Finally some real action!!

After a very enjoyable trip to Colombia, I'm back in Vancouver ready to get started with my project, and it got started on a hurry...

Yesterday I finally signed the documents for the rental/purchase of a 20' shipping container. I will use this container to consolidate ALL the building materials that will be required to complete the cabin - once the cabin is finished the container will be used as a storage 'shed' and as my workshop. I sourced the container from BigSteelBox. I did some research and found two other companies. One which offered better pricing on used containers ($2200 vs $2700). However I was unable to find a site to park the container that would provide constant access to the container. BigSteelBox has a large yard and they'll store the container for a few weeks and allow access to the container. The site is not close to home, but it will do - and there is a Home Depot less than 2 minutes away!!

BigSteelBox will also deliver the container to the site on a tilt bed truck. At 125$/hr is not cheap but I guess that's the extra cost of building on a difficult access site. The plan is to get the container on the truck, load the truck on a barge (around 150$/hr), get the barge across to an unload ramp on the other side, drive the truck to the site and unload the container - while the barge waits - and drive the truck back to the barge to be returned to the mainland. There are two sections of road that are fairly steep and one tight bend that the truck might not be able to do. That's why I'm setting the container as a rental initially: My plan B is to drop the container in the parking area, and once the cabin is finished, return the container (I'm hoping that I wont have to switch to plan B - as this would cost me between $1500 and $2500 extra!).

I ended up not getting a used container. What they sell as used, are really old containers that have been used and abused for years, and that cannot be used anymore for shipping. They are all battered on the outside so the doors need a lot of persuasion to open; they are also heavily rusted both inside and outside (they'd be an eyesore,and the container will be visible from the cabin). Since the price difference is not that significant, my container is brand new, it smells like fresh paint inside, and has brand new plywood floors on the inside.

Since I now have a container I made my first two trips to Home Depot and made two trips worth of dimensional lumber. I was able to use the roof rack on the truck to load the wood. I will need to make several more trips, but I should be able to get all the wood in a couple of days. I'm buying all the materials in reverse order: First all the materials for the roof, then all the materials for the walls, floor and the last I'll get will be the concrete for the foundations. This way the materials that I'll need first, will be the ones on top...

The Andersen Windows that I ordered before my trip are ready for pick up, and the doors will be ready by the end of the week.

I picked up the submersible pump that will provide me with fresh drinkable water out our well, It's amazing how small it is!

I've also done some research on composting toilets, I'm amazed of how dealing with urine and feces can be such an interesting subject!! I believe it deserves a full blog entry (coming soon...).

I'd keep writing but I have to head out to Home Depot to buy more 2x4s!

An end and a beginning....

Today was my last day at my 9-5 job. Not having a job will give me the freedom and time that this project will require. Anyway my original plan was to stay for only 6 months and I ended up staying for more than 2 years. It's hard to break the addiction to a pay-check! but it was harder the first time; once you've done something once, doing it again is way easier...

There is a lot of things that I'll miss! Somehow I'll miss the daily routine, the bus ride in the morning, a very decent meal for a more than decent price, all the things that you take for granted. But I know that what I'll miss the most is my people! After 8 hours a day for two years almost non stop, the people you spend your time with become part of your life and that chair and that desk become your home! I wish I could go over every once in a while and do my design work from 'my desk';

Unfortunately I was not enjoying my job anymore, and when you spend most of your day doing something that you don't enjoy, you are wasting your life, and I could not do that anymore...

Tomorrow will be the first day of the rest of my life, and the day that I'll start making my dream a reality...

Wish me luck!

Final Design (if there is such a thing!)

It's been a while since my last post and some things have changed since then...

We took a better look at the financial side of the project, and decided that at this point it does not make a lot of [financial] sense to spend 60K -80K or even more on a cabin. Smarter to build a smaller simpler cabin for 15K or so, and invest the rest o the money toward retirement...

So the whole project has been stripped down considerably and is now a simple 14x16 foot print with a small bathroom and a sleeping loft. For now we'll use a composting toilet (most likely a homemade system) as there won’t be a septic field for a while (the cost of the septic field alone was estimated at around 30k-35k!!!).

The Cabin will be built 'on site', but will be designed as a number of modules, so that the cabin can be esily moved to a different spot, when we decide to build a more permanent structure. Once moved it will be either used as a guest cabin, or as a workshop.

There are still some TBD's on the design:

We are still shopping for windows and doors - The original budget for windows was 7k, and has now been reduced to 3,500 -. The idea is still to have as much glass as possible in the south side to take advantage of the views, and a large opening that connects the cabin to the deck.

The finish material for the roof is also not decided yet: roll roofing will be economical and easy to install, but a metal roof would be more aligned with the 'modular design'.

I guess that I'll have to make a decision soon as I'll have to start buying all the materials soon!

