# Shuswap Life



## BigJim

Wow, man, what a view, I hope you can start on your new house really soon buddy.


----------



## cocobolo

The trees on the property consist of many silver birch, most of which are dead and in danger of falling without provocation.

Then there are many tall, very slender red cedars, but most of these are rotted in the middle of the trees at ground level. This is quite common with red cedars.

Then there are a few larger Douglas firs, some cottonwood trees, and several other deciduous trees that I'm not yet familiar with.


----------



## cocobolo

As you can plainly see, the lot was a real mess when I arrived there. Trees fallen over in every direction...many hung up in the air, making it very difficult to pick your way through the property.

Several days have been spent trying to clear up some of the mess and get rid of the trees where the house, septic field and carport will go, plus of course the driveway area needs to be cleared.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Wow, man, what a view, I hope you can start on your new house really soon buddy.


Hi Jim:

Wow! That was a fast reply!

Well, my lawyer says that if the house on Ruxton doesn't sell soon that he can direct me to someone who may be able to provide interim financing. I haven't investigated that in any way, but it might be a possibility to get a quick start.

You'll see that I entitled the thread Shuswap Life and I did that for a reason.

It seems that everyone up here is incredibly friendly and I'll get to that a bit more in the next few posts. But the first day I was at the lot with a chainsaw, three of the immediate neighbours came over and introduced themselves (maybe they were just being nosy...!) and they are the nicest people one could hope to have as future friends.

While I was up this past trip - just got back this morning - I stayed at my friend Al's house for a few days. The original intent of this trip was just to put my stuff into a storage unit and little else. I was to be back on the island in a couple of days.

But when I visited Al and his wife Linda, they asked if I needed a place to stay overnight. 

I noticed that they had four large 6 x 6 posts sticking up in the air at the beginning of the walkway to their house and asked what they were for. Apparently, Linda has been looking at these posts for the last four years trying to figure out what she wants to do...and of course the time to do it.

She produced a picture of the concept that she had, whereupon I immediately offered to build it for them if they had the materials on hand.

Indeed they did, and so we got busy the next morning and spent the next two days building what you see here.


----------



## cocobolo

Unfortunately there were no roofing shingles on hand, so I couldn't quite complete the job. Maybe next trip.

My friend Al is a hot rodder, and every year he organizes what he calls a picnic for several of his hot rod buddies down at the beach near his gorgeous house. This was last Sunday afternoon, and he invited me to come down and meet some of the good folks that made the run out there.


----------



## cocobolo

...a few more...


----------



## cocobolo

Trivia question for you. What kind of car is this?


----------



## cocobolo

I didn't need the back seat in the Dodge van I bought, so I thought it would make a good "office" chair out at the property. Besides, it gives me a spot to rest between fights with all those trees.

The other shot is of the biggest fir I felled so far. Not much compared to the coast, but the fir was about 26" through where it was cut.


----------



## BigJim

Oh my stars, the cars are out a sight. My key board is slick from drooling, beautiful!!!

That car looks kinda like an ole Ford but don't know that I have seen one like it or remember seeing one like it. I know I have seen a few miles in a rumble seat like that.


----------



## cocobolo

I have actually heard this name before Jim, but I have never seen the real thing. Until last Sunday that is. The car is completely original and in stunning condition. :thumbup:

If you can't read the name plate, it's a Rockne.


----------



## BigJim

Keith, I have never heard of that one, but man, it is stunningly beautiful, I love that color. Thank you for sharing the photos buddy.


----------



## ptarmigan61

It's a Studebaker Rockne. Interesting car. It was introduced to replacevthe Erskine. Onky made for a couple of years.


----------



## cocobolo

ptarmigan61 said:


> It's a Studebaker Rockne. Interesting car. It was introduced to replace the Erskine. Only made for a couple of years.


Yes, and that would account for the sticker inside the front window.

I didn't have a chance to talk to the owner as he was very busy fielding questions from several people. He only stayed for a short while, so I'm glad I got some pictures as soon as he arrived.


----------



## shumakerscott

_"You'll see that I entitled the thread Shuswap Life and I did that for a reason."

I thought it was because of me!:whistling2: Shu
_


----------



## cocobolo

shumakerscott said:


> _"You'll see that I entitled the thread Shuswap Life and I did that for a reason."
> 
> I thought it was because of me!:whistling2: Shu
> _


Hahahaha! That's pretty funny....I never associated it with your name Shu.

But now that you mention it...


----------



## shadytrake

Awesome! I can't wait to see what you build. I am sure that it will be beautiful!


----------



## shumakerscott

Put up a Yurt! Some really cool ideas out there..


----------



## cocobolo

Yurts are usually round, aren't they? No more round for me I think. Although I have seen some pictures of some quite spectacular yurts. In fact, there is one right here on Ruxton island...still there not at the Shuswap just yet.

It has to be simple and straightforward...which means more or less squarish.

I have been discussing the groundwork and basement construction with a fellow builder, and he asked if I had considered a PWF (Permanent wood foundation) instead of a concrete foundation.

You betcha...much easier to build alone, way less costly, far easier to heat and the list just goes on. I think there is a pressure treating plant somewhere in the area (I haven't looked that up yet) but my friend is doing one in Ontario. His wood had to come all the way from B. C. if you can believe that. Apparently there are only two or three plants left still treating wood.


----------



## Bud Cline

Don't forget to cast *yurt* votes for the Project of the Month nominees.


----------



## cocobolo

...groan...


----------



## Mort

You know, I was looking at the pictures on the first page and thinking, that house is entirely too square for Keith. 

I'm with you about the yurts. A little too hippy for me.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Yurts are usually round, aren't they? No more round for me I think. Although I have seen some pictures of some quite spectacular yurts. In fact, there is one right here on Ruxton island...still there not at the Shuswap just yet.
> 
> It has to be simple and straightforward...which means more or less squarish.
> 
> I have been discussing the groundwork and basement construction with a fellow builder, and he asked if I had considered a PWF (Permanent wood foundation) instead of a concrete foundation.
> 
> You betcha...much easier to build alone, way less costly, far easier to heat and the list just goes on. I think there is a pressure treating plant somewhere in the area (I haven't looked that up yet) but my friend is doing one in Ontario. His wood had to come all the way from B. C. if you can believe that. Apparently there are only two or three plants left still treating wood.


This is a new one on me, how do you go about building the foundation, aren't you afraid it will rot? Hmm come to think of it telephone poles are under ground and they last for many years. Is there a way to replace the wood if it does rot, is it to code? How would you water proof the basement? Man, I am full of questions this morning, among other things. LOL


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> This is a new one on me, how do you go about building the foundation, aren't you afraid it will rot? Hmm come to think of it telephone poles are under ground and they last for many years. Is there a way to replace the wood if it does rot, is it to code? How would you water proof the basement? Man, I am full of questions this morning, among other things. LOL


Jim:
I remember back about two or three hundred years ago when I was taking my carpentry course, that we had several different instructors covering varying subjects. One of the subjects was pressure treated wood foundations.

At the time the PWF's were still quite new, the first ones in Canada being built at Penticton, which isn't that far from the Shuswap. It's the same sort of area, just several miles further south.

Our instructor on this subject gave us a slide presentation (remember those?) and explained how these PWF's were done. 

I did some Googling yesterday on the subject, and I see that these foundations have been simplified even further from what they were when the first test houses were built at Penticton. It was in the '70's when I got my carpentry ticket, and I think the Penticton homes were done in the early to mid '60's. They are all still there...being lived in...and doing fine. :thumbsup:

The pressure treated wood is not the same as you typically get from your local lumberyard. They do make a much superior product with far more treating chemical. I read last night that these foundations are expected to last 112 years! I have no idea how they figured that one out, but since I most likely won't quite make it that far it doesn't concern me.

Some of the PT wood you get these days isn't even rated for ground contact. What's with that anyway?


----------



## BigJim

Wow, that is amazing Keith, that is very impressive. I will do some reading about that. I love learning new things and that is for sure new to me. I don't know of a place down this way to buy pressure treated wood that will last but a very few years. Do you have a link where one can read about this?


----------



## cocobolo

Jim, the easiest thing to do is to Google either PWF's, or Pressure treated wood foundations.
I went through a few at the beginning of the list yesterday, but there must be hundreds of different links there. I didn't have time to look at more than a handful. 
Busy getting the sawmill apart today.


----------



## BigJim

I just checked it out, that is fascinating, I didn't know that they build that type foundation in the US but they do. Thanks for bring that up. If you decide to build like that will you post some pictures of how you are doing it?


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I just checked it out, that is fascinating, I didn't know that they build that type foundation in the US but they do. Thanks for bring that up. If you decide to build like that will you post some pictures of how you are doing it?


Hi Jim:
I think it's pretty much a certainty that I will be doing this for any number of reasons.

One of which would be the cost of actually getting concrete in place. I understand that the basic cost of delivered concrete is in excess of $200 a meter, plus the pumper truck, plus the form cost, plus at least two extra men to do the placing. 

I will most likely pour a concrete floor for the carport, but I will get navajack delivered and mix my own. That I can manage on my own, but a big pour I could not.

One other big advantage of the PWF is that weather does not affect the installation. I guess a two foot snowfall would mess you up, but other than that it can be done at any time, and in small chunks at your convenience.


----------



## BigJim

I don't even know what the cost of concrete is here now. 
What is navajack? 

This is going to be interesting.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I don't even know what the cost of concrete is here now.
> What is navajack?
> 
> This is going to be interesting.


Navajack, sometimes spelled navvyjack, is the sand and gravel mix you use to make concrete. 5 shovels of navvy to one of cement.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Navajack, sometimes spelled navvyjack, is the sand and gravel mix you use to make concrete. 5 shovels of navvy to one of cement.


Oh OK, I had never heard it called that before.


----------



## cocobolo

You probably have a different name for it down your way Jim.


----------



## BigJim

We just call it sand and gravel down this way, we mix it with portland to make concrete.


----------



## cocobolo

Yep, that's it. :yes:


----------



## cocobolo

I was in contact with the Canadian Wood Council yesterday, as they are the folks who print the book covering the regulations for the permanent wood foundations.

I bought the current edition, but apparently there is a revised edition in the works which will not be released until August of 2016! Seems like a long way off just for a revision.

In the U.S. you can download a free PDF from the Southern Pine council covering the American regulations. So if anyone south of the border is interested, there's a damn good freebie for you.

I'm currently comparing both to see if there are any substantive differences and much of it is literally word for word the same. I wonder who copied who? 

Started working on the house plans last night, so we'll see how that goes.


----------



## shumakerscott

cocobolo said:


> Navajack, sometimes spelled navvyjack, is the sand and gravel mix you use to make concrete. 5 shovels of navvy to one of cement.


I was always going 3 to 1 or 4 to 1. My place is extra strong :thumbup:. dd...


----------



## cocobolo

shumakerscott said:


> I was always going 3 to 1 or 4 to 1. My place is extra strong :thumbup:. dd...


Most mixes that you order are either a 4 or 4 1/2 sack mix. If you use 1 shovel of cement powder to 5 of sand/gravel, that's a five sack mix...plenty strong. There does actually come a point when the extra cement doesn't help any more, just costs you more money!

Yep, I bet your concrete won't be going away anytime soon. :thumbsup: Better safe than sorry!


----------



## cocobolo

More work on the plans last night. There are a few places in the PWF book that are not perfectly clear. So I will be in touch with the local engineer at Scotch Creek to get clarification. 

He has to design my septic system anyway so another 100 questions shouldn't matter! :thumbsup:

I think that a scale model of this house just might be worth its' weight in gold! Especially with this type of foundation.


----------



## forcedreno2012

Wow Keith what a beautiful location. Glad I am going to get to watch this one from the beginning. 

Robyn


----------



## shadytrake

I want to see if y'all are planning on adding a Rocket Mass Heater! Thoughts on that?

I can't wait to see the building begin.


----------



## cocobolo

shadytrake said:


> I want to see if y'all are planning on adding a Rocket Mass Heater! Thoughts on that?
> 
> I can't wait to see the building begin.


Too early to tell just yet.

They do have a very strict building inspection department which governs that area, bit once the cabin is up and inspected, who knows what might happen?

I may well make one outside where I would be able to attach it to I nice masonry bench for Spring and Fall use. Since that wouldn't involve any inspections it should be fine. Perhaps use it as a pizza oven or something like that. :thumbup:


----------



## drtbk4ever

Hey Keith, I was very happy to discover that your DIY efforts will continue with a new project. I'm looking forward to seeing the Shuswap project take flight.

Now that your worksite is more accessible, you may have a bit more foot traffic, hopefully with hammers in hand.

If you ever need some help, I am only 10 hours away.


----------



## cocobolo

drtbk4ever said:


> Hey Keith, I was very happy to discover that your DIY efforts will continue with a new project. I'm looking forward to seeing the Shuswap project take flight.
> 
> Now that your worksite is more accessible, you may have a bit more foot traffic, hopefully with hammers in hand.
> 
> If you ever need some help, I am only 10 hours away.


10 hours...is that by dirk bike?


----------



## Mort

According to the Google machine, Shuswap Lake is only about 190 miles from me, give or take. I'll swing a hammer if you buy the beer.


----------



## cocobolo

Mort said:


> According to the Google machine, Shuswap Lake is only about 190 miles from me, give or take. I'll swing a hammer if you buy the beer.


Oboy! This is really neat! Keep the offers coming and all I will have to do is sit back and watch! :thumbup:


----------



## drtbk4ever

cocobolo said:


> Oboy! This is really neat! Keep the offers coming and all I will have to do is sit back and watch! :thumbup:


 
I'll hold Mort's beer.


----------



## Jim F

Love that view. That's what I'm aspiring to a lake view. My wife thinks she wants lake side but I would not like the lack of privacy or the noise from boats and ski jets cruising past all day. It's the view I want. If not a lake view then maybe a valley view. That's one thing that stinks about living in a neighborhood, very limited views.


----------



## Mort

drtbk4ever said:


> I'll hold Mort's beer.


I sense shenanigans here...


----------



## cocobolo

drtbk4ever said:


> I'll hold Mort's beer.


I bet you will! At least until it is empty!! :laughing:


----------



## cocobolo

Jim F said:


> Love that view. That's what I'm aspiring to a lake view. My wife thinks she wants lake side but I would not like the lack of privacy or the noise from boats and ski jets cruising past all day. It's the view I want. If not a lake view then maybe a valley view. That's one thing that stinks about living in a neighborhood, very limited views.


Hi Jim: That's a valid point you make there.

Up at Anglemont, the road which passes through all the small communities on the north side of the lake generally runs fairly close to the water. Sometimes there are houses between the road and the lake, but sometimes the road is right up against the water. At Anglemont, there are just a few houses in front of the road, otherwise the road occupies the prime real estate against the water and gives you excellent views of the lake and local beach. 

At Scotch Creek, which is a few miles before you arrive at Anglemont, the road goes several blocks inland before returning to the lake front again.

Another point about that is the cost of waterfront property. One would think that given the relative remoteness of the Scotch Creek, Celista, Magna Bay, Anglemont and St. Ives side of the North Shuswap, that the property prices would be quite low. That is definitely not the case.

Anything at all on the water runs into the several hundred thousand bracket, which means you need a very successful firstborn to mortgage the place with!

My lot is on the highest road at the west side of Anglemont Estates, and once the remaining trees are out of the way, the view should be pretty nice.

Unfortunately, the land at that subdivision never had any tree management done in the past. There is very little there that is worth saving. 

As far as the noisy boating goes, I have been quite surprised to find that what little noise there is has not been objectionable, even while sitting right down at the beach. Although there are perhaps a few hundred boat moorings close to the small communities, I did notice that only a handful of boats are on the lake at any given time. And thus far I have seen only two of the dreaded jet skis on the lake.

A common sight in the summertime are the bigger houseboats slowly cruising around the lake. These are rental boats (not cheap!) and they are only used seasonally. These houseboats can often handle a dozen or more guests at a time.


----------



## cocobolo

Mort said:


> I sense shenanigans here...


...No kidding! :yes:


----------



## 123pugsy

Looking forward to the build. :thumbsup:


----------



## Jim F

The lake reminds me of Lake George here in Upstate NY. Anyway, it looks like you have enough distance form the lake so as not to be bothered too much by lake traffic. And yes, lakeside real estate is expensive. I've never owned on the lake but have been on the tour boats on Lake George and it strikes me that those folks don't have a lot of privacy for the price they pay. Can you use the timber as firewood once you clear it?


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Looking forward to the build. :thumbsup:


You and me both Pugsy! :thumbsup:

Just over 3 weeks before I get back up there again.


----------



## cocobolo

Jim F said:


> The lake reminds me of Lake George here in Upstate NY. Anyway, it looks like you have enough distance form the lake so as not to be bothered too much by lake traffic. And yes, lakeside real estate is expensive. I've never owned on the lake but have been on the tour boats on Lake George and it strikes me that those folks don't have a lot of privacy for the price they pay. Can you use the timber as firewood once you clear it?


I'll answer your question first...yes, the wood can be used for firewood. But many of the logs are Western Red Cedar and I think I will be saving as many of those as I can to be used as potential lumber, or perhaps as posts. 

There is also some nice Douglas Fir which would make excellent beams. Dead straight and at least 90 feet tall. Most of the Silver Birch is dead, even though it may be standing. There might be two or three Birches that are millable. That could be used for cabinets or built-in furniture, that sort of thing.

If I can find someone up that way with a portable sawmill, I think I could end up with as much as 10,000 board feet of milled lumber. If not, I just might buy another small mill. The difficulty will be moving the logs to the mill which I think can be solved by getting my hands on a Bobcat or something similar. I have an idea or two up my sleeve about that. A chainsaw winch can just about move mountains!

The Shuswap lakes - I say lakes because there are four long arms to the Shuswap - extends for a huge distance. I still haven't found out just how long the shoreline is all together around all the arms, but I'm betting it is way over 100 miles. I'll have to see if I can look that up.

As far as the privacy issue is concerned, I think that the lake itself is wide enough that most boaters could hardly see much shoreside. Besides, the homeowners will be looking at the boaters as well...maybe with binoculars! I don't see that as being an issue on the Shuswap.


----------



## cocobolo

Well, my guess of at least 100 miles of shoreline fell somewhat short...try 889 miles! Wow, who knew?

Take a peek.

http://www.lakelubbers.com/shuswap-lake-1059/


----------



## Bud Cline

cocobolo said:


> Well, my guess of at least 100 miles of shoreline fell somewhat short...try 889 miles! Wow, who knew?
> 
> Take a peek.
> 
> http://www.lakelubbers.com/shuswap-lake-1059/


That's funny I was just looking that up too!
Depending on lake elevation I came up with: 1430km which converts to 888mi.

I had already visited the lake via Google Earth and even driven down a few roads via Street View. It's hard to believe Google has already been there too!!! How's a guy get one of those jobs?

When you estimated the shoreline to be 100 miles I had to see for myself. One hundred miles just didn't seem like enough after seeing the maps.
HOLY CRAP you are right - WHO KNEW?

http://wldb.ilec.or.jp/data/databook_html/nam/nam-47.html

Maybe (if it isn't too personal) now would be a good time for a little back-story as to how in the world you landed at this location. Did I miss that part?


----------



## Mort

It's weird how that shoreline thing works out. I read something about Maine's coastline years ago so I looked it up, the coast is only 230 miles linearly, but it has 3500 miles of tidal coast because of all the inlets and harbors and what not.


----------



## cocobolo

Mort said:


> It's weird how that shoreline thing works out. I read something about Maine's coastline years ago so I looked it up, the coast is only 230 miles linearly, but it has 3500 miles of tidal coast because of all the inlets and harbors and what not.


That's similar to the coastline here in British Columbia.

The straight line distance on the coast from the southern U. S. border to the Alaskan panhandle (couldn't get an exact number) is only about 5-600 miles.

But the coastline itself is over 16,900 miles!


----------



## cocobolo

Bud Cline said:


> That's funny I was just looking that up too!
> Depending on lake elevation I came up with: 1430km which converts to 888mi.
> 
> Maybe (if it isn't too personal) now would be a good time for a little back-story as to how in the world you landed at this location. Did I miss that part?


Simple answer. I could afford to buy a lot there.

Longer answer. I'm definitely not a city type person, so anywhere there are crowds of people wouldn't suit me. I have observed that a small community makes it easier to find good people who will become your good friends in short order. My three immediate neighbour families are perfect examples of this. Anglemont is basically a retirement community and one day I hope to be able to retire myself! Hah! Wouldn't that be nice?

I didn't want to get too far north because of the longer and harsher winters. A big lake will have some moderating effect on both summer and winter temperatures, so that was another consideration.

The whole area up there is still largely unspoiled, although governments have been there for years and have the practiced art of having their hands out down to a science.

When I saw some of the prices on the Anglemont lots, I was really surprised at how low they were. My first question to the realtor is why?

Apparently he has a whole list of people interested in buying there, but none of them wanted to take the jump until the new water system had been installed, and the annual tax cost of this system was known. My thoughts went in the opposite direction. Grab it quickly before the inevitable price increase.

The water system is now done and is absolutely state-of-the-art. It was done specifically for the Anglemont Estates area only. About three weeks ago I found out what the cost will be, and it is a paltry $40 a month. That's an absolute bargain for some of the best water in the world.

I note that within days of the cost being made public, that several of the lots had price increases in the 50% range! Even at that I still think they are dirt cheap...pardon the pun.

The two closest towns of any size are Salmon Arm and Kamloops, both of which offer every service known to mankind. They even have WalMarts!


----------



## ddsrph

Coco bolo 
I just found your thread on your project. You have a great lot with excellent view. Is getting building materials to your location, such as lumber and concrete a problem? I will be following ypur project. Do you have a definite plan yet for what you plan to build? 

Thanks
JM


----------



## cocobolo

ddsrph said:


> Coco bolo
> I just found your thread on your project. You have a great lot with excellent view. Is getting building materials to your location, such as lumber and concrete a problem? I will be following ypur project. Do you have a definite plan yet for what you plan to build?
> 
> Thanks
> JM


Hi JM:

No problem with this lot as far as getting building materials there. Or at least as soon as the driveway is in there won't be.

I do have a plan that I'm presently working on, and just as soon as the house on Ruxton is sold I will be hightailing it up to the Shuswap to get started.

There are a number of major building material suppliers in the area, most of whom I have already spoken to so there should be no problems...I hope.

Power is right in front of the lot, but apparently I still need a new pole right at the corner of the lot which the transformer will be on, and another pole just inside my property. Seems to me to be somewhat redundant, but they require that my meter not be on their pole. The quote for that little job was $4,000.00.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Hi JM:
> 
> No problem with this lot as far as getting building materials there. Or at least as soon as the driveway is in there won't be.
> 
> I do have a plan that I'm presently working on, and just as soon as the house on Ruxton is sold I will be hightailing it up to the Shuswap to get started.
> 
> There are a number of major building material suppliers in the area, most of whom I have already spoken to so there should be no problems...I hope.
> 
> Power is right in front of the lot, but apparently I still need a new pole right at the corner of the lot which the transformer will be on, and another pole just inside my property. Seems to me to be somewhat redundant, but they require that my meter not be on their pole. The quote for that little job was $4,000.00.


Will you be able to get a temporary service while building your home? You have to pay for the poles there?


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Jim:
I have a new 6,500 watt generator just waiting to pressed into service. I'm hoping that the house can be built quickly enough that I won't need to spend any extra money on a temporary pole.

However, I have seen those poles for sale at bargain basement prices and it may be worth getting one if the price is right.

Yes, we have to pay not only for the pole on our own lots, but also the one on the road allowance in front! Those guys don't miss a trick.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Hi Jim:
> I have a new 6,500 watt generator just waiting to pressed into service. I'm hoping that the house can be built quickly enough that I won't need to spend any extra money on a temporary pole.
> 
> However, I have seen those poles for sale at bargain basement prices and it may be worth getting one if the price is right.
> 
> Yes, we have to pay not only for the pole on our own lots, but also the one on the road allowance in front! Those guys don't miss a trick.


That is cool, that generator will pay for itself on your build. 

Man that is the pits having to pay for your poles. Just curious, how much is a kwh there?


----------



## ddsrph

Like Big Jim said we are lucky here regarding electrical service. They don't charge for poles unless you have a long run but in the area I am building I have to have underground service. Even that won't be too expensive as I will rent a trencher and dig my own and install the conduit with a rope inside and then the power company will come and run the line. I will have to provide the rigid conduit to go up the pole.
JM


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> That is cool, that generator will pay for itself on your build.
> 
> Man that is the pits having to pay for your poles. Just curious, how much is a kwh there?


Jim, I haven't had an electricity bill for donkeys' years, so I'm not sure what the current rate is. I think it is about 8 cents a KWH.


----------



## cocobolo

ddsrph said:


> Like Big Jim said we are lucky here regarding electrical service. They don't charge for poles unless you have a long run but in the area I am building I have to have underground service. Even that won't be too expensive as I will rent a trencher and dig my own and install the conduit with a rope inside and then the power company will come and run the line. I will have to provide the rigid conduit to go up the pole.
> JM


I will want underground wiring from the pole to my house as well. It only makes sense in an area with potentially high snowfall.

My neighbour has a digger which I will con him into using for me to do the trench. Then I can trade him for my labour when I help him do stuff at his place. Should be a win-win all around.

My electrician friend says the easiest way to put the electrical lines in to the conduit (PVC pipe) is to run the lines out, then push the PVC over the lines one piece at a time. Drop it into your trench and you're done.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> I will want underground wiring from the pole to my house as well. It only makes sense in an area with potentially high snowfall.
> 
> My neighbour has a digger which I will con him into using for me to do the trench. Then I can trade him for my labour when I help him do stuff at his place. Should be a win-win all around.
> 
> My electrician friend says the easiest way to put the electrical lines in to the conduit (PVC pipe) is to run the lines out, then push the PVC over the lines one piece at a time. Drop it into your trench and you're done.


Wow, your electrical rates are better than ours and we are dead in the middle of the TVA, good deal buddy. I am with you, I would want underground service with all the snow also.

That is a really good tip on how to get the wire in the conduit, I would have never thought about that.


----------



## cocobolo

I checked on the electricity rates and it goes like this.

Based on a two month period, you are allowed 1,350 KWH, or 22.1918 KWH per day. Don't ask me how they arrived at that number...? For this the charge is 7.52 cents/KWH.

Anything over that is charged out at 11.27 cents per KWH.

So I guess the trick is to stay under the 22 KWH per day. After living on solar power for so long, it should be easy to stay under that line. I wonder what happens with a grid-tie solar system where you put more back into the grid that what you use? 

I guess I will have to see what B. C. Hydro says about that. For the longest time they were resisting the grid-tie homes (naturally) but recently I have seen photos of such an installation in Victoria, B. C. so I know it's doable.


----------



## Bud Cline

Keith you should be starting your new project just about the time the snow flys. Is your tent insulated?


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> I checked on the electricity rates and it goes like this.
> 
> Based on a two month period, you are allowed 1,350 KWH, or 22.1918 KWH per day. Don't ask me how they arrived at that number...? For this the charge is 7.52 cents/KWH.
> 
> Anything over that is charged out at 11.27 cents per KWH.
> 
> So I guess the trick is to stay under the 22 KWH per day. After living on solar power for so long, it should be easy to stay under that line. I wonder what happens with a grid-tie solar system where you put more back into the grid that what you use?
> 
> I guess I will have to see what B. C. Hydro says about that. For the longest time they were resisting the grid-tie homes (naturally) but recently I have seen photos of such an installation in Victoria, B. C. so I know it's doable.


The way they do down here is they charge a higher rate during the day and when most people are asleep they charge cheaper rates. We run the dish washer and other things late at night on the cheaper rates.

7.25 is a very good rate, I think we are close to .10 cents here.


----------



## Bud Cline

cocobolo said:


> I checked on the electricity rates and it goes like this.
> 
> Based on a two month period, you are allowed 1,350 KWH, or 22.1918 KWH per day. Don't ask me how they arrived at that number...? For this the charge is 7.52 cents/KWH.
> 
> Anything over that is charged out at 11.27 cents per KWH.
> 
> So I guess the trick is to stay under the 22 KWH per day. After living on solar power for so long, it should be easy to stay under that line. I wonder what happens with a grid-tie solar system where you put more back into the grid that what you use?
> 
> I guess I will have to see what B. C. Hydro says about that. For the longest time they were resisting the grid-tie homes (naturally) but recently I have seen photos of such an installation in Victoria, B. C. so I know it's doable.


Here we pay 0.11 per KWH but then the government gets involved and it goes to 0.13 per KWH. We seem to average about 1800 KWH per month this time of year.


----------



## cocobolo

Bud Cline said:


> Here we pay 0.11 per KWH but then the government gets involved and it goes to 0.13 per KWH. We seem to average about 1800 KWH per month this time of year.


And to make matters worse, your U. S. dollar is currently about 10% higher than our weak kneed Canadian dollar. Which means that your power is even more costly than ours...ouch!


----------



## cocobolo

Bud Cline said:


> Keith you should be starting your new project just about the time the snow flys. Is your tent insulated?


Bud, I just got an email from my Lil Bro up in Onoway, Alberta, which is about level with Edmonton. He has snow on the ground this morning at his place!  

I guess he would be about 400 miles north of the Shuswap.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> The way they do down here is they charge a higher rate during the day and when most people are asleep they charge cheaper rates. We run the dish washer and other things late at night on the cheaper rates.
> 
> 7.25 is a very good rate, I think we are close to .10 cents here.


I think that sort of thing is pretty much universal now Jim. Once the power companies found out they could get away with that nonsense they all jumped on the bandwagon.

Those so called "Smart meters" are nothing but an additional source of income for the power grubbers. When those meters started going in up here, there were thousands of complaints from the homeowners about their bills jumping up by anywhere from 50% to 100%. It was completely outrageous.

I'm not sure of the current status of these meters, but I do know that many of the U. S. states banned them outright...as they rightfully should have done.


----------



## shumakerscott

Hey! "Quitch yer *****in" :thumbsup: I pay 28 Euro cents a kw here. That's 38 cents US. Solar Panels really make sense in this situation. At 7 cents it would take forever to pay them off. Waiting on progress photos. dorf dude...


----------



## BigJim

Chattanooga didn't get the memo, we still have the Smart meters. This being a tourist town, we stay about 50 years behind everyone else. One thing good about our power company is they have the 1 Gig internet service but even then, that is a gb not a GB which is actually 127 MBs.

Good grief Shu, that is totally unreal.


----------



## cocobolo

shumakerscott said:


> Hey! "Quitch yer *****in" :thumbsup: I pay 28 Euro cents a kw here. That's 38 cents US. Solar Panels really make sense in this situation. At 7 cents it would take forever to pay them off. Waiting on progress photos. dorf dude...


Good grief, that's positively obscene. No wonder Germany has such a push on for solar...can't say I blame them.

But with the current prices of panels now down around $1 a watt, even at 7 cents it makes sense to use solar power if at all possible. Sure, it may take awhile to pay off, but that isn't the only reason we should be using solar.

The more power generated by solar systems, the less will be needed to come from other sources. The "other" sources are invariably more expensive than solar (just look at Shu's price for example) and the cost is only going to increase. Let's face it, it's inevitable.

And to make matters worse, the beleaguered tax payer is always on the hook for any power generating system, regardless of what it is.

To me, one of the bigger benefits of solar power is that when the grid goes down, your power is still there. Having had the experience for 17 years, I can tell you it's a big relief knowing that you will always have your own electricity available.

I did already make a point of asking about the reliability of power at the north Shuswap, and I'm told that it goes out on a regular basis. So in the event of a power outage, either I will use my generator (initially) or solar power when I'm able to install it.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Good grief, that's positively obscene. No wonder Germany has such a push on for solar...can't say I blame them.
> 
> But with the current prices of panels now down around $1 a watt, even at 7 cents it makes sense to use solar power if at all possible. Sure, it may take awhile to pay off, but that isn't the only reason we should be using solar.
> 
> The more power generated by solar systems, the less will be needed to come from other sources. The "other" sources are invariably more expensive than solar (just look at Shu's price for example) and the cost is only going to increase. Let's face it, it's inevitable.
> 
> And to make matters worse, the beleaguered tax payer is always on the hook for any power generating system, regardless of what it is.
> 
> To me, one of the bigger benefits of solar power is that when the grid goes down, your power is still there. Having had the experience for 17 years, I can tell you it's a big relief knowing that you will always have your own electricity available.
> 
> I did already make a point of asking about the reliability of power at the north Shuswap, and I'm told that it goes out on a regular basis. So in the event of a power outage, either I will use my generator (initially) or solar power when I'm able to install it.


Just a quick thought so as not to hijack your thread, have you thought about the hole in the ground where they are pumping oil out of, sooner or later that hole is going to fall in.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Just a quick thought so as not to hijack your thread, have you thought about the hole in the ground where they are pumping oil out of, sooner or later that hole is going to fall in.


Wouldn't that be a hoot!

The tarsands project in Alberta - next province over from me - is the type where they dig the tarsands out of the ground and load it onto massive trucks for processing. While there may be no hole in the ground, they have destroyed thousands of acres of land in the process.

They claim the land will be restored...uh sure it will. :no:


----------



## shumakerscott

Keith is right. Solar is a no brainer. With my dual set up, hot water and electric, I've pushed back 575 Euros of power and have made 1870 hours of warm water since coming on line last year. I paid 4000 for my 2kw PV panels. The hot water was around 3500 with installation. I'm guessing pay back will be 8 years at current rates. When they raise the rates pay back will be sooner. I think every one should have at least a couple panels on their roof off setting the Vampire standby loads of their house. I like to keep my money in my pocket. Esp when I get older and will be on a fixed income. I'm off the soap box now.:yes:. dorf dude...


----------



## cocobolo

shumakerscott said:


> Keith is right. Solar is a no brainer. With my dual set up, hot water and electric, I've pushed back 575 Euros of power and have made 1870 hours of warm water since coming on line last year. I paid 4000 for my 2kw PV panels. The hot water was around 3500 with installation. I'm guessing pay back will be 8 years at current rates. When they raise the rates pay back will be sooner. I think every one should have at least a couple panels on their roof off setting the Vampire standby loads of their house. I like to keep my money in my pocket. Esp when I get older and will be on a fixed income. I'm off the soap box now.:yes:. dorf dude...


So it sounds like you have a grid intertie setup then. I think that's the perfect situation when you're on the grid.

I'm actually contemplating as to whether or not I should even hook up to the grid because that will cost me $4k and a solar setup is about the same price with 2 kw of panels. If I can make it OK on Ruxton with just 500 watts of panels, then 2,000 at the Shuswap should be a piece of cake. I do think it would be nice to be on the grid, just in case I want to do some heavy duty welding with my 250 amp Tig setup.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> So it sounds like you have a grid intertie setup then. I think that's the perfect situation when you're on the grid.
> 
> I'm actually contemplating as to whether or not I should even hook up to the grid because that will cost me $4k and a solar setup is about the same price with 2 kw of panels. If I can make it OK on Ruxton with just 500 watts of panels, then 2,000 at the Shuswap should be a piece of cake. I do think it would be nice to be on the grid, just in case I want to do some heavy duty welding with my 250 amp Tig setup.


If they will buy back the extra that you produce that would be a win win situation for you in the long run, but the initial pay out would be tough.


----------



## cocobolo

Yes, it's definitely food for thought.

I would just have to consider the hookup as part of the building cost, which it is actually.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Yes, it's definitely food for thought.
> 
> I would just have to consider the hookup as part of the building cost, which it is actually.


Most of our bill is stuff like "Debt Retirement Charge" and "Customer Charge", Admin Fee", etc.

If we were making access power, we would probably end up paying for the privilege of shoving the power into the grid. :huh:

The fees are there every month.


----------



## shumakerscott

123pugsy said:


> Most of our bill is stuff like "Debt Retirement Charge" and "Customer Charge", Admin Fee", etc.
> 
> If we were making access power, we would probably end up paying for the privilege of shoving the power into the grid. :huh:
> 
> The fees are there every month.


Yes they charge you to put power in. It's called a "Feed in Tariff" Also when you sell power back you have become a business, Taxes. They don't pay the same rate as they sell it to you either, much less. That's why the "Plug and Play" solar systems make the most sense. They have mini inverters and you just plug it in any outlet. Just push back on how much you use but not totally offset to a net zero consumption. dorf dude...


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Most of our bill is stuff like "Debt Retirement Charge" and "Customer Charge", Admin Fee", etc.
> 
> If we were making access power, we would probably end up paying for the privilege of shoving the power into the grid. :huh:
> 
> The fees are there every month.


This sounds to me like they are charging you twice for all those items. I wonder if you shouldn't send them a big juicy bill at the end of the year for all your "Admin" costs etc. Just another power company scam.


----------



## cocobolo

shumakerscott said:


> Yes they charge you to put power in. It's called a "Feed in Tariff" Also when you sell power back you have become a business, Taxes. They don't pay the same rate as they sell it to you either, much less. That's why the "Plug and Play" solar systems make the most sense. They have mini inverters and you just plug it in any outlet. Just push back on how much you use but not totally offset to a net zero consumption. dorf dude...


Going back a couple of years in Ontario, the government of the day had a plan whereby you could put panels up using the mini inverters. The power you were putting back into the grid was monitored, and they were paying a whopping .17 cents a Kwh for that. I think the program has been scrapped, but if you signed up for it when it was in effect, you're set for life. 

The main glitch with that program was that you are not allowed to store any power in your batteries, because you weren't ALLOWED to have a battery bank. Everything had to go directly into the grid.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> This sounds to me like they are charging you twice for all those items. I wonder if you shouldn't send them a big juicy bill at the end of the year for all your "Admin" costs etc. Just another power company scam.


I don't have any of the good solar panel stuff, just sayin.

The government ran Ontario Hydro at a loss and then sold it. The company that bought it, I guess didn't need to buy the debt, so everyone's bill has a debt retirement fee. Cool, huh?


----------



## cocobolo

Sorry for the lack of posts, especially with pictures for the past while.

I managed to have an industrial accident and broke my Canon XTi...so we are temporarily without pixels.

A new camera has been ordered but the delivery date is anywhere between Sept. 24 and Oct. 1st.

I'm sitting on the "Coastal Renaissance" right now, one of the newer B. C. Ferries heading over to Horseshoe Bay near Vancouver. From there it's up to the Shuswap for a few days.

Not so much to do any work on the property as such, but to help a good friend to buy his own lot up there. So there may well be two of us old clowns starting new builds very shortly.

Should be fun!


----------



## cocobolo

Oh dear...a month without posting. Well, there's a little bit to fill you in on up here in the Shuswap.

Firstly, even though the Ruxton house is not yet sold I have moved up here on what I hope is a permanent basis. 

I've been surprisingly busy given that I don't seem to have accomplished a whole lot. And now that I have a new Canon there's no more excuses for not posting the occasional photo. Still very much getting used to the new camera...different from the old XTi, but all the old lenses fit!

Shortly after I got up here a couple of weeks ago, I received an invite for dinner with my friend Al and his wife Linda. Not the same Al as was from Ruxton Island. This Al is a hot rodder, among other things.

If you know Al, there's likely to be a catch with a dinner invite. In this case he needed help to stand just a single post by a deck for one of his neighbours. We'll use my Kubota to lift it into place he says. Sucker me says Oh Sure, no problem Al. How hard can that possibly be?

The post in question turned out to be a 16 foot long pressure treated 6 by 6. Ever tried to move one of those, never mind lift it?

To add to the problem the post needed to be stood on a sonotube footing which was another foot in the air already, and that really didn't help.

By the time I arrived there Al had figured out what we should do...and that was to put one end of the post on to the tractor bucket. But the bucket only has about a 7 foot lift. So that idea didn't fly.

Here we are with the post sitting on the Kubota.


----------



## cocobolo

It was at this point that the homeowner (Tom) mentioned that he had not got the post cut off to the correct length but he would do that while standing on a stepladder later on.

Mmmmmm...not so sure that is a very good idea there Tom, how's your life insurance?

What it boiled down to was that he didn't know how to calculate the right height for the post. So I quickly explained how I would do that and we would stand the post without the need to endanger his life trying to cut something off 17 feet in the air.

A quick level check or two, scratch a few numbers on the side of a 2 x 4 (Tom did offer me a piece of paper, but I explained that real carpenters always use a 2 x 4 for such purposes) and I marked the cut line. Tom has an "older" less than robust electric hand saw attached to about a #16 gauge extension cord to cut the 6 x 6 with.

Now he may have been very nervous about me chopping off a chunk of his expensive post in such a cavalier fashion, but I was equally apprehensive about the likelihood of his saw surviving the cuts. 

In the end there was no need to worry, cutting very slowly the saw made it OK. And then came the task of standing the post.

I decided that we would dispense with the Kubota and I assigned Al the job of Supervisor. With Tom pushing on the bottom of the post, and me lifting now from the high side of the deck, it went up remarkably easily. A couple of braces and we were done.

At this point Tom's wife came out to take a photo of the process, but she was too late, the deed was done. "I wanted to get a picture of that going up" she said. "I go inside for ten minutes, come back out and you're done. But before you messed around with that tractor for 45 minutes and nothing happened."

In this pic I am up a 10 foot stepladder putting a 14 foot long 2 x 4 on top of the two matching posts to check on the level.


----------



## cocobolo

I just received some more photos from Tom this afternoon showing his missus up a ladder with the upper ties installed, and also one with the roof in place.


----------



## cocobolo

The house I am renting for the coming months is for sale. However, I don't think anyone will be buying it any time soon. You see, there are at least 100 things that need fixing in this place, and some of them are somewhat urgent.

I arrived to find a 9 foot long piece of flashing hanging off the roof, attached with a single nail...? Apparently this flashing was installed by a reputable roofing company just one year ago. Of course I repaired that right away, but really, I don't think that flashing is doing much good. When I get a chance to show you what the edge of the roof looks like you will understand. I'm going to have to build a roof extension just to keep the water out of the west wall.

Here's the little house from a distance.


----------



## cocobolo

That deck you see in front of the house has a few problems.

I'm told the vinyl was only installed four or five years ago, and already some of the welds are coming apart. Small sections of vinyl are pulling away from the cant strip at the house wall. There was no blocking in the 14 foot long joists. 

For those of you who may not be familiar with such things, a deck needs to be built to withstand live loads of 100 p.s.f. (Pounds per square foot) Your house typically needs to be built to carry 40 p.s.f.

The reason for this apparent oddity is that you may well have a party out on your deck with 30 or 40 people at one time, whereas you wouldn't think of cramming that many into your living room.

This deck also has the most unusual slope to it I've ever seen. It runs dead level from the house wall to the south west corner of the deck, making it awkward to shuck water. But it does have a great slope heading to the north west corner. 

There are 4 6 x 6 support posts under the triple 2 x 6 beam, which itself is a mile out of level. Once that is corrected the deck should slope away from the house at the required 1/50 slope.

Blocking is installed already.


----------



## cocobolo

While I was on the roof attending to the flashing foul up, I did a cursory inspection on the roof itself.

You see, Marty from the Anglemont Inn right cross the street, mentioned that last winter they had 5 feet of accumulated snow on the roof at one time. He is of the opinion that this has put a permanent sag in the roof.

Now he could be right as is evidenced by the pic showing an accumulation of debris in the sagging area. Upon checking inside the house at that spot, there is a very obvious sag stretching for several feet, but until I unearth that section of the house I won't know for sure what the cause of the trouble is. 

And wait until I tell you about the floor under that roof! You won't believe it.


----------



## cocobolo

There is one saving grace here...and that is a decent pile of logs which I can cut up for firewood. The smaller logs are all cedar and they are just starting to go soft. The bigger older cedars and firs are still solid. Should be more than enough wood for the winter.


----------



## cocobolo

The wall facing the deck has been leaking water in since the day it was built...of that I am certain. The actual roof itself did not even reach the very outer edge of the wall, and that is why the lazy roofing company tried to add some flashing in a hopeless attempt to stop the water ingress.

Since moisture has obviously been getting in for years, it has succeeded in rotting the plywood all along the junction of the wall and inside floor. The realtor selling the house did mention that there was a "soft spot" in the floor by the patio door.

Do you suppose this might have been the "soft spot" he's talking about?


----------



## cocobolo

Well, that's all fixed now as well. And the homeowner is very pleased about that.


----------



## cocobolo

While I was chainsawing up some firewood a week or so back, I heard a ruckus just below the house. I wasn't sure what it was...sounded like someone was trying to break up some old wood.

A short while later I heard an odd puffing sound so I went to investigate. It sounded vaguely like the seals do when they are breathing above water down at the coast, but obviously that wasn't it. 

It turned out that the noise of the chainsaw had treed a bear about 20 feet away from where I was cutting. Here's a couple of pics. Kind of hard to get a good shot as the trees are quite dense there.

It seems that there was not one bear, but three which I discovered when they came down out of the tree. Can you say "getyourassoutofthererightnow" really quickly! Didn't take me long to gather up enough energy to beat a hasty retreat. It was a mama bear and her two cubs. And that is one bear you don't mess with!


----------



## cocobolo

Moving on to a different part of my adventure up here, my adopted little brother Bill has indeed bought himself a nice lot here. By a pure coincidence, it happens to be on the same street as my lot, about a kilometer away.

We have spent the last several days getting some of the clearing done, and not without some suspense.

Here I am cutting down a white birch. Practically all the birches are suffering from some sort of rot. This one wasn't too bad and we might even get some lumber out of it.


----------



## cocobolo

As you can see we have lots of wood chopped up for firewood, several piles of it all over Bill's lot. This has naturally caused us to have lots of slash and therefore we needed to have a bonfire.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's a few of the logs we have saved for milling.


----------



## cocobolo

This one caused us some anxious moments. The tree was leaning the wrong way, and it was a heavy so and so.

I rigged a line back to another tree and had it attached to the one ton chain hoist. After I had the undercut made with the big Husky, I asked Bill to keep lots of tension on the line as I was doing the back cut.

Either he didn't know what I meant or he was sleeping on the job. The tree started to head off in the wrong direction and ended up missing one of those big holiday type trailers with the pullout by about 4 feet.

This is the skinny end of the log after I had taken about 30 rounds off the top. We were lucky this time.


----------



## cocobolo

There hasn't been much in the way of sunsets here since I arrived. But we got this one earlier in the evening. Not bad for starters.


----------



## ddsrph

Coco bolo
You asked me a while ago about the fire resistance of poly iso insulation. I replied in my house build thread but you may have missed that. The poly iso is the best of the board insulations in regard to fire safety. It can even be left exposed in unfinished areas like basements. In your area of very cold winters it would be ideal if you could find some recycled for a good price. Commercial roofing companies in the larger cities should be able to sell you some.

Thanks
JM


----------



## cocobolo

ddsrph said:


> Cocobolo,
> The poly iso is the best of the board insulations in regard to fire safety. It can even be left exposed in unfinished areas like basements.
> 
> Thanks
> JM


Yes, I did see that. But I will be using Roxul regardless of the claims made by the polyiso manufacturers. 

I have never tried to burn any of your board insulation, but I have tried to burn Roxul. I even used a welding torch on the Roxul and it refuses to catch fire. No fumes at all from Roxul. Have you tried to set some polyiso on fire?

I have burned most of the foam boards at one time or another, and all of them had the same characteristics. They burn quickly, very hot and produce copious amounts of acrid black smoke. Your polyiso may well not act that way at all.

I see other advantages of the Roxul that I use. It is very easy to install in odd size cavities, just cut it with a bread knife. Available just about anywhere at reasonable cost. And unlike fibreglass it doesn't itch.


----------



## ddsrph

I am using poly iso mainly because I bought it for 10 cents on the dollar.


----------



## cocobolo

ddsrph said:


> I am using poly iso mainly because I bought it for 10 cents on the dollar.


And that is a deal that surely cannot be beat! Wish I could find Roxul at that kind of price.

By the way, I did read a rather long spec sheet on the polyiso. I note that they leave the fact that it is combustable right until the very end. But it seems you are right, it appears to have the best insulation value compared to the other foams. It also appears that in most cases, the polyiso needs some sort of facing, i.e. aluminum or steel. Perhaps that doesn't apply to residential standards, but apparently it is so for commercial installations. It does benefit from having drywall applied however, which only makes sense.

Out of curiosity, how do you handle the install around wiring and plumbing lines?


----------



## ddsrph

I have no plumbing in the exterior walls. With the wiring since I will be using two boards to fill the wall cavity I plan to put in the first then wire and later add the second. All poly iso has some kind of backing. What I have has a black paper like material. It came out of a commercial roof. As for fire I do have a concrete house with only the front wall 2 by 6. There will be internal framing of 2 by 4. My feeling is by the time a fire gets into and hot enough to burn my poly iso I had better be out of the house long before. At R 6 per inch and can be cut to precisely fit into a wall cavity with no voids it is a good alternative to batt type insulation. Until they come up with a fire proof wood we will have to live with some fire risk.

Thanks
JM


----------



## cocobolo

It sounds as though you have it all covered. Good idea on the double layers to take care of the wiring. I'm sure you will appreciate the added R-value when the temperatures drop!


----------



## cocobolo

When I first arrived at the house here, there must have been a couple of thousand of these bugs inside. They are known as stink bugs. When you try to pick one up, or otherwise molest it, they emit a smell. Either I have found a way to pick them up properly, or their smell isn't objectionable to me. Sort of like a heavy perfume.

To get rid of them, I pick them up with a fork and drop them in a bowl of soapy water. That's it.


----------



## cocobolo

A trip into Scotch Creek this morning for a small load of materials to fix the west side of the roof.

I have removed the flashing and the gutter in this pic, and you can clearly see how the water could run right behind the siding unimpeded.


----------



## cocobolo

Fortunately the gutter is in perfectly good shape and will be re-used again.


----------



## cocobolo

Removing the top row of siding revealed a smorgasbord of bugs. Mostly stink bugs, big flies and wasps.

I must admit I have never seen siding applied right up to the shingle line.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's a chunk of siding coming off, accompanied by loud buzzing from the annoyed occupants ensconced behind.


----------



## cocobolo

By the time I got the pieces cut for the short roof extension and the north end nailed together, it was getting dark. Seems to me I used to have the same problem back on Ruxton. 

Better pics tomorrow in daylight...assuming that it isn't raining cats and dogs.


----------



## gma2rjc

You're getting a lot done Keith. 

That bug looks a lot like the Box Elder bugs we have around here in the summer. But I think the Box Elders have a little more red on their backs.

The next time you're at the hardware store, pick up a pack of aerosol bug bombs to set-off in that house. You'll get rid of the stink bugs and any spiders that have taken up residence. 

I wonder if the big flies you mentioned are the 'cluster flies' that get inside during the winter. When I was working in my moms attic a few years back, I found a lot of them when I pulled out some of the old insulation that was under the angled sections of the roof.


----------



## cocobolo

Those big flies seem to congregate inside as the weather cools. I have wiped out lots of them, but there's always more.

Thanks for the tip to get rid of those bugs, no matter how many I get rid of they keep getting inside. Mind you, the house is still full of holes and until I get everything closed off I guess I have to expect visitors.

One of the soon to be done projects is complete caulking around all the windows.


----------



## gma2rjc

The insulation in the walls and ceiling is probably full of them and they get inside through any little cracks or crevices in the walls. They're harmless enough, but a real pita. 

I wonder if you could sprinkle DE in the window sills to kill them off. They always seemed to buzz around the windows at my mom's house.

Since you're going to use Roxul to insulate your new house, I bet the cluster flies won't ever be an issue.


----------



## cocobolo

I think this place qualifies for the Guinness book of world records as far as cracks go. The original house (built without permit) has been added to so any times I doubt anyone can remember what it first looked like. By no stretch of the imagination was the builder a carpenter.

I should take a pic of the "garage" wall one day. It's another winner.


----------



## BigJim

My stars Keith, you are going to be too wore out to build your home, you will have to buy that place, which looks like it is going to be more work than building new.


----------



## cocobolo

Hopefully the bulk of the work will be done before the snow flies Jim.

But then I still have to finish the design of my friend Bill's house, and get that built before I start on mine. No rest for the wicked!


----------



## cocobolo

So much for the better pics today. It rained half the night here and today as well. Had about an hour's break in the rain this morning so I got outside and went at it again. I got these pics before the rain started back up again and it hasn't stopped since.

I have the roof done and shingled and the gutter back in place, but not taking the Canon out in the rain for pics.


----------



## ddsrph

Looks very good. The place may sell too soon.

JM


----------



## cocobolo

G'morning JM...appearances are deceiving, wait 'til I show you some more pics. :huh:


----------



## cocobolo

I had a lengthy chat with the homeowner today by phone...we are about 500 kilometers apart. At least I know now who the clown is that is responsible for this mess. 

The pics here show the "garage" roof from the inside. The construction is 2 x 6's on 16" centers. The rafters are 16 feet long, with an excuse for a support wall at about the 10 foot mark. Take a look at the last photo. For some reason the builder decided he didn't need to carry the beam under the last half a dozen rafters. Why bother if you run out of wood?

I would like to point out that this beam is actually a mish mash of varying sizes of lumber, mostly 2 x 4's. The support posts are two 4 x 4's pushed together, I didn't see any nails.

The outside of this roof sits on dirt. No foundation of any kind. What surprises me is that it hasn't collapsed yet. But then I learned it hasn't been there for very long. The right hand end - the section without any support beam - sits on a very odd looking window, maybe out of camper or something like that. And of course nothing under that except dirt. 

I rather imagine that's why the end rafters are lower than the rest, ya think?


----------



## cocobolo

A couple of pics of the outside...first one shows the general roof, done with rolled roofing.

Next one is the ever popular green tarps, which always seem to have a habit of leaking, as this one does.


----------



## cocobolo

Still staying outside for a minute, the end of the wall you see here has a pretty good slope to it. When you go inside, it appears that the floor of the end bedroom was at one time a roof, but of course with a very shallow pitch. The room is about 10 feet deep - I use that word advisedly - as it has a slope of about 5" in that distance. 

Could be a problem if you happen to be a beer drinker.


----------



## cocobolo

And here is what is supposed to keep the water away from the dirt below the roof. It's not exactly doing a great job.


----------



## cocobolo

But with the nice weather here today the downpipe did get fixed properly!


----------



## cocobolo

There is a walkway at the end of that marvelous roof we were just discussing covered in vinyl. I hadn't noticed before, but there is no support under the outer end whatsoever. I had noticed that it felt somewhat like a diving board. I will definitely need to get something under there to prevent that from coming apart right away.


----------



## BigJim

Good grief buddy, that would be more than enough reason for me to find another place to live. That makes me tired just thinking about it, you are way more a man than me.


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Jim...just wait until I show you the 1 x 4 roof rafters out the back. Yes, ONE by four. I must have missed that day in carpentry school. 

Bucking up a few logs this morning to build the firewood stash for the winter.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Hi Jim...just wait until I show you the 1 x 4 roof rafters out the back. Yes, ONE by four. I must have missed that day in carpentry school.
> 
> Bucking up a few logs this morning to build the firewood stash for the winter.


 Oh my stars, that is just unreal.


----------



## BigJim

I hope you are feeling much much better today, I am sure you are still very sore.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I hope you are feeling much much better today, I am sure you are still very sore.


It looks like it's going to be some time before I try sky diving Jim. The ER doc says a couple of weeks before I can do anything worth talking about. But I have healed up pretty quickly in the past, so maybe I will fool them again.

Following Dr. K's advice, I think I have the meds down to a fine art now, I'm able to keep the pain under control with what she gave me. But I'm banned from driving all the time I'm on the morphine. I'm spending about 23 hours a day in bed at the moment, as I'm told I will heal much quicker if I don't try anything heroic. So I won't!


----------



## BigJim

We hope you get well very soon buddy.


----------



## Bud Cline

cocobolo said:


> It looks like it's going to be some time before I try sky diving Jim. The ER doc says a couple of weeks before I can do anything worth talking about. But I have healed up pretty quickly in the past, so maybe I will fool them again.
> 
> Following Dr. K's advice, I think I have the meds down to a fine art now, I'm able to keep the pain under control with what she gave me. But I'm banned from driving all the time I'm on the morphine. I'm spending about 23 hours a day in bed at the moment, as I'm told I will heal much quicker if I don't try anything heroic. So I won't!


HUH???
I've been following along daily...what the heck did I miss? Meds, Morphine, ER, Doctor, I must have stepped out to make some popcorn and missed something.:wallbash: Hate it when I do that!!!


----------



## 123pugsy

Bud Cline said:


> HUH???
> I've been following along daily...what the heck did I miss? Meds, Morphine, ER, Doctor, I must have stepped out to make some popcorn and missed something.:wallbash: Hate it when I do that!!!



X2. Did I miss something?


----------



## shumakerscott

What the heck happened?:wheelchair: dorf dude...


----------



## cocobolo

Bud Cline said:


> HUH???
> I've been following along daily...what the heck did I miss? Meds, Morphine, ER, Doctor, I must have stepped out to make some popcorn and missed something.:wallbash: Hate it when I do that!!!


Well Bud, I thought I told you to lay off that popcorn before...no?

It's probably going to take me a few posts to try and explain the whole story, so bear with me. The fact is that I'm not 100% sure what caused the trouble.

Friday last week I was moving about half a ton of stuff out of my storage locker to the house. Some of the items were pretty heavy, and I made the mistake of not wearing my "belt". Not only that, but I should have given myself a decent break between loading the van right up and unloading it as soon as I got to the house. By the time I was done I had this nagging pain in the back of my ribcage right behind the heart. Not terribly bad, but I knew I had done something silly.

Next morning I got up and there was hardly any pain at all, so I went outside to cut up a few logs for firewood, as mentioned in an above post to Jim.

On the top of the log pile there was a pretty big old cedar which I wanted on the ground. So I chainsawed a couple of logs which were keeping it in place and got them out of the way. Then I took up the peavey and tried to move the cedar, but the peavey slipped off the end of the log and I went for a tumble off the pile.

If you look at post #98, that's the pile, but it's hard to see the cedar log in question because it is so dark and is about 10 feet away from the near end of the pile when I took that pic. So I have edited the pic here, and now you can see the end of the dark coloured log which is the big cedar. It's on the top right side of the photo.

That log is 20 feet long and weighs roughly one ton. But you know me, give me a peavey and I'll move the damn thing.

Anyway, I landed fairly hard on top of another log which two of us had moved a few days earlier, but I didn't think I had done any damage. So I grabbed the peavey again, now somewhat annoyed, back up to the top of the pile and this time I got the cedar off the pile. I'm guessing it was around 10:30 in the morning at this time.

I took a couple of wheelbarrow loads of firewood up to the house and stacked them outside the back door. Nothing really wrong at this point.


----------



## cocobolo

Fast forward to 3 pm that afternoon and the pain started to take off in earnest. So I sat down and rested for awhile. By about 4 pm it got to the point that it was starting to hurt pretty badly, so I took a couple of aspirins and went to bed.

No improvement by 8 pm, more aspirins but no effect at all from them. By 11 pm I was in absolute agony, so bad that I couldn't even roll over in bed to get at my cell phone. I'm not really sure, but I think by this time I was passing in and out of consciousness from the pain. (Later found out it was lack of oxygen.) It was midnight before I was able to reach the phone and call 911. Things are a bit fuzzy at this point, and I remember them saying that there would be a first responder who would arrive at the house first, and could I turn an outside light on. They would get an ambulance on the way from Salmon Arm, about an hour away.

It wasn't long before Bill, the first responder arrived. He tried to assess what might be wrong but because I was having so much trouble breathing I could hardly answer his questions. Anyway, he got me sitting on a chair and administered oxygen right away. It seems that when you cannot take regular or deep breaths, that the lack of oxygen in your system starts to cause all manner of troubles. Not the least of which is to cause you to pass out.

Shortly after Bill arrived, Linda arrived as well, she's an RN from the Royal Columbian hospital in Kamloops and just happens to be well acquainted with me. That entry gate I helped build earlier in the thread here is hers. Small world.

It was around 1 am when the ambulance arrived, more questions of course. And without much delay they got me off heading to Salmon Arm. I was kept on oxygen during the trip, as when Camille, the gal in the ambulance was testing me, she said my oxy levels were way too low. We got to the ER at 2:09 am...the clock was the first thing I saw, otherwise I wouldn't have known that.

Not too many customers at that time of the morning, so I got the royal treatment. Spoke with three different nurses, they gave me some Tylenol 3 and muscle relaxants, which did nothing. Then I spoke with Dr. K who decided I had better get on morphine as they needed to get the pain under control, otherwise I would experience continued difficulty breathing.

So it was blood tests, pulse and BP every 15 minutes or so, 4 x-rays and morphine plus T-3 and another muscle relaxant. By this time it was getting on to be after 3:30 am and the morphine started to take effect. It basically knocked me out.

Some time around 6 am I remember the nurse coming in and asking me what I was doing. Well, it seems to me that I was laying on the floor, as any idiot could plainly see. I have no idea how I got there or when it happened, but I don't have any bruises so it can't have been bad.

A couple of hours later they brought some breakfast, but I was still so doped up I could barely keep my eyes open. I did eventually manage to eat just about everything.

At this point Dr. K said they were going to take one more batch of blood and if it had improved enough they were going to kick me out the door. There were no broken bones which showed up in the x-rays. She gave me some morphine to take home, along with a prescription for even more which will last me nearly three weeks. I had earlier asked them to call Al who was going to drive me home, and eventually, after some more delays, they let me out of there some time after 9.

Oddly enough, I was able to walk semi-reasonably well at this point. I later learned that right as the morphine wears off and just before the new batch takes hold, that there is about a 30-45 minute window when you can think straight. So I have made myself a schedule around that time frame to cook meals and make coffee etc. and it's doing OK so far.

So it looks like from here it's a waiting game.

Oh, something else I just learned this morning...if you drink coffee, or any drink with caffeine in it, it makes the morphine far more effective. So, unbeknownst to me I had been doing just that. Even tea has caffeine in it, and I'm inclined to drink that as often as I do coffee. No wonder I've been able to sleep most of the days and nights away!


----------



## BigJim

My stars Keith, we hope you are back on your feet and going strong again soon. That is some scary stuff, take care buddy and keep us posted.


----------



## 123pugsy

Wow.

Scary stuff. 

Take some time, relax and get well Kieth. :thumbsup:


----------



## Bud Cline

cocobolo said:


> Fast forward to 3 pm that afternoon and the pain started to take off in earnest. So I sat down and rested for awhile. By about 4 pm it got to the point that it was starting to hurt pretty badly, so I took a couple of aspirins and went to bed.
> 
> No improvement by 8 pm, more aspirins but no effect at all from them. By 11 pm I was in absolute agony, so bad that I couldn't even roll over in bed to get at my cell phone. I'm not really sure, but I think by this time I was passing in and out of consciousness from the pain. (Later found out it was lack of oxygen.) It was midnight before I was able to reach the phone and call 911. Things are a bit fuzzy at this point, and I remember them saying that there would be a first responder who would arrive at the house first, and could I turn an outside light on. They would get an ambulance on the way from Salmon Arm, about an hour away.
> 
> It wasn't long before Bill, the first responder arrived. He tried to assess what might be wrong but because I was having so much trouble breathing I could hardly answer his questions. Anyway, he got me sitting on a chair and administered oxygen right away. It seems that when you cannot take regular or deep breaths, that the lack of oxygen in your system starts to cause all manner of troubles. Not the least of which is to cause you to pass out.
> 
> Shortly after Bill arrived, Linda arrived as well, she's an RN from the Royal Columbian hospital in Kamloops and just happens to be well acquainted with me. That entry gate I helped build earlier in the thread here is hers. Small world.
> 
> It was around 1 am when the ambulance arrived, more questions of course. And without much delay they got me off heading to Salmon Arm. I was kept on oxygen during the trip, as when Camille, the gal in the ambulance was testing me, she said my oxy levels were way too low. We got to the ER at 2:09 am...the clock was the first thing I saw, otherwise I wouldn't have known that.
> 
> Not too many customers at that time of the morning, so I got the royal treatment. Spoke with three different nurses, they gave me some Tylenol 3 and muscle relaxants, which did nothing. Then I spoke with Dr. K who decided I had better get on morphine as they needed to get the pain under control, otherwise I would experience continued difficulty breathing.
> 
> So it was blood tests, pulse and BP every 15 minutes or so, 4 x-rays and morphine plus T-3 and another muscle relaxant. By this time it was getting on to be after 3:30 am and the morphine started to take effect. It basically knocked me out.
> 
> Some time around 6 am I remember the nurse coming in and asking me what I was doing. Well, it seems to me that I was laying on the floor, as any idiot could plainly see. I have no idea how I got there or when it happened, but I don't have any bruises so it can't have been bad.
> 
> A couple of hours later they brought some breakfast, but I was still so doped up I could barely keep my eyes open. I did eventually manage to eat just about everything.
> 
> At this point Dr. K said they were going to take one more batch of blood and if it had improved enough they were going to kick me out the door. There were no broken bones which showed up in the x-rays. She gave me some morphine to take home, along with a prescription for even more which will last me nearly three weeks. I had earlier asked them to call Al who was going to drive me home, and eventually, after some more delays, they let me out of there some time after 9.
> 
> Oddly enough, I was able to walk semi-reasonably well at this point. I later learned that right as the morphine wears off and just before the new batch takes hold, that there is about a 30-45 minute window when you can think straight. So I have made myself a schedule around that time frame to cook meals and make coffee etc. and it's doing OK so far.
> 
> So it looks like from here it's a waiting game.
> 
> Oh, something else I just learned this morning...if you drink coffee, or any drink with caffeine in it, it makes the morphine far more effective. So, unbeknownst to me I had been doing just that. Even tea has caffeine in it, and I'm inclined to drink that as often as I do coffee. No wonder I've been able to sleep most of the days and nights away!


Oh is that all?:whistling2:
So THAT'S how you get so much done in a day...every day...MORPHINE !!! I didn't know you could get that stuff; "TO GO".


----------



## cocobolo

Bud Cline said:


> Oh is that all?:whistling2:
> So THAT'S how you get so much done in a day...every day...MORPHINE !!! I didn't know you could get that stuff; "TO GO".


Oh sure...you just have to know the right people!


----------



## Windows on Wash

Keith,

That is scary stuff. I am glad you are getting some care now. 

Keep us posted and heal up soon partner.


----------



## cocobolo

Windows on Wash said:


> Keith,
> 
> That is scary stuff. I am glad you are getting some care now.
> 
> Keep us posted and heal up soon partner.


Well, you know how it is, I have two new houses to build so I can't be sitting about doing nothing for too long!


----------



## shadytrake

Geesh! I am away for a couple of months and you go and try to rebuild someone's house! 

Be careful out there! Take it easy and enjoy the pain pills. :laughing:

Seriously, I can't believe how they built that house. They got their carpentry skills from a Cracker Jack Box. :no:


----------



## cocobolo

shadytrake said:


> Geesh! I am away for a couple of months and you go and try to rebuild someone's house!
> 
> Be careful out there! Take it easy and enjoy the pain pills. :laughing:
> 
> Seriously, I can't believe how they built that house. They got their carpentry skills from a Cracker Jack Box. :no:


Good one, but I always thought the Cracker Jack stuff was way better than what got built here!!!

You ain't seen nuthin' yet. There's much better stuff out the back. If and when I clear the jungle out there I'll show you some really first rate footings...NOT! 

But now I see there is a nice leak in the roof, right over where I mounted my vice on what passes for a workbench in the "garage". One more thing to fix. I think that green tarp was supposed to cover the leak...didn't work too well. :no:


----------



## cocobolo

Well, OK, so I am mended enough that I can do some light work.

The ribcage pain sort of comes and goes, so I just need to act like a moderately sensible human being. That will be a new experience! :jester:

A couple of days ago this guy came driving down the road early in the morning....then later in the afternoon back up again.

I didn't know you could drive these things on the street. But hey...who's going to be dumb enough to argue with you!


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the log that caused all the trouble. It's the shorter (20') on the left. I landed on the longer log on the right.

Didn't realize until I looked at the pic quite how far it was. I bet you didn't know the human body could accelerate to a pretty good speed from that height?


----------



## Windows on Wash

Glad you are feeling better. Take a breather big guy and heal up.


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday I was trying to learn how to set up an older model Sokkisha transit. So I set up two 4' levels on the deck (which should be level) and set them level using wedges. I needed some reference point in order to see how close I could get the transit.

Just showing you this so you know how far out the deck is. I have to lower one end of the outer support beam about 2 1/2", which is the reason it doesn't drain off any too well. Didn't get any pics of the transit, later for that.

One of those levels is out 5/8"...ridiculous.


----------



## cocobolo

There's a small section of roof poking out from the end of the house, which the roofer didn't think he needed to really cover. So he didn't. Even that 1/4" of open wood is enough to let the rain go under and get everything wet.:wallbash:


----------



## cocobolo

Yes, I know you can see lots of other things wrong there as well, but that's for another day.


----------



## cocobolo

There were two things that I wanted to fix today before the rain hit. That wasn't supposed to arrive until this evening, but promptly at 12:15....you guessed it.

The corner roof section is a true masterpiece of engineering. You know, a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Unfortunately, it leaks like a sieve.

I took the remains of the old green tarp off this morning and slung that.

As you can see, the roof is done in regular 3 tab shingles. It's always a good idea to give these things a 4/12 pitch or better. In this case when I checked it properly this morning, it had a 6 1/4" fall in 4 feet. Barely over 1 1/2" to the foot.

The "rafters" under this thing are 1 x 4's, and about the worst kind of wood you can imagine. The "sheathing" also appears to be 1 x 4's of an equally fantastic quality.

You might also notice a special twist in the roof...something not often seen these days! :whistling2:


----------



## cocobolo

The runoff section from where the rolled roofing section is, actually has some flashing in place. Of course, the few nails that are in there are both very small and unsealed...and loose to boot.


----------



## cocobolo

When I pulled the flashing off, there were a couple of damp spots (it hasn't rained for a couple of days), one right in the corner and the other about 5' out.

I applied a goodly dose of roofing patch the entire length of the roof, just to be sure as it were.

Put the flashing back on and sealed the nails.


----------



## cocobolo

Before I got this finished the rain had started up. That was now nearly 4 hours ago and we have been getting quite the deluge.

I went and checked for leaks about 45 minutes into the rain, and it is still leaking, just not from the same places as before.

So I did what any self respecting DIY'er would do...look for something thin and flat (sheet metal would have been good) and the only thing here was a part sheet of Arborite with a big crack in it. Oh well, better than nothing.

It works except for where it's cracked...can you imagine that.

I see that there is a raised section under the shingles toward the top, and it is quite pronounced. There is obviously some sort of structural problem there, but that won't show up unless I pull the roofing off. Not sure that I really want to do that at this point, although it may be necessary. It's not over any living area, but it is close to the bench at the end of the "garage".


----------



## cocobolo

Something else that caught my eye this morning was one of the windows didn't appear to be closed properly, although both latches were done up tight...or so I thought.

Upon opening the window, which harbored a good collection of bugs, I found that both the latches were only secured by a single screw. Neither one had both screws in place and the latches were indeed very loose.

I'm trying to show an open space at the bottom on the window here, which was about 3/8" wide.


----------



## cocobolo

I did find one machine screw which fit, so one side of the window closes, and the other side isn't too bad now that it's tightened up.

Earlier in the morning when the weather was good, I tackled the loose vinyl on the deck. Initially, I thought there was just a few small spots outside the patio door. But further checking down the side revealed plenty that was loose. So a 45 minute job got stretched out to almost 4 hours.


----------



## cocobolo

I don't know who put this vinyl deck down, but apparently it is only about 4 years old and cost $5,000. You'd think for that kind of coin the job might have been done right.

It's pretty obvious that there was no contact cement used around the outside where the vinyl has pulled away from the cant strip.

It has been years since I got my Duradek certification, and upon checking with a website (not Duradek) a couple of days ago, I see that there is no mention of cementing the outside down in this fashion. Just some sort of white glue. I didn't see any evidence of any glue in places, just dust, dirt and lots of bugs.

It was none too warm this morning - around 4ºC or thereabouts - so I needed a little help from the Steinel.

Hopefully it will hold now...I'll check in the morning when I can see again outside.


----------



## shadytrake

Are you doing all of this in exchange for RENT?!? I certainly hope you aren't paying to live there! :no::no:


----------



## BigJim

Good grief, nothing can slow you down for long, you are one tough dude buddy. Glad to see you almost recovered. That landlord is one lucky person to have you there.


----------



## gma2rjc

BigJim said:


> Good grief, nothing can slow you down for long, you are one tough dude buddy. Glad to see you almost recovered. That landlord is one lucky person to have you there.


I agree!


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Good grief, nothing can slow you down for long, you are one tough dude buddy. Glad to see you almost recovered. That landlord is one lucky person to have you there.


I'm not kidding myself Jim. I have a little way to go yet. Luckily all this was light work today which is probably the best way to break back into it.


----------



## cocobolo

Took a trip in to Kamloops today for some insulation, roofing shingles, grub and gas. First time in a month I have been over there. i must say everything is far less expensive than at any of the local stores. Gas, for example, is 14 cents a litre less, or about 53 cents a US gallon. 

It appears that some of that back roof will need to be removed in order to find the problem leak. No rain in the forecast until tomorrow afternoon, so hopefully I can find and fix the trouble before it arrives. :hammer:


----------



## cocobolo

Took a shot at the back roof repair this morning. You're gonna love this stuff.

One of the first things I ran across was a staple poking out of a piece of flashing. Now, as I'm sure you all know, you don't go poking holes in it like that. It gets nailed to the wall, not on to the roof surface. Great spot for water to enter any time.


----------



## cocobolo

Next problem up, which I didn't even notice a couple of days ago, there was a row of staples BELOW the bottom of the tabs. Another easy entry for water.


----------



## cocobolo

The forecast for today was nice this morning, then showers, but not starting until late afternoon, which is the reason I tackled this job today.

Just a few minutes past 10, and the cloud was almost down to the house. Just up a little bit behind Marty's place across the road. It's a lot closer than it looks here.


----------



## cocobolo

There were plenty of reasons the roof leaked, and here's another one.

The kind roofer didn't bother to remove the old shingles above the OSB that he apparently installed when the roof was re-done. I'm going to guess that they ran out of OSB, so he must have figured that the extra (very dead) shingles would help fill the void. Another fine idea.

This was a large part of the reason for the hump in the roof, which caused the whole row of shingles to sink and crack. Lots of water got in here.


----------



## cocobolo

Much of the OSB has obviously been getting just a trifle damp, as you can see. And unfortunately, just a few minutes after I took this pic it started to rain. I was hoping to be able to get the heat gun on the board and take at least some of the moisture out.

Surprisingly, although it looks like hell, it's still pretty strong. And it isn't over any living area, so I left it alone.


----------



## cocobolo

Initially, I had thoughts of just adding more OSB to the gorgeous 1 x whatever sheathing. But apparently, my mother gave me some sort of conscience at birth, meaning the 1 x whatever had to go.

Honest to Pete, you have never seen such junk in your life. It looks to me like the slabs that the mills throw away when they start cutting cants. This guy took cheap to a whole new level. First piece out here.


----------



## cocobolo

The difference that needed to be made up to get some new sheathing to roughly match the old was anywhere between 5/8" and 1 1/8". The only practical way I could think of to do this was to cut long wedges and add them to the top of the code approved 1 x 4 rafters. No idea whose code, but it must have been somebody's! :no:

Bear in mind that it is raining in fine style by this time, and I'm not anxious to prolong the agony any more than necessary. 

OK, 20" long wedges are cut at various thicknesses and attached to the rafters. I really do hesitate to use the word "rafter" in this case but I suppose given their location and purpose in life it's the best I can come up with. The others aren't printable.


----------



## cocobolo

You can see the beam that is holding things up in the air in the above pic...a little closer here. What it is made of is two pieces of T & G flooring. 

Hey, you really have to give this guy credit for coming up with solutions out in the middle of nowhere. :huh:


----------



## cocobolo

So the OSB has been replaced here and I'm off to the van to get the new shingles.


----------



## cocobolo

Of all the things I forgot to buy when I was in Kamloops yesterday, it was roofing nails!

Frantic search through all the junk that is littered about the "garage" area, and I found two small glass jars with more than enough nails to finish the job. BIG sigh of relief.


----------



## cocobolo

Flashing now back in place and mostly tidied up, on the lower roof anyway. The other pile can wait until it stops raining, which likely won't be until Friday.


----------



## cocobolo

While I was up there I did a wrap on the far end of this roof where the other roofer thought he would economize and use nothing. One more place that won't leak.


----------



## cocobolo

One final pic taken from the underside after things were buttoned up.

The sides of the wedges are visible, as is the replaced OSB. Pretty hard to get any sort of pic under here as things are a real mess framing wise. 

I'm hoping that the wet wood will dry out over the next week or so. Might have to add a heater underneath the worst of the wet places to speed things up.


----------



## cocobolo

Not sure what is next up, but since I have spent my monthly allotment it will be a few more weeks before anything substantial gets done.

Attention will now be turned to completing the house plans and producing a materials list. That will be for both Bill's house and my place as well. I think we are going to order all the PWF wood at the same time. One shipping charge instead of two should save us a few bucks. :thumbsup:


----------



## ica171

You are doing a huge favor to whoever the next owners of this house are. We all know you should get an inspection, but stuff gets missed or hidden. At least they won't be rained on now.


----------



## cocobolo

ica171 said:


> You are doing a huge favor to whoever the next owners of this house are. We all know you should get an inspection, but stuff gets missed or hidden. At least they won't be rained on now.


This town has gone from zero inspections a number of years ago, to one of the most inspected and controlled places in the province.

When this was originally built, permits were not required here. Of course, that attracted all sorts of builders, most of whom should never have owned a hammer.

However, many of these insane additions to the house have been done since permits and inspections have been necessary. But the person who did this magnificent palace didn't seem to think HE should need any permit.

I was told this afternoon by Marty across the street that it was a "reputable" roofing company who put the roof on that I fixed today. Reputable? By whose standards I wonder? :furious:


----------



## shadytrake

cocobolo said:


> You can see the beam that is holding things up in the air in the above pic...a little closer here. What it is made of is two pieces of T & G flooring.
> 
> Hey, you really have to give this guy credit for coming up with solutions out in the middle of nowhere. :huh:


I assume you mean his @ss.   I started to type more, but I have no more words. And you are just in the beginning of this .


----------



## ddsrph

I was wondering how much more than the land value is he expecting to get from the house?

JM


----------



## BigJim

ddsrph said:


> I was wondering how much more than the land value is he expecting to get from the house?
> 
> JM


I was thinking the same thing, that is beyond pitiful. I have always been guilty of over building, this is just off the charts.

What is the pitch of that roof Keith, I never used tab shingles on anything under 4 and 12 pitch. After seeing how well you build your home, this must really hurt.


----------



## shadytrake

Well at least you can be proud of the nice work you are doing. It looks fabulous.


----------



## cocobolo

ddsrph said:


> I was wondering how much more than the land value is he expecting to get from the house?
> 
> JM


That's a good question.

The property is comprised of two lots, so that has value. Plus it has a new, very expensive septic system. The original part of the house is not badly built, so that does have some value. Plus the view is pretty darned nice.

Ideally, what should be done is to tear off every single addition which, IMO, would increase the legitimate value of the house. One addition actually encroaches BEYOND the property line!

The asking price is low compared to other houses of similar size here.

I think your question should be what should it really sell for as compared to the asking price. My guesstimate is something like $25,000 less, and That's what I expect it will go for after I have done a whole lot more work!


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I was thinking the same thing, that is beyond pitiful. I have always been guilty of over building, this is just off the charts.
> 
> What is the pitch of that roof Keith, I never used tab shingles on anything under 4 and 12 pitch. After seeing how well you build your home, this must really hurt.


I did take a measurement on the end of that roof Jim, and it is considerably under 2/12. That needs either rolled roofing or metal. The flatter part covered with rolled roofing is probably UNDER 1/12. Surprisingly, it doesn't leak...yet.

You used to be able to buy what they called "low slope" shingles, claiming them to be good for as low as 3/12. But you're absolutely right, these should never be used on anything under 4/12.

The main roof on top of the house - the original part if you will - is at least 4/12. I didn't measure it, but that part is good.


----------



## cocobolo

shadytrake said:


> Well at least you can be proud of the nice work you are doing. It looks fabulous.


The bottom line is that it's pretty hard to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, as the old saying goes.


----------



## cocobolo

I discovered something a few days ago that has me a bit baffled. Admittedly, that's not hard to do these days, baffle me that is.

There is a small electric baseboard heater in the bathroom downstairs. When I first arrived here, it was not running. Now that the weather is much cooler - below freezing every day outside now - the heater is running. So there must be a thermostat of some kind somewhere. But for the life of me I cannot find it. There doesn't appear to be a built in one on the unit itself, nor can I find a wall control anywhere.

Can any of you electrical types suggest what I might look for? 

My main concern about this is because there is no door on that bathroom, and the heat is heading out through the magnificent back wall and uninsulated ceiling and is heating the province.

The door and insulation problem are being attended to as we speak - pics a little later. You aren't going to believe the framing I show you.

So if you have ANY ideas about that heater, I would be really pleased to hear them. Thanks.


----------



## shumakerscott

I would disconnect the heater and hook a little LED light up. That would save you power while you figure it out. I wouldn't be looking for a Residential style thermostat, little white box with a dial. I'm guessing this guy rigged some refrigerator type of thing. Just a guess. dorf dude. Good luck posting pic's.


----------



## cocobolo

shumakerscott said:


> I would disconnect the heater and hook a little LED light up. That would save you power while you figure it out. I wouldn't be looking for a Residential style thermostat, little white box with a dial. I'm guessing this guy rigged some refrigerator type of thing. Just a guess. dorf dude. Good luck posting pic's.


Hi Shu: you could be right, I have no idea what he did.

The rest of the place does have wall mounted thermostats, but this one still has me puzzled.

I did notice your comment on your thread earlier today about the pics not working...guess I will find out in a minute.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, you guys and gals are in for a treat! 

You know that I like to learn something new every day right? Well today I hit the jackpot. So sit back and prepare to be educated...or kill yourselves laughing, which ever comes first!

I picked up a pre-hung door a few days ago from a local contractor, left over from one of his jobs.

Shouldn't take more than 1/2 an hour to hang a door, right? Hahahahaha! Wait 'til you see this.

First of all the rough opening was 30 1/2 by 79. The door is 30 x 80, plus jamb. Obviously the R.O. was going to need to be addressed before we could hang a door. No problemo! 

So I started to remove the 1/4" plywood that had been nailed all over the place.

Please note the sideways framing, and the drywall sandwich. I bet you guys didn't know that's the right way to do that, me neither.


----------



## cocobolo

Note to Shu...the pic worked!


----------



## cocobolo

OK, a couple more pics of the psychedelic plywood on the door frame and then we'll get to the fun stuff.


----------



## cocobolo

Please pay special attention to the SPACE between the header and the stud here.

Now I realize that some of you actually think you need to have a header sitting on top of something, you know, like a cripple or whatever. Little did you know that you can hang them out in mid air if you like. 

Here you are looking straight up below that header. Good one Charlie Brown.

See, I told you that you were going to be educated. It's quite OK, you can thank me later.


----------



## BigJim

I'm glad the picture thing is back. The smileys don't work.

I can't get into that guy's way of thinking, that is a little strange.


----------



## cocobolo

Evidently, colour coded wood was in vogue when this wall was built. Either I missed that day in carpentry school or I just wasn't paying attention.

So we have white, green, red and grey wood. The astute among you have probably noticed that the grey wood is another piece of that fine T & G flooring that was used in the roof beam awhile ago. Must have been a special on that somewhere.

And dig that psychedelic plywood!


----------



## cocobolo

More learning coming right up!

Do any of you guys use bottom plates under your wall framing? Yes...? Well, apparently you are wasting your time.

Take a peek at the bottom of this section, and guess what...no plate. Ahhh, not to worry, the studs mist go somewhere special. Maybe we'll find out later.


----------



## cocobolo

Well, let's see, now is about the time to get this fine wall section apart so can have room for the door. The logical place to start was by removing the T & G first. That appeared to stop under the header.


----------



## cocobolo

With the T & G gone, I was met with another surprise, I mean lesson.

There was a nice vent hole in the floor. VERY cold air coming up through there!


----------



## cocobolo

At this point we need to turn our attention back to the header. Why, you might ask? 

It seems that our fine builder (and I now know who this gentlemen is). Yes, I realize I am using my words loosely, especially referring to him as a gentleman, but this is, after all, a public forum.

Please observe good people, as you are about to be given yet another lesson. How lucky can you be today!

This fine example of a header has reached new heights in utter incompetence. Take a look at the long tapered piece nailed under the 2 x 10. I have gathered that this was to bring the bottom of that chunk of wood - one of the very rare pieces of new wood used here I might add - in line with the other parts of the triple 2 x 10 beam. More on this beam in a minute.

I don't know quite what happened there, because the 2 x 10 was actually level. So our builder went out of his way to make the header UNlevel.


----------



## cocobolo

I should mention again that the reason for removing the header was to make room for the door. You might think that the builder would be aware that most doors are 6' 8" tall, plus the 1" allowance all round for the jamb.

You might think that, but of course both of us would be wrong.

Sorry for jumping around a bit here, but this was an exercise in futility. Didn't matter what I thought was coming up next, I was still surprised.

Here is a shot behind the door opening and you can see that I have one of the studs loose. But it wouldn't pull out.

Oh, and please pay special attention to the 3 piece stud there with a mish mash of various bits of 2 x 4 doing goodness know what. Nice job eh?

I'll get to the crooked plumbing vent in a bit, not to worry.


----------



## cocobolo

Remember our triple 2 x 10 beam? Sorry senor, I was only kidding.

You see, the middle piece was actually a tapered piece of wood 2 1/2" at one end and 3" at the other end.

Your guess is as good as mine!


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I'm glad the picture thing is back. The smileys don't work.
> 
> I can't get into that guy's way of thinking, that is a little strange.


A LITTLE strange???


----------



## cocobolo

Looking from outside the small bathroom - where my problem heater is - you can see here that the outer 2 x 10 is nailed on to the middle stud. That stud goes right to the top of the header. Kind of like a sandwich.

See how much you are learning this evening! Chances like this don't come along this often you know! Bear with me here....


----------



## cocobolo

Not a very good angle here, but we are looking up between the two outer 2 x 10's on that header.

As you can see there is some wiring in between there. Doubtless that is why the filler in between those 2 x 10's was only a 2 x 3. Good thinking!


----------



## cocobolo

I couldn't find my reciprocating saw today, so it was either a jigsaw, chainsaw or hand saw. I used all three.

When I got through the cut on this one, it basically fell apart by itself.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, the header is gone here, but the right side needs trimming back.

Nice mess of wires up top. And to think that this guy is supposed to be an electrician.


----------



## cocobolo

Nice mess on the floor. There's an even bigger mess on the other side of the wall. Honestly, the junk that was in there is only good for firewood.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> A LITTLE strange???


You are right, a lot strange, my stars.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> You are right, a lot strange, my stars.


Now that's MUCH closer!


----------



## cocobolo

Our crooked plumbing vent didn't surprise me much after the rest of the brilliant workmanship here. But when I went to straighten it out, it turned out that it wasn't even glued! 

By the way, can anyone tell me what those short pieces of tubing are doing? Is that to indicate hot and cold (red and blue) or is there some other purpose? Or no purpose at all?


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Our crooked plumbing vent didn't surprise me much after the rest of the brilliant workmanship here. But when I went to straighten it out, it turned out that it wasn't even glued!
> 
> By the way, can anyone tell me what those short pieces of tubing are doing? Is that to indicate hot and cold (red and blue) or is there some other purpose? Or no purpose at all?


Looks like he was stubing out for a sink and changed his mind. 

The vent pipe unglued is unreal.


----------



## cocobolo

I use backing myself all the time, but this is pretty sloppy don't you think?

I will re-use these pieces to align the first replacement stud going back on to the wall.


----------



## cocobolo

The header that needed trimming got done with the chainsaw. 

I did see the tip of a spike barely protruding from the side of the 2 x 10. Yep, you guessed it, I got it right on the button. You can see where it was by the hole. I thought I was far enough off to the side, but the spike was driven at a small angle.


----------



## cocobolo

Take a peek down below for a second. That hole goes down to what looks like a gravel bed. And then see what I pulled out of the hole.

Now if this was a PWF it might be OK, but it isn't.


----------



## cocobolo

After all this foolishness I did hang the door. No header in yet, that's for tomorrow.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Looks like he was stubbing out for a sink and changed his mind.
> 
> The vent pipe unglued is unreal.


Well Jim, the sink is just a few feet away from there, so who knows what he was smoking!


----------



## 123pugsy

That's really amazing. 

Thanks for the framing lessons.
I got to go change my blueprints now......


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> That's really amazing.
> 
> Thanks for the framing lessons.
> I got to go change my blueprints now......


I should hope so! Don't tell me you were going to try and build something to some kind of fancy code! 

You might have some trouble finding some of that specially shaped wood that I pulled out of the hole...you'll have to let me know how that goes!


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> I should hope so! Don't tell me you were going to try and build something to some kind of fancy code!
> 
> You might have some trouble finding some of that specially shaped wood that I pulled out of the hole...you'll have to let me know how that goes!



That is really something else. :laughing:

Can you change the location in your bio so the Yanks don't think we're all a bunch of idjuts up here? :huh:


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> That is really something else. :laughing:
> 
> Can you change the location in your bio so the Yanks don't think we're all a bunch of idjuts up here? :huh:


What state do you suggest I use. Noo Yawk, Kaliforny, anything special in mind?


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> What state do you suggest I use. Noo Yawk, Kaliforny, anything special in mind?



LOL....:whistling2:


----------



## BigJim

123pugsy said:


> That is really something else. :laughing:
> 
> Can you change the location in your bio so the Yanks don't think we're all a bunch of idjuts up here? :huh:


Don't feel bad, we got em down here too. It would amaze you at some of the things I have seen over my career here.

Just one quick one, an architect (lady) called us and wanted us to come to her house. We went in and she had taken a load bearing wall out down stairs of her two story house, talk about a mess. This was a $700,000 house back then, just unreal.

Keith, we will be praying y'all don't have a lot of snow this year.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Don't feel bad, we got em down here too. It would amaze you at some of the things I have seen over my career here.
> 
> Just one quick one, an architect (lady) called us and wanted us to come to her house. We went in and she had taken a load bearing wall out down stairs of her two story house, talk about a mess. This was a $700,000 house back then, just unreal.
> 
> Keith, we will be praying y'all don't have a lot of snow this year.


I note that you said it WAS a $700,000 house! Maybe not by the time she got done with it!


----------



## cleanlymaid

BigJim said:


> Don't feel bad, we got em down here too. It would amaze you at some of the things I have seen over my career here.
> 
> Just one quick one, an architect (lady) called us and wanted us to come to her house. We went in and she had taken a load bearing wall out down stairs of her two story house, talk about a mess. This was a $700,000 house back then, just unreal.
> 
> Keith, we will be praying y'all don't have a lot of snow this year.


Some people, man! I can't believe a contractor would do that for her. That is unless she did it herself


----------



## BigJim

cleanlymaid said:


> Some people, man! I can't believe a contractor would do that for her. That is unless she did it herself


She did it herself.


----------



## cocobolo

Now that Canada is in an Arctic deep freeze, I should have a little time inside to update things.

A week ago Bill made it down to the Shuswap, and the first thing he decided to do was to drive over to Cache Creek to buy a mini-dozer. It's an oldie and hopefully a goodie. Made many moons ago by the Struck Corporation...so at least it isn't Chinese. We think this model was made between the mid '70's and early '80's.

Too much excitement when we picked the machine up and I forgot to take a picture. We stopped at Kamloops on the way through for grub, so I got a couple outside the fast food joint.

Bill just couldn't resist climbing in! The former owner backed it on to the trailer for us, so Bill hadn't driven it to that point.


----------



## cocobolo

We got the dozer to the property without incident, and Bill managed to get it off the trailer OK. Drove it about 8 feet and promptly broke one of the drive chains. 

He did that after telling me that you NEVER pull back on both brake levers at the same time. You'll never guess what he did will you?

Not exactly an auspicious beginning. So now we need to figure out how to fix this thing. Bill is starting to remove the heavy sheet metal above the rear end here.


----------



## cocobolo

The drive chain simply fell right out of the machine and was laying on the ground when it broke, so at least we knew what was wrong right off the bat.

There are two sets of drive chains on each side, the open sprocket tells you where the missing chain goes. For some reason, the two chains are different sizes, one is a #40, the other a #50. The seller had given us some spare chain and links, which was good of him. The spare was #40.

Obviously I don't need to tell you which one we broke. :furious:

Next day it was a trip back to Kamloops again for more chain and links.


----------



## cocobolo

So the next day we picked up new chain, back to the property and fixed it up.

Started up the motor - an 18 h.p. Briggs - and it just wouldn't run right. Sputtering and farting something terrible. Backfiring, no power, and no obvious fault that I could find quickly.

Pulled the plugs, which were black. We knew that would happen because of all the black smoke which we initially put down to a closed choke. Removed the air cleaner and discovered that neither the choke nor the throttle cables were working properly. They still aren't, that's for a later fix.

We spent over an hour trying to get it to run, no success. Bill finally called the seller. He laughed and said he knew exactly what it was right away. The on/off switch apparently had not been working properly for some time...thanks for telling us pal. It was hit and miss...mostly miss.

I called my friend Al and he had a switch that we could fit in the hole and make work. OK, picked that up, replaced the offending switch and voila! Just like new.

By this time it is getting on toward dark, but Bill wanted to make a few passes down the driveway to get the ground flattened out somewhat.

The little dozer works surprisingly well and has quite a bit of jam. Pushes about 1200-1500 pounds of anything out of it's way without a hitch. Until you break another chain....

Yep, Bill hit both brake levers again at the same time. What was it that Pink Floyd said? One of these days.....

So here she is at the end of the driveway with another broken chain. Bill cannot believe what happened. This was a fix for the next morning, as by now we can barely see anything.


----------



## cocobolo

Couple of pics looking up and down the driveway. That took maybe 20 minutes to that point. About 70 feet of driveway there.

So once Bill learns not to yank on both levers, we should be good to go.


----------



## cocobolo

A few days ago we had the first snow here that stuck. We did have a brief blast earlier, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. With the temperature now lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut the snow is here to stay.


----------



## BigJim

That is a cute little dozer, I bought a 440 John Deere years back, loved that little dozer. It don't take long to realize just how expensive the parts are. I tore one of the bull gears out, replaced that and two months later the rear end bit the big one. The guy I bought if from had replaced the ring gear but used the old pinion, not good.


----------



## cocobolo

On our recent return from the big city a couple of days ago there were 5 deer right in the driveway.

So I pulled in very slowly and our presence didn't seem to bother them. They just wandered into the brushy area and started feeding.


----------



## cocobolo

This morning we were greeted by a howling wind, literally, and -19ºC temperatures. A bit nippy to say the least. It's the wind that does the damage.

The lake looked as though there was smoke blowing across it and it is still there as we speak. I have never seen anything quite like this before, so if anyone knows of the phenomenon that causes this I'd like to know. It obviously is not real smoke.

According to Accuweather, the wind speed has been gusting into the 60+ range.


----------



## cocobolo

You can bet I didn't spend long outside taking pictures, but while I was there, I got a quick shot of the clear cut at the top of the mountain across the lake.

Also spotted very fresh deer tracks in the snow on the driveway. They cannot have been more than a few minutes old as the wind fills the tracks in almost immediately.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> That is a cute little dozer, I bought a 440 John Deere years back, loved that little dozer. It don't take long to realize just how expensive the parts are. I tore one of the bull gears out, replaced that and two months later the rear end bit the big one. The guy I bought if from had replaced the ring gear but used the old pinion, not good.


Hi Jim:
This one weighs 1400 pounds without the accessories. We didn't pick everything up yet due to lack of room. Bill is going to make another trip all the way back to Cache creek for the other bits and pieces. I think there is a very heavy brush rake, which almost looks like a ripper, but with more teeth. It goes on the three point hitch. And a regular bucket. I suspect we will be using the blade most of the time.

Co-incidentally, I have been trying to buy an old J.D. 140 tractor for snow removal. But my man hasn't answered the phone for over a week now, I hope he's OK.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Hi Jim:
> This one weighs 1400 pounds without the accessories. We didn't pick everything up yet due to lack of room. Bill is going to make another trip all the way back to Cache creek for the other bits and pieces. I think there is a very heavy brush rake, which almost looks like a ripper, but with more teeth. It goes on the three point hitch. And a regular bucket. I suspect we will be using the blade most of the time.
> 
> Co-incidentally, I have been trying to buy an old J.D. 140 tractor for snow removal. But my man hasn't answered the phone for over a week now, I hope he's OK.


Keith, that little dozer will really come in handy, you will wonder how you ever got along without one.

Those deer sure do have a heavy coat of hair, y'all must be in for one really cold winter.


----------



## Doc Sheldon

Cocobolo, I just got through going through this entire thread, and my hat's off to ya! You're obviously not afraid of a challenge, and up to handling whatever comes along. 

I think if you had shown the doctors some of the pics you took of the existing work on your little "fixer-upper" project, they'd have realized immediately that your injury was caused by excessive shaking of your head. :laughing:

The next time I consider myself a DIYer, I'll come back to this thread... should keep me humble. :wink:


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Keith, that little dozer will really come in handy, you will wonder how you ever got along without one.
> 
> Those deer sure do have a heavy coat of hair, y'all must be in for one really cold winter.


Jim: about 10 minutes ago we had half a dozen deer come up the bank and cross over the road. Again, they were in no hurry. I did notice the very heavy coats that all had, not dissimilar to the caribou up in the Yukon.

Interesting watching them cross the road. One deer would go close to the road, sniff the air, then wander over. One after the other they all did the same...first time I have watched that.


----------



## cocobolo

Doc Sheldon said:


> Cocobolo, I just got through going through this entire thread, and my hat's off to ya! You're obviously not afraid of a challenge, and up to handling whatever comes along.
> 
> I think if you had shown the doctors some of the pics you took of the existing work on your little "fixer-upper" project, they'd have realized immediately that your injury was caused by excessive shaking of your head. :laughing:
> 
> The next time I consider myself a DIYer, I'll come back to this thread... should keep me humble. :wink:


Hello Doc, I haven't done much on this thread yet, much more on the Gulf Island Build thread.

It's a shame that we have this very cold blast of air here now as it is cold enough that it's hard to breathe outside. Should be back at it in the next few days as it is supposed to warm up to close to zero. About the only thing I'm getting done today is 10 minutes worth of wood chopping. Then back in to warm up.


----------



## Doc Sheldon

I'm in Mexico, just south of the US, guy... and for me, this is too cold (17C). I like it best when it's above 30C. If this keeps up, I may start looking at Panama for some new digs.

I'm looking forward to watching your new Shuswap place develop, though.


----------



## cocobolo

Doc Sheldon said:


> I'm in Mexico, just south of the US, guy... and for me, this is too cold (17C). I like it best when it's above 30C. If this keeps up, I may start looking at Panama for some new digs.
> 
> I'm looking forward to watching your new Shuswap place develop, though.


Only 17º...you poor fellow you! I wouldn't mind a taste of that right now.

But here in the summer time 30ºC is quite routine, frequently it gets to the 35-40º range. Admittedly, that is a bit warm, but the high 20's I really enjoy.


----------



## BigJim

Doc, here is Keith's Gulf Island build, talk about some good reading:
http://www.diychatroom.com/f49/gulf-island-building-34958/


----------



## Bud Cline

BigJim said:


> Doc, here is Keith's Gulf Island build, talk about some good reading:
> http://www.diychatroom.com/f49/gulf-island-building-34958/


Settle-in, it's going to take all winter to read that sucker.


----------



## Bud Cline

cocobolo said:


> A week ago Bill made it down to the Shuswap, and the first thing he decided to do was to drive over to Cache Creek to buy a mini-dozer. It's an oldie and hopefully a goodie.


I immediately recognized that engine sitting on the trailer. That 18 horse Briggs (Twin) is a helluva engine. I have one on a small garden tractor that I have been abusing for years. You can't stop the thing and you can't slow it down. Mine is on a three blade tractor I use as a brush hog. I have even mowed corn stalks with it.


----------



## Doc Sheldon

Bud Cline said:


> Settle-in, it's going to take all winter to read that sucker.


I made the mistake of peeking into the joke thread the other day... I think I lost weight by the time I finished going through that! I think Cricket oughta rename it The Rabbit Hole. :laughing:

I'm going to have to ration my time on that Gulf Island thread... wouldn't want to miss Christmas AND New Years!


----------



## cocobolo

Bud Cline said:


> Settle-in, it's going to take all winter to read that sucker.


And that is assuming that Doc is a fast reader! :thumbsup:


----------



## cocobolo

Doc Sheldon said:


> I made the mistake of peeking into the joke thread the other day... I think I lost weight by the time I finished going through that! I think Cricket oughta rename it The Rabbit Hole. :laughing:
> 
> I'm going to have to ration my time on that Gulf Island thread... wouldn't want to miss Christmas AND New Years!


Doc, all you have to do is read a page a day. A year and a half and you're done...nothing to it!


----------



## cocobolo

Bud Cline said:


> I immediately recognized that engine sitting on the trailer. That 18 horse Briggs (Twin) is a helluva engine. I have one on a small garden tractor that I have been abusing for years. You can't stop the thing and you can't slow it down. Mine is on a three blade tractor I use as a brush hog. I have even mowed corn stalks with it.


Glad to hear that Bud. Once we had the ignition problem sorted out, it started immediately and ran very well. For only 18 h.p. it sure does put out the energy. Next thing you know, I'll be out of a job!

Have you run yours in sub-zero weather? We have a number of logs to move around as well as a big pile of firewood.


----------



## Doc Sheldon

Sweet Jumpin' Jehosophat! I got as far as page 16, and my curiosity got the best of me... just HAD to take a peek and see how many pages were left (in a fascinating thread!). 
BIG mistake! Now I'm intimidated by more than just your abilities... 
I'll give it my best effort, Cocobolo, but I think we're about the same age - sure hope I last long enough to finish it! :laughing:


----------



## shadytrake

I believe the "smoke" on the lake is actually fog. The air temp is dryer and lower than the lake water temp. That causes a fog. Because of the wind, it looks like smoke.

On the Great Lakes, it causes lake effect snow.


----------



## cocobolo

shadytrake said:


> I believe the "smoke" on the lake is actually fog. The air temp is dryer and lower than the lake water temp. That causes a fog. Because of the wind, it looks like smoke.
> 
> On the Great Lakes, it causes lake effect snow.


Yes, I do believe you are right. :thumbsup:

One of the local weather gurus does mention shoreside fog, which, with that wind, would certainly move it down the lake in fine style.


----------



## ptarmigan61

We used to call it lake steam when I was running on the Great Lakes. Once, coming out of the lakehead with air temps below zero farenheit, it looked like the stern secion of the ship was a separate vessel following us. You couldn't see the deck in between for the fog.


