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SubArcticGuy
Member
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2013 09:56pm
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I have a few posts on this site so far but nothing detailing my build. I have been debating building a cabin for a few years but wasn't convinced. Last year I was out snowmobiling for the last ice fishing trip of the the season and we stopped at somebody's cabin for a visit and had a cup of tea out on the picnic table on a beautiful spring day. The fellow who owned the cabin is close to 70 years old and then I realized that could mean I could have 35+ years of spring days at my own cabin. So I checked out a spot on the way home that day...then flew out camped there the following fall to scope it out without snow. I had a lease by the time the snow was down again and now I am fully into it.
A slow start
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Finally a place to warm up.
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one of many trips...
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Building around the tent.
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SubArcticGuy
Member
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2013 10:07pm
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A few more photos of the progress..
And now the roof
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Summer mode - still not quite mosquito proof
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Closed in - sort of?
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Fall colors
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Salty Craig
Member
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2013 10:21pm
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SubArcticGuy
Dude, all I can say is wow!!! You have just surpassed all my expectations. I love snow, cold weather, and everything about the wild. I officially make myself your biggest fan. Tell a little more about the area. I'm sucked in. It was a balmy 32f in my part of the earth today.
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SubArcticGuy
Member
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# Posted: 12 Nov 2013 11:47pm
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It is right on the edge of Canadian Shield country (a couple of kms to the west it transitions to an entirely different ecosystem). It is on a small pond on a small river system. I have a decent size lake just upriver and I can go about 6 kms down river without having to portage. It is only 28 kms from my house...but there is a giant river and lots of marsh between here and there so it is only snowmobile access in winter (~ 1.5 hours each way) and floatplane in the summer (~$450 each way). I have to portage to other lakes to find any other cabins so I pretty much have the place to myself (in the summer months anyway).
I like the location because I am on a small peninsula with a very narrow connection (~ 10 m) so I can let the kids wander in the back when they are a little older and they won't get lost. The water bodies are fairly sheltered so they can explore by boat or canoe nearby and not get wind bound. There is good fishing, but we failed to get a moose in the 8 days we were there this fall, but there are a few around. (We saw 8 bears though...so a bear fence will be in short order). I have a few more photos to post later...it is still a work in progress. I probably won't be able to get out there until around Christmas.
Pre-build, the cabin is going on the natural outcrop
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Spending a night under the northern lights on last years fall recon trip...had the first good frost.
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The dogs are waiting on the new dock for the ride home.
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Our ride home....(with a spare canoe to leave behind).
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missouriboy
Member
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2013 09:34am
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This is totally awesome. How do you get all your building materials out there? Most of us can only dream of something like this. I love the dock you already have also. Did you cut all the materials for it on site? I for one will be following your progress.
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SubArcticGuy
Member
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2013 10:36am
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All the materials have been snowmobiled out (with the exception of 2 windows which came in on an empty plane that came to pick us up). I can pull up to about 1000 lbs behind the snowmobile depending on snow conditions. There is only one hill that I really have to worry about (and anything wider than 4' I have to be very careful with as there are some narrow spots). I am worried about getting the rest of the windows out there. I have 3 windows (including one 4'x9') that won't fit in an airplane so I will be trying to snowmobile those out there this winter....that will be a very slow tedious trip.
The dock I just threw together in a couple of hours. I had a bunch of spare 2x4's out there and I salvaged the drum from a very old abandoned trappers cabin a few kms away.
I don't have a generator so all my lumber has been either pre-cut or hand cut with a Silky saw (Google it...the Zubat 330 is a great utility saw in the bush).
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LDamm
Member
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2013 11:09am
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Your living my dream. Keep the pics coming!!!! Thanks for sharing.
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rockies
Member
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# Posted: 13 Nov 2013 05:33pm
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If I were you I'd change the 4 x 9 window for two 4 x 4 windows. I designed my cabin with a huge window at first but then I realized that getting it out there would be extremely difficult (and what if it breaks?) I take it you are in Northern Ontario?
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SubArcticGuy
Member
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# Posted: 14 Nov 2013 12:13pm
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I salvaged the windows from a friends house so I don't have a choice in the size. They are all relatively new double pane vinyl windows that were free. I have some other smaller but still large ones that I may switch around if the big one breaks but I am really hoping it doesn't. I have a friend with a large sled on suspension skies so I may try and borrow that for the move and then just crate the window really good.
I am not in Northern Ontario....I am in the Northwest Territories (east of Fort Smith), just a few kms north of Alberta.
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hattie
Member
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# Posted: 14 Nov 2013 12:54pm
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WOW!!!!!! AMAZING!!!!!! Keep the pictures coming. What an exciting project!!! 
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SonnyB
Member
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# Posted: 15 Nov 2013 10:23am
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Looking good! keep posting pics!
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rockies
Member
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# Posted: 18 Nov 2013 09:34pm
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I wonder if you have read any of the articles on building in an artic environment by Joseph Lstiburek on the building science website?http://www.buildingscience.com/documents/insights/bsi-031-building-in-extreme -cold/?searchterm=very cold climate
There appear to be some very specific practices needed for such a cold climate.
