Homesteading

[Peyton Manning]

you're a good guy deep, take good care of your mom

 

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[Peyton Manning]

wonder if granny hid any old coins in any of those jars

 

[TJE]

Enjoy reading this D, my thought.. from your info at the start was, with 3 story house! close off all areas not needed! Conceal/conserve your heat. Heat loss makes twice/triple the work...even if you just use old bed sheets, tarps or tacked-up plywood!
Loading your woodstove (don't know it's size or if an 'airtight') shouldn't be every 3hrs.!
Love yours pics!....it looks like a beautiful spot.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Enjoy reading this D, my thought.. from your info at the start was, with 3 story house! close off all areas not needed! Conceal/conserve your heat. Heat loss makes twice/triple the work...even if you just use old bed sheets, tarps or tacked-up plywood!
Loading your woodstove (don't know it's size or if an 'airtight') shouldn't be every 3hrs.!
Love yours pics!....it looks like a beautiful spot.

Thanks Jeff, and TJE.

My grandfather finished this house in 1952. Zero insulation. But then every room is in use. Mom has the downstairs, or first floor. The stove is in the basement. And I'm living in the upstairs which is one big long room. When we were kids, us cousins stayed upstairs at night - about 10 of us. I shared a cot with my brother and cousin Billy. Billy wet the bed.... Almost every night.

We kids had a "chamber pot" we used at night. We had an outhouse back of the house. I put running water and a bathroom in in '84. It took some getting used to for Granny.

We came from very poor mountain folk. At age 13, Granny was sold into marriage to an elderly gentleman. He beat her, and my great grandfather took her back and sent her to work in the cotton mills of North Carolina.

I guess we might say that things were different then....

Supposed to be 12 degrees tonight = another night of playing with fire. But I'm okay with that. And, MM, I do have an axe and a maul! That's how I'm splitting my wood - and yet, getting into shape for sure.

I'm saving containers as I know I'm going to need them. I've a large plastic trash can where I put the cat litter - we have 3. I've read that if you pour used cat litter around the perimeter of your garden, it keeps the little critters out of your garden. I have a metal trash can where I save my wood ashes. I've also read that if you pour wood ash around the perimeter of your garden, the slinky crawly things stay out - like the snails and other insects.

I'm building a pile of mulch, and a pile of sawdust from the chainsaw. I've read that I don't have to turn up the soil, I just build a frame for my raised beds, put a layer of mulch, and then a layer of cardboard, and then a layer of sawdust, and then mulch. Apparently, the earthworms really like the cardboard and it will draw them into your beds. It's very likely that for my first garden I'll have to buy bags of mulch and compost. From there, the following year I should have my own compost pile productive.

The stove is airtight, or was when it was manufactured - circa the 80's. Since it was given to me, it's far better than the 4 I already had here. I have a wood cook stove too. When Mom passes, I'll likely pull the electric range out and install the wood stove in the kitchen. Not looking forward to that for the Summer, but the kitchen isn't as large as it would like. I've been running the basement stove hot, and that's why it's fed every few hours. There's a channel inside the stove which exits out the top of the stove. Stove pipe fits right in it. Somewhere along the way, I think my stepfather cut about a 24" square out of the hall floor and put in a grating. I have that stove pipe for heat flow pointed up to the grating which sends the heat through the house. I need to built a sheet metal duct up from the sides of the stove up to the grating, and that will direct more heat up through the grating.

Plenty to do around here. I'll be busy the rest of my life.

I've put plastic sheeting up over all the windows. So this house is just about as airtight as it will ever be. I've thought of rocking up the exterior walls over time. The roof is tin, which sounds nice when it rains. The house is extremely sturdy. My grandfather built it by himself, and in many places, he should have had more "expert" help.

But! It's mine, and no banks have any fingers on it = completely paid for.

Alas, and someday I may be a complete hermit!

Keep all this wonderful advice coming - there's a ton to learn and even more I haven't even thought of.

I'm in Deep here...

 

[DeepseekerADS]

wonder if granny hid any old coins in any of those jars

Granny showed me some one time back years ago, they were all from around the turn of the century. I had an evil Aunt Lucille who I moved in here after Granny passed, and kicked out before Mom moved in. Aunt Lucille sold off a whole lot of my stuff, and everyone else's stuff while she lived here. She even slashed the tires on my truck when I parked it here for a week when I was on my way to another job. Lucille took after her great aunt Ruby who got her boyfriend drunk and castrated him on the kitchen table....

I read a newspaper article from Wake Forest University dated 1927 which stated that when the folks came down from the mountains to work in the cotton mills, they'd been so isolated they still spoke Elizabethan English...

 

[TJE]

Thanks Jeff, and TJE.

My grandfather finished this house in 1952. Zero insulation. But then every room is in use. Mom has the downstairs, or first floor. The stove is in the basement. And I'm living in the upstairs which is one big long room. When we were kids, us cousins stayed upstairs at night - about 10 of us. I shared a cot with my brother and cousin Billy. Billy wet the bed.... Almost every night.

