Fedex strikes again

The next upgrade I ordered came in the other day.  It was a set of rolling shelves to replace the built in shelves in the master bathroom.  But alas, they got Fedex'd.  The box had some damage.

But every single shelf in the box was wrecked.  The poles looked ok.  While this is Fedex' fault, it isn't like the seller tried to help prevent damage, there was no padding or protection at all in the box.

The other big news was that the home contractors came on Wednesday.  They didn't do the windows because of rain.  I am still trying to find a way that I can leave the windows open when it rains.  

But they cleaned up the sloppy light install and the random nails in the floor.

They did a decent job on the floors.  They were careful top cut it on the "seams" and resealed it after with what looked like a chemical weld type thing (think JB Weld for linoleum).  Other than you can see where the applied the chemical (which should wear off eventually) it doesn't look bad.  These were the two big ones.  

They also fixed the squeak in the kitchen.  It was apparently caused by the trailer frame not being bolted to the subflooring very tightly.  I wasn't able to reproduce the squeak in the living room.

I am finishing up the thorough cleaning.  I was thinking of having some people over this weekend.  It is supposed to be nice this weekend, so I might also rent the excavator.  I think I remember the layers that I used before: landscape fabric, large gravel, perf pipe (in a sock), more gravel, then the dirt.  The heat pump is in progress, the contractor has ordered the materials.  He seems to think that it will be installed within a couple of weeks.  

Short post, no pictures

Not too much to report today.  I went out yesterday at lunch and officially ordered the couch and bed.  They came to a little over $1500 all said and done.  I did get the delivery since I didn't want to try to carry the couch into the house by myself.  They said they would carry it in and assemble it, and in the case of the bed, they would move the futon for me to the third bedroom.  For 30 bucks, that seemed worth it.

I finally got another quote for the AC back.  At 26 grand though (the other quote, which uses Samsung units instead of Mitsubishi ones was $13.5k), there isn't a chance I am willing to spend that, even if the units are better and more efficient.  Honestly, that might have been an outrageous quote just to make me go away.

I also went to Home depot last night and picked up some stuff for painting the cabinets so I can hopefully get working on that soon.

We finally have some nice weather coming up, so hopefully maybe Monday I can rent the excavator and get the trenches for the drain pipes in so I can get that done.  Hopefully next week I will be able to fix the carport too.

Picking things up and putting them down.

Friday I went and selected the furniture I am ordering.  I will be finalizing the order today.  This is the couch I am going with.  I am also getting a queen bed.

The other big news for Friday was that I now have propane.  I was a little surprised they were willing to put them in the back yard.

Everything in the house is now fully functional.  The stove lives.

When they hooked up the propane, they test fired the furnace.  I also found out that the furnace was installed wrong; you can't get the doors on it because it was installed too close to the wall.

I also finally got an HVAC quote.  $13,500 for a double mini split system.  That would be set up as 9kbtu in each bedroom, and a 12k btu for the living room and kitchen area.  It is for Samsung units, not Mitsubishi which are a bit more efficient, especially for heating in the winter, but at the present moment is the only offer on the table, so I will probably take it.

After the propane guys left, I had some other visitors.

The last thing I did Friday was that I moved the ziploc bags and stuff.  Wit hit on the door, it was hitting the fridge and the cabinet wouldn't open far enough to be useful.  Here is better, but still not great, there isn't enough clearance here to get the tall stuff in the back out without removing the stuff in front of it.  

Saturday was largely spent helping Anx move.  I did some cleaning and whatnot after I got home, but I was pretty spent at that point.  I did however have a bunch of stuff arrive.  I got a new toilet paper holder.  

My replacement bathrobe (my other one was in the Deacon's chair that was lost in the mold).  The sleeves are a bit long.

I also got a camping pillow.  It is one of the self inflating ones.  Several times now I have gone somewhere, taken my cot and/or air mattress, and realized that I forgot a pillow.  I now have one in that tote with everything else.  It isn't amazing, but it isn't bad and is a ton better than nothing.

I also picked up an electric flyswatter.  

