Looking within

Despite all the home progress, there was one thing that really make it what it is. Windows. Last year I framed all the windows to a large size so we had the freedom to look for bargains in odd sizes then frame it for whatever size they were. Great in theory. Long story short, we went for new windows. The used market didnt turn up anything that inspired either of us. Windows are by far the largest source of inefficiencies. Worth the cost of new I say. There were some mishaps but overall we are happy with them. Note where the check rail falls as it may block any sort of view for certain people.

And caulk the crap out of it. Then flash tape the crap out of it.

Spending the extra time on proper windows is totally worth it. At the time we werent sure what to put on the end peak wall. Its a large space so we could squeeze all sorts of things in there. Bi-annually there is a local lumber yard sale where overstocks, returns, misorders, etc are liquidated. We went there to just see what was there. Sometimes you see something and you know thats it. Being a budget minded project we knew our limitations. We did not anticipate finding something that fit the space nor anywhere near the price nor brand new cause it was a misorder (wrong measurement). Grab it and run!

The entire wall would be a window now. A lovely change of plans. Installing them wasnt the easiest but with some neighborly help it went smoothly.

The view from the bedroom. Oh the walls are sheetrocked and painted. And a shiplap hemlock ceiling too. And an antique oil lamp (with LED bulb). Yes. We knocked out a lot rather quickly. That was the goal though, we both had no employment and everyday was dedicated to the homestead.

The house is at the point where its just puttering along. I even got around to the giant pile of sandy loam and leveled it by hand. Hope to plant some grass in the fall to have a backyard. Im not big on home maintenance so itll be a small yard, something nice to hang out in and keep the forest from engulfing the home.

Tamarra has a thing for what she calls a pentagon pantry. After much debating, measuring and remeasuring we settled on the design. The countertops are now roughed in also. We have a working space now for kitchen stuff and dont have to live out of boxes, probably one of the more frustrating things.

Kitchen sink. No runnning water of course but at least now you can stand up while playing with water. Previously a concrete mix tub was used that I have tied into the shower drain. It got the job done but was difficult to use. Running water whether gravity fed or pressurized will be a project for 2018, along with a well. We haul the water currently, either from the neighbors spigot or from a spring at the corner of the property. On non-sponge bath days I use a gallon of water. Its rather eye opening how much water is just flushed away.

Life has settled down. The cats seem happy. Im happy. I think Tamarra is happy. Sure, we need to put up window trim, siding for the house, get the chimney up before winter, more gravel for the driveway, kickstart the garden for next year, plant a lawn, build out the shower, get running winter, build an adequate solar system, figure out food storage, and more that Im forgetting. It all comes with time. As of the day Im writing this, it was only a year ago I broke ground with the excavator.

All I know is Im running wild and free.

Refrigwhat

Thats pretty much it. What is refrigeration? Well. Its nothing new technology wise. It does require a decent amount of electrical juice though and Im fresh out of juice. Actually I use zero electricity most days. The cell phone is the only electrical device used daily and that is powered between a balance of charging while driving my truck or portable battery packs that are topped off also in my truck or by a 20 watt portable solar panel. Thats it. The power tools are all cordless and I charge them at a neighbors house which I find to be quite the luxury. The lifestyle isnt for everyone but I cant see myself going back.

Back to refrigeration, we have none. I do miss it but theres ways around it. Simply dont buy foods that require refrigeration. Problem solved. Okay theres some things we like to eat that require refrigeration, like yogurt. How long will yogurt last without refrigeration? 3 days in a cooler (no ice). Salad greens last 2 days. Meat lasts 2-4 days depending on type and packaging. Its been a fun experiment albeit a bit wasteful at first (more compost!).

There is a lot of misinformation out there, I wont get into the political side of things Ill just simply say, we are led to believe a lot of things that are wrong. Eggs do not require refrigeration unless theyve been washed or refrigerated (as in they must continue to be chilled once chilled). We eat month old eggs. Theyre great. Meat can be stored in various ways, salted (still playing with this) smoked and dried. A lot has been forgotten over time and as conveniant a refrigerator can be, theres ways around it. If theres anything Ive learned in life, where there is a will there is a way. Always.

With that said, eventually we'll have a small cooler turned into a refrigerator of sorts (many methods), its dependant on what I cook up for a permanent solar installation. In the mean time there is this:

Old freezers are free. So a free freezer gets buried in the ground as a pseudo root cellar.

Bunch of holes drilled in the bottom and a vent stack. I later cut the stack down to ground level, didnt really need to be that high. At first it was holding 62 degrees. 55-58 is ideal. As the summer heat came on Im now seeing 70 degrees. No good. Perhaps more dirt. More holes in the bottom (where the dirt is cool). I dont know, still playing with it. Ideally its to store salted meats and root vegetables. Ill figure it out, thats the fun of free projects. Learning at little to no cost.

