Blustery Days at Our Off Grid Cabin \\ Metal Roof Prep, Big Windows In, and Bathroom Framing

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:00:12]Heat up here.

[00:00:51]I'm going to head down to the creek.

[00:00:52]creek. I think it's running again.

[00:00:58]Yeah.

[00:01:15]How is such a delicate plant? I think these are bunch berry. How is it looking so wonderful after that winter?

[00:01:25]It's leaves are very fragile feeling, but it's like after the snow melts, they immediately come to life.

[00:01:36]Got the crowberry with some new growth.

[00:01:42]Labrador tea.

[00:01:46]soap berry.

[00:01:49]I was worried that I didn't pick these fast enough, these low bush cranberries.

[00:01:55]Worried they were going to go bad. And now here are some berries that made it through this -40 all the way down to -60 in some areas around here.

[00:02:10]And they still smell amazing.

[00:02:12]Juicy, perfectly preserved, not disintegrated. Incredible. Also got some signs of seasons changing here. Some bunny molting.

[00:02:42]Oh yeah, here we are.

[00:03:04]Heat up here.

[00:03:38]So today we're going to be putting up our big triangle windows. We wanted to wait till everything was definitely very much melted off and also the wind had died down because the last 3 days it's been big winds around here. 30 m plus gusts and just sustained. So we just found some other things to work on.

[00:03:59]We've been working on designing the interior space, how the walls going to be for the bathroom, and also figuring out the stairs. So, just yeah, doing some inside work and a little bit of work that doesn't require moving heavy objects in the wind. So, and being on ladders in the wind. So, yeah. So, today is amazing. Just a light breeze, beautiful sunny skies, and just really enjoying having the snow melted off around the cabin. It's incredible.

[00:04:32]So, yeah, two more windows to go.

[00:05:27]That's up down below. Heads up down below.

[00:05:55]>> Okay.

[00:06:01]Wow.

[00:06:03]So no heat.

[00:06:33]So, one of our viewers had a great idea for getting the rabbit poo to dry faster.

[00:06:40]Mesh, making a little box.

[00:06:44]A very crude box. Set it out to dry. Get it all ready to use in the garden.

[00:07:00]Nice.

[00:07:02]Okay.

[00:07:07]Yeah, there's a lot of water in here.

[00:07:10]The snow.

[00:07:14]Got to keep an eye on the dogs while I have this down here.

[00:07:18]>> Oh, yeah.

[00:07:20]So, I've never had so much access to rabbit poop before for gardening, but I'm learning more about it and and it really is a wonderful fertilizer.

[00:07:32]I'm going to be able to just put this right on our garden without diluting it. I can I could make a like a rabbit poo tea and make it go even further. And I may I might try that, too. But I can also just sprinkle it in the garden. And it has a awesome balance of all the things that my plants will need without um needing to process it like you do cow manure and other kinds of manure that will burn the plants if you don't allow it to season. This can just go directly on the plants. It's pretty awesome. Really excited about that.

[00:08:38]All right, rabbit poo drying.

[00:08:46]Looks like cocoa puffs.

[00:08:49]>> They don't smell like cocoa puffs. They don't smell terrible, but >> they um >> smell them.

[00:08:55]>> Yeah, just smells like livestock, you know.

[00:08:58]>> They look like those Reese's Reese's Cocoa Puffs.

[00:09:03]>> Yeah.

[00:09:27]This window doesn't even solve perfect, >> right?

[00:09:34]>> Oh, no. All right.

[00:09:37]So, bring it over here.

[00:09:39]>> Okay.

[00:09:40]>> Down. And then we're just going to get under it and walk up the ladder.

[00:09:44]>> Okay.

[00:09:45]>> All right.

[00:09:45]>> All right.

[00:09:46]>> Your side. Your side should be pretty easy. It's pretty light.

[00:09:48]>> All right.

[00:09:50]>> Yeah.

[00:09:51]>> Okay. Ready?

[00:09:52]>> Okay. Yeah.

[00:09:55]>> Okay. Hold on a second.

[00:09:57]>> Okay.

[00:09:58]>> Okay.

[00:10:01]Slide it up. Okay.

[00:10:05]>> Okay.

[00:10:07]Slide it up.

[00:10:24]Come ahead. Sorry.

[00:10:38]This Try to get up on top of your ladder there. Okay, >> there you go.

[00:10:47]>> Step up.

[00:10:55]Okay, set it in.