I think the bugs have been coming in from the poor AC side insulation.  I apparently don't have foam board.  During the storms Friday night though, the cardboard got wet and things got really bad.  It was actually channeling water inside the house.

So Saturday, I went and fixed it.  Or rather, redid the cardboard.

My latest toy arrived Saturday afternoon too.  It is an e-bike.  Fedex finally delivered it after three lies about when it was going to show up.  They did a number on the box too, the carboard was all tore up.

This is how it looks coming out of the box.  I understand saving on shipping costs, but it looks like they tried to disassemble as much of the bike as they could to ship it.  They could have taken the assembly time from over an hour to five minutes if they made the box ever-so-slightly larger.  Fortunately I have done quite a bit of bike work over the years.

Once assembled, my only complaint is that it looks like the kickstand was used.  

The assembled bike.

I took it for a quick test ride.  I bought this one because it had a huge motor, which I would need for the very steep hills, since I was planning on using this to commute to try to keep miles off my truck, which rolled over 20k during the weekend.  I was a bit disappointed.  It has a 750W motor, whereas most are only 300W, but it still wasn't enough to even push me up the driveway.  I have doubts whether it will adequately push on the hills coming home from work.  Something is still rubbing though, so I will fix that first in case that is eating up a bunch of the power.

I also cleaned up the camping stove.  It has served me well thus far.

The last thing I did on Saturday before turning in was reattaching/gluing the end cap on my footrest.

Sunday I went out and picked up a dresser.  I was originally intending to build one and then try to match the finish for the table.  This one came pre-matched though:

Apparently on the drive home from Wilmot (up north where I picked it up from) the handle vibrated out.  I found all the pieces though, so I was able to reassemble it.  

I also noticed that the leaves are already starting to change up there.  This foliage season is predicted to be long lasting but not particularly vibrant in color from what I have read.  In Sullivan, the early changers have started to mis-color, but nothing is actually changed yet.

It is now in place.  It is a little bit larger than the one I got from Jess, which is nice. 

That one is now in the third bedroom.  I plan to put the futon next to it.  

Since that is kind of turning into a guest room, I also put spare sheets and towels and stuff a guest might need in the top drawer.  

After taking a nap, since I was still a bit sore from Saturday, I also went and started to disassemble the cabinets from the tiny home.  I had forgotten that I needed to remove the microwave to get them out.  The microwave is a major pain, but I still got everything down.  

Since I plan to paint them white, I also removed all the doors and hinges.

I also pulled out the medicine cabinet, which is going in the master bath, and the other set of shelves I had in the bathroom of the tiny home, which will go in the second bathroom once it too gets painted.  I think I might paint the stuff in the tiny home, so I left everything down there.  I will just put down a drop cloth.

I went and looked at fixing the carport this weekend, but I would have to lay in a puddle to do it so I decided against it.  

Current To-do:

• Before winter:
• Move carport
• Fix carport
• Final grade - get gravel and drainage pipe.
• Buy a real bed and living room furniture.
• Get a gun cabinet/safe.
• Fix driveway.
• Install drainage in the backyard.  Remove the backflush hose.
• Get heat pump installed.
• Get a snowblower for the tractor.
• Build a platform for the steps.
• Insulate the water lines
• Winter projects: 
• All the cabinet upgrades (bathroom, pantry, and kitchen)
• Design deck
• Build armoire
• Build dresser
• Shelving upgrades in master closet.
• Access panel upgrades in master closet
• 2024 Projects:
• Deck
• Entertainment center
• Storm doors

Carport moved, but needs repair.

Last night's major project was finishing up the carport move.  I got the winch I got from Barry hooked up with my new tow strap.  

It held up perfectly fine until the last nudge sideways.  Then the part which had swivel casters on it started pull off the bottom plates (I s topped as soon as I saw it), which was not the part I expected to break if anything broke.  The good news is that replacing the bottom plates (or just nailing and screwing it back on if they aren't too badly damaged) isn't difficult, just annoying.  

It was far enough over that I am not too worried about it.  You can walk between the house and carport, but it isn't comfortable.  I can fix it then finish dragging it over, or just leave it until next year when I go to build the deck.  

Leaving it might be better until I get around to trying to break the rocks, since right now that side is easily accessible.

