Return to Paradise - Homestead and Adventure!

Last one of the 35 footers in place! Now it's just the posts to be done.



Getting bored of peeling these logs though but on the dance goes:



Here's some more in the racks, this lot will be posts in 14,17 and 20 foot lengths.



EDIT:

Busy days, rainy times and a near-evacuation due to fires.

But there were no issues and I took some time to explore the firewood cutting area, alas the place was closed due to hunting season starting earlier. I managed to get 3 logs though.

So the plan is to get 3 outbuildings constructed. This will allow storage of gear, wood and tools. One of these will be a small garage.

So the first thing to do was designate an area. This will be next to my own private internal road that will run in a circle so I can get a trailer, drag logs in without having to reverse etc.

There are some trees in the way so I had to deploy the chainsaw to get them out of the way. Then it's just a case of getting the posts ready and the post holes dug. The posts will be 12 ft high on the high-side and 9 ft high on low side. I'll try and make 2 Ft 6 inches on the depth.

Pictures will follow.

Today was busy, had chainsawing to buzz with, then dragging a great 19 footer log in. The rainy weather is turning to sunshine again for a few days so I got some washing done too.

I completed my first post hole in the afternoon. All in all it took me about 4 and a half hours. I used a 5 inch nail, pickaxe, small adze and shovel. Most of the sub 1 ft digging was just a gloved hand and the 5 inch nail. That allowed the stones to be dug out little by little. Finally I made my depth of 2 ft.

Then I had the post to treat. I could have used the linseed oil but this would have taken a while to dry, so instead I unleashed the blow-torch for some charring action.

Tomorrow is installation and concreting! Pcs to follow...

This is the first post to go up!



I charred it a few feet for the ground to prevent rot:



Up she goes!



Just a case of wedging it tight with rocks for straightness:





Concreted in!

Sorry for the delays folks. I've been a busy Ryder doing many different things at once.

We had some rainy days and I wrapped up the concrete well enough:



This is how I char the posts. I go about 2' 3 to 2' 6 inches up with a blowtorch.



This pic shows 4 of the posts in place, however I have since gotten a fifth post in place and a sixth will hopefully go in today.



As you can see, this will be a single-pitch roof. I will possibly mount a water tank up at the ten foot mark too.



I had to adjust this hole slightly to maintain the square BUT it meant doing battle with a monster rock! After a few hours of battling I deployed the chainblock to lend heavy lift support!



Lummph! Out it came of the hole and I was staggered not only by the size, but the shape of the thing. It was like a big hand pointing with a finger! LOL



Well, I have another 3 holes to dig, then I can think about getting posts in and the girder logs in place.

Digging holes looks easy on these pictures, but it takes time. On a good day I can get about two or three of these things dug. Depending on the stone I encounter though it can be a nightmare. I had to get the trees out of the way first on these ones:



This one looks deep, but it's only 2 feet and that's the minimum depth for a corner post. If this was for my primary cabin it would be at least six to twelve inches deeper.



It's coming together though, this area will be the main living area, with a small water tank mounted just below where the roof is going to go. To the right is where the trailer will be garaged. This is all just going to be to live in while the main cabin is under construction though. Eventually this will be turned into a workshop / storage area. I'm not sure what it's eventual fate will be. I might even turn it into a guest cabin? Time will tell.



In the meantime I have to build the thing and this week is looking promising. I have zero-rain and near-temperate weather, perfect for a Watch Ryder to keep on grafting!

First thing is to get a door post installed, it will be lower than the main post for a cross-log, this will make getting the walls up and mounting the tank too.



That's the post up, I got it partially on video, but for some reason, the video chip decided to cut out and most of the footage was corrupted.

Here's the next post, let me tell you, getting two posts done in one day is a graft. I have to char both logs, peel them, possible linseed them (although this can take place later):



Only ONE more post to go, than I can get working on the girder logs!

Alright, latest databurst, btw this was DANGEROUS work. I had to throw the second girder log up like a 'throw of faith', it landed between the 'dogs' (noggins of wood that held the girder in place for later nailing / lag screwing) but snapped on of the middle dogs! LOL

The Third girder log was the romper stomper of the girder logs! I nearly broke my neck when it slid off the door post by accident! The door post help it from falling and dragging me off the ladder by my neck! LOL. That was a close call for the Ryder, thankfully the door post saved my bacon! Had I not made it that tall it could have been a different story!

