Small Cabin

# Posted: 7 Mar 2016 12:33am
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Nice greenhouse!!

Have you ever considered attaching it to your house? We did that with ours and it is very convenient not having to go outside to tend to the veggies. We have also found that on days the greenhouse is very hot and the house is not so hot, we can open the door and get free heat from it.

Another thought - will you have any heat for your greenhouse other than the sun? We use passive solar heat (a wall of barrels filled with water). The sun heats the barrels and heat from the barrels is released into the greenhouse. We also use a small fan in the greenhouse to keep the air circulating (keeps it at a more even temperature and helps prevent mold).

# Posted: 7 Mar 2016 12:47am
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Quoting: Gary O

we must email...

You bet!

# Posted: 7 Mar 2016 01:11am
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Quoting: hattie

Nice greenhouse!! Have you ever considered attaching it to your house? We did that with ours and it is very convenient not having to go outside to tend to the veggies. We have also found that on days the greenhouse is very hot and the house is not so hot, we can open the door and get free heat from it.

It's not going to be attached to the house, Hattie, but it's going to be darn close to it. If you look at the picture of the cabin in the original thread, picture the carport along the back of the cabin and then the greenhouse in front of the front end of the carport (or forming a 90-degree angle with the cabin). So, the door to the greenhouse will be accessible from under the carport.

The reason for this is the greywater filtering system will be in the utility room toward that side and there needs to be pipe to the greenhouse, as well as a diverter for excess water and pipe buried away from the cabin.

Quoting: hattie

Another thought - will you have any heat for your greenhouse other than the sun? We use passive solar heat (a wall of barrels filled with water). The sun heats the barrels and heat from the barrels is released into the greenhouse. We also use a small fan in the greenhouse to keep the air circulating (keeps it at a more even temperature and helps prevent mold).

That's really cool! Does it work in the winter, too? I've been pondering what to do in the winter and was considering a tiny woodburner for heat but that didn't seem great. Yeah, I was planning to have a solar vent/fan.

1300_stainless
Member

# Posted: 7 Mar 2016 12:18pm
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Hey Julie, I'm looking forward to following this build. I think you've got things planned pretty well. You've considered your personal situation, did loads or research and planned accordingly. You're sticking with the true spirit of simplicity, and IMHO simplicity is the key to a happy life.

Your "ornery" and independent spirit is admirable. It reminds me of myself (or at least who I aspire to be). I'm very particular when I do something. People often question my methods, but 9 times out of 10, if and when, I explain myself they're shocked at just how much thought I've put into the situation. Conventional methods are often conventional because they are quick, cheap and easy. Not at all because they are the best. Thinking outside the box never hurts.

I think in our technological world it's easy to overlook the fact that many of the conveniences we take for granted daily are not necessary and can, in the right situation, complicate our lives. It wasn't all that many years ago that everyone pooped outside and heated their water and home with a wood fire. Most homes were self reliant, and the people in them were healthy and happy. (Some would argue healthier and happier than most today).

Keep on keep'n on and good luck with your journey!

# Posted: 7 Mar 2016 12:21pm
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Quoting: Julie2Oregon

Does it work in the winter, too?

It doesn't keep it warm enough to plant in the winter. It just keeps it from freezing. We do keep 2 key lime trees in there all winter as well as a window basket that we take outside in the summer. They both survive just fine without any auxiliary heat (just the wall of water barrels). If you want to actually plant over the winter months, you would probably need something like a wood stove or heater. We do have one backup baseboard heater that will only go on if it is -30 c or colder. I think it has only gone on twice since we built the greenhouse in 2008.

If you are going to really get into gardening, a couple of composters are great to have. You put all your veg. and fruit scraps, egg shells, coffee grinds, tea bags, leaves, etc. in them. We have one that is "cooking" (ie. sitting there without adding more) and the other that is "active" (ie. we add to it daily). After sitting for a year, the "cooking" one gets screened and the compost is used for topping up our gardens and planting vegetables in. This soil is so much better than anything you can buy, and it is free.

