My 15.75 x 30 Jemez Cabin

[Barry Broome]

Were your floor joists on 16 inch centers? I noticed your studs were on 24 so I was wondering.

[MountainDon]

floor joists, 16" OC
wall studs,  24" OC, 2x6 w/ double top plates
rafters, 16" OC

[small cabin dreamer]

Don,
Did you use joist hangers on your floor joists? I cannot tell in the pictures. And if not, should I be using them?

[small cabin dreamer]

Don,
I have another question if you don't mind.
I have read, and re-read the 15.75 thing over and over and just don't get it. My cabin will also be 16 wide, and if I run the tongue and groove the 8ft length in the 24 foot direction, then I will have 4 sheets wide in the 16 foot direction. With a shortage of 1/4 in. per sheet wouldn't I just be 1 inch short (1/4 inch per sheetx4= 1 inch). OR am I 1/2 in short on each 4x8 piece (1/4 inch for tongue, and 1/4 inch for groove), so then I will be 2 inches short of the 16 foot width?

[MountainDon]

The width I used was inexact. I did have to trim a slight amount off. I did not try to hit the width exact.

I used H1 to make positioning the joists easy and precise. Toe nailed as well.

[small cabin dreamer]

You just used the hurricane ties? that is so much cheaper and easier than joist hangers.

[MountainDon]

Just to be 100% clear. The H1's were used solely for setting and maintaining the spacing of the joists, and the joists were placed on top of the beams so joist hangers were unsuited for the task. There are some advantages to both methods; joists on beams and joists hung between beams using joists hangers. How the layers in a built up beam are secured to one another can influence the method of joist placement / and overall strength of the total floor structure.

[MountainDon]

We did a little experiment over the past weeks. We tried using an electric kettle for heating tea water instead of using propane 2 to 4 times a day.  Plus I took my one cup coffee maker up and used that twice a day. We did use more power as expected but most days we got fully charged and the system made it into float charge mode. A couple of cloudy rainy days we did not hit float but did make it part way through the Absorb charge time.

Electrical use included the usual lighting, some TV, computer charging, the toaster and a few light power tools like a saw chain sharpener.

I am thinking of cutting one tree and moving the panels 50 feet to a location that has better morning sun. As it is we miss the first couple good hours of sun due to shading.


A project to insulate the water cistern is next on the job list. Pictures, etc. to come.

[MountainDon]

One of our summer projects...

I have written in the past about the issue of the fresh water cistern freezing in winter, because it was not deep enough. We completed a project aimed at preventing freezing without the manual intervention used for the past several years. This winter will be the test. I began by excavating all around the cistern with a hand shovel and scoop. I made a trench all around the circumference to a depth of around three feet. Then I cut 2 inch XPS foam as well as some Polyiso I had left over from the house project. These were cut in small panels and fitted in the trench, then secured in place with spray foam in a can.




Small pieces were used to infill inside the ring formed are the circumference. Several layers were installed to bring the foam up to the top level of the ring. Foam in a can (many cans) was used to fill voids





That was topped off with two layers of 2" XPS




Then a box was built to enclose the black riser. That was also insulated with several inches of foam.

...alas I can not find those images right now.    I will either find them or rephotograph.

[MountainDon]

Yet another project was replacing the gas control valve on the water heater. In case anyone missed the original install, we used an RV water heater in the cabin. Last winter it began to be very difficult to depress the pilot knob as the first step in lighting the pilot light. I though warm weather would bring relief but that was only met with limited success. A new valve was needed.

The control valve unit threads into a pipe fitting welded into the tank. It is very cramped space. I determined that there is a special tool required to safely chnage the control. I found two different versions; one around $30 and the other costing more than the valve itself. The valve was $135.  I also read that many purchasers of the cheaper valve found it to be a piece of junk, often breaking in use.

So I made my own with assorted steel from the scraps box.  View from the backside




View from the front showing the welded nut and illustrating how the angle pieces fit around the square shape of the control valve.

[OlJarhead]

How's the cistern doing in the cold?  If it still freezes up you could get a stock tank heater.  I find it works well, albeit slowly and at a price (1500 watts).  I run mine in my grey water tank and only when the generator is running.

[MountainDon]

Thanks for the reminder!  The cistern has been doing great. We were up there for a week after Christmas and again last weekend. We had some cold weather; below freezing most of the time with lows dropping to 10 or 12 F IIRC. It had been quite cold before we got there too. The gallon jugs of fresh filtered water we stockpile in the shower pan were all frozen solid. Night time temperatures were in the single digits, as low as 3 F and several days never saw highs over 24 F.  So not as cold as it gets in many places, but rather typical for that part of NM.

