Dirty Weekend

This past weekend I had another work weekend with Stefan and Matt.  Friday I went and got everything set up.  I got a tractor, dumpster, gravel, dirt, and some lumber. 

The tractor was heavier than I think they claimed.  They claimed it was only 2700 lbs, but my truck thought it was closer to 2.7 tons.  It pushed the back end around quite a bit. 


The dumpster is up on the slab.  It smelled like something died in it.


I also went and prefetched materials.  I ended up not getting enough and had to make another trip though.


I also picked up lumber for the windows in the shed and the trailer.  We ended up not getting that far though.


I also got 12 tons of gravel and a full truckload of fill delivered.


The load of fill was a lot smaller than I was hoping for.


Saturday I had assistance from Matt and Stefan.  We all took turns playing on the toys.


Stefan got really good at it.


Matt laid most of the pipe. 


Because it wouldn't be my lot without it, a lot of trash and a surprising amount of large branches were discovered when digging.  Interestingly enough we even found a bowling ball.  It was lighter than what I normally bowl with.  It felt like a 12 or so.


We got almost all of it dug up and the pipe laid for the back yard drainage. 


There is still a tiny bit over by the woods that needs to be dug.  We dug over top the water lines by hand to make sure that we didn't accidentally cut through them.  I also lost a shovel during the digging process, it is one of the old ones that I found in the slab though, so I am not too concerned. 


Since I live in NH, we also came across a few boulders.  This one was of course on top of the water lines, where I didn't really want to use the tractor, so we got the joy of moving it by hand. 


Also at one point I started pulling out the wood from the trailer.  I plan to lay 2x6 boards down for the surface.


As we wound down for the day, we finally got to test my hose.  This is the first time it has ever been used.  It appeared to work fine.


Though I found out the next day that the el cheapo magnifico hose I bought leaks a little. 


Some things never change. 


Sunday I slept in a bit.  I woke up to my water filter system backflushing.  I tried to finish the tractor work, but didn't quite make it.  I did get the driveway finished, or at least the first part.  The larger 1.5" ledge layer on the bottom is complete.  I might go over it with a bo rake to smooth it a little better, I turned out to not be very good at the whole smoothing thing, but it is good enough that I no longer have to care when I drive up the driveway.


I didn't go all the way down since it didn't need it.  1.5" ledge is only for stiffening ground.  This will all get covered when I get the 1/2" gravel delivered.


I also filled in some dips.


I also spread some of it out in the parking spot at the bottom. 


This is all I have left.  Turns out I got almost the perfect amount.  Another ton or so would have made it perfect, since I would have enough to build a base under the lean to up by the shed.  Oh well.  There is just under a ton left. 


I also smoothed ruts. 




I also filled in the trench.  Since the stuff was like grease, it really didn't smooth all that well.


I still have a lot of fill left for the back yard (I used about a quarter or so I would guess), though I ran out of time with the tractor, so I will have to use the lawn tractor with the dozer blade and dump cart for the rest.  All in all, I will need another 4 truckloads at least for what I wanted to do.


I then started to wash the tractor as some random storms rolled in.  The tractor got really dirty.  It took me well over an hour to get it clean.  I used ~90 gallons of water washing it since I didn't bother to put the water filter on bypass.


It left a big mess on the slab.  I used the hose jet to clear at least a few spots like where I get out of the car.


I had wanted to finish up the digging of the trench today when I got home, but I passed out when I got home (which is why this is being posted so late).  I will try to get to it tomorrow. 

There were a lot of things I wanted to do with the tractor that didn't get done.  The trench isn't quite completed, and I wanted to dig up the muck where I want to the put the lean to up by the shed.  I also wanted to use the tractor to load up the dumpster, which didn't get done.  I didn't have enough dirt either, but I wanted to lessen the grade down by the leech field.  Oh well.  I might have to buy one...

Several of the items on the too long summer to do list are now in progress.

1. Propane
2. Smooth the yard.
3. Install Drainage.
4. Finish driveway repairs.
5. Fix the weed whacker.
6. Fix the push mower.
7. Fix the generator.
8. Refurbish the utility trailer.
9. Extend/insulate the front wall to prevent pipes from freezing.
10. Build a lean to for equipment.
11. Clean the crap out of the shed.
12. Install windows in the shed.
13. Install power and lights in the shed.
14. Put in actual pilings for the shed.
15. Extend the roof on the shed to prevent snow from pushing on the side.
16. Paint the house.
17. Paint the shed.
18. Paint the ceiling of the house.
19. Burn the pile.
20. Get rid of the scrap metal.
21. Bury the power cables.
22. Install outside outlets at the panel.
23. Setup entertainment center
24. Build a real closet so I can hang clothes.
25. Install curtains and shelves.
26. Install trim.
27. Install a table in the house

Storm Damage

A couple days ago we had some pretty vicious storms come through.  They thankfully broke the heat, but there were other repercussions.  They blew over my bug zapper.


