EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
Fun seeing those walls taking shape. I'm really curious to see how you finish it off!!!!
Eddie
Eddie
An Old Goat Ranch in Texas
- Thread starter terry.dinerman
- Start date
OP
terry.dinerman
Gold Member
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2009
- Messages
- 431
- Tractor
- 1990 - JD 870
Well, Gentle Readers, it was another outstanding month at the Ranch!
A milestone was reached and are now proud owners of a septic system, thus the Trinity is now complete...with a roof, electricity, and a place to poop.
Having lived rough-in-the-field off and on for many years now, I appreciate those three things more than the average bear, but, like anything worth having, it was a prize not easily won
Things started out nice enough...
I came home to some lovely Birthday gifts from my Precious Bride and Dafter...they came up with tickets to the Houston Blues Association fundraiser, and you can't beat an evening of beer, barbecue and blues in the backyard of a Montrose townhouse...an intimate venue with a kick-*** blues combo providing the music, along with a local blues Diva, Trudy Lynn on vocals...her rendition of Eta James "At Last" brought tears to your eyes...it was a great night.
If that was not enough, PB went prowling the dangerous waters of Ebay, and found me two volumes of Haiku collected and translated by R. H. Blyth just after the end of WW2...this was the major introduction of this literary form to the west...
I don't often like gifts, but these books are rare, and delightful on many levels...my Wife is wonderful!
Thus refreshed and invigorated, I caught up with Charles my Right Hand and headed for the Ranch, to find that there had been 4.5 inches of rain just two days before....
Crap...
Even tho the septic system was my highest priority, the driveway was too soft to support the weight of the tank and stone delivery trucks and there was no way to start any dirt-work in the sodden ground....I called my contractor and we delayed the job to give the ground time to dry out...
Not that there was not plenty to do, of course...I wasted no time in mourning the change of plans....
High up on the list was running drip irrigation to all the new trees we have planted in the last few months...1500 feet of tubing, three timers and a bucket full of emitters and assorted fittings cost a little less than $300 dollars...a small price to pay for all the trees and shrubs that will now have a chance of surviving the coming summer heat...
I had set up a timer and sprinkler in the nursery area where we store the "bargain basement" trees and shrubs we get at a deep discount whenever Lowes or Home Despot tosses them out and it has worked out so well, I decided to expand the system to all the new plantings.
I ran the tubing around all the trees and shrubs, hooked it all up to the timers and then stopped to let PB get a chance to see what goes into the system as they installed the emitters.
With the farming taken care of for the time being, Charles and I turned our attention to the house and finished all the rest of the interior partitions.
The place is really starting to look like a home with a few walls up!
Next came the final approval and markup of the electrical boxes...Precious Bride came up to the Ranch for couple of days and we went over each room in detail to be sure I had accounted for the position of all the furniture while spotting electrical boxes as well as satisfying the Code requirements...
I sketched up a plan for each room and marked up the studwork for the box roughins...There sure are a LOT of boxes...
With the electrical layout settled, PB and Charles went off to install the emitters in the irrigation system while I started hanging boxes
A tip for you folks installing more than one or two electrical boxes...get a small palm nailer...no bent nails, no cracked boxes and FAST...I had all the boxes at floor level in the entire house hung in one afternoon...
AND by the time I had all those boxes hung, the ground had dried out enough to allow the digging to be commence.
Tim the Septic Guy arrived at the appointed time and when I asked where his crew was, he told me "...you're looking at it..."
The guy did the whole job by himself...! It was poetry...not a wasted motion...I wasn't long and I had found out why Tim could afford a reasonable price for a top-notch system.
The system is strictly conventional and just the way I wanted it...no pumps, no chemical injectors, no need for annual service contracts or inspections, just good old gravity, which, as we all know, is not just a good idea, "ITS THE LAW....
Tim had the system ready for the County Inspector in two days...the man is a surgeon with a back-hoe...
It turns out, that the inspector is the same nice lady I spent a great deal of time on the phone with at the start of the whole project.
She is the county Environmental Engineer and was happy to give me some very sound advice regarding waste and water management issues in Grimes County... meeting her face-to-face was great.... she is a delightful lady, as Country as a bucket of turnip greens, very supportive of "Owner-Builders" and quite committed to the health and welfare of our County.
A good lady to stay on the Good Side of...
She went over the system with a fine tooth comb, (needed a hand up to get out of the tank pit!) and granted us Certification.
Tim had the leach field and tank pit covered up the next day, and had the house drains hooked up and covered on Day 4.
