At Home In The Woods

[BoFuller]

Wow, I have just skimmed over this thread for the past couple days. I will be going back over much of it. Congratulations!
My wife and I closed on a 40 acre parcel in NW Arizona about a month ago. We purchased a trailer for temporary quarters and plan on building a log cabin. Maybe I should track that project?

 

[Dishpointer]

Wow, I have just skimmed over this thread for the past couple days. I will be going back over much of it. Congratulations!
My wife and I closed on a 40 acre parcel in NW Arizona about a month ago. We purchased a trailer for temporary quarters and plan on building a log cabin. Maybe I should track that project?

Congratulations! Beautiful piece of land. You know we would all like to see your progress.

 

[Obed]

Wow, I have just skimmed over this thread for the past couple days. I will be going back over much of it. Congratulations!
My wife and I closed on a 40 acre parcel in NW Arizona about a month ago. We purchased a trailer for temporary quarters and plan on building a log cabin. Maybe I should track that project?

Bo,
Looks like your property has some awesome views. Congrats on the purchase. Posting your project would be greatly welcomed.

I got some great advice from people on TBN that helped us prevent making some ugly mistakes. Going through the house building process is filled with traps if you don't know what to watch out for. Workers will take all kinds of shortcuts if nobody paying enough attention to make them do things right. For example, our plumber did not use the purple primer when he glued our drain pipes. It would have never occurred to me that a plumber would take shortcut. Posting your project on TBN will provide you with lots of suggestions if you are open to receiving them.
Obed

 

[Obed]

Chris,
That lockout device makes a lot of sense. The auto-lockout panels are rediculously expensive.

I believe I may eventually get a PTO generator. I like the idea of not having another engine to maintain. I will hook up a generator jack to one of the service panels outside beside the power transformer. This approach has the advantage that I don't need a long expensive cable running from the generator to the indoor electrical panels. In addition, the outdoor service panel is far enough from the house that I won't have to worry about exhaust fumes. Plus, since the generator will be upstream of our main electrical panel inside the basement, I can turn on anything I want to in the house as long as I have enough power. Our water heater is gas and we can heat the house reasonably well with the fireplace. Eventually we plan to replace our freebie electric stove with a gas stove. In the grand scheme, once implemented, I believe we could live quite comfortably during an extended power outage.

Interestingly, if we were not on well water, I probably wouldn't get a generator. With cold water, a gas stove, and the fireplace, we could handle a day without power without much trouble. The only big concern about an extended outage would be the freezer. But since we have a well, we'll get a generator regardless.

Obed

Here's the picture of our outdoor electrical service panel pedestal where we will eventually install a jack for the future generator.

 

[Obed]

Yesterday we cleaned up the area around the well and transformer in preparation for grading work and topsoil that will begin as soon as it is dry enough. We moved the blocks to a spot in the woods near the garden area. We rolled up onto a spool the electrical wire we had used for powering the camper. The 30A jack is inside the plastic bag sitting on top of the spool.

Last week the electric company disconnected the temp pole from the transformer. We removed the temp pole and leaned it against a tree. I'll remove some of the extra jacks and breakers and put the temp pole for sale on craigslist. We had more jacks than would be needed for most house construction jobs because we also were powering our camper, well, chest freezer, and heat tape for our waterline, etc.

The insulated well house that my wife built served us admirably. With a 100W drop light in the well house, the well house stayed above freezing even when outside temps were in the single digits.

I picked up some rocks and stacked them at the upstream end of the culvert.

As part of the excavation work we will be doing, we will build a driveway to the basement. The new driveway will connect to our existing driveway between the existing culvert and the garden area. You can see the new culvert sitting on the ground to the left our our road. The culvert will be installed on the other side of the road. The trees between the tractor and the garden area will be taken down. We plan to rent a chipper for one day and chip up as many trees as can be done in one day. What remains will be burned. The chipper can chip up trees up to 12" in diameter.

 

[Obed]

This week I took a picture looking out an attic window in the back of the house. The view from the attic is significantly better than that from the 1st floor because you can see better over the tops of the trees. The leaves have started growing and will soon obscure the view of the Cumberland Mountains. It really is pretty here to me as long as I ignore the red clay mess we still have surrounding the house.

 

[dstig1]

Progress! So are you going to build a more permanent house around the well to protect it from future winters? Or???

You should pull those saplings out from around the transformer. When they get big, they will have the potential to cause touble there. Best to keep that area clear.

 

[firefighter9208]

Chris,
That lockout device makes a lot of sense. The auto-lockout panels are rediculously expensive.

I believe I may eventually get a PTO generator. I like the idea of not having another engine to maintain. I will hook up a generator jack to one of the service panels outside beside the power transformer. This approach has the advantage that I don't need a long expensive cable running from the generator to the indoor electrical panels. In addition, the outdoor service panel is far enough from the house that I won't have to worry about exhaust fumes. Plus, since the generator will be upstream of our main electrical panel inside the basement, I can turn on anything I want to in the house as long as I have enough power. Our water heater is gas and we can heat the house reasonably well with the fireplace. Eventually we plan to replace our freebie electric stove with a gas stove. In the grand scheme, once implemented, I believe we could live quite comfortably during an extended power outage.

