Metal Trim for Front Door

We needed to add a little design element to the front and side entry facades, so we had the builder install some corrugated metal panels around the entryways.  This is the front door view.  The corrugated metal is the same metal used for the porch roofs.  Eventually it will rust.  The installer did a great job framing the metal panels, doors and light fixtures with matching cedar wood. 

Solar Panels

We designed the building angle and south facing roof slope to accommodate future solar panel installation.  We ended up qualifying for the Rocky Mountain Solar Incentive for 2013 and decided to go ahead and put the solar panels in sooner rather than later.  We hired Marc Staker from Sunlight Solar to design and install the system and he was amazing.  Very responsive, knowledgeable and all-around great guy.  Plus, he has a rat terrier (you can see her in the photo by the truck)!  Anyway, he installed a beautiful 2kw system with the high-tech black glass panels made here in the USA. 

 

 

 

Windows

We went with Marvin Integrity Ultrex fiberglass composite windows with LoE-366 glass with argon.  In the desert heat you cannot use vinyl windows because they warp.  We couldn't afford full wooden windows and the fiberglass composite windows actually have a better energy star rating than the wooden ones.  In the end, with the extra "mistake" window in the bedroom and the "late addition" window on the west wall in the kitchen, we ended up with 16 windows in our little 1,000 sq.ft. cabin.  Wow.

Metal Roof

The metal roof has been installed.  It took longer than expected because the manufacturer cut the trim pieces incorrectly.  And you can't put the roof on until the trim pieces are in.  So, that was a couple week delay.  We also had to install a standing metal seam roof instead of a corrugated rusted metal roof (that I really wanted) because the solar panels could not be attached securely to the rusted metal roof.  I think the standing seam metal looks fine.  The roof material on the porches is still the corrugated rusted metal.

Porch Overhangs

The porch overhangs are in!  I love how these add some visual detail to the elevations.

 

This photo also shows the rusted metal fascia trim along the roof line and porches.  There are two windows on the left side (bedroom) since the first one wasn't in the right place.  Instead of covering up the "mistake" window, we left them both in and ordered another window:)

 

 

 

Castle Valley Drive

The cabin is located along a charming country road.  This is a picture looking from the property towards the La Sal Mountains.  It was a little smokey today from all the summer fires.

This is a shot of the cabin and from Castle Valley Drive.  Still looks like a construction site.  I like the meandering driveway.

 

Framed In

By the end of September, the cabin is all framed in!!  It looks great and I love all the windows.  This is a view of the South elevation and the row of windows from the bedroom.

Mary and the Dogs in the living room.

Me standing in the front door.

 

 

Framing

 

Wow!!  After a summer of being very patient and trying not to bug Mitch about how the construction was going -- we were pleasantly surprised to receive some pictures of the progress so far.  I can't believe the walls are up already!!  It is amazing to see something come to life that we just dreamed up on paper.  After a year or so working on two dimensional drawings, it is exhilarating to see the real deal.  Some things are different than imagined, but overall, the structure looks great and is living up to the Vision.  I am so excited!  I just wish we could get down there to see it in person.  Hopefully soon.  I think the windows and the corresponding doors look great and give it a really open feel.

 

Concrete Sealer

The concrete floors were sealed with W.R. Meadows Sealtight Seal Cure CS-309-25.  Seal Cure is a styrene acrylic polymer which cures, seals and hardens newly cured concrete.  We plan to use the concrete floors as the finished floor material for a few years.  Eventually, I'm planning to add another product to give the floors a high-gloss "wet" look.  Looking into SuperSeal 2000 made by a local Utah company called Concrete Coatings.  SuperSeal 2000 is also an acrylic-based clear sealer.

Concrete Slab

The concrete slab was poured today!  We now officially have a floor.  Here are some pictures from the builder showing the process.  Looks like they did a great job.  

Solar Incentive

We applied for the Rocky Mountain Solar Incentive Program which provides incentives - in the form of cash-o-la - to residents and businesses to install solar systems.  We didn't win the lottery straight away, but we were fourth on the waiting list.  We just heard this week that we have moved into an eligible spot and can get up to $3,100 from the power company to install a 2kw system on the cabin!!  We designed the cabin to face south with a down sloping roof so that the solar panels can be installed directly on the roof.  We'll have it pre-wired during the framing process and then the panels will be installed on the roof after the roof is complete.  We are working with Marc Staker from Sunlight Solar and he is awesome!

Here is Marc's Website:  http://sunlightsolar.pro/

Getting Close to Pouring Slab

Just got an email update from Mitch on the concrete pour.  Sounds like the big day is imminent.  Holding my breath with excitement.  Here is the email thread from Mitch: 

Hey Lisa, Things are going well, I have had my laborer working on getting compaction. Your house site is an alluvial slough and mostly sand. I have had to fill up the trench with water, let it soak and consolidate, then run the tamper again. We are getting there. About 90% compaction. Meanwhile the batter boards are set and the plumbers are lined up to come in with a machine and trench for the under ground sewer, water, and radon lines, and electrical stub out Monday.  The way we are pouring this is that we are pouring the footers stemwall and slab in one pour. Every thing needs to be in place. 

Footings

The trenches have been dug for the footings and foundation.  You can really get a sense of the location and size of the cabin now with its footprint essentially outline in the ground.  I have to say at this stage 1,000 square feet looks pretty small.  I have been told that it will start to look bigger once the walls go up and the strucutre starts to take form.

