Glenn's Underground Cabin Update

Started by glenn kangiser, January 30, 2005, 10:24:03 PM

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MountainDon

#1250
As I understand it getting a permit to build a straw bale house in NM is not a big deal as long as the roof is done with trusses. We know some folks who have their plans approved but have not yet built. They did not spend thousands for an engineer. They took their hand drawn idea to a person (draftsman?) who did the required drawings for several hundred dollars. The roof truss drawing were to come from the truss maker. Everything else was stamped by the state CID office.

Most of NM would be idea straw bale country; dry.
Just because something has been done and has not failed, doesn't mean it is good design.

glenn kangiser

Sounds like they are more the way it should be there.  Cheapest I heard of for an engineer here was around 4 or 5 thousand - then up into the over $10000's.  I worked with one customer who shopped it a bit.
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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fardarrigger

Glen,
I have been a fan of Mike Oehler's book and methods for some time now.  I found your thread and have spent the last week or so following your thread from the beginning.  Talk about some enjoyable reading, and suspenseful too (re:the fire).  I have to say, you and your home are certainly impressive!  You are an inspiration and I want to say thank you, for sharing your life and home with us here.  I'm not looking for a huge place, just something I can build myself and pay as I go, I am not interested in the rat-race-mortgage-your-life-away method.  I do hope to be able to visit the Underground Command Center one of these days, and meet you.  I have another title for you...hero to many, you sure are to me. 
Thanks again and take care,
Lauren Neher

Pritch

Now you've gone and done it!  Next thing you know, Glen will be racing around here in tights and a cape!    :o  :o

-- Pritch
"The problem with quotes from the internet is that they're not always accurate." -- Abraham Lincoln

Sassy

http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

You will know the truth & the truth will set you free


fardarrigger

Forgive me Sassy, for not saying I'd like to meet you too.   d* 

Sassy

that's ok, I'm used to him getting all the attention  d*
http://glennkathystroglodytecabin.blogspot.com/

You will know the truth & the truth will set you free

glenn kangiser

Quote from: Pritch on February 25, 2009, 02:29:40 AM
Now you've gone and done it!  Next thing you know, Glen will be racing around here in tights and a cape!    :o  :o

-- Pritch

Dang it, Pritch.... you were looking... [scared]

Thanks for the compliments, Lauren, You are welcome to drop by anytime.  Don't fear the man in tights.  [waiting]

Fighting crime, the law and fire, he has come to know well........ that nylon sticks to his skin and hair when it melts.  :(
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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fardarrigger

Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na Bat-Glenn?

Thanks Glenn.  So, avoid nylon tights and you should be fine...it's better than my friend Gary, who's known as the crazy guy running around in his underwear with a gun...funny, his neighbors pretty much leave him alone.  Go figure.


glenn kangiser

Cool .... so I'm not the only one.   

OK --- so I don't always have the underwear.  [scared]

Sometimes - like if a bear shows up, there just isn't time to get dressed. d*

At least it's usually dark when that happens. Bears don't set appointments. [crz]
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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considerations

A truckers tail....

Eagle survives crash through truck windshield by SCOTT SONNER ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

   
RENO, Nev. -- The eagle has landed - with a thud - after crashing through the windshield of a tractor-trailer on a Nevada highway. State wildlife officials said Wednesday that a 15-pound golden eagle with a 7-foot wing span has a swollen head but otherwise appears unhurt after crashing into a Florida truck driver's big rig on Monday.

Matthew Roberto Gonzalez of Opa Locka, Fla., was driving on U.S. Interstate 80 in northeast Nevada near Wells, about 60 miles west of the Utah line, when the eagle came crashing into the cab of his truck.

"I heard a loud thump like a brick or something coming through the glass," said Daryl Young of Miami, the co-driver who was dozing in the sleeper berth when it happened. "I woke up, and the windshield was all over me. Next thing I know there was a big bird lying on the floor."

Joe Doucette, a spokesman for the Nevada Department of Wildlife, said it appears the eagle hit the windshield head first.

"One side of the head is swollen, but there does not appear to be any permanent damage," he said.