You have put a lot of thought into your place. I am sure it is going to be amazing when it is all done. I'm enjoying watching this thread!

# Posted: 7 Mar 2016 08:44pm
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http://www.motherearthnews.com/renewable-energy/solar-air-heater-zmaz06djzraw.aspx

This man, Gary Reysa, has built some very energy efficient projects for his homestead, and many have been featured in Mother Earth News.

I believe he also has his own site.

http://www.builditsolar.com/

Also, is there a water-jacket available for your pellet stove so that you can have continuous hot water?

# Posted: 7 Mar 2016 09:19pm
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Quoting: rockies

Also, is there a water-jacket available for your pellet stove so that you can have continuous hot water?

I wrote about this earlier in the thread.

# Posted: 7 Mar 2016 09:41pm
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1300_stainless
Thank you, and Amen! I was raised by children of the Depression and my mum was an orphan, besides. I was taught to be frugal and to appreciate simplicity. Now, my mum could take it to an extreme at times, lol, but I appreciate the lessons learned. My family is just about all gone now but I like to think they and their wisdom live on, you know?

Dad always taught me that when you buy, go for the better brand and quality. Rather than buy the top of the line of a cheaper product, go for a better brand with the features you want but without all of the bells and whistles. You'll get the quality build and it will last. That advice has served me well, too.

There are places to save a bit in the budget and places where you definitely DON'T. Foundation, structure, and electrical/solar are those places, IMO. For the other things, simplicity and creativity rule.

# Posted: 7 Mar 2016 09:45pm
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Quoting: hattie

If you are going to really get into gardening, a couple of composters are great to have. You put all your veg. and fruit scraps, egg shells, coffee grinds, tea bags, leaves, etc. in them. We have one that is "cooking" (ie. sitting there without adding more) and the other that is "active" (ie. we add to it daily). After sitting for a year, the "cooking" one gets screened and the compost is used for topping up our gardens and planting vegetables in. This soil is so much better than anything you can buy, and it is free. You have put a lot of thought into your place. I am sure it is going to be amazing when it is all done. I'm enjoying watching this thread!

Thanks, Hattie! I think your water barrel idea would be magic for me in the winter, especially, because I don't think that southern Oregon gets as cold as your temps! I appreciate your input!!!

I compost here in Texas on a small scale and have contemplated buying composters for the cabin. One thing that causes me pause -- do animals get into them? I'll have wildcats, deer, raccoons, and such. Very rarely a bear. Are there precautions you take?

Don_P
Member

# Posted: 7 Mar 2016 10:26pm - Edited by: Don_P
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Ours is in the fenced garden and is only veggie matter, no problems. Or we could just be back to... everything prefers chicken(s).

Not to dwell, I've put lots of blocking in walls at potential grabrail locations, and will be on the job I'm on.

# Posted: 8 Mar 2016 12:48am - Edited by: hattie
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Quoting: Julie2Oregon

do animals get into them?

We only had one year with bear problems. Bob had been making apple cider and we put the apple mash in the composter. A bear decided it was delicious. He broke in twice. I decided to try spraying the outside of the composters with ammonia. He never came back. We had problems with bears getting our grapes and apples before harvesting so I put ammonia in small plastic pop bottles and hung them to the vines and trees. We didn't see one bear here last year and there was one in town. We watched him eat the apples in a tree down the road. I don't know for certain the ammonia is what kept him away from us, but I know they have a very good sense of smell and if you've ever smelled ammonia, you will know how noxious it is.

No other animals have ever tried to get into the composter.

# Posted: 8 Mar 2016 07:31pm
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Are you going to be putting your plans on the site once they are finalized with the engineer?

In regards to the hot water question, I only asked because I saw your statement "I'll be heating water for the dishes and the shower on the stove". I thought you might be doing it pot by pot, and lord knows it's easy to slip while holding a heavy pot of water. If I can prevent just one scalding pot of water accident then I can sleep easy tonight. That's why I quit the "Heating water on the stove for the dishes and shower" forum. They never listen.

