Upcycling

It is no secret that we have been very frugal in building our cabin.  We could have just paid the nearly $6,000 for a prebuilt building from a big box store and we would've had our cabin but we don't have that kind of money to throw away when we can do something ourselves cheaper.

We already had most of the tools we would need, I have experience in carpentry, and we are making memories with the kids assisting with the building and that is something you can't place a price tag on!

The major jobs remaining are installing the windows on the east and west sides, building the porch, porch roof, and then installing the metal roofing.

We have been in the same boat as most everyone else, more bills than money.  That contributed with my health issues has really slowed the progress on our cabin.

We have much of the lumber on hand to build the porch and it's roof.  We only have to purchase a 2x6x16' and three piers.  I have been stressing out about getting the remaining two windows we need as money has been short.

We stopped in and visited several area flea markets this past week.  The last one we stopped at I noticed two windows sitting out beside the building.  We had been frequenting the flea markets as I have been looking for a draw knife to peal bark off some trees we are going to use for railings on our bridge we are building along with the cabins porch posts and railings.

I didn't find a single draw knife but when I asked about the windows the owner told me to load them up and I could have them.  While they aren't in the best shape a little sanding and staining is all it is going to cost me.  I am so grateful for his generosity.  I have spent many hours talking with him about sustainable living and usually one of us has a solar project we are working on.

We spent all day today working on our house so we can officially list it for sale.  I had lofty goals of completing the casing and base boards and thought I would even get the floor installed in the laundry room.  We completed most of the trim so now we need to do some caulking and painting and we will have the house presentable for listing.  It will be nice not having the two house payments!

I'll post a picture of the free windows prior to us restoring them.  We hope to get out there tomorrow to install the windows, get started on the porch, and finish the bridge.

The girls birthdays are both in June and I hope to surprise them with our first campout with a few of there friends in our cabin.  Wish me luck, I have so much to get done.

And just for those keeping track, we have spent only $500 thus far on our cabin which we could have bought for $6,000.  I estimate another $2,000 maximum for the same thing I would have gottem purchased off the lot.

We have also been collecting free pallets for which I have some interesting ideas...

Blame It On The Rain

We drove out to the homestead today.  We have received several inches of rain over the past week and wanted to see how the water flowed thru our property.

In my last post I told you about my daughter digging a hole and it filling with water and my hypothesis of there being a spring.  At the time she dug the hole we had not seen much rain so I was really surprised when she hit water after digging less than two feet.  I don't remember if I mentioned but after she hit the water it made my wonder if the low spot of our land just below the berry patch would have easily accessable water.  It is always the last place to dry out and it's where we want to dig the pond.  We went to that area and dug down 3-4 feet and didn't hit any water, just clay.

When we reached the land today we didn't risk driving in for fear of getting stuck.  Once off the gravel the ground was saturated with water.

There was no way I was walking thru the pass so I took off on our path thru the woods.  Imagine my surprise to finding water flowing down the path we had cleared thru the woods.

I walked further into the woods to find the source of the water.  Remember that hole we dug?  The water was coming out of the ground about three feet uphill from the hole and also bubbling out of the hole.  The water in the hole was crystal clear.  I firmly believe I can drive a sand point well and have water for irrigation most of the year.

I made it out of the woods and found the cabin just like we left it.  It's a good thing I repaired the roofing felt because it would've been soaked inside if I hadn't.  The areas in front of the cabin where we have the play set for my son was wet with standing water.  Once I get the porch built we will have to make a path with pebbles.

On my way out I checked out the pass to the back of our property.  It looked like a pond and the water was flowing across it at a fairly good rate.  It will be a major project to make this area passable by car.  Right now I doubt if I could make it to the pass much less across it.

I shot multiple pictures, I will start with the picture of the hole full of water prior to all this rain.

Work Day on the Cabin

We decided it was do or die time to get the cabin in the dry.  We scored big time on the plywood and need to get the rest of the cabin dried in.
We have been blessed with beautiful weather and we have to get this done.  I have spent every day off for the last week doing nothing but working on this to get it done and this is where we stand.

The front needs framed in for a window since my wife finally decided where she wanted the window and door so the first step was to get the window framed in.  We have had this window for probably 5 years.  It is an energy efficient dual pain low e window which has been sitting in the basement for some time.  We originally planned to use it on our house but it didn't fit the plans in the end.  Most of my time was spent framing the window in.  It takes some time to do it right and I wanted it to set in the wall and look somewhat symmetrical as we only have one big window on the front in addition to the door.

Jennifer had to run to town to pick up the girls from school.  Prior to her leaving I got the window framed in and three pieces of plywood sheathed across the front.  I went to cut out the hole for the window and in the process broke my blade for the reciprocating saw.  Unfortunately we don't have the best cell phone service at the cabin.  I can usually walk around the property or at least get up on the ladder and get service but not today.  I wasn't able to get ahold of her to pick up another blade.  Bummer.

