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Not an SME on insulation, but I know where they publish... https://buildingscience.com/documents/reports/rr-0412-insulations-sheathings-and-vapor-retarders/view https://buildingscience.com/documents/reports/rr-0410-vapor-barriers-and-wall-design/view Search for more here: https://buildingscience.com/document-search Commence eye-glazing! View Quote Yep. Eye glazing. I am reading it though. And stopping to look up crap I don't already know. |
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Okay here's my insulation question. Anybody who understands insulation, moisture/vapor barriers, and the passing of vapor/moisture through layers of a home, please chime in. I may glaze over but I promise to read everything you type and try my best to understand, so I make good decisions as I try to create a decent insulation envelope for This Olde House. This is not quite a standard insulation situation, based on everything I have found to read. So this house was not originally stone all the way to the roofline. It was stone foundation, with a (probably) clapboard siding above. But somebody decided to rip off the clapboards and stack stone to the eaves. 1-They DID wrap the house with asphalt paper, which I'm pretty sure was a good thing. 2-They DID make some attempt to keep the stone off of the sheathing, but in many places it's touching a LOT. It's really tight to the house as compared to, say, a modern brick layer, according to my mason. 3-The sheathing is 3/4" or better, and is hardwood. 4-The walls are 2 X 4 actual, mostly. Also either oak or poplar. 5-The stone was stacked all the way to the roof decking overhangs. There are soffits, but there is ZERO air passage from soffit to attic. None. Zip. Nada. They walled it off. 6-At some point, blown-in insulation was added in the attic, but in the walls there is nothing. Just rock, slight air space in some places, then asphalt paper, then hardwood sheathing, then framing, then vacant space, then it was plaster over sheetrock (true sheetrock, not modern drywall...the old stuff from the 1930s with holes in it for the plaster to poke through and gain purchase) I removed the blown-in insulation from the attic so I could take the ceilings down and put up modern drywall. So this house no has NO insulation anywhere. What else do you need to know to help me understand this envelope and make a good decision? Here are some photos of the situation (I have put these in the thread earlier, but not with this specific question.) Here is a corner that shows some of the interior plaster over rock still in place. But you can see the exterior sheathing here, and the wall cavities. http://www.fototime.com/690C45325DA0E1F/standard.jpg Here are more examples of the typical wall construction (though I have added modern, properly constructed and bigger headers over all exterior openings) http://www.fototime.com/435CC0062DC7208/standard.jpg Here is the stone on the outside, and hopefully you can see how it interacts with the walls. http://www.fototime.com/9A36538D2E1EAAB/standard.jpg Any help y'all can give in this situation will be much appreciated. Even if it's just a "read this" link, I'll absolutely do it, and appreciate it. Thanks in Advance.. Kitties View Quote Personally I would get ahold of a reputable local spray foam company and have them onsite to see what they think and recommend. |
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My usual answer on the insulation would be closed cell spray foam, awesome stuff! But, I'm not an insulation expert by any means, so I'm not sure how well that will work with the stone right up next to the exterior of the house. Personally I would get ahold of a reputable local spray foam company and have them onsite to see what they think and recommend. View Quote My concern is that closed cell IS a water and vapor barrier. So...if I have ashalt paper on the outside and closed cell directly on the inside of the wood sheathing, that's one hell of a water/vapor sandwich. I'm not sure there is a good answer if a second barrier (lame as asphalt paper is) is involved. Every bit of the latest science I'm seeing suggests that vapor barriers are not needed in anything but the absolute hottest and absolute coldest climates in the US. I don't fit either of those. |
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Quoted: I think I will definitely speak to some of them. My concern is that closed cell IS a water and vapor barrier. So...if I have ashalt paper on the outside and closed cell directly on the inside of the wood sheathing, that's one hell of a water/vapor sandwich. I'm not sure there is a good answer if a second barrier (lame as asphalt paper is) is involved. Every bit of the latest science I'm seeing suggests that vapor barriers are not needed in anything but the absolute hottest and absolute coldest climates in the US. I don't fit either of those. View Quote I used sheets for my basement wall interiors of 2" XPS and it is considered vapor permeable. |
