Above 1200 Sq/FT The Salvage Garage

[Strouty]

I hadn't seen that on my phone, no tailgates for me, I am a barn door guy......

 

[Strouty]

I am still working on the remote setup, lots of wires to cleanup and remove. I have a decent mount for the antenna now, just trying to figure out what to do with the extra cable, it is way too long now, but it is in a much better location.

 

[Strouty]

And the most important thing to do this week, well I am out of water, can’t even wash my hands. Going to try and get the pump situated enough to fill the water tanks, but I may run out of daylight. The mosquitoes are already thick, once you step into the woods, especially near the water, then try and carry you away.

 

[Strouty]

I got the pump hooked to the pitless adapter first try, I couldn’t even see it, I bumped it and then slid it on. Now I am pumping water into one of the tanks!

 

[Strouty]

This system needs to be updated so badly, hopefully I can get it functioning better than the current way, at least make things sensible. I feel that it can be streamlined substantially.

 

[racer-john]

Is this all under the house at the Hill?

 

[Strouty]

Yes, there are tanks that hold water, this is generally for winter only, but I have not swapped to summer water yet because I keep saying I am going to rebuild the system. In the summer, there is a one way valve, so the water just gets pumped as needed right from the well. I am trying to simplify the system, but it may complicate things, except it will make it easier to swap from summer to winter water. In the end, you shouldn’t have to remove the pump in the well from the pitless adapter at all.

Is this all under the house at the Hill?

 

[xtremek]

Complicate to simplify? I'll buy it, I guess. But I've never heard of summer water and winter water systems.

 

[Strouty]

Well is over 1000 feet down a hill, waterline is buried in some places, exposed on top of ledge with dirt around it in other places, temps drop, water freezes, no water. We pump it to the tanks every couple weeks when it is warmer and then purge the line back to the well. Water stays under the house, so it won't freeze and we have indoor plumbing!

Complication will be more valves and filters, but it will be a simple swap of a valve and transfer switch (yes a generator transfer switch) to actually swap from one to the other. During the winter there will be a dump valve that still has to be opened, at least that is my plan for the time being, I may try and figure out how to make some sort of bypass system, currently you either have to remove the check valve in the fall or you have to pull the pump off the pitless adapter to drain the main line, I want to try and make it more automatic if I can, who knows, I might not be able to update anything without making things worse.....

 

[mybigwarwagon]

Is summer water hotter than winter water?

 

[Strouty]

Maybe

 

[walrus]

Thanks for the explanation on the water, sounds like a pain in the ***. No chance to drill well on top of hill or wherever house and shop are? Probably all solutions are expensive.

 

[Strouty]

There are four wells drilled that are over 400' deep with no water already, then the neighbors drilled a 1100' well and got no water, we were quoted around $20k to drill a 1500' well, with no guarantee of any water. If I clean up the waterline and then have the ledge blasted, we can insulate things and then it would work year round. In the end, it will probably be pretty expensive to do the blasting, but it would be a good permanent solution. I have seen the rock trench cutters and that may also be an option, so I have to research a few things, the first step is to get things working the way they currently are, because none of this is happening before this winter!

I am headed out to do some errands, then stop by the SG to pick up a few things. Should have Perk's knuckle boom fully functioning with the remote today. Also going to shoot for getting Goldfender's shift cable changed out, have a few other things to do as well. Saturday we are going to hook the water up to the new plumbing, if everything works, then we can plumb up the new stainless shop sink, that will be nice for sure.

 

[Strouty]

Slow start, errands are being interrupted by breakfast now.

I am almost at the SG, then I have a list of things to pick up, after that I am headed back to the Hill to work on Perk.

 

[Strouty]

It is amazing how a simple task can turn into a crazy project. The new wires were essentially unreachable without removing the batteries, seemed like it would be easier to just take the shifter boot off and access them from there, nope, broken bolt, then trying to fix that I broke a tool, now I am almost there, but I am sure something else will become an issue. The only satisfying thing is that when I have to swap the transmission, this would have needed to be done anyways, now it will be almost painless to remove in the future. Between the new stainless bolts and some antiseize she should come off anytime I want.

