Started my tower stand today

[EddieWalker]

Sounds like you and Eva are having fun with the blind, hunting or no hunting. Smart thinking with the coloring book!!! Good to have her out there, but you don't want her to be bored and not having fun.

Good luck with the deer hunting. I'm looking forward to seeing what you get.

Eddie

 

[Thomas]

Now thats what I call hunting in comfort ..n i c e.

 

[brin]

Thanks Robert...I had thought about being able to just slide down and tried it and it works fine for me as well as my grand daughter when she uses it after deer season..

 

[brin]

Thanks Jim, That is OSB for roof decking and I had not trimmed the roofing felt when I took the picture but their are shingles on top of that...left over from building our house...same with the 2x6'es they were left over too so I put them to good use.

 

[two_bit_score]

Great thread Robert!

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Great thread Robert!

Thanks, Ava enjoys going hunting with me now as she can have fun out there regardless to if we see anything. Here she is all set to go hunting, box of markers, bag with chips, stuffed animal and coloring book. She has been with me hunting the last two afternoons now. I am really enjoying this tower as I have wanted Ava to go hunting with me for a while and now she can without being asked to keep her voice down or not to move so much. And tonight a storm moved in as we were out there and it was nice watching the rain hit the windows as we were warm and dry inside coloring and snacking

I just have to keep Ava out of the decision making process for paint color as she wants it pink or dark pink when I tell her it needs to be a dark color

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I have been working on the inside of the tower a little bit each day also as I get ready to come home in the morning and when I first go out in the afternoon. All the windows are insulated and the extensions are on. I cut the trim for them and Ava helped me trim the one window today and start a second window but I didn't want to make too much noise so I stopped there. Tomorrow I will put the rest of the trim on the windows and caulk it. I did caulk the edges of the OSB along all the corners and that along with insulating around the door sealed up the last few drafts I had in there. It is now real cozy almost to the point of being too warm (thats a good problem).

I am thinking of getting some commercial carpet to put down in there to help deaden the noise from the office chair and a little girls foot steps. I don't know how much sound gets transferred outside of the stand and how much is actually heard with the thruway so close but I think the carpet would just make it that much nicer. Then we can just kick back and really enjoy "hunting"

 

[Tororider]

Robert, what are the inside dimensions of your stand? I am trying to figure out how big I should build mine. Would you change your dimensions at all having hunted in it a bit now?

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Robert, what are the inside dimensions of your stand? I am trying to figure out how big I should build mine. Would you change your dimensions at all having hunted in it a bit now?

Inside dimensions are 7' 6" x 7' 6". The only thing I would do different on the next tower is put the windows tight to the main corner I am looking towards. With the width of the corner it gives you a blind spot making you have to move too much in my mind to see easily. I sit so I can look through 3 sides but mainly watch the one corner where the field is. I should have used wider windows on the front wall but I used what I could find reasonably priced.

I have found the 8x8 is a nice size for a tower stand if you plan to have anyone up there with you. Ava has been with me a couple times and there is enough room for both of us to sit and she can get up and walk around without any problems. If it is only for one person then 6x6 would be perfect. Plenty of room to move around, smaller room to heat (if you need heat) and easier to see all around the tower.

The one thing I have learned with this tower is the windows are the biggest thing you need to consider when designing it. I didn't want to spend a fortune on windows so I bought simple custom sizes that I could easily find locally without costing a lot of money. This then made it a hassle as I was trying to make windows work for my tower instead of buying the proper windows for the size tower I wanted. So now I am looking for new windows again for my next tower and when I get the right windows found I will start to build the second tower hopefully in the summer.

 

[Western]

Good point on the windows, thanks. I want to start one this winter or spring, so that is a great consideration. All I knew is I wanted the windows to open up not side way's. Did you use single panes or cheap doubles?

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Good point on the windows, thanks. I want to start one this winter or spring, so that is a great consideration. All I knew is I wanted the windows to open up not side way's. Did you use single panes or cheap doubles?

I have two double hung replacement windows, the other three windows is a slider with a stationary sash (don't like it but oh well) and two single hung windows from Mr. 2nds.

 

[Western]

Thanks Robert, I don't know if I will insulate mine since I am the only one that will use it. If the wife cares to go with me I may have to insulate it then it may make sense for me to use a few small double panes I have laying around. We don't get nearly as much cold as you guy's but it can get nippy at times.

