Plumbing Boo Boo

I know that I sometimes do things kinda backwards. When things were at this point in the game(above photo) I should have had a plumbing permit and I should have called Mr Permit man for a plumbing inspection. Then he would have told me that I need a vent line on my 2" line (smaller far left line) in between the trap and where it connect to the 3" line. Or that I should have left the trap off the 2" completely. It could have been put on above the floor. But instead of getting the inspection, I was eager to get things done and never really thought about it until the foundation was poured and I had the plumbing all covered with gravel. Then I went in, bought a permit, and told them I was ready for an inspection. He inspected it, but could'nt really tell what was going on with things. So I just kept on building, which was'nt the correct way to go about things, but I was'nt real concerned because it was a plumber who drew a picture for me to follow. He probably did'nt draw a trap on that 2 inch though.

Once I got to this point, (above photo) I start thinking that I would like to be certain that things are going to be good, before I completely close things up. I guess I could still change things if I absolutely had to, although it would be a major pain in the ass. Anyway, so I phoned my permit guy and started asking a bunch of questions. I thought that maybe I should just send him some pictures of the in ground plumbing, I should have done that earlier. So I did. So the 2 inch line that was meant for my laundry drain is'nt going to work for me, but it is not a major thing. I can tie in a new laundry line above ground and hook into the 4 inch main stack. Everything else is good I guess. The morel of the story is: always get things inspected when you are supposed to. lol. It could have been something that needed to be dug up and changed, but thankfully it was'nt. Well I can sleep again anyway. Floor drain construction (above).

The floor drain. All these little things in the floor do take some time. A concrete floor would have been alot quicker to do, but thats ok. I have nothing but time, sometimes.

This last week was actually pretty busy at work. I did'nt have to work today, but it was a pretty lazy day. That seems to happen to me after going to work, it takes awhile to get back into things. Today was spent paying bills and getting caught up on all kinds of paper work trying to keep track of my house building expenses and all.

Playing with the Basement Floor Again

The main floor is all on, glued and nailed. At first I started nailing it with ordinary 2.5 inch nails, but then got clued in to use ring shank nails or screws. Live and learn. Three walls are all sheeted and nailed, the fourth wall is going to remain open for a little bit longer for access.

Well I can kinda see the end in sight, of the foundation construction anyway. I still have a bunch of smaller little things to take care of before the inspection. I don't even want to say how long, because I am always wrong on that one anyway.

It is kinda neat to be at a stage where I can turn on some heat and be out of the snow and stuff while building. Just about half of the basement floor is insulated and ready to be permanantly screwed down. But I do have some little things to work around and seal off where the plumbing comes through, and the floor drain and at the sump. I guess I might have to build some stairs pretty quick once the floor is all done also. And then there are other little items that need done. It seems those little things takes up a fair bit of my time. To much thinking I guess.

There are bunch of other things I'm wondering about also. I guess I'll just get mr permit man out here, and he can tell me what else needs to be done I guess. So far the permit people I have been dealing with have been quite helpful and good to get along with.

It is quite unbelieveable to me that January is almost over. Wow how time has been flying. Life is really good out here. I could'nt even imagine living in town again. The solar energy situation is treating me pretty well, although I do fire the generator up occasionally, but I try to keep it to a minimum. It has been snowy and clouded over the last couple of days, so there will always be times where the panels ar'nt going to deliver fully. I am still so far from being tired of living in this little shack, that I am starting to wonder about myself, myself. I love it. I worked on the pay job for 4 short days all this month so far. It's nice to get a few days in of work ever month. So far between the rent income and a little bit of work, I have been living and building off of that income alone. I do expect that soon I will have to start dipping into the savings account a little bit. I can kinda predict some larger expenses coming my way soon. lol. Fridge, stove, tub, heating, water heating and on and on. Now I am depressed, but I will try to get over it soon. I don't have to finish the floors and stuff, but if I don't do it know, it will probably never get done.

I sure hav'nt been very active on the old computer lately again, I do jump on sometimes in the evenings and quickly glance at alot of my favorite blogs and stuff, but I have been spending most of my time in the evenings reading and educating myself on building issues. I have alot to learn as I plan on doing all my own plumbing, electrical, and whatever else. I get researching things and before I even know it, it is midnight and time some sleep.

