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sabiggs
Member
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# Posted: 1 Apr 2012 09:53am
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Thanks Larry. Great ideas about the Sawdust Potty. I'm going to look into that with some more detail for sure.
As for our heat shield, we have 1" spacers in between the cement board and the wall framing. We also have the 2 1/2" concrete tile thing I made for addition heat protection. Our wood stove (TwoDog) is about the smallest guy on the market and also doesn't require massive heat spacing. I think we're around 12-15" on the side wall and that's where it gets hottest. We have no problems from the back side and certainly none from the underside.
Thanks for the comments. The property is a true joy in my life.
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tbjohn
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# Posted: 1 Apr 2012 09:56am
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Sabiggs,
I have seen places in Western Maine where every other tree looks like that. I would love to see a moose chewing on one. A trail camera is the trick. My camps are down east Maine and we have lots of moose there but I have not seen many trees like you are showing in that side of the state. I am thinking it is because we had more clear cuts and have more saplings for them to chew on. By the way....very nice camp. It sure is fun.
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larryh
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# Posted: 1 Apr 2012 10:42am - Edited by: larryh
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Sabigs,
I don't think you would ever regret the switch from pit to sawdust. No comparison in odors, bugs, or mess. It takes about 5 minutes to empty the pails into the compost and cover it with several inches of mulch, leaves, grass, chopped or not weeds, or more peat moss. I have never had a bit of odor from mine and from what I read neither do others. Lots of sites on the net concerning Humanure composting and designs for potty seats. I have a photo of mine here somewhere but will put another up for you to see. I also like the fact that as long as your religious about covering with an inch or so the "droppings" in the pail you have almost no odor and its easily kept indoors in winter if you have the ability to do that, a tiny cabin may not. In summer I move mine outside to my Pail Privy I made and never used because I hated the thing and disposing of the contents, but this method is so much better.
Larry
Sawdust potty.
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Pail Privy.
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Pail Privy interior.
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Tim
Member
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# Posted: 2 Apr 2012 06:00am
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I was one of the biggest "skeptics" there ever was of "saw dust toilets". However......on a construction site, you need something available. I have a drywall bucket sitting in what will be the bathroom, lined with a garbage bag. There is plenty of sawdust going on around here right now, so I took advantage of that. It only gets emptied after about 4 or 5 uses. It is easy to forget it is even there. There is no odor what so ever! NONE!
Tim
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sabiggs
Member
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# Posted: 16 Apr 2012 06:27pm - Edited by: sabiggs
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Back from a few days in glorious Vermont.
I have been cherishing my time there recently since I'll be taking a hiatus around August when my wife and I welcome our 2nd daughter...so, my trips up with my brother are only a few more.
Chris and I went up this weekend and got a lot of little things done and even relaxed a bit. The big jobs included: installing a small window that can be opened above the door, reinforcing the loft by doubling up on the front 2x6 and putting in a side support bar, framing in the long window with some nice maple, and building a few odds and ends we could use. We also bought a gorgeous handmade table to replace our coffee table (was too big).
This was our first trip this year where didn't even need the wood stove. Actually, we slept with the "new" window open a little.
Todd, our "tree" guy, met us Sunday AM, after apparently being up all night with a nasty stomach bug. That said, we didn't get too close, and he barely got out of the truck. We want him to build up the driveway all the way to the cabin (about 400ft), trench around the cabin for water run-off, move a culvert about 10 feet to a more direct water path, and fix the end of the driveway (still messed up from last year's hurricane). This is a big job, but will give the place a more "permanent" feel. Our initial estimate is probably about bringing in roughly 150 yards of material. No small job for sure. We're also considering trenching the electric at the same time but are going to get more info on it before we do.
Businesses are re-opening in Wilmington, since last summer's Hurricane Irene devastated the area. We ate a local bar in town that just re-opened and it was amazing. We'll be back for sure.
The trees are close to just bursting with greenery. Probably one more week or maybe less with these hot days we've been having. Our next trip is probably about a month away due to our busy schedule (I coach high school baseball, he just changed jobs) and it's a biggie. Jacking up the cabin, pulling out the concrete blocks, and digging and pouring concrete in sonotubes. Needs to be done before we add the extra weight of finishing the inside and the outside.
