Little things weekend.

My supplies came in mid-week, though I was too lazy to post an update for it.  The cheap electric nailer I bought is a little too cheap.  If it can't even drive a 3/4" staple through pine, it really doesn't have any value.

I gave up on the wine rack storage.  It would have required building a lot of infrastructure to hold them in place.  I instead picked this thing up because it was cheap, and I think I will mount it on a bottle holder.  

I also picked up a new belt for the Kirby.  The vacuum still works okay.  It doesn't pick up as well as my old Eureka I got from Aunt and Uncle, but that vacuum is on its last legs.  

I also tried out the new swivel base for the barstool.  It was really really stiff.

It actually started to warm up for the weekend.  I made a run to Harbor Freight (only the finest...) and got a new nailer and stuff.  My porch had a failure on Saturday though. 

Most of Saturday was rearranging the third room, and working on the set of shelving.  

My camera intentionally mutes the colors, but it was a rather pretty sunset on Saturday.  I did spend a little bit of time outside.

Sunday I got the itch and surprisingly woke up early.  I decided to try to loosen up and lube the swivel base before I returned it.  It helped a lot.

I decided it was good enough and put the stool back together.  

Next up was the laundry shelving.  I got two sets of shelves put up.  Yes, they are shiplap boards.  Home Depot's website lied about them having 16" melamine shelving, and these were reasonably cheap.  Come spring I will probably pull them down, glue them together (it is two boards deep), and paint them.  Or since I have a bunch of leftover plywood (more on that below), perhaps I just use some of that.

Turns out my wall isn't straight on the water heater side...

Everything is accessible, and I don't have stuff piled on the dryer anymore.  

I also finished up the spice racks I was working on for Jess and Heather.  They just need to be sanded down.

I also went outside for a bit.  I took my pruning shears and started to walk where I wanted to put the walking trail.  

There were lots of tracks and droppings on it.  

It was rather peaceful, and quite nice outside.

Turns out there is a highway off to the side of the shed.  I saw tons of deer tracks.

Looks like the tarp covering the riding mower is in the next county.  It was nowhere to be seen. 

The tarp has come off the excavator too.  Ugh.  At least the tarp was still in the backyard.

My back yard is busy.  

I finally got annoyed enough to "accidentally" unplug my faucet's sensor.  

Unfortunately though, when it dies, it apparently takes out the faucet.  Who on earth thought this was a good design?

The rest of the evening was spent working on the set of shelving.  It isn't as stable as I would have liked, and is quite monstrous in size.  I am definitely having doubts about building the second one, but I have already bought the wood for it.  Hmmm.  This one is just glue curing away from being done though.

Most of these little things weren't on the checklist, but the shelving and trail marking were.  I think the trails stuff is low priority and not likely to finish, but I at least got the trail from the base of the hill up to the shed trimmed.  

Winter Projects:

• Build shelving for second room
  
• Design deck
• Eliminate cap
• Install whole house filter.
• Install new faucet in kitchen
• Install new faucet in master bath
  
• Access panel upgrades in master closet
• Cut trails, or at least mark paths.

2025 Projects

• Insulate the water lines
• Take scrap metal to Buffum.  Clean up trash.
• Storm doors
• Gravel the driveway
• Side yard drainage
• Build Deck
• Add the roof over to rocks
• Move carport up hill
• Smooth grade to shed.

Brrrr

So in total we got 8" of snow over the weekend.  Last night the cold set in big time though.  My thermometer and my truck disagreed, but both said very cold.  My heat kept up though, even though it was colder than the heat pump was rated for.  My capacity starts to drop precipitously below -4F.  

I went out this morning before work and finished up the parking spot.  The driveway is bad, I apparently didn't remember where the edges were very well, but it is clear.  With the feet on the snowblower set correctly it was quite easy, though the feet could stand to be wider; they dug into the rocks below the snow a couple of times.

