Havent decided yet, but likely going the option 1 route. I just cant see spending a ton more to only run the well pump. Not to mention with the grill and/or propane stove, you can still Navy shower in a pinch as long as you can heat some water.

Right, I mentioned previously, but step construction...

This is the bought brick against the house. Color is close, texture is WAY different. Not that it matters....


The beginning. The slope of the walkway meant my dad cut every brick in this picture. By hand. Also, someone will mention the gap. Its related to a project at a later date that Ill discuss at the bottom of this post.


Getting started




Progress



And as of Sat evening




Pending decent weather, it will be wrapped up Friday.

Now, the gap...

I have schemed for a while about long term water remediation in our crawlspace. As part of that, we are going to remove the gutter that dumps onto the pool deck (just out of view) and route this gutter under the porch and to an underground pipe that I intend to plumb the gutters on the front of the house into and discharge towards the driveway which is downhill. So this gutter will be turned under the porch. The condensate line for the mini split will also run into this.

Another part of this is enclosing the space under the porch is to a) keep the water heater lines from freezing and b) because I intend to insulate/vapor barrier that floor so the tile isnt freezing. As part of that, I also intend to insulate the ceiling to hopefully keep it a little more liveable during summer/winter. The remainder of the brick will be used to build a separate wall on the side opposite the step.

Also, all the pics have been migrated to Imgur so they should work again.

It's open underneath. My water heater lines run under there too, so enclosing it should help keep them from freezing.

Previously there was just one wood step. It was a large transition, and it had gotten to the point that it was slick when it was wet. I had been planning to do this for a while, but my.mother in law slipped on it, and my dad's work schedule has been light so we've been knocking it out. I am no brick mason for sure.

Stair is done. Turned out pretty good. I'll give it a season of sun bleaching and wear before final determination.

Now to seal up the other side...

On to other issues...

We had a cold front/storm last weekend that relieved one of my dormers of all of it's vinyl siding. This is the second time it happened, and with 5 dormers and the ends of the upstairs in vinyl, I'm contemplating having someone redo it in hardieplank so I don't have to repeat this exercise.

Along the same lines, I lost three rows of shingles that same night. So, I am probably looking at roof replacement in the next year or two. The combination of south facing and no shade mean the 30 year roof is in rough shape on the southern face. I'd like to do a metal if I can swing the cost.

It was definitely my first time.

Thankfully, my dad did a lot of the heavy lifting when it came to stuff that mattered, aka, stuff that needed to be pretty. Its not perfect, but for casual observers, you'd never know. Ill probably attempt the cinderblock/brick on the other side by myself since its a lot less intricate and/or doesnt require quite as much forethought on pattern and whatnot.

Did my 2nd annual bushhog today, and Ive got to say, I think next year I am going to a 3x a year schedule. It took me less time and cut better because its not as weedy. Its a lot more "field" grass. This year I got a late start, so I did the first cut in July when it was 5ft tall.

Next project on the docket is the brick enclosure and genset. Pulling the trigger on option 1 and a transfer panel because it makes the most sense, gets me the cleanest power, and can use a fuel source I have on hand in abundance (propane).

Happy Thanksgiving y'all.

Yes sir!

I managed to sneak out of work early today. So, I broke out the Black Friday purchase and proceeded to break it in.



Gotta say, I was concerned about the whole Harbor Freight thing, but I read the reviews. Read all the reviews of the Powerhorse model sold at Northern Tool. Then all the reviews of the Echo Bear Cat. Nary a negative one. And while I really wanted the Champion with the propane kit, this was very literally half the price. And for the limited amount of use Im looking at, I couldnt justify the almost $500 price difference. So I pulled the trigger. It took me a couple of phone calls and an hours drive on Black Friday, but I found the last of 2 that were in store locally. Today I put some Honda 10w30 in it, some gas, and it fired up first time. Grabbed the space heater out of the barn to use for a load.

It is QUIET. My neighbor walked over while I was running it to ask about something we've been working on together and even noted its quieter than his Honda.

I did opt for the two year plan just in case, but thus far, Im feeling like its going to be solid. The manual transfer switch should be here Tuesday at which point it'll get mated to the panel and wired in to this.

