Newbie introduction

Roxie · December 13, 2009, 10:54:18 PM

I really enjoyed the pictures and the tour! Thanks! 8)

fishpharmer · December 13, 2009, 10:59:15 PM

Don't get too comfortable in that tent. I want to see what you can build with your chainsaw mill ;) or Woodmizer LT10 (they are on sale).

Snow load.......not sure why I even thought about that, since i never saw one. I am sure you have thought about the following scenario, but humor me. You have so much snow that you can't sweep the snow off the top. I mean the snow banks are so high in each side that the snow just gets deeper on the top.

Is that possible, if so, then what?

PlicketyCat · December 13, 2009, 11:10:49 PM

We can't get too comfortable in this tent, with the rate Ripley is growing she will soon be too big to sleep in her bed, or ours! We'll need more floor space before that happens because she'll just whine all night if we put her in a kennel outside

OK, for the snow to get all the way up the side of our tent so we can't pull it off the roof, we'd have to get at least 9 feet of snow plus however many feet to actually start climbing the roof. The tent platform is about 4' of the ground and the side walls are 5'. While it might be possible for us to get a drift that high, it's unlikely that we'll get that much cover snow in the frigid and arid Interior. If we lived closer to the coast where there is more moisture and the temperatures are a bit higher, then that might be more of a problem. However, we did plan for the possibility (hope for the best, plan for the worst) and kept three stout (9-12"d) aspens that we cleared from the top of the driveway and cut them to the height of our ridgebeam, pre-notched around the angle braces. They are currently under our deck, so if the snow got really deep, we'd have to tunnel in to get them; but we could bring them inside and prop up the ridge at the joins (5' span between and 8' span to eave). We'd have to climb over stuff to get around, but at least the roof wouldn't cave in!

fishpharmer · December 13, 2009, 11:16:54 PM

Sounds like you got a plan. Figured you would ;)

stay warm.

PlicketyCat · December 13, 2009, 11:20:05 PM

Oh yeah, and before you ask, both sections of the ultra-black flue pipe telescope to 10 feet, the deck is 4', and the stovestop is at 2'... so we'd have to get over 26 feet of snow before it would cover our flue and prevent us from using the wood stove ;) And, since the stove-pipe is double-wall, it can also suck in air in the outer hull to feed the fire; and we have the old single wall flue that we can stick out the ridge cap openings 12' to get breathing air so we don't suffocate either ;)

ljmathias · December 14, 2009, 01:05:38 PM

Nice pictures and descriptions, but one thing is clear- the reason it's so easy to fit everything into your tent is there are no PEOPLE there; makes life a lot easier, I'd guess...

Lj

PlicketyCat · December 14, 2009, 07:55:42 PM

Yep - it's just me, hubby, Ripley (almost people sized dog) and Charlie (kitty takes up almost no space). If we had kids or other family members, this would be much more painful

And living in the boonies, you can store a lot of stuff outside without worrying that other people will steal it. As long as something can't be damaged by weather or won't attract big critters, you can put outside maybe throw a tarp over it and it's totally fine!

Rooster · December 14, 2009, 08:06:29 PM

How about mother-in-laws? Do they even make Pink tarps?

Thanks to Jim for letting us keep this thread here in the timber/log built section...cause we saw her first!!!

And trust me, I'm sure the TF part is going to blow our socks off!!!

PlicketyCat · December 14, 2009, 08:41:14 PM

if my mother-in-law came, I'd definitely want a bacon-scented tarp to attract the bears. No, that's mean, I'm just kidding (well mostly)

I've seen yellow, orange, red, aqua, lime green... I'm sure someone makes a pink one. If not, you can always leave a red one out to fade a bit.

Yes, thanks Jim for letting me stay here

I'll try to live up to everyone and Rooster's expectations with my TF roundhouse.

Jim_Rogers · December 15, 2009, 09:42:33 AM

Plenty of room for everyone......

zopi · December 15, 2009, 10:43:09 AM

yeah..Plickety (and Gugnir) seem to be a great addition here...Our conversations are interesting to say the least!

US Soldier · December 14, 2010, 05:32:11 PM

I hope to be joining your lifestyle here in June. 21yrs Military service and finally I get to come to Alaska, and I don't ever want to leave. I will most likely have alot of questions about the cabin later, but first.......Can you give me some pointers on OTC land or auctions? I would like to get the land as soon as possible after arriving in Fairbanks as to get the logs seasoning. Any little bit helps and I see that you have already shed some sweat and blood that may save me a bit. Thanks and keep up the great work.