Sheathing the Main Floor

I woke up this morning thinking that I should be able to have that whole main floor sheathed easily. But I was wrong. I ran out of glue, better known as lumber lock. Only a couple sheets left to go too. So I proceeded to do a bunch of a nailing, as I was just tacking down the edges as I was going.

I always meant to get a good shot of the main floor framing, but I always seemed to get real involved with things and forget until it was too dark. I moved a few sheets around just so I could get a picture of the stairwell framing. The rest of it is pretty basic. I am going to sheet right over the stairwell opening and leave it closed up for awhile, while I do things down below, in hopes of keeping the snow and rain out. I will cut it out when the time is right.
I gotta go to town later in the day tomorrow, so there is no point in going in the morning to get glue. I guess tomorrow will be more a day of non-thinking nailing. Give my poor old brain a bit of a rest. I'll finish gluing the floor on Saturday if weather and work allow for it. I have a few more things to do to the basement, then soon it will be time for my foundation inspection (hopefully this month sometime). I don't think there will be any new walls going up until that inspection is done.

Happy New Year, Anniversary and Birthday.

Happy New Year. Ya, I know it's late. I hope everyone had a good one, over the holidays. I also had an anniversary. Dec 28 2009, marked 5 years of no alcohol use for me. I pat myself on the back. I used to really like to drink, (usually rum and diet coke). then I quit, and turned into a hermit. lol. I also quit smoking, but I did'nt quit living. Alot of people who know me might look at me like I quit living, but right now I am living more than I have ever lived in my life. Just building on the cabin, living off the grid, and living in a small shack in arctic type weather. This is something I have dreamed for as long as I can remember. When I made the plunge at the end of October, there were times when I thought that by this time, I could possibly be regretting the move I have made. But there are absolutely no regrets on my end. I could'nt possibly turn back now. It just keeps getting better and easier all the time.
January 1 was also my dogs birthday. She is now 9. She has'nt been helping me much lately, usually she's just bundled up in the shack most of the day. I guess she is the smart one of the bunch. I have been building a few hours a day usually. However sometimes it's pretty cold in the morning and I usually do some planning and thinking then. I figure that -20C is cold enough to build in. If it is colder than that, I usually do other things such as planning my stairs or getting supplies in town. I hav'nt spent much time on the computer lately. There are times where I have gone a few days and not even turned it on, I just don't seem to have much time for that lately.

The shack is coming along slowly. It takes me a long time to get things done. Alot of the time I spend just researching stupid little things. Code, code, code. Right now my stairs down to the basement and up to the loft have got alot of smoke rolling out my ears. If I had my own way, it would just be a couple of ladders, done deal. If I ever do this again, I would maybe get someone to build me some blueprints. I guess those things can be pretty handy at times. lol. But I will get more satisfaction knowing that I designed and planned everything myself in the end. I think. There's the basement so far.

A look from the inside. I'm going to need a good set of binoculars to see from one end to the other.

It was'nt all that long ago I used the old dodge and brought a new load of lumber home, and it is already covered in snow again. Seems we get alot of that around here lately, but it dos'nt even bother me anymore. Bring it on, let it snow, see if I care.

Lovin the Country Life.

So far so good with the shack and everything. We've survived some pretty wicked weather up here. It kinda sounds like everyone everywhere is having a little of that off and on. Lots of snow in alot of the south too I hear. What a weird year for weather again. Personally I like it when it stays a little bit cold, just so things are'nt melting and making a big mess then freezing again. If it stay below freezing the snow wipes or sweeps off things pretty easy, but lately I'm finding alot of boards need a good ice scraping in order to build with it. That sucks.

I lost a few days when it was severe cold out, then when the weather warmed up a bit, just as I thought, they needed me at work, so that took another 3 days of my building time, but I guess I'm that much wealthier also so it just does'nt really matter. Today is the shortest day of the year and everyday is going to get a little longer from here till the shack is built. (Hopefully). So that is something to really look forward too. Especially when you're running solar energy. The solar thing is going good, but because of the extreme cold temperatures, I do find myself running the generator a little more than I would like to. More to keep the batteries at a warmer temp than anything. This is a minor little problem that will be rectified in the new cabin when it is done. As far as I know, I can have the batteries in the basement if things are all done right. This would solve alot of problems, but if for some reason I can't put them down there, then there are still other ways.

