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Wham! tap, tap, tap.

I have been in mucking with WordPress. I think I have notifications set up.

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We continued to make progress on finishing work in several areas.

While waiting for the winds to subside we started work on putting up wallboard in the workshop area.

This took a day to clean out one end, including the workbench and another day to get the clean clean end wallboard up, less the end. Now we need to move the shelving units down to the other end to wallboard this end.

In the meantime we finally got good weather & no wind on Saturday so we got to work putting the metal walls up.

The most important part is getting metal up on the open end. The color is a light brown or Taupe, with dark brown trim work. The first day we got all but the final piece on the open end. It took quite a while to get the trim work around the door, but the rest went pretty quickly. We plan to finish up the rest tomorrow before the winds return Sunday night.

The view from the inside looks much more weather tight. Once we get the metal finished, we’ll return to the workshop.

It has been a tremendously productive week, although having to be out of the apartment by Thanksgiving has a wonderful effect of forcing the mind. When we left off last week we had just insulated the C-Cans.

Some geese stopped by on their way South.

We also started wiring the bay between the C-Cans. One of the recent changes to the electrical code is that the “garage” circuit needs to be on it’s own 20A circuit – apparently setting the stage for charging electric cars.

Late in the week AT started put up wallboard in the storage C-Can. It only took a couple of hours with the right tools. On Friday he commenced taping, again having the right taping tools it only took a couple of hours. Having a kerosene hot air blowing heater kept the temperature at 80 degrees to get a faster drying time. A second coat of taping followed and taping over the hundreds of screw heads. On Saturday he blew in texturing, let it dry for a couple of hours and finally the finish painting.

On Sunday I was frantically packed up packing up stuff. I had dragooned two of AT’s sons (Christopher & Cameron) to help while AT finished up the installing the lights. At 2:00pm we picked up the 21′ U-Haul truck. We then spent the next two hours packing up stuff and drove it over to the homesite.

After unloading (elapsed time 30 minutes). One of the things that makes the move much easier was renting storage boxes (see below) rather than buying and discarding the standard moving boxes.

The only drawback is that you need to return them, so I’ll spend the next few days unpacking them. I should get them emptied by Wednesday and get the apartment cleaned.

In other work, we got the man-door installed on the workshop C-Can.

Next steps for this week is to finish unpacking the storage boxes (5 of 10 done so far) and return them to U-Haul; get the metal installed on the sides and open end of the enclosure (probably Wednesday); get wallboard up in workshop so we can finish up the electrical install and get the electrical and building permits closed out.

Oh and the cat seems to be doing well in the trailer. I’ve had a couple of brief discussions about not getting up on the counters and desktop. So far he seems to be adapting.

We’ve been making a bunch of improvements with the goal of getting the initial inspections done. We are still waiting for the metal panels for the side walls but the company stays that they should be here on next Thursday’s truck delivery.

In the meantime we have completed framing and wiring the containers as well as insulating them with spray foam insulation.

We tried the do-it-yourself spray foam kit ($345.18 that covers 200 square ft 1 inch thick). They have larger tank sizes, but there are none available locally. Stumped there we contacted some local spray foam vendors. Ram Insulation came out on two days notice and spray foamed both containers in 2 hours or so for $3,000.00. Saved a couple of hundred bucks and probably 3-4 hours of labor.

While waiting for the metal, we installed a French drain behind the containers (downslope from the apple orchard) sloping off into the pit beside the containers. The soil is very sandy and the drain might be unnecessary, but I feel better that it’s in.

We’ve also completed framing and wiring the workshop container. The below montage shows coming in the doors, a view of the expansive workbench along the right wall and finally looking at the repair of burned out floorboard.

Remaining projects are installing the man-door in the workshop, installing a bright overhead light above the trailer and putting another truckload of gravel beside and behind the containers so I can drive around. When we can finally get the inspections done and move on to the finish work.

Well we’re getting further and further into November and weather is becoming more and more significant. We got the metal on half of the roof last week before before the afternoon breezes (15-30 mph) made handling large pieces of thin sheet metal dangerous. It’s been breezy through the weekend, looks like Monday should usher in the next calm period. Hopefully we get the rest of the roof & trim work done then.

In the meantime we’ve been pursuing getting power run into the first conex box (the workshop) and a power off one 20A circuit breaker run to power the storage conex box. The faming is done on the second conex box, the wiring is done to the lights and misc outlets, and waiting for the electrical inspection before insulation (spray foam) & covering with wallboard.

In the workshop conex box we’ve got the back wall framed to support the breaker box. Eventually we will frame and spray foam that, put up wallboard/peg board; but that isn’t on the critical path to vacating the apartment and moving in full time.

