Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Welcome......To Odd Acres

[slodat]

Your car looks great, Dan!

 

[Finallygotit]

Your car looks great, Dan!

Why thank you very much!

 

[Finallygotit]

So it was time to replace the temporary nest I had for my weather station. I finally got the station mounted up higher (more pipe) and permanently to the block wall below. I used a flange and two street ells to allow me to pivot it back down to inspect and clean the rain gauge. I sometimes get small pebbles in there from the occasional dust devil and some bird poop every now and again. For the upper portion of the brace I just cut up a piece of scrap 2x4 for the nest and used some large hose clamps to keep it in place.

Before:


So I went to Industrial Metals and bought some aluminum. And here we go squaring it up.




Nothing about this was that precise so I just laid out the shape and machined to scribed lines.


Here are all of the pieces finished machined.


At this point I just needed to prime and paint to match the existing fence. And here is the finished assembly.


I surprised the **** out of myself that I didn't have to tweak anything.

 

[Finallygotit]

I guess it would be nice to show the whole set-up.

 

[sawduststeve]

I guess it would be nice to show the whole set-up.

Looks good Dan.
Umm let me guess, hot and dry.
I should get one, “this season it’s been mostly wet and cold”

Steve

 

[Finallygotit]

Umm let me guess, hot and dry.

Steve?? Here?? In Tucson?? Nah..............

Actually, it has not been that bad. About three weeks ago we had some rains come through and it was cooler. Right now it's in the upper 90's with about 9% humidity. The weather guessers are predicting an El Nino year which means a wetter monsoon season for us. I like the entertainment the monsoon season serves up for us.

 

[sawduststeve]

Steve?? Here?? In Tucson?? Nah..............

Actually, it has not been that bad. About three weeks ago we had some rains come through and it was cooler. Right now it's in the upper 90's with about 9% humidity. The weather guessers are predicting an El Nino year which means a wetter monsoon season for us. I like the entertainment the monsoon season serves up for us.

Dan, no entertainment here it’s been exceptionally damp so far, this last week has been our warmest this year.
You know our summers are three warm days followed by a thunderstorm.

Steve

 

[Grizz1963]

Excellent work on the weather station brace.

i am surprised you need one, surely every day is the same….?

Dry.

 

[rmack898]

I can only imagine what 9% humidity is like.

Nice job on the bracket Dan.

 

[zmotorsports]

Very nicely done on the mounting bracket Dan. Simple yet elegant design and execution.

 

[Finallygotit]

Excellent work on the weather station brace.

i am surprised you need one, surely every day is the same….?

Dry.

Thanks Rian! We do have a couple of months where there are a lots of days that are the same. Summers can be totally unpredictable due to the monsoon rains. Our monsoon season starts mid-June through September. But the official start is when we get 3+ days in a row where the dew point is at 55° or higher. As of the last time I looked this morning, the dew point has crept up to 50°. We'll see.

I can only imagine what 9% humidity is like.

Nice job on the bracket Dan.

Mac, it's REALLY dry. I am so glad I installed a whole house humidifier. And thank you!

Very nicely done on the mounting bracket Dan. Simple yet elegant design and execution.

Thanks Mike!


And thank you all for following along. It does mean a lot.

 

[Finallygotit]

And it looks like I forgot to mention that my lovely wife and I did it again. We adopted two relatively senior dogs recently.



These are Great Pyrenees. The vet and adoption agency think they are around 8 years old. They really needed some vet care and that is finally behind us/them. They are definitely a couple of sweethearts.

 

[jbmatth]

Good looking dogs, I had a Great Pyrenees growing up and he was a gentle giant.

JB

 

[Finallygotit]

Good looking dogs, I had a Great Pyrenees growing up and he was a gentle giant.

JB

Thanks JB! These two are pretty much the same way. Although they lately seem to want to protect us which is in their nature. We have a javelina or two that walk by the back of the house at night and when they do, these two light up. Bark bark bark bark.....

We have only had them for three months and it has been interesting seeing their personalities come out.

 

[racer-john]

Thanks JB! These two are pretty much the same way. Although they lately seem to want to protect us which is in their nature. We have a javelina or two that walk by the back of the house at night and when they do, these two light up. Bark bark bark bark.....

"javelina" ?

