I headed up to the cabin again last weekend. Saturday was a dry, fall day, so I stained another nine, 16 foot long boards for siding. I checked my well and it was dry. I think I'll buy a second IBC tote to store water; that will give me 600 gallons to get through the dry spells.

I had put some plastic sheeting up temporarily over the one remaining opening at the top of the west gable end. I took it down and cut a triangular piece of plywood to cover the hole. I discovered a hornet nest inside and had to deal with that first. Luckily I came out un-stung!




Now that most of the windows are in, I moved my cot up from the cellar to the main floor. It won't be long before I need to fire up the stove!




I was in Bass Pro Shops the other day and was checking out their 12 volt switches in the boating department. They have panel of 6 switches, including fuses for about $40. This might work out on the wall next to the entry door, to turn on lights when I enter the cabin. I've been reading that 120 V AC switches don't last very long with 12 V DC.

You're way ahead of me in the wiring department... I have yet to lay a foundation.     But I've been thinking about direct vs alternating current.  Depending on what you ultimately want, 12V wiring and appliances may be perfect.  I'm considering using an inverter and wiring for 120V AC.  Much greater availability and lower cost for fixtures and appliances.  Just a thought, in case you hadn't already mulled that choice over a dozen times!

ChugiakTinkerer - yes, I've mulled this over a lot! My initial power needs will be small - LED lights, water pump, bathroom fan, radio and charging laptop. I plan to wire 12 VDC for all of these. I am also going to wire the house for 120 VAC, before I finish the interior, but I don't plan on hooking up to the grid for a few years. People have suggested I run AC thru an inverter, but that does introduce additional loss to run the inverter. If I planned to run more appliances, then I would probably go the inverter route.
Good luck with your build!

I picked up my 2 casement windows from the lumberyard last Saturday morning. The window on the front was easy to put in. The side window was more difficult because it was located over the bulkhead door to the cellar. I couldn't get my ladder into a safe position. So I used some lumber to build a scaffolding to stand on. It took me a few hours to build the scaffolding.



Here both casement windows are installed.



This is a view of the kitchen area with the casement windows. The kitchen counters will be in the left corner. The bathroom will be on the far right behind the wood stove.



I hope to go up this weekend and put up some more siding.

I finished staining the siding for the front of the cabin last weekend and was able to nail on about 2/3 of the siding. The weather was typical fall weather here - cool nights and warm days.



I made my first fire in the Aspen wood stove. The owner's manual says to make a few small fires to break in the stove. I had a good draft and the smell from the stove paint was not that bad with all the windows open. I'll be needing the stove to keep me warm in another month!

I've been reading through the very informative Off Grid Power discussion on this forum as I plan my DC electrical installation. One question I have is whether to use solid conductor or stranded copper wire for the runs to my LED lights. I've read conflicting theories on which one to use. I've read that stranded wire is a better conductor than solid wire. I believe the heavy duty wire connecting my batteries and charge controller should be stranded wire. The LEDs use so little current that I'm wondering if I need the stranded wire for them.
Any thoughts on this?
Thanks!

Personally I don't think you will see any practical difference in current being used between a solid and a stranded wire circuit when they are of comparable AWG. 

The problem I often have with solid wire is that it is harder to work with, can bend less, and will often crack or snap off.  The braided wire on the other hand is more malleable and possibly easier or friendlier to work with.  That said, all network wiring is solid wire and they run thousands of feet of that stuff through almost every building on the planet and it seems to do the job alright. 

Thank you for the feedback on wiring.

Another question: I am going to start siding on the 14 foot end of my cabin. I can buy siding in 14 foot lengths, but this will give me a 1 inch gap on each end. (see illustration) I was thinking I could cover the gap with tar paper and then with trim on the edges. Is this ok, or am I asking for trouble?



Thanks,

How about installing the corner trim boards first and then cutting the siding to fit. Prime the cut ends. Leave a gap between the end of the siding board and the trim boards and caulk the joint. I'm not sure of what gap size to use with real wood.  That is the method we used with the Hardie-Plank cement board siding. Doing it that way the trim boards are usually cut from a thicker stock.

I agree with Don, much more water tight doing it this way.

I understand what you are saying, and I had originally planned to do it this way. My buddy who was helping me, suggested we run the siding to the end of the walls and then put the trim over it. That way the corner ends of the siding are not exposed to the weather. I planned to run a healthy bead of caulk underneath the trim boards before nailing them on. I may also apply a strip of the Zip sheathing black tape over the corners for extra protection.

It looks like its flat T&G siding? If so I like your proposed solution of overlaid corners. I don't like doing it as much when it leaves voids behind the trim like clapboard or log siding. there I prefer to trim first and side between trims.