[00:11:06]Oh I went too far in. There we go.

[00:11:12]>> In.

[00:11:13]>> Yes.

[00:11:14]>> Woohoo.

[00:11:14]>> Oh my gosh. Ah, >> there's not quite in up top.

[00:11:19]>> Of course.

[00:11:19]>> It's all right. We'll get it in.

[00:11:21]>> Okay.

[00:11:27]>> Don't Don't move yet.

[00:11:28]>> Sorry. That just feels good to have it this far >> cuz we still got up there.

[00:11:33]>> We do.

[00:11:47]There we go. Perfect. It's in.

[00:11:49]>> Cool.

[00:11:50]>> All the way.

[00:11:51]>> Yay.

[00:12:12]Nice work to you, too.

[00:12:13]>> Well, >> good job.

[00:12:14]>> I had the I had the light corner.

[00:12:18]>> Still a It still ain't easy.

[00:12:20]>> Still terribly stressful.

[00:12:23]>> Oh, yeah. I had all kinds of visions of this thing falling backward.

[00:12:28]slipping, >> knocking one of us off the >> heat.

[00:13:15]Starting it out, Armabel.

[00:13:18]Yeah.

[00:14:38]What?

[00:15:27]Go down below.

[00:15:33]Heat.

[00:15:57]Heat.

[00:16:21]So, we're getting ready to put in this last window.

[00:16:25]And of course, the wind is picking up.

[00:16:28]So, Hoping that no big gusts hit us while we're on the ladders.

[00:16:49]Get the old stretching going on here.

[00:16:59]Couple of prayers.

[00:17:04]Couple of hail Marys.

[00:17:06]>> All right. When it's not blowing, let's do it.

[00:17:07]>> Yep. Okay.

[00:17:08]>> Ready?

[00:17:27]in the yellow plastic thing. There we go.

[00:17:56]In >> in >> Oh man.

[00:18:04]>> Oh my goodness.

[00:18:09]>> I bet all I can do is hold on to this thing. I'm mostly shaking. I was nervous there for a couple to come and blow this window right into the cabin >> and break into a million pieces.

[00:18:18]>> Mhm.

[00:18:24]>> Here.

[00:18:46]Well, we got it in. That one wasn't easy. Definitely messy having hairy arms and having all this legs all on there.

[00:18:54]I'm going to You're going to notice a shave patch here tomorrow in order to get all that off.

[00:18:58]>> I don't know. I'll look up a recipe when I get when I get done this evening to try to clean it up.

[00:19:03]>> But it's up. Yeah, >> we had to uh shim it a little bit to level it up and square it up, but yeah, looks good.

[00:19:14]>> It looks great.

[00:19:33]Okay.

[00:20:01]I think I have some in my bag here.

[00:20:05]Maybe. But if not, I have something in the garage. I forgot that I had that one box of nails in there.

[00:20:19]Almost done with the scary stuff.

[00:20:22]We still have the roof to go.

[00:20:25]That is plenty scary.

[00:20:46]Feels really great to have all the windows done. And today we're going to be working a little bit on just kind of some of the finishing up stuff, foaming around the windows, um doing the acoustical sealant around all the windows now, the upstairs one as well as these two big triangles and sealing those up, completing the vapor barrier seal. And then we might begin doing some of the framing on the inside. It's another pretty windy day, so not a great day to be getting up on the roof.

[00:21:37]We're going to have that wood stove in one of these days, but Alaska has to cooperate. Alaska has to allow us to put the wood stove in, but not on a day that's um quite this windy So, all of our ladders, other than this one here, have been outside while we've been working. So, I haven't had a chance to be up in the loft to witness the windows.

[00:22:26]That's pretty great.

[00:22:37]this massive cocking gun. It's like all I can take, all I can uh manage get it to squeeze.

[00:22:49]That's why I haven't really done much of this cocking, but I'm going to try to I just did the loft window and now I'm going to try to do a little bit of this triangle window. Poor Thomas has had to do this whole thing.

[00:23:02]and squeeze with both hands.

[00:23:13]Like I can't hold this thing up and squeeze at the same time.

[00:23:23]It's a strategy right there.

[00:23:40]didn't want to stick as well. It's like kind of peeling away >> on some of the windows.

[00:23:46]>> Yeah.

[00:24:20]Giving the plants a little sunlight and wind.

[00:24:30]Got peppers and tomatoes, zucchini and cucumbers.

