|
Post by Ken on Aug 10, 2016 21:47:06 GMT
We need some more pics!
|
|
|
Post by LauraD on Aug 15, 2016 22:15:51 GMT
Ken , Per your request We got the last of the wall sections completed; here they are all stacked up in the storage unit. They are 4 ft x 8 ft - big enough to be worth something, but small enough for two people to move and put up. There's one more section that's not in the picture; it's an 8x8 section that has the 5-ft wide drive-in door for the riding lawnmower. The doors are framed and everything, but the siding won't be cut to make the doors functional until after we're in a building with a permanent foundation. Here are some more shots from the game camera. A doe and her fawn seem to visit quite frequently. Now we just need to find where Daddy likes to hang out before hunting season... Next step is to actually put the walls on the shed foundation, then the trusses, then dry the thing in. We're getting closer!!!
|
|
|
Post by LauraD on Sept 11, 2016 20:56:14 GMT
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2016 22:33:44 GMT
Oh, my goodness.... I am all wiggly and excited for you! You guys have got to be so proud of yourselves and happy with the progress!
Amdro works wonderfully on FIREAnts... What type of ants have moved in with you?
|
|
|
Post by solargeek on Sept 12, 2016 4:09:33 GMT
Chili powder mixed with dried crushed garlic worked for us. But it made us hungry all the time!
|
|
|
Post by LauraD on Sept 14, 2016 22:07:16 GMT
Traci, I think they're just regular old ants. They're really small and look brown. We sprayed the shed with ant repellent yesterday, so hopefully that will discourage them to go elsewhere. Solargeek, we'll try your formula once I have the time to make a batch up. We spent yesterday at the property and got the door up. Now we can actually get in & out of the shelter and lock it up. Yeah!! Who would have thought that a door could be so exciting?!!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2016 14:03:53 GMT
Yayyyyyy! And what a beautiful door it is!
|
|
|
Post by LauraD on Oct 29, 2016 19:58:26 GMT
Just a quick update: Two more weekends at the property, and we have all three windows in and the metal roof on. Now if we could only decide what type of siding to put on... Working on the first window... First window is in... Second and third windows are in... ...and the roof is on!!!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2016 9:46:09 GMT
How exciting for you! I have enjoyed reading your updates and seeing your progress. Also, I love the deer pictures.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2016 2:55:49 GMT
Wow! COngratulations! I know the area up there in Cedar County. Really pretty.
Good for you!
|
|
|
Post by merks on Oct 31, 2016 14:40:40 GMT
Loving the updates!!!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2016 3:25:27 GMT
Happy for you, love the cabin. The best ant repellant you can buy is called termidor. It is professional strength and you will not see one ant or termite. Expensive but you dilute 1/2 an ounce to a gallon or thereabouts. It will last years. If I could figure out a way to mail you an ounce I would. Let me know if you want me to try. www.domyownpestcontrol.com/termidor-sc-p-184.html?gclid=CLHt5aiPidACFRKVfgodf9gDVg
|
|
|
Post by shellymay on Nov 2, 2016 11:57:59 GMT
Looking great, what a feeling one gets when they do a project like this with their own two hands right? Keep up the great work!!!!
|
|
|
Post by LauraD on Nov 10, 2016 1:59:12 GMT
Thank you, everyone, for all the compliments and advice (especially on ant repellent!). Our latest improvement hasn't made it to the shed yet. It's a little sink/countertop setup that I made this week. I already had all the lumber and had picked up the sink and its drain fixture for $11 total at the local Habitat ReStore. After buying new sink clips, bucket, and the drain pipes, I'm out no more than $25. Pretty good for a counter with wet sink, wouldn't you say? How to fit the plumbing into the bucket so it wouldn't splash, but would be easy to get the bucket out for emptying, was a challenge. I finally created a two-piece drain setup where the bottom piece could be moved up and down. Here's a close-up of it with the bottom piece down, which fits perfectly into a hole I drilled in the top of the bucket lid. The grey rubber ring helps ensure that the bottom piece can't fall into the bucket itself. Then, when I need to empty the bucket, I just push the bottom piece up and secure it with the threaded plastic ring. (There's a washer under the threaded ring to hold it in place.) It then gives me just enough clearance to slide the bucket out... The only real flaw is that there's no venting in the drain pipe or bucket. If we just use it for hand-washing it won't be an issue, but it could cause problems if we fill the sink up with water and then just open the drain and let it go. The clean water container can sit beside the wastewater container on the shelf when not in use, and will eventually be there permanently. I plan to rig up a faucet with a manual foot pump for it; I set the bottom of the bottom shelf support at 6" above the floor so the pump could be placed under the shelf (i.e. out of the way) and still be used easily. I'll probably make a rigid faucet out of supply-side plumbing pipes and use flexible hoses to get the water from bucket to pump to faucet.