Give me heat

An essential part to being semi-comfortable over winter is a heat source. Being off grid with acreage its a no brainer to use wood.

With a good amount chopped last year it didnt take long to fill up
the wood shed. The purists will say burn only specific hardwoods. Im burning everything cause I can. The property has a lot of standing dead along with toppled over dead trees. In an effort to clean things up as the forest grows, I find that balsam is the majority. It burns hot but short. Itll do. The real challenge is what to burn it in. Craigslist to the rescue.

It isnt pretty but I always put in the extra labor to save money because as they say, a penny saved is a penny earned. Truly I find great enjoyment on learning, fixing and rebuilding things, not so much as just being frugal. The stove is a Reginald 102, last imported from Ireland in 1977. I was on the prowl for a Jotul 118 but the name drives a much higher price. The 102 is the same design, long firebox with a "cigar burn" style. As seen here:

I like the idea of having a 24" firebox. No its not wide but the timber on my land is not very mature so being able to burn longer thin sticks is highly desireable. We'll see how winter goes. With some wire wheel grinding, new paint and gaskets I really like it. Completely oversized for our square footage too!

If it doesnt work then Ill deal with it then. The rocket stove craze has recently caught my eye and I may abandon the woodstove completely. Thats another story though.

No mo' solo

With the roof on I was pretty dang happy. It meant that the house would be fine for quite some time. The following day we knocked out another project, the french doors.

French doors for 2x6 framing is $300 more than a 2x4 framed one. Yeesh. I made the 2x4 one work with 2x6 framing. I understand how houses cost so much. Youre gouged at every opportunity for "specialized" crap. Granted Im saving tons by doing all the labor, it still irks me that there can be such a price difference. Its a damn door. And its done. Sort of. I had to reset the doors twice after the spray foam pushed it out of place. Sometimes spray foam causes more trouble than its worth and yes it was the windows/door foam.

I returned to NY to get Tamarra and our stuff. Yeah. Stuff. Moving into a house that is this far from being finished is not recommended. We made it work. But really. Dont do it. Its great being able to look back at that time.

Got myself a permanent onsite helper. As much as I like working alone there is a lot that is much easier with a second pair of hands and eyes. The projects really came on quick now.

Roxul insulation. Preferred over fiberglass, easier to install, higher R value, doesnt promote mold as much as fiberglass and so on. It was a fairly involved project still. Cats getting in the way and whatnot.

The cathedral ceilings got reflectix to hold up and the roxul insulation and add a little R value. Its completely overpriced reflective bubble wrap but sometimes...whatever.

Its amazing how far weve come. Its been a year since I first started digging. Now even the bathouse is installed. Speaking of the bathouse...

Procuring a strong enough pole for bathouse was deemed impossible. New poles are hundreds of dollars. A used basketball pole might suffice. Couldnt find one and got impatient. So some good ole black iron pipe was used. Smaller size for the second half so it could slide inside the lower half. The house can be raised and lowered that way. It was no easy task to heave the house up there in the first place. Especially when you realize that you installed the pole between the rungs of your ladder...sigh. So the bathouse got installed twice. I make mistakes, Im good at correcting/hiding them, but this one was too comical to let go.

You need a roof

Yes. A roof is up there in the more necessary category. Those that know me are aware of my flying by the seat of my pants habit. Its hard to describe the balance between planning and going with the flow. Its so hard I wont desribe it. Flat out refuse. Point is, when building a structure for living in there is many ways to arrive at the same point. The sheathing and tarp held up over winter, bless its soul. If I look around the region there are quite a few perma-tarped structures. I dont want to be one of them. Maybe I do have a little class afterall. The tarp slapping in the wind is enough to annoy me and springtime is very windy here in Maine.

The design. Ah the design. It changes and changes some more and its never final until Im done (screws and nails can be removed).

The greenbox. I needed an overhang and also figure out whats the best method for mounting the roof. Like Ive described many times already, research on the internet quickly yields no certain answer. Attach the panels to the deck some say. Lift the panels off the deck others say. Theres catastrophic results with evidence for both methods. So. Whatever.

The solution. The metal roof will be lifted off the deck by 1x4s and then the 1x4s are lifted off the deck by 1x3s running vertically. Why? Cause I want to.

The metal roof may very well last my lifetime. In the event of a leak, buildup of condensation or some other water problem, the water can run out of the roof under the metal roofing. The sheathing is "weatherproof" zip panels with the seams taped. So theres two barriers for water. The roof should stop it all, if not, theres another exit before it penetrates the house. Conventional? No. Conventionality is boring and I like risk.

I always think about how to do things by myself. A backup plan for everything. I was fully ready to put on the roof myself if I had to. Ive been working on the house alone for a month but the roof was a project that some help would be...helpful. My brother and father came up for the weekend, with only minor hiccups the roof went on quick. Which is great because I quickly accepted this was not a lone wolf project, so thank you guys for the help.