Well I have four walls up finally. When I look at this basement, it is going to be a pretty tall house for the size of it. It might even look kinda funny, but I don't care. I will enjoy the veiw. The walls that are going up next are a little more than 10 feet tall, then the trusses with a 1 to 1 slope(I guess that's what it is called). These basement walls are 8 feet tall.

I am really enjoying the building process lately, even though we have been getting alot of snow off and on, and the weather has been windy and chilly, but warm enough to build in anyway. I probably wont get much accomplished on the cabin tomorrow, besides getting some building supplies and a tiny little bit of Christmas shopping and other supplies etc.

Brutal Mother Nature Test

Me and my little shack are really being put to the test now. I did'nt do much building today. I'm pretty sure that if I tried to drive a nail in a board, it would have just split the board. Lumber even sounds different in weather like this. Right at this moment my thermometer is reading about -39C/about -38F. Thankfully there is not much of a wind. My propane is still flowing, but I have done a few little precautions in case. Propane quits vapourizing at -44C, I have read. Our local forcast for tonight is calling for lows of -43C. I dunno, thats a little close for comfort. Out here, hopefully it gets no colder than it is, but it also could get colder than the local forcast. I have seen alot of this -40 stuff over the years, but not since I moved out here in the shack. I can actually remember one day, quite a few years ago where it was in the -50 area, but that dos'nt happen very often. All I know is that the floor in this old shack is cold enough to freeze an egg on.

Today I bought a couple of 72 inch battery warmers for inside the deep freeze to keep my batteries warm when ever the generator is running. Right now they are at +4C, which is not bad concidering what the temperature is outside. When the power is taken away, it takes quite awhile for the batteries to get to the outside temperature. I'm guessing that if I shut it down right now, the batteries would be about -15 to -20c by morning, maybe even warmer than that. I used to just use a 100 watt light bulb for this same purpose, but it was pretty slow warming it up a few degrees, but it did work. I'm actually quite impressed with the battery warmer blankets. However, in my new cabin I will have it somehow, so I don't even have t0 worry about things like this. This is actually quite a good experience to live in this shack for a winter before the house is built, just so I can iron all these little issues out and kinda plan things in. This is all kinda new to me also. I have done alot of research on things, but nothing beats hands on experience to really get to know how things actually happen.

I also put a 250 watt heat lamp in under the propane tanks which are covered with a tarp. I don't have that plugged in at the moment, because I want to see if this propane is going to keep running on it's own or not. I really need to know, because if I were working, I would'nt be around here to keep a generator running and all that. The generator is running now, but I wonder if it will start in the morning if I shut it down. I really should invest in another generator for backup. I'm also thinking that I should have bought another one of those battery warmers to wrap around the propane bottle. I think that could pretty good maybe, and might even be a little bit safer. I think, anyway.

I did do a little work with my pay job, but I also managed to get a little more building done. It must be like watching paint dry, for anyone who reads this blog. lol. Trust me, by this time next winter, I will be sitting in front of a warm crackling fire inside my new cabin type house, and I won't even care if it is -50c outside. I hope. lol.

Well it is actually starting to look something. I don't know how much is going to get done in the next few days. I guess it is supposed to be pretty nippy until about Wednesday, but I might get a little done in the sunshine, we'll see what happens. I am pretty eager to get going on this thing.
Just thought I would put in a little bit of an update, it is my own little way of keeping track of my progress.

Good Weather Test, Building Again.

I woke up this morning to -28C/-19F. You would never know it was that cold outside until you look at the thermometer, the shack was cozy enough for a king and his dog. I'm not totally laughing yet though, there is much colder yet to come sometime soon. There was a bit of a draft coming from what I call my fridge under the bed, so I hung a blanket and closed the fridge off. The fridge is now a freezer in this weather. I have a thermometer under there and the last time I looked it read -2C/about 30F. My cold water bottle dos'nt need to be outside for awhile. I had to take my potatoes, oranges and onions out of there for obvious reasons. I can sure notice a difference in the shack with that all closed off. The shack is skirted. Nothing professional, just full size sheets of OSB leaning up around the shack with a tarp in front covering the propane bottles. I'm kinda hoping that will be enough to keep the propane flowing when the temps get down to
-40C/F area. They might get some of the shacks heat hopefully.

I was building pretty much all day. I needed the old backhoe, but she did'nt want to run without a little coaxing. I had to plug it in for a bit and charge the batteries. I hate starting it in that kind of weather, but it was either go now or wait a few days by the sounds of the forcast. It is this kind of weather that I would just love to be feeding a nice warm fire in my new cabin. When I first started this whole project, I kinda thought that I would have been living in my new house by now, maybe next winter. It was cold, but it was a nice day for building, the sun was shining and there was no wind or snow.