# Posted: 8 Mar 2016 09:28pm
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Quoting: rockies

Are you going to be putting your plans on the site once they are finalized with the engineer?

No, those are for the builder and the county building department.

In regards to the hot water question, I only asked because I saw your statement "I'll be heating water for the dishes and the shower on the stove". I thought you might be doing it pot by pot, and lord knows it's easy to slip while holding a heavy pot of water. If I can prevent just one scalding pot of water accident then I can sleep easy tonight. That's why I quit the "Heating water on the stove for the dishes and shower" forum. They never listen.

Geez, I may be blonde but I'm not an idiot!

It would never even have occurred to me to bop around the cabin carrying pots of very hot water.

# Posted: 8 Mar 2016 09:30pm
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Quoting: hattie

I decided to try spraying the outside of the composters with ammonia. He never came back. We had problems with bears getting our grapes and apples before harvesting so I put ammonia in small plastic pop bottles and hung them to the vines and trees.

Oh, good tip! Thanks, Hattie!

# Posted: 8 Mar 2016 09:32pm
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Don_P

Quoting: Don_P

Not to dwell, I've put lots of blocking in walls at potential grabrail locations, and will be on the job I'm on.

What's "blocking?" That would be a good thing to mention to my builder for places where I want rails now and potentially in the future.

# Posted: 8 Mar 2016 09:45pm
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Sigh. That's great, Julie. Too many people have been lost bopping around their cabins carrying pots of hot water. Lord knows I don't want to have to go through that again.

# Posted: 8 Mar 2016 09:57pm
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Quoting: rockies

Sigh. That's great, Julie. Too many people have been lost bopping around their cabins carrying pots of hot water. Lord knows I don't want to have to go through that again.

Well, we'll let you worry about them. I've got too much to do with my house sale, move, and build.

Don_P
Member

# Posted: 9 Mar 2016 06:30am
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Quoting: Julie2Oregon

What's "blocking?" That would be a good thing to mention to my builder for places where I want rails now and potentially in the future.

Typically it is horizontal pieces of 2x6 ~14.5" long nailed flatways between studs just under the drywall or paneling. In kitchens and baths I've "let in" a continuous ribbon of blocking around the room, in the kitchen at cabinet attachment elevation and in the bath so that rails could mount anywhere along the wall at 36" off the floor (or whatever height is comfortable). Your builder will understand that if I missed. If you go with fiberglass shower surrounds, blocking can be glued to the backside of the unit for the same future use... take some pics with a tape measure before stuff is covered.

abby
Member

# Posted: 9 Mar 2016 06:30am
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oh wow, I already have greenhouse envy.

I can also say that ammonia works for me here, too. that is the coolest pellet stove I've ever seen.

not to hijack your thread, but hattie...you line the interior of your greenhouse with barrels of water. even in the worst of winter? they don't freeze? I'm loving this idea, but still trying to get the full grasp.

# Posted: 9 Mar 2016 05:03pm
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Quoting: abby

you line the interior of your greenhouse with barrels of water. even in the worst of winter? they don't freeze?

We line one wall with barrels of water. They never freeze because the sun heats them in the winter. Bob took great pains to calculate the angle of the glass. In the winter, the barrels are in full sun. In the summer, the sun does not hit the barrels. We don't want extra heat in there in the summer as it gets 90+ degrees. In the winter we want as much heat as we can get. It works quite well for us.

IMG_0736.JPG

IMG_4598.JPG

abby
Member

# Posted: 10 Mar 2016 05:55am
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thanks, hattie! that is so awesome!!

# Posted: 11 Mar 2016 08:32pm
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Still waiting on the truss and loft engineering. I'm not good with waiting but I guess I'd better get used to it. That's life when you're building and there are a lot of people/professionals involved.

