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   BBSID: CAPCITY2   
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   It's about -17c (+1f) here at the moment. I was just at 'your'   
   weather web site and they are pretty much calling for some snow   
   every day for the next week, and the local radio station said   
   we can expect up to 40 cm (16 inches) of snow on Thursday, so   
   winter is holding it's own for a while yet.   
      
   I had to keep my speed up and plow through some decent sized   
   drifts getting to town for shopping today. That's on the little   
   one lane road coming in here about 1/2 mile long. The main roads   
   were cleared pretty well. I expected the plow the neighbours   
   hired to do the road while I was gone but it was the same when   
   I drove home a few hours later. At times I wish I'd gotten the   
   all wheel drive version of my Ford Escape..   
      
   The people 2 houses over must keep the road plowed for insurance   
   purposes they say and they've pretty much said I can just take   
   advantage of that since no extra plowing is required to where   
   I park, but I will likely give them a few hundred dollars when   
   I see them next since it saves me a lot of money if I had to   
   pay the full cost. The plow guy also goes out of his way to keep   
   me as open as possible so I'll have to do something for him too..   
      
   RM> They spray it under a lot of buildings here and a thin   
   RM> layer expands to a couple of inches of foam. They can   
   RM> force it between walls as well and let it expand to fill   
   RM> the area but with the unconventional way my place is built   
   RM> that would be difficult and likely not work well leaving a   
   RM> lot of gaps.   
      
   AA>How big is the cabin?  Is the floorplan a plain rectangle   
     >shape?   
      
   The place is only 400 sq ft and floor is a square 20' x 20'..   
      
   AA>Why not just build a skirt all around the exposed parts and   
     >then fill the entire underside with foam?   
      
   Given that parts of it is more than 3 feet off the ground that's   
   not easily doable. 'Boxing' in the sides doesn't usually stand up   
   very well since a lot of animals want to get in there for various   
   reasons. It would have to be done with masonry of some sort to be   
   solid enough and on uneven bedrock that's tricky and it would be   
   amazingly expensive I'd expect.   
      
   RM> ..I got rolled insulation, about 3 inches   
   RM> of fiberglass, about 3.5 feet wide with a fairly heavy reinforced   
   RM> vinyl on the bottom side..   
      
   AA>Sounds like it's time for a fresh redo of the same?   
      
   Yes, there are a few areas where it's falling apart due mostly   
   to animals either trying to steal the insulation for nests or   
   build a nest between the insulation and the floor. As I said, it   
   would have been a lot better if I'd closed it in with plywood   
   back when I first did it.   
      
   AA>> How about bottles/jugs onto a sled?   
      
   RM> If I were having a lot more trouble I'd consider   
   RM> something, but trying to fill bottles from a hole in the   
   RM> ice would be a lot more time consuming than filling a   
   RM> bucket or two.   
      
   AA>Some sort of portable pump with one end that can go right in a   
     >jug.   
      
   It's not so bad as it is.. It takes only seconds to fill a couple   
   of pails and it's a bit of work carrying them about 250 feet to   
   the cottage but on a bad day I can stop and rest a minute once or   
   twice and 95% of the time I do manage to walk it non-stop.   
      
   The snow is a bigger problem since you can't really trudge along   
   carrying that much weight if you're pushing your feet through   
   2 feet of snow as well so I have to shovel a path and pack the   
   snow down where it is deepest, but that 'ditch' is unfortunately   
   the first place that blowing snow will collect too so it has to   
   be at least partially redone fairly frequently..   
   ---   
    * SLMR Rob  * It is better to wear out than to rust out   
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