"The guys in the truck immediately bailed out because it was one ticked off bird. She was pretty feisty," Doucette said. "Even the officer who responded didn't want to go in there so we had one of our wildlife biologists do it."

The eagle was recovering at the Northeast Nevada Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Spring Creek, and Doucette said the goal was to release it back into the wild.

Jeffrey Spires, owner of Spires Trucking of South Florida in Miramar, Fla., said he thought his drivers were kidding when they called to report the damage.

"Never in trucking history," he said.

glenn kangiser

That is really cool and a bit deju vu.  The last two days on the way to work I have killed birds with my windshield.  Just something about old truckers I guess.  They really should learn to look where they are going.... [waiting]
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

Doing lots of stuff here between fits of work in the big city.

I made a terrace down the hill and we planted seven trees on it -- running out of room around the cabin garden and the dogs have been keeping the deer away.  (Deer=giant edible rodent known for destroying entire gardens in a day).

I am currently building an earthen wall with straw in it around the end of the cut that will become a tunnel in the underground shop after I get a roof over it.  I took down the pile of rock and earth by the pool that was from excavating it.  That will help me to be able to get the framing over it for the roof.  New tire on the Bobcat today so hopefully tire problems ease up a bit... It is a real pain to fix them with the tracks over them and I have done it 3 times this week.[waiting]
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

Here are a couple pix of the Bobcat Cob Wall along with a few rocks I stacked there today.  I've had a couple days off from working in the city building apartments for the masses.

I got some new tires for the Bobcat the other day - put one on yesterday.  They are called Junkyard Boss by Advance.  14x17.5.  They are the best and cheapest tires I have ever found so I ordered 8 more to have in stock in case they become unavailable in the future.  They are covered with blocks of rubber at least 1 1/2" thick and should work well in our rocks and clay even without the tracks.  They are flat (rather than rounded tractor lug style) and full width top also, so fit my tracks perfectly.  I only have one on the left rear now - just bought to to start out with.  Nice. :)



I am making cob with the Bobcat - clay and straw with rocks up to 1 foot or less included.  When done I will carve out the back side with the Bobcat.  Currently it is around 10' thick to allow for compacting with the Bobcat.  I cut the wall as necessary for the rocks.  Some of the rocks are over 6000 lbs. 

"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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glenn kangiser

Second day of wall building it is now near 8' high at the tallest point and 45' long.  The Bobcat has stayed together for all of this time.  A miracle. 

Oh, wait a minute.  I did have to weld the bucket back together after digging out this one and bringing it up the hill.  Calculated weight by volume is over 10000 lbs.  I couldn't lift it - had to skid it all the way up the hill.  This was in the morning - worked a pretty long day as you can see from the next pix.



As I dig out rocks for the wall I am making equipment parking area on the terrace below the sawmill.  I have been slowly bringing the big stuff - equipment , antiques etc. from our place in the valley.

A pix of an old man and dogs in front of the wall.



"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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Redoverfarm

Glenn you are going to reclaim your antiques from the Valley. Cool.  I like all of my worldly possessions close at hand.  ;D

glenn kangiser

I brought up my old Jaeger  concrete mixer last week.  I'll try to get a pix on here soon. 

A few more rocks on the wall today and another tire change on the Bobcat today - had to pull the track for one I knocked off the rim.  It was a leaker anyway and I checked it earlier but lost it anyway.  I wanted an excuse to get another of the good tires on anyway. :)

I need to get my granddads McCormick Deering 10-20 up here soon also. Then there are tons of other old engines and stuff too - even an antique water well drilling rig.
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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fardarrigger

Glen, glad to see an update.  Speaking of updates, we had a Bald Eagle head butt a truck up Seattle way today.  What's up with these birds?  Happy St Patricks Day to all,   c*
Arr (sailor talk)
Lauren

glenn kangiser

I don't think the new generation of birds is so smart... [waiting]

I have continued to hit birds on my want to Fresno to work.  I think I'm up to 6 now.



Yup - more after this tenacious little fellow.

I was going to mention that my rock wall is partly inspired by Alasdair's Scottish blackhouses. 

