Our Land Project

[Syph007]

Big changes finished today up at the land.  We hired the local guys to make us a gravel road and extra rectangle pad for parking.  The guy just texted me pics.  They started yesterday and finished just now.  Pretty impressed with the speed!

The zone between outhouse and wood pile is what we cleared out last time we were up there.   The downside is having to pay for it but this saves me so much labor and I cant imagine how long it would have taken me to do with a wheelbarrow and hand tools.



Next on the agenda is a tree house build for the little guy.  He got in way too much screen time this past year, so I want him to have some outdoor fun time.

[RF52]

Looking good! That place is awesome

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[pfrsantos]

Big changes finished today up at the land.  We hired the local guys to make us a gravel road and extra rectangle pad for parking.  The guy just texted me pics.  They started yesterday and finished just now.  Pretty impressed with the speed!

The zone between outhouse and wood pile is what we cleared out last time we were up there.   The downside is having to pay for it but this saves me so much labor and I cant imagine how long it would have taken me to do with a wheelbarrow and hand tools.



(...)

Looks great! It's starting to look like a great place to live.

 

(...)
Next on the agenda is a tree house build for the little guy.  He got in way too much screen time this past year, so I want him to have some outdoor fun time.

Really?! Some outdoor time in a tree house?! Just get him a tree!

 

[Syncop8r]

   Now you're cookin'!

[Aloha]

Getting more and more awesome.   

[SteveC]

 

[Reinier]

[enki_ck]

This looks awesome

[Chako]

 I just read this thread....this is epic!

 

[Syph007]

Season 2 of the land project finally got started this weekend.  Just my son and I went up as my wife was working.  The swampy side of the land is very wet and home to many ducks at the moment.  Beautiful weather though.

 

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There are a few raised bedrock sections on the land and I decided to build a small cabin on one of them. I hauled and carried all the boards and tools to the clearing.

 

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[Syph007]

Here is the clearing I chose.  Just some moss to scrape off but the rock is a solid base.

 

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Decorative fence project my wife made last fall.

 

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I could not pick up the 6x6 posts so had to drag them.  It was more physical work than I had thought to get my tools and materials there but very satisfying to get started.

 

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I laid down some boards to eyeball the best site lines and got started.

 

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[Syph007]

I had assumed I could use a normal drill and masonry bits to drill holes in the rock.  NOPE!  That barely marked the surface.  I went into town and rented a hammer drill with 5/8" bit and that did the trick.  Im using strong tie base plates and once bolted to bed rock they are very solid.

 

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[Syph007]

And... heres how far I got.  3 brackets bolted and one post secured.  At least Im setup for good progress the next time I get up there as my tools and materials are right there.   

 

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[Aloha]

Always a treat to tag along.  I'm excited so I can only imagine how your are feeling.  Thank you for the update. 

[Syph007]

Always a treat to tag along.  I'm excited so I can only imagine how your are feeling.  Thank you for the update.

Im old and out of shape and worked until I could barely move, but had a smile the whole time.  Slept from 9pm to 8am each night. 

[SteveC]

Looking forward to seeing the progression of your build !   

[Gareth]

Wow Bob, I'm just catching this thread.  What an awesome project mate. 

[pfrsantos]

Always a treat to tag along.  I'm excited so I can only imagine how your are feeling.  Thank you for the update.

+1

You'll end up with a pretty awesome settlement!

 

[Syncop8r]

Cool! Great idea to bolt into the rock. 

[Syph007]

Cool! Great idea to bolt into the rock. 

It seemed the simplest.  If I did any concrete it will still need to be pinned to the rock with rebar.  Planning to head up again as soon as the weather is good and hopefully finish the foundation which is 9 posts and 3 beams.

[Syncop8r]

Looking forward to seeing your posts. 

[Syph007]

I came back up for more hammer swinging in the woods!   I'm laminating the first beam in place.  If I last until Monday I might get the foundation done.

It's nice and level and I need to cut the middle post for it next then do some string layout to figure out where to drill next. 

Can an out of shape 49 yr old build a cabin buy himself?  Stay tuned to find out!   

By the way does anyone know the nailing schedule for beam making? I was putting 3x 16d nails every foot from both sides but it feels like alot.

 

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[Syncop8r]

This is from the New Zealand standard I use. Of course we're upside-down here so you need to factor that in.

[Syncop8r]

I'm guessing your bearers are 2/ 6x2"s, in which case the spacing would indeed be 6 x 2" = 12" max spacing and since the width is over 140mm (6" = 150mm) you need two rows. So two nails every foot, alternating sides according to our standard.

[Syph007]

I always wondered what a 2x4 was in the metric system?

I got a second beam nailed up.  Probably used too many nails but they're solid.  It's 3 16ft 2x8 and ive hammered it of nails.  It got dark so day one is done. 

 

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[Syncop8r]

I always wondered what a 2x4 was in the metric system?

Firstly, we say the largest size first, so a 2x4 we call 4x2, although that's more slang as we switched to decimal in the late 60's I think.
The metric equivalent of a 4x2 is 100x50mm, however the dressed size is actually 90x45mm. 

[SteveC]

Not a bad idea to use construction adhesive as well as nails for beams. Also I'm sure you are aware but crowns up is pretty important as well.

[Syph007]

I made some more progress... but man did I underestimate how much more time it takes to build a project when you have to haul in all the supplies on foot and fight mosquitoes the whole time.   

It took me forever to do the layout for the drill holes since the rock is uneven I had to run level boards and drop a plumb bob to mark the holes.  I've got 2 more holes to drill, and 4 more posts to add, then I can put on the center beam and start on the floor framing.  I did get the 2 outer beams perfectly parallel, square and level with each other so that was a hurdle completed at least. 

 

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The other project I finished was getting my $600 3 wheeler running.  It had a rusted gas tank so I brought that home and sealed it with tank seal paint and once I put that on with a new fuel filter it runs like a dream.  This is my quick transportation between truck and build site.

 

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And the last job completed was a water tower.  I cut and fitted all the boards at home then assembled the stand there and we lifted the 1000 litre tank on top.  That was totally sketchy but we managed it.  I hurt my back so my wife moved the stand into place.

 

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[GearedForwards]

Excellent progress!

Will the tower be rainfed, or is it something that you'll have to find a way to fill intermittently?

[Syph007]

Excellent progress!

Will the tower be rainfed, or is it something that you'll have to find a way to fill intermittently?

There is public access water in town so I will fill barrels then pump them up into the tank.  I did a test with a 50litre barrel and that works fine.  I'm off now to go buy two 55 gal drums to haul water with.   So thats about 400 litres I can haul in one trip.  Stage two will be me drilling or digging a shallow well and settting up a filter and pump to fill it.

BTW don't buy a food grade barrel to haul water that used to contain hog casing. CAN NOT WASH THAT STENCH OUT!!!!  The ones I'm going to pickup now used to hold chocolate sauce.   😁