Okanogan 14x24 by a lurker :)

[Abbey]

I think most people go with the through the wall power vented style, which is what I was looking at, but then I went my own way...

Someone was walking by my office and farted, it smells bad.

Forgive the digression, I'm using the Triton 10L outdoor on-demand water heater and I've got it mounted on the bathroom wall right next to my tub that way I can make adjustments to the water temp. while still in the shower. I've noticed that when I first start it there is a little smell, but after that there is nothing. A few people have entered the house while the heater's been running and none of them have mentioned any smell. Honestly I think there is less smell with this heater than there was with my propane stove.

I doubt you'll notice anything if the window is open and the heater's running. The only problem you might face is dealing with a code enforcement person.

[OlJarhead]

RAIN!  It's good that it's raining at the cabin   The trees ought to really love that and I think I could dial back the watering schedule to once a week or for less time, maybe just 30 minutes every 72 hours (I think my timer might not let me go weekly).

Either way the temps have dropped back into the 60's for the highs and the 30's for lows and the chance of rain is in the 30% to 40% range.

Of course all that means is that next weekend when we go back up we'll likely want a fire at night and perhaps in the mornings and won't spend as much time outside cleaning up but it also means we should be fine to burn a lot of slash which we really need to do.

[OlJarhead]

Correction!  We will be milling instead.  Seems a customer wants us to mill for them this weekend so we'll be at the cabin but we'll be working in Waukonda milling for a customer instead of burning slash.

[OlJarhead]

OK that bites!  I had an entire post done, went to check it, hit the back arrow to go back to it and went DOH! 

It's gone

So here it is again in pics with less words.

Arrived Thursday night so we could start milling Friday morning as early as possible.


Started milling for our new customer in Waukonda and milled just shy of 1000bf on Friday in the pouring rain!


We milled pretty much non-stop for 8 hours except our 1/2 lunch break and really enjoyed the time spent working with the customer (they work along side us to help keep the costs down).

Got back to the cabin and installed the gas line to the new hot water heater.  IT WORKED!  After a lot of fiddling mind you.

We had a mostly full tank of water so went about our evening relaxing and drying out...and noticed a leak in the evening -- perhaps the drain valve I'd accidentally messed with?  Shut the water off and crashed for the night.


Finished up over 1800 board feet of Doug Fir (little bit of Spruce in there and maybe a Tamarack or two) for the customer so he can build a shed   He was VERY VERY happy and we'll be back to mill again in the next month or so.  His friends are also asking to have us come and mill for them.  Seems a local miller won't move his mill -- his loss our gain


Back at the cabin (without hot water) I took some pics of the orchard which is doing AWESOME!


This is one of our newest trees   It seems pretty happy with all the spring rain.

My cereal rye IS NOT growing however.  Not sure what's up but I can't see any evidence that either field is or will start producing...the forest grass however IS.

Managed to tear off the felt off the porch since we hadn't installed roofing yet  and installed new felt to save the wood.  We'll have to do that soon.

Then discovered the o-ring on the water drain of the hot water heater was broken and believe that is the leak we have so we'll fix that next trip.

[OlJarhead]

Here is a shot of the 'water closet'.  I know it's not the prettiest plumbing you've all seen but it works and doesn't leak!

The water heater goes behind those headers and the two red pex pipes coming into the space from above will be removed (no longer needed).  I'll seal things up, paint surfaces to protect and insulate the heck out of the 'closet' when done.  I also suspect I'll install a much taller vent stack for the heater (maybe through the roof even) to give it lots of room to vent away from the bathroom window and closet but for now it works.

We have to install a vent cover and then see how the thing works over time but so far so good

[OlJarhead]

One thing I forgot to mention is that our Cistern was overfilled on the last trip out to the cabin.  In fact I think it went about 2 hours past full   We'd set the pump and headed to town thinking we'd be back with plenty of time to spare, forgot about it and took twice as long.

Shut the pump off when we returned and sure enough we'd flooded the cistern.  Wasn't too concerned and took advantage of the overfilled tank to fill out cabin water tank -- I was surprised by the volume of water coming out of the hose and for the first time didn't need a pump to draw water into the cabin tank.

I watered the orchard and never really paid close attention.

