20x32 A frame cabin Central KY

[Sassy]

I have to say "wow" too!  You've done such a wonderful job on your cabin!  And congratulation on your baby girl - really good ultrasound pics. 

Every Thursday I volunteer at a crises pregnancy center & do ultrasounds on the young women who go there.  It is so neat to be able to see these young women when I show them their babies - they are amazed & in awe.  Most aren't married, don't have any money, maybe aren't even w/the father of the baby anymore & are reaching out for help.

I would say that 90% of them decide to keep their babies or adopt them out rather than have an abortion.  We give them spiritual support, parenting classes, refer them to doctors, agencies that can help them & different organizations/churches are always donating baby clothes, supplies etc.  The fabric of our society is breaking apart & hopefully we can help.

Sorry to hijack your thread    Saw those precious ultrasounds & had to comment.

Think I've said it before, your son's name Colton, is the same as our grandson's.  I had never heard it until then.

Really enjoy your thread & progress!  Your cabin looks very warm & inviting 

[Redoverfarm]

We are considering finishing the two opposing walls with windows in drywall instead of pine, and then finishing the wall with the french doors and the opposing wall as well as the ceiling with pine but were unsure how it will look. Also thinking of finishing all 4 lower walls with drywall and then the upper end wall and the ceiling with pine. If someone could provide pictures of other cabins that used a drywall/wood interior I would greatly appreciate it.

For a more finished look I would probably use the T&G on the lower 1/3 of the wall followed by chair rail and then drywall the upper 2/3 and follow by the T&G on the ceiling. Sort of like wainscoating.

[astidham]

The stairs look awesome!!
Congrats on the new addition to the family.

[EaglesSJ]

Here are pics of the past week or so. Progress has been very slow as I had a couple guys I was in the military with visiting the past couple weeks, and didnt want to work the whole time they were here. Need to sand and then paint. The green colored drywall in the corner is mildew resistant since thats where the jacuzzi will be.

I will have pine trim going up all corners and around all windows and doors as well as all the way across where the upper and lower wall meets above the french doors. The loft area and ceiling will be covered with pine. Not sure if I want to build a bookshelf or a small closet in the area I have cut out in the drywall yet. If I do a shelf I will have to build some type of closet upstairs in the loft. Any ideas will be much appreciated.

[ben2go]

The area cut out above the doors looks like a good place to build out into a sleeping loft.

[EaglesSJ]

Its only 4 ft deep. not really enough for a sleeping loft. I have thought about building it out into the room further though. But Im not sure if we want another bed in our bedroom or not. I was thinking more of a lounge area.

[ben2go]

My thought was to cantilever the build out off of the rafters of the main house roof.The floor joist would have to be through bolted I think.Just a thought.I kind got that "Little House On the Prairie" thought in my head when I saw that space.Did you ever watch that show and see how the sleeping loft was laid out?I thought it was kinda neat.Should have been warm that high and close to the chimney.

[dug]

Man, even when you're just cruising you fly. No wonder you are the Eagle!

[PorkChopsMmm]

Looking good. Wish I would have used the greenboard in a few places. I've got a few questions for you. We have not moved into our place yet and I ran into a few issues when being there for more than a day or so...

You mentioned you need to run your generator every other day. What are your biggest loads? I have a very similar set up (6 240 watt panels, outback 48v inverter, 205 amp hr battery bank @ 48v, etc) and I needed to run our generator twice a day while we were up there for 4 days. We basically got "0" sun the entire time but this was pretty disheartening. Can you expand on your experience? Also, do you have a generator auto-start or do you manually fire one up? I can't imagine my wife walking out to pull-start one of our generators once or twice a day in the winter time. I could see this being harder for your pregnant wife. We have a fridge, although it is fairly efficient at ~333 Kw hrs a year, all LED lights, energy star fans, etc.

Also, can you detail more of your experience with pipe freezing? I have a Rheem external tankless propane water heater, linked below, and it *requires* electricity be present even if the water has been drained from the unit. I drained it, but removed the power, and the freezing temperatures broke some small copper piping inside. Also disheartening.

http://www.amazon.com/Rheem-RTG-64XP-Outdoor-Tankless-Bathroom/dp/B003OSL4AU


Thanks for always posting your progress in great detail!

[EaglesSJ]

Looking good. Wish I would have used the greenboard in a few places. I've got a few questions for you. We have not moved into our place yet and I ran into a few issues when being there for more than a day or so...

You mentioned you need to run your generator every other day. What are your biggest loads? I have a very similar set up (6 240 watt panels, outback 48v inverter, 205 amp hr battery bank @ 48v, etc) and I needed to run our generator twice a day while we were up there for 4 days. We basically got "0" sun the entire time but this was pretty disheartening. Can you expand on your experience? Also, do you have a generator auto-start or do you manually fire one up? I can't imagine my wife walking out to pull-start one of our generators once or twice a day in the winter time. I could see this being harder for your pregnant wife. We have a fridge, although it is fairly efficient at ~333 Kw hrs a year, all LED lights, energy star fans, etc.