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SubArcticGuy
Member
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# Posted: 22 Nov 2013 09:19am
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Thanks for the link Rockies, very interesting reading. It is also very relevant to me as I am about to rip all the roofing/insulation out of the roof of my house to fix some serious ventilation/condensation issues.
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trollbridge
Member
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# Posted: 22 Nov 2013 09:42am - Edited by: trollbridge
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Awesome! What a feat! Congratulations, and absolutely beautiful!
More pics, please!
Sleeping under the Northern Lights...priceless!!
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 22 Nov 2013 10:19am
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building science rules. and some of the authors are quite funny.
great location. I love the shield. If I had a sled I'd come help move the windows. 
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rockies
Member
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# Posted: 22 Nov 2013 09:49pm
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Yes, building science has some great articles and writers. For example, I never would have known that batt insulation should never be put into the stud bays for an exterior wall in an artic environment. They say to use at least 2 layers of rigid insulation boards on the exterior of the sheathing only and then stagger the seams. Some of their other articles on artic and sub-artic climates have detailed sections and drawings of all the flashing and insulating details, too.
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Purplerules
Member
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# Posted: 23 Nov 2013 04:02pm
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Awesome build!
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neb
Member
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# Posted: 24 Nov 2013 08:15am
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All I can say is great job and what a place to build a cabin. Please keep us posted on your build.
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SubArcticGuy
Member
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# Posted: 25 Nov 2013 09:17am - Edited by: SubArcticGuy
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A few more photos from this fall....The big river is nearly frozen so I might be able to get back there this weekend!
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SubArcticGuy
Member
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# Posted: 2 Dec 2013 12:51pm - Edited by: SubArcticGuy
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Well I made it out to the cabin yesterday. No bear damage (as we flew out of there in the fall there was a sow and 3 cubs about 500 metres away).
I hit a few big patches of overflow...one was sketchy enough that I tied a rope to a tree and walked out with an axe to check the ice thickness.
I managed to get a window out and a few more bags of insulation. I have decided to isolate the area underneath the loft with poly so that I can have a heated space and still work on the rest of the cabin (pulling the tarp off the roof and finishing the gable end. ).
For those that haven't seen the collapsing picnic table it is worth a search for the plans...I made it out of a single sheet of plywood...it has paid for itself countless times. I plan on making another one this winter.
Trusty Transport
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Temporary Woodstove
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Collapsing Picnic Table
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Loft
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 3 Dec 2013 07:09pm
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what sled is that. and why don't they make small dependable sleds anymore?
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SubArcticGuy
Member
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# Posted: 3 Dec 2013 10:03pm
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It is a 2007 Ski-doo Expedition Sport with a 550cc Fan cooled engine. I am about the only guy left that I know still running a fan cooled. I have been out on a few rides where I am the only one with a fan cooled...and after they finish telling me I should buy a liquid cooled they come over to me to thaw out their goggles and warm their hands on the nice hot air blowing out of that fan.
That being said...I think the next one will be a 4 stroke tundra, I love the nice low end torque.
I do miss the small dependable sleds...but the market dictates what sells....why have a little reliable and economical machine when you can spend twice as much money and go twice as fast?
I do appreciate the extra power and bigger track when I get into deep snow or a pile of overflow on the river.
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missouriboy
Member
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# Posted: 7 Dec 2013 06:00pm
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Love the pictures. How long does it take you to snowmobile out?
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SubArcticGuy
Member
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# Posted: 7 Dec 2013 06:06pm
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Going out with a load of gear usually takes about 1.5 hours (about 2.5 hours last week but that was with a window). I can make it home in just over an hour. When I bring out the kids I think it will take about two hours depending on how well they travel. I picked up an old snowcoach a few weeks ago and put new windows in it...should be perfect for hauling the kids out.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 8 Dec 2013 09:27am
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that tundra looks sweet. i sent the link to a buddy of mine who traps. ... give him something to dream about.
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SubArcticGuy
Member
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# Posted: 10 Dec 2013 10:55pm
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Found a few lost photos tonight...Planning on trying another supply run on Sunday if the weather warms up...I don't bother below -25°C.
Firepit
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Back of the cabin (downstairs window still to be cut)
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Just itching to be paddled.
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Good enough to sleep in.
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missouriboy
Member
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# Posted: 11 Dec 2013 08:05am
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Beautiful setting. What kind of fish are in the lake? Looks like good fishing.
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SubArcticGuy
Member
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# Posted: 11 Dec 2013 10:56am
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Jackfish (northern pike), Walleye (pickerel), Lake Trout (and probably whitefish and a couple of others that you won't see on a hook). There are piles of small jackfish....they are almost a pain...but there are still a couple of big ones in there too. Next time I will be tying the kids fishing rods to the boat just in case.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 11 Dec 2013 06:00pm
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Whitefish. mmmm. Now I'm all hungry.
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tex
Member
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# Posted: 27 Dec 2013 04:16pm
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Seems like more a cottage than a small cabin. What a hall to get there too. I wonder if you will be there in a few years?
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