.Cabin update #1 – Cabin Age

According to purchase paperwork, our cabin was registered in 1959, the same year the territory of Alaska became the State of Alaska. However, we found out from a neighbor who spent much of his childhood out here that it was actually built in the 1930’s. That means its nearly 100 years old!

Cabin update #2 – Construction Updates

We have half the bottom floor completed to subfloor, insulation and walls! The second half of the main floor is getting foundation and floor this week. We’ll also jack up the corner a tad bit more before we add walls to that side to brace the roof. Then to pour concrete and build back in the stairs so we can continue working on the second and third floors. Our windows should be in next month and then we’ll be able to place those and the metal roofing.

Cabin update #3 – Water

Winter is coming! We are trying to figure out how to have water inside when we don’t want to risk a leak. Between the 55 gal barrel and pressure tank, there’s a lot of water to spill. A small insulated lean-too style addition on the side of the cabin to store them is a possibility. Or placing the pressure tank in the shower temporarily. It’s going to start freezing outside soon, so the outdoor shower will no longer be an option.

Cabin update #4 – Power

We purchased a wind turbine, but were unfortunately sent a previous years model. Only the latest model would work with the new battery we bought. That was returned and wind is off the list for now. We are still planning to upgrade our solar with more panels, a larger inverter, and new charge controller. Our small system will move to a guest cabin (that we will hopefully be building next summer). We’ve decided to go 48v as its better to over-build now that have to update everything again in a few years. We’ll end up adding to the battery bank slowly as they are pricey!

Cabin update #5 – Heat

Our new Princess Blaze King stove is in and will be picked up this month. And  enough stove pipe to go up through the center of the cabin ($$$). This stove will be the first time in our Alaskan adventure that we won’t need to wake up to add wood in the middle of the night! Our plan is also to have either a Toyo heater or propane heater for back up heat if we need to leave for a day. Home insurance also requires a second source of heat besides the wood stove.

That’s all for this short roundup of cabin updates! More to come soon!