Did a little bit of everything

I tried a homemade weed killer, your simple vinegar, salt, and soap mix.  It seemed to work reasonably well.

Before:




When I left this afternoon, everything was wilted and some of it had already died.




I also got my burn barrel made today.  My jig saw didn't fare too well, and it took a while.  It totally destroyed one blade, and I stopped often to let the blade and saw cool (it smokes a lot when cutting metal).  But it survived.


I also got the holes drilled.  I had a lot more trouble with the ventilation holes than I expected.  My cordless drill worked, but only barely, so I switched over to my corded drill which only did a little better.


I also got the seized spindle removed.  Two of them rung off, one came out.  As I was removing it though, I noticed that it freed up, I must have broken it free when I was wrenching on it with extended ratchet.  Once I got it freed up, I manually ran the belt by hand, and I think I will have to replace the other one as well.  It isn't seized, but it is clear when you spin it that the bearing is shot, it makes a grinding noise and doesn't spin smoothly.




I also made some destruction progress.  I got the furnace removed today.  It was a bigger pain in the neck than I anticipated, and actually took a couple of hours to remove.  I currently don't have a heating plan for the tiny home, so I haven't ditched it yet.  I was originally intending to just use space heaters since it is so small and it means I don't have to install duct work, but it looked to be in nice shape.  Something to think on.




I am at an impasse on the water heater.  I have no idea to remove it.  It is kinda attached three different ways.  It is on a shelf bolted to the wall, has a bunch of lines running to it, and has an outside component.  I don't intend to reuse it, I was going to go with a more traditional water heater or a tankless propane one if I can find one that won't drain a propane tank in a matter of minutes.




The kitchen is looking a lot emptier though.  I also got the window out of it today.


I am considering listing a lot of the stuff on Craigslist so I don't have to deal with disposing it.  At least the fridge and water heater, and maybe the beds and stuff.

It works!

So I picked up a new battery and got it installed today.  It is bigger than the old one.


Put some fresh gas in it, hit the key...  and it started almost immediately.  The mower has a lot of familiar problems.  Sometimes it shifts hard, sometimes it glides between gears, and the brakes don't work.  All these problems are eerily reminiscent of our old Craftsman mower.


The spindle for the deck is ordered, and I will work on getting the belt too, and then it should be fully operational.

Slow day

Didn't get much done today, I was pretty beat when I got home from work.  I did manage to get the battery in the tractor removed.  It was dead.  Like didn't spark when I shorted the terminals dead.


It was old too.


My new toy came in today.  I now have a cordless drill.

More side project work

I completed installing the new trailer jack today, which will make it easier if I have to move or reposition it or anything like that.  Contrary to the picture, it does have enough lift to make the trailer level I am fairly certain.  Right now the front was lifted high enough to get it off my truck which was at a weird angle because the front end was in mud when I dragged the trailer up here.  I am leaving the blocks there for the time being until I feel confident that everything is solid.


It turns out that there wasn't easy access to the underside of the bolts, so I just put the lock washers on top.  The trailer itself was already threaded for the bolts, since they are the same diameter as the previous bolts (and thankfully the same thread)  There are no nuts on it (the trailer itself is the nut).  Hopefully this works, which should since before there weren't any lock or flat washers on it.


My other big side project is the mower.  I got the deck removed today.  I had to take off a lot of clips until I figured which ones were the right ones, but in the end it is only 5 clips, not too bad.  You can tell it has sat for a long time.


The underside, while rusty, doesn't look bad all things considered.


The final damage tally on the deck as far as I could tell is the left spindle and a new belt.  The belt on it was getting pretty bad.


To help protect it since it might be a little while before I get to it (I want to make sure the mower runs first before I sink money into the deck) I built it a little lean to.


I left a little early because it was getting dark, and sure enough as soon as I go to get in my car, the sun comes back out.


At least I got a nice rainbow to drive home to.

Not a lot of destruction, but still a productive day.

Today I did some other things that have been lingering in my to-do list.
I got the bulk of my remaining tools over in the shed, along with my old bench.




I also got my table saw assembled.  I haven't calibrated it yet, but it is assembled, and finally out of the box.


