3R Home and Barn Project

[EddieWalker]

Cabins are looking very nice. Love all the wood you are using. I bet those ceilings took some time!!!! I've never seen the round spindles on the railing before and I really like it. Are they closet rods cut to fit? Did you drill holes into the railing for them to sit in?

Keep the pics coming

Eddie

 

[scott_vt]

Good Afternoon Rob,
Beautiful job as usual ! Wondering what the foot print size of these cabins are ?

Darn, it took me all summer to put an addition on , never mind four cabins !

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I will be lurking here too!

 

[doxford jim]

Yes - great work Rob.
I too will be lurking and watching with great interest.
Thanks
Jim

 

[bindian]

Rob,
Those look like resort accomadations. I love all the wood work.
Start a new thread and link it here.
hugs<<><><>>Brandi

 

[3RRL]

Thanks everyone for saying those nice things. I might be over doing it a little because it's just a rental home, but that's the way I like to do things... just like for some of the tractor projects.

Eddie, I like the wood too. It's 1 x 6 tongue and groove inside on all the ceilings and outside under the eaves and gables and the front porch ceiling. It's all sealed now with clear sealer.
And you are right, I used closet poles and a 1-1/4" Forstner bit for the holes. They go 1" deep on top and bottom rails. I was going to use 2 x 6 for the rails and square spindles like on the drawing, but thought that the 4 x 6 for top rail and vertical posts, and 4 x 4's for the bottom rail would look better. I had a hard time convincing my helpers that the heavier timber with 1-1/4" round spindles would look good, because they thought it would be too "bulky" looking mainly because they had never done one like that. When it was all said and done, they agreed it turned out very good. I will share more photos now that they are all stained and varnished.

Scott, we still "see" a lot of each other via emails...than you!
The one bedroom cabins are 24' x 28' footprint, so that is 672 sq ft. Loretta and I spent a lot of time trying to the layout "just right" for either a single person or a married couple and even small kids because my worker pal Danny suggested adding that loft. Although I had to go back to the architect again,and engineers again, and the title 24 again, and the engineered fire sprinkler system guy again, and finally the county again (and a lot of extra cost, again lol) it was the right thing to do. All that bureaucracy is what really takes your time because I have to go to Visalia and Tulrare for the county offices and each of the engineered services I have to deal with. By the time you get back, nearly a whole day is shot. And you guessed it, I can't always see each of those guys on the same day. Oh, I forgot the engineered septic tanks and leach fields which is another department in the county. I even got hit for widening the road in front of may place which...you guessed it...required an engineered road building plan. And additional permits for each of course!

Anyway, it added another 288 sq ft for a total of 960 sq ft. All of that I got away with a little cost from the county because it is called "Storage Loft". Although in reality you could put sleeping quarters up there. There is a pull-down ladder to go up and down so we didn't have to put in stairs because of that too. I built a chase for the HVAC air ducts on one side of the loft, so above the 8" duct, we made a lift-up storage bin 10' long. They could store pillows and bedding stuff in it. I'll get more photos later...

 

[SirReal63]

I love the cabins. I looked at them and had to show Toni, they are finished out the way we had planned on doing our little 24x24 guest house, same 1x6 siding for the roof too. Excellent work!

 

[hobie]

Rob, All I can say is Wow! Your energy and skill amazes me!What a nice home for some lucky people/person.Hope to see more!

 

[dfkrug]

Although I had to go back to the architect again,and engineers again, and the title 24 again, and the engineered fire sprinkler system guy again, and finally the county again (and a lot of extra cost, again lol) it was the right thing to do. All that bureaucracy is what really takes your time because I have to go to Visalia and Tulrare for the county offices and each of the engineered services I have to deal with. By the time you get back, nearly a whole day is shot. And you guessed it, I can't always see each of those guys on the same day. Oh, I forgot the engineered septic tanks and leach fields which is another department in the county. I even got hit for widening the road in front of may place which...you guessed it...required an engineered road building plan. And additional permits for each of course!

Those look great, Rob.

Sounds like you have nearly all the permitting headaches we have now in the Bay Area. I
don't think I could go thru all that again. Now there is a massive "green building" checklist
with all sorts of points and debits, with a minimum score required.

Anyway, with forced-air heating, fire sprinklers, and indoor plumbing, can you really call these
"cabins"?