Almost. The ridge didnt have a solid answer yet as to how to do it. I figured I could straddle the ridge and scoot as I go. Once up there I was gravely mistaken. The lateral force on my knees was immense. Both felt like blowing out. No. This is definitely not the way.

I had to walk it off for awhile as my knees havent felt that punished in awhile. Time to think. After some group discussion, it was decided to try the peak ladder and just slide it little by little as I go, hoping to not deform the peak. I was frustrated and in Pain. Yeah Pain.

Yes. This will work. Slowly but surely. I could smell rain.

Done. Screw metal roofs (ha!)

Home is where you make it

And I make it here.

I dont think Ive ever been so anxious. Winter gave me plenty of time to think about what could go wrong. Alas, nothing did. Except the driveway was a muddy mess. The house stood where I left it and the tarp was still solidly in place. No signs of any water intrusion nor any critters. I made my living space in the container (previous post) and went straight to work.

Such a simple space, for a simple life. Dare say I love it. Bedroom in the loft and the main floor will be open kitchen/living room with a bathroom and utility room. More than ample.

Only walls in the whole house. The whole location is private so why bother making it even more holed in.

Just a side note for those ambitous people out there. I fully believe in the back to the land movement, I love what it represents. But let it be known I also love power tools. Last year I framed and sheathed the entire house with a handsaw and hammer. Yes Im proud. Yes I made it happen. But it hurt and took forever (comparitively speaking). I aint got time for that shiz anymore. Maybe some do and Im sure I could stay pure with no power tools but Id really like to see this project through and basic power tools saves immense time and wear on the body. I can thank my mother for them, a well appreciated christmas gift to us. For a few months straight I used them everyday and will continue to find/make uses.

For example. This staircase took a solid 8 hours with power tools (circ saw). Easily a week and a bad case of tennis elbow with a handsaw. Yea Im sold. Note the cedar support log. Ive become addicted to hunting for cedar logs in the woods that let mother nature cure them in a way that makes the bark fall off naturally. Its a real aesthetic boost to the interior. One of many unplanned advances. The empty space quickly took on the feeling of home, because like I said Im making it here.

Container life

After a relatively uneventful winter I returned to my new home. Yes. A shipping container. A twenty foot one at that. I purchased one last year to use as storage for building materials and ultimately itll become a workshop of sorts. The house survived winter just fine and now was the time to get moving on it again. April still saw snow and plenty of freezing temperatures. The container serves as a good half way house of sorts.

I grew rather found of living in the container. I abandoned the idea of building a home out of them, despite all the cool ideas on the internet. Its a trend, like most things. As I looked more into it there wasnt any solid benefits. In fact, there were more cons. Sure its nifty to have a weatherproof shell dropped on your land. Its a nightmare to insulate, completely imbedded with chinese pesticides and is hardly "cheap". I didnt give up on it completely though, last year I began insulating it and finished it this spring. Solid metal shells get very hot and very cold, oh and dont breath at all. A combination of guaranteed problems down the road. The only true answer is spray foam insulation which destroys any hope for cost savings. Since its not a permanent home I opted for my own custom design, an experiment of sorts. I read through a plenty of homestead blogs and figure someone else may come across mine. My advice is unless you can get the containers super cheap (less than $1000) then its not worth the trouble. Unless youre trendy, then have at it.

I basically framed out a box inside the container with an air gap on the top. Each stud bay I used 1" foam board which is suitable for subgrade installation so it wont grow mold or hold moisture. The entire interior was then wrapped in 6mil polysheeting, trapping the air between the foam board and interior wall surface (sheetrock). Unknown to many, air holds a R value, its the moisture and convection that negates it. Dry, still air provides some insulation. 3.6 R value supposedly per inch. Combined with the foam board total R value could be around 12. Who really knows. I dont care. All I know is it works and was perfectly cozy. Took off the temperature swings, heated up quick with the campstove and held the heat. Opposing vents were drilled out and a CO detector installed. Having a fire in a 19x8' space isnt safe by most standards and Ive had CO poisoning before.

On a windy day, with a mostly closed flue, CO levels did rise in the container. Its a real risk, be careful. Funny me saying that but I suppose a two week headache and being scared of falling asleep and not waking up did knock some sense in me.

I do recommend paying extra for the digital readout, kind of an early warning rather than waiting for the alarm to go off when it rises to dangerous levels.

In real time, I (we) are moved out of the container and in the actual house. So now the container will be serving as a workshop/gym. Such an odd sized space made it difficult finding a squat stand thatll fit the space. After months of hounding craigslist, I built my own. Out of wood. Yes. The biggest driving factor in my homestead mission is to have the freedom and challenge to do pretty much whatever I want. I love experimenting. I learn by pain and error. Thus, squat stand needed. Container life aint so bad afterall.