At Home In The Woods

[Tororider]

You will be surprised how quickly the much gets used. We chipped up twenty yards plus and it was gone within a couple months. Especially if you use it for paths through your woods.

 

[brandoro]

I'd hang onto the chips for a while at least. I can only chip up to 4" stuff but have little piles of chips all over. I use them for muddy spots. They disappear quickly enough that I haven't come close to having enough around that I might sell or give away.
Turning the pile will be good clean fun with the FEL:thumbsup:

 

[Obed]

I hadn't thought about using the chips for paths and muddy spots but those ideas sound like great uses. Our path from the driveway/parking pad to the front door is red clay so we ask guests to come in through the garage. A path of wood chips might work until we have a permanent solution. As a final solution, we've considered putting some kind of pavers as a path to the front door but haven't definitely decided. With the ideas you guys are mentioning, I almost wish I had another mountain of wood chips. I haven't actually gone out and closely inspected the texture of the wood chips but from several feet away they chips look pretty fine, not like the wood chips that normally come to my mind. I believe that texture of our wood chips is fine enough that it will eventually turn into mulch that will be a great source of organic material for gardening.

Obed

 

[Obed]

Electric and low voltage sound like great ideas. I asked the grading contractor to give me an estimate for running two 1" PVC water lines, a 1" conduit for potential low voltage, and an underground rated power cable. I just need to decide whether to put a 10/2 (120V) or 10/3 (240V) cable. A 10 AWG cable should give me about 15 Amps for a 220 foot cable based on the online cable size calculators. I need to check out how much 220 ft of wire will cost. I imagine we may need an electric fence around the garden to keep the deer out.

Thanks for the input,
Obed

I'm now thinking about running the two water pipes and two 1" conduits for low voltage and electric. You guys raise some good points. If I run a conduit for future electrical, then if I never need power to the garden I will not have gone to the expense of running a 200 ft cable. Also, if I did have a problem with the electrical wire, I could pull out the old cable and run a new one without the major headache of digging another trench.

Thanks for the awesome input. You guys have given us some ideas that have on numerous times prevented us from have the "Man, I wish we had done such and such" regrets.

Obed

 

[Obed]

Fireplace Update
A week ago the fireplace guy came out to our house. This is the ongoing question we are having regarding whether or not our QuadraFire high efficiency fireplace is working correctly. I showed him how the operation of our Automatic Combustion Control (ACC) did not appear to correspond to the description in the manual. I showed him how when you slide the control from the fully closed position, the first 1" or more of sliding the control lever does absolutely nothing to open the cumbustion air hole, contrary to what the manual states. The fireplace store guy contacted his engineer guy at QuadraFire who said that the manual has not been updated after a manufacturing change.

When the store rep was out our house, he noticed the baffle located at the top of our fireplace was a couple inches out of position. He repositioned the baffle to where it should be. The engineer told the store rep that half the calls they get about poor fireplace operation results from the baffle being incorrectly positioned. The baffle at the top of the firebox greatly affects the draft of the fireplace and can seriously adversely affect how well the fireplace drafts and burns.

The store rep told us we should burn a fire now that the baffle has been repositioned. He recommends that we do that now rather than in the fall when they commonly are very busy and may have a difficult time getting out to our house if we need help. Our outdoor temperatures are running between the low 60s at night to the upper 80s and sometimes 90 during the day. I can't say that closing our windows and burning a fire in the fireplace enthuses me at this time. It's not like we could build a short burning fire. We would have to burn the fire for several hours so that we have a good bed of coals to verify whether or not the fire is burning well.

I have to say that anything the manufacturer tells us at this point I listen to with a "Buyer Beware" perspective. I still have concerns that our fireplace may have a manufacturing defect. I'll have to talk to my wife and see what we want to do. We do need to build a test fire now that the baffle has been repositioned to see if our fire will now burn better with the doors closed.

 

[dstig1]

Good choice on the conduit. "Future proofing"

For landscaping, I would wait for things like pavers. The ground is disturbed a lot during construction and it takes time to settle back. Use the wood chips for the time being (you will need to replenish every so often as the decay and sink) and give it a couple years to settle down. The longer the better for these things, and by that I mean years. I know nobody wants to wait that long...

 

[eepete]

On your PVC gutter drain pipes with clean-outs, you might want to think about spray painted them to reduce the visual impact. I did that with mine. Put a big piece of cardboard to protect the house and spray the pipe with some color that is close to the background color of the house/brick (cement in my case).

The first pix is a close-up. The gravel settled a bit so you can see the difference between the natural white PVC and the painted on this background. Second pix is a "normal people view" and not having that white blob of pipe there helps a lot.

It looks marginal close up, but from "normal" viewing distance it makes quite a difference. And I suppose if you really hated it, you could spray paint it back to white :laughing:.