Also, can you detail more of your experience with pipe freezing? I have a Rheem external tankless propane water heater, linked below, and it *requires* electricity be present even if the water has been drained from the unit. I drained it, but removed the power, and the freezing temperatures broke some small copper piping inside. Also disheartening.

http://www.amazon.com/Rheem-RTG-64XP-Outdoor-Tankless-Bathroom/dp/B003OSL4AU


Thanks for always posting your progress in great detail!

I think the reason you are having to start your generator more often is the fact that your battery bank is half the size of mine. We are running a 1000 Ah battery bank at 24v. Which would equal a 500 Ah if we had a 48v system. As for our usage, we have a small fridge that pulls about 330kw a year, 6-8 13w bulbs, microwave, ceiling fan on low, 2 laptops, small LCD tv and dvd player in coltons room, water pump, various chargers, and a cordless phone. We run about 20% drain per day. If we get no sun this means we run for 2 days before were down to about 60%. I almost always start the generator at about 70-75% though. Also I have my battery meter set at 700 Ah instead of 1000ah so that my calculations are conservative if anything. If you are simply relying on voltage to tell you how discharged your batteries are this is significantly affected by the temperature.

The generator is a manual start. Meaning I have to walk about 100 yards up the hill to the shed to start it. We want to get an auto start set up but I havent found a way to add one to a pull start generator. Were out and about many times throughout the day packing in firewood or letting the dog out to pee so it really isnt much of an inconvenience. How long are you having to let the gen set run for a full charge?

As for the pipes freezing, I never had a pipe freeze and bust inside the house as we always have a fire going. The pipes under the house froze a couple times last year and the only one that ever busted was pipe that feeds the garden hose. If you havent underpinned around your house yet do that. Also if you have a way to shut your water off before you leave do that and then open all your faucets and leave them that way so that any ice that forms will have room to expand and wont be trapped inside your pipes to build up pressure and burst.

If you have anymore questions at all feel free to ask. If you prefer a phone call shoot me an email or PM and ill send you my number. I hope I helped at least a little

[EaglesSJ]

Here are the past couple days progress pics. We havent done alot because we are out of funds. I was laid off right before Christmas and I am still looking for work. We did manage to sand the drywall, paint, stain the beams, trim where they join the drywall, and build the lower half of the loft stairs out of reclaimed lumber from the stairs that were in our living room previously. I also reused the boards cut from the wall where the entry to the addition now is. We had over half of a 5 gallon bucket left of brown paint from the underpinning and decided to paint the OSB flooring to make it a little easier to sweep and for looks since it will be another month or so until we can do anything else with it. Please keep in mind that the loft area and the area where the upper and lower wall meets above the french doors will all have wood trim and this is the reason for not having finished drywall seams in those areas. I will probably be trimming around the windows and doors and such in a week or so. But it is livable at this point and that is the key. My next priority is fireproofing the wall behind and beside the woodstove as I can tell the wood is starting to really dry out. I will more than likely do something with copper sheeting. Not sure yet though as we really need to put the money to use elsewhere so drywall maybe what happens.

We are about $3000 from completing the addition both inside and out. $1000 inside for TG ceiling and loft area, $500 for flooring, $200 for tub plumbing and surrounds, and then about $1300 for log siding and exterior finishing. Anyways without further ado, here are the pics. Probably the last for a week or so at least.

[southbalto]

I've been following your progress since the start.  Congrads on the new addition (s).

The only thing I've been really concerned with is the placement of that woodstove.  Even with the shielding, the connector pipe going into the ceiling support looks way too close to the wall. 

Have you considered moving the hearth to your new bedroom area?  You could then vent it straight up using relatively inexpensive single or double wall black (connector) pipe and into a ceiling support box at the peak of your addition.  You could build out an interior window in your loft space which would allow warm air to move into the original upstairs space.  I think that design would create a really nice convection loop.  You would also get some additional head from the system off the increased surface area of the connector pipe. 
Just something to think about.....

Also, you might want to look at a newer epa type stove.  They throw a ton more heat than those old box type stoves. 

[OlJarhead]

Sorry to hear about the lay off   Right before Christmas even!  That sucks.

I suspect, however, that like me it just gives you more time to do things around the farm?   Hope so!

Cheers
Erik

[Squirl]

The generator is a manual start. Meaning I have to walk about 100 yards up the hill to the shed to start it. We want to get an auto start set up but I havent found a way to add one to a pull start generator.

I have seen it done, but it depends on the engine.  They sell starters for many small honda, briggs, and honda clone (harbor freight) engines on ebay. IIRC they are usually around $50. They are usually found with the go kart racing stuff.  I have not had to do it myself yet.