ONE!





TWO!



AND THREE!



The girder logs are up, mounted (lag screws) and ready! The first is at 6 ft, second at 8ft and third at 10 ft high!

Now it's just a case of getting TWENTY 8 ft+ logs over to the Alaskan Sawmill for getting 3,4,5x5 rafters manufactured!

Watch this space and ask questions if you aren't sure about all that I just did.

Well today has been a day of days! Yet let's talk about what I've been up to at the Ryder's Redoubt....

These are the tools I used to get the lag screws to bolt through the horizontal and into the vertical ones. Some would use rebar but I didn't have (for me) enough concrete to support the violent bangs and clouts to do that.



The job wasn't that easy, but much easier than the previous lifting and placing duty.

The job wasn't that easy, but much easier than the previous lifting and placing duty.

Onto the next job, that of the Rembracers! I am not happy with the long amounts of log without post support. So to address this I decided a trip to my neighbors workshop was in order. With two jumbo-clamps that I brought I managed to pin the logs in question for their 45 degree angles.





I used an angle device to confirm and then it was off back to the redoubt to get them mounted in place.





Notice the solitary post all on its lonesome? It's the one to the left of the leaning log. This will be the door post but I want to get this doing support duty for another great log!

So with nightfall about to be upon me I get busy!

First to do is cable-tie and toe-in the leaning log for support as this is another lone-operator mission. Next is a few more screws further up the post. Finally a couple of noggins on the solitary post for roll-prevention.

Then it's a case of peeling the next horizontal log and cutting it to a tolerance of no more than 1/4 of an inch.
Mounting duty: *Up on the shoulder with the log (which is about 10 feet long)*, climb the step ladder one-handed, lean in and.....

INSTALLED!



Final adjustments get it fully level. Just a case of a few lag screws on either end. This log will also help with framing and getting the plywood walls in place.

First though I must get the rafters done tomorrow or the next day as my out-building it still lacking a roof! Until my neighbors return I cannot do that, so...

Onto another task! I have an internal door post to install! Pictures and deeds on that later.

Haven Careful Pants wrote: »

This thread is all kinds of legendary.

Here's the next databurst.

Today has been a learning experience! I've been getting to grips with a sawmill and it's quite a cool bit of kit. Large warning labels warning of death and amputation scream out as I get to work. Under the direction of G-Man who runs through the mighty machine of industry I start my work.

The machine requires a water-cooled blade, an oil-bath for the crank and a careful check of the trackway before use. Then it's the case of getting the first of the FIFTEEN logs into position.

Some were so heavy I had to use lifting equipment to get them onto the steel sawmill deck!



So I roll, roll rollatron the first one in place, CLUNK! I get the narrow end of the log facing the sawblade.

Next is the esoteric / artful part. The difference between the big and small end must be taken into account with a central alignment bias. So if the narrow end is 10 inches and the large end is 12 inches the result is a 2 inch difference. However since the log must be aligned to a central bias the 2 inches is halved and so 1 inches is what the log must be raised by at the NARROW end.
Doing this is how to get the log balanced for cutting without or at least greatly reducing unevenness. Also important is to clamp the log into place with a dog-clamp using a piece of flat wood to spread the clamp out a bit.

Next I made my square diagram for what dimensions I want on the narrow end of the log. Then it's time to fire up the sawmill and start ripping!

First I rip off the 'scab' or the first section by pushing the sawmill as it cuts, maintaining a good water cool of the blade.
Then after the scab is off the artful esoteric part returns again! I have to rotate the log 90 degrees and check using the newly ripped flat part with a spirit-level. Dog-clamp is in place and the process repeats again, and again!

Then the result, if all is well, is an even beam, board or girder etc.

I now have my first 5x5 beam to use for the roof. It's pretty romper-stomper but it has to be, my roof-pitch is only 18 degrees which is roughly 6-12 I think. Not the steepest for snowpack so strong it must be.

On the second log it was even thicker, so my neighbor made a suggestion that two beams could *just* be gotten from it.

Unfortunately the blade snapped! It didn't hit anything or injure us but there was the possibility that my neighbor may have overtensioned it, although to me it didn't seem too tight.