On the 'start buying things' side of things we bought a 1988 Jeep Cherokee that we'll use in the city to purchase all the materials and will later be barged to the island...

Cabin Design.

Once we got the land, the next step was to design the cabin that will be built on it.

Design #1: Dream Big!!!

Post and Beam (with Exposed beams) Finished with Cedar Board and Batten and Cedar Shakes and a metal roof!!! Not too big (32' x22' footprint and total area of 1150 sqft)
In the lower Level a Laundry Room, Bathroom, Storage Room, a large kitchen with an Island, Dining room and Living Room; and in the upper level a Mezzanine open to below and two bedrooms.

Off course the south wall will be all windows to take full advantage of the views, and there will be a huge deck to enjoy barbecues and cold beers under the summer sun with all the friends that will come and visit.

After pricing the 'Straight Grain Douglas Fir' 10x6 beams and 6x6 posts and getting a quote for $10K+GST for just the materials for the frame (and that is before moving them on a barge to the island, and renting a crane and crew to install it!), it was not hard to realize that this is just another 'dream design'... back to the drawing board (aka AutoCAD).

Design #2: Variations on a Theme...

.. Or adaptations of an existing design... One of my existing designs is an open space on the main floor, with a bathroom, a compact kitchen and a small area for a couch, and a sleeping loft above. It would be really easy to adapt to the site: move the door to the front, move the kitchen from the back to the side… move the sleeping loft to the front and voila there is cabin design…

There is a ladder going up to a sleeping loft, which is now above a covered porch outside. And the footprint is 16’x 18’, and the total area is just over 450 sqft.

I like this design!! It is simple, it's more 'down to earth'... It should be cheaper to build, and it feels like 'I can build it'...

I like it so much that I draw a full set of plans, including a site plan, foundations plan, roof plan, 4 elevations and 2 sections. I’m now ready to get a building permit... except for a couple of concerns: What about that ladder? It's not 'to code' so can I actually get a building permit for this? I also want to have the framing exposed to the inside (because I'm planning to do a perfect job framing it and I want to show off!! ;o) ) So how do I insulate it?? (Or can I get a building permit for a non insulated building?)

I decided to print a set of plans and get on the Ferry to the sunshine coast and visit my local building inspector - Gambier Island is part of the sunshine coast so the 'Authority Having Jurisdiction' is the "SCRD (Sunshine Coast Regional District) Planning Department" located in Sechelt.

Not a bad visit, took a short hour to get (mostly) good answers from a very helpful Building Inspector:

A1: The stair is only required to comply with code if it provides access to 'living space'. If on the plan the is label as 'storage' then the code requirements are minimal (a ladder will do)... If you later decide to sleep in you storage space, that is up to you...

A2: The SCRD can relax the requirements for insulation for 'seasonal buildings'. I'd have to register a 'covenant' on title that states that the 'dwelling' is a seasonal building. (I'll keep this information just in case I need it in the future).
I also found out some additional information about the cost of a building permit, and the requirements for a septic field... (Not what I was expecting... for a building permit you must have a design for a septic field filed to the health authority. Also found that you can have a composting toilet... as long as you also have a toilet that is connected to a septic field or sewage system).

My first blog

I guess all blogs start with a 'My first blog' entry (at least the ones written by new bloggers like me!)

I'm starting this blog to track my latest project: The construction of a Cabin in Gambier Island. If you decide to read through, you will find a lot of technical information on building a small cabin in a remote location. Very likely you'll also get to know me and share the personal aspect of this journey!

Building a house/Getaway/Cabin has been the dream of my life for as long as I remember. Even before I moved to Canada I remember looking for a piece of land to buy close to Bogota (in La Calera, Chia or Cota); after moving to Canada I continued my search and visited the Okanagan, the Sunshine Coast, some areas of the lower mainland and some of the Gulf Island looking for that piece of land. I never found anything that I liked (and afford!), everything I saw was too small, too far too crowded or... too expensive. Then I found it... 5 acres lots on a 60 lot subdivision, with great water views, 1 hour away (door to door using public transit and water taxi), and at a decent price! the rest was easy... offer, review of documents, financing, removal of subjects and done!

The lot is located in the Sunset/Fircom area on Gambier Island; Gambier Island is the big island located between West Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast north of Bowen. Most of the island is undeveloped (hopefully it will stay like that) with a small settlement at New Brighton (west side of the island); New Brighton is serviced by a passenger only ferry from Gibsons; there are however, no roads connecting this settlement with the Sunset/Fircom Area. The only access to our lot is by Water Taxi from Horseshoe Bay (just 20 minutes boat ride!). From the public dock to our lot it's an enjoyable 25 minute walk (should take less than 5 minutes to drive once we get a truck over).

Next step: design the house... How many houses have I designed? I’ve lost track a long time ago... too many, none of them for real as I did not have a piece of land, so it was always a game. But now I do actually have a piece of land and I can start designing a house tailored to the location.