Comments by "Ray caster" (@raycaster4398) on "KYLES CABIN" channel.

  1. Nice porch. I woulda used steel for that roofing considering the snow loads. What you can do, before each snowstorm is leave a thick rope across the length of the porch roof at the flashing at the house, with ends draped over either end. After its snows, each of you man one end of the rope and both pull towards the front yard hopefully undercutting the snow. I wouldn't wait for 2 feet of snow and ice though.
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  2. I mentioned this idea before: Build a solid circular wooden platform underneath your outhouse toilet. Build it so the flooring around the toilet is circular so it rotates 360 degrees. So you sit, do your business, and shuffle your feet either way to rotate the toilet and footing area, so you can keep an eye on potentially dangerous animals all around. You can patent the construction. The other better idea is to construct a regular outhouse as per your whim. Then install a periscope that goes up and gives you 360 degrees view. Watch for stuff. Of course, you will want to patent a "Kyle double holster belt" where you keep your big can of bear spray and the other side your hammer to wear on the way to and from the distant outhouse. Maybe a nail in the outhouse wall to hang your survival belt while tooting away. Give ya some freedom to maneuver, so to speak. Happy New Year youse guys, from NJ. I always thought firecrackers could scare a bear away. Better yet Roman candles! Fire in the hole.
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  3. A stand for the solar panels!
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  4. Please buy a 'kindling cracker,' regular size and the new large size, be safe, rather than holding a piece of wood
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  5. They make small wood pellet stoves that can feed 24h+, even days with hopper extension. For the chicken coop. Some outlay but maybe chicken free cabin. Use a wireless temperature guage alert.
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  6. I always wear work gloves when handling wood to protect from those needle-like shards, and splinters jammed under finger nails.
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  7. Why aren't concrete footers below frost level??
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  8. Three big bays. I've turned to criss-cross (Lincoln log style) stacking of firewood as it provides much better drying air circulation and really cuts down on the damn nesting critters common to traditional tight parallel stacked firewood piles. Like 3" wolf spiders. Best for newly split wood especially if it's green. Takes up to 50% more room though.
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  9. Every time I see Skeeter and the chickens I want to draw a cartoon thought bubble with a roast chicken. lol
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  10. An egress window.
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  11. Yuge bear! You're gonna need to sling a long tube and 44 Magnum as backup. There are YT recommendations on how to prevent a free-wheeling aggressive dog from spooking bears and separating cubs from the mother bear leading to major disaster. Yeah, that bear will swipe right thru that chicken wire. Half-inch hardware cloth a much stronger deterrent. But you WILL need to electrify it. Perhaps selling eggs would help defray the cost.
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  12. Rehab after surgery is pretty intense, so being in the medical field, such a patient must have access to the rehab place for in-person (2-3x weekly!) and home visitation sessions. Not to mention post-surgical care. So your big cabin, with automobile access is the place to be. Who takes care of the chickens and eggs, and the ducks when you're at the remote cabin? The canvas looks great. Guess you'll be able to sled in heavy stuff hauled behind a snow machine.
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  13. Good point
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  14. Cut round holes in the wall and run gutter downspouts through the wall slanted down and out. You could pee in these if you had too many beers, or, roll a hand grenade down and out in defense.
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  15. I still like idea of a rotating post or pole to allow repointing and realignment of solar panels according to sun travel, seasonal declination, etc. Also allows for EASY removal of snow or ice. You could even tarp the panels before frozen precipitation to save a heck of a lot of work. NO ladder climbing, long clunky brushes, etc. Betcha a very nice gain in efficiency. Such posts or poles can be made (see YT) or purchased commercially.
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  16. I snap heavy twigs and light branches for kindling over my knee, over the edge of my 10 cubic foot wheelbarrow and sometimes over the top of my head, which is especially pleasing. Keeps snow off of stuff.
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  17. Roll and stain the siding BEFORE putting up. TWICE. Would love you to buy some nice saw horse/work supports.
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  18. I woulda used a light-natural stain, for a light roof. Do you have to seal that junction between upper and lower floors on the siding? A trim piece caulked? Will condensation ("metal roof condensation dripping") be a problem inside with no ridge vents or under roof soffit ventilation? What do I know?
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  19. Correct, propane tank ALWAYS outdoors. A long trek over rugged terrain dangerous for some one about to have knee surgery, though we admire your togetherness and love.
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  20. Cierra, great chicken soup. Something I use in the kitchen that GREATLY aids prep is a stainless-steel Dough Pastry Scraper/Cutter/Chopper. I call it a board scraper. A simple tool that allows quick cleanup of a board, but best use is it allows you to gather, say, all your chopped onion or carrots whatever and transfer to pot or pan in one fell swoop, boom. No muss at all.
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  21. Wood pellet stove, boom.
