Tschau, Schneewagen. Grüezi, Schneezeug!

We said goodbye to our dear friend, Schneewagen.  

Schneewagen has been with us at KnArrow Haus since the beginning, the year we worked on finishing it prior to occupancy. After our early failures using an old, heavy snowmobile to transfer from the parking area to the cabin in Winter months, I bought a Honda Pioneer 700-4 and installed tracks and an enclosure. It has been a steady and reliable workhorse. Our list of extended family and friends who visit KnArrow Haus continues to expand, and includes a growing stable of young grandkids. We needed more space. 

When I took Schneewagen to the local dealership for its annual maintenance in August, I bumped into a Can Am Defender MAX Limited. I'd seen them before, but this time I opened the door and sat inside.

With two full rows of 3-abreast seats, a built-in heater (and air conditioner), and a cargo bed -- it's the UTV equivalent of my Jeep Gladiator. More space. More power. More heat. More convenience. More money... 

Within a day I had a buyer for the Honda Pioneer, and then got to work foraging tor the right-priced replacement. Anyone who has shopped for a power playtoy since Covid reared its head, knows that discounting by dealerships is now extinct. But with a little persistence I was able to find a dealership in Oregen that had temporarily marked down a couple units in their inventory to make room for some 2025 units. 

I borrowed a flatbed trailer from a friend and took a Saturday trip to Sublimity Oregon -- with a lunch stop at the Wooden Nickel Pub.

A few hours later and Schneezeug (Snow Thing) was sitting in my lowlands front yard.

The savings were substantial and well worth the drive.  Now I ordered the snow tracks from the local dealership and decided to improve our Schneezeug parking space in fron the KnArrow Haus while waiting for the tracks to arrive.

This lone tree did not survive the root damage inflicted when the power and water utility lines were buried during constructions. It's tilting in the middle of the ideal summer and winter parking area just off the front driveway. So I broke out my chainsaw gifted to me a couple Christsmases ago.

After I downed the tree, I was unable to get the saw restarted. As chance would have it, a truck was driving by at that exact time with one of my (few) blog fans and a partner in-tow with chainsaw experience.

The gentleman on the left is a Navy pilot who flies fighter jets and was visiting the area for the holiday weekend. He's read my blog and aspires to be a Yodelin homeowner some day. His friend on the right, has previous chainsaw experience, and took the opportunity to inspect the saw and make sure it was setup correctly. He helped me restart the saw, and I was able to finish the job. Katie gave them a quick tour inside KnArrow Haus. 

I trailered Schneezeug to Wenatchee last weekend. The tracks were installed on Wednesday. And I picked it up on Saturday, then docked it in its newly cleared stable in the KnArrow Haus driveway.

Bring on the snow!

Double Live-edge Slab Table

My design vision is brilliant and multifaceted: Have a table that functions as both a table and as a counter-level food prep station. (A floor wax and a dessert topping!) 

I purchased the crank table base during Covid. (It got stuck in the Evergiven-Suez canal debacle and took a LONG time to arrive.) It sat in my home garage that winter, then migrated to the KnArrow Haus kitchen last Fall.  At over 200 pounts, it's not the type of thing you want to move ore than once. Being able to raise and lower the table will eliminate the need for two different-height surfaces thereby conserving space. Bonus points if I can get the base up on casters that roll easily on the floor -- but based on the minimum height of the base, it's not likely that will happen as the table top would likely be too tall.

Somewhat accurate facsimile of the crank table base I ordered

The only reason I installed the industrial retractable power cord in the ceiling is because I knew the table would be going up and down and also potentially moving.

Ceiling mounted retractable extension cord waiting patiently for the crank table

 

I bought the maple slab at SecondUse.com a couple years ago for only a couple-hundred bucks. It was kiln dried, but has some rot in the crotch at one end and some softness at the other end that might be rot, but I'm not educated enough to accurately diagnose.

Maple slab from SecondUse.com

I proceeded to remove all the bark from edges, and to clean things up in general. A long day of work got things pretty cleaned-up. I also routed channels on the underside for metal, c-channel bars to help prevent warping. After my initial work, it sat for a over a year in our house waiting patiently.

In process cleaning up the slab

Classial crotch rot

Slight soft (punky?) end

Slab with steel stabilizing bars installed on the underside

I finally brought the slab and the base up to KnArrow Haus last fall, where both have hybernating patiently, taking up space. I began the next phase to stabilize, epoxy-fill, and finish the slab by treating the entire slab with wood hardener, specifically designed to stabilize rot.

maple slab treated on both sides with wood hardener.

The slab really drank up the wood hardener -- 3 of these from HomeDepot! I felt like I should go ahead and treat the whole thing keep it uniform in appearance. 

Next step will be to fill the holes and rotted areas with epoxy.

Backup Power

What was billed as "very reliable" power delivery when we first purchased our KnaArrow Haus property has gradually deteriorated into more-frequent-than-we-expected power outages, during both inclement Winter weather as well as during fairer weather. Although all the community power service is all underground and unaffected by rain, wind, or snow, the major feeder lines servicing our community and Stevens Pass are above ground and less impervious to the elements. 