Septic System

The septic system has been installed!  With 5 acre lots, everyone in Castle Valley uses a septic tank with leach fields to control sewage.  I'm not sure I love the idea of dealing with our own sewage onsite, but this is the way it is done.  From what I have read, we also have a bit of a learning curve on how to keep the septic system happy.  No vegetables, no powdered dishwasher soap, etc.  The only evidence of the system is the disturbed surface area for installing the tank and trenches, and two very small stop-and-waste caps.  Hopefully, it will function as designed -- out of sight -- out of mind.

Rock Retaining Wall

We tried to locate the cabin site on the highest point on the lot, but in order to meet setback requirements, there is still a bit of elevation gain above the cabin site.  Flooding and sheet flow are very real dangers on this side of the valley as the natural drainage course of the water flows from the sheer cliff walls of the rim down and across the valley to the low point.  We have already seen 100 year flood levels of water gush down Pope Lane in a torrent and flow across the lower half of our lot with incredible force depositing small boulders and debris in its wake.  As the cabin pad was being built, it became apparent that the pad would have to be pretty high to avoid potential sheet flooding from the high side of the valley.  Instead of building the pad site up even higher, a rock wall was constructed to essentially protect the cabin from flooding by redirecting any flood waters out and away from either side of the cabin.  It is best described as an "eyebrow" around the backside of the cabin.  I am not a big fan of retaining walls or other artificial berming, but I have to say that this wall looks pretty cool.  The workmanship is spectacular and I think it will actually give us some privacy off the backside of the house.

Grading for Cabin Site

Since we are building slab on grade, the cabin site had to built up a bit to create a flat building site. A few loads of clean red dirt fill were brought in and graded and compacted to perfection. Since the winter was so mild this year, we were able to get the building site ready for construction a lot sooner than we thought. We now have all the infrastructure in and building site ready for the foundation.

Culvert on Castle Valley Drive

In compliance with the Castle Valley Culvert Ordinance, we had a two foot wide culvert put in at the driveway entrance from Castle Valley Drive. Water drainage is an issue in the valley, as the water sheets off of the rim and down the side roads. Keeping the water in the drainage ditches is challenging. Hopefully this nice culvert will keep the water moving down the valley. I love the rocks around the culvert which provide protection and aesthetic benefits.

Driveway

We brought the electrical line up the center of the driveway, which required a 4' trench down the middle of the previously graded drive. After the electrical lines were in and live, the trench was filled back in and the driveway was regraded. I love the curve that we designed into the driveway so it doesn't look like a straight shot up from Castle Valley Drive. Some day we will have to add gravel to the drive to keep the weeds out, but it looks great right now with that bright red dirt!

Temporary Power

The temporary power post and an extra water spigot has been installed at the top of the cul-de-sac.  I like the location of the boulders around the facilties to create a protective barrier.

Electric System

The most expensive part of the infrastructure was the electrical. We thought this would be the easy part since we had power lines right on our lot along Pope Lane. Unfortunately, you have to get the power from the lines to the ground first. And deal with the power company. It was like pulling teeth to get the power company to come out to the lot and give us an estimate on what had to be done and how much it was going to cost. In the end, we were able to tie into our neighbor's transformer and only had to pay the power company a hook up fee. But we still had to run over 200 feet of electrical lines to the meter base out by the road and then another 300 feet of line up to the house site. Oh, and we had to run another 300 feet of electrical lines out to the well site to run the pump! We are just glad to have it all hooked up.

Spigot

As part of the water system, they put in this great orange spigot.  We now have actual access to our own water...well, almost...as soon as the concrete dries and the trench is backfilled.  And, it is only January!

Trenches

In order to get the water from the well site to the cabin, we had to dig some pretty deep and long trenches.  I think it was about 300 feet of trenching from the well to the cabin for the water lines.  Electrical lines were run from the cabin back to the well in the same trench to power the well pump.  We also had them drop the phone and internet lines into this trench, which will eventually go out to the northeast corner of the lot and tie into the phone company facilities along Castle Valley Drive. I like this photo which really adds perspective to the significant trenching that had to be done.

Pressure Tank

As part of the water system, we had an 86 gallon pressure tank installed.  The tank is located in a pit dug into the ground to avoid freezing.  The system and fittings look pristine at this stage.  I'm sure the pit will soon be filled with tarantulas, scorpions and other frightening desert creatures, but for now, it looks beautiful.

Water System

The well site is located in the eastern corner of the lot about 100' in from each property line.  We had to install a pressure tank system out by the well site and then run the water lines to the cabin site. It took a lot of trenching since the well was in the lower eastern corner of the lot and the cabin site is up in the upper western corner of the lot. The pressure tank sytem looks great. They dug a big pit and installed the system about six feet down to keep it below freezing level.  Water sytems specifications include: 1 HP 10 GPM submersible pump, 12 awg pump wire, 86 gallon pressure tank, frost free hydrant, 5x5 galvanized well pit with used lid.

We Have Water !!!

Before installing the water system facilities, they hooked a pump up to a generator to see what kind of water we had in the well.  As mentioned before, we had the well drilled years ago and it has just been sitting there rusting in the sun ever since.  We were a little nervous to check the water since there appeared to be a "bend" in the casing and maybe some "collapse" of the surrounding formations during the drilling process.  These are not comforting words to water well neophytes.  Alas, all worries were dissipated as the roaring hum of the generator pumped out deliciously cold water.  The water isn't crystal clear, but we are hoping it will clear with use.  Looks like our slice of heaven will have plenty of water to keep us happy and self-sufficient for years to come.