Beautiful warm day.

Today was nice, up in the 60s and sunny.  I actually went up to work on the property to do work for the first time in a while.

The driveway was clear, and reasonably firm.  I was able to get the car up without trouble.  I took the car since the truck's inspection is out of date (expired in March).  The windshield cracked over the winter.  It has a new windshield in it now, but they didn't want the truck on a lift (it torques the truck a little) until next week.


The creek has been very very high the last several weeks.  I briefly looked at a hydro-generator, a powerspout (http://www.powerspout.com), but apparently even despite the head, I am not sure I have enough volume to be able to do anything more than charge my phone.  I might get more out of it in the spring (like right now), but most of the year the volume just isn't there.


The snow hasn't all melted off up there yet, so the first thing I did was finish shoveling off the slab, at least where the trailer is.




I haven't gotten the electrician up there yet, so I used my cordless drill to do the wire brushing.  I didn't get very far before the batteries gave out (the first one was nearly dead already, I haven't charged it all winter), but I did get the bulk of one side wire brushed and painted.  I also picked up the first new cross beam, but sadly Ace only had one in stock.




By the time I was finished, the slab had melted off the thin layer of ice on the bottom and was starting to dry off.  It was only around 3 when I left, so I am hoping it is completely dry tomorrow.  Barry is going to bring in his metal detector to see if we can tell how the concrete was reinforced, whether they used that wimpy wire mesh stuff or full on rebar.  I am assuming rebar, especially since the tie downs for the old trailer were rebar laid in the concrete when it was poured.

I recently hit another snag, a potentially fatal one.  The town of Sullivan updated their ordinances last month (essentially the town laws) and have outlawed any primary residence under 700 square feet.  Since my tiny home is only 208 square feet, I might have a problem.  The selectsman thankfully recognized me and told me when I went up there to fill out the paperwork for my property taxes, and mentioned I might be able to get a variance (essentially an exemption), but gave me a booklet to make sure none of the other changes bode ill for my plans, which I will read tonight.  I plan on going up and starting the paperwork for the variance very quickly.  My main arguments will be:

1. I am hoping to get grandfathered in since I started the tiny home project last year when none of the ordinances existed yet.  My blog is proof if it is needed.
2. The tiny home is not a permanent fixture and that I will be building a full sized house on the lot eventually.
3. I am rehabbing the lot, taking what was a crummy lot and making it nicer, raising its value.  The lot has been overgrown and has been an eyesore for several years.  I plan on knocking down the old foundation and filling it in, I will be putting in a real driveway very shortly, etc.

If they need a hearing, I might bring Barry with me; he is familiar with these kinds of processes as a zoning board member in Westmoreland, which is the next town over.

If the town rejects the variance, then things get interesting.  I will then have to start looking for loopholes (ie get it considered as a seasonal or non-permanent residence), alternative plans (build the garage on the slab first?  The slab is 28x40, plenty big enough) and those kinds of things.  Regardless of the outcome though, even if I end up selling the lot, I will still probably build the tiny home, get the driveway started, get the electric fixed, and probably a few other things.  The lot was listed for over two years when I bought it, and I don't think I would want to wait that long for it to sell, so hopefully it doesn't come to that.

In addition to all that, I finally got around to fixing my old glasses.  I picked up some JB Weld at Ace, unfortunately all they carry nowadays is the putty stuff, the liquid and hardener style wasn't available.  The putty kinda sucks for my application; if I wanted bazooka bubble gum, I would use bazooka bubble gum...  We shall see later tonight whether or not it works.  The frames are stainless steel, which it should work good for.