Our Country Cottage A Narrative

  Last time I said I would tell you about our power alert system. Don’t get worried, this isn’t going to get too technical. I realized early on that not being at Our Country Cottage all the time would leave us open to some major problems if something was to fail to work properly, especially if power was to fail. Seems a little funny to be talking about this now, after an undetected power failure. But anyway. The original thought was to have some way that our cottage could tell us if power fails. To that end, I found our phone company had devices that work from cell phone signals  that would provide internet access. I didn’t want to spend a lot of cash for internet up there so this seemed like a perfect solution. For very little cash we got very little data, 100 meg. Just right for the odd email. It has been working flawlessly. Cell phone signal at our country cottage is a bit hit and miss. If you have your phone in the right place , I know of 3 or 4 places cell phones will work in the living room and a coup

  At the end of the last podcast I said I would tell you about day 2, after the power failure and where we stand at this moment. It has been about a month since I found Our Country Cottage frozen and low on power and some things are the same, and some things have changed. The generator is dead and there is still no water in the cottage. The toilets are still in disrepair and given all that, I have decided that Our Country Cottage will remain as such, till we can count on consistently above freezing temps. I will explain later. But for now.... Day 2 and beyond. I arrived with one thought in mind. When things thaw out, those frozen toilet tanks will put water all over the floor. If you remember I had destroyed the downstairs tank as much as I could in panic mode, but the guts were still attached and they still contained a fair amount of ice, not to mention the upstairs toilet. Well I didn’t have to worry about them thawing out right away. They were still frozen solid. I built a fire. The batteries were at 71%,

  Nice day to visit Our Country Cottage and perhaps clear the driveway. I was looking forward to riding the tractor in the sun esp after new fallen snow. Everything just looks so good. I noticed as I passed the solar panels that they were three quarters covered with snow, but I figured the sun would take care of it for me. As I pulled up I opened the garage with the remote and all was good to go. My first indication that something was different was when I opened the door and found about a ½ inch of frost on the hardware (knob etc) and the edge of the door. I then noticed that the thermometer was reading -10 in the mudroom. I have never seen it that low. I rushed in to see what the power system remote had to say. Batteries were at 30% and red lights were flashing all over the place. I noticed that the living room was also -10 degrees C. A horrible thought crossed my mind as I rushed to the downstairs bathroom only to find 2 quarter inch cracks in the toilet tank and ice in the bowel. It had frozen solid. The

TWAS A NIGHT We are going to be doing something a bit different. A bit of a departure from the normally scheduled podcast and given the events of this last week I am glad I wrote this poem in advance. And now on with TWAS A NIGHT IN THE COUNTRY Twas a night at the country, and all through our cottage, The only thing running was the fridge, but that was low wattage. The wood was stacked by the masonry heater with care. In hopes enough for the long winter night, was there. There was more in the garage, in a firewood rack, But going to get more, in pajamas, was whack. In the dark you would probably slip on a giant ice mound, Then a slide of snow from the roof would pin you to the ground. Now cougar, now grizzly, now moose and black bear, On Fox, on skunk, on elk, and mule deer. From the top of the drive, to the clearing below, My trail cams see you all, come and go. The solar panels were silent in the darkest of night, Ready to jump into action at first morning light. The moon on the breast of the new fallen s

  On Second Thought 1-Roof design There is a valley over battery room hatch where snow collects and turns to ice. The valley is also on the north side so parts of it never see the sun. It is also over the battery room entrance, so every time you access the battery room it is literally hanging over your head. First year an ice damn formed and the melting ice backed up and started to drip between the rafters over the deck. Our contractor risked life and limb on a ladder to hammer the ice free. Sheets of ice up to 5 or 6 inches thick came down. I now duck tape a rubber mallet to the handle of the roof rake (16 feet long) and I can loosen the ice from the ground. Much safer. I have also acquired ladder stand-off arms that attach to a ladder and make it much safer if I have to use the ladder.   2-Where the cottage roof and the garage roof meet and over the entrances Both of the above have the same problem, snow accumulation. The snow collects on the roof then slides off (some times while you are standing there),

There are several types of water we had to contend with at Our Country Cottage. 1- Water we want to get in 2- Water we want to get out 3- Water we just want to control 1- Water we want to get in - Drinking water - Cooking water - Washing water - Cleaning water - Water for the toilet At this time, all our domestic water comes from a 240 foot well. The hole is lined with a six or 8 inch steel pipe There is a 1 horse power submersible pump at the end of a long flexible pipe that is at or near the bottom of the well. Below the frost line there is a clever connector on the side of the steel pipe that joins the pump line to the cottage underground and in through the wall of the utility room. Once in the cottage the water goes through a 5 micron filter to eliminate any sand or grit, etc, and into a pressure tank. This is a large tank that has a diaphragm in it that splits the tank into two sections, one with water and one with air. You can’t compress water but you can compress air. As water gets pumped in the air

Firstly, I would like to point out that we are in a northern clime where heating a place takes way more energy and thought than it does to cool a place. As I mentioned in my last podcast, #2 Power, the best way to keep costs down is not to use it, not to use it as much, that is. The same is true for heat. 1-What we did to minimize heat loss. - All exterior walls along with the roof and the floors are spray foamed. - We like to keep our bedroom cool so the  interior wall separating the bedroom from the living room is spray foamed. - The basement walls are spray foamed. - Minimal windows on the north side of the cottage. - All windows are triple glazed. (3 layers of glass filled with inert gas) - Window frames are vinyl to minimize heat transfer. - Entrances (the sunroom and the mudroom) are designed as airlocks. (you have to open a second door to entre the living area) - First floor bedrooms (they are on north side) act as buffer zones. 2-What we did for heat. - Passive solar heating. (Large windows facing so

Power     1-What we started with As far as power goes we started with nothing and about a kilometre away from any power lines very expensive to tap into local power length of line because of trees, underground would be preferable local power not 100% guaranteed monthly bill     2-What we wanted AC power the same type as what city slickers have clean 110v 220v 60 hertz a circuit breaker box, just like in town AC sockets that you could plug in normal lamps, appliances, radios etc. Low maintenance     3-What we didn’t want Any sort of low voltage DC power requiring specialized non standard electrical units. high maintenance     4-What we were willing to concede Living off grid, something has to give and that something was quantity. The best way to reduce cost was, and still is, reduce consumption. All lights are LEDs All appliances were chosen because of their low energy requirements -induction cook top I believe is the most efficient way to cook -no electric oven (propane BBQ and oven built into masonry wood f

    An overview of our country cottage. We are on a quarter section which is a half mile by a half mile square. Ruffly 160 acres. Property was bought 15 to 20 years ago and construction started 4 years ago and completed 2 years ago. The cottage is about 1500 square feet. Three bedrooms, one large master upstairs and two small bedrooms downstairs .The downstairs bedrooms can convert into one larger room with a garage door that rolls up into a false ceiling. Two full bathrooms. The one upstairs is an ensuite with an enclosed shower and a soaker tub which is elevated so you can see out the window. Downstairs has a large enclosed shower. The entrances to the cottage are through, a mud room or a sunroom, each act as an airlock to keep heat in. Kitchen is equipped with fridge, induction cook top, and dishwasher. All appliances were chosen for their efficiency of power. There is also a pantry. The living room has a masonry heater. A utility room and a battery room. The battery room has its own entrance and is under

  In this first, short, episode I give a short description of the podcast itself. In the next episode I shall describe "Our Country Cottage" and give you an overall general view. In future episodes I will get into more specifics and the reasoning behind them and if it turned out the way we thought it would. I will also cover some day to day happenings. Enjoy!