[00:24:35]Three different kinds of squash.

[00:24:38]Got some grass here for kitties and dogs. Onions.

[00:24:44]There's a pumpkin in the mix somewhere, but my tags fell off in the moon. So, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale.

[00:24:54]Things are looking really good.

[00:25:02]>> Don't pull over camera.

[00:25:05]Morning. We are getting ready to do some framing inside. It's another pretty windy day. We did get started on the roof yesterday, but then the wind picked up again. So, we're just kind of trying to do things when we can. And so, inside work is on top for today. So, we're grabbing 2x4s from our lumber pile up here, and yeah, we're going to start framing in the bathroom.

[00:25:28]Woohoo.

[00:25:35]So, we have actually already seen some mosquitoes.

[00:25:39]We were hoping that between winter and mosquito time, we'd have a little bit of a break, but there hasn't really Yeah, no sign of that. I think it could be a pretty bad mosquito year with all the standing water around still. So, yeah.

[00:25:52]>> But it's crazy how fast the snow melted off.

[00:25:55]>> Yeah.

[00:25:55]>> Like I thought that >> some of our snow piles would be around till mid May or something like that.

[00:26:00]>> And yeah, the snow is like almost entirely gone other than a few spots where it's shaded.

[00:26:05]>> Um yeah, like a week and a half is all it took.

[00:26:07]>> It's amazing.

[00:26:08]>> The creek as soon as it got over 35, >> the creek just blew open and and now it's just a rushing stream. It's super awesome.

[00:26:14]>> Yeah, it's really great.

[00:26:15]>> Yeah. Winter is gone. Spring is here.

[00:26:17]>> It is.

[00:26:30]So, we're inside on this windy day. It's been just about a week and a half to two weeks almost of pretty solidly very windy conditions. So, better in the mornings for sure and then it picks up by afternoon. Sometimes it goes all all night long. Yeah. And all day like today pretty much it's been going.

[00:26:46]>> Yes.

[00:26:46]>> And it's a big gust. It's not as bad as it's been. We've had 3540 mph winds last few days. Yesterday was nice though.

[00:26:52]We're actually able to get up on the roof. Yeah. So today we're going to be working on the bathroom, >> framing that in. Uh we kind of changed our design in here, too. We were initially going to do a staircase that went underneath the beam and then popped up in the middle.

[00:27:05]>> Um and we also we didn't like that cuz it took up a lot of space from the bathroom. A lot of good storage space for a pantry.

[00:27:11]>> Yeah. If we did on that side of the land beam, it was that it was taking space from the bathroom and pantry. If we did on this side of the land beam, it was taking space from the living area.

[00:27:20]>> So, we actually decided that we're going to do like a ship ladder. And we're going to make it pretty wide and make the steps pretty thick so that we are able to, you know, get up and down pretty easily. It's not ideal, but we also think at some point we're going to add on to the cabin on this side and have a downstairs bedroom so that when we get older, we don't have to be climbing up and down a ship ladder. Um >> Um Yeah. So, and we decided to go ahead and do the framing of the bathroom instead of the flooring first as we initially thought. I mean, our plans are just constantly changing based on, you know, what we're learning for one thing and also how the weather is cooperating.

[00:27:53]But, um, the flooring, we checked it a couple days ago and it's still too wet, most of it, to install. So, it really needs to have some more time to dry out before we install it. So, rather than wait for that, we're just going to jump into framing.

[00:28:06]>> But, it has dried out significantly.

[00:28:08]Some of it's dried out about 5 or 10%.

[00:28:10]And so we're getting close. I'm probably my guess is once, you know, a couple more weeks of sitting, I don't know if that'll make it, but if we get the roof on in a week or two and get the wood stove going, you know, within that time frame, we should be by the end of this month able to actually start putting the flooring in.

[00:28:26]>> Yeah, that would be nice.

[00:28:27]>> Yeah. Yeah, it' be really great. Cool.

[00:28:30]>> But yeah, moving along.

[00:28:31]>> Bathroom frame up begins.

[00:28:39]Okay.

[00:28:39]>> Dogs and chalk lines don't get alone.

[00:28:42]>> Nope.

[00:28:45]>> Are you a chocolate?

[00:28:46]>> Okay. So, before we get too crazy here, let's do 3 4 5 off the wall.

[00:28:49]>> Okay.

[00:28:54]>> So, I'm going to do 4 foot.

[00:28:55]>> Okay.

