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bigfoot5678
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2011 10:42
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started in late 2006 using leftover materials from new const apt jobs, hauled down via trailer.
550 miles from my home in DFW area one way. 20 acre plot
No permit reqd, no well, no septic.
rain catchment, and humanure toilet system.
pier and beam foundation with 6x12 girder beams with steel posts
made it way too big as most folks around here have secondary roof over top for shade to help out during brutally hot summers...temps over 110 degrees most days from June-Sept.
elevation 3400'
recycled corregated tin panels, R13 walls with poly vapor barrier, and R19 clg
used all 3/8" OSB for interior skin painted with oil based Kilz and final coat latex.
solar and wind gen power planned.
100% off grid.
have pics but have to figure out how to post....newbie here
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bigfoot5678
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2011 10:51
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here are a few pics..
FYI.
Thanks
front porch facing bluff ..to south
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framed and partial OSB skin up
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view from main porch..Big Bend Nat Park on horizon
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early sunrise out back door
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bigfoot5678
Member
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2011 10:58
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and a few more
thanks for viewing.
Bigfoot
front porch roof going up...no eaves due to super high wind storms
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in the beginning...6x12" x 14' girder bms
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cabinets in progress...kitch is way to big.!
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another postcard sunset
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Montanan
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2011 12:01
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Wow- what a gorgeous setting! I like how the corrugated tin looks. Welcome to the forum.
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2011 16:54
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Welcome bigfoot5678. Congrats on the progress you've made so far!!! Boy, it really looks like your in the middle of nowhere :) How many acres do you own? Also, I have to ask...how in the world do you handle the heat you've had this summer???? I couldn't do anything but sit and wait for the next beautiful sunset to arrive!!! Jeepers, seriously?!? I like your tin as well...wish we could get our hands on a bunch for cheap- it is getting more pricey here. I also really like your cabinetry in the kitchen! Please post more pics as you can 'cause it sure is fun to watch others progress :)
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bigfoot5678
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2011 18:35
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Thanks for the welcome notes..!!
I only have 20 acres, but most of it is hike-able and not drive-able due to the rugged nature of the land. Land is VERY cheap down that way. I live west of the DFW area but make several trips a year to the cabin.
You can find 10 acres for $3000 total, easily there, but not all of them are on a high bluff...and some may be 45 mins down a 4x4 only gravel road. Nearest town of any size, 5000 pop,...is 60 miles to the north. Alpine.
most have no power, none with sewer, and cell phone svc does not exist...unless you drive to town. well water is dicey and mostly non existent.
As for the heat, it's only for bad 3 months...but a swamp cooler makes a big difference. The rest of the year is FINE...get's around freezing at night...but back up to 70-80 in winter daytimes.
Summer is rainy season with avg 12" per year...that's when you catch your rain to fill the rain tank. Mine is 1350 Gallons and filled up after 2 rains.
Had I not gone nuts and made the cabin so big and tall, I coulda built a shade roof over the top, and that really helps with the heat.
As for the tin, I just kept my eyes open and gathered it up here and there cheaply. Some from Craigslist...et al. With TyVek housewrap behind it and the dry clilmate I did not worry with the old nail holes much.
Can't beat sittin on the porch, smokin' a ceegar and sippin' a glass of bourbon.....nuthin finer, watching the sun go down...in total silence.
Thank for the interest.
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bigfoot5678
Member
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2011 18:54
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more pics
check out those west TX wind gens...HUGE!!
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bigfoot5678
Member
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2011 18:56
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one at a time...slow internet connection here for me.
Agua Fria Mtn....5 miles away to the south
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bigfoot5678
Member
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2011 18:59
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pic
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trollbridge
Member
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# Posted: 13 Sep 2011 20:47
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Looks like an ominous storm coming. Hey- I noticed your nice bathtub. What kind of system do you use to get water to it? Pics? It looks like it is near your water container? Do you just open the spigot to fill?
How far is your closest neighbor? You really look like you are by yourself out there. Cool!
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CabinBuilder
Admin
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# Posted: 14 Sep 2011 10:08
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Quoting: bigfoot5678 Can't beat sittin on the porch, smokin' a ceegar and sippin' a glass of bourbon.....nuthin finer, watching the sun go down...in total silence.
