thistlebloom
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Whew! That seems like a complicated project. Glad you have it mostly done before winter!
Bruce's Journal
- Thread starter Bruce
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- alpacas. chickens
Senile_Texas_Aggie
Herd Master
Wow, Mr Bruce! I'm impressed! 
And thanks so much for the pictures. Even this Texas Aggie could follow along. 
I am glad that you were not having to work in rain or snow. How long did that end up taking you to do, start to finish? BTW, beautiful foliage.
And thanks so much for the pictures. Even this Texas Aggie could follow along. I am glad that you were not having to work in rain or snow. How long did that end up taking you to do, start to finish? BTW, beautiful foliage.- Thread starter
- #3,393
Bruce
Herd Master
Check the date/time stamps on the photos 10-9 through 10-23 ... way too long!
I didn't HAVE to work in the rain .... and didn't so that delayed things a bit. And that problem with the foundation wall, that sucked up 2 days of effort. And there was the temp. Even though the post is pressure treated (old post that held up the roof over the entry door when we bought the place) I wanted to prime it and the oil based primer required 50° and at least 5 hours after painting that the temp not drop below that. Then more rain so I couldn't paint it with the latex coat. Then more rain so not filling in the trench.
And I still have to make the "house" for it. I started during the rain times and made decent progress but now I think I made it too narrow so I'm going to change it. Which means that other than the basic design (which I rethought several times) I've not gotten much done on it
10-9 through 10-23 ... way too long!I didn't HAVE to work in the rain .... and didn't so that delayed things a bit. And that problem with the foundation wall, that sucked up 2 days of effort. And there was the temp. Even though the post is pressure treated (old post that held up the roof over the entry door when we bought the place) I wanted to prime it and the oil based primer required 50° and at least 5 hours after painting that the temp not drop below that. Then more rain so I couldn't paint it with the latex coat. Then more rain so not filling in the trench.
And I still have to make the "house" for it. I started during the rain times and made decent progress but now I think I made it too narrow so I'm going to change it. Which means that other than the basic design (which I rethought several times) I've not gotten much done on it
Baymule
Herd Master
I am impressed with your electrical prowess. Electricity is something I know nothing about--and do not fool with! You did a great job!
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- #3,395
Bruce
Herd Master
Thanks Bay. Basic wiring really isn't hard (except for all the trips on hands and knees to the far end of the crawlspace). There are, of course, code rules to follow but that is easy enough to find ... for the simple "new breaker to 'device'" wiring I did. I wouldn't attempt the net metered solar array and battery stuff.
farmerjan
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Electricity is one thing I REFUSE to fool with. Good for you. Have had some issues in the past with faulty wiring in a house I was in.... no fire but sparks and smoldering at a plug in. NOPE, I will call someone everytime.
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- #3,397
Bruce
Herd Master
If I had sparks and smoldering I'd jump on that before the place burned down waiting for the electrician!
Electricians are way expensive. The crew that did the work here when half the house was being rebuilt was $110/hr for the master electrician and $50 for the apprentices. If I had the time I would have run the wires and installed the devices myself. And I would have had a 3 lamp wall sconce (which still sits new in it's box) at the top of the stairs and a lamp on the midpoint landing (U shaped stairs) on a 3 way switch like I planned instead if just the midpoint lamp. I thought they understood what was to go there since there was 12-3 wire in a round box on the wall. Turns out that was for the hardwired smoke alarm. No way to rewire with all the sheetrock up and taped. Instead of doing that work I was replacing all the cloth covered ungrounded wire and ungrounded outlets in the other half of the house.
DW, her dad and I did the electric and plumbing when we redid the old house in '91. Didn't hurt that my FIL had retired from his business installing gas stations and had previously held a master electrician license I will say that it took a bit if staring at the book and head scratching to figure out the 4 way switch setup. There was a light at the top of the stairs and one just around the corner in the short hall to a bathroom and bedroom. 3 switches upstairs and 1 at the bottom of the stairs. But the current owners don't have to guess where the wires go, every piece of Romex coming out of the service panel is labeled as are all the junction boxes.
