3R Home and Barn Project

[3RRL]

Rob, it must be really exciting to be moving. I remember when I first started moving into my new house that every piece of furniture or equipment was exciting. I think you are right about the trailer. It doesn't take long for a utility trailer to pay for itself many times.

I was really shocked to see how wide your front staircase is to your house. That ramp to the garage has a pretty steep angle too. I'm thinking they didn't finish them because they want to discourage the construction crew from grinding dirt into them before they are finished. I could be wrong, but that's what came to mind when I saw those gaps.

It's a joy for me to come to this thread from time-to-time and look at the amazing artistry and function you are building into your retirement home. It is easily the most stressful thing you will ever do to have to make all the thousands of decisions along the way. The reward is also worth it. Your place is a picture postcard of a dream that is coming true.

Jim, always good to read your replies and thank you.
As far as the steps, when we arrived they had the rest of them up already. The hand rails on the steep ramp were up but not on the front steps yet. There was not a whole lot of home progress to share this trip because we concentrated on the family camp out. But I did take a couple of the breezeway since there was progress on it.
The second photo is from Loretta's kitchen window.

 

[3RRL]

Rob,

I tried to load a fork truck onto my 16' trailer one time and completely destroyed my ramps. The fork truck was so short that it had all it's weight on the ramps at one time. You may want to make sure you really reinforce the ramps before starting.

Chris
Hill Farm Boer Goats

Chris, thanks for the heads up on that.
I was thinking of using 3/4" plywood not only on the trailer bed itself, but also on the ramp while loading and unloading it. I'm lucky that I have a spot where the ramp will not be too much of an incline when loading. But like I said, I have the winch if I need to help get the fork truck all the way on. I'll also block the rear frame of the trailer like I did when I drove the Kama onto it.

Hey, you got Boer Goats too ... shees! lol ... What's with that?

 

[3RRL]

Good Mornin Rob,
Theres only one thing better than tractor photos, and thats tractor videos ! OK there might be something better than that but its not suitable for TBN !

Gosh the homestead is lookin fantastic Im truly jealous ! Its quite obvious that retired toolmakers do quite well for themselves , allright most retired toolmakers ! Enjoy !

BTW Im a semi-poor semi-retired toolmaker but Im still votin Republican !

PPS where the heck is the canvas for the V-ways on that lathe ???

Thanks Scotty,
Canvas for the "V" ways are out of my budget for that old clunker ... hahaha. You know toolmakers do alright sometimes. My old man told me it's not how much you make but how much you keep.

 

[3RRL]

Rob,

I am excited for you guys!! It is hard to describe the feeling of moving into a new home. Wish I was close by to lend a helping hand. Your place looks fantastic and I am sure you and Mrs. 3RRL are about to bust from the anticipation of the first nights at your new home.

It is a labor of love making a house a home...enjoy!

Thanks David, especially for the lending hand.
We are managing one trip at a time since that's all we have left now ... is time that is.

 

[3RRL]

David and Tom,
You guys are SOL about the lathe and batteries...lol
But if you're ever out this way, you can use them.

 

[3RRL]

Besides the home progress, we had a blast with the kids coming over for the Memorial day camp out. I had 4 sons and 1 daughter show up with their families and Loretta had her son come up. My other 2 daughters and their families missed this year unfortunately, but still, there were 21 people at camp. I rented a Porta Potty for the weekend.
So here are some shots of the tents and one RV.



They had a blast playing on the playground, hiking and riding the ATV around all the trails.

 

[3RRL]

In the evenings, we had campfires at night and roasted marsh mellows.



The big thing was the "Hat Day" we started a while back, where Loretta got all kinds of hats for the kids and grandkids to choose from. This year she also got bandannas which were a big hit with everyone.
Loretta got a big kick out of all the commotion.

 

[3RRL]

Saturday evening it started to rain and by Sunday it was pouring.
That put a damper on the festivities, so a couple of the families left and went home early. The dirt roads got pretty slippery for a while, but after it stopped raining and cleared up it was nice again.

 

[3RRL]

I showed you the lathe loaded on the trailer before leaving. We took it easy and got it up there safely. I waited for Saturday to unload the lathe so I could "borrow" their GradeAll fork lift. It has a 9 or 10 thousand pound lift capacity and is a 4x4 vehicle.
Here is my son in law helping me chain it up for hoisting.

 

[3RRL]

Once I got it off the trailer I headed for the barn.
My plan was to get it on the concrete floor on top of wood blocks so I could get a bite under the the lathe with the forks. It was pretty scary balancing the lathe by chains only and going over the dirt road areas. So getting it down lower would help, plus it would put the GradeAll hoist low enough to enter the barn.
Once I got it there I could take the chains off and reposition the forks.