More pictures and stories at
www.halifaxcabin.blogspot.com
New Window Upstairas
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Maple Finish Work
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New Table and Wood Rack for Lookout Spot
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New Table (Hand Made From VT Fir)
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sabiggs
Member
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# Posted: 16 Apr 2012 06:29pm - Edited by: sabiggs
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A few more pictures. I forgot to mention also that the previous owner of the land stopped by and checked everything out. It was pretty cool to show him everything and go over all our plans with someone who knows the land as closely as us. I think it was bittersweet for him.
 
New Wood Rack for Wood Stove
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Birch at The Lookout Spot
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Almost Finished
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Loft Reinforced
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BlaineHill
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# Posted: 16 Apr 2012 10:40pm
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Great lookout spot. I would have to either clear-cut some land or build a 40-foot "fire tower" to get views like that. Just wonderful.
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trollbridge
Member
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# Posted: 17 Apr 2012 10:54am
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Love reading your updates...I can really tell you two enjoy going and working on your place....and it looks great!!! Congratulations on the pregnancy too...August will be here before you know it!
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sabiggs
Member
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# Posted: 2 Jun 2012 09:27am
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What's up everyone? Long time, no post, eh?
Well, my apologies for the laziness, but I promise I've still been lurking on the board daily, and happily following all of your amazing projects. Always an inspiration.
So, as I've stated before, my wife is 7 months pregnant with our 2nd daughter now so I have only about 1 or maybe 2 more weekends in VT with my brother to get some stuff done before I call it a summer. I don't get cell service at the land and don't want to risk any issues with my wife going into labor and not being there for the birth. Then, once she is born, I'm going to have a hard time slipping out for much more than 10 minutes. That's OK though, I want to be as supportive as possible. Luckily, I'm a teacher, so I'll have lots of great family time this summer instead. My wife, 3 year old daughter and I did go up to the cabin a few weeks back and it was AMAZING. One of the best weekends of my life. Everyone had an absolute blast. We even took a chair lift up a local ski mountain to the top. It was gorgeous.
As for the cabin, we've been continuing to work, albeit on smaller scale projects. We have reinforced the loft and done some general land prep for our BIG project this spring. We're doing more water re-direction, adding some length to our driveway culvert, and also bringing in probably 100-200 yards of driveway material to properly extend the driveway up to the cabin (maybe 300 ft. in). We'll have some help with this stuff.
Chris, my bro, and I have plans to finish the inside and exterior in our final two trips before the baby. We were supposed to go up this weekend but Chris works as a super on major construction projects in Boston and this weekend is their big concrete pour. Too bad for him that it's POURING here.
The inside of the cabin will be drywall from about 4 ft. and up. Below the drywall will be knotty pine boards and a darker chair rail. It should look nice. For the exterior, the plan is clapboard which will be stained and then cedar shingles for the gables. It's lofty goals to finish it all, but we're hopeful. I think Chris may end up doing some of it himself, sadly.
I'll do my best to update the blog soon too. Take care everyone.
View from Landing to Cabin
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View from road to Landing
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That little Bench we Bought Last Summer?
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Spring has Sprung--From The Lookout
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sabiggs
Member
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# Posted: 2 Jun 2012 09:29am
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A few more pictures from my weekend with the family.
Does that look like black bear scat?
Chair Lift Down the Mountain-3000ft.
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Black Bear????
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sabiggs
Member
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# Posted: 25 Jun 2012 09:31am - Edited by: sabiggs
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Chris (my bro) and I went up this past weekend for our "final" weekend trip together for a while. My wife and I decided it's not a good idea for me to go up for a while being that I don't get cell service at the land and she's now 8 months pregnant. So, from here on out, I'll be doing quick day trips...if that.
Chris and I had ambitions of going up and putting up all the trim, clapboard, and shingling the gables this weekend. Everything went perfectly on Saturday and we did all the trim and then finished all the clapboards. We had all day Sunday to finish the shingles. No prob, right? Wrong. First thing in the morning, the generator seized on us and died. No generator, no work. Huge bummer. But, it was still satisfying to get all the other stuff done.
