Drywall - Kitchen continued

Today proved to be one of those days where I had trouble getting up my enthusiasm to plow onward but plow I did...eventually.

 I was doing pretty well....until the drywall knife slipped.

Bled like an SOB!

It was like a really bad (and really annoying) paper cut on the tip of my finger.   I'm not sure how that could have happened....but there ya go!

That pretty much ended the drywall activities for the day.

Drywall - Kitchen

With the outside cleanup pretty much done except for the wood pile I moved back inside to start working on the kitchen area.

I wanted to get the refrigerator tucked away ASAP so I started in the left side corner and moved to the right.  First things first, the ceiling of the counter area had to be installed.  The far right outside corner ceiling framing seemed a little weak to me so I spent some time adding reinforcement and then set about installing drywall up there.

Before the upper tier of the backwall drywall could go up, I needed to tap into the water line in the chase above the refrigerator to provide for water and ice.  I picked up an in-wall faucet connector and using another couple of PEX fittings, tapped into the main water line.  Piece of cake taking all of 3mins.

It will be nice to have a constant supply
of ice again!

The rest of the back wall went up pretty easily.

Once the refrigerator was in place, you could start to get a true sense of the space in that area.  It started me thinking again of the final layout.  More on that later!

On to the outside curved wall.

Septic System

When this lakeside subdivision was created back in the mid to late 60's, there were no local or county sewer lines running to the area so all of the houses were built with traditional septic systems; a tank, maybe two, and a leach field.  In later years, due to new codes, newer homes, and older homes where the system had to be replaced had to install the more sophisticated (and expensive) aerobic system, three tanks, and a sprinkler system.

This house has the old style tank and leach field septic system  As with all systems, it has to be cleaned out periodically, usually every two years depending on usage, and involves contracting out to a septic service to come out with a big truck and vacuum out the primary tank and, if you have one, the second overflow tank.  It's a stinky job but someone has to do it.

Not knowing the history of the house I figured I would eventually have my septic tank pumped out just to start fresh.  Last year, using a borrowed rod specifically for that purpose, I located the first tank and dug down to it.  I anticipated I would have to remove the cover to enable vacuum hose access.  What I found was a small stepping stone like rock covering a hole in the top of the tank.

As with most things, priorities changed and I covered over the hole with some old wall paneling until I could contract with someone to finish the job.  With the upcoming excavation work, it was time to get the job completed and the hole filled in again.  I contacted and septic company and scheduled them to come out April 3rd.

The other day by a fluke via an offhanded conversation with my neighbor I mentioned getting the tank cleaned out.  He told me that HUD had already done it just before I bought the house and that he even came over while the operation was underway to get the guy to come over to his house to clean out his tank.  So, wonders of wonders, I skipped by having to pay someone unnecessarily to clean my tank!

So, now all I have to do is fill the hole....before the excavators come!!

Cleanup - Completed (well, for this week).

I spent all weekend working outside.  The weather was just too great to be indoors....even though there's much work to be done there.  But with the upcoming drainage excavation work, it was necessary to get things cleaned up and moved around.  I started Friday and continued all the way through Sunday. 

Saturday
As anticipated, Friday's burn pile was still hot below the surface so I just started adding on to it and it wasn't long before it started ablazin' again!  I sorted content of the junk pile into to three parts; scrap products that I will keep until the very last of the renovation is done and I won't have a need for the miscellaneous lumber, recyclables (copper, metal, aluminum, etc), and the last straight to the burn pile.

Here are some before and after pics:

Before

After

Before

After

The new scrap wood and recyclables temporary location
on the left side lot next door.

I was beat by the end of the day and was in bed by 10:15pm.  Funny thing though, when I get excercise like that, I wake up after only six hours of sleep.  Sooo....On Sunday morning I was wide awake at 4:15am.  Apparently so was my neighbor Craig across the channel because, just like in some B rated mystery movie, I could see his cigarette glowing in the darkness.

Sunday
I started Sunday at 7:40am by winding up my blower and working the huge pile of leaves towrads the back corner of the far left lot.  I also trimmed up a couple of trees in the front which, of course, fed the burn pile for the third day in a row.

