Richmond Woods: Pre-Labor Day Labors

Purchase and Location

I bought this property in 2005 and named it Richmond Woods for my father who taught me about nature and respect for the wild. It's located in Alabama near the Alabama/Georgia state line. The small nearby village of Mentone, AL has been a mountain retreat for 150 years for people escaping the summer heat of Birmingham and Atlanta. My companion, Carolyn, has helped me every step of the way.

A Cottage in the Woods
When you were little, did someone read fairy tales to you? Invariably, there was mention of a cottage in the woods. Our plan is to build such a place: handmade, no architect plans, buying local materials or using salvaged materials. The purpose of this blog is to document our progress.

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Pre-Labor Day Labors

Fun's over! Back to work, June and July

Jun 28-29

Rented the trencher and jack hammer again and dug the trench for the well line. Hit a big patch of unbreakable rock 15 feet from the well head so there is a 3 foot stretch is only about 12" below the surface. The good thing is that this line will be drained most of the time.

Jul 12-13

Finished gluing together lengths of 1" pipe and laid it all in the trench. Started covering some of the trench near the cabin. Carolyn began to prime windows for the shop.

Jul 26-27

Dug out the hole for the valve box. Laid the 2" supply and drain lines.

Aug 16-17

Carolyn primed more shop windows while I connected the 2" line to the tank.

Aug 23-24

Made up all the connections in the valve box. Ran the well line up to the tank. It does not connect to the tank because the water requires treatment before going into the tank (see the discussion under Hot Showers On-Demand).