I'm just doing the rocks on the outside though then will likely put a post and beam internal wall possibly with rammed earth to smooth up the interior. - depends on how the digging out goes -May not be necessary but I don't have a lot of straw in it.  Maybe just a good earth plaster.
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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Alasdair

Glenn. I thought you might enjoy the work of one of my pals. He's a scottish drystone waller - here's a link to his site

http://www.elanddrystone.co.uk/SSPG/index.html

Al


glenn kangiser

Thanks a bunch Al.  I always enjoy looking at dry stone wall projects and it looks like he has done miles of it.  I borrowed a couple of his pictures and encourage others to have a look at his site.  Tons of great work there.

   

I have read what I could - watched a park service video of how they restored a stone wall along a canal, watched a wall being built in Sacramento, CA, and studied the Blackhouse pix from you.  I have combined the various methods to come up with ways of doing it myself with the mix of rough shaped greenstone I have here on the mountain.  We have miles of drystone walls here generally attributed to the Chinese but I think it was generally anybody who needed to build or clean fields and wanted to use the natural resources.  The Italians are said to have built more than the Chinese here.

In general the drystone walls do not deteriorate as easily over time as many would think.  They allow drainage through them and don't build up water and mud pressure behind as a concrete wall with a plugged drain will.  I removed a concrete wall a couple years ago for a customer that mover around 30 feet.  Gravity firmly holds the bottom rocks in place but the wall is still flexible and will follow movement of the earth without damage when properly build. 

I try to get 3 point or more contact on all rocks and they all lean back a bit - generally 2" per 3 feet minimum, so gravity resists the ourward force from the earth.  In most cases retaining walls should not go over 4' high but the above wall is not a retaining wall.  The clay-straw mix is self supporting and will have a plastic cap with landscaping over it so it will remain dry.

Some of the basic rules to making it decent looking are to keep the front face uniform, place the big rocks well and come back and chink the smaller holes with good fitting self supporting rocks also.  Gravity and fit should make it all stay together rather than a poor fit that would make the rocks want to fall out or slide out under pressure.  If the proper rock is not there then find more rocks.  I can eyeball the proper rock and fit in seconds now as opposed to when I first started.
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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Bishopknight

Sounds awesome Glenn! I wish I could see these pics at work. They are image nazis here.

You need your own website :)

Redoverfarm

I am a BIG fan of dry stack walls.  When I lived in the Eastern Panhandle I was close to Northern Virginia.  Around Leesburg there was several estates and they all contained dry stack walls. I am not talking feet but miles of fence.  Most have been broken up and sold into smaller Estate Farms but a few larger tracks still remain.  Most owned by the elite out of DC. It is mostly horse country.   Probably all were built in the time of slaves no doubt. 

This is a little project that I did overlooking Bald Knob which is the  second highest elevation in WV.  The Cass railroad runs the Old Shay engines everyday in the summer.  While I was working you could actually see the coal smoke and hear the trains. 

Anyway this is  8' tall at the house and goes to 24" at the end of the 120 ft run.  I was glad when I finished this as lugging the 90 lb blocks was a real PIA in that you had to handle them two and three times when it got to scaffolding stage. 




MaineRhino

At least it wasn't a turkey!

The following incident happened out by where Bishopknight is building his house...

BUCKFIELD, Maine -- Police said a wild turkey is to blame for knocking a 23-year-old man off his motorcycle and breaking his collarbone.
Maine State Trooper Corey Huckins said Jeffrey Russell of Hartford was riding with a friend on Route 117 in Buckfield on Sunday afternoon when a wild turkey flew straight into his chest, knocking him backward off his motorcycle. Huckins said the impact was like "hitting a bowling ball at 45 mph."
Police said Russell was knocked unconscious and flown in a medical helicopter to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

Russell's riding companion was not injured, but the turkey was killed in the accident.

glenn kangiser

Quote from: Bishopknight on March 17, 2009, 12:27:43 PM
Sounds awesome Glenn! I wish I could see these pics at work. They are image nazis here.

You need your own website :)


Somewhere out in the digital universe I have a website around but HTML is a lot more problem than posting here and I am lazy so I guess this is it. d*
"Always work from the general to the specific." J. Raabe

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