----------



## cocobolo

ptarmigan61 said:


> We used to call it lake steam when I was running on the Great Lakes. Once, coming out of the lakehead with air temps below zero farenheit, it looked like the stern secion of the ship was a separate vessel following us. You couldn't see the deck in between for the fog.


Interesting...we had another episode of this fog a couple of days ago when it was windy, but we haven't seen it if there is no wind. I wonder what the wind has to do with it?


----------



## cocobolo

Lots has happened since I last posted, and I must sheepishly admit that a few good folks have reminded me that I should get it together and keep things up to date.

I have loads of photos taken since the last post, so please forgive me if I get things somewhat out of order and seemingly unrelated.

But one thing we have done is to cut all the framing for an 18' by 24' temporary shelter to be installed up at Bill's property. For a variety of reasons, mostly weather related, everything is still sitting at the cabin. Now, it seems we might be better off to put it together here which can be done right away. Just a foot of snow to get rid of first.

Just a shot of the setup for the peak of the roof and gusset. More when we stand the building.


----------



## cocobolo

I think by now most of you are aware that the construction of this cabin leaves something to be desired. Yes, I'm being charitable when I say that.

All the windows seem to be in competition with each other to see which one can leak the most air.

So in order to try and minimize the cold air infiltration, and thus the heat loss, I have undertaken to add 6 mil poly over the outside of the windows and sliding glass door which goes to the deck.


----------



## cocobolo

Moving back inside to the back areas, this is a shot of a most interesting section of wall.

Regardless of whether or not I think I've seen it all over the years, this place still manages to confound me.

Behold this fine example of construction but especially the insulation. Those blue things are cushions from a sofa. The white insulation is regular fiberglass and the framing even appears to be somewhat correct. Obviously not done by our most recent "renovator". The yellow insulation is filling up a large hole from which a window was apparently removed. Obviously it would have been a waste of time to bother adding a few studs here and there to help keep the insulation in place.

And, of course, we should all take a moment to appreciate the attractive but very flimsy paneling.


----------



## cocobolo

Hiding quietly behind those fine cushions is a door. Perhaps not the best door on the planet, but since the house was built some 38 years ago (by our best estimates) and the door was undoubtedly used prior to that time, it is still in reasonable shape.

Just in case it is not clear, masking tape was used to seal this door off to the outside. Another fine technique.


----------



## cocobolo

In case I didn't bring this to your attention earlier, the person responsible for most of this *$#@ mess is a licensed "Master" electrician, whatever that is supposed to be. The reason I mention this is because you will now see another fine example of his "workmanship".

The first pic is of an OPEN 220 volt line (live) which was hanging down alongside the sub panel. I have already pulled it out through the wall in readiness to disconnect it from the original panel. There was 3" of exposed bare wire on each line.

The second one is a 110 volt line, again live, which was coiled up as you see it above the sub panel.


----------



## cocobolo

Couple of pics of the sub panel.

They might have added some insulation around it, but instead there is an oversize space with nothing. Maybe they ran out of cushions.

Note the extra yellow wire in the cavity below the panel.


----------



## cocobolo

About the easiest thing to do with this wall section was to fill in the door cavity and insulate that.

Once that was done sheathing that wall would have been close to impossible...I mean, how on earth will you find the framing to drive nails into?

So I added another framed wall in front and then insulated that, at least it was quick, cheap and easy.


----------



## BigJim

Hey Keith, good to see your smiling face, I bet you have had a hard time heating that place. That electrical is a little scary, I don't have to tell you to be on your toes there. Thanks for the update.


----------



## cocobolo

Good morning Jim:

Surprisingly the wood stove here does a creditable job of keeping the cabin at a reasonable temperature. It's a shame that I wasn't here early enough in the year to allow the firewood to dry out better before I needed to use it. But all things considered it's doing OK.

After another chat with the landlady on the phone yesterday, the scope of the project has expanded again. Now we are going to use the "new" area downstairs mainly for storage. 

This will mean that I shall have to make some shelf units. So I'm off this morning to Scotch Creek for another load of building materials. We aren't going to go too crazy here, just keep everything simple and inexpensive. But at least the area will now be useful and perhaps somewhat warmer.

Many more photos to come as the work has progressed considerably from what you have seen so far. I think you will enjoy seeing one of our near record overnight snowfalls when i get that posted. Apparently it was the fourth highest in something like 160 years.


----------



## ddsrph

The owner is very lucky you moved in to fix up the place. Could you imagine if some non handy type had bought the place as is? 

JM


----------



## cocobolo

ddsrph said:


> The owner is very lucky you moved in to fix up the place. Could you imagine if some non handy type had bought the place as is?
> 
> JM


It might have been a fortuitous set of circumstances for both of us actually. The house may be pulled off the market until such time as it is more or less tidied up. I can see that running into another year with what the owner now has in mind.


----------



## cocobolo

What you are looking at here is a poly "wall". On the other side of that wall you are effectively outside. It does lead to the "garage", but that is really outside. In other words, the insulating value of that wall is purely imaginary.

To the right of the poly is a window, actually a sliding glass door on its' side. Now, in order to run a real wall across there, the "window" had to go because where the new wall would connect was full of glass. And I really do like having some wood there to nail a new wall to.


----------



## cocobolo

Here the window has gone and the first section of new wall put in place. Rather than rip everything out right down to the floor, I left the lower part in place mainly because it has electrical wiring in place.


----------



## cocobolo

Now the fine poly wall has been replaced with a simple 2 x 4 insulated wall. Before much else can be done there is an intermediate wall in the way which was at one time one of the back walls.


----------



## cocobolo

I don't want to repeat any pictures if at all possible, so if you will glance back at post 273 with the fine poly wall, you will notice a wall to the left side with a window.

Before the new end wall could be built, it was necessary to remove at least part of the wall on the left so that I could line up the new end wall with the previously newly framed wall that went in front of the sub panel and the old door. Have I got you lost yet? Don't worry, you'll get used to it.

By the time this shot was taken, most of the rough 1 x 6 which was used for sheathing had gone and the window was obviously pulled out. Incidentally, the 1 x 6 made excellent kindling.

This wall is now gone, and the very old beam (being charitable again here) will eventually bite the dust...literally.


----------



## cocobolo

Being, as it was, an inside wall, insulation was not required (technically speaking) although in this case it wasn't a bad idea, due to the poly wall at the end.

Presumably, the "renovator" was going to address the poly wall issue at some future time.

But once again, we have some interesting framing here. Your guess is as good as mine.


----------



## cocobolo

I have literally dozens of pics covering everything here, but most of them would make no sense to anyone. Here is the wall from which the window was removed. It will eventually go, as will the grey beam above it.


----------



## cocobolo

Now this one might require a little imagination from you.

There is a gap between the end of the beam and that hole in the wall.

What is happening here is that the beam is being chainsawed off in short pieces, and the truly awe inspiring 1 x 4 rafters are being sistered with 2 x 4's. Not a whole lot better, I agree with you.

But eventually there will be a half decent triple 2 x 8 beam in place which will definitely keep the whole shebang securely up in the air. And please note that the 1 x 4's are at least on 12" centers. Well, sort of anyway, they vary from about 12" down to 8", depending on which way the wind is blowing.


----------



## cocobolo

This is the lower side of the ceiling showing the sistered rafters.

As the beam removal progressed, it was necessary to drive in temporary supports under some of the rafters. Once I was past the 10 foot mark, the first new beam was installed.

However, things are never quite that simple as I needed to have a new vapour barrier between the ceiling and the beams. The intent was to do the entire new ceiling area with a single piece of poly.


----------



## cocobolo

Plus the ceiling would need to be insulated prior to the poly being installed.


----------



## cocobolo

In the above pic you will see two studs with considerable electrical paraphernalia in between. These I kept intact and used as the support post for the two beams which are shortly to come.

I did the new beam one board at a time due to the somewhat awkward nature of the installation. Crown up of course.


----------



## cocobolo

Once the new triple beam was cajoled into place and nailed, the poly was pulled over the top of the beam. Subsequent to this I used some ripped 1/2" by 1 1/2" to fasten the poly on the high side.

Note the wedges cut at the same angle as the rafters which enables pressure to be put against each of the rafters individually.


----------



## cocobolo

I'm going to try and guide you now to the second half of the new beam. But first you should see what had to be dealt with.

In this photo we are looking south to where the new beam will go. The first half is already installed at this point.

You can see three temporary supports, plus the end of the original beam to the right of the middle support. To the right of that is a small closet type area. The second photo will show that better. 

Not actually a closet, but rather a dresser tucked in there. There was a piece of particle board sitting on the square aluminum thingies.


----------



## Windows on Wash

Looking good.

Love the feel that place puts off.


----------



## cocobolo

Removal of the old grey beam was interesting.

I think it may have been something like one of the squared logs that the old commercial Lindal type homes were built from. I'm not entirely sure about that, but it's the best I can come up with.

In any event, the builder here used these logs for both beams and posts.

What I did was to cut off about a foot long piece so that I could get to the next rafter. Then fight the new 2 x 4 rafter into place and carry on with the next cut. So when I said the beam literally bit the dust earlier, I wasn't kidding.


----------



## cocobolo

Removal of the 1 x 4's and 1 x 6's from the back of the "closet" wall showed that it was insulated. It was, after all, the second or third outside wall at the back of the house.

Taking the insulation away left a mish-mash of wiring which had to be dealt with, as this wall is going.


----------



## cocobolo

It looks like I can cover a couple of items with this photo.

That backing you see above is a 2 x 10. Most of us would install backing for the wall below perpendicular to the rafters. :yes: And we would probably only need 2 x 4's or maybe 2 x 6's. 


This 2 x 10 was nailed to one side of the awesome 1 x 4 rafter, and a single nail was in the right hand side in a feeble attempt to keep the 2 x 10 vaguely in place. I think the wall kept the 2 x 10 in line, not the other way around.

And no, I didn't cut that 2 x 4 off. :no:

The triple 2 x 6 post in the near corner I have just installed with a brace to keep it plumb, and this will carry the second part of the new beam.


----------



## cocobolo

Once I had got all the crap out of the way - sorry, there really is no other word for it - I repeated the beam install procedure the same as the first end.

First get one piece of 2 x 8 in place, then add the other two alongside the first piece. Clamp together and nail.

At this point the poly can be added over the beam. This was always a fun exercise, and the 12 ton hydraulic jack was pressed into service on more than one occasion to elevate the roof just enough to squeeze the poly between the beam and the ceiling rafters.


----------



## cocobolo

A few random pics that showed up on the computer this morning.

Nice example of strapping. I have no clue what that black pipe is doing there either.

Interesting ductwork which goes absolutely nowhere.

And the one thing which is actually marked is the junction box for the water heater. Surely it could have been run from the panel right to the water heater...no?


----------



## BigJim

My stars, no wonder you didn't post in a good while, you didn't have time. You are way more a man than I am, I would have thrown my hands up and let someone else deal with that.

Are the 1X rafters sawmill lumber, it looks like it. It looks like the fellow just used what ever he could find, or come up with, to throw in there, the word build doesn't come into play. 

Thanks for all the pictures Keith, that is one mammoth under taking.


----------



## cocobolo

We'll get back to the fun stuff later, but here's the overnight snowfall around the 27th/28th of December. We did get an additional top off shortly after this, but thankfully not too much more.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> My stars, no wonder you didn't post in a good while, you didn't have time. You are way more a man than I am, I would have thrown my hands up and let someone else deal with that.
> 
> Are the 1X rafters sawmill lumber, it looks like it. It looks like the fellow just used what ever he could find, or come up with, to throw in there, the word build doesn't come into play.
> 
> Thanks for all the pictures Keith, that is one mammoth under taking.


It's the old story Jim...slow and steady wins the race.

First I have to assess what I _think _might be there, then open it up and see what needs to be done to fix it. 

So it is just one step at a time until we run out of things to do. Fortunately, most of the fixes are mostly time (which is free for the owner) and fairly little in the way of materials. So we are able to keep the cost very low. So far anyway.

The 1 x 4's are the scrap offcuts from very small trees. To see them up close and in person you wouldn't think that anyone with half a brain would remotely entertain the thought of using them for anything but firewood.


----------



## cocobolo

Windows on Wash said:


> Looking good.
> 
> Love the feel that place puts off.


Now you wouldn't be funnin' with me, would you? :laughing:


----------



## Windows on Wash

cocobolo said:


> Now you wouldn't be funnin' with me, would you? :laughing:



No. I mean the all wood construction like your previous thread. Very organic feel to it.


----------



## BigJim

I don't think I could handle all the snow Keith, I would be claustrophobic, well I am but that would really get to me.


----------



## shadytrake

There are no words other than holy crap!


----------



## cocobolo

shadytrake said:


> There are no words other than holy crap!


Please, this is a family site....Religious excrement if you don't mind. :laughing::laughing::laughing:


----------



## cocobolo

OK, enough of this Tomfoolery...a very familiar site at the cabin.


----------



## cocobolo

Fast forward to today.

Time to fix the back wall...I had a pathway dug through the snow yesterday so I could get to the back of the cabin, and fortunately no more snow overnight.

The first window to be pulled out was an old single glazed unit 4' by 5' 6". Alongside that was another sliding patio door. Both were kept in place by rusty screws and silicone. The window came out without a problem, but the sliding patio door was something else.

It seems that over the years the beam had settled and had pushed the wood hard into a couple of large round head metal screws in the patio door. There was absolutely zero clearance anywhere around this door, and I eventually had to resort to the 12 ton hydraulic jack to make room to remove the unit. That and about 15 minutes of moderate hitting with the dead blow hammer did the job.

Any unwanted extraneous framing was removed, and new framing added.


----------



## cocobolo

At the end of the new wall section today I did a short wall to close off this storage section. There will be a door to the right of this wall. 

The wall will effectively be an outside wall, because the final end section of this area is so bad as to not warrant even trying to fix it. It will be a possible small sitting area in the summertime, or an icebox in the winter, take your pick.

And since there is no exit door from the back of the cabin, we will most likely put a door in there somewhere in case of fire.


----------



## cocobolo

Next up was the sheathing on the east wall. Nothing very exciting except for getting rid of the ice on the planks outside. This was to be my scaffold and I didn't relish the idea of making my olympic diving debut into a snowbank.


----------



## cocobolo

Parts of the original wall had some white f/glass insulation, but it was very poorly fitted.

The best solution was to rip that out and do the whole lot in pink.


----------



## cocobolo

Just over a week ago I had a request from my friend Al at Magna Bay to check on the dehumidifier in his pump house. He and his wife were headed off to Arizona for a week (smart man).

Just before they were due to leave, the plumbing in their pump house let go and there was a massive amount of water blasting everywhere.

They got the leak stopped, but then had to try and get all the water out as well as try to dry the pump house out. The insulated walls were soaked right through.

The first day they set the dehumidifier up, it only took three hours to fill the tank.

By the time they returned, the accumulation was only an inch or so in the tank for the whole day.

The day that they left was when we got the big dump of snow here, so when I went down to Magna Bay I had a nice 70 foot long pathway to dig through the snow.


----------



## cocobolo

A few days later on one of my drives back from Magna Bay - after the weather had warmed up - I stopped on the highway and took this shot of Anglemont.

The house where I am staying is about 50 feet below the snow line. The roads are good, but we still have about a foot of wet snow where we are.


----------



## cocobolo

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...er, I mean cabin...this is the door which I removed from the original north wall. It was non functional, although it did have four hinges screwed to the side.

In case you are wondering why I didn't use a new door, it's like this. 

As you all know, a standard height door is 80 inches tall. There wasn't that much room below the rafters to fit that in there. So rather than have to butcher a new door, I figured the lesser of the evils was to butcher an already pre-butchered door.


----------



## cocobolo

The only possible way to get the new framing in for the door was to measure each piece carefully, make all the cuts and assemble it as a unit.


----------



## cocobolo

The old door that I was fitting was quite interesting. The handle unscrewed from the backing plate and had nothing to do with any latching mechanism. 

The old lock assembly itself was missing the door knobs, which was a shame. I don't know if the brass will clean up or not, but it speaks to the age of the door itself. It might be interesting to see when this was made.


----------



## cocobolo

Rather than use proper door hinges, the previous person used 4 cheapo hinges. Sadly, the price tags were still on those hinges...$1.98 each. For $3.98, they could have got a pair of new 4" proper hinges of the type that are now installed.

Twice the price for useless hinges. I'll never understand some people.

The two original mortises were for 3 1/2" hinges, so I just cut out the extra 1/2" to fit the new ones.


----------



## cocobolo

At last the door is hung.

Now all we need is to install the passage set and some door stop.


----------



## cocobolo

Without exaggerating, i think it's fair to say that I have half a dozen 2 1/8" hole saws for installing a passage set. Do you suppose I could find even one? Of course not.

So the next morning off to Scotch Creek (an hour return trip) to buy one.

Now during my search for said hole saw, I did run across an arbor, just no proper size hole saw.

OK, pick up a shiny new Irwin hole saw and head home.

Find the arbor, and much to my dismay the threads are not the right size. It is then that I check the new package to discover that the arbor is only good for up to 1 1/2" hole saws. For a change, luck was on my side and I did find the correct size arbor in short order.

The hole is drilled in jig time, and all I need to do now is to drill the 1" hole for the latch. Nothing to it, right?

Well, yes...as long as you have the right size bit. Now, I don't know if any of you have succumbed to the temptation of altering the size of a bit before, especially when it means a 1/2 day trip (speaking of Ruxton Island here...) to find a new one.

So naturally, when I picked up my 1" bit I assumed that it was still 1". Ahh, not so fast sunshine...the hole I drilled was only 7/8".

Once again, lady luck was on my side and I did have a new 1" bit. So I had to resort to the old drill a hole in the board trick to be able to increase the 7/8" hole to 1" without totally destroying what was left of the door.


----------



## cocobolo

All that remained now was to rip some stop for the door, which came out of a 2 x 4.

After all this, I'm happy to say that the door closes with a nice authoritative thunk.


----------



## cocobolo

Then finish up the insulation around the door....


----------



## cocobolo

...and on to the vapour barrier.

You will notice caulking in various places. This is where some of the old framing was left in place and it was necessary to try and close up at least some of the gaps.


----------



## RHeat

nice cars


----------



## cocobolo

RHeat said:


> nice cars


I'm sure there will be many more this year, as I should be able to make it to many more of the summer rod runs in the area.


----------



## Bud Cline

cocobolo said:


> So rather than have to butcher a new door, I figured the lesser of the evils was to butcher an already pre-butchered door.


Laughing my ass off at that "pre-butchered door thing",:laughing: been there done that.:yes:

SIDE BAR:
Reminds me of years ago when I was hired to do some interior remodeling of a home in Texas. Included in the remodel was the replacement of all interior doors. Seems that over the years the house had settled (everywhere) and all of the interior doors rubbed at the top. So...the lady of the house (a confirmed friggen nut case) used a hatchet (over the years) to trim the tops of the doors as needed. No joke.

That was the first and only time I had seen a door trimmed with that kind of Paul Bunyan precision.


----------



## cocobolo

Bud Cline said:


> Laughing my ass off at that "pre-butchered door thing",:laughing: been there done that.:yes:
> 
> SIDE BAR:
> Reminds me of years ago when I was hired to do some interior remodeling of a home in Texas. Included in the remodel was the replacement of all interior doors. Seems that over the years the house had settled (everywhere) and all of the interior doors rubbed at the top. So...the lady of the house (a confirmed friggen nut case) used a hatchet (over the years) to trim the tops of the doors as needed. No joke.
> 
> That was the first and only time I had seen a door trimmed with that kind of Paul Bunyan precision.


Does this mean that she couldn't find her chainsaw? :laughing:


----------



## Simon96Taco

Cocobolo, I absolutely love your threads! I completely lost myself for HOURS in your Gulf island thread when I first discovered it, and am now thoroughly enjoying this one.

Your determination and innovation in dealing with the myriad problems you have to solve are totally inspiring!

Did some snooping around on the google machine, and Anglemont looks like a fantastic place to call home.

All the best of luck, I'll be keenly following along.

Cheers,
Simon


----------



## cocobolo

Simon96Taco said:


> Cocobolo, I absolutely love your threads! I completely lost myself for HOURS in your Gulf island thread when I first discovered it, and am now thoroughly enjoying this one.
> 
> Your determination and innovation in dealing with the myriad problems you have to solve are totally inspiring!
> 
> Did some snooping around on the google machine, and Anglemont looks like a fantastic place to call home.
> 
> All the best of luck, I'll be keenly following along.
> 
> Cheers,
> Simon


Hello Simon:

Thank you most kindly for your heart warming comments.

As you probably know, this is my first winter at Anglemont, and I'm definitely already looking forward to saying goodbye to the snow. From what the locals tell me we have been spared a "normal" snowfall so far. My tally is only about four feet thus far, although we are most certainly still in snow season here.

Hopefully before next winter I will be better prepared and possibly not be needing to work on a daily basis just to keep the cold at bay.

Much more to come, of that I am sure.


----------



## cocobolo

My, my...how time flies when you're having fun...

One or two things to pass along that have managed to occupy the time since last posting.

The future storage room out back has been treated to some OSB on the walls.


----------



## cocobolo

Brief change of pace...deer in the snow out in the back yard.


----------



## cocobolo

The big cabinet in the back room was just too big to be able to walk past to get to the washroom, so it had to go. It did produce several fairly nice plywood boards and we will find a use for them down the road.


----------



## cocobolo

Back on January 30th we had a fairly nice sunset.


----------



## cocobolo

By contrast, on February 2nd.....


----------



## cocobolo

Moving outside the cabin, there was a short wall, just 6 feet long by the entrance. Definitely not your average wall. It had to go, along with both the sliding patio doors.

The cheapie paper has been removed and you can see some of the local bug population which fell out of the wall.


----------



## cocobolo

If you can imagine this, all the exterior siding was nothing more than 1/4" hardboard, applied with a large variety of nails. Here's a small piece which came off from above the patio door.


----------



## cocobolo

At this point we have managed to remove the outside patio door. This one was relatively simple. Hope you enjoy the fine fake "stone" hardboard siding. Isn't that just special?


----------



## cocobolo

The north end of that deluxe beam you see was originally just sitting on a 2 x 4 stud. Honestly, I think most of the support was actually generated by the old patio door itself.

It needed a temporary support until a new wall was constructed.


----------



## cocobolo

The aforementioned short 6' wall was sheeted on the inside by Tenplast. I think that's the right name for it...that thin double walled plastic that is often used for sign making.


----------



## cocobolo

As you can see from the above photo, it was moderately cool outside when we undertook this little project. Therefore, the inside set of patio doors - the double kind - was left in place for the time being.

Now, this royal entrance was home to some of that lovely indoor/outdoor carpet. One layer just wouldn't do the job, oh no, they had to have TWO layers. The brown one I am holding back, and the lovely blue and green one below.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's an early evening shot of the entrance. The old door is gone, the inside door remains for now.


----------



## cocobolo

Right after that I got the new wall framed for the new entrance door. No more patio doors here, thank you very much.


----------



## cocobolo

Next day I got the wall sheathed and the new steel door hung. Now we're finally getting somewhere.


----------



## cocobolo

Next up was the fix for the 6' end wall with the plastic interior.

Not a heck of a lot there to hold up the top wall plate.


----------



## cocobolo

Everything that comes off the exterior is being replaced with 2 x 6 walls, R-22 Roxul insulation and 6 mil poly vapour barrier. Here's the new end wall.


----------



## cocobolo

Pic of the inside of the new walls...


----------



## cocobolo

This is part of the original exterior wall prior to the time that the outside patio door was added.

This will be replaced by a new interior wall (2 x 4) with a new door to the family room.


----------



## cocobolo

Sorry for jumping all over the place, but you know how it is with renovations. If it isn't one thing, it's another.

The kitchen had T-bar in the ceiling, and when the landlady took it down, she got showered - literally - with hundreds of dead bugs. What a mess.


----------



## cocobolo

Ooops...missed the bug shot!


----------



## cocobolo

Once the outside was closed in again, it was time to tackle the inner patio doors.

This was one of those very old doors that had two sets of doors. An outer and inner set. So there were two sliders and two fixed sections. The outer one did not work at all, and the inner one was a battle every time you tried to open or close it.


----------



## cocobolo

More or less have the whole enchilada out at this point. The old doors are leaning against the old wood stove which is still inside the entrance. Why you may ask? Well, it wouldn't fit through the doors, that's why.

Once we had that opened up, we were able to move the VERY heavy cast iron cook stove out of there.


----------



## cocobolo

Another deluxe fake stone beam on part of the original exterior wall.


----------



## cocobolo

That's not dirt you're looking at, it's more bugs. Thousands of the little buggers...excuse the pun.


----------



## cocobolo

The original beam you see in the above photo also needed to go.

I started by tucking a new 2 x 12 behind that beam...then ripped the original beam out piece by piece, then added two more 2 x 12's. Guaranteed not to go anywhere now.


----------



## cocobolo

You'll see that the new 2 x 12 was much longer than the original beam. And that is because there was a 3' section of wall there, since removed to make room for new stairs.

So it was a case of ripping apart the old beam, most of it literally had to be broken off in pieces in order to remove it.


----------



## cocobolo

There were three light switches located on the section of wall that got removed. It was necessary to keep these things intact until the new framing was in place in order to keep the lights functioning.


----------



## cocobolo

Next up was to get the other 2 x 12's in place to finish building the new beam. I put a few clamps in place during nailing...makes it easier to nail if you do that.


----------



## cocobolo

Here we are pounding a few nails into submission in the new beam. I like to try and do a tidy job of nailing, even if you won't see the nails once everything is buttoned up.


----------



## cocobolo

This was the old entrance floor after the lovely carpet was taken out.


----------



## cocobolo

I removed the end piece of plywood to see what was underneath. Turns out that the house sits on large planks, which in turn sit on a bed of gravel.

Now, before you go thinking that this is a lousy system, it is somewhat similar to a PWF system. The only trouble is that the gravel bed should have been fully protected on all sides so that none of the gravel could move.

The problem arose when the original log wall on the south side started to rot away. Since then, a very heavy rock wall had been put in place and fresh gravel added. 

I think there is room for improvement on the top of the rock wall and we will address that a little later in the season when the weather warms up. But at least things are now stable.


----------



## cocobolo

I added some furring strips back to the original floor on order to have a semi-reasonable base from which to start.


----------



## cocobolo

The floor was anything but level, so I had to scribe pieces of two-by and cut them with a jigsaw...great fun.

The far left side of the floor had sunk 1 1/2" in under four feet, quite the slope. So that side of the floor needed much higher wood to bring it up to somewhere near level.


----------



## cocobolo

First sheet of new 5/8" T & G in place on the floor.


----------



## cocobolo

Floor completed.


----------



## cocobolo

Back to the old T-bar now...it's history. Leaving us with a delightful mess of wires to look at. I have already removed one box full of excess wiring and there's still plenty left to go.


----------



## cocobolo

A hint of things to come...looking out of the new front door.


----------



## cocobolo

Roofing felt on the new exterior walls. I prefer this over the old skinny tarpaper. I know building wrap is cheaper, but probably more fun to have to put up in small pieces.


----------



## cocobolo

Another lesson for you guys who think you know everything about framing.

After I took the soffit off outside the kitchen windows, I was greeted with open sections between every joist. Yep, that was a new one on me too.


----------



## cocobolo

A few of the 47(+) wasp nests that were inside the soffited area.


----------



## cocobolo

...a few more.


----------



## cocobolo

One of the more interesting challenges was moving the switches...there were 8 of them all together in the front area. The first three weren't too bad, and they have been relocated alongside the new door to the family room now.


----------



## cocobolo

After the wiring was moved, I hung a new door from the revamped front entrance to the family room.


----------



## cocobolo

Early on the morning of February 20th, we were enshrouded in the usual morning cloud. I was out to get firewood and spotted some deer across the road standing on top of the bluff at Marty's Inn. Quite an ethereal sight.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, time to tackle the old stairs. I'm told they have been the cause of any number of people falling down them over the years. One look and you can understand why. Talk about steep....sheeesh!

I have the carpet off and some of the underlay gone as well.


----------



## shadytrake

It is really taking some shape now!


----------



## cocobolo

I figured that I should cut the stringers before I did too much more damage to the old stairs. So I made up a jig to fit my square router base and had at it.

Got to the 13th notch and blew up the router. Not to worry, I have another router...somewhere.

Well, I'll be damned if that one didn't blow up before I even finished the 13th notch as well.

Hmmmm...still have another half inch router and after some searching I managed to find it. However, I couldn't find the adapter for the collet to go from 1/2"down to 1/4" for the straight bits that I had.

So, it was off to Scotch Creek to see if either of the two stores there had either a 1/2" bit, or the adapter. Nothing doing. One of them did have a Makita router for the rather princely sum of $336. So, I was kind enough to let them keep it sitting comfortably on their shelf.

Next day we headed off to Kamloops to the House of Pot and grabbed a nice Ridgid router. Half inch, with the 1/4" adapter and I picked up a 1/2" straight bit while I was about it just in case.


----------



## cocobolo

After the old treads were removed, I was left with a layer of T & G cedar which had been applied beneath the old stairs.


----------



## cocobolo

Here the old stairs are gone. At this point I should have pulled the plywood off the wall, but for some odd reason, I didn't.


----------



## cocobolo

New stringers in place.


----------



## cocobolo

New treads in place. It's dead easy to walk up and down these new stairs without a hint of worry. The new handrails are not yet in place, and we find that we don't even need them to feel safe. Don't worry, they will be going in shortly.


----------



## cocobolo

The new stairs occupy considerably more space than the originals. In fact, they extend an additional 49 1/2" at the bottom.

One of the additional troubles with the old stairs was that you clobbered your head on the overhead floor on the way down if you didn't remember to duck. It usually only took a couple of hits to get this message through.

I had to open the floor up by 39 1/2" to gain sufficient headroom.


----------



## cocobolo

We're headed out to the back room again now. Time to see if we can get some drywall up on the ceiling.


----------



## cocobolo

While we're out back, it's time to get some permanent shelving in place.

We started out by putting some 1 x 2's on the walls.


----------



## cocobolo

Then the landlady screwed some 1/2" plywood on to the 1 x 2 framing. 

Then we stiffened up the front by adding 2 x 2's. Once that was in place, we added some 1/8" hardboard - gunned it on - to make for a nice smooth top surface.


----------



## cocobolo

Back outside into the cool weather again, this time to rout some 1/4" grooves in some 2 bys to accept tempered glass panels for a new railing around the enlarged stair opening.

First, I added my square base to the new Ridgid router. I left a space just a hair over 3 1/2" so that it would slide comfortably down the length of a 2 x 4.

Then tested it out on a short piece to make sure it was working OK.


----------



## cocobolo

Not wanting some of the old patio doors to go to waste, I commandeered two of the 34" by 76" panes for the long sides of the railing. So the first two grooves were cut just over 76" long.

We had removed the glass from the doors and cleaned them up.


----------



## cocobolo

Here I am attempting to get some of the first assembly done.


----------



## cocobolo

We were hoping to be able to put glass in the end section of the railing as well, but that would have meant waiting to get a piece custom cut to 34 1/2" wide and tempered. Likely both an expensive and time wasting operation.

However, every once n awhile things just seem to fall into place...and I remembered that the deck outside - which will be biting the dust some time later this year - had a couple of odd sized pieces of tempered glass in place.

Yep, one of them was 34 1/2". I must have been a really good boy that day or something like that!


----------



## cocobolo

Getting the side glass installed.


----------



## cocobolo

All the glass is in place and framing done.


----------



## cocobolo

Naturally, when we were picking up the wood to frame the railings, I forgot to buy some 2 x 6 for the cap. Another trip in to Scotch Creek for that followed.

Now that is done and we're good to go again. The far end of the railing is going to be drywalled.


----------



## cocobolo

I'm expecting that as people go round the railing and head downstairs that they will need something to grab on to as they navigate the turn. In order to give some extra support for such hasty clumsiness, I added a 2 x 4 from floor to ceiling and fixed it in place to one of the (choke) ceiling joists. I really do hesitate to call this piece of third grade 2 x 4 a joist, but that is what it is supposed to be passing for.

Doubtless, there will be a far better fix for this in future.


----------



## cocobolo

Back downstairs to remove the old door header and related detritus. Here I am prying off one of the cripples.


----------



## cocobolo

The header was some ancient fir. Still tough as hell, but I figured I should use my hand maul to do the removing.


----------



## cocobolo

When the five gang switch needed to be moved, there was lots of drilling to be done. That old fir was tough as nails, probably many years old and re-cycled into this place when it was built nearly 40 years ago.


----------



## cocobolo

It took 3 1/2 hours to get all the wiring pulled and re-routed to its' new location, and it only had to go 3 lousy feet!


----------



## cocobolo

The guys that wired this place were supposed to be electricians. Now that may well be true, because everything here it seems has to be on either a 3 way or 4 way switch. Showing off I suppose.

I also understand that they were intimately acquainted with the contents of large jugs of wine. And further that at least one of them smoked those funny cigarettes. The evidence seems to be everywhere.

There was a 3 way switch at the top of the stairs which needed fixing as well. Not so much for the lower light, but when I removed the upper light, there was no box behind it. Just a light fixture attached directly to the wood ceiling!!! Heaven help me...what will we find next?


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday afternoon while I was removing the overhead cedar boards where the top light fixture was, I managed to line my skull up perfectly with a rapidly descending board. The resulting bloodflow was rather impressive if I do say so myself. 

So much so that the kind landlady called our friendly RN to please get over here RIGHT NOW, as dummy Keith has managed to try to commit suicide.

So, the main reason that I have been able to crank out this many posts today is simply because I have been ordered to stop working while my thick head heals up. Either that, or a minimum of five days.

So tomorrow, we are going for a drive down to Lake Country to pick up a nice new table saw. That's not really work, is it? Only a 350 kilometer round trip...no big deal!


----------



## BigJim

Buddy, you are one busy dude, it is sure good to see your smiling face. Just think, Spring is just around the corner. Thanks for all the great pictures, especially the sunset.


----------



## 123pugsy

Thanks for all the updates. :thumbsup:


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Buddy, you are one busy dude, it is sure good to see your smiling face. Just think, Spring is just around the corner. Thanks for all the great pictures, especially the sunset.


Yes Jim, just a couple more weeks until Spring. 

We've had -6º for the past few nights as it has been quite clear here. Some lovely sunny days as well. Today looks like it might be quite nice, although the sun isn't up here yet.

Well, it turns out that the nice table saw I was going to pick up this morning is no longer available. The guy's wife traded it off for a portable saw to "surprise" her husband. He was surprised all right. Now I have to look some more...oh, well.

I think I'm headed over to Ruxton in the next couple of days to see what sort of mess has been left by the winter storms.


----------



## gma2rjc

Thanks for the updates Keith. Have a safe trip!


----------



## BigJim

Hey Keith, I just looked at CL there in Nanaimo and they have some really nice saws at a really good deal. A couple there were exceptionally good deals:

http://nanaimo.craigslist.ca/search/sss?query=table saw&sort=rel


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Hey Keith, I just looked at CL there in Nanaimo and they have some really nice saws at a really good deal. A couple there were exceptionally good deals:
> 
> http://nanaimo.craigslist.ca/search/sss?query=table saw&sort=rel


Thanks Jim:

I think I must be one very lucky guy, because today the landlady bought me a brand spanking new table saw. The very same kind that I was after yesterday.

We just unloaded it from the van...all 275 pounds of it! She says she was just showing her appreciation for the work I'm doing on her house.

What a nice way to show your appreciation!!! I could hardly believe it.


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> Thanks for the updates Keith. Have a safe trip!


Thanks Barb...leaving tomorrow morning sometime for Vancouver. Overnight there and catch an early ferry across to Nanaimo.

The weather forecast looks pretty good, now I just have to hope that the old boat is still afloat at the marina!


----------



## BigJim

Wow, now that is a nice deal, glad you got a saw Keith.

I have been wondering how things are back on the island, hopefully they will be in good shape. Have a safe trip buddy.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Wow, now that is a nice deal, glad you got a saw Keith.
> 
> I have been wondering how things are back on the island, hopefully they will be in good shape. Have a safe trip buddy.


Hi Jim:

Yep, that's about as good as it gets.

I won't have internet access while I'm at Ruxton this time, but I'll let you know what things are like when I get back to the Shuswap.


----------



## williamlayton

I have gone blind reading all of this---too bad it was not filmed by PBS or some such--it would have made for great drama.
Blessings


----------



## williamlayton

Thank you for such a great piece---Made my little tree house kind of mundane.
Blessings
Bill Close


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> I have gone blind reading all of this---too bad it was not filmed by PBS or some such--it would have made for great drama.
> Blessings


More like it should have been filmed by "Ripley's believe it or not".

Got back from Ruxton last night with a load of stuff and spent the day here today raising proper old hell in the back bedroom.

I think the landlady was taking a whole lot of pictures as I was ripping stuff apart, so I will try and post some interesting stuff later on. And once again, I really doubt that anyone is gong to believe what you see. Something new every time I turn around.

We had a massive bonfire out in the back 40 this afternoon...stuff we had thrown out of the bedroom and ripped off the walls and floor. Not to mention some of the furniture which met an identical fate. The bonfire is still going, so I will need to keep an eye on it until it burns right down, then I will put it out for the night.


----------



## cocobolo

There was a total of 8 mattresses in the back bedroom, only 7 here, and they made a splendid bonfire.


----------



## cocobolo

The patio door was sealed up with several strips of Scotch tape. I don't think it was any too effective, but it goes to show you just what the previous residents were capable of.


----------



## cocobolo

The carpet - such as it was - got cut into strips and later contributed to the local global warming outside.


----------



## cocobolo

With the carpet and underlay safely donated to the bonfire, it was time to strip the walls. Before we did that, I'd like to point out some kind of special wiring. 

Just the white wire mind you, no black, red or ground. I haven't traced it to see where it goes yet, but no doubt it will be yet another revelation.


----------



## cocobolo

The floor, complete with it's 6" slope, was covered with some ancient plywood, which - in its' former life - appears to have been painted in a delightful shade of (insert favourite colour here).

I selected a likely looking candidate for removal, only to discover that this was some kind of degrade 3/8" junk.


----------



## cocobolo

With the test piece of 3/8" plywood gone, we were greeted with some black poly.

Removal thereof brought to light some 2 x 6/8/10, your choice. Some painted, some not. If I had to guess I'd say this was re-cycled from a former life elsewhere.


----------



## cocobolo

Now, this is one of those extra cost options that we so rarely get these days in our homes. Not that we would want such a thing, mind you.

Get a load of the water we found beneath the triple layer of 1/8" hardboard which served as some odd sort of window sill.


----------



## cocobolo

At the other end of the room, we uncovered some interesting black poly. Note how cleverly one of mother nature's creatures was able to make such in intricate pattern in the black poly.


----------



## cocobolo

What was beneath the poly was far more interesting. This is one of a few pieces of framing lumber at some time in the distant past. Nice, eh?

There was a fair amount of fine sawdust spread over the end wall behind the poly. Nothing appeared to be recent.


----------



## BigJim

Keith looks like you didn't build the bonfire close enough to the house. :wink: I though I had seen it all but I guess I was wrong, you are way more a man than I to go through all that. I built a tree/club house something like that back when I was about 10 years old. LOL Wishing you all the luck in the world buddy, I just don't see how you can keep going like you do.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Keith looks like you didn't build the bonfire close enough to the house. :wink: I though I had seen it all but I guess I was wrong, you are way more a man than I to go through all that. I built a tree/club house something like that back when I was about 10 years old. LOL Wishing you all the luck in the world buddy, I just don't see how you can keep going like you do.


Jim:
It looks like the whole back bedroom is going to bite the dust.

The floor, as we found it, appears to have been a very low slope roof at one time. The ceiling is less than 6 feet high on the low side, so obviously that's going out the door as well.

What we think is going to happen now is that I will attempt to build a grade beam right up against the east end of the house. On top of that, I will further attempt a concrete wall to at least the height of the gravel inside the house. At the very least, that ought to prevent any further settling. Then we will get some back fill to improve our chances of preventing any frost upheaval.

With that in place, we expect to build a new east end wall for both the new storage room and the bedroom upstairs.

I don't suppose you would care to offer an opinion as to why the gravel settled so much?


----------



## cocobolo

As you can see, there's quite a bit of stuff that needs to be moved out of the way. How much additional gravel may fall out, I have no idea.

But now we have Godzilla to help with the bull work. All I have to do now is to become moderately proficient running the beast.


----------



## gma2rjc

In post #412, is that a log you put up against the foundation or was there a tree there? It looks like sawdust on the ground around it.

Where's all the snow?


----------



## BigJim

I am speechless, that is unreal, one thing is for sure, you have got to love a challenge, and a challenge that is. No one can call you a quitter for sure. You have the patients of Job, buddy.


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> In post #412, is that a log you put up against the foundation or was there a tree there? It looks like sawdust on the ground around it.
> 
> Where's all the snow?


There are actually two tree stumps there. The nearest one was about a foot or so higher until I cut it off. I did that when I was doing the wall sheathing earlier when I was trying to fix the end wall.

The stump a few feet farther away is pretty rotten. I will try to remove both of them, roots and all, when I dig for the grade beam foundation.


----------



## cocobolo

Sorry Barb, forgot about the snow. We haven't had any here for a few weeks now, although there is some in the forecast. I don't think we'll get any more this season.

Went into Kamloops and made a decent size material order at the House of Orange a couple of days ago. They said that if we wait until today to process the order, we will get 10% off!!! So the landlady, being the astute type that she is, says great. Then she went and picked out a set of pre-hung French doors to put in the new bedroom upstairs. New doors...$600.00...10% discount...$620.00. 

Nice! They gave us a set of doors for free and $20 to boot for being such nice people!

The truckload arrived right on time at 2 p.m. this afternoon.


----------



## cocobolo

I barely had time before the truck arrived to clear away the detritus from the bonfire along with various rockpiles and other highly valuable junk.

Everything was unloaded, including the doors under cover, in 40 minutes and the most courteous driver (Sheridan) was on his way.


----------



## cocobolo

Only the 35 sacks of cement and the re-bar in that load is for the house itself.

The rest is for a couple of storage sheds and a building to keep Godzilla in out of the weather.


----------



## gma2rjc

After what you had to go through to get supplies over to Ruxton Island, I bet the sight of that delivery truck in your driveway fills your heart with joy! :yes:


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> After what you had to go through to get supplies over to Ruxton Island, I bet the sight of that delivery truck in your driveway fills your heart with joy! :yes:


Honestly, it's such a pleasure to see that Barb.

It's a 1 1/2+ hour trip for the truck from Kamloops, and somehow, despite all the highway construction going on between here and Kamloops, Sheridan arrived precisely on time.


----------



## BigJim

That is a really nice track hoe, I have never operated one of the small ones but the big track hoes are great, a back hoe and track hoe sure don't operate the same though, you would think they would but they don't. I love the bigger back hoes, they are a pleasure to dig a footing with or any thing else.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> That is a really nice track hoe, I have never operated one of the small ones but the big track hoes are great, a back hoe and track hoe sure don't operate the same though, you would think they would but they don't. I love the bigger back hoes, they are a pleasure to dig a footing with or any thing else.


The manufacturer refers to this machine as a mini excavator Jim. It would be nice to be able to afford a bigger one, but I think this will do the job at hand.

With its' narrow track it can fit into tight spaces. On the other hand, the narrow track makes it quite tippy. The first time I ran it, I had it sitting on sloping ground and swung a load around to the low side. It started to tip over but fortunately the arm responds really quickly to the controls. I dropped the arm in a bit of a panic,  which righted the machine immediately. 

After my heart rate got below 100 I made sure to move the arm around to the high side to drop future loads.

Now what I do after that little surprise, is to do my best to level the ground out BEFORE I move the machine ahead. No troubles since. It's all a matter of learning how to run this little guy.


----------



## BigJim

A friend had one of those, it is amazing how strong they are to be so small. I sure know the scary deal, I had a 440 John Deere dozer and came within an ace of turning it over, it will make your butt bite button holes in the ole drawers for sure. LOL All it takes is once and from then on you are fully aware of the dangers.


----------



## cocobolo

I should have mentioned this before, but one of the more frightening legacies left behind by the electrician-builder of this place is a burned panel cover. 

I don't know about you, but it sure gives me cause to worry about all the rest of the electrical system. Yes, I am going to have Mike, a local qualified electrician, visit here once all the walls are stripped off and have him fix everything that he doesn't like.

One of the screws in the top of the panel has also been burned. :furious:


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> A friend had one of those, it is amazing how strong they are to be so small. I sure know the scary deal, I had a 440 John Deere dozer and came within an ace of turning it over, it will make your butt bite button holes in the ole drawers for sure. LOL All it takes is once and from then on you are fully aware of the dangers.


Jim, I took a look at a few 440's on youtube last night. You must have really been pushing that machine to get it close to tipping...that's a pretty big beast.


----------



## cocobolo

I did a bit more on the back floor removal today. More 3/8" plywood came off, then I took several of the old planks off as well. Some of them might be pressed into service as a benchtop in the Godzilla hut later on. That is, if they haven't been turned into BTU's in the mean time.


----------



## cocobolo

Enough of the 1 1/2" boards came off the floor to get a proper check on the level. It will most likely vary from end to end, but here it is just a tad over 3 1/4" in the first 5' 8" from the wall. The remaining part has a slightly steeper slope.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Enough of the 1 1/2" boards came off the floor to get a proper check on the level. It will most likely vary from end to end, but here it is just a tad over 3 1/4" in the first 5' 8" from the wall. The remaining part has a slightly steeper slope.


 wow, with that much slope it should be an easy fix, I hate when the slope is something like 0 to 1 inch or so, it is harder to rip a 2X to a slight slope than to a larger slope.

Keith, On my dozer, I was pushing up a hill of junk burying so stuff to set and rot, I went over the hill and my left track went into some honey suckles that had bunched up and was a very soft spot, the dozer sunk heavy on that side and like to have gone over.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Keith, On my dozer, I was pushing up a hill of junk burying so stuff to set and rot, I went over the hill and my left track went into some honey suckles that had bunched up and was a very soft spot, the dozer sunk heavy on that side and like to have gone over.


I bet that got your attention in a big hurry!


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> I bet that got your attention in a big hurry!


I didn't know the dozer could turn so fast. LOL I was very very careful after that move.

Keith, I bet that used lumber will make a great bench. Are you making this one like the one you made on the island? That was one nice work bench.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Keith, I bet that used lumber will make a great bench. Are you making this one like the one you made on the island? That was one nice work bench.


I don't think so Jim, this one will just be a very utilitarian bench for fixing stuff on the excavator...that sort of thing.:hammer:


----------



## cocobolo

We had a pretty good deluge here last night, so the wet ground outside helped me decide to do more inside work today. That portion of the back floor which could be removed was done.

Not too much in the way of surprises that we didn't already know about.


----------



## cocobolo

Now here's where the fun starts. It isn't going to be possible to get the back floor completely level, because the house has another slope - not too big thankfully - from side to side. So I'm going to have to make the long side that attaches to the original part of the house match that original floor. It's not that bad.

The system I'm going to use goes something like this.

There is a two part slope to this floor, which you will see in a minute.

So we take a 2 x 4 and clamp it to the side of one of the floor joists and set it level.

Then measure how far the end of the 2 x 4 is above the floor joist where it connects to the original house floor. I don't expect any two of them to be the same. Cut a spacer exactly the width of that measurement and lay it on to the floor joist.

Mark your line all the way down the new 2 x 4 both above the joist as well as above the plywood floor. This is where the two part slope comes into play, adding just enough interest to mess things up.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the first two cut and sitting in place. That only took an hour and a half. Looks easy, doesn't it?

You may have noticed that the first one seems to be much higher than the second one, and you'd be right. That is a result of the plywood floor bearing a fair resemblance to a roller coaster. In other words, it's none too flat Josephine.


----------



## cocobolo

I needed 5 of the cut pieces in place in order to fit the first piece of T & G. 

When they were cut and sitting in place, I tried the long level across to see how things were going. Not terribly well as it turned out.

The roller coaster floor was not allowing the correct cuts to be made, so I either trimmed a minor amount off a board, or added some very thin shims, whichever was appropriate.

After some considerable time fooling around with all this, I deemed that the 2 x 4's were level enough to be nailed into place.


----------



## cocobolo

This is a Chinese Dragon.

Well, not really, I think it's some old plumbers putty - not really sure about that - which was stuck to the edge of the original 5/8" plywood on the original house. It was in the way of the new T & G being pushed into place.

So out it came, using a small prybar, still sticky after all these years. There's more on the other side of the door as well.


----------



## cocobolo

Only a couple of nails in the side of this joist, and no hanger. I will add one from down below later.

I also added some backing lumber between the joists to serve as a nailer for the edge of the T & G.


----------



## cocobolo

Once the 2 x 4's were close to being level, and the putty was out of the way, I put the first sheet of T & G down. One down, eight to go. However, I can only do four for now. The rest will have to wait until the walls come down and get replaced with new ones.

Given that it was half past midnight when I got this far, the next batch can wait until later today.


----------



## williamlayton

The only inane commentary I have is about the tarp you used to cover your supplies---it seems that your skills do not match with your choice of tarp.
Everybody in the SOUTH knows that real tarps are BLUE. :laughing:
I am concerned about your concern for things being level--I have learned to accept things being out of level and just tell the Hen that is the way I planned it. Also a big :laughing:
My tree house (it has no tree) for the grandkids has my family laughing at me. Then I suggest that they help and suddenly it has become just perfect.
And--square is only a theory !
Love your commentary---your doing good and I am learning, :thumbup:
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> The only inane commentary I have is about the tarp you used to cover your supplies---it seems that your skills do not match with your choice of tarp.
> Everybody in the SOUTH knows that real tarps are BLUE. :laughing:
> I am concerned about your concern for things being level--I have learned to accept things being out of level and just tell the Hen that is the way I planned it. Also a big :laughing:
> My tree house (it has no tree) for the grandkids has my family laughing at me. Then I suggest that they help and suddenly it has become just perfect.
> And--square is only a theory !
> Love your commentary---your doing good and I am learning, :thumbup:
> Blessings


Well, of course you are right about the tarp colour. But I always thought the REALLY good tarps were orange or green.

But I do have an excuse for choosing white...two excuses actually. Firstly, it was here already...secondly, it matches the snow that good folks from down south think we have here all year! :laughing:


----------



## cocobolo

Just before the landlady arrived from the coast, I got the first four sheets on the floor and cleaned all the debris out. Quite a difference.


----------



## scoggy

*Wow!*

Keith, had no idea you were so far along with this 'new project' until Shu told me. It is amazing to see the energy and creative thinking you employ in everything you do! Read from start to finish, and in The 'Rockne photo', was that other long back coupe, a Lafayette, the dark blue one, perhaps vintage '36,'37,'38,'39? Have purchased a 'huge whack' of stuff from CE in Ohio, for the rear of the '38 to mount a Ford 9 inch, which I will pick up at Portland Swap ,meet 2nd week in April, tax free, and because of length of my trip, duty free! I will be following your labors when I can now, as I see where you are, on DIY. Good job, keep it going!!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## cocobolo

Syd:
This isn't really the new project. It is the landlady's place that I am renting. I get to do the work in exchange for rent.

It's a pretty nice view from here, especially when the sun is shining, and we have had a few really nice spring days lately.

Just returned from Ruxton after nearly a week down there getting the last of the tidying up done and the last of the stuff I want from the house.

Came over the Coke in the wee hours of the morning on April 1st in what had to be the worst snowstorm I have ever been in in my life. I have never actually been scared of any storm unit that one.

So now it's back to work at the Shuswap...I think today I will be on Godzilla trying to get the ground out the back levelled off more for the storage buildings. Plus I have to find more room for the full van load of stuff I brought back here.


----------



## gma2rjc

Glad you made it back Keith. There is a tv show about a towing company that works on the highway you were on - pulling semi trucks and cars out of accidents. Holy cow, the scenery is beautiful, but the snow storms cause some horrific accidents. On the last episode I watched, they had to shut the highway down for over 24 hours to take care of potential avalanche areas.


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> Glad you made it back Keith. There is a tv show about a towing company that works on the highway you were on - pulling semi trucks and cars out of accidents. Holy cow, the scenery is beautiful, but the snow storms cause some horrific accidents. On the last episode I watched, they had to shut the highway down for over 24 hours to take care of potential avalanche areas.


It's quite common for the highways in B.C. to be closed for avalanche control. Up near Revelstoke the army uses Howitzers to routinely knock down potential avalanches. Usual closure time is just two hours while they blast the snow and then clear it off the highway with huge front end loaders.

There is a big snow shed on the Coke (The Great Bear Snow Shed) I will have to see if I can get a photo of it next time I go over the Coke.

I got passed by at least two dozen semis in that snowstorm. That was the scariest part.


----------



## BigJim

There is still snow up your way Keith?, man it is hot down here and all the trees and flowers are in bloom, I just hope the Bradford Pears trees shed their blooms soon, they are killing our allergies. We have the AC and fans on here right now.

That is some of the most beautiful country up your way, you are truly blessed buddy.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> There is still snow up your way Keith?, man it is hot down here and all the trees and flowers are in bloom, I just hope the Bradford Pears trees shed their blooms soon, they are killing our allergies. We have the AC and fans on here right now.
> 
> That is some of the most beautiful country up your way, you are truly blessed buddy.


Jim: The highway that I'm talking about runs from Hope, B. C. up to Kamloops. It cut a whole lot of time off the old routes. But in places it gets fairly high. The Coquihalla summit is 1,244 meters high and the other summit, which I think is at Summit Lake, is 1,344 meters high.

They have huge warning signs that say "High Mountain Pass", "expect sudden weather changes". I can vouch for the fact that they definitely are NOT kidding.

I am not the least bit surprised that the semis end up off the road if they drive the way they were when they were passing us. Honest to Pete, it was sheer craziness.

We are over 100 kilometres away from the Coke, so we don't have any snow here now. In fact, since we got back a couple of days ago the weather has been pretty darned good.


----------



## cocobolo

What with all the time down at Ruxton, I haven't got anything done here for a week. But today I spent more time on Godzilla. Getting closer to having the area cleared for the building to house the machine.


----------



## cocobolo

Other than digging, Godzilla came in useful today to place some fair sized pebbles on top of the rock wall. Eventually, I hope to be able to put some concrete on top of the gravel.


----------



## cocobolo

I also plan on adding some sort of rock and timbers at the top of the driveway, to prevent careless visitors from going over the bank. Not quite sure what we're going to do yet but at least I got started on the raw materials today.


----------



## BigJim

That looks like so much fun, but after 8 hours on it, it won't be... until next time. That is a really nice machine Keith, you won't be sorry you bought it.


----------



## Mort

How stable is that little guy? Seems like the tracks are pretty narrow compared with the cab. 

You'll love it for grading too. We use our mini all the time at work, we have a lot of machinery for a small company and the mini runs almost every day.


----------



## cocobolo

Mort said:


> How stable is that little guy? Seems like the tracks are pretty narrow compared with the cab.
> 
> You'll love it for grading too. We use our mini all the time at work, we have a lot of machinery for a small company and the mini runs almost every day.


You're right Mort, the tracks are pretty close. There is a version of this machine where the tracks are expandable, unfortunately this isn't it. But for what we need, it's doing OK so far. The instability tends to make you very careful how you move it around. I'm slowly getting the hang of it. 

I hope today that I can get the logs and rocks in place up top. Plus I need to finish the grading for the two storage sheds. There's a couple of fairly big logs to move, but the little machine seems to manage heavy loads quite well.

The thing here is that the ground is extremely rocky...no easy digging at all. Many of the rocks are in the 1,000+ pound range. But if it can't pick them up - which it has done so far - I can just push them easily.

The former owner has a big construction company and he was showing me some of the stuff the little machine has done. He could even move those big concrete highway dividers with Godzilla.


----------



## cocobolo

Got a few logs moved up to the top of the driveway, and here is the machine turning one of the logs so that I can push it into place.

Fairly simple procedure...scoop out a shallow trench...push the log into place and do a little backfilling. There is a decent size rock in between each log.


----------



## cocobolo

At the end of the day I had three logs and several rocks in place. I have since added a fourth log and hopefully nobody will go over the edge.


----------



## cocobolo

About two or three trips ago down to the coast, we picked up a cement mixer that the landlady's husband used to own. Apparently, it got sold to a friend and it had to be re-purchased.

Anyway, it's a big machine, towable on the highway, and because of all the red tape to get it licensed to tow, we had to disassemble the machine - which was quite the chore - load the parts into my van to bring it to the Shuswap, and re-assemble it here. 

Looks like we can make concrete anytime now!


----------



## cocobolo

Speaking of mixing concrete, yesterday we had a load of navajack delivered, 12 yards...and while we were at it we had a load of coarse sand delivered, which I will use to do the final leveling where the two garden sheds and Godzilla's home will go.

It is proving impossible to level the ground down below, due to the huge number of rocks that seem to proliferate here.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, back inside for some more fun stuff. Gotta tell you, I'll be happy when this inside mess is finished.

This old beam, which is two 2 x 10's very inadequately nailed, is under the original front top wall of the house.

I know the picture isn't the best, so you'll have to take my word for it that the ceiling joists are only bearing on this beam anywhere between nothing and maybe 1/4". Not exactly what you would want in your own house. 

The solution here is that I will be adding a new 2 x 12 to provide some proper bearing.


----------



## cocobolo

This is what the old ceiling looked like before we removed the vapour barrier and old insulation.

Even though this was an addition to the original house, all the lumber was used and not in good shape.

The plastic and insulation came out, and what we found inside the ceiling was somewhat disturbing.


----------



## cocobolo

This was inside the house.

No wonder the relatives that used to visit were worried about their kids getting stung by wasps!


----------



## cocobolo

On the walls of that room was some drywall. Below the window, the cheap builder used no less than FIVE strips of drywall to cover that small area. I mean really...less than half a sheet and he has to use 5 pieces. What waste of time.


----------



## cocobolo

Once again we found another gem in the corner of that small room.

There was another chunk of conduit in the wall without any wire inside. No idea what that was for, except to leak air to the outside.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's another winner.

There was a short stub wall attached to the back wall of the house downstairs in the family room.

It would seem that the sole purpose of this wall was to hold several light switches and two duplex outlets. One outlet was mounted about six feet up in the air ???? and the other appropriately about a foot off the floor.

The fine electrician who built this mess didn't even bother to use full length lumber. The 2 x 4 attached to the wall didn't make it to the top. The outer 2 x 4 was short by quite a bit, so he attached a scab and left it at that. Believe it or not the scab didn't quite make it to the floor which explains why the wall would wiggle if you touched it. This stud was attached to a ceiling joist by one nail.

It seems that it was too much trouble to drill holes for the wiring through the top plates, and therefore the wiring was just brought down in front of the plates. This means that it will be necessary to re-wire this mess - there are no less than 10 wires in this short wall - which is going to be yet another glorious waste of time.

If you can figure this mess out, then you're a better person than I.


----------



## BigJim

Wow, you should name the house "wonder", it is a wonder it hasn't burned down. Buddy I would have given up a long time ago. Talk about making a silk purse out of a sows ear.


----------



## williamlayton

I hate to admit it---butttt---it seems simlar to some of my projects that seem to just develop as I build. 
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> I hate to admit it---butttt---it seems simlar to some of my projects that seem to just develop as I build.
> Blessings


Good morning William...I bet there's a lot of projects that start out innocently enough. As we remove things that are obviously not up to snuff, it has a tendency to unearth yet more things which really should have been OK, but which are not.

Nice weather again this morning, so I will be outside working very shortly.

Still trying to get the "garage" all cleaned out. About another half a ton of metal to take to the re-cycler.


----------



## sleepyg

Keith, just a quick question. Did you ever find what controlled the bathroom heater? If I missed it sorry, just was wondering.
Sleepyg


----------



## cocobolo

sleepyg said:


> Keith, just a quick question. Did you ever find what controlled the bathroom heater? If I missed it sorry, just was wondering.
> Sleepyg


You didn't miss anything...there was no control. Wired directly to the sub panel.

The heater won't get used next winter, hopefully we will have a heat pump installed by then.


----------



## williamlayton

Just a curious question. Why a heat pump ?
Just thinking that a stove would be ample.Beaing from the South and not much of a heater kinda climate--I hear a lot about the benefits of the new heaters---wood or pellet.
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> Just a curious question. Why a heat pump ?
> Just thinking that a stove would be ample.Beaing from the South and not much of a heater kinda climate--I hear a lot about the benefits of the new heaters---wood or pellet.
> Blessings


There's a number of reasons to install a heat pump here William. 

In no particular order they include the safety factor, i.e. insurance companies don't like wood stoves for some reason. They are much cleaner, basically install them and forget them. They will both heat and cool. Compared to electric baseboard heaters they are 300 to 400% more efficient. Plus they can be installed with a mini for each zone.

I am thinking that this house can be broken down into four zones, meaning that we can either heat or cool any one or more zones at any given time.

Add to that the fact that I'm not getting any younger and I would just as soon not have to chainsaw and split too much more firewood. To buy firewood here runs $200 - $250 a cord, and realistically it probably costs $50+ to cut a cord of your own wood, not to mention the time it takes.


----------



## bearcat32

:confused1::confused1::confused1:Hi Keith is this your own house? I thought you bought a lot?


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> There's a number of reasons to install a heat pump here William.
> 
> In no particular order they include the safety factor, i.e. insurance companies don't like wood stoves for some reason. They are much cleaner, basically install them and forget them. They will both heat and cool. Compared to electric baseboard heaters they are 300 to 400% more efficient. Plus they can be installed with a mini for each zone.
> 
> I am thinking that this house can be broken down into four zones, meaning that we can either heat or cool any one or more zones at any given time.
> 
> Add to that the fact that I'm not getting any younger and I would just as soon not have to chainsaw and split too much more firewood. To buy firewood here runs $200 - $250 a cord, and realistically it probably costs $50+ to cut a cord of your own wood, not to mention the time it takes.


Cutting, splitting and stacking wood is one tough job, even for a young guy.


----------



## cocobolo

bearcat32 said:


> :confused1::confused1::confused1:Hi Keith is this your own house? I thought you bought a lot?


No, this isn't my house...and yes, I did buy a lot which I still have.

I promised the landlady that I would fix her house. And since I have always been a man of my word, that is what I will do. 

Knowing her entire family dynamic as I do now, it seems the very least that I can do for her. To say the least she has had one very tough life and it strikes me that she is long overdue for a decent break. Her mum (85) has just had a nasty fall at her home in Calgary, and the landlady (Val) is back there to help out for an indeterminate period of time. There are 4 other siblings and not one of them has had the decency to offer to assist their mum in her time of need.


----------



## cocobolo

OK...next project.

Where we back up to the house to unload groceries and the like, there is a nasty slope which makes it annoying as you slip and slide on the loose gravel. Time to build a retaining wall of some sort.

We decided on a pressure treated 4 x 4 wall.

First thing is that we need to dig back in order to make room for the first row of 4 x 4 and the deadmen to keep it in place. I lined up the retaining wall with the end wall of the house.


----------



## cocobolo

If you can manage to get the first 4 x 4 level, the rest of the wall is pretty much going to fall into place. So it's worth it to expend a little effort to get off to a good start.


----------



## cocobolo

Some distance behind the first 4 x 4 you will need to set a couple of deadmen. Hopefully, this will prevent your shiny new retaining wall from heading south in future. You will need two deadmen in order to keep your first 4 x 4 straight.

The ground where the deadman will sit should be tamped pretty firmly in order to minimize any settling. This tamping should continue until you are finished your final grading at the end of the job.


----------



## cocobolo

I'm not certain if it is absolutely necessary to get the deadman level with the first 4 x 4, but I think it's a good idea, so that's what I try to do.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the nails we used to fix the whole lot together with...8" Ardox spirals.


----------



## cocobolo

Second deadman getting installed. A quick check for alignment and all seemed well.


----------



## cocobolo

I nailed the first deadman without the benefit of pre-drilled holes. That was enough of that foolishness! Everything else got drilled with a 1/4" bit...certainly made life a lot easier.


----------



## cocobolo

After much repetition of the above procedure, we arrived at the last row.


----------



## cocobolo

Val wanted to drill the last hole and drive the last spike. Not quite as easy as she thought, but she persevered and got the job done.


----------



## cocobolo

About all that remained after this was to do the final backfilling and tamping.


----------



## cocobolo

I made a dozen or more passes with the van over the fresh ground, and I'm glad to say that the tamping seems to have done its' job. 

Doubtless there will be additional settling over the coming months, but Hopefully, not too much. 

Now it is a treat to get out of our vehicles and not worry about sliding down the slope any more.


----------



## BigJim

Just a quick question, what vitamins do you take? Where in the world do you get that energy, amazing.


----------



## Mort

Looks good, brother. You're right, it'll probably settle a little, but not much. And as long as you have that mini around its a synch to fill it back in.


----------



## Windows on Wash

BigJim said:


> Just a quick question, what vitamins do you take? Where in the world do you get that energy, amazing.


For real.

Is there like a Cocoon pool somewhere around there you aren't telling us about?


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Just a quick question, what vitamins do you take? Where in the world do you get that energy, amazing.


Hi Jim:

Maybe I forgot to tell you, but I have a built in solar panel on the top of my head. Yeah I know some folks call it a bald spot...but if you aim it at the sun you get free battery charging!


----------



## cocobolo

Mort said:


> Looks good, brother. You're right, it'll probably settle a little, but not much. And as long as you have that mini around its a synch to fill it back in.


Since we put the retaining wall in place we have had several heavy rainstorms, plus we have been driving on the ground as well. So far, so good...about another 1/2" to 3/4" of settling. That's about what I expected.

I have some 1" minus gravel to spread on top which should further stabilize it.


----------



## cocobolo

Next project in line was the garden shed, well two garden sheds actually plus the shed for Godzilla. But it seems there was more work that needed to be done in order to start on these buildings.

There still remained a fair mess of logs that needed to get cut into firewood rounds, which is what we tackled next. That, in turn, would free up the ground - which still needed to be leveled off - so I could begin construction.

This is the remaining log pile which needed attention.


----------



## cocobolo

One of the fatter logs which got cut up.


----------



## cocobolo

Godzilla was an absolute Godsend when it came time to handling the logs. 

It's much easier cutting a log in mid air than trying to get through one on the ground without destroying your saw chain. Still and all, there was plenty of embedded dirt and rocks in the logs, not to mention a good selection of nails.


----------



## cocobolo

There was one quite long (30'+) log, very heavy. The machine could only pick up one end at first, so I cut that back until she could grab the whole thing. Some of the rounds were pretty heavy...it was all I could do to lift many of them.


----------



## cocobolo

As the logs got cut up, Val moved them up the driveway to a newly developing pile, to be split into firewood at some distant time in the future.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's Godzilla with a long log in the air.

You'll note the wheelbarrow which is full of bark. Most of the bark was fairly easily removed, particularly from the cedar logs, thanks to the crushing action of Godzilla's jaws. The bark was taken to the far end of the property to the burn pile.


----------



## cocobolo

Val decided she would like me to cut one of the fat Cedars into a couple of lengths suitable for coffee tables. Either that, or they would make handy chairs.

Too heavy for me to lift, so Godzilla loaded them into the wheelbarrow to be moved to their new homes.


----------



## cocobolo

Once the logs were removed, save for a single log which I have left in place deliberately, it was time to try some grading.

It's amazing how much fill it takes to level something up which seems so minor.


----------



## cocobolo

At the end of the day, this is what I have to look forward to splitting. In this picture, a couple of wheelbarrow loads have already been split. Only about 6 tons of logs to go!


----------



## cocobolo

Once the logs were cleared and we could better see what we had to work with as far as space went, we decided that the bank should be cut back another four feet or so.

Sounds easy with Godzilla, but get a load of the size of some of the boulders which are in the ground everywhere here.


----------



## cocobolo

Refreshment time! Val arriving just in the nick of time for afternoon juice and snack break.


----------



## cocobolo

It's hard to comprehend just how much rock is in the ground here. No matter where you turn, it's rock, rock and more rock.

We have started to collect the rocks and move them to a single pile. That's the easy part. Val thinks it would be a wonderful idea if we could build a rock wall. You know...nothing too fancy, just something about 50 feet long!

Good thing there isn't too much else to do here.

Godzilla dug the trench for the wall in about 1 1/2 hours...pretty good considering that I ran into plenty more big rocks.

The plan is to dig the loose dirt out of this trench, fill the trench to about 8" deep with sand, pack that hard and then pour a concrete footing for the wall.

We'll see how far that gets.


----------



## williamlayton

Does this area come with any gravel. I hate to be a know-it-all but my first choice for base is gravel.
The plan is a solid plan and your working is an inspiration.
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> Does this area come with any gravel. I hate to be a know-it-all but my first choice for base is gravel.
> The plan is a solid plan and your working is an inspiration.
> Blessings


William, if you want gravel in these parts, I think you have to buy it. Rocks there are no shortage of at all.

But I agree with you that gravel makes a great base...it is the standard for a permanent wood foundation building, in which case you need a 5 inch thick gravel base.

Odd that you should bring up the gravel question, as the only intelligent thing the former tenant did here was to bring a load of gravel in and spread it over the "Garage" floor. The reason I keep using "Garage" in this fashion, is because the ill conceived extension on the north side of the house has been referred to as such by the landlady, and yet you couldn't get a real vehicle inside it on a bet.

Just yesterday, I started working on this area. The idea is essentially to remove what is there and turn some of that area into a small but usable workshop and storage area. Hopefully, more workshop than storage. 

As you will see when I get around to posting photos, I did use gravel for the base under the front wall. I would say that at least 90% of the gravel will be removed from the "Garage", which will provide me with gravel to be used in other areas...and that rock wall just might be a good area to put the gravel to good use. Quite honestly, I had not thought of that - so thank you for giving me that idea.

Now, down on the coast here at Richmond - which is built on a river delta - sand is the base of choice. The area to be built on is compacted with a jumping Jack until it is as hard as rock. On one job I worked on many years ago, a young fellow was assigned the job of compacting the ground for a series of three storey apartment blocks. The poor guy was on the compactor for days on end. Not exactly a fun job.


----------



## scoggy

*Just to let you know....*

Heh, Big Guy..May 10th is Scotts birthday..how do I know..same as mine..Tauruses...'build' together..stand alone for their principles, are tenacious..(not stubborn)..will help 'others' to the extreme, are 'affable' 'knowlegable' to extremes, and love to 'see' something 'new' from their ..'hands'!
PS Saw a 'beautiful' '36 Chev coupe ...going down the hiway,Black, to where I do not know..but thought of you..and..yours!!
Cheers
Syd:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Syd: good to hear from you. A happy birthday in advance of the 10th! Hopefully I will remember Shu's birthday as well on the right day. I may be on the road then and not have web access...sooo....?


----------



## cocobolo

So many things to do here and so little time it seems.

One thing that must get done soon are the two storage sheds. Val's remaining items, currently in an expensive storage locker down at the coast, need to be moved up here. 

Believe it or else, just three month's storage charges will pay the cost of one of our future storage sheds.

I have more or less managed to get the bank cut back where these sheds will go, and got started on the first structure.

The sheds will be 10' by 10' each. Here I have the first 6 pier blocks sitting in place.


----------



## cocobolo

I used the rotating laser to check on the height of each of the pressure treated posts...makes it easy to get the building level.


----------



## cocobolo

Well, it seems that the laser is impossible to read in rotating mode in bright daylight, especially on a yellow tape, so I stopped the rotation and used the red dot (which IS visible) to get the correct elevations on each of the posts.

Val did the heavy lifting while I do the important reading stuff. :jester:


----------



## cocobolo

The first batch of short posts cut & numbered. Ir's pretty easy to get them mixed up if you don't mark the locations on each one. Just takes a second and keeps things in order.


----------



## cocobolo

Before I put the posts into the pier blocks, I add a double layer of 15 lb. roofing felt to the pier block, and then treat the bottom end of each post.

Then drop the posts in place and treat the top end.


----------



## cocobolo

Next add the three pressure treated 4 x 4's on top of the posts.


----------



## cocobolo

Now I needed some place to do the cutting and so on...so I put a couple of sawhorses in places and added several 2 x 6's for a usable bench. Set up the small miter saw and away we go.


----------



## cocobolo

The floor frame will be 2 x 6's covered with 19/32" OSB T & G.


----------



## cocobolo

Have you ever noticed how uncanny it is that whatever building material you need next is invariably right at the bottom of the pile? I seem to be particularly blessed that way.

So we have separated the various mini lifts into their own piles in order to access what we need when we need it. Hopefully the time and energy invested in that effort will pay off down the road.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the first wall in frame. I'm going to need help getting that set up as it is very heavy. I may use Godzilla to do the actual lifting, but I think it's going to take two of us to stand and fasten it safely. So when Val returns from Calgary we will tackle that part.


----------



## cocobolo

One of the biggest concerns here is that awful "garage".

We know that it has to go and the sooner the better. The place is a walking disaster area. It is going to take some effort to start by getting the place more or less cleared out of all the junk that is in there.


----------



## cocobolo

A closer look at the inside. Val has all those totes filled with firewood which was stacked against the wall of the house.


----------



## cocobolo

There were two old doors which were very precariously hung from the roof...I really don't know how they managed to stay up there under their own weight, never mind hold anything else.


----------



## cocobolo

The floor was stacked with firewood and all manner of other detritus. I guess when the gravel was brought in the firewood was already sitting there, so that's where the gravel floor stopped. The old floor was covered in bits of plywood and drywall and a set of BBQ blocks were used to hold things up in the air.


----------



## cocobolo

Removing the blocks...we will try to make use of them on the lower level of the lot later on. Maybe use as a surround for a fire pit or something like that.


----------



## cocobolo

There were a couple of hefty metal shelving units which had to go. They looked like they might have been used as school lockers at one time.

We took one of them up to the road in the vain hope that someone could use them. Nobody took the bait.


----------



## cocobolo

Once the mess was removed from against the house wall, I raked the gravel level. This will stay until we decide what to do with the floor. Perhaps either concrete or a P.T. wood floor.


----------



## cocobolo

I had to end up disassembling those old metal cabinets and take the metal to the dump...free dumping for the next few weeks!

Most of us are good at giving advice and maybe not quite so good at following it.

Here's a case where I didn't follow my own normally good advice and I didn't wear my safety glasses. I paid the price...at least for a few days. I got a small piece of sharp metal in my eye and couldn't get it out. It eventually worked its' way out a few days later, but it was none too comfortable until it left for greener pastures.


----------



## cocobolo

All that metal weighed a few hundred pounds and here's the last of it going into the van for the trip to the dump.


----------



## cocobolo

More demolition! Val taking a whack at the 2 x 2 support used to hold the door shelves up in the air.


----------



## cocobolo

Once a goodly portion of the garbage was removed, we had everything stacked to one side.

Unfortunately, we decided that there will be a proper concrete retaining wall built on that side, so it all had to be moved over to the other side.


----------



## cocobolo

We accept that this is going to be a major project at this point. So we don't expect things to get done any too quickly.

First it will be necessary to determine just how the old retaining wall is doing its' job. I'm not looking for any miracles here.

At the back end of the garage is where I decided to start. The old plywood bookcase - or whatever it is - was screwed to the closest section of retaining wall. So that had to go. I kept a couple of the shelf pieces for forming later on.


----------



## cocobolo

There were 9 wheelbarrow loads of firewood behind that old wall. Most of it I think is usable, some of it has already rotted so that will be for the bonfire.


----------



## cocobolo

The plan is for a new footing for the concrete wall that will go alongside the existing lumber and plywood wall, which is in front of the old original log retaining wall.

I have the gravel removed where we anticipate the wall will go.


----------



## cocobolo

The old cabinet is removed showing the great job of scabbing done on the front wall. It looks like the front wall was added in order to help the old original log wall, which is now in very sad shape to say the least.


----------



## sleepyg

You need to look after your eyes! I was born blind in my right eye so never had the pleasure of "stereo" vision. I am one who knows what you can lose just in just a fraction of a second, I'm just going to cut, grind or chisel this one thing, won't take a second.

sleepyg


----------



## BigJim

With all that work, what do you do for exercise. :whistling2: I don't know how the snake situation is up there, but if that was down this way you would have gotten some exercise getting away from a snake or two in all that stuff on the ground. :yes: You are just amazing, you make the Energizer bunny look really bad.


----------



## cocobolo

sleepyg said:


> You need to look after your eyes! I was born blind in my right eye so never had the pleasure of "stereo" vision. I am one who knows what you can lose just in just a fraction of a second, I'm just going to cut, grind or chisel this one thing, won't take a second.
> 
> sleepyg


How right you are.

Only this time I knew I would be using the grinder for an hour at least! I went through three cutting wheels taking all the bolts out of both of those steel units.

I was just damn lucky this time and I have no excuse for being so lazy. I won't let myself be so lazy in future.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> With all that work, what do you do for exercise. :whistling2: I don't know how the snake situation is up there, but if that was down this way you would have gotten some exercise getting away from a snake or two in all that stuff on the ground. :yes: You are just amazing, you make the Energizer bunny look really bad.


Hi Jim: I don't know anything about the snake population up this way, but I suppose I should try and find out. All I have heard about so far is grass snakes, which are harmless. I do know that down more towards the U.S./Canada border that there are rattlesnakes in abundance. That area is very desert like.

I got my exercise yesterday Jim, as you will see when I get the next batch of posts together.


----------



## cocobolo

It's hard to imagine how anyone building a house could be so lazy as to do some of the things done here.

I'm only guessing, but it seems that there was an old log wall built whose intention was to keep the fill away from the house. I suppose it was meant to be a retaining wall of sorts. I believe this would have been made about 38 years ago, although I don't know that for sure.

That roof over the garage is only a few years old, probably less than 15 years. So the actual roof structure itself is still in good shape. 

That doesn't negate the fact that it has nowhere near enough slope (less than 1 in 12) to do an effective job here with the potential snow loads. But somehow it has survived.

It seems that the roof has caused the long wall on the north side of the house to start to lean. I have measured a 2" lean to the south on the house wall, and I don't believe that this can be corrected until the garage roof is disconnected from the house.

These photos show the current condition of the original retaining wall (not good) and a log pole which I think must have been added to try and keep the original wall in a vertical position. As you can very clearly see, that log now has a tower of Pisa lean to it, and is pushing against the beam(?) which carries the roof rafters. This pressure has obviously been transferred over to the house and is undoubtedly the main cause of the house wall being 2" out of plumb.

So it appears that we have to start at the ground and work from there.


----------



## cocobolo

I started to dig the footings at the front of the garage, and we have determined that we will build a wall across the front - no more garage door thankyou - just a regular 36" wide man door.

The first form is in place with suspended rebar prior to the pour. Being just an old guy, I have opted to pour the footings and walls in two separate operations.


----------



## cocobolo

Now I'm going to sidetrack here for a moment.

That big Crown mixer that we brought up from the coast is supposed to be a top of the line machine. It is most certainly very sturdily built and has an excellent Baldor industrial motor for power...no problem there. There's nothing cheap about this machine at all. But at a cost of just under $3,000 there shouldn't be.

But when I tried to make my first batch of concrete, the mix stuck to the back of the drum something terrible. It shouldn't do that. 

So I took a critical look at the machine and thought that the angle of the drum was too high plus it seemed to me to be running backwards. How that would happen I really don't know.

Now, there are four different ways that the plate that the drum attaches to can be bolted on, each one being 90º apart. I will admit to not paying attention to this when we disassembled the machine for transport.

However, after trying all four settings, I wasn't able to find any that would give a good angle for the mixer to run at. I did make test batches at the best locations, but the result was always the same - the mix sticking to the back of the drum.

This machine has a pin lock mechanism to hold the drum at the position you select, and I next tried to see how this could be improved. It was simple enough to drill a new hole for the big pin and that is what I did. I guessed at the angle when I did this.

The subsequent test showed a huge improvement in the mix and I got the swirl pattern on the back of the mixer, which was obviously not there before. That's what you are looking for when you mix concrete, it tells you that all the mix is working properly.


----------



## cocobolo

I think the mistake that I made was to do only one test. I should have tried three or four in succession. Live and learn I guess. I used that first batch to fill the short form with at the front, only 1 1/3 cubic feet, and it was fine.


----------



## cocobolo

The following pours were far more substantial and this is where I ran into problems. 

So I had to resort to either raising or lowering each of the mixer wheels in order to try and get decent concrete, in other words not sticking to the back of the drum.


----------



## cocobolo

Looks like I got the photos out of order there...sorry about that.

The long footing pour went moderately well, but I still had mixing problems.

I found out that the previous owner had loaned the machine out to someone who enjoys tinkering with things, and that they had reversed the direction of rotation of the drive motor. I did actually fix this before the long footing pour, but I still had not fully solved the sticking trouble.

The long wall was eventually formed and re-bar was installed.


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday all the stars came into alignment, complete with co-operative weather, and I started the pour at 7:20 am. I had to wait until then for the temperature to get warm enough to do the pour, as it went down to -1º overnight.

Well, the first batch of concrete was fine. A good mix and a clean drum. So I was underway for the big pour. Only two and a bit cubic yards, so I should be done and all cleaned up in time for lunch, right?

Batch number three and the mix started to stick to the drum again. Long story short...this sticking continued throughout the day and I had to stop repeatedly to clean the drum out. Just a massive waste of time and effort, not to mention the amount of materials that were wasted.

At the end of the day the wall got poured, but not until 5:25 in the afternoon was I done. So just over 10 hours of non-stop back-breaking work and one very tired and worn out old guy.

I will try again to fix this drum angle, and to that end I have called the manufacturer for help in this regard. The fellow I needed to talk to was in the warehouse when I called, and he would call me right back. This was last Thursday morning, no return call yet.


----------



## williamlayton

If everything worked just right there would be no need for brains nor reasoning--just doing.
Personally I prefer the "just doing" option as I seem to have very poor reasoning and less brains.
The getting everything just right for the doing is something I look forward to one of these days.
Blessings


----------



## concrete_joe

drum issues? wondering if a light coat of NeverWet would help keep the crete from sticking? do you add about 3/4ths of your water before adding in the crete?


----------



## cocobolo

concrete_joe said:


> drum issues? wondering if a light coat of NeverWet would help keep the crete from sticking? do you add about 3/4ths of your water before adding in the crete?


Joe...I have been hoping for some input from a concrete expert, and judging by your name I hope you're it!!!

I have been mixing concrete for nearly 45 years, and this is the first time I have ever experienced all this sort of trouble.

Here's what I do. I use 5 shovels of navajack to one full shovel of cement. I usually put three such batches in each mix, in other words 15 and 3. I let the dry mix turn for at least three minutes before adding any water. The sand/gravel is a fresh load and I have been keeping it under some large lumber wrap, so it is fairly dry.

I find with this Crown mixer that I have to let the wet mix run for at least 5 minutes - or more - before I can dump the load.

So as you can tell, I don't add any water to the sand/gravel before adding the cement.

While I hate to lay any blame on the machine, I can say that I don't think the mixing paddles are very well designed. They sit extremely close to the drum and there is only one small round hole in the middle of each paddle. The mix quickly builds up in front of the mixing paddles regardless of what I try.

I have tried fairly dry mixes...wet mixes and everything in between and nothing seems to work.

Starting with a clean drum, the first mix will be not too bad and then it gets progressively worse. About every third mix I have to stop and clean the drum out. 

If you have any suggestions as to what I can do to improve the situation, I'm all ears.

I just bought one of those cheapie small mixers and assembled it yesterday. I had a similar one which I got back in the 1970's and it gave me yeoman service until some kind soul stole it. 

I have always been of the impression that the short fat drums mix better than the long skinny drums. I guess I will find out how the little mixer works in a few days when I do the next concrete batch. I'll do a David and Goliath comparison.

And many thanks for posting...I look forward to your good advice.


----------



## cocobolo

Additional note to Joe...

The above method is how I was taught to mix concrete some 45 years ago.

Here's what Crown says to do, more or less opposite of what I have been doing.

1. Add half the water.

2. Add small amount of aggregate.

3. Add ALL the cement.

4. Add the rest of the water.

5. Add aggregate until desired workability is reached.

6. Mix until a khaki green colour is obtained.

This machine throws water out the front when you only have water and a small amount of aggregate in it...as in when you are trying to clean the drum. As long as you stand well off to the side you don't get showered. Well, at least most of the time you don't.


----------



## shumakerscott

With my mixes I go for all the water, 1/3 agg, then all the cement. Let mix well. Then slowly add the last 2/3'ds agg for a final 3/1 ratio. Fine tune at the end with sand or water. I think your right about the blades of your machine. No real mixing holes or slots. I have a short and fat type. Works great. Built my whole house with it. Back bearing going out but still kicking and screaming until it dies. Must be 40 years old. dorf dude


----------



## cocobolo

Thanks Shu...I guess I have been doing it wrong all these years. Yet with my old mixer (bought in the mid '70's) I always did the dry mix first and then added the water. :jester:

Roughly how long does it take for you to do a single batch?


----------



## williamlayton

I avoid all work with concrete and any discussion of it---I was made a believer in my teens and have treated it like posionous snakes since.
Blessings


----------



## concrete_joe

i am no crete expert, but have done many projects with it, hand mixing, small mixer, big mixer, truck mixer. sounds to me like the agg and cement is not wicking water as expected and it sinks to the bottom/back where it compresses some and then just sticks there.

unless you have dry color going in i dont think you need to dry mix. add 1/2 to 3/4 of the water per your W/C ratio, add some aggregate, tumble (perhaps use cardboard over the front to keep the splashing to min), stop machine, add some more aggregate so you have about 3/4 of the rock in there, tumble for ~1-2min, add in your portland in a few steps, add rest of the agg and water. tumble for ~5min adding small amounts of water to adjust slump (flow-ability). i am not sure if W/C is very important to your project but for ease of use the more water the easy it will be, but, proper W/C yields best strength.


----------



## shumakerscott

cocobolo said:


> Thanks Shu...I guess I have been doing it wrong all these years. Yet with my old mixer (bought in the mid '70's) I always did the dry mix first and then added the water. :jester:
> 
> Roughly how long does it take for you to do a single batch?



About 4 or 5 minutes.


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> I avoid all work with concrete and any discussion of it---I was made a believer in my teens and have treated it like posionous snakes since.
> Blessings


Probably a good idea William.

The first concrete job I can remember doing was a driveway at my first house in Victoria in about 1967. It was kind of a big project to start off with, but somehow we managed.


----------



## cocobolo

concrete_joe said:


> i am no crete expert, but have done many projects with it, hand mixing, small mixer, big mixer, truck mixer. sounds to me like the agg and cement is not wicking water as expected and it sinks to the bottom/back where it compresses some and then just sticks there.
> 
> unless you have dry color going in i dont think you need to dry mix. add 1/2 to 3/4 of the water per your W/C ratio, add some aggregate, tumble (perhaps use cardboard over the front to keep the splashing to min), stop machine, add some more aggregate so you have about 3/4 of the rock in there, tumble for ~1-2min, add in your portland in a few steps, add rest of the agg and water. tumble for ~5min adding small amounts of water to adjust slump (flow-ability). i am not sure if W/C is very important to your project but for ease of use the more water the easy it will be, but, proper W/C yields best strength.


Joe, once again many thanks for answering.

I too have done countless projects over the years, being in the construction business basically all my life.

I note with interest your point about having a dry mix going in...and that is very likely a good part of the trouble. While the navvy is reasonably dry, as I get into the pile it is unquestionably damper. I see where that could be the trouble as you describe it.

This machine doesn't have an on/off switch unfortunately. Just a very short power cord - less than 2 feet long - and I have to go around to the back of the machine to unplug it constantly. That adds to the inconvenience and wastes time. Perhaps I should rig the machine with a switch, that would certainly help.

Regarding the water content, I am aware that too much water weakens the concrete, so I always try for a mix which just rolls off the mixing paddles in a nice curl. This machine doesn't want to do that. It starts to roll off, then a small amount will break off and drop to the bottom of the drum. The rest sticks on the high side of the paddles.

I'm starting to think that the extra water up front will be the magic answer. I'll certainly let you know what happens...and with both machines.

Thank you again for your answer.

.


----------



## cocobolo

shumakerscott said:


> About 4 or 5 minutes.


4 or 5 minutes I could handle, this one takes 10 minutes or more for every batch.


----------



## cocobolo

I haven't done any more concrete yet, so back to the garden sheds for a minute.

I did both sets of pier blocks, made the first wall on the first shed, then covered that up and proceeded on the 2nd shed. 

This is the first wall up on the 2nd shed...it was more convenient to do it that way, as my valued helper had returned by then.


----------



## cocobolo

Nailing the siding on the 2nd wall.


----------



## cocobolo

Four walls up...no siding on the last wall...nailing top plate in place.


----------



## cocobolo

Adding the ridge board.


----------



## cocobolo

Rafters up and fascia on.


----------



## cocobolo

I made a couple of leaners and built a scaffold plank to make it easier to get the roof sheathing and shingles on.


----------



## cocobolo

Nailing the first roof sheathing on, which is 5/8" OSB T & G, so it's quite heavy. I fixed a couple of stops to the fascia in order to make it easy to keep the sheathing in place prior to nailing.


----------



## cocobolo

Trimming the sheathing at the roof peak.


----------



## cocobolo

Just one more sheet to go on the first shed.


----------



## cocobolo

15 lb. roofing felt applied.


----------



## cocobolo

Roof shingles 3/4 done. These are the fiberglass reinforced variety.


----------



## cocobolo

First shed roofed.


----------



## cocobolo

Rinse and repeat for second shed.


----------



## cocobolo

Second shed roofed.


----------



## cocobolo

Sheathing done.

Now I just have to add the doors, ceiling joists, insulation, vapour barrier...and I think we will put a light in each one in case we ever need it.

So I should really run an underground power line from the house. More work for Godzilla!


----------



## oh'mike

That mini excavator sure has proven its worth----amazing little machine---


----------



## cocobolo

oh'mike said:


> That mini excavator sure has proven its worth----amazing little machine---


Isn't that the truth Mike.

I have 45 hours on it so far and a lot more to go. It's amazing what ideas you come up with when something like this is available all the time.

We're presently doing some work on the garage area, and the old log retaining wall has to go. That will be my most challenging job with the machine. I think there is just enough room to fit the machine between a stone retaining wall and the side of the existing garage roof. Once the roof is removed, then I will try to remove most, if not all, of the old retaining wall.

Once that is done, I can replace that old wall - which has collapsed a long time ago - with regular fill. At least that is the plan as it sits now. That's the main reason for the new concrete wall on the north side of the garage. It should be far safer when I'm finished.


----------



## cocobolo

Not very good weather here today...so we decided to remove the old garage door.

Like most other things here, this was a well abused piece of junk before it ever got installed. I suppose it was a cheap way to fill up an 8 foot wide hole.


----------



## cocobolo

Most of the old bolts were quite well rusted, so the occasional use of a sledge hammer was necessary. Yes, I'm afraid I succumbed to the old adage that when all else fails, use a bigger hammer.


----------



## cocobolo

Last thing to do was to take the old door to the dump. Last two free metal dumping days this weekend, so we loaded an old fridge in at the same time and killed two birds with one stone.


----------



## BigJim

Looking good Keith, you never cease to amaze me.

I had a thought, maybe not a good one but still a thought, the two sheds you built, you could build a shed roof between the two sheds under the cornice and have more storage. Like I said, just a thought. LOL


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Looking good Keith, you never cease to amaze me.
> 
> I had a thought, maybe not a good one but still a thought, the two sheds you built, you could build a shed roof between the two sheds under the cornice and have more storage. Like I said, just a thought. LOL


Hi Jim:

Don't think that we didn't have the same idea. But they have some stupid rule here that you can't build any building over 107 square feet here without a permit. Last time I talked to a chum just up the road (about two weeks ago) it took the local district three MONTHS to approve a simple permit. Guess what they can do with that idea.

We were considering using the space between the sheds for wood storage...but now I will make a separate firewood storage outside somewhere.

The sheds are 100 square feet each, but the shed for the excavator will be in the order of 320 square feet. It will be open at one end, so if they whine about it I will say it is only temporary.


----------



## cocobolo

One week ago, I noticed that there appeared to be watermarks on my nice new stairs! At first, I thought that perhaps I had somehow managed to spill a few drops of coffee, but the drip line was dead straight. So that wasn't it. 

Then I spotted more marks on the carpet, also in a straight line.


----------



## cocobolo

Since gravity has a habit of making things fall, especially water, I looked up to see water droplets on a row of the cedar on the ceiling.

I am told that the roof was re-done only about 6 or 7 years ago, so that shouldn't really be the problem.


----------



## cocobolo

We removed some of the ceiling wood, which only served to prove that there had apparently been water ingress going on for some time...just what we needed right about then.

To add to our pleasure, there was further evidence of a mud wasp doing his thing inside the ceiling. That will really help to make your day!


----------



## cocobolo

In an attempt to enlighten ourselves as to this source of this water, a trip to the roof was necessary. I removed several of the shingles at the peak, only to discover that the cheap roofers had not bothered to finish the job of putting the roofing felt right up and over the peak.

I understand that this was a cash under the table job...no receipt available.

Not only did they not put the felt over the peak...where they did use something, it was only that useless skinny tarpaper. I really do hope that I can find out who did this.

The shingles themselves were in fact nailed on quite properly. What it appears has happened is this.

In a driving rain - which we had experienced about four or five days earlier - the rain got driven under a notch in any of the shingles, and went up and over the shingle beneath. I know it sounds unlikely, but when you consider that the water only has to be driven a little over one inch, you can see how it is entirely possible. The roofing felt should prevent this water from penetrating the roof.

Further to this, I discovered quite by accident that the roof has two different pitches. The west side is about 4.4 in 12, and the east side is about 3.2 in 12. Apparently this minor discrepancy is the result of consumption of large quantities of wine during the construction period.

About a month ago I had noticed that there was a small water leak dripping through a light fixture on the east side of the roof. I didn't think much of it at the time, but I did go up on the roof to see if there were any obvious leaks, and there were not.


----------



## cocobolo

There is a snow guard in front of the chimney, and the lag screws do not appear to have any sealant applied. However, in the belief that you shouldn't fix something if it isn't broken, I didn't add any sealant. There doesn't appear to be any leaking here...although the fixture is actually mounted on the roof overhang, and not over any living area.

When the roof gets replaced later on, we will need to seal the screws properly.


----------



## cocobolo

Learning about this lack of roofing felt prompted us to remove a substantial amount of the ceiling wood.

Not only has there been water ingress, albeit in small amounts, but there is plenty of evidence of bugs everywhere. 

Later this year we will remove all the old insulation and vapour barrier and replace it. We further expect to re-design and rebuild both ends of the roof.


----------



## cocobolo

Since the main thrust right now is completing the garage area, we are progressing slowly with the removal of the gravel and excess dirt in the floor area.

About 75 wheel barrow loads have been taken out so far...about another 20 to go. With a little bit of luck that might get finished later on today.

Then add a short form for the footing at the far end and we will be ready to pour.


----------



## williamlayton

I don't trust anyone who can build square----they are just not human.
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> I don't trust anyone who can build square----they are just not human.
> Blessings


Good morning William. 

In that case, if I do accidentally manage to get something square, I shall keep it to myself. :jester:


----------



## fixrite

Keith, once again you are putting us younger folks to shame. With all the work needed to fix this place I am beginning to wonder if building new would not of been easier. Great job on the sheds.


----------



## concrete_joe

post #581, water will get into every item that has penetrated the roof unless sealed properly. small amounts of water likely gets in and absorbed before you see any dripping, etc. but, if its being replaced in next ~5yrs then probably as you say, just leave it.


----------



## concrete_joe

can you do a recap here, too many posts for me to read them all.

you were gonna build something new and then found something to fix?


----------



## cocobolo

fixrite said:


> Keith, once again you are putting us younger folks to shame. With all the work needed to fix this place I am beginning to wonder if building new would not of been easier. Great job on the sheds.


That's quite possible fix....but if we took it down, we could not rebuild at the same spot due to the incorrect setbacks on the house. As it is, the house is grandfathered, so fixing it was about the only option.


----------



## cocobolo

concrete_joe said:


> post #581, water will get into every item that has penetrated the roof unless sealed properly. small amounts of water likely gets in and absorbed before you see any dripping, etc. but, if its being replaced in next ~5yrs then probably as you say, just leave it.


The plan is to get the roof rebuilt this year if at all possible. Obviously there are a number of major items beneath the roof which need attention first.

About an hour ago I got off the excavator after doing some exploratory digging at the bad end of the house. That is going to need some concrete put in place very quickly...possibly as early as tomorrow. Hopefully I will get up at first light and start on some sort of form work.

You aren't going to believe what you see when I post the pictures of what is there, or perhaps I should say what ISN'T there.


----------



## cocobolo

concrete_joe said:


> can you do a recap here, too many posts for me to read them all.
> 
> you were gonna build something new and then found something to fix?


Just for you Joe.

I bought a lot here with the intention of building a new home. There is a remote possibility that this will still happen.

I needed a place to stay while I was clearing my lot and so forth, and by sheer chance the realtor who happened to be a friend of mine and who sold me the lot knew of this house which was for rent, but it needed plenty of things fixed. It was actually listed for sale, but no takers for fairly obvious reasons.

So a deal was struck with the landlady to work on this place to make it saleable.

The work has proceeded fairly steadily since then. I doubt it will be finished in much less than two years. But then, is a house like this ever really finished?


----------



## concrete_joe

cocobolo said:


> You aren't going to believe what you see when I post the pictures of what is there, or perhaps I should say what ISN'T there.


no footing and possibly some void area because the dirt was never packed and over the years has pulled away??

and wow, is your sweat equity a swap for staying in this place for free?


----------



## cocobolo

concrete_joe said:


> no footing and possibly some void area because the dirt was never packed and over the years has pulled away??


I wish it was that good...

You'll have to wait and see.


----------



## shadytrake

Caught up on your excellent work! You may want to buy it after you finish! LOL. At least you will know what is there was done correctly now. 

At any rate, you will be able to have a nice place to stay while you are building your place.


----------



## cocobolo

It ended up taking another 40 wheel barrow loads to get the garage floor ready to pour.

Here's one of the early loads of concrete getting dumped.


----------



## cocobolo

Where the original concrete wall ended, the only thing supporting the house extension wall was a few pieces of wood, sitting directly on the dirt. Mostly some short 2 x 6's and some of that old T & G wood.

It basically fell out when I dug underneath the wall in order to provide some sort of footing.

A few hours later the pour was finished without further incident.


----------



## cocobolo

After the last experience with the big Crown mixer, I resorted to the smaller yellow machine.

It performed flawlessly all day, and I managed to pour about three yards of concrete - about 50% more than the disastrous wall pour - in two hours less time. So I was pretty pleased with that.

And as much as I hate to disagree with you fellows who add the water first...I used my old method of the dry mix first, then add water. Not a single bit of trouble all day. Perfect concrete every time.


----------



## cocobolo

In post 590 I made mention of the bad end of the house.

I used the machine to get most of the heavy digging done for the first section. I think it's a wise idea to do a short section at a time. I have a horrible feeling that if I excavated the whole shebang we could end up with that sinking feeling...if you know what I mean.

As we progress, you will see the unbelievably bad job that was done when this pathetic addition was added to the house. Honest to Pete, I'm still shaking my head and I haven't even got half way yet.


----------



## cocobolo

Anybody need tires?

Here's part of what I removed from the end of the house. Tires actually do make a decent retaining wall, and I have to say that this was the best and sturdiest part of the wall. The rest is going to blow your mind.


----------



## cocobolo

As you may well imagine, I was being pretty darned cautious while I was unearthing the end of the house.

The extreme end is supported by several unmortared blocks. I figured if I was very careful, and did the last of the digging by hand, that I could get some concrete in front of that wall.

In all honesty, this support is questionable at best. So the sooner there is some reinforced concrete in place the happier I will be.

Once the first section is done, I won't have to worry quite as much...I don't think.


----------



## cocobolo

What lurks behind there is what has me concerned.

It seems that the footings were just a few old logs stacked up and backfilled. Fortunately, the backfill appears to be almost all gravel, which would be the least damaging type of fill.

There were also several other concrete blocks on top of the gravel. Of course, just as soon as the gravel was dislodged the blocks immediately fell down.


----------



## cocobolo

I had thought all along that there were two tree stumps which had to be removed.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that there was another cedar behind the wall. The plywood is actually screwed to the stump!

I did note that the plywood is dated 2006, so we definitely know that this part of the structure was built in 2006 or later.


----------



## cocobolo

Godzilla made short work of the rotted stump, although I did a fair bit of hand work when things got too tight to fit the bucket in between the two tree stumps.


----------



## cocobolo

The top log under this mess is a small cedar, which appears to be still in reasonably good condition.

However, the remains of the logs underneath are anything but. As I dig out the gravel, chunks of rotted log come out as well.

I might have to get a wall in place on the first section of concrete before I proceed too much further. I may remove one of the sheets of plywood for a better look at what lies behind. It is impossible to see what's going on without doing that. Maybe chainsaw out a small piece of plywood so I can peek inside?


----------



## Windows on Wash

Coco...I will rent you my house for nothing...and feed you for that matter, if you want to come and do all the work you are doing for this lady.


----------



## cocobolo

Windows on Wash said:


> Coco...I will rent you my house for nothing...and feed you for that matter, if you want to come and do all the work you are doing for this lady.


You've got to do way better than that to tempt me away from this magnificent project! :hammer:


----------



## cocobolo

First thing this morning I cut a series of holes in the plywood sheathing on the back end wall.

What I discovered was a whole stack of logs whose apparent purpose was to keep the ground (backfill, whatever...) in place.


----------



## cocobolo

At that point it became fairly obvious that the plywood was serving no useful purpose, so I removed the first sheet completely.


----------



## cocobolo

The cedar stump inside the plywood was serving yeoman duty as some sort of support post. Our prime contractor had placed - with great precision mind you - a series of blocks of wood from which to suspend the wall. Please note that this "wall" was in no way fixed in place at the lower end.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's a shot of the next section. I hesitate to call these things walls, but...


----------



## cocobolo

A good look at how the electrician who did this keeps his walls in place.


----------



## cocobolo

All plywood removed. Now we can see how some of the ground was kept in place. I'm still not sure what I'm going to find behind all the vertical 2 by lumber.

There could be logs, or there could be nothing.


----------



## cocobolo

In the midst of these early morning shenanigans, a small flight of Canada geese flew over us.


----------



## cocobolo

A couple of pics of the inside "footings"...niiiiice!


----------



## cocobolo

Next was to get a form in for the first part of the wall concrete.

I managed to get the pour done just before dark...got run off the job by a thunderstorm.

Off to Vancouver tomorrow morning, so I get a reprieve from work for a day.


----------



## Windows on Wash

cocobolo said:


> You've got to do way better than that to tempt me away from this magnificent project! :hammer:


My wife is Greek and Italian and can cook?

House is kept clean, several golf courses, you can borrow my Harley....