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Quoted: I think I will definitely speak to some of them. My concern is that closed cell IS a water and vapor barrier. So...if I have ashalt paper on the outside and closed cell directly on the inside of the wood sheathing, that's one hell of a water/vapor sandwich. I'm not sure there is a good answer if a second barrier (lame as asphalt paper is) is involved. Every bit of the latest science I'm seeing suggests that vapor barriers are not needed in anything but the absolute hottest and absolute coldest climates in the US. I don't fit either of those. View Quote |
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I believe vapor permeability of foam is very dependent on the type and depth of application. I used sheets for my basement wall interiors of 2" XPS and it is considered vapor permeable. View Quote |
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Quoted: This is may be a good application for open cell spray foam. View Quote A thin layer (if they can do a thin layer. The way it expands I'm not sure they can.) with something else inside it, would also cut the cost downstairs in the living areas. Under the roof decking, I admit that I'm still scared of foam because even the open cell, if it's thick, can really hide water leaks. Mulling.... |
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The product I used, Owens Corning Foamular 150, is R10 at 2". That was adhered to the poured cement walls with Loctities PL Premium adhesive. Butt joints (and any gaps) were spray foamed - and all seams taped. The stud cavities also got unfaced insulation ( ETA: found an old pic, the unfaced insulation was R19. I was able to use rolls for 6" studs due to the slight offset I framed with walls with from the foam. I know my target was R20+ around the exterior. Floor was done with 1" of Foamular 250. I did use Rockwool in some interior walls, more for the sound deadening than insulation value. It is not great at handling any irregularities. Had to do over, I would strongly consider spraying. I "saved" money on the boards, but at the expense of a LOT of time and tedious work. Given the likely irregularities in the stud bays in your rehab, I wouldn't consider boards - unless *you're* bored! Old pic - ~ 7 years in and no (knock on foam) issues yet! https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/60523/120313-996-128336.jpg https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/60523/120313_1293_JPG-716836.jpg View Quote The unfaced bats are glass? I'm going to definitely use Rockwool between bathrooms and other rooms. I'm going to do some serious experimentation at sound deadening for the bathrooms, and see how good I can make it within a reasonable budget and 2 X 4 walls. My HVAC guy may take issue with the door sweeps I put on the bathroom doors but he can just stand down. (she says with false confidence) I think, between the master bedroom and the living areas (since that room shares a long wall with the living room where the tv will be) will also get the Rockwool. did you find it easy to work with as they say? And are you happy with the sound deadening results? |
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Quoted: Oh yes, that's the photo I remember of the foam going down on concrete. You suggested that for my building, and I may yet do that. The unfaced bats are glass? I'm going to definitely use Rockwool between bathrooms and other rooms. I'm going to do some serious experimentation at sound deadening for the bathrooms, and see how good I can make it within a reasonable budget and 2 X 4 walls. My HVAC guy may take issue with the door sweeps I put on the bathroom doors but he can just stand down. (she says with false confidence) I think, between the master bedroom and the living areas (since that room shares a long wall with the living room where the tv will be) will also get the Rockwool. did you find it easy to work with as they say? And are you happy with the sound deadening results? View Quote Can't say how much the rockwool on its own helps with the sound because on the interior walls were I used it, I also went with 2 layers of 5/8s drywall on both sides. Working with rockwool is not bad... it can compress some, cuts pretty easily - but of course doesn't stretch if your opening is a bit too wide and call also tear out if not careful when cutting openings. As for the floor.... It has been great. No cold feet in the winter time - and that includes having used it for a toddler romper-room for the first couple of years with the kiddos down constantly laying/rolling on it with no concern for chills. |
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Yes, its glass. IIRC. Can't say how much the rockwool on its own helps with the sound because on the interior walls were I used it, I also went with 2 layers of 5/8s drywall on both sides. Working with rockwool is not bad... it can compress some, cuts pretty easily - but of course doesn't stretch if your opening is a bit too wide and call also tear out if not careful when cutting openings. As for the floor.... It has been great. No cold feet in the winter time - and that includes having used it for a toddler romper-room for the first couple of years with the kiddos down constantly laying/rolling on it with no concern for chills. View Quote |
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At the back yard building, stuff finally started happening again.
