Pikes Peak or Bust!

RobLJ · Apr 18, 2015

Hermit said:
Hi RobLJ,

It certainly is God's country!

Is that east of Elevenmile Reservoir? I'm about 15 miles north of Florissant, east of the Tarryall Mountains.

We got lost driving back from Cripple Creek in a driving rainstorm (almost ran into a herd of about 60 elk), so I know exactly where you are. Great area.

For us, you drive West from Canon City on 50 towards Salida and take a left on Country Road 3 (Copper Gulch) right after you pass the Arkansas bridge toward the South Rim entrance to the Gorge. Then 11 miles up the road and a couple thousand feet.

The cabin's at 7500 feet, which can be interesting in winter coming from Houston; if you're at 8500, I'm glad you have the Jeep (we have Subarus).

Granddad built his cabin in the Crystal River Valley below Aspen when I was 6, also at 7500 feet; love the whole area from our cabin over to his area and Glenwood Springs. I like to quote Del Gue from Jeremiah Johnson:

("These here are God's finest sculpturings and there ain't no laws for the brave ones!. . .")

Mulligan · Apr 19, 2015

RobLJ said:
Fun reading the thread; I think I saw it back when you started.

Our cabin is about 12 miles above the Royal Gorge on Copper Gulch Rd. God's Country out there.
Look forward to seeing your place when you finish it.

The Royal Gorge..... Learned something about myself there I did not know. I was driving a group of friends there about 5 years ago and decided the last minute to walk across it instead of driving. Turned out to be the correct choice. As we were about to walk across that bridge my legs locked up and wouldn't step on that bridge. I couldn't make make myself move. Tried 4-5 different times before I gave up. And there were 4 year olds running all over the place. Pretty sad, I didn't know I had such fear of heights.

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LoneAspen · Apr 20, 2015

Hermit said:
I'm about 15 miles north of Florissant, east of the Tarryall Mountains.

First house I ever owned was in Florissant, in a little subdivision off Teller County 1. I loved that little house and location. Loved it.

Would probably still be there, if the lure of stock options and working for a high-tech startup in Silicon Valley (that later failed) hadn't lured me away.

Good luck with the building plans, and enjoy living up there. Definitely God's country.

Hermit · Jul 24, 2015

Yesterday was a big day. Raised and set the trusses on the house. Not a bad day's work for a bunch of old geezers! Ground breaking was just over one year ago. Hope to get it dried in and finished on the outside before winter sets in.

RockyMtn · Jul 24, 2015

looking good my friend. Snow comes early....keep it movin Hermit!!!

LoneAspen · Jul 24, 2015

Thanks for posting updates and pics, Hermit! Congrats on the progress, and keep it going!

Ronstar · Jul 24, 2015

LoneAspen said:
Thanks for posting updates and pics, Hermit! Congrats on the progress, and keep it going!

+1. Looking Good!

bssc · Jul 24, 2015

Looking good. We are finishing our first year of ER and living in Colorado. No regrets.

Walt34 · Jul 24, 2015

RockyMtn said:
looking good my friend. Snow comes early....keep it movin Hermit!!!

Must be right about the snow - no way is anyone wearing long sleeves around here this time of year, even overnight.

Nice house!

Hermit · Jul 24, 2015

Walt34 said:
Must be right about the snow - no way is anyone wearing long sleeves around here this time of year, even overnight.

Nice house!

It has been in the low to mid 40s in the mornings with the highs in the seventies most of the summer. Usually a bit warmer this time of year.

splitwdw · Jul 24, 2015

Looks good. Nice having friends that can help you out. Will you be in this Winter?

Hermit · Jul 24, 2015

I'm hoping to have the house at least dried in and enclosed enough to use the wood stove. The stove comes in August. I will hire someone to do the roof shingling and plan to have the window people install the windows. I have another guy that lives out here helping me now, so it should go faster. The plan is to work on the inside over the winter. That will sure beat sweeping snow off the floor all winter like last year!

Sarah in SC · Jul 26, 2015

Looking good! Thanks for posting the photos and keeping us updated on your progress! And yes, those pics of you sweeping snow last winter did not look like fun at all, hope the plan to have it dried in comes to fruition. This is such a great project!

Hermit · Dec 4, 2016

There was a request to update my house building efforts, so here are some pictures along the way. This group of pictures are from the spring and summer of 2015.

RobLJ · Dec 4, 2016

Looks great, Hermit! We never had a problem with the pellet stove--but it was a small cabin. It was also built on a hill with a basement, so that looks similar.

Hermit · Dec 4, 2016

Summer to December of 2015. The windows were installed in December of 2015.

Hermit · Dec 4, 2016

Here are the efforts this year. The basement floor took a lot of time to get ready to pour. I hired a crew to do the siding. I will be sealed up pretty quick and should be able to work through the winter this year.

Dreamer · Dec 4, 2016

It is really coming along. Looks so nice and your views are beautiful!

splitwdw · Dec 5, 2016

Hermit, What's your primary heat source?

Hermit · Dec 5, 2016

splitwdw said:
Hermit, What's your primary heat source?

The plan is the wood stove. It puts out a max of about 55,000 btu. I don't think I will run it that hot. It seems to do fine at around 450 degrees on the outside top. The idea is to run the furnace fan and the stove continuously. That should keep the upstairs and downstairs pretty even temperature wise. If it is a little too cold, the furnace will kick in. I will have return air ducts at the top of the cathedral ceiling and at the floor in the basement to mix the cold and hot air.

Ronstar · Dec 5, 2016

You're getting there, Hermit! Keep up the good work. You have a beautiful home and homesite there.

MBAustin · Dec 5, 2016

Ronstar said:
You're getting there, Hermit! Keep up the good work. You have a beautiful home and homesite there.

+1

Hermit · Dec 5, 2016

Here are a couple of pictures of the back and sides of the house, the basement with the concrete poured, the furnace and duct work in progress, and a day time picture of the wood stove.

The pipe going up through the floor above the basement is radon mitigation. It is connected to the black vented pipe that is buried in 6 inches of rock underneath the concrete. There is 2 inches of Styrofoam and 10 mill plastic sheeting between the rock and the concrete.

The wood stove backs up to the stair well which currently has wood railing around it for safety and boards making a handy work surface. When finished, there will be wrought iron railing because of the close proximity to the wood stove.

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