Tell me if I am getting close.. :whistling2:


----------



## BigJim

I don't believe I have ever seen anyone with more determination than you Keith, I would have walked way long ago. Just a question, what purpose is the gravel serving behind the logs?


----------



## 123pugsy

BigJim said:


> .............Just a question, what purpose is the gravel serving behind the logs?


My thoughts:
I see the gravel holding up chunks of 4x4's which are packed with chunks of 2x4 acting as posts. If the gravel drops away, there go the posts.
Now, how do you install footings under there or do you just try to keep the gravel bed from sliding out?

I especially like the little leveling wedge. I hope they tacked it in place so the house doesn't drop.

Wow, what a mess!


----------



## shadytrake

no:no:no:no:no:no:no:no:no:no:no:no:no

What that guy did was criminal.


----------



## BigJim

123pugsy said:


> My thoughts:
> I see the gravel holding up chunks of 4x4's which are packed with chunks of 2x4 acting as posts. If the gravel drops away, there go the posts.
> Now, how do you install footings under there or do you just try to keep the gravel bed from sliding out?
> 
> I especially like the little leveling wedge. I hope they tacked it in place so the house doesn't drop.
> 
> Wow, what a mess!


That was my thinking also Pugsy, by the way, like your new avatar, nice fish also.


----------



## cocobolo

Windows on Wash said:


> My wife is Greek and Italian and can cook?
> 
> House is kept clean, several golf courses, you can borrow my Harley....
> 
> Tell me if I am getting close.. :whistling2:


Greek and Italian and she can cook...definitely heading in the right direction.

The golf courses don't interest me in the least...we have one of those awful land-wasters just a few hundred yards from here.

Let me run this idea by you. Put your wife on the Harley, and send her out this way. Make sure she has an empty credit card...we wouldn't want to get stuck without spending money! :laughing::thumbup::whistling2:


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Just a question, what purpose is the gravel serving behind the logs?


Hi Jim: As best as I can determine, the gravel is supposed to be the foundation. The surrounding log walls - with plywood of course - are to keep the gravel in place. Then I suppose the outside framed walls were put in place to hide the whole embarrassing mess.

It seems to me that it would have been better, possibly even easier, and maybe not even more expensive to do a proper concrete footing/foundation in the first place.

I got back from Vancouver late last night so no work yesterday...I did start to remove some of the gravel under that first corner of the house this morning, just to see what is there. All I found so far is the main drain and a clean out. That is new and went in when the new septic system was put in. My pal Joe Woroby did the plumbing, so I know it's OK. 

Tomorrow I hope to hit some solid ground under that gravel. But first it looks like I will be moving a couple of yards of gravel out of the way. 

Since I plan on using some of the gravel in the trench where the rock wall is going, I might as well move it there right away. The pile outside the new wall is getting pretty big.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the gravel pile as it sits now, definitely over a yard there. I should get most of that moved tomorrow so I can dump some more out of the hole!


----------



## cocobolo

You would think that with a project of this magnitude, that the original builder could at least use one piece studs in the wall, right?

Nope. Twice in the first 8 feet there were two piece studs to be found.


----------



## cocobolo

And to top that off, most studs had just a single nail keeping them in place. Apparently nails were not on sale that week...:furious:


----------



## cocobolo

When I smacked the stud that you see hanging out there, it dragged the 3 x 3 several inches out of place. There went one of the supports I suppose.


----------



## cocobolo

One of the finer logs with some thinwall steel tubing through it. This appears to have been the preferred method of fastening the logs in place.


----------



## cocobolo

It appeared that the light coloured log was in good shape and well fixed in place. However, I gave it a light tug and...


----------



## cocobolo

A look inside the hole I'm trying to dig out.

To the right there is some insulation covering a tire. Not quite sure why that is, maybe they didn't want the tire to get cold.


----------



## cocobolo

I brought back a builder's level that I found on Craigslist in Vancouver.

I thought it was a pretty good deal until I set it up and tried to use it this afternoon. The top 80% on the sighting was all dark...so not such a good deal after all maybe.

However, having some experience with telescopes, I took the thing apart, found the problem and I believe I have fixed it. I will find out tomorrow morning when I try to shoot the end elevations on the house. That should answer a myriad of questions.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> My thoughts:
> I see the gravel holding up chunks of 4x4's which are packed with chunks of 2x4 acting as posts. If the gravel drops away, there go the posts.
> Now, how do you install footings under there or do you just try to keep the gravel bed from sliding out?
> 
> I especially like the little leveling wedge. I hope they tacked it in place so the house doesn't drop.
> 
> Wow, what a mess!


From the digging done so far, it looks like much (if not all) of the gravel has settled somewhat. There are several piles of various 2x material scattered throughout the underside of the floor. Some it appears might even touch the floor, and some not.

So in order to approach this logically, what I need to do is to get down to the ground at the extreme south end - which is where I am digging now - and see if there is any way that I can excavate for a footing. There is an awful lot of gravel surrounding that area behind a heavy rock wall that a local contractor (Rick...a good guy) put in place when the septic system was done. He did a good job on the wall.

Had there been a concrete footing and wall previously, none of that rock work would have been necessary. And it was expensive to put in place. Just one more thing that had to be paid for all because of this pathetic addition on the back of the house.

I'm told that the purpose of this fine addition was as a "smoke room". I think it was that funny kind of smoke.

I do have a footing and low wall in place which will hold up the end section. I just need to take shots so that I can frame a wall that will level that part up.

What a mess is right!


----------



## concrete_joe

is there a railroad nearby? that gravel looks like granite used as bedding for rail tracks. its provides a sturdy base. railroads have locomotives that can weigh ~250tons, and all that resting on a bed of granite gravel !!

but, railroad track methods are in no building code books that i know of.


----------



## cocobolo

concrete_joe said:


> is there a railroad nearby? that gravel looks like granite used as bedding for rail tracks. its provides a sturdy base. railroads have locomotives that can weigh ~250tons, and all that resting on a bed of granite gravel !!
> 
> but, railroad track methods are in no building code books that i know of.


Joe, the main trans Canada rail line runs just on the other side of the lake from here. So they have used millions of tons of crushed granite for their railroad beds.

There's no doubt this is granite, because this entire area has massive amounts of granite rocks everywhere you look. There are dozens of rock quarries locally.

I doubt the builder was aware of the excellent qualities of granite...more likely he was just interested in "quick and cheap". Although in the end, his cheap methods have ended up causing the overall cost to be higher than if he had done concrete in the first place. 

I checked with the landlady on the cost of this big granite rock wall on the south side of the house, and she said that it ran into the thousands of dollars. The big rocks had to be brought in by truck, as did the gravel. Machine time to do the install was $120 an hour. 

Originally, there was one of those choice log walls behind the rock wall, but I don't know if it was removed before the rocks and gravel were added...probably not.

I will see if I can take a few photos later today so you can see how big and heavy some of these rocks are.


----------



## cocobolo

I'm pleased to say that the fix on the level worked well.

This morning's shots were nice and clear. Somewhat surprisingly, there was less than one inch variation in the level of the top plates from one end to the other.

Now, this doesn't necessarily mean that the floor itself is level from side to side, but it is from end to end. Once I have something of value beneath the wall, then I can determine whether or not the end section will need to be raised further. There is relatively little weight there, so lifting it won't be any problem.


----------



## cocobolo

The first leveling stud in place...temporarily.

I will need to build a whole new wall once the concrete work is done.


----------



## cocobolo

A fair amount of gravel has now been removed from the end section.

The drain has been uncovered and now you can see evidence of logs both under and over the plywood and boards behind the drain. I hesitate to speak too soon, but the ends of the logs appear to be solid still.


----------



## cocobolo

Part of the rock wall that Rick built. I'm sure that many of these rocks weigh over a ton.


----------



## cocobolo

I think that I need to extend the footing and concrete wall closer to the cedar that is holding part of the wall in the air. Then I can support the wall.

There are roots from the dead stump, plus roots from the cedar in the way of this. So I chainsawed small sections of the roots out of the way and then used the machine to pull the roots out. It so happened that the dead tree had wound its' roots around a pretty big rock, and the rock and root in question came out securely locked together.


----------



## cocobolo

With the roots and rock gone, I could clean out room to pour a short extension on to the existing footing.

Tomorrow I hope to be able to form the next wall section and get that poured. I expect to leave that in place for a few days before I transfer the load on the cedar stump to the new wall. Although, I doubt there is much weight bearing right there. 

Better to be safe that sorry.


----------



## williamlayton

I have come to a final consideration of this mess and you.
You are a man of strong will and desire--perhaps some would say hardheaded--and cannot "just walk away from a disaster" without give it a shot at correcting the mess.
"Your in for a dime, your in for a dollar". 
You will prevail.
Losing is not in you.
Damned, hardheaded Canadian.
I am an admirer !
Blessings


----------



## BigJim

williamlayton said:


> I have come to a final consideration of this mess and you.
> You are a man of strong will and desire--perhaps some would say hardheaded--and cannot "just walk away from a disaster" without give it a shot at correcting the mess.
> "Your in for a dime, your in for a dollar".
> You will prevail.
> Losing is not in you.
> Damned, hardheaded Canadian.
> I am an admirer !
> Blessings


My thoughts as well, I am continually amazed. :yes:


----------



## cocobolo

That footing now has a 3' high wall poured. 

Back into the dungeon to get more of that gravel out of the way now. I can't believe how much is still in the hole.


----------



## cocobolo

While I was down in the dungeon removing gravel this afternoon, I tried to take some pictures of the space under the house. Very poor lighting conditions, as you might imagine, and I have had to mess with the photos. So the quality isn't the best, sorry about that.

Get ready for more lessons in building...where else could you learn this stuff for such a reasonable price? :thumbsup:

The floor joists, which I think are 2 x 6's, are resting on two awesome beams. Each of these beams is a single 2 x 4, yep that's all. The one on the right isn't even sitting on anything at the end. And here I bet you were thinking all along that you should have a post or something there. How silly of you! :jester:

I can't see the end of the one on the left, as it is behind a pile of first class rotting wood. Just what I was hoping for! :huh:


----------



## cocobolo

I wasn't quite certain what this pile of wood was for, apparently absolutely nothing. It is sitting there loose. Tomorrow I will get rid of it.


----------



## cocobolo

The concrete I poured earlier today has hardened quite nicely so far. I should be able to remove the forms tomorrow.


----------



## cocobolo

While I was digging out more of the gravel this afternoon, I said to myself "Self, I wonder if the rocks were put in one row at a time and then gravel was added to stabilize the rocks". No sooner had I said that when a big rock came down into the abyss accompanied by a suitably impressive pile of gravel.

Perhaps I shouldn't have said anything?

I don't know what that rock might weigh, but a helluva lot more than I can lift, that's for sure. So, it looks like I will need to remove the sheet of plywood on the end there so I can get the bucket in to grab the rock. That's going to be fun.


----------



## cocobolo

One final thing before I got out of the hole...I kept scraping away at the rocks surrounding the first post. I finally hit what appears to be a 4 x 4 saddle, which looks like it is set in concrete.

I only managed to get one side open to have a peek, but I think it is a poured 8 x 8 concrete post. No other info on this until tomorrow, but now I know what I can do to build this wall properly.

It will be more gravel removal of course...then I think I should be able to form a footing to surround the 8 x 8 concrete posts (assuming that there is one at the other end) and follow that with a new concrete wall, similar to the end I am working on now.


----------



## shadytrake

Well finally a bit of lucky news there....maybe. Crossing my fingers for you!


----------



## cocobolo

shadytrake said:


> Well finally a bit of lucky news there....maybe. Crossing my fingers for you!


Let's hope so.

I understand that on one or two occasions there was a carpenter's helper who came and did the odd piece of work. Perhaps this was one of those occasions.

Beautiful morning here at 6:50 am, so I better get to work.


----------



## cocobolo

The 3/4" plywood was removed from the south wall, which allowed three things. First it put some light under the house. Second, it allowed room (just) for the excavator to reach inside, and third, it made it far easier to dig out the gravel.


----------



## cocobolo

It was necessary to reduce the height of the pile, so these two pebbles needed to come off the wall as well.


----------



## cocobolo

With the rock out of the way, I was finally able to dig down to the concrete. However, rather than poured footings, there were pier blocks instead. One has a saddle, the other doesn't.

Each of the posts is made up of two pieces of rough 2 x 6. Apparently, they were up to the job, as nothing appears to have moved there.


----------



## cocobolo

This is the problem rock. Just a trace under 3' long. Godzilla could just lift the rock clear of the gravel, but could not raise it any higher.

Lifting capacity is 760 pounds at 6' extension, and I had the machine as close as possible to the rock wall. So it's a pretty heavy chunk of granite.


----------



## concrete_joe

a few pilot holes in a line, then pound in some wedges, it should split at some point. but odd to say, you'll be left with two smaller ~300lb rocks.


----------



## cocobolo

concrete_joe said:


> a few pilot holes in a line, then pound in some wedges, it should split at some point. but odd to say, you'll be left with two smaller ~300lb rocks.


I do believe you're right Joe. A friend of ours is a rock worker. Feathers and wedges will do the job.

This rock has extremely pronounced grain running the long way. In other words, If I split it, there will be two thin, long, heavy rocks.

Once I get the concrete wall in behind the rock wall, I might decide that I don't need that rock wall any more, at least not all of it. I'm thinking about taking a couple of feet - give or take - off the top. Just to give it a haircut.


----------



## concrete_joe

bugs didnt eat all that exposed wood all these years? are they creosote treated?


----------



## cocobolo

concrete_joe said:


> bugs didnt eat all that exposed wood all these years? are they creosote treated?


Joe, those two posts sitting on the pier blocks I have just learned have only been there for about 3 to 4 years. They were surrounded by gravel, which is undoubtedly why they are still very much intact. I'm in the process of doing a new footing and concrete wall in there as we speak.

The logs under the house are not treated in any way that I know of. When I get better access to them I will show you some pictures of the rot. Believe me, the bugs have been having lunch for a long time!


----------



## cocobolo

There's a few things to catch up on since the beginning of the month...so here goes.

There are still two stumps that needed the heave-ho. Neither one gave up without a real fight.


----------



## cocobolo

Getting low on the first stump, and please note the lovely rotted wood behind there.


----------



## cocobolo

We've had some record high temperatures here in early June, with accompanying threats of thunder storms on an almost daily basis.

We lucked out most of the time, as the thunder and lightning seemed to stay over on the south side of the lake. But we certainly got our share of thunder clouds.


----------



## cocobolo

The footings for the long back wall, about 30 feet or so, had to be done in short sections.

Once the next tree was gone, this short section got done.


----------



## cocobolo

This is the last cedar that had to go. You can see the dirt line where I started to dig from. There was still plenty of root to go yet.


----------



## cocobolo

Working on the last cedar...this one was the worst with roots tangled up with a fair sized fir tree...just what I was hoping for!


----------



## cocobolo

On to the next section of footing...


----------



## cocobolo

That one went reasonably well.


----------



## cocobolo

Digging out for the last section of footing.


----------



## cocobolo

The last of the end footing section is poured.


----------



## cocobolo

We had to take a short trip over to Celista to meet a fellow with a sawmill. We will need several thousand lineal feet of cedar to re-do all the pathetic siding on the house.

On the way back, two deer crossed the road immediately in front of us and I managed to get this shot of one of them after she headed up the bank.


----------



## cocobolo

Last trip into town we picked up some house jacks.

The first one got put to use holding the room up in the air so I could get a new concrete wall in place.


----------



## cocobolo

We had yet another trip to the coast a few days ago, and I promised Barb that I would try and post a pic or two of the Great Bear Snowshed from the high side.

The light green growth shows where the avalanches typically come down the mountain.

We were through the area pretty early in the morning, and on the way we saw a semi truck & trailer unit on fire. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to get the camera out in time to get a pic. The whole thing was a 100% loss.


----------



## cocobolo

Back at the mansion....the form below the short front wall was the first one that I was able to reach from both sides. So it was the first time I was able to use snap ties. All the previous forms were various combinations of Mickey Mouse setups, baling wire and prayers to the concrete gods.


----------



## cocobolo

There was no easy way at all to get the concrete into this form, as it was about 5' high at the front side where the mixer was.

So I concocted this little chute, which we set up on a rock in front of the form.


----------



## cocobolo

This is what we had to fill up along with the chute in use. It worked like a charm.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the landlady finishing things off.


----------



## cocobolo

We had just got the tools all cleaned up and we were sitting down for a coffee break, when this guy showed up.


----------



## cocobolo

Next up was the assembly of form work for the long end wall.


----------



## cocobolo

Marking the level line on the back of the form.


----------



## cocobolo

Tying the last of the re-bar in the long wall.

There will still be more around the front, but it will be much smaller walls.


----------



## cocobolo

The beginning of this pour had a very high form...not much fun getting the mix into there.


----------



## cocobolo

Five and a half hours later we had it finished.


----------



## cocobolo

To say the least it is very difficult to see under the floor framing, just not enough room to stick my fat head under there. So I use the camera as my eyes.

This pic is right behind the front 2 x 6 floor joist. What I thought was 3 pieces of 2 x 4 nailed together to form a post seems to be a combination of a 2 x 10, which has been taken off in this photo, then a 2 x 4 and 2 x 6 side by side and they are nailed (I think) to another couple of pieces behind that.

I chainsawed off this wood flush with the bottom of the 2 x 6 joist in order to try and fit a top plate for the stub wall to go in below the joist.


----------



## cocobolo

Here you can see that the hanging wood is gone and there is a plate bolted to the new concrete. That main drain caused me to need to use the chainsaw again to make a huge notch in the plate. It really was an SOB to get the plate in there.

But the bigger hammer usually solves such problems!


----------



## cocobolo

More shenanigans fitting the top plate and studs into that wall.

Very little room to swing a hammer under there.

What surprised me was that the short studs all ended up being the same length at 8 3/4". I didn't make any special attempt to get the concrete wall level, just sat a 2 x 6 on top of the footing form. It was just a stroke of luck that the footing was level.

The jack will need to be left under the house until the concrete gains some strength, otherwise I can see with all that weight being dumped on the end of the short wall that the concrete may well crumble.

It has been blazing hot here for several days, and while that may dry the concrete faster, it also makes for weaker concrete. Much better if it dries more slowly.


----------



## cocobolo

Out to the corner again...which now needs to be lifted about 5/16" or so.

I have the studs cut, but again, I'm not willing to put any pressure on that fresh concrete until it strengthens up somewhat. Being over 4 feet deep it will probably be OK in a couple of days to do that. Plus there is plenty of steel in there as well.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, now it's time to fix that end wall for straightness. First thing is to attach my hot pink line to a couple of pieces of 2 x 4 to see how far it is out. By the way, hot pink is the only colour that will work for this.


----------



## cocobolo

The easiest way to do this was to measure as accurately as possible the space between the line and the boxer joists using 16" centers. I tried to get within 1/32" with these spacers.

Then cut some 2x wood spacers and attach to the framing.


----------



## cocobolo

I decided that the best option for attachment of the new boxer joists, which will be 2 x 10's, is to use carriage bolts.

Therefore, I pre-drilled the holes and made a shallow countersink to keep the bolt head slightly below the surface.


----------



## cocobolo

We clamped the first 2 x 10 into place - with the holes pre-drilled - and proceeded to drill through the existing framing.

Hmmm, the first drill bit didn't make much of a dent so I tried a brand new spade bit. First thing I did was to hit a buried nail and bent the tip of the new bit. Ahh, happy days.

Then found a long jobbers bit and tried that, still very slow going, but eventually it made it through.

Then push the 6" long carriage bolts through and bolt them securely from behind.


----------



## cocobolo

I just have to show you yet another little goodie I spotted when I was doing the bolting.

Much of this end framing was fastened together with these little brackets, but this one I thought was extra special. There is a single short screw in each end of the bracket. I just KNOW that will do the job!


----------



## cocobolo

We got the box joist done across the long wall...now it's nice and straight.


----------



## cocobolo

OK....I need a little help from you horticultural types please.

There are a number of wild plants growing here, but I have no idea what they are. Can anyone out there help me?

I'm pretty sure the third one is wild daisies. The last one that looks like a giant puffball is not a dandelion. The puff is about 3 1/2" across and very nice looking.


----------



## cocobolo

I hope to get away without splitting any more firewood this fall. We picked up a 5 ton electric over hydraulic log splitter a few days ago (half price at Canadian Tire) and I got around to testing it last night.

So far so good, it seems to work like a charm. I did the test without the second splitter in place, and no trouble at all. 

I did install the second splitter, which they definitely suggest, but we had a terrific thunderstorm and accompanying wind and rain just as I was finishing up. So I will check out the double splitter shortly.


----------



## cocobolo

They suggest that the splitter be put up on a 24" to 30" high bench of some sort, so since there was a big chunk of laminated beam here, I used that. I think it must weigh over 100 pounds, so it's nice and stable.


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday we started the serious business of demolishing the back section of the house...starting with that bumpout. 

First thing we had to clean out the room, which naturally was full of "stuff".

The two windows in that room are actually sliding patio doors held in place with a couple of dozen Phillips screws and beads of silicone.


----------



## cocobolo

By now everyone knows that the framing here falls a little short. 

It seems that the whole place was built with the walls being framed right on the floor framing, without the need to lay the plywood subfloor first.

This is the bottom plate, and you can see that the plywood floor just butts up against the 2 x 4, rather than going beneath it as it should. Seems to me that this would be much more difficult to build this way. But hey, I guess that's the way the electrician liked to do things.


----------



## cocobolo

With the windows out, I added a house jack to hold the roof up in order to take the corner post out.

When I raised the roof framing, it simply lifted off the corner post framing...no nails.

A light pull was all that was needed to take it out.


----------



## cocobolo

There was a double bottom plate which I chainsawed off alongside the house jack. These had to go to make room for the new plywood floor going down.

I started to pull the nails out of the plates, but it turned out there was but a single nail in the top plate only. The other one just lifted out. Sheesh.


----------



## cocobolo

The original floor joists overhung the lower wall by several inches and I wanted to bring the new floor in line with the lower wall. My, my...what a concept!

So the old boxer was knocked off, no big deal with the usual two nails holding it on, and the joists marked for cutting.


----------



## cocobolo

Using the jigsaw where possible, and the chainsaw where I had to, the joist ends were trimmed more or less in line.

Then we added the new boxer and that's where things stand now.

We did make a trip to town for more materials, and when I got home and checked the weight of the load, it turned out to be over 1,300 lbs. I think that's nearly double what the old van should carry, but we made it home in one piece.


----------



## gma2rjc

Keith, do you ever find yourself thinking, "I should have just bulldozed the place down and started from scratch."? :laughing:


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> Keith, do you ever find yourself thinking, "I should have just bulldozed the place down and started from scratch."? :laughing:


Thinking that and doing it are two different things Barb.

When this house was built, many of the property pins were not to be found...and that is still the case throughout the whole area.

There are many examples of houses built without proper setbacks and this is one of them. In this case, the homeowner has a letter of authority from the department of highways giving a variance. So, as it is now, things are OK.

Should the house be demolished, it would need to be rebuilt with the proper setbacks, which, in this case, would be very nearly impossible due to the lay of the land. It COULD be done, but the expense would be horrendous.

Now, I expect you are talking more about the actual construction of the building. In which case, the back part of the house - which is the part we are currently working on - may well have benefited from the judicious use of a 'dozer or excavator. In fact, Rick, the fellow who installed the new septic system and who built the rock wall, offered to spend an hour with his machine and wipe off the back of the house.

While that may have been a good idea at the time, I'm really not sure that it would have been easy to do without damaging the rest of the original back wall of the house. Plus there would have been plumbing involved.

So, little by little we will get the job done. 

This weekend I hope to be able to get some levels shot for the new back wall. You see, the section we are rebuilding right now has a slightly raised floor, something like five inches. I cannot find any logical reason for this at all. And on top of that, about 60% of the bathroom floor downstairs is raised about another 3 inches or so. There's just no rhyme or reason for that to have been done. Normally you could just order up regular studs (92 1/4") and you'd be set. But I will need to cut these to a custom length which is yet to be determined. It's no big deal, just a bit of a pain in the derriere.

Once we break right into that back bathroom area I'm going to call upon Joe's experience to guide us as to what can be done to get the plumbing lowered and new drain lines run in for the shower and toilet. With the underside of the plumbing becoming more accessible every day, I don't think it should be too hard to correct.


----------



## cocobolo

The day started off with removal of most of the roofing shingles at the back end, followed by removal of the layer of OSB which the last roofer apparently added on top of the rough 1 x 4 strapping.

It seems that either the fellow who applied the OSB was either from Australia, or he was illiterate.


----------



## cocobolo

With the OSB removed, the 1 x 4's were revealed. If I had to guess I would say they were the self same 1 x 4's that were used for the original rafters on this prize addition.

I used the jigsaw to take off a section of the roof at a time. Easier to do and no big chunks to handle after they hit the ground.


----------



## cocobolo

The end roof section came off without too much fuss and bother. I have cut up to within just a couple of inches of the top wall here.

The front and back beams have received the chainsaw treatment.


----------



## cocobolo

In the mean time Val had been working away at the fake stone wall covering up top. It was held on with a combination of Phillips screws, 2 1/4" commons and roofing nails.

It isn't even an outdoor product...so it's no wonder that it has deteriorated to mush in many places.


----------



## cocobolo

The main purpose of this exercise is to get a new back end to the house, preferably one which might even be useful.

The new end wall will be about 16" further out than the one that is there now. Not a lot, but it will make a difference.

We will also be able to widen the top bedroom by a similar amount.

What I am doing here is providing a hole through which I could run a long 2 x 4 through to determine what the length of the new studs would be. I just hope I have done that right.

Val has decided that she would like to make the far end (south) section into an office, so we will do that. I only need 2 x 6 ceiling joists over that as they will not be walked on. The bedroom floor will need 2 x 10 joists, which in turn will cause me to need two different lengths of studs.

At the end of the day the office will be using 88 15/16" studs and the bedroom 84 15/16". I bet you guys had that figured out a long time ago...


----------



## cocobolo

The weather was closing in fast by the end of the day, and I cannot say that Accuweather didn't warn us about "showers".

Their idea of a shower and mine apparently don't quite coincide let me tell you. But in any event, here I am ripping several strips of 3/8" plywood to use to hold a tarp against the top wall for when the moisture arrives. Well, it got there before I was finished...naturally.

Not only that but it was one helluva deluge accompanied by some fairly extreme wind. Everything got a pretty good soaking before the tarps were secured...so I will be checking things in the morning to see if there is any damage.

Hopefully we can proceed with some new walls without delay.


----------



## cocobolo

The following morning dawned cloudy, but later turned to sunshine. There was no damage that I could readily see from the heavy rain of the previous evening. I think we will leave the tarp in place just in case we get a repeat.

More of the roof needed to get cut back to make room for the first new wall going up.


----------



## cocobolo

Got started on construction of the first new wall...this one for the office.

Meanwhile, Val was toiling away removing all the junk in the bathroom in preparation for the lowering of the floor and a complete remodel.


----------



## cocobolo

The old framing still continues to confound me. This is about half of what should have been just a single stud. It was in the corner of the bathroom and was suspended in mid air...once again, no plate to sit on.

This wood was attached to the wall on your left. As you can see there's not too much in the way of support below. Nada, nothing, sweet *&^%$# all.


----------



## cocobolo

This shows how the one end of the bathroom floor was raised about 3", but certainly not why. Val has removed all the screws holding the several pieces of plywood on to the floor joists, and we are now awaiting a call back from our plumber friend Joe before lighting the dynamite to blow this mess into the stratosphere.


----------



## cocobolo

Hallelujah! At long last the first new wall section is stood. There was debate as to whether or not a window should be in this wall. Val loves to watch the wildlife come through here and they generally come down in front of this area.

This faces east, so it will give early morning sun in the winter.


----------



## cocobolo

South wall framing going up. 

This one had to be built in place as there is no room to be able to lift the completed wall. No big deal, it just takes a little longer.

Fathers' day steak dinner called before I got all the OSB on the wall. That's for tomorrow...well, I guess later today actually. This is being posted in the wee hours.


----------



## BigJim

amazing, I sound like a broken record but man you are unbelievable. I can only imagine how hard you worked back when you were 30 or 40. You make me sick. :laughing: Just kiddin buddy.


----------



## concrete_joe

you need a crew, summer is ending soon 

my backyard is about 2yrs in the doing, mostly because i did most of the work myself. in past ~6months a construction crew managed to build a small school near my house, and i am still working in my backyard trying to finish a few last items.

but wow, some dedication there.


----------



## 123pugsy

concrete_joe said:


> you need a crew, summer is ending soon



Hogwash!

Kieth _is_ a crew, ha.....


----------



## concrete_joe

123pugsy said:


> Hogwash!
> 
> Kieth _is_ a crew, ha.....


you missed my point.
a 1-man crew. he can do it all, but you cant cheat time, etc.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> amazing, I sound like a broken record but man you are unbelievable. I can only imagine how hard you worked back when you were 30 or 40. You make me sick. :laughing: Just kiddin buddy.


...30 or 40? Holy smoke Jim, I can't even remember back that far, never mind how hard I worked. Come to think of it, I was in the Yukon for part of that time and they don't take kindly to slackers up there.


----------



## cocobolo

concrete_joe said:


> you need a crew, summer is ending soon
> 
> my backyard is about 2yrs in the doing, mostly because i did most of the work myself. in past ~6months a construction crew managed to build a small school near my house, and i am still working in my backyard trying to finish a few last items.
> 
> but wow, some dedication there.


Look at it this way...if you had the crew and there was just one guy building the school, the shoe would be on the other foot.

Besides, you probably had a full time job on top of that.


----------



## cocobolo

concrete_joe said:


> you missed my point.
> a 1-man crew. he can do it all, but you cant cheat time, etc.


Yes that's so true. We are really mindful of the fact that when winter arrives here it gets seriously cold. We're doing our best to keep to a tight schedule, but it's all but impossible when you keep bumping into the sort of stuff we keep finding here.

Our plumber friend was here an hour ago, and he's booked solid for about three weeks. But he has given us some excellent ideas which we will use. Hopefully by then I will have everything ready for Joe to do his work. I don't claim to be much of a plumber but I can always hold the other end.


----------



## cocobolo

Acting on Joe's advice we took a trip over to Salmon Arm to the plumbing wholesaler and Val picked out the new vanity, the taps for same, the tub (no sliding doors though) and the showerhead fittings. 

A nice way to spend half a day and reduce your bank balance at the same time.


----------



## cocobolo

Meanwhile, back at the mansion...

Adding the third wall to the office area proved to be another problem. The framing on the deck above was directly in the way of both the new wall, and therefore also in the way of the new roof.

I started by removing the end section of the glass railing on the deck.


----------



## cocobolo

Next the vinyl was pulled back to get access to the deck plywood so I could undo the screws.

Then next this is the corner framing on the deck...the original roof rafters clearly show on the end. Nice work boys.

In order to roughly level up their deck, they added these pieces of notched wood below. Another nice job boys.


----------



## cocobolo

It was a combination of jigsawing the plywood and chainsawing the framing off after that. Plenty of big nails in the way made it slow going. 

Four jigsaw blades broken and two good hits with the Husky on embedded nails.

Honest to Pete, have you ever seen such a mess of framing anywhere?


----------



## cocobolo

Next the last wall was framed and stood up and as the photo shows, there wasn't any room to spare between it and the old framing.


----------



## cocobolo

Once the wall was up, I added a top plate which I let run for a couple of feet past the wall. That allowed me to have something under the original corner of the house wall. That in turn allowed me to have something solid in the original corner.

Here I have already added a double ceiling joist, to which I will eventually add the inner end rafter.


----------



## cocobolo

Next up was a quick calculation for the rafters...added a block at each end of the ridge board...and proceeded to nail the rafters in place.

Not a lot of room between the rafter tail and the deck, but just enough though.


----------



## cocobolo

A couple of pics of the roof mostly framed.

I added the lookouts to the end fascia rafter and then installed that assembly into the notches which were pre-cut in the adjoining rafter.


----------



## cocobolo

In order to have some strength for the rafter tail against the house, I lowered the cut on the double ceiling joist with the chainsaw. Then re-cut the first rafter against the house to fit.

Then it was rinse and repeat for the other side, except this time there was no house wall to argue with. Plus I could get my power plane on top of the joist ends to smooth them out.


----------



## cocobolo

It's always fun trying to hold the first sheet of roof sheathing in place by yourself...especially when you need to put the slippery side down.

The upper sheets on each side needed a small trim and then we are done.

I don't have any 2 x 8's for the fascia boards, so that will have to wait until the next lumber order arrives. Hopefully by this weekend when the House of Pot has their 10% off everything in the store deal again.


----------



## cocobolo

That roof went on two days ago and yesterday it was another trip to Vancouver. Mostly medical stuff for Val, but also the control for electric trailer brakes on her Honda.

We left here at 5:45 am in order to arrive in Kamloops at 7 am so we could be the first customers putting in our delivery order. Even at that, HD did not have the special discount papers at the tellers, and we wasted a good half hour while they got that sorted out. It was well worth the delay, as our order was around $8,000, so the 10% discount was most welcome.

But, all in all it was a good experience and they promised delivery for today (Friday).

The truck arrived this morning, and when the driver pulled back the side curtain, I damn nearly choked! I mean, this is just a minor renovation, you know, fixing a couple of walls and a roof or two.


----------



## cocobolo

Whereas, by contrast, I had a HUGE load of 9 sheets of PWF 5/8" plywood in my van from Home Hardware in Scotch Creek. HD doesn't carry the PWF plywood, so we had to look elsewhere.


----------



## cocobolo

The first load off the truck was 6 rolls of roofing felt and 4 nice new windows for the back of the house.


----------



## cocobolo

Next load off was a pretty hefty pile of lumber.


----------



## cocobolo

Next was 3,200 lbs. of OSB.


----------



## cocobolo

Then the last load of lumber, which I asked the driver to split into two after it was off the truck.


----------



## cocobolo

Last to come off was two lifts of roofing shingles. Another 6,200 lbs. between the two. Sure glad that we didn't entertain the idea of trying to move all this stuff ourselves. :no:


----------



## cocobolo

I made sure to give the driver some nice cold juice when he arrived, as it was pushing 50ºC in the sun. That's starting to get warm.

Then Val took this one of the driver and I having a short chinwag before he left. Really a great guy, and we will make sure to give him a big thumbs up at the HD website.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> The truck arrived this morning, and when the driver pulled back the side curtain, I damn nearly choked!


Ha. I near choked until I saw the forklift in the next post. I was thinking, how the heck to off load all of that. :jester:

You're really doing a great job of fixing one of the worst messes I've seen. Maybe one day you can start your own house.:yes:


----------



## Windows on Wash

You are a machine sir!!


----------



## concrete_joe

Windows on Wash said:


> You are a machine sir!!


like a robot with energizer batteries, just keeps going and going.


----------



## cocobolo

I see it has been a couple of days since you were updated. 

So once the load of building materials was offloaded, the first thing I needed was the pressure treated 2 x 4's which were to be used as sleepers on the former garage floor, henceforth hereinafter referred to as the workshop.

It should go without saying that they were located right on the bottom of one of the slings. Isn't that always the way?

Before we could lay the floor, we wanted to scrape the concrete to knock off any small high spots. What you're seeing here is dust in the air...time to beak out the masks.


----------



## cocobolo

We decided to sweep and vacuum the floor and let the remaining dust settle. So once that happened I proceeded to cut the pressure treated 2 x 4's to length and lay them on the floor on 16" centres.


----------



## cocobolo

This PWF plywood being unloaded from the van is not regular treated plywood.

This has about 50% more chemical in the wood and carries 75 year warranty. It is intended for use in permanent wood foundations.

You must use either hot dipped galvanized or stainless steel nails with this stuff.


----------



## cocobolo

One of the ground rods was protruding about an inch too high for the plywood to clear, so I cut it off with the grinder. Not the best photo, but that's what was happening.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the first 16' of floor down, just a little over 50% done.


----------



## cocobolo

Before I got to the end of the floor, I discovered that one of the sheets of plywood had a big sort of buckle in the wood.

I don't know what caused it, but something very heavy must have been putting pressure right across the middle of the sheet rendering is useless for my purpose. So there ensued another delay while Val returned that sheet and exchanged it for a good one.

But a couple of hours later the floor was finished, which means that now there is a place to immediately fill up with junk.


----------



## cocobolo

As I was progressing along the house wall, I noticed a small triangular shaped piece of plywood about a foot long nailed close to the floor. I figured perhaps there was another hole that was being hidden, but when I removed the piece of wood this is what showed up.

I suppose that is the "out of sight, out of mind" school of thinking. What next I wonder?


----------



## cocobolo

One thing I am slowly learning here is not to trust the meteorological prognosticators. Their success rate is abysmal to say the least, but their failure rate is worthy of mention in the Guinness book of records.

And so it was with this thought in mind that we tarped the office roof a couple of days ago.

Perhaps I should mention that there was not a hint of rain in the forecast.

This was this afternoon during one of our more spectacular thunderstorms duly accompanied by a torrential downpour.


----------



## cocobolo

Meanwhile, yesterday we wanted to move at least all the OSB into the workshop, if not some of the lumber as well. The van was again put to good use in the move.


----------



## cocobolo

This morning, and I would like to point out that it was raining already, I cut some of the long joists in half. These will go into the new bedroom floor eventually. We presently have them stored most conveniently in the living room.


----------



## cocobolo

Last week when Joe the plumber was here, I asked which of the drain lines I could pull out. The shower was going out the door and we could live without the washing machine until such time as the new bathroom fixtures were plumbed in.

Well, this line, which admittedly we could not see much of, was tagged as serving just the shower and the washer.

So I took a chunk of it out as it was pretty much right where I needed to excavate to get some more concrete under the house.

Wouldn't you know it...it also served the kitchen sink. 

I had to make a rush trip into the hardware store first thing this morning for new fittings to close things back up again. Now we are back to square one.


----------



## cocobolo

For a brief change of pace, we decided to get the vapour barrier finished in one of the sheds. Val has painted enough sheets of OSB to sheet the first shed now, so we need to get that finished.


----------



## cocobolo

Well, this is the drain line that I cut. You can see how wet the ground was below. I didn't realize the problem until I happened to be right there when the kitchen sink got drained.

The dirty looking line below was an original line which we think was used for a washing machine in a different location many years ago. It turned out to be cut off just a few feet past the bathroom wall, so I was able to pull it right out.


----------



## cocobolo

This is all that remains of the original floor framing in the bathroom. I can still find no reason for half the floor to have been raised. If they were tight on room to hang the drain lines below the framing, all they needed was a shovel, a bit of muscle and an hour or so of digging time.

Seriously, it must have taken far more time to raise that part of the floor just 3" than it would to have taken to dig it out.


----------



## cocobolo

Maybe the idea of having to dig out these three rocks persuaded them to look for a simpler solution. The first two were manageable but the closest one was damn heavy. And at the end of the day when you are tired, it's even heavier.


----------



## cocobolo

Lots more digging to go and we decided to see how much we could get done by the end of the day.

We need to get about 2 1/2 feet below the floor joists in much of the bathroom floor area, less in other places.


----------



## cocobolo

Pulling out the last of the wall framing around the bathroom yielded this pre-historic piece of rot. This was sandwiched between a 1 x 4 and a 2 x 10.


----------



## cocobolo

Rather than do anything in even a remotely conventional way, I'd like to introduce you to a new and undoubtedly cheaper way to frame your walls.

Just throw a piece of 2 x 4 right on to the ground and build away...take a look.


----------



## cocobolo

Next up is this gem of a bearing wall. Believe it or not, this mess was responsible for carrying considerable weight very close to the corner of the house during its' second reincarnation.

See if you can figure it out.

The 2 x 6 floor joists end in the air minus any support. That part can, of course, be fixed. But what a mess.


----------



## cocobolo

We came very close to getting the excavating done, but we were interrupted by another even more intense thunderstorm than yesterday's, high winds and heavy rain again. 

Just for the record, I have looked at the forecast for the next couple of weeks...no rain.

We are close to finishing the trench for the concrete, and tomorrow should see the forms in place and possibly even the concrete poured. It's gonna be awkward getting the concrete in there.


----------



## cocobolo

Happy Canada Day
everyone!
​


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Happy Canada Day
> everyone!
> ​


Thanks.

Same to you Keith.


----------



## cocobolo

Thanks Pugsy.

By the way, I've been meaning to ask you about that minnow you're holding there. That IS just bait for the real fish in Ontario isn't it?


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Thanks Pugsy.
> 
> By the way, I've been meaning to ask you about that minnow you're holding there. That IS just bait for the real fish in Ontario isn't it?


LOL....

Just a wee 16 # muskie. It would probably be a bit small for bait around here. The small guy in the attached pic is 24".


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> LOL....
> 
> Just a wee 16 # muskie. It would probably be a bit small for bait around here. The small guy in the attached pic is 24".


What's the story behind that one?


----------



## cocobolo

Final digging this morning before I made just one side of the form for the lower pour. There is a really big rock in between the upper and lower pours, and there's no way it's ever going to move. I never did find the bottom end of it.

This little wooden gem is the last of the wood footings to come out where the new concrete footing will go. There may be more wood footings, but they will wait until the family room floor is pulled out and redone in concrete, similar to the garage/workshop floor.


----------



## cocobolo

It was necessary to divide the upper and lower sections into two separate pours, so I just screwed some plywood to one of the joists which very handily was located above the end of the big rock.


----------



## cocobolo

Part of the preparations for the pour included the removal of the higher 2 x 6 under the outer bathroom wall. That left the wall open so I could add a boxer to the previously unsupported joists.

I didn't want to risk running a wheelbarrow full of concrete over those joists without some sort of reasonable support.


----------



## cocobolo

Once that was gone, along with a couple of joist hangers which were in the way, I added a new 2 x 6 boxer.

I wasn't able to lift the two unsupported joists by hand, so I used the jack to get them up level with the boxer.


----------



## cocobolo

It turned out that I was able to wheel the concrete right inside, so we laid plywood over the joists as far as necessary to reach the far end of the pour. Simply slid the plywood back as the pour progressed, and it went as smooth as silk.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the bottom part done...that is just over 10" thick, so plenty strong for the light load it will carry.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the boxer from the other side. It will get doubled up once the new support wall is in place under the joists.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the top done, anchor bolts in.


----------



## cocobolo

And here's the temperature as we finished...in the shade.


----------



## BigJim

Good grief, I thought it was hot down this way, I have been sweating like crazy and it has been in the high 80s, I would have never dreamed it would ever get that hot up your way. I don't see how you keep going Keith, especially in that heat, just unreal.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Good grief, I thought it was hot down this way, I have been sweating like crazy and it has been in the high 80s, I would have never dreamed it would ever get that hot up your way. I don't see how you keep going Keith, especially in that heat, just unreal.


What we do Jim, is to try and get up around 5 in the morning and work until noon or so. Then wait until 6 or so in the evening and work again. That way we avoid the hottest part of the day. Unless there's stuff to do inside where it may be cooler.

Of course, that doesn't necessarily always work out, and since we wanted to get the concrete finished today, we didn't have a lot of choice. I took that photo sometime around 6pm, so it had cooled down a fair bit.

I don't think there's any more concrete work in the immediate future...not for a few weeks anyway.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> What's the story behind that one?


Not mine. Someone sent me an email with a bunch of pics and story. The guy actually landed that lunker that grabbed onto his original 2' pike. 
Apparently, it was somewhere around 55 LBS.
My memory tells me it was somewhere in Manitoba.


----------



## cocobolo

That's quite a story to be able to tell the grandkids!

The only thing I've ever seen that comes close to that is when I was visiting the Big Island of Hawaii.

We were down at the late afternoon fish weigh in at Kona, and a younger couple had caught a sailfish of some kind, a marlin I think it was. They were getting their photo taken alongside the fish, probably a couple of hundred pounds or so, but there was a huge bite taken out of the fish.

I asked them after the photo session was over what happened. Apparently the fishing guide had just gaffed the fish when a shark came up and took his share of the fish for lunch.


----------



## shadytrake

Wow! The house is really starting to take shape. I wish you were here in my neck of the woods. We would have you complete our punch list in a single day!


----------



## cocobolo

An early morning trip in to Kamloops this morning to pick up a new fridge.

When we tried to unload it, we could barely move the thing at all. So I did what any self respecting rigger would do...tied some double braid around one post on the carport, then led that around the refrigerator box and back to another post.

Drove the van ahead a few feet and voila! One fridge out. 

Poor Val didn't know what I was up to and damn nearly had kittens when I started to drive away.


----------



## shumakerscott

cocobolo said:


> An early morning trip in to Kamloops this morning to pick up a new fridge.
> 
> When we tried to unload it, we could barely move the thing at all. So I did what any self respecting rigger would do...tied some double braid around one post on the carport, then led that around the refrigerator box and back to another post.
> 
> Drove the van ahead a few feet and voila! One fridge out.
> 
> Poor Val didn't know what I was up to and damn nearly had kittens when I started to drive away.


That's what I would have done! :thumbsup: dd...


----------



## cocobolo

Back to work in the dungeon...we picked up some P.T. 2 x 6 for the new support wall below the ground floor. Managed to get the upper and lower sections done by late dinner time.

What I had to do was to clamp a double top plate to the floor joists, then fit studs between there and the bottom plates to finish things off.

I found a chunk of P. T. 6 x 6 and used that to make a couple of the studs from. That ought to do the job!


----------



## cocobolo

We're getting closer to the far end of the floor now, and when we pulled up one of the sheets of hardwood plywood, we discovered why there are no joists sticking out of the house for the last six feet or so.

Instead of the 16' 2 x 6 joists they had used to that point, we are back to the old mish mash of whatever they could find. In this case double 2 x 6 T & G flooring, used of course.


----------



## cocobolo

Happy Independence Day 
to all my American friends!
​


----------



## cocobolo

We had an interesting trip to Vancouver yesterday, left around 6 am and got home after midnight...something like 1,000 kilometers of driving.

First thing we saw shortly after we got on to the Coquihalla highway was this burned out truck. We saw one last trip down but couldn't get any photos.


----------



## cocobolo

As we were getting close to the other end of the "Coke" - that's what the Coquihalla is called locally - there was a forest fire underway. Didn't get much of a photo as most of the fire was away from the highway.

By the time we came back last night, it was evident that the fire had come right up to the highway itself, as everything was burned right to the side of the road. All the pics we took were through the closed window and are very blurred, so none of those came out worth a hoot.


----------



## cocobolo

But the real highlight of the trip down was when we were alongside this Elvis impersonator. His pink Caddy was in mint shape.


----------



## gma2rjc

On the news this morning, they said that the smoke we're smelling here in Michigan is from the many forest fires up in Canada.


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> On the news this morning, they said that the smoke we're smelling here in Michigan is from the many forest fires up in Canada.


Barb, I kind of have my doubts that the smoke comes all the way from B. C.


----------



## drtbk4ever

gma2rjc said:


> On the news this morning, they said that the smoke we're smelling here in Michigan is from the many forest fires up in Canada.


I think Ontario has had over 300 forest fires so far this year. And Saskatchewan and Alberta are suffering from record forest fire numbers this year.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> But the real highlight of the trip down was when we were alongside this Elvis impersonator. His pink Caddy was in mint shape.


Back in the 60s I worked on Elvis' pink Cady, just another car to me.


----------



## cocobolo

drtbk4ever said:


> I think Ontario has had over 300 forest fires so far this year. And Saskatchewan and Alberta are suffering from record forest fire numbers this year.


I don't have the numbers for B.C., but there have been major noises from the government here about the serious lack of rain and the low snowpack last winter. I imagine there must have been several hundred fires here already...and it's only just now starting to get really hot and extremely dry.

For example, the Shuswap lake right in front of us has dropped a meter in level during the past month, and it is only early July. The local creeks and rivers are really low right now. I'll see what the B. C. Forest service has to say about this.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Back in the 60s I worked on Elvis' pink Cady, just another car to me.


Awww, c'mon Jim. That must have been some kind of thrill back in the day. After all, how many people can say they worked on Elvis' Caddy? That's one to tell the grandkids without a doubt.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, I just checked on the forest fire situation. They list only 97 fires for this year.

There were 33 fires started on Saturday in the province and 32 on Friday, most of which are not on the wildfire list.

The B.C. Wildfire site only lists fires of 10 hectares and greater, so there are likely hundreds of smaller fires which do not make their list. Ten hectares is almost 25 acres. I would guess that the fire on the Coke yesterday was less than 10 hectares.

The worst hit region thus far has been Prince George which has seen 55 fires, one of which was estimated at 25,000 hectares! That'll cook your hot dogs and marshmallows. :chef:


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Awww, c'mon Jim. That must have been some kind of thrill back in the day. After all, how many people can say they worked on Elvis' Caddy? That's one to tell the grandkids without a doubt.


Keith, back then most young fellows didn't like Elvis too much, I had the same English and math teacher he did, at Humes High in Memphis. I was on the drill team at Humes and Elvis did buy our uniforms for us, we were the EP Rebels Drill Team.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Keith, back then most young fellows didn't like Elvis too much, I had the same English and math teacher he did, at Humes High in Memphis. I was on the drill team at Humes and Elvis did buy our uniforms for us, we were the EP Rebels Drill Team.


Well now...that's really quite something! Here I am trying to imagine Big Jim on a drill team! :laughing:


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Well now...that's really quite something! Here I am trying to imagine Big Jim on a drill team! :laughing:


Keith, I was a small fellow back in 19 ought 3. LOL


----------



## flamtap

I just found this thread after thinking that I hadn't seen any updates on the Gulf Island thread for a while. It's like Christmas in July to have 50+ pages to read. Can't wait to see you start on your new lake house. 

We had some hazy days (with a red full moon) last week in North Carolina, and the news stations said it was due to smoke from fires in Western Canada. I couldn't believe it but it must be true... 

I put up a shed 6 years ago using similar materials (including the SmartSide) but it took me much longer than a few days! Did you consider making them 8x12 instead of 10x10? It requires fewer cuts on the 4x8 sheet material. 

Thanks as always for sharing your projects and expertise with us all!

flamtap


----------



## cocobolo

So those awful TV news people are blaming us, are they? Well, who really knows? I do remember a few years back when they were saying that we got smoke from forest fires in Russia that drifted over western Canada.

I didn't consider an 8 x 12, because a 10 x 10 gives us an extra precious 4 square feet. I know it doesn't sound like much, but four square feet of boxes piled to the ceiling holds quite a bit of junk. In fact just today we moved a whole lot of stuff into the first of the sheds.

I expect to be working on this place here probably for another couple of years. Every time I turn around there is something else which gets in the way of what I'm working on. 

By the time I'm done here, I doubt I will have the energy left to build another house from scratch. Maybe I'll just set up a tent and move right in.


----------



## BigJim

After all the work you have and are putting in on that house, that would be home if it were me. When you get finished (who am I kidding) just enjoy life and kick back and let life happen.


----------



## williamlayton

I think you misunderstand bigjim---it is his call in life to be tormented.
Blessings


----------



## Mort

We're getting a helluva lot of smoke from the BC fires down here. It's only about an hour or so as the crow flies from the border, so I'm blaming Canada for my air quality. 

I gotta say, while I feel for those that are in harms way, it's a welcome change to have smoke and no wildfire coming right toward my house.


----------



## cocobolo

Mort said:


> We're getting a helluva lot of smoke from the BC fires down here. It's only about an hour or so as the crow flies from the border, so I'm blaming Canada for my air quality.
> 
> I gotta say, while I feel for those that are in harms way, it's a welcome change to have smoke and no wildfire coming right toward my house.


Hi Mort: Well up here a couple of days ago we couldn't see across the lake it was so smokey. Yesterday it cleared quite a bit, but today we have more smoke again. Not sure if it's from the forest fires, or the guys across the street at the Inn smoking dope...:laughing:


----------



## cocobolo

A few days ago we added sheets of 7/16" OSB to the inside on one of the sheds. More or less so that if we smack something into one of the walls there won't be too much damage.

I was using the little Rockwell saw, that's the grey one, to do the cutting.

If any of you good guys (or gals) out there have one of these, what's your opinion of it?

Like just about every tool today, it's made in China. But comparing it to the Mastercraft saw, it doesn't stack up any too well. I found that the Rockwell always seems like it is labouring. It has an inconvenient locking mechanism to push the saw down so that you can cut, and the switch always seems to want to stick.

The Mastercraft has a pivoting mechanism to push the saw down into your cut, whereas with the Rockwell, you have to push the entire saw down against a moderately strong spring. The saw tends to ride up quickly if you don't keep a fair amount of pressure on the saw.

My first cut was through some 5/8" plywood and the cut smoked like crazy even though I went very slowly and kept the guide mark right on my line. And that's another thing...the Mastercraft has a small protruding plastic arrow sticking out in front of the shoe for your guide. That's the first time I have seen one of those and it makes it SO easy to use. The Rockwell has the usual indented triangle, which is not as good. 

The cost? $29.95 for the Mastercraft, $119.95 for the Rockwell both on sale.


----------



## cocobolo

I used one of those drywall lifts to position the sheets on the ceiling. Oboy, what a life saver. Works like a charm.


----------



## cocobolo

The last of the OSB going up in the first shed.


----------



## cocobolo

And of course...we couldn't forget the carpet in the entrance way! It's a chunk that was left over from some long ago job.


----------



## cocobolo

We replaced the fridge a couple of days ago. Now you would think that there might be something half decent on the wall behind the fridge. Not in this place. Just pieces of 3/8" plywood...and probably used at that.


----------



## cocobolo

Back upstairs we go now where I need to support the roof, just temporarily you understand. Right...we'll see how long this all takes to get fixed.

Anything under the corner of that wall needs to be gone. I did the old wedge trick to keep the house jack from catapulting the support 4 x 4 out.


----------



## cocobolo

Earlier that day I took out the sliding glass door and I suppose I wasn't really surprised to find that the stud keeping things in place was actually four pieces of wood.

Really...I mean to say there's cheap and then there's CHEAP!


----------



## cocobolo

The last half of that beam below the wall was now hanging in mid air. It was nailed together moderately well with a variety of hardware. It did require some effort to get it all apart and removed.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, now that the threat of falling house parts has been substantially reduced, it was time to get going on re-framing the bathroom floor - which, you will recall, was demolished because the whole shebang was nothing but rubbish.

I think it was a warm day while I was doing this.


----------



## cocobolo

Fairly simple job to frame the floor, with allowances for the new location of the toilet and new tub/shower.


----------



## cocobolo

Next up was to start of the 19/32" OSB on the floor. 

In my discussion with Joe the plumber, a really good guy by the way, he asked if there was any way that we could leave some access so that we could glue the fittings for the drain lines without needing to go through a crawl space.

I think it's going to be awhile before I actually get that crawl space dug out, so I am putting just a part of the flooring down now, and the rest after the rough in is done. We can reach the fittings without too much trouble now.


----------



## cocobolo

Right after that I framed a new wall to keep the herds of wild elephants out and cut out the window opening with a router.


----------



## cocobolo

No, it's not a forest fire thank goodness...just an interesting cloud we spotted at sunset.


----------



## cocobolo

Up against the outside of the original house wall, I am framing a new inside wall so that there is room to run the supply lines. Plus it will give me something rather handy to hold the new bedroom floor joists.


----------



## cocobolo

The new plumbing fixtures arrived yesterday...good thing the delivery guy was big and strong.

First load was the vanity, which went easily on one of our hand trucks. Please note that I am carrying the expensive stuff!


----------



## cocobolo

Next was the water heater, now that was a bit heavier, but we managed OK.


----------



## cocobolo

Last off the truck was the tub/shower. A one piece unit at 140 lbs. Please note who gets to take the load as it comes off the truck.

It almost got stuck going through the door opening into the house. I think if I had the door jamb in place it wouldn't have gone through.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> OK, now that the threat of falling house parts has been substantially reduced, it was time to get going on re-framing the bathroom floor - which, you will recall, was demolished because the whole shebang was nothing but rubbish.
> 
> I think it was a warm day while I was doing this.


 Good grief, why in the world does it get so hot up there.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Good grief, why in the world does it get so hot up there.


I'm not 100% sure Jim. But this whole area from Kamloops out to well past where we are does tend to get pretty hot in the summer. It extends down into the Okanagan area as well which is a very popular vacation area. It's also where we get plenty of forest fires, often started by lightning.


----------



## BigJim

That is amazing, it very seldom gets that hot down this way. As far north as you are, I always thought it hardly got past the 80s. 

Buddy try not to over heat, that is some serious heat. When you first said it got over a 100 degrees F, I thought that had to be some misprint or something.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> That is amazing, it very seldom gets that hot down this way. As far north as you are, I always thought it hardly got past the 80s.
> 
> Buddy try not to over heat, that is some serious heat. When you first said it got over a 100 degrees F, I thought that had to be some misprint or something.


Jim, the highest temperature I have recorded in the direct sun here is 149ºF. I gotta tell you...that was really HOT.

A good part of the problem here with this old house is that it leaks like a sieve and allows the heat to build up inside. Then it doesn't want to go away. Once I have the place properly insulated and sealed up I think most of that problem will disappear. Of course, it won't affect the heat outside.

There is a town up in the Yukon called Mayo, and their advertising says they are the hottest and coldest spot in the Yukon. They claim a high of +95ºF and a low of -95ºF. Now whether or not that is true I don't know, but it may have happened.

I remember Dawson city hitting -84ºF when I was there, but I don't remember the highs, but it really does cook up there in the summer. You have to remember that the sun is up nearly 24 hours a day, so there's not much time for a night time cool down.

Even here right now it is daylight around 3:30 am. I suspect that's a good part of the reason for all the heat. Typically, when you are in the tropics, it is close to 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. When we were driving back from Kamloops a few days ago I did notice that there was still some light in the sky at 10pm.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Jim, the highest temperature I have recorded in the direct sun here is 149ºF. I gotta tell you...that was really HOT.
> 
> A good part of the problem here with this old house is that it leaks like a sieve and allows the heat to build up inside. Then it doesn't want to go away. Once I have the place properly insulated and sealed up I think most of that problem will disappear. Of course, it won't affect the heat outside.
> 
> There is a town up in the Yukon called Mayo, and their advertising says they are the hottest and coldest spot in the Yukon. They claim a high of +95ºF and a low of -95ºF. Now whether or not that is true I don't know, but it may have happened.
> 
> I remember Dawson city hitting -84ºF when I was there, but I don't remember the highs, but it really does cook up there in the summer. You have to remember that the sun is up nearly 24 hours a day, so there's not much time for a night time cool down.
> 
> Even here right now it is daylight around 3:30 am. I suspect that's a good part of the reason for all the heat. Typically, when you are in the tropics, it is close to 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. When we were driving back from Kamloops a few days ago I did notice that there was still some light in the sky at 10pm.


Wow, that is unreal, Sunrise here is about 6:30 EST. For some strange reason I thought it stayed cool up North. I couldn't stand 149 degrees, that is for sure, about 107 is about as hot as I have ever seen it down this way. You have got to be one tough dude to work in that kind of heat.


----------



## drtbk4ever

cocobolo said:


> Jim, the highest temperature I have recorded in the direct sun here is 149ºF. I gotta tell you...that was really HOT. A good part of the problem here with this old house is that it leaks like a sieve and allows the heat to build up inside. Then it doesn't want to go away. Once I have the place properly insulated and sealed up I think most of that problem will disappear. Of course, it won't affect the heat outside. There is a town up in the Yukon called Mayo, and their advertising says they are the hottest and coldest spot in the Yukon. They claim a high of +95ºF and a low of -95ºF. Now whether or not that is true I don't know, but it may have happened. I remember Dawson city hitting -84ºF when I was there, but I don't remember the highs, but it really does cook up there in the summer. You have to remember that the sun is up nearly 24 hours a day, so there's not much time for a night time cool down. Even here right now it is daylight around 3:30 am. I suspect that's a good part of the reason for all the heat. Typically, when you are in the tropics, it is close to 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. When we were driving back from Kamloops a few days ago I did notice that there was still some light in the sky at 10pm.


A couple other things that contribute to the heat in the Okanagan valley: 
1) the valley runs north to south and is located on the lee side of the cascade and coast mountain ranges. The lee side of any mountain is always dryer and therefore the valley is hot, sunny and dry. 
2) the southern portion of Okanagan valley near the US Canada border is Canada's only desert climate. Someone told me once that the Osoyoos and Oliver are located in the northern most tip of the Sonorana desert. Not sure if that is true, but if you have ever been to that area, it is definitely desert. 

Bottom line, it gets hot.


----------



## cocobolo

drtbk4ever said:


> A couple other things that contribute to the heat in the Okanagan valley:
> 1) the valley runs north to south and is located on the lee side of the cascade and coast mountain ranges. The lee side of any mountain is always dryer and therefore the valley is hot, sunny and dry.
> 2) the southern portion of Okanagan valley near the US Canada border is Canada's only desert climate. Someone told me once that the Osoyoos and Oliver are located in the northern most tip of the Sonorana desert. Not sure if that is true, but if you have ever been to that area, it is definitely desert.
> 
> Bottom line, it gets hot.


That's about right. I used to live in Penticton for awhile, and that isn't far north of Osoyoos. There are areas there that are most definitely desert. 

Something else that sounds a bit odd, there is a section of the Yukon which is extremely close to being a desert. It's surprising how little moisture there is up there.


----------



## cocobolo

I thought I might share a brief excerpt from an article in the Shuswap Market News that appeared last Friday.

"The Shuswap is a tinderbox and pop-ups from the 10,000 lightning strikes that accompanied thunderstorms June 29 and June 30 are making their appearance."

The fire chief goes on to mention a number of small fires in the Upper Seymour River and Perry River areas, all less than one hectare (about 2 1/2 acres) which were being attacked by ground and air crews.

Now whether or not there were really 10,000 lightning strikes over those two days I'm not sure...but I do remember seeing at least several hundred while the lightning was centred hereabouts. It would appear that these strikes were spread out over an area of tens of thousands of hectares, so I suppose it is possible.

In any event, it is definitely very hot and very dry.

As I am writing this - shortly before 1 am Sunday morning - we are experiencing a shower outside. What we need is a prolonged rainstorm, but that doesn't appear to be in the forecast.


----------



## cocobolo

Back to the business at hand again...this time the removal of the old floor joists above the bathroom. 

Remember how I so laboriously got them nice and level? Well, they are on the way out the door.


----------



## cocobolo

I was surprised just how heavy the old joist was compared to the new ones. Mind you, the oldies were likely first growth Douglas fir, whereas the new ones are spruce. Not the easiest things to pull out and I still have four or five to go.


----------



## cocobolo

Honestly...can you believe this mess?

Any old piece of wood will do it seems...wiring and plumbing all over the place.


----------



## cocobolo

The mystery of the sloping floor in the old bedroom is finally revealed.

There was an old roof added at some time in the distant past using 1 x 4's for rafters. That was sheathed with the same 1 x 4's used for the rafters.

In the lower photo you can see the original 1 x 4 rafters, the 2 x 4's which I sistered to try and gain some strength, then the 1 x 4 sheathing, then the roof shingles, then some 2 x 4 laid haphazardly on top of the shingles, then more 2 x 4's used to support the old floor, then some used 1/2" plywood.

Why there was no attempt to get the floor level I have not the least idea.

Nothing but the best for this old house!


----------



## cocobolo

Just in case you've forgotten, here's a chunk of one of the original rafters. And to think that this actually held up not only the original roof, but the addition upstairs along with the weight of the roof up top.

Considering some of the snowfalls that have occurred here in recent years (up to 21' in a single year) it's a miracle the place hadn't imploded!


----------



## cocobolo

Back at it with my favourite implement of destruction. The roof is going one piece at a time.

I do need to exercise at least a modicum of caution here and two house jacks are installed in what I hope are strategic locations. I don't need the top roof collapsing on me just yet.


----------



## cocobolo

With half of the old rafters out of the way, that will give me room to stand a new support wall downstairs for the new upstairs floor. It almost seems that everything that happens here is one step forward and two steps back.


----------



## cocobolo

Here I have started on the middle support wall, which will also be the new bathroom wall.

I have to wait for the plumber to do the rough in for the toilet, sink and tub before I can put the rest of the OSB on the floor, as well as leaving a big enough hole to get the tub/shower through.

So the wall framing will be complete after that happens.


----------



## cocobolo

The first few joists are in place, but I need at least two more done before I can add the first sheet of OSB to the floor, as I want the first sheet to be 8' long.

That means that the old plumbing wall downstairs has to go so I have room to add more joists. I'm not sure if I will have to move the old water heater as well or not. It will go eventually of course.

It's an interesting puzzle, that's for sure.


----------



## cocobolo

The floor sheathing had to be in place under the middle wall first, but there needed to be access for the plumber to do the drain rough ins.

So what I did was to cut the OSB off so that it ends just inside where the tub will sit. That way there won't be a visible break in the floor. We anticipate tiling the floor so we didn't want to lose any strength there.

Where the outer join will be is backed up by solid blocking. Hopefully my cut is bang on and the next piece of flooring will fit just right.


----------



## 123pugsy

Wow! Or should I say WOW! 
Unbelievable!


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Wow! Or should I say WOW!
> Unbelievable!


Oh, don't worry...I'm sure there will be plenty more...


----------



## cocobolo

Today was the day to lift the water heater and replace the plywood flooring with new OSB T & G. Somehow I just knew it wasn't going to be easy.

First thing to do was to drain the tank, not forgetting to shut off the power first. Getting rid of 400 pounds of water makes it a lot lighter. It took just over two hours for the tank to drain.


----------



## cocobolo

Then it was a matter of lifting the tank a few inches off the floor so I could destroy the old floor and remove it.

I even contemplated using a come-along attached to one of the ceiling joists to lift the tank, but it didn't come close to lining up with one.

So it was using levers and blocks of wood to lift the tank a small amount at a time. I didn't want to disconnect either the water lines or the power, which meant that there was a limited amount of movement available.

At first I had the 2 x 4's under the tank on edge. That didn't last long, as they toppled during one of the lifts and so they ended up being on the flat.


----------



## cocobolo

In the bottom pic in the last post you can see that I have cut a chunk of the plywood out and removed it. Awkward to get at in several places, but it's gone now. The larger surrounding piece actually came out easily once I found the last hidden screw that was still hanging on.

The new OSB was not too bad to get in place. The only trouble was the washing machine drain (which will be moved) which was in the way. That's why they make sledge hammers don't y'know.


----------



## cocobolo

Once the tank was lowered back on to the floor I was able to extend the back wall framing. Now there's support for the first 8' sheet of flooring upstairs. That's for tomorrow.


----------



## cocobolo

I added a few more joists after dinner this evening - excuse the poor lighting - ready for the first of the new flooring to go down tomorrow.

Yes, I know some of the joists don't look square...they aren't fixed to the dividing wall yet.


----------



## BigJim

Amazing, is the only word that comes to mind right now. You will have a new house when you are finished, if there is such a word.


----------



## cocobolo

I added some 2 x 10 blocking between each of the new joists, that way there is good backing for the new subfloor.

First couple of sheets are down. I have had to move four bundles of shingles off the back roof inside, in order to reduce the weight sitting on the old back wall. Pretty soon there won't be any support there any more.


----------



## cocobolo

I had to move the house jack from the back wall over to the new floor. Hopefully it won't be needed for too long (famous last words). You can see that the corner of the old framing is sagging like crazy. There isn't any support left for that at all.

I don't want to sit anything on the new office roof to hold it up until I have it shingled. Not sure when that will be, but I did get one of the fascia boards cut and nailed on to the roof today. So, hopefully very soon. We keep getting threatened with thunderstorms, but none have materialized for the past couple of days.


----------



## cocobolo

I'm sure you know that all the old roof must go, but just a piece at a time so that I can provide support for the new stuff on an as needed basis.

No point in explaining again about the double roof. Here the top one is cut back and now we get to see the original shingles which were left in place.

Not really such a good idea, as the rain could easily get in there due to the lack of flashing outside. In fact, the nails in the old plywood subfloor were all rusted. Many of the heads broke off while I was pulling them out.


----------



## cocobolo

Here I am trying to show you just why the old roof was so bumpy.

These two pieces of 1 x 4 were side by side leaving a decidedly sizeable bump in the roof. This is the sort of thing that causes premature shingle failure.

And obviously they didn't bother with any roofing felt either.

One piece is 1 1/4" thick and the other is 11/16", and they were side by side.


----------



## cocobolo

As much as I would like to just run the chainsaw down the whole length of the old roof, I can't take the chance. 

There is wiring in the most unlikely places...so a little caution is required. That's why I cut each of the pieces of 1 x 4 sheathing out with the jigsaw.

Once I get the remainder of the fiberglass out from below, then it will be chainsaw time again.


----------



## scoggy

*Keith!!*

You and a chainsaw...mmmmm....Freddy Kruger =====8^)
You build and 'unbuild' like a chess master plays chess..except..there may be more 'pawns' on the board than you can 'checkmate', but I love the way you go about 'work arounds'! Doing lotsa 'Brownie points' things for wife around here, so may get a chance to get off of the 'rock' and come visit, eh?
Cheers
Syd:laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:


----------



## cocobolo

scoggy said:


> You and a chainsaw...mmmmm....Freddy Kruger =====8^)
> You build and 'unbuild' like a chess master plays chess..except..there may be more 'pawns' on the board than you can 'checkmate', but I love the way you go about 'work arounds'! Doing lotsa 'Brownie points' things for wife around here, so may get a chance to get off of the 'rock' and come visit, eh?
> Cheers
> Syd:laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:


Hi Syd...how are you doing? Good to hear from you.

The question of the hour...how's the '38 coming along, or shouldn't I ask?


----------



## cocobolo

Got a few more things done today...started out by removing the 6 mil poly under the old roof. Then bagged the insulation, so we have a clean place to start.


----------



## cocobolo

I seem to manage to hit my fair share of nails doing this disassembly. So it was time to devote a little care to the Husky before I chainsawed off the rest of the old rafters.

Now there is room to extend the middle wall right across the house.


----------



## cocobolo

While I was in the process of extending the wall, I decided that a door opening in the regular fashion would be easier than adding a big, heavy beam to the last 8 feet of wall.

Somehow I managed to select some very twisted studs for the door framing, and when I went to put in the header, the two sides opened up from each other over an inch.

I couldn't find a clamp long enough to span the twisted framing, so I used the old Spanish windlass trick, works every time. You can put immense amounts of pressure on the framing with just a decent piece of rope and a good metal pipe or bar. Quick, cheap and easy, can't beat that.


----------



## cocobolo

It seems that the action of getting the door framing untwisted somehow caused the top to go way out of line. It took several clamps and some hammer work to keep the two top plates straight. Plenty of nails up there now, and it should be OK for the foreseeable future.


----------



## cocobolo

With the middle wall essentially in place - still a few studs to add - I turned my attention to the removal of the rest of the original rafters/joists.

I find it easier to cut notches where the wiring goes through such framing members, and knock it out with a hammer. That way I can lift the joist out without having to trace the wires and disconnect everything.


----------



## cocobolo

The new back wall which is going against the original back wall has been partly framed all the way across. But the old joists must go before the top plate will fit. It was close...but no cigar.


----------



## cocobolo

Plenty of room now that the old joists are gone.

But I made one annoying mistake in my rush to get the new joists and the subfloor down.

You are looking into the top of the old beam here. It's made of 2 2 x 10's and one 2 x 8 sandwiched in between. In that nice little groove in the top, the thoughtful electricians ran several wires. Now usually they are way short on staples with their wiring here. Not this time of course.

It's just an inconvenience to have to get in there to pull the wire out. I'm thinking that I may try to pull out the nails from one side of the beam and see how that works.


----------



## cocobolo

There's enough new joists here to catch the next full 8' sheet of flooring.


----------



## cocobolo

At the end of the day I laid the flooring and added two more joists. The next joist will have to wait until the new end wall gets built, as it will be going under that wall.


----------



## cocobolo

Quick update...it was a trip to the dentist on the 15th, so that day was shot. Then yesterday my internet went out...modem was shot. The good cable guy just installed a new one, took him all of 3 minutes. 

The plumber was here this morning, only to tell me that he can't be here until tomorrow now. Of course he tried to send me an email, and we know why that didn't get through.

So I have a big list of supplies to pick up this afternoon. We start on the plumbing tomorrow morning bright and early at 7 am. More pictures then.


----------



## cocobolo

Joe the plumber arrived promptly at 7:30. Good thing he was a little late, because I spotted some wiring that I had to reroute and that killed half an hour very effectively.

The first thing we had to do was to replace the water heater. That turned out to be nice and straight forward. 

Later in the day, Mike the electrician came by, but couldn't stay. So he came back on Sunday and wired the water heater up (We had to move the wire so it would reach the new heater location.) Plus he re-located the dryer outlet. I will still need to wire that myself, but the rough in is done.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's Mike wiring the new water heater. The wall to my immediate left I had to add after the new heater was in place. I needed to leave the exact space for the tub, vanity and toilet in the bathroom.


----------



## cocobolo

There were no pictures of the plumbing day while it was in progress, as landlady Val was in Vancouver on yet another medical mission. Both Joe and I were hustling all day long.

Here the tub/shower is in place.

Joe asked if we could build the wall on the left end of the tub and then push it onto place after we positioned the tub. Absolutely, why not?

That way he says he gets to screw the unit firmly to the framing, rather than having a small space between the end of the shower and the new wall.


----------



## cocobolo

Not that you guys care, but moving the washing machine drain was actually the first thing we had to do on Saturday. Definitely the most awkward part of the plumbing repair, and no room to spare under the floor. That's where the experience of a good plumber comes in very handy.

Now it's nice and tidy on the new center dividing wall.

I got things a bit out of order here, sorry about that. :icon_redface:


----------



## cocobolo

I had dug out plenty of room for Joe to get under the floor to run the new drain lines for the tub, vanity and toilet.

The one thing I couldn't fix was the original concrete wall which stuck out about 5" below the newly framed back wall. It was a squeeze fit for the vanity drain with Joe working below and myself above. It took us three tries to get the fittings together.

The rough in is not finished behind the tub/shower...and why you may ask? Well, it seems the good lady at the supplier forgot to add a transfer valve to the order, for which she was most apologetic but it didn't do us any good at the time.

The last of the drain fixes was to re-configure the toilet drain from upstairs. Previously it stuck out most inconveniently into the then smaller bathroom.

I have some framing fixing to do still there.


----------



## concrete_joe

post 905, water heater on an unfinished floor, just some osb?


----------



## scoggy

*"Creativity" "A" plus!*

Keith, love watching how you 'simplex' compound actions, as you work! You seem to be able to keep your 'eye on the prize, and reach that goal! I , being old, love to watch and wait your next action, just like the Old "lone Ranger' series evry day at 4:30 CBC time!!!!!:thumbsup:
Cheers
Scoggy


----------



## cocobolo

concrete_joe said:


> post 905, water heater on an unfinished floor, just some osb?


Joe, there is a metal drain pan below the tank with a drain installed by Joe the plumber. It may not show well in the picture, but it's there. That light grey overflow pipe runs directly to the drain pan.

It was there with the original tank...and when I drained that tank, I obviously used the pan to direct the water out of the house.

We haven't decided what that floor will be covered with yet...but most likely the vinyl "plank" type flooring. We were looking at different kinds of flooring a few days ago, but haven't decided yet.

That will be just a mechanical room anyway, so we aren't that concerned about it. Likely going to make a short wall with a vented bifold to keep stuff out of sight.


----------



## cocobolo

scoggy said:


> Keith, love watching how you 'simplex' compound actions, as you work! You seem to be able to keep your 'eye on the prize, and reach that goal! I , being old, love to watch and wait your next action, just like the Old "lone Ranger' series evry day at 4:30 CBC time!!!!!:thumbsup:
> Cheers
> Scoggy


Hey there Kemosabe, how are you? I thought I was about the only old fart who would remember the Loan Arranger and Toronto.

No news on the '38 yet?


----------



## cocobolo

It seems that I'm getting a bit behind in my posting.

A few days ago I extended the new back roof and added some more new floor. Of course it was well past the end of the day before I was done, something I seem to be good at.


----------



## cocobolo

On Tuesday there was yet another medical trip to Vancouver for Val...this time for two MRI's. If you know how long it takes to get these things booked then you know that you cannot afford to miss one.

We were at the Jim Pattison Centre in Surrey for this. If you have seen my mention of Jim before on the Gulf Island thread, then you know that he is a well liked businessman in B. C. 

I have no idea just how many millions of dollars he has donated over the years for health care in this province, but he does it constantly. He also makes his private jet available for emergency flights for any child who might need it. Definitely not your average self-made millionaire. Just a really decent all round good guy.


----------



## cocobolo

We didn't get back from Vancouver until the wee hours of Wednesday morning and there wasn't a lot of progress here that day.

Thursday (yesterday) saw more new flooring added downstairs, all the while remembering that the old wiring needs to be removed as we go.


----------



## cocobolo

With the main drain from upstairs now fixed, it turned out that the window in the bathroom was too high. So that got re-framed so that the top of the window will be below the new drop ceiling.


----------



## cocobolo

Boxing in the upper drain. Now there will be about a 4" space between the top of the window and the drop ceiling.


----------



## cocobolo

The vertical drain also required boxing...now done.

Unfortunately, the new drop ceiling will limit the door opening. However, it will still open well over 90º, so we aren't that concerned. We will be going to a 34" door as opposed to a 36".


----------



## cocobolo

Which brings us to today. Another trip to the dentist in Salmon Arm. He had to slice my jaw open the other day, and now the stitches need to go. Not sure what else has to be done...all I know it's another wasted building day. It's just over a 100 mile round trip, and naturally the appointment has to be right in the middle of the day!

When Mike the electrician was here, he gave me some good advice. So we will be picking up some GFI's in Salmon Arm today, as well as more plumbing fittings for Joe. Back to work tomorrow I guess. :wallbash:

We did find a good humidity sensing fan for the bathroom while we were down in Vancouver, so that's on the short list to get installed as well.


----------



## 123pugsy

Looking good Kieth.

How about insulation in the floor?
You gonna stuff it in from underneath?


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Looking good Kieth.
> 
> How about insulation in the floor?
> You gonna stuff it in from underneath?


We're going to insulate the exterior walls eventually. Very similar to a regular basement, except this will be only a crawl space, and much of it won't even be crawlable for some time to come.

We may insulate some of the less accessible areas at the north end of the floor, but we haven't got there yet.

Thanks for asking...someone has to keep me on my toes! :jester:


----------



## cocobolo

For the past five days we have had visitors. First a long time family friend and his lady - they were up here for a wedding - and then one of Val's daughters and her two little girls.

Let me tell you how much time can get wasted with visitors....

But the long time friend happens to be in the HVAC game and he will be getting us the heat pump system at cost, so sometimes there are benefits to having the occasional visitor.

But still and all we have managed to carry on with more of the demolition and re-building. At least now things are starting to come together. 

Both the plumber and electrician have been here...the plumber to get the last of the rough in done and the bath/shower fittings, so that can be closed in now. The electrician just to see how we are doing and pass along some more good advice. He seems to think that I can manage the rest of the electrical on my own, but it's still very handy to be able to give him a call if need be.

Most of the old wiring has now been pulled out and the new circuits down stairs will all be run from scratch.


----------



## cocobolo

The most time consuming part of this exercise has been removing all the old garbage. Here I am taking apart the wiring in the old post which I used to support the two new beams I used to temporarily support the back roof last winter.

Getting closer to the end of the old roof now...still a dozen or so of the old rafters and roofing to go.


----------



## cocobolo

There was some delay with the plumbing order. It seems that the supplier did indeed have the requisite pieces in stock, but that got missed by the original sales person...no names mentioned here.

The second sales person said, Oh, we always have that in stock, just let me check. There were 9 on the shelf!

Anyway, Joe was here again and I'm glad to say he is a stickler for doing things properly.

Here I am holding one of the tub fittings just exactly where Joe wanted it while he fastens the backing in place.


----------



## cocobolo

It took us a couple of hours to fit everything in place, and then the water test. This time it went OK, no leaks or anything. So now we have a usable tub downstairs.

Next up will be the wiring, then drywall, then Joe can fit the vanity and toilet.

There always seems to be something else that takes priority, and now it will be the extended roof that needs to be shingled. As usual, there is still some of the old stuff that has to go first before that can be done.


----------



## cocobolo

A somewhat slow process getting rid of the old roof. Cut the sheathing off first so that the next rafter is ready to fall, then cut the next section of beam off so the rafter will come crashing down. Then stand the next floor joist upstairs as we go and add new support for the top roof of the house so that doesn't land on us. Slow, but it seems to be working OK.


----------



## cocobolo

As the rafters and old wall came down, I gained room to carry on with the new wall framing. Here the window in what is now destined to become a family room has been framed.


----------



## cocobolo

I find it easier to rout out the sheathing as I go along where ever possible. The top sheet will have to be done from the outside, and that will require some time consuming scaffolding and major cleanup outside.


----------



## cocobolo

All sorts of interesting things showed up under the floor as we removed the ensuing sheets of plywood.

This is one of the old posts that I had so much trouble trying to remove last winter. It's all gone now.


----------



## cocobolo

Eventually we got close to the end of the room, and here we are starting to undo the wall I installed last winter. Perhaps you recall the fine 6 mil poly wall that was there before?

This was screwed together, so it came apart quite easily. We'll re-use the OSB to sheet some of the inside of the second shed.


----------



## cocobolo

This is the last 7 feet or so of the old floor. 

This was the part where the joists didn't come out as far as the rest of the floor and until I unearthed this mess we didn't know what the excuse was.

As usual they used some of the T & G wood for joists, and apparently they simply were not long enough to extend as far as the rest of the floor.

Note that when I did the new wall outside that it is level. You can see here how the old floor slopes down. I have now raised that up and will be installing new floor joists which will reach out to the new exterior wall.

I don't see the point in taking out the old joists. Might as well leave them in place as I sister the new ones. The old Douglas fir is still in good shape.


----------



## cocobolo

When Mike the electrician was here I showed him the sub panel. You see the two black breakers on the upper left....well, Mike says to get rid of them.

They are old and apparently they did not trip very often in the case of a short. Not much good if it can't do the job it was designed to do. So if any of you out there have an old FPE panel with these breakers, you might want to update them to the new style, which the rest of the breakers are in this panel.


----------



## cocobolo

Getting rid of the end wall in the original house proved to be somewhat of a nightmare.

What I managed to do in the end was to cut the bedroom floor back flush with the end wall and run the new bedroom floor (now level) right up to the old wall. The junk that was buried in there was really incredible, but we have it out now. Not a fun job.


----------



## cocobolo

With the old out and the new in, the floor looks much better now. Just the first half in this photo.

What I will do eventually - when the new roof is to go on - is to build a new wall adjoining the floor upstairs. I will start this from the ground of course, and we are in the process of trying to get rid of everything downstairs to start with a clean slate.

As with just about everything here, it is yet another nightmare.


----------



## cocobolo

Here I am cutting through the old back wall upstairs. It was the only way I could conceive to enable the roof to be lifted marginally while leaving the walls in place.

Once the first half of the new floor was installed upstairs, then I could use that to support the roof. With the weight of the roof shifted from the walls to a house jack sitting on the new floor, there was no concern about the roof wandering off.


----------



## cocobolo

You might think that even the builder of this place would have noticed that this stud was slightly less than perfect. Apparently not.


----------



## cocobolo

Just look at the mess that has to go before I can start on the new wall down below!


----------



## cocobolo

Just two more narrow sections of the old roof to go after this piece. Almost got it beat.


----------



## 123pugsy

I've never seen a guy build a house from the inside out before. :whistling2:
Crazy!


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> I've never seen a guy build a house from the inside out before. :whistling2:
> Crazy!


Hmmmm...never really gave it much thought before, but I guess you're right.

Aren't you glad that you tuned in? Learn something new every day from this old house!


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> hmmmm...never really gave it much thought before, but i guess you're right.
> 
> Aren't you glad that you tuned in? Learn something new every day from this old house!


lol....


----------



## Windows on Wash

You are a machine big guy. Keep on crushing it!!!


----------



## cocobolo

Windows on Wash said:


> You are a machine big guy. Keep on crushing it!!!


Thanks WOW...but some of the parts are wearing out now. Replacements no longer kept in stock! :wheelchair:


----------



## Windows on Wash

cocobolo said:


> Thanks WOW...but some of the parts are wearing out now. Replacements no longer kept in stock! :wheelchair:


Ha!!

You are still putting most of to shame. Trust me. 


:thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## concrete_joe

Windows on Wash said:


> You are a machine big guy. Keep on crushing it!!!


a different type of machine though, certainly one that just keeps going and going, yet not the repeat-task type.


----------



## williamlayton

HUMMMMM---except for the use of anything but blue tarp. :laughing:
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

Pretty much have the old wall out of the way here to build the new one under the bedroom floor.

That big old green workbench needed to be moved out of the way, as it was within inches of where the new wall has to go. Even when it was emptied, you needed three men and a small boy to move it.


----------



## cocobolo

At this point the floor downstairs had not been fully sheeted, and this is the pile of detritus that remained from taking out the last of the end and side walls.


----------



## cocobolo

Once the junk was discarded, the family room floor was sheeted off.


----------



## cocobolo

It was at about this point that Val decided she wanted me to open up the old back wall of the garage. While it was a good idea, it also meant moving another half ton of junk out of the way.

Fortunately, it didn't take too long and an hour or so later I was able to give the old heave-ho to a section of the wall no longer needed.


----------



## cocobolo

Do you recall mention that I made about the Rockwell Versa-cut saw a few days ago.

Well, I tried a small experiment. I held the saw right at the back end and pushed it through a sheet of 7/16" OSB, I did not try to guide it straight, but rather let it make it's own way through the wood.

Both coming and going it would not cut a straight line. These curves it did of its' own accord. That would explain why the saw feels as though it is labouring while cutting a straight line.

What's the first thing you think of in a case like this? Damage to one side of the teeth, right?

So I used an 8x eye loupe to examine the teeth, and this is powerful enough to show the grinding marks on the back of every tooth. I can find no damaged or broken teeth, nor any other obvious problem.

What say you tool gurus? I really would like to get to the bottom of this one.


----------



## cocobolo

Meanwhile, work has continued on the long back roof.


----------



## cocobolo

Since I prefer to do the first few feet of roofing from a scaffold, that was the next item of construction. Not to mention that I still needed to screw the lower half of the roof sheathing to the rafters.


----------



## cocobolo

Shortly thereafter the back roof was done with 15 lb. roofing felt and 240 lb. shingles.


----------



## cocobolo

One more time.....this really should be the last cut off the old garage roof to make room for the new house wall downstairs. It looks like the two "beams" will need to be shortened as well, but not by much.


----------



## cocobolo

Indeed the beams did need some minor shortening. The center beam I did with the handsaw...no problem. The other one with the chainsaw. For a change I managed to miss a 6" spike which was buried.


----------



## cocobolo

Building the new back wall was relatively uneventful. 

Next will be to add two short wall sections for the office, and then we can get on with running some rough electrical in place.

Today was another trip in to Kamloops for a variety of stuff. Insulation for the outside bathroom wall, more Mold Guard drywall for said bathroom, two colours of paint for the bathroom, a timer for the bathroom fan, more long screws so we can change the scaffolding, stain for the exterior house trim...although the only boards to be done yet will be the fascia on the long roof, two lounge hammocks that Val wanted (got a steal of a deal) but heaven knows when there will be time to use them, a nice set of three augers to drill holes for the wiring and a roll of 6 mil poly for the vapour barrier.


----------



## A Squared

So, when this project is complete, how much of the Pre-Keith structure will remain? As the project progresses it looks like less and less. I read your post back in June where you described the property/setback issues which Kind of tip the scales toward "renovating" instead of demolishing and rebuilding. Hypothetically, if you didn't have the property issues, would you still be renovating and restoring, or would it just be better to tear down the old one and build a new one?


----------



## concrete_joe

cocobolo said:


> What say you tool gurus? I really would like to get to the bottom of this one.


how thick are the teeth and blade core? teeth angle/pitch? in other words, what blade exactly did you use?

there's torq on the axial motor, it will want to naturally twist. you need to counteract that by guiding the saw.

try the same experiment with one of those saws that have two blades, two counter-rotating blades. i suspect still a curved cut but much less of an arc.


----------



## williamlayton

I have one and use it in a rocking motion, left to right or right to left along a line and it works good.
Back off the vibration amount too about 2 or 3 and, I found it to be more manageable.
i really like it to trim boards that have those minute 1/16th measurements--I just go to quarters or 10ths and trim it percisely.
I forget that you are metric--so just do it your way.
Blessings

PS---blue tarps are on sale down here. :wink:


----------



## cocobolo

A Squared said:


> So, when this project is complete, how much of the Pre-Keith structure will remain? As the project progresses it looks like less and less. I read your post back in June where you described the property/setback issues which Kind of tip the scales toward "renovating" instead of demolishing and rebuilding. Hypothetically, if you didn't have the property issues, would you still be renovating and restoring, or would it just be better to tear down the old one and build a new one?


Let me answer your last question first.

We would still renovate, the main reason being cost.

As to how much will be altered...well, quite a bit it would seem.

The entire back end has now been removed and replaced. A section of the back roof is to be re-done and a section of the front roof is to be raised a little. You already know about the garage work, most of it anyway. The garage roof must be changed, but most of it will be using the same materials (rafters and sheathing.)

The poor excuse for siding will be replaced with cedar, and some of the windows will be updated. 

A new heat pump system using mini-splits will heat and cool the place.

I suppose if I had to guess I would say 50-60% of the structure will be renewed.


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> I have one and use it in a rocking motion, left to right or right to left along a line and it works good.
> Back off the vibration amount too about 2 or 3 and, I found it to be more manageable.
> i really like it to trim boards that have those minute 1/16th measurements--I just go to quarters or 10ths and trim it percisely.
> I forget that you are metric--so just do it your way.
> Blessings
> 
> PS---blue tarps are on sale down here. :wink:


Are we talking about the same saw William?

There is no vibration control on mine that I can see. I don't see how you could rock this one, as the shoe must be pressed down flat quite forcefully when making the cut.

BTW, I am very familiar with the imperial system having used it all my life. Yes I know the metric system, but still prefer the imperial.

P.S. Blue tarps are ALWAYS on sale up here too. :whistling2:


----------



## cocobolo

concrete_joe said:


> how thick are the teeth and blade core? teeth angle/pitch? in other words, what blade exactly did you use?
> 
> there's torq on the axial motor, it will want to naturally twist. you need to counteract that by guiding the saw.
> 
> try the same experiment with one of those saws that have two blades, two counter-rotating blades. i suspect still a curved cut but much less of an arc.


Since a picture is supposed to be worth 1,000 words, here's a few thousand for you.

The blades for this saw are only 3 3/8". This particular blade has brazed carbide teeth on a fairly husky core. I checked it for flatness this evening, and it sits dead flat against my machine square all the way around.


----------



## cocobolo

Sorry...I meant to include this better pic as well.

All the teeth appear to be OK.


----------



## cocobolo

Tomorrow I will push three of my electric handsaws through the same thickness of OSB and see if they cut straight or not. This is not a phenomenon that I have experienced previously.


----------



## cocobolo

This morning I lowered the scaffolding in order to add the sheathing to the long wall.

No sooner had we started to add the last sheets of OSB than the skies opened up and we got a wonderful thunderstorm and heavy rain.


----------



## williamlayton

No, we are talking two different tools.
My bad 
Blue tarps are the only kind we have---for some reason.
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

A few small items were attended to today, the first was to frame off the utility room. I will install a bifold door in the hole at some future date.


----------



## cocobolo

Next up was to frame the office walls...both very short, so a nice easy job.


----------



## cocobolo

Next up was to fill one of the window holes. This one will close off the bathroom at long last.


----------



## cocobolo

Following this was a job I have been studiously avoiding for as long as possible. But the time has come to get rid of all of the old wiring that was originally in the back end of the house.

I have the sub panel cleaned out of everything, leaving only the dryer wiring still in place.


----------



## cocobolo

Now I can start with a clean slate and make my own mess in the panel.

The first circuit in was just for a light over what will become the back entrance into the workshop, a light for the utility room and a duplex outlet close to the future back door.

I may add more to this circuit later on.


----------



## concrete_joe

post #972, looks clean. for any AL wires apply some noalux on them. i underlined because some people just goop it on, but it has application instructions, etc.


----------



## cocobolo

concrete_joe said:


> post #972, looks clean. for any AL wires apply some noalux on them. i underlined because some people just goop it on, but it has application instructions, etc.


Thanks Joe...I didn't notice at first that the wires feeding this sub panel are aluminum. Everything that I add for the branch circuits will be strictly copper.

When Mike the electrician visits again, I will ask him if it is OK to leave the aluminum in place. It doesn't appear to have been a problem thus far.


----------



## scoggy

*Seeing you build....*

Keith, sometimes seeing the photos you submit, reminds me of seeing Michalangelo working on the "sistine chapel"..just laboring under the eaves, or roof, or wherever, and in the end making 'art' out of rafters,rises,eaves, and walls! Great how you start with something 'broken'....work like there is no tomorrow..and make it whole! Kudos to you!!
Scoggy:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## williamlayton

He's good---the energy level is amazing.
Blessings


----------



## concrete_joe

cocobolo said:


> Thanks Joe...I didn't notice at first that the wires feeding this sub panel are aluminum. Everything that I add for the branch circuits will be strictly copper.
> 
> When Mike the electrician visits again, I will ask him if it is OK to leave the aluminum in place. It doesn't appear to have been a problem thus far.


its use depends on a few factors. type of AL, panel listing, a requirement by your locale, etc etc.

however, all of those questions need no answers if some noalux is used. doesnt hurt to ask, doesnt hurt just to use it (all AL will oxidize over time), etc.


----------



## cocobolo

Way back on March 5th I posted about getting a new saw.

This past Sunday I got around to opening the box to assemble the saw. It wasn't necessary to do so before because my chum Bill had his saw here until just a few weeks ago.

What I found was this...


----------



## cocobolo

What you are looking at is the inside of a very broken saw. The gear on the motor should have lined up with the worm gear...obviously, it is somewhere around 45º out of whack.

It seems that the box must have taken a fairly major tumble at some point, and when I examined the box, the evidence was all over one side.

After I had finished taking the entire saw apart I discovered that there were two broken castings.


----------



## cocobolo

So I called the 1-800 number on the box for some assistance. It was the corporate head office of Rigid in the U. S.

I'm being exceedingly polite when I say the woman on the phone was less than helpful.

It seems that I committed not one, but two crimes. Firstly, I made the mistake of telling her that I was calling from Canada and secondly, that I had bought the saw some 5 months ago but had not opened the box until the day before I called them.

It seems that if you do not report a manufacturers defect within 90 days that you can go and whistle. I tried to explain that this was not a manufacturing defect, but rather some kind of accident while in transit. So I asked if there was perhaps a customer service manager that I might speak with. Her reply? We don't have one. I see, is there perhaps a number up in Canada that I could call for some help. Her reply? NO! This is the corporate head office! I see, is there perhaps a source of parts that you might be able to give me? So she gave me the number of their parts department. I thanked her and hung up. The poor woman was obviously having a bad day, and apparently I didn't help it any.

So I called the "parts department" which turned out to be a company called "Gardner". The lady there was most helpful and very shortly emailed me a PDF of the workings of the saw. I picked out the two part numbers and emailed them to her. Within half an hour she had sent me the full part numbers along with the prices thereof. 

The small piece was a little over $23 and the big one $129, plus $50 shipping to Canada. Only $17.45 if shipped within the U.S.

By the time I had added up the total cost, which would have also included a whopping $70 brokerage fee from Fedex, the taxes coming in to Canada and a disgusting 31% exchange rate, the end cost was to be $399. Not very appealing.

So yesterday I called the House of Pot where we got the saw and was met with nothing but courtesy and helpfulness. Barb, the supervisor of the department explained that they had many of these saws returned with exactly the same parts broken. She went to the trouble of taking another saw apart and exchanging my broken parts for her new ones...no charge.

I picked the new parts up this morning, along with a van load of insulation for the house. I plan on sending a note to Home Depot head office in Canada to let them know just how helpful Barb was.

Tomorrow is another medical trip to Vancouver and while we are there I will try to pick up the heat pump setup. Hopefully that will go smoothly.

With a little luck the saw will go back together on Saturday.


----------



## BigJim

That almost makes me want to go buy something at Home Dump. LOL Glad it worked out for you Keith.


----------



## williamlayton

Life is a B****, and then you die.
Sorry about the problem--at least it got solved.
I just MISORDERED a replacement cord for my framing saw and got two ! 
I have no idea how I accomplished that little trick.
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> That almost makes me want to go buy something at Home Dump. LOL Glad it worked out for you Keith.


Almost...but not quite eh Jim!


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> Life is a B****, and then you die.
> Sorry about the problem--at least it got solved.
> I just MISORDERED a replacement cord for my framing saw and got two !
> I have no idea how I accomplished that little trick.
> Blessings


Now if you could pull that off with table saws...:thumbsup:


----------



## cocobolo

Saturday has come and gone with no saw together.

On the way back from Vancouver while we were up on the "Coke" I started hearing some ungodly howling from the engine compartment. It got progressively worse as the miles ticked along. For the last 30 miles or so I slowed right down as much as possible, and we made it home without any major failure.

Yesterday morning I looked for the culprit, and I think it is a bearing going out in the back of the alternator. So pull the unit out - now there's an interesting job - and off we go to Kamloops for a replacement. Picked up some brake shoes and pads at the same time.

Today was taken up with preparing the back entrance for a small deck to enter/exit the house from. There needed to be a new wall added under the doorway, as well as that wall and the wall below the bathroom required insulation.


----------



## cocobolo

I used the 5/8" PWF plywood to sheet the walls with, so that should last 100 years or so.


----------



## cocobolo

After that I raked some gravel in place and built the small deck.

Fairly straight forward, until we got hit with a dandy thunderstorm. I decided to work right through it as the rain was quite warm.


----------



## cocobolo

We did bring back all the components for the heat pump system from Vancouver...and I emphasize the word "system", as all the various parts and pieces filled up the back of the van very completely. It will be interesting to see how all this ends up going together.

The other thing I did this afternoon was to build the concrete form for the heat pump itself. The weather is supposed to improve tomorrow so it might be OK for concrete work.


----------



## cocobolo

Took me a good part of the day, but now have a working saw. Just the blade guard assembly to bolt on and that's it.

Nice and quiet and super smooth. I haven't made any test cuts yet...maybe tomorrow...or maybe not. We have two of Val's daughters arriving tomorrow for a couple of days. One all the way from Ireland!


----------



## SPS-1

That saw is a mother to move (other than rolling it on the casters). I had to tear it all apart and then still had trouble getting some of the bigger parts into my basement. Measured by the pound, the saw is a pretty good deal.


----------



## sleepyg

Keith, you will love the mini splits, they are so quiet. I have to go stand in front of my outdoor unit to tell if it is running!


----------



## concrete_joe

i like the big table saws, but unless you have a nice big table for sheets to run out onto i find it a pita making nice cuts in sheets even with just some roller stands. but nice saw you got there.


----------



## cocobolo

SPS-1 said:


> That saw is a mother to move (other than rolling it on the casters). I had to tear it all apart and then still had trouble getting some of the bigger parts into my basement. Measured by the pound, the saw is a pretty good deal.


Yes, all 275 pounds of it. Nothing to it on the wheels.


----------



## cocobolo

sleepyg said:


> Keith, you will love the mini splits, they are so quiet. I have to go stand in front of my outdoor unit to tell if it is running!


I only know of one friend who has one, and they say the same thing. 

We are lucky that the fellow from the company that sold us the equipment will be coming up to do the final connections for us. Never having done one of these before I would rather not take the chance of screwing something up. But I will pay close attention so I can at least learn something.

I poured the concrete this morning for the pad.


----------



## cocobolo

concrete_joe said:


> i like the big table saws, but unless you have a nice big table for sheets to run out onto i find it a pita making nice cuts in sheets even with just some roller stands. but nice saw you got there.


That's for sure. Rigid actually supplies simple plans for just such a run off table. I do have some of the roller stands, but I don't find that they work all that well.


----------



## cocobolo

After what seemed like many delays, I was finally able to get the second half of the roof done over the new office area.

It seems to me that we kept getting rain in the forecast, although many times it would not materialize.


----------



## cocobolo

When the girls were here visiting, I learned that one of them is a marathon runner! She is one strong lady! She kept asking if there was anything that she and her sister could help with.

The one thing I knew I couldn't do alone was to move the French doors upstairs. Being double glazed, they were quite heavy.

It turned out that they were easy to disassemble, so I took them apart and the girls kindly moved them upstairs for me. I really did appreciate the help.


----------



## cocobolo

It wasn't until yesterday that I got around to installing the doors. Since there was no wall there, it was a different experience.

And just exactly how, you may ask, does one install doors when there is no wall?

The problem here is that the old roof over the bedroom is still in place. It slopes from 8' on the high side to less than 6' on the low side. Until that roof is gone, there isn't space to construct the wall...which will be slightly under 8'.

So what I did was to clean out the area where the door was to go, check on the plumb/level (which was good) and install just a single 2 x 4 stud up against the original end wall of the cabin.

When we got the doors, I was under the impression that we would be using a 2 x 4 wall. Since then we have decided to make it a 2 x 6 wall.

Essentially, I have surrounded the door jamb with 2 x 4's, and from there on out it will be all 2 x 6. All it will take to finish that off will be some custom cut wood to fit and more or less match the door frame itself.


----------



## cocobolo

You may have spotted a big hole outside the right side door in the above pic, and you would be right.

With these doors, the right side is fixed and the left side (looking from outside) is the one that opens.

The deck which is there is one more thing which will need to be altered. I doubt that will get done until next year. But at least we will be able to get in and out if necessary.


----------



## cocobolo

Prior to installing the doors, I had the decidedly unglamorous job of taking down the cedar from the ceiling. That part was OK...it was the insulation which wasn't quite so nice.

Evidently, the local squirrel population had made the roof their local hotel. The insulation was chewed up into small pieces and was filled with their droppings. Yecch, what a stink. Thank goodness that the entire roof will be hitting the burn pile very soon.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the pile of cedar T & G from the ceiling.

I was able to rip out the top couple of rows, which of course destroys the tongue and groove, but after that I was able to ease the wood away from the rafters and lift the pieces off from the high side. I think I got about 3/4 of the wood off without breaking the edges off. 

I have in mind using this wood for making the soffit outside. There hasn't been anything else that I could re-cycle yet, except for firewood.


----------



## BigJim

Man you haven't been letting any grass grow under your feet, that is for sure. I have heard it is impossible to make a silk purse out of a sows ear, but I believe you may just do that on this home, looks great Keith.


----------



## ddsrph

Great looking work. Are you going to have enough energy left over to build on your lot?

Jim


----------



## cocobolo

ddsrph said:


> Great looking work. Are you going to have enough energy left over to build on your lot?
> 
> Jim


I doubt it very much. But you never know with us old farts. :wheelchair:


----------



## ddsrph

For a couple or especially a single person some of those mini houses look very interesting. I wouldn't want to go to the small size extremes they do but if expanded to double or even triple size they would be a nice quick build and make a very comfortable house.