In other news, I have had holes appearing in the yard, which Ive recently attributed to skunks. I dont know what theyre after, but its not grubs or beetles. So, I took the hard route this week:


The hawks made quick work of him in the next day, and thankfully he didnt spray.

Also, now that the annual bushhogging is done, Katie and I put out the deer lick. This was the first night:


Id say we had a few visitors.

They are down on the other side of the horse pasture, so give or take 200 yards. Also directly under my tree stand.

Skunks are the same way for me. The provide necessary critter control of their own, but Ive had one post up under the porch in the last month or two, and the constant holes appearing in the yard, so I decided it was time.

Changed the oil in the Predator after an hour this weekend. It was pretty milky, but not terrible. Put some 10w-30 back in it, and since Ill be working on the barn the next night or two, I figure it can provide heat duties with space heaters. I plan on running it in for about 8 hours at 50-75% load, change the oil again, then call it good. I am currently waiting on the transfer switch to be delivered so I can get it wired in. We actually got our first snow very early this year:



So we made Olaf.







In true to NC fashion, it was gone in a day...

We have been FLUSH with deer all of the sudden. I was heading out to shoot a 2 gun on Saturday when I saw one walk out of the thicket. Then another. And another. All told, 8 does in the field. But, I noticed they kept looking back towards the thicket, then I saw the white tail. Grabbed a scoped rifle, and lo and behold, there is a 10pt buck standing there. He was HUGE. Guess hes a ladies man too.

My goal for this weekend is to get the plowing done. Im delinquent on that, but Ive still got another 2-3 months of good freezing to help break the clods up.

If there is one thing I have learned in the HVAC replacement saga, its that set backs (i.e. raising/lowering the temp) when we arent home in the summer work great. The winter, however, is a different story. The thermostats are classic PI controllers, so when you make a big setpoint change like going from 62-68, they immediately put a log of gain into the equation and go to gas packs. Ive been on the fence about them acting that way, so this week I adjusted my home automation stuff to maintain a steady 68 degrees to see if it reduces our propane consumption. Ultimately, I have had enough with our current supplier and I am looking to change come spring time. That said, even on nights weve had in the low-mid 20s, the new heat pumps have been able to produce enough heat to keep up with demand. I had calculated my balance point to be around 24 degrees previously with the new units, and it looks like that was pretty darn close.

Has anyone ever run a Kerosene heater off of the old diesel+isopropyl trick? I broke out the kerosene heater my dad gave me a few years back, but finding K-1 is an exercise. And its EXPENSIVE. I know K-1 and diesel are not that different short of the paraffin, but my quick Googling indicates switching to a cotton wick solves that issue. It also doesnt hurt that diesel is readily available and stocked in the barn for me...

Remember the step? This is the other side of the porch.



The beginning. I got rid of the lattice that was previous there which did nothing to keep critters out. More importantly, my main goal for closing this in is to a) not have such a cold tile floor and b) not worry so much about the water lines under there for the water heater freezing.

On with the show!



I unfortunately didnt take a lot of "in process" pictures in this case because I was the one under the porch. It took two people to do the top row of block because you had to slide the block under and set it from the side in order to not scrape all the mortar off.

Final product with the door:



And yes, I took great stuff and basically foamed the top of the blocks right up to the vapor barrier. I also made an insert for the other side where Ill eventually run the water pipe, but it is 100% sealed up now.

This comes after almost a week of sub-freezing temperatures, which for our temperate climate broke an almost 50 year old record according to the news. We ran on propane for the entire week. Thankfully, we had just gotten a fill, but when I checked this weekend we had gone through 1/3 tank over that week. So, one of my springtime projects is recaulking all the windows, making sure the weather stripping is good on every door, and eliminating as many infiltration points as I can find. I realize when its 5 degrees outside that any door or window you walk by will feel cold, but still.

In a bit of other news...


I did this about 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately, she pulled right out in front of me. Im waiting on Geico (her ins) to fix the truck, but let me tell you...

