Weather Widget

So, I finally made progress on testing wiring up the PV panels and charge controller and such; all on my fancy workbench (read: patio table).  This motivated me to get the weather station going, also on the patio.  It will be at least another week before I can take it up to the land and get it transmitting weather data from there.

At that time, I'll edit the location name, but for now, I'm experimenting in adding the weather widget to the right gutter on this blog.  So, please ignore the erratic weather data and wrong town name for now.  I'll give another update when the unit is deployed on site and transmitting weather data for real.

Roll With It

So, the surveyors and I crossed wires on rain delay or not.  In short, I was up there waiting for them, they were not there.    So, I found myself with some free time.  I realized I rushed to get there skipping breakfast for no good reason.  So I decided to drive down "into town" and take a route I've never used before.

This is the first stream crossing I've ever done from a paved road.   I've done many on trails and wheeling trips, but I was going down an asphalt paved road, with a double yellow line in the center, up ahead my GPS showed a sharp chicane... whoa.  Water.  Cool.   About 20-22" deep at most.

Again, very odd.  Paved road with beautiful homes on either end.  Full time residences.  Obviously they would normally get to their home from "their end" of this road (it does connect at either end to  larger roads) and presumably only yahoos and lost sheep actually drive through the creek end to end.

Bonus: I found the smooth river stones for our outdoor shower...

Where on the Site

So, I have 3 draft blogs ready to go depending on which direction we go.   It was helpful to write out the different choices ahead of us.

Last weekend, a visit to the site had dual purposes:

1) To take up the water tote I just bought
2) Think with an open mind on siting the first structure

The water tote is a generic food grade 275 gallon unit.  I removed my roof-top-tent from my trailer and used the rack as, well, a rack.   The trailer had only about 250 pounds on and in it, and thankfully 4-low and triple-lockers were available as it was slow and low to the ridges.

Here we are air-ing down to 18psi from the 34psi we run on the streets, from here on the trail gets more rugged.

At the site, I got a crash course on reversing with a trailer over an off-camber clearing, uphill and sideways.  I'm glad the game camera doesn't cover this spot or I would have burned through its batteries on the 213 point turn I executed to put the tote and trailer where I wanted.

The clearing shown above, is where we park the cars.  So the idea of building just up hill from it is less than ideal since our great view would be blocked by staring at the roofline of all the cars and trucks parked there.  Downhill from it would work but it's limited in pad size as the access road cuts across below. Sooo....

In preparation of having some site-work guys up on the land with their big Cat 'dozers, I thought with an open mind, where would we:

• get the best solar orientation
• enjoy the best view
• allow for adequate parking and turn-around
• allow for materials storage and 'delivery'
• allow for future use plans and structures

This view to South from a spot that is not yet cleared, but abuts the main clearing to the West would satisfy all those criteria:

hmm, I think I found the pad site.   We'll see what the site-guys have to say, assuming our appointment isn't rained out early this week.

Data, Data, Data

Sure, it's a little unromantic, but I like data.

Charging up there with axe in hand and doing my best Dick Proenneke*** impression is one way to go about it.

But we have the opposite of what Dick had: he had lots of free time, granted by choice as he made the time.  But we don't have that much free time, not drop it all and move to Alaska type of free time.  Since we're bout 90 minutes from "the cabin site", it means we need to spend more time planning and thinking before we stick a shovel in the ground or axe in a tree.  (It also allows us a mental retreat.  Standing in line at the bank, or post office: launch Evernote on one's Droid and add notes about an aspect of the project, then read that night after the kids are in bed - ah, Living the Dream).

***Who is Dick Proenneke?  Watch this and prepare to get humbled.



So, back to our reality.  I can't up and leave my job and kids and other things, so planning is part of what we'll be doing so that we  maximize the effectiveness of our time on site, and best achieve our project Goals.

What do you need to begin to formulate a plan?

1) Goals 
2) Wisdom
3) Data

Goals:  Our goals were stated in our first blog post: a place to enjoy that's safe, comfortable and inviting for our family.  A Design that emphasizes the strengths of the site that doesn't break the bank, and that balances our time and does the least harm on its surroundings.