A swim and irrigation pipe repair.
Don't know if you noticed in one of my earlier pics of the channel but the irrigation line I installed last year managed to get an air pocket in it in spite of my best efforts to keep it full of water.  It started to float which can be bad news.  You see that a lot out on the lake; floating pipes.  Also, the first day Craig put his boat into the water so he could bring it around to his brand new boat house he inadvertently broke the marker pipe off just above the inlet valve which needed to be sealed in order to get the air out and maintain the integrity of the system when it would finally be put to use.

So today was the day I..., well..., WE... ventured into the middle of the channel for the first time.  It was a little chilly but not to bad once I got used to it.  With Craig's help and me doing the diving, I raised the end of the line so that the air could be drained out of the marker pipe and with a cork and a stainless steel clamp, closed it off, dropped it back into place with the tire over the end to protect it again.

The tire was already there so I used it
as a means of protecting the inlet head.
The orange marker stick is no more!

I did a number of other clean up related things as well which served to extend out the day but it's all done now...till next week anyway.  It sure feels good to see the changes!

In the meantime, time to move back indoors!

Start of the slow cleanup

When I first started demolition a year ago, I decided to keep a significant portion of the decent building lumber on the off chance I might needed various pieces during the rebuild.  The rest of the debris went to the dump!  I debated where to locate the pile and finally placed it the to left side of the house.  It's grown and diminished over the last year as I've reused a good part of useable lumber in other areas. 

As with any debris pile, over time it gets to be an eyesore.  Well...actually, it was an eyesore then and still is today but I've been able to ignore it.  It's been rained on many times and with the last fall, is now covered with wet moldy leaves and various other junk that's been added to it over time.

With the upcoming drainage control work, naturally I found the pile to be sitting right where needed ground sculpturing is to take place so the water can move away from the house.  Which, of course, means I have to move the pile.  What is that, Murphy's law!??

Anyway, given I'm pretty much done with areas within the house where the content of the pile might have been useful, yesterday, having already started a burn pile for the fallen branches I was cleaning up, I started pulling pieces from the pile and throwing them on the fire.

Piece by piece I'm whittling the debris pile away.  Some pieces I will keep for little while longer but overall it's going up in smoke! 

I'll sure be glad when it's 100% gone!

After the rain

With the return of the water to the lake and channel, I'm starting to see increased wildlife activity.  The mallards and their partners are looking for a suitable nesting area. 

The Boss is venturing out more.

Standoff!!  My money is on the Boss!

It's very pleasant.

Drainage Control

Back in January I posted about an existing drainage issue that needed to be addressed.  It's been praying at the back of my mind since I bought the place.  After a heavy downpour a number of weeks ago and a repeat of the flooding, I decided I needed advance the priority and get this issue resolved once and for all and ASAP.  I visited city hall to learn what I could and couldn't do.  The local councilman came out and advised what the city could do.  My part would be to purchase a new culvert while the city would dig out the ditches and install it.

As with all things local government, when I called to request we move forward with the work the councilman outlined, I couldn't get him to return my calls.  It was pretty apparent, they weren't interested in following through with their side of the discussion.  In checking with the neighbors, they agreed I was pretty much on my own.  Par for the the course.

Last week I called out a guy a coworker friend referred me to.  He took a look around and then advised how he would go about changing the grade along the street, in front of the carport, and along side the house, and of course laying in the new culvert which I would pick up from the local big box store.  I contacted the Texas state "Call before you dig" number to have them come out and locate all of the utility lines and such.

The came out this last Monday to paint lines and plant flags.

You can see the useless culvert pipe

A ditch in that direction to the clutch of trees

A ditch on the other side of the drive at
least to the telephone pole out there in the distance.

 Naturally the same night we had a major rain storm that came through and dropped 4-5" of water.....and obliterated some of the markings.   There's still enough left to see where the utilities are.

BUT.....the lake is full again!

Yard Care - Again

With the new job, I spend 40hrs a week working from the house so to make it interesting I positioned my temporary desk right in the curved windows of the Great Room.  It gives me a panoramic view of the inlet cove to the right and the channel that comes up behind the house.  That's the upside.