KnArrow Haus survived (thankfully), with flying colors, the 10+ day power outage a couple seasons ago, when Leavenworth received record snowfall and US Hwy 2 was closed both directions over the pass due to snow, ice, wind, fallen trees, and then heavy rain. 

Regardless of the time of year, when we're enjoying KnArrow Haus with friends or family and the power goes out for more than a few hours, I want to smooth out the bump by running lights, Internet, and some selective heat and large appliances.

I bought a dual-fuel generator and two 40-pound propane tanks on wheels to smooth over the inevitable power gaps. At a slight sacrifice to peak power, the propane tanks remove the concer n for old or fouled fuel in between usage.

My friend helped me acquire the necessary provisions and gave me the plan for connecting the generator socket in to the panels. I waited until the weather was warm before shutting off power to the cabin's panels to hook things up. 

Crude schematic for hooking up the generator to both panels

The power panels before hooking up the generator connection

Implementing the schematic required that I move the current circuit breakers from the top right of each panel in order to install 50 Amp circuit breakers for the generator along with the needed shutoff-interlock mechanism. The interlock prevents the generator breakers from being on when the power from the grid is also on.

For all but one circuit breaker, there was enough slack wire in the box to move the breakers without a hassle. However, I had to splice one additional wire on to the septic pump breaker to move it down to the bottom.

One panel showing the 50 Amp generator circuit breaker installed on the top right.

Routing the heavy gauge wires through the top of each panel, stripping, and splicing them took much longer than I planned.  The entire project took 6 hours, mostly because I was purposefully slow, careful and methodical. Translating and implementing a schematic in the real world is always more work, especially for a DIY-er like me. 

The panels with generator circuit breakers and interlocks installed

I also took the opportunity to re-label the chicken scratch on all of the circuits using a label printer. They are much easier to read now. Very pleased with the end results (below). 

New generator with propane tanks and panel plugg-in. 

The next step will be to figure out which combinations of circuits, appliances, and heat can be used successfully when on generator power.

Closet shelves with just a little personality

Picking up my toolbelt once again to finish one more item on the list, I got to work on the storage shelves in the master bedroom. We originally designed the closet to include this slightly-hidden set of exterior shelves. 

With butcher block wood leftover from last year's stair build, it seemed the logical choice to continue the theme. I used L-shaped aluminim, cut to length and mounted on each side of the wall to use as brackets to hold the shelf blocks. When the wood banks are set in them, they all but disappear.  

Instead of cutting plain rectangular slabs for each shelf, I cut the leading edge at an angle so that they are about 3 inches wider/deeper on the right side, matching the slight angle of the overal cabin exterior. The shelves are sealed with a clear, water-based sealer. 

 

Before & After
Master Bedroom Storage Shelves

Closet-topping Bunk

When we designed the master bedroom closet, we included a platform for a bed on top. With the vaulted ceiling, there's plenty of head room. The platform sits at about the same height as the top triple log bunk bed in the bunk room. 

To add rigidity to the cantelever required to extend past the end of the closet I planned for 2" angle iron. 

Master closet bunk design

I ended up adding 2 more angle-iron cross members in the middle, in addition to standard 2x4's for a more rigid and safe platform with cantilevers over the front and side. It fits a twin X bunk with a little extra room at the end of the ladder, Not shown in the design is a piece of 3/4" plywood that I placed on top of the cross braces. 

Assembly with the help of my former siding forman.

The bottom edge of the platform is a 8 feet off the ground. I found a ready-to-assemble pine ladder that I stained black and sealed.  

The completed bunk and ladder

I added some beetle-stained pine to fill in the railing to keep little bodies for plummeting to their sure-and-certain death on the concrete floor 8 feet below. . 

Basement stairs that don't suck

 One of the big projects that's continually gotten delayed is installing finish stair treads and risers. We've been using the original 2x12 rough lumber installed by the framers.

The original stair treads were 2x12 standard dimensional lumber installed by the framers. They were covered in drywall spray and paint, and some of them had cracked. To make them a little more bearable, we had covered some of them with rubber protectors (which my wife hated).

As I researched buying finish stair treads online, I realized that they are expensive and also the wrong dimension, usually 1" to 1.25" thick. I needed 1.5" finish stock to match the rise of the lumber treads. After looking around online and going in to the exotic lumber store in Seattle to price their stock, I realized I needed a different solution. Once again, HomeDepot came through. I found 10 foot butcher block counter tops made out of Acacia much less expensive. Also, in keeping with my strategy of making things just a little bit "different", I felt like these would be more original and beautiful. 

I cut the countertops in to 40 inch sections, then ripped each section to 11.5" to match the dimensions of the rough treads. 

For the risers, I decided to go with 1/4" thick, black HDPE (high density polyyethylene), ordered from ePlastics. I ordered a full sheet and paid for them to cut it in to riser-sizes. 49 cuts out of the sheet only cost an additional $30 to the order. About $235 total landed cost for the risers -- well worth it. 

The bigger task was removing the existing treads and risers. The framers got a little carried away with their air nailer on some treads and risers -- 5 nails through a tread into a tringer...! Needless to say, tearing off the treads and risers was an exhausting 5 hour job.

