Kyanite Acres Farm

Cabin has Solar Power...

2010-03-23T15:40:00.003-04:00

Heading down to the cabin at noon on Friday and arrived about 2:30pm. There was no damage from the Snowmageddons that hit the area in the past few months except a fallen branch in the driveway that I could move by hand. The cabin was dry!

Set up the Harbor Freight 45 Watt Solar Kit and wired the panels in series behind the cabin. I used 25 ft of 14-3 Romex to run the output through the back wall. Situated the panels on a small outdoor table so I could rotate them with the sun to get maximum power. Currently using a 12 Volt AGM automotive battery for now, but plan on purchasing some good deep cycle batteries in the future. Hooked up the charger box and ran the leads to the battery. The battery was close to full charge, so it didn't take long to top it off with about 14.5 volts coming from the panels.

I played around with the 12 watt compact fluorescent lights that came with the kit and was surprised at how much light they gave off. A friend Hal (who lives on a sailboat) gave me a very cool light fixture with a bank of White LEDs and another bank of Red LEDs (for reading charts at night without ruining your night vision) and they worked great! He also gave me a smaller 12 LED bank with a switch that I will eventually mount inside the front door.

Fired up the Direct Vent heater and it worked fine.

Got up the next morning and made a run to the dump to get rid of the trash that was piling up and contemplated how I am going to finish the roofing by myself.

Went to Lowes in Farmville and got some R19 insulation for the roof. I wanted to get a higher R value, but the roof joists are 2x6s so anything with a higher R value would be squished into the space and not have the rated insulation factor.

Kept rotating the panels all day to face the sun and starting working on a cheap design using a Lazy Susan mechanism to make it easy to rotate them when I add another 45 watt kit for a total of 90 Watts. Played around with the Solar kit and actually had the battery up to full charge and was also able to charge my cellphone and a 18V Dewalt Tool battery. (OK.. I didn't really use the battery that much)

Contemplated how I was going to finish the front side galvanized roofing by myself and also attach the Roof vent without denting the metal. Think I have it worked out in my mind now...

Mowed the grass and tried cutting back some of the saplings that are springing up all over the place.

The future plan is to get two Kyocera 210 Watt panels as well as all the enclosures (to meet code) and create a 24V (4 x 6 Volt) battery bank with a MPPT charge controller. The panels, controller, batteries, pole mount, combiner box, etc sould be less than $3K and will give me enough power to pretty much what I need to do in a weekend. I will also add a A/C ->24V charger that I can run off a generator if I need more power. I am trying to do everything off 12v, but will probably get a 1200 Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter to run other equipment. Once I set the larger system up, I will use the Harbor Freight system for pumping water for a shower or up from the creek using a 12V pump or just add them to the 420 watt system for a grand total of 510 Watts.

In the meantime, it is nice just to flip a switch and have light!

Bought a small Solar Panel kit...

2010-01-23T23:01:00.003-05:00

Spent $200 dollars at Harbor freight for a 45 watt (3 panels, controller, and two 12V CF lights) Solar kit. While Googling for more information on the controller, I found a blog about "The Field Lab" You can get an idea of what John Wells has done out in the southwest Texas desert by checking out his website at http://thefieldlab.org . There's a live webcam on the site and also a link to his blog. Check them out! I read his entire blog (1 and a half years) over the last few days. It is incredible what he has done! I now have to make a solar oven and try some of his Beer bread recipes.

Hoping to get down to the cabin soon...

I finally have heat…

2009-11-07T15:48:00.004-05:00

Been a while since I posted anything here, but I have been going down working on the cabin every couple of weeks. I drove down on Saturday morning a few weeks ago and it was raining most of the day.

The Direct-Vent heater arrived a few weeks ago and the project for the weekend was to get it installed…

The wall needed to be insulated and an interior wall installed in order to mount the heater. This was relatively simple, but took most on the day Saturday with only one trip to the Lowes located about 18 miles away. Purchase what I thought would be the correct fitting to the heater.

To make a long story short, the fitting wasn’t the correct one, so on Sunday I made two more trips to get ALL the required parts required. The heater is rated at 18K BTUs and quickly warmed the interior. I will now be able to go down on cold days and finish insulating the entire cabin.

The heater mounted to the wall…

The heater requires no electricity and runs off a propane tank. The first thing I had to do was select the wall area where it was going to go and cut out the access for the vent. I selected this type of heater because it is safe because all oxygen comes in through the vent, and all combustion gasses are vented directly outside. The heater is completely sealed off inside the cabin, so no worries about Carbon Monoxide or depleted Oxygen causing one to pass out in the middle of a cold night.

The Direct vent… not completely finished, have a little more chiseling to do...

Propane tank with regulator and fittings. I will replace the tank with a larger one in the future...

I threw down some grass seed about a month ago and I now have grass!

Been a while since I posted...

2009-06-23T20:17:00.002-04:00

Went down to the property to see if the hail storm had damaged the roof. Only stopped by for a few minutes because I was attending the CrackerJack's fireworks shoot back on May 17th. No damage found!...

Drove down last weekend and dropped off our Junior handler, Demi, at a friends house near Richmond to attend Dog shows on Saturday and Sunday. Made it to the cabin by 6pm and everything was so overgrown I went immediately down to the Lowes in Farmville to get the cheapest (10% discount for Fathers day!) lawnmower I could find... Mowed the driveway and cut back all the encroaching small trees.

Brought down an old A/C unit that I had bought in Gillette, WY a few years ago. Powered up the generator and got the inside temperature down to 80 degrees F. (It was 94 outside!). Worked well enough to lower the humidity and make it bearable inside the cabin.

Too hot to finish the roof, but did get a lot of brush clearing done... Will post some pictures of "Nature taking over" in a few days.

Stopped by the Depot Diner and had a great time with my new friends. I really love the people in the area. They are very different from Northern Virginians...

Hailstones...

2009-04-22T12:48:00.000-04:00

I heard through some Friends on Facebook that a big storm came through Dillwyn on Monday evening with hailstones the size of Golf Balls. Hope the roof didn’t get too damaged…

Almost finished with the roof...

2009-04-20T08:28:00.004-04:00

Got up early Sunday morning and finished to back side roof. Looks pretty good except for the mud…

Finished the front roof with tarpaper and roof strapping. NO MORE TARPS!!!...

Roofing by yourself 201...

2009-04-18T19:18:00.013-04:00

Drove down on Friday morning. Stopped by the dollar stores to get some required items to work on the roof. Last week I got some sample stain colors and put them on a pine board to check out the color. I think I am leaning toward the darkest brown stain. Sorted out the pieces required for finishing the roof.

Woke up at 6am, made pancakes and coffee. Started working by 7am.

I attached the panel to the rope using two vise grips.

This shows the method of getting the metal roofing on top of the cabin. The edges are extremely sharp and I didn't want to cut my head off while getting them up. I threw a rope over the cabin and slowly hoisted them up the ladder to the back side of the cabin.

Had to go to the front of the cabin, climb the ladder, hook up my safety harness, and slide the panel off the ladder and into position.