The top picture, one long side wall and one end wall framed. I have an idea, but I'm still wondering how many windows and exactly what size and where they will go. Hopefully I'll have it all figured out for tomorrow morning.
There's the floor, (picture taken on a previous date), still not nailed and insulated. I'm going to wait until I have it a little more closed in and out of the weather to do the finishing touches on the floor.

I finally got done with all the safety courses for work(I think). It's nice to get those out of the way. So far they have not called me for work this month. Good. It sounds like I should be slow until the new year. There's always a possiblilty they could be wrong, but I sure do hope not.

Well there's an update, I'm just loving the country life even if it is a wee bit chilly out. They are talking about some more snow soon. I sure hope they're wrong, yesterday I spent quite a bit of the day plowing a big dump of snow that we just had and I have it all cleaned up nicely. Well I don't know who I'm supposed to talk to about that, but if you happen to be reading this blog, no more snow please.

Living Without a Fridge-Life is Good

Well it has been a month since I moved out to my little shack. So far everything has been going great. We had snow and some cooler weather. The coldest night was about -17C or 0 Farenheit so far, but it has been hanging more in about the 0 to -10 celcius range mostly. That is nice. One of the things that I was kinda concerned about when I first started living out here was living without the fridge. So far, my life has'nt really changed much in that sense. Those two green boxes are my fridge. They seem to stay at about 10 C or 50 Farenheit sitting there on the floor under that bunk. I know a fridge is usually alot colder than that, but this is really working good for what I keep there. I leave a 2 liter pop bottle outside on the step that is usually about half full of water, that I can grab from inside the shack. When I mix some orange juice or powder milk(which I am pretty used to now, Yummy), it is nice and cold. If it happens to be frozen, I just add some water to it, and it is ice cold. The red cooler out in the shed is my deep freeze that I keep stocked with a few days worth of different meats. If I have some left over chile or something that I want to freeze, I just set it on top of the cooler over night, then put it inside in the morning, that way it dos'nt disturbe any of the other already frozen goodies inside. I have plastic bottles filled with water(ice) inside, so if the temperatures rise above freezing for a few days, things seem to keep frozen for quite awhile. There are some advantages to living in northern Alberta I guess. When I get into my new house, I do plan on having some kind of refridgerator, I just hav'nt quite decided yet if it will be on propane or 12 volt DC power. I am kinda leaning toward 12 volt though, I can always help it out in the winter with home grown outside ice. I have been kinda busy at work a little bit off and on this month. Although I hav'nt been there for a few days now. A couple days ago I got ambitious again and cleaned a bunch of snow out of the basement area again. The last time I did this I no sooner got it all cleaned up and ready for action then work phoned and I went to work for a few days, and by the time I got done the darned thing was full of fresh snow again. I hope that don't happen this time. So far so good, but I do have some courses pertaining to work that I have to attend all weekend long.
I finally worked on the floor some more. A wood basement floor seems to take a long time to build. If I poured a concrete one, my whole basement might have been built by now, but maybe not. I blame work. lol. I lost alot of good building weather while I was hauling the bales, and it seemed that once the bales were hauled it started to rain and never did quit. I knew that was going to happen, but I gotta make a living too I guess.

The sub floor is'nt permanantly nailed down yet, I still need to be able to get in there for awhile yet.

Just a bit of an update on things. Life is good, and the little old shack is still cozy. I hav'nt started beating my head against the walls yet, so thats gotta be a good thing. The days are getting shorter and I have been running the generator for about an hour in the evening, just to make sure the batteries don't run down too low. I probably don't need to, but it is good to keep them full. Never know what the temperature will be in the morning and weak batteries are more apt to freezing. If I did'nt have a generator, I could survive easily with the solar panels alone, if I were to conserve energy a little, but I have been a bit of an energy pig lately. My inverter charger is equipped with a battery temperature sensor and the solar charge controller is not yet, but one is in the mail. That will help out quite alot, I suspect. The solar panels do usually have my batteries charged right up at the end of the day, but the inverter seems to just dump a little extra voltage at it, because of the temperature correction.

Anyway, this is the life, and I'm lovin it. Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends. Canada's was in October. Catch ya later.