This trip our son told us the water smelled funny so I went out and took a look -- sure enough it was 'brackish' looking   Seems there was a LOT of dirt drawn into the tank and since we draw off the bottom we'll be 'cleaning' out the tank by draining it.  However, the water pressure now is actually good!  The water comes out of the end of a 150 foot long garden hose VERY well!  I have pressure at all 24 drip heads in the orchard and can fill the 55 gallon cabin water tank in under 30 minutes (or around).  At the spigot/hydrant it literally blasts out of the spout!  So maybe, just maybe, we've cleared a blockage?  Don't know for sure but I think we've got the water pressure situation fixed for now.  I still want a 2" main pipe but I think it can wait another year or more.  I do, however, need to get the float installed!

[OlJarhead]

Going back soon

Got word we will be going back to mill in Waukonda so get to stay at the cabin again   I'll have to clean out the water supply and drain and refill the cistern beforehand and fix the hot water and put a hot water drain in....

I think a trip in a couple weeks is in order

That way when we go back to mill we'll have the place ready!

[OlJarhead]

OK next 'cabin trip' is planned!  This trip I'll replace the o-ring on the master drain valve on the instant on hot water heater and hopefully that will solve the problem I had with it and give us full time hot water   Then we'll install the drain for the bathtub, install the shower head and support and attempt to clean out the cistern and water tank by the cabin and refill both (minus the dirt).

I'm also hoping to get some trim wood finished before the trip so I can put some finishing touches on the water closet and then install the cover (air return style cover) over it to 'hide' it yet allow it to draw air from inside the cabin.

I'll also add to the chimney if I can get more 4" pipe and seal up the closet.  Then, maybe I'll get some insulation into the closet also.

Heck, I might even get a window trimmed out if I get lots done this week!

[OlJarhead]

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Owens-Corning-Foamular-F-150-2-in-x-48-in-x-8-ft-Scored-Squared-Edge-Foam-45W/100320352?N=baxxZ12l0#.UaYsnZyyl8E
So I'm thinking of using this foam board insulation which is R10 in the 2" type.  I can cut and place inside the box I've made for the water heater and add 1" rigid foam to increase the value to R15 on the walls and floor and double the R10 for a 4" ceiling to increase it to R20.

My thought is that it would be better then fiberglass in the small space that I'm placing the heater and should assist in keeping the cold out.  Only issue I can see if that I need to add a water drain hose for the heater so I can drain all the water out in the winter when not in use but I don't see that as a major issue.

I figure I can silicone the seems before placing the foam board and make the enclosure pretty much air tight (except the chimney/vent stack).  With air being drawn from inside the cabin the only other issue is of course, air being drawn from inside the cabin  But we can always leave a window cracked in the winter and I'm installing outside air vent for the wood stove.

Thoughts?

[MikeOnBike]

I used the 2" Foamular 150 to insulate my shed floor.  After I had it cut and placed I used a can of the window/door/crack spray foam to seal the gaps.  It worked well.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/GREAT-STUFF-16-oz-Window-and-Door-Insulating-Foam-Sealant-248312/100068117

[OlJarhead]

Yup I use Great Stuff a lot!

Good idea, I'll use it instead of silicone thanks!

[OlJarhead]

Stained up some window trim after sanding off the Ipswitch Pine stain that we decided we didn't like.  It's now an Oak.

Got some 4 5/8" wide pine boards planed and ready for the bathroom door trim too

Can't wait to get back, fix the water and maybe get some interior trim work done.

[OlJarhead]

Oh to spend more then a day or two at the cabin!  I haven't been able to spend a week there since last summer and I must admit it's taking it's toll!  Sure I get there every month and sometimes twice a month but man oh man what I could do with a week!

This trip, as mentioned, I wanted to fix the hot water and the tub as well as clean out the cistern and water tank at the cabin.  When we arrived and were settled we just had time to hook up propane and relax before crashing for the night, then the next morning we'd get started.

[/URL]
First I had to cut off the inlet or siphon hose/pex from the tank to the RV pump as I'd not installed a method of disconnecting it in my rush to hook everything up and with the new water closet I'd left the siphon whole and stuffed it out the side of the 'closet'.  So I cut it in half and installed a disconnect for easy of removal in the future.

We drained the water barrel and put some bleach in it with water to soak and swish around to make sure it was clean and bug free.  We then checked the cistern which was empty from watering the orchard so we ran the pump to fill it back up and would check for dirt later.