This past spring and summer I stared helplessly at my foundation, with more important things on my hands than what *I* would have preferred to be doing. Since it's been a year and I don't expect anybody to look back at the early parts of the thread, here is the ditch AFC (Awesome Foundation Contractor) dug for me from the building (where you're standing in the photo) to the septic tank across the yard. Full disclosure--It's not nearly that neat now. I spent two full days in October, taking out pigweed twice as tall as me, tossing it into enormous piles, and I've just now gotten most of it burned. Nature did not stop even though I did, and it made a mess out of my building site. Anyway.....Even though I know I was almost on point with the gravity-fed slope for the 4" pipe I'd laid (no glue, I'd just pieced it together) to the tank, and I was set up with a freaking amazing 4" core bit to drill through the tank (loaned to me by @Handydave) this whole thing was niggling at me with an aggravating kind of worry. A little settling here, a slight human error there, and I'd end up with a continuing hassle, and eventually be digging this line back up. I've learned to listen to those niggles, and I've learned that I'm stupid if I don't. Five hundred dollars or so would take away the worry. Life is too short, and too full of stuff that's way more important and actually worth that worry (witness the past ten months). I'm on a tight budget with this building, especially since hurricanes have elevated building material costs by 1/3 or better in the past 18 months, but I don't believe in buying hassle, even if it's cheaper in the short run. So I used the awesome core bit with my little Harbor Freight hammer to go through the foundation of my detached garage (c 1929) for future utilities, and for my backyard shed, I bought this pump. And since I had ZERO experience with forced systems, I got a cool retired plumber to advise me and help with the install. I pestered the sh*t out of him with questions and he put up with it. We dug out the gravity fed line from my house to the tank (me and Awesome Handyman and two shovels ) because a ton of research told me I was going to need to put in a baffle if I cut through the side of the tank, and Plumber Elf said it was no issue to feed into my existing line right in front of the tank. Sorry there aren't better pics of the 2" line in place. I was digging and shoveling gravel. Pump going in. Plumber Elf actually loved my pump choice. He had never seen one like it (retired, remember?) and was used to having to build the pump setup from scratch. This little self-contained unit was new for him. That hole was about 36" deep, pounded out on the bottom to absolute level (yup, I'm still sore). Then pea gravel to follow. Installing the check valve and shutoff valve: Then pea gravel up to the top of the unit: A rising wind brought disaster. A 3" sleeve buried below the 2" sewer line, so I can install water and/or power from the house since it will have to cross the sewer line. Gravel supporting and covering the 2" line, and fill going back in. For the first time in a year, there is no giant ditch across my back yard, and the septic tank is completely underground. I've gotta build a little house, though, over this pump. It needs to be covered, and I want a way to insulate it since the top of it sticks out. Getting rid of the worry over the pipe fall created another worry--this thing sits at ground level, and we get below zero usually at least once each winter for a short few days. I'm seeing sheet foam in my future, lining whatever little building I put over the pump. Also not looking forward to this pit filling with water, and it will. Meanwhile at the rehab, work continues: Taking out the diagonal hardwood subfloor in the new master bath (used to be a closet-like space...yeah, that's another decision I made in that same "life's too short" timeframe. There was just too much bounce/deflection in that floor for tile, and I could not make myself buy into "just tile it anyway." Nope. Only way to do it, and that's the right way. It aggravates Awesome Handyman that I won't say "close enough" and look the other way.) A sister for the joist going in on the left, cuz they'd cut a big notch out of it for HVAC years ago, and a view down to the basement. Oh, and Kitties' boots. New 3/4" plywood going down (with shims for leveling on the old joists) Floor coming out of the former/existing bathroom: The expected rot under the toilet. I'd seen it, but hadn't had enough light down there to get good photos... And I hadn't scraped away the crumbly, wet stuff glommed onto the joist and pipe below the toilet. That cast iron pipe, and and some green vinyl-like tiles are all that is holding up the toilet. Plumber Elf will be at the rehab tomorrow. We are roughing in the drains for the new bathrooms! Finally, stuff going back INTO the house, instead of just coming out of the house. |
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For the three people following this thread, I apologize profusely for not updating.
