Thursday, July 25, 2013

A Wall

It's a short wall, and it has not a door, yet, and the studs are not fastened to the bottom plate, yet, but it is a wall!




You see, in my haste to get home with the lumber and start cutting and nailing, I forgot about the need for nails to do the nailing thing! Fortunately, I had a few long screws left over from last year, so the studs are fastened to the top plate and will be attached to the bottom plate tomorrow.




Also, tomorrow will be the day to make the final measurements for the house, lay out for the joists, and build the support walls that will be in the basement.

Basement Floor

At last!


 

No, it's not a swimming pool. I had just wet down the concrete to aid in the curing process. Last night we had light rain off and on which further helped out.



  


The Process







They get paid to play in the mud!

The next two steps will be to put in support walls and posts and to 
get the garage floor ready to pour.

Stormy Weather

The city of Mahnomen, well village is more like it, is the county seat. Roy Lake is a nice afternoon-trip on a hot day. The tornado, EF-2, tore one house apart (no one injured) in Mahnomen, nearby, it threw a John Deere combine against a big bailer, and a few minutes later, was spotted over Roy Lake--no damage reported there.

It missed me! (By about 8 miles, but it missed.)

But, I did get some wind:

Last week I drove under the branch, now I drive around it.


  It is about 12-14 inches in diameter. You can see the new cracks at the Y and along the branch.



 I will cut off the part that sticks down and see if it takes enough weight off so the rest of the branch will survive.

A mile down the road, this field suffered a worse fate:

It might be hard to see, but this field of oats (not wheat as previously posted) should be standing taller than those points sticking up. I'm not sure how well it will recover.

I talked with the man who is farming this field. He said that he planted a new variety of oats that are supposed to me resistant to such damage. The stalks were supposed to bend like a thread of warm taffy around your finger, but instead creased like a straw bent over the edge of a glass. So, not enough nutrition is getting to the heads resulting in poorly fill-out grain that my have little or no nutritional value for man or beast.


Sunday, July 21, 2013

Bobcat



If I were to say that I played with worked on a Bobcat for 12 hours today, would this image come to mind?
Bobcat in a Tree
Even if you know that the Bobcat I used looked like this?:

Bobcat in a Field











Of course, if you have ever used a Bobcat (and remember your first day at the controls) this image probably comes to mind:

Bucking Bobcat


















And all I wanted to do was remove some excess dirt from the garage floor so I can get it ready for fill sand, then concrete.

The soil here is interesting; with each scoop, we get a different kind. We have a sand/clay mix; a brown or white clay; and a black, nutrient-rich looking soil with a clay-like texture; to name a few. Bobcat and I purr right along as we move the sand/clay by the bucket load. But, Ol' Bucko has a cockle burr under the saddle for one thing, and them me an' him found chawin' on rawhide to be more productive than trying to move that thar clay.

Oh, for a nice long, warm soak in a deep tub!


References:
 Bobcat in a Tree: Commons.wikimedia.org: Retrieved 21 July 2013 from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=Szdtvbq_SUXUcM&tbnid=-KS1AZTZ178PwM:&ved=0CAMQjhw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fcommons.wikimedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFile%3ABobcat-Texas-9123.jpg&ei=MoDsUfzALojCrgG-yYCAAg&bvm=bv.49478099,d.aWM&psig=AFQjCNE9SZF18AanaO3JZdPuopDlttgvDA&ust=1374539921751583 

Bobcat in a Field: The World's Best Photos by Dave Dugdale retrieved 21 July 2013 from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=NKZeC1vdcnpCCM&tbnid=xERk192pWsIm-M:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fflickrhivemind.net%2FUser%2FDave%2520Dugdale%2FInteresting&ei=vYHsUe3AJoSyqgHlvYCQAQ&psig=AFQjCNElW6swkdMaAdk_n7wwxjkRaDxrnQ&ust=1374540597397563

Monday, July 15, 2013

Temporary Living

Initially, the travel trailer and motor home were parked near the machine shed. We recently positioned them in the shade around the yard. Now, with both campers opening into that yard, I can take advantage of its shade, grassy--not muddy--turf, and dust-free breeze. Plus, the view out the window shows nothing but nature.



In the mean time:





The heating coils are in and we wait patiently for the concrete folks to arrive and finish the preparation.


If all goes well, we will have a solid concrete floor tomorrow, or by the end of the week, weather permitting.


Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Rain

An email I sent to my sister:

"...and the skies opened up and the rains came down and down and down...The trailer doesn't leak, but it is rather noisy--a soothing, muffled drum of the "heavy at times". The trouble is, the "heavy at times" is beginning to feel like the norm. I wonder if the trailer floats--my own mini-ark. But, I didn't march the animals in two by two so how will I be able to send out a dove to let me know when it's all over?

So many things to ponder while not building a house!"

Maybe I will calculate the length of my floor joists so I can put in the order.

The plumber is coming tomorrow, Wednesday, to put in the heating pipes for the basement floor. I believe he said that we would be finished by the end of the day. Since he and concrete know each other quite well and work together often, they will work out the schedule for that part of the project.

And when we are finished with the concrete, I will need the floor joists.

2 1/2" x 9 1/2" x 22'  I-Joist