Pretty much done here for 2024, water is frozen, batteries are dead and two sleeping bags and a pile of comforters aren’t cutting it anymore. Before I pack up and lock down lets review…..
There wasn’t much snow last winter so I was able to get back on the property in early April. The road work the neighbors did last week and their full time (give or take) residency made for a clear road all the way into my property a month earlier than I normally can. Not that the road was safe to drive all the time. But I timed my drives so that I was only on it when the mud was solid from the overnight freezing. The cabin was still standing and mostly ready for another productive summer.
My first stress point when I got back was that my building permit was due to expire since I was coming dangerously close to the minimal one inspection per year deadline. An inspector told me that it’s not really a big deal. Just a few bucks. But reading through the permit fine print, missing an inspection can lead to having to resubmit the application under any new code requirements that went into effect since the original approval. With all the engineering and county fees that would entail.
The next inspection is the wind shear inspection. This is to make sure that the cabin won’t twist and fall when a good breeze blows. This is accomplished by nailing the plywood to the frame with a very explicit minimal use of nails. Minimal is a misnomer because code say it needs a LOT of nails and I probably doubled it because I wanted to be double sure. Seeing as the cabin was still standing after a wet season, I was pretty sure that I had enough nails. Nails that I covered with rolls and rolls of expensive wind and water proof paper to protect the wood from a few months of rain and snow last fall. Expensive rolls of wind and water proof paper that needed to be pulled down for the inspector to see the nails. Then I needed to buy more rolls of expensive wind and water proof paper after the inspector gave it a cursory look and said ok. That was a couple weeks of hanging from a ladder by one hand. A roll of expensive wind and water proof paper in the other and a stapler in the other. Yep, that hand math is right. Not a fun couple of weeks.
Passing the inspection took a load off and having the cabin wrapped in expensive rolls of wind and water proof paper again meant I could move ahead with getting it weather proof by installing the windows and siding. I ordered the windows a year ago and they were sitting in the cellar waiting to get broken by a long pole or stick. They need to get installed soon or I would be dealing with glass shards for years. I knew it was going to be slow going so thought I would get the siding ordered to not waist time. From the metal panels I have installed so far on various camp projects, I knew that all the siding I needed would fit on my trailer and be easier to work with as long as there wasn’t any wind. There is always wind. I also had to commit to a color forever. The sheets would be cut to fit exactly around windows and doors. Exact isn’t really a theme for the cabin so a lot of downsides to that effort. I still went to the local lumberyard with cabin measurements and hoped for the best. Local is usually more expensive but I was willing to pay a little more in case I was going to be able to save money on delivery.
The estimator took the plans with a promise to have the estimate ready in a few days. Maybe the mountain town calendar is different but after 3 weeks of almost daily visits, I still had no nothing but a promise of a few more days. Too busy with bigger projects was the excuse. I ultimately went to the next town over and got the estimate in two days. An estimate that was way more expensive than I was willing to move ahead with. But at least I had a starting place. The estimator came back a couple hours later with a much cheaper estimate for cement board siding. Free delivery at the same price as Home Depot. One hour later, the order was submitted and two days later there was a pile of cement siding and trim sitting on the property. A month wasted but everything I needed was on site.
I was able to get a couple of windows in using the ladders on hand. Just the little ones. There was too much gravity for the heavy windows to do by myself on a ladder. I broke down and rented a lift to help. It helped tons. I also had a friend who rock climbs come up and help with the windows and siding. He is a much harder worker than I am so we got all the windows in and a good chunk of the windows in over a couple of weekends. Without the help, I would probably still be up there. While I had the lift, I got all the trim boards in, gutters attached and the whole cabin painted. As it was, I had the lift for 6 weeks and was using it until the very last minute.
I am not sure about the color. Even with the windows wide open, the bright afternoon sun baking the black cement boards and black roof left the 2nd floor at over 100 degrees well into most August evenings. I am counting on a good thick insulation solution. A problem for another year.
In the meantime, I wanted to get another inspection in so that I wouldn’t have to scramble next spring. I learned that I needed get the electrical plumbing and to my surprise the gas lines inspected at the same tome so before they would inspect the framing. The framing needs to be approved before I can put in the much needed insulation. And there is a whole other department that inspects the electrical. Overly complicated for a little DIY Off-grid cabin but there is no choice.
I chose to get the plumbing inspected next. How hard can it be? Pretty hard it turns out. The rules around plumbing coming in and going out take up a big part of the code book. The rules for pipe sizes. slopes and types are all more convoluted than some of my blog posts. And then there are the inspection test requirements to prove there are no leaks. I had to climb up on the roof and fill the vent pipes with water as well as figure out how to keep the water in the pipes and not flow into the septic tank. I had to cut the sewer pipe and plug it with a balloon. Climb on the roof with a hose. Fill the pipe, find a leak or 4, empty the pipes, plug the leaks and start over. All this on the day before the inspector was to come. When he did come. He just checked that the pipes were full of water and took my word for it that when he asked me if there were any leaks. Obviously I passed so I am good until next October.
I had to redo all the racks for my solar panels because they were pretty rickety and would have gone sailing with the first good wind. That took a few days of work to rebuild them and a few days to get the panels attached. Then came wiring them up. That was a hand dug 1 foot deep trench from the racks to the cabin, yanking too thick wire through too thin conduit and drilling a much procrastinated hole through the cellar wall.
I spent a couple weeks pulling wire and connecting outlets and lights to the circuit box. I sprung for a whole new solar system for the cabin; Batteries, Panels and a nice big inverter. I connected everything up and was able to get lights working in the cabin. No pops, sparks or smoke so that was a win. But the batteries weren’t charging. After a week of troubleshooting via email and phone call, the manufacturer has concluded that I have a bad inverter that is preventing it from taking power from the solar panels. I had to pull it out and lug it a ¼ mile to the car and get it shipped back. I don’t know what they are going to do but I hope they do it soon so it doesn’t sit somewhere while I am gone for the winter.
I poured a concrete floor in the cellar. It only took a day of lifting, mixing and pouring about 50 bags of concrete but it took a week to stand up straight afterwards. I still have half the cellar to go but a few months break between pours is needed.
I did have my first overnight cabin guests this summer. City folk too. I think the hike to the outhouse in the middle of the night was less than ideal but they lived to tell the tale. So that’s a good sign.
Those are the highlights of 2024. Limited progress but progress just the same.
Time to start thinking about 2025. So far it is not looking good. I have to dim the dashboard lights on my old Explorer because the flashing warning lights make it look like a rolling disco party when I drive at night. I took it in to the mechanic and he said my brakes are about shot and its not worth getting new ones. They will outlast your engine. I need a new to me truck soon.
There is a special tax scheme here where if you keep your land natural but managed for fire, Property taxes are hugely discounted. If you do anything residential, you owe 10 years of back taxes on each acre you build on at the current value. A value that they just lifted because of the cabin that’s not even done. Of course they didn’t value it at the debris field that it has been for the last 9 years. So that’s going to hurt.
But one foot in front of the other until it’s done. But a more pressing matter is my winter sojourn. I have no idea at this point but I doubt flip flops and umbrella drinks will be involved.
Happy New Year
I also updated the wildlife timelapse video. It did quiet down once hunting season started though.
