Quiet week, the days are getting short

I haven't done much this week, but I usually only get an hour at most to work before it is dark.  Sometimes I haven't even been getting that.  There have been an abnormally high amount of pinheads on the roads of late.  Like this noob who hit a telephone pole.  That required a 15 minute detour.

I have gotten a couple of things done in the evenings though.  I got the futon and dresser swapped.

I also got the felt pads put on the wire rack in the bathroom.  They didn't seem to stick that well, we will see how well they stay on.  

When I have had daylight, I have been working on the carport.  I finished getting the bottom plates reattached yesterday.

I finished it up after dark (the carport has a beefy light in it thankfully), but I also installed some extra bracing.  The repair isn't as strong as the original install, so am trying to help make up for that, since I do still need to drag the carport another few feet over.  I have a couple more braces to install; I also got some T braces for the joints in addition to the ones in the picture.

As the carport nears completion, I went and poked my head in the new quarry that recently opened on 9.  I couldn't find an office or anything up there though.  There was one guy in a loader in the back and that was it.  I didn't even see a scale, which I thought was odd.  So I think for now I will stick with Cold River materials.  I plan on getting the stone I need for the drainage set up today, and hopefully they can get it up there either today or tomorrow (assuming they haven't switched to their winter hours yet).  I still have some digging to do and all that if they can't deliver it until Monday though.  I also took a water sample and will be stopping at the hot tub place today since I can't figure out what I did wrong with the chemicals.  I figured I would see what they have to say before going the nuclear route (basically pour a quart of bleach in it, run it for a day, then drain it and start over).

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

Visitors this weekend.

Friday after work was mostly shopping.  I picked up the stuff for the drainage ditch.  All that is left is to get some gravel delivered.

One of the things I ordered last week was waiting for me when I got home from shopping.  It is a new lens, a light pollution filter, and a remote for the cameras.  They should fit both of the Pentax digital cameras (and technically the film ones too, but I probably won't use those) down there.  This is a faster higher end lens that I wanted to try to take milky way pictures with on my trip in November.

I did a couple of things when I got home from shopping.  I got the old shelves removed, and the rolling wire rack installed in the bathroom.  It fits perfectly.  I will still want to put some felt pads on the edges to keep it from scraping the walls, but it is in and usable.  I put some towels on it, though I don't have nearly enough towels and sheets to fill it, so I will have to decide what to do with the rest of the space.  

It is on wheels, so it just slides in and out.

Saturday morning I woke up to some turkeys.  Ophelia hadn't yet come far enough north to hit me (she came in the afternoon), so it was still dry.  

The first thing I did Saturday was break more drill bits.  My Dad had lent me his easy-outs for removing screws with stripped screw heads to try  to remove the bolt that my hex key had broken off into.  They require something to bite into though, so I tried to drill a hole in the screw head, and broke another drill bit.  This set of Ace Hardware drill bits has been rather disappointing.  I have broken almost half the set now.

I also started working on the carport.  My idea didn't work quite as initially hoped, but it worked well enough to start the repairs.  I got all the bent nails cut off with my reciprocating saw, and then I tried to jack it up on the bottom plates to realign them.  I had hoped I could jack it in the middle, and everything would fall back into place just by virtue of the weight of the carport.  That didn't work, but it worked if I jacked it up locally, and just did it a couple studs at a time.  For now I am just putting some 4" screws in to get it back into shape, and will add more support braces on the inside afterwards.  

I got a few studs reattached when I got a call from Dad.  I didn't get to finish reattaching the bottom plates, but oh well.  I can finish it during the week.  His camper lost a wheel bearing and he had to go chase down the tire that fell off.  He didn't have the tools with him to replace the bearing.  He was only a few hours out so I rounded up some tools and went to help.  We ended up replacing the entire hub due largely to incompetence at Advance Idiots and Napa No Know How.  

I did notice on the drive home that my truck really really liked following the camper home.  Nothing like a giant brick to break all the wind for you, and Dad wasn't driving fast either.  This shattered the previous gas mileage record in my truck.  The previous best was 26.8mpg.  Some of the cars I had growing up didn't even get 29mpg.  

I don't have a picture, but I discovered something Sunday morning.  The circuits in the house are set up weird (pretty common for manufactured and mobile homes), and the Jackery (which I had lent to my Dad so he had shore power in the camper) had flipped the breaker when it kicked up to its maximum charging rate.  Apparently the second bedroom is on the same circuit as my TV and the exterior outlet since I found out later that the hot tub had been kicked off too.

Other than that, had a good time visiting with Dad and Natalie on Sunday.  Soaked in the hot tub for a bit, and went on a covered bridge tour.  Ate some Mississippi beef that was delicious.  They are headed on to Fort Ann in NY today.  

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

Quiet week.

