I got some CO poisoning in a tent once----a horrible experience I was very lucky to survive.

MountainDon · August 24, 2009, 10:12:27 PM

Super advise!! And if it's a battery powered job DO change the batteries spring and fall.

lonelytree · August 24, 2009, 10:27:31 PM

Quote from: rwanders on August 21, 2009, 01:35:05 AM
It's always interesting how people who have no experience in Alaska react to life here-----I have been here 42 years and have lived in every situation from tents and rude log cabins to very nice "suburban" homes. Alaska is not something that can be easily described or easily forgotten once you have lived it. Good luck!!

Heck, I live here and still get surprised at some of the things that I see. Saturday night at the lodge a guy walked around with his laptop and .... made me blush.... You just never know what will happen.

I am still amazed that there aren't more people getting hurt or worse when working in the bush.

Your place looks great. I would bet that you have some nice views from the top floor!!! Post some pics as the season goes farther. I am near Glennallen and the trees and tundra are starting to turn.

mountainmomma · September 10, 2009, 02:59:40 PM

east side

mountainmomma · September 11, 2009, 12:08:01 PM

moving on to the third (south) side