Pete

 

[dcyrilc]

On your PVC gutter drain pipes with clean-outs, you might want to think about spray painted them to reduce the visual impact. I did that with mine. Put a big piece of cardboard to protect the house and spray the pipe with some color that is close to the background color of the house/brick (cement in my case).

The first pix is a close-up. The gravel settled a bit so you can see the difference between the natural white PVC and the painted on this background. Second pix is a "normal people view" and not having that white blob of pipe there helps a lot.

It looks marginal close up, but from "normal" viewing distance it makes quite a difference. And I suppose if you really hated it, you could spray paint it back to white :laughing:.

Pete

Is this where we are suppose to tell you that the downspout in the second pic looks crooked?


Nice stairs though. I really like the look of the stone.:thumbsup:

 

[dstig1]

On your PVC gutter drain pipes with clean-outs, you might want to think about spray painted them to reduce the visual impact. I did that with mine. Put a big piece of cardboard to protect the house and spray the pipe with some color that is close to the background color of the house/brick (cement in my case).

The first pix is a close-up. The gravel settled a bit so you can see the difference between the natural white PVC and the painted on this background. Second pix is a "normal people view" and not having that white blob of pipe there helps a lot.

It looks marginal close up, but from "normal" viewing distance it makes quite a difference. And I suppose if you really hated it, you could spray paint it back to white :laughing:.

Pete

Must be an echo? How many TBN'ers does it take until it's a Good Idea? :laughing:
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/projects/157965-home-woods-312.html#post2380477

 

[Obed]

On your PVC gutter drain pipes with clean-outs, you might want to think about spray painted them to reduce the visual impact.
Pete

Pete,
That is a good idea. If I painted mine, I'd probably paint them the same beige color as the downspouts.
Obed

 

[Obed]

Do We Need Our Air Conditioner?
With a high temperature forecasted to be a record 94F, today will be a good test as to how often we will need to turn on the AC in our house. So far, with high outside temps reaching the low 90s, we have not needed the AC. The warmest it has gotten inside our house has been 74F and that's without using AC.

When we go to bed, we open all the windows on the first floor that cannot be reached from the outside without a ladder. Windows that can easily be reached from the outside remain locked. We do not have any living spaces in the basement and upstairs/attic so those windows remain closed also. We made sure we bought double-hung windows so we can crack the top of the windows open even when it is raining without getting water in the house. Typically our house has been about 74F when we go to bed.

In the morning, the temperature inside the house has been about 72F and the outside temps have typically been in the low to upper 60s. When the outside temperature warms up to equal the inside temperature, we close the windows to keep the outside warm air out of the house.

So far this spring, this proceedure has worked extremely well. We'll see how warm the house gets today. Yesterday the outside temperature reached 90F. Last night the outside temperature was fairly warm with a low of 68F. I'm really hoping the house doesn't get too warm inside today but the verdict is still out. Today's forecast of 94F would tie the record if that temperature is reached. According to the National Weather Service, normal lows and highs at this time of year are 60F and 80F respectively. We've been running a little warmer than that this year. Five days ago the high temperature set a record at 93F and we didn't need to use the AC since the house didn't get warmer than 74F. I've even recently worn a light sweater in the mornings when the temps in our house were 70F.

 

[eepete]

Must be an echo? How many TBN'ers does it take until it's a Good Idea? :laughing:

Answer: A Bunch .

Why Dave I merely took your great idea and reenforced it with some picture. Great minds think alike! (and fools seldom differ) :laughing:.

Yeah, the downspout is off a bit. A thread on the construction of this house would rival Obed's. I had the pipes in the ground, and the gutter guy had to try to hit them. Of course, the one he was off the most on (and the 1st one he did) was here by the front entrance. Why do the trades always start in areas where errors are the most noticeable? Typical "worth the battle or just move on" situation. BTW, the initial response from the gutter guy was "If you had just put in horizontal slat siding you'd never see it".

Just in that picture along there are epic tales of battles regarding the steps, the windows over the steps are not centered correctly in the space, the trim on the window, the gutter, getting the grade on the slab right, if we could have gavel fill between the slab and the house, the gray column to the right of the stairs (foundation issues), the pre-painted Hardie plank problems and the hand rail by the steps (do we need one?).

Anyway, as you can see in the enclosed picture the gutter gets "lost in the sauce" of the big picture so it's OK. The front entry area/steps are a bit dark in this pix, but you get the feel for it all.

Any finished house is a compilation of compromises because the project got done. But it's _your_ compilation and as long as the big picture is intact it's OK.

Pete

 

[dcyrilc]

Answer: A Bunch .

Why Dave I merely took your great idea and reenforced it with some picture. Great minds think alike! (and fools seldom differ) :laughing:.