The down side is that you can see the yard growth getting a little unruly and thus unsightly.  Ah well, them's the breaks!  The weather was spectacular on Saturday.  It was sunny and mild, perfect for getting out and cleaning things up....again.  So, after I finished drywalling the 3rd bedroom I spent the remaining afternoon well into darkness working on the right side lawn and lot next door.  I debated whether I should use the tractor and it's mower again but opted to just push mow it.  Gotta get me that riding mower cuz I was sure draggin butt by the time I got cleaned up and rolled into bed!

There is an upside to the downside....eventually.  Everything sure looks nice when it's freshly mowed!

According to the weather we were due for another significant rain come Tuesday so Sunday I focused on getting the left side lots cleared of the limbs that came crashing down the last time I had been out blowing leaves, just missing me by a mere three minutes!  I spent two hours blowing the leaf pile about 20' closer to the drop off at the back of the lots.  I finally quit that task and moved on to getting the branch debris cleaned up.  I got out my chainsaw and cut them all down to 2-3' lengths and threw them on the burn pile.  By about 9:00pm I had pretty much burned through all the debris.

One Year Anniversay!!

There have been several one year milestones in the last week or so.  Transferring with the Job to Gun Barrel City before closing on the house.  Closing.  the start of Demolition.  Etc....

Who'd have thought I'd still be working on it a year later??.  I certainly didn't expect it. I thought I'd be done by now but nada!

Oh well!  Live, learn, and enjoy!

Drywall - Electrical Panel Closet

I have to say, finishing out this particular closet gave me great satisfaction.

It went from this pre-demolition state:

To this scary (and maybe illegal) mess:

 To this transitional mess:

 To a safer single power panel:

 To finally being closed off :

Ahhhh......

Drywall - Third Bedroom

With the exception of one small access panel, I've pretty much have finished the 3rd bedroom.  I completed the left wall earlier so this work involved the outside curved wall and the right side interior wall.  The right side wall contained an outlet opening for the TV and Cat5 computer cables but as I got to looking at the room layout closer, I decided to drop another set of lines down the outside wall to the left of the windows.  Better more electronics outlets than not enough or in the right places.  

Doorway to closet and electrical panel

Drywall - Entertainment Center

The weekend was pretty wet and dreary but the lake level is starting to come up nicely.  Another major rain and likely the lake will fill to it's full height.  As it is now I can sit in the window and see water in the cove my channel leads to. 

The water cometh!

But...., I digress.
Rainy days tends to limit what I can sometimes do. I have an as of yet unresolved (but soon! (and another post)) drainage issue out front so under heavy rain, the carport tends to flood which precludes using any power equipment out there.  I don't want to do any major dust creating activity indoors so I'm having to remain flexible as to what I work on when it's raining.

A week or so ago I started drywalling the 3rd bedroom.  I still have one interior wall to complete and the closet but the one wall needed some modifications that required power equipment so I opted instead, to shift work to the Great Room where it was the lightest and brightest on a gloomy day and had some expansive wall space to make good progress on.

Specifically I worked on the space to the left of the fireplace in living/kitchen area.  Originally it was comprised of two enclosed closets, one on the living room side and one on the bedroom side.  Someone removed the closet wall in the far corner of the living room adding additional floor space.  The last residents utilized the space as their defacto entertainment area.

Then

It made sense to continue with that concept but to expand upon it.  Earlier in the project I eliminated the bedroom closet (it had two) and framed in the old doorway.  Removing the framework allowed the alcove space to expand to it's full 11' potential, a nice addition to the Great Room.

Now

Entertainment Center
Previously I mentioned adding blocking between the wall studs in the alcove sufficient to support a good size wall mounted flat panel TV.  The plan is to install low rise cabinetry below that on the left side to house audio/visual equipment and additional storage with right side open and serving as desk space.  For consistency, the cabinetry will match the kitchen.  Speaking of the which, there is a matching alcove or inset on that side of the room.  More on that in a future post.

