Its been a busy winter and much has been accomplished despite some cold and very wet weather. Progress has been made on the house, the solar power, and the landscaping. Here's the diary which does not include such incidentals as: many trips to Dixie Salvage for windows; a trip to a welder to have a seat bracket fixed for my tractor; two trips to the seed & feed store; a visit to a campy restaurant (Vintage 1889); a trip or two to the electrical supply place for conduit and fittings; a couple of visits to the library for Internet access; numerous trips to Lowes for plumbing supplies; etc.
Jan 24
The cold popped a hole in one of my water heaters. I had drained the water lines but neglected to open the drain plug in the heater itself. I tried to solder it but without success. Next I tried a JB Weld product called Water Weld. This is a two-part epoxy putty that is easily shaped around the leak. It sets fairly quickly and soon I was back in hot water. Somehow that sounds wrong...
Jan 29
It was a pretty day so I worked on the adjuster arms for the solar panel racks. After assembling a couple of them, I realized it would be better to wait until after the panels are mounted. I did take the time to set the three seasonal angles and mark the hole positions for the lock pins. Hopefully, I can set up a jig to make quick work of drilling these holes in the 20 adjuster arms.
Feb 1
Finished the power house ceiling and worked on the battery rack.
Feb 6
When the block layers had finished, I realized this would be a good time to expand the "basement" area. While the floor framing was not yet installed, I could still easily swing a mattock. I wanted to expand this area to accommodate the propane cylinders that will fuel several water heaters, the clothes dryer, and the space heater in the bath. Also, this will be our "storm shelter" until such time as we can build a true storm shelter that will double as a root cellar.
In the process of hand excavation, I uncovered the most gigantic grub I have ever seen. It was living in the root of an oak tree stump. I think it might be a descendant of this which we came across on 23 June 2007...
... and which Amber graciously modeled for us. We heard it rustling through the leaves 75 feet away. I thought it was a mouse trying to get into my tent.
Feb 15
The carpenters returned to install the floor framing. In a couple of days, they had it 99% done. It would have been finished except some of the lumber was too warped to be used. Still it was complete enough for me to install plumbing. Especially on the kitchen end where the crawl space is only about 18" in places.
When it was time to run the gas line along the front wall from one end to the other, I had the unpleasant task of removing a mountain of glass wool insulation that had been stored under the cabin for the past 5 years.
Mar 3
With water lines, drain lines, and gas lines in place, the carpenters returned to finish the floor framing and begin the decking. Things were moving along smartly when it started to snow - hard. In just a few minutes there was 1/2" of snow covering the work.
The next day, they were back and finished the decking and built one wall. The next time I see them, I am hoping they will be spending more time on my job.
Mar 6
John Lawton (the man who dug my footers) returned for a day of stump removal. The plan was for him to dig up the stumps and for me to drag them away with TRAKKER. He soon was far ahead of me. Some of the stumps I could not even move.
Carolyn was continuously picking up smaller roots and laying them out in contour lines for a water break. She probably burned more calories than John and I together!
The next day, John dug the trenches for power lines and finished pulling stumps down as far as the brush pile. When he left, I hitched up the landscape rake and started smoothing out the ground and reforming the berms.
Carolyn hand-sowed 6 pounds of grass seed. Also, in what will become our vegetable garden, she sowed 1 pound of red clover and 1 pound of lentils. We are hoping this will help improve the soil when it is turned under.
Beware the Ides of March
Mar 15
This week the boys returned with accomplishment on their minds. In 3 days, they finished the wall framing (exterior and interior) and got a roof over the new kitchen.
Fifteen trusses up - 28 to go!
Spring Equinox
Mar 21
With the same vigor as displayed last week, the crew hit the decks running. They finished the roof over the new bedroom, bath, and utility room. But first, they had to fix one of my mistakes. I had given the wrong size on at least two of the doors they had already framed. My bad!
With the roof on and felted and the sheathing finished and wrapped, they put in the new windows. The house is getting dryer and dryer.
Before their week was done, they started on the decks in the back. That's when I had to relocate a yard hydrant that was in the way. It was then that I realized a trench was also needed for the drain lines. Fortunately, Nathan has a little digging machine that was his grandfather's. Its called a "Dig It" and it made quick work of the tasks at hand.
At the end of the week, this is what the front of the "cabin" looks like...
... It doesn't seem right to call it a cabin anymore. Henson Cottage has evolved into Henson Manor.
Mar 28
Accomplishments this week include completion of the back deck and porches and installation of three exterior doors. The porch work included tear off of the metal over the old porch and replacement of the old OSB with plywood like the rest of the porches.
At the end of the week (and the first quarter of '16) the rear of
Henson Manor looks like this...
I know it seems like I haven't done a thing on the solar power and between helping, supervising, and running after stuff for the builders of these additions I really haven't done much. However, I have been slowly getting little things done that will facilitate the final hookup. Namely, tunneling under the foundation of the house to run a buried power cable (something I should have taken care of before concrete was poured), running conduit and mounting the combiner box for the solar panels, and doing a lot of measuring and figuring in preparation of slicing up that expensive spool of tray cable.
Next comes installation of the metal roof, soffit, facia, and the trim and siding. Somewhere along the way, we need steps and railings and a pergola at the end of the sun porch.