Jim


----------



## cocobolo

ddsrph said:


> For a couple or especially a single person some of those mini houses look very interesting. I wouldn't want to go to the small size extremes they do but if expanded to double or even triple size they would be a nice quick build and make a very comfortable house.
> 
> Jim


The local rules are that the minimum size for any dwelling in this community is 60 square metres. That translates to 645.8 square feet. There are a number of places up here that are built that size, and one that I have visited is genuinely a very nice little home.

The recommendation is that we use the minimum size, but put a basement under it, thus doubling the size without doubling the cost. They require that you have the 60 square metres on ONE level, so you can't put half of it downstairs and the rest upstairs. Always some catch or other with the government.


----------



## ddsrph

That would be a perfect size and a challenging build project to maximize useful space. With roof to allow attic storage or even a sleeping loft a lot could be done with a house that size. The one I am building is only 1200 sq feet and has a 8 1-2 foot wide 42 feet long attic storage room, with a easy access pull down stairs.

Jim


----------



## scoggy

*Gyproc ceiling lift*

Keith, nice work, love following, reading, and learning! Who made that lift for putting up ceiling gyproc? Where can a person get one, like the one you used? Have to do basement ceilings this winter, and looks like it could be done by just lil ol me and it.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## cocobolo

scoggy said:


> Keith, nice work, love following, reading, and learning! Who made that lift for putting up ceiling gyproc? Where can a person get one, like the one you used? Have to do basement ceilings this winter, and looks like it could be done by just lil ol me and it.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


Princess Auto, on sale for about $149 I think...something like that anyway. It works like a charm.

I'm going to be drywalling the bathroom ceiling downstairs in a day or two. So I get to use it again.


----------



## cocobolo

A little change of pace here for a minute.

I was looking up something about Roxul insulation and followed a link which popped up and ended up arriving at this link.






It is without doubt one of the most interesting presentations about building information that I have ever seen. And I've seen a few and read hundreds.

This guy has a terrific sense of humour while at the same time knowing his business.

If you have a little time, give it a listen. I think you might learn a whole lot.


----------



## cocobolo

Getting ready to do a little soffit work. Installing some simple framing to hold the cedar which came off the bedroom ceiling. There is likely to be two vents coming out of this soffit area, one from the dryer and the other from the bathroom fan.

Hopefully I will be able to solve and potential moisture issues before they arise.


----------



## cocobolo

It seems that we have been invaded by yet more forest fire smoke over the past couple of days. This was taken this morning and I couldn't even see any part of the lake. It was smoky enough that ones eyes would tear up.


----------



## cocobolo

This was the load of heat pump equipment as of early this morning. Most of it was light weight, except for the main unit at 165 lbs.


----------



## cocobolo

I didn't need to resort to using the rope trick to get the heat pump out of the van. Just ran a couple of 2 x 6's off the back bumper and the pump slid down without incident.


----------



## cocobolo

The pump is being installed just outside the back entrance to the small office. Prior to any mounting, it was necessary to remove the scored plywood siding, under which was another layer of yellow painted plywood.

The lines for both power and the refrigerant will be inside the wall and it will get re-sided later with cedar.


----------



## cocobolo

Back inside, I had to run the vent for the bath fan as the soffit will be going in shortly.

They sure don't do a very good job of crimping the ends of the vent pipes. Nothing but a fight to get one into the other.


----------



## cocobolo

I picked out some of the salvaged cedar and started on the soffit install today...but couldn't find the bug screen to make my vents. Looks like I will be waiting a couple of days to attend to that.


----------



## ddsrph

cocobolo said:


> A little change of pace here for a minute.
> 
> I was looking up something about Roxul insulation and followed a link which popped up and ended up arriving at this link.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_BaIhq8Avk
> 
> It is without doubt one of the most interesting presentations about building information that I have ever seen. And I've seen a few and read hundreds.
> 
> This guy has a terrific sense of humour while at the same time knowing his business.
> 
> If you have a little time, give it a listen. I think you might learn a whole lot.


Excellent video. The building science group is what I used for advice on my partially underground walls and how to best insulate.

JM


----------



## scoggy

*Great News.........*

Keith, '38 body is off frame, and frame is in the Big shop....never thought I would see that happen....now over the winter, will redo all the chassis stuff I 'hurried built' last time around...and I have some really nice accumulated 'stuff' to put on frame ==========*^)


----------



## cocobolo

Syd...I'm really glad to hear that. I was afraid we were going to have to bury the '38 with you! Good luck with the rebuild...I'm sure once you get going on it full force it will go well.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Syd...I'm really glad to hear that. I was afraid we were going to have to bury the '38 with you! Good luck with the rebuild...I'm sure once you get going on it full force it will go well.


Sniff....sniff....do I smell a hot rod here......38 what?


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Sniff....sniff....do I smell a hot rod here......38 what?


'38 Chevy coupe...small block, etc. etc.

Syd asked me to make him a dash panel for his gauges some time ago. Maybe if you ask nicely he will post a couple of pics.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> '38 Chevy coupe...small block, etc. etc.
> 
> Syd asked me to make him a dash panel for his gauges some time ago. Maybe if you ask nicely he will post a couple of pics.


38 Chevy. Sweet.

Hey Syd. Toss up a pick or two. Pleease...I was searching for a 37-39 Chevy at the time I found my current rod.


----------



## cocobolo

If we don't get a positive reply from Syd, I might have a few pics buried way back in my archives. 

Other than that, it has been terrible weather here - loads of rain and wind - plus we've made another trip to Vancouver which was a nightmare. I'll try to get around to filling you in on that one shortly.

I can only hope that we get enough rain free days to get the back roof and walls changed before the cold weather hits us. Daytime highs are now in the lower 20's C. Way too much to do and not enough time.


----------



## BigJim

Keith, from what I am hearing, it is going to be one bad winter this year, I hope they are wrong.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Keith, from what I am hearing, it is going to be one bad winter this year, I hope they are wrong.


Hi Jim: Well you could be right of course. I haven't looked into the winter weather predictions yet, but they sure have it wrong for our early fall here. It is raining again as we speak, with rain in the immediate forecast for something like 12 of the next 14 days. 

Going back a month or so, we were supposed to get very dry and warm weather for the next 45 days. That didn't pan out, so now they are forecasting in the opposite direction. The low forecast for tomorrow night is 3ºC...brrrrrr.

We're in the process of moving some of the landlady's stuff from Vancouver to a newly rented storage locker over at Scotch Creek. Leaving here in 20 minutes to do the first load. Tomorrow we go to Vancouver - again - for more medical stuff and another load of furniture. We hope that we are down to the last two loads to bring up to the Shuswap. It has been a long haul and has taken away a huge amount of time to work on the house.

I hope to be back later to tell you about the last trip up from the coast...that was crazy.


----------



## BigJim

Looking forward to it Keith. 

Man, that is cold, I ain't ready for that stuff yet. LOL


----------



## concrete_joe

BigJim said:


> Keith, from what I am hearing, it is going to be one bad winter this year, I hope they are wrong.


what does the el nino's do to the weather up there?


----------



## williamlayton

The "old" farmers almanac calls for a colder winter, beginning early and lingering longer.
That old farmer has been dead awhile.
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

concrete_joe said:


> what does the el nino's do to the weather up there?


As you probably know an El Nino happens when a massive area of the Pacific ocean gets about one degree warmer than usual, which is in direct contrast to La Nina when the ocean gets colder.

You may not think that this small temperature change would really have any effect, but you must remember that we are talking about untold billions of extra BTU's floating around out there.

The effect is so big that it will cause air temperatures to change by several degrees which usually results in wetter and stormier weather than normal. If this year is any example, the storm of just a few days ago on the west coast should prove the point.


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> The "old" farmers almanac calls for a colder winter, beginning early and lingering longer.
> That old farmer has been dead awhile.
> Blessings


The only reference I could find William, was that we are expected to run slightly cooler and have less precipitation this winter.

I must say that if we had less snow here it wouldn't upset me one little bit. :smile:


----------



## Mort

cocobolo said:


> As you probably know an El Nino happens when a massive area of the Pacific ocean gets about one degree warmer than usual, which is in direct contrast to La Nina when the ocean gets colder. You may not think that this small temperature change would really have any effect, but you must remember that we are talking about untold billions of extra BTU's floating around out there. The effect is so big that it will cause air temperatures to change by several degrees which usually results in wetter and stormier weather than normal. If this year is any example, the storm of just a few days ago on the west coast should prove the point.


I sure hope it's a wet winter. The river around here is so low you can walk across it in a lot of places without getting your feet wet.


----------



## cocobolo

Mort said:


> I sure hope it's a wet winter. The river around here is so low you can walk across it in a lot of places without getting your feet wet.


Hi Mort: Just got back from another 1,000 kilometre trip to Vancouver. 

But I thought I would try to sympathize with you as far as the lack of water goes. Two of the local creeks went absolutely bone dry. Not a drop of water for the past two to three weeks. However, for the past several days we have had lots of rain here and the creeks are running again, and quite substantially as well.

Even the mighty Thompson river has got more sand bars showing than the locals can remember. The North Shuswap lake is at a ten year low (could be lower but I haven't checked for a couple of weeks). It has gone up 1.3" two days ago after the big rains that we had. How long that might keep up for I don't know. That was the first daily rise in months.

The only thing here is that if it is a wet winter, that will translate into snow. 

If I have the new roof on and the insulation done and the heat pump and mini's in place, then I won't mind.


----------



## BigJim

Man if you are going to get all that done before snow, you best kick it in high gear, but then you are always in high gear. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Man if you are going to get all that done before snow, you best kick it in high gear, but then you are always in high gear. :smile:


Hi Jim: I think my transmission has a few chipped gears right now! I guess that's what happens when we get older. Things tend to run much more slowly.

Another material list to pick up in Kamloops today, so that means that most of today will be used up travelling and delivering.

I'll try for much more info for you guys tonight as Val won't be here to pepper me with questions. She's staying in Vancouver for her knee operation which is on the 9th. 

Have a good day Jim. :vs_coffee: :smile: Time for me to wake up now!


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Hi Jim: I think my transmission has a few chipped gears right now! I guess that's what happens when we get older. Things tend to run much more slowly.
> 
> Another material list to pick up in Kamloops today, so that means that most of today will be used up travelling and delivering.
> 
> I'll try for much more info for you guys tonight as Val won't be here to pepper me with questions. She's staying in Vancouver for her knee operation which is on the 9th.
> 
> Have a good day Jim. :vs_coffee: :smile: Time for me to wake up now!


Buddy I know what you mean, I am slower than molasses in February. I have been working on getting our pontoon boat running for three months now while you have built a whole house.

I hope all goes well for Val and hope she has a speedy, easy recovery, she is going to be very happy when it is all over.


----------



## cocobolo

It's time I told you about the trip to Vancouver where all hell broke loose. You get to decide if any of it is really true or not...so here goes.

We left early in the morning from the Shuswap towing the trailer so that we could bring back the bulk of the remaining furniture. Things started out well enough, although it took about 6 hours to get to the coast due to the slower driving with the big trailer.

We loaded up the furniture, or at least as much as I was willing to load in consideration of the weight, and away we went heading back home again.

We hadn't gone one kilometer when I saw smoke pouring out of the right side of the trailer. I had no choice but to pull over immediately, but we were on a closed road heading for the bridge. By a stroke of sheer good fortune there was an opening in the concrete road blocks about 60 yards ahead, and I made somewhat of a panic stop and pulled over to the side.

Out we get to see what's wrong. Well one of the trailer tires had decided to go very flat, and in fact one side had come off the rim...hmmm, not good. Especially without a spare tire.

So we are contemplating our good fortune and decide to see if we can locate anyone who can fix the tire. While Val is on the phone making calls, she gets a call from Wayne, a long time family friend, and he asks if it is us who are stopped along the highway. Well I don't think it's the King of Siam, so yes, that would be us.

About ten minutes later, Wayne shows up and pulls off the highway with us. Since there isn't anything he can do, and by now we have found a tire shop who can help us - but not for another hour and a half - he leaves. But he will be in the area, so if we need anything we can call him. Off he goes.

A couple of minutes later a white box van pulls up and stops, and we think that this must be the guys who are from the tire shop. But no, it is just a good samaritan who drove by ten minutes earlier, and then turned around at the other end of the bridge and has come all the way back to help us.

A chap hopped out of the box van and introduces himself as Jim. He spotted my hot rod t-shirt when he drove by the first time and decided that he might as well come to our aid. Very nice of him.

He takes one look at the tire and says that it is fine, just needs to be put back on the rim and pumped up. Naturally, we have neither the equipment to do this nor do I have a compressor.

Shortly before Jim arrived, I had decided that the furniture load should be moved to the back of the trailer. The way I had it loaded was towards the front, thus depositing much of the load too far forward. Jim was quite willing to give us a hand doing that, and that part of our fun day went well.

About half an hour later, the real tire guys showed up. They had a fully equipped mobile tire repair shop. Since we already had the trailer jacked up on the offending side, it was a simple matter for the guys to check the tire. Right away they found a puncture in the tire, which was fixed in jig time.

When the tire was being put back on, one of the guys brought out this creation that looked like a bazooka. You do believe this, right? He told us to stand back and close our ears. 

Well, jumpin' Jiminy, he fired this thing off and it made one helluva racket. I still don't know what this was, but the tire was now sealed on the rim???? Don't ask me how.

Then they blew up the tire, charged us a bunch of money and away they went. Very fast, very efficient, and seemingly they had done a good job.

It is at this point that Jim took over the show.

We are chatting away, and it seems that he was involved with a VW race car back about '64 or '65 at Mission Raceway. Apparently they ran this VW on nitro. Uh huh. Totally believable right? Sure.

Jim is 65, and I'm knocking on the door to 73, 8 years different give or take a few weeks.

I was only 24 when I raced at Mission, which makes Jim about 16 or 17...? OK. if you say so.

Well, it seems that Jim knows a thing or two about just about everything. You know, sort of like you and me! And one thing he knows is all about trailer brakes and bearings and hitches and wiring, you get the picture.

So he decides that he will just check the bearing on the now repaired tire, and sure enough, the wheel moves. Jim decides that it must be pulled off and checked. Off it comes, and sure enough, there isn't much grease in the wheel bearing. So we pull of the next one, and this one has plenty of grease. So we pirate some from that bearing and push it into the first one. All is now lubed up and Jim now proceeds to tell me how to install a wheel bearing correctly. I decided that I wouldn't need to tell him that I actually worked as a mechanic at a GM dealership in the past and I'm still somewhat familiar with packing bearings.

OK, we get the first two done, and Jim decides that we need to check the two on the other side. That sounded like a halfway good idea, so we did them as well. Good thing, as one of the two had very little grease and both bearings were definitely loose. Jim categorically stated that we would never have made it back if we had driven all that way on those bearings the way they were.

OK, done...and now Jim decides that we need to repair a broken wire at the hitch, the one that sets the electric brake if the trailer ever parts company from the tow vehicle. Easier said than done, and while we did fix it, it was an exercise that blew another hour that we really didn't have before heading back.

All this time Jim is expounding on all the myriad of things that he has done in his life, many of them getting more unbelievable by the minute...but he was a nice guy for helping us, so we listened patiently while all this fixing was going on.

After everything was buttoned back up, the subject of Val's bad knee came up and the forthcoming surgery. Of course, Jim knew all about this as well. So he commenced to tell us how he could remove the knee pain and transfer it to his hand. Uh huh, sure. So he gives it his best shot, and sure enough, the pain gets transferred to his hand, but unfortunately it doesn't seem to leave Val's knee. Surprise.

We are now about to head out and Jim asks us to wait for just a second as he has something he would like to give to Val. Heaven knows what this is likely to be.

A minute later he walks back from his box van with a black box in hand. He gets to Val's side of the car and opens this box to reveal about 35 or 40 rings. He tells Val to pick out which ever one she likes. Now, you understand we have no idea what this is all about.

OK, so she picks out one and he asks her to tell him what the price tag reads. $399. So he says that must be the cheapest one in the box, pick another one that you really like. So this time she takes a few minutes and chooses another ring. Again, he asks her to read the tag and tell him how much it says. This time it is $2,299.

Now, he claims that about ten years ago he was in the jewelry business and that he still has three of these boxes of rings kicking around. Why anyone would have one of these in their box van is way beyond me. But Jim did. He says that the prices are about ten years old now and that diamonds and gold have gone up quite a bit since then.

He announces that because we were such nice people to talk to (???) that he is giving Val this ring for free. No catch at all. Of course she says that she couldn't possibly accept anything like this, but he will have none of that.

And so, after listening to more stories, some handshaking and promises to keep in touch, Jim drives away. As do we, and we make it home without further troubles. Except that all this dilly dallying cost us 4 1/2 hours and we didn't arrive back at the Shuswap until 3:36 the next morning.

Now, is this believable or totally fake. You tell me.


----------



## 123pugsy

Sounds fake but I believe it. If she took the ring, you'll probably get a bill in the mail. He'll have a cop buddy find the address from the license plates or maybe he'll come snooping around........oh heck.....you've got a whack job onto you........:surprise:.......I sure hope the story ends there....ha.....


----------



## williamlayton

It is what it is. I never look a gift horse in the mouth.
Bless the man in your prayers and thank the Lord--He works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform.
Blessings


----------



## BigJim

My stars Keith, you have some tremendous patience, I couldn't have endured that much for that long, I would have said I had to go to the bathroom or something. Heck he probably had a bathroom in his van. LOL Glad you make it home safely, it could have been worse.


----------



## cocobolo

I actually missed out many of the interesting things he told me about, including his $76,000 speedboat which he had just rebuilt, and even painted the trailer with flames and pin striping no less.

Jim is actually a nice guy, but I feel that he has some mental issues. He is indeed a very brilliant man, almost bordering on craziness.

So is the story true? Yes, every single word of it. He even showed me the pictures of his boat from his iPhone.

Of course, you will need proof of all this, and later on tonight I will show you some of the 120 photos that Val took on her phone while all this was going on. We even called Wayne during the episode to bring us some donuts and coffee from Tim Hortons, that's how long it all took.

We haven't heard from him since.

Today I'm trying to build new walls for the back bedroom upstairs. The main problem is that the old roof is in the way.

The forecast is not terribly good, clouds and showers, so I will have to get a big tarp pulled over the entire back of the house. I'm guessing that once I have this all opened up that it will take several days to get closed back in again.

Unfortunately number 1 son wasn't able to come up and help this week so I am without any assistance. It's going to be a tough go for a few days. :vs_worry:


----------



## cocobolo

OK...well, here is the trailer loaded with furniture at the storage locker. I don't think there was that much weight, probably around 1,000 pounds or so. 

But perhaps the combination of the load being forward, and the hitch being low didn't help matters any.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's Jim arriving with his box van. Looks like Val shot this through the car window.


----------



## cocobolo

One of the many things that Jim decided we needed to do was to reverse the trailer hitch on the car. Now this was actually a damn good idea as it would raise the front of the trailer several inches.

So we jacked up the trailer and here Jim is removing the hitch.


----------



## williamlayton

Jim sounds like an angel in disguise.
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

I had every intention of posting many more pictures last night, but my desktop (which has the photos) managed to freeze up on me. I'll try to sort out the glitch today sometime.


----------



## cocobolo

Hopefully I have the glitch fixed.

With the hitch removed, here we are at the back of Jim's van using his hitch receptacle as a sort of vise. His crescent wrench, a big one, wouldn't quite open up enough to fit on the nut. So I suggested a pipe wrench would be better.

Right away, he says he should have one in the truck, and sure enough...bingo.

We needed a piece of pipe to increase the leverage, but eventually we got it off and the ball reversed. I think this gained us about 4 inches in height, and that made a big difference in the level of the trailer.


----------



## cocobolo

Right about this time the real tire guys showed up.

Their truck had just about everything you would want to fix any tire.


----------



## cocobolo

Once the tire guys had arrived, they jumped into action immediately. They found a leak in the tire and asked if I wanted it plugged or fixed properly. Properly will do fine thank you.

So the tire was half off the rim anyway and they got their grinder out and scuffed up the inside of the tire where the hole was and put a big patch on.

It didn't take but a few more minutes and they had the tire back on the rim.


----------



## cocobolo

This is when the big bazooka came out. I should have asked the guys what this thing was, but I neglected that little point.

Anyway, the chap with the weapon in hand told us all to stand back and look away.

A second or two later there is an almighty bang and the tire bead is right in place. Just like that. I wouldn't mind finding out what this gadget is, not that I think I will ever need one, but...you know...just out of curiosity.


----------



## cocobolo

With the tire repaired and the guys on their way to the next customer, Jim once again took over the show.

He insisted that the wheel bearing was nowhere near tight enough - and he was right. So we removed the assembly only to discover that there was very little grease inside.

I let Jim perform his magic with the bearings.

With the drum/wheel assembly off, Jim did an inspection of the internals. He announced that the brakes were brand new with barely a mark on the shoes at all. I suspect this was because of two things. 

Firstly this was the first trip we had taken with the trailer, and the chap who sold it to us said he had just put on new brakes. Turns out that he did. Not only that, but Jim also noticed that the backing plates were brand new. So at this point I was confident that the seller had replaced everything, and that indeed did turn out to be the case.

Secondly, I still had not quite got the hang of operating the electric brakes and the plate which attracts the magnet inside had some surface rust on it. That would make the braking action irregular at the very least. 

I will say that after the trip back, loaded this time, and continued use of the brakes that they are now working extremely well.


----------



## cocobolo

With the freshly greased bearing in place, it was time to replace the wheel assembly.

Now let me tell you this sucker is heavy, way more than your average car tire. You cannot just lift up the wheel and push it into place, The only way - Jim assured me - was to sit on the ground and use your legs to line things up and then push the wheel on.

Here Jim is instructing me in the fine are of how to correctly snug up a wheel bearing, which I have been known to do once or twice in my lifetime.

With the first one in place, it was rinse and repeat three more times.


----------



## cocobolo

When we were in the process of using the trailer jack again, Jim noticed that the handle was touching the spare tire cover on the back of the Honda, and so it was that he decided to remove the cover just in case it got scratched.

We couldn't find any obvious way to take the cover off, so Jim decided that we needed two big screwdrivers to do the deed.

Val quietly announced that she thought that perhaps there was a zipper somewhere which would do the job. Now, in all honesty, the cover had never been off the tire (that we know of) so we weren't sure of this.

Once we had pried the cover off, Val found the TWO zippers right away, making us mechanic types just a wee bit sheepish.

I will mention that the tire is absolutely brand new, obviously never having seen the road. But at least we didn't scratch the cover!


----------



## cocobolo

At this point, Jim noticed that the breakaway wire on the trailer was broken. He insisted that this be fixed before we could go on our way. I must admit, he had a good point there.

Well, it seems that the wires are pressed together in a metal sleeve, probably by some sort of machine, and it proved to be very difficult - not to mention time consuming - for us to get this fitting apart so that we could properly fix the wire.

A vise would have been handy for this job, and surprisingly, this was the only shortcoming with Jim's box van.

But in the end we prevailed, and got everything back into ship shape order.


----------



## cocobolo

While all this was going on, Val had called our friend Wayne and asked if he would be kind enough to pick up some drinks and donuts from Tim Hortons.

Here is Wayne arriving with the most welcome goodies!

In this photo Jim and I are still having a tug of war with the broken wires.


----------



## cocobolo

About all that was left after all the fixing was done was to re-tie the load down and cover it with tarps.

Here I learned that Jim was also a transport driver at one time, and of course he knew all about tying things down properly.

Unfortunately, there was a very limited number of tie-down places on the trailer at the time. I have since fixed this little oversight and added many tie down rings to the sides. I will also be adding some welded steel tubing to the sides and front, and a gate at the back. It's all a matter of time, don't y'know.


----------



## cocobolo

I am thinking that we can be on the road now that everything is hunky dory. But I believe this is when Val mentioned her forthcoming knee surgery.

Once again Jim comes to the rescue, naturally being well versed in this arena as well.

We were both amused when Jim was taking the pain from Val's knee and transferring it to his hand. Seemingly, his hand went numb, but the pain remained in the knee.

It was right after this that Jim went to his van and produced the box of rings. Unfortunately there was no photo of this at the time, as we thought we were ready to leave.

So this picture is of me holding the ring at home...just to show you that Jim is indeed a most generous fellow.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> This is when the big bazooka came out. I should have asked the guys what this thing was, but I neglected that little point.
> 
> Anyway, the chap with the weapon in hand told us all to stand back and look away.
> 
> A second or two later there is an almighty bang and the tire bead is right in place. Just like that. I wouldn't mind finding out what this gadget is, not that I think I will ever need one, but...you know...just out of curiosity.


Keith, it is a bead bazooka, it sends a huge blast of air into the tire and blows the tire up, it works great.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Keith, it is a bead bazooka, it sends a huge blast of air into the tire and blows the tire up, it works great.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uBJcVKLzMk


Thanks Jim. Well, at least I had the right idea. It looks just like a big bazooka.

But the noise! When that thing goes off it makes you jump. But like you say, it sure does work like a charm. :smile:


----------



## williamlayton

All's well that ends well--the shiny side up and the dirty side down.
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> All's well that ends well--the shiny side up and the dirty side down.
> Blessings


True enough William.

Now, if the rain would just stop here, I can get something done!


----------



## cocobolo

The weather gurus have promised us 4 days without rain. While their record to date isn't exactly very good, I have little choice but to go ahead and try to replace the old roof on the back half of the house during that time.

Once again this will be a solo effort, as number one son - who was supposed to come up and help - is now booked solidly right in to November. So the four days run from the 10th to the 13th inclusive.

On the 9th, I set up a work station out front in preparation for cutting things like ceiling joists, rafters, studs and so on. I did manage to get the joists and common rafters cut in between some minor showers.


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday (the 10th) was supposed to be all sun. But not so, 100% cloud cover in the morning, and I was understandably reluctant to cut into the roof for fear of yet another downpour.

However, I figured that I could at least strip the old shingles off the bottom 14 or 15 feet of roof. And if it did decide to rain I could cover everything up with the tarp - which I had fixed in advance to the roof.

My Wheaties must have been extra potent yesterday morning, as I had about 450 square feet of shingles stripped and thrown off the roof in 45 minutes. Not bad for an old guy.

By that time, the cloud was starting to thin out and the sun was trying desperately to peek through. I must say that it ended up being a beautiful day after all.

I wasn't sure how the old roof was going to come off, so I started by cutting out some of the plywood. Once that was done, it appeared that if I cut the roof off in strips about 6 or 7 feet wide that it would be manageable.

The new wall that you see in the last photo is just outside the old roof, by about 1/2". I was thinking that I could collapse the old roof in sections right inside that wall without hitting anything.


----------



## cocobolo

My only real concern was the 4 foot overhang at the south end of the roof.

It was very poorly built and relied on some 45º supports to keep it in place, now these obviously had to go. So my worry was that when that chunk came down that it would swing back towards the house and smack into the new French doors.

Here I have cut away some of the roof on both sides of the doors and I'm figuring a variety of ways to drop that roof section without causing any damage.


----------



## cocobolo

At this point the old roof was still supported by the original back wall.

So with some judicious cutting with the chainsaw, I cut the first section so that it was ready to fall. Then I cut the supporting wall into vertical strips to make it easier to knock the old wall out.

The roof held until the last piece was to go, and a good hit on the bottom of the wall brought that section of roof down in rapid fashion.

From there it was a matter of cutting the roof into small pieces which I could then throw outside. The balance of the roof was handled in the same way.


----------



## cocobolo

It takes awhile to do these things, and as you can see here the sky had now cleared and we had a lovely day from there on out.

This was the last inside section of roof, the only remaining piece was now the outside overhang.

However, it ended up co-operating nicely and no damage was done.


----------



## cocobolo

Next up was the cutting back of the original rafter tails.

As you might guess, there wasn't a lot of room to get a saw in there to cut things off. So what I ended up doing was to cut the plywood back about 18" first, then cut the 2 x 10 fascia off in small pieces followed by the cutting back of the rafter tails.

This actually took almost as long as getting the roof extension off, so it was quite a chore.


----------



## cocobolo

With some space for the new ceiling and roof now, I could build the end wall enclosing the French doors.

So next was to add a header above the doors.


----------



## cocobolo

I see that I managed to miss a few photos here, but I did get one of the two ledgers that I have nailed the ceiling joist hangers to.

These were nailed up on the wall in readiness to accept the ceiling joists,


----------



## cocobolo

With the ledgers in place, it was a simple matter to drop the ceiling joists in place.

By then it was almost dark and time for dinner. A long day, but quite a bit done.

Three more days of good weather...let's hope they aren't kidding us this time.


----------



## BigJim

Man I think I am going to cry, here you did all that in one day and I pulled the power head off one of my outboard motors and thought I had done something. I am really happy that you can do all you do, you are amazing to say the least.


----------



## 123pugsy

Fantastic Keith!

Thanks for the updates. Always appreciate your posts.


----------



## williamlayton

I am betting that those few days of rest did your bones some good.
Looking good.
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> I am betting that those few days of rest did your bones some good.
> Looking good.
> Blessings


Hello William: I don't want you to think my lack of posts was a few days of rest. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I only work on days ending in "Y" otherwise nothing would get done around here.


----------



## cocobolo

Now at this point the old north wall was still in place.

What I wanted to do was get that wall out of there and build the new wall ASAP. More or less to keep prying eyes out. That new back room is just slightly below street level, and anyone walking up or down the road gets a good view.

So very quickly, out went the north wall.


----------



## cocobolo

So with the wall out, you can now see that the last two ceiling joists are not in place yet.

The first small window will serve a long closet at the back of the room, the other obviously will give us morning sun, facing east as it does.


----------



## cocobolo

As quickly as possible I framed the wall...


----------



## cocobolo

Followed by a quick sheeting and paper job.

Now it's just another bland old wall.


----------



## cocobolo

The infestation of bugs here has been really astounding this year. Tens of thousands of them are here and they will land on anything. Especially me.


----------



## cocobolo

It's getting close to roof time now, so here are the two husky supports that I made for the new ridge board.


----------



## cocobolo

There still needed to be the box joists added all around the ceiling joists...and here you can see that they are now done.


----------



## cocobolo

This morning I was up with the birdies again. Early enough that I didn't think I should start pounding nails and disturb the neighbours.

This stack of 2 x 6's is destined to become spacers for the future fully vented roof. So I thought perhaps I could bring a few of them inside and start on the ripping process.

After last winter's fiasco where the roof couldn't keep any snow on it for more than a few minutes, I am going to do my best to see to it that this winter does not give us a repeat performance.

Having broken into the old roof, I can tell you that the vapour barrier - all 2 mils of it - has enough holes to sink the Titanic. It's easy to tell where the holes are, just look for the dirty insulation which has acted as a filter for many years.


----------



## cocobolo

After ripping the few few pieces of 2 x 6, I decided that I should make a runoff table. It would have to be made of anything re-cycled that had come out of the demolition, and fortunately, there was no shortage of material to choose from.

First I would need a skookum top...so a piece of 3/4" hardwood plywood was located. The sheet was less than full, so it worked out that I could use a top about 22" wide and 5 1/2 feet long. That would leave me enough to make the bracing as well.

I'm showing you a little trick here that I'm sure most of you know...but when you are cutting off narrow pieces from a sheet, it's awkward to make the end of the cut clean, because the piece wants to fall away. What I do is to clamp a piece of wood - 2 x 2 in this case - across the plywood. That holds it for you until you are done.


----------



## cocobolo

To the underside of the table I added first two pieces of 2 x 2 to hold the leg assembly and other bracing.

Note that the easy way to pre-drill the screw holes is to mark the plywood where the 2 x 2 will go, and then drill the holes from the back side...that way you can't miss.


----------



## cocobolo

I'm a big fan of clamps, and here's another use for them to hold the 2 x 2 in place while you flip the top over to install the screws.


----------



## cocobolo

Darn it anyway, looks like I missed some pics.

Well, what I wanted to show you was a way to keep your runoff table nice and stable. If you splay the legs out so that they are wider than the top, then your table won't wiggle around. In this case I used 10º, no special reason, it just worked out well.

When you go to cut your plywood bracing and other lumber, cut it all without changing the saw from left to right (or vice versa). That way you know that all the angles will match perfectly. It's too easy to be a degree or two off, and that just will not do.


----------



## cocobolo

The table isn't quite finished here, but it is usable. When I get the chance I'm going to add some extra bracing to the top corners. More of less for looks rather than anything especially practical. It really is quite stable the way it is.


----------



## cocobolo

Back to building...Here is the first of the two ridge supports in place.

I made them so that the cheeks will keep the ridge vertical while I am adding the rafters.


----------



## cocobolo

I would say that one of the worst things when building alone (and when you're as ancient as I am) is that you need to use as many labour saving devices as possible. But you need to do it without any or much cost.

For my old self, getting the OSB sheeting from downstairs to the roof was of major concern. I'm not sure exactly how many sheets will end up being moved, but it's right up there.

First I loaded a few sheets on to the trailer and brought them around to the top entrance. Still quite a way to move them, but it's a start. From the street they get carried to the patio door and stacked. From there, they get dragged into the back bedroom where they are loaded on to the carrier from where they are lifted up on to the roof.

Now all this might sound easy to you young whippersnappers (that would be anyone under 65) but you have to remember that you also need to get yourself up and down from the roof MANY times during this process. The arthritis in the knees doesn't help this one little bit.

You can tell by the shadows that it's getting toward the end of the day, and by this time a sheet of OSB feels like it weighs at least 100 pounds.


----------



## cocobolo

The only other thing that made it up to the top was the first pair of rafters. These are the ones with the notches for the lookouts, eight on each side!

I did do a test fit on them, and luckily, they both look like they fit perfectly.


----------



## SeniorSitizen

cocobolo said:


> After ripping the few few pieces of 2 x 6, I decided that I should make a runoff table. It would have to be made of anything re-cycled that had come out of the demolition, and fortunately, there was no shortage of material to choose from.
> 
> First I would need a skookum top...so a piece of 3/4" hardwood plywood was located. The sheet was less than full, so it worked out that I could use a top about 22" wide and 5 1/2 feet long. That would leave me enough to make the bracing as well.
> 
> I'm showing you a little trick here that I'm sure most of you know...but when you are cutting off narrow pieces from a sheet, it's awkward to make the end of the cut clean, because the piece wants to fall away. What I do is to clamp a piece of wood - 2 x 2 in this case - across the plywood. That holds it for you until you are done.


With all the work you do I've determined you have earned the right to own a few Quick Grip clamps of various sizes. I use one at the kerf for the same reason you have the cleat.

Over the years I've collected about 20 of the original Quick Grip brand clamps from 4" micro to 52". It's a rare occasion when I put my hand on a clamp with screw threads.


----------



## cocobolo

SeniorSitizen said:


> With all the work you do I've determined you have earned the right to own a few Quick Grip clamps of various sizes. I use one at the kerf for the same reason you have the cleat.
> 
> Over the years I've collected about 20 of the original Quick Grip brand clamps from 4" micro to 52". It's a rare occasion when I put my hand on a clamp with screw threads.


Yes indeed, I do have a few of these clamps somewhere. But when I need them they are nowhere to be seen.

I only have half a dozen or so and I think they are all the 24" variety. I rather doubt that mine are the original brand, as I have found that they will not hold much pressure and are subject to slipping without giving me any notice.

I think perhaps a couple of the short ones for the aforementioned purpose might just be an excellent idea.

NOTE: It is not yet 4 am as I write this.....and it is RAINING!!!! Can you believe it? So here I have been outside in the pitch black trying to pull the tarp down over the wide open roof. I can see that this is going to be a fun day. :vs_no_no_no::vs_no_no_no::vs_mad:


----------



## BigJim

Oh my stars, that is the absolute pits, I hope it slacked off so you could get something done. Now everything is going to be that much heavier with the added wetness.

That is a neat trick where you have the 2X2 holding the plywood end up while you finish the cut, I hate to say it but I never thought about that, thanks for the tip.

What I did with plywood decking for the roof was about the same thing you did but I made it so I could stack 10 to 15 sheets at a time on it. 

As for transporting sheet plywood, I made a thing that has two wheels that are about 12" in diameter on a piece of plywood about 14 or so inches wide. The wheels are in the center so the plywood can be balanced and easy to turn. I have a frame at an angle where the plywood can lean against. On one end I have a block that I can rest the end of the contraption on, I can easily carry several sheets of plywood with little effort and it sure saves trips, time, wear and tear on the old body. LOL


----------



## scoggy

*"Just wasting my time"*

Keith, bought my (SWMBO....she who must be obeyed) a new PC which she can take wherever she or we.... go, and was following you while I was sitting in glorious sunshine at Rebecca Spit on Quadra Island, this last 7 days! She asked me what I was doing with her new device, and I said 'scanning stuff', and there was no comment, but we had a great 'staycation' on Quadra and Cortez islands, and your posts were even more fun to read... on the beach..with a 'bubbly pop'! Only had one 'episode', where I had a run in with Douglas....Fir that is..but all on the mend! Met a guy there from China, on the beach, and when I showed him your site, he was positively agog! When I came to the beach next day, he had a similar, but more advanced PC than my wifes, and he had so many questions..about CoCoBolo, and asked why someone would name themselves after a wood..he knew about! Home now, onto the coupe tomorrow!:smile::smile::smile::smile:


----------



## williamlayton

What kind of lumber do you use ? It looks a lot straighter than what we get down here in S/E Texas.
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

Good morning everyone:

Yesterday was a trip to Vancouver to retrieve Val from her hospital visit.
We understand the operation was a success and now the recovery process begins. Apparently this will take several weeks mainly due to the amount of internal damage. I am aware that with some younger patients, they are encouraged to try walking within 24 hours of one of these operations.

She's in good spirits, which is important, and is trying to learn how to use a pair of crutches.

Seven days of showers in the immediate forecast, so I will have to pick my minutes to open up the roof and get things done on a piecemeal basis.

I will get to your other questions and comments later this evening.


----------



## SeniorSitizen

williamlayton said:


> What kind of lumber do you use ? It looks a lot straighter than what we get down here in S/E Texas.
> Blessings


They keep the quarter sawed and ship all the other to TX.:biggrin2:


----------



## 123pugsy

SeniorSitizen said:


> They keep the quarter sawed and ship all the other to TX.:biggrin2:


Yep.

When you see our price tags, you'll understand why....groan....


----------



## gma2rjc

I hope Val's not in too much pain and her knee heals quickly Keith.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Good morning everyone:
> 
> Yesterday was a trip to Vancouver to retrieve Val from her hospital visit.
> We understand the operation was a success and now the recovery process begins. Apparently this will take several weeks mainly due to the amount of internal damage. I am aware that with some younger patients, they are encouraged to try walking within 24 hours of one of these operations.
> 
> She's in good spirits, which is important, and is trying to learn how to use a pair of crutches.
> 
> Seven days of showers in the immediate forecast, so I will have to pick my minutes to open up the roof and get things done on a piecemeal basis.
> 
> I will get to your other questions and comments later this evening.


Bless her heart, she has a rough row to hoe the next few weeks, but she will be so glad she had the operation.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> What I did with plywood decking for the roof was about the same thing you did but I made it so I could stack 10 to 15 sheets at a time on it.
> 
> As for transporting sheet plywood, I made a thing that has two wheels that are about 12" in diameter on a piece of plywood about 14 or so inches wide. The wheels are in the center so the plywood can be balanced and easy to turn. I have a frame at an angle where the plywood can lean against. On one end I have a block that I can rest the end of the contraption on, I can easily carry several sheets of plywood with little effort and it sure saves trips, time, wear and tear on the old body. LOL


Seems to me that I may have seen something like this in an old issue of popular mechanics or one of those type of magazines.

The only thing is that you would need fairly level ground for one of those, and it is anything but that here. However, as we speak I have the new roof sheathed. It may be necessary to change out one or more of the other plywood sheets on the roof, depending on their condition as I open up the roof.


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> What kind of lumber do you use ? It looks a lot straighter than what we get down here in S/E Texas.
> Blessings


William, most of our framing lumber these days is spruce. Personally, I like it as it is easy to work with. As a general rule it is a fairly straight wood, except when you find a spike knot running through it, then there is no way to keep the board straight.

British Columbia produces a huge amount of lumber annually, but we only use 5% of our production here, the balance is shipped out of province. Much of it goes to the U.S. and a large amount is shipped overseas.

As a result of this, we actually do NOT get the good wood here, it leaves the province.

There are a couple of reasons why we may appear to get straight wood, and one would be that the wood is very fresh when it reaches the retail lumber yards. In other words, it hasn't yet had time to start heading off in all directions. We seem to get through a huge amount of lumber here, keeping the stocks young.

As long as the lifts are kept banded, the wood stays straight.

Now, Home Depot keeps its' wood stocks inside under cover. Providing that you get there while the wood is still fresh, you should be OK. But the longer it sits in a dry store, unbanded, the worse it will twist, cup, warp and what-have-you.

The local Home Hardware store - actually a fairly major supplier of lumber here - only has outside storage. But they always make sure the wood is kept under wraps. Generally speaking, I have found that their wood is straighter.

There was a time when we would get lovely Douglas fir lumber, as straight as an arrow, but sadly those days are long gone.


----------



## cocobolo

SeniorSitizen said:


> They keep the quarter sawed and ship all the other to TX.:biggrin2:


S.S. I think they get one quarter sawn board out of every tree. If you're lucky enough to get that, it's a treat.

When I used to run my sawmill, I was able to take the time to turn the cant so that I could get a little more quarter sawn wood.

The commercial mills don't have the time for that, it's all about high speed production. They cut all the cants through and through.


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> I hope Val's not in too much pain and her knee heals quickly Keith.


Sorry to say that there's still lots of pain, but she says it's a different type of pain. She recognizes that it is starting to heal now (just one week post surgery) but it is still blown up something terrible.

Our friend Wayne had similar surgery, and he says he went through the same process, but his knee is fine now. So we are hoping for the best.

She made it down and up the stairs on crutches for the first time today.


----------



## williamlayton

Ann, My Hen who I must obey, has had both knees done. The secret to success is to do the rehab diligently.
Fir---We can get it but most of ours is Southern Yellow Pine and these days it is not old growth .
I still like the looks of yours though.
I would be tempted to replace the whole lot of it---the roof decking, that is.
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

I see that I have managed to get behind in my posting once again...I think I will use the exhaustion excuse this time.

I got the first of two ridge boards up on top and sat it in the saddles on my supports. Before doing this, I laid out all the markings for the rafters. Way easier to do that on the ground than up in the air.


----------



## cocobolo

The first pair of rafters will tell you how well your roof framing is going to work out.

If you have measured and cut everything as carefully as possible, then checked it again, you should be good to go.

I'm still an old school guy, so I use my framing square to do my rafter layouts.

I do have one small trick to pass along. I remember when they taught us how to do a rafter layout that that we used (for example) 4/12 on the square. That of course would translate into a 4/12 pitch roof.

One thing I discovered over the years, is that if you have a longer rafter you will be moving the square many times. This always introduces the possibility of error. A simple way to reduce this potential error is to use - in this case - 8/24 on the square. That cuts your possible error in half right away. Because you will be moving the square only half as much, your accuracy should be better.

If I get some extra time, I will show you one more trick I use, but it's more easily explained with pictures.

The first pair, which sit over the end wall, are notched for the lookouts.


----------



## cocobolo

Next you will install the first inside pair. It is very important to get these two spaced exactly evenly with your notched rafters, as that will determine how accurate the overhang will be.


----------



## cocobolo

Anyone who has installed a long, heavy fascia board will tell you that it's a two person job. There's just no getting around that. But my other person was not here, so this was a bit of a tough problem to figure out.

Here's a solution that I tried, and it seemed to be remarkably easy by the time the smoke had cleared.

I installed the lookouts in the usual fashion, but I used construction screws instead of nails. This allowed me to hold the lookouts exactly flush with the inside rafter, instead of bouncing around, as they are prone to do if you are driving in a 3" spike.

Before fixing them to the notched rafter, I used long clamps to pull the two rafters to the exact spacing that I wanted. They were again screwed into place. So far, so good.

Now, there's no way on this green earth that I could possibly hang on to a heavy rafter out in space, while nailing it at the same time, so here is my solution.

To the top of the rafter, I screwed a long 2 x 4. Are you with me here? I had pre-drilled holes for two screws at each lookout, and started the screws into place.

Then I sat the rafter/2 x 4 assembly on the outside of the lookouts, and very carefully eased it over the edge, all the while hoping that it wouldn't fall to the ground.

The 2 x 4 did its' job perfectly, and then I was able to slide the rafter to the precise spot for fastening. A series of clamps held things together, thus eliminating the panic which normally ensues when two people are doing this job.

The pictures should explain this far better.


----------



## williamlayton

I have gone back to the beginning and re-read the first 8 pages of this SAGA---call me nosy (because I am kinda nosy) but didn't you move to build yourownself a house ?
I can't figger out how you got into rebuilding your rent house.
Anywho---it is still a good story and it is much better reading than the trash books my wife, the Hen, reads.
Bout time for some cool weather up there and the days must be getting shorter---which, in my mind, is kinda good for the back.
Blessings to all you folks.
Bill


----------



## cocobolo

Once your end assembly is done, you carry on in the usual fashion.

I like to use my tape to keep each rafter at its' designated 16" centre. The ridge was pre-marked as I mentioned, so I only needed to check the lower end at the birdsmouth for each rafter.

I continued to use construction screws to complete the rafter assembly, actually the first time I have done this. It made life much easier for a one man show.


----------



## cocobolo

Locating the spot where your new peak will connect to the original roof can be problematic sometimes, especially when the roof has its' ups and downs as it were.

I laid a straight 2 x 4 on top of the ridge, and used the intersecting point to figure out the last portion of the ridge. You may need to do a little educated fudging here. I think that's on page 385 of the renovator's manual.


----------



## cocobolo

As you can see from the pictures, it was a nice sunny day - despite their doom and gloom forecast. However, once again we were blessed with more rain and I took this shot over Crowfoot mountain while we were still in sun here.

Just 20 minutes later the rain arrived. Hustle up and get the tarp over the roof again and hope for no leaks.


----------



## cocobolo

Remember the labour saving devices I was chatting about earlier? Well, here's a good use of one for installing a long fascia board on the rafter tails.

I hate to admit it, but this was one of Val's good ideas...again.

Because of the odd roof arrangement on which we were standing, there was considerable juggling getting this board into place.


----------



## cocobolo

Here the fascia is nailed and stained. It doesn't look quite so obvious from the street if you can stain things a nice dull colour.


----------



## cocobolo

In the mean time, the roof sheathing was coming along quite well, and we used the panel lift to do the heavy work once again. It certainly saved our backs and sped things up considerably.


----------



## cocobolo

With the roof sheathing done...well, mostly anyway, it was time to start shingling.

Once again we pressed the panel lift into play to lift the shingles up to the roof. These guys weigh 80 pounds to a bundle. I don't think that I would have managed them without the lift.

It's bad enough going up and down a ladder by myself, never mind with an 80 pound bundle on my shoulder.

The 2 x 2 nailed on to the fascia is to keep the ladder away from the roof so as not to crush the first row of shingles.


----------



## cocobolo

When I peeled the old shingles off the original roof, I discovered - much to my unending pleasure - that there was a fair amount of rot in two sheets of plywood.

I always like to figure out why these things happened, because this was an unusually large area of rot, so there must have been a reason.

The last roofers, never mind what I really call them, did a quick cash job and beat a hasty retreat.

There is no way that this rot was not there when they did the roof.

However, I found a piece of plastic strapping of some kind which was screwed to the very edge of the roof on top of the shingles. It appeared that the use of this plastic was to keep the ends of the shingles in place.

Most three year olds could figure out that this would be a prime spot to leak, which is what it did.

So after removing everything, I had to cut back the old plywood and replace it with new sheeting. That took three sheets and wasted 3 1/2 hours all together. The third sheet was replaced as the original fell 3/4" short of its' goal.


----------



## cocobolo

With the old junk gone and replaced with new wood, we are ready to go on the papering and shingling.


----------



## cocobolo

This was yesterday, and I managed to get this far before being run off the roof by a combination of rain and darkness.

Unfortunately, todays' forecast is for continuing showers...which it is doing as we speak.


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> I have gone back to the beginning and re-read the first 8 pages of this SAGA---call me nosy (because I am kinda nosy) but didn't you move to build yourownself a house ?
> I can't figger out how you got into rebuilding your rent house.
> Anywho---it is still a good story and it is much better reading than the trash books my wife, the Hen, reads.
> Bout time for some cool weather up there and the days must be getting shorter---which, in my mind, is kinda good for the back.
> Blessings to all you folks.
> Bill


Somewhere in this SAGA I have tried to explain this before.

But yes, that's why I moved here and I still have the lot. 

At the present time I don't know whether or not I will build myself a new house. First the island house would have to be sold to provide the funds for a new one. And by then, it would be a question of whether I had any energy left or not.

Time will tell, I guess.

Darkness arrives here sometime around 7:30 pm these days and getting earlier every evening. By December, it will be dark around 4:30.


----------



## BigJim

That is some nice tips Keith, thanks. I hope the rain holds off for you really soon, it is getting close to colder weather.


----------



## williamlayton

Keith
It is all just too complicated for my old mind--Still I really do enjoy your narrative and advice.
I understand, more than some, about the consideration of building another.
As for the Island house---it is in my prayers.
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Man I think I am going to cry, here you did all that in one day and I pulled the power head off one of my outboard motors and thought I had done something. I am really happy that you can do all you do, you are amazing to say the least.


Sorry Jim, I meant to respond to this one over a week ago.

With all those years of being on an island and using outboard motors, I have never pulled the head off one. So this puts you one up on me.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> That is some nice tips Keith, thanks. I hope the rain holds off for you really soon, it is getting close to colder weather.


Yesterday I tried to finish the first half of the roofing, but the continuing showers prevented that. I did get close though, just not finished.

So this morning I tried again - in the rain - and persevered until it was done. 

No pictures from yesterday because of the rain, but Val took one this morning while I was replacing the old roof capping and getting close to being done.

About two minutes after the last piece was on the rain stopped. Wouldn't you know it.


----------



## BigJim

Man, that is a pretty roof Keith, that is some hard work. Is that strip part of the ridge vent?


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Man, that is a pretty roof Keith, that is some hard work. Is that strip part of the ridge vent?


Thanks Jim...that is the zinc strip on the north facing side of the roof. In theory, it keeps the moss from growing. The sun does the job on the south side.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Thanks Jim...that is the zinc strip on the north facing side of the roof. In theory, it keeps the moss from growing. The sun does the job on the south side.


Good thinking, that for sure does work, it will keep the black streaks off a roof also.


----------



## cocobolo

Started to close off the back of the house yesterday. The gable end is closed, but still have the short front wall in the new bedroom to close off.

I got advised late last night that there is another trip to Vancouver in the offing today. We thought it was tomorrow. It's the first follow up visit to the surgeon to see how Val's knee is progressing. So that means no work today.


----------



## cocobolo

On the way to Vancouver, we stopped at a rest stop very close to the summit of the Coquihalla (the Coke) and I took a couple of pics. I think the elevation here would be just over 4,000 feet. The sky up here is very clear...no towns close by to cause pollution.


----------



## cocobolo

Today it was back to business as usual.

Here papering the end wall and putting the first of two windows in.


----------



## cocobolo

This small window will serve the closet.

The closet wall won't be built until after the ceiling has had the vapour barrier attached.

I tried to buy the wide poly (20') but nobody in this area seems to carry it. We picked up the 2,000 square foot roll when we were at the coast yesterday.


----------



## cocobolo

Fastening the bigger window in place here...not too big, as we won't need the heat loss in winter. The room is basically closed off now.


----------



## cocobolo

I sheeted off the south wall today, after many delays.

Tomorrow should see some wiring getting done, followed by some insulation and hopefully the vapour barrier as well.


----------



## BigJim

Keith, could you take a couple of pictures of the house as a whole, it would be great to see it overall. You are really coming along nicely, amazing.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Keith, could you take a couple of pictures of the house as a whole, it would be great to see it overall. You are really coming along nicely, amazing.


You know what that means, don't you Jim. I will have to try and tidy up some of the mess outside! 

But I will do that for you. I think I will wait for a sunny day so the pics turn out better. Heavy cloud early this morning and rain tomorrow, but I think it is supposed to be OK on the weekend. :smile:


----------



## BigJim

Mess is part of construction, to make something look good, a person must tear apart first and make a mess. :smile:


----------



## Windows on Wash

You are doing it all boss. Good on you.


----------



## williamlayton

I am not getting good feelings about Keith or his wife--any info ?
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> I am not getting good feelings about Keith or his wife--any info ?
> Blessings


William...you must be psychic or something.

Both of us have come down with what we thought was a simple cold over two weeks ago. But whatever it is just will not go away. Neither of us cares too much to need to stay in bed and rest.

Val's knee is progressing slowly, but that will take time to get better...we know that. And now my right knee keeps collapsing on me. We think it is just the arthritis but it's nerve wracking nonetheless. I haven't had any bad falls yet, just minor ones.

We'll get better, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Working only an hour or two each day isn't getting much done and with the night time low temperatures knocking on the door to freezing, I know there isn't much time to get everything buttoned up.


----------



## concrete_joe

cocobolo said:


> William...you must be psychic or something.
> 
> Both of us have come down with what we thought was a simple cold over two weeks ago. But whatever it is just will not go away. Neither of us cares too much to need to stay in bed and rest.


if its a "_making me tired_" cold then that sounds flu like to me. simple colds can be masked with some over counter stuff, enough to boost your immune system to fight it and allows you to keep working.

for simple colds:
1) good chewable multi vitamins (take max allowed daily)
2) additional chewable vitamin C
3) Thera-Flu hot drink
4) claritan-d for congestion
5) some type of cough syrup to stop coughs
6) hot steamy showers

surely not your 1st rodeo with a cold, so my 1-6 may not be all good for you.....
ok, feel better.


----------



## BigJim

I really hate that Keith, there must be something in the air that says to check on Keith, I have been thinking about checking on you the last couple of days.

We hope you get well really soon buddy.


----------



## williamlayton

Hell--I aint worried about Keith--it are the wife---look at the pictures and see what she has to put up with.
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> Hell--I aint worried about Keith--it are the wife---look at the pictures and see what she has to put up with.
> Blessings


Gee.....thanks a bunch, I think. :wink2:


----------



## cocobolo

Time for a brief update.

We still seem to have remnants of the "cold" that grabbed us so effectively. I think it must have been something more than that, but we really don't know quite what. Perhaps some sort of virus which has now just about run its' course.

We have been clearing up the mess outside and have all the debris from the original destruction now burned. Still the backfilling to do, but that has to wait until I get the scaffold taken down. And that should wait until the soffit has been done...you know how it goes. Always something in the way of what you want to get done next.

We have decided that we need a raised parking area out in front so that when the snow flies it will be a downhill run instead of trying to climb up a short, steep hill to get to the road. So to that end, I have been working the mini excavator shifting some big rocks around getting ready for a couple of truckloads of fill. With a little luck that will get done before the snow arrives.

Along with that I want to get the under deck area converted into a carport so that Val doesn't need to walk out in the snow to get to her vehicle. Right now that area is used for wood storage and as a cutting area.

The roof over the workshop needs to be converted from nearly dead flat to some sort of respectable pitch. That means the walls will need to be constructed on top of the concrete I poured much earlier this year. In order to do that (here we go again) I also want to add 2" of depth to the top wall which the raised roof will lean against. The purpose for that will be to increase the R-value of the wall from what should be R-12 to something closer to to R-20. Realistically, the R-12 is just a dream, whereas once I get done with the wall, it will be properly framed, properly insulated and properly vapour barriered. The existing windows are to be changed for something of much better quality, and a new top floor front door will be installed in place of one of the windows.

The installation of the four air handlers for the heat pump system is proceeding slowly, however, we hope to have all four in place this coming week.

There is yet another trip to Vancouver this Tuesday...one more day shot. We are supposed to bring back the first of some kitchen cabinets and other minor items. Then the following week Val sees the surgeon again for her knee surgery checkup.

Jim, my apologies for not getting around to posting any pics of the overall look of this place yet. So, let me issue everyone who takes the time to read this an invitation to post your favourite photo of your own house right here. I would very much like to see what everyone else's places look like. Feel free to add any comments you like about your own houses. I will appreciate that very much, and thank you in advance.

Other than that, in my spare time I picked up the first load of cedar for the new siding here. It looks like pretty fair stuff. I will have to do all the machining myself, which will entail the need to make a long space suitable for run-on and runoff tables to do the planing and cutting with. The longest boards are just over 18 feet.

We did a small amount of concrete work a few days ago where I want to get some sort of narrow deck put in in front of the kitchen. The area as it is now is basically useless. Then there will be a different deck added above that one which will service the master bedroom. Nothing fancy or big up there, we should only need something small.

Cheers for now...back in a few days with some current pictures. :smile:


----------



## BigJim

Thanks for letting us know y'all are ok, hopefully soon Val's knees will be good as new. We look forward to seeing your work.


----------



## williamlayton

I, also, concur with Bigjim.
Blessings


----------



## flamtap

cocobolo said:


> So, let me issue everyone who takes the time to read this an invitation to post your favourite photo of your own house right here.


Glad to hear you are feeling better! Always look forward to new updates from you, especially with good news. 


This is my house in North Carolina. We are considering adding on the back of the house a bit in the next year (not DIY), but I'm not sure we can handle being "under construction" for such a long time. 

flamtap


----------



## 123pugsy

Some assembly required:


----------



## BigJim

Man, after seeing the large houses you guys have, I don't know if I want to post a picture of our little house or not. LOL Just the two of us, so we just don't need a lot of room, too hard to take care of.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Man, after seeing the large houses you guys have, I don't know if I want to post a picture of our little house or not. LOL Just the two of us, so we just don't need a lot of room, too hard to take care of.


C'mon Jim...you're the main reason I made the invitation in the first place!


----------



## cocobolo

flamtap said:


> Glad to hear you are feeling better! Always look forward to new updates from you, especially with good news.
> 
> 
> This is my house in North Carolina. We are considering adding on the back of the house a bit in the next year (not DIY), but I'm not sure we can handle being "under construction" for such a long time.
> 
> flamtap
> 
> Many thanks for being the first poster. Gorgeous looking house you have there. Perhaps if you contract out the hard stuff, like excavating and the concrete work, you could do the rest yourself and save a bundle in the process. Well, whatever you decide...good luck!


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Some assembly required:


Thanks for posting pugsy. Looks to me as though you have the structure pretty much under control. Add some siding and you're good to go! Very nice!


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Thanks for posting pugsy. Looks to me as though you have the structure pretty much under control. Add some siding and you're good to go! Very nice!


Thanks Keith.

This one will be brick.


----------



## sleepyg

My place here in North Carolina


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Thanks Keith.
> 
> This one will be brick.


Will you be the mason of record? Or do you have to farm this out?


----------



## cocobolo

sleepyg said:


> My place here in North Carolina


Well would you look at this. Here we are talking about brick on pugsy's place, and look what shows up! I'd say this one was built to last awhile. Very nice indeed. :smile:


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Will you be the mason of record? Or do you have to farm this out?


I'll have to farm it out. There are some jobs that are just too large for me.


----------



## edselsouth1

*Our Alabama house...a bit of work in progress...*

This is our Alabama house, wife and I . Been a project house for the last 30 years. Original part (r/h of the picture, w/ porch) was built in 1861, but previous owner called himself remodeling it. This is a DIY.


----------



## cocobolo

edselsouth1 said:


> This is our Alabama house, wife and I . Been a project house for the last 30 years. Original part (r/h of the picture, w/ porch) was built in 1861, but previous owner called himself remodeling it. This is a DIY.


1861...WOW! I am most impressed. Imagine a house that was started over 150 years ago...incredible! I sincerely hope you manage to get everything done that you want to in the foreseeable future. And thank you very much indeed for posting. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

For those of you who may not be aware, Canada held a national election today.

I'm pleased to say that we have a new prime minister...Justin Trudeau. His father was our prime minister some 40 years ago. I wish him well.


----------



## BigJim

Keith, we are aware that you did have an election, we are very happy for you. Here is a little reading here on the forum you may like to read:

http://www.diychatroom.com/f112/canada-votes-323409/


----------



## sleepyg

sleepyg said:


> My place here in North Carolina


Thanks Keith, this house was built in 1928-29 SOLID brick walls on the outside! I sometimes wish I had studs on the outside walls so I could insulate!


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Keith, we are aware that you did have an election, we are very happy for you. Here is a little reading here on the forum you may like to read:
> 
> http://www.diychatroom.com/f112/canada-votes-323409/


Hi Jim:

Thanks for the link.

We got back very late last night from the coast and I did manage to read some of that thread. I'm sure I will have something to add when I get a chance to read whole thing. 

Thanks again...Keith. :smile:


----------



## barnabas131

My place here in md shed was Diy


----------



## cocobolo

barnabas131 said:


> My place here in md shed was Diy


Looking good!

What direction does this view of the house face? I only ask this because of all the fairly large windows you have. Do you notice much heat loss/gain there?

The cabin here has some very poor windows on the north side...not good, and they are going to be replaced with much smaller windows ASAP.


----------



## barnabas131

cocobolo said:


> Looking good!
> 
> What direction does this view of the house face? I only ask this because of all the fairly large windows you have. Do you notice much heat loss/gain there?
> 
> The cabin here has some very poor windows on the north side...not good, and they are going to be replaced with much smaller windows ASAP.


houses faces like a northwest, house was just built this past winter and then i got right on building the shed and deck myself and doing some other work. Lawn still has a ways to go but doing well for the nasty clay that we have around here. 

its all anderson 4100 MI series windows double pane. Not the highest quality window but its a decent double pane (pre planned community didnt get to pick options) House scored extremely well on the air seal test and all little areas builder did address. we have ~4300 sq ft and Utilities average 180 a month so its really not bad. Besides the very top Center window which is over the entry way so we love the natural light the rest of the windows do all have 2" wood blinds on them not sure how much of a difference they make as i put them all in the week we bought the house. I have more pictures of work ive done in the house if your interested.


----------



## cocobolo

Looks like it has been awhile since I covered anything on the cabin here.

Here we are getting through the insulation on the new master bedroom. R-22 in the walls and R-50 in the ceiling. We got to R-50 by putting R-22 between the ceiling joists, and then adding two layers of R-14 above that.


----------



## cocobolo

One thing I really like about this Roxul insulation is that it can be made to fit exactly how you want it. I use an electric knife to do the cutting...works like a charm.

Cutting around electrical boxes, for example, is a piece of cake.


----------



## cocobolo

When the insulation was finished, we installed the one piece vapour barrier, hence the need for the 20 foot wide roll.

Here I am marking the inside wall which is where we will start to attach the 6 mil poly.


----------



## barnabas131

We have all R19 in walls (2x6 construction) and i think its R30 in attic (16" blown in) We are Zone 7 so obviously not nearly as cold. R19 is about the highest really anyone does for insulating walls here unless they go to spray insulation.


----------



## barnabas131

Ive been meaning to ask you about the vapour barrier you do, is that due to the house not having house wrap on the outside? or is that a northern thing? Or what is it? Seems it would trap moisture in the insulation. ive never seen it done down here before.

And based on the air test our house is pretty damn well sealed up, and by code now all houses have to be air sealed and a fresh air circulation system installed on the HVAC as the air would get too stagnant if it didnt pull fresh air directly (i have an electronic controller to adjust how much air i pull in from the outside)


----------



## cocobolo

The vapour barrier on the ceiling and outside wall was one piece, and was installed prior to the closet wall being built. The end walls, just under 12 feet long, had the vapour barrier added separately, so I must correct myself from the earlier statement where I said "one piece".

Done in this fashion, you add the wall V. B. on top of the 6 mil hanging down from the ceiling. If you tape it up, it's about as effective as a single piece. I haven't done the taping yet, but we do have several rolls of tape here. It will get done prior to any drywalling.


----------



## cocobolo

With the poly installed, the closet wall was added. Val will be getting a good size walk-in closet. She's happy about that.


----------



## cocobolo

Here the closet wall is wired for two duplex outlets, one on each side of the bed, and three way switches for the single light which will go above the centre of the headboard.

Looks a little sloppy...I guess I don't have all the wires stapled yet!


----------



## cocobolo

A couple of weeks ago we had a semi decent day here and I tried to stain the south facing fascia boards. 

The first attempt was pretty much a waste of time and stain. It turned out that when the north fascia was stained a couple of years ago, the south side was ignored. 

I made the fatal mistake of assuming (NEVER do that) that the south side was also done at the same time. In reality, I would guess it was done maybe 10 or more years ago.

I had to hang over the edge of the roof with a sander and try to get the wood into good enough shape to where it would accept the new stain. I did eventually manage to get two coats on and now it looks passably fair - no better - but it will last until next year when I can do it again under better weather conditions.


----------



## cocobolo

At this time neither of us were any too well, but Val insisted that if I was on the roof she should stain the boards on the sheds. They are both now finished - two coats - and look pretty darned good.


----------



## cocobolo

The driveway was in need of a little smoothing out, so to this end I had Lady Godzilla back at work. I ran into an annoying bump in the middle of the driveway barely two inches high, but it needed to go.

Well, this rock ended up being some 4 feet long and far too heavy for the machine to lift. So I dug all the way around the rock, then dug a deeper hole off to one side, then eased the rock a little lower into the hole. Not much else I could do if we wanted it out of the way.


----------



## cocobolo

By the end of the day things were back to normal and the big hole was filled, packed and smoothed over. Fortunately the machine has a great set of LED lights for night work.


----------



## cocobolo

One thing that we really would like to get done before the snow flies (among about 100 others) is to get some concrete on top of the rock wall at the south side of the house.

While I don't think there is any danger of imminent collapse, I would prefer it if we added some smaller rocks, all set in concrete, and a row of re-bar just to ensure that nothing will move.

Then on top of that I wanted to add a low concrete strip, on which I will eventually add a pressure treated wood deck of some sort. Haven't got that designed yet, but we did beat the weather and have the concrete work done.

The deck can be added any time.


----------



## cocobolo

Never having had anything to do with heat pumps and the related parts before, let alone trying to get the basic installation done, I have been muddling along doing what I can while we await the arrival of the tech guy who will do all the final hooking up etc.

Our friend who sold us the system is traveling until the end of November, and he will be bringing the tech guy up once his world jaunt is over. Still and all, I want to have everything ready to go as best I can.

For whatever reason the instructions make it clear that you must have a 2 9/16" hole at two locations where each of the air handlers are installed. I'm not so sure about needing two holes, but the instructions...not so clearly written in Chinglish...make it sound that way. To add to our pleasure, these holes need to be drilled at an angle.

For that, I had to buy a drill bit of that size (NOT available at your local WalMart) and set up some sort of guide system on the drill press. I think the picture should explain it.


----------



## cocobolo

I'm mounting the air handlers on some 3/4" plywood. That saves us from having to have the drywall done in advance. There's not much chance of that happening until much later.

So all I have to do is to make sure the holes clear any wall studs as well as having some sort of reasonable access through the framing so that the lines can be run in.

Here is one of the mounts attached to the plywood backer, holes drilled and mounted on a wall.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the sunset we had a few days ago on the 18th.


----------



## cocobolo

This winter I don't want to be shoveling snow if I can help it. So we ordered a garden tractor with a snow blower attachment a few days ago. It was ready for pickup today, so we went in to Salmon Arm to pick it up.

Husqvarna 24 h.p. tractor with a 48" mower deck and 48" snow thrower. The chap said it will throw snow clear across the street...hehehe...wonder how the neighbour will like that?


----------



## cocobolo

As if that's not enough we are apparently going to Kamloops tomorrow for a rototiller. Just what I need...more work!

Then we will slide by the House of Pot for another load of building materials.


----------



## cocobolo

barnabas131 said:


> We have all R19 in walls (2x6 construction) and i think its R30 in attic (16" blown in) We are Zone 7 so obviously not nearly as cold. R19 is about the highest really anyone does for insulating walls here unless they go to spray insulation.


That's more or less the same here. The only reason ours is R-22 is because it is Roxul. In my humble opinion it is far superior to any of the fiberglass insulations.


----------



## cocobolo

barnabas131 said:


> Ive been meaning to ask you about the vapour barrier you do, is that due to the house not having house wrap on the outside? or is that a northern thing? Or what is it? Seems it would trap moisture in the insulation. ive never seen it done down here before.
> 
> And based on the air test our house is pretty damn well sealed up, and by code now all houses have to be air sealed and a fresh air circulation system installed on the HVAC as the air would get too stagnant if it didnt pull fresh air directly (i have an electronic controller to adjust how much air i pull in from the outside)


To the best of my knowledge the vapour barrier has always been required here, and I'm very surprised that it isn't required where you are.

Your code may "require" that your house be air sealed, but in all honesty, that is practically impossible.

House wrap does breathe, which translates into the fact that it doesn't actually seal. That allows moisture in the air to pass in either direction. Not necessarily a bad thing.

The vapour barrier, always installed on the warm side of the wall, goes a long way toward sealing the building. We all need to remember that every window and door as well as every opening for electrical wires or plumbing lines are likely to leak to some degree. A dryer vent would be a good example.

We will be installing an air to air heat exchanger, which is an air circulation system such as you are talking about. The aim of these exchangers is to recover a portion of the heat which would otherwise be lost outside as the air is being changed, as well as obviously providing a source of fresh air.

You mention trapping moisture within the insulation, and that is correct under certain below freezing temperatures. It works like this.

Let's say that the outside temperature is -8º F. That would be 40º of frost. Let's say that the inside of your house is at 72º F, which would be 40º above freezing. On the inside of your wall the air temperature is 72º and outside it is -8º. At some point in the wall the air will reach a temperature of 32º F. Theoretically that point would be right in the middle of the insulation. It is at that point that IF there is sufficient moisture in the air that it will freeze and form ice. The actual amount of ice is extremely minimal, but it will be there. As the air warms, the freezing point moves further toward the outside and the warmer air will actually hold that moisture once again as a vapour and not as ice or actual water.

Now, this will take place regardless of whether or not you have a 6 mil vapour barrier and/or house wrap. So you too are getting some moisture trapped in the insulation. But because it is so minimal, it essentially has no effect on your insulation. As I suspect you know, the colder air gets, the less moisture it will hold. And conversely, the warmer the air the greater its' ability to hold moisture.

I recall when I lived in Whitehorse, that humidity tests taken at around -40ºF, would either yield a reading of 100% or 0%. In reality, by that temperature all the moisture has been frozen out of the air. So the 100% reading was really the same as 0%.

It's an interesting subject and one which was dealt with in considerable detail back when I took my UFFI removal license course way back when.


----------



## barnabas131

I did some googling and seems its only used in more northern climates where it gets much colder then it does here and its because of how dry the air is outside vs how much moisture in in the air inside so it helps to keep the inside the walls drier. Your points make sense as well. its all very interesting. 

I didnt get pictures when they did the air seal but all cracks and joints had to be caulked, all outlets/wiring/spaces/drilled holes and even teh top of the framing where it met the attic got crack foam sprayed around them, all vents caulked, then they hook a big fan up to one of the doors and have tools to go around house and measure anywhere that air is leaking and the house as a whole can only leak so much, pretty cool stuff. Obviously the OSB itself will leak and windows/doors can never be perfect but coming from my parents 50 yr old house its an amazing difference!


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> To the best of my knowledge the vapour barrier has always been required here, and I'm very surprised that it isn't required where you are.
> 
> Your code may "require" that your house be air sealed, but in all honesty, that is practically impossible.
> 
> House wrap does breathe, which translates into the fact that it doesn't actually seal. That allows moisture in the air to pass in either direction. Not necessarily a bad thing.
> 
> The vapour barrier, always installed on the warm side of the wall, goes a long way toward sealing the building. We all need to remember that every window and door as well as every opening for electrical wires or plumbing lines are likely to leak to some degree. A dryer vent would be a good example.
> 
> We will be installing an air to air heat exchanger, which is an air circulation system such as you are talking about. The aim of these exchangers is to recover a portion of the heat which would otherwise be lost outside as the air is being changed, as well as obviously providing a source of fresh air.
> 
> You mention trapping moisture within the insulation, and that is correct under certain below freezing temperatures. It works like this.
> 
> Let's say that the outside temperature is -8º F. That would be 40º of frost. Let's say that the inside of your house is at 72º F, which would be 40º above freezing. On the inside of your wall the air temperature is 72º and outside it is -8º. At some point in the wall the air will reach a temperature of 32º F. Theoretically that point would be right in the middle of the insulation. It is at that point that IF there is sufficient moisture in the air that it will freeze and form ice. The actual amount of ice is extremely minimal, but it will be there. As the air warms, the freezing point moves further toward the outside and the warmer air will actually hold that moisture once again as a vapour and not as ice or actual water.
> 
> Now, this will take place regardless of whether or not you have a 6 mil vapour barrier and/or house wrap. So you too are getting some moisture trapped in the insulation. But because it is so minimal, it essentially has no effect on your insulation. As I suspect you know, the colder air gets, the less moisture it will hold. And conversely, the warmer the air the greater its' ability to hold moisture.
> 
> I recall when I lived in Whitehorse, that humidity tests taken at around -40ºF, would either yield a reading of 100% or 0%. In reality, by that temperature all the moisture has been frozen out of the air. So the 100% reading was really the same as 0%.
> 
> It's an interesting subject and one which was dealt with in considerable detail back when I took my UFFI removal license course way back when.


That is really interesting, I didn't know all of that. Down this way the inside humidity stays around 50%, outside it is usually 75-95% in the warmer months, I don't know what it is in the cooler months.


----------



## cocobolo

Barnabas, you couldn't be more right about the 50 year old houses.

I will tell you that when our illustrious government decided to sponsor homeowners of the older uninsulated houses to add the UFFI (Urea formaldehyde foam insulation) they did so very prematurely. It wasn't until several years later that all the health problems started to show up. Most folks who were affected by the UFFI had no idea that the source of their illness came from this insulation. After much gnashing of teeth and pulling of hair, our trusty government once again had to fork out money to assist those same homeowners with a grant of just $5,000.00 to remove the UFFI. 

As you will doubtless imagine, this paltry amount rarely covered the cost of removal, and there are countless cases where the homeowners were forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars to have the UFFI removed, out of their own pockets. Particularly in houses built out of brick.

I was one of the very early license holders and in fact I was in frequent contact with the then CMHC (Central Mortgage and Housing) who were responsible for setting out the guidelines for removal. It was quite a process.

You mention adding a big fan to one of your doors for testing...well, we had to do the same thing to each house we did the UFFI removal from. This was to ensure that the house was pressurized from the inside. That was to force any of the floating UFFI particles outside to protect the homeowners.

We always asked the residents if they could vacate their homes while the removal was being done, but this was not always possible.

We had the choice of either using inside removal or outside removal. Personally, I never saw an inside removal job, as it was always easier to get rid of the UFFI from outside.

It usually involved removing either stucco or wood siding and occasionally asbestos shingles, from the outside. Then the sheathing, which was usually plywood. From there, the UFFI was taken out and bagged and sealed.

Then each cavity was meticulously cleaned with compressed air, then washed with warm water and a chemical (which, for the life of me I cannot recall the name) then washed again and allowed to dry. After every speck of UFFI was out, you then had to seal off 5 consecutive cavities with poly and 24 hours later an inspector came out and tested the air quality. It had to be perfect. If you had as much as a speck of UFFI the size of the head of a pin, the test would fail, that's how fussy they were. His tester measured in parts per Billion.

Once the test was OK, you then re-insulated the house with fibreglass insulation and re-sheathed the house. It was a messy, filthy job and all workers had to be covered from head to toe and wear masks until every trace of UFFI was disposed of.

One thing I discovered quite by accident was that the UFFI would occasionally eat away at the copper wiring in the walls. Not much, but enough that contacts within wall outlets or switches would often appear to be loose. Simply tightening the connections fixed this minor aggravation. This was usually in the very old houses, so it is always possible that other factors may have been partially to blame.

Moving up to today, we also have to seal off as you describe above. Caulking is notorious for failing at the best of times, and while we always try for perfection, that is rarely possible. There are better caulks available today than 40 years ago for sure.

One other very handy item is that we now have paints which qualify as a vapour barrier. Whether or not these are as effective as 6 mil poly I very much doubt it. But even way back when the UFFI scare was on, this paint was made available. It was my understanding then that the "vapour barrier" paint was quickly developed in response to the UFFI problem.

We can go on for hours about all this sealing business. But just think...every time you walk in or out of your house you make a nearly 20 square foot hole in the wall for air to pass through. :surprise:


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> That is really interesting, I didn't know all of that. Down this way the inside humidity stays around 50%, outside it is usually 75-95% in the warmer months, I don't know what it is in the cooler months.


Jim, there will be discussions going on ad infinitum about humidity and house sealing. It has got to the point of being ridiculous.

Basically, the warmer the air the more moisture it will hold. At -40º, either celsius or fahrenheit, the air no longer has the ability to hold moisture.

Down in your neck of the woods those warm summer temperatures allow very high humidity. That's why you feel so hot and muggy. And let's remember, the term is always relative humidity, not just humidity.


----------



## sleepyg

cocobolo said:


> I'm mounting the air handlers on some 3/4" plywood. That saves us from having to have the drywall done in advance. There's not much chance of that happening until much later.
> 
> So all I have to do is to make sure the holes clear any wall studs as well as having some sort of reasonable access through the framing so that the lines can be run in.
> 
> Here is one of the mounts attached to the plywood backer, holes drilled and mounted on a wall.


Keith, 
The reason for the 2 holes are for the drain and ref. piping. The angle is to insure that the drain line will have fall through the wall. Make sure that whatever side the drain goes out that the whole unit has just a slight lean to that side, not enough to notice but to make sure the drain pan will empty ( don't ask how I know all this)! I will say I have installed my fair share of these units.
Sleepyg


----------



## algalkin

Keith, What do you thing about Seattle area, we rarely get anything below 32 here, do I still need vapor barrier?


----------



## cocobolo

sleepyg said:


> Keith,
> The reason for the 2 holes are for the drain and ref. piping. The angle is to insure that the drain line will have fall through the wall. Make sure that whatever side the drain goes out that the whole unit has just a slight lean to that side, not enough to notice but to make sure the drain pan will empty ( don't ask how I know all this)! I will say I have installed my fair share of these units.
> Sleepyg


Hmmm, well OK I won't ask, I'll just guess.

Now on these Fujitsu units the drain line and refrigeration lines both head out in the same direction. Yes, I was aware of the necessity of the drain line falling somewhat, but that line is only 5/8", it hardly needs such a big hole. There is room for it to go out the same hole as the copper lines. Their instructions for the drain line are vague at best. I'm going to let John (tech guy) take care of all that. But you may be sure I will be asking plenty of questions.

If you have installed a Fujitsu unit, you will know that they say something about cutting the slot in the drain pan area. I'm not going to touch the damn thing. Just doesn't quite sound right to me somehow.

Anyway, it looks like the guys won't be coming up from the coast until the end of next month. We'll do just fine with the wood stove until then.


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Keith, What do you thing about Seattle area, we rarely get anything below 32 here, do I still need vapor barrier?


You are barely 100 miles south of Vancouver, and frankly, your climate is nearly identical. If I were you I would installing one without any doubt. The vapour barrier doesn't have as much to do with the low temperatures it does with the moisture. Having visited Seattle many times in the past, I know that you guys are at least as wet as Vancouver.

You might call your local building department and ask to speak with an experienced building inspector and ask his opinion. I will never agree that we don't need a v.b. anywhere in North America, above Mexico let's say.


----------



## algalkin

cocobolo said:


> You are barely 100 miles south of Vancouver, and frankly, your climate is nearly identical. If I were you I would installing one without any doubt. The vapour barrier doesn't have as much to do with the low temperatures it does with the moisture. Having visited Seattle many times in the past, I know that you guys are at least as wet as Vancouver.
> 
> You might call your local building department and ask to speak with an experienced building inspector and ask his opinion. I will never agree that we don't need a v.b. anywhere in North America, above Mexico let's say.


Thanks, been a fan of your island home project. What happened to it?
I also have my house project here, will show it once the forum allows me to post pictures.


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Thanks, been a fan of your island home project. What happened to it?
> I also have my house project here, will show it once the forum allows me to post pictures.


I can't remember how many posts you need before doing photos...I think it used be 20.

I still have the Ruxton Island house, but I have moved away from it lock, stock and barrel. We can probably get you up to 20 posts fairly quickly if you just keep making comments.

Good luck and a big welcome to the DIY chatroom. :smile:


----------



## williamlayton

In he South a vapor barrier is used on the outside of the insulation (the paper that is on the bats) to keep humidity out. The vapor barrier you use is to keep the vapor in---am i not correct ?
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> In he South a vapor barrier is used on the outside of the insulation (the paper that is on the bats) to keep humidity out. The vapor barrier you use is to keep the vapor in---am i not correct ?
> Blessings


William...that paper face on the batts is not a vapour barrier.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but that type of insulation used to come in rolls which we used to cut to length. It may well be available in 4' lengths as well, of that I'm not certain. That paper unfolds about 1 1/2" or so on the outside so that it can be stapled to the framing. Actually, I haven't seen paper faced rolls for many years. All of the new stuff comes in bales which are 4' long and in varying widths, depending on your framing spacing.

The vapour barrier that we use here goes a very long way in preventing the movement of air through the exterior walls. It has almost zero R-value, but is extremely effective in preventing moisture coming in through the walls to the interior of your building.

The simple fact is that once your house is closed in that any moisture in the walls will slowly dissipate to the outside. It really cannot get inside with a 6 mil poly barrier in the way.

If you have ever been inside an apartment complex or townhouse development while it is under construction, and where a poly v.b. is used, it is common to see real water droplets on the poly prior to the installation of the drywall. When the Herman Nelsons are fired up this water increases to a terrible degree, and yet in a short period of time it will all disappear outside the walls. No water will get to the back side of the drywall. You know that if you get drywall wet, its' strength is seriously compromised.

Without a vapour barrier, the water inside your NEW walls will go in either direction, but most of it will dissipate to the outside. The bulk of this moisture comes out of the framing lumber - assuming that it is fresh lumber which is typically dried to a moisture content of 19%. If it has been sitting outside in a lumber yard - in the rain - it may well be much higher than that. All that water has to go somewhere, and it always takes the path of least resistance. Typically, that will be to the outside of your walls.

Tha poly that we use ensures that the moisture does not come inside.

For some reason I was under the impression that the I.B.C. (International Building Code) which we generally follow, does cover vapour barriers. Frankly, I haven't investigated this since I took my carpentry ticket as I never had any reason to do so. 

At that time our code was covered by the CMHC, (Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation) and which may have been superseded by the B.C. Provincial code where it was necessary. Further to that, there are many of the larger cities, such as Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal and so on which may have yet further regulations locally. I suspect the situation would be similar in the USA.


----------



## 123pugsy

6 mil poly here also Kieth. 

Exterior house wrap I believe is still optional. My neighbor didn't use it last year on his new house.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> 6 mil poly here also Kieth.
> 
> Exterior house wrap I believe is still optional. My neighbor didn't use it last year on his new house.


Yes...I think it is pretty much Canada wide.

I do note an awful lot of places going up here are using the house wrap. I don't know if it is any better than 15 lb. roofing felt - as opposed to the skinny tarpaper - but it's certainly faster to install.

I guess I'm just an old school guy and I still prefer the roofing felt. It's tough as nails and will definitely last a lifetime. I do have two rolls of the wrap here, but I don't really care to be advertising the manufacturer all over the side of the house until such time as the siding is on. To me that draws a lot of attention to the house and frankly, it looks like hell.

I was told by one seller that the wrap is less expensive than roofing felt, but that is not so. A 400 square foot roll of felt currently runs about $32 here, or 8 cents a square foot. The wrap I got quoted on was about 2 1/2 times as much. I guess if you are paying for someone else's labour it might come out even in the end. But since this is a DIY site, that shouldn't come into play. :biggrin2:


----------



## algalkin

cocobolo said:


> William...that paper face on the batts is not a vapour barrier.
> 
> Correct me if I'm wrong, but that type of insulation used to come in rolls which we used to cut to length. It may well be available in 4' lengths as well, of that I'm not certain. That paper unfolds about 1 1/2" or so on the outside so that it can be stapled to the framing. Actually, I haven't seen paper faced rolls for many years. All of the new stuff comes in bales which are 4' long and in varying widths, depending on your framing spacing.


 We still have those in rolls here in US. They are pain in the butt to staple if the framing offset is non-standard (My house, people who built it, had no concept of standardization).

Sad you had to leave the island house, it's so awesome!


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> We still have those in rolls here in US. They are pain in the butt to staple if the framing offset is non-standard (My house, people who built it, had no concept of standardization).
> 
> Sad you had to leave the island house, it's so awesome!


Well thank you for the information. It has been years since I saw one of those rolls. 

Do you know offhand what they cost on a per square foot basis compared to plain R 12 fibreglass batts? I wonder if it wouldn't be more cost effective and perhaps simpler to use plain batts and tarpaper. Thinking back now...were those rolls R-10 or R-12? I can't remember.

The very reason you mention above (non-standard framing) is why I don't think they are very useful. And at every stud you have a break in the paper, always leading to the possibility of leakage.

That's one of the reasons I went over to Roxul as soon as I discovered that it was being made. Along with the fact that it is stiff, fits well, is fireproof (made from rock and metal slag) cuts with a bread knife and insulates better. Sadly, yes it is more expensive. But it's one of those things which is worth paying for.

We ordered a few bundles of the Roxul comfortbatt a couple of days ago, to be delivered this coming Wednesday. With this insulation I plan on covering the north wall of the house entirely (other than windows and the door) which will leave no openings in the insulation where the studs are. That should boost the overall R rating of the wall.

I will post pics as I go through the process.

Leaving the island home had become matter of financial responsibility as well as safety. Staying alone there through another winter did not appeal to me. The winter storms, some of which would come up with very little warning, had caught me out in the 4 mile wide channel more than once. Handling a 25 foot sailboat in those conditions singlehanded is not easy, especially when you are over 70 years of age. I don't regret moving up to the Shuswap in the least.


----------



## algalkin

cocobolo said:


> Well thank you for the information. It has been years since I saw one of those rolls.
> 
> Do you know offhand what they cost on a per square foot basis compared to plain R 12 fibreglass batts? I wonder if it wouldn't be more cost effective and perhaps simpler to use plain batts and tarpaper. Thinking back now...were those rolls R-10 or R-12? I can't remember.
> 
> Leaving the island home had become matter of financial responsibility as well as safety. Staying alone there through another winter did not appeal to me. The winter storms, some of which would come up with very little warning, had caught me out in the 4 mile wide channel more than once. Handling a 25 foot sailboat in those conditions singlehanded is not easy, especially when you are over 70 years of age. I don't regret moving up to the Shuswap in the least.


 Gotcha, yes, those are legit reasons to move.

I've checked home depot website on rolls insulation.
Not sure if link will go through:
http://www.homedepot.com/b/Building-Materials-Insulation-Fiberglass/Roll/N-5yc1vZbay7Z1z0utow

Basically,
The R-13 roll (that's the thinnest) is 15"x32ft - $11.16
By my calculations it's 40sq.ft. or 27c per sq.ft?


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Gotcha, yes, those are legit reasons to move.
> 
> I've checked home depot website on rolls insulation.
> Not sure if link will go through:
> http://www.homedepot.com/b/Building-Materials-Insulation-Fiberglass/Roll/N-5yc1vZbay7Z1z0utow
> 
> Basically,
> The R-13 roll (that's the thinnest) is 15"x32ft - $11.16
> By my calculations it's 40sq.ft. or 27c per sq.ft?


Yes...the link worked. But it shows a price of $7.72 (US) for the 15" by 32 foot roll???

That translates to just over $10.00 Cdn. or 25c per square foot. Not bad.


----------



## algalkin

cocobolo said:


> Yes...the link worked. But it shows a price of $7.72 (US) for the 15" by 32 foot roll???
> 
> That translates to just over $10.00 Cdn. or 25c per square foot. Not bad.


Hmm, I wonder if takes your location into account and shows local prices (Is there a Home Depot in Canada? Or maybe it shows Bellingham, WA prices or something like that?), cause I just checked and it still shows $11 for me .

Since links are through, I'll try to post few pictures of my "project"


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Hmm, I wonder if takes your location into account and shows local prices (Is there a Home Depot in Canada? Or maybe it shows Bellingham, WA prices or something like that?), cause I just checked and it still shows $11 for me .
> 
> Since links are through, I'll try to post few pictures of my "project"


I think there's over 100 Home Depot locations in Canada. The link came through from Poplar Bluff in the US, so it is American pricing. Current exchange rate is somewhere around 30%.


----------



## algalkin

cocobolo said:


> I think there's over 100 Home Depot locations in Canada. The link came through from Poplar Bluff in the US, so it is American pricing. Current exchange rate is somewhere around 30%.


I need to move to Poplar then, I like their price better .


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> I need to move to Poplar then, I like their price better .


Nah...stay where you are. Seattle is much nicer! :smile:


----------



## algalkin

So here it iss
The original project was to replace the carport, that was leaking all over the place with garage and make the new roof sloped at least 1:12 and put sheet metal roofing.
Here is what the carport looked like before demo (May of 2014)









There were issues with permits and stuff, had to do a really weird stuff with demo and a lot of issues with ordering roofing materials and such, basically, this is 4 months later:









My dad helped me through the summer a lot. He's 69 and full of energy (sometimes got more energy then me .

So that was last summer. This summer I did replace all the roofing with sheet metal, to match the garage roof and replaced the siding - almost all by myself.



















I hope, I won't have to do it ever again .


----------



## A Squared

cocobolo said:


> William...that paper face on the batts is not a vapour barrier.


That is not correct, Keith. the Kraft paper facing is treated with asphalt to be resistant to the passage of moisture. It's not as effective a vapor retarder as 6 mil polyethylene sheet, but it does act as a vapor retarder.


----------



## cocobolo

A Squared said:


> That is not correct, Keith. the Kraft paper facing is treated with asphalt to be resistant to the passage of moisture. It's not as effective a vapor retarder as 6 mil polyethylene sheet, but it does act as a vapor retarder.


A Squared...thanks for your post.

I took the trouble to check on a few of the manufacturers websites to see what they had to say about this. Apparently the purpose of this asphalt treatment is to adhere the fibreglass to the Kraft paper face, and it is applied to one face of the paper only. 

I think what we are talking about here is apples and oranges, not quite the same animals.

Now, while I will agree with you that the actual Kraft paper acts as a vapour retarder, I cannot agree that (for example) on a 20' long wall that it has any effect whatsoever.

Let's say that our hypothetical 20' long wall is on 16" centres. You would have 16 studs and 15 spaces. On those 15 spaces you will have 30 edges. Now 30 edges 8 feet long will give you 240 lineal feet of space to pass air through. I simply cannot see where that can be considered any sort of vapour barrier in the least.

I do note that you refer to the paper face as a vapour retarder as opposed to vapour barrier. I suggest that they are not the same thing at all.

One manufacturer I see does claim that the kraft paper is a vapour barrier, others use the name retarder, which I believe to be more accurate. I also note that the same manufacturer claims that 3 1/2" thick fibreglass is now rated as R-15. That I don't buy for a minute.

Not only that, but they show the application of this kraft faced insulation being stapled to the flat face of a 2 x 4, instead of being stapled to the edge of the 2 x 4. This squishes the edges of the insulation down to 2 1/2" or perhaps even less, thus reducing the R-value of the insulation. To make matters worse, this provides a raceway for fire to go up in the unfortunate event of a fire. Perhaps you see now why I don't always believe manufacturers claims, regardless of the product.

One manufacturer says to tape all the edge joints of the kraft paper in order to keep the integrity of the retarder. They also say to tape any tears in the face of the paper with duct tape. I admit it has been many years since I have seen this paper in use with my own eyes, but I have never seen it taped with anything, much less the frequent tears repaired.

They further claim that fibreglass insulation will not burn. They may have some validity here, in that it doesn't seem to support combustion directly, but when this type of insulation is burned, all that is left is a small pile of fibres. I have just finished burning some of this insulation, so I know that this is what happens. 

I have also tried to test burn some of my favourite insulation, Roxul. All that happens is that it will turn black, but otherwise doesn't change. I was unaware until yesterday that Johns-Manville also makes an insulation which appears to be exactly the same as Roxul. Same colour, same R-value and the same burn characteristics...i.e. it does not support combustion and acts as a fire retarder. I suppose there may well be other manufacturers of a similar product.

So, in the interest of remaining friendly, I suggest that we can either agree to disagree, or we can agree that the terms as described are indeed apples and oranges.


----------



## BigJim

I was fixin to send a search party out to look for you Keith, hope you and all are doing good.


----------



## cocobolo

Jim, you just wouldn't believe all the shenanigans we've been through in the past couple of weeks.

Two trips to Vancouver last week, both dragging the big trailer. Val has to go down again early next week for a funeral.

I have to go over to Celista this morning to pick up another 700 feet of cedar to make siding for the house.

And to top it all off, there is snow on the mountain right behind us. So, if we are lucky, we won't have snow on the ground here until around the 20th of this month. If you can call that lucky.

I do have a little work done and I must try to get around to posting the latest. It doesn't look like I will be getting a whole lot of things done before the snow flies that I was planning on. Can't win 'em all I guess. :smile:


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Jim, you just wouldn't believe all the shenanigans we've been through in the past couple of weeks.
> 
> Two trips to Vancouver last week, both dragging the big trailer. Val has to go down again early next week for a funeral.
> 
> I have to go over to Celista this morning to pick up another 700 feet of cedar to make siding for the house.
> 
> And to top it all off, there is snow on the mountain right behind us. So, if we are lucky, we won't have snow on the ground here until around the 20th of this month. If you can call that lucky.
> 
> I do have a little work done and I must try to get around to posting the latest. It doesn't look like I will be getting a whole lot of things done before the snow flies that I was planning on. Can't win 'em all I guess. :smile:


I hate that for you buddy, I am just glad to hear from you.


----------



## cocobolo

I think I got my weeks all mixed up..it was two weeks ago that we made the two trips to Vancouver. Don't get old all you good folks, the memory likes to play tricks on you.

We usually leave here in the dark when we go to the coast. Here we are up on the Coquihalla while the sun was just coming up over the mountains. A short while later, after we had gone over the second high pass, this is what we ran into. It only got worse as we closed in on Vancouver.


----------



## cocobolo

The first of our two trips was to take the last of Val's stuff out of her expensive Vancouver storage locker. It was supposed to be the last trip necessary.

We had to first take some furniture that her daughter had in the locker out to her new house in the Fraser Valley. This we did with relative ease.

However, when we arrived at the new house, we were advised that there were four large rolls of carpet just removed from the house that we could have if we wished. Of course, Val couldn't possibly live without this carpet and so it was loaded on the trailer, taking up a rather substantial amount of room.

Back to the locker we go, and it is obvious that everything else will not now fit on the trailer. We loaded what we could and made new plans to return to the coast in three days for the rest.

One of the more interesting items was a very heavy steel safe. Now I'm quite sure that all you good folks have one similar in your own homes, while I, on the other hand, who have never owned anything worth more than about 28 cents, have never found the need to own such a beast.

Loading this thing was a genuine nightmare...unloading it was a piece of cake, as you can see.


----------



## cocobolo

The second trip took place under appalling weather conditions. 

We did have a short break in the rain while we were loading at the locker, but that was about it. With the furniture loaded, Val then advised me that we would need to go to one of her other daughters' place to pick up "a couple of things".

You guys all know what's coming next...right?

The couple of things turned out to be two more rolls of carpet and three large pieces of furniture. Then there was a huge, extremely heavy mirror and several boxes of stuff. By the time this was all loaded up it was dusk and so we headed off home.

We hadn't gone but a few blocks when Val's cell phone rang. It was her daughter calling, it seems that we didn't have any taillights on the trailer. Odd, because I had checked them right before we left that very morning.

So we stopped and checked, and sure enough...zilch. Now we have a problem. The lights were just replaced with brand new fixtures just a couple of weeks back.

So we headed off to Mission where we were told there was a Canadian Tire store. Turns out it was in a part of town I had never visited before and it took us some time to find it. All the while it was raining ferociously.

We arrived about half an hour after the service department closed, but the rest of the store was open. So Val called the local auto association, and they sent out a nice tow truck driven by a young, bald headed, extensively tattooed man.

Not to worry he says, I have a tester with me and we can fix the problem. Great.

Now, when I parked the trailer in the parking lot, I still had trailer brakes...just no back lights, but I did have the side clearance lights.

By the time Mr. Tattoo had finished, I had neither clearance lights nor brakes. He had successfully put them out of commission. And away he went into the night ostensibly to help his next victim.

We were left with no choice but to stay all night in the Honda and await the opening of the service department the following morning. So we decided that if this was to be we might as well see if we could at least find a decent meal somewhere close. As luck would have it, there was a Mr. Mike's just a short walk away and I was able to treat Val to a good meal.

The rain continued unabated all night, and it was a very tired old man who was waiting outside the door next morning to get help from the good people at Canadian Tire.

They fixed what they could, but told me that there was some sort of internal problem with the trailer wiring. They suggested that we go and see the people who had installed the hitch and associated wiring to see if they could help us further.

When I went to pay the bill (1 1/2 hours at $98 plus parts) the very kind young service manager wouldn't take any money. He said that after hearing what we went through last night he just couldn't charge us.

We then called the hitch people and were told that the store in Langley, where the original work was done would be closed for five days, and so it was that we had to drive much further in to Delta. Not too much fun on a Saturday morning with busy traffic.

The good man there checked the Honda wiring...perfect. But he also said that there was a very small short circuit somewhere in the trailer wiring itself, and that short of removing all the wiring and replacing it he didn't think it could be fixed. We did have brake lights now, so off we went home, hoping to make it before dark. No charge again for his service! Unbelievable! This NEVER happens to me.

It was after dark before we made it back, but no more troubles. The furniture stayed on the trailer until yesterday, and we had to press the excavator into service once again to lift this immensely heavy armoire off.


----------



## cocobolo

Some time last week the House of Pot delivered another big load of building materials to us. He arrived at the same time that the septic tank guy was here to do his annual checkup.

Everything went smoothly with the unloading, but now I have to find room inside for another 20 bales of Roxul and five bales of the comfortboard, which is a stiff insulation used for sheathing the outside of a wall.

Over the last few days, between more trips to Kamloops, we have managed to cover the lower 8' 8" of wall with this board. Plus we had to replace the two windows in the north wall with smaller, more efficient windows.


----------



## cocobolo

With the windows reframed and standing 1 1/2" proud of the wall, the board insulation was added. That was in turn covered with new OSB, which in turn was covered with 15 lb. roofing felt.

I did pick up another load of cedar this morning from Dwayn over at Celista. Looks like a pretty nice batch. Some of the boards are 20 feet long.


----------



## Windows on Wash

You are a machine Coco.


----------



## BigJim

How in the world do you keep going like you do? I am tired just watching you. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> How in the world do you keep going like you do? I am tired just watching you. :smile:


Jim, you're going to have to believe me when I tell you it's all catching up to me. We both know that we should be taking at least one day off every week, but when I look at all the building materials that are now stacked everywhere inside, I know that I must keep going. At some point it will get done and the best I can hope for is that I manage to get it finished before my energy runs out.

I would really like to have the new shed built for the excavator before the snow flies, but we have lots of rain in the immediate forecast...and that is to be followed by snow. Looks like she will be getting covered with tarps for the winter, which is something I would rather not do.

But the shed was also to cover the new tractor/snowblower, the lawnmower, the pressure washer, the chipper, one of the cement mixers, the generator, the rototiller, the barbecue, the wheelbarrows and who knows what else.

At this age I absolutely hate working in the rain, although heaven knows if you work in B. C. you work in the rain. Just ask anyone who lives here. 

A little tidbit...did you know that 10% of the world's rainfall lands on this province? No wonder we have so many rivers. I'm starting to think that the rain seeks me out as soon as I go outside to work! :surprise:


----------



## asevereid

Well, if you need a hand with something, I'd be happy to come help sometime. 
I'm tied up right now until mid month, but I'm sure I can make some time before the end of the month.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Jim, you're going to have to believe me when I tell you it's all catching up to me. We both know that we should be taking at least one day off every week, but when I look at all the building materials that are now stacked everywhere inside, I know that I must keep going. At some point it will get done and the best I can hope for is that I manage to get it finished before my energy runs out.
> 
> I would really like to have the new shed built for the excavator before the snow flies, but we have lots of rain in the immediate forecast...and that is to be followed by snow. Looks like she will be getting covered with tarps for the winter, which is something I would rather not do.
> 
> But the shed was also to cover the new tractor/snowblower, the lawnmower, the pressure washer, the chipper, one of the cement mixers, the generator, the rototiller, the barbecue, the wheelbarrows and who knows what else.
> 
> At this age I absolutely hate working in the rain, although heaven knows if you work in B. C. you work in the rain. Just ask anyone who lives here.
> 
> A little tidbit...did you know that 10% of the world's rainfall lands on this province? No wonder we have so many rivers. I'm starting to think that the rain seeks me out as soon as I go outside to work! :surprise:


I sure know what you mean about running out of steam, I am in the same boat with you. We need a new roof and hopefully I will be able to do that, at least it is a tin roof instead of the heavy stuff, there is no way I could do another asphalt roof now days. We have many projects but I don't have to rush like you do, most of mine are inside and not real pressing. 

You are right, at our age we surely don't like working in the rain.


----------



## cocobolo

asevereid said:


> Well, if you need a hand with something, I'd be happy to come help sometime.
> I'm tied up right now until mid month, but I'm sure I can make some time before the end of the month.


PM sent...and thank you for the offer.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I sure know what you mean about running out of steam, I am in the same boat with you. We need a new roof and hopefully I will be able to do that, at least it is a tin roof instead of the heavy stuff, there is no way I could do another asphalt roof now days. We have many projects but I don't have to rush like you do, most of mine are inside and not real pressing.
> 
> You are right, at our age we surely don't like working in the rain.


I have three major projects outside Jim.

One is the roof over what will become the workshop. Right now it is almost level with maybe a 1 in 20 slope. I first need to frame the new walls under the existing roof, then cut that roof back about 6 feet or so, then build the new roof with a workable pitch. That one is some 30 feet long.

If I had to guess I would say this is at least a full week long job, maybe even more.

Next is the redoing of the deck out front. This needs to be turned into a usable carport for Val for the winter. Similar sort of job to the workshop roof, but I only have to cut back one side of the deck (after removing all the outside railings of course) about 32", and then stretch the other side by varying amounts, as you will see when the time comes. That's easily another week plus of full time work as there is some concrete work involved with that as well.

The third big item is the shed for the equipment. We were lucky to have the rain stop early this morning and it stayed away all day. So I got started on the ground levelling for the shed. I'm using some of that sand to get that part done, and then I will use some pressure treated 4 x 4's for the base. It won't be a permanent shed (yeah, sure) but it should do the job for as long as we need it.

