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NeilR
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# Posted: 27 Feb 2011 02:00am
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We have just purchased 15 acres of rainforest bushland in Tasmania's north west surrounded by thousands of acres of state forest. We have excellent water supply which we intend to use for micro hydro electricity generation using one of these URL Power Spout devices. We inherited a partially built small cabin which we will use as a base for building our real cabin. We just need to fix it up.
I will try and remember to document our progress in this forum for anyone who is interested in following.
Regards
Neil
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hattie
Member
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# Posted: 27 Feb 2011 12:11pm
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This sounds really interesting. Can't wait to hear about and see your progress.
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NeilR
Member
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2011 02:57am - Edited by: NeilR
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Weve been travelling up to the land these last 3 weekends in an effort to get the cabin closed in to lock up stage before winter strikes (May).
The corregated iron cladding is a bit ugly but since it was 75% completed we decided to stick with it. Will give it a coat of paint to tidy it up.
So far have managed to close in the east wall which was just open framing, the west gable and installed under floor insulation. This coming weekend we are hoping to get the east gable completed, barge flashing, lay flooring, install window flashing, construct door frames and hang the front and back doors. A big ask but will see how we go.
west gable
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floor framing before insulation
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floor framing after insulation
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Our creek
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steveqvs
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2011 09:55am
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Wow, the creek should be great for producing hydro electric. Cabin looks like a lot of work but its coming along! I take it the area is pretty remote? Looks like a very interesting place! Good luck and keep the pictures coming.
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turkeyhunter
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# Posted: 15 Mar 2011 08:53pm - Edited by: turkeyhunter
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nice camp, and awesome creek/property............ funny how it will be winter in May in your neck of the woods......
BTW---i have metal roof (white) and metal sides (red ) on my barn......
no maint. required. Which is GREAT!!!!
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jasrumble
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# Posted: 30 Mar 2011 10:03pm
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Looking forward to seeing your project progress Neil.
Jase
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Anonymous
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2011 01:15am
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We managed to get almost 2 full days work up at the block on the weekend. You know, its amazing how much planning has to go into each trip to ensure you have enough hardware supplies, tools etc. Its like carting young children around again which is now only a distant memory :)
The focus this weekend was to move towards lockup of the building. We spent Saturday laying the remaining portions of the floor. We used specially formulated flooring material available in Australia - a chipboard which can withstand open rain conditions for 60days. It comes in 3600 x 800 sheets which are very heavy. We have glued and nailed at each joist (spiral galv deck nails).
Next day, having a nice clean floor to walk on, we focused on doors. Two exterior door frames were constructed, doors hung and braced. THen we discovered the wall framing where the doors were to go needed adjustment. The adjustment and later fitting of the completed frames took most of the afternoon. Once all in place and squared, locking hardware was installed. We have opted for a separate deadbolt arrangement so we have 2 locking points. Added to that the solid 45kg doors it should keep most honest people out.
I have discovered that I can usually get around 80% of what I plan to get done, actually done - if all goes well.
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NeilR
Member
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2011 01:18am
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OOOOPS...Above post...I forgot to login.
Here are some pics
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NeilR
Member
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2011 01:20am
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and some more
5.jpg
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6.jpg
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Native Tasmanian pepper tree...we have hundreds
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We own a small corner of this spring fed lake
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MikeOnBike
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2011 03:59pm
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Looks great Neil! That floor really changes the place. Did you get your interior plan sorted out?
Is the lake suitable for swimming? It looks really refreshing.
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NeilR
Member
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2011 10:23pm
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G'day Mike,
yes, the floor makes a huge difference. You can even feel the temperature difference with the underfloor insulation.
Interior plan has "sort of" been sorted. Getting to crunch time now actually as next steps are interior framing. It may not get to paper though but will reveal all in due course. We are going to try and treat it like a boat as far as multi use space is concerned as we have extensive experience in living on boats when the kids were little.
As for the lake, wrong time of year to be testing it out for a swim but I intend to use it next summer after spending some time at the shore looking for snakes crossing!
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NeilR
Member
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# Posted: 27 Apr 2011 06:58pm - Edited by: NeilR
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Since my last post we have had 2 further weekend visits to the block.
All wall insulation is complete. Rough plumbing is almost finished. Rough electrical is finished. Centre partition wall is started. This will provide much needed bracing in the east/west direction of the building. We have decided to put a wood stove into the cabin after discovering a complete spare in our garage. We have been living in our current house for nearly 7 years and always regarded the pile of woodstove "bits" in the corner as spare parts. It wasnt until I decided to have a good look at it that I realised there was a complete assembled unit there. Arguably in better condition to the one in our house. So, its off to the block with it and will solve our heating, cooking and hotwater problems in one go. I think further down the track I will build a solar hot water unit as a supplimentary system.
We started on the wall cladding. Using 140mmx12mm t&g pine. The compressor burned out over last weekend so lost use of the brad nail gun. This has now been replaced so its full steam ahead this coming weekend.
I found a very early picture of the cabin just before we purchased it which gives a good idea of what we had to start with.
More pics coming soon.
Is it worth repairing?
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9.jpg
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10.jpg
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11.jpg
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dabones
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# Posted: 27 Apr 2011 09:04pm
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wow! nice work.. nice indoor garden in the beginning tho eh.. :)
keep up the good work..
...Is 'block' a term for cabin, or camp, or something else?
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turkeyhunter
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# Posted: 27 Apr 2011 09:45pm
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nice job.......did ya ever kill that snake...........
:-)
would like to a see a pic of that woodburner when ya get it installed, is it cast iron ????