A LOT has happened, but pure lack of time has kept me from uploading photos, etc. I wlll bump this one more time in hopes I can catch back up a little. ~Kitties |
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For the three people following this thread, I apologize profusely for not updating. A LOT has happened, but pure lack of time has kept me from uploading photos, etc. I wlll bump this one more time in hopes I can catch back up a little. ~Kitties View Quote |
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Lemme see if I can find a few photos that don't require much editing. |
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Had to look back to see what I posted last. Hope I'm not duping anything. So about the middle of November, this happened at the rehab house: http://www.fototime.com/3678749B7768242/standard.jpg Plus two propane cylinders. Getting this setup going is a whole nuther story, but anyway, it's the best money I've spent. We can leave a door or two open and still it will warm up this 2K square foot house in about 30 minutes. Working in the cold is miserable. This makes it NOT miserable. Can't hear yourself think when it's running, but warm trumps a lot of other stuff. Just sayin. Chief Minion (who doesn't know a crescent wrench from a croissant) learns to run the hammer. http://www.fototime.com/3A0BB3993F6A26B/standard.jpg Taking out the concrete threshold at the back door. Because there was this crack: http://www.fototime.com/E85E01C0FB39A50/standard.jpg I figured there was rot in the rim joists and the mudsill because of this crack. Was I right? Stay tuned to this channel to find out. Taking out the old flooring over New Bathroom #2 (house is going from 4 bedroom, 1-bath,....to 4 bedroom, 3-bath.) http://www.fototime.com/F304032F86491D4/standard.jpg Then comes the leveling of the joists, since I will be tiling all the bathrooms. Awesome Handyman is more of a Brute Force kind of guy. If it won't fit, hammer it harder. His ideal for old houses was "burn it down and build new" but he has risen to the occasion and has done really well slowing down a bit and using some finesse instead of brute force...at least, when I back him into a corner and say, "you can't force this. Stop and slow down." He has gotten really good at leveling out these joists, with a combination of planing the worst of the high spots and shimming the low spots. After thevery steep learning curve in the first bathroom, now I can basically say, "please make that be level" and walk away, and he will do an awesome job. Here he is putting down the adhesive for the new plywood subfloor. http://www.fototime.com/D7622D6E392BEF5/standard.jpg Plumber elf worked on the two new bathrooms: http://www.fototime.com/99E9493BCAFEAE2/standard.jpg Plumbing going in under the new master bath: http://www.fototime.com/0F3F7B022BC29A5/standard.jpg Plumbing in the second new bathroom: http://www.fototime.com/799251AA3716290/standard.jpg Plumber Elf teaching me stuff under the house http://www.fototime.com/F1A5EC93962472C/standard.jpg Mostly what I learned is that I cannot do this overhead: http://www.fototime.com/4DDD36E8FF49C2E/standard.jpg Not a weak girl, but I cannot squeeze those copper rings with arm strength only. I can use my body weight to do so. I actually got the tool angled wrong and cracked a rib using this tool to crimp a copper ring. (I did not tell Plumber Elf this. ) So the issue is...I wanted to do this with PEX in my shed, and was very discouraged. If I can't crimp the rings overhead, there is no hope! But WAIT!!! There is a happy ending....stay tuned to this channel for more on the PEX crimping drama!... But on to other stuff.. Hmmm...... what could I use these for? http://www.fototime.com/92936DA342F5F67/standard.jpg Maybe...taking out a 4" cast iron stack? http://www.fototime.com/173DB7F7BF3A5AD/standard.jpg http://www.fototime.com/A9B349A43CA8F9E/standard.jpg http://www.fototime.com/0E93C9BC76EBC83/standard.jpg The old stack is gone, as is the cast iron main drain in the basement. All replaced with 4" plastic. Which is not necessarily better, in my opinion, but is WAY more easy to work with. Just sayin. Iron is not particularly cooperative. But in other news.....I made this hole in the stone wall, and figured I had to do something with it... Here is early prep. (We built a temporary platform and covered it with a tarp so we could work in the rain cuz....it seems to never stop raining now. http://www.fototime.com/F01A803F6D0F149/standard.jpg This thing was STUPID HEAVY. http://www.fototime.com/0852A8694F5D824/standard.jpg But we went from this: http://www.fototime.com/7B5F682128879EB/standard.jpg To this: http://www.fototime.com/B9E384EF88DE9A7/standard.jpg http://www.fototime.com/66145019227EB6B/standard.jpg That's most of November. (I'm WAY behind). More to follow. View Quote These make PEX much easier