Naturally the rain had left the ground just like a mud bog. What a mess to use the excavator in. By the end of the day most of the water had drained away and I had a decent covering of sand all round the perimeter of the future building.

More rain forecast for tonight...groan...but a decent day for tomorrow. Which means that I will see what I can get done on the structure itself. Before I hit the sack tonight, I need to do a detail drawing of the framing. Can't find the one I made up a few months ago.

The inside project list is much longer, but that's for another day. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Forgot the other major outside job, and that will be to do the roof out front. It's going to be somewhat similar to what was out the back, except that I don't think I will need to do much in the way of concrete work. That will be a blessing for sure. But three walls have to be changed, a new beam across inside the living room will have to be designed and built (probably a box beam) and that will be 20' long. This one won't be done until next spring after the snow has departed.

I have the drawing done for tomorrow's work, now just need to work out the logistics of getting all the materials in place as I need them. If I get the roof on this building before the snow flies I'll be a happy camper for sure. Too bad it is such a long hike from the top of the west lot to the other side of the east lot.


----------



## BigJim

My stars Keith, that is a whole bunch of work, no way could I do all that. I hope you can get it all done before the snow sets in.


----------



## algalkin

Wow, Keith, that's a lot of work outside for this weather. I stopped doing anything outside 3 or 4 weeks ago when it started to go into standard Seattle weather mode if you know what I mean .
Only inside, probably till next June .

Is snow really an issue over there? I thought Vancouver has same weather in Seattle and we rarely get any snow.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> My stars Keith, that is a whole bunch of work, no way could I do all that. I hope you can get it all done before the snow sets in.


Realistically Jim, if I get the equipment shed done, that will be about all I can expect. All the outside jobs are quite lengthy. The shed is 320 square feet, so it's a fair size all by itself.

I can do the carport for Val, that is to say open it up so that she can fit the Honda inside after the first snowfall if necessary. I just won't be able to add the new roof until next year.

Today's weather is supposed to be OK until late this afternoon when the next batch of rain is headed our way. Followed by another 6 days of rain. I sincerely hope they are wrong with that part of their meteorological prognostication. So off to work I go. :smile:


----------



## BigJim

I am beginning to wonder if it is ever going to stop raining here, for right now it has but there is another front headed this way. We usually don't get much snow though.

You are right, the shed is a pretty fair size project, especially by yourself, I hope it goes well for you buddy.


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Wow, Keith, that's a lot of work outside for this weather. I stopped doing anything outside 3 or 4 weeks ago when it started to go into standard Seattle weather mode if you know what I mean .
> Only inside, probably till next June .
> 
> Is snow really an issue over there? I thought Vancouver has same weather in Seattle and we rarely get any snow.


Ahhh, so now I know where you are.

You're quite right...snow usually isn't much of an issue in Vancouver. However, we are some 500 kilometres away from the coast and in a very different climate.

Last year we had about 5 feet of snow, which I was told by the locals was an extremely light year for snow. The previous year was 17 feet, which was around the usual average.

The mountain behind us, which my friend Al (local realtor) says is about 7,000 feet high has a heavy blanket of snow on the top...probably coming down at least another 1,000 feet. The lake here is currently at 1,133 feet (it changes seasonally) and I think we are at about 1,800 feet here. So yes, we are expecting plenty of snow this year, likely starting here in the next couple of weeks.

Our night time lows are now dipping below freezing, so it's just a matter of time.


----------



## algalkin

Holy ..., that's a lot of snow!
You need those Bavarian /Swiss type of high slope roofs to withstand that.


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday we tackled the job of leveling the 4 x 4 footings for the equipment shed. What should have been a 2 or 3 hour job took us all day.

Here I am setting up the laser to check on the levels.

So there was no building done at all.


----------



## cocobolo

It seems that one side of the ground was considerably higher than the other and this necessitated the use of Lady Godzilla again. Once we had the latest excavating out of the way the leveling went smoothly...if ever so slowly.

I settled on + or - 1/8" from my starting point. That's going to have to be good enough for this shed.


----------



## cocobolo

Our trusty government forecast for today was rain. I'm most pleased to say that they missed the mark - again - but this time in our favour. It was cold, but otherwise good. So we got another full day in on the shed.

First I set up an 8 x 8 base on some sawhorses to use as my assembly station. Not having the usual floor to build walls on was none too convenient. But the jury rigged table works OK.

I'm doing the walls in 8' sections to try and keep it manageable. Here's the first one going together.


----------



## cocobolo

Even at 8', a section is pretty heavy, too much for us to lift easily. We can slide it OK, so I laid some lumber on the ground for that purpose.


----------



## cocobolo

The deer have started to make their appearance again this fall...and when that happens Val cannot resist the temptation to try and get a few pictures.


----------



## cocobolo

Meanwhile, I am trying to get the next section done and I came to the realization that because of all the 8' 2 x 4's that I have pirated for the house, that we are now woefully short for the shed.

Val volunteers to drive over to Scotch Creek to pick up a load of lumber while I scour around to see what I can come up with.

I am finishing up the second wall as she returns just in the nick of time with more wood.


----------



## cocobolo

At the end of the day, yes of course it's dark...you should know me by now...we have got 5 sections standing.

Not bad for a couple of old jokes.

Five more sections to go, but all except one are shorter. So they should be easier to handle.


----------



## cocobolo

Before we were done for the day, Val once again was drawn away by the sunset. She didn't go up to the deck to take the pics, so the trees are doing a good job of blocking the best part...but you get the idea I'm sure. I'm starting to think that some of these trees may suffer from the dreaded Husqvarna disease soon.

Now the forecast for tonight is wet flurries, followed by snow tomorrow. So we will find out how the weather gurus do when we wake up tomorrow. It definitely IS cold out there now, and we are under 100% cloud cover. They could be right...but we can always hope.


----------



## BigJim

That is beautiful Keith, thanks for sharing.

That is going to be a good size shed, hopefully they will get the forecast wrong again.

I can sure relate to building with just one person, it is tough. I did build a free standing carport by myself years back, you have to do some creative thinking. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Just our luck...they were right. The snow level dropped right to where we are and it is snowing right now.

Oh well, inside work today I guess...

I tried taking a picture, but the cloud level is so low it looks like fog.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Just our luck...they were right. The snow level dropped right to where we are and it is snowing right now.
> 
> Oh well, inside work today I guess...
> 
> I tried taking a picture, but the cloud level is so low it looks like fog.


And here I sit with the AC running. That makes me cold just thinking about it snowing.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> And here I sit with the AC running. That makes me cold just thinking about it snowing.


AC running? Good heavens, what's the temperature down your way Jim?

We got everything here today except dry. Tonight and tomorrow more sleet, snow and rain after it warms up. Tonight it's on the way down to 25ºF, or -4ºC. The fire is on and we aren't budging anywhere. lain:


----------



## BigJim

Keith, it is cool outside right now about 51F but inside it is still a little warm at 71 degrees. It will be 68 tomorrow with some more rain here. If it ever gets cold and the moisture is still around we will have some snow.

The fire going sounds really cozy, I love a wood fire, I just hate all the work it takes. LOL Hopefully it will clear up for you for a while soon.


----------



## Begather

cocobolo said:


> All sorts of interesting things showed up under the floor as we removed the ensuing sheets of plywood.
> 
> This is one of the old posts that I had so much trouble trying to remove last winter. It's all gone now.


He is doing quite good work. I really am learning from him.


----------



## cocobolo

Friday was my birthday, so Val concocted this incredible dessert. Not any chance that I will be losing any weight this winter with cooking like this!

We also went in to Kamloops to pick up the trailer that was ordered 5 weeks ago. What a fiasco.

I was under the misguided impression that I would walk in to the store, get some papers for registration, visit the insurance office to pick up my new plate and be on my way. That's what should have happened.

No less than 5 round trips between Canadian Tire and the insurance company. We arrived home right at dark, instead of just after noon. I was hoping to get some work done on the shed as the weather was pretty good. No such luck.


----------



## cocobolo

But Saturday was forecast to be good until late afternoon when major rain was due to arrive. Hallejuh brother, they were right!

So we built the next 8' section, installed that. Then the first 4' section. built and installed that. Then the next 4' section...and ran out of the sheets of siding. I was so damn sure that I had ordered the right amount originally for both the storage sheds and the equipment shed, but seemingly not. Only 1 sheet short, but what a nuisance.

So then I got on to doing the rafter setup.

Decided on a 4/12 pitch with a gusset at the ridge and a collar tie fairly low down. This I did have the material for.

By the end of the day we had stood the walls that were buildable, cut all the rafters, gussets and collar ties and had the assemblies done. 

We finished the pile right at dusk and literally 10 seconds after we had covered the rafter assemblies with a big tarp the rain arrived. It is expected to carry on for the next few days.

A few pics of some of the days' efforts.


----------



## BigJim

Unreal, you got all that done and with Val just having knee surgery so soon, just amazing.

Sorry I forgot your birthday Keith, looks like Friday the 13th was pretty lucky for you. :smile:

I was watching Alaska Railroad last night, the one ole fellow with one hand raising a long section of wall with a winch was pretty cool, I love watching all the programs about Alaska, I wish they had some for around BC.


----------



## gma2rjc

:vs_balloons:A belated Happy Birthday to you Keith!


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Unreal, you got all that done and with Val just having knee surgery so soon, just amazing.
> 
> Sorry I forgot your birthday Keith, looks like Friday the 13th was pretty lucky for you. :smile:
> 
> I was watching Alaska Railroad last night, the one ole fellow with one hand raising a long section of wall with a winch was pretty cool, I love watching all the programs about Alaska, I wish they had some for around BC.


Thanks Jim:

We don't even have the TV cable hooked up here yet so I don't know what's on. Just no time for TV until the house is more or less done.

When I built the house for Rod K. on Ruxton Island, I had to devise a way of raising long walls by myself. It sounds like a similar way to what the old fella used on the TV show. I made a tall triangular brace which I attached my winch to and could easily raise a 24' long wall with that setup.

As for the B.C. shows...I have no idea. But I used to have some old logging books about the early history of logging in B.C. and there was some very interesting stuff in there. Those guys had to handle some massive trees here with very little in the way of machinery. They used to use the old steam donkeys to move giant trees around, very interesting if you liked that sort of stuff.

Most of this was before the days of gas powered chainsaws. Imagine having to cut through a huge tree with an axe for the undercut and a two-man logging saw for the back cut.


----------



## williamlayton

If you don't mind--I would rather not---it just wears me out.
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> If you don't mind--I would rather not---it just wears me out.
> Blessings


I think I'm with you on that one William. I laughed when I read your post...good one. :smile:


----------



## scoggy

*Some 'old Guy, like us..said...*

Keith, I think it was from McBeth or Burns..but whomever..said.. "if winter comes..can Spring be far behind" was prolly a Kin of yours! If you have "Rearview mirrors' on your current vehicle of transport..take them off, because the only thing that matters, is where you are..ahead! (remember the scene from that classic American Movie, where the passenger rips the rear view mirror out of the Ferrari).,.just like you are so far ahead, but now will have to slow your operations due to the season..no? Tearing the '327' apart to create more 'funz'!:devil3::devil3:


----------



## cocobolo

Three two seven? I thought it was a 350...no?

What you need these days Syd, is an LS. The 6.2L would be a good start. Light weight, just about bulletproof - but then so was the good old 327 - makes tons of HP & torque and is dead easy to hop up. And apparently, they are abundant and cheap at the wreckers. New ones cost a shekel or three, but come with a two year factory warranty, even if you stuff them in a street rod.

Maybe one day, after I become rich and famous, I'll do another rod. But something tells me by that time I will be either dead or dead broke.

If you do nothing else, give it a cam that will really annoy the neighbours. You know, the kind that shakes the ground when you fire it up. Good luck with that, and let me know how it goes. Oh yes, don't forget to jack the compression up to at least 11 to 1. Premium gas for sure...but what a difference in the snap when you hit the loud pedal. :smile:


----------



## BigJim

Awww man, now you got my attention, the 327 was my favorite engine. Drop a #1 grind Vet cam in that bad boy with the 300 double hump heads and you got 300 hp stock. I also love the 427, but with the solid lifters it was adjust the valves too often. I am an old 60s mechanic, love the old cars.

I wish we could find 327s down this way, they are scarce as hen's teeth. I know the 327 can handle that kind of compression but the newer 350s would have to have 1972 heads or it will burn between the cylinders. My favorite classic is the 33-34 Ford Coup. I will stop there or I will hijack the thread.

Keith, the way you raised the walls with the triangle is exactly the same way the old fellow up in Alaska did, that was really cool, that was some good thinking.


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Jim. I was going to buy a set of wall jacks many years ago, but when I saw the price that ended that idea. I don't know what they cost these days.

Well, yesterday was a complete washout here...nothing but rain all day. We should have about 4 or 5 hours clear here this morning before the next rain/snow arrives. Followed by heavy rain this afternoon, tonight and tomorrow...in the vicinity of two more inches.

Val is off to Vancouver this morning for the funeral. We thought it would be last week, but the funeral home they chose is so busy that this was the first available day.

It's -3ºC outside now...kinda cold to work...but I don't have a lot of choice if I want to progress with the equipment shed. lain:


----------



## scoggy

*snow....here...*

Keith, starting to snow outside now...Big Flakes..so 'warm' snow..but Lk Cow has snow on the roads, and we are supposed to see -1C tonight, so maybe we will get some also! Have a 'lumpy' cam chosen,202 angle plug heads, fender well exit Thorleys, MSD and Petronix, etc..finally!!:biggrin2::biggrin2:


----------



## cocobolo

Syd, the snow started here around 2:30. Very light flakes at first, but then the wind came up an hour later and that drove me inside.

I had to clear everything out of the shed so I could get some of the rafter assemblies up.


----------



## cocobolo

Slow going by myself today, what with all the ups and downs on the ladder constantly. Not to mention that it was damn cold out there.

Yes, those little white balls in the photos are snowflakes. Only about an inch on the ground yet.


----------



## cocobolo

Just got an email from Val, it took her eight hours to get to Surrey today. Normal time would be just over 4 hours.

They closed the Coke south of Merritt and she had to take a detour via Spence's Bridge over to Highway 1 in order to get through. It must have been quite a bit of snow to close the highway. They have loads of big equipment to keep it open, and the forecast this morning when she left didn't look that bad.

Guess they must not have been in touch with the real weather gods. Apparently there was a spot on Global TV last night about the big snowfall on the Coke. lain:


----------



## algalkin

It's crazy Keith, that you keep working in these conditions. I guess, snow is better then rain when it comes to work outside, but still...


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> It's crazy Keith, that you keep working in these conditions. I guess, snow is better then rain when it comes to work outside, but still...


No outside work today...it's raining hard and is expected to do so all day. Lots to do inside, so no worries. :smile:

Supposed to be a half decent day tomorrow though...:smile:


----------



## cocobolo

WOW! Big wind and rain last night...but this morning there isn't a cloud in the sky! Gorgeous...but cold!

Five days of sun & cloud and NO snow until next Monday. With a little luck I will have a roof on the equipment shed.

Val is leaving the coast this morning for her return trip. The Coke doesn't look too bad, although about 170 of the 200 kilometres are snow covered. Once she's off there it should be clear sailing.

Crunchy ground outside this morning. :smile:


----------



## algalkin

3 people died in Seattle last night because of storm
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/weather/wind-storm/


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> 3 people died in Seattle last night because of storm
> http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/weather/wind-storm/


It looks like this weather system went right across the southern quarter of B. C. as well. It was about the same in the Vancouver area all day yesterday...tons of rain and high winds.

But it's sure a whole lot better this morning...cold, but clear as of now.


----------



## algalkin

cocobolo said:


> It looks like this weather system went right across the southern quarter of B. C. as well. It was about the same in the Vancouver area all day yesterday...tons of rain and high winds.
> 
> But it's sure a whole lot better this morning...cold, but clear as of now.


 Yep, same here, I went to the garage and saw 52 on the thermometer with my heater set to 62 - wth? Then I stepped outside and understood .


----------



## cocobolo

Just heard from Val...all over the lower mainland there are hundreds of trees down, thousands without power. The Chilliwack area - where her daughter and son-in-law have just bought a house - was hit the hardest.

Guess I will get all the gory details when Val gets home. lain:


----------



## cocobolo

Well folks, I got the gory details all right. 

The highway was down to a single lane yesterday after all the damage, the second lane was being used by the work crews to get access to the worst hit areas. 

Val took 3 1/2 hours to reach Hope, normally a 90 minute trip on a 110 KMH highway.

From there, which is where the Coquihalla starts, it didn't get a whole lot better. She said that it wasn't too bad as far as Merritt, but right after that - where you climb an 18 kilometre long hill - the road was very icy and rough. Many vehicles in the ditch, and one was upside down on its' roof.

This end of the Coquihalla is actually higher, by 100 metres, than the Coquihalla summit at the south end. Perhaps that explains the extra snow and ice. So the return trip also took another 8 hours.

Tomorrow Val leaves for Calgary for 10 days, her mum's birthday, but this trip is via Greyhound.

Today we did a little more work on the equipment shed in below 0ºC conditions. As soon as I get the pics downloaded, I'll update you all.


----------



## cocobolo

Still early in the day and I'm still smiling.

It was pretty nippy today but this is the only day Val will be here before she goes off for another 10 days, so we had to make the most of it.

I ripped an 18 1/2º angle on the top of the fascia boards, so that the roof sheathing lays nice and flat on the edge.


----------



## cocobolo

I think I need to trim my waist down somewhat. It has become a squeeze to fit between rafters on 16" centers. Of course, I was wearing the back brace...that's it, I'll blame the brace.

Nevertheless, it's still awkward trying to hold a 12' long piece of fascia and nail it at the same time. One advantage of cutting the top edge to match the pitch is that it's easier to get the rafter tails lined up properly.


----------



## BigJim

Unreal, just amazing. Looks like you got it on a down hill drag now.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Unreal, just amazing. Looks like you got it on a down hill drag now.


Hi Jim:

Well, it might be down hill a bit, but I'm using the 19/32 T & G OSB for roof sheathing, because that's what is here. That stuff is heavy and getting it up on to the roof without any help is going to be interesting. The other thing is with the frosty nights the sheathing will be slippery in the morning.

We were both too tired last night to drag a tarp on to the roof.

I do have a couple more pics to post on yesterday's work, but that will have to wait until I get back from Salmon Arm to deliver Val to the Greyhound.


----------



## BigJim

Keith, is there a way you can make a rig or cradle on the bucket of the track hoe to lift the plywood up to a level that would not cause you a lot of lifting, maybe lift 8 or 10 sheets at a time. That is a tough job for a young man, I can't even think about doing that again, especially alone. I would sure use the track hoe as much as I could to do as much lifting as possible.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I would sure use the track hoe as much as I could to do as much lifting as possible.


Jim:

I have thought about that, but I can't think of any way to do it that would be possible. I don't know just off hand what height the boom goes to, but I have my doubts that it would be high enough.

In any event, I have come up with a workable solution which I used late this afternoon when I got back from Salmon Arm. 

Still a way to go so I'll be getting more practice tomorrow.

No snow in the forecast for tonight now...so I might make it after all.


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday, before we shut down for the day we got one and a half rows of sheathing up. Not a lot, but then there always seemed that there was one more thing that needed to be done every time we turned around.

I didn't have anything bracing the front of the shed and it was pretty wobbly up on the roof.


----------



## cocobolo

The first thing I did today after I got back was to sheet the inside of the short wall with OSB. Made all the difference in the world, and now the building doesn't wobble back and forth any more. :wink2:


----------



## cocobolo

Next up was to start on the south side of the roof.

The day was fading fast with the sun dipping behind the mountain before 4 o'clock.

I managed to get the fascia installed and three half sheets, 2' by 8', so I have a half decent start for tomorrow.


----------



## cocobolo

If it looks like the end rafter spacing is different than the rest, that's because it is. The building rafters are on 16" centers, but the end rafter has a 24" overhang.

I thought it would give a little more protection to the building being that extra 8" further out.

That rafter is just clamped in place as of now, but it will be fixed tomorrow.

Other than that, I ran out of daylight. That was it for the day.


----------



## cocobolo

Tonight was a pretty nice sunset. I sure wouldn't mind seeing a few more of these.


----------



## BigJim

Beautiful Sunset Keith, at least there was sunshine for a sunset.

Man you aren't letting any grass grow under your feet, that is a pretty good day's work, especially when you didn't have a full day to work. Glad you worked out a way that works for you on the decking.


----------



## cocobolo

I got to thinking about the potential loads that could be on this roof, and I decided to add some 2 x 4"s as ceiling joists.

Originally, for whatever reason, I had in my mind that the excavator was just over 100" high. Because of that, I decided that collar ties would be OK to keep the walls from spreading under a heavy snow load. You see, with 8' high walls, I would need to find some extra space to fit the machine inside.

Now that I have checked the height, I find it to be just under 8', not over. So now ceiling joists will be OK.

I picked up a handful of 16' 2 x 4's for the purpose...just a couple of them installed here so far. More a matter of not spending time on anything other than the roof sheeting and shingling at the moment. The rest can go in after the roofing is done.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, the secret is out.

Here's how I got all the rest of the sheeting up on the roof by myself. It really turned out to be very easy after all.

First I ripped the sheets into halves lengthways. Then I stood them on top of the articulating ladder that we have. Lifting them was relatively painless, even though it took many trips up and down from the roof.

At the end of the day, the roof was fully sheeted off.


----------



## cocobolo

As usual, by the time I finished nailing off the sheeting, the sun had set. I fail to see why it cannot stay up once in awhile so I can see a bit longer.

The photo is doctored to make it appear much brighter than it actually was.

The only tarp that I had access to is a little small, but better than nothing.

The latest forecast is for snow to be starting "late tomorrow morning", that's a direct quote. I hope they are right.


----------



## cocobolo

We had another nice sunset this afternoon. Maybe if I keep asking for these the snow will stay away. Ya think?


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> OK, the secret is out.
> 
> Here's how I got all the rest of the sheeting up on the roof by myself. It really turned out to be very easy after all.
> 
> First I ripped the sheets into halves lengthways. Then I stood them on top of the articulating ladder that we have. Lifting them was relatively painless, even though it took many trips up and down from the roof.
> 
> At the end of the day, the roof was fully sheeted off.


I see... that is one way to get the decking up there. 

Thanks for another fantastic Sunset, it is beautiful.


----------



## cocobolo

We really haven't had many good sunsets since I have been here Jim, so two in a row was exceptional

I have been wondering just how I am going to cut the shingles in these cold temperatures. So I went to Contractor Talk, and lo and behold, there is a thread with the answer.

It seems there could be a few ways which will work in the cold...I think I'm going to try the tin snip method. I do use the snips to cut around vent pipes and the like anyway.

I have found in the past that the laminate shingles are a real bear to cut when they get cold. Which is why I try to avoid wintertime roofing. Right about now I don't have any choice. lain:


----------



## cocobolo

Lucky day today...no snow so far. But it's due tonight and tomorrow. Total amount expected is about 6".

So with no snow, I managed to get the first half of the roof papered and shingled. The excavator just lifts high enough to get a bundle of shingles to the roof.


----------



## cocobolo

Looks to me like Lady Godzilla is happy with her new home.

Plenty of room for all the other smaller pieces of equipment as well. Depending on how much snow we get, I may start moving stuff down there tomorrow. Then again, I might not. :smile:


----------



## BigJim

Did you get the other side blacked in? Looks good, I hope the snow holds off for you, from what I saw on the weather you had some headed your way.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Did you get the other side blacked in? Looks good, I hope the snow holds off for you, from what I saw on the weather you had some headed your way.


Oh, there's no doubt the snow is very close now. By tomorrow morning I expect to wake up to a white garden.

I got about 1/3 of the second side papered, the balance is under a tarp. Supposed to be several days of sun starting next Wednesday. That sounds good, but along with that comes -10ºC temperatures, so the snow is not likely to disappear. 

I'll probably see if I can push the snow off the shed so that I can finish the shingling on the south side as well. That will be about the last chance to do the roof.

No sunset tonight...just a very long snow cloud over the lake. lain:


----------



## BigJim

Be safe up there after getting the snow off, I have been introduced very quickly to the ground like that. LOL


----------



## algalkin

Nice job on that shed!


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Nice job on that shed!


Thanks...the promised snow has arrived this morning. So no more shed work today!

Only a couple of centimetres so far, but it looks like the snow has set in for awhile.


----------



## algalkin

No snow for us down here, but I'm done with my shed over the weekend mostly, just need to put siding on and that probably will be it for the outside work till summer.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Be safe up there after getting the snow off, I have been introduced very quickly to the ground like that. LOL


Well Jim, that's an experience I hope not to enjoy. 

Did you hurt the ground when you landed. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> No snow for us down here, but I'm done with my shed over the weekend mostly, just need to put siding on and that probably will be it for the outside work till summer.


Do you have a build thread running yet? Let's see what you're up to. :smile:


----------



## algalkin

cocobolo said:


> Do you have a build thread running yet? Let's see what you're up to. :smile:


I'm too afraid to show my "skills" like that hehe.


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> I'm too afraid to show my "skills" like that hehe.


C'mon now...don't be bashful. Look at some of the screw ups I've made. :devil3:


----------



## algalkin

cocobolo said:


> C'mon now...don't be bashful. Look at some of the screw ups I've made. :devil3:


Hehe, I'll think about it
When I look at other's screw-ups, I think - hmm, yeah, I'd probably screw up like that too, when I look at mine - jeez, why am I so stupid?


----------



## cocobolo

I suppose if you're going to get snow, might as well make it a good one for the first of the year.

This is what 17 centimeters (or 6 3/4") looks like.


----------



## BigJim

Now I am really cold, that is beautiful though.


----------



## cocobolo

Jim, as long as you're inside it looks nice.

However, the wind today is going to be 20 k's gusting to 40 k's. That's going to be a killer for anyone who is outside.

I can hear the wind down at the lake, but it isn't too bad up the hill here just yet.


----------



## gma2rjc

I'm not sure what's more beautiful, the sunset or the view with the snow. 

Great pictures Keith!


----------



## cocobolo

This was taken on the morning of December 2nd. By this time we had 28 centimeters of snow.

The deer will sit on the lower edge of the property, where they have a good view all around them for security I suppose. They will dig out a hole in the snow and rest for ages.


----------



## cocobolo

After as much delay as I could possibly get away with, the dreaded drywalling is underway. Hopefully, I will have learned a few things since I last did this stuff. Time will tell, I guess.

Anyway, this is the very first sheet going up in madam's new closet.

We do have the new bedroom mostly sheeted, but still have to wait for the tech guy to hook everything up on the new heat pump system before I can close the last wall.


----------



## cocobolo

As temperatures permit, we have been clearing out under the deck in order to turn the space into a usable carport.

Val tried starting a fire in one of those round bottom barbeques with some scrap wood. It didn't want to burn very well.

Then I remembered my earlier experiment with a rocket stove, and held a piece of damaged sonotube over the middle of the fire. Within a minute or so it was blazing furiously, as you can see from the photo. And we had the characteristic rocket sound as well.

We would like to build a greenhouse next year, time permitting, and I'm thinking that a small rocket stove would be good to heat it with.


----------



## algalkin

Holy.., that's a lot of snow.
Funny thing about your second pic, that's exactly what I'm doing in my garage right now - vapor barrier, drywalling, even the same red lift. Not too much fun but still better then to be outside!


----------



## BigJim

Now I am really cold, lol. Keith, did you finally get the shed roofed completely yet.

Sure am glad to see you are OK.


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Holy.., that's a lot of snow.
> Funny thing about your second pic, that's exactly what I'm doing in my garage right now - vapor barrier, drywalling, even the same red lift. Not too much fun but still better then to be outside!


You know, for the price we paid for that lift, it has been a Godsend. We've raised the roof shingles for the house, sheets of OSB and now the drywall. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Now I am really cold, lol. Keith, did you finally get the shed roofed completely yet.
> 
> Sure am glad to see you are OK.


Hi Jim...yes, I'm OK, but yesterday was the first day since the initial snowfall that the temperature got above zero. I think it made it to about 1 1/2º here. So now things are starting to melt. I hear rumours about +6ºC for this weekend. I hope they are right.

I haven't been able to get the last of the roof done yet Jim, as it is still under 6" of snow. But perhaps by the end of the weekend it will be gone, and I can finish the roofing. Then I won't be quite so worried.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Hi Jim...yes, I'm OK, but yesterday was the first day since the initial snowfall that the temperature got above zero. I think it made it to about 1 1/2º here. So now things are starting to melt. I hear rumours about +6ºC for this weekend. I hope they are right.
> 
> I haven't been able to get the last of the roof done yet Jim, as it is still under 6" of snow. But perhaps by the end of the weekend it will be gone, and I can finish the roofing. Then I won't be quite so worried.


I have been concerned about the roof also, I hope all is well and you are able to finish it. We are a long way away from snow, even if we get any at all this year. It is a little chili today, 51 degrees but the sun feels good. Hopefully your weather will break for the best so you can get things you want done.


----------



## cocobolo

As part of the finishing process in the bedroom, I have foamed the spaces around the windows and the French doors.

The Fein cutter made short work of tidying up the overblown foam. Sorry about the out of focus pic. When the excess foam is cut away, it leaves a nice clean edge to finish against. On the door, I machined a piece of wood to fit perfectly over the foam. Not yet installed in the photo.


----------



## cocobolo

Now about the shed roof...

We have had some rain with much more in the forecast. There is still snow on the roof, but if this rain keeps up there's a good chance that it will be gone by tomorrow.

We have decided that once the roof is clear of snow that I will finish the shingling...regardless of whether or not it is still raining. lain:


----------



## cocobolo

The rain - and LOTS of it - has cleared all the snow away here now. Just the odd pocket here and there. But all the roofs are clear.

So this morning we did some leveling by the south wall of the shed so we could set up the articulating ladder. No pic of this of course, but it did involve bringing around another 15 or so wheel barrow loads of sand.

I did the first few rows of roofing from the ladder, then moved up to the roof to do the balance. Adding some roofing felt here.


----------



## cocobolo

Once again I used the excavator to do the lifting of all the shingles.

These are the 80 lb. bundles, so it saves the tired old muscles from the heavy work.


----------



## cocobolo

Once we got past the low part it was smooth sailing. Only trouble was that we only had 2 1/2 hours of daylight left by this time.

So it was basically a race before darkness set in to finish the roofing. Once again, we have been promised snow for tomorrow, so there was no time to waste.


----------



## cocobolo

You know how your eyes get accustomed to the dark when you are working outside? Well, we both noticed the sunset at about the same time - sundown was about 20 minutes before Val took this pic - and I still was not finished nailing.


----------



## cocobolo

Yes, we made it. I'll let you be the judge of how dark it was by the time we were done. Here I am holding the last piece of roof cap in place.

Then we threw everything off the roof and went in for a well deserved nice hot coffee.  Tired but relieved and happy that this part of the job is behind us.


----------



## BigJim

Buddy I hope you aren't getting all that high wind I saw on the news headed your way, looks like some bad rain also. I am happy for you getting the roof finished, that was a tough days work, you are fast that is for sure.

It is hard to believe when I was a much younger man, that a buddy of mine and I would carry two bundles of shingles up at a time and race to see who could carry the most up before giving out. 

My buddy was only 17 years old then and skinny as the dickens but man he was stout and fast at roofing. I was 21 and he would beat me every time.


----------



## cocobolo

Jim, the winds are mostly confined to the coastal area, or what we call the lower mainland and the Fraser Valley, an area that extends about 100 miles inland from the coast.

We have got the rain though. Today we were extremely lucky. It rained all night long last night, and then very kindly stopped this morning so that I could do the roof in the dry. I had to sweep the water off the roof first, but that's small potatoes compared to working in steady rain all day.

Still a long list of outside stuff to do as you know. But with a little luck and perhaps some co-operation from mother nature we might just make it before the permanent winter freeze gets here. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday and today we escaped the bad weather once again. But with snow once again in the forecast we wanted to get as much firewood split and put under cover as possible.

But first...Val commandeered my camera to get another pic of a couple of visitors this morning.


----------



## cocobolo

So far we have brought up three vanloads of split wood. There's a couple more loads waiting to be moved, and about a couple more still in the round. Maybe tomorrow we'll get the splitting finished...weather permitting of course.


----------



## cocobolo

Val insisted that she wanted to learn how to run the splitter, and once she got going on it she didn't want to stop.

We worked a couple of hours past dark tonight trying to get finished. But there's still quite away to go. Fortunately we have a good set of halogen lights for night work.


----------



## cocobolo

No snow again today, although by the time we quit late this afternoon it was within just a few hundred feet up the hill....anytime now!

Well, we managed to finish all the splitting today. A good feeling to have that big job out of the way.

The machine is supposed to split up to 10" logs, but someone forgot to let our machine know this I guess. This one was 25", but then it was only cedar, which splits easily.


----------



## BigJim

I bet it burns fast and not a lot of ash. Kinda brings a tear come to my eye to see that beautiful wood like that. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

That's right Jim. The very reason it leaves so little ash is simply because it does burn so hot. I only use it for kindling most of the time, it's the best for that.

The snowline is maybe 200 feet above us this morning. Still cannot believe that it isn't here yet. We're getting a very light drizzle instead of snow...I'll take it.


----------



## Wildbill7145

cocobolo said:


> That's right Jim. The very reason it leaves so little ash is simply because it does burn so hot. I only use it for kindling most of the time, it's the best for that.
> 
> The snowline is maybe 200 feet above us this morning. Still cannot believe that it isn't here yet. We're getting a very light drizzle instead of snow...I'll take it.


It is a weird winter thus far. Here on the Eastern shore of Lake Huron we're usually buried in snow at this point. This year? Over a month ago, we got about two inches that lasted about one day. Repeated a couple of weeks ago.

Middle of December and I just swatted at a wasp outside and noticed an ant crawling around on my deck.


----------



## cocobolo

Wildbill7145 said:


> It is a weird winter thus far. Here on the Eastern shore of Lake Huron we're usually buried in snow at this point. This year? Over a month ago, we got about two inches that lasted about one day. Repeated a couple of weeks ago.
> 
> Middle of December and I just swatted at a wasp outside and noticed an ant crawling around on my deck.


Welcome to the thread Wildbill.

I have a friend who is at Leamington. Strange weather there as well. 

Apparently the El Nino offshore is what is playing havoc with the weather out this way. Some very nasty storms down on the coast with regular power outages. 

It is exactly 3.0ºC outside right now, yet the snow is only a couple of hundred feet above us. Strange.


----------



## BigJim

That has got to be an experience watching the snow get lower like that. How high is that mountain? 70 degrees again today right now, AC running. It is really weird, even with no heat on in the house the temps are, most times during the day, hotter than outside.


----------



## Wildbill7145

cocobolo said:


> It is exactly 3.0ºC outside right now, yet the snow is only a couple of hundred feet above us. Strange.


We're at 9C and heading up to 12C on Monday. Staying above 0C until middle of next week.


----------



## cocobolo

Wildbill7145 said:


> We're at 9C and heading up to 12C on Monday. Staying above 0C until middle of next week.


Wow! That is really warm. We are headed down into the minus range tonight. Once again snow is in the forecast for late this afternoon and tonight.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> That has got to be an experience watching the snow get lower like that. How high is that mountain? 70 degrees again today right now, AC running. It is really weird, even with no heat on in the house the temps are, most times during the day, hotter than outside.


Jim, I tried to find the elevation of the mountain, bit it is nowhere to be seen.

My chum Al the realtor, who has been here for many decades, thinks it is around the 7,000 foot mark. It has had snow on it continuously since the first snowfall in the area.

I think I will have to export some of these cooler temperatures down your way...just so you don't forget what winter is like! :devil3:


----------



## Wildbill7145

And we just had a hell of a thunder storm this afternoon with thunder so strong it was knocking Christmas decorations off of stuff! It's almost summerlike here today.


----------



## cocobolo

Thunderstorm in December? Holy smoke! It takes some real heat to drive a T-storm.

Well, nothing like that here. In fact about half an hour ago the cloud started sliding down the mountain and we are now closed off from the world.

Popping outside periodically to stack wood, hopefully we will finish that today.


----------



## BigJim

Compared to the mountains around here that is pretty tall. We live in Lookout Valley with mountains all the way around us but they are only in the 2800+ feet range.

Stay warm buddy.

Keith, I forgot to ask, how do you like your new saw vise, that sure beats sharpening a saw on your knee.


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Jim:

...first, sorry for the delay in replying, for some reason I didn't see the post.

I haven't used the saw vise yet, but it looks like a pretty solid old unit. It is a #104, I think made by Sargent. I really wish that I had one of these years ago when I was in the thick of the building trades. Trying to find a good sawfiler at a reasonable price was always just about impossible.


----------



## cocobolo

The other thing is that it seems I have become an involuntary collector of builder's levels and transits.

The auction house that Val is familiar with gets all sorts of odd things in from time to time, and they recently had a run of these tools.

This little Berger level came in its' own little plastic case...cute. And very inexpensive.


----------



## cocobolo

At the same auction, I found this most interesting antique level. Beautifully made I must say, and interesting just to look at all the bits and pieces on it.

Made by T. Cooke of London and York many years ago.


----------



## cocobolo

In contrast to the older levels, here's the first builder's level I picked up just a few months ago, that's the smaller CM level along with a fairly modern Sokkisha automatic level, the bigger one.

I haven't got the latest items yet from the auction, but they should be here when Wayne arrives to do the heat pump hookup (still don't know when that will be).

I was the successful bidder on 5 more older levels, some vintage. I hope they are as good as they looked in the pictures. I'll let you know when they arrive.


----------



## cocobolo

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...we moved the splitter up to the house so we can split any future rounds right at the carport where I stack the firewood.


----------



## cocobolo

It does look like winter has arrived...not that bad yet, just a minor snowfall, but it's cold now. No temperatures above zero in the foreseeable forecast.


----------



## cocobolo

With winter upon us, I had to open up under the deck so that Val can park her car under cover. Today was the day for that.

I had to add one more length of lumber to the beam at the front of the deck in order to beef it up sufficiently so that I could remove a central 6 x 6 post. I think it will be OK now.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> In contrast to the older levels, here's the first builder's level I picked up just a few months ago, that's the smaller CM level along with a fairly modern Sokkisha automatic level, the bigger one.
> 
> I haven't got the latest items yet from the auction, but they should be here when Wayne arrives to do the heat pump hookup (still don't know when that will be).
> 
> I was the successful bidder on 5 more older levels, some vintage. I hope they are as good as they looked in the pictures. I'll let you know when they arrive.


The one on the left looks something like the K&E I use to have, I wish I still did. Those are some nice looking levels Keith, I especially like the antique one, that is really nice, I just love the older tools.

Man, you are going to love that vise, that is nice. On some jobs I had, we were too far from electricity and we had to rip 3/4 inch plywood length ways with a handsaw, you can bet I kept my saws sharp as the dickens. I kinda miss having to sharpen my saws but not all that much. LOL

We had to sharpen all of our saws way back before carbide was less expensive, miter saws and all. But back then there weren't any electric miter saws that I know of. I had a block of steel that I had filed a spot on the edge that I could put the set in my saws and blades with a hammer, worked great.

I think winter is getting close to here now, it is freezing right now and it has been pretty cold all day. That snow really makes me cold.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> The one on the left looks something like the K&E I use to have, I wish I still did. Those are some nice looking levels Keith, I especially like the antique one, that is really nice, I just love the older tools.


Jim, I suspect the one on the left comes under many different brand names. It may well be identical to the K&E you used to have.

That's the one I had to fix when I got it....it's fine now.

Haven't had an opportunity to check out the others yet, that will have to wait until next year after the weather warms up a whole bunch.


----------



## cocobolo

As you can clearly see, winter is here now in spades.

We are getting some snow more or less every day now, so it will be interesting to see just how different this winter will be from last year.


----------



## cocobolo

I have decided - in my infinite wisdom - that I would like to have a conga drum. I'm not really sure where the idea came from, but it has been an itch that needs scratching for some time now.

Of course I couldn't possibly just go out and buy one. Oh no, that would be far too easy and probably a lot less expensive as well.

So, to that end I have been perusing the web to find out just how to make one, and it turns out that there really is very little detailed information out there.

Regardless of that, I'm going to give it a shot. One thing I did find out was that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people who make their own snare drums.

The way I see that is that the woodworking for a snare drum is a piece of cake, whereas for the conga, or perhaps a djembe drum it's much more difficult.

So in order to get the feel for this, I will knock out a shell or two for a snare drum first. Lots of info out there for those. And there are several different methods as well. The big commercial drum makers more often use shells made from several layers of veneer, and the shell goes together in a very expensive press. Harry drum maker at home usually uses the stave method. More or less along the same lines as a barrel maker does for wine.

Since I have a batch of cedar here, I thought I might try one this evening to see how it goes.


----------



## cocobolo

Before you start making sawdust, you need to do the math.

For a stave drum that's about as easy as it gets.

My test shell will only be 6" high, so no need to cut long staves for it.

First you start out by ripping wood to make the staves, as I'm doing in the previous post.

Then make a setup for cutting to length, and make sure you get enough to make a full circle. I already calculated that I want to have 24 staves, which means I will be cutting the angles on the staves at 7 1/2º. Twenty four into 360º comes out at 15º, divide by two for each side of the stave and there's the 7 1/2º angle.


----------



## cocobolo

What I discovered in my hunt for information is that most stave builders will glue two pieces of wood together, face to face, thus increasing the shell thickness by 100%. So, let's say the stock is 3/4" thick, then the two pieces will glue up to 1 1/2" thick, which seems to me to be quite thick for a small drum. 

What I know about drums you could easily fit on the head of a pin and have lots of room left over. My drum education is just beginning. But I do have some experience with wood, so we'll see how it goes.

Anyway, I decided that I didn't think the straight glue lines would be the best idea, given that it is likely that these shells will get turned on a lathe. I have read where they have been known to explode during the turning process.

Therefore I figured that if I were to overlap the two layers of wood, that my glue joint would be far stronger. I haven't run this idea past anyone on the drum building forums yet, but I'm quite prepared to listen to the hoots of derision soon to come.

Now, if you will look at the way I made the overlap, you will see that I cut one half of the flat edge of the inner staves to the same 7 1/2º angle so that they would fit right up against the outer ring of staves. There will be no glue joint going right through the shell in a straight line this way. In theory, it should be stronger.


----------



## cocobolo

Ahhhh, here we go again. In my haste to show you my brilliant idea I managed to skip a few steps.

Right...first we lay out 24 of the outside staves on a table to see how long they are.

Then cut two pieces of tape, I used painters tape because it's what I have, and lay them on the table.

Then carefully place the staves on the tape with the outer side facing down, making sure to keep a straight line. I used a piece of thin wood as a guide.

Then very carefully roll both ends of the whole shebang together until it forms a circle and tape it closed. Now, let me tell you with 24 staves, that's easier said than done. So after the first collapse I tried again more cautiously, and it worked.

The inner staves I simply added one at a time and they are just sitting there unattached in any way.


----------



## cocobolo

Tomorrow I will make up a round inner guide to keep things round. It seems that actually keeping the drum shells round is not always easy to do.

If that comes out OK, then I will dig up some sort of clamping system and have a go at gluing up. Something tells me that it could prove to be most interesting.


----------



## BigJim

I had to do a search to see what one looked like, that will be interesting, I for one will be watching.

Buddy I sure wish you had some of this weather down this way, it is going to be in the mid 70s all week with a possible tornado watch tonight. They are saying we will probably break the record for high temps this week. Looks like Spring is already here, I wonder where Winter went. Winter will probably spring a real surprise on us, as weather around here usually does.


----------



## algalkin

I'm not sure what's congo drum but it's a really fine craftsmanship you have.


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> I'm not sure what's congo drum but it's a really fine craftsmanship you have.


Thank you.

The conga drum is the one used by the Cuban percussion bands. Usually about 28 to 30 inches tall and in varying widths from about 9" at the head to as much as 15" wide at the head. They have a sort of belly like shape which starts out smaller at the head (top) of the drum, then widens out to a few inches bigger, then tapers off to a much smaller size at the bottom.

The conga is now used world wide in all types of music, even in good old rock 'n roll.

The size of the conga determines both the name given to the drum, from a quinto up to a super boomba and the pitch of the drum. Smaller drum = higher pitch, bigger drum = lower pitch.

I will do my best to explain the several different types of construction of these drums as we go along. But for now, I'm just using a snare shell for practice and to see what sort of obstacles I will run into. The conga is FAR more complicated and difficult to build than any snare drum. I might use the snare shell as a planter when I get it done!


----------



## algalkin

Nice! You also a musician!
Keep posting updates please.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I had to do a search to see what one looked like, that will be interesting, I for one will be watching.
> 
> Buddy I sure wish you had some of this weather down this way, it is going to be in the mid 70s all week with a possible tornado watch tonight. They are saying we will probably break the record for high temps this week. Looks like Spring is already here, I wonder where Winter went. Winter will probably spring a real surprise on us, as weather around here usually does.


Hey Jim...the '70's I wouldn't mind. But a tornado? No thanks! I just hope one doesn't land on your house.

We are getting small snowfalls each day now, there was about 2" yesterday and last night. Looks like I will be needing some practice with the snowblower very soon.


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Nice! You also a musician!
> Keep posting updates please.


Calling myself a musician would be a stretch at best.

When I was a kid my good friend Brian Russell received a guitar from his dad as a present. I couldn't afford to buy one so I had to make my own. We formed a band when we were kids.

Brian went on to become a full time guitar player (bass as well) and spent many years playing in the CBC TV band with the Tommy Hunter show and with Anne Murray. He did a world tour with Roger Whittaker as well. I can say without any reservation that he's the best guitar player I've ever heard.

About all I do now is to pick up one of my bass guitars once in awhile...trouble is, there's no time for that lately.


----------



## williamlayton

Cabin fever comes early up North doesn't it. :smile:
Blessings


----------



## cocobolo

The morning started out innocently enough, with me trying to measure the outside diameter of the shell. Not being fixed in any way to the table, the measurements differed as I went around the shell. 

So the first order of business was to make up some sort of guide to keep the shell reasonably round.

To this end I made up a simple marking gauge with which to scribe a line on the hardboard I would use to cut out two half circles. I had to guess as closely as possible as to what the real number was.


----------



## cocobolo

After scratching a semi-circle on the hardboard, it was obvious that a more visible line was needed. So I added a second hole to one end of the gauge which I could fit a pencil into.

That produced a much better line.

Then I tested three different jigsaw blades to see which would make the better cut. The T 101AO won out there.


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> Cabin fever comes early up North doesn't it. :smile:
> Blessings


Hi William, I don't think we are quite at that stage yet. Maybe by the end of February.

I just decided that I would like to mess around with something that's a little more fun than the constant building. You know, sort of like a busman's holiday. :wink2:


----------



## cocobolo

Now all this cutting and fitting was purely in aid of getting to find out what the size of the inner circles would be,

So after pushing the two semi circles of hardboard against the shell, I was then able to get a much closer estimate of the inner dimension.

I cut two pieces of thick OSB (19/32") for the circles, and dropped one inside the shell. Then cut three pieces of wood to act as stands to sit the top circle on.

At this point I was able to use the Spanish windlass method of tightening the staves.

I had made the inner circles just a tiny bit too big, so they needed to be trimmed down to allow full closure of the staves. Are you still with me here?


----------



## zippinbye

cocobolo said:


> After having spent 17 years on Ruxton Island, it's time to move on and to that end I am trying to buy a piece of property up at the North Shuswap.


"Shuswap" caught my eye as I scrolled the main menu. I'm from BC, transplanted to the desert SW. So I clicked on your thread and saw mention of Ruxton Island. We're from Pender, and still spend summers there. We get as far north as Nanaimo on day trips in our boat. One of my ancestors built the Bastion for Hudson's Bay Company. Lots of family from scattered around Van Isle, from Campbell River to Sidney. Did you know my cousin Bob Pender from Ruxton?

I enjoyed the glancing your threads. Looks like enviable living in both locations and some wonderful craftsmanship. I'll take a closer look when I have some time.

Cheers,

Rich


----------



## cocobolo

With the top circle removed, I trimmed a miniscule amount of wood from the edges of the inner staves. This was to take care of what I thought was about 1/8" of extra room on the outer staves.

After several tries I ended up leaving the top piece of OSB out and wound the staves up tight. It turned out that with that done I had to then trim about two thousandths of an inch from each of the outer staves.

I don't know how to cut such a tiny amount with any degree of accuracy, so it was the by guess and by gosh method.

Still, everything was not quite perfect. The final thing which did the trick was to clamp the stave sets together all the way around. This lined up the staves right on the money, and it appears that they are now ready for glue. Maybe tomorrow for that.


----------



## cocobolo

zippinbye said:


> "Shuswap" caught my eye as I scrolled the main menu. I'm from BC, transplanted to the desert SW. So I clicked on your thread and saw mention of Ruxton Island. We're from Pender, and still spend summers there. We get as far north as Nanaimo on day trips in our boat. One of my ancestors built the Bastion for Hudson's Bay Company. Lots of family from scattered around Van Isle, from Campbell River to Sidney. Did you know my cousin Bob Pender from Ruxton?
> 
> I enjoyed the glancing your threads. Looks like enviable living in both locations and some wonderful craftsmanship. I'll take a closer look when I have some time.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Rich


Hi Rich:

Well, I must say that having an ancestor that built the Bastion is quite a feather in the family's cap. That has to be the best known and oldest building in Nanaimo.

The name Bob Pender doesn't come to mind right off hand. Is he still on Ruxton? Which part of the island was he on?


----------



## zippinbye

cocobolo said:


> Hi Rich:
> 
> Well, I must say that having an ancestor that built the Bastion is quite a feather in the family's cap. That has to be the best known and oldest building in Nanaimo.
> 
> The name Bob Pender doesn't come to mind right off hand. Is he still on Ruxton? Which part of the island was he on?


I never had an opportunity to visit his Ruxton getaway, but I think he was south, on the Gulf side. It seemed that Whaleboat Island was not far. Trying to guess from your pic .... Herring Bay?


Anyhow, we lost Bob a month ago, much too young and unexpectedly at 67 - most of his life he worked too hard (flooring business), partied hard, smoked and ate poorly. But he generated laughter for those around him and lived life to the fullest. You'd remember him if you'd met. A cut and paste of his obit is below, in case you recognize the face and not the name.


Hope your winter is cozy and warm inside your lovely home up there. Merry Christmas.


- Rich


*Robert Pender
( Tuesday, 24 Nov 2015 )*








With great sadness we announce the sudden passing of our husband, father, brother, grandfather and friend. Bob was born May 2nd 1948 in Duncan, and died November 24th, 2015. Much too soon. He is survived by his wife Lynn, sons Rob (Karyn), James and Daniel, grandchildren Beth, Lennon, Alice and Xavier – and so many Penderized friends. The Family thanks those friends whom have been so supportive for Lynn during her difficult time. There will be no immediate memorial but instead there will be a Celebration of Life at a later date when we can all gather to salute this special person who touched so many lives! Let’s remember the music and oh that laugh.


----------



## cocobolo

zippinbye said:


> I never had an opportunity to visit his Ruxton getaway, but I think he was south, on the Gulf side. It seemed that Whaleboat Island was not far. Trying to guess from your pic .... Herring Bay?
> 
> 
> Anyhow, we lost Bob a month ago, much too young and unexpectedly at 67 - most of his life he worked too hard (flooring business), partied hard, smoked and ate poorly. But he generated laughter for those around him and lived life to the fullest. You'd remember him if you'd met. A cut and paste of his obit is below, in case you recognize the face and not the name.
> 
> 
> Hope your winter is cozy and warm inside your lovely home up there. Merry Christmas.
> 
> 
> - Rich
> 
> 
> *Robert Pender
> ( Tuesday, 24 Nov 2015 )*
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> With great sadness we announce the sudden passing of our husband, father, brother, grandfather and friend. Bob was born May 2nd 1948 in Duncan, and died November 24th, 2015. Much too soon. He is survived by his wife Lynn, sons Rob (Karyn), James and Daniel, grandchildren Beth, Lennon, Alice and Xavier – and so many Penderized friends. The Family thanks those friends whom have been so supportive for Lynn during her difficult time. There will be no immediate memorial but instead there will be a Celebration of Life at a later date when we can all gather to salute this special person who touched so many lives! Let’s remember the music and oh that laugh.


Sadly I do not recognize Robert. I may well have met him at one time or another, especially if he had the Ruxton property for a number of years. I rather imagine that John and Gina would know him since they are at that end of the island. Next time I am speaking with John I will try to remember to ask him.

Yes, my house borders on both Herring Bay and the channel to the west. Best of both worlds.

The Shuswap house is nowhere near anything like "Eagles Reach" on Ruxton. But when I get done with it I hope it will be at least comfortable for us year round. And here we don't have to make a boat trip just for groceries!

My condolences to Robert's family.


----------



## cocobolo

Mother nature has once again blessed us with more snow. No point in showing you a ground shot as everything is white.

The snowmobilers were having a great time racing up our road this morning. They had to be going at least 50 m.p.h. Crazy!


----------



## cocobolo

I had every intention of gluing up that drum shell today, really I did, but I couldn't find the glue. Somewhere here I have some of the Lee Valley 202GF glue and about half a gallon of white glue. I cannot find either of them.

But eventually I did find a 5 gallon container of the EKV glue, but it was out in where the future workshop will be in an unheated area, in other words in sub zero temperatures.

I have brought it in and it is sitting close to the wood stove, but I think it is going to take 24 hours to warm up enough to use. The catalyst was outside as well, but it's only a 4 liter jug, and half full at that, so it is fine already.


----------



## cocobolo

So rather sit around doing nothing all day, I decided to make up some more shells using different angles to cut the staves with.

So I did a 20 stave, 24 stave and a 30 stave just using plain old framing lumber. I had a batch of 2 x 4's which were cut in half, so I used those for the tests.

Making these up with single thickness staves only takes a few minutes, so I was done with these in relatively short order. More planters in the making.


----------



## cocobolo

I did at least make something useful today though...a set of mini sawhorses to use when I do the taping and mudding on the ceilings.

The bedroom ceiling is only 7' 6" high, so I only needed to give myself an extra 10" or so of elevation to reach the ceiling comfortably to do the job.

The horses themselves are just 8 1/2" high...add some 2 x 6's on top and there's my 10". Should I need a different height for the living room later on, I can just switch out the legs for longer ones. Dead easy.


----------



## cocobolo

It is that time of year again when I like to say "thank you" to everyone who has posted on my thread. For some reason I managed to miss out doing this last Christmas, for which I apologize.

*Merry Christmas everyone*​
So to Big Jim, tjansen, forcedreno, cleanlymaid, ptarmigan61, shumakerscott, shadytrake, Bud Cline, gma2rjc, Mort, forcedreno2012, drtbk4ever, Jim F, 123pugsy, sleepyg, ddrjsph, Windows on Wash, ica171, oh'mike, Doc Sheldon, TheEplumber, RHeat, Simon96Taco, williamlayton, barnabas131, Scoggy, bearcat32, concrete joe, Fixrite, flamtap, A Squared, SPS-1, Senior Sitizen, edelsouth1, Fix'n it, algalkin, Begather, Wildbill7145 and finally zippinbye with apologies to anyone I have missed , or whose handle I have spelled incorrectly (my laptop loves to fix my spelling mistakes) the very best of the Christmas season to you all.


----------



## BigJim

And a great big MERRY CHRISTMAS to you buddy.


----------



## drtbk4ever

A big Merry Christmas to you and yours Keith.


----------



## 123pugsy

Thanks Keith.

Same to you.


----------



## gma2rjc

Merry Christmas to you too Keith! :santa:


----------



## sleepyg

Merry Christmas to you too Keith, just a day late! :biggrin2:


----------



## ica171

Merry Christmas! And happy Boxing Day too!


----------



## cocobolo

sleepyg said:


> Merry Christmas to you too Keith, just a day late! :biggrin2:


You know what they say about that don't you? Better late than never. Thank you.


----------



## Bud Cline

Same here Keith...*MERRY CHRISTMAS* to you and yours.

I'm here almost every day but I don't log-in any more, I just do the voyeur thing and move on but I'm keepin' an eye on you.

A special Holiday Greeting to all the regulars and the irregulars as well.


----------



## cocobolo

Bud Cline said:


> Same here Keith...*MERRY CHRISTMAS* to you and yours.
> 
> I'm here almost every day but I don't log-in any more, I just do the voyeur thing and move on but I'm keepin' an eye on you.
> 
> A special Holiday Greeting to all the regulars and the irregulars as well.


Good to hear from you Bud! I trust you and the missus are enjoying a great Christmas. :smile:


----------



## flamtap

I just caught up on this thread from the past few days. Merry Christmas! 

How cool that you are building drums! I played drums in school band and marching bands through college. If you get a working drum don't you dare turn it in to a planter! Send one to me!

Yes 1.5" would be a very thick drum but a very strong shell. I think thinner gives a little more resonance, but sometimes resonance is not desirable or necessary... In most marching bands now, as well as pipe & drum corps, the snare drums are fitted with extremely high tension kevlar heads. (Kevlar, as in bullet-proof vest kevlar). The drums that use these have steel bearing surfaces for the drum heads as the laminated wooden shells would typically collapse under that kind of tension. A 1.5" shell might just hold up to the tension, though. You also have to have a strong, metal rim, and stronger-than-normal tuning lugs. 

If you are just planning to make rope-tightened heads (like a 18th-19th century drum) I'm not sure what kind of sound you will get. Might be something interesting even if it's not the typical snare drum sound. 

This video demonstrates what I am imagining... 




I look forward to following this project... Best of luck with it! 

flamtap


----------



## cocobolo

flamtap said:


> I just caught up on this thread from the past few days. Merry Christmas!
> 
> How cool that you are building drums! I played drums in school band and marching bands through college. If you get a working drum don't you dare turn it in to a planter! Send one to me!
> 
> Yes 1.5" would be a very thick drum but a very strong shell. I think thinner gives a little more resonance, but sometimes resonance is not desirable or necessary... In most marching bands now, as well as pipe & drum corps, the snare drums are fitted with extremely high tension kevlar heads. (Kevlar, as in bullet-proof vest kevlar). The drums that use these have steel bearing surfaces for the drum heads as the laminated wooden shells would typically collapse under that kind of tension. A 1.5" shell might just hold up to the tension, though. You also have to have a strong, metal rim, and stronger-than-normal tuning lugs.
> 
> If you are just planning to make rope-tightened heads (like a 18th-19th century drum) I'm not sure what kind of sound you will get. Might be something interesting even if it's not the typical snare drum sound.
> 
> I look forward to following this project... Best of luck with it!
> 
> flamtap


Hi Flamtap, all I am planning with these shells is to see what sort of pitfalls I will be running into at each of the various stages. I don't really have any plans to turn them into actual drums.

Now, when I get to making a conga, I may well make one or more shells and not turn them into drums either. Once I get a shell that I'm happy with, then I will make a drum.

I have looked into the tuning of the snare, the conga and the djembe drum.

The traditional djembe is still made with rope tuning, which in itself is quite a process. But, of course, most of the modern commercial makers use metal rings.

I have only seen one very old photo of a rope tuned conga. It seems that everyone now uses metal rings and lugs. 

As far as the actual build of a conga, the traditional way is to use a hollowed out log. There is an outfit that still promotes this method, and it seems to me that it is a way to provide some money to the very poor African villagers who are still capable of building conga's in this fashion. The handwork that they do is really very impressive.

Then there is the stave method, either cut out of thick boards, or steam bent. The steam bent way will use much less wood, but takes more equipment to make. The bandsawn method (from thick boards) will use around three times the volume of wood, but can be done on your home bandsaw. Whereas you will have to make a steambox and provide a way to get lots of steam into it to be able to bend your wood using that system.

Then there are fibreglass shells. I don't think that I would be interested in those for any number of reasons...so I will leave that alone.

There is one more way with wood, and that is to build a segmented drum shell. Now, in all honesty, I have not been able to find a single conga built using this method. I have searched the web, but no luck so far. I don't see any real reason that it couldn't be done, and I'm going to guess that the sheer number of pieces of wood required would be enough to scare anyone away. Certainly, it would be grossly impractical for a commercial drum maker. I have seen many a snare shell done with the segmented method, and some of them look downright gorgeous.

I did some math on a segmented conga using the free wood that I have available here, would you believe 352 pieces for a 12" drum! :surprise: I'm still enough of a glutton for punishment that I may try that. Lots to work out yet before I give it a go.

I have seen many video tours of the different drum makers, mostly for snares and toms, but there is one good video (in three parts) from Moperc about the way they make their congas.

I'd love to see a video from Volcano Drums in Hawaii. They use the most exotic woods and their congas are simply out of this world. It should go without saying that they have prices to match. But, OMG they are beautiful.

Trying to find a current forum covering conga building has proved to be impossible. It seems that hardly anyone is foolish enough to tackle the job on their own. I have registered on a couple of drum forums, but still no luck finding a conga specific forum. I will keep on looking though. Everything you ever wanted to know about making snare/tom shells is all over the place, no problem there at all.

I'm going to need a lathe at some point, just another tool that I had to sell before I left Ruxton. So the hunt will be on for something that can handle at least 9" over the bed and 32" long. Bigger will be better in this case.

As for heads...well, they use calf skin, cowhide, goatskin and some artificial heads, but I haven't heard of kevlar for conga's yet. You don't smack them quite as hard with your hands as you would a snare with two wood sticks.

Many thanks indeed for your input.


----------



## williamlayton

Without apologizing for being late--I will say Blessings and thank you for all of the wonderful entertainment and information over the last year.
I have enjoyed.
Bill


----------



## cocobolo

williamlayton said:


> Without apologizing for being late--I will say Blessings and thank you for all of the wonderful entertainment and information over the last year.
> I have enjoyed.
> Bill


You're more than welcome Bill. It's always such a pleasure to hear from you


----------



## algalkin

Merry Christmas!
Those mini horses look good, I need a few of those for my garage taping.


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Merry Christmas!
> Those mini horses look good, I need a few of those for my garage taping.


Thank you for the greetings.

Just make your mini horses to fit your own height and the height of the garage. I screwed mine together with 2 1/2" construction screws...much easier than nailing.

Here's a little hint. When you get three of the legs attached, sit the mini horse on the floor and then fit the last leg so that all four legs sit firmly on the floor.


----------



## algalkin

cocobolo said:


> Thank you for the greetings.
> 
> Just make your mini horses to fit your own height and the height of the garage. I screwed mine together with 2 1/2" construction screws...much easier than nailing.
> 
> Here's a little hint. When you get three of the legs attached, sit the mini horse on the floor and then fit the last leg so that all four legs sit firmly on the floor.


Thanks
My problem is that my ceiling in the whole addition is sloped - from left to right if you stand at the garage door, it's 10' on the left and 8' on the right. Not sure how to do the horses for this - 3 different sets?


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Thanks
> My problem is that my ceiling in the whole addition is sloped - from left to right if you stand at the garage door, it's 10' on the left and 8' on the right. Not sure how to do the horses for this - 3 different sets?


I had a similar thing with a cedar ceiling some time back.

What I did was to make a set of horses for the first 4' width of ceiling, another set for the next 4' and so on. You need to walk on the level when you're off the ground, so you don't want to be making sloping scaffold, much too dangerous.

It's sort of like you are building a set of bleachers in a way.

The other thing you can do is to make yourself a set of regular scaffolding, but out of wood rather than metal. The type with the rungs about every 12" to 16" or so. I haven't been on one of those for awhile, so I forget the size of the end rung spacing. As long as you screw everything together so it can come apart later, you won't waste any wood.


----------



## algalkin

cocobolo said:


> I had a similar thing with a cedar ceiling some time back.
> 
> What I did was to make a set of horses for the first 4' width of ceiling, another set for the next 4' and so on. You need to walk on the level when you're off the ground, so you don't want to be making sloping scaffold, much too dangerous.
> 
> It's sort of like you are building a set of bleachers in a way.
> 
> The other thing you can do is to make yourself a set of regular scaffolding, but out of wood rather than metal. The type with the rungs about every 12" to 16" or so. I haven't been on one of those for awhile, so I forget the size of the end rung spacing. As long as you screw everything together so it can come apart later, you won't waste any wood.


Well, since I'm not as handy with woodworking as you are (ok, I know the horses don't take much skill, I'm just very slow at it), I've used two ladders and the 2x12 in-between and just moved it one step up or down when I did my garage, I'll probably employ same method for the rest of the addition, just was saying that your horses would be a lot better but I'm too lazy to make three sets of those .


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Well, since I'm not as handy with woodworking as you are (ok, I know the horses don't take much skill, I'm just very slow at it), I've used two ladders and the 2x12 in-between and just moved it one step up or down when I did my garage, I'll probably employ same method for the rest of the addition, just was saying that your horses would be a lot better but I'm too lazy to make three sets of those .


Sorry to tell you that I had some 2 x 2 on hand (2 x 4 ripped in half) and I used those to make the horses. All the cuts are made at 15º, either single 15º cut or compound 15º cuts for the legs. You can do one in about 10 minutes. I think you would save that much time easily.

The big advantage with the horses is that you can make them as wide as you like, so there's much less moving around than with the ladder system.


----------



## algalkin

cocobolo said:


> Sorry to tell you that I had some 2 x 2 on hand (2 x 4 ripped in half) and I used those to make the horses. All the cuts are made at 15º, either single 15º cut or compound 15º cuts for the legs. You can do one in about 10 minutes. I think you would save that much time easily.
> 
> The big advantage with the horses is that you can make them as wide as you like, so there's much less moving around than with the ladder system.


My problem is my miter saw is a wimpy 7" dia cheap Cobalt saw from home depot and it won't cut 3.5" of wood, only maybe 2.5". I used to have nice Dewalt - 10" dia, but it got stolen last year with a whole bunch of tools I've had and I'm still trying to replace a lot of them .
Anyway, don't worry about me, I'll figure something out .


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> My problem is my miter saw is a wimpy 7" dia cheap Cobalt saw from home depot and it won't cut 3.5" of wood, only maybe 2.5". I used to have nice Dewalt - 10" dia, but it got stolen last year with a whole bunch of tools I've had and I'm still trying to replace a lot of them .
> Anyway, don't worry about me, I'll figure something out .


You don't need to cut 3 1/2". Lay the 2 x 4 on the flat for the cross pieces, and rip 2 x 4 in half to make 2 x 2's for the legs.

Very sorry to hear that you got your tools stolen...that happened to me once on a "secure" job site. It's a real nuisance. Maybe try Kijiji for some inexpensive used tools. Or maybe Canadian Tire. I got a dual bevel 10" sliding compound miter saw for less than $200. Can't beat that. It cuts a 4 x 4 in one pass.


----------



## algalkin

cocobolo said:


> You don't need to cut 3 1/2". Lay the 2 x 4 on the flat for the cross pieces, and rip 2 x 4 in half to make 2 x 2's for the legs.
> 
> Very sorry to hear that you got your tools stolen...that happened to me once on a "secure" job site. It's a real nuisance. Maybe try Kijiji for some inexpensive used tools. Or maybe Canadian Tire. I got a dual bevel 10" sliding compound miter saw for less than $200. Can't beat that. It cuts a 4 x 4 in one pass.


Too late, I'm almost done with cutting wood, all that's left is trim work, which less then 1" most of time. I got the 7" Cobalt last spring for $50 on sale, so can't complain there.

Will 2x2' be enough strength for 3-4' high horses?


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Too late, I'm almost done with cutting wood, all that's left is trim work, which less then 1" most of time. I got the 7" Cobalt last spring for $50 on sale, so can't complain there.
> 
> Will 2x2' be enough strength for 3-4' high horses?


Good deal on the saw.

You might need to brace the 2 x 2 legs if they get too high. But legs are always under compression so they ought to be plenty strong enough. Just don't cut oe with a big knot in the middle! :surprise:


----------



## cocobolo

OK, let's get back to the drum fiasco.

I have a batch of T & G cedar here, which was removed from the ceiling. Still lots more up there, so I can afford to play with some of it.

I took both the tongue and groove edges off the boards, then ripped that in half. I was hoping to get something over 1 1/4" in width this way, but it fell just a tiny bit short. 

I worked out the measurements for all the segments on the conga shell and cut out several hundred pieces of cedar. I also needed to run the boards through the planer, as one side had some sort of texture to it.


----------



## cocobolo

I went through quite a process in order to come up with a shape for the drum. Before doing any actual drawing I looked at several hundred pictures of different congas to see what sort of shape I liked best. You might be surprised to discover that there is a huge variation in shapes.

It wasn't just the look I was after, but I had learned what the different shapes do to the sound of the drum, so that was added into the mix.

I drew out a few similar shapes on a piece of plywood and then made a template out of one of the shapes. Now just looking at a curved line and looking at a physical piece of curved wood are two different things entirely.

After the curved wood was glued up, I decided that I wanted just a little more "belly" to the shape. So I flipped the plywood sheet over and did another one on the other side.

Here I learned a couple of things. The first time I worked out what every different segment would be I used the imperial system of measurement. On the second side I used metric.

I must have spent at least 4 hours doing the measuring and calculating with imperial...this was reduced to 30 minutes using metric.


----------



## cocobolo

If you can see the short lines here, they represent a single segment layer of wood. There are 45 of them in this case. Each segment is made up of 8 pieces. So a total of 360 pieces in this shell.

As you will find out shortly, I think this may be a mistake.

As the drum shape bellies out, the individual pieces necessarily get longer. At just a hair under 1 1/4" wide, I don't think there will be enough wood left once the shaping gets underway. Next time I will do one of two things.

Either use 12 pieces for each segment, or as I glue them up, make the angle that I alter the segments by considerably less.

I'll show you what I mean with pictures in a bit.


----------



## cocobolo

Starting at the fattest part of the shell, here are the first few segments going together.

You need to twist the segments as you go, otherwise all the glue joints would be in one line, and that would have no strength at all.

I have a feeling that this will end up being an umbrella stand instead of a drum!


----------



## cocobolo

Umbrella stand or not, here is both the lower part and most of the upper part glued.

I ran out of mixed glue with 7 sections to go. That, along with a sore back prompted me to call it quits for the night.

I should explain the characteristics of the glue here I think.

In direct contrast with epoxy, which sets up fast while in the mixing vessel and slowly once it is spread out, this does the opposite. 

You can mix a batch, which requires a 20 to 1 ratio (glue to catalyst) and all the time it is in the mixing vessel, it stays as is...perhaps for as much as a couple of days. Once you spread the glue onto the wood, you have just 5 minutes of working time.


----------



## cocobolo

I use a gram scale to mix batches of either 100 or 200 grams at a time. That makes it easy to stay to the 20 to 1 ratio.

The catalyst is some sort of acid apparently, although I don't know of which sort.

Later today, I hope to get the last sections done and then see what the overall shape looks like.

After that I will need to figure out some way to get the outside smoothed down.


----------



## BigJim

I bet that would do a bunch of funny things on a lathe. Maybe make a jig and use your router to cut the shape. Just thinking out loud. What ever you decide I am sure it will be interesting.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I bet that would do a bunch of funny things on a lathe. Maybe make a jig and use your router to cut the shape. Just thinking out loud. What ever you decide I am sure it will be interesting.


Hi Jim, I think you must have been reading my mail.

Several years back, a fellow invented what he called his Koko jig. It was a jig set up to trim both the inside and outside of a typical snare drum, or tom, or any other round drum with straight sides.

However, it appears that no such thing exists for a conga shaped drum.

I do have an idea as to how a jig might be built for this purpose, but it's a bit of a complicated thing to build. Perhaps a random orbital sander with 36 grit would work! :smile:


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Hi Jim, I think you must have been reading my mail.
> 
> Several years back, a fellow invented what he called his Koko jig. It was a jig set up to trim both the inside and outside of a typical snare drum, or tom, or any other round drum with straight sides.
> 
> However, it appears that no such thing exists for a conga shaped drum.
> 
> I do have an idea as to how a jig might be built for this purpose, but it's a bit of a complicated thing to build. Perhaps a random orbital sander with 36 grit would work! :smile:


Bolt it to your cement mixer and set up an arm for a cutting tool.
Car wheels turn also.

Just saying crazy things to generate other thoughts. I'm not really a maroon, ha. :vs_no_no_no:


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Bolt it to your cement mixer and set up an arm for a cutting tool.
> Car wheels turn also.
> 
> Just saying crazy things to generate other thoughts. I'm not really a maroon, ha. :vs_no_no_no:


Hahahahaha! That's just too funny! I'll be chuckling about that one for days. :biggrin2: Red Green would love that.

I was checking on Kijiji this morning and I may have found a lathe, an old Rockwell Beaver, for what seems like a decent price. Only trouble is that it's a four hour drive away, right down by the U. S. border. I'll have to think about that.


----------



## cocobolo

OK...enough of this tomfoolery. Back to the Latin rhythm section now.

You need to get the glue mix as close as possible otherwise it won't work properly. As I mentioned above, I use a gram scale for this purpose.

I put 200 grams (in this case) of the glue in the container, then add exactly 10 grams of the catalyst. Stir for a minute or so and it's ready to go. You tell when the glue is mixed right, as it goes very smooth.


----------



## cocobolo

Remember the first shell I started? Well, here it is getting glued up.

Actually a fairly simple process, except that you can only leave any given glued section unclamped for a maximum of five minutes. There's no exception to this.

So I timed the unclamped times closely, and as soon as it was close to five minutes, I put the strap clamp back on. It actually took about a dozen or so times to get the whole thing glued up.

You see the orange strap clamp? I made that out of a cargo strap. Just cut off the hooks and ran a single strap through and sewed one end around the ratchet mechanism. Works like a charm and costs about $3.50. I made another green one as well, and I think I might turn three more of the orange straps into clamps. Very handy for odd shapes.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's an interesting piece of wood sculpture for you.

I don't think it's going to work for a conga drum. So maybe a topless and bottomless garbage can. Or a planter if I put a bottom on it. Or a Cajon drum if I put about a 1/8" thick wood top on it. Or an umbrella stand.

Haven't decided yet, but I may try sanding it down to see how far out I was when I cut the original pieces to make the segments. I know now they should have been wider.

That's what this exercise was for, to find out the pitfalls as I went through the build. I found plenty! :surprise:


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Here's an interesting piece of wood sculpture for you.
> 
> I don't think it's going to work for a conga drum. So maybe a topless and bottomless garbage can. Or a planter if I put a bottom on it. Or a Cajon drum if I put about a 1/8" thick wood top on it. Or an umbrella stand.
> 
> Haven't decided yet, but I may try sanding it down to see how far out I was when I cut the original pieces to make the segments. I know now they should have been wider.
> 
> That's what this exercise was for, to find out the pitfalls as I went through the build. I found plenty! :surprise:


Wow.
That there's a bunch of sticks.

If the lathe you found can handle something that size, it might be worth the 4 hour drive.


----------



## flamtap

That is a cool sculpture! How much does it weigh? 

I think you should clamp it to a motorized turntable and then use a chainsaw to do the initial shaping! ;-)


----------



## BigJim

That does give the brain a good workout trying to figure a way to shape that. I don't think the outside will be a really big problem but the inside is going to be rather interesting.

What I basically had in mind for the out side was something along the lines of a copy lathe, substituting the lathe tool with a small router with some type of squaring, attached to the small router, to lay against the pattern to keep the small router level. The inside is another story. Just a thought.


----------



## konyen

lovely place. On to a new chapter and new adventure in life.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Wow.
> That there's a bunch of sticks.
> 
> If the lathe you found can handle something that size, it might be worth the 4 hour drive.


It won't quite make it, but the headstock and tailstock can be raised using heavy duty metal spacers.


----------



## cocobolo

flamtap said:


> That is a cool sculpture! How much does it weigh?
> 
> I think you should clamp it to a motorized turntable and then use a chainsaw to do the initial shaping! ;-)


It weighs 16 pounds as it is now.

A chainsaw huh? Might be a bit on the rough side...


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> That does give the brain a good workout trying to figure a way to shape that. I don't think the outside will be a really big problem but the inside is going to be rather interesting.
> 
> What I basically had in mind for the out side was something along the lines of a copy lathe, substituting the lathe tool with a small router with some type of squaring, attached to the small router, to lay against the pattern to keep the small router level. The inside is another story. Just a thought.


Right Jim. The outside is relatively easy to figure out. 

No idea at all yet as to what might be done to the inside, as it is a mirror image of the outside.

The guys on the router forum have all sorts of ideas, but I haven't seen a router lathe with curves on it yet. Several with straight designs.


----------



## cocobolo

Without further ado, let me wish everyone on this forum a very *Happy New Year!*


----------



## cocobolo

We made the trip all the way down to Rock Creek to pick up the Rockwell Beaver lathe, basically no problem.

Except after we put the lathe and stand into the van away we drove. Got about 50 kilometers down the road and remembered that we had taken stuff off the lathe to move it and I had managed to leave it at Brian's house! Very clever!

So we turned around and added some more miles to the trip. Picked the other bits and pieces up and we were off without further ado. No photo yet as it is still in the back of the van in -8º temperatures. It will probably stay there until things warm up a bit.

Val was so taken with the scenery when you drive from the east side of Kelowna through Rutland and on down to Rock Creek that she added 364 photos to our list! The snow clouds gave way to brilliant sunshine and it was an amazingly beautiful afternoon.

We could only see about four commercial buildings at Rock Creek, and this old hotel was one of them.


----------



## BigJim

Love to see your lathe when you get it set up. Especially love to see some pictures of turning the huge drum, that is going to be interesting.


----------



## cocobolo

Just back from a trip to Calgary, had to deliver Val to the airport, she's off to a wedding in the Big Smoke, otherwise known to some as Toronto.

The drive out was good, no problem on the roads. We did see one pickup parked on top of a fence in Calgary, the kind they use to keep the cattle off the roads. Somehow the driver had managed to turn the pickup upside down while he was at it...good job. Didn't get a pic of this one.

Now the return trip was something else, new snow for at least two thirds of the trip. Closing in on Sicamous and there was a van quietly laying on its' side well off the road. Police tape still wrapped around the van.

The next one was even better and the gendarmes were still very much in attendance. A semi had somehow managed to fall off the side of the road and was completely upside down. Just goes to show you that even the pros mess up now and again.


----------



## williamlayton

That land up there is always trying to kill you---take care.
Blessings


----------



## algalkin

Keith, I drove down from Mt Hood couple days ago and it was the same weather you got up there, it was the most miserable 6 hours drive I drove in years!

Yesterday, I was watching my favorite youtuber and he's making a bowl similar to your drum structure!




 So far he uploaded just 2 parts but he's uploading them with the progress of the bowl, so stay tuned.


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Keith, I drove down from Mt Hood couple days ago and it was the same weather you got up there, it was the most miserable 6 hours drive I drove in years!
> 
> Yesterday, I was watching my favorite youtuber and he's making a bowl similar to your drum structure!
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY0gdrIHIvo
> So far he uploaded just 2 parts but he's uploading them with the progress of the bowl, so stay tuned.


Oh, it's fun weather all right. Our highway reader signs were all warning of the poor conditions. No better this morning...but then I have no plans to go anywhere today.

Thanks for the video. Boy, does he have a nice shop with lots of tools. I especially like that big disc sander he has. I think I will have to make me one of those. And the bowl clamp idea, brilliant.

He is using 12 segments for his bowl, which is what I will do next time. I already figured that part out anyway. 

Not only all that, but he sure knows how to make a first class video. Very well done.


----------



## melving.crane

WOW, man! I just fall in love with that place and that house. Looks nice and the around of the house is so refreshing. It must be an amazing feeling living there.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, back to work.

Now I'm starting to make the jig for the router lathe. This jig is going to be used to make the two curved side pieces which the router base will actually run on.

There's quite a bit to it, so it may take me a little time.

I have the plywood base that will be used to make a form that in turn will be used to glue up the actual slides, one left and one right. I hope I remember that when I get that far.

I needed to cut a whole batch of blocks to attach to the plywood base. I cut these on the miter saw with a 15º cut on either side. I made a boxfull, anticipating that perhaps some of them would break apart when I tightened up the mounting screws.

In order to drill the holes for the screws, I first needed to set up some sort of holding device to keep the blocks in place. This was nothing more than two pieces of wood screwed to a chunk of 2 x 6 at the same angle the blocks were cut at. All I had to do was to push the blocks into the "vee" and drill away.


----------



## cocobolo

With a good supply of blocks on hand, I screwed a whole row of them in line with the curve on my plywood base.

I didn't add any glue to these blocks, just in case they may have needed to pivot slightly once the cedar strips were getting fastened and glued up.


----------



## cocobolo

Time to try a dry run.

These curved router guides will end up being something like 3" thick, so it is going to take a number of glue ups to do the job.

As you know by now, I always do a dry run first to see if there's anything that needs fixing or changing. This one went OK, so tomorrow I will start on the gluing operation.

I will have some plastic ready to go so that the guides won't stick to my plywood base.


----------



## cocobolo

I'd like to make a comment about Frank Howarth, which is the name of the wood turner that algalkin posted the link to.

I went to see another video of his, and the man has just made himself a huge CNC router table. It's quite incredible. I wish I had half his talent. And as for his machinery! WOW! No lightweight stuff there. Heavy duty industrial quality everywhere you look.

Thanks for posting algalkin.


----------



## algalkin

No problem Keith, yes I like his how-to videos, he is thorough and funny.
And yes, his setup is bad-ass!


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> I'd like to make a comment about Frank Howarth, which is the name of the wood turner that algalkin posted the link to.
> 
> I went to see another video of his, and the man has just made himself a huge CNC router table. It's quite incredible. I wish I had half his talent. And as for his machinery! WOW! No lightweight stuff there. Heavy duty industrial quality everywhere you look.
> 
> Thanks for posting algalkin.


Wow, that dude has some serious tools:
https://www.youtube.com/user/urbanTrash


----------



## algalkin

The last two parts out https://www.youtube.com/watch?annot...&feature=iv&src_vid=rQ7cDuuGopU&v=l1vprFLu1XQ

And he did use the lathe to finish the bowl.
What are you planning to use for your bowl Keith?


----------



## scoggy

*Somemore done on '38*

Keith I am inspired by your work, so went at the '38 project again, and frame done in 2 coats of beautiful shiny Tremclad XX black, and front suspension in..again, and 9 inch ready to meet new leaf springs et al! Threw down the wrenches over Christmas, due to 'constraints'..but off of my #@$% again, and moving, 327 may have a warped block..very sad..but must go on..tunes on stereo I built in garage awesome, so ce serra serrea!!:vs_cool::vs_cool::vs_cool::vs_cool::vs_cool:


----------



## BigJim

Scoggy, I have never seen a 327 block warp, how in the world did that happen, looks like it would have cracked badly before doing that, unless it is aluminum.


----------



## cocobolo

scoggy said:


> Keith I am inspired by your work, so went at the '38 project again, and frame done in 2 coats of beautiful shiny Tremclad XX black, and front suspension in..again, and 9 inch ready to meet new leaf springs et al! Threw down the wrenches over Christmas, due to 'constraints'..but off of my #@$% again, and moving, 327 may have a warped block..very sad..but must go on..tunes on stereo I built in garage awesome, so ce serra serrea!!:vs_cool::vs_cool::vs_cool::vs_cool::vs_cool:


Warped block...or warped heads? It can be fixed at a machine shop, but at a somewhat disastrous cost.

Syd, you need to think seriously about getting a complete used LS motor from a junkyard. They're plentiful, cheap and make tons of power. Not to mention the better fuel mileage. And you'll love the sound. Get a tranny to match while you're at it...and the wiring harness as well. Plus it weighs about 100 lbs. less than the old small block. It's a win-win-win all around.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Scoggy, I have never seen a 327 block warp, how in the world did that happen, looks like it would have cracked badly before doing that, unless it is aluminum.


Seems a bit odd, doesn't it Jim? It's an iron block.


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> The last two parts out https://www.youtube.com/watch?annot...&feature=iv&src_vid=rQ7cDuuGopU&v=l1vprFLu1XQ
> 
> And he did use the lathe to finish the bowl.
> What are you planning to use for your bowl Keith?


Just watched these videos, and a few others. The man is definitely loaded with talent, no doubt about it.

Mine isn't a bowl, it's supposed to be a drum. Presently working on the two sides of the rails. It's a bit complicated.


----------



## cocobolo

*Laminating strips*

One of the drum types I want to build will be done out of laminated wood, in this case it will still be red cedar.

I ripped somewhere around 250 pieces on the table saw, then ran them through the planer.

My experience with trying to glue up 1/4" thick strips from old growth cedar is not very good. It's surprising how stiff that wood is. The younger cedar is like putty by comparison.

So the laminations for the staves are going to be closer to 1/8" in thickness, and that has proved to be much better.

I haven't actually glued any up yet, but they bend far easier, and clamp up with almost no effort.


----------



## cocobolo

If you have tried planing thin strips yourself, you'll no doubt know that you have to bring the typical planer down very hard to get to the 1/8" thick level.

In order to avoid having to do that, as well as having the capability to plane thinner if necessary, I made up this hook from 11/16"plywood, and ran the strips on top of that. I expect that you could likely get down to 1/32" if need be.


----------



## cocobolo

After some deliberation, I have the shape I want for the drum laminations.

I will use heavy cauls composed of two layers of two by lumber, which have been planed down slightly, just to get flat gluing sides.

Then I will try 6, 7 or 8 strips of wood to see which comes out best and maintains the shape I want.


----------



## cocobolo

Here are the two sides of the cauls prior to glue up.


----------



## cocobolo

*Test clamping*

Once the cauls were glued up and finessed a little bit, I ran a test to see how easy it would be for the actual glue up.

I couldn't have hoped for it to be much better, as there is so little effort needed to get the laminations into shape. This is in very direct contrast to the thicker strips, which are going into the guides for the router lathe.

Now all that remains is to make 24 staves...maybe a few extra just in case the inevitable happens.


----------



## algalkin

Good tip about thin strips planing, I didn't think about that.


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Good tip about thin strips planing, I didn't think about that.


Yep, you can realistically only go down to about 3/16" without the hook or a sled setup then you are starting to stress things too much.


----------



## scoggy

*I am a gonna*



cocobolo said:


> Warped block...or warped heads? It can be fixed at a machine shop, but at a somewhat disastrous cost.
> 
> Syd, you need to think seriously about getting a complete used LS motor from a junkyard. They're plentiful, cheap and make tons of power. Not to mention the better fuel mileage. And you'll love the sound. Get a tranny to match while you're at it...and the wiring harness as well. Plus it weighs about 100 lbs. less than the old small block. It's a win-win-win all around.


Took your advice!! Bought a GM product with 'everything' including 'swing axle' from a 'crashed car"..but..there are a whole lot of people I don't know...phoning me..about parts!! WHO TOLD THEM I HAD IT?? Will 'swill' a few, the:devil3::devil3::devil3::devil3::devil3:n plot course! Again, thanks for the .."compass Point"
Cheers
Syd


----------



## Windows on Wash

LS swaps are great. Fantastic motor design.


----------



## cocobolo

Windows on Wash said:


> LS swaps are great. Fantastic motor design.


And so easy to hop up as well.


----------



## Windows on Wash

Always a plus!!!


----------



## BigJim

I am old school, I didn't know what a LS engine was, so I looked it up, that is a very impressive engine.


----------



## Windows on Wash

+1 Built right, they can hold a ton of power.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I am old school, I didn't know what a LS engine was, so I looked it up, that is a very impressive engine.


Jim, GM took a long, hard look at their old small block and decided on a total revamp of it. That was many years ago now, and they came up with the LS series.

Believe it or not, that has now been superseded once again by the latest iteration of Chevy's small block. They routinely get well over 500 H.P. from these engines - stock - and naturally aspirated.

They also have added low profile superchargers for even more power.

And get this, if you buy one of the crate engines, like my favourite LS376/525 for example, it comes with a 24 month guarantee....even if you stuff it into a hot rod!

Last time I checked that one listed at around $14,000 with the matching transmission and wiring harness/computer etc. You need everything together to make one of these motors run right. In terms of todays money, that's really one helluva great deal.


----------



## BigJim

Oh my stars, it is a good thing they weren't around back when I was hot roddin, I would have probably killed someone and myself with that much power. I did build some rather mean engines back then though. I can just see a turbo charged 427 but that was a big block. You could get 300 horses out of a stock 327 with a #1 vet grind cam.

That kind of money for an engine boggles my old mind. Back in the late 60s a set of Arias pistons were about $600 a set and that blew my mind. I don't know what they charged to put a set of Teflon buttons on the skirts, on the Arias, but I would sure want them with those high dollar pistons.

Man so much has changed.


----------



## drtbk4ever

Anybody heard from Keith? Haven't seen an update for awhile.


----------



## Windows on Wash

+1

This is probably his longest time lapse from before. Does anyone have a number for him that we can check on him with?


----------



## 123pugsy

I was wondering the same thing.

Keith, you OK?


----------



## hyunelan2

This doesn't mean someone else didn't sign in under his account, but if you click on his profile it says he logged-in and viewed this thread less than an hour ago.


----------



## cocobolo

hyunelan2 said:


> This doesn't mean someone else didn't sign in under his account, but if you click on his profile it says he logged-in and viewed this thread less than an hour ago.


That's because I got the email notifications of the posts from my other good friends.

Hi guys...all is OK...even if extremely busy with all sorts of things. 

I'll do my best to get some posts up later on this evening. As usual there's not enough hours in the day to do everything that has to get done. I'll bring you all up to speed later.

Thanks for asking about me! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Looks like a month since anything got done.

Well, to say the least things have had their ups and downs.

Val's mum passed away and the celebration of life took place in Calgary, so she was away for nearly two weeks for that. None of the other four siblings seemed able to find the time to help out much with that.

Then she had to go to the coast for a week to look after a couple of the grandkids while the mum, dad and grandson went back to Manitoba for a hockey tournament. The list goes on and on.

One of her sisters had a business down in Nelson and decided that she had to close up shop. She owed Val a big chunk of $, so we had to go down there (no notice at all) to try and retrieve some of the merchandise as there was no cash available. Got two vanloads of stuff, one of which is stored down in the Kootenays and one load is here...which makes this place even more stuffed. Could barely move before, and it's even worse now. 

Interesting trip though. First time I have been down that way. Lovely country, but we had terrible road conditions both ways. Down to 20 kms coming back in places, that's about 12 mph. And you have to take two ferry rides each way. We missed the first ferry by 5 minutes, not being aware of the schedule. Just my luck.


----------



## cocobolo

We took the trip down through Revelstoke and came back a different route on Highway 6. I'll never do that again in winter driving conditions.

Only saw one snow plow on the entire highway. No wonder it was such a mess. Maybe one car every half hour coming the other way, just no traffic at all. Can't say as I blame them.


----------



## cocobolo

I've kinda lost track of the work at the house here, but one thing that has seen some progress is the new living room ceiling.

The old one was a vaulted ceiling, built about as good as everything else here. In other words it left a lot to be desired.

With the old cedar removed from the ceiling, it was easy to see why the heat escaped as readily as it did. The insulation was R-20 fiberglass, but very badly installed along with dozens, if not hundreds, of holes in the vapour barrier.

I pulled out half a bucket of mud wasp nests along with vast amounts of deceased bugs of every possible description. Just unbelievable.

Anyway, that is all out and a new ceiling has been framed in. Not very good pics, but you get the idea.


----------



## cocobolo

What I did with the insulation was to put two layers of R-14 Roxul above the ceiling joists, and one layer of R-20 in between the joists, for a total of R-50.

Holy smokes, what a difference. It was impossible to keep the top floor warm before, now it's the other way around! At least we know it will keep the oppressive heat out in the summertime now. Before, the heat would come pouring in through the roof with very little to slow it down.


----------



## cocobolo

There's a new 6 mil vapour barrier on the ceiling now, and we took the high class 1/8" particle board off the north wall, removed the old insulation, added new Roxul and a new 6 mil v.b. there as well. Don't seem to have any pics on the desktop...must still be in the camera.

Next up is the re-framing of the two small bedrooms upstairs, add a new hallway between the two, new doors, new ceiling in one of the rooms.....

I think we are off to Kamloops again today to buy the new doors and whatever other building materials we need. I think we have most of the stuff, may need a few studs to finish the job.

Here's a recent sunset.


----------



## 123pugsy

Thanks for posting the updates Keith.
I was thinking maybe you were busy on the drum.

Sorry about Val's mom and all the other troubles you've seen in the last month.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Thanks for posting the updates Keith.
> I was thinking maybe you were busy on the drum.
> 
> Sorry about Val's mom and all the other troubles you've seen in the last month.


I wish I was doing the drum...but no such luck.

Just got back from our materials trip today. Picked up the doors we will be needing, along with lumber for the new ceiling joists that will have to go in the small guest room upstairs. Handful of other small stuff as well.

Both of us are pretty tired so no work will get done this evening, but tomorrow is a new day. Things will get back on track pretty soon...but we are going to need at least one more trip down to the Nelson/Crawford Bay area to bring back another van load of stuff. That will get done just as soon as the snow has gone off ALL the highways.

It's going to take some time for Val to calm down emotionally from her mum's passing, but all in all, she's really doing quite well.


----------



## cocobolo

*A Note for Canadians*

Yesterday, Val received a call which was routed through the National Office of the RCMP. The caller stated that he was calling from Canadian Immigration.

He first asked if he was speaking to Val. (Yes.)

He asked if she has spoken with any other foreign government official by telephone recently. (No.)

He also asked if her husband - who's name he knew - was born in Bosnia. (No.) He didn't seem to know that her husband has passed away almost 7 years ago.

He stated that there had been a formal official complaint filed against her with Immigration Canada. Naturally, she was very upset about this. She currently has her passport renewal application being processed.

At this point I asked her who she was speaking with, so she asked the guy "Who are you?"

I guess these scam artists aren't trained that well, and he said, you can hang up now if you want to. So she did.

I traced the number to the National Office of the RCMP, and I immediately called there to find out just what this was all about. I had to leave a message.

Then I called the local RCMP office at Chase, B.C. and the gal who I spoke with there agreed that this would have ended up being some sort of scam. Either identity theft, or extortion of some nature.

She also told me that these callers (this guy had a heavy East Indian accent) had also managed to route calls directly through the Chase RCMP number, but she had no idea how they could do this.

She gave me a number to call to report the incident to, which I did. It is a lengthy recording which gives a number of scams which are currently being perpetrated. It also gave a link to a website to which you can write a detailed report which is then shared with the appropriate law enforcement agency, or company which may be involved. Banks or credit card companies for example.

Today, Val received a call from the RCMP in Ottawa (legitimate this time) and the first thing the chap said was "I hope you didn't give them any personal information." No, she hadn't. "That's good" he said.

Then he went on to explain that for the past month or so, there have been a number of similarly based scam calls in which the caller claims to be from Revenue Canada, or the Immigration Department. The Revenue Canada calls say that there is either money outstanding which must be paid immediately, and they give another number for you to call and make arrangements for payment, or that you have some sort of a refund coming but have to pay some sort of fee to collect this money first. Apparently they have a few different tactics they use, including all sorts of threats. Val's mum actually received such a call a few weeks before she passed away.

He also said that it was surprisingly easy for them to route calls through any number they want. The RCMP are trying to figure out a way to stop these calls being routed in this fashion. They are getting dozens of calls every day about this.

So, my fellow Canadians, be vigilant. I'm hoping that I get such a call directly, and I will do my best to lead these guys down the garden path as far as I possibly can. Then, of course, I will report the whole thing to the RCMP.

If you read this and have a few minutes to spare, could you post this info in as many places as possible. Val is just putting it up on her Facebook page as we speak.


----------



## ica171

I'm glad she didn't give them any info. Caller ID is a blessing and a curse sometimes. You can basically set it to say anything you want if you know how, so if they don't want you to know where they're calling from you're not going to.

Scammers saying they are from the IRS and they will arrest you if you don't pay are becoming more and more common here in the U.S. I read a story the other day that one scammer had called a family repeatedly, threatening to have them arrested if they didn't pay the "IRS." The scammer became so angry that they wouldn't pay that he called the police and told them someone at the house was threatening people with a gun. When the SWAT team arrived the scammer was on the phone with the family telling them the police had come to arrest them. The FBI is involved with it now, but if they're not in America who knows how much can be done. I'm just glad cases like that are rare.


----------



## algalkin

Keith, that's why I never ever pick up calls from the number I don't recognize. If it's a legal business, they have to leave a message. The scammers don't, well at least I've never had a message from scammers yet though I have 3-4 calls a day from various numbers from all over the states and I don't know anybody outside of Washington state .


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Keith, that's why I never ever pick up calls from the number I don't recognize. If it's a legal business, they have to leave a message. The scammers don't, well at least I've never had a message from scammers yet though I have 3-4 calls a day from various numbers from all over the states and I don't know anybody outside of Washington state .


Same here, but I usually only get one or two calls a day. I do check the area codes, and they are from Florida, California and Washington State mostly, so that's how I know it's you calling! :devil3:


----------



## algalkin

cocobolo said:


> Same here, but I usually only get one or two calls a day. I do check the area codes, and they are from Florida, California and Washington State mostly, so that's how I know it's you calling! :devil3:


Nothing good will come from my calls anyway


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Nothing good will come from my calls anyway


I did actually answer the Washington call once, and it was someone trying to make me rich! I asked for my number to be taken off their hit list, but of course that never happened.


----------



## algalkin

cocobolo said:


> I did actually answer the Washington call once, and it was someone trying to make me rich! I asked for my number to be taken off their hit list, but of course that never happened.


 Yeah, once I get a hold of someone's number, I can't stop calling them even if they ask. 

On a serious note - I don't remember a case when I answered an unrecognized number and something wonderful happened because of that .


----------



## Bud Cline

Tickle tickle...


----------



## fixrite

now that tax time is coming, they are sending bogus emails to Canadians saying they will be sending the police within 24 hrs and to avoid this they will need to call the CRA at a bogus number. They are also automating their phone calls so no longer do we get the call from the guy with the heavy east indian accent.


----------



## cocobolo

Back at work again here...this time on the small 2nd bedroom.

Another typical framing disaster. I don't expect you to make heads or tails out of this, but that hole was the closet opening from the bedroom on the other side of that wall. 

The side I'm standing on to take the pic has one of their prized vaulted ceilings again. I think the reason they did that upstairs was because they were too lazy to frame a flat ceiling.


----------



## cocobolo

Looks like I jumped the gun with the last photo...before that one there was a shelf on the left hand side wall. Apparently they had a small TV up there, which would explain the duplex outlet and cable.

I'm just starting to rip that shelf apart here. Didn't take too long and it did yield some two foot long pieces of T & G cedar.


----------



## cocobolo

Everything else in that room followed suit shortly thereafter. Wall coverings (more of the High Quality 1/4" printed plywood), cedar ceiling, wiring, old closet framing, you name it...gone.


----------



## cocobolo

It's necessary to wear a mask for much of the removal process here, due to a combination of old fiberglass insulation which is liberally laced with bugs.

We'll donate the ceiling fan to the local church who will sell it and give the funds to charity. We have three of those now to give away.


----------



## cocobolo

The old partition wall had to go between the two bedrooms to be replaced by two other walls. Naturally, neither of the new walls lined up with any of the ceiling joists, so blocking was installed between two separate pairs of joists.


----------



## cocobolo

Insulated the new ceiling...R-50 Roxul...vapour barrier and started on the new dividing wall.


----------



## cocobolo

Moving to the opposite bedroom on the north side now.

Walls getting stripped, cedar off the ceiling, saving the better wood, boss is in charge of ceiling removal. New walls getting framed in where the old closet was.


----------



## cocobolo

We had a nice enough day to get outside and play tree faller on Val's mum's lot right below us.

Only one really good size tree, but dozens of small junk trees which make it difficult to move around...especially on such a steep slope.


----------



## cocobolo

So much for a few hours in the sun...back at the drywalling in the north room again. That's done now, not taped yet.


----------



## cocobolo

Hmmm...looks like awhile since I posted. Well, quite a few changes in the last month or so.

One thing we did get done was to build an elevated parking area to give easier access to the roadway in wintertime. Not quite finished here, but you get the idea.


----------



## cocobolo

The drywall upstairs is getting close to being in place. No taping and mudding yet, I seem to be putting that off as long as possible. Might start on that tomorrow. Then again, I might not as there is a long list of other items to get to.


----------



## cocobolo

One thing I wanted was a bench in the big shed. So yesterday we put together a full length bench with lumber storage underneath.

Today we already filled the storage area with lumber and a load of birch wood which I got from a friend down in Cherryville.


----------



## cocobolo

The weekend before last, I went down to the coast to spend a few days with my boys. 

They are in the midst of putting together a full blown race car for a customer.

Its a '67 Chevy II which is already set up to run in the low 9's high 8's. 

We installed a brand new small block which has been bored and stroked to 440 c.i. Richmond Racing built the engine and it dynoe'd at 638 h.p. They ran 17 pulls on the dyno to get everything just right.


----------



## BigJim

Keith, you must have read my mind today, I was just thinking about how long it has been since you have posted. :smile:


----------



## Windows on Wash

Car stuff and house stuff....this is getting good.


----------



## cocobolo

Windows on Wash said:


> Car stuff and house stuff....this is getting good.


The car got taken to a stainless steel guy to have a set of custom headers built the day after I left. When they did the dyno pulls, Richmond Engines had a set of 2" long tube headers that they did the testing with. The customer also had a set of 1 3/4" headers of his own which they tried. Only lost 2 h.p. but also 22 lbs. feet of torque.

So we worked out the proper lengths for a new set of headers, and those are being built as we speak.

I expect to be back again to help more on the car in the next couple of weeks. Should be fun.

Number 2 son is doing a 565 cu. in big block with all the good stuff. He has an older Monte which ran 10.3's before, but with a much smaller motor. Shouldn't have any trouble getting into the lower 9's with the new engine. Plus we are going to put the car on a diet and try to lose about 400 lbs.


----------



## Windows on Wash

Sounds like she will be a mover.

Crazy how fast stuff is going these days and the HP numbers that folks are making are just going up and up. 

I would love to see a 565CI motor on a boost diet....!


----------



## BigJim

Keith, will the stainless steel headers turn blue like chrome ones do under extreme heat?


----------



## cocobolo

Windows on Wash said:


> Sounds like she will be a mover.
> 
> Crazy how fast stuff is going these days and the HP numbers that folks are making are just going up and up.
> 
> I would love to see a 565CI motor on a boost diet....!


I don't think this one will have either a blower or a turbo...but he has been known to run nitrous in the past, so could happen again. Got that idea from his old man about 30 years ago. The static compression ratio is to be about 11.1 to 1 to allow the use of pump gas.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Keith, will the stainless steel headers turn blue like chrome ones do under extreme heat?


Jim, they only made a few pulls with the customers stainless headers and they have turned a golden colour.

As you know, dyne pulls don't last long and there's plenty of room for the cooling air, so I don't know quite what will happen once they are in the car.