I got the trailer frame painted.  I couldn't find my drill wire brush, so I did it by hand.  Probably not a very good job, but I will revisit it when it becomes a problem again.  I put 5 coats on (I didn't use primer, so even 5 won't last too terribly long).  I did pick up some grade 5 bolts, 3/8 diameter so they actually thread into the existing threaded holes in the trailer. I intend to put washers and nuts on them anyways though.


I also got the first big chunk of the yard mowed today.  I played with a tractor a little bit.  Everything on it mechanically seems to work, though the deck belt doesn't move.  I am assuming at the moment that it is the spindles (sounds familiar...)  since I couldn't move the belt manually (I don't have it running yet).  The PTO is just a manual lever that tightens the belt on the deck, which appeared to do what it is supposed to, so I just need to drop the deck and figure out what is seized on it.


I did do a little bit of destruction today, I pulled the carpet out of the living room, and found a random hole under it.  Looks like a vent for the heater I am guessing.


I also ripped the door off the bathroom.  It was apparently hung with cabinet hinges...


I need to develop a plan of attack at this point.  I am not sure how much I want to disturb the plumbing until I find out if the water tanks are empty (the guy said they were, but was a bit of a clueless idiot).  I also have no idea how to remove the air conditioner on the roof (the framing won't support me walking on the roof), so I am reaching the end of what I know how to do.  I ordered a cordless drill that should come in this week, so I can start drilling out the thousands of rivets in the siding.  I also want to spray the front with a bleach mixture before I go too much further, since I am in the heart of the mold and mildew in the trailer.  I hit something with the sledge yesterday and a giant cloud of white powder (I assume mold) came out, so I want to proceed with caution.

Big update, lots of work done.

For starters, I helped Tim take a pretty full truckload of wood out today.  It was over the bed rails (he has a cap), and had lots of good stuff in it, a cherry, oak (I had forgotten how much I love the smell of cut oak), and some maple.  All stuff that was already dead.

I also got a lot of destruction done today.  All the mirrors are out.


The couch is almost completely demolished.


The stove is out.


After Tim had finished cutting wood, he also helped me remove the fridge.  We pretty much just took the prybar, peeled off the wall, and then extracted the fridge.  It was easier than figuring out how to properly remove it.  The hallway looks much larger with the fridge gone.


During the fridge carnage, apparently I lost a vent cover on the outside.


I also started to remove the AC before I got too hot.  This is what was holding the inside piece.  Two of them.  It took forever to get them out, even with a ratchet.


The pile of junk outside is getting big.


So apparently the fire extinguisher that was in the camper was original, still had the 1971 inspection sticker on it.  It still felt full.  The only thing I could think of when I saw this was the scene from Down Periscope where Marty complains about a can that had been on the boat since Korea, to which the cook replied "still tastes like creamed corn."  Except it was deviled ham...  (Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1O9_RVik_Q  )


I was all set to start creating my burn barrel today, but I decided to open the barrel first.  It formerly had methanol in it, and while it was probably bone dry, if it wasn't I didn't want singed eyebrows a la Wile E Coyote.  So I opened it with a 2x4 wedged into it, and have it venting.




The last hour or so that I was up there I was working watching storm clouds roll in and listening to thunder.  So I decided to at least lamely cover the fridge.  I am not sure if it still works, but at the present moment I have no reason to suspect it doesn't.  I probably won't keep it since I want a full size one, but someone else might have use for it.  The band of storms moving through is purple on the radar, so it probably won't hold, but we shall see.


The edge of the storm front.  When I left the property it was 91.  I stopped at Hannaford and Home Depot on the way home, and by the time I got home (less than an hour later) it had dropped to 66.


I also saw these up at the property today.  I can't say that I have ever heard of a wild blueberry, but that is what it looks like.  It wasn't really a bush, but it was also growing directly on a ginormous boulder.

More demolition.

I got the first window out today.  I got the front window popped loose as well, but since I can't reach both sides of it, I might try to get some help to get it removed.  I am trying to avoid making a huge mess that I will have to clean up.


I also failed to get the trailer jack changed out.  Apparently I brought my sockets up to the property, but didn't bring the ratchet...  D'oh!  I had an adjustable wrench though, and got two of the bolts out.  The third didn't want to go, and I stopped wrenching on it before I rounded it.


I did get the first bag of trash out.  This is the big cushion from the couch.  Hopefully everything else will be easier to bag.


Thus far I have avoided making a mess, but I am beginning to wonder if the extra time is worth it.