Minimum Viable Cabin

I'm so sure that I'll make more mistakes that I'm just calling this part 1. I thought it might be useful to post a round-up of the things I wished I'd thought of and mistakes that could have been avoided if I were paying very close attention. Things that cost me money or time. And maybe a few things that didn't cost but are just a little quirky. I have a few categories, and I'll also tag this to particular projects so you can go right to the mistakes most relevant to your interests. In tech we have something called a retrospective. Atlassian makes a good guide for it , and there are a few key rules for how to approach a retro. I like to use these when trying to solve any problem. Don’t make it personal, don’t take it personally Listen with an open mind Everyone’s experience is valid Set the time period you’re discussing (last sprint, last quarter, entire project, etc.) Focus on improvement, rather than placing blame So with and open mind and a focus on improveme

The roof is being installed! Look at all that glorious winter sunlight on that south-facing beauty. Obviously I'm hinting at solar panels, but first let's talk about roofs. There are a lot of options, but the conversation usually boils down to: asphalt or metal, and what color? Pros and cons of asphalt versus metal can be found on all the roofers websites, and they're all pretty much true so I'm not going to repeat them here. I chose metal because of several benefits: Environmental friendliness: metal roofing is 100% recyclable, and is made from very high recycled content. Not only that, it lasts 2 or 3 times as long as an asphalt roof so the waste of production is reduced. Asphalt roofing goes to a landfill - very little of it can be recycled. Even if parts of the metal roof need to be replaced, the old stuff will get recycled. Money : We've discussed my innate cheapness before, such as when I wanted to manage construction myself , or live in a camper instead of