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  22. 5:20 Skeeter: "What ... now?" (no play). Good job, Kyle, good job. Too bad we can't send ya like a 20" cross cut saw, or d-light solar camping lights. But then you'd end up with maybe a buncha crusty stuff you'd hafta 🙄 say thanks for. And, I know you wanna do it yourself.
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  23. Plant some white oak and hickory seedlings. Feed acorns to pig when old enough. Firewood.
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  24. You're indefatigable.
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  25. Eggscellent.
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  26. ​ @KYLESCABIN  I forgot you're not building to Building Code Foundation Requirements. I thought this cabin would meet those.
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  27. Great job on the anchor stakes!! Now you need some hurricane tie downs for roof to wall and wall to foundation.
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  28. Both. Decaying bark leaves a wet layer against the underlying good wood, rotting it. Logs should be sealed when dry.
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  29. Maybe put an "egress" window up there. In addition to emergency exit, can be used to access porch roof for snow removal.
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  30. Great job. I listened with stereo headphones, so I loved every theater-like sound of the scrape of knives, clonk of log post, smack of wedge, bang of hammer, and bark of dog (at Sasquatch).
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  31. Stake up tomatoes now, pinch off side shoots at 2-leaf mark. This Fall, work well-rotted chicken manure into garden soil with spade. Can supplement with inorganic 10-10-10 or balanced bagged organic fertilizer (blood meal, bone meal, kelp meal) from big box store. Burn dead tomato plants. Transplant raspberries into full sun areas this Fall or better, mail order berries from Stark Brothers. That hole in the run chicken wire makes me very nervous. I'm the one, who at your first cabin video said, FIRST dig a professional water well. THEN, site the house. You both need to carry bear spray. Period. Nice fire pit.
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  32. 4:10 Skeeter: "So what's he doin' NOW?!"
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  33. Wood bark attracts insects, collects moisture as it decays, rotting the wood underneath.
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  34. Never EVER handle the split piece of kindling unless you don't like fingers. PLEASE use another stick to hold the piece being split (not with hand) at the very least, or best -- use a steel 'kindling cracker' (very safe). Kyle, you must realize that all kinds of people and youngsters(!) watch these videos and copy what they see.
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  35.  @beckyumphrey2626  But not nesting in uninsulated buckets in the -10 to -20° MN cold snaps, ones that can be torn open with one swipe of a bear's paw. Just not prudent.
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  36. Great industry splitting and stacking the wood. Wood of any kind should never contact the dampness of the ground which accelerates rot. I like to put long pressure-treated 4x4s parallel to each other to form the base of the wood pile on which the wood is stacked. However, even those should be elevated on concrete or stone blocks to keep them dry too. I switched from parallel wood piece stacking to crisscrossing alternate rows. This allows for better air-drying circulation and drastically reduces the critters that hole up in your stack, and hidden wetness. You'll need a little bit more room though, compared to the usual dense-packed parallel stack. Finally place narrow or folded tarp (or cheap metal or plastic roofing) over the very top to deflect rain but leave sides of pile open to air circulation. Nice truck, Kyle. Glad Cierra's surgery went well. Luvved Skeeter driving the truck, and the chicken call.
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  37.  @waylon7371  Steep as possible
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  38. Great question. Another temporary structure, all around. Seeing stars??
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  39. Incorrect. Blueberries are self-fertile though it is thought mixing varieties aids in pollination success.
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  40. In winter run a stout rope across the roof where the cabin meets addition. After big snow a person at each end grabs rope and pulls the rope outward over addition under-slicing the snow.
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  41. Next episode: 'Building a bear fort'
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  42. What kinda smoke wagon ya totin' on those backtrails?
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  43. I'd add a middle support under that bottom shelf though the wood doesn't seem very heavy.
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  44. 'Zackly
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  45. Here's where Ray's suggestion for formal electric utility hookup rings home. Electrify the shit outta things ....
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  46. A saw horse pair would provide great stability, improve accurate cuts and an element of safety.
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  47. That fireplace corner must be the warmest place in the cabin. So install some sort of conduit right above the stove, up into the loft, perhaps an in-line fan to blow hot air upwards. Boom. You can install vents or a quiet fan to move warm LR air into kitchen.
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  48. Loft egress window.
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  49. Oh, so are those solar panels waterproof?
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  50. I'd like you to melt your snow in a big pot on the wood-fired stove. Then you haul that pot outside and poor it through a simple filter, as simple as possible(research: DIY vs. commercial)), into your stainless vat situated on your DIY block rocket stove and light her up. You will have constructed (details on website if you are interested, lemme know) a condenser coil in a bucket filled with fresh snow. Water distiller. Out comes pure contaminant-free, organic molecule-free, heavy metal-free, organism/spore-free drinking water. Store the water. 3 AM at the cabin, alarm goes off. Kyle: "Time to make the water (ughhh)". Guess what else this setup can be adapted for?
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