First panel screwed in place and it seems to line up fine.

Used some climbing equipment called ascenders to hold the panel in place while I climbed up onto the roof. This method worked well.

Attached a tow strap to one of the pier posts and them tied the strap to my climbing rope. Wore a climbing harness and hooked into the rope with another ascender. If I fell, this would keep me from falling to the ground and breaking my neck.

On a sad note... When I removed one of the tarps from around the ladder, a wren's nest fell out and two eggs rolled onto the ground. I carefully put the two eggs in the nest and moved it about twenty feet away while the mother wren watched me. She flew over to the nest, but wouldn't go in. About an hour later, I was aboiut to climb the ladder and I saw some egg halves laying in the leaves. Three other eggs had fallen out and the chicks had hatched. I gathered them up and put them in a bowl and got the out of the sun. tried giving them a drop or two of Gatorade (all I had) and they went to sleep. Came back about 20 minutes later and they were ready to eat again. This worked for about an hour, but they died...

Poor little guys... They are now buried on the farm.

This is where I ended up on Saturday evening.

Easter Sunday...

2009-04-12T21:04:00.004-04:00

Came down with the wife and kids today. Kristina had not been there since just after the land was cleared. We didn't really do any work other than add some fencing to the front porch to keep the dogs out of the creek.

Too bad it wasn't there when we arrived. They were dirty after we were there 10 minutes...

Kyan, our intact male, was taking a "time out" in the cabin since he wouldn't leave Opal alone. It just killed him to see the other dogs out playing and being with Momma.

Did I mention that my wife is totally addicted to reading Twilight and read most of the day???

Nice little digital thermomometer that also records the minimum and maximum temperatures. Picked it up for less than $7 at Lowe's.

Stopped by the Depot Diner and was sad to find out that they closed at 3pm since they didn't have many patrons. My wife did get to meet Stephanie and Charity who work there and were just leaving. Very nice drive home in light traffic.

Back wall is done...

2009-04-06T08:36:00.003-04:00

Drove down on Friday afternoon and discovered that one needs to get past Gainesville before 3pm to avoid traffic backup on I-66. Arrived at the cabin and was surprised that the front door was wide open. Had to check for bears, raccoons, deer, wild turkeys, bats, etc. Must not have shut the door tight when I left. A number of Wasps made it in and I only suffered one sting while working. Did some basic organizing and headed off the Depot Diner.

Got up around 8am and drove down to Farmville to pick up some items from Lowe's. Added the battens and trim work to the rear of the cabin.

Pretty much done...

Finished the drain piping from the sink to the exterior.
Will add more piping to the drain later. Put some screening over the pipe to prevent critters from coming in.

Finished adding the the few small sections of siding and did some work on the window trim. I will probably put up some temporary netting around the porch so the dogs can hang out there rather than running off and getting in the muddy creek.

Did a lot of cleaning on Sunday to make sure there was room for the entire family to spend next weekend in the cabin. Should be interesting...! Most of the lumber is out of the cabin now, so I bought a small table and 2 chairs. Chemical toilet is now operational and I am surprised how much room there actually is inside. Drove home Sunday around 4pm. Hope to get something done next weekend while the wife and dogs are here, but who knows... :-)

Mud, Mud, Mud...

2009-03-29T21:38:00.002-04:00

Drove down on Saturday morning and stopped at Lowe's to get some lumber to build a bedframe and a counter for the Kitchen. Made a quick and dirty bed-frame with 2x4s and some OSB seathing all held together with wood screws. I then made a counter to hold my sink. The parts for the sink cost less than 20 dollars and all the lumber for the counter and bed cost about 25 dollars.

It was great sleeping on this! The temperature only went down to 60 degrees so the sleeping bag was just used as a cover. The bed will eventually be moved up to the sleeping loft.

Made the sink a bit higher than normal. The sink is a 5 gallon bucket and it is pretty deep so making the counter higher will be easier on the back.

I like the lip on the sink. I will make a shelf over the sink to hold a 5 gallon tank to hold fresh water. The plumbing is just going to go through the wall and dump on the ground. I will be careful to only use biodegradable soap.

It may not look great, but it certainly is functional.

Messed up here...Forgot that the stove has a windscreen and it cuts the light coming through the window. I will either remove the the screen or extend the counter.

During the night, it rained like crazy! Sound was rather soothing, but the driveway area was covered in about an 1 and a half inches of mud. Really need to do a lot of grading since there was a large puddle right in front of the cabin and in places in the driveway. I really want to get the tractor and start grading. Thank goodness for the Land Rover. Did some general cleaning and moved some things around, but there is still too much trim lumber in the cabin. I think I will put a small picnic table where the bed is after I move it to the loft. May even come down next weekend on Friday night (depending on the weather) since it is becoming quite livable now...

Down for the Weekend...

2009-03-24T12:05:00.002-04:00

My wife was attending a dog show and only left me with one dog, so I decided to go down to the cabin. She also took the Video camera, so no pictures
this week.

Took a leisurely drive down and hit a few geocaches along the way
(http://www.Geocaching.com ). Moxie (eldest dog) came along. The whole
way down I kept telling her we were on the way to the "Cabin" and she
would give me "tippy" heads. The whole way down the drive I kept
repeating the word cabin. She has been down a few times before, but
never spent the night. Now she definitely knows the word.

I didn't get too much done, but Moxie had the time of her life. So
many smells and places to explore. Set up the new Queen sized AeroBed
and also bought a new propane 2 burner stove. I brought a single
heater attachment that fits on a 20lb propane cylinder to provide
heat, but think I need the two burner unit. I was surprised at the
temperature in the cabin compared to the outside temp when we arrived.
It was easily 20 degree cooler in the cabin. There is no insulation
yet, but it is completely sealed. I hope the temperature will stay 20
degrees cooler that the outside temperature this summer!!

In the next few months, I will be getting a solar panel kit to provide
lighting. A friend who lives on a boat in the Baltimore inner harbor
showed me a website that makes some very impressive LED light for
marine applications. Their website is http://www.doctorled.com .

Dreamed up a potential way to collect rainwater after it has been
raining for a while. I will set up a Rube Goldberg divertion system
that will automatically divert the water to a cistern AFTER it has
rained a bit. This will allow the built up dirt on the roof to be flushed off
before sending it to the cistern. Should keep the stored water a bit
cleaner.

There is so much that I need to do to finish the cabin, but have the
entire summer to get it done... Plan to go down next weekend if the
weather in nice.

Its still there....

2009-01-24T20:53:00.006-05:00

Had to get down this weekend to see how everything was doing. Very different after 3 months. I was surprised to see the angle of the sun's position in the sky. I thought it would be much lower based on the time of day and the time of the year. Without leaves, it is amazing how far one can see.

A shot looking down the driveway as I drove in.

Looking out the front of the cabin. Still can't see Willis mountain. Going to get someone to come in an cut the trees into some nice timbers to use for something.

This shot was taken at 1pm. The camera autoexposure actually removed the sun, but you can tell by the gloss on the top of the cabin that the angle to the sun was greater than the roof pitch. I'll have to look that up on-line to find the exact angle for the day.