Friday...
I started with the outside curved wall.  It was pretty easy as it comprised of four near full length sheets of drywall.

I don't know if I've said it before but even so, I'll just say it again...  One of the major plus's in installing the dry wall myself is that it enables me to make modifications along the way or to finish things that I intentionally left for later.....or forgot about.....

Saturday....
When I started paneling over the back wall of the now expanded entertainment area, as I got to looking at it, I realized I probably did not allow enough outlets to support the potential numbers of items that all require plug space.  I did some figuring and got busy dropping a couple of lines to allow for two additional quad outlets.  I don't expect them to be used in full, but better too many outlets than not enough.

Sound/Surround sound
Since most better flat panel TV's now accommodate stereo and/or Surround Sound connections which then create and huge mess of wiring, I picked up an In-Wall Home Theater connection kit.  The recessed kit eliminates the usual glut of unsightly wiring by putting most of it inside the wall cavity.

Integral to that is wiring for sound.  I plan to install two in-wall speakers in the soffit above the space as well as on the opposite wall above the kitchen counter so I ran wiring for that.  I'm a bit annoyed with myself now because I 'thought' 100' of speaker wire would be sufficient.  I came up shy by a couple of feet.  I should have picked up the 200'+ roll of wire as I also want install (and forgot to account for) two outdoor speakers over the Great Room windows.

Desk Area...
I don't know about you, but I find the spaghetti bowl of wiring that usually accompanies most laptops, desktop PCs, extra monitors, printers, and sound systems, etc., to be a major annoyance, not to mention a visual eyesore.   Even though some desks have holes where cords can be dropped keeping the desk top clear, it only serves to drop them down where your feet are.  I, for one, hate getting my feet tangled up in wires, sometimes inadvertently yanking cords from their given connection.  It's also is a PIA when it comes to cleaning, and did I mention a visual eyesore?!

Hide them....
I have purposely left installing the last lower right side drywall panel in the desk area for later.  I'm going to design an accessible wire chase panel of some type so the wires can be hidden away in such a manner as not to loose leg space, yet still allowing me easy and convenient access the wall cavity when necessary, but when closed is completely invisible.

The heavy duty, multi-angle flat panel TV bracket will mount to the right of of the in-wall connector box.  When the TV is mounted it will cover box.

The Boss inspecting my work....

Ahhhhh.....I get the green lights of approval!

Approved!!

Job well done!

Now, where's lunch??

A Really Close Call!!

As mentioned in my last post, I spent all day Sunday blowing several years worth of leaf buildup on the two lots to the left of the house into a big pile with the intent of herding them to the back corner of the property where it drops down into a gully that is the starting point of the channel the house is on.  I didn't get the job done then so today I spent about an hour moving the pile closer to the back.

Generally one tank of gas on my backpack blower lasts about 1hr 10mins so during my lunch hour, I unplugged from work and started tackling the pile.  As anticipated, an hour or so later I ran out of gas and walked back to the house.  I set the blower down and stepped inside to hear someone knocking at the door.  AH!  The seawall guy coming back to give me a quote (a later post).  We had barely started talking when suddenly we heard a crack and crashing sound.  It was obviously a tree branch coming down.  From the sound, I knew pretty much where it fell but was startled when we went to look.

That branch came down quite literally where I had been standing three minutes earlier!  If I hadn't run out of gas at the right moment, between ear plugs and the blower, I would have never heard it break and never known what hit me.  I'd either be dead or seriously impaired. 

Hmmmm.....who can I sue??

YOWZA!!!

Yard Care - First of the Season

Weekend March 2-4
Back in 2008 I picked up a small (relatively speaking) 1948 Ford 8N tractor with a 6' finishing mower from a guy in Waxahachie, TX., where it was used to mow someone's 3 acre grass back yard field.

 

The year before it stalled way out at the end of the field and wouldn't restart.   The owners weren't educated in the ways of the common man and lacked any ability to figure out the where the problem lay.  In the interim divorce intervened so it sat right where it stalled essentially forgotten until the settlement forced it's sale.  That's when I came along.     