[00:28:56]>> On this wall. Do 3T on the other one.

[00:28:58]Hold me right on the string line. Mhm.

[00:29:01]>> You got it.

[00:29:02]>> Yeah.

[00:29:06]Got it.

[00:29:07]>> All the way to the wall.

[00:29:08]>> Um, yeah. All the way to the wall.

[00:29:10]>> All right.

[00:29:11]>> Holy cow.

[00:29:14]That big tree looks like it really wants to fall over.

[00:29:16]>> I know. I can't believe it hasn't fallen over to me.

[00:29:19]>> We have this big tree right off the bluff here that we actually want to fall down because when we put our solar panels up, it's going to block or shade them for part of the day. And so we're hoping instead of having to fall it, it just falls over.

[00:29:34]Oops. It's that guy right there.

[00:29:41]Ready on that corner.

[00:29:48]Go for foot here.

[00:29:52]>> I mean, there is a little mark right there, but I don't know if that's probably it.

[00:29:55]>> Did you do a carrot?

[00:29:56]>> I just did a line right across it.

[00:29:57]>> Okay. Yeah.

[00:30:00]The other thing we're going to have to do is frame in one here and one down there so that we have something to nail >> Oh, yeah.

[00:30:09]>> our top plate to get to the end.

[00:30:12]>> There we go.

[00:30:15]>> Got it.

[00:30:16]>> Yeah.

[00:30:17]>> All right. 74 and 5/8.

[00:30:22]There we go.

[00:30:25]Now, go ahead and slide your end in.

[00:30:26]We'll slide it together. Okay, I'm going to have to get a hammer and start tapping it up. Give me a second here.

[00:30:39]So, it slid up there a little.

[00:30:41]Yeah, we're not really sure if this is normal seasonal wind that we can always experience in the spring or if this is just an unusual spring just like it was an unusual winter.

[00:30:54]It is pretty windy off and on during the summer, but not usually quite this sustained for so many days.

[00:31:02]>> Yeah, it's a lot.

[00:31:03]>> It is a lot. Yeah, we are hoping to do some uh wind power generation, so it's good for that.

[00:31:15]Lip is looking very concerned.

[00:31:19]What's all the hammering about?

[00:31:24]Lennius as usual chill self.

[00:31:52]couple in here.

[00:31:53]>> Okay.

[00:31:57]And then I'm going to Yeah, bar square.

[00:32:53]Okay, before I do that, I'm going to check tape on it.

[00:33:28]in here.

[00:33:29]>> Oh, got it.

[00:33:29]>> So, I'm just going to double this so that works as a nailer on both sides.

[00:33:32]>> Sure. Some of this wood is so pretty, it seems a shame to use it as framing.

[00:33:38]Minus the I don't know what bug holes.

[00:33:42]Bug holes add character.

[00:33:43]>> That's true.

[00:33:46]Really beautiful.

[00:34:36]part is this. We're just going to land here.

[00:34:40]>> I think the best thing to do here >> is just measure straight up from here and then I'll level up because it's going to be too hard to draw the tape through that around the way beam.

[00:35:07]Hold it on there.

[00:35:27]So, this entry right here is actually the um a pantry that we're building in.

[00:35:33]It'll be a 4x5 pantry that cuts into the bathroom space. So, in the bathroom, we want to make sure we have enough room for a corner shower, sink, >> washer and dryer, >> and a washer and dryer, and maybe even a little bit of extra cabinet space. And then we have a um composting toilet that we are going to install.

[00:35:57]Looser than the other one.

[00:36:41]It feels very wet.

[00:36:45]Danger.

[00:36:48]>> Sorry, buddy.

[00:37:00]Hey, heat. Hey.

[00:37:26]Heat.

[00:37:40]Heat.

[00:38:22]Yeah, that's not shallow.

[00:38:36]It's another windy day today. It's in the low 40s and with that wind, it is definitely feeling like the low30s outside. We had a brief bit of sunny spring weather, but with this wind, we have definitely gotten a revisitation of some some chilliness. Feels like late fall right now. Um, so yeah, still can't get up on the roof to continue roofing.

[00:39:01]We're just going to keep on doing the framing inside, which we want to do.

[00:39:05]we're excited about doing, but we're also feeling a little over it with the weather. From the cold temperatures of winter to the iciness of pre-spring to now the windiness of actual spring, it's getting hard to have a consistent workflow and get things done that we need to outside at least.

