Build a Stone Hearth for the Off Grid Log Cabin with My Dog | Woodstove Maintenance

Description

#build #tinyhome #logcabin

I finally get around to building a stone hearth, a stone wall, behind the wood-stove in the log cabin and I talk about the difficulty I'm having with motivation.

Thanks for watching! New videos every FRIDAY.

Please subscribe.

My Other Channel: Shawn James https://bit.ly/2xzZHpB

MERCHANDISE: https://teespring.com/stores/my-self-reliance

Watch the ENTIRE cabin and forest kitchen SERIES here:

THE FOREST KITCHEN: https://bit.ly/2M3syZE

HOW TO BUILD A LOG CABIN: https://bit.ly/2nbof06

To see what I’m up to during the rest of the week, please follow me on my other online channels;

Website: http://myselfreliance.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MySelfReliance/

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/myselfreliance/

My Mailing Address:

P.O. Box 20042

Barrie, Ontario

L4M 6E9

Canada

Links to gear used at the cabin:

Fjallraven Vidda Pro Pants - https://amzn.to/2rhEiMn

Tilley Endurables Airflo Hat - https://amzn.to/2Ia4xy1

Mora Knife - http://amzn.to/2BOiv35

Agawa Canyon Boreal 21 Saw - http://amzn.to/2BPV6OF

Axe - http://www.torontoblacksmith.com/

Moka Pot - http://amzn.to/2DEomvO Canada http://amzn.to/2ndmtw6 USA

Virtus Knife- http://www.virtusknives.com/

Canon 6D - http://amzn.to/2EdaZjs

DJI Mavic Pro - http://amzn.to/2DHuJib

Solar LED light bulb 15W - http://amzn.to/2BQvSQ2

Copper Fairy lights - http://amzn.to/2BCmF0X

Solar String Lights - http://amzn.to/2DvgU2n

Lodge Dutch Oven - http://amzn.to/2kHuxDQ

Bragg’s Sprinkle - http://amzn.to/2EdouzK

Tags: Self Reliance,off grid,log cabin,no talking,primitive,homestead,diy,alone,wilderness,asmr,survival,cooking,bushcraft,forest,kitchen,cabin,solo,tiny home,woodworking,woods,My Self Reliance,Shawn James,build,stone,hearth,hearthstone,woodstove,wood-stove,wood stove,fireplace,with my dog,cali,golden retriever,build with stone,stone building,stone masonry,stone mason,mason,stone wall

Video Transcription

(metal scraping)

(tools and metal doors thudding) (metal clanging)

(wood thumping against floor) (wood thumping against floor) (metal scraping and clanging) (tool scraping against metal) (plastic rustling)

(broom scraping against floor) (plastic bin thudding and rattling) (rain pattering)

- You can really hear that wind picking up. It was almost calm and I could hear a noise way off to the west, here. And that's the thunderstorm blowing in. It's really humid again today. It's only about 20 degrees celsius right now, it's supposed to go up closer to 30, getting closer to 40 when you factor in the humidity. Yeah, here it comes. So it's probably gonna get this severe thunderstorm. We don't really need it anymore. We've got enough rain for, in the last couple of weeks. (pounding raindrops)

Cali, come on in, pup! Come here, come here! Do you like the rain? (pounding raindrops)

What are you doing there? (tool scraping against plastic) (rocks scraping and thudding) (raindrops pattering)

(rocks thumping and scraping) (tools scraping)

(hammer thumping and clanging on metal) (tool scraping)

(water splashing)

(sponge scratching)

I want to thank everybody for the amazing response you gave me on that last video, last Friday's, the one where I got hurt, where I cut my finger. Just looking at the stats right now and, what time is it, 12:30 on Monday afternoon, posted that video on Friday. So there's 162,000 views on the video, which is probably a little bit below average, but 1901 comments and 23,000 thumbs up. I just...I'm overwhelmed by the response and what you guys were able to do for me by interacting with that video. And just really, really overwhelmed and I really, really appreciate it. That's incredible.