We kids had a "chamber pot" we used at night. We had an outhouse back of the house. I put running water and a bathroom in in '84. It took some getting used to for Granny.

We came from very poor mountain folk. At age 13, Granny was sold into marriage to an elderly gentleman. He beat her, and my great grandfather took her back and sent her to work in the cotton mills of North Carolina.

I guess we might say that things were different then....

Supposed to be 12 degrees tonight = another night of playing with fire. But I'm okay with that. And, MM, I do have an axe and a maul! That's how I'm splitting my wood - and yet, getting into shape for sure.

I'm saving containers as I know I'm going to need them. I've a large plastic trash can where I put the cat litter - we have 3. I've read that if you pour used cat litter around the perimeter of your garden, it keeps the little critters out of your garden. I have a metal trash can where I save my wood ashes. I've also read that if you pour wood ash around the perimeter of your garden, the slinky crawly things stay out - like the snails and other insects.

I'm building a pile of mulch, and a pile of sawdust from the chainsaw. I've read that I don't have to turn up the soil, I just build a frame for my raised beds, put a layer of mulch, and then a layer of cardboard, and then a layer of sawdust, and then mulch. Apparently, the earthworms really like the cardboard and it will draw them into your beds. It's very likely that for my first garden I'll have to buy bags of mulch and compost. From there, the following year I should have my own compost pile productive.

The stove is airtight, or was when it was manufactured - circa the 80's. Since it was given to me, it's far better than the 4 I already had here. I have a wood cook stove too. When Mom passes, I'll likely pull the electric range out and install the wood stove in the kitchen. Not looking forward to that for the Summer, but the kitchen isn't as large as it would like. I've been running the basement stove hot, and that's why it's fed every few hours. There's a channel inside the stove which exits out the top of the stove. Stove pipe fits right in it. Somewhere along the way, I think my stepfather cut about a 24" square out of the hall floor and put in a grating. I have that stove pipe for heat flow pointed up to the grating which sends the heat through the house. I need to built a sheet metal duct up from the sides of the stove up to the grating, and that will direct more heat up through the grating.

Plenty to do around here. I'll be busy the rest of my life.

I've put plastic sheeting up over all the windows. So this house is just about as airtight as it will ever be. I've thought of rocking up the exterior walls over time. The roof is tin, which sounds nice when it rains. The house is extremely sturdy. My grandfather built it by himself, and in many places, he should have had more "expert" help.

But! It's mine, and no banks have any fingers on it = completely paid for.

Alas, and someday I may be a complete hermit!

Keep all this wonderful advice coming - there's a ton to learn and even more I haven't even thought of.

I'm in Deep here...

Nah, your not in deep there D....your just "scratch'n the surface"!!

 

[Peyton Manning]

Granny showed me some one time back years ago, they were all from around the turn of the century. I had an evil Aunt Lucille who I moved in here after Granny passed, and kicked out before Mom moved in. Aunt Lucille sold off a whole lot of my stuff, and everyone else's stuff while she lived here. She even slashed the tires on my truck when I parked it here for a week when I was on my way to another job. Lucille took after her great aunt Ruby who got her boyfriend drunk and castrated him on the kitchen table....

I read a newspaper article from Wake Forest University dated 1927 which stated that when the folks came down from the mountains to work in the cotton mills, they'd been so isolated they still spoke Elizabethan English...

ok I was likin ya till the castrating part

but, do you ever just stroll in the woods and wonder who was there in the wayback? are you anywhere near any civ action?

 

[DeepseekerADS]

ok I was likin ya till the castrating part but, do you ever just stroll in the woods and wonder who was there in the wayback? are you anywhere near any civ action?

Fortunately I never met Great Aunt Ruby! But I heard plenty stories of just how evil she was. The devil had ahold of her.

Yep, I stroll through the woods, but not right now, I still hear people hunting back up the mountain. Even though I was born here, I'm a stranger here - spent my entire life living elsewhere. Locals don't trust strangers Who's to say I won't get shot on my own land....

I've lot's of kinfolk here from my father's side. But they don't know me either! To them I'm a yankee...

I don't know if there was any CW action nearby. I'm about 90 minutes from Danville, and Jeb Stuart was born about a days ride on horseback over the mountain West of me. Rebel-KGC could fill in the blanks on that.

But, that will change. (Hopefully)

 

[releventchair]

Dang." It's mine and no banks have a finger on it," reminds me of the movie next of kin when Briar says “This land's mine!...I can go out and take a piss on it in the middle of the night if I want to!".
Hey that's somethin. That is. You'll make do.

 

[Peyton Manning]

hey I pee outside all summer

 

[releventchair]

hey I pee outside all summer

Happens when you get older, you pee all over; frequently..