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While that's true, it didn't factor into our particular curiosity on this occasion
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Not a Transit
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View Quote I found something that would work for me. At least for half inch. I haven't tried it with 3/4 yet. |
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Not a Transit View Quote It looks like a transit to me. I know nothing of these things. I am, however, about to drop some cash on laser level. @Backnblack Maybe instead of just telling me it's not what I called it, you could explain what it is, as opposed to a transit, and what the differences are? I would like to know. |
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Why aren’t you using Avantech for your bathroom sub floor?
Don’t have to worry about rot. |
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Why aren’t you using Avantech for your bathroom sub floor? Don’t have to worry about rot. View Quote Beyond that, to get most advantage from the Advantech system, you have to install the WHOLE system. That's not possible, or at least not realistically practical, in an old house rehab like this one. |
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Shows what I know. It looks like a transit to me. I know nothing of these things. I am, however, about to drop some cash on laser level. @Backnblack Maybe instead of just telling me it's not what I called it, you could explain what it is, as opposed to a transit, and what the differences are? I would like to know. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Not a Transit It looks like a transit to me. I know nothing of these things. I am, however, about to drop some cash on laser level. @Backnblack Maybe instead of just telling me it's not what I called it, you could explain what it is, as opposed to a transit, and what the differences are? I would like to know. A transit can do the same but is a much more complex measuring device that can not only shoot grades but can turn angles and measure distance. Transits can also have a computer built-in to do calculations (Total Station) or in addition to the computer they can be remotely operated by one person (Robotic Total Station) |
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Quoted: It's a rotary laser level that can be a manually-leveling using a mounted bubble level, electronically self-leveling which uses a pendulum leveling system, or automatically self-leveling which uses electronics and gears to find level. A transit can do the same but is a much more complex measuring device that can not only shoot grades but can turn angles and measure distance. Transits can also have a computer built-in to do calculations (Total Station) or in addition to the computer they can be remotely operated by one person (Robotic Total Station) View Quote That seems like far more than a level-indicator. He also used it to set the corners of my foundation to make sure it was square. He never touched the unit to make it do all this. Not arguing. Just saying what I saw him do with it. ETA: You know what? Let me back away to say....He had TWO devices. One was Berger and the other was Baby Berger, (I think) in my descriptive text. It may have been Baby Berger that shot the corners of my foundation. However, Berger (this one) did the grade stuff. Or at least part of it. |
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Environmental Remediation, Zombie style....( FLASHBACK to last summer/fall at the rehab house) Disclosure: I figure I'm opening myself up to a lot of hate by posting this one. The "You didn't do it right" section of the audience can be loud, SOOO.... 1- I did everything legally. Nothing against any codes in my state or county or municipality. 