I guess driving a truck for the better part of a decade will ingrain you with a certain attitude. For instance, I needed 12 bags of concrete and 4 bags of mortar for the underside of the porch. Guess what? It aint going in the back of a Hyundai Sonata rental... Thankfully my dad took one for the team for that one, but I had to borrow my nearest neighbors truck today for something. I dont know how living on a homestead like mine, which is comparatively small to what some people have, how you could survive without a 4x4/truck. Im sure you could, Im sure it would just be a lot harder.

To top that off, we are putting our dog to sleep tomorrow. We've had her since we got married in 07, but she has had recurring bladder infections over the past two months, along with a steadily progressing neurological condition that limits the use of her back legs, and its time. I called the vet Friday and made the appointment. My wife, who has been in a little bit of denial, finally had that moment when the dog stumbled and fell down the new stair out back today. Id much rather her not suffer like she is. My daughter has known its time for a while, so I think she will actually deal with this on a level far beyond a 5 year old kid.

Remind me to tell you guys about Duke Energy accusing me of stealing 2.5 years of power next time I post. Its quite an interesting story...

That block wall looks good.  That should go a long way to keeping the critters and cold out.

Sorry about your truck and your dog.  It is one of the most helpless feelings when you can no longer "help" the pet you have cared for and has loved you for years.  But it is also not doing them any good if you keep them for selfish reasons as they suffer.  If you opt for cremation, ask the price first.  Again sorry to hear about your dog.

So, I can now confirm that the block wall/door have made a huge difference...


We had been either dripping the faucet or running the dishwasher on delay, but my wife forgot last night. Got up, still had hot water. Score!

Last night, I was going to get the blade with my tractor, but my neighbor offered to let me use his (along with the hydraulic toplink/arm), so I took him up on the offer.




Plowed the entire road out to the main road, which hadnt been touched. With the sun we had today, our road is mostly clear save for the spots that generally hard freeze because of shade.

That said, Im GLAD I got a gear tractor and not a hydro.

Also of note, I got up this morning and saw this:


http://myfox8.com/2018/01/18/skyview8-video-shows-massive-house-fire-in-kernersville/

Thats the news story from the local news, but basically the local FDs had to let it burn because with the weather and lack of hydrants, there wasnt much more they could do.

Thanks for the kind words on the pup. I dont know how to explain it, but when we were at the vet, its like she knew. She laid right on the table, didnt fight, didnt even flinch when they gave her the first needle. Never easy to say goodbye, but better in my opinion to do so at the right time than for them to suffer.

Also, not an official snow here until theres donuts in the pasture.


Mission accomplished.

One other note. Compare the pics on the tractor with the one on my atv. With the declining price in LED lights, theres no reason not to have them on your equipment in some form. When you live as far out as I do (i.e. where theres no artificial light), light is absolutely a commodity. I would have almost braved the cold to have my tractor with the light bar last night. Almost.

I just read through god whole thread.  How I envy you. We would love to do the same.

What’s the story behind the power company saying your stealing?

Just doing what I can to help. Admittedly, most everyone that lives here has a 4x4/AWD car. With the truck still with Ford, I knew that was the easiest/quickest for my wife and I to get out without a ton of drama. When her car comes up for replacement, it will be a 4x4/AWD variety.
Right. Power company.

We have Duke Energy. Thats it. Way, way, WAY back when the house was bought, the previous owner gave me the skinny on getting the meters switched. Took some doing with Duke, but at the time, the house was on a spinny meter and the barn on a digital. Both were 200A drops. Both were supposed to be transferred to my Duke account, on one bill, just like the PO.

Well, Duke dropped the ball. So the meter has been out there, happily plugging away for the past 2.5 years. About 2 weeks ago, Duke came to swap the meter on the house. Scared the snot out of my wife, because he came to the front door, which is a good way to get shown the business end of a Glock where I live, but I digress... He swapped the meter on the house and snatched the one on the barn. Like, its gone. No note, no phone call, no notice, nothing.

I find this when I go get the four wheeler and cart to take the trash down the driveway. Im lazy damn it. But when none of the lights worked, it dawned on me that my wife mentioned that the contractor had gone to the barn. Sure enough, the safety plate is in the box instead of the meter. The lock is now a red insert lock, which in Duke terms, is a theft/fraud lock.

