Above 1200 Sq/FT Harley Jim's place

[harley jim]

The lady that owned the house lost it, she was angry that the bank repoed it, she took the kitchen out with a chain saw.


The kitchen from two views.
There was no insulation in the house, none!

Me late one night.

I thought I had a pic of it finished, guess we will go find one.

Ok I found them

 

[harley jim]

Don, thank you and yes we did. I was a total dynamo back then. Not so much now.

 

[Kevkx125]

I really like what you guy's have done with the house! Looking forward to what comes next.

 

[xtremek]

I don't know Jim, you still seem to do a ton. Interesting to see where it all started.

 

[bugnut]

Jim, the house upgrades look outstanding. You and Pat have done an amazing amount of work to create a home!

 

[Bears Fan]

That is quite a transformation on the house

 

[harley jim]

Thanks everyone, Its something that we enjoyed doing. Its ours.

 

[harley jim]

The only thing I have fixed in three days.
Maybe tomorrow!

 

[Grizz1963]

The only thing I have fixed in three days.
Maybe tomorrow!

ooooofffff…..


That looks delicious.



Amazing work you have managed to do Jim.



My hat is certainly off to you.

 

[xtremek]

We don't bounce back like we used too. Kind of more like a splat.

 

[driftpin]

The 'before' and 'after pics are a great comparison of what can be done with initiative. A satisfying job by the two of you.

I wonder if the evicted/foreclosed-upon former owner was prosecuted by the bank for demo'ing the kitchen with a chainsaw? I hope so. Then again, she just began a renovation you'd have to do anyway.

 

[Ford52PU]

What a great job you've done inside and out! Enjoy your postings. Thanks

 

[drivesitfar]

Jim: thanks for digging up a few of the old pics which doesn’t nearly describe all the work you and your bride have done these past years. Gazebo, garden, fencing, flower beds, chicken coop and the list goes on and on. Plus all the work you’ve done on your friends and neighbors homes and your charity work too.

You are entitled to slow down but with 6 Saturday’s and a Sunday every week it’s your fun time so enjoy this while you can!!

 

[harley jim]

Grizz, Pat pounds those chicken breasts flat and marinated them in Montreal seasoning, we did asparagus and zucchini with them on the grill, so good!

Kirk, you are so right, I was just getting to feel like my self, then I stood on a ladder all day. Like I have said before, getting old ain't for sissies! No complaints though.

Driftpin, the neighbors knew her and said she was a major Karen before that was a thing. She just quit making the payments. And yes, that was one room that I didnt have to demo and haul away.

Ford52pu, thank you, Pat and I have thoroughly enjoyed doing this home, it's only about 1800 sq ft. but it has everything we wanted.

Drives, Thanks, you and your bride are as invested in your home as Pat and I are,
The projects you have done are epic, the fence and sidewalks you built are beautiful, the bathroom, and that water heater project, what a head scratcher that was, and so much more. Sometimes I think that collectively we all inspire each other to keep going.

Today I was going to work on the carport, but I have a chicken that is about to hatch out a brood of biddies and being game birds there will be a fight over pecking order, so I need to separate her and the eggs today. What fun!!!

 

[harley jim]

Ok, that didnt go as expected!


I had three hens sitting on the same nest, sometimes all at the same time. I went to feed today and one is still setting on seven eggs and the other two are taking care of four newborns. No fighting except when I tried to get close then all six of the adults got upset. So they all think that they are mom, good for me!

 

[xtremek]

And the cycle of life continues. Very cool.

 

[harley jim]

We are hoping the duck eggs are fertile, she said one of her ducks was male so that helps. A red fox got Mr Squeaks, and her blue healer killed the other female so we are hoping that the duck eggs hatch, she only has one left. I need to remove the egg turner on June 3rd and they should hatch on the 13th. This is my first duck eggs so I'm kind of learning as I go on this one. Chicken eggs are a piece of cake to hatch out.


I got started on resurfacing the back stairs today.

There is a lot of mortar missing in them, they were built in 1960 so they are due. I'm no block Mason so this one is amen hit or miss. Once this is done I can get Biggen back over here to finish the stucco.

 

[harley jim]

The Granddaughter is into her native American history way too far, she attends pow wows in this area, (we are on the trail of tears) anyway she is wanting to make and sell things at these events.

She has the idea but isn't quite able to R&D her ideas.