Question on installing black single wall stove pipe. Does the crimped end point up or down? I have been told both ways. One person said it should point upwards, so room air is pulled into the pipe by venturi action instead of combustion air leaking out into the room. Other people have told me the crimped end should point down toward the stove to prevent creosote from leaking out.

I originally installed the stove pipe with the crimped end pointing up and had creosote leaking out onto the outside of the stovepipe.



I bought some high temperature furnace cement to coat the joints with. I just want to make sure I am orienting the pipe correctly. Thanks!

I always point it up to keep the collection of creosote from catching on the flange as the smoke rises.  But most installers recommend that the crimped end point toward the appliance (stove) to keep condensation from leaking out of the joint.  I guess I go against the grain as my concern is with creosote build up rather than leaking. 

We have light! I hooked up one of my 12 Volt LEDs to my deep cycle battery. I bought a couple of these from Back Woods Solar and I like them so far. It is so nice to have some light at night.



I nailed up most of the siding on the front and about half way up on one end last weekend.

David, on your Stove pipe, you always install it with the crimp down, as you have seen, if you don't creosote will run down the outside as it has done. the most important thing is not  burning to much green wood, and cleaning the pipe every fall to prevent the creosote from building up and becoming a flu fire hazard.
  I really like your place, its going to be compact and comfortable.

Here are some lessons I have learned from installing my wood stove:

1. The crimped or male end of the pipe faces down toward the stove.
2. If a contractor is installing the piping, keep a close eye on what he is doing. If something looks wrong, it probably is.
3. Use components from the same manufacturer. Each manufacturer makes their piping slightly differently so they can patent it and keep their customers from going somewhere else.

This was the problem I ran into (besides installing the pipe the wrong direction). I bought the class A insulated pipe from one manufacturer and used old single wall pipe I had on hand from Home Depot. I bought a slip connector, to make it easier to disconnect the pipe when I want to clean it. The male end of the slip connector is 6" in diameter but doesn't have a crimp. I was trying to connect it to a 6" diameter female end of the old single wall pipe, which was obviously a no go. It turns out that the single wall pipe made by this manufacturer is 6 1/8 " diameter at the female end, so the slip connector will fit inside.

Hope this helps someone else.

I am planning my plumbing waste and vent piping. The piping will be concentrated in one corner of the house, along 2 walls. The waste piping will go into the cellar so there will be plenty of room to route the pipe. What I am trying to figure out is how to put the vent piping in the walls. The kitchen sink vent will have to travel through 4 wall studs. I can't figure out how to get a long length of vent pipe into the wall without a number of couplings to join the pipe. My wall studs are 6" -  can I notch some of the studs to insert the vent pipe? I don't have to follow any building codes and there is no plumbing inspection. Is flexible tubing an option? Any suggestions.
Thanks,
Dave

Any reason you're against couplings?  I'd rather have couplings in my vent pipe vs notched studs personally.

You could just use an "Air admittance valve" right after the p-trap by the sink and not have to run that vent line. These are not mechanical units and not prone to failure. They are even code recognized now except (in code areas) you still need a main stack through the roof.

I think they even make some sized for a main stack that you could install in your attic, forgoing the need to poke holes (ugh) in your roof. I had to poke holes in my roof to satisfy code, but if I was in a non-code area I would have tried the attic vent first, and if for some reason it didn't work right, then I would have stabbed a hole through my roof.

Thanks for the tip on air admittance valves. I didn't know such an animal existed! I will definitely use them for my sinks and shower. 
I already have a main stack pipe which penetrates my roof. I had my roofer install it when he installed the metal roof. The main vent stack will be a straight line inside the wall down into the cellar, where all the drain connections will be made. I have plenty of room to work there. I'm relieved that I won't have to run all that vent pipe horizontally  inside the walls.

Studor makes a combined trap and vent unit.

Obvious note:  place in accessible location, not built into a wall.

I've been told by some that the AAV's should only be used when no other options are available, say on an island where getting to the vent stack would be impossible.  I would use them for retrofits that make it difficult to access the vent stack, but I am not sure I would design them in from the get-go.

My usual reference is Mike Holmes:
http://homes.winnipegfreepress.com/winnipeg-real-estate-articles/category-/title-mike-holmes:-proper-venting-important-for-plumbing-to-work/id-979

Flexible pipe is a no-go, you need to be able to maintain pitch or it'll get funky or clog in there. I've often been able to bow vent pipe in through a few bays at a time between couplings, but couplings are not a problem in a vent. I'd go that route first then a studor AAV as a last resort. I do have one in the current remodel, we will have its access/vent panel high on that bath wall.