The water in the cistern system never froze at all. When we first got there I threw the switch and a few seconds later was rewarded with a flow of water.

Here'sa shot of the almost finished upper end. Roofing metal panels on the sides, but w/o the corner trim pieces installed. The insulated lid (6" XPS foam) lifts off. Roofing metal covers the top. I plan on modifying the lid to be hinged sometime in spring or summer. I was in a rush to get the assembly ready for winter so skipped that for now.



The hose has a slight downward slope and as the submersible pump does not have any backflow prevention the water runs back to the level in the cistern. The water temperature measured at 52 F. That compares favorably with the 7 foot deep food storage locker. The canned goods come out of there at 50 to 53 degrees. So we are very happy with the cistern now.

The interior cabin system is easy enough to drain and blow out that having the cistern frost proofed makes it easy to use the water heater and sink for washing up even for just a weekend.

[new land owner]

Nice set up. I was at camp and had left some water jugs half full thinking I could thaw them and use the water to flush.  It took two days of leaving the jugs by the fire to melt the ice. It's good that the spring, just done the road, never freezes.

[rick91351]

Great news on the cistern!!!  Your food storage is working out great as well.  With me it would be struggle to remember was the tomato soup in one, two or three.      

Are you parking at your friends house and walking up? Great exercise.......

[MountainDon]

Drove up right after Christmas. The neighbor had driven a week or so earlier and his ruts made it a little easier. Although it had snowed a little more since he drove it and we were dragging the rear diff in a few spots. After a few days there the forecast was calling for 2 to 4 inches more snow. After a little thought we drove back down and parked at our friends. We hiked with the snow shoes in our packs as in most places it was not really deep enough for snow shoes. It did snow and on the way out we did use the snow shoes and poles. I was glad we had moved the truck.

Last weekend we snow shoed in and out. Stayed Sat thru Monday.

The ATV can still make it around the more level areas of our property and we used it to transport the chain saw and extra fuel and oil to close to where we are felling some dead aspens and pines. That thing drags the rear diff and the rear disk brake guard through the snow but amazes me at how well it does. I'm not about to try it on any appreciable slopes though.


As for the food the system has been simplified. We packed the Christmas break weeks worth in three tubes and tied a red ribbon to each. The others, one tube per weekend, are all the same assortment. We only planned for once a month so there's enough time between that repeating the menu should not be boring.    We pack in some fresh veggies but nothing too heavy. And this year things have improved because I now borrow e-books from the library and only have to carry a 7" tablet instead of several pounds of books to read.

[rick91351]

Your food storage is the most unique I have ever read about.  I am left wondering if it could not be utilized by more year around cabin dwellers - multi season utilizers and preppers.  One thing that makes it so doable where you're at is the dry climate and little fear if it being turned into a sump.       

I have a HUGE assortment of E - Books.  To me they only make sense, especially up here.  They are catching on at a great rate up here even with the not so geeky.  Ellen who is the librarian up here at our tiny library, has noted a lot more interest in e-media. 

If I were looking at going in to a solitary winter life up here as it was in the way back days.  A stack of books in the corner now replaced by an IPad or a Kindle I would love.  Yet I do have a lot of books that will fill our bookshelves when I get back to working on our built-in bookshelves.  I also need to replace my Kindle.  Screen is shot..... 

Sidebar how is your winter moisture?  Ours is doing very well even with the noted lack of good snow.  We had received so much rain I would dare say the snow level should been at about three feet instead of about a foot.  I know the guys on the highway district very well, they were getting concerned about the ground getting too saturated.  Around here it was just not taking in any more moisture plus the regular run off.  It should by now had a good chance to being absorbed into the deeper soils and down into the aquifer.  So the ground hopefully will take in more with the spring melt and when rains come. 

[OlJarhead]

Glad to hear it Don!  That gives me hope on my plans for both my cistern (deeper than yours but perhaps a colder location) and grey water tank (shallower).  Also impressed with the food storage, but I find when I dig holes here (like the one for my main water valve) they can fill with water!  Gotta plan something like that a bit better if I were to use it.

Agreed on the e-books, just got my first Kindle (reader from sister) and am impressed with the little thing.  Just got tired of $9-$10 a paperback!

[MountainDon]

Re: winter food storage. Yes, with regards to the food storage project we are fortunate with low rainfall and a very low water table as well. That did help with this. The humidity in the hole is rather high though as there is often condensation on the cans when we pull a tube. The odd can shows slight surface rusting where one sits on another. And the labels are often damp. However, that has never been an issue.


