At Home In The Woods

[patrick_g]

You can move that pipe 1' higher yourself, with less problems than the sub is making, and even if you have to buy every single tool you need it will cost you less that the sub would charge.

AMEN!!! Way over 1/2 of my EXTENSIVE tool collection is stuff I bought for DIY and was almost always significantly cheaper than hiring it done AND you have the tool to use again, loan out, or sell if you think you will NEVER EVER need it again (but you probably will.)

PEX crimpers, pipe threader, electrician's wire fishing tape, airless spray rig, cabinet saw, electric demo hammer, and on and on and on. My first good socket/ratchet set was Craftsman (when they were decent quality) was more than paid for wen I changed out an intake manifold myself after getting a few quotes.

Keep up the good work. You are going to have a real showplace!

Patrick

 

[Obed]

One mistake we made was we didn't hold back enough money from the H&A guy when he wanted payment after he installed the H&A units. So he's not motivated to work with us in completing the rest of the work. We paid him all but $600 of the total cost of the job. Here's what he has left to finish for that $600:

Connect the kitchen range hood to the duct
Install the grates for 3 H&A returns
Deliver all the H&A vents for the floors
Install the gas water heater
Run the gas line from the exterior wall to the outdoor grill spot on the back deck

In addition, we have asked him to move the gas line 1 foot higher where it goes through the concrete and brick wall to connect to the gas meter.

We bought our gas water heater from the gas company. One service the gas company provides is they will install the water heater for $75/hour. We are considering asking the gas company to install the water heater, run the gas line to the grill area, and move the gas line where it connects to the gas meter 1 foot higher. Then when the H&A guy shows up to finish the job, we subtract the gas company charges from his final $600.

I really wish we had held back $2000 instead of $600 to give us more leverage in getting the H&A guy to work with us. He had already been a pain to work with so we should have known not to pay him so much but we were too soft. So we're much to blame the the headache we should have foreseen.

 

[Obed]

Here are pictures of the work I did last weekend before I tried to run my tractor down the gully.

I had two primary objectives. First I needed to cover the drain pipe running to the septic tank. Secondly I needed to provide a way for rain water to run away from the house at the back yard after the basement back porch slab got poured. A third goal was to remove some dirt from the back yard to assist with the final grading.

I sealed where the pipe enters the septic tank using some expanding spray foam. I covered the pipe with sand then with dirt.

The red clay was hard packed; my FEL had a tough time cutting through it. So I used the backhoe to loosen up the dirt then removed the dirt with the FEL. I had some massive rocks to deal with. One reason I have not been using the boxblade for some of this dirt work is the high probability of finding one of these big rocks. I can dig them out with the backhoe; the boxblade would be useless. It takes me about 45 minutes to change between the backhoe and the boxblade. I'm much better at cutting and grading with the boxblade, especially since I don't have a toothbar on the FEL. But I just know that 5 minutes after moving some dirt with the BB, I'd run into one of these big rocks and have to put the backhoe back on. So I do rough grading with the FEL.

It was about 3 PM on Sunday when I ran my tractor up against the trees while removing dirt. It was dark by the time we rescued the tractor. So after dark I dug a couple shallow trenches to run water away from the house. I used the worklights on the ROPS for lighting. Actually, I'm surprised at how well the lights light up the area. It's still not as good as sunlight so I normally quit when darkness arrives.

I'll have to finish removing the dirt another day.

 

[walleyed]

Your land sure does grow some nice rocks.

 

[scoutcub]

Obed -

Whatcha gonna do with all them rocks you're accumulating?? Rock wall? Cairns? Firepit?

Are you still on track for moving in before the 25th?

Frank

 

[jinman]

Your land sure does grow some nice rocks.

Boy! I sure thought the same thing. It seems that every time Obed digs with his backhoe, he finds rocks; yet, when the gas guys were digging with their backhoe and trencher, they didn't find that many rocks. Do you suppose the rocks are following Obed and his tractor around?:laughing:

 

[RadarTech]

Boy! I sure thought the same thing. It seems that every time Obed digs with his backhoe, he finds rocks; yet, when the gas guys were digging with their backhoe and trencher, they didn't find that many rocks. Do you suppose the rocks are following Obed and his tractor around?:laughing:

Obed and I have the same special touch... I only wish those rocks were made of something valuable!!!

 

[walleyed]

Boy! I sure thought the same thing. It seems that every time Obed digs with his backhoe, he finds rocks; yet, when the gas guys were digging with their backhoe and trencher, they didn't find that many rocks. Do you suppose the rocks are following Obed and his tractor around?:laughing:

I suspect it is some rare magnetic field thing. As I see it its either Obed or that green tractors fault. Rocks are pulled underground right to the bucket. Better not get too close to the rock wall next door.

 

[woodlandfarms]

Natural Gas Line

The gas company ran the gas line the last 100 feet from the driveway to the house. What I didn't know was that the gas line has been pressurized for the past year. In order to connect two pieces of pipe, they put a clamp on the line to stop the gas pressure. They then used a tool to trim each end of the line to a perfect 90 degree cut. Then they pushed the two ends together and melted them together to bond the to sections of pipe together.

Is that a cigarette in his mouth?

 

[RadarTech]

Is that a cigarette in his mouth?

I was wondering when the safety police would catch that....:laughing:
I thought the same thing....

Kinda ironic huh?