 

[Strouty]

Remote for Perk is now fully functioning (got it done about 2 PM today), then we shuffled vehicles around so the quonset hut is now full again. Basically everything that needs work is in there (Dad's stuff), so the Skidder is in there, the Marooka, and the ramp truck, also the forklift needs some attention (leaking antifreeze). I pulled out an old army trailer from the side of the Hill, going to use it for parts, then Goldfender got put on the lift, the muffler had completely blown out, at the top?? It is not rusted, not damaged, no sign of an issue, but it is completely blown apart, like when an old carbureted engine backfires and pops the muffler. Hopefully between the water line and the plumbing, I can still get that repaired, need to change the distributor, the muffler, front shocks, blower motor/resistor, shift cable, and fix the windshield washer (not spraying out, but pump runs). Small list at least I think I will have help and it is already on the lift, I just need to do some cleanup as the tools and supplies are everywhere from Perk and the remote setup.

 

[xtremek]

But no backfire on Goldfender? Good luck today.

 

[Strouty]

Nope, I think it was just a really cheap muffler, been working on figuring out the plumbing, the guy I am working with just headed out to get parts. I am trying to get the mess from the last week picked up so we have room to work.

 

[Strouty]

Today was the first time in a long time that I have felt like things got done.

New muffler on Goldfender, fixed the shift cable, swapped the front seats, fixed the washer fluid situation, tried to fix the blower motor (got a bad resistor right out of the box), then we got the water working, even the hot water, but there was an issue with that. Guy that has been helping out knew that there was a difference in fittings for expanding pex versus crimp, but didn’t know that the tube was different, so I need to redo one small section upstairs, it held, but I would guess it wouldn’t last.

 

[Strouty]

I did have to rebuild the legs to the sink, luckily I had some aluminum pipe that was almost perfect. I had to machine a few places to fit using the belt sander, this allowed me to raise it 4”, otherwise I felt like I would be all hunched over all the time. We also added a chunk of 3/4” plastic board as a backer, should tame any overspray from the sink.

 

[harley jim]

I just went through the same problem with Pex at the bil's place we installed it then found out that there are two different types of it. Dosent make any sence to the people at the store either.

 

[Strouty]

I knew about it, just glad I found the piece he used and the tag was on it. I agree it is confusing if you don't know what is what, but there are plenty of resources to find info on it. The best part about PEX A is that it can still be used for crimp or shark bite style fittings, that gives you the most versatility, I can see times where it may not be accessible with the expansion tool.

 

[harley jim]

Hopefully I'm at a point where I wont have to worry about it too much longer. When the bil's place is done I'm going to deny knowing anything about remodeling or building. Going to play senile in my old age.

 

[Strouty]

I am the handyman right now, so I can't play that card, not yet anyways....

Headed out to get the rest of the parts for the rolling chassis, then I will stop at the SG to unload the stuff. I need to get some paperwork done this afternoon so I am ready for next week.

The helper kid texted me, the translation appears to be, I am very sorry, can you give me a fifth chance, my Dad took my car away, My Dad will bring me to work and make sure I am on time. I thought about it most of the day and I decided that I would give him another chance. I am going to give him some of the worst jobs that I can think of, so we will see what he does. Monday I have to prep the lake for the next tenants and I want to see if he can get into the crawl space so we can change the hose bibs. The other job I have in mind is to clean off all the ledge under the house at the Hill, there is a lot of mud and dirt under there and I want it to be just ledge. That will be the really messy hard job as there is not a ton of room. If he survives that, I will give him credit.

 

[steaks&anvils]

The helper kid texted me, the translation appears to be, I am very sorry, can you give me a fifth chance, my Dad took my car away, My Dad will bring me to work and make sure I am on time. I thought about it most of the day and I decided that I would give him another chance. I am going to give him some of the worst jobs that I can think of, so we will see what he does.

Good for you. Not all of us need that extra chance (or five), but some people just don't learn the easy way.