2- I did the best I could figure out for the neighborhood and the planet AND.... 3-I did so without getting any federal agency involved cuz it wasn't required or necessary. BACKSTORY: There was this pipe sticking up in the front yard. I'd actually piled some rocks around it so I wouldn't hit it with the mower again . It was about a foot tall, including the cap. Me to everybody: "Whaddaya think that is?" Everybody: So....last September I realized procrastination was not my friend, and I opened the hinged top on the pipe. Stuck a three-foot dowel rod down in there. Didn't hit the bottom. Ah, shit. (Cuz I think I know what's down there, and I don't want it to be that, yaknow?) Got a longer piece...maybe 4.5' long, and...about 1.5" square. Tried that. Nothing on it. Got an even longer piece of the same scrap I'd ripped from a 2 X 4.. This time six feet long. Poked it down in there and wiggled it around. It slid beside the soft stuff and went deeper. Crap. Pulled it out. Oil. Home heating oil. There was at least 3 or 4" of oil in the tank. Sometimes I hate to be right. The good news? If it was holding oil, maybe it was still sound and hadn't leaked all over the universe. We took a piece of rebar and drove it into the ground until we found what appeared to be the edges. It was a 4.5 X 8' tank, with several inches of oil still in it. In late September I did the math based on my estimated tank volume. There could be as much as 150 gallons of kerosene in this freakin tank. Research and serious sticker shock later, I went to the Harbor Freight website and found this: http://www.fototime.com/0922508E2C95BD7/standard.jpg A diesel transfer pump for just over a hundred dollars. Lots of folks evidently use them to move fuel out of tanks. Who knew? SCORE! I bought the pump and four 50-gallon drums. We dug to the edges of the tank and cut a hole in the top. http://www.fototime.com/75B4DA4DAF75DD5/standard.jpg The damn thing was DIAMOND PLATE STAINLESS FREAKING STEEL. Hardest stuff I have EVER tried to saw through. Several blades later, we had an opening we could get through, and pumped the fuel out. (I took pics but I can't find them. Apologies.) Fuel was full of black crap that kept clogging the pump. Apparently over the past 60 years, kids have made a game of dropping sticks down the pipe just to see what would happen. The bark disintegrated into black sludge. We got all the liquid we could get out of there, and took the barrels to a local company with a furnace that "burns anything" and they were happy to have it. And... http://www.fototime.com/1D170642901E079/standard.jpg I bought 23 bags of oil soak from the local oil supply company. Cuz that's all they had. We dumped them in until AH could stand on something solid. http://www.fototime.com/C5046430D643CDB/standard.jpg Then we cut the top off the rest of the tank. http://www.fototime.com/C6F771855DA312E/standard.jpg We dumped in oil soak, mixed it, shoveled it into the old bags, rinse and repeat for hours. We triple bagged it, and put it on the trailer. I threw my jeans and t-shirt away, cuz there was no way to get the kerosene stink out of them. As fate would have it, that Saturday was hazardous waste day for our community. They took all the bags. Last of the oil soak....you can see the stain on the walls, but the tank was otherwise completely dry when we finished. http://www.fototime.com/EC4C22F9089ADB6/standard.jpg Here, AH is drilling 1" holes in the bottom of the dry tank. About 40 holes. The tank was completely intact, and I likely could have left it. But if somebody found it later, under different environmental rules, it might have cost a LOT more to fix this. For the homeowner's sake, we fixed it now rather than later. A few tons of gravel went in, then after a lot of reading and pacing the floor, I put a three-foot strip of water-permeable landscape fabric in the 4.5' wide tank. So there was an edge on the sides, but the middle would be (hopefully) much slower to allow soil to work its way into the rock and fill the spaces. No resource I could find to say how this should be done, so I fent with my best guess. http://www.fototime.com/A6C97FEF7E0278B/standard.jpg Several tons of topsoil went in after that. http://www.fototime.com/E61B961AE9E9968/standard.jpg Tank? What tank? http://www.fototime.com/13B8C94451F06D6/standard.jpg By Halloween it looked like the grave of a zombie cave troll (it was huge and it had sunk, and there were holes forming) This past week we brought in more soil. Now it looks like a fresh zombie cave troll grave--all mounded up again. View Quote |
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That was one way to do it... or.... a quick stop at piggly wiggly for some hot dogs and
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That was one way to do it... or.... a quick stop at piggly wiggly for some hot dogs and View Quote |
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I like your tank removal. It's good to be handy. View Quote That's not the case here. I could not have done this alone. That is some of the heaviest metal for its thickness, that I've ever seen. |
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Glad you caught that. Great update. View Quote |
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I'm sorry I've been absent.