The tractor really really didn't want to start this morning.  I sat on the glow plugs for an extra 10 seconds before trying to start, and it almost didn't.  Even when it did start, the hydraulics were like molasses and really slow.  But at the end of the day, I got the spot at the top cleared up.  I wanted to scrape down by the road too, but I ran out of time, and I was cold after clearing the top anyways.  I can't find my old mittens, though I vaguely recall they might not have survived last winter.

My drive in was interesting.  South road was closed, not sure why, just a random town truck in the middle of the road.  Either someone spun out or a tree came down or something.  I also hit a blockage on Sullivan Rd in Keene.  

Brrr.  I will say it is good to know that even in these temps, everything still started and worked.

I really need to get moving on finishing up the shelves.  The pile of wood is obnoxiously in the way, and I don't need the nailer for that, I have bigger finish nails I have been using with the glue.  Most of the projects though I will be waiting for warmer weather though.  

Winter Projects:

• Build shelving for second room
  
• Design deck
• Eliminate cap
• Install whole house filter.
• Install new faucet in kitchen
• Install new faucet in master bath
  
• Access panel upgrades in master closet
• Cut trails, or at least mark paths.

2025 Projects

• Insulate the water lines
• Take scrap metal to Buffum.  Clean up trash.
• Storm doors
• Gravel the driveway
• Side yard drainage
• Build Deck
• Add the roof over to rocks
• Move carport up hill
• Smooth grade to shed.

Missing stapler

I didn't get too much done during the week last week.  I ended up working late several days and wasn't terribly motivated.  It didn't help that I have been hacking up my lungs most of the week, though I don't particularly feel sick.

I did go out and pick up a freebie waffle maker.  In hindsight, I am not really sure why.  This is a really nice one (this model is ~$120 on Amazon), and is in like new shape, but while I like waffles, I pretty much never make them; a couple of times a year at most.

It was also cold enough for part of the week that I finally broke out my space heater.  I still haven't gotten around to getting my heat pump fixed, so I am heating with the other unit for the other two bedrooms.  Which is fine, those bedrooms are a nice toasty 70F, but the living room is only around 65F, and it leaves the master bedroom at around 60, and more importantly the master bath is in the 50s, which makes it chilly when you have to pee in the middle of the night.  Hopefully it doesn't radically increase my power bill.  

This weekend was pretty blah.  It rained all day Saturday, and snowed most of Sunday, so I didn't do a whole heck of a lot.  I did a little bit more poking on trailers, and finalized my exterior design if I do go that route (based on the one trailer I have found thus far).  I am surprised it is so hard to find flatbed aluminum trailers.  I pretty much concluded that V-Nose trailers are dumb and shouln't exist; the V is too blunt for any kind of efficiency gains.  This trailer is a lot larger than I need, but allows for some aerodynamic curves.  When it comes to gas mileage aerodynamics are more important than weight, as long as the weight doesn't force me to a bigger truck.

I also made a Home Depot run.  For the life of me I cannot find my brad nailer/stapler.  I have searched the house, the project room, the carport (I have some cap building stuff in there still), the shed, the back of the truck, and everywhere I can think of, and still nothing.  So I figured I would go out and get an electric one (makes it easier to use inside) and to my surprise, neither Harbor Freight or Home Depot even carried an electric one (that wasn't cordless).  I was a bit surprised, they were all the rage a few years ago.  

Something else I haven't been able to find yet: D cell batteries.  I have checked Walmart and Home Depot, and went 0 for 2.  The batteries in my big mag lite aren't dead yet, but I am surprised it is so hard to find them.  This flash light is dead (I accidentally left it on in a bin).  I haven't checked Target yet, but otherwise I might have to go find a Dollar General or maybe check Dick's or something (Ds are common in bed inflators).

I also got some extra braces on the stool.  It is just waiting on the swivel base to come in.  

I probably won't get too much done today, we got our first major snowfall of the season last night.  It looks like it is around 8".  The tractor should make short work of it (I will probably update this post when I clear it, probably during lunch today).

Finishing things up.

The weekend felt super productive, though most of it was just completing things already in progress.  The first thing I did was finish the kitchen faucet.