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NeilR
Member
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# Posted: 28 Apr 2011 12:14am
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Thanks. Block is a shortened term for "bush block" or a piece of land in the bush.
No, snake is still alive somewhere. Have not seen it since thank goodness. Getting too cold now for them.
Pic of woodstove attached....its the one in our current house but identical to the one for cabin.
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NeilR
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2011 04:01am - Edited by: NeilR
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I just realised its been several weeks since my last post. Life just gets in the way of our projects doesn't it :)
We have just had an excavator on site which was 6 weeks in the planning. Hes created road access and a long winding drive/track, cleared all the scrubby rubbish from around the cabin and made room for future garden/orchard, car and caravan parking, workshop and flat area for another small cabin my son intends to build. It took 11 truck loads of gravel at 12t per load to cover the drive.
We now have an old 22ft caravan to use for accommodation which will be more homely than a tent and cheaper than motels.
entrance from road
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further in
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more track
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and again
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NeilR
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2011 04:03am
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and a couple more.....
coming up to cabin
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car and caravan plus another pad to left
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workshop will go here
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view to future garden and orchard
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turkeyhunter
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2011 07:16am
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Quoting: NeilR just had an excavator on site
it's amazing what you can get done with the right machinery... :-)
looks great.....road is real nice as well. looks like you got down a real good gravel bed for your roadway.......
and maybe....he ran over the snake in the process..............LOL
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steveqvs
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2011 12:49pm
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Wow, very cool. Looks like the excavator did a good job.
So what kinds of indigenous wildlilife exists there?
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NeilR
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2011 04:48pm
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Thanks guys. It costs the same to hire a 4 ton as it does a 25 ton (similar cost anyway) and you can get a LOT more done with the big machine and a good operator. Thats the direction I took.
Rather than list the wildlife here Steve ill give you a link to Tasmanian fauna... :)
click here
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steveqvs
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jun 2011 10:00pm
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Thanks Niel. What a great site of information. I have to admit I know nothing about Tasmania so the link was very informative. I have always wanted to go to Austrailia now I have Tasmainia on that list for someday!
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NeilR
Member
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# Posted: 30 Dec 2011 11:22pm
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I cant believe its been over six months since I last made a post. Needless to say, its been a very busy year with real life getting in the way of weekend endeavours. However, I am pleased to report we have in fact made significant progress and now able to sleep on our little cabin. What follows is a collection of pictures showing various progress steps. Hope its of value to someone.
Added back porch
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Caravan we used through winter
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Combustion stove finally installed
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Added a utility room (inverter/batteries etc) plus laundry
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NeilR
Member
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# Posted: 30 Dec 2011 11:33pm - Edited by: NeilR
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The "bedroom" kept getting smaller and smaller because of the "bathroom" getting bigger and bigger! Now we have a "bunk room". Tiling is a first ever attempt. Ignore porta potti. We have purchased a "Natures Head" composting toilet which will be installed soon.
Also coming soon is an old "claw foot" cast iron bath. I just need to wait for someone to visit who I can trick into helping me lift it inside. There will be a shower above the bath.
Plans are in progress to add a bedroom on as a lean-too room from the bunk room. Bunk room will revert to an office area and storage.
Bunk Room
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Bathroom
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more bathroom
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I hate bathrooms
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NeilR
Member
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# Posted: 30 Dec 2011 11:37pm
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Addition of a deck has vastly increased effective usable area. Installed a 10,000ltr water tank so we are finally collecting fresh water.
deck_1.jpg
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deck_2.jpg
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Deck_3.jpg
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water_tank.jpg
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NeilR
Member
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# Posted: 30 Dec 2011 11:46pm - Edited by: NeilR
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Had to resort to putting a flat pack kitchen in. It just wasnt economical to build from scratch. I resisted the temptation to buy the bench top and have made my own from 40mm thick macrocapa pine. Sink will be mounted correct side down :)
Inverter is a Trace Electronics (now Xantrex) 3.5KW 48VDC system. Batteries are 24 deep cycles in 6 banks of 4 (48vdc). Ooodles of capacity. So far, charging will be from a diesel generator but as mentioned in early posts, the intention is to go micro hydro from our creek.
kitchen.jpg
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kitchen_2.jpg
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deck_chairs.jpg
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inverter.jpg
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ErinsMom
Member
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# Posted: 31 Dec 2011 02:00pm
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NeilR,
Glad you're back. You have made great progress. I am curious about the water tank. It's huge. Do have a rainy season? Average rain fall per year? P.S. love the tile in bathroom.
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NeilR
Member
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# Posted: 31 Dec 2011 04:42pm
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ErinsMom, thanks.
The water tank is common place in rural areas. The tank is bordering on the "just enough" size for 2 people for fresh water. We will probably put a 2nd tank in at some stage to give us 20,000 ltrs but will monitor our usage for 12mths first. This is important for not only drinking water but fire fighting. We are fortunate to have a lake which we will hook a fire pump to at some stage - all the while hoping we will never need it but we must be realistic living in this "sunburned country" of ours.
We have 4 distinct seasons in Tasmania. One of the things we love about it. We get on average 1600mm of rain annually, state wide.
Hope this helps.
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MikeOnBike
Member
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# Posted: 20 Jan 2012 10:20pm
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Wow! You have been very busy. Your camp looks great. You make the rest of us look like slackers. I got a 10x14 shed/cabin up this year. That was it.
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NeilR
Member
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# Posted: 20 Jan 2012 11:46pm
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Thanks Mike. We need to push on as we might be living up there soon, full time. As soon as we can get rid of our mortgage at the main house that is. But......no buyers, no banks lending, no work, poor economy....it doesnt help.
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