It was Moxie's sixth birthday so I took her along. I think she must have been some type of water dog in her previous life. She just loves the water! She is in the creek at the lowest part of the land that I want to dam up and create a small pond with some type of Micro-hydro power generation.

Walking back to the west up the hill. It is amazing how far I could see without all the leaves gone.

It was 52 degrees and I wished I had come prepared to do some work. There is still a lot to finish on the cabin and then it will be time to get a tractor and start some grading and drainage work.

Long time...

2009-01-11T18:40:00.002-05:00

It's been too cold to go down to the cabin and there are always too many other things to do on the weekends.

Decided to start to work on Timber framing. Bought a nice Barr chisel and got some basic plans to build two timber frame sawhorses. Found a cheap drill guide to attach to my drill to get nice perpendicular holes when creating mortises. Using 4x6 timbers (deck posts) and had to redo some of the dimensions to get everything to work. I think the trick of doing joints quickly is all in the tools you have. Plan to get some of the trees down on the property cut and moved so I can have somebody come buy with a portable saw and make a few beams for me to use. I will probably start with something small and simple like a lean-to to store the tractor in. I will get the timbers cut and bring them home on the trailer to dry in the basement. The only problem will be the weight since the timber is oak. It is very heavy.

Hope to get down the the cabin in the next week or so to make sure everything is OK. Finally just went and bought the simple propane heater that attaches to a 20# cylinder. Won't be able to sleep with it on, but it fires up quickly and puts out quite a bit of heat. It will be better to buy the direct vent heater off season and install it this summer.

I will take some pictures of the saw horses in the next few days and post them. Actually did some Geocaching today for the first time in a long while. Better get back to some mortise cutting.

Finally stayed in the cabin...

2008-10-26T20:56:00.007-04:00

Got up early and started the kerosene heater. Warmed the place up quickly, but the smell is not very nice. I went to breakfast and left the heater on. I was gone about 45 minutes and when I returned the flame was very low. Opening a few windows made the flame come back so I can only assume that most of the oxygen had been used up. Definitely don't want to fall asleep with that heater going. (When I returned from breakfast, I saw about 9 wild turkeys hanging out near the cabin. They moved away so quikly, I didn't even have time to get a picture of them)

Made a makeshift kitchen area and also found out that I don't want to use my white gas stove inside either. I will probably get a two burner propane stove.

Still have a bunch of trim wood in the cabin, but rearranged everything to make some room.

Need to get a better bed! My back was killing me...

As I was leaving, I took a picture up the driveway. The trees are starting to turn and most of the leaves will be gone shortly. Not much done... I am feeling a bit ill with a bad sore throat...

Raining today...

2008-10-25T18:11:00.004-04:00

Came down this morning in the pouring rain and found the cabin dry inside. Spent some time foaming the cracks between the roofing and the front wall to keep the bees and any other critters out. Set up a temporary kitchen and test drove some of my old camping equipment. The heater that I purchased has been discontinued and all the people on Amazon.com are still selling it because they haven't kept up on the stock levels. The DV21 model made by Longvie has been discontinued, but I now have the name of the North American Importer and will try and get the newer model pictured below. Really want to go with a direct vent heater. I like the newer model because you can see the flame.

Brought down a old Kerosene heater and fired it up for a few minutes today. Left a pretty bad smell, but made the cabin extremely hot in about ten minutes. I will be using it tonight since it is going down to the lower 40s. Need to do some rearranging of all the trim lumber so I can come down with the wife and kids soon and have room to move around.

Weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow and depending on how I feel, I may get all the roof felted.

Bought a Heater...

2008-10-21T15:51:00.002-04:00

Bought a US Stove DV21 heater for the cabin. I wanted to go with a Liquid Propane Gas heater with a direct vent so I don't have to worry about carbon monoxide build-up or depleting the cabin of oxygen while I sleep. Should arrive sometime next week. Looks like it will be raining this weekend so I am not sure if I will be going down...

Organ Shoot...

2008-10-15T08:02:00.002-04:00

Here is a link to a video of the Fireworks shoot. It is very difficult to hear the organ on the video since the sound has turned down due to the loud reports and shell breaks.

CrackerJack's "Organ Shoot"

Enjoy! There is a very nice shell at 10:15 into the video...

Long day...

2008-10-12T00:59:00.005-04:00

Woke up this morning to a woodpecker drumming on the cabin. Got to work quickly and finally finished sheathing the roof.

Back is all ready for the metal roofong. Note the nifty rope used to pull the 4x8 sheets to the top. (also used to hang on to when running around on the slippery roof!)

My temporary quarters for the past few months. Brought it back from a campground a few months ago and just parked it thinking I would move it later. I just left it there and it has been interesting sleeping on the slant.

Left the property after packing up the pop-up and headed to the CrackerJacks Fireworks Club shoot. The club got a free organ and it was set up in the field. Note the special "pipes" in the background!

This is the third year this Pumpkin Chucking maching has been there. After running out of pumpkins...Watermelons, footballs, and pretty much anything round was shot out of this gun. When shooting an 8" pumpkin, this thing can toss it well over 1200 ft and into the woods downrange.

After some warm up shows, the organist was seated and a totally awesome show set to music (Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor") I think there were about five 16 inch shells and many wonderful 8", 10", and 12" shells. The following pictures are just a few of the many shells shot. The organist was quite a trooper sitting so close to all the action and he didn't miss a beat. It was one of the best displays I have ever seen at a CrackersJacks shoot. The pictures don't do it justice... you had to be there!!

A friend that came as a guest took the following pictures located at HERE

(Can't get this to post properly...it is sideways)

(Note: The moon shows in some of these pictures)

Finally arrived home (still towing the trailer at about 12:30 am Sunday.... It's been a very long day...

Roofing by yourself 201...

2008-10-10T19:27:00.003-04:00

Got to the property and starting putting the plywood on the front of the Cabin. I used a rope to pull the sheets up the ladder and it was a lot less strenuous. Got 5 sheets up and nailed in about 1.5 hours.

Started working on getting the back roof covered with roofing felt. Need to figure out exactly where to mount the top slat to have the correct overhang. I hope to get some of the metal roofing on tomorrow. I do have to leave early afternoon on Saturday to go to my Fireworks club shoot. I will take the camper and get it back home and in the garage so I don't have to winterize it.

The CrackerJacks club is going to have our fall shoot and it should be a good one. We got a free organ and an accomplished organist is going to sit in a feild and play while fireworks are shot. I donated 80 dollars for a 10" shell and get to sit in the VIP area. I think we have 5 16 inch shells. (The largest shell shot in the 4th of July Washington DC shows is a 12 incher!) The annual Pumpkin Busting contest will be held and real pumpkin Chucking (compressed air) will also be there. Really want to finsh up the roof, but I can't miss this shoot!

Roofing by yourself 103...

2008-10-05T20:56:00.002-04:00

Just got home at 8pm. It has been one busy week. I used so many muscles I haven't used in years and have bruises all over my body from wrestling with the plywood.

