Moving to the Desert

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Lillian
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Moving to the Desert

Post by Lillian » Thu May 28, 2020 8:02 am

Life threw us a curve ball. Before the year is out, we will be moving to New Mexico's high desert. One of the buildings we will be putting up will be a shed of course. Is there anything I need to keep in mind for the shed and I guess for building as well?
Thanks in advance.

Dave M
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Re: Moving to the Desert

Post by Dave M » Fri May 29, 2020 7:58 am

Sounds an exciting move.

I guess the rather boring thing is as ever relative humidity control. You are presumably going to be hot and dry. Shading from the sun will be important. - double roof for the shed. Not too many windows. Trees could help if you have the room.

Rather than a dehumidifier that I have to use in the UK I guess you will need to bring the humidity up a bit. Don't know much about that.

Good luck Dave M
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Lillian
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Re: Moving to the Desert

Post by Lillian » Fri May 29, 2020 12:21 pm

Thanks Dave. I appreciate the response. It will be exciting and challenging. My brother-in-law is dealing with some health issues so we're moving in with him. The country is more lush up here against the Gila National Forest, but it is still desert. There are trees, real trees and not just over grown bushes. I'm sorry, but if I am taller than the tree and will always be taller than the tree, it's a bush.

I like the double roof idea. I think my brother in law wants to get something up quick for me, so is leaning toward using shipping containers. Not sure what his vision is, but he said something about getting two containers and building the shop in between them. I think a double roof will go a long way to helping keep it cool. Depending on the design, I'm leaning towards a fan at one gable end and louvers at the other end to help pull the heat out of the "attic" portion. Insulation is the next bit I need to think about. It does get a bit warm here during the summer and nippy during the winter. They do get snow during the winter.

I'll start tracking the relative humidity so I have an idea of what it's going to be like. My wife is moving down in a couple of weeks. I'll stay behind to deal with the house. I'm guessing it will take a while to get the house sold with everything that's going on, so I have time to get a feel of things before I move down.

Graham, if you do get to head over to the GAL convention, let me know. If I can get away from the ranch, I would still like to buy you lunch.

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Re: Moving to the Desert

Post by blackalex1952 » Fri May 29, 2020 2:30 pm

Just remember this: ENVIRONMENT INFLUENCES EVOLUTION...DO YOU GET BUSHFIRES THERE?
With kind regards, Ross
"Everything I say on the topic is based solely upon inexperience and assumption!"

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Lillian
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Re: Moving to the Desert

Post by Lillian » Fri May 29, 2020 3:08 pm

Yes, there is a fire season here. There have been a few big fires over the years, but that's too be expected. White Sands Missile Range had a brush fire when I was stationed there. Not a fun time. Yucca and mesquite burn really hot.

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graham mcdonald
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Re: Moving to the Desert

Post by graham mcdonald » Sat May 30, 2020 11:05 am

Lillian

I am sure we will eventually get to meet and have lunch, pandemics permitting. Your move could be another excuse to go back to New Mexico. You will have a very different climatic environment there. I was in Santa Fe for a few days some years back in mid-year and it was single digit humidity. It was a musical camp and there was lots of bridge and neck adjustments going on.

I hope the move goes well.

Cheers
Graham McDonald
http://www.mcdonaldstrings.com

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Lillian
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Re: Moving to the Desert

Post by Lillian » Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:11 am

Graham, Santa Fe or Parkland, I'm game.
My son is staying in the Seattle area, so...

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Re: Moving to the Desert

Post by Jim watts » Tue Jun 02, 2020 1:06 am

Hi Lillian,
I'll be one of you're geographic neighbors, I'm just NW of Santa Fe it's a fabulous area. I'm at about 7000 ft and weather is mostly mild, winters are cold with some snow but lots of sunshine. It can make a 10 deg F day feel not too bad.
If your putting up a shed to build in I would recommend insulating it really well. I pretty much have to run a humidifier all year. In the spring and fall the humidity is often around 20-25% . The other day we had a nice 45% (uncommon). We get a summer monsoon (July - August) which keeps the temps down and helps with the humidity that time of year.
Anyway, good luck with the move, I hope you'll enjoy the area.

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Lillian
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Re: Moving to the Desert

Post by Lillian » Tue Jun 02, 2020 8:35 am

Hey Jim, its nice to know we'll be "neighbors". You'll only be about 3 hrs away, which is a darn site closer than AU or NZ.

I've not lived in the Silver City area before, but I'm not totally unfamiliar with the Land of Mañana. I was stationed out at WSMR in the mid '90s. When I got out of the Army, I moved back to Las Cruces go to NMSU. I worked on the Cibola surveying during the summers while I was in school. Yeah, the monsoon season is a mixed blessing. It raises RH, but that means the swamp coolers stop working and I'm right back in southern Virginia summers, hot and sticky. I saw a lot of dry lightening on the Cibola. Had a strike on the other side of the ridge we work working on. Thankfully it only took one slurry dump to put it out.

We were just down there last week. It was pleasant. Arrived Saturday night and left the following Friday morning after getting the brother-in-law all sorted out, at least for the moment. It was nice to see everyone wearing masks. We drove down through Moab, because it was the shortest route. You couldn't tell that we are in the middle of a pandemic. It looked like Memorial Day weekend, 2019. Not one mask to be seen, well except for ours. Restaurants were open, dining inside. The streets and sidewalks were crowded. I was glad to get to Silver and off the road for a few days.

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Clancy
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Re: Moving to the Desert

Post by Clancy » Tue Jun 02, 2020 9:16 am

Wow Lillian, that will be quite a change for you!

Good luck with the move and hope all goes well with your brother's health.
Craig
I'm not the sharpest tool in my shed

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Lillian
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Re: Moving to the Desert

Post by Lillian » Tue Jun 02, 2020 11:57 am

Thanks Craig. It's going to be a massive change. But you do what you have to do for family.

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