Starting a little bootstrap business on the side. My trailer thread went to archive, and it was relevant to this business. Sad day. But it's getting warmer here, which will make EVERYTHING better. Stand by for more actual updates. since this is lame filler. |
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Lots of changes in the Kitties/uxb household over the past couple of years. Coming up on a year since a major life changing event, and it's funny how those can set you in new directions. Also, I lost a major client to retirement at the end of December, and I needed to replace that income. Decided I was not getting any healthier, mentally, physically or any other way, spending so many hours either in front of the computer or stressing about old houses, and this farm girl needed to get outside more or turn into a withered-up, air-conditioned mummy. So...I did a thing. http://www.fototime.com/C2003E6851A91E0/standard.jpg It's not the big Lazer Z, which I thought was overkill (and, you know...ten-freaking THOUSAND dollars ) for a part-time lawn care biz, so I spent less on the mower, BUT... That is one SERIOUS seat upgrade, it has some kind of air shock suspension or some other magic mojo, and it cost a lot of money and I'm not even a little bit sorry. Here it is on the trailer so many of you helped me choose. And I will repeat for about the 50th time, THANK YOU ALL for talking me into the wider, longer trailer. Somebody said, in that thread, "you might get a bigger mower." Well it's not a WIDER deck than my old tractor mower, but it's definitely bigger and heavier overall. Y'all were right. http://www.fototime.com/21DE3A0AE38A213/standard.jpg And since my tow vehicle, a 1991 Isuzu Trooper named Casper, was wobbling down the road (literally wobbling...needs two new CV axles. I was going down the road at 45 mph praying every time I had to pull the trailer) I dropped $3000 CASH BABY on a high mileage beater F150. Don't ask how many miles, it's too embarrassing and it was 3K dollars, so seriously, you know it's a lot. This probably belongs in the trailer thread, but that's gone to archives, so... Kitties' new rig: http://www.fototime.com/5C6D7F00443B2D7/standard.jpg Yes, I have to park it in my yard. I don't have a gravel pad for it yet, and I'm STILL learning to back the thing into tight turns without jackknifing (is that a word?) Have a few customers. Enough to make the mower payment but not enough. Not yet. And they're spread all over hell's half acre, so route density is teh suck. That will improve with time, I hope. I can make my mistakes and learn with less pressure. It'll take a while. I want those nice Equipment Defender racks for my trimmers and gas cans, but I decided I needed to replace some of the outgoing cash before I did that. I'll have lots of questions for y'all about a work truck setup later. I know some stuff I want. (onboard air compressor much?) Hmmm..maybe I should make a thread. For now, my small equipment is in the back of the truck under the locking cover. Learning moments.... For a long time I've known that all the fancy degrees in the world do not teach you the simplest thing...how to run a business. But it's surprising what I don't know. I said to a friend who mows for money and is helping me get started, "How can I know the technical difference between Xylem and Phloem, and not know what the place should look like when I drive away after a freaking lawn care job???" He just laughed at me. Thank you to another friend... @cuttingedge for talking me through the mower purchase, and answering my dumb questions. For anybody interested in what I'm using for small power tools... I am one with Echo. I'll post photos of that stuff later. Side note: I got that little battery saw and a battery hedge trimmer in a set, to carry in the truck just in case (will not replace the gas powered trimmer/saw units) since I was already wedded to the DeWalt Flexvolt system. I figure I should do a review of the saw since battery saw questions have come up here in Homestead. Should I do that here in this thread? Or a separate thread? ALSO... The house remodel and shed will return once I get through the insane spring landscaping season. It's not gone, just going a little slower for a bit. View Quote |
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