28 X 40 California Redwoods

[pmichelsen]

I came across this site about a month ago and since then I have been addicted. And now I figured I would share some information on my project. I share my land with a group of long time friends, we have about 10-15 acres and on the property there are eight cabins. All of the cabins were built in the early to mid 1920's and all but one of them were fixed up back in the early 80's. Mine is the one that was never fixed up, sadly it is now too far gone to be brought back to life so I will be rebuilding the whole thing. Though I have been going to this spot since the early 80's I was only made a partner a few years ago.

The original cabin was built directly on a log foundation though when I rebuild I will be pouring a concrete stem wall foundation. The plan is to dig down four to six feet at each corner and the midpoint of the walls build some rebar cages pour these and then tie them into the stem wall, though most of the ground is solid I will be building near a slope looking over a river and want to avoid any shifting in the future. Though my cousin the structural engineer thinks this is overkill my father and I agree a little overkill never hurt anyone. On top of the foundation I will be building a ~1100ft^2, 2 bd/2 ba "cabin." Though we call it a cabin it will have the comforts of home as well, we do have water, power, septic, and propane on site, though we may look into solar in the future. We will use this cabin year round, spending most summer weekends there and then hope to spend a lot of time in the winter months there too.

We are also lucky that until we build our cabin we are able to use the other cabins on the property so there is no rush. The plan is to build as we have money doing things in stages, 100% of the work will be done by myself with the help of my father and probably some friend. We would like to build this without any permits but being in CA this could prove to be tricky so I am not going to give too much detailed info on the location. The only permit I know I will have to pull is for PG&E, but we have a plan to do that (my father has been a building inspector for the past 36 years).

I will post up a picture of the floor plan I have come up with for now, though I will most likely change some things down the road as I don't like the flow the way that I have drawn it. In the next month or two the lady and I are going to stake out the rooms with some string line and see how it feels and what tweaks we want. In the meantime here is a picture of the space we will be building; our deck will be over looking the river. The are to be cleared is to the right of the burn pile. Wow, this is a horrible picture, I will take a better one of the space next month.

[glenn kangiser]

PGE is pretty well one of the number one rats about building - sometimes having agreements with the county.

Any chance of going all solar and keeping them out of it?  ... then  again maybe your plan is good enough.  Just a thought.

Looking forward to seeing your project.

[pmichelsen]

PGE is pretty well one of the number one rats about building - sometimes having agreements with the county.

Any chance of going all solar and keeping them out of it?  ... then  again maybe your plan is good enough.  Just a thought.

Looking forward to seeing your project.

Glenn,

I think we have the PG&E issue figured out, all of my electrical will be completed prior to starting any construction and it will be done with permits. Solar would be nice but I think connecting to the utility will better serve our needs, plus the pole is only 40 feet from my build site.

[pmichelsen]

I just took of a few days at the beginning of next month to head up to the cabin, haven't been up since January. While I am up there I plan to:

- Take some better pictures of my future build site
- Start of the spring cleaning (Mowing of the grounds, cleaning debris, cutting back over growth)
- Build new back stops for my horseshoe pits, and possibly lay the conduit for the lights/outlets
- Clean up the Bobcat and see if I can track down my hydraulic leak
- Fish
- Relax
- Weather permitting a little kayaking

Anyone else eager to get up to their property to start the season off?

[rick91351]

Anyone else eager to get up to their property to start the season off?

Your property looks nice.  Special place.

Yes we are getting very eager!  We really want to get up there and start to work in the orchard.  We have 100 fruit trees in the ground and 25 more coming. Last I checked there is still 18 inches of snow. So I figure the middle April.  We have 50 more blueberries scheduled in May, and then we have to move 25 purple raspberries that were to frost tender last year to go up.  Cattle go up last last week of April.  Then there are fences to fix and wire to stretch and a garden deer fence we want to build.  Then there is the bridge over the creek and ........... and I am wore out just thinking about it all.  Then there is my regular job.... Hey God!  You sure you can't make that a 28 hour day in the spring?
 

[glenn kangiser]

PGE is pretty well one of the number one rats about building - sometimes having agreements with the county.

Any chance of going all solar and keeping them out of it?  ... then  again maybe your plan is good enough.  Just a thought.

Looking forward to seeing your project.

Glenn,

I think we have the PG&E issue figured out, all of my electrical will be completed prior to starting any construction and it will be done with permits. Solar would be nice but I think connecting to the utility will better serve our needs, plus the pole is only 40 feet from my build site.

On grid is nearly always cheaper than off grid for serious power.  I still like being off grid.

G/L on the hydraulic leaks,  I know that one very well.  What model Bobcat do you have?

[pmichelsen]

On grid is nearly always cheaper than off grid for serious power.  I still like being off grid.

G/L on the hydraulic leaks,  I know that one very well.  What model Bobcat do you have?

I am not looking forward to the leak search, I am hoping that I can pressure wash the whole thing and then track it down. I know the front ram has a slight leak but I feel as though there is a bigger one somewhere judging by my drip pan.