Rolling on the Felt

Completed siding

Other side and front siding completed.

Back half of the roof covered in plywood and partially felted.

Bird blocking installed.

Roofing by yourself 102...

2008-10-04T15:25:00.005-04:00

I must have climbed up and down the ladder over 100 times today! Everything is progressing well and I hope to have the cabin closed in by tomorrow.

This is the method for getting the plywood up on top of the cabin. The ladder is very stable and I can drop the sheet off at the top and it will stay in place resting on the two ladder supports. I am using 7/16 OSB, covering it with 30# felt, and attaching slats that the metal roof will screw onto.I was thinking that the plywood would be too thin on 24 in centers, but it is really quite strong and you can't beat the price of $7.84 a sheet.

With all the changes I have made to the original plans, it takes quite some time to figure out the siding layout. The original plan only had 5 windows and they were pretty small.

Actually sat in the dark and rested in the cabin and enjoyed Prairie home companion on NPR. Going to sleep early tonight an see it I can complete the roof by noon.

Roofing by yourself 101...

2008-10-03T15:03:00.003-04:00

Nailed on the gable end fly rafter. Started skinning the roof by putting some stops on the end of the rafters to orient the plywood correctly. Pulled a sheet up through the loft and got it on top of the rafters. Slid it down to the stops and nailed it.

Pulled a second sheet up and nailed it in place.

Actuallt starting to get some room inside. Eating lunch right now and will post more pictures tonight.

Its cold out here...

2008-10-02T20:03:00.004-04:00

Went down to 44 degrees last night. A bit chilly, but slept with all my clothes on and a polar fleece. Going down to 41 tonight.

Finished up all the rafters and Tyveked the last side.

Started putting the porch rafters on.

Standing under the temporary loft side. This is the only way to feel safe when working on the roof.

Stating to get some room inside now. Moved a bunch of the siding outside.

Hope to finish the porch rafter, skin the sides, and get the plywood tomorrow. Really want to get a roof on by Sunday morning.

Rain coming...

2008-10-01T15:16:00.003-04:00

Had to take a midday break due to rain. Love the fact that I found this new WiFi spot.

Tyvek tape around the windows to seal. Have to remove the two back windows and redo the mounting to seal them like this.

Tyveked the loft side and installed the windows.

Not sure if I am going to keep the temporary loft. Maybe I will make it smaller.

It ended up not raining, but it sure looked like it. Went back at 4pm and worked until dark. Got some of the siding on.

It is supposed to go down to the low 40s tonight. Hope I can stay warm.

Getting a lot done...

2008-09-30T19:20:00.005-04:00

Descritions to come later... found a BAR with WiFi!!!

Better not rain...

2008-09-27T21:03:00.003-04:00

Waiting for the rain to stop and should leave early Monday morning. Took the whole week off and hope to get a lot done. So far... the weather looks like it is going to

Beautiful weather...

2008-09-21T15:32:00.005-04:00

Got up and loaded the trailer Saturday morning and headed to the property. Stopped at Lowe's and bought wood to create a new (temporary?) loft so I can finish the roof. I also bought a numeric keypad deadbolt.

Nailed the stairs in place since I have to use the door to get into the cabin now. Still need to create some footers to support the bottom of the risers.

Installed the deadbolt and locking door knob. Pretty cool deadbolt. I can enter up to 19 different codes so I can give out a combination to various friends and delete them if necessary.

Unloaded all the lumber for the siding and also dropped off the metal roof panels that have been sitting on the driveway for the past few months.

Came home early since I need to mow the lawn.

I am taking a week (9/29-10/3) from off from work off to get the roof completed. Hope that it doesn't rain the whole time!

Rafters are up...

2008-09-08T22:35:00.011-04:00

The tarp was still on… but after removing it, a small amount of water had made it into the inside. It dried up quickly in the baking sun.

I have done everything on the cabin by myself. It started that way because nobody wanted to help, and after a while, I decided that I wanted to do it all alone. The above picture shows my method of getting the gable end rafter and ridge board mounted. I built it inside the cabin and took about 20 minutes to lift it into position. The other end was easy because I could stand on the loft.

Here is a shot of the Gable end rafter temporarily mounted in place.

Finished nailing all of the porch decking boards to prevent warping. I had only installed them with one nail at each end, but they were starting to cup with all the rain and heat.

Most of the rafters up.

Stairs temporarily installed. Need to pour some small footers to make it level and create a landing.

I finished nailing all the loft boards to the joists. The above shot is standing under the loft looking across the cabin. I am surprised at how much room there will be. (after bracing is removed)

A shot looking up at the rafters on the non-loft side of the room. Some of them are not nailed to the ridge board yet.

Installed the door.

Completely wrapped in plastic tarps awaiting the next rainstorm.

I left the property around 7pm and was completely wiped out by the time I made it home. Slept so hard Monday night, that I didn’t even dream…

Hanna passes through...

2008-09-07T05:16:00.003-04:00

Spent most of the day yesterday watching the weather reports and radar to see what was happening at the Farm. Looks like there was 4 inches of rain at the property while we got about 8 inches in NoVA. Leaving in a while to see how the tarps held up and see if I can get a better "roof" on the cabin. I am unsure if I should take more lumber down since I am afraid that there is about 3 inches of mud and will have trouble getting the trailer stuck. Better not chance it... I will take some needed parts down in the Rover and hope for the best. I took Monday off so hopefully I can get quite a bit of work down. Hope the tarps held and the cabin didn't get too wet!

Almost a roof...

2008-08-23T20:03:00.012-04:00

Finished the framing & rafters for the loft and laid the ship-lapped flooring down so I could start on working on the roof rafters.

Putting the rafters over the loft was easy. Toe nailed the front rafter and then the back rafter. Put the ridge board up and only nailed it once on each rafter.

Put the second set of rafters up and nailed in place. I did make a mistake and nailed the wrong front rafter in place. Stepped back to take a look and saw my error. I guess the mind goes when you are baking in the sun.

CORRECT rafters installed and started working on the beams for the porch

Installed some of the front siding and installed the windows temporarily to get them out of the way.

Inside view looking up to the loft.

Starting to cover the cabin.

Took about two hours of fighting the tarps in the wind to enclose the structure. Forecasting rain for the next few days.

Not feeling well...

2008-08-10T17:17:00.000-04:00

Loaded up the trailer at 7am and headed down. Stopped at Lowe's and got a door.

Started putting the Wall boards on. It was supopsed to be low humidity and pleasant temperatures, But I got very hot and dehydrated. Worked till about 7pm and then started feeling ill. Woke up with Cramps in the middle of the night a few times.

Installed the windows and hammered the Crap out of my thumb. I found out that when you are bent over and looking though the top of the lenses on Progressive lens, you may miss the nail!

Took alot longer to get everything done than I thought it would..

Decided to leave the trailer down there after unloading it. There is not much floor space right now. I think I have a couple of weekends before I need another load. Starting freeling very ill this morning, so I came home early. Can't wait till it cools off and I can get the roof on...

Plumbing the walls...