Like the previous one, for example, you know, you got, Why a Cedar Shingle Roof, like i see how the pavilion roof from the previous Friday has 180,000 views, 821 comments and 8400, 8430 thumbs up. So compared to 23,000 thumbs up on that last video. So that helps me because it encourages YouTube to share that video with more people. Excuse me a little bit. So it encourages YouTube to share that video with more people because they assume you guys like it that much. I'm hoping you did. I hope you didn't just hit the thumbs up because I asked you to. I hope you did actually enjoy that video. And like I said, I really, really appreciate that you were able to thumbs up and a few of you subscribed who said you'd never subscribed to a channel before, or you just didn't feel compelled to in this case. So, like I said, I just feel overwhelmed and I really appreciate it. You know, when I got up this morning, I had a hard time getting out of bed and getting to work because, I don't know, it's just a couple of hot days, it's been brutally hot this summer, it's the end of August, and temperature outside today is plus, over 30 degrees celsius, which is over 90, and with the humidity, it feels like 41 degrees out today. And it was not much better yesterday. So I cut all those logs, or those butt ends pieces for the floor of the kitchen. And I just got so tired, so exhausted from the heat by the end of the day that I didn't do much last night. So I'm having a bit of a hard time with motivation right now. I think it's just the seasonal thing. It's working on one project for too long. I'm just a restless kind of guy. I'd like to get out and explore, I haven't done as much of that this year. My wife and I have not got out much on the water together with my daughters, or, and I haven't done any solo trips on my own. So I'm a little bit restless, so hard time getting motivated. But things like that, things like the response that you're giving me really encourages me to keep going and keep, you know, get up and do something productive every day. But the fact is that I do feel some responsibility to you guys. I feel like, that if I don't do something interesting with my life, I don't film it, you don't get to watch it on Friday and you don't get to be entertained or learn something, which I hope I'm doing one of those two things. So sometimes, yeah, it is hard to get motivated, but I have to tell myself to get up, create some content for you guys, but also continue to develop this place into a habitable, comfortable home, especially for family. I've said it many times, I could easily live like this, just with what's already been here, on my own. But the reality is, over time, I think I'd probably get a little bit bored with it or feel like I'm missing some of those comforts. So this solar system that I've got with the lights behind you here is one of those things I'm starting to appreciate. So now I'm thinking, okay, what little things can I add, electrical-wise, to power stuff can I add here to make my wife more comfortable, at least. And mine, because the more comfortable I get this place, the more she's gonna want to spend time here with me instead of me being here alone a lot of the time. So motivation, it comes in many forms. And it takes some effort to maybe find what motivates you. To me, right now, motivated by you, my family, but also the season coming to an end. So I love the transitions, I like, I get a little bit bored with the hot summer and then I look forward to fall. When fall arrives, the cool weather, the beautiful scenery, I get motivated to get things done around here, especially now that winter's coming. So getting all the firewood stacked up in a neat pile, kind of near the cabin, finishing off the kitchen completely so that I can cook in it, and be sheltered from the snow, and get that next building started before the ground freezes. So I wanna get that foundation in and the walls, at least, and then I can probably tarp the roof so that I can work inside all winter. So yeah, just tired this morning and needed some motivation. So my wife gave me some good advice this morning and you guys got me motivated by the response that you gave me on that last video, so thank you for that. So I'm having a fun time doing something different. So with this heat outside, I didn't feel like working in the bush, cutting at logs or trees or anything or working on the kitchen, so working inside and attempting this stonework, which is coming out much better than the kitchen stonework, at least, so I'm happy with that. Anyway, gonna finish up lunch and get back to work. Thanks.

(water splashing)

(sponge scraping against stone) (tools pounding)

So, I'm regretting doing something different on this wall, including using mortar instead of the clay and sand that I used on the other walls. That stuff is a lot more flexible, it seems, it's not cracking. This is way too thick and it wasn't sponged when it was done so it's pretty rough, so now I need to straighten out the lines by chiseling it straight. And then when I do that, I might have to clean the logs, might even have to sand them a little bit. So I don't know, I've created more work for myself. But I want this interior, especially, I don't care too much about the full exterior look, but in here I'd like it to look a little bit neater, cleaner. And then when I end up staining or clear coating the logs, if I ever do, then that mortar will stand out even more. So I want it to look as good as possible. And I want to finish this wall right now so that I can get the coat hooks back up so I can hang my clothes instead of having them lying all over the loft up there. I think the right thing to do here, and I'm no stone mason, as you know, but I think, intuitively, I'm thinking that I should stop at this point and finish this tomorrow. Let this mortar set up and, well, mostly that, let it set up so that it doesn't keep settling and all the water drain out of it. I'm just thinking that with all the weight of all these stones as I get higher, compressing, it's probably forcing some of the mortar out and weakening the joints, I think. Tell me if I'm wrong, but that's what I'm going to do. I'll stop at this point and then tomorrow morning I will mix up another match of mortar and get it finished. I can't, well, I could, I guess, but I'm too nervous if I bring this wall up full height. I just think it's going to be too much weight bearing down on this gravel and flagstone pad that the stove was sitting on. And I have some nails every foot or so going back like long spikes back into the wood wall. I'm afraid that all this weight located in one spot in the cabin is going to cause everything to sag. So I don't wanna go up too high and add that much weight. So I'm going to bring it up sort of up to mantle height, maybe somewhere in here. I want to be able to see it above the stove, so maybe to here, and then from there to the top I'll fill it in with a piece of some kind of decorative metal. Still gonna need that, the reflector to stop the heat from the stove and the pipe from burning the wall. So I need something there with an air gap. So I'm gonna bring the stone up to here, put a piece of metal, I think, well, I know that'll be safe. But I hope it looks good too. (broom scraping against floor) (tape measure rattling) (dog panting)

(saw rasping against wood) (hammer pounding)

Thanks for watching that video. I'm gonna wrap it up right now. I'm starting to feel the pressure of winter coming on. I think what I'll do is just work a little bit longer each day, try to get some of these things wrapped up. So I'll make short videos and I'll upload those a few times a week, so two, three, four times a week, something like that, instead of the long Friday video. So if you're watching this on Friday, make sure you go back and see if there's any videos you missed during the week or tune in in the next two or three or four days between now and next Friday. I'll probably do this schedule for maybe the fall until things slow down again in the winter. Just, like I said, so that I can get lots of things done around the cabin here. So I'm gonna go make dinner right now, but nothing interesting, I'm just grabbing some stuff off the shelves and I'll make some bean or rice soup or something like that. Tomorrow I've got some nice duck breast, though, so I'm gonna make those, grill them on the barbecue, and make a blueberry sauce or something to go with them, and some wild rice. So tomorrow after breakfast I'll get started right away on the hearth, the stone back-splash behind the wood stove so that it has time to dry before I get the stove put back together and back into place. I'll clean that chimney, as well. So that'll be in the next video, me finishing that wall off, cleaning the wood stove, cleaning the chimney out, putting it back together, getting it in place. So lots and lots of stuff going on this fall. And hopefully I get enough done and prepared so that I can work inside one of the buildings all winter. So thanks for watching that. I really appreciate it and look forward to seeing you up at the cabin next time. Take care.

(upbeat music)