Solar Shed Framing

Had two helpers on Saturday...

Sunday I finished the roof except for the felt on one side...

That's it- We are going OFF the grid!

Hopefully it won't be that primitive!

We would have preferred to have grid power however the neighbor was not willing to grant an easement for the line extension. So, we are going with alternative power- solar with generator backup. As far as cost goes, the cost for the line extension was going to be $21,000. The cost of the solar system/generator is almost exactly the same. 

After fully charging, the system will have enough capacity to power the entire house for 2.5 days if there is no sun. The generator can then be switched on and will run the house while recharging the battery bank. The monthly cost to operate should be pretty small.

The solar panels will mount on the south facing roof of the solar shed:

This weekend I will be working on framing the shed using the lumber I milled the last two weekends...

Roof and Sawmilling

The roofers finally came back and finished the roof. I ended up doing the lower roof on the back of the house. 

Two weeks ago when I had he excavator here and dug the trench, I also transplanted a cottonwood tree. You can see it in the photo below, just to the right of the house and in front of it.

Some photos of milling lumber for the solar shed...

concrete and trench

Finished forming the slab for the solar shed. I had a gravel truck come and place about 6 inches inside the forms so I would end up with about a 5 1/2 inch slab (about 12 inches thick around the edges.)

I ordered 8.5 yards of a special concrete called self consolidating concrete. It is normally used for bridge beams and costs about $15 more per yard than regular. The concrete supplier has never seen anyone use it on a slab before and they were interested in trying it. It is very fluid and was very easy to place and finish. I completed finishing before the truck driver pulled away. No screed, bullfloating or vibrating needed. I just used a simple two by four with a handle, jiggling  it up and down in the top inch or so of concrete across the entire slab.

It worked great and produced a smooth finish.

I was careful to keep the dogs away but Smokey managed to get his initials in it.

Yesterday I rented an excavator and dug a trench and hole for the propane tank and lines.

Progress

Progress has been slow but steady. I spent most of the summer working on the woodstove alcove and the back roof over the porch and mud room.

I hired someone to do the stone veneer on the exterior and I did the interior masonry.

This weekend I formed a slab for the solar shed. This is a 16x20 shed that will have the solar panels mounted on one roof and it will house the backup generator. More on the solar system later.

Inside, the log ceiling joists are in place..

For months I have been trying to get roofers to put the metal on. Finally got some to show up and they worked one day. They need about 2 more to finish. That was almost two weeks ago. No wonder I do most things myself!

The homestead:

Enjoying the fall!

Mountain Goat Hunt

Click on the photos to view them full size.

My friend Matt drew a mountain goat license for a unit that is in the Absoraka Beartooth Wilderness Area, a few miles north of Yellowstone Park. On Thursday Matt, his friend Jake, and I drove up to the trailhead and loaded our gear on a horse I leased for the fall.

The trailhead is at an elevation of 7200 feet. We hiked from there to our camp at the head of Mill Creek, an elevation of  around 9300 feet. The air is thin up there and it makes hiking slow.

Friday morning we put our packs on the horse and headed up to near the ridgeline. We tied him up and started the final climb to the top.

We got as high as 10400 feet. The scenery was spectacular.

We had a hard time finding a path through the cliffs but once we made it through, there was a large grassy plateau that was easy to travel on. We started seeing mountain goats.

There was also a fair amount of petrified wood laying here and there.

We saw about thirty mountain goats. Most of them were on the sides of sheer cliffs. A few were in areas that were accessible and eventually Matt stalked one and shot it. It rolled down the mountain a ways then came to a stop in a gully.

It took a few hours to break it down, put it in our packs and hike back to the cliff crossing. We made it through the crossing just as it got dark. For some reason it seemed much harder going back than it was coming through before.

We got back to camp well after dark. The next morning we packed up and headed out. 

Family Photo Session