[00:39:33]So, we just got the bathroom uh laid out the way that we want it to be. Making sure we have enough space to get around in this small cozy little cabin bathroom.

[00:39:45]We've got a shower over here and then the washer and dryer will go there.

[00:39:52]Little area for a sink.

[00:39:57]This is the outline of the pantry that's going to cut in. And then our toilet back over that direction.

[00:40:06]We got it.

[00:40:11]>> You ready?

[00:40:12]>> Yep.

[00:40:13]>> All right.

[00:40:17]Okay.

[00:40:18]Drill her in.

[00:40:32]Windy 2 and a half and I need to be 22 and 12 in there.

[00:40:51]Heat. Heat.

[00:41:27]over a little bit.

[00:41:34]Go down a little bit if you can. Oh, yeah. You can't. Let me see.

[00:41:39]>> That's good.

[00:41:40]>> Okay. All right. I can right there. Hold me in there.

[00:42:07]Little bit shy. I'm just not quite sure what's going on here.

[00:42:37]One, two, three.

[00:42:42]Don't know if that wind is being picked up by the camera at all, but it is startling.

[00:42:50]Feels like we're at the Oregon coast.

[00:42:53]>> Yeah. On a stormy winter day.

[00:42:56]>> Yeah.

[00:43:21]Nobody will ever see it >> except for the inside of the pantry.

[00:43:27]>> Yeah.

[00:43:35]>> Mhm.

[00:43:35]>> Shri. So, >> more 2x4s do you think we have out there?

[00:43:53]>> Um, >> did you count the ones that were off to the side, too?

[00:43:58]>> Uh, no.

[00:44:00]>> Yeah. So, we probably got some >> probably got about 40 all together is my guess.

[00:44:24]All right. Um, we're back at it again today. It's a little bit windy. Not as bad as it's been. We've had winds into like I think somewhere up to 40 mph or more the last couple of weeks. So, it's been it's been a bit breezy. Still a little breezy today, but not as bad. Uh, we're going to get up on the roof today.

[00:44:38]And what we're doing is putting 1x4 strips on the roof. And the point of doing that is is we want our metal to stand off the actual roof decking itself. And uh for the purpose of trying to um create kind of a cold hot roof system. So, the decking will be hot and the metal will remain cold. That prevents some ice daming in the winter.

[00:44:56]Also might save a little bit on energy as well. And so, um, the I guess another important point of that would be the metal sitting directly on the deck there could it could create condensation like hot days in the summer and could reduce the length of the life of the roof roof system itself. So, um, yeah. So, we're just trying to do every little thing we can to make sure that our home is cozy, warm, and also has some longevity to it.

[00:45:19]So, I'll be strapped in and and be I'll be safe up there.

[00:45:22]>> Yeah.

[00:45:23]>> All right. Getting strapped in.

[00:45:52]Hang in there, camera.

[00:45:55]Don't blow over here. I'll come up and grab that.

[00:46:30]Yeah, I should be able to get one more on here.

[00:46:46]>> My uh yellow square. Raven square. Okay, >> I'll need that. You can hand that to me.

[00:46:57]>> Okay.

[00:46:59]>> And you can hand me my hammer, too, if you don't mind.

[00:47:01]>> Okay. Yeah.

[00:47:03]>> Thank you.

[00:47:19]staples.

[00:47:29]>> I need to go grab my hammer.

[00:47:30]>> Okay.

[00:47:56]It's fine.

[00:47:58]There we go. Thank you.

[00:48:00]>> Yeah.

[00:48:05]The other day I was up here without this and I was just guessing on the lines, but these lines aren't 100% accurate.

[00:48:13]So, okay.

[00:48:20]Double check that right there.

[00:49:52]All right, I'm coming in. Okay.

[00:50:08]I also need two screws too.

[00:50:10]>> Okay.

[00:50:48]Hello.

[00:51:36]Got it.

[00:51:36]>> Yep.

[00:51:55]This is actually a less windy day than yesterday.

[00:52:18]Sorry.

[00:52:19]>> Okay.

[00:52:28]A little bit less windy today. Yesterday afternoon, we decided to call it quits because a couple of those gusts were just not safe.

[00:52:44]Hold it.

[00:52:45]>> Yeah.

[00:53:44]All right. So, yesterday we called it quits because it was raining. Things were starting to get a little slippery up there and now we've got some wind.

[00:53:51]So, until next time, we'll have more plland and metal roofing.