Rancho Subsim (for reals) - Page 2

Mr Quatro · 10-09-13, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aktungbby

Hire an easement, eminent domain or 'right of way' Attourney. Generally it cannot be denied as it is grandfatherd in. No hearing officer will put up with it as it lowers the value of your property (access) and that pisses off the county assessor.

Thank you, but it was seven years ago and I was too poor to hire an attorney. I paid cash and he paid me cash and what the heck lesson learned the hard way. Now I like electric power and even though I was debt free gas is $3.85 a gal now and I needed two gallons a day for the generator plus water, plus fire wood plus trips to the store 20 miles away.

But thank you for your good advice ... I just got bullied is all.

Check out these cabins: http://www.pinterest.com/abinonsekiz/cabins/

Catfish · 10-09-13, 02:48 PM

Hello Neal,
and i thought you had plans for the Netherlands err Austria ?

Nice house anyway, sad it was gone but there sure are lots of others! We have built a timber-frame (?) house in Germany, but very modern in a lot of ways. It is not ready yet after almost 6 years, but it is much fun working on it and seeing improvements and progress.

How warm is it in the area you want to settle ?

We first intended to install a 'Blockheizkraftwerk' (how do you translate that, a "block heating powerhouse" ? lol). It is generally an engine that produces electricity, and heats water as a by-product via exhaust-heat-exchanger. You can even earn money with it here if you direct electricity into the public grid with it. You can alternatively produce your own current as an 'island solution' , but then the engine would have to run as soon as you need current. Not necessary here, but nice to have in case of the inevitable Zombie apocalypse (ahem).
You can run it with fuel, propane or natural gas when you use a normal engine, or alternatively a Diesel that can also be run with castor or any plant oil. You just need other jet-nozzles, and a changed controlling device.

Unfortunately for such an engine you really need a block of several houses to heat, or at least a very big and/or badly insulated home for the engine in order to run long enough. In our case, we soon realized it did not make sense unless we had a heated driveway to melt snow, and an open swimming pool (the latter being heated to 20 degrees Celsius in winter).

So we installed a usual cheap combi gas heater, for water and heating. It is supported by some sun-collectors mounted on the southern part of the roof, and an iron-cast oven with water jacket, that can be fired with wood. The latter became much too complicated, as it heats too much and thus needs regulators, an overflow gully and valves to fill it up again.

A further problem is the heating pump is electric, so the central heating system would fail in case of a power-out, but i take it the temperature and water would be agreeable enough, with the oven.
The internet would also fail but we even saw to that, but this is another story (internal 2nd 12 V grid, engine and batteries).
I am sure we will never need that all though, but it is much fun

Thanks and greetings,
Catfish

P.S. and thanks for the mail

Onkel Neal · 10-09-13, 03:47 PM

Howdy Catfish, awesome that the mail has already made it there

That was fast.

Well, it really does not get cold here, probably only gets to -2 once or twice a year, and only as low as 4~6 for a week or two. Mostly the winter here is 7+.

The land I was looking at did not have a house yet. I included that image as an example of what I want to build. I am now back to the stage of looking for land... it will probably take a while.

I agree, the building aspect is a lot of work but also fun and gratifying. I have done some of this before. I will have a contractor pour the foundation and build the frame and roof, then I will hang the windows, doors, add trim, walls, and sheetrock, etc. as I have time.

Catfish · 10-09-13, 04:28 PM

Hello Neal,
the mail was indeed here the day before yesterday

It can get bitterly cold here in winter, but also very warm in summer.
Don't know what that is in Fahrenheit, but we have up to 35 degrees Celsius in (hot) summer, and down to -20 Celsius in (hard) winters.
Last winter and this summer matched those numbers .. so heating is a serious issue.

I like the style of the house you posted, very nice and roomy, but not too big to maintain. There would be a nice place for a veranda (?) in front of that door ..

Unfortunately the landscape here is quite flat, and even if there are some smaller lakes and tiny 'rivers' around, there is nothing to see from our house being withinthe woods.
The house is also grounded on a concrete foundation, but they 'forgot' some part, some timber sill frame already sitting partly on nosthing but air,
and we had to pour the rest of the concrete ourselves, later linking the new part to the old one via stainless steel anchors - threw us back 3 months in working time.
Anyway for us it is much fun, even we did not have much money when we began. Doing a lot yourself is not only financially rewarding, thinking of the 'quality' some hired workers do at times ..