We installed 2" R12.9 foam inside the 'closet' and then installed the hot water heater which I'd replaced a rubber o-ring on because it was leaking.  It's tight inside the box but there is actually at least 4 inches of clearance on each side and 4" in the front with more blow and above.  I'm not sure if that's a little too tight but so far it seems ok.

The closet isn't finished as I need to make a proper roof and push the pipe up higher (through the cabin roof I think) but for now it seems to be working ok).


As mentioned before I installed the RV water pump in the bottom of the 'water closet' so I can leave it there and hooked up ready for use.  At this point I'm pretty ok with the set up   I'll ahve to work up a way to insulate the bottom of the box/closet and keep the pump where it is but I have some ideas (involving insulation under the closet).

In that pic you can also see the water shut off valve that I installed on the hot water inlet side.  This allows me to drain the hot water side and shut off the water to the heater for winter use (if I have water in the winter that is and don't want it running through the heater).


Inside the bathroom we trimmed out the air inlet with Blue Stained pine that was pretty much abused by bugs and weather (which makes it look even nicer to us).


And then we installed a vent cover to hide the pipes and heater   Now it's just a vent in the wall   But it can draw air from inside the cabin which may help keep it warm in colder months.


Got another window trimmed out.  I managed to get one piece in another window also but it seems I've not had the time to stain and varathane all of the trim wood I have so probably NEXT trip I'll get all the windows done


Another shot of the blue stained pine -- also, I've dropped trying to use Ipswitch Pine stain and am now using English Oak stain instead -- my son informed me that's what he used on the original trim so I'm using it as we like the look better.


The bathroom door jam is also blue stained pine and will eventually sport a door too!


Since I wasn't able to install the tub (missing some hoses) I turned to cleaning up   The cistern was clean once refilled so no need to work with it and we refilled the 55 gallon water drum for the cabin and cranked up the tractor and began cleaning up slash, old wood, rocks and more


Used to look like a dump (to me) and now starting to shape up   Notice the pine drying nicely under the tarps


This slash pile I consolidated and cleaned up.  It was very rotten and made me ponder something Glenn was doing at his place (Glenn if you are reading this, let me know what I ought to do with this rotting pile of wood as I think I could use it as fill or something rather then burning it -- heck it's more dirt then wood now! lol)...


And finally the Cereal Rye is taking hold!!!  I've got two acres planted and am hoping it does well this year

So much more to do, so little time but I'm still loving it!

[OlJarhead]

Picked up some shd80 1" conduit for free this week   I'll have enough to install my pump solar panel wiring under ground this spring and finish the run under the cabin as well as to the main panels

One challenge with the short trips is trying to get as much done as possible but I'm not seriously looking at Hugesnet Gen4 as an option for me to work from the cabin when I make my trips there.  If I can do that I can spend a week at a time (even perhaps monthly) instead of just a couple days and this would allow me to finish a LOT of projects!

So far it appears, however, that the phone line I'd have to install would run me about $35/mo after taxes and the Internet about $65/mo which means I'd have to deduct $100/mo from my cabin budget which i don't like...but the freedom to work from the cabin while there might make it well worth the funds since I'd probably save a lot in fuel costs by not having to travel back and forth so much.

[Redoverfarm]

Eric have you checked on Dish Net.  Have a friend to just recently had it installed and likes it.  The price I think was lower than Hughs.

[OlJarhead]

Eric have you checked on Dish Net.  Have a friend to just recently had it installed and likes it.  The price I think was lower than Hughs.

Never heard of them (other then their TV service) so will have to compare the two.  Looks like they have similar plans.

Frankly I'm not thrilled with the idea of using sat internet because of it's format.  It's compression (ala old modem dialup days) that allows them to get the higher speeds/bandwidth but when you run a VPN which I do for work, you get a LOT less speed (about 1/4th or less) because they can't compress the VPN -- and some VPN's just don't work over satellite.  However, having said all that, I CAN check my work email via satellite internet without the VPN and if I did things right I could probably download what I needed to after hours (or early in the AM) to reduce the headaches....then with a phone I can do my conference calls so perhaps it wouldn't be too bad.

The real issue is that they require two year contracts which I detest.