This one gets driven on the street occasionally (yes, it's street legal as well) so it won't take long to find out.


----------



## Windows on Wash

They usually do blue up like on the weld lines if they are tig'ed together. 

11.1 isn't too boost friendly in this case, but I bet it will sound awesome. NA motors sound purdier, but I do love the sound of a spooling turbo.


----------



## cocobolo

Well, it seems that I have another trip to the coast coming up tomorrow. Not specifically work on the car, although I'm sure I will fit some time in for that.

Number 2 son has a ShopSmith dedicated thickness planer which he is donating to the old man. It is the stand alone model which has two separate motors. One for the planer head and one for the feed speed, which is adjustable.

The boys were up here last weekend, and you won't believe what we got done in less than two days.


----------



## cocobolo

I don't know if you remember that old roof off the north side of the house with a less than 1 in 12 slope. It covered what they jokingly used to call the garage. Never ever did actually have a car inside...but now it's rapidly becoming the workshop.

The boys arrived around 2:30 on Friday afternoon, and after Val fed them a hearty lunch we got to work.

First thing to go was the old roof. Just getting started here, and it didn't take terribly long with three of us pounding away at it to kiss it goodbye.


----------



## cocobolo

There was a couple of reasons that the outer portion (about 6 feet or so) had to go.

Firstly, it was serving no useful purpose whatsoever, and secondly, one corner of the roof actually encroached on to department of highways property. Actually, we do have a letter from the D.O.H. acknowledging this and that we have their permission to leave it as is. 

But, knowing how governments act, we thought it better to bring the offending corner to the inside of the property line. This we have now done.

The original encroachment was 1.28 meters, and we have chopped more than 1.8 meters off the roof.

We chose to leave the old roof in place over the workshop to use as the ceiling.


----------



## cocobolo

We cut off the above portion of the original rafters back to the point which the new wall was built under the old roof. 

Forgot to tell you about that. I started it on Friday morning, and the boys helped to finish that before we tackled the roof removal. You can see a part of the new wall below.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's what it looked like from the street at that point. 

Kind of a big hole now between the new workshop wall and the top of the dirt bank.

That is going to need some attention from the mini excavator as soon as I return from Vancouver. Went in to Kamloops today and picked up some dimple board and associated paraphernalia to waterproof the concrete wall with.


----------



## cocobolo

Next up was to figure out the height of the ledger board on the house wall where we would attach the new roof rafters to. Then fix the ledger in place.


----------



## cocobolo

Next I cut the rafters on the top end to a 4/12 pitch and the boys put them in place.

Just about as fast as I could carry a rafter out to the cutting bench and stand them against the overhead walkway, they were able to set them in place.


----------



## cocobolo

Now because the wall of the house isn't exactly straight, likely due to the large quantity of Calona wine that we believe was consumed during the original construction period of this fine mansion, we simply measured from four different places on the wall down the rafters to a common dimension.

Of course, it should go without saying, that the four marks didn't quite line up. Not as bad as what we thought they would be, but not perfect either.

So we used the two end marks, snapped a line down the rafters and laid out vertical lines on each rafter.

Cut them all off and it looked pretty good at this point.


----------



## cocobolo

Next up was the fascia board...had that done in jig time.


----------



## cocobolo

We had a bunch of extra sheets of 19/32" OSB flooring on hand, so we used that for the new roof. 

Talk about nice and solid!


----------



## cocobolo

Surprising how well things go when you have a little help.

It seemed that in no time we were nailing the sheathing in place. Well, I was nailing...the kids these days don't do that any more it seems.

No, they screw everything down with their fancy little cordless screw guns. Quite impressive they are, I must say.


----------



## cocobolo

All that was left now was the roofing felt and the shingles.


----------



## cocobolo

Well, that's about it. Just a couple more shingles to close the top off against the wall.

Please note the exemplary job that I'm doing as chief superintendent. Hey, someone has to hold the chair down! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Then we added the house wrap to keep things somewhat dry.


----------



## cocobolo

Inside view of the workshop wall. A whole lot better than looking at a crumbling dirt bank. 

At least now I have the basis for a workshop, even though it's only 9 feet wide.


----------



## cocobolo

The boys still weren't done, and asked if I needed new wiring done. 

Sure, why not?

So they ran in several duplex outlets on the wall, a new outside outlet (very handy) and 8 lamp holders in the ceiling.

Today I got a slew of LED light bulbs and filled the new ceiling with them. You wouldn't believe how bright a total of just 72 watts of light is when it comes from LED bulbs.

Almost no electrical consumption and it's like daylight in there now. Fabulous! I'll get a pic of the lights in due course.


----------



## drtbk4ever

Awesome to see you and the boys working together on this. Are you going to insulate the walls and ceiling in the "workshop"?


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Bill: Yes, I think we probably will do that.

Because the old roof is still in place, I will need to make some sort of provision to be able to vent that part. I think the simplest solution will be to drill several 2" holes all the way along the plywood right close to the house wall.

Then I can put some R-14 Roxul in the ceiling below the plywood which will still give me a 2" air space above the insulation. Maybe not the best, but certainly a whole lot better than what was there before...i.e. nothing.

The far end of the workshop is still open. I think what is going to happen there is that I will try and extend the new wall and roof right out to the end of the house.

Currently it has that lovely 1 x 4 rafter roof which you may recall I was so fond of when I first arrived here. As much as I still love that roof, I think it's about time it hit the bonfire. :devil3:


----------



## cocobolo

Here's some of the pieces from the old roof.


----------



## cocobolo

Another trip to town for more materials. This time insulation and drywall for the workshop.

Several smaller items as well, getting low on drywall screws, so got another box of those, some mud, an outdoor box to keep stuff in of we ever get some time to lay out down below in the sun. That sort of stuff.


----------



## cocobolo

By the end of that day we had this much insulation in the shop. Doing OK for a couple of old jokes.


----------



## cocobolo

Next day we got the insulation done, and here's the vapour barrier in progress.


----------



## cocobolo

Something that had escaped my attention previously popped up.

It seems that the last 8 feet or so of the old roof, where it attached to the house, had a rather significant slope. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised. After all, there was nothing but air holding up the outboard side if you recall.

So I stuck a 2 x 4 on top of the 12 ton jack and gave it a gentle push.

I will say that the sounds were quite interesting while I was straightening the rafters out, but nothing let go. So I can only assume that it will be fine. 

The roof tilt has now vanished after a short rise of about 3". Certainly nothing out of the ordinary for this castle.


----------



## cocobolo

Getting the drywall done in the shop is a bit of a challenge.

At only 9 feet wide, and with all the stuff that is crammed in there, it is almost impossible to find enough room to lift any sheetrock to the ceiling.

So first things first, we had to move everything over to one side. You would have to actually see everything that is in there to comprehend just what a job this is.

Not the least of which is a 20' long pile of cedar boards.


----------



## cocobolo

By the end of the day we had the first half of the ceiling done, plus the long wall. Some solid progress at long last.


----------



## cocobolo

Made a trip down to Crawford Bay (again) over the weekend.

There was a nice little car up for grabs at the big boom town of Spillimacheen on the way back.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Made a trip down to Crawford Bay (again) over the weekend.
> 
> There was a nice little car up for grabs at the big boom town of Spillimacheen on the way back.


Did you buy it? :biggrin2:


----------



## Windows on Wash

The Eliminator Car was one of my favorites from my childhood growing up.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Did you buy it? :biggrin2:


_Hell Yeah!_


----------



## cocobolo

Windows on Wash said:


> The Eliminator Car was one of my favorites from my childhood growing up.


Only had a chance to see this car once in person. It came to Vancouver many years ago...perhaps in the later 80's - early 90's. Can't remember exactly.


----------



## BigJim

Awwww man, that is awesome buddy. When you get a chance would you post some pictures of inside and especially the motor? I have two favorite cars of all times, the Shelby Cobra and the 33 or 34 Ford Coup, absolutely beautiful cars.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Awwww man, that is awesome buddy. When you get a chance would you post some pictures of inside and especially the motor? I have two favorite cars of all times, the Shelby Cobra and the 33 or 34 Ford Coup, absolutely beautiful cars.


Hi Jim:

Haven't picked the car up yet. We're supposed to meet the seller in Golden tomorrow.

The motor is nothing special, just a slightly warmed over 350/350 Turbo combo. I would much rather it have any of the LS motors and a 700R4 tranny.

There's a big swap meet down at the Abbotsford Tradex at the end of this month so I hope that I can go and find a better tranny. Number 2 son has a 383 stroker with aluminum heads that he's going to donate to the cause. That should liven things up a bit. Not that this one was really built to be a race car.

The story as I have it so far is that it was built several years ago by an old fellow in Ontario somewhere. He passed away and the car was willed to his wife. She had no use for it and sold it to a friend of her late husband. He only bought it to help the lady out. He in turn sold it to the current owner who has only had it for four years. He's only put a hair over 2,000 miles on the car during that time.

All told I think it is has about 42,000 on it.

It does have a few troubles, like all hot rods. The fellow who did the body was obviously very, very good. Not so much in the mechanical department though.

The electric fan pushes the air forward through the rad...ooopsy! The tach runs way higher than engine speed. Gas gauge doesn't work, and with a small size tank I guess I'm going to have to be very careful how far I go between fillups.

I will get those things rectified pronto.

As soon as we get the car home, which we hope will be tomorrow night, I'll get a few more pics.

It takes about 4 1/2 hours each way to Golden from here, so we may not be home before dark. Should be quite the shakedown cruise home.


----------



## Windows on Wash

You can find pretty complete LS drivetrains for cheap....which I know that you know. 

Drop a massaged LS combo in there and she is good to go.


----------



## cocobolo

Windows on Wash said:


> You can find pretty complete LS drivetrains for cheap....which I know that you know.
> 
> Drop a massaged LS combo in there and she is good to go.


Yes, you're right about that.

I already ran across a 6.0 litre LS and tranny over in Kamloops for sale cheap. Apparently it has "some parts" missing, but naturally the ad doesn't say which parts.

You need the full wiring harness with the LS motors, and I'm thinking that simply buying a complete wrecked car and pirating everything might be the way to go.

But in the mean time, the 350 will do, then I'll build the 383. This car is so light that it doesn't take much to boogie it around. The original factory shipping weight was only 2,550 pounds.

The thing I like about the LS engines is that they are so efficient in a light car and get great mileage. Being where we are, that's a real consideration. Particularly with such a small gas tank. The seller thinks it is the same size as the original. I haven't checked on just how big that was yet.


----------



## cocobolo

Fuel tank was originally 15 U.S. gallons, or about 56.7 litres.


----------



## Windows on Wash

+1

By the time you source everything you need, a donor car is not a terrible idea in many cases.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Hi Jim:
> 
> Haven't picked the car up yet. We're supposed to meet the seller in Golden tomorrow.
> 
> The motor is nothing special, just a slightly warmed over 350/350 Turbo combo. I would much rather it have any of the LS motors and a 700R4 tranny.
> 
> There's a big swap meet down at the Abbotsford Tradex at the end of this month so I hope that I can go and find a better tranny. Number 2 son has a 383 stroker with aluminum heads that he's going to donate to the cause. That should liven things up a bit. Not that this one was really built to be a race car.
> 
> The story as I have it so far is that it was built several years ago by an old fellow in Ontario somewhere. He passed away and the car was willed to his wife. She had no use for it and sold it to a friend of her late husband. He only bought it to help the lady out. He in turn sold it to the current owner who has only had it for four years. He's only put a hair over 2,000 miles on the car during that time.
> 
> All told I think it is has about 42,000 on it.
> 
> It does have a few troubles, like all hot rods. The fellow who did the body was obviously very, very good. Not so much in the mechanical department though.
> 
> The electric fan pushes the air forward through the rad...ooopsy! The tach runs way higher than engine speed. Gas gauge doesn't work, and with a small size tank I guess I'm going to have to be very careful how far I go between fillups.
> 
> I will get those things rectified pronto.
> 
> As soon as we get the car home, which we hope will be tomorrow night, I'll get a few more pics.
> 
> It takes about 4 1/2 hours each way to Golden from here, so we may not be home before dark. Should be quite the shakedown cruise home.


Keith, I would be so excited I couldn't sleep. I am not really familiar with the LS engines, I will have to check them out, old timer mechanic ya know. Now that 383 I am very familiar with, that is a mean machine, especially a stroker. I would love to build just one more engine. I am happy for you buddy.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Keith, I would be so excited I couldn't sleep. I am not really familiar with the LS engines, I will have to check them out, old timer mechanic ya know. Now that 383 I am very familiar with, that is a mean machine, especially a stroker. I would love to build just one more engine. I am happy for you buddy.


Jim, the LS series of engines are an entirely different motor than the old small blocks. For one thing, the bottom end has an excellent web system in the crank area which allows the bottom ends to withstand something in the order of 1,000 hp in stock form.

Dead stock they are real torque monsters even before you make any changes.

They made the LS series for something like 17 years, and they have already moved on from that now. So that makes the old small blocks, which everyone and his dog is familiar with, at least 20 years old.

Well, looks like a beautiful day in the making here, so we leave in three hours for Golden.

I'll be taking my camera....and a spare can of fuel!


----------



## Windows on Wash

They can make sick power.

1160 HP on pump gas.


----------



## SPS-1

Not keying the crank pulley to the crank was not one of GM's better ideas. They torque the hell out of the mounting bolt, but I still managed to spin it twice on my old vette. Last I heard, on the washer under the bolt, they put a diamond grit on it to get better grip.


----------



## cocobolo

SPS-1 said:


> Not keying the crank pulley to the crank was not one of GM's better ideas. They torque the hell out of the mounting bolt, but I still managed to spin it twice on my old vette. Last I heard, on the washer under the bolt, they put a diamond grit on it to get better grip.


Hmmmm...didn't know that. Methinks I would get the shaft and balancer both keyed somehow.

Did you have the 6.3 motor?


----------



## SPS-1

I had the 5.7 L, but I think they are all the same mounting.
A few outfits make a retrofit kit for "pinning" the pulley to the crank.


----------



## cocobolo

SPS-1 said:


> I had the 5.7 L, but I think they are all the same mounting.
> A few outfits make a retrofit kit for "pinning" the pulley to the crank.


So would they just drill a hole into the side of the balancer shaft and the crank snout and put in a small bolt?


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Jim, the LS series of engines are an entirely different motor than the old small blocks. For one thing, the bottom end has an excellent web system in the crank area which allows the bottom ends to withstand something in the order of 1,000 hp in stock form.
> 
> Dead stock they are real torque monsters even before you make any changes.
> 
> They made the LS series for something like 17 years, and they have already moved on from that now. So that makes the old small blocks, which everyone and his dog is familiar with, at least 20 years old.
> 
> Well, looks like a beautiful day in the making here, so we leave in three hours for Golden.
> 
> I'll be taking my camera....and a spare can of fuel!


Goood grief, that just blows my mind, man have they come a long way since I was a hot rodder and mechanic back in the 60s. I never would have dreamed it possible to get that much HP out of an engine, especially a stock engine. I appreciate the explanation.


----------



## SPS-1

cocobolo said:


> So would they just drill a hole into the side of the balancer shaft and the crank snout and put in a small bolt?


 I didn't do the retrofit myself, but they give you a bushing as a guide, and you drill from the front. Google "LS Crank Pin Kit"

http://shop.brutespeed.com/ATI-3GSMM-001-GM-LS-Crank-Pinning-Kit-ATI-3GSMM-001.htm


----------



## cocobolo

We met the seller - Keith as it happens - in Golden, outside the insurance office. The transition went smoothly, even if a little expensively. Our lovely Gummint folks burn us 12% tax, even on old cars like this one.

He turns in his old plates for a refund, and I get new ones, along with the mandatory Government insurance.


----------



## cocobolo

This is Keith's young son putting on the new plates for me. A really nice young man, just 12 years old. 

Just like his dad and his grampa, he wants to be a hot rodder when he grows up.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's Keith and I...he's reminding me what all the switches are for under the dash.


----------



## cocobolo

Here we are driving away in the car for the first time. Went straight to a gas station a few blocks away.

No sooner had I stopped to fill up, and the guy in the safety vest asks Val if she will take some pictures of him standing by the car with his cell phone!


----------



## cocobolo

Driving through one of a series of snow sheds in the Rogers Pass area.

................................................................

We had one close call on the drive home. We were getting near Sicamous and I noticed a car coming up behind Val's car at what seemed like a very high rate of speed. 

Since we were on a section of highway that was only a single lane in either direction, I was quite sure he would slow down and not try to pass Val.

No such luck, he went past her car pretty quickly...then I thought surely he will tuck in behind me now because there is a semi approaching us at 60 mph and he's barely 50 yards away. 

No dice, it was two for two, and as soon as I realized that this clown - who was apparently completely devoid of any common sense whatsoever - was going to try and pass me as well, I headed for the shoulder.

The trucker realized that Mr. Hotshot race car driver was going to hit at least one of us, so he headed for the opposite shoulder all the while pulling on his air horn non-stop.

Somehow, the idiot managed to squeeze between both of us. Unfortunately, it all happened so quickly that I didn't get his licence plate. It was an Alberta plate, but that's all I could tell.


----------



## cocobolo

On the way back from Crawford Bay last weekend, we were headed for Spillimacheen to see the hot rod, and we spotted this one for sale. It turned out to be the same year and make as the hot rod...just didn't quite look the same! But the car is essentially complete. He was asking $4,800 for it.


----------



## cocobolo

While we were stopped for gas at Cranbrook, this super nice Vette Z06 pulled in to gas up.

Naturally I just had to go over and have a chat with the owner. It was his 40th birthday present to himself! Must be nice!

This one has the 650 hp supercharged engine.


----------



## cocobolo

Just in case you think that life has been all fun and travel and hot cars, t'ain't so.

Back at the mansion the original kitchen wall containing both the stove and sink is in the process of being removed.

Here, I already have the wall partially dismantled and the first 2 x 12 is being coerced into place.

The plumbing will need to be taken out and relocated in the end wall to the right. 

Val already picked up her new sink, and hopefully that will be installed in the next few days. Today we had to go into Kamloops again to see about getting a knee brace for her.

So, no work on the house, but I did get a new fan for the hot rod!


----------



## cocobolo

Here we have the third 2 x 12 in place. Should be OK, but I'm going to add a fourth board just to make sure. It really isn't carrying that much of a load...but you know me by now, better safe than sorry.

The copper supply lines are coming out and will be replaced in a different spot with Pex.

All the old lines will be renewed and then the sink can be moved to the end wall. Just have to re-do the sink and dishwasher drain then. All this house work is cutting into my car time seriously.


----------



## BigJim

Man that is one beautiful car, it reminded me of a time one like that got stuck in the mud on one of the old country roads back up home. The mule kicked the front fender and left a nice dent in it, that is saying something considering how thick the fenders are.

The taxes on a car are enough to make a person sick, that is some serious bucks.

We had an idiot try to run us off the road here day before yesterday. I don't have a clue why he did that, we didn't cut anyone off or anything. To make it worse he sped past us just missing the front bumper, by what seemed like a foot, got about 30 feet ahead in our lane and slammed on his brakes. 

We are driving a little Toyota 4X4 pulling a 24 foot pontoon boat. I slammed on my brakes and was sliding right at him when he took off at the last second. I couldn't have been more than a couple feet from his rear end. The idiot flipped me off and away he went. Good thing he didn't stop. This world is getting crazier all the time. I am glad you are safe and that idiot didn't mess your car up.


----------



## cocobolo

I tell you Jim, it's getting worse on the road every day.

Well, next thing is the heat pump fellow is now due to be here this coming Sunday. It has been an 8 month wait, so I hope there are no further delays.

In the mean time, I will be trying to level off a piece of ground down near the shed so we can put up a temporary car shelter. I think the car will go in the proper shop, and the excavator and garden tools will go in the temporary shelter.

Since we have 6 days of intermittent rain in the immediate forecast, I'm just not sure when I can get this done. With a little co-operation from the weather gods, I'll try to start this morning.


----------



## 123pugsy

Nice ride Keith. :vs_karate:


----------



## Windows on Wash

+1

Very good looking indeed.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Nice ride Keith. :vs_karate:


Thanks pugsy. There's a few things that need looking into, but nothing too major.

Looks like I am going to be swamped with working on the house for at least the next 4 days, so no fixing on the car just yet.

Off again this afternoon to Kamloops to pick up a new stove and some windows. Yet another late night in the offing.


----------



## cocobolo

We picked up the new induction top stove from Sears no problem, but the House of Pot didn't have the promised windows. Apparently there is going to be a three week delay while they are ordered.

But I was very fortunate in being able to find a sheet of aluminum which I will use to make a fan shroud for the hot rod. Then went by KMS Tools and got a throatless sheer to do the cutting. Couldn't find my pop riveter anywhere, so I picked up another one of those. That means that I will find my other one almost right away...never fails. :sad:


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> We picked up the new induction top stove from Sears no problem, but the House of Pot didn't have the promised windows. Apparently there is going to be a three week delay while they are ordered.
> 
> But I was very fortunate in being able to find a sheet of aluminum which I will use to make a fan shroud for the hot rod. Then went by KMS Tools and got a throatless sheer to do the cutting. Couldn't find my pop riveter anywhere, so I picked up another one of those. That means that I will find my other one almost right away...never fails. :sad:


Ya, as soon as you toss the packaging.


----------



## cocobolo

Yep, that's pretty much what's bound to happen! :devil3:


----------



## cocobolo

A heads up for Canadian customers of H.D.

We tried to order the windows we need directly from the store, but the fellow called us back saying that we could not get the windows delivered to the Kamloops store, so we would have to take whatever they had. Well, thank you but no thank you.

If you order the windows online the price is WAY cheaper. Not just by $10 or $15 a window, but - get this - $80 a window less, and these were only inexpensive windows in the first place.

Evidently, they are trying to get the customers to order online, and are giving considerable savings for doing so. Not only that, but the four windows we ordered, are being delivered right to the house at no extra charge!


----------



## gregthompson

This is an awesome thread. Looking good!


----------



## cocobolo

gregthompson said:


> This is an awesome thread. Looking good!


Thank you.

Hah! Just wait 'til we get going! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Today was the day the heat pump guys were going to come up from Vancouver and do the hookups for us.

One more delay, but this time just until tomorrow...or so they say. Time to send out a posse if they don't arrive tomorrow.

Had a little excitement yesterday with the excavator. One of the tracks came off the machine. When we bought it, the fellow did say that a track will come off once in awhile, usually when a rock gets caught in the track and pushes it off sideways. He made it sound like it took two minutes to fix it. Well, not when it's the first time.

Did a quick check on youtube and it seems it's a common thing. Jack up one side of the machine, let the pressure out of the tensioner, put the track back in place and pump the tensioner full of grease and that's it.

They kind of gloss over the part about it taking two people to be able to get the track back in the right spot. But fortunately, just a few days ago I had bought a really nice 3 foot long prybar from KMS in Kamloops. Those tracks are really heavy. I had no idea just how heavy until I started to try and move this one. I see they are smart on the videos, and most people use a forklift to get the tracks back in place!


----------



## cocobolo

When we were down in Vancouver last trip, we went looking at new kitchens. Jeez, they don't do these things cheaply do they? My first house cost me way less than a small truckload of new cabinets! :surprise:

However, before we get around to taking that plunge, we decided to take the momentous step of getting the old kitchen floor leveled out. If you've read this far, you'll be well aware that nothing in this place is level, square or plumb. So you aren't going to be the least bit surprised as to how far the floor is out of level in the kitchen and old family room.

I had previously fixed the floor just inside the new kitchen entry door, so that part was OK. From there we had a minor ski hill and that's where the fun really started.

I started this process by adding a new layer of 19/32" OSB over the first part, more or less to give me something to butt up against.

From there, I drew a grid of squares on 12" centres and then used the laser level to make a note of how much the fall was at each 12" intersection. That took a little while as there were something in the order of 300 measurements to take.

From there, I marked 2 x 4's every 12" with the appropriate amount of fall. Then cut them and screwed them in place. In theory, this would give me some level backing to screw the new subfloor to.


----------



## cocobolo

Having to work in an area which is still full of things like a woodstove, old cabinets, old oven, the original cast iron cookstove and the like, doesn't make for easy going.

So I took out the woodstove and cast iron stove. They are still sitting outside in the carport. Not sure if we will re-install the woodstove or not with the new heat pump system in place.

You can see here just what was involved, and we are up to where the sink was until just a few days ago.


----------



## cocobolo

The old plumbing under the sink was a typical mish mash of a disaster which had been added to over the years, so that would need to be changed.

The beautiful plywood would need to come off the end wall, and the plumbing wall to the left wouldn't be needed any more. And lastly the valence at top right will have to be removed in order to run the lines for the air handler going in upstairs.


----------



## cocobolo

From time to time I had to cut away numerous old nails as we were going through the dismantling process. Nice spark show here!


----------



## cocobolo

Forgive me for getting way out of order here, but I'm picking out pics as they appear in order on the 'puter.

The above work was done before we made the trip down to Crawford Bay.

Somewhere on the way back we were on a 60 mph highway when this goat came trotting over the road. It was obviously tame, as the lady owner was frantically calling it to get off the road before it got into an argument with a vehicle. We had to stop pretty quickly, but no damage done. Val couldn't resist getting a pic.


----------



## cocobolo

I had never been on the highway between Cranbrook and Golden before. It is way over on the east side of our province. The headwaters of the Columbia river are here.


----------



## cocobolo

We hadn't got far past Columbia Lake when we spotted these two cabovers coming towards us. Not one, but two! Not many of these guys around, especially restored like these.


----------



## cocobolo

By now you know that the old plumbing wall is gone and that it has been replaced by a new beam.

Looks like I am sleepwalking here taking part of the old wall out.

The way I had to do the new beam was to put a 2 x 12 up against the old wall on one side supporting it with new framing at each end and a couple of house jacks.

Then get rid of the old wall so there was room to add the additional 2 x 12's.

Then take out the original top plate and go from there.


----------



## cocobolo

With the anticipated visit from the heat pump guys, I needed to get the floor level fixed where one of the air handlers was going. So that came next. Same process as before, except that this time the floor was so far out of whack that 2 x 4's weren't big enough and I had to go to 2 x 6's to gain enough height. Sheesh!


----------



## cocobolo

With the sink out and new OSB down where it was needed, I was able to move the old sink against the end wall.

This is only TEMPORARY mind you! Right, I guess we'll see just how long "temporary" is going to be.

There wasn't a lot of choice as to how the plumbing had to be fixed. The original supply looks like it may be galvanized pipe. I dare not touch the old shutoff for fear of doing damage. In any event, if we need the water turned off at the street, that has to be done by the local district morons. Good thing they only charge $80 to turn it off and another $80 to turn it back on again.

Maybe that's why there was a tool left here by the previous owner for dong just that. I wonder why?


----------



## BigJim

Good grief, $80 just to shut the water off, that is just crazy. I would sure hate it if it needed to be turned off because of a busted pipe, that could cause some serious damage before they got there. I bet you have a few shut offs so you don't have to call them folks.

That picture of the river and mountains looks like a post card picture, it is beautiful.


----------



## jimn

No shut off in the house? You really should have a shut off valve where the water line enters the house.


----------



## cocobolo

jimn01 said:


> No shut off in the house? You really should have a shut off valve where the water line enters the house.


Yes, the big ugly valve in the kitchen floor is the interior house shutoff.

But if I had to replace it, then - in theory anyway - I am supposed to call the local district to turn the water off at the street. Chances of that happening would be pretty low.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Yes, the big ugly valve in the kitchen floor is the interior house shutoff.
> 
> But if I had to replace it, then - in theory anyway - I am supposed to call the local district to turn the water off at the street. Chances of that happening would be pretty low.


I would be turning it off myself also, that is probably why they charge so much, so the owners will shut it off them selves and not call them out to do it.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I would be turning it off myself also, that is probably why they charge so much, so the owners will shut it off them selves and not call them out to do it.


The way this district operates Jim, is that they try to gouge you out of as much money as possible for anything, no matter what it is.

When they installed the new water system, there was supposed to be no charge for connecting up.

That didn't last long...now they want $2,000.00 just to connect. Plus $700 a year for the water use, plus another $500 a year to pay for the system. So what that boils down to is a cost of $3,200 for the first year of water use.


----------



## BigJim

:vs_shocked: Good grief Keith, that is just robbery, and I was complaining because they split the water and sewer bill and it combined costs us about $35 a month. $266 a month for water is just absolutely crazy. I sure hate it for you buddy.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> :vs_shocked: Good grief Keith, that is just robbery, and I was complaining because they split the water and sewer bill and it combined costs us about $35 a month. $266 a month for water is just absolutely crazy. I sure hate it for you buddy.


We are fortunate in that this house has had the water connected for many years Jim. But since the new system is in place, the bill is $1,200.00 every year. And that is regardless of how little we may use.


----------



## BigJim

At least that beats $266 a month, but still $100 a month is pretty stiff, I really hate that for you Keith.


----------



## cocobolo

Trying to catch up on my posts here...Wayne & John did arrive on Monday morning from Vancouver to install the lines and wiring for the heat pump and air handlers.

John started with the biggest unit first. Here we are running the lines out through the wall to the pump.


----------



## cocobolo

Because we had to run the lines over the new beam in the kitchen, it made the actual connection of the lines a bit more difficult. John had to do the hookup right behind the board that I had made for the air handler. 

So Wayne and I had to hang on to the unit while the connections were done. Apparently you cannot have a loop in the lines where they exit the air handler. Anyway, it worked out fine in the end.


----------



## cocobolo

The next one was in the family room.

No problems here as I had just about everything ready to go. Pulling the lines for this one was easy with three sets of hands to do the job.

I'm drilling the holes for the drain line. I have a dishwasher fitting which will go into the washing machine drain line. Then the plastic line from the air handler simply pushes on to that.


----------



## cocobolo

I would like to bring to your attention the exemplary job if supervising that I am doing here. Please be advised that this takes many years of experience to perform correctly! :vs_cool:

John is starting to connect the lines to the heat pump. He took the time to cut and reflare all the ends of the lines.


----------



## cocobolo

All the gas lines are in here...next up the electrical.


----------



## cocobolo

The power has been run to all the units (220 V) and the system is being charged.


----------



## cocobolo

There's a fair amount of wiring inside these units. This one will handle four separate air handlers, which is what we have here for the four separate zones.

John explained the easy way to wire these up so it really isn't difficult. Just need to make sure that the right wires go to the right unit inside. So we colour coded each of the wires to match the inside unit.

Once the system was charged and John started the test, the 30 amp GFCI blew with draw of only 8 amps. Say what?

So we tested it again...same thing. It blew at a draw of only 8 amps. Obviously something was wrong. So John double checked all the wiring connections and all appeared to be OK.

So I switched the wiring from the 30 amp GFCI in the panel to the 30 amp breaker for the dryer. Problem solved. It seems the $240 GFCI breaker was no good, and they won't give you a refund on electrical parts. SOB's.

I'm very impressed with how quiet the heat pump is and how well it works.


----------



## cocobolo

The kitchen wall behind the heat pump, which faces south, needs to be rebuilt with different windows. Unfortunately I will have to wait until the windows arrive before that can be done.

We did spend an entire day removing more of the electrical mess in the kitchen ceiling, which included 7 fluorescent lights, four of which actually worked. We are going down to just four much smaller LED fixtures. Only one in stock at H.D. so again we are on the waiting list. Added lamp holders in the new boxes until after the drywall is done.

There will be under cabinet lighting as well, so we hope that four small LED's will be sufficient.

Amazon says our vent for the new range will be here June 1st. It's a wall mount, so even that can't be put in until after the new windows are installed and we know exactly where the range will sit.

In the mean time I'm off to the coast this morning for the big Tradex swap meet at Abbotsford. I'll be looking for some bits and pieces for the '33. A couple of days away from this construction mess will be a pleasant change. I'm sure my boys will be only too happy to help me spend some money there!


----------



## Mort

Not to derail the thread, but I saw a pickup in town the other day with a Shuswap Contracting (or something like that) decal on it, made me think of this thread.


----------



## cocobolo

Mort said:


> Not to derail the thread, but I saw a pickup in town the other day with a Shuswap Contracting (or something like that) decal on it, made me think of this thread.


Hi Mort: This thread has been off the rails for so long there's not much you could do to take it any further off!

Just arrived at Abbotsford and should be at Tradex very shortly.


----------



## BigJim

Be safe Keith, hopefully you will have some pictures of all the goodies. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Be safe Keith, hopefully you will have some pictures of all the goodies. :smile:


Not quite what I expected at Tradex, but I did score a few parts for the car.

My friend Al gave me a new side mirror for the drivers side, so I needed a similar one for the passengers side. The ones that are on the car are beyond useless and are far too modern looking, what I wanted was the "peep" style.

Found one of those. Also got a much better electric fan for $25, so that should help. Picked up an HEI distributor which will improve the spark I'm sure.

Ran across a nice chrome water pump so picked that up. Plus there's a good chance that I might end up with a set of aluminum 2.02 heads.

We looked for a good intake manifold, but although there must have been 50 of them there, nobody had what we wanted.

With all that I will definitely need to pull the motor and do a complete rebuild. 

Likely won't get that done this year as I'd like to try and drive the car for the summer. So it looks like I will be fixing the necessary stuff first, then doing a new engine.


----------



## cocobolo

Arrived back home late last night after the long drive from the coast. It never seems to get any shorter, that's for sure.

Busy here today inside (it's raining again...) doing some more of the floor levelling. OMG, but that is a boring job.

Well, it looks like we are going to rebuild the 383 that number 2 son has on hand for the '33.

For those of you who are unenlightened, a 383 SBC is basically a 350 with a 400 crank and a .030 overbore.

During our research, we uncovered the fact that the 383's cannot be internally balanced (using a stock 400 crank) and require a flex plate with a counterweight on one side. So off we go to MoPac and get said plate. Along with a new HEI, MSD high tension leads and a couple of minor chrome goodies.

Then we started checking out the 383, and it seems that this engine does not have a GM crank, but rather a forged steel Eagle crankshaft, which IS internally balanced. You can imagine how much that upset us...NOT!!! 

However, we also discovered that some overly intelligent imbecile had done some clearance work on almost all of the rods with a GRINDER!

But, once again we lucked out. Craigslist had a local ad for a set of Scat rods for the motor, brand new in the box...half price. So we hightailed it over to the seller's house and relieved him of the burden of having to wait for someone else to hand over the pittance that he was asking.

Now we will need pistons. And while there are dozens of sets available everywhere you look, we are going to need a piston with a particular volume of dish in it to keep the compression ratio down to around 10 to 1. I would rather be able to run regular gas (this isn't exactly a race car you know) to keep the cost of travel down to a dull roar. Our problem revolves around the aluminum heads which have a chamber volume of only 62 cc's. That's pretty small.

We have found two manufacturers who make the appropriate piston, but both are out of the U.S. and with your holiday, we can't find out if they are actually available until this coming Tuesday.

I did look for a 700R4 at Tradex, but came up blank. But once again, it was Craigslist to the rescue. We found a listing, but the clever owner neglected to post his contact information...so we are waiting for CL to get that straightened out.

So it looks like between the house and the car there isn't going to be too much time to be laying around and goofing off! :smile:


----------



## BigJim

When you said 383 I naturally thought of Mopar, didn't know you were talking GM. Looks like things are falling in place for you though, Can't wait to see the engine.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> When you said 383 I naturally thought of Mopar, didn't know you were talking GM. Looks like things are falling in place for you though, Can't wait to see the engine.


Jim, surely you would know I wouldn't use anything but Chevy power to make something go. Utilitarian vehicles OK, doesn't matter what it is.

Didn't have enough common sense to take any pics of the 383. Next trip I go down I'll be sure to get some. It may be going to the machine shop to get the block very slightly surfaced. It has already been done before and they didn't leave any room for piston to deck clearance, absolutely nothing. Which means we will have to find a thick metal head gasket. There really should be .040 between the top of the piston and the head, maybe .035 in a pinch.

Maybe when the machinist checks the block surface we could be lucky. If it's still dead flat we can leave it alone. I think the motor is bored .030 as it sits now, so we have .010 left and that's about it.

But one good thing is that it's the high nickel content metal, so it moves far less than the standard iron blocks. Have my fingers crossed.


----------



## BigJim

In my hot rod days, I had 99% Chevy and some GM and a couple Mopars, some Ford trucks. One of my favorite cars was a 1970 Formula Firebird 400. I mostly had 55 56 Chevys though, one was a 56 Nomad, loved that car.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> In my hot rod days, I had 99% Chevy and some GM and a couple Mopars, some Ford trucks. One of my favorite cars was a 1970 Formula Firebird 400. I mostly had 55 56 Chevys though, one was a 56 Nomad, loved that car.


What a pity that you still don't have that Nomad Jim. You could retire a rich man!


----------



## cocobolo

Down in Vancouver the boys had mounted one of their race cars on a rotisserie. Wish I'd had one of these back in my hot rodding days. Sure does make things very easy to get at.

They had the body blasted and number 1 son is starting on all the little repairs getting it ready for paint.


----------



## cocobolo

The boys have the body about as far apart as you can get I think.

Number 1 son is the bodyman and here has already put some primer on these parts, has the panels semi-straight and is spraying a clear epoxy coat.

They haven't decided on the colour of the car yet. That needs to be done before these panels are mounted back on the car. Or so I'm told. What do I know?


----------



## BigJim

Wow your sons are serious about working on cars. Man that is some fine tools they have.


----------



## Windows on Wash

+1

These fellas are serious. Love the car content that is coming along in this thread.


----------



## 123pugsy

Windows on Wash said:


> +1
> 
> These fellas are serious. Love the car content that is coming along in this thread.


+2..........hot rod stuff....oh yeah.....


----------



## cocobolo

Windows on Wash said:


> +1
> 
> These fellas are serious. Love the car content that is coming along in this thread.


I expect there will be more to come.

Not sure how long all the body work is going to take to complete, as number 1 son has a reno and deck building business that he runs on top of all this.

I have very little info on the power train that's going in the car except that it's a 568 CI big block. No other details yet. Number 2 son is the engine wizard, and he's expecting in the vicinity of 860 horsepower from the motor.

Should be a fun ride! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the floor levelling proceeds slowly. I'm using a slightly different method to scribe and cut the sleepers on the second side, and it does seem to be a little quicker.

First I cut the sleeper to length from a 2 x 6. Set it on the floor and get it dead level. I use a flashlight to make the bubble crystal clear. Then using two measurements I make up a scribe from a short piece of 2 x 2 with a hole drilled at the height of the scribe mark off the floor. Run that down the length of the 2 x 6 and this gives me a very accurate line for cutting.

Regardless that it's faster than the earlier system, it still is very time consuming.


----------



## cocobolo

I'm putting down enough sleepers for an 8' run at a time. The sleepers are on 12" centers - probably closer than I really need - but it is making for a very stiff subfloor.


----------



## cocobolo

I drill down into the sleepers with a 3/8" bit to within about 1 1/2" of the original floor. Then run a 3" construction screw through to keep things in place.

Where the center support wall is I am also notching around the studs and any other protrusions.

At the end of the day we only managed 5 sheets down...5 more to go and we are finished this part of the job. I told you it was slow.

However, there is an exterior steel door which is going to interfere with the elevated floor. If it was wood I could just cut it off, but this one is going to need to be raised somehow. Something tells me that it's not going to be easy doing that.


----------



## BigJim

Keith. I feel your pain, that is the way I had to do our kitchen floor also but it is solid as a rock now. Isn't that a new saber saw you got?


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Keith. I feel your pain, that is the way I had to do our kitchen floor also but it is solid as a rock now. Isn't that a new saber saw you got?


I think I have three of the Bosch jigsaws now Jim. This one has the easiest blade change I've ever seen.

You just push a tiny lever by the blade, pop out the old one, pop in the new one and that's it...done! Couldn't be easier.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> I think I have three of the Bosch jigsaws now Jim. This one has the easiest blade change I've ever seen.
> 
> You just push a tiny lever by the blade, pop out the old one, pop in the new one and that's it...done! Couldn't be easier.


My old Bosch is just about wore out I will check the new ones out. :thumbsup:


----------



## asevereid

The place is looking great Keith. 
Are you going to hit the car show in Kamloops in August?


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> My old Bosch is just about wore out I will check the new ones out. :thumbsup:


Jim, this latest Bosch jigsaw that I have is a model JS260. Got it from KMS Tools (a local brick and mortar tool store) for $70 on sale. You'll likely pay less in the States. Although in their catalogue for this month I see it is up to $80 now.

If I remember, I paid $200 for my first Bosch jigsaw, and it didn't have the features that the new ones have. That had to be more than 30 years ago.

I use my jigsaws ALL the time, so I wouldn't ever just get down to a single unit.


----------



## cocobolo

asevereid said:


> The place is looking great Keith.
> Are you going to hit the car show in Kamloops in August?


As long as the planets all line up and the sky hasn't fallen in - something that is a distinct possibility around here - I should be there. Not necessarily as a participant, although I will try and take the '33.

I have the wrong-way fan running the right way now, and today I did find a couple more things to fix the car with.

The overheating problem was extremely serious, to say the least. I think it was a combination of several smaller things. The wrong-way fan being the biggest trouble. Then both the rad hoses are less than perfect. The top one has unnecessary bends and the lower one has such a tight turn that it has partially collapsed. It is also possible that the water pump is the original one.

I was able to find a new upper hose, but no luck on the lower. 

I have no way of knowing just what was done to the engine or how long ago it was done. Everything points to the car being built perhaps 25+ years ago. The motor was likely used then so it could have high miles on it by now.

With the oil pressure being only 10 pounds at hot idle, I know that the bearings are practically toast. It's fine on the highway, and the temp stays at 180º all the time the car is rolling.

Over the next day or three I will change the water pump, upper rad hose and water neck. Additionally I will need to do something about the throttle, which barely works at all. Most likely have to design something new for that and weld it up.

It will get a new HEI and MSD wires.

There's other stuff that needs fixing, but this will keep me out of trouble for awhile! :devil3:


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Jim, this latest Bosch jigsaw that I have is a model JS260. Got it from KMS Tools (a local brick and mortar tool store) for $70 on sale. You'll likely pay less in the States. Although in their catalogue for this month I see it is up to $80 now.
> 
> If I remember, I paid $200 for my first Bosch jigsaw, and it didn't have the features that the new ones have. That had to be more than 30 years ago.
> 
> I use my jigsaws ALL the time, so I wouldn't ever just get down to a single unit.


I just checked and Amazon has that saw for $72 free shipping, that is a really good deal. I have had my saw for about 30 or so years also. What sold me on that saw was the salesman was demonstrating it. He had a 1X8 spruce and turned the saw on and jammed the blade straight through the board without breaking the blade. I bought one on the spot, I really like that saw.

On your engine, with 10 pounds of pressure, you are right the bearing have a lot of slop, I would bet they are all down to brass. That is one sharp looking car though.


----------



## cocobolo

Hard to believe how much has happened since my last post!

We tackled the door raising project, and exactly as suspected, it did take a little time.

Hopefully, the photos will be self explanatory.

Basically, I pulled all the fasteners holding the door in place, and there were quite a few of those. Knocked the door out of the hole, cut about 1 1/2" off the header, replaced the door at the new elevated height, and then had Val spray foam all the spaces around the door jamb.

I promised her I wouldn't tell you about how much foam she managed to get on her skin, so I won't. That stuff just doesn't want to come off at all. Next time she will wear disposable gloves, that's for sure.


----------



## cocobolo

It looks like we have decided that the '33 will live in the carport for the summer, while I work on it.

That means that just about everything that has come out of the house and currently being stored there will have to go.

About the most problematic item was the old cast iron stove which was apparently in use here for many, many years.

So, in hopes that someone could put it to good use, we put it up on the side of the road hoping that it would find a new home.

I had to use the mini-excavator to do the moving - that old sucker is HEAVY!

We didn't even have it sitting on the ground when someone stopped to ask what we were doing with the stove. Val says we are looking for a good home for it. So the fellow says he would love to have it!

Turns out that he is building a home over at Celista, just a short hop away from here. He is off grid and cannot use an electric stove.

Since he already had a load onboard, he went home, unloaded and came right back and we loaded the stove on his pickup. Done deal!


----------



## cocobolo

Even though we are still awaiting delivery of some new windows, we decided that we might as well get the new kitchen design organized and the cabinets ordered.

So, it was another hasty trip to Vancouver, where we spent over 5 hours at IKEA picking out the new kitchen. I must say I was very impressed with the setup they have there and the helpful staff.

We arrived there at 9:30, and at 2:45 we were on our way back with all the cabinets loaded up for the main kitchen area. They had every single piece that we asked for in stock. Good thing we took both vehicles, as we couldn't have got it all in one...close, but no cigar.

We still will need the countertops, and another row of cabinets where Val wants to store all her china. Forgot to get a pic with the van loaded right up, but here's 2/3 of a kitchen.


----------



## cocobolo

No sooner had we got back from the coast when our friend Al asked if we would like to go to the Logan Lake swap meet on Saturday. Sure, why not?

We would attempt to take the '33 on this trip and hope for the best. It would give me a chance to try and find out a bit more about what was wrong with the car. So we left at 7 am and drove in tandem with Al and his shoebox Ford.

Here's a few pics from the swap meet. Unbeknownst to me they also had a show and shine there. So when we arrived we were invited to park on the grassy area with a number of other cars.

The photos are of Al's shoebox, a ratrod Dodge, about '33 or '34 vintage (I'm guessing). the '33, two of a gorgeous '34 Chevy Master which the owner has just finished...383 Chevy, blower, two fours, Flaming River steering...the list goes on...and a Chevy sedan, around '52 vintage. Correct me on the years if you guys are more familiar with the mid vintage iron than I am.


----------



## cocobolo

I had already reversed the fan rotation, so the overheating problem on the '33 wasn't as pronounced as earlier. It is still there, just not as bad.

There is also a vibration that comes in around 60 mph, and I am hoping that this is bad U-joints on the driveshaft. Time will tell.

I don't like the seat height, so that will need to be changed. And the parking brake seems to have little or no effect, so either a major adjustment, or new rear shoes.

I did try a temporary fix on the gas pedal - which only opened the carb about 1/4 of the way when I got the car. Al was kind enough to stop on the highway when we got past the blasting area near Chase to check up on us.

So since it was a nice straight stretch of brand new blacktop, I gave it a bit of juice and we got nice chirpies in second and third. Much better than before.

Here's a few random shots from Logan Lake.


----------



## cocobolo

Now that I have identified a number of "fixes" that need attending to, I decided that I needed some sort of more or less permanent way to get the car high enough to be able to work on the underside.

So, to that end, I have cobbled together a set of ramps which seem to be doing the job quite nicely. I hope that it will be time well spent. The ramps are portable, although it does take both of us to move each of the four sections.


----------



## cocobolo

I scrambled under the car last night and found the problem with the parking brake.

The rear shoes were nowhere near in adjustment, so I fixed that, plus the cable was loose and wouldn't pull on the brakes properly, fixed that too.

Pulled the driveshaft out, and unfortunately, the U-joints seem to be OK. I could be wrong about that however, because they are the old type that need lubricating. There is no evidence whatsoever that they have ever seen a grease gun. They will get replaced anyway.

When I was chatting with the owner of the '34 Master, he told me of a shop in North Kamloops that can balance a driveshaft. Naturally I have forgotten the name, and neither was I bright enough to get the car owners' name.

I do know that he did the wiring on a garage for a friend of mine at Heffley Creek, so I will try to track him down that way. Gotta remember to take a notepad and writing stick with me next time...sheesh!


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday, I committed us for a drive down to the coast with the 2016 Canadian Hot Rod Tour. It starts in Ontario and goes all the way to Victoria on Vancouver Island. We will only make the drive from Kamloops to Langley, going via the old Highway 1.

I envy those brave souls who are going to try and make the entire trip, both ways no less!

That means that I have no choice but to get everything fixed properly so that the old gal has some degree of reliability. Time has a way of creeping up on all of us, so along with everything that needs doing at the house, I will need to find some more time to play....er, sorry, WORK on the car.

It doesn't happen until July 21, so there is some time yet. Over 100 cars registered for the tour, so I will have to make sure the battery in the camera is well charged up. The organizers have also added a banquet on the evening of the 20th at Kamloops...the only such dinner to be held anywhere across Canada. Looking forward to that!

OK, back to work on the house now.


----------



## BigJim

Awwww man, I am drooling on my keyboard looking at all the beautiful cars. Kinda funny though, I have at one time or the other owned quite a few of the cars and trucks there. I wish I had a couple of them now.

Thanks for posting the pictures for us Keith.

I bet the fellow who got the old wood cook stove was one happy dude, I sure would have been. Food always seemed to taste so much better cooked on a wood cook stove.


----------



## cocobolo

Tried posting more photos yesterday with my ancient iMac desktop, but it is so cluttered up with junk that it decided to take the day off. Spent nearly 9 hours trying to clean out some of the garbage. Removed 36,000+ photos to an external drive, still over 14,000 left, so you know how much space that took up. Almost 200 gigs in photos alone...not to mention everything else that's on there.

Bear with me until I get at least another 50 gigs of "stuff" cleaned out and then we'll get back at it.

Went in to Kamloops yesterday for a few things. Picked up a 12 ton shop press, a few packages of new wrenches, Val got me a nice new tool box and some STP ( Stop That Pounding) to throw in the old 350 in the '33. I just hope it lasts until we get the new motor done.


----------



## cocobolo

Messed around a bit more with the 'puter this morning and got rid of some more junk. Amazing how much accumulates over a period of nearly 9 years. Much better now and we should be back with more photos as soon as there is something worth showing.

I was chatting with a neighbour about the out of balance driveshaft, at least that's what I hope it is, and he told me about a similar experience which turned out to be dirt caught up on the inside of his rims. He cleaned all the rims and the problem went away.

I have the driveshaft out and it almost looks as though someone has spray painted over some dirt. I'm not 100% positive about that, but tomorrow I'm going to take a wire wheel on the grinder to the driveshaft and see what happens. Not much is likely to surprise me on this car any more.


----------



## cocobolo

After giving the driveshaft a cursory clean, it turned out that what I found was a very pitted shaft, along with a noticeable dent in one end.

Took it in to Magnum Machine in Kamloops this morning and had a chat with one of their experts.

He concurred with me that the dent would undoubtedly be a cause of vibration. Plus he noted that the U-joint bearings did have internal wear. He recommended a new driveshaft, especially considering that the car is likely to end up with a new 383 in the not too distant future. So that's what he's going to do.


----------



## jlhaslip

Hey Cocobolo.
Good to see you still out and about causing some interest here on the Forum.
I also see there have been some changes for you. No longer on the Coast and all that.
I am in Alberta now and not in Golden town.

Good to see you again.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Hey Cocobolo.
> Good to see you still out and about causing some interest here on the Forum.
> I also see there have been some changes for you. No longer on the Coast and all that.
> I am in Alberta now and not in Golden town.
> 
> Good to see you again.


Hey there j...thanks for the note.

Yep, life is very different for me these days, and although I am insanely busy, I've never been happier.

You know what it's like when you're redoing a house, always one problem or another. We have been waiting for some windows which were supposed to be here on May 28th. Still not here and now we are told that it will be yet another week before they arrive. Had a similar problem with the LED ceiling lights. We were finally able to pick them up today, but that was a relatively minor issue.

This window delay is preventing me from re-building the kitchen wall, which of course means I can't do the wiring or the drywall, or mount the range hood or anything else.

We did have a chat with HD this morning about the windows, and they were good enough to offer us a $100 in store credit, which of course Val accepted. It doesn't fix the delay, but it does ease the pain. It wouldn't have been quite so bad, except for the fact that HD listed these windows as being "in stock" when we ordered them. We found out today that two of the four are no longer available.

The bright side to these delays is that I get to mess around with the '33. Several good ideas coming from the guys on our Canadian Rodder site. I still have 5 weeks to get the problems sorted out on the car before we make the trip to the coast along with another BIG group of cars.


----------



## cocobolo

At long last the entire floor area downstairs has been leveled up. What a chore! Certainly glad to see the end of that.


----------



## cocobolo

In one of her generous moods a couple of days ago, Val gave me a new tool box. When I opened the cardboard box, it was discovered that the tool box had suffered a heavy impact. The front was out of square by some 1 1/2".

You may be able to see that the drawer sides don't appear to be square with the frame, and you would be right!

Since it is a fair bit of work to return anything from here to Kamloops, I decided to try and fix the damage. Or at least, get the drawers opening properly again.

I thought of a couple of ideas, the first one being to use a bar clamp across the long diagonal measurement. That helped about 1/2" only. It just didn't have the strength to be able to exert enough force to bring the carcass back into square.

So then I cut a piece of 2 x 4 and used Bertha to put considerably more force to square things up. I got it to within 1/8" now and that's going to be good enough. Bertha is a nice 3 foot long prybar, which has seen lots of use since we got it about a month ago.


----------



## cocobolo

Have you noticed that almost every tool you buy these days comes as a collection of parts?  And you have to spend time trying to decipher the language that the instructions come in?

This one wasn't too bad, all pretty obvious what needed to be assembled.

Now I have a 12 ton shop press for things like driveshaft U-joints and piston pins.


----------



## cocobolo

We have decided that I can take a few days to do some work on the car, as the windows - which are causing much delay for us - won't be here for another week or so.

There are several things that I'm going to try and fix if we are to make the Hot Rod Tour with the gang down to the coast in July.

The driveshaft is being attended to already, and the next big item is the overheating problem.

There is no extra room to get at anything in front of the engine, so I have started by removing the side curtains. Now usually, these are attached to the top of the hood and simply fold up accordian style, as they did on my '35 Chevy. But the builder of this car has them fixed solidly in place with a series of Allen bolts. Quite easily removed without bloodshed.


----------



## cocobolo

Just for fun, I pulled out the two back spark plugs on the drivers' side.

Judging by their appearance, my best guess is that they were replaced sometime in the 1900's. In other words, not in this century.


----------



## cocobolo

The business at hand is to fix the overheating, and this is the fan which I picked up at the Tradex swap meet in Abbotsford a few weeks back.

From what I can see, this fan is considerably thicker than the one in place now. Therefore, if it is to fit in any way, either the rad will need to be moved forward, or I will have to mount this fan in front and convert it to a pusher.

I'm finding things out as I go, as nothing is obvious, nor has the original method of assembly revealed itself as yet.

I reversed the fan around to see if it was possible (yes) and now it will be a simple matter of wiring it up in reverse, should it fit in front of the rad.


----------



## cocobolo

It was my intention to get the radiator drained of coolant today, if nothing else. Normally a 5 minute job, this one managed to consume almost 4 hours what with all the bits and pieces that had to come off.

I did ask the seller when he last changed the coolant. Last fall sez he. I see, so that would be why I had to use a hammer a cold chisel to knock the drain cock loose would it? The coolant did appear to be OK, however.

Just like I asked when the oil was changed. Last fall, sez he. Maybe, but the oil filter is at least 5 years old if it's a day. But the oil is clean. I think that comes from only driving the car 2,000 miles in the last four years.

There are so many minor items which need attention. One of them is the alternator bracket which, for whatever reason, has seven washers being pressed into use as spacers. Why not just fix the bracket?


----------



## cocobolo

Among the several things which made the car awkward to drive, was the height of the brake pedal.

I should mention that the original gas pedal was only about an inch off the floor, which exaggerated the height difference between the two pedals.

I unbolted the brake pedal, drilled a new hole in the shaft, and this enabled me to lower the pedal height by 1 1/8". That should help. We'll get to the gas pedal another day.


----------



## cocobolo

This is the upper rad hose. Or what was left of it. Yes, the black electricians tape was wrapped around both the top and bottom of the hose. I think it has seen better days.


----------



## cocobolo

This was taken before I pulled the hose...but I also did take off the water neck and thermostat. Usually, they are marked with a temperature, e.g. 180º, 190º, 195º etc, but I can't see any number on the one I removed. Maybe in better light tomorrow something will show up. I think I will put a new one in anyway, cheap insurance.

I have a different water neck to replace this one with, not just because this one is so gungy, but the replacement aims straight up. This will make the upper hose fit much better.


----------



## cocobolo

Back at it again now that the windows have finally arrived.

The plan is now to rebuild the entire kitchen wall, which means taking out the old windows, re-framing for the new windows, updating the wiring, doing the insulation and drywall, and making a new valence to cover the plumbing drain from the upstairs bathroom...which, incidentally, was never put in right in the first place.

The first thing I did was to add a couple of 2 x 12's the full length of the wall section that needs attention. This is intended to stabilize the wall while I remove (or otherwise alter) the 2 x 4 wall and make it a 2 x 6 wall.


----------



## cocobolo

First thing to go was this window. There is to be a long counter against this wall, which will include the new stove.


----------



## cocobolo

We'll work our way down the wall cautiously, so as not to get any nasty surprises. 

Several of the old studs will have to go, a few can stay as long as they are in the right place. This one goes. Then the header which covered the old window, had to be straightened up on the bottom side so that I could attach a new plate above the new window.


----------



## cocobolo

Shortly after this we got the first section of new framing in place. Then Val helped me to get the sheathing up on the wall.


----------



## cocobolo

Now Val had been removing the old plywood, and other detritus, on the exterior of the wall while I was attending to the framing. For some unknown reason she decided to have a contest between her nose and a prybar. Of course the prybar won that one, and she was very dizzy for some time after this. So that ended the work for the day and I had to pack her off to bed to rest.

She has since recovered, but it looks like she's going to have one sore nose for a few days.


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday was Father's Day and we decided to take a short break and go over to Heffley Creek for their annual Show and Shine. Unfortunately, the weather was anything but co-operative and only a few cars showed up. It did clear up in time for the actual show, but I'm afraid too many owners were frightened away by the forecast.

Not many pics I'm sorry to say, but those cars that did get there were pretty nice!


----------



## cocobolo

Now here's a guy who's really serious about getting from A to B in a hurry!

If you have to ask, it's about 950 H.P. and runs low 9's. Extremely fast for a street legal car.

I was paying attention as to how the hotter cars were keeping their cool as it were, and I noticed that several were using two electric fans. One as a puller and the other as a pusher, as this one is.


----------



## cocobolo

The gentleman who owned the '34 Chevy pickup has owned it since 1967. He paid the princely sum of $350 for it! Everything on this car was so clean you could eat off it!


----------



## cocobolo

The last few...


----------



## cocobolo

Busy, busy, busy....came down to the coast yesterday. Ordered the new countertops from IKEA and they should be ready when we make our next trip to Vancouver on July 4th.

Picked up the sheet metal for the new seat risers in the '33 yesterday.

Helped the boys work on the '67 Nova race car yesterday afternoon. It seems there is a problem with the electronic speedo. The sensor doesn't want to sense! We tried a different type from another race car and it works fine, so we think that Auto Meter has given us a bummer.

But man oh man, does that motor sound good! I don't think I've heard 640 hp out of a small block before up this close. Just wild! :smile:

Heading back today and I will drop by the radiator shop in Kamloops on the way to see how they are making out. Have to pick up some goodies from Mopac on the way. Raining like crazy on the coast right now, so it will be a damp drive.

I think I need more hours in the day!


----------



## cocobolo

You know how it is with a race car...always just one more thing to do before it's ready to go.

We succeeded in sorting out the speedo problem (thanks Dad!) then the harness had to be installed. That entailed drilling through the floor and the frame to fix the mounts in place. That in turn necessitated the removal of the exhaust on one side, which caused the V-clamp to break. If it isn't one thing...

Got that fixed, put the wheelie bars back on again and then the car finally had the hood installed for the first time in 6 months! Covered in shop dust, but still doesn't look too bad.


----------



## cocobolo

At some time in the past, there apparently used to be a hot tub outside. The wiring was still in place, and we have now removed it from the outside, and relocated it to the inside where it will be used to power the new stove. It is 8/3 which will do the job nicely.

With the wall now re-framed, we also did all the new wiring at the same time.


----------



## jlhaslip

Aren't those receptacles too close to the window for allowing room for the casing?
Depends on the casing size,I guess.
Or possibly drywall returns to the windows?


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Aren't those receptacles too close to the window for allowing room for the casing?
> Depends on the casing size,I guess.
> Or possibly drywall returns to the windows?


jl...that wall will have a long counter running most of the way. We're going to put the cabinets in place, then use some sort of glass tile for a backsplash. The tile will basically go right to the window sill level. I have left the outlets protruding 7/8" to allow for the drywall and the tile. Just hope it works. I'll do whatever it takes to finish the window sills off. Could be just drywall...we'll see how it works out.

Got the valence to cover the plumbing done today, and that part is drywalled. Hopefully, we can drywall the rest of that wall tomorrow. Probably means another trip in to Kamloops on Monday for more drywall.


----------



## cocobolo

As we guessed, we managed to run out of drywall...that's a good thing...means we are getting closer to being done! Made our trip in to town, another 20 sheets of drywall and ordered the new flooring at the same time. Not in stock so there will be a week or so delay while that arrives.

The kitchen is starting to look quite bright as more of it gets covered in white.


----------



## cocobolo

Looks like we are going to be very busy for the next few days. 

Yesterday it was another trip to the House of Pot, this time for paint for the kitchen and the glass tiles for the back splash. 

Val is not good with colours and she's afraid to pick the wrong one for fear that someone else won't like it. I'm trying to change that for her, but it's a slow process. 

We were down to two different tiles for the kitchen, and she was reluctant to make up her mind. She did finally, of course, same with the flooring. A long uphill battle for her to choose.

Now she wants to try her hand at taping and mudding! So last night she watched Youtube videos to try and learn. Gotta give her credit...she'll try just about anything. Certainly not one to sit around watching. 

More pics tonight if all goes well.


----------



## algalkin

Keith, it's coming along nicely. Are you going to have IKEA cabinets as well or are you gonna build your own? Why didn't you go with your own butcher style countertops? I know you can build them very nice looking!


----------



## gma2rjc

It's looking great Keith!


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Keith, it's coming along nicely. Are you going to have IKEA cabinets as well or are you gonna build your own? Why didn't you go with your own butcher style countertops? I know you can build them very nice looking!


Yes, we have decided to go the IKEA route. We have got the top line cabinets and we are hoping that the countertops will be ready when we head to the coast on Monday.

It has become a matter of practicality for us to save time where we can now. You have to remember that I'm going to be 74 this year, and I have plenty of arthritis troubles. I try not to let it bother me too much, but there are days when I have trouble just getting downstairs in the morning.

Today we took out the kitchen windows, which were just installed temporarily, and we added the house wrap and put the windows in properly. We had to remove and replace the last of the old wall sheathing where the wood stove chimney exits the wall. I should have a few pics to post later this evening.


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> It's looking great Keith!


Thank you Barb!

Val is getting excited looking forward to getting her new kitchen installed very soon. We tested the new induction stove yesterday. It boils a couple of cups of water from cold in less than 1 1/2 minutes! And the top stays cool!

I don't know how they do that, but you can't burn yourself on this thing. :smile::smile::smile:


----------



## drtbk4ever

It is coming together nicely Keith.

What ever happened with the Ruxton place, were you able to sell it?


----------



## cocobolo

drtbk4ever said:


> It is coming together nicely Keith.
> 
> What ever happened with the Ruxton place, were you able to sell it?


Yep, how do you think I was able to afford to buy the '33 Plymouth? :devil3:


----------



## cocobolo

Just a quick note...I used the kettle to boil some water and timed it to see how long it took. Used just two cups of water and put in very hot water from the tap. That took 3 minutes and 15 seconds. That induction stove is really fast.


----------



## cocobolo

Okay...back outside on the kitchen wall again today where we removed the last of the old sheathing and insulation. The chimney exhaust was in the way, so it did take a little while.

That yellow plywood was nothing more than the sheathing which they painted yellow and it was the outside finish. Nice eh?


----------



## cocobolo

I guess Mr. Stereo, who lived here before, wanted his tunes outside. So he had this magnificent 4" bass(?) speaker mounted on the wall. No wires running to it, just the speaker.

Not to mention that it was home to several mud wasp nests! :vs_OMG:


----------



## cocobolo

Plywood removal and new Roxul in the wall. By the time we're done there will be very little - if any - of the old fiberglass insulation left.


----------



## cocobolo

With all the old sheathing gone, we re-did the last of it with OSB.

Then put wrap on the wall and windows back in again, this time more permanently.

It's pretty difficult to get any insulation around the wiring from the heat pump...so we gave it the foam spray treatment. I will cut it back smoothly before the siding goes on of course.


----------



## cocobolo

Happy Canada Day!


----------



## jlhaslip

Are you taking the day off to go fishing?


----------



## algalkin

Those induction stoves are awesome, I have one and wife loves it. I found it's pretty popular in Europe since mid 50s and Americas are always lagging behind


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Are you taking the day off to go fishing?


More like taking the day off to install the range vent. Unfortunately, it didn't come with any vent pipe, so I will need to make a trip to either Scotch Creek or Salmon Arm to get that stuff. lain:


----------



## cocobolo

algalkin said:


> Those induction stoves are awesome, I have one and wife loves it. I found it's pretty popular in Europe since mid 50s and Americas are always lagging behind


That's for sure. If you can locate a store that sells European appliances you soon learn that. The downside is that most of the pricing is way out in the stratosphere. This one wasn't too bad though. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

I would think that most stove vents should be able to exit the wall above the top plate. But in this case, due to a combination of the main plumbing drain and the lines from the heat pump, this is not possible. They are contained within the valence.

So that meant that I had to cut my way through a triple beam just to let a little warm air out!

We did test hang the vent itself, but need to finish the drywall and paint it before any permanent installation. It looks like it will work OK.


----------



## cocobolo

Val watched her youtube videos on taping and mudding and decided to give it a go.

Here she is putting on the first piece of fiberglass tape. Putting it on was OK, but she didn't like it so much when it came to the mudding part. It seems that the tape didn't quite stay in place to her satisfaction. She has therefore decided that the rest of the tape will be paper.


----------



## cocobolo

We managed a small amount of taping & mudding yesterday late in the day, and now Val has decided that she will just mud the screw holes and leave the easy stuff to me. 

How terribly kind of her!


----------



## cocobolo

Happy 4th of July to our American Friends!


----------



## Windows on Wash

Thanks boss.

Glad to have our Northern neighbors!!!!


----------



## cocobolo

Last night we got tangled in to watching more youtube videos on drywalling. So I decided that rather than just listening to how the amateurs do it, I would find some of the more advanced professional methods.

Of course, they use different tools instead of a hawk and a knife, but WOW are they ever much faster...and better too. Hunted down a good tool supplier at the coast, as I had to take trip down there anyway today. :smile:

Fortunately, there were no other customers in the store while I was there, except for a couple of guys who came in to pick up their paycheques. So the boss lady - yes it was a lady - was able to help me through the whole process of picking out the various tools that I would need and how to use them. Now I just have to get into high gear!

I was supposed to pick up the new shifter for the car today, guess what? Back ordered. And they couldn't call the manufacturer because of the holiday in the U.S. I may have to jury rig something if the new Lokar doesn't arrive in time. But my new seatbelts made it through the mail before the threatened mail strike takes place tomorrow! That was close! :surprise:


----------



## cocobolo

It looks like our post office and the union aren't getting anywhere with their settlement talks. If no deal today, then it appears that the P. O. will lock out the union. 

Dammit anyway, I still have a few car books ordered which haven't arrived. Guess I will check our mailbox early this afternoon to see if they have arrived or not. That's a 15 minute drive that I hope pays off.

Still no word on my new radiator...they will be getting a call when they open this morning. Same with the shifter...still no word. Delays...delays...delays...


----------



## cocobolo

Well finally some good news...sort of.

The new radiator is ready for pickup tomorrow morning.

The last three car books arrived today.

The shifter is supposed to be shipped tomorrow from Lokar, but the earliest it can arrive at the Old Car Centre is next Friday, the 15th. Since it will be the end of the day when it arrives - IF it arrives - the OCC cannot ship it to me until Monday the 18th, and I wouldn't get it until the 19th. That's cutting it a bit too fine. I may try to go down to the coast again on the 16th IF the shifter does indeed get there on the 15th. Nothing like leaving things until the very last minute.

After squandering 4 hours on taping and mudding this morning, I got around to putting the new gas pedal in this afternoon. What with one thing and another, bolts not fitting, no way to attach the old steel inner cable to the pedal etc. etc. it's now done. Kinda hard to get a photo...it's pretty dark in there.

The original looks like it was stuck together with JB weld.


----------



## cocobolo

A wee bit more good news. I did pick up the new radiator this morning, and I think they have done a fine job. What they ended up doing was re-creating right from scratch a new radiator. I thought that they might be re-using the original tanks, but no. It must have been a huge amount of work.

Also had a chance to make arrangements for Lokar to ship the new shifter up by air, instead of by snail truck. Now it should be at the store next Tuesday. That will give me time to do a decent job of the installation. I have read the entire set of instructions which they have online, and it looks like it's going to take several hours to get it right.

Add to that the fact that I think I'm going to have to cut out a whole section of the floor to gain a reasonable access for the job. Then I will need to make up a new floor out of sheet metal...which, thankfully, I remembered to pick up today while I was in Kamloops.

This will mean that I'm going to have to get off my derriere and assemble my bending brake. Still sitting in the box since the day I got it!

Pictures to follow tomorrow if we're lucky. :smile:


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Well finally some good news...sort of.
> 
> The new radiator is ready for pickup tomorrow morning.
> 
> The last three car books arrived today.
> 
> The shifter is supposed to be shipped tomorrow from Lokar, but the earliest it can arrive at the Old Car Centre is next Friday, the 15th. Since it will be the end of the day when it arrives - IF it arrives - the OCC cannot ship it to me until Monday the 18th, and I wouldn't get it until the 19th. That's cutting it a bit too fine. I may try to go down to the coast again on the 16th IF the shifter does indeed get there on the 15th. Nothing like leaving things until the very last minute.
> 
> After squandering 4 hours on taping and mudding this morning, I got around to putting the new gas pedal in this afternoon. What with one thing and another, bolts not fitting, no way to attach the old steel inner cable to the pedal etc. etc. it's now done. Kinda hard to get a photo...it's pretty dark in there.
> 
> The original looks like it was stuck together with JB weld.


Keith, this is the kind a gas pedal I had on some of my rods.

Are you going to have a stall speed converter in your trans. If I did have an automatic, I would have a 2800 rpm stall speed. Hold the brake and when the tach hits 2800 Rs, get off the brake, or burn them up. LOL

One more thought, if you put a trans oil cooler in front of your radiator, that should help displace a little heat from the radiator, if you need too.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Keith, this is the kind a gas pedal I had on some of my rods.
> 
> Are you going to have a stall speed converter in your trans. If I did have an automatic, I would have a 2800 rpm stall speed. Hold the brake and when the tach hits 2800 Rs, get off the brake, or burn them up. LOL
> 
> One more thought, if you put a trans oil cooler in front of your radiator, that should help displace a little heat from the radiator, if you need too.


Hi Jim: Love the gas pedal! I remember those from years back. Very cool!

Jim, as far as a high stall converter goes, there's several things that get involved in that decision.

Firstly, this car will never see a racetrack under my ownership. So I won't need something that will scream out of the hole.

Secondly, the choice of engine and cam have a big impact. Right now it has the old, worn out 350, so no amount of converter is going to help with that. I need to treat the old gal with kid gloves until the new engine is done.

I have been looking into the Voodoo line of Lunati roller cams for the 383, and there is one which makes good power, but is still streetable. It gets by well with the stock converter. The extra torque of the slightly bigger motor is what does the trick. Plus I have to remember that the car only weighs 1250 kilograms, or about 2750 pounds. It doesn't take much to get it rolling in a hurry.

The transmission in there now is a 350 with a shift kit. I couldn't tell you what the stall speed of the converter is right now.

We are seriously thinking of switching the turbo 350 for a 700R4 trans. I don't know what the low gear ratios of the two different tranny's are right off the top of my head, but the 700 has a 30% overdrive for the 4th gear. That would mean I wouldn't need to change the rear end to get some sort of decent mileage on the highway. As it sits now, the 3:55 gears make the motor spin at around 2700 RPM at 60 mph.

That's not easy on either the motor or the mileage. The 700 would get the RPM below 2000 at 60, which would be a big difference.

The car does have a separate tranny cooler Jim, so there is no need to run the trans coolant through the radiator fortunately. One of the lines running to the cooler has a bad kink in it where it passes over the crossmember under the rad.

Just one of the many small things that were never done right in the first place. I will have that fixed in the next few days when I re-mount the trans cooler.

But to start my morning...I have to do another mud coat in the kitchen...sigh.


----------



## BigJim

I love that 700 trans, it is so smooth and it sure saves the gas. I had one in a 4X4 Blazer, which is a cuss word to start off with. I blew the trans being really stupid and couldn't afford to get another 700 so I wound up with a 400 turbo, talk about a gas hog. I absolutely hated that Blazer, piece of junk, but that sucker would pull. I had a shift kit in my 400 turbo, I didn't like it, it shifted way too hard for my taste, but man when it did shift it was solid.

I don't know if I told you but I worked with Joe Lanati at Memphis Engine Rebuilders back in the early 60s. I was boring blocks and he had his setup about 50 feet from where I worked. Really nice guy, I wasn't really wild about his cams back then but he has come a long way and has them perfected now days. I was kinda partial to Isky cams, although Joe did grind me several custom cams to try out. Are you going with the hydraulic roller lifters? Back in the 60s all we could get in roller lifters were solid.

While I was boring blocks back then, I was using the old Kiwkway boring bar and honing with a 3/4 " drill, man talk about hurt, when the hones hung a crank journal, that thing would break an arm. LOL I bored and honed most of the rail jobs who raced around Memphis back then.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I don't know if I told you but I worked with Joe Lanati at Memphis Engine Rebuilders back in the early 60s. I was boring blocks and he had his setup about 50 feet from where I worked. Really nice guy, I wasn't really wild about his cams back then but he has come a long way and has them perfected now days. I was kinda partial to Isky cams, although Joe did grind me several custom cams to try out. Are you going with the hydraulic roller lifters? Back in the 60s all we could get in roller lifters were solid.


Jim, you did mention before that you knew Joe Lunati, 

The first cam I ever had done was an Isky E2 revmaster which went in my old Buick 322 Roadmaster motor, which was bored out 1/8 to 344. A real torque monster if ever there was one.

I did have a solid roller lifter Crane cam in one of my small blocks, but it wasn't exactly a cam that was suited to the street.

The Lunati that I'm looking at is a hydraulic roller and all the specs indicate that it is a good match for the stock converter and the gears I'm running. Not exactly cheap at just over $600 US, but then nothing is that's worth having these days it seems.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Jim, you did mention before that you knew Joe Lunati,
> 
> The first cam I ever had done was an Isky E2 revmaster which went in my old Buick 322 Roadmaster motor, which was bored out 1/8 to 344. A real torque monster if ever there was one.
> 
> I did have a solid roller lifter Crane cam in one of my small blocks, but it wasn't exactly a cam that was suited to the street.
> 
> The Lunati that I'm looking at is a hydraulic roller and all the specs indicate that it is a good match for the stock converter and the gears I'm running. Not exactly cheap at just over $600 US, but then nothing is that's worth having these days it seems.


It blows my mind at the price of motor parts now days. I remember when we could buy a whole set of pistons for $28.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> It blows my mind at the price of motor parts now days. I remember when we could buy a whole set of pistons for $28.


Jim...that must have been before they made cars! :devil3:

Seriously though, I think I can remember an entire rebuild kit for $99 when I was first at this game. Incredible how much the price tags have risen over the years.


----------



## cocobolo

Quick update on the kitchen. There is now at least one mud coat everywhere, and that awful black area where the wood stove goes is now white. Big difference in the light in that corner.


----------



## cocobolo

First pictures of the new radiator.

This is a brass and copper rad, so it's quite heavy.

The previous rad had a single core, which would have been good for the original flathead six which it was designed to cool. This one has the latest technology, which includes bigger fins which have thousands of tiny dimples. What this does is to provide a greater area to give extra cooling. 

One thing it does NOT need is a high volume water pump. The rad man explained to me that the longer the coolant takes to pass through the rad, the better it will cool. 

Currently there is only a 350 in the car, but this rad has been designed to cool the future 383 (actually it will be 385, by virtue of a slightly larger bore). I originally told him that I wouldn't be building much power in to the new motor. Fortunately, he didn't believe me, and he said it will cool more than enough horsepower so I shouldn't have any more overheating troubles.

I asked his opinion on the water wetter, which is used to give extra cooling should you have an overheating situation. He said that I wouldn't be needing anything like that as this one will do the job all by itself.

One other thing he did mention is that all coolants - read anti-freeze here - are not created equal. Make sure you use the bright green version of whatever brand you use.


----------



## gma2rjc

With a view like that out the kitchen windows, you'll have people lining up at your door, volunteering to stand at the sink to wash dishes! Nice job so far, it's going to be a beautiful kitchen. :vs_clap:


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> With a view like that out the kitchen windows, you'll have people lining up at your door, volunteering to stand at the sink to wash dishes! Nice job so far, it's going to be a beautiful kitchen. :vs_clap:


More like visiting to go lay out in the sun! So far this month, the sun hasn't been doing a very good job of showing up. We have had rain almost every day, and this afternoon we had four prolonged extremely heavy showers. Most unusual for July.

Val just returned from her visit to the coast a few minutes ago with bags full of stuff for the kitchen from IKEA. When we bought the cabinets and counter tops, they gave us a voucher for $100 for every $1,000 that we spent. Which means that Val can go crazy getting all sorts of strange things for the kitchen. She arrived with 3 big bags full of stuff.

Guess I will find out tomorrow what all is in there.


----------



## cocobolo

Got going on putting together the seat risers today. I had the sheet metal fellow bend up some channel 3" high so that the seats could be raised. 

I tested the fit and all seems to be OK, so they will come out, get cleaned and then spray painted. New sheet metal always seems to have some surface oil on it.


----------



## cocobolo

I got treated to a new parts washer when Val came home on Friday night. At least now I have no excuse for having dirty parts on the engine. It already got put to good use today.


----------



## cocobolo

I was under the car today looking to get a few things done, removing the exhaust manifolds was one of them. One side came off, but the other has a bolt right between the steering column and the exhaust manifold. It has decided that it won't budge.

While I was under looking up, I got a nasty surprise when I saw that there was about 1 3/4" or so of the yoke showing behind the back of the transmission. Now this is the new driveshaft mind you...not the old one. I'm certain that the old one only had about 1 1/8" of yoke showing, which is the proper amount.

Two choices here. Take the driveshaft back and make loud complaining noises, or try and move the engine back about 5/8". That's much easier said than done, of course, but if it is possible I would gain some much needed room between the fan pulley and the radiator.

So I looked at the situation, and the tranny mount has a slot where the big bolt goes, and as luck would have it there is room to move that part.

The motor mounts are another story, but I think it will be doable. The mounts that attach to the motor are stock GM, which in turn sit on fabricated mounts that were welded to the '33 frame. It looks like if I undo the mounts, try and slide the motor back a bit, then re-drill new holes that it should work. Hopefully I will have good news tomorrow about that. Quite sure it won't be that straight forward, but we'll see.

Engine and transmission combined weight...about 800 pounds! :surprise:


----------



## BigJim

Man you are getting some serious new toys, love it. Looks like your luck and mine are about alike. It would be my luck that the distributor would be too close to the firewall. Hope all goes well for you.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Man you are getting some serious new toys, love it. Looks like your luck and mine are about alike. It would be my luck that the distributor would be too close to the firewall. Hope all goes well for you.


Jim, the fact of the matter in this case is that the original builder left a ton of room between the back of the motor and the firewall. There will still be over an inch of room left, at least. If there was a recess for the distributor, the motor could go back over 3". I expect when the 383 gets dropped in that we will move it back a fair bit.

I got the seat risers painted with primer this evening, top coat tomorrow.


----------



## BigJim

I forgot, I love those seats, I bet they are comfortable.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I forgot, I love those seats, I bet they are comfortable.


I don't know what they are out of Jim, probably a small import of some kind. They have adjustable sides on them and they really hold you in place well.

Got the exhaust manifolds off this morning after a somewhat prolonged battle. Ran them through the parts washer and when they are dry I'll give them a coat or two of VHT paint.


----------



## cocobolo

Just got a call from the boys. The 383 is headed for the machine shop today. More news on that once they get their part of the work done.

I should be seeing them either tomorrow evening or Wednesday morning when I go get the new shifter.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Just got a call from the boys. The 383 is headed for the machine shop today. More news on that once they get their part of the work done.
> 
> I should be seeing them either tomorrow evening or Wednesday morning when I go get the new shifter.


Now that is exciting, I wish I was still building engines, I really did enjoy that kind of work.


----------



## 123pugsy

Jeez Kieth.
You're killing me here.....:smile: All this hot rod stuff you're doing.

I can't touch my Baby for so long, it feels like forever away.....ha....


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Jeez Kieth.
> You're killing me here.....:smile: All this hot rod stuff you're doing.
> 
> I can't touch my Baby for so long, it feels like forever away.....ha....


Believe me, I know that feeling all too well. I was car less for so long I almost forgot what an engine was for! Over 20 years between cars is just not acceptable!

It's a shame that there is so much that needs fixing on this one and that there is so little time to do it.

I'm determined to be ready for the tour on the 21st down to Langley with about 50 or so other cars. 

Today I discovered that the original brake pedal, which had far too much travel before it activated the brakes, actually had another hole for the rod to go into. I think it is the original hole, and I cannot figure out why the builder bothered to drill a second hole. I hope I don't get a nasty surprise when I'm driving. But I re-assembled the brake pedal into the original hole. Just pushing on the pedal seems to be a big improvement, so I'm going with that for now.

I also took a crack at getting rid of the high priced "Super bushing" that was installed on the steering shaft. It was very bulky and was right in the way of one of the spark plugs and a manifold bolt.

Got it changed over to a simple pipe hanger which takes up no space and is much better installed.


----------



## SPS-1

cocobolo said:


> I also took a crack at getting rid of the high priced "Super bushing" that was installed on the steering shaft. .


 That is a _Linear Bearing_. Totally wrong item for the application. It is used when the shaft is moving back and forth. No good for rotating shaft.


----------



## cocobolo

SPS-1 said:


> That is a _Linear Bearing_. Totally wrong item for the application. It is used when the shaft is moving back and forth. No good for rotating shaft.


Thank you for that correction.

Does that explain why the shaft had a series of grooves worn into it where the tiny ball bearings were? They didn't all leave grooves, but about the lower 80% did.

I think there is a name on that bearing somewhere...I may well have misnamed it. I will look to see what it says.


----------



## SPS-1

Yes, that explains the grooves. If the bearing block moves along the axis of the shaft, the balls will roll, with extremely low friction. If you rotate the shaft, balls will just skid on either the shaft, or the ball retainer. 

I think "Super" is a Thomson brand -- very common. If you looked hard, you could likely find a replacement with same dimensions and mounting holes, with a plastic sleeve bushing rather than balls. That would work better, but I think you said you didn't like how it was mounted anyways.


----------



## Andiy

cocobolo said:


> Quick update on the kitchen. There is now at least one mud coat everywhere, and that awful black area where the wood stove goes is now white. Big difference in the light in that corner.


Wow. What a view out of that kitchen!

Quite a contrast to my city view... Good morning! :wacko:


----------



## cocobolo

SPS-1 said:


> Yes, that explains the grooves. If the bearing block moves along the axis of the shaft, the balls will roll, with extremely low friction. If you rotate the shaft, balls will just skid on either the shaft, or the ball retainer.
> 
> I think "Super" is a Thomson brand -- very common. If you looked hard, you could likely find a replacement with same dimensions and mounting holes, with a plastic sleeve bushing rather than balls. That would work better, but I think you said you didn't like how it was mounted anyways.


You sure do know your bearings...yes, it's a Thompson SPB 12 OPN. They call it a Super Pillow Block.

Only two of the four mounting holes had small bolts in them, the other two were floating in the air with nothing behind them. It simply was not well mounted at all.

I just noticed that the pillow block has 5 rows of bearings inside. One row is completely missing.


----------



## cocobolo

Andiy said:


> Wow. What a view out of that kitchen!
> 
> Quite a contrast to my city view... Good morning! :wacko:


Look at it this way...at least you have a window to look out of!


----------



## cocobolo

Back from another trip to the coast.

Hallelujah brother, the shifter is at hand! It arrived at the dealer literally as I walked in the door this afternoon.

Went to see the boys and they have taken the 383 to the machine shop. The block is currently being hot tanked. It's going to be a few weeks before it is ready to be picked up.

I was discussing the cam choice with number two son, and he says "Too late dad, we already have a cam for it". I see, sez I, and just what cam do we have may I ask? Well, sez he, we couldn't find the Lunati so we got a Crower roller for it.

I don't have the specs off hand, but it's a bit milder than the Lunati, but still will make a snoot load of power anyway. Number two son is expecting something over 400 HP from the new motor.

It is still undecided as to whether or not there will be either a transmission or rear end change. I don't fancy taking long drives with a lumpy roller cammed 383 with 3.55's in the back. Either it will have to be a 700R4 tranny, or new gears much closer to the 3.00 range.

Today they were working on an immaculately clean '72 Nova with a 427 big block. All the toys...Moser rear end, 700R4, stainless headers, Brodix heads and on and on. It seems that the owner has deep pockets. Fabulous car. They hope to race it at the street legal drags at Mission this weekend.

Along with the '67 that they just finished putting together...of course. I saw some video of the '67 launching. Oh boy, the owner is going to have to get some practice in before he tries racing it too hard. It got away on him pretty easily. No damage done, but came perilously close to hitting a kerb.


----------



## BigJim

I am just thinking out loud, I would go with the 700 trans, the gas mileage will eat your lunch with the rear end change. That 700 has a really good overdrive. I may be wrong, it has been so long and I have forgotten a lot.

The fellow with the Nova with the 427, I feel sorry for the guy changing the spark plugs in that bad boy, I have done it and man it is super tough. Unless they modify it, it is super close to get in there. I couldn't even use a ratchet on the plug socket it was so close and that was from under the car, from the top, no way for a couple of the plugs. That is one mean machine though, the 427 and 327 were my favorite engines.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I am just thinking out loud, I would go with the 700 trans, the gas mileage will eat your lunch with the rear end change. That 700 has a really good overdrive. I may be wrong, it has been so long and I have forgotten a lot.
> 
> The fellow with the Nova with the 427, I feel sorry for the guy changing the spark plugs in that bad boy, I have done it and man it is super tough. Unless they modify it, it is super close to get in there. I couldn't even use a ratchet on the plug socket it was so close and that was from under the car, from the top, no way for a couple of the plugs. That is one mean machine though, the 427 and 327 were my favorite engines.


You're quite right about the tranny Jim. The 700 is the better choice.

That means finding one in the first place, and oddly enough they are hard to come by. If I want to fork out a couple of thousand dollars for a brand new one I can get all I want, but that's pricey for a street car.

The other thing with the trans change is the shortening of the new driveshaft. More cash for that.

The rear end gear change will run around $400 Canadian and won't need the driveshaft altered. The flip side of that is that the 3:55's are much better out of the hole and still get good mileage with the 700.

Like the man said, "Speed costs you money son...how fast do you wanna go?"

As for the plug change in the Nova, agreed it's tight, but then even getting plugs out of the 350 in the '33 is almost impossible on the front two on the drivers' side. It may be better with that pillow block out of the way and the motor moved back that small amount. I'll be finding out in the next few days.

The Nove in question has a beautiful $et of $tainle$$ $teel headers. That's not a spelling mistake, those things aren't cheap by any stretch of the imagination.

All the plugs are accessible with a ratchet fortunately.

Did I mention that the car also has a Nitrous system installed? You know, just in case...:devil3:


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> You're quite right about the tranny Jim. The 700 is the better choice.
> 
> That means finding one in the first place, and oddly enough they are hard to come by. If I want to fork out a couple of thousand dollars for a brand new one I can get all I want, but that's pricey for a street car.
> 
> The other thing with the trans change is the shortening of the new driveshaft. More cash for that.
> 
> The rear end gear change will run around $400 Canadian and won't need the driveshaft altered. The flip side of that is that the 3:55's are much better out of the hole and still get good mileage with the 700.
> 
> Like the man said, "Speed costs you money son...how fast do you wanna go?"
> 
> As for the plug change in the Nova, agreed it's tight, but then even getting plugs out of the 350 in the '33 is almost impossible on the front two on the drivers' side. It may be better with that pillow block out of the way and the motor moved back that small amount. I'll be finding out in the next few days.
> 
> The Nove in question has a beautiful $et of $tainle$$ $teel headers. That's not a spelling mistake, those things aren't cheap by any stretch of the imagination.
> 
> All the plugs are accessible with a ratchet fortunately.
> 
> Did I mention that the car also has a Nitrous system installed? You know, just in case...:devil3:


Good grief, it would fly without the Nitro. LOL You are sure right about SS headers, they are high dollar, will they turn blue, I know the chrome ones will turn.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Good grief, it would fly without the Nitro. LOL You are sure right about SS headers, they are high dollar, will they turn blue, I know the chrome ones will turn.


As far as I know Jim, the headers have been in the car for awhile. So far they still look like new. No blue yet.


----------



## cocobolo

Not many days left to get everything back together in the car. 

Tried a test fit with the new rad, and I have 2 5/16" space between the rad and the water pump bolts, which is about an extra 1/2"+ over what was there before. It may not sound like much, but every little bit helps.


----------



## cocobolo

I replaced the old yellow and black water pump with a new chrome one, only to discover that the plug was missing on the side where one would normally have a line running to the car heater.

So I had to swipe it out of the gungy pump. Kind of a shame it wasn't chromed. But at least it's hidden.


----------



## cocobolo

I cannot begin to imagine how the engine was timed before.

Certainly the kid had this pretty blue anodized piece of metal sitting there, sadly it was of no use.

The balancer had yellow, black and blue paint on it, which completely obliterated any sign of the timing mark. In fact when I got the paint off, the timing line was a very thin, rusty line. So I cleaned that out and filed the line a little wider in front. Then added a thin white paint line after that. It should work OK now.


----------



## BigJim

Keith, it is kinda hard to see the carb very good but it looks like a Quadrajet or a Carter, am I close? Man that water pump looks nice, love it.


----------



## cocobolo

With the pillow block out of the way and the motor moved back just a tad, the one manifold bolt is now impossible to get at...so it can stay out.

However, ALL the spark plugs are accessible with a ratchet now, a definite improvement from before.

The exhaust manifolds look a little better after having been cleaned and painted. Only flat black, but it's better than dirt.


----------



## cocobolo

Now here's a strange one for you.

I took the alternator off, along with the various brackets. Two of the three brackets were made just for this motor. They were cleaned up and two were painted.

When I went to put everything back together, the alternator would no longer fit in place. I must admit I was really baffled. I couldn't see anything that I had done differently, and yet the fanbelt now seemed to be several inches too short.

Eventually, I drilled a new hole in two of the three brackets. It was then that I discovered that the alternator had been mounted way out of line before. In other words, the pulleys were not lined up at all, not even close.

So I had to spend ages adding spacers here and there to get everything to line up. Part of the problem is the tall valve covers. I'm thinking that a set of stock height covers will help. In fact, I also spotted where the previous owner had taken a grinder to the cover right where the alternator interferes. I don't think it helped much.

One other thing. If the belt is not really tight, something that is hard on alternator bearings, then the water pump may slip. Take a look at how little belt is turning the water pump...not much. I wonder if that was not also a contributing factor to the original overheating problem?


----------



## cocobolo

Getting ever closer...now the trans cooler has been re-installed. This time with the cooler lines running under the steering rack. Before, they both took a sharp curve and were routed above the rack. The left side line was heavily restricted before.


----------



## cocobolo

Have any of you been getting this ridiculous "Boxing Day In July" nonsense pounded at you? It seems that all the big stores up this way are using that line. I guess sales must be slow.

Well, here's a couple of nice Christmas prezzies...the new Lokar shifter and the new HEI. Val said she couldn't resist taking a pic or two when I opened up the boxes.

Tomorrow will see the start of the install of the shifter. Since this will involve removal and alteration of part of the floor, I expect it will take considerable time.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Keith, it is kinda hard to see the carb very good but it looks like a Quadrajet or a Carter, am I close? Man that water pump looks nice, love it.


Move straight to the head of the class Jim. It's an ancient Q-jet.

Last time I had any of those was on a '71 Olds and a Buick 400 in a Vista wagon. I must admit that I liked those old Q-jets. Too many guys hated them because they were awkward to rebuild. 

But they were great on gas as long as you kept your foot out of it, but plenty of power when the back barrels opened up.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Move straight to the head of the class Jim. It's an ancient Q-jet.
> 
> Last time I had any of those was on a '71 Olds and a Buick 400 in a Vista wagon. I must admit that I liked those old Q-jets. Too many guys hated them because they were awkward to rebuild.
> 
> But they were great on gas as long as you kept your foot out of it, but plenty of power when the back barrels opened up.


I know why they called it a Quadrajet, that thing sounded like a jet when the back to barrels kicked in. I liked it also, never had any problems rebuilding one. A lot of the guys building them didn't know where that little solid plug went. LOL

I hope that was one of your over heating problems, if so it looks like you got it whipped now.


----------



## cocobolo

We may not be getting too much done on the car today...have to take Val into both Chase and Kamloops for more medical stuff. Poor gal cannot win with this bad knee of hers. And now the sciatic nerve is killing her right leg as well.

At least by the end of the day she should have her new knee brace in place. One step at a time.


----------



## cocobolo

The first step in installing the new shifter is removing the old one. With the short throw and bent up shift rod it was no wonder that it didn't want to work well.


----------



## cocobolo

There wasn't much of a hole in the floor where the old shifter came out. Plus where the hump in the transmission was the sheet metal below the plywood floor was bent up in such a fashion as to prevent the motor/trans from moving back any further.

Perhaps that was a good thing as I was already down to slightly under 1" of the yoke showing anyway.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the enlarged hole with the new plate installed.

Getting rid of the plywood floor and sheet metal below wasn't quite as easy as pie. With very limited room in there to try and work we had to use a variety of tools in our arsenal to make the necessary room.

One thing with the new shifter is that it is centred over the tranny. Whereas the old one sat to the left side making it very difficult to get one's leg in or out of the car.


----------



## cocobolo

I'm afraid that old carpet got the better of me after awhile. So it ended up falling victim to my utility knife.

The shifter is now in and runs through all the gears OK.

However...when I went to attach the original wiring to the new shifter switch I discovered that the neutral safety switch doesn't work! I'm now wondering if it ever did work.

So that's another thing I will have to track down and sort out.


----------



## cocobolo

Next thing was that I needed to make a new cover of some sort for the floor. So I started out with a cardboard mockup of something to cover the hole with.


----------



## cocobolo

Then I transferred the cardboard pattern to sheet metal. 

Heaven knows I'm no sheet metal worker, so the first thing I did was to make sure all the lines from the cardboard were straightened out properly on the metal.


----------



## cocobolo

Next was to get the shape all cut out. Fortunately I have a new shear which I was able to put into good use. Without that I think I would have had a terrible mess on my hands.


----------



## cocobolo

Then we bent it into shape...sort of...and cut the hole for the shift handle out with a grinder. Crude, but it worked.


----------



## cocobolo

After more test fitting and bending of the tabs, I drilled holes all around to screw the cover to the floor.


----------



## cocobolo

And finally, here we are done. Doesn't look so bad after all.


----------



## cocobolo

With the shifter out of the way I moved on to trying to figure out the lower rad hose assembly. The new hose wouldn't line up as I had originally hoped, so the only solution I could think of was to weld up this very strange piece of exhaust tubing. It is intended to connect the water pump to the lower rad outlet with two short pieces of hose.


----------



## BigJim

Man, that looks great, I love that shifter also. I felt like I was there with you reading your posts.


----------



## cocobolo

Very sorry that I don't have the time to post a bunch of photos...we have sure taken plenty.

But the bad news is that the '33 won't be going down to the coast with us after all our efforts.

Pretty much got all the mechanical problems fixed, hooked up the handbrake with some new parts, got the water pump puzzle solved, changed the oil and so on...and then when I went to start the motor today to see how well the cooling system worked I got one little tick out of the solenoid and that was about it.

So now we are stuck with some sort of electrical trouble. And for the life of me I cannot find any of my voltmeters to trace circuits. 

Took the carpet out from under the dash, and now I see why it was carpeted. What a mess under there. Trying to track the wiring circuits down is a nightmare.

So if I can't find and fix the trouble by about 10 tomorrow morning, the '33 stays home. Definitely not happy about that at all. :vs_mad:


----------



## BigJim

I hate that for you Keith. Hopefully it will be an easy fix.


----------



## 123pugsy

Good luck with that Keith.

Someone knows your pain...well...someone in the future that I sell my pickup to.

I have 1976 and 1987 Chev pickup harnesses intermingled along with 1992 Trans Am wiring that runs the computer and TPI. There's even and extra pigtail at the 700r4 transmission that's just hanging around now that the ECM controls lock up.

Whoever looks at it in the future will say "what a hack job" even though I know everything about it.
I will have to make up a document and print it and shove it in the glove box maybe.

I park in the Hybrid parking at HD and I don't think a cop could argue it, could he?


----------



## cocobolo

It's starting to look like it's one of two things.

This morning I turned on the electric fan after I had hooked up the battery charger. It worked very well. Yesterday, I tried the fan, and while it did run, it was slow getting going. I put that down to the engine not running, but now I'm not so sure.

I'm going to give it an hour on the charger at 12 amps and see what happens. When I test it again, I think I will turn the charger up to 75 amps and see if that's enough to engage the starter.

I tried the screwdriver across the solenoid trick this morning, no charger running, and just got the weakest red spark you've ever seen. And not even a tick out of the solenoid. Hooked up the charger, and right away the solenoid did it's buzzing trick, but obviously not enough to engage the starter.

I will most likely just get a new battery and new starter at the same time. Not much sense messing around with that old garbage.

Now it has become extremely obvious that the car will need to be rewired when we put the new motor in later this year...or whenever it happens.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Good luck with that Keith.
> 
> Someone knows your pain...well...someone in the future that I sell my pickup to.
> 
> I have 1976 and 1987 Chev pickup harnesses intermingled along with 1992 Trans Am wiring that runs the computer and TPI. There's even and extra pigtail at the 700r4 transmission that's just hanging around now that the ECM controls lock up.
> 
> Whoever looks at it in the future will say "what a hack job" even though I know everything about it.
> I will have to make up a document and print it and shove it in the glove box maybe.
> 
> I park in the Hybrid parking at HD and I don't think a cop could argue it, could he?


If I were a betting man Pugsy, I'd think that your wiring is much tidier than the joke in the '33. Not only that, but I bet you even have the right size wires going to the various electrical loads.

You should see the thin wire running from one side of the starter button to the solenoid. I still cannot believe that it ever worked. It also appears that this was not the original wire, as it has been run through a hole drilled in the plywood floor and then just runs casually over the transmission and fastens to the solenoid. There's about an extra two feet of wire just hanging around loosely.

Guess I will be picking up a few rolls of wire as well when we go to town. It's all very frustrating.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I hate that for you Keith. Hopefully it will be an easy fix.


Jim, I came close to fixing the car, just no cigar this time.

It turned out to be a bad battery that wouldn't let me start the motor. Kind of hard to believe given that it spun the motor over so quickly just two days before. I have a hunch that the negative terminal connection was being interfered with by corrosion.

Anyway, I did get the engine going after I swapped my van battery into the '33. Started up in a split second. But it was too late to get the sheet metal back on the front end. 

Perhaps it was a good thing that we didn't try to rush it, as now it appears that the nice shiny water pump is set up for reverse rotation. Even though I got the water up to 260º, the rad was cold. So I'm fairly sure the water pump wasn't doing it's job. At first I thought I may have the thermostat in backwards, but that wasn't it.

So we did the trip to the coast with the Canadian Hot Rod Tour in Val's Honda, not exactly what we had in mind when I signed up for the tour. We weren't the only ones who didn't finish their cars in time, several of us ran into last minute glitches. I'll run a few pics of some of the cars and then I'll get back to the latest. Lots has happened in the past two days.

So knowing (at the very last minute) 
that we wouldn't have the '33, we decided to act as photographers wherever we could. First place we went to was the junction of the Squilax-Anglemont highway and highway 1, where the cars would drive by (at 60 mph) and we would tag along at the end.


----------



## cocobolo

A few more. The old red ford wagon is from Prince George. He drove all the way from Northern B.C. to Ontario to meet the tour and is going all the way to Victoria.


----------



## cocobolo

Some of you may remember having some of these cars back in the day.


----------



## cocobolo

The web is slow as molasses trying to load pix tonight, so I'll bring you up to snuff on the '33'

Went in to Lordco, our local parts outfit in Kamloops, and I discovered that a reverse rotation water pump is most likely for a marine application, although we couldn't find that cast in stone anywhere.

There is no listing for any of the stock water pumps in the "short" version, which is what I have on the '33.

However, we further discovered that Edelbrock makes both tall and short pumps in both forward and reverse rotation. So, for a price, they have you covered. Their pumps are all aluminum and are available in plain cast aluminum and polished if your last name is Rockefeller. They actually did have a short regular rotation pump in stock, so that's what I had to get.

Tomorrow I'll try and get it all back together.

An interesting observation with the new radiator. The new rad cap does not seal the rad at all. The water simply goes right out of the overflow pipe unimpeded.

Went and had a chat with the rad shop, and it turns out that the water neck they put on the rad is for a John Deere tractor. Does my car look anything like a JD tractor for Pete's sake? Wassamattayou?

So they have given me the correct part which I will have to replace myself. It's either that or waste at least a day taking out the rad and dragging it off to Kamloops for them to fix. That's time I just don't have to waste. :vs_no_no_no:


----------



## cocobolo

More from the road...

The silver Merc has a big hemi in the engine bay...the little yellow coupe made the entire trip with wide open zoomie headers!


----------



## cocobolo

One more on the highway, and the rest are after we followed the tour in to Kamloops at the Coast Hotel parking lot. Lots more to come.

Told you the Merc had a hemi!


----------



## cocobolo

More at the hotel. 

The blue & silver pickup was flathead powered, about the last thing I expected to find. Navarro heads on the motor.


----------



## cocobolo

Still at the hotel.


----------



## cocobolo

If you can't read the plate on the purple coupe, it reads BEE BOP.

Val wanted her pic taken with the car because she had one of her purple outfits on. The '33 (still at home sadly) is purple and silver...and we're naming the car Purple Haze. Hendrix anyone?


----------



## cocobolo

I have a hunch there might be a few hundred thousand bucks worth of cars here!


----------



## cocobolo

First three photos in this group are of the boss's car. Frank owns the Canadian Rodder website, and is the very hard working guy behind this tour. This is the 10th tour he has organized and it takes him a whole year to get things in line.

He is taking his deuce roadster over to Victoria for Deuce Days, along with another 1,199 participants. It's going to be one spectacular show.


----------



## cocobolo

The little orange coupe is a spectacular car. Everything is done to perfection.