They also took down the tree that was leaning over by the creek.


And then there is this.  This is my power pole.  The camera is reasonably level.


What is odd about the power pole is that nothing is leaning on it.


And I can't find anything that might have fallen on it on its way to the ground either.

Just some minor odds and ends

I actually had a late day yesterday.  I have been staying a little bit later at work so I can take Friday off without using vacation time, and had a bunch of things to do when I got home. 

I first went and retrieved a few things.  I got the AC unit out of the shed that I used in the apartment and sold it, since I really don't have a need for a 10k BTU portable unit.  One of my coworkers uses them because he hates hauling window units around. 

I also pulled out my old table.  All things considered, it survived the winter and spring outside quite well.  I intend to chop it in half (the surface is already two pieces) and use one half as an actual table, and the other is going to be the shelf in the laundry room, since it is deeper than a 1x12 (each piece is 1x18). 


The other thing I did last night was I got another load of gravel.  I ran out of time when unloading it, so I left the stuff in the back of the truck, I will put everything back together tonight. 


This load covered a little bit more than previous loads since I am at the part of the driveway where the ruts aren't as deep. 


I also have been trying to organize the various projects I wanted to get done this year, and the list is longer than I expected.  Obviously some of the items are just wants and will likely get pushed out, like the trim.  Here it goes (in no particular order) :

1. Propane
2. Smooth the yard.
3. Install Drainage.
4. Finish driveway repairs.
5. Fix the weed whacker.
6. Fix the push mower.
7. Fix the generator.
8. Refurbish the utility trailer.
9. Extend/insulate the front wall to prevent pipes from freezing.
10. Build a lean to for equipment.
11. Clean the crap out of the shed.
12. Install windows in the shed.
13. Install power and lights in the shed.
14. Put in actual pilings for the shed.
15. Extend the roof on the shed to prevent snow from pushing on the side.
16. Paint the house.
17. Paint the shed.
18. Paint the ceiling of the house.
19. Burn the pile.
20. Get rid of the scrap metal.
21. Bury the power cables.
22. Install outside outlets at the panel.
23. Setup entertainment center
24. Build a real closet so I can hang clothes.
25. Install curtains and shelves.
26. Install trim.
27. Install a table in the house.

Stove chosen and some shelving installed.

I went out the other day and looked at stoves.  I wanted to get one with a control panel, but apparently that feature costs a couple hundred dollars.  The stove goes right underneath the microwave which has a timer and stuff, so I think I might pass and just buy a nice stove when I build the real house.
This is the one I think I am going to go with, though I will probably buy it from Manny's and not Home Depot:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hotpoint-30-in-4-8-cu-ft-Gas-Range-Oven-in-White-RGBS300DMWW/306309074

I also picked up some wood and built shelves for the laundry room.  This allows me to clear out a bunch of stuff under the sink, and move stuff from where the table is supposed to go under the sink where it belongs. 


I also got the brackets installed for a big shelf above the water filter.  This gives me a place for the sheets and towels, which allow me to clear some space off the wire rack that is my closet at the moment.

Definitely the stove.

I think I have proven it is the stove at this point.  I put in another valve that is immediately before the flare fittings (which is as close as I can put it) so I could pressure test it.


The test passed up to that valve.  As was the case last time, it failed with the stove connected.


So at this point I will be going out and looking at new stoves today.  I might move forward with the propane as well, since I would likely get the stove professionally installed (most places offer it for next to nothing). 

On a side note, I have been trying to plan a weekend to do all my outdoor work that I would need a tractor for, and I think mother nature is screwing with me at this point.  Rain on Thursday and Friday means that I can't reliably get a tractor through the back yard; it doesn't take much in its current state to turn into soup.  Grrr

New stove time?

I enjoyed my time off for the 4th so I didn't get a whole lot of work done.  I went out yesterday and helped Mike with his gutters.

I did get the cap replaced. 


Unfortunately, while it is a lot better, it still fails the pressure test.  I tested it again with the valve closed and it passed, so it is either the stove or in that picture.  I put more leak check on it, and I don't see any bubbles.  It might be time to just buy a new stove and have a pro install it. 

Dull stormy weekend

I spent the weekend dodging storms.  I did get a few notable things done.  I completed assembling the rake.  There is also a 0% chance that it will work on my lawn tractor.  It would tear the back end completely off if I put it in.  It is heavier than I expected and the receiver is only held on by the little tab of metal. 


I also pulled the stove out and ran some leak check on it.  The leak isn't where I expected it to be.  I would have thought the black iron would be solid.  It has pipe dope on it and is generally one of the easiest parts to put together.  No matter how much I wrenched on it though, the leaks didn't stop.  It will make taking it off to replace the cap and dope interesting though.  The rest of the fittings were all fine, the flare fittings were fine.


I might finish t his up tonight, I have the new parts sitting there, but taking the stove out is kind of a pain, I have to move the cart and my trash cans, and with the stove pulled out I can't access the kitchen, bathroom, and so on.