We managed to get most of both gable ends sheathed, we lack just a small triangular space on each end which I had planned on using the scrap from cuttinng out the window and door openings.  Since I broke the blade and daylight was running out we were not able to complete the dry in.

The picture to the right was taken inside the cabin looking out the front window.  It is going to be such a nice view with the berry rows stretching out in front of the cabin and once we clear an area around the creek it will be even more so.

Once the girls made it back out they decided we needed a bonfire for some s'mores.  We had a couple of brush piles in need of burning so I just considered it multitasking.  In the future we plan to do less burning and more composting and maybe even "lasagna gardening."  For those who do not know what that is just type it into google and you will learn all you ever wanted to know.  We just had have so much to get rid of we wanted to just get it done and decided to burn.

It's hard to believe that spring is just around the corner.  We have not had much winter, we even saw a mosquito and a baby grass hopper today!  I wanted to get the cabin dried in this week and get the house wrap on because next week it is supposed to be very cold and there are several chances for snow and ice.  It is frustrating to be held up by a simple broken blade for a saw.  I could have driven back to town and picked up a new one but with the way gas prices are going back up we are all going to have to try to start limiting our driving.  Once the cabin is completely in the dry I plan on going over to our house and finishing a the small details so that we can get it on the market and get it sold.  Once we sell it we will be able to begin building out forever home. 



 We had the opportunity to meet our neighbors recently and they plan on moving up in the spring to start building.  We are planning on sharing the cost of running electricity so then we will have power on site.  We will use the cabin for rest and relaxation while we build the house.  After that the cabin will be a neat place to just hang out for the kids. 



I have always been intrigued by old barns with their copulas on top.  These were actually a functional part of the barn in keeping them ventilated.  There is a similar method which may be used to help naturally ventilate a home.  I am thinking of building a "solar chimney" on the cabin.  It will be approximately 6 feet by 6 feet and on the side above the loft.  It will have windows on each side, at least two functional.  I think I will have a ladder from the loft up into the chimney and build in some book cases.  On the other side I am going to build a bench you can lay on and it will make a nice place to hang out and read and we can see how well it helps with ventilation.  You open the windows on the bottom floor and open the windows in the solar chimney.  As the air in the home warms it rises and exits the solar chimney drawing fresh air into the windows at the bottom.  If it works we have a plan we like for our home which has one incorporated.  If not it will still be a neat place to get away. 

I performed some stress relief by putting a lot of holes into a milk jug with my pistol.  I have a conference all weekend so I will not be able to do anymore work on the cabin until the week of the 12th of the month.  At least we managed to get most of the sheathing on.  It will be there when I get back to finish up.





   

 











 











What a day!

I wasn't able to round up any apprentices today but I have to get a roof on this cabin.  The good news is I discovered my framing nail gun was not broken but I had bought the wrong nails for it when I originally bought it.  Too bad I didn't get that figured out until after all the walls were framed.  It would have saved so much time.

We loaded all the lumber, generator, and all the tools and pulled out of the drive around noon.  I know, I should have started earlier but my two year old sounded like he was coming down with something so we let it warm up a bit first.  We had a couple of stops to make before we could head out.

After grabbing lunch we hit the lumber yard for nails for the gun and some brackets.

We got out to the land and got everything unloaded.  I had to fix a couple of mistakes and place some more nails in a few of the studs it was time to pick up the girls from school.  I stayed behind to continue working.  The plans called for doubled 2X6's at each end to act as ties and the start of the loft joists.

After getting those set I began work to prepare for placing the ridge beam.  I doubled up two 2X4's and set them atop the middle of the end walls and braced them.  I thought it would be smart to attach a short 2X4 at the top on each side of the ridge beam studs. 

After setting the ridge beam atop the supporting studs I realized my mistake.  If I was using a doubled 2X8 for a ridge beam it would've worked out great.  Since I wasn't I realized I had no way to nail the beam to the studs.  I had to cut off the "safety studs" and got the ridge beam secured.

I just started to figure out the angle for the plumb cut for the first set of rafters when my daughter advised me her Christmas program was starting in 30 minutes.

We hastily gathered and loaded the tools and covered the flooring and all our lumber with tarps.

I have to work a 24 hour shift tomorrow and they are calling for a lot of rain and/or snow for Saturday.  Hopefully everything stays dry and I can get the rafters up on Sunday.

Wish me luck, I need all I can get.

Prepping for a roof

As you may recall we obtained a load of cull lumber last spring.  Last week we retrieved the remaining lumber from the basement of our home we are trying to sell.

