20x32 A frame cabin Central KY

[Mad-Dax]

How are those Evermaxx batteries holding up?..I might get some for starting off my system as well.

[EaglesSJ]

Not sure why the pipe on my little stove is so small but the hook up on the back of the stove is only 2" in diameter. Here are some progress pics. Were going with an open joist ceiling and they are stained a dark walnut color. They look black in the pics but in reality they are a bit lighter and the wood grain is easily exposed. This the same color were going to stain the upstairs floor. Still waiting on the jacuzzi to get back from the paint shop. (had it coated the same color as the granite tile were going to use around it.)

Ready for Audrey's arrival:







Colton in his "new" room:





And the little progress I have made on our room thus far:






A little friend stopped by to visit us and we couldnt help but offer her a warm home. (Im a softy for animals)




And a pic of me and the queen headed out for date night

[EaglesSJ]

One more of our belated Christmas present. 42" LED and PS3 slim/netflix package.

[MountainDon]

[EaglesSJ]

How are those Evermaxx batteries holding up?..I might get some for starting off my system as well.

I would save my money and get better batteries. Ours started going bad after about a year. Walmart replaced all of them free of charge but it wasnt worth the hassle of disconnecting everything and hauling them up there.

[phalynx]

That is simply a great home you have built for your family...

[Mad-Dax]

That is simply a great home you have built for your family...

I second that.  You started your house about the same time I did mine...but you live in yours and mine just got barely dried in.  You are inspiring though to get myself back in gear.

[JohnJ]

Great job on the home . . . and thanks for your Service to the Nation.  I'm retired Army living in northeastern Tennessee.

I'm trying to understand the difference between building a cabin with a perimeter foundation and building one with piers like you did.   (Foundation will be 12" diameter concrete piers reinforced with rebar spaced every 8 feet apart. 5 piers on either side and 5 down the middle for the center beam.)

The county inspector recommends a perimeter foundation and most homes around here have them.  But what you and others on this Forum have built with piers looks pretty solid to me.  I'm building what I call a 20 x 16 "shed" which will have a bathroom, bed, my computer, pool table, etc.  basically my "man cave" but also suitable for my kids when they come visit.  What I'm doing is a lot less complex than what you built.

Seeing as how you're an engineer    I would appreciate any insight into the advantage of a perimeter vs a pier foundation.  Even better, given that I'm basically building a Little House, what would you recommend?

John

[EaglesSJ]

The reason I chose a pier foundation is because my ground is so uneven. Had it not been for that I would have simply poured a concrete slab and built on top of that. No subfloor required that way. The piers are ALOT easier for the average joe to build. If you are only building a 20x16, 5 piers on either side and 5 down the middle is way overkill. Also if you dont want to fool with the concrete, 6x6 post with triangular bracing would work nice.

[JohnJ]

OK great.  Yeah, piers look a lot easier.  The county guy I spoke with today said there was no legal requirement but he recommended an 18-24" footer at least 6-8" thick beginning 18" from the top (frost depth).  He said piers were fine as long as 1)  the floor was anchored to the pier in some way and 2) he recommended building something around the perimeter of the house to protect pipes in winter and keep animals out.

What strikes me is that your home looks a lot bigger and heavier than anything I'm planning on building.  So if it works for you it should work for me.

The real problem, I'm realizing, is that where i want to build is probably right on top of my septic system, water lines and electrical.  I thought the septic was located further down hill but he said they're normally around 10-15 feet from the house.  I'm trying to get someone to come out and locate the exact locations of my utilities but I have a feeling I'm dead in the water.  Need to look for another site.

John

[Southern Steve]

Eagles lad,  where are you?  Its been over a month.  Hope everything is OK, that family is ok   that you haven't slid off those steep roofs, etc.

[EaglesSJ]

Im still around just busy with other things right now. Ill post up a couple pics though. Ill have pics of the completed pond area in a bit as we are working on a dock and rocks/landscaping, zipline, etc. But for now only have some zoomed in pics








This little fella flew in our chimney today and I had to take apart the pipe to get him free.

[EaglesSJ]

here are the latest pics of the pond area. Need to get some grass to growing on the banks but we did get the dock built and the beach area done. Also ordered a nice aluminum ladder for the dock. I am also thinking about getting some tropical type trees to set out by the pond for that Caribbean feel. Still need to build a zipline as well but we couldnt wait to enjoy what we had already so we forgot about the cooler temps and went for it!

[ben2go]

Did you dye the water? 

[Sassy]

I was wondering if you used pond liner.

Looks really refreshing, though - beautiful area 

[hhbartlett]

What a beautiful spot. Did you build that pond? Your whole thread is an inspiration, should win an award for "Best Life Design".

[EaglesSJ]

Did you dye the water? 

I put 1/2 gallon of aquashade pond dye/cleaner in it. The water clarity is really good without it but we wanted that blue color. You can see your feet standing in waist deep water.

Also there is no liner. Just a sandy clay soil. I didnt build the pond, we had it dug. I just built the dock, and the beach area, and prayed from lots of rain

[rhelm]

Living the dream!   

[AdironDoc]

Awesome place! Looks like everyone has a great time at your camp. Where's the floating beer cooler?

[beckhamk]

wow - thats a heck of a pond!  making me think of adding that to our place! 

[EaglesSJ]

Ah spring time on the farm and the adorable chirp of little young un's. Here are 25 of the 50 total. (other 25 still in route vs usps) We have Americauna, Black Australorp, Polish Crested, Red sexlink, Brown Leghorns, and Buff Orpingtons. These are in addition to the 21 full grown chickens we already have. If you cant tell we love chickens.

[Sassy]

Ah, how cute!  We are raising another 6 barred rock chicks - they're getting pretty big now - couple more months & they should start laying.  We still have 5 barred rocks who are 4 or 5 yrs old.  Glenn has been trying to get 2 or 3 that have been eating the eggs to stop - made new nesting boxes where the eggs roll down into a protected area they can't get to, screwed fake eggs in them... 

We've been giving them ground oyster shells to supplement their diet although the feed we give them is supposed to have everything in it.  Guess if they don't break the cannibalistic ways we'll have to let them run free outside the pen - the birds don't last too long around here when they are unprotected   

BTW, that's an awful lot of chickens!  Are you going to sell the eggs?  When I was little we lived on a farm in Ohio - we had 100 white chickens - my parents sold most of the eggs.  I had the job of collecting them all as my mom was afraid of them    We lived there from the time I was a baby until I was 5 y/o. 

[EaglesSJ]

Were probably going to keep about 20 of the 50 chicks giving us a total of 40 hens. Then we will sell the rest when they get to laying age. People around here are always looking for hens. They are usually sold the day after I list them on craigslist. I had a problem with them eating eggs too. Ive noticed they mainly do it when their nesting boxes get low of padding (hay, straw, pine shavings, etc)

[Bob S.]

Us old farts remember that you chop off some of their heads and eat them.

[CjAl]

i had 1000 in my.living room at one point chirping away. freak cold snap. wasnt any sleeping that night.