This week has been pretty quiet.  My dad came up on Wednesday (not Thursday).  He brought up some family heirlooms, and my new gun cabinet is full.  He is on to Acadia in Maine now.  

I have been enjoying my hot tub, though it would be nice if I had something to do while I was sitting there relaxing.  Last night I watched the football game tracker on my phone.  I think my phone is waterproof, but might want to double check that.  When I get the deck built though, there is no reason I can't put a TV or something out there to watch (much like I am planning to do in the gym).  

I checked the filter again this morning, and it almost still looked like it did after I cleaned it, so I swapped it out with my spare.  I have more filters on the way.  I am still struggling to keep the bromine levels up, I had to put more of the granular stuff in that normally you only use when you do the shock.  I am beginning to wonder if the tablet dispenser built into the tub is ineffective.  I bought a floating tablet dispenser for the pool, perhaps I put it in the hot tub just to try it out.  

I took a quick look this morning, and the trench has dried out, so if the weather holds out this weekend, I might try to get that done.  I am planning to do the carport first though.  I can dig in the rain if need be.  

Time is starting to run low; I only have just over a month, but thankfully I am getting close.  I also just got a note that there has been yet another recall on my truck.  Ford better get it in gear; they still haven't been able to fix the last recall yet.

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

Filter finally caught up. Hot tub is nice.

I came home yesterday to a box.  This was round three of shelves for the wire rack.  This time it looks like I got lucky and FedEx didn't play hackysack with them.  The side was a little dented in, but for the most part it was undamaged.

The shelves weren't all perfect, but all were usable for a change.  They made a half-assed attempt to protect theme with bubble wrap this time since I explicitly complained about their packaging process.

The hot tub was more important though.  I cleaned the filter again when I got home.  It was pretty bad again, but not completely brown.  

But the water looked clear enough to use.  So I lounged around in it for a half hour or so.  It is deeper than I thought.  The bubbles are acceptable, but jets are better (this only has bubbles).  You have to buy a much more expensive hot tub to get jets though.  I am still struggling to keep the bromine levels up, so I added a couple extra bromine pucks to the dispenser.  I only had one in there originally; now there is 4.

I also assembled the wire rack last night.  The fun part will be installing it.  It is too tight to just roll it in next to the toilet, so I will have to lift it up over the toilet.  I need to remove the shelves in the bathroom first though.

I did poke the hot tub this morning as well.  The water looks clearer still now.  I also noticed that my lid apparently has a small hole in it, it is half deflated at this point.  

The filter was still dirty this morning, but not nearly as bad as the last couple of washings.  Hopefully I am reaching the end of my metal issues.  If this continues, it might be time to replace it.  

The bromine levels had come up slightly, but were still low.  Since the bromine is what keeps things from growing in it, I added a bit more of the granulated bromine to it this morning, and some shock.  Thankfully this time the shock didn't cause the water to turn brown.

The shelves were part of the winter list to upgrade the storage in the bathroom, so that is finally in progress.  

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

Water composition is really important for a hot tub.

So yesterday I went up at lunch when the rain was light, and added the chemicals to the hot tub.  Turns out that what is in your water is really really important, and my water is god awful for use in a hot tub.  The shock is an oxidizer, and my water has a lot of iron and copper and other metals in it, which got oxidized by the shock.  So it turned brown.

In theory I think it is safe to use, just really unappealing.  So I went to the spa place (thankfully there is one in Keene) after work for some metal-gone chemicals and some advice.  They said it would clear up after a couple days with the metal control chemical, and recommended that I put a lot of the metal control in and then change the filter once it cleared up.  I also picked up some calcium booster, because of all the things that my water has in it, calcium it is missing apparently.

I put the chemicals in on my way home from the chemical store (I took the long way back to work).  I also pulled out the filter and washed it before bed.  It needed it.  I tried washing it in the sink, which didn't work well.  

Before work this morning, I took a look and it looks a lot better already.  It is no longer opaque at least.

I pulled the filter again.  It left a very dark trail.  

Mostly because it was extremely dirty.

This time I used the hose for more pressure, and it worked substantially better.  The filter isn't good as new, but doesn't look hideous.

I did some inspection, and there is a little staining on the edges of the tub.  I should be able to scrub it off though when I am done with the tub for the year.

My moat is filling up, we got quite a bit of rain yesterday.  Fortunately it is pooling at the far end, which means I got the gradual slope needed correctly.  I still need to pick up the drainage pipes and whatnot.  I feel dead like I didn't get any sleep last night, but if I stay awake at work enough, I might make a list of materials.  

The hot tub isn't on the checklist, but should hopefully be ready to use in the next day or two.  This is exactly the reason I started with a $280 hot tub instead of a multi-thousand unit.  I also ordered a hose filter (like the kind used for RVs) so that this doesn't happen in the future.  I might still install the whole house filter thing I had in the tiny home as well.  