You can see the carport from the bathroom window, but only off the side.

I also did a couple of things inside.  I moved the ziploc bags over to the tupperware cabinet.  Other than that, I am starting a deep clean, so going through and washing everything so that I can have a housewarming party.

As per the usual, nothing from the HVAC contractors.  At this rate, I might start to look at DIY kits.  I know the basics of how to do the install on a mini-split, and you can order the kits online through Lowe's and Home Depot. The rain is coming today, so I plan on making a visit to the furniture store.  I am down to the dual rocker like Aunt and Uncle have, and the couch with the chaise built in.  I am leaning towards the couch at the moment (admittedly mostly because of price).  I will also be picking out the bed today.  The only other thing that is happening is that the propane gets hooked up tomorrow, and I heard back from the house manufacturer, and they are sending out  a contractor next Wednesday to look at the floors and stuff from the gripe list I sent them.  

Current To-do:

• Before winter:
• Move carport
• Fix carport
• Final grade - get gravel and drainage pipe.
• Buy a real bed and living room furniture.
• Get a gun cabinet/safe.
• Fix driveway.
• Install drainage in the backyard.  Remove the backflush hose.
• Get heat pump installed.
• Get a snowblower for the tractor.
• Build a platform for the steps.
• Insulate the water lines
• Winter projects: 
• All the cabinet upgrades (bathroom, pantry, and kitchen)
• Design deck
• Build armoire
• Build dresser
• Shelving upgrades in master closet.
• Access panel upgrades in master closet
• 2024 Projects:
• Deck
• Entertainment center
• Storm doors

Nice week

It has been pretty nice this week, so I have been spending as much time as possible outside before it changes tonight.  I have gotten a couple of things done though.  I put my rocks to work.

I also brought down one of the wire racks from the shed.  I don't have an immediate need for it up there, and it is amazing how much one set of shelves makes the third room look cleaner.

I also finally got around to registering all the appliances for the warranties.  

I worked remotely this morning because I couldn't remember whether the contractors to fix the issues reported in the house were coming out this Wednesday or next Wednesday, and during lunch I went out and mowed the front since it is supposed to rain for the next several days.  The hill that looked pretty ragged last time looks a lot better now.

Between the filling in of the ruts and now a nice mowing, the carport just looks like a brown blob in the yard.  That will green up eventually.

Still no word from any of the HVAC guys.  I gave them a nudge yesterday, hopefully I hear something soon.  At this point the first guy who comes back gets the job.  I plan on ordering the rest of the furniture this week as well as I think the sales start either this week or this weekend.  I also went up and picked up Barry's winch, so I will hopefully be able to finish moving up the carport either this evening or later this week.

Current To-do:

• Before winter:
• Move carport
• Final grade - get gravel and drainage pipe.
• Buy a real bed and living room furniture.
• Get a gun cabinet/safe.
• Fix driveway.
• Install drainage in the backyard.  Remove the backflush hose.
• Get heat pump installed.
• Get a snowblower for the tractor.
• Build a platform for the steps.
• Insulate the water lines
• Winter projects: 
• All the cabinet upgrades (bathroom, pantry, and kitchen)
• Design deck
• Build armoire
• Build dresser
• Shelving upgrades in master closet.
• Access panel upgrades in master closet
• 2024 Projects:
• Deck
• Entertainment center
• Storm doors

Grill is not a great choice for baking bread.

Friday was my typical shopping day.  I left work a little early and helped Anx for a bit, removing his old dishwasher.  I did get a nice sunset picture on the way home though.  

Saturday I installed a few appliances for Anx, finishing up the dishwasher, and doing the washer because apparently the installer from Manny's was too much of a wimp to remove the old house.  In the afternoon I went to a party.  I also did a few chores.  It was nice to not have to plan my chores around the weather (most notably I don't have to wait for nice weather to do laundry).

Sunday was a much nicer day.  I experimented a bit on Sunday.  I went and visited the country store that reopened.  Their prices were quite high (even for a convenience store), but they had most things.  They had a significant focus on local stuff which may not help their prices, but isn't necessarily an awful thing.  Their half dozen eggs were almost 4 dollars, but were farm fresh eggs (though still 2 weeks old at this point).  