This is the weird feature it has.   I didn't realize it when I took this video, but it also has a timeout of around 2 minutes, so it means to turn the faucet on after being away from the sink you have to turn it on, and activate the sensor, which is really friggin annoying, and I can't fathom why anyone thought that was a good idea.  It will likely get unplugged soon.

I also finished rearranging and vacuuming the living room.  So far it was successful, I actually used the bike (I don't have the batteries needed for the little walking pad thing) over the weekend.  

I might have a small problem.  All these bags are filled with random stuff I bought at Home Depot or Harbor Freight, plus some tools that really ought to be in the shed.  I will sort through it (I started it this weekend) soon.  

I also tested the little battery bank I got for Christmas with my cooler.  It didn't like it (serious voltage droop when the compressor is running), but it ran it for four hours and only used about half the battery bank, which is more than adequate.  The plan for this is that the Jackery is will run everything, but is only 2kWh, and if I am camping might run out, so basically I am using it to make sure I have lights and my cooler still runs in that case.  On some trips I might not even have to bring the Jackery, which would be nice.

I might make a new harness for it if I can find one of these connectors, hopefully taking 10feet of spare cord out of the connection will lower the voltage drop.

I attempted to fix the broken barstool.

 

On Sunday I tried it and the first go round didn't work though, all the glue just ran out.  So I reglued it again and actually clamped it. 

I did notice as I disassembled it though that there appear to be a few bearings missing from the swivel base, so I ordered a new one.

It was nice out Sunday.  You could literally watch the snow and everything melt off my truck, it was nice after the cold the last couple of weeks.  I went out for a bit in the afternoon.  I stopped in at the Ford Dealer since they were running a giveaway (free food and a scratch off ticket) and I wanted to ask them a few questions about the E-series (mostly to confirm it is a 1-ton frame and stuff like that), and the salesman didn't even know what they were.  Way to go Brattleboro Ford.

 This is a short timelapse of the snow melting on my truck.

I did get all the pieces cut and started assembly on the spice racks.  

I also started cleaning out the third room a little bit.  I think I will be bringing these cabinets down for the girl's kitchen, since i need to shift the bookcase to finish assembling it.  I have the next shelf marked and ready to be installed, but it it hasn't been glued and nailed in yet.

Winter Projects:

• Build shelving for second room
  
• Design deck
• Eliminate cap
• Install whole house filter.
• Install new faucet in kitchen
• Install new faucet in master bath
  
• Access panel upgrades in master closet
• Cut trails, or at least mark paths.

2025 Projects

• Insulate the water lines
• Take scrap metal to Buffum.  Clean up trash.
• Storm doors
• Gravel the driveway
• Side yard drainage
• Build Deck
• Add the roof over to rocks
• Move carport up hill
• Smooth grade to shed.

Some little things

I couldn't find the Lime Away that Heather and Aunt mentioned in the previous post about deep cleaning the tub, but CLR looked like the same kind of stuff.  I thought I had tried it before once upon a time, but at any rate, it appeared to work better.  I had to use it full strength, not diluted, but it still saved me a ton of scrubbing.

My shopping came across three days this week.  Monday I went to Home Depot and got the lumber for some lumber to build some spice racks for Jess and Heather.  They are all marked and ready to cut.  I will cut them this weekend when it isn't arctic outside. 

Tuesday I went to do my normal grocery shopping, and forgot my wallet.  Funny how grocery stores want to be paid for the groceries...  Wednesday I actually finished up the shopping.  I also got a charger for my flashlight that uses regular lithium cells.  

I started to rearrange the living room and prepare for its deep cleaning, but that isn't finished yet.

I also finished up the formal comparison of long term options.  I have to admit that the results were a bit surprising.  Going with a trailer scored significantly better than expected, whereas things like the truck house scored more poorly than expected.  As expected, the box truck scored well, but the trailer scored well enough that I have been poking around on it a bit.  After all, I have lots of experience building on a trailer.  