|
|
|
Post by Ken on Nov 10, 2016 21:38:14 GMT
|
|
|
Post by LauraD on Nov 13, 2016 19:37:47 GMT
Well, we spent a night in the shed this weekend - the first overnight stay since the cat got diagnosed with diabetes several months ago. We figured missing one shot wasn't going to kill him (and we were right). It was rather cold, as it got down below 40 and the building has really good ventilation (open eaves and a vent on each gable end). We still slept pretty well, though. The only real shock was the temperature of the water the next morning - brrrr!!! The sink worked great; now I just need to get the faucet part done. Here's a few more pics of the critters around the place. The last one caught our attention the most, for obvious reasons...
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2016 0:23:30 GMT
OH, YAYYYYYY! You got to sleep in "your place" there... How exciting! ❤️
|
|
|
Post by merks on Nov 24, 2016 4:58:08 GMT
How Exciting! Your sink looks great and spending the night there must have been amazing. The last pic yep he's got a nice butt. DH and I always say its not the rack that counts its the butt lol
|
|
|
Post by Rustaholic on Nov 24, 2016 15:59:41 GMT
How Exciting! Your sink looks great and spending the night there must have been amazing. The last pic yep he's got a nice butt. DH and I always say its not the rack that counts its the butt lol
You like the rump roasts huh?
|
|
|
Post by LauraD on Jan 4, 2017 23:35:46 GMT
Went down to the property last weekend. The cabin is so light and airy, it cheers me up just walking in the door! We didn't do a whole lot, but we did create a "ceiling" using rigid insulation and a couple of 2x4s. The insulation isn't secured, so it can be stacked up during the summer, allowing maximum ventilation. Here's a few shots of the cabin on the inside, moving clockwise: "Bathroom" and "kitchen"... ..."dining room"... ...half of the "bedroom"... ...the other half... ...and a shot of my hubby In case you're wondering about all the tins on the shelving unit, I plan to use them for food storage on longer stays. No point in giving the mice (or roaches) a reason to invade... Right now I'm working on a water system for the sink. It's a homemade foot-operated pump system, allowing usage without wasting water or touching anything with dirty hands. The test run worked fine at home, except for a couple of leaks where things weren't tightened down. I'll post pictures once it's up and running.
|
|
|
Post by dustawaits on Jan 5, 2017 16:16:55 GMT
Are you staying warm? What are you using for heat!
|
|
|
Post by LauraD on Jan 8, 2017 19:51:12 GMT
We bought a small propane heater that heats up to 200 sq ft. As the cabin is only 192 sq ft, it should work perfectly. We aren't living there yet, but only visiting as we time & weather allow. I plan to insulate the walls, most likely with rock (mineral) wool, so we won't have to finish the inside just to keep the insulation in place. We've also talked about insulating the floor by putting down some rigid foam insulation. We have the door set on a 2x4 for that very reason...
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jan 13, 2017 3:35:03 GMT
What are your plans for the new year out there?
I am excited to see your footpump for the sink. I've been mulling over a way to do such a thing, and the YouTube videos just aren't feeding my imagination very well. What did you come up with??
Oh, and a siding recommendation: Find some of the HardBoard (8'x4' Sheets) as it is bug impervious and can be quickly painted for a 20 year maintenance free siding. Or maybe the corrugated sheetmetal? That stuff is super durable and also comes in sheets...
(I am living vicariously through your homestead project)
|
|
|
Post by LauraD on Jan 22, 2017 15:08:20 GMT
Plans for this year are to get siding on the shed; add insulation to the walls & maybe the floor; and get the fenceline issue taken care of. We'll also try to keep an eye on the spring and determine if it's seasonal or year-round. We'll probably go with vinyl siding due to the low cost and relative ease of installation. Eric would like to use metal siding, but cutting it is a real pain without the right tools. The wall insulation will probably be rock wool (aka mineral wool) as that stays in place without having to put a wall surface (e.g. drywall) on the inside of the wall. The fenceline has got to get done this year; I may pay someone to do that, as it's several hundred feet in rocky ground. I think I've got the leaks in the foot pump assembly taken care of, so we can put that in next visit. I would liked to have gone down today, but it's raining pretty good down there right now. Nothing like dirt roads and rain.