The lumber was a mix of 2X10 and 2X12's.  The plans called for 2X6 rafters.  This called for us having to rip enough lumber for 18 rafters.  The last time we ripped lumber we burned out the motor on my table saw.  We bought that saw about 10 years ago for less than $100 and it cut a lot of wood over the years.

The cabin roof is going to be 12/12 pitch.  On one side the rafters will be 12 feet long, the other side 8 feet since a porch will tie into it.  I am mainly concerned with getting the cabin in the dry before we start getting snow and ice.

We set up the table saw and rigged it so that the top rail of our trailer would support one end of the lumber as it came off the saw.  We improvise a lot around here. 

We got the lumber cut and we ended up with all the rafters I need and 2X4's I am sure we will use somewhere.  The are calling for heavy rain and/or snow this weekend so I must get out there tomorrow to get the rafters placed.

Wish us luck as we will need it and watch for my next post to see how it went.

Free Heat a Passive Solar heater

My daughter had a science project due and we never finished last years so we decided to try again.
The thought behind the passive solar heater is to reduce our utility bills and have something to assist with heating our cabin.


We started out with two Korean war era wood foot lockers.  the dimensions were 16" wide, 32", and 8" deep. We began by removing the lids which had been secured well with rivets which had to be drilled out.

Removing the well secured lids

We then had a huge decision to make. Aluminum conducts heat and cold extremely well. To test this for yourself take a hot can of soda, fill a basin with ice and spin the can in the ice rapidly. In a matter of minutes you will be rewarded with an ice cold drink. Our last project we gathered used cans. It was time consuming because each can had to be cleaned and holes cut in each end. The cans were then secured end to end in rows with silicone. As we were under a time crunch we looked for an alternative heat conductor. We looked at aluminum rain gutter which would have worked but it was pricey. As we strolled the aisles of the lumber store we came across sheets of aluminum ducting. It was flat but machined to form a tube 4" in diameter and came in multiple lengths. It was reasonably priced and although I would've preferred a smaller diameter we went ahead and chose it. We then needed to find something to connect the ends of the tubing to form a continuous network of tubing. We looked around and found flexible aluminum dryer duct and picked up some hose clamps to secure the connections. The remaining materials we purchased consisted of silicone caulking, flat black spray paint, liquid nails, thermometers, and panes of glass to fit our boxes. As this is being used for a school science project we had to build two boxes. One being the passive solar heater and the other serving as the control. The boxes were a bit deep for our needs so I started by cutting a couple of inches off all the way around. The boxes already had a 2X2" strips of wood running along the length and this gave us a platform to lay the panes of glass to when we reached that step.




We began by forming the ducting into tubes.  We then attached the flexible dryer duct to one end of one tube, formed a U shape and connected to the tubing beside it. At the opposite end of the middle tube, we used three tubes to fit the size of our box, we repeated the process by attaching the vent to the tube, made another U shape to attach the middle piece to the last duct. We made sure all of the hose clamps were all tight.

Forming the layout for the ducting

Drilling the air inlets

Next we drilled a 2" diameter hole through the base of the box in the bottom corner to serve as a cold air inlet. We then drilled a 2" hole on the top of the box on the opposite side of the cold air inlet.



















In order to keep the entering cold air from escaping the tubing I built a box in the corner around the cold air
inlet and cut the wood on one side to slide over the ducting.   Use clamps until the glue has dried.

Add Silicone to seal any leaks

 

We cleaned out the sawdust from the boxes and then painted the interior of the solar heater with a couple of coats of black paint. We then attached a thermometer on the inside of both boxes near the hot air outlet. Once the paint was dry we laid out the ducting and put a nice sized line of liquid nails along the entire network of ducting. The ducting was then placed inside the box with the glued side down. The cold air inlet box was then put in position and clamped until the glue was dried. It is important to note the box's top came up to the level of the bottom of the pane of glass. After the glue had dried all of the ducting was painted flat black and once dry a second coat was applied ensuring all surfaces were covered.



Once all the glue had cured and paint dried we placed a bead of silicone caulking along the 2X2" strip of wood along the inside of the box and the glass was carefully laid in place. We then repeated the caulking on the top outer edge of the glass to ensure it was airtight.

Carefully place glass onto the lip inside the box

We repeated this step on the control box. Both boxes were placed in a sunny location facing south. The temperature inside the control box never rose more than a few degrees more than the ambient temperature which averaged in the low to mid 60's. The thermometer inside the passive solar heater maxed out at 140 f the first couple of days and ultimately burst due to the high temperatures we achieved in the passive solar box. The science fair ends this week. I plan on replacing the original lid to the heater to protect the glass during the summer months when not in use. The control box is going to be converted into another passive solar heater using the same technique.

The finished project

 
This type of heating device would be ideal in a bug out situation and you don't have to expend energy gathering fuel and there is no smoke to reveal your location