Well said. Thanks for the pics - I can imagine.
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bigfoot5678
Member
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# Posted: 14 Sep 2011 11:12
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Hey TrollB...
the tub (and I have another one now) is not connected, just sitting on the gravel ground.
I plan to situate both ( like the commercial) side by side, at the cusp of the bluff off to one side of the cabin. Can fill via hose from the tank, using a cheapo 12V Harbor Fright pump....or 5 gallon buckets.
My closest neighbor is about 2 miles away as the crow flies. And another couple about 3 miles away. ( can see 2 of them from my elevation - no trees)
I've been thinking of trying to get my handful of neighbors to get CB radios and we can communicate that way.
All the tracts here do have phone wires run down the roads to each tract when they chopped up this huge old ranch into tracts in 1969..and a phone like is cheap to get.
BUT if you want DSL they have to come verify you have adequate offgrid power supply..then they bring the Vermeer rock cutting wheel to lay the fiber-optics line down your road...and then you have a 6" deep super fine talcum powder road for several months until the next rainy season can pack it down. (Don't know why they don't finish up with a water truck...but that's the phone co...max profits)
Since I bought my place and started bldg in 2006....I have had 4 new neighbors within sight moved in. But we watch out for each other.
Land is cheap here...but it's not "on the way" to anywhere...and unless you have an income it's a tough hard-scrabble life in this area. There are many, many abandoned ramshackle homes, trailers and shacks...drying in the desert.
Cabin Bldr....thanks for the note.
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bigfoot5678
Member
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# Posted: 14 Sep 2011 11:16
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Oh...and I realized my orig post is wrong...
actually the place is 24 x 28' in footprint.
And my place is only 2 miles off the state higway...good bladed road, can roll 40MPH down the first half of it, and a little rocky the 2nd half.
I have made many 550 mile - one way- trips there with my Towncar pulling an old Chevy pickup bed fullsized trailer loaded with generator, dirtbike, tools etc....(until my tranny started acting up...now I just pull a tiny trailer now and then)
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trollbridge
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# Posted: 15 Sep 2011 21:54
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Quoting: bigfoot5678 plan to situate both ( like the commercial) side by side, at the cusp of the bluff
Sweet!! I want to see pictures when your done!
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Nirky
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# Posted: 16 Sep 2011 00:39
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Quoting: bigfoot5678 Summer is rainy season with avg 12" per year...that's when you catch your rain to fill the rain tank. Mine is 1350 Gallons and filled up after 2 rains.
Is your rain "catching area" your roof? What its approximate size? Have you figured out how many gallons you use per year?
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bigfoot5678
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# Posted: 16 Sep 2011 13:45
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rain catchment area is the roof...yes. We don't live here (yet) but water usage in the desert is minimal (no car washing, no yard watering, and humanure toilet means no water for flushing) I've read the "normal" city-living, usage avg is 50-60 Gallons per day per person in the house...for showering, flushing, washing, etc.
The actual calc says for every 1" rain event you will catch 600 gallons for every 1000SF of roof area (flat footprint area , not up the slope)
cabin is 672 SF add to porch roof of 192 gives me 864 SF of catch area.
We use the rain water right out of the tank for dishwashing, bathing, hand washing...and probably would be fine to drink, with minimal filtering. We do have an "Aquarain" filter (pricey at $170) but have not yet used it. (still in the box). Similar to a Berkey....but "Cheaper Than Dirt" has a kit $30.. you make from 5 gallon buckets and some ceramic filters....ought to be the same.
I've read that rain water is very soft, great for hairwashing, clothes washing...and unless you live in a polluted area...is pretty clean, other than bird crap off the roof. BUt that can be avoided by piping in a simple "first flush" system with your rain catchment piping.
See book :"rain collection for mechanically challenged"....great info for beginners.
We always take a few jugs of grocery store drinking water for cooking, drinking...4-5 gallon jugs will last a week for us.
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brokeneck
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# Posted: 20 Sep 2011 01:10
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What a great project and what a beautiful view !!
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