We spent the rest of yesterday relaxing and just enjoying the land. Saturday, Chris's dog, Birch, took off in the woods and got "lost". We looked for him for an hour and it quickly became clear that Chris was freaking out about it. We rode the ATV up the road to the neighbors who had not seen him, but we were lucky to get a small patch of cell service there where Chris saw he had a missed call from a local number. It turns out it was our neighbor down the road (about 1/4 mile). We were able to get Birch back and he went on the leash the rest of the weekend. That dog.
We also met with Todd, our Tree/ Work guy on Sunday. He's going to extend our driveway entrance, remove some trees, trench around our cabin for water run-off, move some huge downed trees, and properly fix our 300 ft. long driveway with appropriate material. It's a big job but one that will surely look amazing and be much more functional.
The weather was perfect and I got to enjoy everything I love about Vermont. Greenery everywhere, mountains, huge and bright stars, and total peacefulness and quiet.
Chris plans to finish the shingles next time up. We also have plans to add a 4x6 support beam under the middle of the cabin. Then, we hope to wire the inside and the finish the interior. There's always something to do.
I love every second of my time in VT, think about it constantly, and feel total joy of achieving a lifelong dream with my brother. Not enough can be said of the journey it takes.
Trim Done
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Clapboards getting Done
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Clapboards Done
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Just need to Shingle
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sabiggs
Member
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# Posted: 25 Jun 2012 09:35am - Edited by: sabiggs
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More pictures...what a trip!
Chris and Birch (Taken from the Lookout Spot)
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Looking up to Cabin From The Landing
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Site of Future, Larger Cabin
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One last View Before We Go
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sabiggs
Member
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# Posted: 25 Jun 2012 03:16pm
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a few more...
The Landing
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Sunset from Saturday Night
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Looking up to Future Cabin Site
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From the Landing to the Road
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sabiggs
Member
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# Posted: 10 Jul 2012 07:04pm
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Drove about 4 hours today just to spend about 5 hours at the land. And it was worth it. It's like being swept away to another world every time I go.
I planted a few strawberry bushes, dug a hole under the cabin for a new pier, did some clean-up, and looked at the works we are in the process of having done. Basically, I just hung out, relaxed and enjoyed life.
For now, the huge trees we had taken down over a year ago have been moved and it looks great. Each tree was moved to line the property line and it looks cool. It totally opens things up at the future cabin site (you can compare the picture below with the same picture before the work was done earlier in the thread) We also had a trench dug around our cabin for water re-direction down the hill. Also, a few more trees were taken out near the cabin (it's amazing what a difference a few trees make in terms of sunshine--wow!)Also, we had 6ft. more of 24" culvert extended onto our driveway culvert to extend our driveway entrance width in preparation for future endeavors and bigger trucks.
When I was walking through the woods to get to my little garden (blueberry and strawberry bushes), it was so quiet with the exception of nature sounds and I was thinking to myself, "Does life get any better than this?" I don't think it does.
It doesn't hurt that today was 80 degrees, no humidity and sunny. Yep, just about a perfect day. I'd drive four hours for that any time.
Culvert Extension
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Pier Hole Dug
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Blue/ Straw Berry Plants
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Future Cabin Site---NO MORE DOWNED TREES
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sabiggs
Member
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# Posted: 10 Jul 2012 07:06pm
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More from today...
More Open Space with Trees Gone
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Trees lining Property Line
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Looking up to Future Cabin Site--NO DOWNED TREES
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The Cabin Trench for Water Re-Direction
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sabiggs
Member
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# Posted: 10 Jul 2012 08:34pm
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a few more from today...
New Open Space
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Top of the Street
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Through the woods
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New Screen Door
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trollbridge
Member
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# Posted: 10 Jul 2012 10:07pm
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Glad you had a GREAT time!!!!! Keep us posted about the baby's arrival!!!
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sabiggs
Member
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# Posted: 14 Jul 2012 05:41pm - Edited by: sabiggs
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Exciting day for Chris and I. Our driveway is finally official. Our "big" summer project is complete. It took almost 200 yards of material and about 3 days to complete, but it's done. And we're very happy with how it turned out.
I haven't seen the final product, but Chris has, and he is raving about it. Just in time too, because he's having a big annual summer bash at the land with about 40 people. The material will get a good pack down for sure this weekend.
Our driveway is now about 300 feet long, winding, and beautiful. We could not be happier. It's starting to look more and more like the vision we always had in our minds. I wish I had more pictures of the raw land before we started doing everything.