I call Duke, and Im HOT. Well, Im told Ill have to talk to the "Energy Protection Department" tomorrow before anything can be done. So I call. Im immediately accused of stealing 2.5 years of power, and told that it will cost $4000 to restore my service. Now, bear in mind, my house, which faces south, which is 100% exposed hasnt used that much power in the swampy cespool that we call NC summers since it was purchased. The tone and accusations from the "Energy Protection Department" were such that I hung up the phone and called NC Public Utilities Commission and filed a complaint immediately. Knowing the PUC rules intimately (I may or may not have done contract work for said electrical utility provider...), I called the "Energy Protection Department" and read them every jot and tittle of the PUC codes that they had violated. My how their tune suddenly changes. Imagine that. So, they agreed to bill me estimated usage for 5 months. General access charge is about 20 bucks. Thats 100 bucks. They "estimated" my usage for what amounts to 5 flourescent lights at almost 100 bucks a month. Yeah, no. I tell them find the meter since it was a phone home type, get it read. "Oh, we cant do that sir" at which point I had enough and hung up.

The next day, the PUC calls and said theyve been in touch with Duke and I should hear something back shortly. Miracle of all miracles, theyve located my long lost meter. My actual usage for the past 12 months was roughly 420 bucks including access fees, taxes, energy riders and ACTUAL usage. Which, to be honest, I am perfectly fine with paying.

What really pisses me off about this situation is this: Duke is my only option. They know this. They know they provide a critical public utility, and that your life basically stops without it. Ergo, they think they have a big dick they can swing indiscriminately. Public Utilities Commission makes sure that is not the case. Had I not known the ins and outs of the process and what my rights were in dealing with them, it could have certainly turned out MUCH differently. They violated multiple PUC rules, mainly dealing with not offering to let me pay the bill first, not providing prior notice, not giving notice at the time of removal, and not providing me a cost basis for how they determined what I owed.

In other news, Dad and I got on the brick thing...



We got an early start, but the more the day wore on, the more messy it got as the snow thawed.

Final product:


I plan on going back in the spring on this and the step and using an approved cleaner (since I cant use Muriatic Acid) and cleaning up some of the mortar on the brick. I figure between the cleaner and pressure washer, thatll do. I also plan on pressure washing some of the brick around the house, as you can see where some of them are clearly stained red from mud/clay where its rained. Once thats done, and once the red lava rock is in for the flower bed we will be building here, I shouldnt have to touch it again.

Also, the plan is to have the vinyl on the house redone in HardiePlank. Including whats shown here, so the 2x12 thats on the end will get pressure washed and then covered.

Next projects are generator house and porch column replacement. Well, and building a flowerbed around the front.

Been busy in the barn as of late...

Any guesses?

Looks like it will be some type of wheeled cart.  Possibly for your generator or welder?

Close.

Trash cans. Finally got tired of chasing them across the yard when the wind blew, and with this, I can tow them to the end of the driveway with pretty much any vehicle. No more lifting them into the cart or truck bed either.

Nice.  I couldn't really tell size and assumed it would be a rectangular object.  That cart should make it a lot easier for you.

Couple of pages back, I bushhogged a bunch of overgrowth last spring.
Well, guess what? Its back to being way overgrown. And the poison ivy is everywhere. Im considering calling an audible and just having someone with a big dozer level the entire freaking thing....

But...

That foilage is our blocker in the summer for the people who are behind us. So, I want to have something to act as a privacy barrier along the back fenceline. This is the area Im looking at...

I thought about Leland Cyprus, but theyre susceptible to bugs that we have a lot of and disease. And you can see in this picture where I cleared last year, but if I had it dozed, Id have that whole thing done.

What else is there? I found a willow hybrid thats good for dry hot climates that is 5-6ft growth a year, but they are EXPENSIVE. What are my other options?

I’ll chime in on poison ivy. I hate the stuff. While you can’t eradicate permanently from your property since birds and wind will graciously drop seeds on your land from time to time, you can be proactive and control it quite well in my opinion if you take the time to do it.

