Hello from the frozen North!
I've been a lurker here for a while and decided I should participate. There is obviously a wealth of information here in all your minds...
I'm still in the rough stages of initial building. Here's my story for anyone who cares to read:
My girlfriend and I bought 40 acres a few miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska in 2007. Spring 2008, we both managed to find jobs in Fairbanks and moved up from Anchorage. Once the trail to the land dried out, we built a 16x20 cabin, and moved into it September 1, 2008. We've since improved the road. There is no power available within reasonable distance.
The last couple years we were clearing, then digging. Here's where I am now:
32w x 48l x 12h sunken garage (about 8' below grade). Plans are to build a house on top of it in another few years when the savings account is back up.
I poured a monolithic slab, 32x48, with 16" deep, 14" wide footers on undisturbed native soil. I made the slab extra-thick (about 6-7" average). This fall we put up ICF walls (arxx blocks) that are 8" concrete core, and R30 insulated. This December a friend helped put up floor joists between a steel beam and the walls, and 3/4" T&G plywood sub-floor.
Finally, I put up the overhead doors (10x10, and 9wx8h), put a wood stove in the center, and last week put an oil-drip Efel stove in.
That's pretty much it. I was going to go work on plumbing the hydronic heating today, but it was -41F this morning and I just can't get motivated, so I'm here reading!
I'm wondering if any of you have experience with heating a space this large without a surplus of electricity. I have batteries and an inverter, but new loads that are on 24x7 or even small loads that run a few hours each day can be overwhelming. It's not fun dealing with a generator in the cold.
I'd like to post some pictures, but my internet is having some speed issues and I'll wait until it's working better before figuring that out.
I've been a lurker here for a while and decided I should participate. There is obviously a wealth of information here in all your minds...
I'm still in the rough stages of initial building. Here's my story for anyone who cares to read:
My girlfriend and I bought 40 acres a few miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska in 2007. Spring 2008, we both managed to find jobs in Fairbanks and moved up from Anchorage. Once the trail to the land dried out, we built a 16x20 cabin, and moved into it September 1, 2008. We've since improved the road. There is no power available within reasonable distance.
The last couple years we were clearing, then digging. Here's where I am now:
32w x 48l x 12h sunken garage (about 8' below grade). Plans are to build a house on top of it in another few years when the savings account is back up.
I poured a monolithic slab, 32x48, with 16" deep, 14" wide footers on undisturbed native soil. I made the slab extra-thick (about 6-7" average). This fall we put up ICF walls (arxx blocks) that are 8" concrete core, and R30 insulated. This December a friend helped put up floor joists between a steel beam and the walls, and 3/4" T&G plywood sub-floor.
Finally, I put up the overhead doors (10x10, and 9wx8h), put a wood stove in the center, and last week put an oil-drip Efel stove in.
That's pretty much it. I was going to go work on plumbing the hydronic heating today, but it was -41F this morning and I just can't get motivated, so I'm here reading!
I'm wondering if any of you have experience with heating a space this large without a surplus of electricity. I have batteries and an inverter, but new loads that are on 24x7 or even small loads that run a few hours each day can be overwhelming. It's not fun dealing with a generator in the cold.
I'd like to post some pictures, but my internet is having some speed issues and I'll wait until it's working better before figuring that out.