 

[Finallygotit]

"javelina" ?

Here you go!



Also a link to Wiki. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peccary

Oh, and they kinda stink.

 

[Mr.zippy]

They really stink after a sleeping slug is applied!

 

[racer-john]

Here you go!



Also a link to Wiki. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peccary

Oh, and they kinda stink.

Thanks for that.

 

[jbmatth]

They really stink after a sleeping slug is applied!

I thought the same thing, that is much easier than teaching the dogs not to bark at them also.

JB

 

[Finallygotit]

So the latest project is not in the shop or the garage.....it's in the house. The kitchen to be exact.

The vent hood over the cook top that came with the house was mounted too low and stuck out too far.

Here you can see how far it sticks out.


It sticks out 25" from the back wall. The new vent hood we purchased only sticks out 19". Like I said, they also mounted the hood way too low. My nose was even with the rotary switches on the front panel. Almost every time I cooked, I bonked my head on the damned thing. If I needed to look at something on the back burners, I would have to duck under the hood. Enough!!

So out comes the useless cabinet.


The installers must have had a bad day when they cut the hole in the wall for the vent; not a straight line to be found. (Not sure why the picture is fuzzy) Also, as a good point, the original builder lined the wall cavity with galvanized ductwork going all the way to the roof.

And here's the wall showing the wonderfulness that is shoddy workmanship.


For the new vent hood, I would have to move the electrical box (that was fun), cover the old vent location and cut a new vent opening.

Here's where I tentatively mounted the hood to see if my vertically challenged wife could easily reach the touch controls. It also helped me to locate the new vent opening.


Here is the wall with the new opening and the electrical box moved. At this point there was still a lot of wall board patching and texturing. Even though there wasn't a lot of mud work, having to wait for the stuff to dry was frustrating as I wanted to get this done.


Here is the hood mounted, ducted and sealed.


So here's the before.


And here's the after.

 

[Grizz1963]

Well done

good job.

 

[RickP]

Nice work -- especially the finishing details.

Hard to believe how much sub-par work some GCs let their subs get away with...

 

[slodat]

Nice work -- especially the finishing details.

Hard to believe how much sub-par work some GCs let their subs get away with...

I fear it is the norm by a huge margin.

 

[Finallygotit]

Well done

good job.

Thank you Rian!

Nice work -- especially the finishing details.

Hard to believe how much sub-par work some GCs let their subs get away with...

Thank you Rick!

Speaking of subs and sub par work, as I was pulling the ductwork out of the cabinet above the old hood, I found that the sub made a makeshit makeshift duct flap. The flap was designed to let air out but not in. It was made from a piece of aluminum and duct tape for a hinge.

 

[Bob Heine]

Dan, I can't believe that electrical work made it through an inspection. It looks more like a first attempt at electrical work by a Millennial homeowner [that's harsh -- maybe an "Influencer" homeowner who posted the project on YouTube]. It appears there are three holes for every mounting location. It could also be the builder put up a different hood with a much smaller hole in the wall and the previous owner replaced it with the 'Hood from Hell'.

 

[sawduststeve]

Nice work Dan. Neat and tidy , as it should be.
That original vent hole , makes my teeth itch,
Even the stuff my clients cannot see, will be square, level , and finished well.

Steve

 

[Finallygotit]

Bob, there were holes all over that wall from the sub looking for the studs. Then there were holes for god knows what. The old hood actually came with a piece of wood that was to be mounted on the wall then the hood to it; kinda like a French cleat.

Steve, after I took the hood down, all I could do was stare at the wall and shake my head.

 

[Duker]

just to be a trouble maker I think you need to make it in copper to match the pulls!

 

[Finallygotit]

just to be a trouble maker I think you need to make it in copper to match the pulls!

Duke, I'm not sure if it's because the coffee hasn't kicked in or what but what do you want me to make out of copper?

And BTW, the pulls are satin nickel finish. The way they twist seems to reflect the wood finish giving them the look of copper. And you're not the first one to say that.

 

[Duker]

Duke, I'm not sure if it's because the coffee hasn't kicked in or what but what do you want me to make out of copper?

And BTW, the pulls are satin nickel finish. The way they twist seems to reflect the wood finish giving them the look of copper. and you're not the first one to say that.