It’s of course an invasive species. It’s a rhizome, so roots travel throughout the ground and it pops its ugly head out along its root system from time to time. It’s a blessing and a curse. It spreads more rampantly because of this, BUT it also makes it easier to tame and kill. When you spray the plant, the chemical does travel to other sister plants through its root system. It’s of course a faster and more guaranteed death to hit each rhizome sprout. Vines are my biggest battle. I can’t tell you how many dozen so of vines of cut a segment from a tree and sprayed the proximal root to end its life. My best advice is take a walk every spring through your tree lines and all your property really if you have the time with a hand saw, cover up clothing, and plenty of chemical. I’ve noticed a dramatic decrease each year I’ve been doing this.

Sank a solid grand this week. Bought a bunch of lumber/OSB to ight to start framing out the barn. Made my life a lot easier and bought a couple of nail guns too.

The game is afoot...

I bought the Freeman set from Amazon. For $200 all in, I got basically all four guns, BUT, I have a gigantic compressor.

This was after we tore out the half-assed loft...


One wall with door rough in up...


Second wall:


Rafters:


And today, I built myself one tank of a workbench. I started on the second one, but didnt catch I bought the wrong Strong Ties, so Ill have to regroup one night this week.



Working with stuff not on the floor is so. much. better.

The plan is to put this and the short bench in the corner where the fuel barrels currently sit in the background. Then rearrange around that.

My plan for the utility closet is to get the door hung, and skin with 1/2 OSB. There will be 3/4 OSB on the top, which should make it strong enough for anything I want to throw up there.

Also, the air compressor is FINALLY off the pallet and will be hard mounted this week.

I cant remember what it set my wife back when she bought it for Christmas one year, but it has been worth every penny. I have an "I like you, bolt" impact wrench, then the heavy duty impact wrench, then the "I wasnt asking for you to come loose..." impact wrench. Useful for a ton of other stuff too. I have one of the Maxair kits that Ill plumb the barn with once its framed.

Mine will be hard wire 220 with a DPST switch on the wall to turn it on and off. I plan on piping the drain outside the closet along with the regulator so I basically never have to set foot in there to deal with it. Regulator outside on the maxair line too so I can drain the moisture. I have two drops and I'm debating on a third, but it depends on how I arrange the barn to be honest.

With spring in full swing, I am back to winning the "Yard of the week" award from the HOA every week...

In other news, I completed my second bench. I cant stress how much easier they make my life.


But, the real magic is starting to happen in the barn. When we left off last time, we had it mostly framed save for a few minor needs. Saturday, it was finished.


3/4 tongue and groove up top



One side skinned


Door hung. Who can spot the major issue here?




Other side skinned. Makes a HUGE difference in how loud the compressor is, and its not even 100% sealed up yet. I also regained the storage space up top which has freed up a lot of floor space for me to work again.

Next up are the north walls, because those will be where I hang the mini split head units.

Also, just for Kitties-with-Sigs

Cute little gas axe, we have one at work rated up to 60" of steel

Looking good!  Really wanting to get our pole barn spray foamed.

It cost a mint, but it was worth every penny. To give you an idea, when dad and I went to grab a bite for lunch, we closer it up. Cooled it off a solid 5-6* because of how cool the concrete pad was. Cool in summer, warm in winter relative to air temp.

Putting the kero heater out there (running on diesel/IPA) is enough to just about run you out of there in an hour or two if you're doing labor. No matter how cold it is outside.

In my case, it took something that was unbearably hot/cold to being easily four seasons tolerable without heat/ac.

The benches look good but bear in mind...
Horizontal areas tend to collect many things.
To the point where you have no bench left.
Shelves, cabinets and drawers are a must..
Build a 3' x 3' roll around bench.
You can thank me later.

Those are nice looking corner brackets, what are they called/where did you get them?

Thanks

They're Simpson Strong Ties that you can buy at Lowe's/ Home Depot. They're not exactly cheap, but they are rigid and they take a lot of the guesswork out of making everything square.

In other news, I got rear ended taking K to school this morning. Kid in her Prius texting her friends (which she conveniently lied to the officer about).

So now that I've had my truck back for not quite 6 weeks, it's out of commission again until it gets fixed. So much for that Lowe's trip I was planning this weekend.