Interestingly, if we were not on well water, I probably wouldn't get a generator. With cold water, a gas stove, and the fireplace, we could handle a day without power without much trouble. The only big concern about an extended outage would be the freezer. But since we have a well, we'll get a generator regardless.

Obed

Sounds good!

When we built, we put in a gas cooktop, gas hot water, and gas logs. I only need the generator to keep our food from spoiling. In 1993 we had a huge winter storm that hit Alabama. Snow drifts were 6' in some places. We were w/o power for 10 days. Hope that never happens again.

Chris

 

[Obed]

Progress! So are you going to build a more permanent house around the well to protect it from future winters? Or???

You should pull those saplings out from around the transformer. When they get big, they will have the potential to cause touble there. Best to keep that area clear.

Dave,

The well guy told my wife that we don't need to cover the the well casing. The water pipe from the well pump runs through the casing 2 ft below grade using a pitless adapter. While building the house, we had a temporary water pressure tank above ground in the well house that needed freeze protection. The permanent pressure tank is now in the basement so we don't need freeze protection at the well casing any longer.

That's a good point about any saplings close to the transformer. We will may plant some shrubs to hide it but will need to consider how deep the roots will grow.

Obed

 

[Obed]

This evening we moved a sandpile from the front yard to a spot near the garden area. We put the sand on some scrap OSB boards and covered it with plastic. This is the same sand that was used to mix the mortar for our brick. We also have an extra pallet of brick that matches the brick on the house that can be used for projects or for patch jobs if needed.

 

[Obed]

Wow, I have just skimmed over this thread for the past couple days. I will be going back over much of it. Congratulations!
My wife and I closed on a 40 acre parcel in NW Arizona about a month ago. We purchased a trailer for temporary quarters and plan on building a log cabin. Maybe I should track that project?

Bo,
Have fun on your new adventure. Sounds like your project will have some things in common with ours. I would encourage you to read through my "At Home in the Woods" thread because you should find some information that will help you. I had some quality issues with some of the subcontractors; that's something that every house project will encur. I hope my thread will help you avoid some of the problems we went through.

In the end, I believe we got a quality house. However, if we had not been very diligent at researching building practices and codes, inspecting the work everyday, and getting some advice from TBN, there were some issues that could have gone unnoticed that likely would have caused significant problems with the house down the road after all the contractors were paid and long gone. Contractors and subcontractors don't like the homeowner inspecting their work, for good reason.

Make sure you ask the workers up front how they intend to do things. Also, insist that they abide by all the manufacturer's instructions and the appropriate codes and get that agreement in writing. Otherwise, you will be amazed at what they will try to get away with.

Good luck,
Obed

 

[dstig1]

Dave,

The well guy told my wife that we don't need to cover the the well casing. The water pipe from the well pump runs through the casing 2 ft below grade using a pitless adapter. While building the house, we had a temporary water pressure tank above ground in the well house that needed freeze protection. The permanent pressure tank is now in the basement so we don't need freeze protection at the well casing any longer.

That's a good point about any saplings close to the transformer. We will may plant some shrubs to hide it but will need to consider how deep the roots will grow.

Obed

Ah - Makes sense - I couldn't figure out why you had the concrete pit around the well. Around here, the well head at the surface is just for pump access and the pipe actually goes horizontal 6' or so below grade (usually more to go under the foundation), so it never sees frost.

The power Co guys usually have some spec of clearance they want on given sides of the transformer. If you stick to that with just smaller shrubs, you won't have any issues, but trees could be an issue.

 

[dcyrilc]

The power Co guys usually have some spec of clearance they want on given sides of the transformer. If you stick to that with just smaller shrubs, you won't have any issues, but trees could be an issue.

Contact your power company before you plant around the transformer. They have clearance requirements for the safty of their crews in the event the have to work on it.

 

[tony Cecil]

Here's the picture of our outdoor electrical service panel pedestal where we will eventually install a jack for the future generator.

Hi Obed

Today , after twenty five years, I had some `palmetto` trees planted...Three of them ran where the well , main power, and telephone lines ran....Although I dug the trenches etc. I just could`t be sure where they were after all this time...Make sure you keep hard copies of some of these wonderful pictures you have shared with us. so this done`t happen to you......I was lucky and no wires were broken...The ten palmettos are standing proudly--awaiting a hurricane ---Tony

 

[Obed]

Ah - Makes sense - I couldn't figure out why you had the concrete pit around the well. Around here, the well head at the surface is just for pump access and the pipe actually goes horizontal 6' or so below grade (usually more to go under the foundation), so it never sees frost.

