OFF GRID One Whole Year

I officially moved out here and became an off gridder on Oct 25 2009. I'm still living in the 192 square foot shack, and still loving it. I have yet to have a moment where I even came close to having any regrets. I am writing this post on Oct 23, but probably won't put it on until the 25th. It is pretty yucky outside, so just thought it would be a good time to build a new post.

As you might have noticed in the above picture, is the honda generator. I pulled it out yesterday, to power my shack for the first time since mid February. Earlier on this summer there were a couple times that I was tempted to use it because of bad weather, but I never did have to. I chose to conserve energy instead. I used it again today. The last few days have been pretty gloomy looking out there. The sun hardly pokes through the overcast and snowy sky. I always knew there would be days like this, and it dos'nt bother me a bit. Last winter I burned approximately $80.00 worth of gas using the generator. Life is good. Off gridding is good too, I can't see myself switching over again anytime soon.

A little tour of the shack? Ok. That blue jug is my water system. I have four of those that I try to keep filled. They actually last quite a long time usually.

The big blue container. Yip, you guessed it, it's my bath tub. It dos'nt get used very often, because I usually shower at the truck fuel supply places in Grande Prairie when I go to town for work or whatever. Quite a few times this summer I have also used the shower in my RV, but it is now winterized for the winter. So the old blue tub usually rests, but it is good to know it is there when it is needed. I have used it, and I usually use about 1/2 of one those blue jugs of water when I do, and when I am done, I always feel just as clean and new as if just came out of the shower. But in all honesty, I am really looking forward to having my first shower in the new cabin sometime soon. Hopefully.

I'm good at some things, but obviously house keeping is'nt one of them.

The furnace. This is quite a simple device and it dos'nt require a fan to operate. That is one thing that caught my eye when I bought this shack. Most of the furnaces in these shacks now days require power to operate. Kinda like the furnace in my RV. I will have a heater like this in the basement of my house, but it will be larger and newer. It will be equipped with a fan, but it won't need to be on to operate. That will be my heat source when I am not home. Hopefully it all works out ok. I'll use the wood stove when I am there.

The dog bed, which is just a blanket on the floor. At times, in the colder weather she sleeps on the top bunk with me, at the foot of the bed. She usually gets up there herself. I have an end table on top of a coffee table that she use like stairs so she can go up and down as she pleases.

All summer I used the fridge in the RV. It worked real well for me.

It has a seperate freezer and fridge compartments, just like a normal fridge, only on a smaller scale. I ran the fridge on propane. It is just about time to start using the natural fridge again though. Soon I will be able to freeze anything outside in the shed and the floor under one of the beds will be plenty cool enough to keep most foods cold. I can't really justify burning propane all winter to keep things cold. I'll leave it going for a little while yet. I am still trying to decide on what I am going to do for a fridge in the cabin. DC or propane. No hurry on that one anyway, as I always have the RV or natural resources.

Self explanatory. Sure can't wait till the cabin is done. lol.

One of the many benefits of living out of town. Well acutally the people in the city seem to get alot of this at times too. lol. I snapped this picture this morning(Oct 23) from the window in my shack.


Disclaimer--IMPORTANT


This is a personal blog, mainly for my own use. I am building a house with my own two hands, but I am learning alot of things as I go. I do not claim to know what I am doing, or if anything I do is even close to being done correctly or safely. So please, if you are planning on using any of my ideas or methods for your own use, please get professional advice before actually following through with your actions. I will not be held responsible for any injuries or damages of any kind caused by information or comments from this blog.

North and South Soffits.

Last weekend, I managed to get the soffits on the North and South sides of the house and we fianlly got it all wrapped also. Mom was out here giving me a hand with things, she was a big help and it was reassuring to have someone around while climbing the ladder and working under the overhang. Somebody did'nt leave the ground very level for a ladder to sit on properly. That upper part is now all closed in, and just in time too.

I just did'nt want to be climbing around on the ladder in the snow and mud. The old cabin is kinda camoflauged now. I guess it is just about that time of the year again. The soffits on the East and West gable ends and the siding are going to wait until next summer. I jOust wanted the house to be sealed for now. I have a couple windows and doors to go in, and then I will concentrate on some wiring and plumbing I guess. That is, when the job allows for it.


Disclaimer--IMPORTANT


This is a personal blog, mainly for my own use. I am building a house with my own two hands, but I am learning alot of things as I go. I do not claim to know what I am doing, or if anything I do is even close to being done correctly or safely. So please, if you are planning on using any of my ideas or methods for your own use, please get professional advice before actually following through with your actions. I will not be held responsible for any injuries or damages of any kind caused by information or comments from this blog.

Mid October Ramblings.

Heading to work one morning. I just had to snap a shot of the sky.

Big Blue. I bought this truck a few years ago at an auction in Edmonton. I got it home to find it was getting antifreeze in the engine oil. Turned out it was the O rings around the piston liners were rotten. I educated myself and rebuilt this 425 cat engine. I have over $10,000.00 worth of engine parts in there. Some of the parts include a new head, liners, pistons, rods, bottom end bearings, injectors, oil pump, starter and more. At first I had intentions of changing just what was absoulutely neccesary, but once I had it all opened, and realized just how much work it was, I thought I may as well do it, and get it done. I had intentions of using this truck to haul my backhoe and maybe haul some dirt and gravel, or what ever. I got a good education about how much it costs to licence and keep this baby in service, and I decided that a one ton dually would be more feasible for me at this time. Some day the old Volvo might just come in handy though. If I can get my money out of it, I may sell it, but otherwise, I might put it to work someday. I like the old mechanical (no computer) 425 cat engines. If something does go wrong, I can usually have some kind of idea what the cause would be. Anyway, I had this truck sitting at my brothers place for quite awhile now, and my sister in law has been kinda reminding to get it the heck off their place for a long, long time now. So finally I brought er home. lol. She runs like a charm.

I had a bit of a work place mishap a little while ago. I was preparing to take the radiator out of the truck I drive at work. I was in the process of removing one of the big long springs that holds the hood of the truck from dropping and hitting the end of the stop cables. After removing the snap lock(or whatever it is called), I merely touched that spring when it let go and the hook pierced my hand. I had to hold the spring with one hand and slide my brand new bad hand off the spring. It was quite a site. lol. The spring entered my hand kinda at the back between the index finger and thumb.

And it came out here on the palm way down below the middle finger. I lost a little time this day, going to hospital and all, but I charged for the whole day. lol. The next days to follow was regular business as usual. It's pretty good now, although I am still wearing a couple bandades when I'm working and building.

I decided that I needed to take some time off from work and get the top part of my house closed off before all the yucky weather starts. So I took Friday, Saturday and Sunday off. I might even go for Monday too. We have still been very busy lately. I sure hav'nt been getting alot done on the house, but oh well. The shack is warm, and thats the main thing I guess. All I'm really concerned about is the North and South soffits for now, just so that I can eventually insulate sometime this winter and not worry about birds and critters nesting somewhere up there. Friday was mostly picking up supplies and doing some business in town. I got the South side soffits done today. The completed picture was pretty dark so I threw this unfinished pic on instead.

Alot of the time, if the yucky weather hits in the fall, things may slow down at work until freeze up. Just a little wishful thinking. I did'nt think I would ever be looking for shitty weather, but I guess I was wrong.