Wisdom: I trust I'll be more wise once I'm done with this project, but for now I'm learning a lot by reading about the projects of other cabin owners on the forums of www.small-cabin.com  For building methods, alternative power, and off-grid living, there are numerous online resources that I'll share and link to in future blog posts, as well as books I've bought and read on these topics.   For interior layout, since when we're inside the structure it has to work for us, we've read planbooks voraciously for years, and I've got some new cabin plan books on my nightstand.

Sidebar: don't let yourself get too myopic.  Some of the design ideas my wife sends via her daily "links to view emails" are often fantastic vacation homes and retreats.  By fantastic I mean not only beautiful, but fantastically Engineered (and therefore likely out of our budget and building skills and site limitations - no crane for us!):

source

But this one was good to see.  Their barn door on steel beam may not be reasonable for us, but it reminded me of the sliding doors/exterior screens on Michelle Kaufmann's Glidehouse that I read about years ago:

Source

Sometimes what my wife sends are fantastically energy inefficient designs since they're often from beach-front or tropical climates (she has a thing for the beach, you see) that won't fit for our locale.  So, we read it all and take it in.  Try it.  It will stretch your horizons, you can find beauty in them all --- but pulling the wisdom from those who've done things most like what you may end up doing is important, I believe.  Which brings us to...

Data:  to me, this is about the specificity of the site; namely of distilling the Wisdom (materials, methods, insights, techniques, hind-sights) of other people and projects to fit our site specifics.   Examples:

• I know what the official government charts says for Solar Insolation for our approximate location, but wouldn't it be nice to have a device recording actual levels observed on our site?  This will drive PV calculations, and confirm the passive solar ideas going on in our heads. 
• I know what the official government charts say for wind in our area, but wouldn't it be nice to have a device recording and uploading the actual levels observed on our site?  This will clarify wind-power options and also let us know the seasonal weather seen at the site for prioritizing storm windows/doors and extra wind-proofing.  We've never built on a bluff before, but the vegetation all growing a bit out of plumb is a clue...
• Same for rainfall.
• Same for temperature.

So, all that is to say...   currently in the works is a project that will place on site with 4G intenet access back to the world:

• a weather station (PWS)
• motion sensitive IP cameras
• wind and solar power readings and data logging

Ok, so the cameras are also about staying pumped.  I remember some of the first effective online cameras were in use by ski resorts.  There was nothing like, in the weeks leading up to a ski vacation, checking the resort's "ski cams" and getting stoked about the fresh powder falling in view of the camera.  I'm hoping to tap into the visual connection here as well.   We'll see, if it works, we'll put a widget in the gutter with a view from the cam(s).

I'm building a small PV and possibly wind system to power all of this, that too will be a learning process.  My goal is to not use throw-away components, rather a system I can scale later to power the cabin itself.  I'll post what I built, who I sourced things from, what I learned, and why I chose what I did.  Thereby sharing the little bit of wisdom I pick up, with you.

The hand you've been dealt...

Site Specs:

Elevation: 

• The top of the property is at 2580' (786 meters for you international visitors) above sea level.
• The pad site for  version 1.0 of the cabin will be at about 2150', with about 1100-1200' of drop to the valley below.
• We are somewhat protected on our the North and West by the 400' of hill and cliffs uphill from our site

Solar Insolation: 

• High: 4.68
• Low: 3.37
• Average: 4.23
• Take Away: not too bad

Our view to the south:

Wind:

• On the peak/ridge about 400' above us, it would be a DOE wind class 4, on a tower.
• Down at the pad site, class 3 at best is what I'm thinking.
• Translation: (source NREL)

• Cool tool for current wind stats, find yourself: http://hint.fm/wind
• Take Away:  I'd have to really want to use wind power to put a tower on the ridge to get up into zone 4; and there's more maintenance on wind gear than solar (the batteries and charge controller are a wash), based solely on the 4 wind and solar power books I've read , starting with Solar may be the route for us since utility power is over 1/2 a mile from our site as the crow flies over unbroken terrain.