We don't have a concrete pit around the well; I'm not really sure what a concrete pit around the well is. We don't have any concrete at all around the well. The well was dug 300ft with the drill. The steel well casings were driven down 200+ feet into the well to protect the well from debris. There's not any concrete.

Obed

 

[Obed]

The heater is not fixed. The next morning it shut off after running 30 seconds. You can get it to work by taking off the grill and pushing a reset button. Yesterday I called the manufacturer. They are going to send me a new thermal overload device and a new grill with larger openings in the grill. The support person said that sometimes the heat from the heating elements causes the thermal overload to trip.

Back in February, I received the thermal overload device and new grill. I replaced them and that helped. The thermal overload device stopped tripping. However, the heater would only heat the bathroom to 70 degrees when the thermostat would turn off the heater. So a couple weeks ago I contacted Broan, the manufacturer, and told them about the problem. I suspected a problem with the thermostat. Broan sent me a complete heater assembly; it has everything except the metal casing, installation brackets, and grill.

This evening I replaced just the thermostat and am testing it. The room appears to be heating up to around 75 degrees now before the heater turns off. Thats better than the 70 degrees we were getting before.

I got curious and put a thermometer at the floor beside the vanity cabinent that is 3 1/2 feet directly in front of the wall that holds the heater. That thermometer was reading 90 degrees. So now I think I may understand the primary issue. The heater is in the wall opposite the vanity that is 3 1/2 feet in front of the heater. The heater blows out hot air which bounces of the vanity wall back toward the heater. The heater thinks the room is 90 degrees and turns off. To complicate matters, we have an HVAC register right below the wall heater which blows hot air during the winter. We picked a poor location for the heater.

I'm thinking that when the temps outside are winter temperatures, the heater may only warm the room to 70 degrees instead of 75. When taking a shower in the winter, 70 degrees can feel fairly chilly when stepping wet out of the shower.

If the heater won't warm the room well enough, we basically have two options. We could relocate the heater to a different spot; unfortunately we don't have a real good location for it. A second option would be to rewire the heater so it can operate in its 1000W (half-wattage) mode per the wiring instructions in the manual. We currently have the heater wired for 240V and 2000W. It might be that in 1000W mode, the heater will not heat up the small area in front of the heater so quickly and will actually allow the surrounding room to get warmer. There might also be a third option. The heater does have the option to be controlled by a remote thermostat. I'm just a little concerned that if we run the heater off a remote thermostat, the heater and the area around it might get too hot. I would have to get the manufacturer's opinion regarding using a remote thermostat. It could be that running the heater in half-wattage mode and using a remote thermostat might be the best solution as long as the heater does not get too warm.

I'll probably test out the half-wattage mode soon and see if that helps.

 

[dstig1]

We don't have a concrete pit around the well; I'm not really sure what a concrete pit around the well is. We don't have any concrete at all around the well. The well was dug 300ft with the drill. The steel well casings were driven down 200+ feet into the well to protect the well from debris. There's not any concrete.

Obed

Well, OK, but I'm confused. What's this thing that looks like a concrete pit?

 

[Obed]

Well, OK, but I'm confused. What's this thing that looks like a concrete pit?

Dave,
Those were loose concrete blocks stacked on the ground two high. The well house was sitting on top of the blocks. The blocks are no longer there. We removed them when we removed the well house.

Obed

 

[tony Cecil]

What do you think would happen if you let the vents on the cover point upward??Tony

 

[dstig1]

Ah. Well there ya go. (I'm Dave BTW). But that was what had me confused. I see now it was something you had done for the camper, which makes sense. Just checking, as these things vary around the country.

You are still on track.

For the FP... Have you checked the moisture content of the wood you are burning? I recall you bought a moisture meter. If you are in for a fight with the stove company, then that is very good info to have. It is pretty typical to "blame the other guy" aka the "wood is wet" in your case. You need to remove those arguments from their repertoire. Of course, the way to do this is:

1. Measure the MC of your firewood on several sticks. Average that out.
2. Call them and tell them your issue.
3. Wait for them to tell you "your wood is too wet"
4. Ask "Well then, What is the correct %MC of firewood to burn in this FP"
5. Ask how you measure that?
6. Destroy them when you say "I used a moisture meter and my wood is measuring 16% with a 2% SD over 25 pieces, all of which I measured just prior to burning."
7. Wait through the stunned silence while the guy figures he needs to escalate....

Seriously, you have seen this in your work life, I am sure. Everyone tries to point the finger at someone else. Predict those finger pointings and cut them off. My guess is they have two options: 1. the wood, 2. the Install. You need to destory them on the first point so they know they are not dealing with Jeb Rube (aka "would you like me to send you the spreadsheet with the %MC distribution vs position on the log including standard deviations and the log normal distribution?" That should light them up ). Then have as much as you can on point #2, which they will now home in on. "Cause it can't be their fault...:laughing: The finally ask if they will do the right thing and send out a tech to figure it out and add to their technical knowledge database.