Jim...the Impala at the end has your favourite motor...a 375 HP 327 with factory 4 speed.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, well that's going to be it for now. Time to get off my tush and get to work on the '33. I think I have all the parts to make it work right now. Most likely going to take me all day to get it back together.


----------



## BigJim

Oh my stars, those are some of the most beautiful cars I have seen. You Canadian fellows really do take your classic cars and rods seriously, beautiful, just beautiful.

That 327 is my favorite engine and the 33 coup is my favorite also. I have owned a bunch of some of those cars and trucks. One, the old Lead Sled with the Hemi, it looks like the old 426, that was one mean motor. If anyone has ever owned a Lead Sled and ran out of gas and had to push that suck, they would know quick why they are call a Led Sled. Man talk about heavy.

That other Lead Sled, some one did a fantastic job choppin that top. 

There is a car show in Pigeon Forge about every year, there are so many cars it gets tiring before seeing all of them. It is well worth the short trip for us just to see them.

I forgot to say something about your radiator, If ever you need an extra capacity radiator, find one that went in a diesel Blazer, they are double core.

Thanks for the pictures Keith, they are much appreciated.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Oh my stars, those are some of the most beautiful cars I have seen. You Canadian fellows really do take your classic cars and rods seriously, beautiful, just beautiful.
> 
> I forgot to say something about your radiator, If ever you need an extra capacity radiator, find one that went in a diesel Blazer, they are double core.
> 
> Thanks for the pictures Keith, they are much appreciated.


You're very welcome Jim.

I'm not sure if the new rad has two or three cores...but it sure is thick. And finally, it works!

So this evening, after quite a long day of fixing on the car, I got two pieces of very good news.

I started the car up less than an hour ago, and it fired right up. So I'm pretty sure I have the engine troubles licked. I let the temperature build up to about 195º, then turned the fan on. Slowly but surely, the temperature dropped back to 180º. Now this was at idle of course. So I have proved quite satisfactorily that the new radiator and fan assembly have what it takes to do the job. I doubt that I will need to run the fan when driving down the highway. Heck, even with the junk radiator and garbage fan it would run at 180º on the road.

Tomorrow I think we will see how far we can get with the body panels. I have the hood and both side curtains to re-install. In theory, it should be a simple matter of bolting things back. But in fact, because of the different mounting holes on the new rad, I doubt it will go that smoothly.

The second piece of good news is that the motor maintained 30 pounds of oil pressure at hot idle. It wasn't even close to that before...10 pounds. I put that down to my theory of the oil being destroyed by constant overheating. When I say overheating, we're talking about 250º +. It wasn't much better than hot water!

Now, if you can imagine this, Val thinks we should put the first coat of paint on the kitchen tomorrow. While I, naturally, think the car should take priority! I think I know who's going to win this one.


----------



## cocobolo

Let's just say the kitchen was painted this morning and leave it at that, shall we? Good.

I discovered a very slow coolant leak today, about one drip every minute or so coming from the water pump area. So it was off with the pump again, goop it up and put it back.

What should be a 15 minute job takes about two hours on the '33 with all the oddball things that need to be removed.

Val started to spend some time cleaning up the chrome on the wheels. They do look a lot better now.

We didn't have time to tackle the body panels today...so now it's tomorrow for that. After we put another coat of primer on the kitchen walls of course.


----------



## cocobolo

A bit more on the Tour to the coast now.

First up is a pic of Frank making a presentation to Ewald, the owner of Jellybean Auto Crafters. He is a presenting sponsor of this trip and a really good guy on top of it all. This was at the banquet in Kamloops, and a mighty fine meal it was!

The blue hood on the Camaro is being signed by everyone who participated on the trip, and when it's over, the hood is going to be hung on the wall of Jellybean's shop as a souvenir.

It's his wife's car, so we're hoping she doesn't mind!

The flatty is in that blue and silver pickup. It's immaculate just like the rest of the truck.

Val and I took pics of all the cars as they were leaving the hotel parking lot in the morning. Last pic is just one of them...won't bore you with any more.


----------



## cocobolo

Some random pics of the drive down which included stops at Ashcroft, Cache Creek, Lytton, which is Canada's hot spot, Hope, Chilliwack and finally Langley.

The last pic is a car which joined us at Langley and presumably is going over to Victoria.

Just a touch under 400 kilometers for the day, then we turned around and headed back to Anglemont that night, another 450 k's. It was a great trip.


----------



## BigJim

Thanks Keith, that is a beautiful area. I may have to buy another key board, drooling on this one over the beautiful cars has just about ruined it. LOL


----------



## cocobolo

It's amazing how busy one can be and yet seem to accomplish nothing.

Yesterday we got a couple more coats of primer done in the kitchen, and this morning we got the first topcoat on. It's called Maui Mist. Just a fancy name for white paint.

We have visitors for a couple of days, so naturally that puts a dent in my car time. Sometimes these people just don't have the right priorities, know what I mean? Plus I had to drive Val into Chase today for her physio. That's a good three hours down the drain. But that can't be avoided. Hopefully it will start doing some good very soon.

I did get the two side curtains on, but neither side fits right. That is due to the altered rad and the mounting holes no longer lining up. Going to try the hood tomorrow, along with a few minor mechanical fixes.


----------



## cocobolo

Took a shot at getting the hood on today. Sounds simple enough, but the two sides actually slide back and forth on some sort of centre rod.

Got the passenger side to stay put after better than two hours of messing with it, but the driver's side won't fit. It's all caused by the rad not having the mounting holes in the right locations. I'm going to have number one son take a look at it as soon as I can get the car down to the coast.

The front apron fit back fairly well and we got that bolted in nicely with very little hassle. And the new seat belts are now installed.

Our visitors are still here...I thought they were leaving today. They have a German shepherd with them. Need I say more?


----------



## cocobolo

Got back today from a trip to the coast to pick up the counter tops. What was supposed to take seven days actually took one month...and seven days. But they are here now.

Spent some time with the boys working on a '63 Nova which supposedly has a 427 in the engine bay.

I say supposedly, because the car, which has only just been bought this week, has 427 emblems on the fenders. However, when number two son ran the engine number it came up as a 454.


----------



## BigJim

I bet the Chevy has wheelie bars right? With that engine they will be needed. LOL To me the 427 was a stronger engine than the 454, stock. I just did some reading and I am impressed with the 454 a little better. 700 hp is no slouch, with a little N.O.. I saw where a 427 tuned good would get 500 hp stock w/o N.O., I wonder what it would get with a nice bump stick and N.O.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I bet the Chevy has wheelie bars right? With that engine they will be needed. LOL To me the 427 was a stronger engine than the 454, stock. I just did some reading and I am impressed with the 454 a little better. 700 hp is no slouch, with a little N.O.. I saw where a 427 tuned good would get 500 hp stock w/o N.O., I wonder what it would get with a nice bump stick and N.O.


This one has been treated to a big roller cam & roller rockers. I think I might have a pic of the nitrous tank here somewhere as well. It has pretty much all the toys.

I'm pretty sure it's well over 500 without hitting the button Jim.

I don't have any more time this morning to get more photos posted, as we are off down to Crawford Bay very shortly.

Val is going to help her sister out at the Shambala Music Festival. She'll be gone for 10 days. I should be back home tomorrow evening, it's a days' drive either way from here. More when I get back Jim.


----------



## cocobolo

Lots of stuff has happened in the last few days, but to start out, here's a few more pics of the Nova.

NOS bottle is inside the passenger area. Didn't know you could do that, but the car passed tech at Mission on the weekend, so it must be OK.

The fuel cell is a pretty old plastic thing, could use a new one.

Shot of what the driver looks at.

And a pic of the underside showing the ladder bars. But no wheelie bars.


----------



## cocobolo

The ferry that crosses over to Balfour from the Crawford Bay area...taken before 7 am last Sunday. It's a free ride! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

There's a funky cafe at the small ferry terminal called Mojos. They serve great food...just not open at this time of the morning.


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday I pulled a rear wheel off the '33 so I could check the brakes. Good thing I did, barely over 1/16" of lining left on the shoes.


----------



## cocobolo

Fixing the rear brakes should be OK, but the fronts are another story.

Take a look at this lug nut on the front wheel. Totally different from the rears, which come off with a standard 3/4 impact socket.

I spent hours on the web trying to find out exactly what this one is. I finally got it, but so far I haven't found a key to fit. 

Went in to Chase this morning and asked at a tire shop. Oh yes, he says, no problem I have just what you need. So he got me two very slightly different "keys" which look like a deep socket. He said if they don't fit then it's likely a Gorilla brand lug nut that I have. But of course he really couldn't tell without seeing them, that's understandable.

Back home I go, naturally they don't fit. Nothing else has gone right on the car so far, so why spoil a perfect track record?

Right, so I make a call to Gorilla in California, spoke to Wayne in customer service, and I must say he was very helpful. Asked me several questions about the lug nuts, and it didn't sound as though I have a Gorilla brand nut on there after all. But, still and all, they have several of the different "keys" and one should work.

So we decide on a 1378 key and he says do I know of Lordco in British Columbia...you betcha, I even have an account there. Apparently Lordco is a stocking dealer for Gorilla and they should have the right key.

OK, off I go again to Chase, a mere 50 kms away, and though their computer says they have two in stock, neither can be found. So off I go to Kamloops, another 60+ kms to see if I have better luck.

Yes, this time they find the key and away I go back home again.

Guess what, it doesn't fit. The first two were too small and the new one is too big. Not by much, but they need to be dead on.

I put up a post on our hot rod site, and very shortly I have several replies, one from a fellow who is in the wheel business and he says they stock quite a few different sizes of these keys. Problem is, he is in Calgary...that's over in Alberta...and the closest store to me is in Surrey, that's about 450 kms away. However, they also have some wheels that I wouldn't mind getting. They are a wholesale only place, so I'm not sure if I can buy directly from them or not. I'm waiting for an answer to that question as we speak. If I can, then I will call them first thing tomorrow morning, see if they have the rims I want in stock, and if so I'll be off on another wild jaunt.

Surely to heaven, something has to go right soon? :vs_OMG:


----------



## BigJim

I thought I was the only one in the world that had luck like that. Reading your posts made me feel like I was living that right along with you. I would have cut that sucker off and installed a new lug bolt. Thanks for the photos Keith, you are much appreciated.


----------



## 123pugsy

BigJim said:


> I thought I was the only one in the world that had luck like that. Reading your posts made me feel like I was living that right along with you. I would have cut that sucker off and installed a new lug bolt. Thanks for the photos Keith, you are much appreciated.


Or just hammer on the smallest 12 point socket that can fit and let her rip.


----------



## Windows on Wash

123pugsy said:


> Or just hammer on the smallest 12 point socket that can fit and let her rip.


+1

Plan on going through a couple or get a locking lug nut removal kit.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Or just hammer on the smallest 12 point socket that can fit and let her rip.


I've had that suggestion already pugsy, but it doesn't work that easily. With a 6 spline nut, a 12 point actually won't go on without breaking.


----------



## cocobolo

Windows on Wash said:


> +1
> 
> Plan on going through a couple or get a locking lug nut removal kit.


Bought the kit today. Full rundown to follow.


----------



## cocobolo

After having spoken to several people who know about these things, here's what happened today.

First thing this morning I called down to Canadian Wheel in Surrey, a mere 425 k's away from here. Spoke with Blair who was quite sure he could fix me up with the right key. Plus they have the wheels that I want...so off I go.

Blair must have had 40 keys there, yep, not one of them is the right size.

Well OK then, how about getting me a set of wheels. Now they must have literally 10,000 wheels there, never seen so many in my entire life, massive warehouse full to the roof. Nope, sorry, not the ones you want. That will be about a month to get them in.

OK, so now they are on order and maybe I will see them this summer, and maybe not...who knows.

Blair suggested I try Lordco again to see if they have any more different keys. OK, they actually have a big kit with maybe a dozen or more different keys in it, but of course none of them are the right one.

However, they did have a lug removal kit, which went out the door in my hot little hand. I won't take the lugs off until such time as I get the new wheels.

So after 11 hours on the road, I'm back home and none the wiser as to which key actually works with these lugs. Getting just a tad frustrated with all this nonsense. :vs_mad:


----------



## 123pugsy

I just need to ask the simplest solution. Did you contact the PO to see if he has it sitting on his work bench in his garage?


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> I just need to ask the simplest solution. Did you contact the PO to see if he has it sitting on his work bench in his garage?


Trust me pugsy, the seller wouldn't know this key from a stick of dynamite. He didn't lay a finger on the car if it had anything to do with the mechanicals.

It doesn't matter any more, as these wheels are going. Nothing really wrong with them as a wheel, and they do have new tires. I just don't like them.

Got an email last night from Blair, and the new wheels are expected in in 2 1/2 weeks now. Now all I need to do is to arrange for tires.

This Saturday the big show is on at Kamloops, so I will be looking at whatever tires the guys have and asking where they got them. I should know by the end of the day where I will be going for those. Actually the fellow at Integra Tire in Chase was pretty good...maybe I will ask him when I'm on the way through tomorrow morning.


----------



## asevereid

Hey Keith, I'll be around the show some time between 9 and 10....Will you be around then?


----------



## cocobolo

asevereid said:


> Hey Keith, I'll be around the show some time between 9 and 10....Will you be around then?


I'm not really sure.

One of the rear drums will not come off the car, so I went in to Kamloops to get a brake drum puller. None to be found, but I did get an 8" triple puller which I hope will work. I may have to weld something up if it doesn't work out of the box. Just walked in the door, so I haven't even taken the puller out of the box yet.

I see there were a bunch of nice cars running around town when I was there 90 minutes ago doing the poker run thing.

I'm positive that the right rear brakes are done judging by the amount of brake dust that has fallen out of the drum with all the pounding I've given it. Even if I do manage to get the new shoes on the back, there's still at least a couple of hours work to do inside the car. It's already starting to get dull here with all this cloud, and there's no lights in the carport.

I will be there some time tomorrow, but I honestly don't know when.


----------



## asevereid

Shame... Be nice to meet for a drink, or a coffee.


----------



## cocobolo

asevereid said:


> Shame... Be nice to meet for a drink, or a coffee.


Yes, it sure would.

Now I have one for the books. In all my years of mechanicking I have never seen this one.

The drum came off relatively easily with the big puller. But when it did, the backing plate seemed to be somewhat out of line with the axle flange. Say what?

So I grabbed the plate......and it is loose as hell! I simply cannot believe it. What am I going to find next? Several washers and two nuts fell out of the drum when it came off also...and they definitely do NOT look like any stock parts. I'm going to take pictures, just in case I end up in court with the little jerk that sold me the car.

At least I know for sure now that I won't be bringing the '33 in. But I will still see if I can find out what else is wrong in the back and fix it.


----------



## cocobolo

Three of the four nuts, bolts and washers are missing from the backing plate. Not actually missing as in can't be found, they were bouncing around in the bottom of the brake drum. The bolts are laying out on a highway somewhere I suppose...nice.

The fourth one is not tight enough to hold the drum in place, as you will see momentarily.

These two pics are of little Bertha, the 8" three arm puller that I got. Works like a hot damn! And the three nuts and FLAT washers that fell out of the drum.

So that is very obviously the problem, no LOCK washers.

Take a look at the washers, notice how they are dimpled in the middle? Seems very strange to me. Could be that the bolts are too small to fill the holes, I'll find out in due course, I'm sure.


----------



## cocobolo

These two pics are of me pulling and pushing the backing plate respectively.

You may not be able to tell, but that plate is moving a good half inch. Things like that do not inspire a whole lot of confidence, do they?


----------



## cocobolo

Tried taking pics of each of the open bolt holes, but only two came out. Kinda hard to shoot from behind, and the rear end is in the way to get a pic from the opposite side.


----------



## cocobolo

One small bit of better news...just got a call from a fellow down in Kelowna. He has a set of 3.08 gears for the rear end at a decent price. So that will be a trip down there on Sunday. I may end up getting the entire rear end assembly, we'll see what happens when I get there.

Dark clouds and lots of thunder here now, fairly typical for these summer evenings it seems.


----------



## BigJim

That is the pits finding all those things jury rigged, I would imagine you are getting somewhat skeptical after all this, I know I would be. Like I said earlier, looks like you and my luck are about the same.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> That is the pits finding all those things jury rigged, I would imagine you are getting somewhat skeptical after all this, I know I would be. Like I said earlier, looks like you and my luck are about the same.


Jim, I would rather find out about this stuff with the car on jack stands, than driving down the highway at 60 mph. I'm pretty sure you would too.

About the only thing left now is to box the frame. I have a gut feeling that the unboxed frame tends to wiggle a bit when the car hits a bump. That can wait until the car gets a new engine. But I can make up some templates for the steel in advance. I might also have enough sheet metal here to make up the recess in the firewall so the motor can go back a few inches.

That will give me room for some space between the water pump and the fan, but perhaps more importantly, it will add room at the front of the engine where it is close to the frame to fit in a set of headers. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Some photos from the Hot Nite in the City show in Kamloops today. Nice weather for the event, and thousands of people showed up...which made it difficult at times to get a decent pic.

First is a dragster which the owner was letting young kids sit in the drivers seat. Something for them to brag about when they go into grade 1 this year.

The orange 37 Ford sedan sports a blown Chevy small block.

Followed by a 34 ford sedan, '34 Chevy and a Chrysler coupe.


----------



## cocobolo

A few more. I think a blue 40? coupe, '34 Chevy Master Deluxe coupe, an immaculate Lincoln Zephyr, a '35 Dodge Touring Sedan, an Essex and a '32 Ford pickup with Buick power.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the last of what I call hot rods. If it isn't older than me, then it's a modern car. I have lots of pics of those as well.

Here's a model A roadster, a 32 Ford roadster pickup with Buick power and a gorgeous deuce coupe with Chevy power.


----------



## A Squared

drtbk4ever said:


> It is coming together nicely Keith.
> 
> What ever happened with the Ruxton place, were you able to sell it?
> 
> 
> cocobolo said:
> 
> 
> 
> Yep, how do you think I was able to afford to buy the '33 Plymouth? :devil3:
Click to expand...

That's great Keith. I followed your thread on building that place and was quite a disappointment when you had difficulties selling it. I'm glad to see it came together for you.


----------



## cocobolo

Made the drive down to Kelowna yesterday and picked up a whole new rear end plus an extra centre section with gears...both 3.08 ratios so I can get some better mileage.

Just got off the phone with an acquaintance way up in Fort Saskatchewan, that's north of Edmonton, and he has a 4L80e transmission and controller which I hope to get soon. Heaven knows why I can't find these things less than 500 miles away!

Tomorrow it's another long drive down to Crawford Bay to pick Val up after her time helping out at the Shambhala Music Festival. Should be back late Wednesday.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, more photos from the show...this batch is for those of you who like the go-fast sports cars.

A Z06 'Vette, white Lambo, black Ferrari, yellow Ferrari and red Ferrari.


----------



## cocobolo

The show is not limited to cars by the way. Here's some of the big trucks that show up. It wouldn't surprise me in the least to learn that many of these trucks have a million $ + invested in them.

The green one is an out and out show truck, very impressive up close.

Then a Kenworth Logging truck, a green Mack, a White Western Star, please note this is a private vehicle, not for hire! A Mack crane truck followed by a very chromed up Peterbilt.


----------



## cocobolo

Regular everyday cars...sort of.


----------



## cocobolo

This lovely old fire truck is not owned by the fire department. It's a private vehicle owned by a chap in Kamloops. He has just finished restoring it completely. Made a few trips around town with it and gets a whopping 6-7 miles to the gallon!


----------



## cocobolo

Went to Kelowna yesterday and picked up a rear end plus a spare centre section with gears. As I was coming back toward downtown Kelowna, I spotted what I thought was a military helicopter flying very low and disappearing behind one of the hotels.

A few minutes later, as I am stopped about three cars back at a stoplight, the gendarmes pull up in the middle of the intersection with their pretty little lights flashing. No idea what is going on at all.

A minute or so later, a Lamborghini comes out of the parking lot behind the hotel and goes screaming off up the road????? He has only got about 100 yards and he is quickly followed by a whole group of Lambo's, Ferrari's, Cobra's, Vette's, Porsche's and a gaggle of other brands. Every last one of them foot on the floor and going full tilt. It was quite a sight. Of course, I didn't think to get my camera out before they were finished, but I did see a sweet black Lamborghini at a stoplight further up the road.

So I pulled up alongside the guy, and now my camera is at the ready. Got one quick shot off and complimented him on his car when the light went green.

I figured I could take him easily in my trusty old Dodge van with the hot 3.3 motor (only 320,000 kilometres on it) but I decided to be a gentleman and let him win this one....ah yeah, sure.

Don't believe me...here's the proof!


----------



## cocobolo

Yep, that's the Lambo about 5 seconds later as I am just clearing the intersection!


----------



## cocobolo

Six days and no posts...well, we have reasons for these things you know!

All the way down to Crawford Bay to pick up Val and the last of the decorative furniture type items that we have had stored there for the past 8 months!

Of course we missed one of the ferries by less than 3 minutes at Shelter Bay, which meant an hour wait doing nothing.

Really nice trip back through Kaslo, a very old small town down in the Kootenays. It's a beautiful area.

No sooner am I back from that trip then it was off to Calgary, Airdrie, Edmonton and Onoway in Alberta for a variety of stuff. That was an 1850 kilometre trip!

Stopped in at Davis GM in Airdrie where I had some questions to ask about what converters go with the 4l80e trannys. Seems there are half a dozen choices and they depend on several things. While I was there I ordered up a crate LS3 motor.

I don't think it is going to fit inside the frame rails on the '33....so I might need to build something else. You never know.

Delivered a box of tools to my little brother at Onoway, and brought back the 4l80e tranny with converter and controller. That may or may not find a home in the '33, as I may be better off with a 700R4 if the LS won't fit.

I'll see if I can find some photos later. Most were taken while I was driving, so I'm not sure how they may have come out.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Six days and no posts...well, we have reasons for these things you know!
> 
> All the way down to Crawford Bay to pick up Val and the last of the decorative furniture type items that we have had stored there for the past 8 months!
> 
> Of course we missed one of the ferries by less than 3 minutes at Shelter Bay, which meant an hour wait doing nothing.
> 
> Really nice trip back through Kaslo, a very old small town down in the Kootenays. It's a beautiful area.
> 
> No sooner am I back from that trip then it was off to Calgary, Airdrie, Edmonton and Onoway in Alberta for a variety of stuff. That was an 1850 kilometre trip!
> 
> Stopped in at Davis GM in Airdrie where I had some questions to ask about what converters go with the 4l80e trannys. Seems there are half a dozen choices and they depend on several things. While I was there I ordered up a crate LS3 motor.
> 
> I don't think it is going to fit inside the frame rails on the '33....so I might need to build something else. You never know.
> 
> Delivered a box of tools to my little brother at Onoway, and brought back the 4l80e tranny with converter and controller. That may or may not find a home in the '33, as I may be better off with a 700R4 if the LS won't fit.
> 
> I'll see if I can find some photos later. Most were taken while I was driving, so I'm not sure how they may have come out.


The motor can *always* fit. :wink2:


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> The motor can *always* fit. :wink2:


I wish! But the frame rails close right in at the front. It's questionable as to whether or not I can even get headers to fit on the small block. The LS is quite a bit wider and taller.

The height is no problem. But the width definitely is. One bonus is that it's shorter as well, a benefit for room at the front.

Decisions, decisions!


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> I wish! *But the frame rails close right in at the front*.


That's what zip cuts and welding machines are for.... a lot funner than working on the house...:wink2:


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> That's what zip cuts and welding machines are for.... a lot funner than working on the house...:wink2:


Yep, no argument from me.

Except that the body wouldn't want to stretch to accommodate that much room.

So what I have in mind is a C-cab with nothing over the motor. Or maybe a clear acrylic hood, something like that.

Do you remember the Ice Truck from around 1970...or Nick Butler's C-cab that he built years ago in the U.K? Very different cars from each other, but both definitely very cool. That's what I have in mind.

What's even better is that I have Val on my side to do this car! :smile:


----------



## 123pugsy

I love the C cabs.
Too cool.

When do you figure this project will start?


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Yep, no argument from me.
> 
> Except that the body wouldn't want to stretch to accommodate that much room.
> 
> So what I have in mind is a C-cab with nothing over the motor. Or maybe a clear acrylic hood, something like that.
> 
> Do you remember the Ice Truck from around 1970...or Nick Butler's C-cab that he built years ago in the U.K? Very different cars from each other, but both definitely very cool. That's what I have in mind.
> 
> What's even better is that I have Val on my side to do this car! :smile:


Man, that is going to be one cool machine, for those who don't know what a C-Cab is:


----------



## drtbk4ever

cocobolo said:


> Six days and no posts...well, we have reasons for these things you know!
> 
> 
> No sooner am I back from that trip then it was off to Calgary, Airdrie, Edmonton and Onoway in Alberta for a variety of stuff. That was an 1850 kilometre trip!
> 
> 
> 
> I'll see if I can find some photos later. Most were taken while I was driving, so I'm not sure how they may have come out.


Darn, wish I had seen this sooner. I'm in Sherwood Park, just south of Fort Saskatchwan. I would have bought you a coffee or a beer on your way through.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> I love the C cabs.
> Too cool.
> 
> When do you figure this project will start?


I see you posting on New Interiors thread on Hotrodders...but his C-cab seems to have been stalled for some time now.

Before I get going on any real construction we're going to have lots more done on the house, and the '33 will need to reach the point where it has become reliable transportation.

However, as far as spending money on it, the new LS and the tranny already has hit the 10k mark. I have lots of ideas for it, and I'll probably start the chassis drawings in September and doubtless I will buy more stuff for it before then.

The real build probably won't get underway until the warmer weather arrives next spring, but by then I should have a good collection of parts,


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Man, that is going to be one cool machine, for those who don't know what a C-Cab is:


Right...that's Nick Butlers' C-cab from the U.K.

He built it many years ago now, and it has gone through a number of engine and paint combos. I think everyone's favourite was the blown big block Chevy. There's a video of it somewhere on Youtube if my memory serves me correctly.

The car may actually still be in existence, as the last I heard it was sold to a magazine owner over in Spain.

My other fave C-cab is the Ice Truck, owned by Dan Woods. He sold the car years ago and someone turned it into something else and called it Blood Alley. It surfaced for sale and Dan bought it back again and restored it to very close to the way it was originally built.

The motor in the Ice Truck was built by Sir Mickey Thompson for one of his race cars, and it was sold to go into the Ice Truck for a paltry $500, and that was on payments no less! I think it's a blown 325 cubic inch Buick which is reputed to have around 500 horsepower. As Dan puts it, the car was "scary fast!"


----------



## cocobolo

drtbk4ever said:


> Darn, wish I had seen this sooner. I'm in Sherwood Park, just south of Fort Saskatchwan. I would have bought you a coffee or a beer on your way through.


Would you believe it, the tranny came from Fort Saskatchewan! Small world.

It would have been a coffee, as I tell everyone I quit drinking when I was 11. I'll be making another trip to Calgary when the new motor arrives in another week or so.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Right...that's Nick Butlers' C-cab from the U.K.
> 
> He built it many years ago now, and it has gone through a number of engine and paint combos. I think everyone's favourite was the blown big block Chevy. There's a video of it somewhere on Youtube if my memory serves me correctly.
> 
> The car may actually still be in existence, as the last I heard it was sold to a magazine owner over in Spain.
> 
> My other fave C-cab is the Ice Truck, owned by Dan Woods. He sold the car years ago and someone turned it into something else and called it Blood Alley. It surfaced for sale and Dan bought it back again and restored it to very close to the way it was originally built.
> 
> The motor in the Ice Truck was built by Sir Mickey Thompson for one of his race cars, and it was sold to go into the Ice Truck for a paltry $500, and that was on payments no less! I think it's a blown 325 cubic inch Buick which is reputed to have around 500 horsepower. As Dan puts it, the car was "scary fast!"


That is really interesting Keith, thanks. $500 he may as well have just given it to him, he practically did. LOL


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> That is really interesting Keith, thanks. $500 he may as well have just given it to him, he practically did. LOL


Yes, even back then $500 for that motor was a gift.

Well, I received two emails this afternoon, the first letting me know that the new wheels are in and ready for pickup. So I will be off to the coast in the wee hours of the morning for those. There's a big tire store about a block away from the wheel guys, so I'm hoping that I can get tires mounted without a whole lot of fuss and bother.

Then number two son tells me that the heads will be on the new 383 today and could I bring down the new valve covers. Two birds with one stone.

On top of that my new tach arrived in the mail today from the Old Car Centre, which was kind of nice.

And finally, someone has an ad on Craigslist for a rebuilt 700R4 with upgrades at Chilliwack...right on my way to the wheel shop. Can't beat that with a rubber hammer!

Now if even half of this goes well, it should be a good day tomorrow.


----------



## cocobolo

If the link works, it's an interesting read...the Ice Truck.

http://customrodder.forumactif.org/t1965-dave-shuten-s-ice-truck-dan-wood-s

Edit: yep it works!


----------



## BigJim

Man that is a machine, beautiful.


----------



## cocobolo

Down on the coast right now. Picked up the new wheels and found tires at the local Fountain Tire dealer. He says that 14 and 15 inch tires are becoming harder to find these days, because everyone is switching over to much larger wheels.

These should last me for years, so nothing to worry about.

Number 2 son has put a nix on the 700R4 trans...says to look for a 200R4, which is the same length as the old T-350. No need to shorten the driveshaft that way, except that I would like to move the motor back a few inches. So I have something to think about there.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the new wheels and tires. I'm surprised at the better appearance of the tires alone, never mind the wheels!


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the first new one mounted on the front. I like it! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Back to the business at hand.

When I got back from the coast late last night, Val had managed to assemble most of the cabinet carcasses for the kitchen.

I'm thinking that maybe I should go away more often at that rate. She'll have the kitchen done in no time! :devil3:


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Here's the first new one mounted on the front. I like it! :smile:


Nice.


----------



## cocobolo

This morning, I replaced the nuts and bolts that were allegedly holding the backing plates on to the rear end. 

Obviously I knew that three of the four bolts on the passenger side were missing, but I had already finished doing the brakes on the drivers' side and didn't really notice anything amiss.

So I first took out the last bolt on the right side and installed the correct fine thread nuts, bolts and lock washers. Now, at least I feel much more secure.

Then pulled the left drum off again, and all the bolts were still in place. However, since they were the same as the replacement version, they had to go as well, which meant removing the rear brakes and starting over. I can think of better things to do on a Saturday morning.

Now, when I put the wheels on, I noticed that the lugs protruded past the end of the wheel stud, and that's not good. After closer examination, the lug does in fact just barely cover the last thread on the stud. I think I will look for some longer studs anyway.


----------



## cocobolo

The new tires are taller than the originals, and they do seem to fill out the wheel well much better. There's no room alongside the car to get a decent pic, but I tried anyway to show the difference in size.

The new one is just over 28" tall, the original closer to 25 1/2".


----------



## cocobolo

Just got an email from number two son...they have the new long block in their hot hands! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Close up of the valve train...the latest beehive springs and some nice rocker arms! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

He didn't like the nice shiny chrome valve covers that I had...so he came up with these cast versions.


----------



## Windows on Wash

Engine pics....


----------



## cocobolo

Just back from another trip up to Canada's frozen north country, otherwise known as Edmonton.

Actually, the frozen part isn't true, but it sure did blow an awful lot with loads of rain on the trip.

It's right around 925 kilometers from my place up to Edmonton, where I was going to retrieve a rear end...more about that in a second.

Not long after I had started (at 2 am mind you) I noticed a quiet tapping sound coming from the front end, just intermittently. By the time I was 100 k's north of Kamloops, it was becoming loud enough to start worrying about. I thought it was a CV joint on the way out.

To make a long story short, I nursed the van all the way to Valemount, which was the first town that had anything that resembled a mechanic.

I was down to 30 k's by the time I arrived.

Found a mechanic, complete with four earrings and smoking a Cigarillo..oh dear, what am I in for now.

Brief diagnosis and it was decided that I would need a new wheel bearing. Now on these FWD vans, the bearing is actually only a small part of the assembly, as you can see in the photos.

It turned out that Rick, the mechanic, was very knowledgeable and did a great job on the fix. He found two broken wheel studs and the remaining three lug nuts had worked themselves very loose. It was the loose wheel that was making all the ruckus. He has a firm opinion on what caused the wheel to get loose. No, not me...something that was done a couple of months ago by others.


----------



## cocobolo

OK now, check post #1803. Bill lives at Sherwood Park...and I had just seen an ad for a 12 bolt Chevy rear end at - where else - Sherwood Park of all places.

Hmmm, I wondered to myself if I could impose on Bill to go over to this chaps house with the rear end and pick it up for me. Ahhh, nothing to lose by asking, right?

Well, you wouldn't believe what a truly great gentleman Bill turned out to be. Not only would he pick it up, but he wouldn't even let me transfer the money to buy it in the first place! Yes, of course I reimbursed him later.

After the 3+ hour delay caused by the broken wheel studs, I finally made it to Bill's place shortly before 4 pm, and I knew he had to leave at 4. Just made it in time, thank goodness. We got the rear end loaded in the van, had but a short time to have a quick chat and then I was on my way back home again.

So Bill, when you read this, I want you to know that I am most appreciative of your very kind and generous offer of help. Thank you indeed. Hopefully I can one day return the favour.


----------



## cocobolo

Jim...got a question for you.

The brake drum here is finned. I had similar drums on my T-bucket, and that rear end was a 12 bolt out of a Buick Station Wagon...bulletproof.

I don't remember the other GM drums being finned, I think it was just the Buick's that were like this.

What say you?

Thanks


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Jim...got a question for you.
> 
> The brake drum here is finned. I had similar drums on my T-bucket, and that rear end was a 12 bolt out of a Buick Station Wagon...bulletproof.
> 
> I don't remember the other GM drums being finned, I think it was just the Buick's that were like this.
> 
> What say you?
> 
> Thanks


I agree with you, the only other drums I remember the fins being on were pickups. Of course you already know they are cooling fins.

I also agree with you that Bill is a really nice guy, not many like him left now days.

It is a good thing you stopped and had the wheel checked, that could have been very bad.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Jim...got a question for you.
> 
> The brake drum here is finned. I had similar drums on my T-bucket, and that rear end was a 12 bolt out of a Buick Station Wagon...bulletproof.
> 
> I don't remember the other GM drums being finned, I think it was just the Buick's that were like this.
> 
> What say you?
> 
> Thanks


I believe the Buick ones you are thinking about are the aluminum jobs with the bigger fins that everyone wants for their open fendered cars.

They have the fins sticking up above the outer rim of the drum so you can actually see the ridges from the back side. Got a nice sprocket look to them.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> I believe the Buick ones you are thinking about are the aluminum jobs with the bigger fins that everyone wants for their open fendered cars.
> 
> They have the fins sticking up above the outer rim of the drum so you can actually see the ridges from the back side. Got a nice sprocket look to them.


In that case, there must be two different kinds.

The ones I had, which came from a '67 Buick wagon, were definitely cast iron. I'm not sure if the fins were as big as the fins that you have, which makes me think there must have been different versions.

I may have some pics of the ones I used to have, but not on the computer, that was over 25 years ago.

Do you think the aluminum ones would have had a cast iron lining inside? I don't know if the aluminum would stand up to any serious braking...maybe even warp under heavy braking conditions.


----------



## 123pugsy

No idea.

I just found the pic from googling.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> No idea.
> 
> I just found the pic from googling.


Right...I just did the Mr. Google thing as well.

It seems that several manufacturers had finned drums. On some the fins are small, others bigger.

There are also after market finned aluminum drums available, for a price of course!

It seems that the finned drums are all earlier, at least with the bigger fins. Like in the '60's for instance. Apparently GM had some smaller fins on cast iron drums up into the '80's.

I will see if there is a casting number anywhere on this rear end and maybe I can track it down that way. It's always handy to know what it is if you need any parts. And this one will need new wheel cylinders and undoubtedly new shoes as well.

The fellow that it came from has had this one for over 20 years, just sitting outside all that time. He took the cover off to check the gears and apparently they are OK.


----------



## 123pugsy

My 76 Chev pickup has them as well.
Not as big as the ones you have though.


----------



## cocobolo

Well now, the plot thickens.

It seems that GM has made two different types of 12 bolt rears. One is for the passenger cars, the other for trucks. Somewhat strangely, at least to me, is that the passenger cars are supposed to be stronger than the truck rears, by virtue of the larger pinion shaft (for one thing) and the different number of axle splines for another.

I can see that this is going to take some time to decipher, as there are conflicting opinions out there. Hard to believe that happens on the web, isn't it?

This one is a 5 x 5 bolt pattern which likely puts it in the truck category. Plus the fact that the cover is definitely the truck pattern. Plus the passenger 12 bolt was used only for a few years, while the truck 12 bolt was available as an option up into the '80's...'87 I think.

I have unearthed several casting numbers on the housing, but some of them are extremely difficult to make out. There is also a stamped number on one of the axle housings, which is supposed to positively ID where this axle was originally used. However, as Bill will attest, the unit has copious amounts of rust and I'm having trouble seeing just exactly what the stamped numbers are. Even some of the cast numbers are difficult to read. I guess over the years mother nature has tried to turn the housing back into iron ore.

I tried taking photos from slightly differing angles, and maybe with a little more elbow grease I will be successful. I'll see if I can get some blown up pics posted.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the first three numbers, although, for the life of me I cannot make out the first one.

The second one is either 12345, or 12346.

The third one is E 28 2, and that is a date code I believe.


----------



## cocobolo

Rear cover, which is definitely a truck cover, and the stamped number on the axle housing.

I blew this up as large as possible on my desktop, and it reads either P or maybe R for the first letter, followed by HS W 157 1.

If you can figure out the P or R let me know, thanks.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Rear cover, which is definitely a truck cover, and the stamped number on the axle housing.
> 
> I blew this up as large as possible on my desktop, and it reads either P or maybe R for the first letter, followed by HS W 157 1.
> 
> If you can figure out the P or R let me know, thanks.


It looks like an R to me.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> It looks like an R to me.


It's really hard to say Jim. When I look at it in person, the leg of the "R" appears to be more of a rust hole than part of the stamping. I have discovered that these stampings were actually done by a human, rather than by a machine. Some are more legible than others. Haven't found any info on the P or R letters yet.

Now, with reference to the "12345" above, I have since found a photo of a centre section with the 12345 above, as you see here, but with an additional 67890 cast in below. I don't know what it was from. Very likely a Chevelle, as it was on a Chevelle website.


----------



## drtbk4ever

cocobolo said:


> OK now, check post #1803. Bill lives at Sherwood Park...and I had just seen an ad for a 12 bolt Chevy rear end at - where else - Sherwood Park of all places.
> 
> Hmmm, I wondered to myself if I could impose on Bill to go over to this chaps house with the rear end and pick it up for me. Ahhh, nothing to lose by asking, right?
> 
> Well, you wouldn't believe what a truly great gentleman Bill turned out to be. Not only would he pick it up, but he wouldn't even let me transfer the money to buy it in the first place! Yes, of course I reimbursed him later.
> 
> After the 3+ hour delay caused by the broken wheel studs, I finally made it to Bill's place shortly before 4 pm, and I knew he had to leave at 4. Just made it in time, thank goodness. We got the rear end loaded in the van, had but a short time to have a quick chat and then I was on my way back home again.
> 
> So Bill, when you read this, I want you to know that I am most appreciative of your very kind and generous offer of help. Thank you indeed. Hopefully I can one day return the favour.




Hey Keith, it was my pleasure to be able to help out. The added bonus is I got to meet you and enjoy a much too short chat. 



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## cocobolo

We have spent many days trying to assemble the IKEA kitchen cabinets.

Now, I figure that I'm competent enough to do this sort of thing without too much trouble. But that doesn't seem to be the case here at all.

These cabinets, while being very cleverly designed, are far from easy to put together. Oh, the cabinet carcases are simple enough, but then you get to the hardware, and this is where things get interesting.

The instructions use lots of line drawings, but not a single word of text. I think that most people who buy these cabinets in a box can read. A few words would go a long way to avoiding the confusion which these drawings cause.

Then there are the various different screws. Not really a problem in itself, except that every last one of them is a Phillips. I bet I have 100 Phillips screwdrivers and bits - no exaggeration - and not one of them is a snug fit in these screws. I bet we have dropped these screws several hundred times, and always in the most awkward places. It's an exercise in frustration. It appears that IKEA hasn't heard of Robertson screws.

Once we get everything in place and functional, I'm going to send a note to the good folks at IKEA, just to vent my frustration and let them know that we can read. 

We're getting close, and maybe later today Val will have her long overdue kitchen in place. I must admit that it's starting to look pretty good, but those damn instructions...!!! :vs_mad:


----------



## 123pugsy

What? Didn't they give you a 90° screwdriver that fits exactly? :surprise:
They always give an Allan key. :wink2:

International instructions...no words. :vs_no_no_no:


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> What? Didn't they give you a 90° screwdriver that fits exactly? :surprise:
> They always give an Allan key. :wink2:
> 
> International instructions...no words. :vs_no_no_no:


Oh yes, if that's what you call an Allen key, then we need to have a chat. What a piece of.........

As for the international instructions, I'm not international. On one of their sheets of paper, they have any number of different languages written out, most of them completely unintelligible written in those funny symbols.

Frankly, for what it might cost to print out a few words in English, I cannot buy those "International instructions" for a second. Surely IKEA knows which country their shipments are going to, no?


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Oh yes, if that's what you call an Allen key, then we need to have a chat. What a piece of.........
> 
> As for the international instructions, I'm not international. On one of their sheets of paper, they have any number of different languages written out, most of them completely unintelligible written in those funny symbols.
> 
> Frankly, for what it might cost to print out a few words in English, I cannot buy those "International instructions" for a second. *Surely IKEA knows which country their shipments are going to, no*?


Nope, and they don't care.

No words, they can ship em anywhere...


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Nope, and they don't care.
> 
> No words, they can ship em anywhere...


Really? Well, that's a surprise. You would think that an outfit that size would be aware of which country gets what.

In any event, when we get this thing all put together, I'm going to send a note off to IKEA to see if they have anything to say. I may start with a hand delivered letter to the manager of the store where we bought the cabinets.

One other small point...the counter tops are made by a private company. At least the ones that we got, although they are ordered through IKEA, and paid to IKEA.

The one week promised delivery wasn't even close. I think it was closer to five weeks by the time they were ready.


----------



## cocobolo

Another brief update...we have decided to rearrange the row of cabinets where the sink sits. As we had it before, we had 92" of cabinets before the sink. It turned out that this would leave the overhead cabinets extending about a foot into the sink area.

Now, there is one good thing about these IKEA cabinets in that they are basically a modular type design, and you can switch one for another to change spacing. Because we have just about every width going from 12" to 36", we were able to make the adjustment we needed.

Unfortunately, the wall outlet that I had so carefully placed for the dishwasher now had to be moved. Just finished that and now we can re-install the new cabinet arrangement.

As long as the total length of cabinets remains unchanged, the counters will still fit. In theory anyway...:vs_OMG:


----------



## cocobolo

Things went pretty well today in the kitchen.

We removed the old sink and old plumbing.

Put the steel strip on the wall which holds the back of the cabinets. Put the sink cabinet in place as well as the end cabinet so that we had something to sit the counter top on to.

Laid out and cut the sink opening and that went well. Went to hook up the supply lines and one of them was too short to reach the supply shutoff. 

I had to take Val into Chase today for another physio appointment, so after I dropped her off for that I headed in to Kamloops to pick up a few things, one of which was the longer hookup line. No problem there.

While I was in town I dropped in to see Mansini Steel to order some steel for the frame of the future C-cab. They apparently have a shear and brake which will handle 10 foot long steel. So, I'm having them cut and bend up some metal for the frame of the car. Getting exciting now!

Got back home and fixed the plumbing and ran our test. All well except for a small drip on one side of the drains. It was getting too late to fix by the time we got done, so that will have to wait until Saturday now.

We're headed for the coast - again - tomorrow just for some paperwork. Not sure if I will have time to drop in and see the boys, but I did get an email with a pic of the new Shafiroof 540 cubic inch motor that they are putting in the '63 Chevy twice. I don't think I would have the guts to drive that thing with that much jam. Something in the vicinity of 900 h.p. Good grief Charlie Brown! :surprise:


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday I finally got the dishwasher in place.

Before I could do that, I had to join the two ends of the counter top together. Easy enough, right?

It seems that IKEA did not let the counter top outfit know that these ends were going to be butted together, and there was no provision to join them. So I concocted a Rube Goldberg connecting device (you remember Rube, don't you?) and it worked more or less OK. However, one of the ends had a noticeable warp across it which left the edge against the wall with a lip showing on one side. After much messing around and adding an angle iron bracket to the back, it is nearly flat now. Pictures later.

The dishwasher fitted at it should but when I went to turn on the hot water supply, the knob on the shutoff broke into two pieces and came off in my hand! Made in Trump's favourite country, China. Tried crazy glue to stick it back together, didn't work the first time, so I did it again and then let it sit since yesterday. I'll see if it will stay together this morning, and if not, I will get another shutoff and just use the knob from it. It's too difficult to remove the valve as I have used Pex for the lines.


----------



## SPS-1

cocobolo said:


> ...you remember Rube, don't you?


 He taught me everything I know.


----------



## cocobolo

SPS-1 said:


> He taught me everything I know.


Good one! We must be related then! :devil3:


----------



## cocobolo

OK, on to some pics of the Rube Goldberg setup that I made to fasten the ends of the two counter tops together.

First a pic of the plywood assembly I cobbled together. It is supposed to be so that when assembled loosely, that there will be about 1/4" of space between the two sides. 

Then it is glued and screwed to the underside of one of the counter tops. When the glue has set up on that side, the second counter top is put in place as close as possible to the first side.

The The Rube contraption is glued and screwed to the second side. Once that glue has set up, then the bolts can be tightened bringing the two tops together.

Well, it worked fairly well, except that the left side had a substantial cup right across the end, and it showed up badly. I would say it was somewhat more than 1/32". That may not sound like much, but run your finger over it and it felt like it was huge.

So after looking at this thing to see what could be done, I decided to try a piece of angle iron, recycled from an old bed frame, to hold the two back edges in line with each other. The photo will explain it better than I can.

The lady of the mansion is happy with it and that's what counts. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Went to put the first pulls on some of the doors on the overhead cabinets, and a different problem reared its' ugly head.

Now surely nothing can go wrong with a simple door pull, right?

Take a look at these pics.

When I did the first pull install, it looked for all the world like it was crooked. I didn't take a photo of that unfortunately.

Now I honestly couldn't grasp that, as I had gone to considerable lengths to make up a perfect jig for drilling the holes in the doors and drawers.

I checked the holes again, and they were perfect. So that wasn't it.

Well, I ended up taking all the pulls out of their fancy little plastic packages, and lined them up in pairs. There were all kinds of variances which made it understandable as to why they could appear to be crooked, but yet be in the right place.

By the way, these are "Design and Quality of Sweden". And in tiny little letters in the bottom corner...made in China.


----------



## jlhaslip

Biscuit joinery will help align the countertop connection, but it won't help pull them together or provide support like your connection.
Good job.


----------



## jlhaslip

Those screws in the Ikea product are using Posidrive heads which is not the same as a Phillips head. I call them a European Phillips, they look similar, and the screw drivers will work (sort of) on the diffent screws, but read this following link to understand why it is not a good idea to use the other screw drivers with the different screws.

http://mechanics.stackexchange.com/...use-a-pozidriv-screwdriver-on-a-phillips-head

Blum hinges also use the Posidrive in their screws.
I own a Posidrive screwdriver which is only used on Kitchen installs. I also source the posidrive tips from an outfit called Gregg Distributors in Edmonton. I am not sure if they operate in BC, but the Interwebs might be useful to figure that out.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Went to put the first pulls on some of the doors on the overhead cabinets, and a different problem reared its' ugly head.
> 
> Now surely nothing can go wrong with a simple door pull, right?
> 
> Take a look at these pics.
> 
> When I did the first pull install, it looked for all the world like it was crooked. I didn't take a photo of that unfortunately.
> 
> Now I honestly couldn't grasp that, as I had gone to considerable lengths to make up a perfect jig for drilling the holes in the doors and drawers.
> 
> I checked the holes again, and they were perfect. So that wasn't it.
> 
> Well, I ended up taking all the pulls out of their fancy little plastic packages, and lined them up in pairs. There were all kinds of variances which made it understandable as to why they could appear to be crooked, but yet be in the right place.
> 
> By the way, these are "Design and Quality of Sweden". And in tiny little letters in the bottom corner...made in China.


The handles appear to be fabricated from triangular tube. 
They will move and twist all over when welding.

Just drill 3/8" holes on the door and you'll have no problems. If the handle goes into the big hole, just use a 1/4" standard flat washer on the face of the door and one on the back.

There you go. Problem solved. :wink2:

Gee Keith. Sometimes, I feel you worry too much....ha........ :smile:

That's how they would fix it in China.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Biscuit joinery will help align the countertop connection, but it won't help pull them together or provide support like your connection.
> Good job.


Under normal circumstances I would definitely agree with you.

However, in this instance where the top is only a shade over 1/2" thick, I don't think that would work. The top material is only particle board, so once you remove 50% for a 1/4" biscuit to go into...there isn't a whole lot left, just 1/8" on either side.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Those screws in the Ikea product are using Posidrive heads which is not the same as a Phillips head. I call them a European Phillips, they look similar, and the screw drivers will work (sort of) on the diffent screws, but read this following link to understand why it is not a good idea to use the other screw drivers with the different screws.
> 
> http://mechanics.stackexchange.com/...use-a-pozidriv-screwdriver-on-a-phillips-head
> 
> Blum hinges also use the Posidrive in their screws.
> I own a Posidrive screwdriver which is only used on Kitchen installs. I also source the posidrive tips from an outfit called Gregg Distributors in Edmonton. I am not sure if they operate in BC, but the Interwebs might be useful to figure that out.


Thanks for mentioning that! I think I have a set of Posi drive bits here somewhere. Guess I haven't found them yet.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> The handles appear to be fabricated from triangular tube.
> They will move and twist all over when welding.
> 
> Just drill 3/8" holes on the door and you'll have no problems. If the handle goes into the big hole, just use a 1/4" standard flat washer on the face of the door and one on the back.
> 
> There you go. Problem solved. :wink2:
> 
> Gee Keith. Sometimes, I feel you worry too much....ha........ :smile:
> 
> That's how they would fix it in China.


Yes, they are. And the material is EXTREMELY thin.

It appears that what they do is to cut a length of this triangulated steel, then notch out a 90º chunk, then bend it up until the sides touch, and then there is a tiny spot weld tacked right into the top corner.

It surprises me that if this is done by machine - and why wouldn't it be? - why is there such a variation?

And something else, when you look at the ends with an eye loupe, it is obvious that the threaded inserts are chopped off with something quite rough. On a few of them I have had to take a tap and touch the ends up so that the screw will go in without binding. So much for the "Made in Sweden Quality".

I heard that in China they don't even use Chinese door pulls, they get all theirs directly from Ford, where quality is job one! :devil3:


----------



## cocobolo

Just got our internet back after two days of suffering from withdrawals.

Not sure if any of you heard or not, but a tornado...yes...a tornado hit here on Saturday evening. First time I have ever been inside a tornado and I don't care if I never ever see another one.

We had two friends visiting us and we had finished dinner. They then headed back home at Hope, which would have been a little over three hours' drive away.

Well, three minutes after they left we got a frantic phone call from them saying that they were coming right back here. It seems that they were right in the main path of the tornado as it hit Magna Bay, about 2 kilometres from us.

A tree came down on the road right in front of them. Denny stopped immediately and turned around. By the time he had done this, there were other trees on the ground right behind him already. He 4 wheeled over the first one, but the second one was hung up on the power lines...so he drove underneath it, even though the branches were hanging down almost to the ground.

They got back to the house just a few minutes later, by which time the wind and rain were in full force at the house. They were completely soaked by the time they walked the few feet from their truck to the door.

Of course the power was out by now as well, which really helped matters.

Did you know that inside a tornado that it is totally black? Not a hint of light at all. And it's noisy as hell. And VERY wet!

Denny was on highway patrol for 15 years with the R.C.M.P. and he said never before in his life had he ever been scared out of his wits by anything on the road. But he was shaking like a leaf when he got back here. Talk about a frightening experience.

We were very lucky here, just one tree came down on top of the garage down below. It broke in half when it hit the roof. I haven't been up on the roof yet to take the tree off or to survey the damage...but it looks OK from the house.

This afternoon we took a drive down to where the main damage was, not far from us at all. An entire row of houses down on the lake front are seriously damaged. Crews are on hand still cleaning up the worst of the mess of trees that are down everywhere. Almost every house at the lake front has a tree through the roof, or in some cases the house is almost completely destroyed. They wouldn't let anyone in on the road for a closer look. But when they are done their cleanup - and this is the highways department we are talking about here - we'll go down again and see if we can get some photos.

We do have pics of where the tornado hit the ground at Magna Bay and it's an absolute disaster area now. I'll try and get some pics up later. I have tons of emails to answer first, so bear with me.


----------



## gma2rjc

I'm glad you're all alright Keith. What an awful experience. Last month, we were having lunch in the city and the news came on tv that tornadoes were touching down in areas south-west of us. One was heading toward our small town and the sky in that direction was black. Luckily that one fizzled out about 10 miles to the south. Tornadoes around here are very uncommon. Do you have a siren that goes off in your area to alert the community when there is a tornado warning?


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> Do you have a siren that goes off in your area to alert the community when there is a tornado warning?


Nothing like that here Barb. 

This is the first ever tornado that has been recorded here, unheard of before.

We were at Tim Horton's yesterday afternoon in Kamloops chatting to some vintage car folks. The lady I was speaking with was from the Kelowna area, and apparently she had taken photos of a storm funnel down at Oyama just a month earlier. This is all new to us here, so I hope it doesn't become a regular feature.

One of the fellows there had a 1918 Chevy in immaculate shape. Yes, I have pics of course! Later for that.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the least damage that anyone had done in the storm...just a birch tree that landed on the garage and snapped in two. I don't think I can see any real damage there. If it isn't STILL raining tomorrow I'll go up and have a peek.


----------



## cocobolo

We were originally told that highways expected to have one lane open out of the Anglemont/Magna Bay area by about 8 am. That's the only way in or out, so it was important that they get the road opened up as quickly as possible.

This is the early part of the lineup just outside the Ross Creek Store.


----------



## cocobolo

Right across the road from the store these trees took out a couple of smaller outbuildings.


----------



## cocobolo

This is the tree that Denny drove underneath to get out of the immediate path of the storm. As you can see, it's pretty much touching the road.


----------



## cocobolo

A short while later the big excavator arrived to pull the tree off the power line.

However, while doing so, the tree broke. I caught the tree dropping in the second pic just in time.

Pretty quickly, the dump trucks were on the scene and the excavator operator filled them up as quickly as possible and away they went. I think there were 4 dump trucks cycling back and forth to get rid of the debris.


----------



## cocobolo

Look at the top of this pole. One of the lines has pulled its' way right through the middle of the pole.


----------



## cocobolo

As we were heading to cross the bridge over Ross Creek we spotted what appeared to be perhaps a metal roof, which must have come from the opposite side of the road somewhere further down.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the beginning of the section where the power lines had been knocked down. Some of the lines were actually snapped right off from heavy trees landing on them.


----------



## cocobolo

These poor people must have had a rude awakening when the tornado hit. It looks like they were smack in line. Not a lot left of this place now. The roof appears to be sitting alongside the house, although I can't be sure about that. A small piece of the roof was on the ground between the road and the house.


----------



## cocobolo

Not exactly sure what this is from. Maybe a piece of a fence, or something off a small building. Your guess is as good as ours.


----------



## cocobolo

More power lines down.

This is where the main swath of damage happened, at least on the main road.

There is much more damage a few hundred meters away slightly to the south of here right on the edge of the lake.


----------



## cocobolo

Hmmmm, doesn't look like I have the right photo above.

OK, this one is supposed to be of a couple of pontoon boats which got munched but good. Right between the sign and the bobcat.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's some of the debris. All they could do initially was to push as much as possible off the road to get the traffic out.


----------



## cocobolo

I have to use my old desktop to post pics...but it seems to have suffered a heart attack or something. Several more to go but it looks like they will have to wait until tomorrow. Sorry about that.


----------



## jlhaslip

My experience with tornadoes is limited to the one that hit Edmonton 30 years ago.
Like you, once was enough.

Hope there were no human casualties. Buildings can be replaced.


----------



## 123pugsy

Wow.

That's pretty brutal Keith.

Glad you squeaked out of that one unscathed.


----------



## drtbk4ever

Hey Keith, glad to hear you are Ok. Looks like you may have some more firewood. 

I'm with jlhaslip, my only experience with a tornado is the one that hit Edmonton. I was over 20 blocks away from where that one passed. We stood at our office work Windows watching the severity of the rain and wind, not realizing a few clicks away was a tornado. We couldn't believe our ears when the radio station started reporting a tornado.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## Windows on Wash

Holy smokes.

Glad you are okay.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> My experience with tornadoes is limited to the one that hit Edmonton 30 years ago.
> Like you, once was enough.
> 
> Hope there were no human casualties. Buildings can be replaced.


We don't know if anyone was hurt yet.

Most of these places that were hit are vacation homes for some of the more affluent members of our society. Generally speaking, they are vacated right after the labour day weekend. Although right next door to the house that was demolished, the gentleman was at home. He may be there full time I think.

I expect that Al Christopherson, our local realtor and hot rod pal will know more than we do. The roof on his pump shed got hit by a clump of heavy trees. They have a tarp on it temporarily until they can get it fixed.

As for the row of houses alongside the lake, I suspect that some of those may be full time residences.

We have a small local paper called the Kicker. I'm sure there will be a big writeup in there when it comes out at the end of the month. I'll try to keep you up to date.


----------



## cocobolo

So far, all anyone can do is to drive past the affected area, they aren't letting anyone stop and nose around, so these are taken as we drive through.

This one is taken to show a big tree that was snapped off like it was a twig. A whole series of these big trees are what went over the road and took out the power lines for about 800 feet.


----------



## cocobolo

Some of the logs that were piled up alongside the road in the first attempt to clear things up.


----------



## cocobolo

A mere 75 yards past the last photo this is the scene.

Nothing...no damage at all. But one of the people who live here already had a tree faller getting rid of some of his higher risk trees. Better to take the danger trees out that have to pull it out of your house when the next storm hits I guess.


----------



## cocobolo

This LaSalle was one of the two vintage cars we spotted when we were at Tim's in Kamloops.


----------



## cocobolo

1918 Chevy phaeton.

The photo of the gears is showing the speedometer drive gear! Neat.


----------



## BigJim

Storms like that, no one ever gets use too. I am glad you came out as good as you did. If you have a barometer, check to see if it is broken now. I had a barometer on the front porch, a few years back, as a tornado lifted up and went right over the house, the barometer bottomed out and broke. Sounded like all the air in the house was being sucked out really fast. 

The strange thing is the tornado was headed for our house, lifted up about 200 feet before it hit our house then set back down about 1000 feet from our house. It blew an oak tree that was about 4 foot in diameter down and it was so loud we didn't hear the tree when it hit the ground and I was looking right at in from the front porch. The tree was about 100 feet from the house.

I am sure everyone was surprised up your way, I have never heard of a tornado that far north.


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Jim: Yes, it's an eerie feeling, that's for sure.

I made the mistake of opening the front door, just for a second, when the storm went past the house. Couldn't believe the wind and rain that hit instantly, even though the carport stretches out some 16 feet or so. I had that sucker slammed closed right away!


----------



## cocobolo

Just spoke with Al, and the only injury that he knows of was a lineman who fell on Sunday evening. As far as we know he's going to be OK eventually.

They had at least half a dozen of the big bucket trucks here working on the lines at one time. Quite the operation. They had all new power power poles installed by late Sunday morning.

Taking Val to physio at Chase again in a few minutes, so we'll see how the cleanup is progressing.


----------



## cocobolo

Some not so good news about the lineman. Apparently he fell out of a bucket and had to be helicoptered out of here to hospital, I believe to Kamloops. His leg is shattered and is not likely to be saved. 

That's not the sort of thing we like to hear about someone who is only trying to help out in a bad situation. We can only wish him well.


----------



## cocobolo

On the way back from Chase this afternoon, we were able to get into the worst hit area. The first thing we saw was this Suzuki. Instant convertible.


----------



## cocobolo

This is the first cabin on the lake shore that the storm hit.

The small building to the right was the boathouse. 

Now you need to bear in mind that Brian (owner) has had two loggers here for the past day and a half, so many of the trees have been removed. For example, there were four trees on top of the house.

Brian, his wife and their two grandchildren were in the house when the tornado hit. He told us that there were three funnels that came across the lake, not just one. This would account for the severe damage in more than one place.


----------



## cocobolo

This place was busy with contractors yesterday when we tried to see what was going on. From the water side, it's easy to see the damage.

Apparently, it is up to the homeowner to try and prevent further damage when something of this nature happens. In other words, before the insurance company gets involved, the homeowner must do whatever he can to prevent additional damage, such as water incursion and the like.

The big tree that hit this place came from the next door property.


----------



## gma2rjc

Wow! Those trees don't show any mercy, do they? I hope Brian and his family are alright.


----------



## cocobolo

This is the house which was built around the big fir. That might sound like a novel idea on a nice warm summer day, but this is what happens when mother nature gets her knickers in a twist.

Last photo shows this and the neighbours' house, and the only damage I could see on that one was a small piece of aluminum gutter that was bent, that was all.


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> Wow! Those trees don't show any mercy, do they? I hope Brian and his family are alright.


They are all OK Barb.

That is a miracle in itself. I think the reason that this house wasn't crushed is that it is quite low, and it appears that once the first tree landed, that it acted like a cushion for the others to land on.

They have already removed the trees off the roof, and they have got temporary roof patches in place.

Our CBC radio was due to visit them this afternoon at 4:30 p.m. to do an interview.

Brian told us that the entire episode lasted less than 5 minutes. He has not yet got a call back from their insurance company, but he does have wind damage coverage.

Val spoke with both his granddaughters, and they were nervous as all get out during the storm. Lots of tears afterwards, but tears of joy because nobody was hurt. I'd say the girls were about 6 and 9 or so.

What a story they will have to tell their schoolmates!


----------



## gma2rjc

The house with the tree coming up through the deck - is that a built-in round hot tub?

Have they sent a meteorologist up into that area to decide what size/strength the tornadoes were?

I wonder if Brian took a picture of the 3 tornadoes.


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> The house with the tree coming up through the deck - is that a built-in round hot tub?
> 
> Have they sent a meteorologist up into that area to decide what size/strength the tornadoes were?
> 
> I wonder if Brian took a picture of the 3 tornadoes.


Yes, that is a hot tub. It seems to be very well attached to the deck itself.

Brian had no time to take any pictures. Brian said that as soon as they realized what was happening, that he ran outside and started to wind up the big awning. It looks like is it still OK, although I think one of the trees hit one end of it.

Some fool yesterday claimed that the winds "were gusting to 80 k's." Oh, for Pete's sake, that's only 50 m.p.h. Much more like 200 k's at the edge of one of the funnels. Even at our place, when I made the mistake of opening the door it was way over 80 k's. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.


----------



## cocobolo

All kinds of goings on here over the past couple of weeks. Just no time to get the pics organized and posted.

The kitchen cabinetry is just about done, although it has been interrupted by several other things.

Val decided that we should build a retaining wall out of Allan Block where I put in a new driveway up top. I'll have to give you the details later.

Yesterday we were able to take the '33 on the "Pumpkin Run", which is a rod run that gathers at the big boom town of Grindrod, B.C. (you can Google that).

I hadn't heard of the run until my chum Al asked if I wanted to go for the drive. Sure, why not...after we fix another dozen things wrong with the car. But, at least he gave me a couple of weeks notice.

It was a great show with perfect weather so I will update you on that as well.

Back soon.


----------



## jlhaslip

I have visited the Tavern at Grindrod. Cool town.


----------



## cocobolo

One more thing out of the way now...got the vent installed over the stove.

The only real problem was that the ceiling had that valence in place which was put there in order to cover up the plumbing drain, which should never have been there in the first place.

Had the valence not been there, the install would have gone without a hitch. But because it IS there, I had to shorten the stainless cover. I don't pretend to be any good whatsoever with stainless, so this was a new experience for me. Last time I cut some stainless, I used a circular saw with a metal cutting blade. If you haven't seen the mess that makes, you're in for a real treat! But that was about 35 years ago.

This time I used hand shears and the electric shear and it was fine.


----------



## cocobolo

This was done 3 weeks ago, but I show it because of some short sighted thinking by IKEA.

When the top drawer was put in on the left side cabinet, it hit the drawer pull on the right cabinet. IKEA had given us a spacer to install between the two to cover for just such an incident. But it was just not quite enough. I had to take the pull off, grind off about 1/8" from both ends and put it back. 

Works fine now.


----------



## cocobolo

Next up was the island. Pretty straight forward this time. Just fasten two cupboards together, set them on a base that I made, add the back and two ends and then the top.

The fancy back and ends that IKEA provides are about 2" or so too tall for a standard 36" high counter. Not sure why they do that, as it leaves the customer to trim off that amount.

After having marked out the nice laminate covered back, I taped it up and drew the lines on the tape. Two reasons for that. A pencil line doesn't show at all on the laminate, and the tape did a good job of preventing the laminate from chipping.

The spacers (5/16") under the back and end pieces are to provide room for the extra plywood floor and vinyl laminate that will be going down at some point during my lifetime...I hope!

Since the entrance in from the carport door will be covered with some travertine tile - the real stuff this time - we needed to make provision to raise the vinyl flooring to try and keep it level with the tile.


----------



## cocobolo

On Sunday last, October 2nd, we managed to get away for the day to the Pumpkin Run with the '33. Most - but not all - of the bugs have been sorted out on a temporary basis. Enough that I was willing to risk the trip.

We left here around 7:45 am for the drive in to Kamloops, which is where the run was to start. I was under the impression that it was a small group of cars from the Kamloops Street Rod Association that were going on this run, maybe 30 or 40 cars.

Just as we were arriving at the A & W in Kamloops, the gathering point for the cars, we saw the first cars already leaving. It was quite a sight I must say. There were still around 30 or so cars in the parking lot so we were just in time.

Val wanted a coffee, so she hopped in to get us two for the road. OMG, it took 5 minutes just to get two coffees to go so we were the last car to leave and I wasn't at all sure of the route...as we had been given two sets of instructions from Al.

We managed to get caught up to a group of the cars before we headed south on highway 97, and it was all good from there. The weather was incredible which was a real treat after the previous week of rain and cloud every day.

So, in no particular order, here's some of the pics I took. First batch at the A & W shortly after 9 am.


----------



## cocobolo

A few more at the Dub.


----------



## cocobolo

The destination for the Pumpkin run was Grindrod, a small town by any measure located in a very picturesque valley. The route that we took was not direct by the main highways, but rather via several winding side roads which made the drive much more fun. When we arrived at the field at Grindrod, we were absolutely blown away by the sheer number of cars that were already there.

Well, it seems that this is a pretty big show and shine and cars come from all over the lower part of the province to attend this one. We had no idea!


----------



## cocobolo

More at the show...


----------



## cocobolo

And again...


----------



## cocobolo

A few more...


----------



## DIYknot

The question for me, having read this thread all the way through, is what can't you do?


----------



## jlhaslip

DIYknot said:


> The question for me, having read this thread all the way through, is what can't you do?


I'm keen on reading the reply.

Have you seen the Forum Posting from when he was living on the Island?
http://www.diychatroom.com/f49/gulf-island-building-34958/

Pretty handy fella.


----------



## cocobolo

DIYknot said:


> The question for me, having read this thread all the way through, is what can't you do?


Hi there DIY man...I'm not quite sure how to answer this one, but I'll give it a go.

I don't think it's what I can't do, and I say that because I'm willing to tackle just about anything...when it comes to making stuff that is.

There are too many people who give up on something simply because they don't know how to do it, right? My answer to that is you can learn.

I'm often reminded of a statement made by Enzo Ferrari which he said many years ago.

"What man can conceive, he can achieve." 

So therefore, I have always had the attitude that if I can learn it, or at least figure out how that particular something is done, then there should be no reason that I can't do it.

Unfortunately these days, the physical limitations of my ancient body are showing their age in no uncertain terms. If I'm lucky, I will be able to finish the house that we are doing at the moment and maybe even my last hot rod build.

Whether or not that really answers your question, I don't know. I have to wonder whether it's more rhetorical than not.

By the way, a big welcome to the thread! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Val has been down at the coast for the past week...more medical stuff, she's due back in a couple of hours thankfully. Now at least I'll get to have some decent meals!

Next up on the house is to get the last of the unused wiring out of the second side of the kitchen ceiling. The biggest problem there is actually trying to track down where the various and sundry wires go. Several of them are 220v circuits which formerly powered the old electric heaters. They are all now gone.

The new tile for the entryway is outside the door waiting patiently to be installed. It is travertine from Turkey and is loaded with holes. I have been in touch with my tile mentor, the one and only Bud Cline, and he has passed along his always sage advice. With a little luck I hope not to run into any problems that I can't take care of.

The last of the IKEA cabinets is ready for the final installation touches, but I need Val's helping hands to do the job.

Yesterday I framed in a new dividing wall in the second half of the kitchen, effectively turning that into a dining area. I made sure to keep the length of the room less than 16 feet so as to avoid having to use three sheets of drywall on the ceiling.

With a little luck I should be back in a day or three with some new photos.


----------



## Bud Cline

Keith I just wanted to apologize for my intermittent communication activity lately. My Internet has been off again on again for more than two weeks.

WINDSTREAM The World's Worst ISP.
"Keep sending us your money and we'll keep screwin you"


----------



## cocobolo

Bud Cline said:


> Keith I just wanted to apologize for my intermittent communication activity lately. My Internet has been off again on again for more than two weeks.
> 
> WINDSTREAM The World's Worst ISP.
> "Keep sending us your money and we'll keep screwin you"


Bud, I think lots of us would claim the same thing for our ISP's. I think they are all cut from the same cloth!

Back in a minute with several updates. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

I'll try to get you up to date, at least somewhat.

I made mention of an Allan Block retaining wall about a page ago, and this is why we needed that.

I have put in a new road so that we can actually park on our own property. You see, when the genius who laid out the front property line many years ago decided that the gummint needed more land to go around the corner, he simply changed the line coming down the street and encroached about 30 feet on to what should have been the property which went with the lot. What is even dumber is that the road curves away from us, not toward us, so there is no logical reason for this...not that any gummint ever uses logic.

Hence the new access, and therefore the need for a retaining wall.

It took me about three days of steady work with the machine to get this done, and right after it was put in, we had torrential rains for many days. I was fearful that there would be some sort of collapse, but it didn't happen.

We hastily figured out what we wanted in the way of a wall, went in to Kamloops and got Winroc to deliver us what they said we would need.

Here's where the new access is at the moment.


----------



## cocobolo

The good folks at Winroc delivered four pallets of Allan Block.

Two pallets are the large blocks for the retaining wall above where the new access road is, and the other two are the smaller standard size blocks which Val wants to put around the septic system down below.

I like that forklift he has. No trouble at all with a full load of block.


----------



## cocobolo

After we did some checking on the right way to do one of these block walls, it turned out that we needed a load of 3/4 sharp rock. OK, no problemo, the local pit has that.

Then you need to dig out a trench of suitable size to place the rock in and that is followed by compacting. If you don't compact, you can expect the wall to shift badly in short order.

After checking on the rental price of a plate compactor ($100 a day) I decided to buy one. We figured that by the time we have compacted the top area, then the area around the septic system the rental would be exorbitant.

Plus, I plan on adding concrete to the workshop down below, and compacting that as well would be a really good idea. At that point we should be ahead of the game.


----------



## cocobolo

Once the rock was compacted, we needed some way to move the Allan block down below.

The small blocks weigh somewhere around 35 pounds each, so that is quite manageable. But the bigger ones we are using in the top wall come in at 75 pounds each, and they aren't exactly the easiest things to grab hold of.

So I needed to cobble up something to load a few in at a time to facilitate their relocation.

This is what I came up with. The frame is 3/4" thinwall tubing which is screwed through the bottom tubing right into some 2 x 4's. Took me an entire day to weld it all together...lots of joints in this little guy.

Drilled a hole in the top for an eye bolt and tied that to the excavator with a good strong rope.


----------



## gma2rjc

Use it, sell it when you're done and end up losing no money - smart!


----------



## cocobolo

Well, the lift seems to work well, but it was getting to the end of the day when I moved the first batch below.

Three blocks at a time works well, and I got a dozen blocks down before dinner time.


----------



## cocobolo

This was it for the day.

I will have to check on the level very carefully before the next row of block goes on. As long as the first row is good, then the entire wall is supposed to be OK. At least, that's what they tell you! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> Use it, sell it when you're done and end up losing no money - smart!


Well Barb, that is the plan.

The advantage of having the machine on hand is that we don't have to rush trying to get the other rock in place. That's actually quite a time consuming job as it needs to be very level before you place the block.

I put in more rock than is actually required, but I did that because the ground that I dug out for the new road access was obviously fill from the not too distant past. If that rock can keep railroads in place, it should manage that little wall.

I bet it has been 30 years since I've been on the business end of one of these guys.


----------



## cocobolo

Friday morning we are off to the coast again.

This time it is a combination trip of medical stuff for Val, returning a few things to IKEA, but FAR more importantly...the boys and I will be putting the new motor and tranny into the '33. 

We have been waiting for the new trans to arrive from somewhere in Minnesota, and it is due in five more days.

That should give us time to pull out the present 350 and trans, get things cleaned up, put the new wiring harness in place, get the front of the frame boxed and then see how things go.

Any of you guys who have worked on the old hot rods before know that there are always several little things that crop up to keep things interesting. 

I have a new dash insert on the way and that is supposed to be at the post office tomorrow. It has room for the speedo and full size tach, whereas the old one didn't have provision for the tach.

The new torque converter is due to be made by this Friday when we go down, so that shouldn't be any trouble. The wiring harness is in stock at my dealer's and it is set aside for me.

Now all we need is good weather for the trip! :smile: Could I be that lucky!


----------



## jlhaslip

Level is a good thing, they say... 

How many blocks high are you going? Do you need deadmen or tie-backs at all?


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Friday morning we are off to the coast again.
> 
> This time it is a combination trip of medical stuff for Val, returning a few things to IKEA, but FAR more importantly...the boys and I will be putting the new motor and tranny into the '33.
> 
> We have been waiting for the new trans to arrive from somewhere in Minnesota, and it is due in five more days.
> 
> That should give us time to pull out the present 350 and trans, get things cleaned up, put the new wiring harness in place, get the front of the frame boxed and then see how things go.
> 
> Any of you guys who have worked on the old hot rods before know that there are always several little things that crop up to keep things interesting.
> 
> I have a new dash insert on the way and that is supposed to be at the post office tomorrow. It has room for the speedo and full size tach, whereas the old one didn't have provision for the tach.
> 
> The new torque converter is due to be made by this Friday when we go down, so that shouldn't be any trouble. The wiring harness is in stock at my dealer's and it is set aside for me.
> 
> Now all we need is good weather for the trip! :smile: Could I be that lucky!


Rewiring is not one of my favorite things to do. A fellow wanted me to rewire his 55 chevy years back, he brought the car over and had cut every wire out. I told him to just take it right on back home, I wasn't going to reinvent the wheel. I always tied a heavy string to the end of the wire I pulled out so I could tie it to the new wire and pull it back in place.

I can just feel the anticipation waiting to hear your new engine fire up and test drive. Have fun buddy.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Level is a good thing, they say...
> 
> How many blocks high are you going? Do you need deadmen or tie-backs at all?


The wall will be roughly 4 feet tall. Nothing is required to hold it in place as such, but you need to fill in the blocks themselves with sharp rock, plus the fill behind the wall is also sharp rock. That rock sticks together like you wouldn't believe.

It also consumes large amounts of rock! I only got one truck load, which is 12 cubic yards, may have to get some more. Apparently, the secret is not being cheap with the rock.

Since it is once again raining here this morning, it doesn't look like I will be getting back on the wall until we get back from the coast.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Rewiring is not one of my favorite things to do. A fellow wanted me to rewire his 55 chevy years back, he brought the car over and had cut every wire out. I told him to just take it right on back home, I wasn't going to reinvent the wheel. I always tied a heavy string to the end of the wire I pulled out so I could tie it to the new wire and pull it back in place.
> 
> I can just feel the anticipation waiting to hear your new engine fire up and test drive. Have fun buddy.


Hi Jim...wiring isn't one of my favourite things to do either. But I have two good books on the subject, and number two son is a whiz at that stuff.

Plus I'm getting a new harness which makes all the difference in the world.

I don't anticipate too much trouble with the electrical, but having to re-do things like the alternator mount, maybe the engine mounts and for sure the transmission mount are going to take some time.

If at all possible I would like to get the engine moved back at least another inch. The new trans is longer than the 350 turbo which is coming out, so that also means that my nice new driveshaft will need to be shortened. Fortunately, there's a good driveshaft shop not too far away from the boys' shop.

I'll be sure to let you know how it all goes. Must make sure my camera battery is well charged before we leave! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Busy as a mad hatter down at the coast with the car.

Yesterday we got the new engine over to the dyno shop and ran some numbers. Yes, I took photos but I have no facility to upload anything from here, so that will have to wait until the car is back on the road and safe to drive the 500 kilometre trip home.

The new engine performed extremely well and I'll pass along the story when I get back.

Today we are going to fix the old motor mounts...the rubber has been all but destroyed by old age. I think they must be original to the '70's sometime. 

We have a new power brake system almost finished, just have to do the finish welding and run new brake lines.

We have started to remove the old wiring and what a mess it was. We'll get the welding done first, then move on to the wiring afterwards. I'll keep you posted.


----------



## BigJim

Really looking forward to your story and pictures.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Really looking forward to your story and pictures.


Hi Jim. Val has a couple more medical things to attend to down this way and it looks like we should be heading home either Sunday or Monday...with or without the car. Val has another go round at the hospital in Kamloops, so we need to go back for that.

Then back down here to get the car finished up.


----------



## cocobolo

Just discovered that the nice new shifter on the turbo 350 doesn't come anywhere near close to working with the 2004R tranny. Had to order a new one from the US, so that's more delay.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Just discovered that the nice new shifter on the turbo 350 doesn't come anywhere near close to working with the 2004R tranny. Had to order a new one from the US, so that's more delay.


Add the cost of the shifter to the tranny when you sell it. LOL

I hope Val gets back to her good health very soon, Keith.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Add the cost of the shifter to the tranny when you sell it. LOL
> 
> I hope Val gets back to her good health very soon, Keith.


Jim, I will be sure to pass along your good wishes to Val. She will appreciate that.

Number two son said I should sell the shifter as it is all but brand new. Driven well under 1,000 kilometres since it was installed. The cases on the 350 and 2004R aren't even close., so it's no wonder the previous shifter wouldn't fit. I have already donated the old 350 motor and 350 transmission to number one son, I think he will rebuild the motor and stuff it in a T-bucket he's just getting started on.

Just got back from yet another shopping trip. And this time we got the new polyurethane motor mounts and the TV cable (no, it's nothing to do with television!). The poly insert is far superior to the old rubber.

You disassemble the old motor mounts by drilling out the rivets holding the two outer steel parts together. Separate those, clean the steel, put the new poly in and Bob's yer uncle.


----------



## vmh0307

Woo, I like the Studebaker Rockne car.


----------



## cocobolo

vmh0307 said:


> Woo, I like the Studebaker Rockne car.


Hmmmm...that was a few weeks back.

Welcome to the website and welcome to the thread. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

OK, we are back home from the coast, minus the '33 of course.

It's one of those things where every time something gets taken apart, something else follows right behind.

As the car sits now, it has no motor, transmission, driveshaft, master cylinder, steering, exhaust or wiring. Other than that, it's good to go! Well, now that I think about it, there's also some body work being attended to as well and I hear that we are likely going to convert the back brakes to discs.

Almost forgot that the gas tank had to be yanked in order to find the trouble with the sending unit.

In other words, the whole car has been ripped apart.

Trouble this morning getting my old desktop to co-operate loading pictures. I use that one instead of the laptop so that I don't clutter this one up with thousands of pics. I'll see what I can to to entice the old girl (computer) to get back in gear again ASAP.


----------



## BigJim

Wow, that makes me tired just thinking about all that work. One thing for sure, it will be in top shape when y'all are finished, and worth way way more than you gave for it.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Wow, that makes me tired just thinking about all that work. One thing for sure, it will be in top shape when y'all are finished, and worth way way more than you gave for it.


Jim, just got a call from number one son.

It seems that they removed the heavy steel channel that was holding the rad in place, just to clean everything up and get it painted. In so doing they discovered two long cracks in both sides of the frame in front. The root cause appears to be an improperly welded Heidt's front end in the first place. Apparently, only about 1/3 of the welding was completed.

It looks like they got the front end in place, did a few partial welds and simply forgot to finish the welding afterwards.

Of course, we will address every single weld now, to make sure there is no repeat performance. As of now they are in the process of removing both front fenders. Not a particularly easy job I'm afraid to say. But it has to be done.

I have asked them to send me some pictures of the damage. Plus I also asked them to check every single bushing, just in case they need replacing. They did look OK to me when I gave them a cursory inspection, but I think at this point a closer inspection is warranted.

I am now guessing that would account for the loose feeling in the front end when I hit a substantial bump in the road.


----------



## BigJim

Good grief Keith, that is scary, it is great that your boys are on top of things so well. That could have turned out really bad. I am happy for you and anyone else who will ride in your beautiful car.


----------



## cocobolo

Jim, we are going to go over every square inch of that frame to make certain that everything is good. There's simply no point whatsoever in taking any chances.

As you will see when I get to the engine part, the beast will now have something like 3 times the power of the old motor. So that means that every safety item will need to be operating at 100%, no half measures will be tolerated here.

OK, so lots of stuff coming up right now about the current ongoing operation at the boys' shop.

First off, the car is inside and we have the hood and side curtains removed already. I'm afraid I was so busy doing stuff that I missed a lot of decent photo opportunities.


----------



## cocobolo

Now the rad shell, front apron, radiator and fan are out. Number one son is pulling the Edelbrock water pump which will get transferred over to the new motor.


----------



## cocobolo

I didn't think that I should trust the old fuel pump, so we picked up a new Edelbrock unit which is pre-set at 6 PSI so we don't need a pressure regulator.

These new pumps can have the base turned around to several different positions so that you can aim the incoming and outgoing fuel lines where you need them. We set them at about the same as the old pump, as that seemed to work OK.


----------



## cocobolo

On top of the front end you can see the top bar which was hiding the frame cracks.

What might appear to be rust on the front end is in fact just hog fuel. The boys had a load dumped outside the shop to take care of the mud that was developing there as a result of all the rain lately. It was pretty soft when I drove through it.


----------



## cocobolo

Didn't take too long to pull the old motor and tranny out. Sitting quietly on the shop floor here.

Number one son asked if he could have it to put in a T-bucket he wants to build. The tranny is OK, but the motor will need a full rebuild.


----------



## cocobolo

So now we are left with a big hole.

That makes it nice and easy to get at the various things which need either fixing or changing, or both.


----------



## cocobolo

With the old motor out, we could proceed with the change over of several parts from the original motor to the new one. The water pump was new, the entire ignition system was new, so that got transferred over. Plus minor items like the water neck, oil and water sending units, stuff like that.

The boys are adding the high zinc oil for the break in and dyno test over at Jimmy Richmond's shop.


----------



## cocobolo

Here we are at Richmond Racing Engines shop with the new 385 on the dyno. Yes, it's a 385, not a 383, because this motor is bored out .040 rather than the usual .030, which makes a whole 2 cubic inches difference! Wow, hold me back!


----------



## cocobolo

We had tried to time the motor as perfectly as possible, and I'm very happy to report that it fired up immediately when Jimmy hit the start button. It didn't take more than one second.

We had previously primed the oil pump, so we didn't need to be concerned about turning the motor over several times to avoid a dry start. That would have been disastrous.

Here Kyle is timing the motor and Jimmy decided that 35º total advance would be right with all the info that we had given him regarding the heads, cam, pistons, carb etc.


----------



## cocobolo

Here we are inside the dyno control room after the initial startup.

Jimmy let the motor run at low speed for at least 15 minutes and got the water temperature up to where he wanted it.

That green light up at the top corner of the screen indicates oil pressure. Over 70 pounds at a high idle, which was too much. On the first pull it went over 80 pounds. That kind of pressure is going to cause damage if it isn't brought down, so we needed to install a pump with much less pressure.

Yes, we know the Nascar guys run a boatload of pressure, but their engines get torn down after every race. This is strictly a street motor.

The lower light is vacuum, and I was pretty pleased to see 20 pounds on that gauge, especially given the cam we're running.


----------



## cocobolo

The boys and I went about the business of changing the oil pump right on the dyno.

We pulled the headers and pan off, and the pump came out without any issues.

Then it was off to buy a different pump...do you think anyone in town had a stock pump? Not on your life. Couldn't believe it. So eventually what we did was to change the pressure relief spring to a much lower one and that did the trick. Good waste of nearly three hours just trying to find a new pump.

On the first pull, the new motor yielded 455.7 horsepower and 475.7 pounds feet of torque. And the beautiful torque curve was just about dead flat! Number two son, the engine guru, was hoping for 1 h.p. per cubic inch, or 385 h.p. So he was plenty happy with the result.


----------



## cocobolo

After we had replaced the oil pump, Jimmy made a couple of other pulls. Made no changes to the motor - other than the pump, and the results were all but identical, which was a very good sign.

Then he had Kyle bump the timing by 2º and we picked up two more horsepower and torque. Not really worth worrying about. We made no attempt to try different jetting in the carb, and Jimmy said we could likely gain more power quite easily. Gotta tell you, I'm quite pleased the way it is. So it's going to get left alone.

So this motor will need 91 octane to run right, as it has 10.4 to 1 compression. However, the aluminum heads will tolerate 89 octane if we can't find premium gas at some time. I might have to retard the timing a couple of degrees if that ever happens.

I took a picture out in Jimmy's shop area, and you can see a few of the blocks he's doing right now. This is only a small part, and I actually counted over 200 motors in the shop. Incredible! Mostly Chevy's of course.


----------



## cocobolo

From there, we loaded the motor in to the truck on its' own dedicated stand. Very handy these little stands, as you can roll them around the shop to where ever you might need.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the old and new in the shop.

We have a new 2600 torque converter ready to go with the new 4 speed auto trans.


----------



## cocobolo

Just about all the old wiring was a prime example of what not to do. All the wiring under the dash has now been pulled out...number one son in the process of doing the deed with cutters in hand.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the old column.

It's out of some kind of Ford, no idea which one. The keyed ignition switch never did work, the builder used an old undersized push button for starting. Various cuts here and there with a grinder, generally just a mess.


----------



## cocobolo

After the old column was removed, we took out a piece of about 3/8" plywood from behind the firewall. It was used to screw what turned out to be the old electrical panel in place. And that panel was a home made monstrosity out of a piece of fiberglass. Hardly the sort of thing that belongs in your hot rod.

Then I made up a much better fitting piece of plywood out of 5/8" sheet, figured out the size of the hole to drill through where the steering column was going and drilled that out at 25º. Worked first try.

Then fixed that plywood to the firewall and made our test fit with the new column.


----------



## cocobolo

They like to sell you pretty looking gadgets to hold these columns in place. Naturally, these are all extras.

Both the hanger to hold the column under the dash and the floor piece are not included with the already expensive enough column.


----------



## cocobolo

The old motor mounts are taken apart by drilling out the two rivets at each end of the mount. The old rubber is stuck to one side of the mount, so you need a little brute force and ignorance to get rid of that part. With that done, the new poly part just slips right into place.

Then you simply use the provided zip ties to keep the mount together while it is being installed. Once it is bolted in place, the mount bolts keep things together.


----------



## cocobolo

The radio, which didn't work anyway, was in a small overhead console. Other than the windshield wiper (singular) and the interior overhead light, I don't think there was anything else that required any power.

Just look at the mess of wiring in there!


----------



## BigJim

Oh my stars, Jimmy has some really serious equipment there. I see he has an automatic hone. When I was at Memphis Engine Rebuilders back in the 60s, all we had was three Kwikway boring bars and two 3/4 hp drills for hand honing the blocks. Man if you hung a crank journal, that hone would break your arm, if you didn't let it go.

Man what I would give to just work in a shop like that, just beautiful.

Buddy that is one powerful engine, I can just see a heavy duty burn out coming up one day soon, light them tires up. LOL

One thing for sure, you sure aren't cutting any corners, looking great.


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Jim...what you may not see right behind the Sunnen hone, is a 5 axis CNC machine which is capable of boring out a 6 cylinder engine in 9 minutes. Yes NINE minutes. They just did a whole row of 6 bangers back to back. Just a mere $200,000 per copy for one of those machines.

We were in the assembly room, which is where Kyle puts together the new engines. He showed us a 383 Chevy which he was working on and he had the bottom end put together. So crank, rods, pistons, rings, oil pump, timing chain and he could grab the balancer and spin that bottom end over by hand...easily! I have never seen a motor with such little friction.

Apparently, they can do that with all the engines that come off the CNC machine. It was truly an eye opener to see that. Jimmy says that gains them about 25 horsepower purely in loss of friction. 

He builds some track motors there which routinely spin at 9,200 RPM and still somehow manage to live. There's just no doubt that the man knows his stuff.

I really don't plan on spinning the new tires if I can avoid it. But you know how it goes, sometimes accidents do happen! :devil3:


----------



## cocobolo

One of the smaller but annoying problems is that the motor sits just very slightly towards the driver's side in front. If anything, I would want it the other way, or at the very least, properly centered.

So to that end, I had number one son cut the frame mount off the passenger's side. Then we trimmed 3/8" off that. Allowing for the thickness of the cuts, this will give just over 1/2" of movement in the right direction.

I'm going to need every millimeter of room when it comes to doing the headers on the drivers' side. It's always trouble with the steering column and sometimes even the oil filter.

The passenger side has the starter motor in the way, but I picked up one of those smaller high torque starters which is a space saver. Again, any little bit of space saving is good.


----------



## cocobolo

Another of the aggravations was the improper brake pedal ratio. It was about 50% less than it should have been. That meant that the pedal had to move way too far before it would activate the brakes.

We had to remove the brake pivot, move it up less than 1/2" and weld it back into place. This allowed us to make a longer lower arm on the pedal. A longer arm equals more travel. More travel equals faster activation.

Since we are going from mechanical to power brakes, this difference will be even more noticeable. I'm just hoping the brakes aren't too touchy when we button things back up.


----------



## cocobolo

The old master cylinder was your standard fare double reservoir unit.

When we got the beast up on the hoist, we discovered that one (possibly even both) of the brake lines were leaking where they exited the cylinder. Obviously that's an accident waiting to happen.

I didn't seem to get a pic of the old unit, but this is the very small bracket to which it was attached. The new one that we have made up has roughly 10 times the steel in it. I'm quite sure it will be up to the task. I will have to make a note of the pics that I don't have.


----------



## cocobolo

There was some sort of mess at the back corner of the car, and number one son is tackling that. Aside from his carpentry and electrical tickets, he also has an auto body ticket.

It seems that somehow, water has managed to get behind the bondo and has caused some minor surface rust on the metal. He thinks that would be caused by not using the right product or not giving the metal any sort of tooth to grab hold of.

Whichever it was, that has now been fixed. Just some minor final finishing and then he will primer that back end. He doesn't have a paint booth at the shop, so we will need to take it to a local body shop to have the topcoat and blending clear coats added.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Hi Jim...what you may not see right behind the Sunnen hone, is a 5 axis CNC machine which is capable of boring out a 6 cylinder engine in 9 minutes. Yes NINE minutes. They just did a whole row of 6 bangers back to back. Just a mere $200,000 per copy for one of those machines.
> 
> We were in the assembly room, which is where Kyle puts together the new engines. He showed us a 383 Chevy which he was working on and he had the bottom end put together. So crank, rods, pistons, rings, oil pump, timing chain and he could grab the balancer and spin that bottom end over by hand...easily! I have never seen a motor with such little friction.
> 
> Apparently, they can do that with all the engines that come off the CNC machine. It was truly an eye opener to see that. Jimmy says that gains them about 25 horsepower purely in loss of friction.
> 
> He builds some track motors there which routinely spin at 9,200 RPM and still somehow manage to live. There's just no doubt that the man knows his stuff.
> 
> I really don't plan on spinning the new tires if I can avoid it. But you know how it goes, sometimes accidents do happen! :devil3:


Good grief, that machine is smoking, I thought I was doing good to bore and hone 25 eight bangers in an 8 hour shift. That machine will pay for itself in no time.

Keith, to spin a motor that easy is absolutely saying something, I have never seen one that easy to spin. I would love to see how it is built. I wonder if they use teflon buttons on the pistons and such. That just blows my mind trying to figure out how they reduced that much drag. Things have sure changed a lot since I was doing mechanic work.


----------



## cocobolo

Jim, although I didn't actually watch the pistons going in, I'm told that they use a very special low drag thin set of rings. I can't remember the name, although number two son knows what they are. I'll check with him when I get back to the coast again.

Since they are now awaiting delivery of some parts from the States, it looks like that won't happen until next Tuesday now.

The crankshaft is a Callies crank, and it weighs something in the region of 35 pounds. If you remember picking up a stock crank, you know that 35 pounds is nothing.

No teflon buttons on the pistons Jim, just extremely short skirts. Not designed to run for 250,000 miles like your old car motor.


----------



## gma2rjc

Here you go!


----------



## cocobolo

Thanks Barb...that's lovely! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Moving these big blocks into place is difficult to say the least.

I welded up a gadget to move the blocks with that makes life much easier. Just drop it into the hole in the block, turn it sideways to tuck the welded washers under the sides of the block and lift. :vs_bulb: It actually works rather well.

Certainly makes it easy to place each block just where it needs to be. And it saves dragging the block over the freshly placed leveling sand, which defeats the purpose of the sand in the first place.


----------



## cocobolo

Each block needs to be leveled alongside the previous block at the exact same height. Believe it or else, if you're 1/16" out, it shows! It took us ages to get the first row right, almost two days. But once that was done, things got much easier.

Still on the first row here, but it was time well spent.


----------



## cocobolo

For the bottom row, we used the excavator to move the blocks down. This was a very time consuming job, but about the only way we could come up with at the time.


----------



## cocobolo

With the first row done, and the sharp rock in place behind the block, we only used the machine a couple of times to take the block down.

Then we tried a plywood slide and that was much faster. Not necessarily any easier, as I had to carry the block over to the slide, but it was a time saver. Still pretty heavy work though.


----------



## cocobolo

The company (Allan Block) says to compact the rock twice on every lift. I found that by pulling back on the compactor to make it go ahead more slowly, that it did a better job. I still made the two passes and found that the compacted stone was extremely hard and well packed.


----------



## cocobolo

At the end of the day we had two rows of block in place and things were starting to look pretty good.

Since then we have added two more rows and it is starting to look like a real wall now. No pics of that yet...sorry!

But Val's smile says it all. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

We leave at 6 am :vs_coffee: tomorrow morning for a day trip (1,000 kilometers!) to the coast. 

Val needs to do more shopping for the kitchen, :vs_OMG: and I need to see what's happening on the '33. :surprise: Hopefully I will have some up to date pics and catch up on the latest discoveries.


----------



## cocobolo

Back home after a long day...very tired...we're going to hit the sack...several pictures of the car which you will not believe. Chat tomorrow! Good night!


----------



## BigJim

Sleep well buddy.


----------



## cocobolo

Before we get back to the '33, here's the latest on the wall.

First one we are up to 4 rows...did this a few days ago now...and the next one is where we got up to today. Just the cap to put in place now, 6 rows is all we need.

Sure does make a huge difference in the upper parking area. I will have to tidy things up with the machine to make it all look good.


----------



## cocobolo

Well now, when we last left you, it was just a motor mount being adjusted and some brake work. No big deal.

When I arrived at the boys shop, this is what I was greeted by. A completely gutted front end. Fenders gone, front suspension out, steering rack vanished...nothing left. And if you think this is bad, just wait until a bit later!


----------



## gma2rjc

Your thoughts when you first saw it: "Looks like I won't be driving that home today." :biggrin2:


----------



## cocobolo

I had to ask myself if I would have done the same thing under the circumstances, and the answer was an unqualified yes.

When the upper member came out that the radiator was sitting on, the cracks in the frame showed up. There were several, and a couple of them looked to be about 8" long.

If there's a problem like this, I always like to don my ferensic cap to see what caused the trouble. This one was easy. The original installer completely failed to follow the Heidt's instructions when the IFS was put in.

The boys decided that the only way to eradicate all signs of trouble was to remove everything and start fresh. Hence the stripped out front end. But you ain't seen nuthin' yet!

What they had done when I was down there was to start on the proper install. Heidt's says to fill in the factory frame cutouts with steel plate first. Then, you are supposed to add an additional 3/16" steel plate on top of that. If that's not bulletproof, I don't know what is. The installer managed to miss both those items.

The frame has been filled on both sides here, and that 3/16" steel plate sitting on the crossmember will be welded over the repaired area.


----------



## cocobolo

When I said we were going to inspect every inch of the frame, I wasn't kidding.

So, starting at the front, I saw what appears to be a deformed frame horn on the passenger's side. Not much, but it looked to me as though it had perhaps been hit at some time in the distant past and had bent the steel down slightly.

I used some heat to soften things up and number two son beat it back into submission. One small problem out of the way.


----------



## cocobolo

I was only at the shop for a few short hours while Val did her shopping thing.

So I concentrated on cleaning up part of the frame. The original frame is comprised of two pieces of C channel steel one fitting inside the other. Then they are riveted together.

Now what is happening is the two channels are being welded together for the entire length of the frame on both sides. We are of the opinion that this will be considerably stronger.

With the frame welded, I was able to start on grinding the rivet heads off.

While I was there, it was decided that the body would be removed from the frame...so this is now turning into a Chip Foose style rebuild.

I did manage to get all the body bolts undone before I left, and later that night the boys sent me a video of the body being lifted off the frame.


----------



## cocobolo

With the prospect of the body coming off, our attention was now turned to the rear end.

This one is one of the several 10 bolts that GM produced over a period of decades. Some good, some not so much. Of course, the one in the '33 falls into the not so much category.

However, the boys just happen to have a good 10 bolt on hand (not sure of the ratio) so now the whole rear end is going.

Not only that, but the back suspension will be changed over from leaf springs to modern QA1 coilovers and a four link. Nice.

I can't say I will miss the old leafs, they are original 1933 springs. I'm sure they have seen better days.

Not a very good pic of the new rear end...this one will get media blasted and painted.


----------



## cocobolo

When the steering rack came off the car, it was casually mentioned to me that the boys had a new Flaming River quick ratio rack laying around the shop. It was originally headed for one of their race cars, but for whatever reason it never happened. So now it's going in to the '33.


----------



## cocobolo

Not sure if I mentioned this earlier, but I have had trouble trying to find a wheel which will allow the back tires to tuck inside the fenders.

If my memory serves, I needed a 4 1/4" or 4 1/2" setback on the rim to work properly. The best I could come up with was the 3 3/4" rims on the car now. The driver's side wheel stuck out more than the passenger side, which made it necessary to raise the back of the car so that the tire didn't rub on the fender.

So that meant that the original rear end was not centered under the car.

What with all the changes going on in the back...new rear end...new mounting system...drum to disc conversion and yet another set of wheels, we think that we are going to need to narrow the new 10 bolt. Not sure how much until we do an actual mockup with the new wheels, likely barely over an inch.

The boys happen to have some Weld wheels on hand with a huge 5" setback. We think it will all come together once everything is assembled and lined up. Oh yes...now the back wheel wells will need tubbing.


----------



## 123pugsy

And, here we go.....hot rodding 101....ha..... :wink2:


----------



## sleepyg

What pugsy said!

Just a LITTLE tinkering cocobolo? :wink2:


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> Your thoughts when you first saw it: "Looks like I won't be driving that home today." :biggrin2:


How did you guess? lain:


----------



## cocobolo

sleepyg said:


> What pugsy said!
> 
> Just a LITTLE tinkering cocobolo? :wink2:


Yeah, sure, just a LITTLE!

Well at least we barely touched the body, and we didn't do much to the interior...YET.

I can't think of anything else that isn't getting changed right off hand, but Val is going to take a crack at re-doing the upholstery. The carpet in front has found its' way to the garbage can, so I guess we will be looking at replacing that as well. We are looking at as many pictures as possible on interior colour combinations on the older rods.

I can't decide whether or not we should try and match the upholstery to the paint job, or go with something completely different. We have found some silver and purple faux leather which matches quite well. On the other hand, I have always liked the cream coloured upholstery a lot.

One of the cars on the Canadian Rodder tour had such a colour, and it was really spectacular.

And just to make Val's life easier, I have bought her two good upholstery books! Aren't I a nice guy? :devil3:

One thing we both like are the seats in the car. On longer trips they are still comfortable at the end of the day.


----------



## BigJim

One thing that can be said about you Keith, you either go whole hog or none. You really will have an all out new car, only much much better. I am getting excited and it isn't even my car. LOL


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> One thing that can be said about you Keith, you either go whole hog or none. You really will have an all out new car, only much much better. I am getting excited and it isn't even my car. LOL


That's what we're hoping for Jim...a nearly new old 1933 car!

One more bit of good news. The original gas tank is in excellent shape. It was the sending unit that was wrong. You need to match the impedance of the gauge to the sending unit and that is now done. The boys sprayed the gas tank with a rubber based product that you can line a pickup bed with. That should last another decade or two.


----------



## 123pugsy

1 vote for tan interior.

Any paint colour would go with it. Never know when your mind changes and you want a different look.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> 1 vote for tan interior.
> 
> Any paint colour would go with it. Never know when your mind changes and you want a different look.


I doubt I will change the paint colour, but the flat grey interior does leave something to be desired.

I have since looked at several of the cream/light tan interiors and they really do look good. In fact, one of the upholstery books I picked up has that very colour right on the cover.

There's another trouble with trying to use fabric to match the exterior, and that is where do you put the silver and where do you put the purple? Plus there is a very hot red, or deep pink - whatever it is - that has been used as a pinstripe to separate the two paint colours. We could use that for welting to separate the interior colours I suppose, but I have to wonder how it would all come out in the wash.

I'm definitely leaning towards the single colour. Now to find the right fabric. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

We have looked at hundreds, if not thousands of different upholstery fabrics, and I have finally found a beautiful supple cream coloured leather. Sent an email to the supplier to see if it is really in stock.

Next trick will be to measure up the upholstery that is in the car now. I have no idea how many square feet it is likely to be, but I have been well warned to allow a whole bunch more than what you think.