I worked as a construction go-fer one summer, I hated it. But it taught me the value of hard work etc and I learned about myself = that I wasn't cut out for construction work and needed to get my *** going in school and get a good office job.

 

[steaks&anvils]

For awhile I followed a blog of a couple in europe who restored a mid century modern style home.

They decided to dig out the crawlspace for more basement room. It was full of construction debris, stone waste and a giant rock shelf.

They ended up removing the rock shelf by drilling holes and breaking it up with expansive mortar.

Not that you need another project...

 

[harley jim]

Good on you, make it a teaching moment. This could be the turning point in his life.

 

[Strouty]

The way this basement is, I really couldn’t take much out, the house and that garage addition were built at ground level, so it would end up being a nightmare. If I end up owning the place, all bets are off when I build the new house.

The helper kid won’t get anymore chances, but I figure he needs to learn as well. His dad is a big time developer and knows what work is, so I think he wants him to learn that as well. I haven’t met his dad yet, might meet him Monday.

I just picked up the last of the parts from New Hampshire, also got rid of some of Dad’s parts from the Quonset hut.

Parts out of the Quonset hut.


My “new” parts, should be a bunch of good useable stuff in there.


I am at Harbor Freight now, trying to see about a water pump for the Camp, local store didn’t have one, so I figured I would try here. I want to have lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, but it doesn’t open until later, so I am really just killing some time.

 

[racer-john]

"so I am really just killing some time."

My definition of "killing time"is to work it to death. Lol.

 

[Strouty]

I was researching the transfer case that is in the rolling chassis, should be a nice piece of kit for Perk 2.0

 

[Strouty]

I am now at the SG, was going to unload the parts, but I don't have a good location for them yet. I know where I want to put them, not that simple to get them there. I also don't have anymore pallets here and I really don't want to have to man handle the things again.

The 5 ton has been inside since last week, the batteries are weak, but they have enough charge that the engine starts right up, my guess is that once it gets cold, they will be toast. Hopefully I can get the truck sold long before that, looks like two tires need fixing and I have to swap one out for a Michelin. I think I can come up with enough rims and tires, but I am not 100% sure on that at this point. I can say for certain that I am feeling the pace of work drop down on my shoulders today. I may need to take a break and get some rest. I don't have any real need to unload the parts right now and I think I have another pallet at the Hill. Heck, it is already 3:30, the day is almost over.......

 

[mybigwarwagon]

I have some pallets, come and get them.

 

[Strouty]

I should be able to get there by lunch.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

Bring me a sammich.

 

[Strouty]

At least today I feel like I got enough sleep, hopefully things will go well today. I need to go up to the Camp and check out the status, the tenants were supposed to be out yesterday.

 

[86turbodsl]

Condition and mileage change the price significantly, so anywhere from $4k to $8k is what I see, most have rust and lots of miles.

Helper was a no show, no text, nothing this morning. I left the Hill to do errands, if he shows up or messages me, I am telling him I don’t need him at all and he can call my Dad and see if he can use him. This is just making me more determined to have the equipment and tools to be able to do everything myself, can only count in a select few people these days.

Work ethic is right out the window these days. Almost nobody works hard anymore. I see it everywhere.

 

[xtremek]

I hope YOUR engine runs strong, effective and efficient today. Good luck with the helper.

 

[Strouty]

Helper was dropped off at 9:01 am sharp I feel like if I am supposed to be to work at 9, I show up at 8:55 so I am ready to go at 9,but I am not normal......


It is already hot and humid, so my engine may be running at half speed today.

At least the water is on in the shop again, even have hot water, makes cleaning up much nicer.

Top priority this week is to get the camp ready for the next renters, I think I am going to plan on that one for tomorrow, then we can bring shorts and towels, some of the dock has to be adjusted again.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

In my book if you show up at 855 you are running late. I like to give myself room for problems to arise.

 

[xtremek]

I'm a 9am kind of guy. I always run line to line. I'm too busy to show up early. I can't afford to waste one second of a day.