The outside of the workshop. Power comes from the meter/power pole into the external breaker. Note the two ground bars (pounded down 8′ into the soil) and wired into the ground connection. I rented a trencher to make the digging process much easier. In addition to the power run, added trench to water the apple trees and a French drain running off to the right.

The trench leading off to the right is for the curtain drain that will collect any runoff from the apple orchard that sloped down to the back of the containers.

The soil is primarily sand, but putting in a French drain behind the containers now, before putting in a couple of loads of gravel down behind and on each side of the containers seems to be a prudent move.

In other news, I was getting a warning message about my transmission needing work. I finally got an appointment last Tuesday and drove down to Cheyenne. It turns out that some internal parts were needing replacement (under warranty fortunately). The parts, unfortunately, were located in Dallas TX; dealer estimated that it would be early next week before the car would be done. In the meantime they have provided a rental Nissan Sentra sedan. A definite downgrade.

Had another reminder that things are different here. One of the delightful things about the Northwest is Mo’s Restaurants, which are at several locations on the coast of Oregon. They serve a wonderful clam chowder in a bread bowl. If you click the above link you can see what I mean.

I discovered that have something similar here a Johnny J’s Diner. It is an old-fashioned diner that has terrific food at a reasonable price. On alternate Monday’s they serve beef stew in a bread bowl.

Pictured is the salad and beef stew bowl that is offered for $7.66 for lunch. Also pictured is a caramel apple shake (along with a plastic straw because we don’t have sea turtles that get them stuck in their noses). Tasty.

I got a replacement security camera from the Amazon vendor. I had received a defective one and they sent out another. Got it set up and I have a much better view now. Here is the installation:

Here is what the view is like:

Among other projects, while we were waiting on screws, I spent about $1,400 on misc electrical supplies to wire the conex boxes permanently off the meter. Below is a picture of framing on the back wall where we are mounting the electrical panels. Actually $610.00 of the total was for a 1,000 foot spool of 12-2 NM w/Green wiring for the downstream wiring of the boxes as well as the house next year.

I also have installed one of the two man doors in the containers. This is the one in the storage conex.

If you squint (or use two fingers to blow up the picture) you can see a combination deadbolt. If you would like to have your very own access code you can send me one and I will put it in. I would recommend the last 4 digits of your SSN (or the last 4 of your cell phone number). My SSN was used as my service number for 19 years so I’m no longer worried about it being compromised – I had it printed on checks to make it easier to write checks at the Navy Exchange for heaven’s sake.

Here’s the view from inside.

The plans are to install the roofing metal mid-next week followed by the metal siding. In the meantime I will be installing the man door in the other container, work on installing the framing in both containers and following up with the well drilling folks and after that the septic tank/field people. And of course starting to move household stuff over.

Today, October 25th, is St Crispin’s Day. For those of us who were educated, learning about that dead white male Shakespeare (or Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, but that’s a whole other story). One of his many quotes is a stirring:

“From this day to the ending of the world,

But we in it shall be remembered-

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;

For he to-day that sheds his blood with me

Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition;

And gentlemen in England now-a-bed

Shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here,

And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks

That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”

William Shakespeare, Henry V

You can go HERE if you want the full quote from Act IV, scene 3.

And of course for the non-readers or the visual learners we have THIS.

We finally got the rainwater collection tank installed. See below:

When full, the 550gallons should weigh about 4,500 lbs (assuming 8.33lbs/gal). Hence we used some 2×12’s left over from the cement forms and some old 6 ft lengths of telephone poles left on the property.

This is first pass at insulation needed to avoid freezing up in the Winter.

The other news is that I got the solar power system from the AltE mail-order place.

In the back are 2ea 48v Lithium Ferro Phosphate batteries. In the front are 16ea 300watt solar panels and the other boxes are the solar power charge controllers, the inverter, misc breakers and layout panels, etc, etc.

Here kitty, kitty… In honor of my visitor of late I purchased one of these. It’s a cheap Muddy trail camera. It’s set up looking at the path the cat came through the other day.

Now we wait to see what we catch.

AT (my contractor) just pointed out some wild life tracks next to the grey container near the neighbors fence.

I took a closeup picture of the kitten tracks next to a tape measure. Note that he (or she) was obviously not bothered by the neighbors dog.

Somehow I don’t think my kitty has 4″ paws, I’ll measure them when I get home. It was obviously left after the rain and snow last night ended; sometime after 2:00am.

I don’t feel nearly as paranoid concealed-carrying as I did before. I don’t think a smallish cougar is much of an attack threat, but I feel better carrying one of John Browning’s (PBUH) creations.