2008-07-27T16:51:00.000-04:00

Left Saturday about noon after loading 2000 pounds of lumber onto the trailer. I have about two loads left in the garage. I got to work under the tarp for most of the weekend and I stayed in the tent pictured above.

Most of the time was spend plumbing the walls using the laser level and a come-along I got from the local autoparts store. Once plumb, I installed all the 45 degree bracing.

Started framing the walls very early on Saturday and checked the fit of the windows. Pictured above is the back cabin wall. Still need some more framing, but rain was forecast and I wanted to get the tarp up before the storm hit.

Front wall window and the trailer in the backgraound with lumber that had to be unloaded.

Just before I recovered with the tarps.... It almost looks like I know what I am doing!

Left around 1pm and 20 minutes later I was driving through a major thunderstorm with Dime sized hail. May take next weekend off and take a break...

Frame is up....

2008-07-19T07:34:00.000-04:00

Got up at 4:30am on Friday and drove down to the property. Work went pretty fast but is was very hot again. Finished up around 3:30pm and headed for the Fireworks shoot. Stayed for a while and watched some of the guys manufacturing shells. Going back tonight to watch the main show.

Kit is going together well, but I need to plumb the frame before I go any further.

Hopefully this will keep any rain off the cabin till I can get back down.

Heading to Lowes to pick up some windows since I can't finish the frame till I know the rough-out dimensions.

Floor is finally done...

2008-07-14T11:13:00.000-04:00

Left around 3pm on Friday and headed for the campsite (tent only) at Bear Creek Lake. Quickly set up camp and made it to the property by 7pm to make sure everything was dry. Couple of pools of water had accumulated in pockets in the tarp. Also discovered numerous wasp nests under the deck. Ran to Dollar General and got a can of Wasp killer since I had to get under the deck to nail the floor bottom. Sprayed the whole area and jumped back in the truck. Drove back and was asleep by 10pm.

Got up early and headed out to finish nailing the floor bottom. Still some wasps around, but didn't get stung. Got the insulation installed in the section I was working on and also nailed and glued the flooring. The sun was hot and the reflective insulation only made it hotter. Spend alot of time balancing on the floor joist and really gave my ankles a workout. Finally died around 3pm and decided to go take a shower and possibly come back that evening..... (didn't happen!)

Got up early Sunday morning and packed up camp and got to the property around 7am. It was extremely hot and drank two liters of water by 9am. Had to run out and get more water and some Gatoraid. Completed all the flooring and porch boards. Felt a bit dizzy a few times. Had to sit in the air conditioning in the Rover and drink lots more fluids before I felt OK to continue. The heat index was 105F. Finished up around 3pm and started to head for home. I did not feel well on the drive home and finally got home, took a shower, and enjoyed the A/C. Think I was close to heat exhaustion. Still drinking tons of fluids and never needed to go to the bathroom.

Fireworks shoot this weekend and depending on the weather, I may go down and start the walls on Friday. This is taking alot longer than I originally thought...

Dew point 70.....

2008-07-06T10:21:00.001-04:00

I am sitting in the McDonalds down the street waiting for the rain to let up. Loaded the trailer Friday morning and headed down. The humidity was very high and I was soaked after about twenty minutes. Finished nailing in all the blocking and started cutting plywood to apply the bottom of the floor to keep the critters out of the insulation.

This project did not go as smoothly as I envisioned. I was so dehydrated and was cramping in my arms, so I called it a night and headed for the Motel. Decided to stay in Appomattax so I could take showers after playing with Insulation. Came back the Saturday morning during a drizzle which stopped about an hour later. Cut and installed two more bottom sheets and cut the others. Nailing them while laying on my back in the dirt made it pretty difficult. I glued some small slats to make sure the bottom floor had no entrances to allow bugs to get into the floor.

After a section of the bottom floor was done I installed some insulation and was suprised that I didn't itch it all! Glad I had the shower when I got home.
This morning I came back to finish the bottom floor and get the floor completed but the weather isn't cooperating. I still haven't unloaded the trailer and don't really want to do that in the rain. The current plan is to get the lumber loaded onto the cabin floor and get everything covered so I can head home.

At least I got the lumber down here and can bring more on my next visit. WIsh it would stop raining......

Floor joists installed...

2008-06-22T20:04:00.000-04:00

Left work Thursday at noon and loaded all the flooring, rim and floor joists. Stopped by Lowes in Zion Crossroads and picked up some 1/4 plywood to cover the bottom of the floor and keep critters out of insulation. About 2 miles from the property I heard this strange sound and noticed the Land rover was handling funny. Pulled off on a side street and checked the trailer tires....nothing wrong?!?... then I looked at the left rear tire. FLAT... took a while to get it changed because I was having trouble getting the lug nuts off. Interesting to change the wheel with the trailer still attached. It was probably easier because I used the jack on the trailer as well and the hydraulic jack.

Arrived at the property and and finished Cutting the posts to level the beams. The laser level worked well.

Hooked up the camper and headed to Bear Creek Lake state park and set up the camper. It was dark by the time I arrived, so went to bed immediately.

Got up the next morning and headed back to the property. Set the Rim joists and squared them up with the 90 degree angle on the Level. Starting installing the floor joists and a few were a bit out of true. Will need to shim some of them up.

Took a break at around 2pm and went back to the campground to shower. The dew point was very high and I drank huge amounts of Gatorade. Took a hot shower and enjoyed the A/C in the pop up. Returned to the property around 4pm and finished all the floor joist. Had to rethink my plan for covering the bottom of the floor. No way I could get all the plywood under the joists and keep the floor squared. Will have to resort to cutting the plywood and butting it into the beam. Weather was supposed to rain, so I covered the lumber on the trailer. Left around 8 pm and got back to the camp and passed out.

Saturday I had to get a 3/4 inch socket to bolt the beams to the footers. Took about 50 revolutions on each bolt to get it all the way down. Was sweating like crazy and had to rest after each bolt.

Finished installing all the joists and the weather band was forecasting another intense thunderstorm. Took everything off the trailer and put it on the cabin floor and covered it with a tarp.

Left as it was getting ready to storm and arrived back at the camp around 4pm and took a long nap. Storm came and dumped a bit of water but no Hail or 60mph winds. Got up and had a pizza from a local joint and went back to sleep with the sound of rain on the roof. Stopped by Sunday to drop off the trailer and it was so humid I decided to split. Got home around 3pm and have been just laying around recovering.

Next thing I will be doing is finishing the floor and insulation and setting the Corner post and beams. Hopefully this weekend, but it depends on the weather.

Yogaville...

2008-06-15T11:06:00.000-04:00

Came down on noon Friday the 13th towing the trailer and the main 20 foot beams for the cabin. It took Cliffe and I about ½ hour to get them out of the garage and onto the trailer. Took me a bit of time to get them off the trailer by myself.

Finished digging all the footer holes to accept the 12 inch tubes and got the bottoms for all of them filled by dark. Way tired and was in bed around 10pm. Got up at sun-up Saturday morning and got all the posts set and at least one 40# bag around the bottom of each post. The posts were cut a bit long and I will use a Laser level to even them all up when they are dry.