Electricians are way expensive. The crew that did the work here when half the house was being rebuilt was $110/hr for the master electrician and $50 for the apprentices. If I had the time I would have run the wires and installed the devices myself. And I would have had a 3 lamp wall sconce (which still sits new in it's box) at the top of the stairs and a lamp on the midpoint landing (U shaped stairs) on a 3 way switch like I planned instead if just the midpoint lamp. I thought they understood what was to go there since there was 12-3 wire in a round box on the wall. Turns out that was for the hardwired smoke alarm. No way to rewire with all the sheetrock up and taped. Instead of doing that work I was replacing all the cloth covered ungrounded wire and ungrounded outlets in the other half of the house.
DW, her dad and I did the electric and plumbing when we redid the old house in '91. Didn't hurt that my FIL had retired from his business installing gas stations and had previously held a master electrician license
I will say that it took a bit if staring at the book and head scratching to figure out the 4 way switch setup. There was a light at the top of the stairs and one just around the corner in the short hall to a bathroom and bedroom. 3 switches upstairs and 1 at the bottom of the stairs. But the current owners don't have to guess where the wires go, every piece of Romex coming out of the service panel is labeled as are all the junction boxes.- Thread starter
- #3,398
Bruce
Herd Master
Yesterday and this morning I "fixed" 2 more cast iron pans. I don't care what Lodge thinks, their "pre seasoned" lumpy coating is not nearly as good as the old pans from before the mid '50s that were smooth. And who cares about "pre seasoning"? It isn't like the coating will last forever, it has to be seasoned every so often anyway (according to some on YT, even before first use). And since the "peaks and valleys are relatively high/deep, it takes a fair number of thin oil seasoning coats and heating to fill them in and things STILL stick to the pan.
The answer - get out the angle grinder and flap discs and take off their lumpy coating. The top pans are the ones I did today, not yet seasoned. The one on the right is the top for the Dutch Oven below it. That has the original coating. The 10" pan lower left is one I did about a month ago, it has been seasoned and used. Hardly any sticking at all.
The 10" pan
The pre seasoned coating on the Dutch Oven. The difference doesn't seem to show well in the pictures.
The answer - get out the angle grinder and flap discs and take off their lumpy coating. The top pans are the ones I did today, not yet seasoned. The one on the right is the top for the Dutch Oven below it. That has the original coating. The 10" pan lower left is one I did about a month ago, it has been seasoned and used. Hardly any sticking at all.
The 10" pan
The pre seasoned coating on the Dutch Oven. The difference doesn't seem to show well in the pictures.
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- #3,399
Bruce
Herd Master
Worked on the "shelter" for the EV station. I had previously made quite a bit of progress only to find out it would be too narrow to easily use and HEAVY. Plus, so it wouldn't look like just an ugly box, I was going to put siding on it and paint it the same color as the house. Even MORE weight and the door hasn't even been decided on yet.
So today's progress. I'm replacing at least the sides with just siding and making the box a bit deeper front to back. Got 1 side mostly done.
The boards in front are temporary, just there to hold the front pieces up in place. At this point it still has the original narrow back. I still have to decide just what I want to do back there when I make it wider since the entire enclosure will be screwed to the post through the back. Not sure if siding is up to the task though I suppose it might be strong enough if I screwed through a number of them. And I still have to decide about the front. Do I want a nearly full length door or a shorter one with a small cutout for the cable to stick out when it is in use?
So today's progress. I'm replacing at least the sides with just siding and making the box a bit deeper front to back. Got 1 side mostly done.
The boards in front are temporary, just there to hold the front pieces up in place. At this point it still has the original narrow back. I still have to decide just what I want to do back there when I make it wider since the entire enclosure will be screwed to the post through the back. Not sure if siding is up to the task though I suppose it might be strong enough if I screwed through a number of them. And I still have to decide about the front. Do I want a nearly full length door or a shorter one with a small cutout for the cable to stick out when it is in use?
Baymule
Herd Master
I love my iron skillets. I have some that belonged to my mom, others that I picked up here and there. I had a couple that belonged to my ex's granny, I took them with me when I left. I gave them to my son a few years ago, knowing that he would love and use them. I like your sander idea, the new skillets are not smooth. When mine get crusty, I put them in a fire and leave them until the coals are cold. The iron skillet comes out gray and new again for me to season and start over.