If you need a good septic guy anywhere within an hour drive around Plantersville, let me know. He can do conventional and aerobic systems and will do site evaluations and help you with the paperwork if you want to do all the work yourself as well.
After a minor celebration regarding this major step, I got back at it and installed vents in the bathroom and kitchen, can lights and an infrared heater in the bathroom ceiling, hung up the whole house vent fan, more light, fan and chandelier boxes all over the house...at the end of the trip we are about 90% done with electrical boxes. Still a few ceiling boxes to go and all of the exterior lighting?a lot more ladder-time in my future...
While I was picking away at the electrics, Charles took on the grounds-work, he trimmed a lot of brush over-growing the fence, clearing a lot of deadfall from the still standing blight/drought trees, sprayed a lot of Roundup, moved a lot of building materials from our next "dirtwork" area....the man just stays in constant motion... Charles is one of the Good Ones.
As usual, the time just flew...and it was once again time to deploy...I am writing this episode aboard ship, planning next months campaign and ordering plumbing parts...
So long as there is a little less month and a little more money this time, we should have another productive trip...
I'll leave you here, Gentle Readers...the Jet Lag has me in it's grip and I need a nice nap...
BE CAREFUL OUT THERE...
Terry
A milestone was reached and are now proud owners of a septic system, thus the Trinity is now complete...with a roof, electricity, and a place to poop.
Having lived rough-in-the-field off and on for many years now, I appreciate those three things more than the average bear, but, like anything worth having, it was a prize not easily won
Things started out nice enough...
I came home to some lovely Birthday gifts from my Precious Bride and Dafter...they came up with tickets to the Houston Blues Association fundraiser, and you can't beat an evening of beer, barbecue and blues in the backyard of a Montrose townhouse...an intimate venue with a kick-*** blues combo providing the music, along with a local blues Diva, Trudy Lynn on vocals...her rendition of Eta James "At Last" brought tears to your eyes...it was a great night.
If that was not enough, PB went prowling the dangerous waters of Ebay, and found me two volumes of Haiku collected and translated by R. H. Blyth just after the end of WW2...this was the major introduction of this literary form to the west...
I don't often like gifts, but these books are rare, and delightful on many levels...my Wife is wonderful!
Thus refreshed and invigorated, I caught up with Charles my Right Hand and headed for the Ranch, to find that there had been 4.5 inches of rain just two days before....
Crap...
Even tho the septic system was my highest priority, the driveway was too soft to support the weight of the tank and stone delivery trucks and there was no way to start any dirt-work in the sodden ground....I called my contractor and we delayed the job to give the ground time to dry out...
Not that there was not plenty to do, of course...I wasted no time in mourning the change of plans....
High up on the list was running drip irrigation to all the new trees we have planted in the last few months...1500 feet of tubing, three timers and a bucket full of emitters and assorted fittings cost a little less than $300 dollars...a small price to pay for all the trees and shrubs that will now have a chance of surviving the coming summer heat...
I had set up a timer and sprinkler in the nursery area where we store the "bargain basement" trees and shrubs we get at a deep discount whenever Lowes or Home Despot tosses them out and it has worked out so well, I decided to expand the system to all the new plantings.
I ran the tubing around all the trees and shrubs, hooked it all up to the timers and then stopped to let PB get a chance to see what goes into the system as they installed the emitters.
With the farming taken care of for the time being, Charles and I turned our attention to the house and finished all the rest of the interior partitions.
The place is really starting to look like a home with a few walls up!
Next came the final approval and markup of the electrical boxes...Precious Bride came up to the Ranch for couple of days and we went over each room in detail to be sure I had accounted for the position of all the furniture while spotting electrical boxes as well as satisfying the Code requirements...
I sketched up a plan for each room and marked up the studwork for the box roughins...There sure are a LOT of boxes...
With the electrical layout settled, PB and Charles went off to install the emitters in the irrigation system while I started hanging boxes
A tip for you folks installing more than one or two electrical boxes...get a small palm nailer...no bent nails, no cracked boxes and FAST...I had all the boxes at floor level in the entire house hung in one afternoon...
AND by the time I had all those boxes hung, the ground had dried out enough to allow the digging to be commence.
Tim the Septic Guy arrived at the appointed time and when I asked where his crew was, he told me "...you're looking at it..."
The guy did the whole job by himself...! It was poetry...not a wasted motion...I wasn't long and I had found out why Tim could afford a reasonable price for a top-notch system.
The system is strictly conventional and just the way I wanted it...no pumps, no chemical injectors, no need for annual service contracts or inspections, just good old gravity, which, as we all know, is not just a good idea, "ITS THE LAW....