Good luck, maybe we can have a housebuilding thread at some time, with lots of pictures

Thanks and greetings,
Catfish

Onkel Neal · 10-09-13, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aktungbby

A

cult? Near Waco-we'll all be Branch ONKELIANS

AS to the stairwell of the proposed 'land yacht'; look into a corner stairs with alternate uneven half steps to conserve space. Only 6' sg. My Bro-inlaw, a skilled carpenter, built one in his small custom house in Mass. and its REAL COOL ...just be sober coming down! What happen to Austria?

Austria was out when I was warned I could not strut about bragging about being a Texan.

10-09-13, 02:48 PM	#2
Catfish Dipped Squirrel Operative Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: ..where the ocean meets the sky Posts: 17,806 Downloads: 38 Uploads: 0	Hello Neal, and i thought you had plans for the Netherlands err Austria ? Nice house anyway, sad it was gone but there sure are lots of others! We have built a timber-frame (?) house in Germany, but very modern in a lot of ways. It is not ready yet after almost 6 years, but it is much fun working on it and seeing improvements and progress. How warm is it in the area you want to settle ? We first intended to install a 'Blockheizkraftwerk' (how do you translate that, a "block heating powerhouse" ? lol). It is generally an engine that produces electricity, and heats water as a by-product via exhaust-heat-exchanger. You can even earn money with it here if you direct electricity into the public grid with it. You can alternatively produce your own current as an 'island solution' , but then the engine would have to run as soon as you need current. Not necessary here, but nice to have in case of the inevitable Zombie apocalypse (ahem). You can run it with fuel, propane or natural gas when you use a normal engine, or alternatively a Diesel that can also be run with castor or any plant oil. You just need other jet-nozzles, and a changed controlling device. Unfortunately for such an engine you really need a block of several houses to heat, or at least a very big and/or badly insulated home for the engine in order to run long enough. In our case, we soon realized it did not make sense unless we had a heated driveway to melt snow, and an open swimming pool (the latter being heated to 20 degrees Celsius in winter). So we installed a usual cheap combi gas heater, for water and heating. It is supported by some sun-collectors mounted on the southern part of the roof, and an iron-cast oven with water jacket, that can be fired with wood. The latter became much too complicated, as it heats too much and thus needs regulators, an overflow gully and valves to fill it up again. A further problem is the heating pump is electric, so the central heating system would fail in case of a power-out, but i take it the temperature and water would be agreeable enough, with the oven. The internet would also fail but we even saw to that, but this is another story (internal 2nd 12 V grid, engine and batteries). I am sure we will never need that all though, but it is much fun Thanks and greetings, Catfish P.S. and thanks for the mail Last edited by Catfish; 10-09-13 at 03:01 PM.

10-09-13, 03:47 PM	#3
Onkel Neal Born to Run Silent Join Date: Jan 1997 Location: Cougar Trap, Texas Posts: 21,385 Downloads: 541 Uploads: 224	Howdy Catfish, awesome that the mail has already made it there That was fast. Well, it really does not get cold here, probably only gets to -2 once or twice a year, and only as low as 4~6 for a week or two. Mostly the winter here is 7+. The land I was looking at did not have a house yet. I included that image as an example of what I want to build. I am now back to the stage of looking for land... it will probably take a while. I agree, the building aspect is a lot of work but also fun and gratifying. I have done some of this before. I will have a contractor pour the foundation and build the frame and roof, then I will hang the windows, doors, add trim, walls, and sheetrock, etc. as I have time. __________________ SUBSIM - 26 Years on the Web

10-09-13, 04:28 PM	#4
Catfish Dipped Squirrel Operative Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: ..where the ocean meets the sky Posts: 17,806 Downloads: 38 Uploads: 0	Hello Neal, the mail was indeed here the day before yesterday It can get bitterly cold here in winter, but also very warm in summer. Don't know what that is in Fahrenheit, but we have up to 35 degrees Celsius in (hot) summer, and down to -20 Celsius in (hard) winters. Last winter and this summer matched those numbers .. so heating is a serious issue. I like the style of the house you posted, very nice and roomy, but not too big to maintain. There would be a nice place for a veranda (?) in front of that door .. Unfortunately the landscape here is quite flat, and even if there are some smaller lakes and tiny 'rivers' around, there is nothing to see from our house being withinthe woods. The house is also grounded on a concrete foundation, but they 'forgot' some part, some timber sill frame already sitting partly on nosthing but air, and we had to pour the rest of the concrete ourselves, later linking the new part to the old one via stainless steel anchors - threw us back 3 months in working time. Anyway for us it is much fun, even we did not have much money when we began. Doing a lot yourself is not only financially rewarding, thinking of the 'quality' some hired workers do at times .. Good luck, maybe we can have a housebuilding thread at some time, with lots of pictures Thanks and greetings, Catfish