So she told me about these shell rattles she saw once.
So I made three of them and she said they were way better than the ones she saw. I guess she is off and running in a new business venture now.
It makes me laugh when she starts flailing her arms and starts describing the item, and how she wants them to look.
Oh boy!

 

[xtremek]

Go girl, go. Are you going to stucco the treads, or just the faces?

 

[harley jim]

Just the vertical surfaces will get stucco, the treads will stay, I'm brooming them on the wet side to grove them deeper, I'm concerned with slipping.

 

[harley jim]

Rained today so we went yard selling.

 

[harley jim]

My yard sale finds.
Really I only wanted the c clamps.

 

[BuffettFan]

The C Clamps were the things that got my attention!
Looks like some good stuff.

 

[harley jim]

Yep, the c clamps were the deal, I always need c clamps. There are a couple good looking grinders in the milk crate that I hope work.

 

[xtremek]

Proto tools, 3/8" drive, full sets? could be a nice score too.

 

[harley jim]

They are not complete sets,
I dont think this guy ever put anything back where it belonged, there were about 20 tool boxes like those I got and all of them had mixed tools in them. I think he grabbed a box and put tools in it to go do the job at hand then just set It back in the shop when he was done. My nephew is helping sell the stuff, it was his fil that died. I'm going to follow up on what is left after the sale is over.

 

[shortykorte]

Oh darn, I was going to drop off some similar toolboxes on my way to Kentucky.

 

[harley jim]

You still can, I'll struggle through!

 

[harley jim]

I felt a little better today so I got back on the carport project. I needed to dig four holes for new support post for the east side of the carport.

So I grabbed this rusty piece of pipe and cut off a random chunk.

The inside of the pipe was full of wire, very strange.

I had this little auger that I welded to the pipe. I cut an allen wrench and welded into the other end.
I ran this down about 12" in two places next to each other then I cleaned it out with the post hole digger. I went down a total of 24"

We dug four holes and set pieces of square tube in concrete, these will be cut to length with the laser and will support the east side of the carport.
.
Then we decided to finish some more steps, until this rain storm blew in and halted progress.
So after a shower, for me,
Hefe and me fired up the grill and made an adult beverage and said to heck with it.

Almost ready.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

Yummy asparagus. My favorite weed.

 

[xtremek]

I'm not trying to bust your chops (that comes naturally though) but is the canning kitchen done?

 

[harley jim]

Except for finishing it. Lol
We are done with construction except for installing the flooring, we want to make sure that the water leaks are really fixed before moving forward. The coal room did get a very small amount of water the last big rain but five of the steps had not been resurfaced at that time. We are gun shy!
The carport is part of the whole basement project as the generator will have a place to live very soon, and Pat wants a picnic table and some benches outside on the new concrete pad.
I am taking some of the furniture to powder coat today that will be in used in the canning kitchen.

 

[xtremek]

Like I said to Strouty, the fun never stops. I definitely understand waiting on verification of a dry coal room.

 

[harley jim]

And we took on water today! I'm officially scratching my head, it has to be migrating from above, I dont know, but the coal room floor was wet.

I went across the road to help Josh and Haley today, we stained a **** ton of bead board, then Haley and me started cutting as Josh and his Dad called out lengths, we finished the cieling inside the house and half of the cieling on the front porch. Tomorrow we plan on finishing the porch, then we are moving my scaffolding from there living room to my carport so I can finish altering the east side of the carport. I have concrete coming in two weeks so I need to get busy.

Pat just rang the dinner bell, loaded nachos!

 

[mybigwarwagon]

Dang. I was hoping you had the water solved.

My folks had a house that never had a drop of water in it till a house was built nearby that required blasting to get through the rock. Turns out thier house was built next to an underground spring that came out in the field. Every time it rained the basement (also known as my bedroom) flooded. Ot finally required deep French drains, and a pump.

 

[xtremek]

Well that sounds like a mixed bag of a day. Huge suckage on the coal room.

 

[harley jim]

Kay told me about something to put on the walls and I cant find her post, maybe she is watching?

 

[kaymccampbell]

@harley jim , UGL Drylock is my goto for wet walls. It's not cheap, and you have to be extremely generous with it. It's never failed me.

 

[markrenner371]

great beautifull place every thing is in systematic way

 

[harley jim]

Thanks Kay, I am hoping that this will stop what is still getting in. It's a small amount that only wet about ¼ of the floor.

Thanks Mark, Its starting to look like something. Thank you for stopping in.