Tim had the system ready for the County Inspector in two days...the man is a surgeon with a back-hoe...
It turns out, that the inspector is the same nice lady I spent a great deal of time on the phone with at the start of the whole project.
She is the county Environmental Engineer and was happy to give me some very sound advice regarding waste and water management issues in Grimes County... meeting her face-to-face was great.... she is a delightful lady, as Country as a bucket of turnip greens, very supportive of "Owner-Builders" and quite committed to the health and welfare of our County.
A good lady to stay on the Good Side of...
She went over the system with a fine tooth comb, (needed a hand up to get out of the tank pit!) and granted us Certification.
Tim had the leach field and tank pit covered up the next day, and had the house drains hooked up and covered on Day 4.
If you need a good septic guy anywhere within an hour drive around Plantersville, let me know. He can do conventional and aerobic systems and will do site evaluations and help you with the paperwork if you want to do all the work yourself as well.
After a minor celebration regarding this major step, I got back at it and installed vents in the bathroom and kitchen, can lights and an infrared heater in the bathroom ceiling, hung up the whole house vent fan, more light, fan and chandelier boxes all over the house...at the end of the trip we are about 90% done with electrical boxes. Still a few ceiling boxes to go and all of the exterior lighting?a lot more ladder-time in my future...
While I was picking away at the electrics, Charles took on the grounds-work, he trimmed a lot of brush over-growing the fence, clearing a lot of deadfall from the still standing blight/drought trees, sprayed a lot of Roundup, moved a lot of building materials from our next "dirtwork" area....the man just stays in constant motion... Charles is one of the Good Ones.
As usual, the time just flew...and it was once again time to deploy...I am writing this episode aboard ship, planning next months campaign and ordering plumbing parts...
So long as there is a little less month and a little more money this time, we should have another productive trip...
I'll leave you here, Gentle Readers...the Jet Lag has me in it's grip and I need a nice nap...
BE CAREFUL OUT THERE...
Terry
rustyshakelford
Veteran Member
That's great news about the septic! Everything is coming together for y'all we have finally broken ground on our little slice of heaven and will be getting to experience the septic permit lady soon too! Hope all is well and we will have to have y'all down one evening.
Brett
Brett
Kyle_in_Tex
Super Star Member
From one perspective, the green tags in the picture are a bit of Grimes county Haiku. 
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
Now that you have the three important things done, it's time to take a vacation and enjoy a good read on the library!!
Eddie
Eddie
EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
Now that you have the three important things done, it's time to take a vacation and enjoy a good read on the library!!
Eddie
Eddie
SirReal63
Gold Member
I have enjoyed this thread Terry, it has brought a full range of emotions from me and reaffirms my belief that life is what we let it be and you certainly are living a full one. Thank you for the humor, tears, memories of my own fallacies, triumphs and experience building failures.
Toni and I are beginning our own adventure just outside of Bertram, starting with raw land, no improvements and only fenced on two sides. Our challenges will in many ways mirror your own and with a little luck we will weather them in the same wonderful way you and your family has. Thank you for this thread, it has been entertaining as well as very informative. I look forward to your return and the next installment of your journey.
Jack and Toni.
Toni and I are beginning our own adventure just outside of Bertram, starting with raw land, no improvements and only fenced on two sides. Our challenges will in many ways mirror your own and with a little luck we will weather them in the same wonderful way you and your family has. Thank you for this thread, it has been entertaining as well as very informative. I look forward to your return and the next installment of your journey.
Jack and Toni.
SirReal63
Gold Member
I have enjoyed this thread Terry, it has brought a full range of emotions from me and reaffirms my belief that life is what we let it be and you certainly are living a full one. Thank you for the humor, tears, memories of my own fallacies, triumphs and experience building failures.
Toni and I are beginning our own adventure just outside of Bertram, starting with raw land, no improvements and only fenced on two sides. Our challenges will in many ways mirror your own and with a little luck we will weather them in the same wonderful way you and your family has. Thank you for this thread, it has been entertaining as well as very informative. I look forward to your return and the next installment of your journey.
Jack and Toni.
Toni and I are beginning our own adventure just outside of Bertram, starting with raw land, no improvements and only fenced on two sides. Our challenges will in many ways mirror your own and with a little luck we will weather them in the same wonderful way you and your family has. Thank you for this thread, it has been entertaining as well as very informative. I look forward to your return and the next installment of your journey.
Jack and Toni.
Kyle_in_Tex
Super Star Member
Good post, this is a great thread. Op has real life writing skills. Also, Terry has the luxury of digging in dirt whereas you will hit limestone here and there in laying utility lines.