It was just too hot and humid to work after 11am, so I jumped in the truck and went shopping for some needed items and then just went for a drive. I had seen that there is a Yoga Shrine about 18 miles from the property in a place called….Duh…Yogaville. I drove up expecting that I couldn’t see the shrine from the road and they wouldn’t allow me to go unless I was on a tour. I just kept driving and finally got the the entrance to the shrine and there were no signs saying I couldn’t proceed, so I did!

After I entered the gate, the road split and I had to take the entrance road which was in the left hand side. I was figuring that maybe this was because most of the world drives on the left. The one lane road wound around with speed limits going down to 5 miles an hour and many sharp turns. I created a hill and WOW… there it was!

I then realized that the split road gave a much more dramatic first view of the shrine when taking the left route. I stopped at an overlook with a meditation bench and took a picture of the first view of the shine that someone encounters.

Drove down and parked in a lot and walked and shot a few pictures.

Symbols for all the different religions in the World

As I was returning the the car, I looked up the hill and noticed the building on top of the hill. Not sure who lives there but it must be the resident Swami. As I left, I tried to find a way to that spot, but I am pretty sure that it is off-limits. One day I would like to take the tour, but I better wait till the Wife is with me…

More info at http://www.yogaville.org/

I returned back to the Property and heard the weather report sating they were expecting a hugh thunderstorm and rain all night. Ran around and closed the trailer up and loaded everything back on the trailer as the storm hit. Grabbed a shot of the work accomplished. The Beams are not in their correct position, but at least they are off the ground. Drove home in the rain and can now spend all day Sunday working around the house! Plan to take the flooring joists down the next time I go down.

Pouring Piers...

2008-06-02T07:54:00.000-04:00

The footers passed inspection... so off to do some work. Took Friday off and went and picked up the new trailer. On the way down to the property, I also purchased a 5500 Watt generator at Tractor Supply. Stopped at Lowes and picked up some pressure treated 6x6s and some concrete. Got there about 1pm and set up the trailer and got the genrator going. Started on the first pull.

Started finishing the holes to accept the 12" tubes and kept taking breaks every 20 minutes or so in the Air Conditioned Trailer. The A/C didn't really get the camper that cold because it was in the direct sun, but it removed the humidity and it felt good. Drank massive amounts of Gatoraid, but still ended up getting cramps in the middle of the night.

Footer is 6 inches thick starting at 24" below the grade. Inserted a 24" by 12" diameter quicktube and placed the 6x6 post on the footer. Put two big spikes into the footer pour and set the post after it dried. Filled the tube with cement. The pier extends 6" above grade and the post extends another 6" on the shortest post. Mounted the other posts with about 6" of "spare" above the estimated level line. After I get all the posts in, I will level using a self leveling laser to make sure the posts are all level.

Completed the four corner posts and one more footer before I died from exhaustion. Sleep well that night and woke up after a front came through and was amazed at how clear the night sky looked. Have to have a telescope party some day.

Finished digging...

2008-05-26T22:30:00.000-04:00

Need to bring the mower down.

Very hot today. Finished digging the pier footer holes today. Fortunately I brought a cheap canopy to get a bit of shade. I will call the building inspector tomorrow to inspect the depth of the holes and hopefully I can start making the piers next weekend if the weather is good.

I pass this processing plant every time I go down to the property. The pictures don't do it justice. There are thousands of logs waiting to be chipped. I think they use this for OSB type plywood sheets.

The chipper sends the chips out to the rail cars via conveyor.

Bought the Trailer...

2008-05-24T23:40:00.000-04:00

Drove all over the place and finally found a trailer that met my needs. Its a 7000 lb Trailer, 6' 4" x 16' with dual axles and electric brake. Would have liked to get the mesh all around, but I think this one will do.

Loaded Garage...

2008-05-19T08:32:00.000-04:00

After loading the kit into the Garage

Cabin arrived...

2008-05-15T13:31:00.000-04:00

Trucking firm made much better time than he thought and wondered if he could deliver early. Came home from work and he was waiting.

CW (owner/driver) was kind enought to help unload. My roomate Cliffe, and my wife helped as we brought 10,000 lbs off the trailer and stacked it in the drive. Another friend Marty showed up after work and was not dressed to do much heavy stuff, but helped clean the garage to get ready to restack it.

We started at 5pm and CW was able to drive away around 7pm. It took anouther two hours to restack in the garage and try to get the parts in some kind of order to remove as I build it. I can't believe how tired we were after finishing.

Mud, Mud, Mud....

2008-05-10T22:11:00.000-04:00

It's rained for the past week or so and my wife and I came down to the property to check out the damage. It was not as bad as I thought it was going to be, but we did have lots of trouble getting the MiniVan back up the hill.

I was going to finish the post holes, but they were full of water. As I bailed one out, it just kept filling from all the water in the soil. I guess I will take them down to at least 24 inches and make the bottom of the hole much wider than the 8" diameter concrete post.

Kristina brought down alot of the dog kennel runs she has been collecting over the past few years. All the dogs came and they had the time of their life! Here are a few pictures.

The picture above is the eastern end of the property and where the house will eventually be built. It is relatively flat and the septic field will be down the hill a bit. Everything looks so different with all the leaves on the trees.

This is a picture walking back to the cabin site. You can see the cleared area and the stading water in the bottom of the frame. I really need to get the tractor soon so I can do some grading. All the water from the property seems to find the driveway and run down the hill. Stopped on the way home and looked at the Kubota Tractor. Might have to get the B26 to tackle all the things that need to be done.

Kristina wanted me to get a picture of Opal so her breeder can see how pretty and refined she is.... (Brandi...she doesn't always look like this)

The cabin is coming on Thursday......hope it doesn't rain as forecast.

Cabin is shipping soon...

2008-05-02T10:12:00.000-04:00

Haven't had much cooperation with the weather for the past few weekends and it looks bad for this weekend too. The cabin has been paid for and will be arriving at my house on the morning of the May 15th. I am hiring a few people to help me unload it. There are two skids weighing 5000 lbs each and three 6"x6"x20' timbers. I will be the first delivery and there are approximately 40,000 lbs on the 48' trailer... With that much weight, there is no way it is going to back up into my driveway and ruin a recent paving job. Its only 75 feet from the road to the garage and we should be able to unload it in about an hour.

Depending on the weather, I may run down and finish the footer holes and see if I can get them inspected. Looks like it may be time to buy a trailer....

Glad I came home...

2008-04-20T11:48:00.000-04:00

Drove down yesterday to deliver the pop-up trailer. Slow traffic and it took a bit longer to get there. All the trees are down and I actually ran into the owner of Tyson's Excavating who was there picking up the dozer. They did an amazing job for a reasonable price. I highly recommend them! There was apparently a local timber fire and he was getting the dozer to see if they needed it to create a firebreak.

The picture below shows the main gate entrance to the property. I was thinking about staying the night, but they were expecting lots of rain and even landrovers have trouble going uphill in 10 inches of mud. Glad I came home.