But I used this time to nail down my choice of composting toilet. This company has been around a long time, the price point is good (enough so that I could add a second one in my downstairs "utility room" in the near future, basically making that a second bathroom for guests and a downstairs bedroom), and it's perfect for my loft. The kit is all-inclusive, down to the roof flashing and insulation for the included pipe. I like the fact that there are 2 bins included with a lid and handle so that if the bin fills up, it can be taken out so the waste can "finish" in its bin while the other bin is in use in the toilet. Very neat and efficient.

So, here it is, the Biolet EZ-Loo Air!

http://www.ez-loo.com/waterless-toilet-system-ez-loo-air.html

EZ Loo

# Posted: 16 Mar 2016 01:59am
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Truss engineering done and builder sent me a pic of the cross-section to see what I thought. It gives me a second floor of great space and a full ceiling below so I don't think the loft will get terribly hot from the pellet stove.

There will be windows on each side of the loft, anyway, and I won't need the solar ceiling fan after all!

cabin_truss.jpg

Don_P
Member

# Posted: 16 Mar 2016 07:58am
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I can't see clearly enough, is headroom 5'8" or 6'8". Steepening the side pitches directly affects interior room. There is an aesthetic point there though.
I agree with the ceiling joist, I'm not certain that W1's are necessary at that span if B1 and possibly T1 are upsized. That might be a personal call though. No doubt, as drawn is stronger. Another thought, you might also see if every other W1 could be cut to allow built ins. Not really onerous to ask those questions if desired. This was generated by a truss design program, I can often sit down with the tech and play through a couple of iterations like I just described, he plugs them in and it spits out the new member sizes and geometry, generally with the weight and price right there.

Bret
Member

# Posted: 16 Mar 2016 08:51am
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https://letterstocreationists.wordpress.com/2015/03/14/comparison-of-composting-toile ts-towards-a-global-commode/

Good article on the various composting toilets available. We our using the Separatt urine diverter system. Bought the plastic diverter and built the throne.

It's been working great for almost two years

The throne

Diverter

All the parts

# Posted: 16 Mar 2016 04:52pm
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Quoting: Don_P

I can't see clearly enough, is headroom 5'8" or 6'8". Steepening the side pitches directly affects interior room. There is an aesthetic point there though.I agree with the ceiling joist, I'm not certain that W1's are necessary at that span if B1 and possibly T1 are upsized. That might be a personal call though. No doubt, as drawn is stronger. Another thought, you might also see if every other W1 could be cut to allow built ins. Not really onerous to ask those questions if desired. This was generated by a truss design program, I can often sit down with the tech and play through a couple of iterations like I just described, he plugs them in and it spits out the new member sizes and geometry, generally with the weight and price right there.

Don, it's 5'8" headroom. Was hoping you'd weigh in because I have no idea what these things mean, lol. What are the Ts and Ws and Bs?

One big thing that comes into play for my area is seismic code. I read some of it (until my eyes glazed over, heh) and I know I'm in Zone D but don't know if I'm DI or II. But there were special requirements when it came to trusses and such. Could that be why there are more, um, thingies?

There's snow load, too, since I'm on a mountain but I don't think that's as much a consideration as seismic. Of course, I could be very wrong on that. When I spoke with the county guy, he said the code was 30 psf but perhaps when they put in my particular location it came out a bit higher.

# Posted: 16 Mar 2016 04:56pm
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Bret
Oh, that's a great setup you have! Thanks for posting it! I found -- and saved -- an article stating that if you divert/save urine and dilute it proportionately, it becomes perfect liquid fertilizer for plants. Keepng that in mind.

# Posted: 16 Mar 2016 06:07pm - Edited by: Julie2Oregon
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The steps to the loft will be something like this, although the angle will be different (less sharp). I found this pic online and sent it to my builder because the shabin is a gambrel, same size, and the steps are where I want mine.

The space in front of the steps will be my kitchen. There will be a window on the solid wall in the pic and I'll use the space under the steps for storage. The landing space would be perfect to stash my portable washer when not in use! Perhaps some storage for dry foodstuffs under the smaller section?

loft_stairs.jpg