 

[3RRL]

Hi Dave,
We are going to list them as "Deluxe" cabins. We're hoping to get the interest of Super Deluxe renters, lol.
And just to clarify, the cabins will be rented long term, they are not for overnight or weekly stays from vacationers.
On top of everything else, I had to provide a 2,500 gallon "Fire Hydrant tank" (total overkill because the existing home on the property already has a fire hydrant in front of it), so now there are 3 fire repelling forces.

One more major expense is that we had to make both the existing gravel driveway, and the new drive up to the last cabin "asphalt covered drives", for the fire department, as well as an additional 2,500 gallon water tank for fire suppression to the last cabin because it is too far away to be serviced by the other water tank and hydrants. Fire hydrant fittings are not cheap! So yes, we have a lot of the same headaches s in your area. Forgot what it's called, but we also had to contend with the Wildlife management and endangerment of species, etc, etc which of course are additional fees.

Anyway, I am going to start a new thread and will link to it here. Unfortunately, I can't do it today because I'm so darn busy, and still have to get my photos and story in order.
See ya'll soon...

 

[bones1]

Back after a few years, been thinking about 3RRL for some reason.

 

[3RRL]

Appreciated very much Stephen, very considerate of you.
I haven't had a lot of spare time lately, seems I'm always chasing after something that needs done. Recovering from cervical vertebrae (neck) spinal surgery 2-½ months ago. My spinal chord was being choked off and my right arm and leg were almost useless. Thought for sure I was gonna be a paraplegic! They did 2 surgeries one day apart. One from the front of the neck and one from the back of my neck. Now I have titanium rods and 8 screws into the vertebrae from the back and one spacer for a bone graph in the front. Literally a "pain in the neck". lol

 

[EddieWalker]

Good to hear the surgery went well. Sounds like you are ready for a new adventure in life!!!!

 

[bindian]

Rob,
Glad to hear from you. How are your cabins coming?
hugs, Brandi

 

[dfkrug]

Now I have titanium rods and 8 screws into the vertebrae from the back
and one spacer for a bone graph in the front. Literally a "pain in the neck".

Oh, no. Not another accident I hope.

Can't believe you want to sell out and move. Where to, Rob? Back to Cucamonga?

 

[3RRL]

LOL ... no Dave, probably from an earlier accident though, maybe 15 years ago and just now affected me to where I noticed I was becoming paraplegic. That's when I went to my Doctor and she referred me to a neurologist who promptly referred me to a neurosurgeon.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Good to hear from you, but sorry you've had spinal problems. I used to make spinal repair parts for surgeons.

Hope you get your strength and health back.

Sorry to hear you might sell the place. Hope it is for the better in the long run.

 

[3RRL]

Brian + Kyle,
Thanks for the good wishes.
I'm well on my way to a speedy recovery. Like I said, I've managed to stay busy at half speed, but what I really miss is my golf game. In fact, don't know if I'll ever play again, especially if we move to a remote location. We would take at least one of our tractors and leave the other here as part of the sale. Same with my machine shop, machinery and tooling. Maybe take one mill so I don't go nuts not being able to build something. California has to be one of the most diverse and beautiful states, but the politics and ridiculous laws and restrictions are ugly, at least IMHO! Our home here is fantastic (ask Eddie or Brian or Larry or Dave) all members who have visited us. We will surely miss this place.

The sale and relocation is still a ways off though, unless there is an interested buyer, of course.
We would move into one of our rental places until we find the right place. This comes about from the tax friendly and gun friendly and mostly conservative red states out there. We both turned 65 and started drawing SS plus retirement income. Some states allow a $4,000 wage exemption for seniors. There are several states that don't have state income tax, or if they do, they exempt SS and retirement income from state income tax for 65 and over. Some don't have sales tax and again, exempt food and prescriptions for seniors. Some have super low property taxes and some exempt the first $150,000 or similar. No inheritance tax or estate taxes too. Open and concealed carry in several states.

So their are very good financial opportunities for retiring seniors out there.
Heck, Alaska even sends a dividend check to all permanent residents from the state's oil wealth savings account. The 2014 dividend was $1,884 per person! And Alaska ranks #1 in most tax-friendly states for retirees. Wyoming is #2, Nevada #3, Georgia #4, Arizona #5 and South Dakota #9, are on the list (among others). We chose those states that meet most of our basic requirements. We're planning to visit each state twice, in different seasons, to see how the weather is, and which one will have that magic little slice of Heaven for our retirement years.