End of the driveway/ Street
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Looking up Driveway from the Street
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Looking to Street 120 ft. Up
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Opposite direction, Looking Up to Cabin at 120 ft.
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sabiggs
Member
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# Posted: 14 Jul 2012 05:43pm - Edited by: sabiggs
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More Pictures...
150 ft up, looking up to Cabin
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Looking back down to street from 150 ft.
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250 ft Up driveway
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Cabin
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trollbridge
Member
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# Posted: 14 Jul 2012 06:54pm
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Beautiful...I feel like I really did just drive up your driveway!!! I love how you gently curved it. Great job!!!!
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timj
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# Posted: 14 Jul 2012 07:37pm
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Beautiful property! Great job on the driveway
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sabiggs
Member
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# Posted: 15 Jul 2012 06:33pm
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Thanks guys. We had a lot of people on the property for a party this weekend and the response was pretty positive. It's really satisfying to have people see and share in your hard work and vision.
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vtbros
Member
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# Posted: 1 Aug 2012 09:41am
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Hope the summer is going well. Two best things about teaching are July and August. If you have not converted to sawdust toilet yet, you may want to consider a moldering privy. We have had good luck with ours and they are common in VT, particularly on the Long Trail.
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sabiggs
Member
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# Posted: 1 Aug 2012 11:09am
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Hey VTbros,
For now, not much has been done with the outhouse. We're now considering adding another small window above the loft. We're actually also considering building out a small dormer on half the back side and adding a skylight there (for added light and air). It would also give us flexibility and options in terms of putting a loft ladder in a more hidden area if we have added head-room/ crawl space in the corner of the loft.
Being a teacher is pretty sweet, yes, but I must say I woke up today and thought "Today is August 1st...summer is getting away from me." I know, poor me, right?
Dormer would be on the right side, about 6ft. long
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sabiggs
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# Posted: 20 Aug 2012 06:28pm - Edited by: sabiggs
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Hi everyone,
A quick trip up this weekend to install another small window in the loft and to get some painting done. I can't believe we're painting. A year ago, there wasn't anything there, and now we're painting. It's exciting.
More work to be done over Labor Day weekend. Hopefully, we'll paint the rest of the clapboard and finish the shingling of the gables. At that point, it will look pretty damn good and we'll be ready to turn our attention inside for the winter.
I just can't say it enough how much I love getting away to the cabin. Only 2+ hours away, but it feels like a totally different world. There's just nothing like it. A true joy in my life.
Window in loft
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Green trim
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More trim
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...and some more
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BlaineHill
Member
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# Posted: 20 Aug 2012 09:32pm
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That has turned out to be one sweet little cabin. Enjoy it.
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trollbridge
Member
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# Posted: 20 Aug 2012 10:49pm
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Quoting: sabiggs There's just nothing like it. A true joy in my life.
We feel the same way!
Your place is cute as a button It has been fun watching your progress...great work indeed!
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sabiggs
Member
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# Posted: 31 Aug 2012 09:13pm
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Up for the day today and what a day it was in Southern Vermont. 80's with a breeze. It was a special day for me.
I went up with my wife, three year old daughter and my 3 week old daughter. The 2+ hour ride went smoothly both ways so I couldn't be happier. My brother and his girlfriend were there too so it was a big fun family day.
And we were productive too.
We stained the entire cabin. Tomorrow my brother is going to finish the shingles and then stain them two shades lighter than the rest of the cabin (I'll be sure to get those updated pics up on Sunday.
All in all, it was an awesome day. One highlight was the porcupine we saw eating flowers in the meadow across the street from us. We all chased it around, including Birch, my brother's dog. It was quite the sight but pretty cool too.
I just started a new job (I'm a teacher and I recently switched to a new district) and my job has been stressful so far so just one day away was all I needed to feel free and easy. And to do it with my whole family, who loved it too, was just perfect.
More pictures at:
www.halifaxcabin.blogspot.com
staining
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and some more
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progress
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done (still drying)
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sabiggs
Member
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# Posted: 31 Aug 2012 09:14pm
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a few more from today.
IMG_0703.JPG
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IMG_0704.JPG
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IMG_0706.jpg
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Porcupine
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vtbros
Member
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# Posted: 1 Sep 2012 11:18am
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Looks great and congrats on the new healthy baby!
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