I was referring to the vent hood ... it must be my old eyes or the fact that I am color blind but the pulls looked they were copper shade as best as I could tell!

 

[Finallygotit]

I was referring to the vent hood ... it must be my old eyes or the fact that I am color blind but the pulls looked they were copper shade as best as I could tell!

OMG no! Sheet metal is definitely not in my wheelhouse. I **** at sheet metal work. I can't even bend a small piece without it being fu-barred.

 

[Finallygotit]

Ah, Mother Nature...............

 

[nicholam77]

A functional and visual improvement with the new range hood — it looks great! Just getting rid of those small cabinets above the old hood, and having the new duct trim go to the ceiling, makes it feel much larger and open in that area, at least in the pics!

 

[Finallygotit]

A functional and visual improvement with the new range hood — it looks great! Just getting rid of those small cabinets above the old hood, and having the new duct trim go to the ceiling, makes it feel much larger and open in that area, at least in the pics!

Thanks Nick!

Also, since the hood has a glass canopy, it's much brighter under it when cooking, even if I don't turn on the lights in the hood.

 

[Finallygotit]

Well let me explain the "fun" we have had for the past week.

Last Thursday a micro-burst came through our area. To say that it caused a little havoc would be a massive understatement. My weather station clocked winds of 69 mph and we got about two inches of rain in about 25 minutes. Luckily our house and the shop did not sustain any damage. The only thing that did happened was one of the roof tiles lifted just slightly.


(As a side note, we decided to have our roof redone this past November ($$$) to replace the membrane under the roof tiles. We had multiple leaks prior to that time which unnerved me. The paper that was there would just fall apart when handled. I am happy to report that there wasn't a leak anywhere.)

So here are a couple of pictures to better explain the "fun" we had. This picture was taken as things were winding down. Prior to that, you could barely see the fireplace from the same vantage point. All of my wife's metal yard art was scattered about.














This branch that broke was from a tree right in front of the house. Thankfully, the wind was blowing parallel to the house so the massive branch missed hitting anything. The branch is 9" in diameter.


My heart sank when I rounded the patio corner to see this.

I just finished rehanging the gate that is on the ground while the roofers were doing their thing. Those gates are supposed to open towards the street, not the backyard. My wife and I rehung the gates using ratchet straps so we could let the dogs out and not have to fear them running off.



The steel post that is attached to the gate went into a hole in the concrete. The concrete gave way and allowed the gate to swing the wrong way.


This is one pile of tree parts my wife and I were cutting and gathering. This one is about 6 feet tall at its high point and 20-25 feet long.




This pile is on the other side of the driveway with more to come.

Our HOA is in the process of getting a tree company out here with a couple of trucks with wood chippers to pick up the debris. There were multiple (large) trees in the neighborhood that were blown over with their roots yanked out of the ground.

Just outside our neighborhood there was more damage. This pile of mangled metal was once three pipe horse stalls with corrugated metal roofs. It is about 100 yards from where it used to be. The container canopy didn't fair too well either.


Luckily we had power throughout this little ordeal; not so lucky just east of us. The local power company said they had to replace 16 power poles. And I think they had enough of replacing broken poles, they replaced all of the wood poles with metal poles. I have to say, those folks worked very quickly to restore power. There also were street signs blown over that looked like someone just stepped on them and flattened them to the ground. A few of those came out of the ground with their concrete footings still attached.

And the cleanup continues........

 

[sawduststeve]

Dan, glad you’re both safe and sound, not having any leaks is also a blessing
Shame about the damage to the gates, I’m sure though, they’ll be back, better and stronger.

Good luck with the tidy up.
Steve

 

[jbmatth]

Good to hear the damage was minimal for you compared to what it could have been, and that the Cobra is safe too of course. Is that type of weather typical in your area?

JB

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Dan, when mother nature is pissed off, it can be quite destructive. Glad things weren't any worse for your property and roof didn't leak!

60+mph winds were common in Western NE were I grew up, they used to say Nebraska sucked and Wyoming blew

 

[Duker]

Wow, that was quite the storm there! Glad to see that everyone is safe.

You were getting tired of having no projects to do around the house right?

 

[zmotorsports]

Dan, glad to hear you're safe but damn, I feel for ya with all that damage. Best of luck in the cleanup and repairs.