I believe it is a 843 or 853, can't remember it could even be a 900 series, haven't messed with it since last 4th of July.

[Jens]

where is this going on?  I love deciduous trees, but I miss my redwoods.

[pmichelsen]

The build site is up near the Avenue of the Giants in CA. I will take some shots of the big trees on our property when I am up there, I think some of the big ones are 6'+ in diameter. Sadly the owner of the property before us tried to log as much of the property as he could prior to selling so some of the good stuff might have been dropped.

[MelFol]

Fabulous area.  We have vacationed the Sinkyone and along the Eel River several times. There is something special about being among those big trees.  Great area for a build IMO.

[glenn kangiser]

On grid is nearly always cheaper than off grid for serious power.  I still like being off grid.

G/L on the hydraulic leaks,  I know that one very well.  What model Bobcat do you have?

I am not looking forward to the leak search, I am hoping that I can pressure wash the whole thing and then track it down. I know the front ram has a slight leak but I feel as though there is a bigger one somewhere judging by my drip pan.

I believe it is a 843 or 853, can't remember it could even be a 900 series, haven't messed with it since last 4th of July.

That is the best chance - belly drains get stopped up too making cleaning the bottom hard.  I blow them out with the pressure washer until they drain too, sometimes from the bottom.

[duncanshannon]

 

looking forward to reading about your project!

[pmichelsen]

Fabulous area.  We have vacationed the Sinkyone and along the Eel River several times. There is something special about being among those big trees.  Great area for a build IMO.

I am lucky enough to have the Eel River flow through our property, and it is impossible to wipe the smile from my face once I hit about Laytonville on the 101. I am getting pretty excited thinking about being back up there and getting my hands dirty. Hopefully from here on I will be able to get up there at least once a month until December.

[MelFol]

How far above the Eel are you?  I have friends near Redway who have a cabin near the river. It's been a while ago but they had three feet of water in the cabin.

[pmichelsen]

Since we have had the property I have seen the Eel rise quite a bit. I am building my place about 4-5 ft above the highest recorded water level just to be safe. It is definitely something we thought a lot about when choosing a build site. Thanks for the tip.

[fistbump]

Is that Eel River in the picture? You are a very lucky man to be building in the redwoods and by Eel River. I have camped up there once and was blown away, I fell in love with those redwoods right away. I live in Indiana now and I do miss the striking beauty of upper CA. Good Luck!

[pmichelsen]

Yes, that is the Eel in the background, I think that picture was taken last January so it was pretty muddy and that might be the worst picture ever. I will snap some clearer photos in a few weeks when I am up there.

I first went up there about 25 years ago and it has been the one constant love in my life since.

[John Raabe]

PM:

Nice site. I wonder if the fact that your dad was/is a building inspector (and no doubt knows the lingo with the local inspector) might not make it worth your while to go topside and get the full set of permits. I can see that you aren't wanting to cut corners on the structure at any rate.

It does make things like remodels and future sales go smoother. However, it may also cause exposure problems with your site neighbors, I suppose.

[pmichelsen]

John: In all honesty I am not against going on the up and up with the cabin building and I have considered it, however the added cost and effort added to the fact that nothing on the property has been done with permits (including my buddies hefty addition we just finished) and I don't want them sniffing around.

The main reason though is the cost and effort, here are the issues: The way the deed was written we are not permitted to build any new structures on the land, we are only able to remodel the existing. Well my current cabin is in a horrible location (cliff is eroding underneath, proximity to other cabins, proximity to road, etc) add that to the fact that when the property was purchased they knew they wanted to move my cabin so on the plot plan they drew my cabin in the location I am going to be building. So, if I wanted to be on the up and up I would have to move my cabin to its new location and then "remodel" it. Even if we wanted to move the cabin (built in 1926ish) I don't think it would live through the relocation.

I am going to relook at everything this year and weigh out the added work and expense of moving the existing cabin, as I'm sure I could get away with just moving the floor and a wall or two.


Here is a shot of my existing cabin:

[John Raabe]

Thanks for that explanation - I can see that it's COMPLICATED!

Take good photos of the project as it progresses - that could help explain things that can't be seen should that ever be needed in the future.

[pmichelsen]

One week to go till I head up there, hope the property hasn't washed away.

[pmichelsen]

I just got back from my trip to the property, why do five days up there go by like one day down here? I took some shots of a few of the larger redwoods on the property and some of the water to give everyone an idea of the land.





Here is a picture of me in front of that last tree, note I am 6'-02" and I think that tree has a diameter of around 8' (the picture is deceiving).



Here is a shot of the river from our land, we have a road that brings us to the waters edge which is about 50 feet away.

[handyman]

    Is that the south Fork of the Eel River?  I bet there are fish in it.

[pmichelsen]

Yep there are lots of fish in there, mostly Steelhead and Salmon.

[pmichelsen]

Headed up to the the property on Thursday for a nice 6 day weekend, bringing with me a list of things to get done on the property and hopefully some fun in the sun too.