Homestead Construction Update

Handler Cabin

The Handler Cabin shell is complete. Next up are windows, the door, and the all the internal work (roof insulation, spray foam etc). Because we didn't have a roof on the cabin during the October ice storm, there is a thick layer of ice across the floor. It'll take a few days of a wood stove cranking to dry out the inside of the shell.

Webasto Heater

We haven't worked on the handler cabin for a little over a week due to training, and Derek was installing a Webasto Heater in the diesel truck! What is a Webasto? It's a heating system that is integrated into the engine coolant circuit and brings the engine up to operating temperature before starting. Meaning that even if it's -40F, and we arrive at a frozen truck after a long training run, we don't have to fire up the generator and plug the truck in for hours. We can just start the Wabasto heater and 30 minutes to an hour later, voila! The truck fires right up. Even better, while the Wabasto is working its magic, it is heating the cab of the truck too. Can you tell I'm excited? No more lugging a generator around, building a fire to warm up the frozen generator, waiting hours with the truck plugged into the generator, or sitting in a frozen truck! Woot woot!

Main Cabin

Liz and I started leveling out the areas for the pads for our main cabin. The cabin will be constructed on "post and pad" instead of a concrete foundation. While the area was mostly level, it wasn't perfect, so we spent a day chiseling away at frozen dirt and rock to make each spot level. Here's a little video to show how ridiculous we looked....and felt.