The whole spreadsheet with all the criteria and scores can be found at: Travel House Comparisons
I am also started to get a rough calculation of how much the conversion costs.  I am working with a 30k estimate because it was an average number I heard from the internet, but these conversions can cost as much or as little depending on what you do/how you do it.

A couple further notes on trailers - I would go with an all-aluminum trailer for this because I expect weight will be an issue, but the nice thing about a trailer is that I can let the floorplan dictate the size, the single parking spot size restriction is gone.  I would have to look into new construction methods (traditional framing is just too heavy for it), but I also have a 24' trailer that could be reused...  I have read about an alternative construction method where they basically sandwich thin plywood and foam board (laminate them) to create structural board, but I would want to test its strength and weight before I commit to that style of construction.

I picked up the parts needed to finish the kitchen faucet, but haven't done it yet.  I need to run the dishwasher again though, so it will be high on the list for this weekend.  

Winter Projects:

• Build shelving for second room
  
• Design deck
• Eliminate cap
• Install whole house filter.
• Install new faucet in kitchen
• Install new faucet in master bath
  
• Access panel upgrades in master closet
• Cut trails, or at least mark paths.

2025 Projects

• Insulate the water lines
• Take scrap metal to Buffum.  Clean up trash.
• Storm doors
• Gravel the driveway
• Side yard drainage
• Build Deck
• Add the roof over to rocks
• Move carport up hill
• Smooth grade to shed.

My plumbing tools were in hiding

I felt dreadful most of the day Saturday, and didn't really do much most of the day.  I played some games, napped, tested my septic system, and napped.  It was on the chillier side and the wind was howling most of the day too.  I did hear back from the scrapper, and he was too far away.  Not sure why he was advertising in my area (he was over an hour and a half from Keene), but I understand not coming out for dead snowblowers.

Sunday I felt a bit better, and while it was colder and still windy, I got the back of my truck cleaned out, got the paneling and whatnot out so I can make a dump run today. 

I started on the kitchen faucet as well.  The old one looks to be really nice, there is no crud in it like there was the bathroom sink, which I find odd.  Maybe that was leftover crud from before he installed the water filter and he used the master bath sink to test it?  Not sure.  But at any rate, I have a spare kitchen faucet if anyone needs one.  It is a cheap plastic one but worked fine.  I mostly wanted a sprayer and one that had more rise to it.

This is what the new one will look like.  

It is attached to the sink, but that is all.  This faucet uses 3/8" fittings though, the old had straight 1/2" pex threaded fittings (MPT), so I will need an adapter.  The biggest problem though was I couldn't find all my plumbing tools.  They weren't with the faucets, in the plumbing closet, nor in the plumbing tote in the shed.  I did eventually find them though, in my electrical tote (???).  Not sure why I would have put them in there.  So if I have time after shopping tonight (I am out of 1/2" pex rings), that should be finished up, otherwise it will be tomorrow.

While I was unable to find the pex tools, I took a quick stab at mounting the rings under the cabinet.  This is what I wanted to do.  

I am debating whether I want to rip off the drywall installed underneath the cabinets though.  I might be able to get the front rings installed without it, but I still have not found a way to install the back set.  I did pick up some vases for them, and I have some concerns about the larger utensils fitting in them too.  

I have also started to do a more formal comparison of the post-Markem options.  The spreadsheet isn't ready for primetime though.  Mostly looking at costs, traveling costs, feature trade-offs, additional requirements it forces, stuff like that.  And I decided to give trailers more of a fair shake this time.

The plumbing stuff can be done anytime, so hopefully I can finish that up this week.

Winter Projects:

• Build shelving for second room
  
• Design deck
• Eliminate cap
• Install whole house filter.
• Install new faucet in kitchen
• Install new faucet in master bath
  
• Access panel upgrades in master closet
• Cut trails, or at least mark paths.

2025 Projects

• Insulate the water lines
• Take scrap metal to Buffum.  Clean up trash.
• Storm doors
• Gravel the driveway
• Side yard drainage
• Build Deck
• Add the roof over to rocks
• Move carport up hill
• Smooth grade to shed.