I needed something to help maintain the Waco property which tended to get a little unruly when you turned your back and I didn't feel comfortable constantly asking the the dairy farmer next door to mow for me so I opted to shop around for something that I could handle myself.  Craigslist lead me to it.  I made a low ball offer and the guy jumped on it so fast I wondered how much lower I could have gone.  We managed to get it up on the trailer and I got it home but not without some casualties.  Both rear tires couldn't stand the bouncing around on the trailer and went flat.  In looking at them, I sort figured they wouldn't last very long.

I spent several weeks puttering on it and found the cause of their inability to get it restarted to be a 4" plug of oily grass in the oil bath air filter preventing sufficient air flow.  It could get enough to barely run at an idle but would die the minute you gave it more gas.  So much for regular maintenance!  I also replaced the lift pump cylinder, cleaned out the oil chambers and covered all the other neglected areas.  It started right up on the first crank and has been running like a reliable champ ever since.  The finishing mower makes quick work of anything it's applied to

Several months ago I brought it out to the lake thinking I might be able to put it to use here and also to not let it sit there unsupervised for much longer.  While in Waco, it was always parked between uses in the carport protected from the elements but while here a the lake, for logistical reasons it sat out in the open on the trailer for a period of time and for the first time, wouldn't start when I finally got around to putting her to good use.

Saturday
Earlier I drained the gas thinking it might have gone bad and then pulled the carb to check on it.  When I reinstalled it, the tractor started right up but was running rough.  Still, it was enough to get it off the trailer and under the carport.

Saturday morning I made the 26mi trip to Athens to pickup a rebuild kit (26miles!!?, hey, it's the country folks!).  It was such a nice day I took my time and enjoyed the weather.  Once the carb was cleaned up and rebuilt, the tractor started right up again and was back in it's reliable form.   I mowed the lots on either side of the house and the grassy roadside strip at the far corner.

Overall it did a great job but my earlier concerns about the tractor and mower being just a tad too large for this property proved correct.  It can do the job, but a smaller riding mower would be more suitable.  So once the Waco property sells I will sell the 8N and downsize to a 48"-54" riding mower.

Sunday
With the incredible weather I opted to forgo work on the house (sorry Jens!) and get the first major outside cleanup underway.  I spent the entire day from 10am to past dark around 7:30p blowing leaves, dragging fallen branches, etc.  I'm still not done with the leaves, however, moving forward the amount of time blowing leaves will not be nearly as dramatic.  This time was just catching up on years of neglect.

More later!

Drywall - Continues

Wow!  I let a lot of time slip by without an update.  My bad!

Week ending Feb 26
I spent part of last week putting up more drywall.  I finished the curved wall in the master bed and continued it through to the bath.

I also started dry walling the center walls which contain the plumbing but decided to hold off completing it pending some further thoughts on which bathroom sinks I would settle on.  I didn't want to get too far into the drywall of those areas only to have to undo them again to move the water lines.  It's one of the pitfalls of renovating on the fly.   

Week of Feb 27
I started dry walling the third bedroom, specifically the wall separating the bedroom from the great room.  Before I could start I had to redo some wiring as the bedroom side of the wall had only one outlet and I've had my fill of standing on my head trying to plug something in behind what is usually an immovable object so I added and additional outlet and moved the original one so that regardless of what's up against the wall, the outlets are within  easy reach.

As with the Master Bedroom, I decided the wall switch needed to be moved to the other side of the door opening so that when the door is installed, it provides maximum privacy even with the door ajar.  I'll get that done shortly

Entertainment area
The living room side will contain the entertainment area which will eventually include a large flat panel TV and a desk area with the TV mounted on the wall so it is up and out of the way.  To provide suitable means of support, since the walls were open, I opted to block the wall with four 2x12's blocks between the studs.

This will allow for the maximum hold no matter what size and weight the flat panel will ultimately be.  It also allows for the highest degree of flexibility in the final placement of the multi-adjustable wall mount bracket.

To the right of the blocks will be an in-wall electronics outlet box open to the wall cavity and a power outlet so that all of the cables, speaker wires, antenna and such are hidden behind the TV when it's installed.