Now I can come down and spend the night in comfort.

Looking at timber arches to move some of this around.... It can wait a while.

This is a shot of the timber fire about 10 miles away. I overheard someone at lunch saying that over 10 fire stations had responded.

Excavation day....

2008-04-16T15:04:00.000-04:00

Received a call today from the excavation company letting me know he was going to start today. He has been holding off because it kept raining. Went to work to complete a project I was working on and got out of there by 10:30am. Packed up enough stuff to sleep in the car and drove down. Didn't make it here (I am posting from the local McDonald's Wi-Fi) till about 2:45pm. Pulled down the drive and saw the dozer. Looks like he has gone home for the day and will finish tomorrow as he stated this morning. One half of the trees are down and the sun is beating down. I have my work cut out for me! I can't believe how much timber is there. There are many 2 foot diameter Oaks with at least 60 foot of straight trunk. I was also surprised at the size of the root balls. Not much holding those big trees up. May have to get the band saw sooner than I expected. Here are a few pictures of the site now. Hope to log on tomorrow and be here when he is knocking them down.

Lots of trees to cut up.

I can get a nice timber out of that one.

Excavation soon...

2008-03-31T20:40:00.000-04:00

Received a call this evening and made a deal with an excavation company to have them come in, knock down about 3/4 of a acre of trees around the cabin site and push everything about 50 feet away from the foundation. The gentleman was quite concerned that it was really going to look like a mess and was I really sure that is what I wanted to do. I explained that I understood and we struck a deal at $1400. He will call me a few days before and I hope to go down and record the event. No deposit required...They certainly do things differently down there. It is currently raining and he wants to wait for a few dry days so he doesn't tear the ground up too bad.

On another note, I have been looking at post and beam timber frame homes for the main house (8 years away). I really like this one!!! Probably costs a fortune...

This rendering is for a log home, but they also make it with a smooth timber frame with almost any type of exterior.

The floor plan looks great too.....

I would probably make a small basement under part of the house for heating system and storage. Now if I could just win the lottery....

It’s a “Shed”….!!!

2008-03-24T13:18:00.000-04:00

When I applied for the building permit, I stated that I wanted to build a cabin…. Unfortunately, a cabin is something that the county considered a residence. They would not approve a building permit unless it had a septic field and a well. I finally spoke to someone that said I was building a storage shed… after the third time he said this, I finally caught on… :-)

Permit is approved and I finally got an email from the excavating company. They had been out of town for the week before Easter. They are looking at the area I want cleared by this weekend and hopefully then can get the trees knocked down soon.

I also got the new address. A call to the post office got someone to come out with their GPS (Trimble) and get the coordinates for the center of the driveway and where the “Shed” will be built. He entered the coordinates into a computer program and the address was assigned. Apparently, the address is based on how many feet from a major intersection the driveway is located. My number is quite different from the houses across the street… probably caused by the fact they were assigned 30 years ago. I was told that this will help locate my house in the event of a 911 call.

Footers had filled in a bit, but I will re-dig them after the trees are knocked down. Can’t wait to call and get the “shed” kit on the way. Hopefully in the next few months.

Two days this week...

2008-03-15T21:33:00.000-04:00

Went down on friday to get a building permit and was missing the original VDOT driveway permit. Had to stop by their shop and get another original. Went to the building permit department, but the person I needed to see was on Vacation. Stpped by the Health Department to see if they had to give me a letter saying I was not going to have a septic field or a well at the persent time. Think I have everything I need and will mail the information after a call on Monday.

I have decided to hire someone to knock the trees around the building site. Gas is costing about $65 to go down and back to the property. It will take me a few months of going down every weekend to get the site ready and will be cheaper to get a dozer to just come in and knock the trees down. It will also make it easier to grade the property since there won't be stumps. I marked a number of trees and have contacted someone to give me an estimate. Hopefully they can come by in the next few days. Thinking it is an area of about 1 full acre. The picture below shows the trees that are marked (red) for knock-down.

Decided to stay in the area rather than drive home since there is a Central Va Gold Propecting club meeting on Saturday. They are looking at starting a new East Coast Club since the other major club is primarily for people on the West coast. I really hope to get to mining for some gold on the property. Perhaps I will find some when I dig the pond.

Came back the next morning and starting digging holes for the footers. Didn't make the Gold club meeting, but got alot done. The picture below is of the pier holes. The slope of the site will mean that the front right corner will have the deck at about 45 inches high. That's a bit higher than I want, but I do want airflow and the cabin has to be at least 12 inches above the ground. Also started looking at where I want the windows to be positioned.

2008-03-15T21:25:00.000-04:00

The Log Pile is growing...

2008-03-10T08:22:00.000-04:00

Went down for the day on Sunday and felled a few trees. Starting to get to the the big ones and have to cut some others to get space for the ones I need to cut to fall. Saw worked very well and the log pile is starting to grow. It had rained a lot yesterday, but the ground is so porous that there was no mud in the building site. Thinking about camping with the pop up trailer in a few weeks since my wife will be at a dog show... depends on the weather forecast.

Did manage to grab a few local caches as well.

Beautiful day...

2008-03-02T21:50:00.000-05:00

This is where the cabin is going to sit. The wife and "kids" came down for the day and they had the time of their life! They slept the whole way home and are wiped out.

The dogs just love the water! This is a shot of the main creek as it comes out from under the driveway.

Disappointing weekend...

2008-02-24T18:48:00.000-05:00

Decided to go down on Saturday because it was supposed to be in the mid fifties....Never got above 42 degrees. Had problems with the chainsaw. I apparently set it down on a small sapling shoot and got it tangled into the chain drive. Ending up taking the saw apart and cleaning (without anything but some napkins) and reassembling. It was cold and I don't have that much experience with the saw at those temperatures...ended up flooding it several times. Gave up after a while and concentrated on lopping small saplings coming up in the driveway and clearing a bit more of the driveway entrance back. I did get a log bucking device from Tractor Supply that was a great deal.

Looked at making a small fenced in area for the dogs...Talking with Kristina and I will make a 120 by 120 ft area that can be used as an agility ring. We will also take two of the outdoor kennels and attach it to the ring. Shouldn't be that much to fence it in and also gives me more of a reason to get the tractor!!

Picture below is the additional clearing of the driveway right off the road

Future Plans

2008-02-22T11:32:00.001-05:00

I found a very efficient steam engine that I am thinking about using to generate power to charge batteries. I think I will wait until someone produces a kit of a 3 cylinder unit under license from the inventor. The unit can be see here:

Green Steam Engine

I will hook this to some kind of Generator or a homebuilt Axial Flux unit to charge batteries along with some solar panels.

I have decided that I will probably get a tractor to do some grading and site prep work and also use this to dig a pond. The driveway has a number of places where small "Branches" (creeks...) cut across the driveway to the back of the property. The pond will be constructed by creating a berm for the driveway and also using the backhoe to dig out the area in front of the berm. I have decided that I will probably get the Kubota BX-24 pictured below. Someone has already made an Auger that will fit the sub-compact tractor's 3 point hitch. Cost will be around $16K.