Water:

• There is no pond or lake on the property.
• I've done basic collection research and built a system at home for garden water rain harvesting.  Here I'm thinking of starting a non-potable setup to collect for site work (concrete and stone work) and utility water for cleaning off ourselves and such.  
• Rainfall is estimated at: 40" per year over 120 days per year.
• Thanks to the pitch of the site, taking advantage of the hill means a collection cistern 50' uphill from the site = ~20psi of water at the hose at our site.  100' uphill for ~40 psi is realistic, too (brawn and budget allowing).   
• The formula for figuring your water pressure based on the height of water is  PSI = 0.43 x H (where H is height in feet).   So 100' up the hill, PSI = 0.43 x 100.  You've got to deduct pressure loss of  your pipe/host to get the water down to you, but you get the idea.

Terrain:

• Steep and rocky.  The bluff we're on is less lush than the two hollows/draws to the NE and SW of our site.
• There is a spring in the hollow to our north, but on a neighbor's lot. These hollows are much greener and have a larger mix of tree species.

Fauna:

• Black bear, seen by us, and neighbors have shot
• Mountain Lion/Bobcat, tracks seen by us and our former surveryor
• Rattlesnake, seen and heard by us
• Whitetail deer, seen a plenty
• Hawks, enjoyed daily

So that's the hand we've been dealt.    Next steps: what to build?  Data collection?  Plan, plan, plan.

Breaking (digital) Ground

So, someday I hope to look back on this initial blog post, smile and say: Look how far we've come.

We're putting our mind to building an improvement on our Virginia mountaintop land.  We've owned this nice little lot for several years, but have yet to build.  At first it was purely budget driven (lack of budget) then it was having 3 wonderful kids that occupied all of our free time.  We still have these 3 rugrats, but they're now old enough to enjoy camping, hiking and are eager to spend time up here.  So, let's strike while the iron is hot! (aka: before they become teenagers and want nothing to do with us)

Goals:

• A weekend retreat for now,
• Safe, warm, and comfortable for short stints for 2-5 humans and some 4 legged family members as well, 
• Maximize the site's benefits: the view and hanging with the hawks gliding on the breeze, and
• Minimize impact on resources.   This is a tough one as we have varying things at play here, some in conflict: our budget/money is one resource; embodied energy of the materials is another; site impact, aka: erosion, flaura/fauna disruption; and possibly the most finite: our time (viz the overall speed of different construction methods).   For example, if we outsource labor to save time, we increase costs.  If we use the site's stones to build with Slipforms (minimizing impact and a strong play on embodied energy), we add a lot of time and effort.

Challenges:

• A difficult approach to the building site via non paved road.  There are two pitches with 75% grades (yes, 37 degrees) of over 100' in length, so a running start isn't enough to clear those pitches, slow and low it goes.   If there's snow, you're not getting out. Period (ask me how I know this).

the bottom of one such stretch, it gets steeper as you go up:

• Owners of neighboring lots have hauled in building materials (2x lumber, corrugated steel roofing) with mixed success; namely: chains on tires needed even in dry weather when pulling material trailers.  In another case a dozen sheets of the roofing were too much on one pitch for their pickup truck's tailgate, and it blew out destroying the latch and their sheets went back down the hill like Satan's sled run. They had to carry by hand the sheet's over a quarter mile that day until they repaired their truck... that was frustrating.
• Water: some neighbors below us do have wells, but we're at the top of the mountain, so I assume we'll have more rock to go through than them. Since the initial and operating costs of a well are proportional to the depth, that does give us pause. 
• Power: other lots to the north of us do have utility power, and years ago the power company had a decent program if one was to go full-time on site (they would cover the capital costs of the poles, site work, and lines to get to you, and add it to your bill over 20 years).  That program is no more, so I've heard.  So alternative power it is.

Even with these challenges, the view and tranquility once up there are a huge draw.  Here is our view to the East, there's about 1100' of drop to the valley below:

All for now.  Next Up more about what we're working with.