Re: cistern.  I only wish I had been smart enough to realize I was building a problem in the beginning. It would have been much easier to insulate in the ground right when we dug the big hole with a back hoe, instead of having to do it by hand later.


Re: books / ebooks. I have always been more of a book borrower than a book purchaser. I noticed this year that our public library has a much larger assortment of ebooks available. That pushed me over the edge, so to speak. They use three different services and the selection varies from one to another. Some duplicates but differences too. Fourteen to 21 day loans and no trips to the library. Plus if I actually was at the cabin and ran out of something to read I could still borrow another and only pay the data charge on the phone for the D/L. 


Re: snow, ground moisture status.  I have not seen the official stats recently but my guess is that we may be better than at this time last year. But we also notice that from Christmas/New Years to this past weekend the south facing slopes have lost snow rather than gain any. It snowed last night and we even have what looks like 2 inches here at home. The mtn forecast was for 2 to 4 inches last night. The town where our son lives, about 20 miles from the cabin, got 2 inches, but the cabin is higher so maybe got more.  We would love to have a webcam or 2 or 3 up at the cabin so we could call up and see what is going on vs just having the forecast which often does not work out. But that would mean another cell phone and data plan and I can't bring myself to spend the money. 

[upa]

Don

I have been running  a Lorex IP camera for this past winter and its been the bomb for letting me know what is going before I get there. Its nice because it also has motion and PIR sensors and can act like a security system and uses push email notification when it picks up something. I keep a 32 gig micro sd card in it and acts like a DVR and roughly runs 6-7 days before it starts to rewrite itself with new video image data. I use an android app on my phone to see real time video. When I use the lowest image setting for transmission its very thrifty on bandwidth.  The Sierra Wifi hotspot hub I use also connects my Wifi thermostat. I have a pay as you go arrangement for data, its a stepped usage plan, $5/month base buys you  a measly 10 meg and $10/month gets you 100 meg , and up from there. During the winter I have never exceeded $10/month with my frequent calls up for real time video. In the summer I rarely get charged more than $5/month. From a power perspective the camera and hotspot use only a few watts concurrently. The only problem I came across was that the hub has a lithium ion battery that refuses to work once the temperature drop below freezing in the unheated house. I ended up making a insulted enclosure out of a cardboard box/foam to house the hub and included a 10 watt aquarium heater in a sealed water filled quart mason jar. The heater turns itself off once water temperature reaches 25 degrees Celsius. This adequately  kept the interior of enclosure warm to keep the hub alive the last 2 winters and maybe uses 50 watts in a 24 hour period on very cold days.

[hpinson]

The last post is invaluable. Thank you UPA, for that.

[MountainDon]

Way cool upa!    Thanks very much!   

[MountainDon]

I made a change inside the cabin. When we built it I used two 12 VDC Thinlite FL lights for under cabinet lights. Then I added a 20 watt 120 VAC FL tube fixture. They worked but after I installed some under the cabinet LED lighting at home I fell in love with them.

Instead of buying the ready made units I used at home I went DIY. I found some LED strips on ebay. These are also 12 VDC. Twenty inches long with 36 number 5050 LED's.  Here's one....



The strip mounts (slides into) an aluminum extrusion and has a clear plastic slide on cover. I mounted three above the counter / under the cabinet and one over the range. They give off a very nice amount of light. We are happy with them.



The LED strip over the range has its own switch. The one to the right end of the counter has its own switch and the two at the sink end (left) and center are on one switch. The "tab" that hangs down from the cabinet lip mounts two of the switches as well as the inverter remote control switch.  Okay the counter is a little messy, but this is not BH&G.

The cost for 5 LED strips and 5 aluminum mount strips with covers was about $16. Switches were left overs from the trailer. Small round rockers, <$3 each.

[MountainDon]

FYI,

LED strips

holder/cover



DfC   Direct from China

[MountainDon]

Re: the water cistern.  As soon as all the parts arrive I will show the water level gauging system I'll be installing. Three diodes for three levels. No more dipping the cistern with a stick!     It is being based on a small printed circuit board that came from an ebay seller in Thailand. The Chinese do not have a monopoly on cheap electronic parts.     



1.8 x 1.3 inches.  It came yesterday; tested it today and it works.  Probably set the green to be about 3/4 full, yellow as 1/2 and red at about 20-25% of the 325 gallons total.

[OlJarhead]

Hmmm intersting.  I'd like to know how it works and what the power requirements are.

For us, we just assume all is well and the cistern is filled daily by the well but perhaps some day a visible indicator would be nice.  We do, of course, have a float valve that turns the well pump on and off though and with most of the orchard dead I can't see running out of water too soon now.