So I have to make an unexpected trip to the city to get another saw blade. It's over $40 for two of them so I hope they last...

Here's the video databursts for those who want to 'see' how it's done with more than just words...

Next it was time for the Plywood sheets! Thankfully for this one I had someone help me with those.
I did a few by myself though as the pitch of the roof was not too great for one person.



The rafters did a good job at supporting the plywood sheets but I had to make up many macro-joists too, or blocking as they are called in the USA.

During the silent hours intruders were heard driving about the private easement road! This is sometimes an issue where those who lived nearby would use it for hunting back in the day.

A gate is really needed, along with cameras etc, but apart from night patrolling and turning them back for now it's all we can do:



The work must continue! So with little sleep that day on went the construction battle!

Last of the blocking done:



Tar Paper going up!

Hi Tabs,

The rembracers will be going up on both sides later, but for now they are just installed where the sterling-board sheets (not plywood as I incorrectly stated) were overhanging.

The first set of double joists were challenging, not only was I having to drill through three tamarack logs (or larch logs as they are also known), but the posts were not aligned. This is due to the differences in hole configuration, log thickness etc.

I made a notch on the center post which took about an hour or so. The it was a case of making the other side the same so that both joists were the same height. I used a combination square and carpenters level for this which I got between the bubble.



What happened was the joists had to either be 'pushed' in to fit or 'pulled' out etc. In one instance I had to use blocking to bridge a gap. Had I not done so the joist could well have snapped as a result of being over bent. Here's how I did it.

The joists are going in quite rapidly, before long I'll have a floor, or at least half of the cabin living quarters ready for insulation and boards on top:



I make sure to rough in the plumbing for my grey water system. It will go from the living quarters ground (shallow trench) to a deep trench about 6 feet from the garage area. I'll line it will gravel and sawdust / bark for breaking down the liquid etc.

On that note a 33 gallon RV water tank has been delivered, but no sign of my water pump, that must be on the slow boat from China it seems...



Grey-water channel:



Toeing in the secondary joists. Ideally I should go in from the side but the double-joist setup makes that too tricky alas. Nevertheless with shims and long screws the joist is going nowhere. I also have braced the middle double-joists with logs and rocks like the old-timers did too.

The rainfall is helping keep the threat of future forest fires down. For now the priority is the floor, then the wall.

I got the last primary set of double-joists installed, along with a single-line of joist hangers.
Also made a massive a purchase of building materials for the floor. insulation, membrane, 6 x 4/8 pine plywood sheets 23/32 thick.
A massive pair of siding boards 14 feet long really extended the length of my truck on the way back from the city.

More on that later, stay tune for updates...

I manage to get the last two primary joists installed along with the joist hangers that are lined-up and ready.



The drainage project was a real labor, back when I was in the military we did a fair bit of digging in training. This one time I'd dodged having to do it on a large scale, now though I was doing it again, but on my own terms...

The trench will run from one corner to the other:



The dirt will go towards making a berm firing range. Most of it is clay, and I get the large to medium sized rocks out of each shovel that goes in the bucket. Those that do will tend to make up the edges.



I brace up the two new joists too:

Ok here's the latest batch of updates.

I bought 6 sheets of fine 3/4" pine boards of 4x8 dimensions. That's nearly 200 sq ft!

These were nearly $30 per sheet but I get a discount so its not too bad. I woodstained one of them too.

It took three sheets to take up the bulk of the area.





These were nice to walk on, with no sagging or creeking in nearly all areas. However if I jumped up and down there was a little creak.

Despite the linseed oil I'd coated the first one in and it drying, there were still marks on it. The pine really shows up scuffs too. Later on I'll probably put a laquerred floor over it.

It was the remaining areas that were a challenge. Not only did they require off-cuts from the other 3 remaining sheets, there was no room for much error, I had to make each one fit around the relevant logs!

This was not to mention the addition of blocking too!



Just look at the measurement calculations! It wasn't calculus, but it wasn't far off either!

I was never that good at algebra but it was time to put my math to the test!



There were seven pieces crafted using a skilsaw, jigsaw, drill and sandpaper. I semi-cheated at the end using a power planer but more on this later.









By the time I was finished, I did not want to do another floor in a hurry let me tell you!



Nevertheless despite a few wide holes around posts nearly all the floor is level.