|
|
|
Post by dustawaits on Jan 23, 2017 14:22:42 GMT
The worst thing about vinyl siding is the wind can whip it off. The most expensive part is the trim which is absolutely necessary. Be sure to put plenty of nails in if you are sure you want to go that route. 😊 If you have plenty of rocks maybe you can rock it up?
|
|
|
Post by LauraD on Feb 21, 2017 2:09:34 GMT
Yes, we have plenty of rocks, but most of them are in the ground! Maybe in 20 years we will have collected enough rock to build with it. Went down for a quick day trip this weekend. Didn't do a whole lot, but did bring and install some things. The first is the faucet. I made it after taking the sink to the property. Oops! I had to guess as to the sink size, and guessed wrong. The faucet hangs way out over the sink, and the 45-degree angle at which the water comes out means more water gets on the counter than in the sink! I will need to cut the faucet back. I've already bought a 90-degree elbow; I'm going to cut the faucet right before the second 45-degree elbow and glue the 90-degree elbow there - that should drop the water right in the middle of the sink, and straight down to boot. I made the foot pump using homemade check valves and both 1/2" and 3/4" PVC pipe and connectors. The bulb is from a turkey baster, and it is secured with a hose clamp. I bought one garden hose, cut it in half, and added replacement hose ends. I'm happy with the system. I can take it off and drain at the end of a visit, so I don't need to worry about mold, etc growing in it. The next thing I had brought that we set into place was the "throne." Five-gallon pails all seem to have the same diameter opening these days, but different heights, so I made the box high enough to accommodate different buckets. The boards under the bucket are to raise it to the right height. The sides and back are enclosed but not the front, allowing men (ahem) to stand a little closer... I built it from scrap materials left over from building the shed. The only things I had to buy were the bucket, toilet seat, hinges, and rubber snubber (aka bungi cord). Cost me less than $20. For those of you who wondered about the rubber snubber behind the lid, there's a reason it's there, as shown in the next two photos: After all, how else am I going to keep the toilet lid from flipping back when I need to raise the box lid? Those are concealed hinges for cabinets & cedar chests - they hold the lid up when I open it. No worries about having to hold the lid up - or of it flopping over and hitting the wall. I close this post with a picture of our newest neighbors. Got pictures of them on three different days in a one-month period. Yup, those appear to be coyotes. Looks like I'm going to need to sight in my new rifle sooner rather than later.
|
|
|
Post by Ken on Feb 21, 2017 15:24:30 GMT
Great update, thanks! Good job on your faucet (with fix to come) and foot pump. How much water do you get per pump? I'm picturing you running in place while doing dishes, LOL. Nice work on the bucket toilet! What will you use for cover material? We are thinking of using wood shavings or sawdust or possibly peat moss (though I'm not sure that is a sustainable material), but not sure if the wife's allergies will have a problem with it. I need to get some and see if the smell bothers her. I need to get a game cam! When we camped in the shed, we heard a pack of coyotes howling and yipping. Not sure how far away. Won't be good for when we get chickens!
|
|
|
Post by LauraD on Feb 22, 2017 0:21:26 GMT
Not sure how much water I get per pump, but it's not a small amount. I can discharge nearly the entire bulb each time, so that pushes a decent amount of water through. I was able to fill the dog's water dish in no time, and it's not small.
We're using sawdust for toilet cover right now, mainly sweepings from cutting all the lumber for the shed. We only collected the sawdust from untreated wood, so it should compost without any problems. I have a great cross-cut shredder at home, and am going to start keeping the shreds. I'll need to keep the slick paper shreds separate, but should be able to use the shreds from regular old paper.
Not surprised that you heard coyotes at your place. We've heard them every night we've spent on the property. This is just the first time that they showed up on the game camera.
|
|
|
Post by mogal on Mar 11, 2017 4:51:02 GMT
Laura, thanks for the update that this thread was yours. Love the pictures particularly from the game camera.
Actually we prefer venison from does to bucks.
Talk to you later.
|
|
|
Post by LauraD on Mar 11, 2017 18:13:22 GMT
Went to the property yesterday. We want to burn off the field, as it's full of cerisia lespedeza and hasn't been grazed/brush-hogged for years. We spent several hours mowing fire breaks. I figure one more day trip and we'll be ready to burn! Only one picture this time...
|
|