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Dang." It's mine and no banks have a finger on it," reminds me of the movie next of kin when Briar says “This land's mine!...I can go out and take a piss on it in the middle of the night if I want to!". Hey that's somethin. That is. You'll make do.

I prefer to find relief outside! It is perfect freedom

Come this Summer, under a full moon, I'm going to run down my driveway naked! But I will wear shoes = gravel hurts tender feet

 

[Oregon Viking]

Is it a stick frame house? I mean can you pull the interior plywood/paneling off and then insulate? then sheetrock...5 bucks a sheet. The R value will go way up. It would require half the heating units, and the heat would stay in the house. I helped build a house last year, heat pump, solar panels. If the inside temp is 70 when you hit the sack, with out the heater running the temp in the morning is 67. Insulation is essential. It sound like you need a newer wood stove, more efficient., that has twice the capacity. Sorry, that means twice the wood!
But, you have much colder temps then we do out here.

 

[joncutt87]

I wish that my stove was as big as yours. My grandparents use the same new englander setup. My stove needs to be fed every 1.5 hours, and I have to go outside to get to the cellar.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I wish that my stove was as big as yours. My grandparents use the same new englander setup. My stove needs to be fed every 1.5 hours, and I have to go outside to get to the cellar.

Wow, I can't say I envy you with that. I certainly can't "Like" it! Mine's plenty tough, but you know - it's kinda fun in a way. It's a challenge! But that's in keeping with my attitude right now, I'm kinda gung ho right now, but that may change as the Winter drags on...

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Is it a stick frame house? I mean can you pull the interior plywood/paneling off and then insulate? then sheetrock...5 bucks a sheet. The R value will go way up. It would require half the heating units, and the heat would stay in the house. I helped build a house last year, heat pump, solar panels. If the inside temp is 70 when you hit the sack, with out the heater running the temp in the morning is 67. Insulation is essential. It sound like you need a newer wood stove, more efficient., that has twice the capacity. Sorry, that means twice the wood!
But, you have much colder temps then we do out here.

Excellent recommendation! I've gotta find my camera! Sitting here looking at my North wall up in my "suite", my grandfather's sheet rock "custom fit", on the gable (?) where the ceiling joins with the slope of the roof, to the vertical.... I'll find that camera and post a picture.

One of my major weaknesses I have here is that my grandfather built the entire house with very little help. It has character = his character. It is part of me, part of him. I just don't want to change anything on the interior. The exterior, I've no problem changing. Got some rot on the front and back porches, but they were built later.

One major thing about this adventure is that I've come home, all these years and places far away from here. This is kinda the end of the road for me - the remainder of my life, finally freedom, and the connection with my past.

Down in the kitchen, at the chimney when Granny had the wood cook stove in there, at the times I lived with them and they had no TV, but Grandpa would listen to WCKY Cincinnati in the mid to late 50's when it was all Bluegrass, and his favorite song was "Rank Stranger" by the Stanley Brothers, I would get behind the stove sitting at the chimney reading. Even then I read everything I could put my hands on, compulsive.

Those were happy times. Sometimes it has been a very rough life, things I wish I had never experienced. But I'm home now. Not only is it a new great adventure, but it is also nostalgic to a time of peace. My grand parents loved me. But they didn't get to keep me.

 

[uglymailman]

There are charts that show the best wood for btu's and how long they should be cut before using. Burning green wood can be dangerous as well as wasteful. Burning the wrong wood is a waste of time and effort.
Put Granny to work showing you how to can. She'll feel useful and will give you invaluable information.
Throw some of those wood ashes on your garden.
Tomatoes give good value for acreage to grow and are pretty easy to can. Potatoes will last most of the winter if stored in cool,dry place. Onions can be dug, tied up in bunches and hung in the smoke house or shed.
Good luck.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Put Granny to work showing you how to can. She'll feel useful and will give you invaluable information.

Alas, Granny is gone. Mom will certainly be helpful, but she's 89 and I pray will be here for canning time. It's kinda hard to think about being up here alone when she's gone. That's a downside.

 

[Back-of-the-boat]

Very good thread enjoying immensely, growing up we lived in a house that we had put up sliding walls to isolate the living room where we had a wood stove so we didn't heat the whole house just that room.Before bed us kids would stand in front of it then turn to heat the other side then run to our bedrooms.I remember seeing my breath in the air in my bedroom had like 8 blankets on the bed couldn't move once I got in. Loved growing up country,we have a family ranch that had an outhouse and had to pump water from the well (hand pump) now it's been modernized indoor plumbing now. Love this thread.

 

[DeepseekerADS]

I remember seeing my breath in the air in my bedroom had like 8 blankets on the bed couldn't move once I got in.

Oh yes the memories I'm glad you enjoy the thread. There's certainly going to be a lot of memories here for me. And I can see getting a whole lot of tips & tricks along the way with this thread.

Thanks for jumping in!