It may be small, but it is probably all I need for plowing the driveway, installing posts, basic grading, adding some culverts to the driveway and making the pond. It will also be handy in moving "rounds" from the clearing work that I will be doing.

I have decided on a wood splitter, and altough a bit pricy, it seems to have the durability and ease of use I am looking for.... Timberwolf seems to be the one. I will probably not get this for another year or so.

Hope to go down this weekend and get some more area cleared for the cabin.

Driveway Culvert installed and Started clearing site

2008-02-19T10:54:00.000-05:00

February 16, 2008 - Went down today to checkout the driveway culvert which was installed last week. Decided where the cabin is going and started clearing the area. Chainsaw worked well and got quite a bit done in 4 hours.

Below is where the cabin will be built... Still have a few trees to cut down.

Met with Forrester

2008-02-19T10:52:00.001-05:00

February 7, 2008 - Drove down today and got into town around 11 am. Stopped by Southern States and purchased 24Ft 12"diameter corrugated metal culvert pipe which they will deliver for 20 bucks. Plenty of time before I met with the Forester so I spent time cutting all the 1/2 to 1 inch diameter saplings that had grown over the past year. Used a lopper and it worked fine other than alot of bending over...

Couldn't get the lock open and went to the hardware store and got some WD-40 and graphite to see if I could get it open... No luck. Went back and found bolt cutters for 21 bucks. Worked like a charm. Installed a new chain and lock and sprayed it with graphite.

Met with Justin and explained what I was planning to do. He said that there should be no problem and we walked around the property for a while. He recommended leaving trees around where I am considering a pond... keeps it shaded and minimizes algae growth. He did saw it would be better to wait till the summer before getting a timber contract so the land would be drier.

Located where I want to site the Cabin. It will be about 75 feet in from the property lines in the northwest corner of the property. Going to get a good chain saw and cut some trees down where the cabin will be.

Also trimmed the area on the easement where the driveway will be located. I will probably have to replace the small 10 foot Driveway gate for future access of trucks onto the property. I will give VDOT a call and see when they expect the driveway connnection to be completed...

My back is killing me!

Some Pictures

2008-02-19T10:50:00.000-05:00

Property Pictures (Driveway)

Here is a picture of me walking down the driveway easement about 200 feet off the road. This will have to be regraded because it is too steep and actually goes a bit off the easement onto someone elses property. A ditch will have to be installed to the right to handle runoff. A culvert will also have to be installed to get the water under the driveway. This picture was taken a few years ago and it is very overgrown at present.

The picture below is facing west near where the House will be located. At the bottom of the hill is where the creek goes under the drive (and sometimes over it!). Hopefully, I will be able to regrade it to dam up a small pond before going under the driveway.

Bought a cabin

2008-02-19T10:48:00.001-05:00

February 2, 2008 - Bought the cabin and received the plans. The cabin will be delivered later.

Going to make a pier type foundation on 8" piers. Nine holes about 2 feet deep. I am going to make aluminum termite barriers so as not to put any chemicals down on the property and keep it "organic" The door on the cabin is basically a cheap 2 inch thick rough pine door with a simple thumb latch. Pricing a door today for about $150 and will install that as well as another window.

No septic...I can get a Thetford portable toilet similar to the one in my pop-up camper for about $160. Everything goes into a sealed tank that can be removed and dumped.

Found a Solar powered battery charger that can hook up to a Xantex power 1500 watt system that includes an inverter and two 125V 60 Hz outlets. Solar power panels are 60 watts and the entire system is less $600. It also comes with a cigarette lighter charger and a regular 125 volt charger. Battery and inverter come with a handle and wheels for portability.

Going to try and make it down this week and buy two 12" corrugated pipes and a connector for the driveway connection (VDOT to install). Also hope to get the Forrester to meet me there to discuss clearing about 5 acres of land.

Hope to have the cabin built in the next 4 months!!

Marked location of the Driveway

2008-02-19T10:46:00.000-05:00

January 26, 2008 - Stopped by the property and found the Property corner for the driveway easement. Looked at the local Building supply and they didn't have any 12" pipe. Need to get the pipe delivered...placed the markers. approximately 18 Ft from the corner of the access.

Found the property corner iron pipe in two minutes using my new MineLab Eureka Gold detecter. Also stopped by Luvin' Gold Store and chattered with Ben and Kathy... great people! Discussed the property location and they said I should definatly look thru and dirt when digging a pond at the driveway location.

Ordering the Jamaican Cottage Vermonter in the next few days to take advantage of a sale they are having. Half down now, balance and freight before shipping.

Also contacted the local Forestry guy that handles east of Rt 15. Hope to make an appointment to do a cruise and see what he thinks of my current plan for the property.

Connecting the Driveway

2008-02-19T10:44:00.000-05:00

January 12, 2008 - Went down to the property last week and got a few things done. Contacted VDOT and had a driveway connection approved and found out that all I have to do is drop a 12" diameter metal pipe and they will do the rest. I am going to get a 24 ft pipe to allow plenty of room for anyone entering or leaving the property. I will have to remove some trees as the driveway and the old access are not 100% in the easement. Pipe will cost $11 a foot, and I will have to transport it about a mile to the site. Started a zoning permit and got alot of the paperwork required to get a building permit. I have posted a picture of the cabin I would like to build so I can go down and spend weekends on the site to get some work done....

The plan

2008-02-19T10:37:00.000-05:00

December 26, 2007 - My wife and I purchased about 25 acres of land about 40 miles south of Charlottesville, Va a few years ago with the plan to build a house and retire about 10 years from now. The property is covered in timber and this blog is designed to document the process of building a new home in rural Virginia. I try and stop by the property at least three times a year to make sure the the timber has not been stolen and check the access to the property. This past weekend, I went out with my nephew and remarked the Property lines in the pouring rain. In reviewing the zoning for building a new house in the county, I need to contact VDOT and get a permit for a driveway connection to Rt 15. AT this time I think I will get the new property address. Currently looking to get the permits and then call a forester to walk the property and give me an estimate on what 5 acres of timber is worth. Need to have the timber cleared for the pasture and about 1 acres for the homesite/septic field. I will also need to get a permit for the Septic field and water well. When I purchased the property, there were 2 perc tests done so that should not be a problem. I have marked all the property corners using my GPS and have loaded them in to Google Earth with approximate location of the Homesite and pasture.

We have decided on a plan for the house and want to modify the plans to include a small basement for locating the Heating unit, water heater, and other mechanical items. I will post links in the next few weeks.

The Beginning....

2008-02-17T10:34:00.000-05:00

A few years ago my wife and I purchased some land in rural Virginia for a place to retire and breed Australian Shepherds. I have always been interested in building my own home and I am going to try to make it "self sustaining" and not rely on outside services like electricity, water, and other utilities. It may not be possible to completely live "off-grid" but I want to try...

I have been documenting my ideas and progress on another site, but figured it was time to allow friends to get to this site and see what I have been up to. The following post will show what I have been up to over the past few months.