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:
• Gutters
• Deck
• Entertainment center
• Storm doors

Trenches and hot tub.

Friday I was out helping Anx install a new door in his garage.  I did a better job on this one than I did the one in the tiny home.  It is much easier with a second person.  

I got to watch a pretty sunset as I did so.

Saturday I went and rented the excavator.  Hurricane Lee was moving through, but all the reports was that it was going to miss us.

It did get unnervingly close as the day wore on though.

In the end all we got was a lot of wind.  

The excavator was a bigger one (I think this is a 3 ton rated unit), and represents the towing limits on my truck.  According to the guy at Home Depot, it is about 9,000 lbs, maybe a little over.  Other than the lack of trailer brakes, my truck did okay with it.  There was enough power, but certainly no excess, and I didn't have any issues this time.  It completely flattened the back end of the truck, much like the tiny home did, so I think tongue weight is the limiting factor when towing with this truck.  

It didn't take long for me to get the hang of it.  I did quickly discover though that where I am putting the new drainage pipe, there was already a drainage system there.  It obviously doesn't work anymore.

Other than a few goofs, like I did the main trench before I did the branches on it so I can no longer get the excavator to where the branches go (I will have to dig them by hand), it dug the main trench surprisingly quickly.  I expected this to be a whole day affair, since the digging alone took an entire day when I did the other french drain with a backhoe.  I was done shortly after lunch time.

After digging the one for the back, I also went and chewed up the pile of  trash in the back.  The hope is that chewing it up will allow me to use the bucket on the tractor to just scoop it out and put it in a dumpster.  

I left a pathway so I could still access the back yard but dug out both sides. This side I didn't get the excavator all the way down since it is really really soft down there.  I panicked a little when I saw the blue, since the daylight pipe for the well is in the same vicinity and is the same color, but it turns out it was just a piece of plastic.

I also tried to move the boulders back a bit.  The excavator had the hydraulic power necessary to move them, but they were too big to get in the bucket and claw.  I pushed it back a little ways though, as best as I could.

I also tried to move the snowblower to the top of the hill.  The excavator would lift it no problem, but the framing it was shipped in was not strong enough, so I didn't try.

I also dug out a trench down by the leech field.  I found this while I was digging.  No idea what it was, but the excavator took care of it.  My best guess is a roll of barbed wire or something. 

I dug this trench differently; the other one I was digging straight in front and then moving the excavator to dig more, this one I was swinging the body around and digging from the side.  The straight ahead was faster, but this was more fun, and you can fling stuff.

Cleaning the excavator took almost as long as the digging itself.  

Especially when this is as far as my hose reaches...  I think it might be time to get a longer hose.  

I cleaned the trailer too, but I just swept it.  The previous guy got lucky he didn't get charged a cleaning fee.  Or he did and the Home Depot associates just did a really terrible job at cleaning it.

I was surprised that I got the trailer backed up the hill first try.  My driveway isn't very straight, but I got it right in front of the excavator.

Sunday was hot tub day.  My water filter had to backflush, so I ended up digging a little channel in the trench to get it the rest of the way to the creek.

I found the foam board I was intending to use for the window unit ACs finally, and ended up using it to level the hot tub.  It isn't perfectly level, but it is close enough.  I am putting it on top of the larger foam board so it has a nice surface to sit on, and also it should help insulate it.  I will be keeping a close eye on how much power it uses to keep it running.  I expect that most of which will be the heater.  Also of note is that longer term the hot tub will be set up in the back yard, but for now I just set it up in the front.  It is easier to access (especially until I complete the drainage), and I will only have it up for about a month.  I will be taking it down when I go to Marianne's wedding and my vacation.  

Other than mine was missing the instruction booklet, after watching a quick video on Youtube, it really is stupidly simple to set up.  Just hook up the body to the bubbler, let it run.  Do the same for the lid.  

Then hook it up to the hoses on the side.

Then fill.

The screen is unfortunately difficult to read in the sunlight, but my water started off at 52 degrees.

It completely drained my filter, which had just run that morning.  I ran it all the way down.

So I kicked a manual backflush.  And then realized that I forgot to move the hose.  Oops. 

Another 75-80 gallons later, it is full and warming up now.

I also went through and made sure I had all the chemicals I will need.  

After the hot tub, I started to work on the carport, but then I got lazy.  It is jacked up and ready to be worked on though.  

When I went to bed, it was at 72 degrees, and when I left for work this morning, it up to 86, so it is warm enough to start using.  Too bad it is wet and rainy all day today though.  I might still put the chemicals in it today anyways though.

I took a quick look out the and back door this morning, and the trench is starting to fill with water.  Sigh.

This starts the carport and the drainage, but both will take a little while to complete.  I hope to at least finish the carport before I have visitors this weekend though.

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