[OlJarhead]

Thanks to another CP member I bought plans for Adirondack chairs and made one   I couldn't find the templates online (full size ones) so had to freehand the curves and missed one pretty badly (upper back support) so I'll have to rework that but otherwise I'm pretty happy so far

I plan to mill up some 1" pine to make more of these so we'll have plenty at the cabin for relaxing on our deck (that we hope to have some day).

[MountainDon]

.....thinking of using this foam board insulation which is R10 in the 2" type.  I can cut and place inside the box I've made for the water heater ......
Thoughts?

susceptible to damage from high heat     

[rick91351]

OJ Our Exede is quicker than Hughes Enterprise that I was telling you the neighbor has. 

Exede is so far not over marketing their band width like the some of the others did / do.  So it is fairly quick.  I really am not all that shocked and disappointed   I do not like the idea of having to stay up late to do any 'heavy lifting' to keep my usage cost down.  I admit I do do so to escape running out of fast or quick internet and keep from being throttled down or buy more usage.

I think however if you got settled in to it you could make it work.  But I am like you VPN would not be doable in less    I am going to throw this out there.  Our internet when we had a house.... well a rural house with no DSL or Cable.  But there were two companies that did internet over radio and these sort of small weird looking receivers that were usually some sort eve mount usually they were not dish type receivers. 

[OlJarhead]

susceptible to damage from high heat 

Yes but I think I have the clearance and can cover with drywall -- or hardybacker.

[troy]

Eric,

Have you checked with the PUD to see when/if wireless service will be available to where you're at?  It doesn't look like they're moving very fast, but that's typical of government (speaking from first hand experience).

Perhaps there are other options you can explore with local service providers.

If nothing else, find some neighbors who want service too, hire me, and I'll come out there and build a competing WISP.  I'm not 100% familiar with the area (grew up in Snohomish and lived in Grant for a few years), but I'm sure enough suitable private property can be found to build a private network that might even turn a decent profit.

I'd love to move up there... if only I had the money and the courage to walk away from my current life in VA.

-Troy

PS: Oh yeah.. and your rural broadband question was enough to get me out of lurking mode myself... been admiring your build for a while now.  Completely jealous of the area, the trees, and the peace and quiet I can only imagine.

[OlJarhead]

LOL Troy, I built networks for a living -- big ones   My biggest was Minneapolis St. Paul I think unless you count Richmon, Norfolk, a lot of Pennsylvania and parts of Jersy....10,000 T1's before we moved into Ethernet and mostly over MW fed by fiber rings.....I could set up a tower to shoot MW to the tower on the mountain south of me and hop from there into Omak and pick up a nice fat pipe back to Seattle if I could afford it! lol

But where our cabin is there just isn't enough people around to warrant it!

[OlJarhead]

Needs stain underneath still and in a few other spots


and needs varathane and an ottoman


But my wife is loving it

[OlJarhead]

A shot of the chair now that I've fixed the upper back support that was causing me some trouble.  If you notice between the earlier picture and this one that the slats on the back are spread wider and better now it's not an allusion!


Getting some more stain


I'll admit that I'm really happy with this chair!  I have some changes I'll make to new ones but this is the very first piece of furniture I've ever made!


Once it dries I'll varathane it and then get to work on the rest of them

[troy]

LOL Troy, I built networks for a living -- big ones   My biggest was Minneapolis St. Paul I think unless you count Richmon, Norfolk, a lot of Pennsylvania and parts of Jersy....10,000 T1's before we moved into Ethernet and mostly over MW fed by fiber rings.....I could set up a tower to shoot MW to the tower on the mountain south of me and hop from there into Omak and pick up a nice fat pipe back to Seattle if I could afford it! lol

But where our cabin is there just isn't enough people around to warrant it!

I hear you on the people thing... our mountains are different from yours, we have people living in every hollow and other hard to reach places, but not enough to get cable or dsl.  Cell phones barely work out there, so forget 3g/4g.  Even with public money and grants, getting broadband into the sticks is a real challenge, and many folks don't understand why they'd have to pay for construction to get service to their particular hollow with 4 neighbors.

If you have a shot to a tower that has a shot to omak, it might be worth it to not have to deal with the outrageous latency and expense of satellite service.

Anyways, great build.  I learned a lot from reading through it.  When I get there myself, I think a saw mill would be one of my first major purchases... right after a small backhoe (since I'll have to excavate a basement/foundation before I get to framing and finishing).