.....a little progress....

.....was made today. Here's some pics.

I tore out the old wall wall and am getting ready to frame out for siding. Also, I re-seasoned the Neptune wood stove. It has a fire burning in it now and the cast iron is getting nice and hot.....
Tomorrow I will finish the wall and get ready to start framing out the spot for the sliding glass door. I am getting a freebie which is great. It will open left to right from the inside and I will be able to move the stove into the corner freeing up some space on the back wall!!!

....more to come!

back pain....

chopping wood all day equals.....

So the firebox in the little Neptune is small.......real small. I bucked and split about a half a cord of hardwood yesterday and .......wait for it..........I bucked it too long. Now my back hurts and I have a pile of wood that I can't use without hitting it with the chainsaw again (scary thought). I am going to call some custom cutters and see if I can get a load of firewood delivered that is the right length.....it is soooooo short!!! Measure twice and cut once applies in other activities than just carpentry apparently.

The Neptune A-1

So my heating plan is the Neptune A-1 marine woodstove. It is a cooking stove with a small oven and a single eye over the firebox. The tiny firebox. I took it out of storage and gave it a test firing last night out in the yard. I got a good bed of coals going and added 3 pieces of somewhat seasoned red oak at 6PM. At 7:36 PM the firebox just had a few coals in it and by 8PM the fire had burned out. About two hours. The built in flue damper was closed and the fire never took off. That is not a lot of time. The heavy cast iron stove continued to generate heat about 10PM so there is about 4 hours of heat making ability with the little stove. I am going to need to make sure that the cabin is really insulated to hold this heat. My last experience with this stove was not great but I was trying to heat a huge space. The cabin I am building is only 8x16 with a shed roof, 13 feet on the high side. I would guess this is a quarter of the volume of the last cabin (which was very poorly insulated).
I am going to back up the wood heat with a small propane heater...the Mr. Heater Big Buddy running off a bulk tank. This heater has three settings and I hope that the lowest one is not too much. If so, I may buy a wall mount propane heater with a thermostat. Just hate to spend the extra dough since I already have a heater.

dragging a shack...

Tractors are good. We just moved the shack about 400 yards with chains and a tractor. It slid surprisingly well even up the hill that is the driveway for the outpost and it is now sitting where it will spend the winter. There is a long list of things to do, most of which will have to be done when I get back from Cincinnati after Christmas but there are some immediate projects that have to be done. First, I have to clean it out. It has been sitting open for years (and unused for the last year) so between hornets nests, dirt, mud dobber nests, more dirt, leaves, bird droppings and more dirt I have my work cut out for me. Next, there is a wall that needs to be finished. It is on the end farthest from the door and it will need to be framed out and exterior sheeting put up. I am planning on putting in a sliding glass door where the front door is but if I put it here it will save me a bunch of work and time and money.....I just don't think it's the spot. I am going to have to explore this a bit from an interior design standpoint. If I decide not to put the slider here then I need to frame out an opening where the front door is for the sliding glass door and install. The rear wall needs attention too. It needs more framing 2x4's so I can hang sheetrock (and insulate) and needs new exterior panels. The ones that were there were never finished and after 5-6 years are in pretty bad shape. The window on the front needs to be replaced too but I will do that later and for now just cover it. The idea is to have the space dry so I can work on the interior when I get back from Ohio (with money in my pocket) soooo........a list.


1. clean out the shack
2. fix the back and side walls
3. buy, frame in and install a sliding glass door
4. replace or cover the broken window

This way when I get back I can focus on making the interior livable.........the next list.

5. run basic wiring for a few outlets (not used until I am permanently situated)
6. seal and insulate walls and roof
7. sheetrock walls and roof
8. Install floors (laminates)
9. Install wood stove and stovepipe
10. paint.
11. and the list goes on and on and on....

I have got my work cut out for me...

....and this is what I have.

My new old tiny house...

.....so I have been a dedicated van dweller for the last three years and as winter approaches I find myself really wanting to nest a bit. I kind of miss having a home. The van is great in the summers but I usually head south for the winters. Well, I have a new job and I have decided that I need to stay in the mountains for the winter. Which means I need a place to live....that is not the van.
I have been wanting to build a tiny house for a few years now, ever since I first discovered the movement on the internet but there was always a reason not to....mostly my desire to change venues every six months or so and the fact that I have never owned a vehicle that will pull a house on wheels. Recently I inherited one of the changing rooms that the rafting company used while we were building our new outpost and I have decided to make it into a small but modern living space. I can live in it on our property in the winter and hopefully find a spot for the summers. If not it's back to the van for me (which is not too bad either!!) This blog is to document the renovation from hollow shack to a modern, comfortable living space.
Here are some photo's of what I want....