Yeah, the downspout is off a bit. A thread on the construction of this house would rival Obed's. I had the pipes in the ground, and the gutter guy had to try to hit them. Of course, the one he was off the most on (and the 1st one he did) was here by the front entrance. Why do the trades always start in areas where errors are the most noticeable? Typical "worth the battle or just move on" situation. BTW, the initial response from the gutter guy was "If you had just put in horizontal slat siding you'd never see it".

Just in that picture along there are epic tales of battles regarding the steps, the windows over the steps are not centered correctly in the space, the trim on the window, the gutter, getting the grade on the slab right, if we could have gavel fill between the slab and the house, the gray column to the right of the stairs (foundation issues), the pre-painted Hardie plank problems and the hand rail by the steps (do we need one?).

Anyway, as you can see in the enclosed picture the gutter gets "lost in the sauce" of the big picture so it's OK. The front entry area/steps are a bit dark in this pix, but you get the feel for it all.

Any finished house is a compilation of compromises because the project got done. But it's _your_ compilation and as long as the big picture is intact it's OK.

Pete

I was only teasing Pete. From what I've seen of your house in various threads, you've done a beautiful job with it.:thumbsup:

...and I agree with you about the trades. They always seem to work out their construction issues in the most conspicuase place they can find.:confused2::laughing:

 

[Obed]

...and I agree with you about the trades. They always seem to work out their construction issues in the most conspicuase place they can find.:confused2::laughing:

I can attest to that. Our front porch foundation footers are not square. I can't tell you how many hours my wife and I spent trying to figure out how to lay out the concrete blocks and brick around the front porch in a way that would not draw attention to the issue.

We very specifically marked for the brick masons where to lay the blocks. We did that after they originally laid the blocks askew, not because of the problem with the footers being out of square, but because the worker didn't appear to use a plumbbob. We made the mason remove the entire 16' of block along the front of the porch and start over. If we hadn't been inspecting the work, our front porch would have looked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

In addition, the stone mason who built our stone and brick front porch step did not get the brick around the front step square.

Fortunately, the out of square issues are now not noticeable unless you are looking very closely. They definitely can be observed but I don't think they stick out.

Obed

 

[dcyrilc]

I have always performed my job/duties in a manor I would want someone else to use if I were paying for the final product out of my own pocket. I am continously amazed at how few people seem to share this commitment to the details of their work.

 

[Obed]

Today I adjusted the doors on our cabinets in the kitchen, laundry, and both bathrooms. Almost all the double doors that open in the middle, i.e. are hinged oppositely, were rubbing each other. I suspect that the doors have swelled a little due to the humid spring weather. I am very impressed with the hinge hardware. You can easly change how the doors swing and close with a screw driver. The plane of the door can be adjusted in any direction.

 

[dstig1]

I have always performed my job/duties in a manor I would want someone else to use if I were paying for the final product out of my own pocket. I am continously amazed at how few people seem to share this commitment to the details of their work.

Ain't that the truth - very few seem to care...

 

[Coyote machine]

I'm curious as to why you didn't sell the logs by the trailer load instead of paying to turn them into chips? Is there no market for log lengths where you are?
Alternatively you could split up and sell firewood to local people by hiring a kid to split your logs until done, yes?

What's the outcome of your fireplace test?

Why are you not wanting the roots to your mature trees covered with topsoil? I can see why you wouldn't want the base of the trunk covered, but the roots?!:confused2:

 

[ruralruss]

I hadn't thought about using the chips for paths and muddy spots but those ideas sound like great uses. Our path from the driveway/parking pad to the front door is red clay so we ask guests to come in through the garage. A path of wood chips might work until we have a permanent solution. As a final solution, we've considered putting some kind of pavers as a path to the front door but haven't definitely decided. With the ideas you guys are mentioning, I almost wish I had another mountain of wood chips. I haven't actually gone out and closely inspected the texture of the wood chips but from several feet away they chips look pretty fine, not like the wood chips that normally come to my mind. I believe that texture of our wood chips is fine enough that it will eventually turn into mulch that will be a great source of organic material for gardening.

Obed

Sawdust or fine chips and compost is just the ticket in the bottom of hole dug to plant blueberries!

 

[Obed]

I'm curious as to why you didn't sell the logs by the trailer load instead of paying to turn them into chips? Is there no market for log lengths where you are?
Alternatively you could split up and sell firewood to local people by hiring a kid to split your logs until done, yes?:

A year ago we tried to get people to look at our logs and nobody was interested. We couldn't give them away. The logs are mostly white and red oak with some maple and poplar. The logs are 20' long with the median diameter = 18".

What's the outcome of your fireplace test?

We havent built a fire since the fireplace guy left. Outside temps are in the low to mid 90s.

Why are you not wanting the roots to your mature trees covered with topsoil? I can see why you wouldn't want the base of the trunk covered, but the roots?!:confused2:

Covering the roots of the tree with dirt will kill the tree.

Obed