[MountainDon]

Check Jack's Small Engines

[MountainDon]

Then check TheSolar.Biz for the required electronics tp permit the inverter to auto start the generator

Both those places used to sell the needed parts. Haven't checked to see if they still do

[EaglesSJ]

Then check TheSolar.Biz for the required electronics tp permit the inverter to auto start the generator

Both those places used to sell the needed parts. Haven't checked to see if they still do

So basically I need a 24v starter of some sort for my generator since I run a 24v battery bank, and then something like this:

http://store.thesolarbiz.com/online/ProductDesc.aspx?code=TSB-090021&type=4&eq=&desc=Generator-Start-Kit-for-Outback-System&key=it

how will I turn the gen set off from the house? it has a manual on off electric switch on the front.

[Redoverfarm]

This is what I got to start mine.  But the biggest concern is a starter for what you have.

http://www.magnumenergy.com/Products/AGS-N.htm

The starter will be 12v (motorcycle type)  and there needs to be a battery in place on the generator to start.  The above unit can be placed away from the generator and just the needed wiring to run from it to the generator. Ideally if you run an extra pair of wires from your battery bank/inverter to the generator to charge the start battery of the generator. I am not that versed on this but you will actually be using the AGS instead of a key start but then again you will need to figure out how to wire it as if it came with an electric start.  All your key in an electric start is doing is closing a circuit to start.

[MountainDon]

Call TheSolar.biz.   They are pretty good folks and likely have the answer.

[Squirl]

Also some charge controllers have remote start capabilities too, not just inverters.  There are many add ons to most modern RE equipment.  IIRC you have an outback which can use either the controller or inverter to activate the starter motor.

It could all be moot if you can't convert your pull start generator to an electric start, unless you buy a new generator.

[EaglesSJ]

I've been following your progress since the start.  Congrads on the new addition (s).

The only thing I've been really concerned with is the placement of that woodstove.  Even with the shielding, the connector pipe going into the ceiling support looks way too close to the wall. 


Also, you might want to look at a newer epa type stove.  They throw a ton more heat than those old box type stoves.

Not sure if you read or not but there is nothing behind that shield except for a 10" pocket of air. There is no wood back there. I cut all the wood out from behind the shield before I put it up.

Also I was checking all the newer epa stoves that Lowes and tractor supply carried. (about 6 different models) and they all put out less btus than mine. Not sure if I just wasnt looking in the right spot or what but mine rates at 90000 BTU and most of the others rate from 60-80k.

Now back to the sheilding, at this moment it is a moot point because I cut out all combustible material in that corner and installed 5/8" fireboard in its place leaving a 1/2" air space in between the board and the rafters/studs. I am also going to install a small DC fan behind the stove to suck most of that hot air in and blow it across the room instead of being trapped in that corner.

[southbalto]

Yea I was most concerned with the connection from the stove pipe to the class a support box.  Single wall needs 18"...I'm not sure if the wall shielding reduces the clearances or not.  It just looks really tight.

As for the stove, I'm suprised they are claiming 90K+ btus.  I imagine you would have to run that thing really hard to get that kind of output.
Note that it's rated for a 800 sqft space

http://www.vogelzang.com/browse.cfm/standard-boxwood-stove/4,13.html

compare that to the englander 15 which is rated for a space more than twice the size at 1800 sqft and claims a 60K btu output.

http://www.homedepot.com/Building-Materials-Fireplace-Hearth-Freestanding-Stoves/h_d1/N-5yc1vZaqyr/R-100157775/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

[PorkChopsMmm]

Here is a PDF explaining how to set up the Outback for 2 wire or 3 wire starting generators. I saved this for when I hook up my generator in the future.

http://www.outbackpower.com/pdf/tech_notes/advanced_generator_start.pdf

[EaglesSJ]

Yea I was most concerned with the connection from the stove pipe to the class a support box.  Single wall needs 18"...I'm not sure if the wall shielding reduces the clearances or not.  It just looks really tight.

As for the stove, I'm suprised they are claiming 90K+ btus.  I imagine you would have to run that thing really hard to get that kind of output.
Note that it's rated for a 800 sqft space

http://www.vogelzang.com/browse.cfm/standard-boxwood-stove/4,13.html

compare that to the englander 15 which is rated for a space more than twice the size at 1800 sqft and claims a 60K btu output.

http://www.homedepot.com/Building-Materials-Fireplace-Hearth-Freestanding-Stoves/h_d1/N-5yc1vZaqyr/R-100157775/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Your looking at the wrong stove. We have the US stove 2421 which is alot larger than that vozelgang and is rated for 1600 sq ft.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200446396_200446396?cm_mmc=Aggregates-_-Google-_-Heaters,%20Stoves%20+%20Fireplaces%3EWood%20Stoves-_-175085

I am thinking of buying a 8" pipe and making a double wall pipe around the top piece of 6" to greatly decrease my heat in those tight clearances.

[southbalto]

Got you.  Yea, the double wall pipe allows you to get as close as 6" i believe...

Everything looks great btw...