The first tread and riser removed.

6 treads and risers removed.

All treads and risers removed.

During the tear out, some of the corners forming some of the steps on the stringers broke off. I had to glue-and-screw them. I then temporarily screwed back on each tread with a single screw to temporarily keep it in place until the new treads could be installed. 

The nails and screws that came out during the tearout.

The tools required for the tearout.

I got Rudy's help to finish them with a couple clear coats of water-based eurethane. Applying the eurethan sealer was done over 2 weekends. 

After a second coat of eurethane, I stacked them to dry in the garage.

Acacia stair treads drying in the garage.

I purchased black, flathead screws for the risers, and larger black structural screws for the treads. 

View from the top level of the finished stair treads.

View from the basement of the finished stair treads.

Overall, pretty please with the result. And gratified to have that project out of the way. Applying the finish/sealer to the treads and the tearout happened on 2 Saturdays. Then installation of the new treads and risers took portions of three days. Over about a month period, culminating on July 1st.

Snow Season Summary 2022-23

The end-of-season charts showing snow on the ground near KnArrow Haus using data from Northwest Avalance Center (nwac.us). Both of these charts use the same data - the white line shows the accumulated snow on the ground.

It was what I'd characterize as a statistically average snowfall season. And the meltout occured a little earlier than average due to warmer-than-average weather.

Adding a Backup Water Supply

The community water system is old. The main system (well, tank and pumps) is only about 20 years old, but the pipes in the groud that connect all the homes are over 50 years old. Even when no one is using any water, the system leaks a couple gallons a minute. 

Every year, sometimes several times a year, there's a bigger leak somewhere in the system requing the pressure pumps be turned off until the leak can be found, isolated, and fixed. Last year it was a leak on a cabin in Division 1, and later sink in a cabin in Division 2.  This year it was a brand new connection to a cabin under construction. Whatever the reason, when the pressure pumps are turned off, water pressure to KnArrow Haus drops to a trickle. Not very useful if you want to take a shower, run the dishwasher, or flush a toilet. 

After a several-week pressure outage last year, one of the long-time neighbors just down the hill showed me the backup tank and system he designed and installed many years ago to the combat the problem. I took videos and pictures of his system, then spent a few weeks thinking about and designing my system. Putting the system in was my Summer 2022 cabin project.

Design for KnArrow Haus backup tank and pressure pump.
I used this to build my shopping list.

The system incorporates a water tank and a pressure pump to supply water if the system pressure is low or off. The tank automatically fills, allowing the backup tank to do what I call "a lazy fill" when the pressure is low. A auxiliary water pump provides pressures the system on-demand, but only when the main system pressure is low. When the main system pressure is high, the pump never turns on.

I can drain the whole house's system in to the tank if needed. And we also get the added benefit that we can close the main shutoff to the house when we leave but still run the dishwasher before we walk out the door.  If the house were to spring a leak or burst a pipe while we're gone, only the water in the tank would spill in to the house, but no more.

The water shutoff and manifold before adding the backup system

Preparing the tank shutoff

The fill valve for the tank is essentially a toilet-style float valve, only bigger. Instead of the typical half-inch flow, it is a one-inch valve designed for larger tanks so they can fill quickly. 

Through-fitting with shutoff installed at top of tank

Measuring the space between the tank and washing machine

Installing the flexible connecting fittings to the pressure pump

The drain valve at the bottom of the tank connects to the pressure pump,
and it has a shutoff tee so the tank can be drained if needed

I built a small bench from scrap wood to raise the pressure pump off the floor

View to the tank drain valve. I put a hose fitting on the end

Doing a tight loop with one inch PEX isn't very easy.
This was the final connection I made to the system.

The new backup system all plumbed in a ready for service.

Of course, with every new system it seems like there's always something that fails.  In my case, there were actually 2 things that failed after connecting it all up at the end of the Summer. 

The first failure was one of the two sharkbite pressure valves. One had a slow drip that I could never get to fully seal. I tried disconnecting and reseating it several times, and even tried cleaning up the end of the PEX pipe. Nothing work so I simply removed it and replaced it with PEX. I cannot check the pressure of the outside water system now, but it's not a major loss. 

The second failure was the through-hull fitting at the top of the tank. About a month ago, right after we turned on the main to the house, Katie told me water was dripping all over the floor. I ran downstairs and realized the connection through the top of the tank had broken.

The through-hull fitting at the top of the tank that broke. 
In this picture you can see the shutoff valve on top of the tank
that I had to fish out form the bottom.

The brass fitting through the tank snapped in half. Probably because I overtightened it. 

The new nylon fitting I bought required a much bigger hole in the tank

New through-hull fitting connected. System restored.

Now that everything is back and restored to working condition, I've reevaluated what else can go wrong. The one weakness in the entire design that I can think is the float valve itself could fail. If for some reason it were to fail meaning "not shut off" -- which would only happen while we are there with the main water turned on to the house -- it could cause the tank to overfill and leak water all over the basement floor. Again, this would only happen while were are there with the water turned on. There is no drain in the basement floor...

I guess you'll hear from me again on this subject if/when that happens.