 

[EddieWalker]

The windows in my blind are single pane glass. My walls are not insulate, just OSB on the inside and outside of the studs. I did put insualtion in the ceiling, but just two layers or R13 fiberglass bats that I had left over for insulating the walls of my house.

With the windows closed, I can heat my 8'x8' blind with my Coleman heater to comfy levels in just minutes on high. It's rated for indoor use, but just in case, I have a Carbon Monoxide alarm in there too. After it's good and warm in there, I can open the window and remain comfortble with the heater on low. I realize that having the window open defeats the purpose of the heater, but it's how I prefer it, and the heater does such a good job of heating the small space that it works out very nicely.

My windows cost around $30 each from Home Depot. When designing and thinking about my blind, the windows are what gave me the most trouble. I spent months trying to design something that I could make myself. I thought it would be too expensive to buy windows for it, and I thought that I could make my own for allot cheaper then I could buy them. I never bought or even looked at single pane windows before, but once I did, I realized that was the only way to go.

Eddie

 

[Western]

Great info Eddie, since your weather is very close to mine that will probably be the direction I go then. I have built several blinds for others, all transportable, but for myself I want to go permanent like you guy's have done partly for hunting, comfort and observation.

Your talking about the little gas heaters with the screw in bottles right?

 

[EddieWalker]

Yes, my heater uses the little bottles. Mr Heater makes them too, but when reading the reviews on Amazon, the Mr Heater models had allot of comments about how much noise they made. While I wasn't too concerned with the animals hearing it, I thought that it would annoy me to have to hear it. I have a clock in there now that drives me crazy with it's ticking. I'm going to toss it and get a digital one so I don't have to listen to that noise.

I went with the Coleman because it's a good name, and the reviews were all pretty good on it. There might have been another brand to choose from, but I forget what it was. I've used the Coleman several times now to take off the chill in the early hours, and can say that it works great. I have a supply of bottles on my shelf, but I'm still on my first bottle. Steph had it going next to her feet last week, and with two windows open, she was comfortable. I was at the other end of the blind, and also comfortable.

I remove the bottle from the heater when I'm not in there just in case there's a leak some day. I don't know if it will ever leak, or not, but it's not something that I take a chance with.

Eddie

 

[Western]

Yes, my heater uses the little bottles. Mr Heater makes them too, but when reading the reviews on Amazon, the Mr Heater models had allot of comments about how much noise they made. While I wasn't too concerned with the animals hearing it, I thought that it would annoy me to have to hear it. I have a clock in there now that drives me crazy with it's ticking. I'm going to toss it and get a digital one so I don't have to listen to that noise.
Eddie

Funny you mention that, I am the same way. If my neighbor had a dripping faucet it will almost wake me up and soon I will offer to fix it.. constant little noises bother the heck out of me. A cricket in the woods no problem, but let one in the house and its WAR...

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I have a couple Mr. Heaters and they do have a low hiss sound but it isn't anything I really pay much attention to. I only notice it when the heater goes out (fuel runs out). I don't know if the Coleman has the hose option but the Mr. Heater has a 12' hose option that allows you to connect the heater directly to a 20lb propane tank (which is a lot cheaper and nicer for a setup like a tower I think, no worry about changing tanks as one full tank will last a full hunting season.

I got the heaters cheap though and that is the main reason I bought them along with the fact they had the hose option.

 

[Western]

I was thinking that this evening while sitting in my ground blind. I have a 100lb bottle and a couple of 20lb'ers. I used the big one in my old shop to run the heater. I haven't used it except to get it tested, filled and then cooked a couple deer heads and an elk head. I also have a small bathroom type gas heater that would work, of course then I twould have to consider a vent for fresh air if i go "industrial"..

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I was thinking that this evening while sitting in my ground blind. I have a 100lb bottle and a couple of 20lb'ers. I used the big one in my old shop to run the heater. I haven't used it except to get it tested, filled and then cooked a couple deer heads and an elk head. I also have a small bathroom type gas heater that would work, of course then I twould have to consider a vent for fresh air if i go "industrial"..

If you do go with the larger heater it wouldn't be a big deal to vent it. Since you are building the blind from scratch just factor in where you want the heater and run the vent.