I also grabbed a breakfast sandwich.  It was homemade, but not on demand; they make some and put them in one of those heat ovens like you would find at Stewarts.  It was excellent.

It was pretty nice out, albeit a touch warm for my tastes, but I went out and finally moved all those branches and stuff I have been mowing around all summer.  There were a few piles.  One of them came down, the others were remnants from when Barry cut some trees down for me.  I have been lazy, that was a couple of months ago...

I also did a lot of experimentation on Sunday.  I tried making some vanilla chai (like the stuff from Bolthouse farms that I like).  There are still a few tweaks needed, but it came out good.  

I also tried to make some banana bread.  That experiment didn't go nearly as well.  My oven isn't hooked up yet, and both loaf pans don't fit in the toaster oven, so I figured I would use the grill.  I have baked on it before when I went to the Grand Canyon and in the Badlands.

I learned a few things about my grill.  Normally I have problems with it not getting hot enough; it sometimes struggles to get the marks on steaks for example.  But I didn't have any problems with heat yesterday.  I couldn't keep the temperature low enough to bake effectively.  Even propping the lid open  a bit was insufficient, though it at least let it stabilize around 450-500 (banana bread is baked at 325 normally).

I rescued one of the loaf pans before things went south and finished it in the toaster oven.  The other notsomuch.  I am thinking I might generously trim the burn off and chunk what is left, and mix it in with some banana cream pudding.  

While I was infusing/converting charcoal into the crust of my banana bread, I got the ziploc holder re-glued.

After that I went out and started doing some more yard work.  I tried to fill in and smooth over the ruts from dragging the carport as best as I could without new material.  I intend to get a load of dirt at some point.  

I also went down to the tiny home, and measured some of the parts I might want to poach.  It turns out that I have the perfect amount of hanging wall cabinets for the laundry room.  The laundry room is 5'3" wide and I have 5' of cabinets there.  So I might pull those off.  I am thinking of painting them white, since the washer and dryer are white, and the walls are partially white, the furnace door is white, and so on.  This way I don't have to try to match the kitchen cabinets with a stain.

I am also planning on taking out the medicine cabinet and shelf.  The shelf is for the second bathroom (so it has a bath towel holder), the medicine cabinet for the master bath.  

I also want to poach the outlet with USB ports in it.  I think at least one outlet in every room should have them these days (except maybe the kitchen and laundry room), and will eventually get there.  This one at least is free though.

I walked around for a bit, and found a few rocks which I cleaned and will be using as door stops.  I have found that if the windows are all wide open and it is breezy, the doors will blow shut.

Off and on over the weekend I dabbled with the porch design, but got everything measured.  Right now, despite the cost and effort required, I am leaning towards making a complete wraparound porch.  I just don't know what I would do with the side otherwise, and separating it from the porch makes it feel useless, but as part of the porch, I could keep patio furniture and stuff over there.  It does mean a lot more work and expense though.

I took a video of the plan.  I shrunk it all the way to 720p so hopefully it doesn't get kicked back.  

I guess part of the ruts I filled in were in the driveway, but I don't plan to mark that in progress yet.  I am planning on borrowing Barry's winch to finish up the carport.  I was originally just going to wait until I rented the excavator, but last week it rained every day leading up to the weekend, and this weekend looks like it is going to rain all weekend, and I don't really want to wait.  Still no word from any of the HVAC guys.

Current To-do:

• Before winter:
• Move carport
• Final grade - get gravel and drainage pipe.
• Buy a real bed and living room furniture.
• Get a gun cabinet/safe.
• Fix driveway.
• Install drainage in the backyard.  Remove the backflush hose.
• Get heat pump installed.
• Get a snowblower for the tractor.
• Build a platform for the steps.
• Insulate the water lines
• Winter projects: 
• All the cabinet upgrades (bathroom, pantry, and kitchen)
• Design deck
• Build armoire
• Build dresser
• Shelving upgrades in master closet.
• Access panel upgrades in master closet
• 2024 Projects:
• Deck
• Entertainment center
• Storm doors