Originally thought I would be headed to the coast on the 15th, that is now delayed to the 17th.

We have read through both upholstery books so we are getting a start on how to measure up for how much fabric we will need. I'm thinking that a 50% increase in order size should cover us for any foulups that I am highly likely to make.

One thing that really surprised me was that the cost of a leather hide isn't much more than a premium vinyl upholstery as measured by the yard.

I do remember when I built my T-bucket around 1990, that my next door neighbour (who was in the upholstery supply business) suggested that I go with leather. He explained how the various fabrics are rated as far as longevity goes, and leather beats everything.

Looks like we will need to hunt down an industrial sewing machine now. We may try Val's Pfaff, but if isn't up to the job.....

Anyone out there done this sort of thing before? Looking for any good advice that you may be able to pass along...thanks!


----------



## Lager

Hello again Cocolobo, I don't mean to butt in but couldn't ignore the T-Bucket reference. I built one just about the same time frame. It is long gone and it was quite a while before a new toy was parked in the garage. 1950 Ford Prefect.


----------



## 123pugsy

My only advice is , do not even attempt to use Val's machine.

If you buy a used machine, take it in to get serviced.

Also, think servo motor.

Of course, the above is just what I read by the experts on Hotrodders.com 

BTW, please post about the interior fabricating as I will need to do this also.


----------



## cocobolo

Lager said:


> Hello again Cocolobo, I don't mean to butt in but couldn't ignore the T-Bucket reference. I built one just about the same time frame. It is long gone and it was quite a while before a new toy was parked in the garage. 1950 Ford Prefect.


Guess what...I have a chum over in Kamloops who has a car very similar to yours, but I think it's an Anglia. Somewhere I have a couple of pics of it. He has a Vega 4 cylinder in his.

I was over to his place a month or so ago and the car is still in excellent shape. He even has the little yellow turn signals which pop out from the side of the car. I remember those from when I was a kid in England.

What do you have for power in yours? It looks to be in great shape. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

...by the way Lager, that's not butting in at all. I call it contributing to the thread, and that's something that I ALWAYS appreciate. Few free to "butt in" any time you like!


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> My only advice is , do not even attempt to use Val's machine.
> 
> If you buy a used machine, take it in to get serviced.
> 
> Also, think servo motor.
> 
> Of course, the above is just what I read by the experts on Hotrodders.com
> 
> BTW, please post about the interior fabricating as I will need to do this also.


Hi Pugs...I'm not sure which Pfaff she has, but it apparently will sew through several layers of vinyl. However, leather is a bit of a different story, perhaps not as much as we may think, but it does take a tough industrial type machine. Her machine is in the storage locker and she hasn't used it for the past several years.

I have run across several Juki industrial machines from a shop which has closed down in Cranbrook. That's quite a drive away from here, down towards Crawford Bay where one of Val's sisters lives. I haven't spoken to the seller yet to get the whole story on these machines, but they all have a fairly large table that comes with them. It will be interesting to see what I find out.

One other thing we will do is to buy a whole lot of cheap vinyl fabric to practice on first. You can pick it up for around $5 or so a yard, so I don't care if we blow through a whole lot of it. Far better to mess up on the cheapie stuff than on the real McCoy.

You should know me by now when it comes to photos. Don't worry, you'll get the whole mischmouka (Jamaican word I got from Harry Belafonte many years ago) So they may be good, bad or ugly, you'll see it all.

Quite sure we won't start out getting things perfect, so that's the reason for picking up some cheapie vinyl for practice.

Of the two books that I have here, one is written by an upholsterer and the other by an automotive writer. The former is far and away the best book and gives so much more and better info than the other book, especially when it comes to the equipment that is required to do a proper job.

Aside from that, Youtube has been my friend when it comes to watching good upholsters at work. You just have to separate the wheat from the chaff on YT.


----------



## 123pugsy

Oh yeah, I believe you require a "walking foot" type machine.


----------



## drtbk4ever

cocobolo said:


> With the prospect of the body coming off, our attention was now turned to the rear end.
> 
> This one is one of the several 10 bolts that GM produced over a period of decades. Some good, some not so much. Of course, the one in the '33 falls into the not so much category.
> 
> However, the boys just happen to have a good 10 bolt on hand (not sure of the ratio) so now the whole rear end is going.
> 
> Not only that, but the back suspension will be changed over from leaf springs to modern QA1 coilovers and a four link. Nice.
> 
> I can't say I will miss the old leafs, they are original 1933 springs. I'm sure they have seen better days.
> 
> Not a very good pic of the new rear end...this one will get media blasted and painted.


Hey Keith,

Does that mean the 12 bolt you picked up isn't going to work for this car?


----------



## Lager

Yes sir, the Anglia is the 2 door version of the Prefect. I thought you may be interested as I'm Knew I had read in one of your threads you were born in England. This one has a sbc 350 in it and is not my build. I will grab a pic of motor, pretty tight fit! Oh, by the way, this was an exported to Canada vehicle.


----------



## cocobolo

drtbk4ever said:


> Hey Keith,
> 
> Does that mean the 12 bolt you picked up isn't going to work for this car?


It would have if I had known in advance of the forthcoming rear end change. So I will give the boys the 12 bolt in exchange. 

The 10 bolt which they have can be built to handle up to 1,000 H.P. That's far and above what the new motor will ever produce. I guess we will be getting something like Strange axles or maybe Moser.

I don't remember what they usually use in their race cars.


----------



## cocobolo

Lager said:


> Yes sir, the Anglia is the 2 door version of the Prefect. I thought you may be interested as I'm Knew I had read in one of your threads you were born in England. This one has a sbc 350 in it and is not my build. I will grab a pic of motor, pretty tight fit! Oh, by the way, this was an exported to Canada vehicle.


Yes, of course, all of the Anglia's and related vehicles were imported.

My old man had a Morris Minor as his first car after we came to Canada. I think those things must have had all of about 12 horsepower under the "bonnet". It took him years before he got a real car, a '72 Chevelle.

The 350 in the Plymouth is a tight enough fit at the front of the motor, so I can't imagine how snug it must be in your car.


----------



## Lager

I will take a pic tomorrow, I'm thinking it's time to put her away for the winter.


----------



## Lager

That is a tad odd, my very first car was a used/ very used 1970 Chevelle with a 250 straight six! Drove it for a few years and gave it to a sister. I think she had that thing for 4 or 5 years after. Good motor.


----------



## cocobolo

Lager said:


> That is a tad odd, my very first car was a used/ very used 1970 Chevelle with a 250 straight six! Drove it for a few years and gave it to a sister. I think she had that thing for 4 or 5 years after. Good motor.


I think the old man's Chevelle had a 307. Nothing quite as exalted as a 350.


----------



## cocobolo

Rapid change of plans.

We are on our way home from one of Val's medical appointments this afternoon when her cell phone rang. All of sudden there is another appointment down in Vancouver in 48 hours...thanks for the notice people.

So we leave for the coast in the morning...and that (heh, heh) will give me a chance to check up on the proceedings with the car.

Not only that, but I got a very pleasing email this morning from a leather upholstery supplier, and they have plenty of stock on a gorgeous cream coloured leather. Now I just need to measure up how many square feet this operation is going to consume. It's starting to get positively exciting! :smile:


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> I think the old man's Chevelle had a 307. Nothing quite as exalted as a 350.


My 71 Chevelle with a 307 ran better than any 350 I've owned.
It could do donuts on dry pavement at a 4 way stop with me and 3 of my drunken buddies in the car.

Disclaimer: I do not condone doing donuts while drunk, just the donuts. Please only attempt while sober....


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> My 71 Chevelle with a 307 ran better than any 350 I've owned.
> It could do donuts on dry pavement at a 4 way stop with me and 3 of my drunken buddies in the car.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not condone doing donuts while drunk, just the donuts. Please only attempt while sober....


You know why that was don't you? It's that drunken memory working overtime. Either that, or your 307 still had some compression before those ridiculous emission laws took over and destroyed any hope of power.

Seriously though, I remember my old man being thrilled with his 307...he really did have too much of a lead foot off the line.


----------



## cocobolo

And moving on to another subject now, I have just checked the highway cameras on the Coquihalla Highway, and there is big snowfall over almost the whole length. Fifteen to twenty centimetres more expected today before noon! And it looks like it is already heavily covered. Going to be an interesting drive down to the coast.

The snow level is expected to rise from 700 metres to 1200 metres around noon, so we plan to leave from Kamloops around 1 pm. The snow won't melt by then, but hopefully we won't be driving through a blinding storm.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> You know why that was don't you? It's that drunken memory working overtime. Either that, or your 307 still had some compression before those ridiculous emission laws took over and destroyed any hope of power.
> 
> Seriously though, I remember my old man being thrilled with his 307...he really did have too much of a lead foot off the line.


Keith, I loved the old 307s all they were is a 283 with a 327 crank, of coarse the pistons had to have the wrist pins located closer to the top of the piston because of the extra stroke. I hated the sorry 305s, now that was a wimp engine for sure. A 283 would walk all over a 305. Now back to the regular scheduled discussion. lol Be safe buddy.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> You know why that was don't you? It's that drunken memory working overtime. Either that, or your 307 still had some compression before those ridiculous emission laws took over and destroyed any hope of power.
> 
> Seriously though, I remember my old man being thrilled with his 307...he really did have too much of a lead foot off the line.


Drunken memories? I resemble that.


----------



## Lager

cocobolo said:


> And moving on to another subject now, I have just checked the highway cameras on the Coquihalla Highway, and there is big snowfall over almost the whole length. Fifteen to twenty centimetres more expected today before noon! And it looks like it is already heavily covered. Going to be an interesting drive down to the coast.
> 
> The snow level is expected to rise from 700 metres to 1200 metres around noon, so we plan to leave from Kamloops around 1 pm. The snow won't melt by then, but hopefully we won't be driving through a blinding storm.


Sorry to hear about the weather, we are still enjoying sunshine and 15 DEG. C here in Ontario. 

Here is a pic, or two, of the shoe horned 350 in the '50 Prefect. They are off my phone so the quality is not the best.


----------



## BigJim

Lager said:


> Sorry to hear about the weather, we are still enjoying sunshine and 15 DEG. C here in Ontario.
> 
> Here is a pic, or two, of the shoe horned 350 in the '50 Prefect. They are off my phone so the quality is not the best.


Good grief, that took some figuring to get that engine in there, how is it changing the plugs. I change the plugs in a 65 Chevy II with a 427 in it, that was not fun.


----------



## Lager

BigJim said:


> Good grief, that took some figuring to get that engine in there, how is it changing the plugs. I change the plugs in a 65 Chevy II with a 427 in it, that was not fun.


Hi Jim, it's tight but not too bad. Hold your tongue just right, sacrifice some knuckle skin and good to go!


----------



## cocobolo

Lager said:


> Sorry to hear about the weather, we are still enjoying sunshine and 15 DEG. C here in Ontario.
> 
> Here is a pic, or two, of the shoe horned 350 in the '50 Prefect. They are off my phone so the quality is not the best.


Nice pics. They used to stuff all kinds of motors into those cars back in the gasser days. That does look like a nice clean install.

We survived the trip down OK, saw about a dozen or so snowplows on the Coke...snow flying off their blades at a fierce rate. And then it started to rain, and rain and rain, and then it was fog with almost no visibility. Just hope it clears up a bit when we head back home.


----------



## cocobolo

Quick report from the coast.

We are working on getting the frame ready to go to the sandblasters tomorrow morning. There were a couple of big brackets which had to come off the back of the frame, and these originally held the front end of the leaf springs.

We picked up the QA-1's and springs today, starting to make up the new mounts for the back end. Made another trip to the metal supplier for a miscellany of steel.

I believe the rear end will be accompanying us as well, and to that end I spent a good 3 hours grinding off the remnants of the old brackets. Dirty job.

................................................................................................................

Val's medical visit has yielded the need for another MRI, which we suppose means yet more waiting time. They want to check to see the result of a previous operation. I swear that poor lady is used as a pincushion by the medical establishment. 

We should be heading home sometime this Friday and we're hoping for good weather for the ride back home. See you soon. :smile:


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Quick report from the coast.
> 
> Val's medical visit has yielded the need for another MRI, which we suppose means yet more waiting time. They want to check to see the result of a previous operation. I swear that poor lady is used as a pincushion by the medical establishment.
> 
> We should be heading home sometime this Friday and we're hoping for good weather for the ride back home. See you soon. :smile:


Bless her heart, hopefully they can find out what the problem is and give her some relief, sure hope so.


----------



## Windows on Wash

cocobolo said:


> Val's medical visit has yielded the need for another MRI, which we suppose means yet more waiting time. They want to check to see the result of a previous operation. I swear that poor lady is used as a pincushion by the medical establishment.
> 
> We should be heading home sometime this Friday and we're hoping for good weather for the ride back home. See you soon. :smile:





BigJim said:


> Bless her heart, hopefully they can find out what the problem is and give her some relief, sure hope so.


+1

We are thinking of you guys and will pray that the doctors and medical professionals have clarity and can get her on the recovery path.


----------



## cocobolo

Gentlemen: thank you for your kind wishes.

This evening, Val gets to enjoy one of her daughters' birthday dinners at the Keg. I, of course, get to work on an old car. How lucky can an old guy get???

We are heading for home tomorrow morning, so I will have to leave the interesting stuff to the boys for several days.

I'll get better up to date info on Val's various conditions after we get back.

Plus I should have a few pics of what's been going on at the boys garage.


----------



## cocobolo

Back home now, so one thing at a time.

Before we got home yesterday, Val got a call from the knee surgeon's office...she has an appointment just before Christmas. That's really good news, as the earliest we were told that we would get a call from them was about next June. So, she's happy about that.

The medical delays up this way are horrendous.

There are always delays for an MRI, and we have no idea when that will be done. They want to check on the inside of two sewing jobs. The outer one they can see with their little telescope. It's the inner one that needs the MRI. We have reason to believe that it has torn. But, you never know, it might be OK. At least, that's what we are hoping.

Later this coming week it is a trip to the hospital at Salmon Arm for a different injection for a nerve root block. The last one had no effect.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, on to some more interesting stuff.

When I arrived at the shop, the boys had several pieces of 11 gauge cut out for the boxing at the back of the frame. It cannot get welded in until the frame has been sandblasted (or whatever media it is that they use these days).

Once welded in place, the strength increases several fold.


----------



## cocobolo

Here we are attempting to make the first trial fit of the new rear end housing.

Because the whole mounting system has been totally changed, it's not quite as easy as it may look. We do have the frame marked as to where the centerline of the old rear end was, and we will try and start at that point.

Most rear ends are slightly offset to one side or the other, in this case towards the passenger's side. That likely accounts for why the tire on the other side stuck out from the body.

I am surmising that the original builder may not have been aware of this, hence the discrepancy. We will attend to that little detail when this one goes in.

Here I have the old brackets cleaned up, but the metal has not yet been blasted.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the new upper triangulated links attached to the housing. The new bushings are contained within a metal cover, which is a tight fit in the mounting holes. Pretty slick setup.

They are poly bushings which will outlast me no trouble at all.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's one side of the front suspension mount. There should be a weld running right along the bottom of the hat to the frame. There will be before we are done. Right in front of that, the frame was badly twisted and cracked.

The original frame cutouts have already been filled in here with 11 gauge. The long 3/16" plate has yet to be added. After the blasting for that.


----------



## cocobolo

Where the frame has been ground, there was a big beefy mount for the front end of the leaf springs. Didn't get a pic of it before we took them off, but I will say they had some king size rivets holding that bracket in place.

The inner side of the frame has the X member attached using the same rivets, so we will need to weld all that in from the inside prior to welding the frame boxing in place.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the cleaned up rear end housing. The axles and ring and pinion are gone, so one person can pick the housing up now.

The pumpkin always has quite a bit of casting flash, so I got all that off with a flap wheel so now it looks a bit better.


----------



## cocobolo

Next morning ready to go to the blasters. We were praying for NO rain on the return trip, as freshly cleaned steel will start to rust immediately if it gets wet.


----------



## cocobolo

Arriving at the blasters place, frame being carried inside the big tent.

Those stands are welded up out of super heavy duty channel. It takes two people to lift one, although one man can slide one alone, but not easily.


----------



## cocobolo

A look inside the tent 15 minutes after the machine has been turned off. Still looks like a fog in there.

Then out of the tent and into the truck for home.


----------



## cocobolo

The cleaned frame needs washing before it can be painted. Not sure what this is, but the body shops use it just prior to adding the first undercoat. It smells very much like acetone to me, but it has some kind of proprietary name.


----------



## cocobolo

The wash dries very quickly, and then the weld-through undercoat is applied.

With this copper based paint, I'm told that you don't need to take the paint off before you can do further welding.

The body is being lowered back close to the frame so that we can see where the new rear end will need to be mounted.


----------



## cocobolo

The shop hierarchy decided that the interior had to go because they are going to cut out the wheel wells in order to be able to line the rear end up properly. There will be a very minor amount of tubbing as well.

All that's left now is the headliner and the door panels.


----------



## cocobolo

Here we are testing the fit of a tire inside the wheel well. 

Once we are able to determine where things will go, then we can get a good estimate of how much the rear end will have to be narrowed. When this is done and the new axle flanges are welded in place, then we can put the new center section in. Next we can measure the length that the new axles will need to be and they can get ordered.

It seems that nothing is easy or quick when my boys get their hands on something.


----------



## cocobolo

That's as far as we got before we had to head back home.

Here's a shot up on the Coke on the way back, getting near the truck brake check at Zopkios. Snow alongside the road, but the highway crews have kept the actual highway absolutely clear. Good drive back home.

Expecting to go back again in about a week or so.


----------



## cocobolo

Another email from the boys. It seems that the back end of the frame has a continual taper outwards. This brings the frame into very close proximity to the back end of the tires...i.e. touching.

So, now they have pie cut the frame at the front of the tires, and then removed the gas tank section at the back in order to make the back end of the frame rails parallel. That gained a total of 3", or 1 1/2" on each side.

Then trimmed the gas tank mount and welded it back.

Can't really blame the Plymouth engineers for that one, the tires back in the day were all of 5" wide! These are 10" at the wide part. Not very wide as tires go these days, but a whole lot more than 83 years ago. :wink2:


----------



## jlhaslip

Interesting project.
Hope all goes well for "she who must be obeyed" and her medical visits.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Interesting project.
> Hope all goes well for "she who must be obeyed" and her medical visits.


Thank you!

Yes, the pain doctor said that if the first try didn't work, that the second would be a stronger shot and may last anywhere from 6 to 12 months. But is has to be in the hospital, not at his office.

As for the other doc, well, that's for knee replacement surgery. It turns out that the knee is deteriorating rapidly and thus they have expedited her initial consult with the surgeon. However, it doesn't mean that the surgery will be anytime soon. We have been well warned about the long waits for that to happen.


----------



## cocobolo

Still waiting to see if the hospital visit has proved to be successful or not.

She got four needles in the lower back, and there is some improvement at this point, so it's looking better. That's the good news.

Today Val leaves for Calgary to try and wrap up her late mum's estate and I head to the coast to play cars again. The entire southern portion of the province is under a snow warning of 15 to 25 centimetres. That's 6 to 10 inches. I guess we will both be driving slowly and carefully. lain:


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Still waiting to see if the hospital visit has proved to be successful or not.
> 
> She got four needles in the lower back, and there is some improvement at this point, so it's looking better. That's the good news.
> 
> Today Val leaves for Calgary to try and wrap up her late mum's estate and I head to the coast to play cars again. The entire southern portion of the province is under a snow warning of 15 to 25 centimetres. That's 6 to 10 inches. I guess we will both be driving slowly and carefully. lain:


Be safe buddy, we hope Val feels much better soon. Those shots give me the cold chills just thinking about them.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Be safe buddy, we hope Val feels much better soon. Those shots give me the cold chills just thinking about them.


Hi Jim:

Well, we both arrived safely at our respective destinations. The Coke was actually pretty good, as once again the crews had the actual road clear. Plenty of snow off the road of course. Winter is definitely here. The trip down took 6 1/2 hours, and usually it is two hours less than that. The rain was horrendous!

But Val's trip to Calgary was somewhat more eventful. She sent me some photos of two semi trailer accidents, both on their sides in the ditch...and it looks like one of them hit a car. The police were already there when Val drove by. There was yet a third one in the ditch, but she didn't get photos of that. I'll see if I can post one or two when I get back.

The boys just about have all the brackets fitted and welded in place for the new rear end, and I must say it looks pretty good. They also have one end of the housing cut right off already.

I got some work done fitting the two long steel stiffeners at the front. Hopefully we can get them welded in tomorrow.


----------



## cocobolo

Another day and more done on the car. I believe we have now completed all the boxing on the frame. It has been repainted with the copper paint again.

Not sure what's happening tomorrow, but it will likely involve getting the rear end re-mocked up in place again. And possibly starting on the front end as well. We do need to find a couple of new bushings, hope we can get them locally.

That's it for now.


----------



## 123pugsy

Can you tell me the brand of this copper paint/primer?


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Can you tell me the brand of this copper paint/primer?


Morning pugs...I'm just headed out the door right now to buy a sewing machine. I'll get it for you when I get back.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Morning pugs...I'm just headed out the door right now to buy a sewing machine. I'll get it for you when I get back.


Thanks.

Let us know your thoughts on the sewing machine please.


----------



## cocobolo

Back at you with the paint pics.

What you do is to clean the metal really well. Then use "Final wipe" to wipe it again after that. I expect you know what that is. It dries almost instantly. Right away you can spray this copper based primer on. You don't need to wait more than about a minute, it dries that fast.

There's no chance for even the least rust to begin forming before it gets covered. We used about three coats to make sure everything was well covered. One can does quite a lot.

You can put your ground clamp right on the paint and you can weld right through this stuff no problem at all.

I think we will still be needing to weld more brackets on to the back of the car for the suspension.


----------



## cocobolo

Now, as far as the sewing machine goes, the fellow that I bought it from repairs sewing machines of all kinds, but mostly for heavy duty use. He seems to be pretty knowledgeable.

He sewed three layers of different kinds of leather together just to show how well it worked. Now, this old machine does not have a walking foot, and he assures me that it is not needed to do what we want to do. From what I am told, these machines were all metal, whereas the newer ones have many plastic parts in them. The new ones break. The old ones don't. They just need cleaning and lubricating.

I watched a comparison between a 15-91 Singer and a brand new Singer heavy duty machine. Sad to say, but the old one sewed rings around the new one. To be sure, it doesn't sew 583 different kinds of stitches, but all we need is a good consistent straight stitch, and this machine really shines there.

Victor - the chap who I got the machine from - had several machines on hand, and I asked him about an older industrial machine that he had. It was a Japanese copy of an older Singer industrial machine. He had just finished servicing it. For four times the price of the 15-91 I could have it. But he said we definitely do not need anything like that. If you are going to use the machine commercially for 8 hours a day, five days a week, then maybe.

I didn't know it, but No. 1 son took an upholstery course for the purpose of learning how to sew car interiors. How about that!


----------



## cocobolo

Back home much earlier than anticipated...I managed to tweak my back in some way that it doesn't seem to appreciate. So I get to decorate either the bed or the chesterfield for a few days until it manages to get itself sorted out. 

I didn't think it would be a good idea to stay with the boys, as I would be far too tempted to go out to the shop every day.

So we have a few pics to catch you up to date with.

It seems the boys didn't much care for the old chrome rear end cover, so they are adding this one in its' place. I'm told that it actually adds a fair bit of strength to the pumpkin.


----------



## cocobolo

The new rear end will no longer use the old leaf springs.

It is being replaced by a GM style four link triangulated system. Millions of GM cars used this system for many years. In the standard passenger car, the bushings were a relatively soft rubber. This allowed a somewhat cushy ride with no harshness. However, that came with a lack of crisp handling.

What we do on these cars is to use a poly bushing, which is far stiffer, and in turn that is encased in a metal sheath. Not anywhere near as soft, but top of the line handling.

Here is a selection of pics of what is to come.


----------



## cocobolo

The previous post just shows the brackets welded on to the frame for the control arms and the coil/shocks.

I'm hoping that these pics will explain how it all goes together without one of my usual long winded explanations.

You have two lower control arms, two uppers which are adjustable and two coil/shock mounts, also adjustable.


----------



## cocobolo

It seems that the boys also don't care for my choice of rims or tires either.

So now they are playing with a pair of Mickey Thumper (really it's Mickey Thompson) tires on one of my rims and on a new Weld wheel. At this rate they won't have any inheritance left by the time we're done.

I didn't have a problem with either my tires or rims, but I must admit the M/T tires do look good. Only trouble is they only last about 7,000 kilometers.


----------



## cocobolo

The gas tank, which I don't think is original, has been coated with a rubberized pickup bed liner material. Spray it on and it leaves a mild crinkle finish. 

The good thing is that it's tough, and with our roads up this way the frame and gas tank are going to need all the help they can get. Yes, the frame will be sprayed with the same stuff.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's one side of the front frame reinforcement. It's 3/16" steel plate and goes on top of the already reinforced frame which we did earlier.

This is what was supposed to have been done when the front end was originally installed.


----------



## cocobolo

Since we can only weld one side at a time, we have to flip the frame upside down to do the other side. Gotta say that the frame is definitely getting heavier by the day!

It is all done and ground smooth now, as you will shortly see.


----------



## cocobolo

I took off the front bumper brackets to (1) get rid of any rust that might have been there and (2) to be able to straighten them out more easily.

They will get welded back on as the build progresses. No hurry for that now. Especially since there are no bumpers yet.


----------



## cocobolo

More expensive parts...here's the Wilwood brake rotor for the rear end. And the bits that go inside for the parking brake. I'm sure this will work many times better than the disaster we removed.


----------



## cocobolo

Just to break the monotony, here's an action shot!


----------



## cocobolo

This is a CNC billet steel flange for the rear end...one on each side of course.

It seems to me that it's way too nice to ruin by welding to the housing. But...it has to be done.

Before that happens, we need to know exactly how long the housing must be. Believe me when I say there are lots of numbers involved in working that one out. It wouldn't matter if your back wheels were not covered by fenders, but my tires must fit in a 12 1/8" wide space. The Mickey Thumpers are 11 1/4" wide, so we have no room for error.

I've come up with a number...now we pray.

Danny at Pro Gas Engineering is the expert here, so he's going to handle this for us. You only get one chance.


----------



## cocobolo

If I had one area of concern with the frame, it would be the thin metal piece which has the four pieces of the X member riveted to it.

The four cross pieces do not attach to each other, and the relatively small piece of sheet steel is quite thin. I could be worried about nothing, but I cannot take any chances at this point.

So I decided to make up more boxing to handle that area and I'm glad I did. It is way more skookum now without any doubt.


----------



## cocobolo

For the time being anyway, the welding has been done, the grinding all caught up, so the frame needs to be copper painted again. Same treatment as before, wash, wipe, paint and repeat endlessly it seems.

The new Eaton center section has arrived and now that we have guessed the rear end housing length, that's next on the agenda.

With that done, likely early next week, we can assemble the rear end and install it. At last, things will start going back together.


----------



## cocobolo

Just got an email from the boys with a tracking number for some new wheels. WHAT new wheels? How many do we need for Pete's sake? They haven't replied to my rather snotty email yet. Sheesh! :surprise:


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Back home much earlier than anticipated...I managed to tweak my back in some way that it doesn't seem to appreciate. So I get to decorate either the bed or the chesterfield for a few days until it manages to get itself sorted out.
> 
> I didn't think it would be a good idea to stay with the boys, as I would be far too tempted to go out to the shop every day.
> 
> So we have a few pics to catch you up to date with.
> 
> It seems the boys didn't much care for the old chrome rear end cover, so they are adding this one in its' place. I'm told that it actually adds a fair bit of strength to the pumpkin.


Looks like the cover I need for my 8.8 Ford. The two set screws press on the bearings for added strength.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Looks like the cover I need for my 8.8 Ford. The two set screws press on the bearings for added strength.


Really now pugs...F-O-R-D? Didn't anyone tell you that's a four letter word? This is a family oriented website you know! :devil3:

This thing is built like a girdle right across the back. Very beefy, and good looking too.


----------



## BigJim

My stars, you have a tank now. One thing for sure, you fellows don't do anything half way.

I hope your back mends quickly Keith, I sure know the pain.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> My stars, you have a tank now. One thing for sure, you fellows don't do anything half way.
> 
> I hope your back mends quickly Keith, I sure know the pain.


Hi Jim: as for the old back, it has been an on again - off again thing for the past 40 years or so. It will get better, I just have to rest, which for me isn't easy. I would much prefer to be doing something.

As far as the frame goes, we always need to remember that going from an ancient flathead six banger with all of 70 h.p. - and even that may have been a stretch - to well over 400 means that old chassis is going to need some serious updating. They were good in their day, but that was over 80 years ago.

Things that need serious improvement would be the brakes, suspension, steering and good wheels and tires. All the safety stuff first. Once that's out of the way then you can make it look pretty. We think we have that part under control, now it's time to start the re-assembly.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Things that need serious improvement would be the brakes, suspension, steering and good wheels and tires. All the safety stuff first. Once that's out of the way then you can make it look pretty. We think we have that part under control, now it's time to start the re-assembly.


I think y'all pretty well have that under control, but good!


----------



## 123pugsy

That frame is looking good Keith.

I'm glad you have a rim now for the spare tire. This often gets overlooked. :wink2:


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> That frame is looking good Keith.
> 
> I'm glad you have a rim now for the spare tire. This often gets overlooked. :wink2:


We now have a total of 13, count 'em, thirteen wheels and tires for the car. The 13th one is a pizza cutter tire which came with the car for the spare. Sheesh!


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> We now have a total of 13, count 'em, thirteen wheels and tires for the car. The 13th one is a pizza cutter tire which came with the car for the spare. Sheesh!


The smaller the spare, the better.
I bought one of those elastic band tires the kids like for a full sized rim.
Fits perfectly in the trunk.


----------



## jlhaslip

Those tires won't do you much good in the snow...LOL


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Those tires won't do you much good in the snow...LOL


Right...I think the pizza cutter tire is only supposed be driven something like 50 miles or so.

Four of the tires are actually real designated snow tires. Hopefully, the car won't see any snow, except possibly on the trip back home. That is assuming it will be done before the snow has gone, which I have my doubts about now.

First snow of the season here this morning, just over one inch. Going down to -13ºC later this week, that about 9ºF. Time to hibernate. :vs_OMG:


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Right...I think the pizza cutter tire is only supposed be driven something like 50 miles or so.


I don't think the ******** down this way got the memo about the little funny looking tires, they will drive them until there is nothing left.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I don't think the ******** down this way got the memo about the little funny looking tires, they will drive them until there is nothing left.


We must have some of their relatives up here then Jim. I spotted one of those high priced tires on a compact car in Kamloops a few months back, bald as a billiard ball. :glasses:


----------



## jlhaslip

You must be sending us the Cold Front because it will be minus 26 or 27 Tuesday/Wednesday next week. Gotta go find my woolies.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> You must be sending us the Cold Front because it will be minus 26 or 27 Tuesday/Wednesday next week. Gotta go find my woolies.


Not a chance, I wouldn't share such warm temperatures with you guys! It must be coming down from your way if you're going to be that low.

Gotta say, I don't envy you in the least!


----------



## cocobolo

It turns out that a series of low temperatures have showed up an area in the front of the house that is leaking so much warm air that it is trying to heat the province.

I must sheepishly admit that I never really gave much thought to the narrow "solarium", just 6' wide, that runs across the west face of the house. I think it's only about 130 square feet all together, but - and here's where I fell down on the job - it is part of the old construction from when I first came here. Val thinks it may have been added about 15 years ago, maybe more.

It is actually a narrow addition to the house, built with the same care and concern, cough cough, as the rest of the original house. In other words, the cheapest and worst construction that you can imagine.

This came to our attention after we had a fairly good snowfall a few days ago. The part above this "solarium" is almost completely devoid of any snow.

We cannot afford to leave it like this purely for reasons of comfort. So it is getting attended to PDQ.

At the same time, I am going to try and install a 21' 6" beam, 4 2x12's, where the solarium attaches to the original house.

The reason for this is to be able to open up that extra 6' of space, effectively making the living room 6' wider. We picked up the 2x12's today and started on the temporary ceiling support in order to be able to take out the old, and I do mean OLD, wall and beam structure that is currently in place.

Concurrent with this, we are going to build new 2 x 4 walls immediately inside the original solarium walls. I don't care one iota if we lose the extra 4" of floor space around the outside. We will end up with a 7" thick framed wall properly insulated.

I will get pics as soon as possible, but it's a real dogs breakfast right now. No room and too much going on. Tomorrow morning, we will pick up the wall framing on the way back from one of Val's physio trips.

The old wood stove has been brought back inside and hooked up and does a great job of augmenting the heat pump. I have found from very recent experience, that the heat pump seems able to maintain a temperature differential between inside and outside of about 25ºC. That is with the machine set on a fairly low setting.

Since we have a -20ºC low in the immediate forecast, that doesn't leave a whole lot left for the old folks inside! Hence the wood stove and the rebuild of the solarium area. It could be that once we eliminate the huge heat loss there that the heat pump might be able to handle a bigger differential.

Lots to accomplish in the next two days before Val heads to the coast for another medical go 'round.


----------



## cocobolo

Something was bothering me about making the long beam out of 2 x 12's, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it...until 3am this morning.

So I started looking at the various beam tables that are available. Most only show beams which have to carry either one or even two floors, whereas this one only carries part of the roof load. I had no success finding what I was looking for.

So I decided to switch from a 4x2x12 beam to an arched box beam. Naturally, the 2 x 12's are already sitting on the extremely limited floor space that we have in the overfilled (with junk) living room. 

By 5am I had the drawing done up for the box beam. More complicated than a regular 4 up beam, but much lighter. Last time I made mini box beams was for the house down on Ruxton. This one is a bit more serious.

Again, I have had no luck in finding a box beam with a curved bottom, along the lines of a bridge. But that's no reason to stop me.

Here's the pile of 2 x 12's, now we have to find another home for them, and it has to be inside. Snow on the ground outside, and more every day for the next week.


----------



## cocobolo

So when Val woke up this morning, I greeted her with the good news about yet another change of plans. 

When I showed her the box beam drawing and explained how it would work, she was all for it.

So, on the way back from her physio this morning, it was another trip to the lumber yard to load up the requisite materials plus the new wall framing that will go inside the original solarium walls.

But first, those 2x12's had to go somewhere. If only to make room for the much larger pile of 2 x 4's and 2 x 6's coming in.


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday we wedged some temporary support walls to hold the roof up. I suppose I should give serious consideration to adding some bracing, just in case we get a little too enthusiastic in our demolition efforts. Just friction keeping things in place as it is.


----------



## cocobolo

As soon as we got back this morning, Val grabbed Bertha, our affectionately named 3' long prybar and started to attack the wall.

Now, I don't know if you remember that fabulous faux stone covering on the outside of much of the original house - really just 3/8" painted pressboard - but we have more!

No real surprises here, same old same old cheapskate construction. Even the beams over what I presume were the original windows and a sliding patio door were obviously re-cycled from eons ago. The lumber was cut on an old circular sawmill...haven't seen that for donkey's years. But it will sure make good firewood.


----------



## cocobolo

If at all possible, I prefer to de-construct something in the reverse order in which it was built. Obviously since the roof isn't going...yet...we couldn't start there. 

So, we followed logical steps in order to get the beams removed, which was the biggest headache.

No real drama here, and by days' end we had 2/3 of the wall gone. The space is so crammed with building materials that we now have to move stuff to get at the remaining section. Tomorrow for that.


----------



## cocobolo

Check the last pic. Val caught the window header in mid air as it headed to the deck.

Tomorrow we are going to see if we can get the balance of the wall out and find out also how badly the solarium roof is insulated.


----------



## jlhaslip

What is the length of the span you will be looking to support?


----------



## jlhaslip

To avoid the situation where Val had to grab that piece as it fell, I have been know to screw a length of Plumber's strap to stuff which might want to fall to the floor or onto something valuable, like a person.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> What is the length of the span you will be looking to support?


The total length, which we were finally able to measure properly late this afternoon, is 256". Less the 3" supports at either end, so a net length of 250" exactly.

The more important thing, is how long are the rafters which need supporting.

There are two answers to that, the first set of upper rafters have a net span of only 8' at one end of the living room and 10' at the opposite end. You use 50% of each of those lengths, which is pretty straight forward.

Now, on these upper rafters, there is a support wall at both ends which negates almost ALL of the weight of these rafters. In other words, the rafters from the peak to the new support beam are actually more like 13' long. So if I were to remove the lower support completely, the rafters wouldn't fall down. They may sag a little, but I think that is to be expected. The support walls I refer to here run parallel to the peak.

The lower rafters are just 6' long, so you use 3' in the calculation.

As you can see, there really is very little weight directly supported by the future box beam.

We managed to get a few more pics today, and when I'm rested up a bit you can see what we found.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> To avoid the situation where Val had to grab that piece as it fell, I have been know to screw a length of Plumber's strap to stuff which might want to fall to the floor or onto something valuable, like a person.


I must have misled everyone here. Val wasn't trying to grab the beam at all. Just getting a pic of it. Don't worry, I wouldn't let her anywhere near with something like that happening! :vs_no_no_no:


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> I must have misled everyone here. Val wasn't trying to grab the beam at all. Just getting a pic of it. Don't worry, I wouldn't let her anywhere near with something like that happening! :vs_no_no_no:


Whew, Judy thought it may have hit her, I didn't take it like that, I keep looking at the picture trying to see her actually catching the header. LOL Thanks for clearing that up, that is a relief.


----------



## cocobolo

Not to worry Jim. Even the small beams are heavy, so I made sure Val was in charge of the photo department, not the catching the beam department.

After we shifted things around this morning to get at the other end, we discovered at least one reason for the heat loss.

I had to open up both end walls to enable the removal of whatever studs were going to be in the way of the new beam support.

In so doing, we found a section right above one window which had almost no insulation at all. Not to mention a sizeable hole which I am sure contributed very significantly to the trouble. It goes without saying that we also found the usual population of stink bugs.


----------



## cocobolo

Just the one header left, which we dispatched in short order. 

After this there were a few remaining studs which had to go and a small amount of sheathing.


----------



## cocobolo

There were two top plates, quite correctly for a change, and here I have already removed the lower of the two. I'm not sure if I will remove the top one or not.

The only useful purpose for that would be to provide an extra 1 1/2" of room below the new beam. Since you never know when that extra room might come in handy, I think I will give that idea serious consideration.

In the mean time, I did cut off all the nails which were sticking out of the top plate.


----------



## cocobolo

Once the wall was out of the way, we pulled all the cedar off the ceiling. Most of it is quite nice, but unfortunately all the tongues and grooves took a bit of a beating. I can run it through the table saw for future use, it will just be a little narrower, that's all.

Well, surprise...the poly was actually 6 mil on the ceiling. However, the insulation was only R-10, not a lot of good.

I'm going to leave the insulation, such as it is, in place until I re-do the new rafters on that side. We have some Roxul R-22 for that.


----------



## cocobolo

Some good news on the weather front.

We have had unseasonably very cold temperatures for the past while, -20ºC last night for instance. Mid next week we are supposed to get just above freezing in the daytime. If I have to open something up right to the outside, I will leave it until then. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the small snowfall we got last night. Only about 3" or so. Val's car was clear yesterday, so it's easy to see what we received.

Now look at the roof...quite obvious where the heat is going out.

I don't have any answer as to why part of the snow is staying and the rest is going, but I'm sure once I get inside the old rafters all will be revealed.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the drawing of the box beam. I don't know how visible it will be on here. Tried to clear it up as much as possible. The pic right off the camera is very faint.


----------



## cocobolo

OK...well it seems to blow up not too badly. But you will get to see how it is supposed to go together as I plod my way through it.

Val is off to Vancouver again a couple of hours ago, hospital visit for her tomorrow morning.


----------



## cocobolo

Just after 6 am here, waiting for it to get light enough to do some cutting outside. Brrrrrrrrrrr...still cool out there. :vs_coffee:

I have calculated the weight of the box beam to be close to 310 pounds. That means I'm going to experience more than a little difficulty putting it in to place.

So my solution to that little dilemma will be to build the beam on the floor to make sure everything fits right. Then take it apart and see if I can assemble it in place right below the ceiling.

Since the final assembly involves plenty of glue, this might take awhile. Just need to work out the logistics carefully so that nothing goes too far south. :vs_OMG:


----------



## jlhaslip

Going south might be a good idea with all that snow around. LOL

Where did you have that box beam design done? On the Interwebs?


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Going south might be a good idea with all that snow around. LOL
> 
> Where did you have that box beam design done? On the Interwebs?


On the kitchen table! :devil3:


----------



## cocobolo

Some good news on Val's medical front.

The surgeon she saw today in Vancouver has agreed that her knee is finished. He will do a replacement for her some time in 2017, perhaps in July or August.

This is good news because we have been warned to expect waits of up to 4 years. However, the surgeon says that her knee is so bad he is going to try and fit her in within the next 8 months and less if at all possible.

Along with that is the not so good news about the recovery time. She doesn't heal well, so she may be looking at 6 months or more for that part. Since it has always been the stairs which give her difficulty, I will see about building a lift in the house. 

We will already be getting the stair lift from her mum's place in Calgary, but not until the winter weather has cleared up.


----------



## BigJim

Keith, that is good news, hopefully she will heal quickly this time, we sure hope she does.

It looks like the health system situation everywhere lacks a lot. I will just let it be at that. LOL


----------



## Windows on Wash

Knee replacements have come light years in the last decade Keith. My buddy had his done and he was in his 70's. He was back at the office (on an ice machine) within 48 hours and walking around. 

Granted, he is extremely stoic and a great healer, but he was in his early 70's at the time of the surgery so even if Val take a bit longer...hopefully it will be quicker than you think.

Best thing to do is to get those core muscles around the knee as strong and limber as possible before the surgery to help compensate for the procedure. Water aerobics and some targeting resistance exercise will help her immensely.


----------



## cocobolo

The surgeon mentioned the ice machine and has given Val a set of literature to read.

He also said she should expect about a 15 year lifespan for the knee, although he has seen up to 20 years on occasion. I recall hearing just a few years ago that 10 years was closer to the normal life span. 

I will find out more when I go down to the coast for Christmas.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, I'm going to see if I can explain the process of building the box beam now.

Like many things in building, if you look at the whole thing. it seems to be complicated. But if you break it down into small steps, it's really fairly simple. So, since I am in favour of the KISS principle, we'll try to keep it that way.

I am sorry to say that I am one of those horrible people who has a natural mechanical ability. I can look at just about anything on a building and tell you if it's going to work or not.

Believe it or not, that's basically the principle I used to design this box beam. With a little overkill thrown in for good measure.

I recall seeing an article in Fine Homebuilding Magazine many years ago, in which a fellow had built himself a box beam and then proceeded to suspend his 3,700 pound Dodge van from the middle of the beam. To say the least, I was pretty darned impressed.

I haven't built many of these beams since then, and I have never seen one with an arched bottom to it. So this was new ground for me.

To start off with, I needed to do the basic drawing to a scale which I could take direct measurements from. This I did at 1 1/2" to the foot, or 1/8 scale. The only minor difficulty I had came when I wanted to find out what angles to cut the bottom ends of the vertical 2 x 6's. I couldn't find my protractors anywhere. I ended up using rather unwieldly one that I use for framing, but the accuracy did leave something to be desired.

First thing was to cut two boards (all are 2 x 6 for this build) one half of the length of the beam. Full length here is 256", so two boards at 128" did the trick. These are the two top boards which sit flat.

Next I cut all the vertical 2 x 6's. The sizes and angles for these were taken directly off the 1/8 scale drawing.

The only boards that I could correctly locate would be the two end verticals for now. So they were screwed to the two top boards. Because T & G plywood does NOT cover 48" in width, I decided that the easy way for the next step would be to lay the first piece of plywood right on top of the top plate and the end piece. Then I could mark where the plywood joint would be. This was where I screwed the appropriate next vertical 2 x 6, which I think you can see in the photo.


----------



## cocobolo

Forgot to say how I cut the plywood.

Again, using the scale drawing, I took the measurements directly and multiplied by 8. I used a length of 47 1/2", for each piece of plywood and marked that on the drawing. I was able to determine how deep the plywood would be at each joint that way. Rather than trying to conjure up the curve at this point, I simply drew straight lines on the plywood for the cut lines.

I did these in identical pairs, which ended up saving both time and materials. I was able to cover each side of the beam using just one sheet with almost no waste.

I'm afraid that once I got going on this phase, I fell down on the photography end of things, but I think there's enough to explain the process.

In practice, the plywood joint spacing ended up being 47 3/8" rather than the 47 1/2" as calculated on the drawing. This made no difference in the end.

Here I have the first four pieces of plywood screwed into place, still one full width plus a part piece to go.


----------



## cocobolo

Sad to say that both Big Jim & I suffer from the same affliction...Old Timers...so if I forget to mention something that you think should be there, please ask.

Sorry for missing so many photos, but here the plywood has obviously been finished on the first side of the beam, and the beam has been turned upside down so that the top is sitting on the floor.

The lower plates were done as follows. A single 16 foot plank was placed right in the centre of the beam. I wasn't sure just how much pressure it was going to take to bend that 2 x 6 into place, but my 200 pound bulk was sufficient for the job.

At this point NO glue is being used, just 3" construction screws.

The ends of the long plank fell where there were no vertical pieces, which was the plan thus far. But since I knew where those ends would fall, I had pre-cut the two necessary verticals. They were added after the rest of the screws had been fitted to the assembly. Initially, I just used three screws at each vertical intersection, but later added two more for a total of five.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's a better view of things from the side.

Now you can see how things are progressing.


----------



## cocobolo

In case you are wondering why there is such a long space between those two verticals (4'), that will be addressed when the plywood goes on the other side.


----------



## cocobolo

Right in the centre of the beam, I used two 9" verticals because I thought it best to have more wood there to fasten the two top plates to. In other words, each top plate could have its' own 2 x 6 to fasten to.

In use, pressure is exerted from above and would actually press the two top plates towards each other.

In the middle, the beam measures 12" in depth.


----------



## cocobolo

At this point in the construction there are verticals at each end, plus at every 4 feet as well as a pair right in the centre of the beam.


----------



## cocobolo

On the return side, since the plywood is obviously starting from the opposite end to the first side, the plywood joints fell at different locations.

Now the beam is starting to gain more stiffness, although far from what it will be when completed.

Please note that there are NO diagonals being either cut or installed yet.


----------



## cocobolo

Almost done on the second side plywood here. Just the last piece to go, which was less than a half sheet width.

I didn't cut the end pieces until the rest were done, in order that I could get the best possible measurements.

Sorry about the lousy photo, no flash. I adjusted it as best I could.
And please note the extreme lack of space I have to work in here!


----------



## cocobolo

Here's a fun one. I had to turn the beam on to one side.

Now because it is being built to within about 1/16" of the precise space between the two exterior walls, there's no room for any sort of misalignment.

It got stuck part way over, and after thinking about how and where I could apply pressure with a crowbar to move it, I decided to try jumping on it. Problem solved! :devil3:


----------



## cocobolo

The purpose of getting the beam on to the flat was actually three fold.

First, I needed to be able to easily drill several hundred pilot holes for all the screws which would eventually find their way into the beam.

Then, I needed to be able to rout the plywood at the lower side of the beam to match the curve of the lower plate.

Later, the plywood will be removed in order to measure, cut and install the diagonals.


----------



## cocobolo

More moving...this time upright.

As each of the verticals were put in place, I marked the location with a felt pen. In this way I was able to exactly locate where to drill the holes for the screws.


----------



## cocobolo

Next it was back over on its' side again for removal of the plywood.

Then the overall length of the diagonals was noted and boards cut just slightly too long. Then the 2 x 6 was sat in place and marked on the underside for cutting to the proper angles. As you may well imagine, all were different.


----------



## cocobolo

My initial thought was that I could hold the boards at whatever angle was necessary and cut with the miter saw.

Hah, forget that idea. I tried with one board...nada.

So I needed something to give way better control of the cut, because there were something like 56 cuts to make, and they needed to be pretty darned close.

Then I remembered I had made a nice little gadget for the table saw and wondered if that could somehow be made to work.

I think the photos are self explanatory. The board is held in place at the marked angle and clamped tightly. Then it is slid through the blade, slowly, and the cut is made under good control. It worked perfectly.


----------



## cocobolo

This was actually one of the more time consuming operations, but it was necessary to get a tight fit with the diagonals. This is where much of the carrying ability of the beam lays.

What these diagonals do is to produce a series of triangles from one end of the beam to the other. As you guys all know, triangles don't move.


----------



## cocobolo

Since every 2 x 6 member is screwed to the plywood, it was necessary to mark where the holes would be drilled for the screws. Marking out the beam first, then laying the plywood on top made this an easy task.


----------



## cocobolo

To this point the beam was more or less straight on top.

What I needed to do was to be able to induce a crown to the beam which would stay in place until such time as it was installed.

My solution was to fasten a couple of 2 bys to the framing on the exterior walls where the beam was going to end up, and then exert some considerable force to bend the beam upwards.

Then the plywood could be re-attached using glue and copious amount of construction screws. It should keep the crown at that point.


----------



## cocobolo

Couldn't get a very good shot of the crown, but it's there.


----------



## cocobolo

Using a 12 ton hydraulic jack, I got the crown to what I thought would be a suitable height.

However, there was a side effect to this action, which I did anticipate. That was a very slight opening in some of the spaces at the upper ends of some of the diagonals.

I had prepared many thin wedges to fill these gaps and for those which would accept these thin wedges, I drove them in to place with glue. Most did not.

In the last photo you can see how the two top plates separated slightly. This was an easy fix with a wedge and glue.


----------



## cocobolo

Next up was the assembly of the plywood again, this time permanently using Titebond glue and many construction screws.

The hand sledge is for driving the plywood home tightly into each groove, using a block of course.


----------



## cocobolo

Still have the other side to glue. So off with the plywood yet again, and then glue and screw back together and we're done.


----------



## cocobolo

At long last here is the beam done.

Originally, I anticipated that I would build the beam on the floor, take it apart and re-assemble it in place.

However, this would not have allowed me to induce a crown into the beam, something which I deemed necessary.

So now the problem of raising the beam into place had to be addressed.


----------



## 123pugsy

That's one fine looking piece of lumber Keith.

Thanks for the detailed posts.


----------



## BigJim

Buddy that should work great, I did something similar years back and it worked. I did use an adhesive that many people don't know about though called F-26. It is a construction adhesive and I can tell you it is by far better than liquid nails. Here is a link to it:
https://www.amazon.com/PRODUCTS-F26-34-Premium-General-Adhesive/dp/B001CEQ6II

I used that for many years and always had fantastic results, but in East Tennessee it is hard to find. I glued a 2X4 to concrete and two days later I had to remove the 2X, it came up in splinters and I had to chisel the glue off the floor. That stuff is tougher than Superman's knee caps. The only down side is it is very flammable, believe me I know that first hand. LOL What ever you glue with it, be forewarned, it won't come apart without tearing the wood all to pieces. 

I am really anxious to see how you get that bad boy in place, that is not going to be easy.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> That's one fine looking piece of lumber Keith.
> 
> Thanks for the detailed posts.


Thanks pugsy, and you're welcome. More to come later this evening. Trying to get the walls framed around the outside and filled with insulation.


----------



## cocobolo

Jim, I looked at that glue, and it seems that there are 7 states that it will not ship to plus a number of counties in Virginia. Nor will it ship internationally.

That means it's probably a really good glue!

I have had similar results with epoxy, either the wood shatters or chunks of concrete come off with it.

I have here a two part glue that I was going to use, but chose not to purely for reasons of expediency.

The Titebond has massive shear strength, more than the plywood itself. So that part won't be a problem any time soon.

I need to get as much done on the outer walls during daylight hours, so no time right now to post any photos...which always takes a whole lot of time.

I'll be back later tonight. Just grabbing a quick break for lunch now. :smile:


----------



## gma2rjc

Keith, Merry Christmas to you and Val.


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> Keith, Merry Christmas to you and Val.


Aaaah, you're a good lady Barb....Merry Christmas to you and Greg as well. Thank you! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Lifting the beam did take a little head scratching, and what I eventually came up with ended up being deceptively simple.

Subscribing to the theory that slow and steady wins the race, I figured that if I could somehow use the hydraulic jack to do the lifting, it should be easy. But how to get something to hold the beam while it was on its' way up in just 3" increments.

For the first foot or so I used a steel bar and leverage to do the lifting and put 2 bys underneath as it crept up. Obviously a stack of 2 bys is going to get pretty risky in short order, so I needed a better solution.

I kept thinking of a ladder principle and that is what ended up working.

I took two pairs of 8 foot long 2 x 4's, and starting at the one foot mark. I drilled pairs of holes every 3" until I got just over the 6 foot mark. I made the holes 1 1/8" in size, which was just big enough to pass a piece of dowel through. I will show you several photos of how this worked on the way up.

This one has the beam low down at the 15" mark. You can see that I have a piece of dowel inserted through the 2 x 4's and the beam is resting on that.

Considering that the beam weighs barely over 300 pounds, there is only around 150 or so at either end. The old wooden ladders with dowels used to hold people upwards of 200 pounds, so I was sure this would be OK.


----------



## cocobolo

Going up I used a variety of things to hold the jack, first a stack of lumber, then a two step ladder, then a three step ladder, then I piled either more lumber or one or two building blocks on top of that until I was at my destination....or close to it anyway.


----------



## cocobolo

Being aware that the beam had that crown, I decided to raise one end right up until it hit the plate on the ceiling.

Then I added a few studs, cut at the 8º angle at the top end, and screwed them into place. OK, that took care of the first end. 

At this point there really isn't any pressure to speak of on the box beam.


----------



## cocobolo

From this point on, the pressure required to lift the second end of the beam grew exponentially. So a different method of lifting needed to be employed.

I used two building jacks for this task, and it seemed to work well. Yes, I know the manufacturer says you aren't supposed to actually lift with these things...just hold a load. But a little lubrication on the threads does wonders.


----------



## BigJim

Absolute genius, you da man!


----------



## cocobolo

Please believe me when I tell you that I raised the second end of the beam very carefully indeed.

I would lift one turn, which is about 1/8" and then check the top side to see how tight everything was getting.

A minor problem appeared when the beam started to take a lean over to one side as it got pressed tighter to the ceiling. About the only thing I could come up with for that happenstance, was that the very old 2 x 10 fir beam on top was likely not level itself.

Given that this old wood was cut on a circular saw mill, my guess is that the lumber width varies from one board to another. To this there was still a single 2 x 4 plate nailed underneath that beam. My suspicion was that the 2 x 4 plate was not actually level, and thus the box beam - as the pressure started to increase - began to match the plate.

I cut up 50 or so wedges to drive under the old plate, and slowly, but surely, that brought the box beam back into line. Always something interesting with this old construction.

Eventually, the beam hit the ceiling all the way along and then more studs were added at the south end.


----------



## cocobolo

By this time, the box beam was starting to remove some of the load from the temporary 2 x 4 studs, which were still loose by the way, and the odd one had fallen out.

So with the beam and both end supports in place it was time to remove the remaining temporary 2 x 4's.

However, before doing this my curiosity got the better of me and I decided to measure the height of the beam above the floor in the middle. 

Standard beam deflection allowance is 1 in 300, so with this length, that allowance would be 27/32".

Very gingerly I slowly tapped the last 2 x 4's out, hoping that we wouldn't have some sort of disaster. Then I re-checked the measurement again and to my great delight the difference was just 1/32". I couldn't believe it.


----------



## 123pugsy

Holy #$$ !!! .....1/32????
Get back to the drawing board Keith, ha.....

Merry Christmas to you both. Enjoy.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Holy #$$ !!! .....1/32????
> Get back to the drawing board Keith, ha.....
> 
> Merry Christmas to you both. Enjoy.


Nobody could be more surprised than I was pugsy. I had to check it three times to be sure I didn't read it wrong. Pretty happy fella here!


----------



## cocobolo

Merry Christmas everyone!​


----------



## BigJim

Merry Christmas to you too buddy.

That is impressive Keith, you know you did good when there is no more deflection than that, and it looks good.

I had to take out an outside load baring wall on a two story house and support that wall downstairs with a beam, 26 feet long. I was sweating bullets but the beam only deflected exactly what the engineer said it would. I was a happy camper. I know how you felt when you measured the deflection.


----------



## jlhaslip

Another fine job well done.
Amazing what can be done by yourself with all of your experience to back you up.


----------



## cocobolo

We went through a bit of a strange Christmas here.

Val was down at the coast for her medical appointments and I was to join her on the 24th for a few days.

Turned out that some sort of a stomach virus managed to find me and I was unable to make the trip. Val was to return two days ago, but she has come down with something that sounds very similar.

She is planning on leaving the coast this morning.

It's just her luck that there is a snowfall warning issued for the Coquihalla Highway for today. This has been ongoing for many days, and I rather imagine that the snowpack on the mountains must be measured in meters by now.

I do have some photos of the alterations made to the old solarium, which I will try to get posted later today.

In the mean time, I have to try and get some of the construction disaster tidied up before she gets home. I do plan on driving over to Kamloops to do the usual shopping with her later this morning.


----------



## cocobolo

I took this picture of the Anglemont Inn a couple of days ago. Since then we have had at least another 6" of snow.

That barricade at the bottom of their driveway is about two feet off the ground, but you'd never know it. They keep the steep driveway closed all winter long the other side remains plowed.


----------



## cocobolo

It's just getting to be daylight here, and it looks like we have had more snow overnight.

Again, these were taken a couple of days ago, so the snow is even deeper now. I had to use the excavator yesterday to clear the driveway...which is all covered again this morning.

Here's the driveway, cement mixer, (I'm surprised you didn't guess that right off the bat) and the lake. Yes, the lake is behind the trees, but when it snows here, you can't see it.


----------



## jlhaslip

After looking at these pictures, I sure miss BC... LOL.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> After looking at these pictures, I sure miss BC... LOL.


Now I'm not 100% sure...but somehow I think you might be putting me on! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

I promised photos yesterday, and I will get to them ASAP.

But first a short story about Val's trip back yesterday.

She left Chilliwack around 9 am, and that got her to Hope right around 10 am.

Now, I had been watching the weather roll in from the Pacific, and I was fairly sure that the snow which got dumped on the Sea to Sky Highway (Whistler) was going to make it's way up to the Coke.

About 4 hours before Val left, sure enough the snowfall warning was issued for the Coke, from Hope to Merritt, usually the worst hit part of the highway. That's the part that they usually show on "Highway To Hell" TV show.

On a dry day, you can travel the Coke from Hope to Kamloops (190 kms) in a little over 1 1/2 hours, since it has a 120 km/h speed limit. Not yesterday folks.

She said that no sooner has she got on the Coke itself that heavy snow started to fall, at times limiting visibility to below 50 yards. Obviously, you can't be driving anywhere near 120 k's in conditions like that.

Shortly after noon, I got a call from her saying that she had made it to Larsen Hill, which is still quite a way before Merritt. Beyond Merritt, she said the road improved dramatically. She finally got to Kamloops just before 2 pm, somewhat shaken, but otherwise OK. And of course, she had run out of windshield washer fluid!

Last night we were checking the Global TV news, and it seems that the highway got closed about two hours after she got off it. The cause was massive snowfall, many accidents and an inability of the plows to remotely keep up. Traffic was stopped completely for five hours or so and long lines of cars were shown on TV not going anywhere. 

This is what happens in the mountains here in winter. A storm will come in with very little notice. Even though I have seen the plows running at 80 km/h on the highway, they still cannot keep up.

It is roughly 110 km's (just under 70 miles) from Hope to Merritt, and that is a lot of highway to keep clear. It is all at least two lanes in either direction, plus all the passing lanes on the long hills. For those of you who have been on the Coke, you know what I mean.

Some of the more adventurous souls took their skis out and went for a little exercise.

One fellow reported sliding sideways all the way down the hill at the snowshed. Somehow he didn't hit anything. That's a long and very steep hill.


----------



## cocobolo

Next phase is the adding of the walls on the inside of the old solarium.

Here's what I started with. So the first order of business is to assess what needs to be done, then hatch a plan (shades of Hannibal!) and get to it.


----------



## cocobolo

The first step is to strip the walls back to bare framing, then proceed from there. I got a decent supply of kindling off the walls. Always appreciate a few extra BTU's.


----------



## cocobolo

The end window is going to be replaced with a 4' by 3' slider. Val is going to put her electric organ in front of the window, which faces south and looks over the lake.

The big window to the right is going to be removed next spring when the weather warms up. That will then become a solid wall.

For some strange reason, the screen inside the longer window had been screwed right to the framing. When I tried to pull it off - not seeing the screws which were buried deep in the channel - I managed to crack the window. Hey, not everybody can do that!

The end wall is now re-framed for the new window, and you may notice that the old window was nowhere near level.


----------



## cocobolo

Carrying on here with the long wall framing.

A regular 2 x 4 wall on 16" centres, inside the original 2 x 4 wall. Eventually, this will yield an R value of 28 for this wall...or two at R 14.

There will be no windows in this long wall.


----------



## cocobolo

I added the R 14 to the framing to that point.

Now it would be necessary to move all the junk from the other end so that I could try and find some room to continue on with the framing.

Moving all this stuff has to rank right up there with my love of sanding drywall, but I suppose it's one of those jobs that has to be done.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's what we are dealing with at the other end.

A sliding patio door whose main function seemed to be to leak either cold air in or warm air out. It was never installed properly in the first place.

Then there is another window in the long wall which will be going.

Then there is a window in the north end wall, which also will be going...to be replaced with a new door.


----------



## cocobolo

Looking at the top of the north wall we find the usual magnificent framing.

The exterior is covered with the faux stone hardboard, always so nice to see. Then there is the framing(?). Oh really, that's framing? Just a mish mash of bits of 2 x 2 and one short piece of 2 x 4. How do people do these things?

Then we had our collection of mud wasp nests and one or two wasp nests, all long dead thankfully.


----------



## cocobolo

Now here's an interesting piece of corner framing.

The piece of wood that I am holding is a piece of 2 x 2 cut in half at 45º. This was used as the actual end framing on the wall. Quite incredible.


----------



## cocobolo

I would like to introduce you to something that I have nicknamed "Flex Framing". :wink2:

That 2 x 2 piece hanging on to the rafter is attached by a single nail. As you can see it pivots very easily. Hence the name "flex". I must admit, I haven't been able to find this in any building book, but you never know, it may appear one day! :surprise:


----------



## cocobolo

After removing the useless 2 x 2's, I framed the end wall to fit a new 36" door. The upper part of the framing I was able to use 2 x 6's in order to use some R-22.

The lower section will be two 2 x 4 walls as in the rest of the area.


----------



## cocobolo

You are up to date with this photo...the long wall has been framed and insulated.

If it looks to your eye that the top plate is not level, move to the head of the class.

The left side is 1 1/2" lower than the middle, and the right side is about 3/4" lower than the middle.

Since I would like to have the ceiling straight against that wall, I'm going to have to do some fancy notching on the new rafters that will be going in.

The original rafters turned out to be 2 x 10's, which was a bit of a surprise, but only R-12 fiberglass insulation. I think that is why the roof on that side leaks so much heat.

So the plan there is to push the existing insulation up just enough to fit some R-22 Roxul in between the existing rafters. Then add new 2 x 6 ceiling joists below the old rafters. Then add more R-22 between the new ceiling joists. In theory that will provide about R-56. Although in practice I have my doubts that it will be quite that good. Certainly far better than what is in place now.


----------



## jlhaslip

Coco, 
Just to explain my earlier comment, the move to BC took place in 1995, in the Fall. The living quarters were "rustic", shall we say... Parking at the cabin was not an option, the driveway was too steep for 4 wheel drive in the winter, but I digress...

The first week of November, it snowed 24 inches in just as many hours, stopped puking for 8 hours, just long enough to shovel down to the roadway, and then did it once again for good measure. A walk down the middle of the road to the neighbour's house (about a half mile) was up to the chest in powder snow.

Needless to say, I almost packed up and moved back to Alberta. Instead, I stuck it out for 17 years and learned to love the stuff.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Coco,
> Just to explain my earlier comment, the move to BC took place in 1995, in the Fall. The living quarters were "rustic", shall we say... Parking at the cabin was not an option, the driveway was too steep for 4 wheel drive in the winter, but I digress...
> 
> The first week of November, it snowed 24 inches in just as many hours, stopped puking for 8 hours, just long enough to shovel down to the roadway, and then did it once again for good measure. A walk down the middle of the road to the neighbour's house (about a half mile) was up to the chest in powder snow.
> 
> Needless to say, I almost packed up and moved back to Alberta. Instead, I stuck it out for 17 years and learned to love the stuff.


Wow! I have seen a 24" overnight snowfall, and that was on Ruxton Island of all places, but I have never ever seen chest deep snow in B.C. I did when I was up in the Yukon, but that was out of town where man did not tread.


----------



## jlhaslip

I was about 12 miles south of town, up about 4 miles on the first bench off the highway. They plowed the school bus route which ended about a mile away usually pretty quick but didn't get to my driveway for a day or so after that.
If you got to know the Plowman, he would not leave a furrow across the driveway, but stay on good terms with him, for sure, because he could go the other route and make sure you never got dug out. LOL
At one point, we had three 4 wheel drives stuck at my place because the snow was too deep. All had good winter tires and worked properly. There was just no getting out that day until the Plow happened.


----------



## cocobolo

I guess in a way we are lucky then, because we are right on the main school bus route. Not to mention that we are across the road from the Anglemont Inn. I'm sure they have some pull with Highways. :smile:


----------



## BigJim

I have always loved snow but not like y'all get up your way, a couple of days on the street and I hate it after that. I think I would smother if we had a deep snow that lasts for a long time like y'all get. I guess you get use to it though.


----------



## cocobolo

Jim, it wouldn't bother me in the least if I never saw snow again. You know what it's like at our age, shovelling that stuff isn't my idea of fun.


----------



## cocobolo

Happy New Year to you all!​


----------



## BigJim

Right back at ya big guy.


----------



## jlhaslip

cocobolo said:


> Jim, it wouldn't bother me in the least if I never saw snow again. You know what it's like at our age, shovelling that stuff isn't my idea of fun.


One word answer: SNOWBLOWER


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> One word answer: SNOWBLOWER


Very good!

The irony of it all is that we have a brand new one...but it's buried under the snow at the wrong end of the driveway!!! :surprise:

This year I'm going to have to make sure it has a home where we can get to it when the snow flies!


----------



## 123pugsy

Happy New Year Keith.

Have a good one.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Happy New Year Keith.
> 
> Have a good one.


Thanks pugsy,,,same to you!


----------



## gma2rjc

Happy New Year Keith!


----------



## jlhaslip

All the best to yourself and She.Who.Must.Be.Obeyed


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> Happy New Year Keith!


Thanks Barb! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> All the best to yourself and She.Who.Must.Be.Obeyed


Hahah! Yes, indeed! And thank you. :smile:


----------



## Windows on Wash

Happy New Years to all of you great folks.


----------



## cocobolo

*Thank You!*

Seems to me that I remember issuing a "Thank You" at the end of every year to those of you who were kind enough to find the time to post on my old thread.

And since I can't think of any good reason not to carry on that tradition, here goes again!

So, in no particular order, here goes for my thank you list for 2016.

Mrbuilder, Lager, vmh0307, Bud Cline, DIYknot, roseawebs, A Squared, Andiy, JLHaslip, Mort, jimn01, gregthompson, SPS-1, asevereid, fixrite, ica171, gma2rjc, "Oh" Mike, hyunelanz, drtbk4ever, Windows on Wash, scoggy, sleepyg, melving.crane, 123pugsy, algalkin, william layton and not to forget Big Jim.

I have tried to get your "names" correct, but I see that my trusty Mac seems to think it can spell better than I can. So my apologies if I haven't picked up all the aforementioned corrections.

Thank you one and all for your contributions to this thread.

Hope to see you again during this coming year as I try to get into ever more trouble. Something that I seem to be getting ever more adept at! :biggrin2:


----------



## cocobolo

Back to business...we have been busy trying to get that old solarium area in better shape to resist the cold weather.

So, to that end I have added new ceiling joists below the old rafters. This was the plan and for a change it has remained intact.

As you know, the top plate on the new back wall was not level. In order to get the ceiling itself level, I drew a level line from one end to the other. From there, I took a measurement at every stud to see what the difference was between the level line and the top of the plate.

With those numbers in hand, I cut the new ceiling joists and added a notch on each one to match the level line.

I think the photo shows the general idea.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's my star apprentice hanging a joist.

What we did was to stand the joist in place, then scribe a line where the new joist sat below the original rafter. Then cut that piece of wood off so that the new joist would fit below the rafter.

The new ceiling has a much flatter angle than the original. It isn't level, but sits at about an 8º angle.

The whole procedure was abominably slow as every joist was different from the next.

I think it was worth the effort, as the underside of the ceiling now looks nice and flat. This will make for easier drywalling.


----------



## cocobolo

With the new joists in place, I added drywall backing between each on both the top and lower ends of the joists. The backing was also cut at the matching 8º angle.

Nothing terribly complicated here, all straightforward stuff.


----------



## cocobolo

From here, we removed the fiberglass insulation and brushed and vacuumed out each overhead cavity. Hopefully, we have reduced the number of freeloading stink bugs considerably.

Then replaced the f/g and added a new layer of Roxul R-22 into the original roof cavities.

When that was done, I did some wiring and added three light boxes to the new ceiling. And following that, we added yet another layer of R-22 between the new ceiling joists.

That's where we are this evening, and tomorrow I hope will see all the vapour barrier installed.


----------



## cocobolo

A very substantial change from a couple of weeks ago along with a lot cleaner look and more usable space.

Once the weather warms up - we are still experiencing far below normal temperatures here - the new window and door can be installed.

I'm thinking that most of the drywall can be done once the v.b. is up tomorrow.


----------



## cocobolo

Woke up this morning to see a fresh 15 cms (6") of snow on the ground. We weren't supposed to get any new snow until tonight.

So I hopped outside to see if there was any snow on the roof, and voila! It appears that the insulation is doing its' job. And this is without any vapour barrier or drywall in place.

The much higher pile on the outside edges of the roof is from before, where there was already well over a foot of snow.


----------



## cocobolo

We did get the 6 mil poly on the ceiling and walls today, and right away you could tell the difference.

This evening we are sitting at about -10ºC outside, and the heat pump isn't working nearly as hard as it was yesterday.

We don't have all the heat loss areas fixed yet, but this was a fairly major one, so we're happy to have it done.


----------



## cocobolo

We got started on the drywall as well this afternoon. Here's the first one going on the ceiling...no trouble I'm glad to say. Except that the drywall sheets are all downstairs, so we had the awful job of packing them upstairs to add to our pleasure.

Something tells me we shouldn't still be doing this stuff at our ages! :vs_no_no_no:


----------



## cocobolo

The net ceiling width is only 62", so there will be a narrow strip of board to go up when the four footers are done (which they are now).

We also got the top row of boards on the wall, and again, the lower sheets will only be partials. I think that outer wall height is only something like 81".


----------



## cocobolo

Val has an MRI scheduled for Saturday morning down at the coast...so we will be making the trip tomorrow.

Just spoke with number one son and he tells me that they have about 5" of snow on the ground now and more is expected overnight, just as it is here.

I don't see any snowfall warnings up for the Coke yet, although looking at the highway cams I do see that just about the entire highway is snow covered. 

We will be taking Val's 4wd and we won't be in any hurry. More when we get back.


----------



## BigJim

Man I don't see how y'all carry the sheet rock upstairs, I am luck to just go upstairs now. Don't ever stop Keith, if you do, you won't start back.


----------



## sleepyg

cocobolo said:


> Val has an MRI scheduled for Saturday morning down at the coast...so we will be making the trip tomorrow.
> 
> Just spoke with number one son and he tells me that they have about 5" of snow on the ground now and more is expected overnight, just as it is here.
> 
> I don't see any snowfall warnings up for the Coke yet, although looking at the highway cams I do see that just about the entire highway is snow covered.
> 
> We will be taking Val's 4wd and we won't be in any hurry. More when we get back.


You guys be careful and drive safe. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Man I don't see how y'all carry the sheet rock upstairs, I am luck to just go upstairs now. Don't ever stop Keith, if you do, you won't start back.


It's getting close to the point Jim, where there are days I don't really want to get started! Never mind packing drywall upstairs.

We just have to keep our eyes on the prize at the end of the road. At least the list is getting shorter by the week. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

sleepyg said:


> You guys be careful and drive safe. :smile:


I just checked the highway cams - even though it is still dark here - and it looks like the Coke is reasonably clear! What a surprise. 

What's even better is that there are no new snowfall warnings up yet, that's even better. We may well have a good trip after all. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Catchup time again, I see.

Our return trip to Vancouver was good, especially considering the time of year and the extreme cold weather that we have been experiencing.

Val's MRI apparently went well, even though it took 2 1/2 hours! They had to do one with no dye in her blood and then another one with dye.

We went over to see the '33, but the temperatures in the boys' shop has been terribly cold, so no new work on the car. Can't say as I blame them. But I did take a photo of the rechromed "flying lady" hood ornament. It is an original 1933 and was badly pitted when we took it to the chrome shop.

I'm afraid the photo isn't exactly museum quality, but she looks a whole lot better than before. Just about all of the hundreds of pits are gone now.


----------



## cocobolo

On the trip we saw dozens, if not hundreds, of these ice falls.

All we usually see is a trickle of water where they are, but as temperatures plummeted these ice falls started to appear.

Allouette Lake, near where we stayed at one of Val's daughters', was frozen over. To the point that people were skating on it. I don't ever remember that happening on the coast before. And big ice floes coming down the Fraser River all the way to the coast. Last time I saw that I think it was about 1990 or so.


----------



## cocobolo

Back at the mansion once again, things proceeded further with the drywall in the old solarium.

I was hoping to be able to trim the board under the beam with the cutoff tool, but the only bit they supply you with is for cutting around electrical boxes. So it was back to the tried and true drywall saw again. Slow, but you get there eventually.


----------



## cocobolo

With the beam boarded up, I wasn't sure how to add the corner bead. You can buy a flexible bead, but it's about 4 times the price of the regular metal bead.

I experimented with cutting one side of some bead to see how it would bend to the curve, and it was no problem at all. Just made a cut at every fourth nail hole and the bead bent smoothly.

So I nailed the first side up and then promptly ran out of metal bead.

Yesterday we made another trip in to Kamloops - with a stop at Chase on the way for one of Val's physio treatments - to pick up more building materials.

I was also out of drywall nails, so got those plus corner bead, a couple of boxes of tape mud, several more goodies from my fave tool store and grub.

Then I tried a bead against the beam without cutting it, and I'll be damned if it didn't work just fine. Haven't got that nailed up yet, but will do tomorrow.


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday afternoon I took a shot at getting to the snowblower, which is well and truly buried under a mound of snow. The side against the rock wall is frozen in solid, but I did get most of the tarp off and access to the motor.

Of course the battery was dead flat so no go on the startup. Pulled the battery out and gave it time on the charger. It didn't look as though it was charging, so we called the dealer in Salmon Arm, told him of the problem, and he said he would replace the battery - no charge - if it wouldn't take a charge.

Well, it did charge up overnight, but the tractor wouldn't even fart this morning when I tried to get it going. Turned over just fine, but that was all.

So we went to Salmon Arm anyway today and stopped in at the dealer. He was quite sure that the carb would have lots of condensation inside, and if I just drained the float bowl and used fresh fuel it would be A-OK.

That turned out to be the case and now it starts great. But it is still frozen in place, and tomorrow we are going to take a heat gun out there and try to get it thawed out.

The other thing we did was to get a new battery for the excavator, the old one hasn't been any good since the day we bought the machine.


----------



## jlhaslip

Busy, well traveled guy.
Hope the results of the MRI come back favourably.

Stay warm. It will be plus 1 here on Sunday.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Busy, well traveled guy.
> Hope the results of the MRI come back favourably.
> 
> Stay warm. It will be plus 1 here on Sunday.


They are threatening us with the same +1, but not until next Tuesday here....who do we sue if it doesn't show up?

Our Sunday high is to be -7ºC. It was -20ºC at Salmon Arm today and -25ºC overnight there. Right now we are at -11.3ºC outside the house.


----------



## BigJim

And down this way we have returned to the high 60s and low 70s, blame mosquitoes were terrible yesterday. Don't look like we are going to get much winter again this year.


----------



## 123pugsy

BigJim said:


> And down this way we have returned to the high 60s and low 70s, blame mosquitoes were terrible yesterday. Don't look like we are going to get much winter again this year.


Jeez....mosquitos...we're really feeling for ya Jim, you poor boy, ... ha......


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> And down this way we have returned to the high 60s and low 70s, blame mosquitoes were terrible yesterday. Don't look like we are going to get much winter again this year.


Jim, maybe you'd like to send us a picture of what low '70's looks like. :smile:

For some reason that seems to escape my memory.

At least this morning we woke up to sunshine and -12.1ºC. That's about 10ºF.


----------



## cocobolo

Just checked down at Salmon Arm...they are still at -21ºC this morning, the poor souls.


----------



## BigJim

Good grief, I am sure not complaining. I just can't handle cold weather, come to think of it, I have never see it that cold in my life. About 11 below 0 Is as cold as I have seen it and that was back in 1949.

Roofers just showed up this morning, tore the old roof off our house, replaced some decking, reroofed and gone 3 1/2 hours. Made me tired just watching them. LOL


----------



## cocobolo

First thing this morning Val took the leaf blower outside and got rid of most of the snow off the excavator.

I guess what she didn't realize was that I had taken off the two pieces of checker plate flooring to gain access to the battery. That in itself wasn't the problem, but she blew the small bolts to who knows where that hold the plates on.


----------



## cocobolo

Then she went down to the tractor and gave that the blower treatment. I have to say that thing works really well even when the snow is packed. They claim it to have 120 mph wind speed. Now, whether or not that is true, I don't know, but it does seem able to dislodge just about anything in its' way.

We did have to use the heat gun and a big steel bar to pry the snowblower loose, but once that was done we were away to the races as it were.


----------



## cocobolo

For our first attempt with the snow blower we didn't do too badly.

I made one pass down towards the shed, got turned around and came back again. Part way back Val decided that she wanted to run the snow blower which was OK by me.

That way I could get on the excavator and tackle some of the 4' drifts. That was just way too much for the little tractor.


----------



## jlhaslip

Don't worry about those bolts. They will be somewhere within range of the snowblower's exhaust spout. You can find them in the Spring... LOL.


----------



## cocobolo

After about half an hour on the tractor, she started to get the hang of things. At first all she managed to do was to keep stalling the machine.

So much so that she was taking on rocks and anything else that got in the way. Unfortunately, she managed to break one of the bolts holding the blades in the blower, so that was it for the day.

I'm wondering if the bolt that broke isn't something like a shear pin on an outboard motor? It might be a safety feature to prevent damage to the rotors. I'll see if there's anything online about that.

If any of you reading this have a Berc blower on your tractor and know the answer, I would appreciate hearing from you...thanks.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Don't worry about those bolts. They will be somewhere within range of the snowblower's exhaust spout. You can find them in the Spring... LOL.


Yeah right. Spring seems an awfully long way off right now! And by then I will have forgotten what to look for. It's the old timers' you know.


----------



## jlhaslip

Any snow blower I ever owned always had a shear pin in the front end.

The last one, the shear pins were about $4.00 each. I bought 2 and used them both in one day, so after that, I bought a box of # 10 x 2 inch stove bolts and nylon lock nuts for under $10 for 50 of them. Cut about a third of the way through with a hacksaw, installed them with a lock nut and they worked fine.


----------



## cocobolo

Well, it's BercO, not Berc. And yes the blades are protected by a shear bolt system as I thought they may be.

So I guess next trip over to Salmon Arm I will clean the dealer out of every bolt that he has. No sense leaving any for the next customer who breaks one.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Any snow blower I ever owned always had a shear pin in the front end.
> 
> The last one, the shear pins were about $4.00 each. I bought 2 and used them both in one day, so after that, I bought a box of # 10 x 2 inch stove bolts and nylon lock nuts for under $10 for 50 of them. Cut about a third of the way through with a hacksaw, installed them with a lock nut and they worked fine.


You beat me to it jl...I have already found a 3' length of redi rod that I can use temporarily. These bolts need to be about 2 1/2" or maybe even longer. There is a boss on both sides of the shaft where they go through.

I will have to pick up a box of nylocks though, can't find any here.

Thanks for the info.


----------



## BigJim

I was just thinking while reading this, I couldn't be of any help at all on this one, I have never even seen an actual snow blower.

Buddy that is some serious snow up your way, at least your stink bugs aren't active there like they are here right now.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I was just thinking while reading this, I couldn't be of any help at all on this one, I have never even seen an actual snow blower.
> 
> Buddy that is some serious snow up your way, at least your stink bugs aren't active there like they are here right now.


Jim, just about everybody and his dog have some sort of snow blower up this way, but most of them are the walk behind type. They are OK on level ground, but there sure isn't much of that in Anglemont!

As for the damn stink bugs, the ones outside are hibernating. The woodpile seems to be their favourite haunt. The few that are still on the loose inside are active. But we are getting them one by one.


----------



## BigJim

Keith, if I had a snow blower I would want one like in the video below, only with a mean bump stick.LOL


----------



## cocobolo

The chap with the overpowered snowblower has several videos up I see. That's a pretty potent machine, but you can only use low RPM on the blower itself.

So when you go to build your next one Jim, you might want to pass on the hot cam! :devil3:

Well, we have been at it again inside. Now doing more drywall on the solarium area and the long closet in the bedroom.

I'm just sweeping the floor here, something that I try not to get caught doing.


----------



## cocobolo

Meanwhile, over in the closet things are proceeding apace. Here adding the bead around the doorway.


----------



## cocobolo

We have had another semi-significant snowfall and Val has happily taken on the job of keeping the driveways more or less clear.

One thing that I regret not doing last year, despite saying it was going to be done, was the installation of the rest of the roof vents. If you can't get the air out of the roof this is what you get.


----------



## cocobolo

We were in Kamloops yesterday and we picked up four extra vents. So as soon as the snow does a disappearing act, they will be getting installed.

Back at the ranch, we are getting close to finishing the mudding in the solarium. I think one more coat should do it. We have been trying the method using almost zero sanding, and so far it seems to be working very well. Live and learn I guess...even at my age.


----------



## cocobolo

Val has been making noises for ages about changing the plywood on the solarium floor.

Apparently, this area used to be outside and I will admit that the plywood is showing serious signs of aging. Little did I know just how much until I yielded to her insistent demands that the old plywood go.

She volunteered to take out as many of the old rusty nails as she could, so who am I to argue?


----------



## cocobolo

Half the battle was actually finding the old fasteners. Dozens had rusted badly and as a result had deteriorated the top couple of plies of the plywood. But, as usual a little perseverance paid off and we eventually got the old stuff up.

It turned out to be re-cycled 3/4" plywood from a bygone era. I will likely use it yet again to make run off tables for when I manage to do the machining on the cedar siding. That's something else that should have been done last year as well.


----------



## cocobolo

By dinner time we had managed to get the three main sheets of new OSB down, which leaves us with a narrow strip to install to finish up.

We shall move the rolls of carpet over to the opposite side of the floor tomorrow and see what is involved in the rest of it. 

For sure, there is a row of nails to be pulled before I can cut the old floor back to the middle of a joist to get some backing. There has been a substantial gap in the floor since day one and at long last that will be gone.


----------



## cocobolo

One other small but important job we managed to get done this afternoon was to provide some support for the poorly installed joists in the above floor.

I think I have mentioned previously about these joists having almost no bearing at all on the inboard end.

So while the plywood was up, I put a 2 x 4 in place under the offending end.

Since the area below this floor is littered with the usual volume of junk...well, not really, most of it is new tools or car parts, there wasn't any reasonable access from below.

So I cut the lumber to length and lifted it into place with a rope from above. Then clamped it to every joist as tightly as we could and added an insane amount of 3" screws. At least my comfort level with the floor has risen exponentially now.


----------



## cocobolo

When we get finished with the drywall upstairs, we will still have plenty to go downstairs.

On that beam above where I added the top 2 x 4, I will need another one screwed to the bottom to square up that beam for drywall as well.

We got that gap filled in on the solarium floor along with quite a bit more taping and mudding. I think today we will be stuck with more mudding. Not very exciting, but now even Val has decided that she can fill all the screw holes quite well. I still get to do all the corners and joints...lucky me.

Should have a few more photos later this evening.


----------



## cocobolo

The way we tackled the gap in the floor was firstly to cut the old plywood back to the middle of the joist. Just the layout of that line was time consuming enough. There was one part that was especially crooked, just to keep life interesting.


----------



## cocobolo

Val couldn't resist taking a few pics of how nicely the old joists were attached. Just one more reason that extra 2 x 4 was needed underneath.


----------



## cocobolo

Next I had to take note of the width of the replacement OSB at every joist. At least that way we had a fair chance of getting a decent fit.


----------



## cocobolo

With numbers in hand, I laid out the groove side on new sheets of OSB and cut crooked lines to match. They all came out remarkably well thankfully. Easy to knock into place and then I nailed the whole lot down, never to move again! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Today we spent on the business end of drywall knives. My star helper usually manages the camera, but that seemed to get forgotten today. I think both the solarium and the walk in closet have been mudded to death and either a light sanding, or a wipe down with the special sponge should see both areas ready for paint.

That will be a real treat and something we are both very much looking forward to doing.

It won't be tomorrow however, as we have to get Val over to Salmon Arm for another visit with the pain Dr.


----------



## cocobolo

This morning we cleaned up the solarium and the walk in closet, to the point that they are now ready for paint.

This afternoon, I had to take Val over to the pain doctor again. I thought he was supposed to relieve her pain, but every time she leaves his office she is in agony. Doesn't seem right somehow. Today it was another 6 needles and it was all she could do to walk back to the car when he was done.

She says the pain will subside by tomorrow morning and wants to try and help with the painting. We'll see about that. I think a day of rest will do her the world of good.


----------



## gma2rjc

Maybe she could pull up a chair, sit down and just be the Supervisor tomorrow. I hope she feels a lot better very soon Keith. 

I'll ask Greg what his doctor shoots into his knee to ease the pain. I know it helps a lot. Like you said, it doesn't sound right that she should be in pain after getting the shots.


----------



## cocobolo

She says it was cortisone he used today. Three of the needles were in the upper back, right on the vertebrae and three were lower down, I think around L4/5 or so. The needle holes are clearly visible. He shoves the needle in, then watching the ultrasound he maneuvers the needle to where he wants it. He moves the needle around while dispensing small amounts of the contents. It's not fun to watch.


----------



## BigJim

Good grief, that is terrible, the guy seems to not care about hurting her, I would not be a happy camper if that were Judy. Hopefully she will get much better so she won't have to endure that pain.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the thing Jim, he's supposed to be the best pain medicine doctor for hundreds of miles around. And he hardly ever speaks when he's working. Most of the doctors I have been to over the years will let you know what they are going to do before they do it. Even my dentist lets me know in advance exactly when he's going to try and shove his needle into my skull!

We're hoping this time around there is improvement...but so far this morning I can tell she's still in pain. Apparently, sometimes it takes several days for the pain to settle down.


----------



## ica171

I'm working on healing a bulging disc in my back, although I only had to get one cortisone shot--well, one session, but it seemed like a needle went into my back at least a dozen times. Anyway, my doctor told me that I would feel a bit of relief within a few days but it would take up to two weeks to feel the full measure of relief. It was probably about five days, if I remember right. Also, not exactly the same, but back when I was just starting physical therapy, it seemed like every time I went to therapy I felt worse than when I went in, but it's much better now. I also did a few courses of oral steroids and take an anti-inflammatory every day.

Tell her to take it easy! I pushed through the pain for way too long and ended up having to have surgery, then after feeling decent for almost a year I ended up with the same disc bulging on the other side. Oops. Now I try to really pay attention when my back doesn't feel right.


----------



## cocobolo

Thanks for the info.

Yes, Val has been told about the same. But she has back surgeries going back to 1985, and the last one in 2009.

She did get to feel considerable improvement by this afternoon, which is a great sign.

She does have a tendency to want to do too much, so it's my job to hold her back and see to it that she gets enough rest during the healing process. It's not as easy as you might think to get her to slow down! Sometimes I think she's almost as bad as I am! lain:


----------



## ica171

cocobolo said:


> She does have a tendency to want to do too much, so it's my job to hold her back and see to it that she gets enough rest during the healing process. It's not as easy as you might think to get her to slow down! Sometimes I think she's almost as bad as I am! lain:


I'm glad she got some relief! 

I'm the same way about wanting to do too much. For me, I think it's that, if you feel bad most of the time, if there's a time when you feel good (or less bad) you want to get as much out of it as possible. 

Good luck with painting; if you have those extender rods for the rollers I don't think it would be too hard on the back, or at least it would decrease the amount of bending.


----------



## cocobolo

Yes, we have all the stuff necessary for painting. I got one undercoat on the walk in closet and the solarium yesterday, but I wouldn't let her do any of the painting. Maybe today when we do the second coat...she's itching to help! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday we ended up going in to Kamloops for a number of things, one of which was one of those hoppers that you use to texture spray ceilings with. So Val got to spend much of the day just sitting doing nothing. I think the rest did her good.

So today I think we are going to do the second coats on the walk in closet and the solarium. Plus I am sure I will do more mudding. Other than that no big plans for the day. Still sitting right on 0º outside this morning, so no suntanning for us today! :vs_OMG:


----------



## cocobolo

Woke up to a cool morning outside....to say the least. It was supposed to go down to -8ºC last night, but right now it's -15º! That's fairly nippy.

We have now got two undercoats and two white topcoats of paint on the solarium and the walk in closet. What a difference paint makes. It's starting to look dangerously like a real house now. We do have plans to add some colour to the walls - other than white - and hopefully we can get something tomorrow on the way home. Haven't decided what colours yet, but if we make it back to Kamloops before the House of Pot closes, I think we will try and pick out the paint for the solarium/living room.

Also got another good mud coat on the master bedroom, shouldn't need more than the odd touch up in there before we can paint that one as well. It's a treat to see this sort of thing come together I can tell you, especially after all the mess we have been through.

Tomorrow we are going to Vancouver again, no medical stuff this time. This trip is to pick up a bunch of stuff that Val bought at auction. Also have to get a roll or two of that automotive masking paper for the walls. Need that to keep the ceiling spray off the walls. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Wow...quite the day we had today. Just got back from Vancouver...left at 6:30 am, just got home.

Yesterday afternoon & evening we spent wasting time & money at an online auction. A good friend of Val's owns the place, so she likes to give him some business when she can.

We picked up a new "Smart Heater", a pressure cooker (new), a pair of brand new in the box bucket seats. It was hard to tell really what they looked like online, so we took a chance and got them cheap. I will take a few pics tomorrow and you guys can be the judge. One of those hydraulic motorcycle stands, I think we can use it for the garden tractor. A new engine stand, still in the box. Two car covers, one for the '33 and one for Val's Honda. A full set of ARP bolts for an engine and the second part of the same lot is a box with "stuff" in it, but I have no idea what...guess I will find out tomorrow. Val got three necklaces which she will eventually give to her three grand daughters. Can't remember what else, but the van is full!

The "Coke" today was spectacular! I don't think I have ever travelled that road with gorgeous sunshine and not a cloud in the sky from one end to the other. And blinding white snow everywhere except on the road itself...which was bone dry! I took a ton of pics of the trip back and I'll pick out a few and post them tomorrow. We're both in crash mode right now! :vs_closedeyes:


----------



## cocobolo

Some of the over 200 pics I took on the way home yesterday. First one is of a semi in the ditch not very far beyond Hope. That's the name of the town where the Coquihalla highway starts.


----------



## cocobolo

A few more.....


----------



## cocobolo

Last few.....


----------



## drtbk4ever

Nice that the highway was bare and dry, but in my experience on the "coke", that just means the speeds start to get crazy.


----------



## jlhaslip

I have a list of things that I miss about BC.

Driving the Coke in the winter is not on that list.


----------



## cocobolo

drtbk4ever said:


> Nice that the highway was bare and dry, but in my experience on the "coke", that just means the speeds start to get crazy.


Hard to believe that the road was this good at this time of year.

Even the crazies usually keep it down to about 130 or so when the road is good.

The ones I really like are the clowns who go racing past us in slippery conditions...and when we pass them a little later on in the ditch we can wave and beep the horn.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> I have a list of things that I miss about BC.
> 
> Driving the Coke in the winter is not on that list.


It was almost like a summer day yesterday...except for the way below zero temperatures! :vs_OMG:


----------



## cocobolo

I see things are back to normal again the Coke.

A foot of new snow with plenty more on the way!


----------



## cocobolo

Well, poop. Yesterday we had at least 6 inches of new snow here, and I see quite a bit more overnight, looks like another 6 inches.

Val cleared most of the driveway yesterday, but we didn't try to bring the bucket seats inside. Maybe later today if we can clear the driveway again. What a nuisance.

But we did get the bedroom wiped down with a sponge and the first undercoat done. Starting to look pretty good now. We'll get more done today.


----------



## cocobolo

What do they say about the best laid plans of mice and men....

This weather is playing havoc with everyone and everything all over the province. And the latest is that Vancouver is going to get an even worse snowstorm in the next day or two. Whatever they get, it reaches here a day or two later, so we aren't done yet with this nonsense.

To add to our pleasure we managed to run out of firewood today so I had to dig a nice long uphill trench (sorry, no pic) to see if I could find some of the rounds that I had cut up last fall from the logs the neighbour kindly gave us. I found a dozen or so, buried under two feet of snow and they will have to do us until tomorrow, when we are getting a load of firewood delivered.

Val hopped on the snowblower again and cleared the driveway so that Ian can deliver our wood.


----------



## cocobolo

Inside the bedroom, I'm doing the last of the mudding here. Then we gave it a light sanding and Val wiped the walls down with the sponge in readiness for paint.


----------



## cocobolo

She's giving the big "OK" here.

Two undercoats and two topcoats on the wall at this point.


----------



## cocobolo

One of my brainwave ideas was to use two colours on all the walls throughout the house. Who knows how that scatterbrained idea is going to work?

I tried it on the new bathroom downstairs, and it looks pretty good. So the first room upstairs to get this treatment is the closet. To try and keep the lines dead level, I use the laser to lay out the lines on the wall. Mark a few dots around the walls and then draw lines with the level.


----------



## cocobolo

The colours that got picked are "Imagination" and "Lavender cloud".

Here's the top colour underway.


----------



## cocobolo

Before we started painting the walls, we taped the ceiling off so as to try and get a clean line. Top wall painting is finished and here the tape is coming off. I understand that the tape should be removed as quickly as possible, so we wasted no time in doing that.


----------



## cocobolo

Val had noticed that there seemed to be a few screws missing from the floor (a few?) because it squeaked occasionally. Turned out that I had missed something like 100 screws all over the closet and bedroom floor. Don't really know how that happened, usually I'm a stickler for getting that sort of thing finished in the proper order. 

Oh well, it's done now.


----------



## cocobolo

More from the closet.


----------



## cocobolo

Val came close to having kittens when she was rolling the bottom paint on...it didn't look anything at all like the colour swatch. Fortunately, it dried to the right shade.

Later this afternoon, we retrieved some firewood from the bank next door, and Val (who loves to drive the tractor!) hooked up the little garden trailer and drove it up to the house.


----------



## jlhaslip

Looks like you are practising for a new pinstripe paint job on the car... :lol:

Looks good.


----------



## ica171

I can't stop looking at how smooth your ceilings are!  I'm jealous. I like the two-color scheme, too.


----------



## cocobolo

ica171 said:


> I can't stop looking at how smooth your ceilings are!  I'm jealous. I like the two-color scheme, too.


I have say that I'm definitely NO expert at drywalling. But after having watched probably 40 hours of Youtube videos on the subject, at least I understood what needed to be done. It takes me 4 coats to get my ceilings flat.

And now, after all that we are going to texture them! But first the walls will all need to get their final paint coats done.


----------



## BigJim

I am sure you already have this covered but I am just curious, are you going to tamp, swirl or spray the ceilings? If spray how are you going to keep the over spray off the newly painted walls? Most of my subs always sprayed, tamped or swirled before painting the walls because it sure gets messy. There are so many new ways of doing things now days I was just curious if there was something new I didn't know about.


----------



## gma2rjc

I like the pin stripe too. Nice colors!

Seeing Val do so much work, when most people with back problems like hers would be taking it easy, is very impressive. Go Val!! :vs_box:


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I am sure you already have this covered but I am just curious, are you going to tamp, swirl or spray the ceilings? If spray how are you going to keep the over spray off the newly painted walls? Most of my subs always sprayed, tamped or swirled before painting the walls because it sure gets messy. There are so many new ways of doing things now days I was just curious if there was something new I didn't know about.


Hi Jim, well I think the current method of doing this goes as follows.

First you finish the ceiling completely, including the final paint colour...in this case white. 

Then you also finish all the painting on the walls, and we are going with a two colour system throughout upstairs. Along the same lines as Val's closet, but different colours.

When that is done and dry, you mask off the walls and cover the floor with a drop cloth, then out comes the hopper and you spray the ceiling.

The hopper is adjustable for the size of splatter you want on the ceiling. We are going with the smaller pattern, which is what was done in the kitchen.

I just hope that I don't botch this lot up, so I think some practice on some cardboard to see what it looks like before I try a ceiling will be in order. They do make a special mud for spraying, which is - naturally - about $5 more per box than the other mud.

I'm not going to tip it off after we spray. That would be one more thing that I think takes a magic touch, which I don't have. Better that I leave well enough alone.

We got four gallons of paint for the bedroom walls this afternoon, so we will be getting at that tomorrow.

Actually, we initially went to town today to change the wood splitter. Went to use it yesterday and the electric motor would only buzz, but would not spin over at all. We only used it in the summer of 2015 for a short while. Brought it inside overnight so it could warm up, thinking that the motor might be too cold to start up. No dice, it still wouldn't run this morning.

Since it had a two year warranty, Val gets on the 'phone to Canadian Tire where we bought it and advises them that we would like a new one. Surprise, no argument from them at all! Just bring in the machine and the receipt and we will replace it. New one is sitting in the back of the van as we speak.


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> I like the pin stripe too. Nice colors!
> 
> Seeing Val do so much work, when most people with back problems like hers would be taking it easy, is very impressive. Go Val!! :vs_box:


We wish it was only her back Barb, but the knee is getting progressively worse. That's not a surprise, but it is still another five months or so until the replacement surgery.

When we got back from town this afternoon, we moved about 1/3 of a cord of the firewood into the carport. Val was right there stacking every last piece. She just will not give up. Amazing lady for sure.

Big snowfall due to arrive this evening and tomorrow morning. I don't think I will let her out on the snowblower tomorrow, even though she really enjoys running it, as it's going to be miserable out there in the morning.

The people who own the Inn across the road are coming back home on Friday, and Val thinks it would be nice of us to clear the snow over there as well. The lady of the couple has cancer, and they don't need to come home to several hours of work like that right away. They only have a small walk behind snow blower, so it's a fair chunk of work.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Hi Jim, well I think the current method of doing this goes as follows.
> 
> First you finish the ceiling completely, including the final paint colour...in this case white.
> 
> Then you also finish all the painting on the walls, and we are going with a two colour system throughout upstairs. Along the same lines as Val's closet, but different colours.
> 
> When that is done and dry, you mask off the walls and cover the floor with a drop cloth, then out comes the hopper and you spray the ceiling.
> 
> The hopper is adjustable for the size of splatter you want on the ceiling. We are going with the smaller pattern, which is what was done in the kitchen.
> 
> I just hope that I don't botch this lot up, so I think some practice on some cardboard to see what it looks like before I try a ceiling will be in order. They do make a special mud for spraying, which is - naturally - about $5 more per box than the other mud.
> 
> I'm not going to tip it off after we spray. That would be one more thing that I think takes a magic touch, which I don't have. Better that I leave well enough alone.


Sounds like a plan, I didn't called my painter in until the sheet rock finishers were done. They didn't want to come back (I assume) so they finished the ceilings while there. It makes sense the way you are doing it.


----------



## jlhaslip

For cleaning the edges of the sprayed ceilings, cut off a hockey stick handle and nail a 3 1/4 inch nail into one end leaving about 2 inches stuck out. 
Cut off the head of the nail and use this end as a scraper right tight in the corner all around the room.
Leaves a nice crisp edge to paint into.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> For cleaning the edges of the sprayed ceilings, cut off a hockey stick handle and nail a 3 1/4 inch nail into one end leaving about 2 inches stuck out.
> Cut off the head of the nail and use this end as a scraper right tight in the corner all around the room.
> Leaves a nice crisp edge to paint into.


Haven't heard that one before jl.

We are painting the walls first, then spraying. We have the masking paper for the top of the walls, and then the throwaway poly down to the floor.

If the masking method works as well for the spray as it did for the painting, I'll be a happy camper.


----------



## BigJim

Hey Keith, check out this thread, one of our members is restoring a 35 Chevy and needs some information, I posted the link to your thread for him to read. Here is his link:

http://www.diychatroom.com/f46/question-35-chevy-coupe-suicide-doors-471465/


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Jim: I went to this thread and put some info up, but I'm honestly somewhat confused about his car. My answers should explain why. 

Anyway, as to the sheet metal, there wasn't anything there at all that I can find. Just waiting for Bill to get back to me about his '36. I will keep investigating until I get his car straightened out though.

Back shortly with an update on yesterday's painting efforts.


----------



## BigJim

Thanks buddy, we appreciate you.


----------



## cocobolo

Sitting here getting ready to post a few pics, and the snowplow just drove by. No idea why, as we haven't had any snow today at all. Mind you, I haven't been outside for a few hours...so maybe...

Anyway, we went through the process of doing the lines in the master bedroom today. Got them all nicely taped up and two topcoats on both top and bottom of the walls.

Getting underway here.


----------



## cocobolo

Do any of you use these paint pads instead of rollers?

If so, I'm most curious as to what you think of them. The one that has the small rollers which you use against the ceiling or down the corner of a wall where two different colours may be used seems to work fine.

We tried to do the walls on top with the one without rollers, and I'm not overly impressed with it. What say you?


----------



## cocobolo

By day's end we had two coats on the lower walls, done with a roller.

Val is tickled with the way the room turned out.

Fun starts tomorrow when I try my first ceiling spray! :vs_OMG:


----------



## jlhaslip

I've used them before to "cut in" but didn't like them, especially against a stippled ceiling.

Don't think they were ever designed to do the "field" of a wall. They don't hold enough paint.


----------



## cocobolo

Just in case you are curious as to why we have a garbage bag taped to the window, this morning we actually had some gorgeous sunshine here. That meant that the laser line wouldn't show up on the walls because the room was so bright.

So we blocked off the window and French doors with garbage bags...problem solved.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> I've used them before to "cut in" but didn't like them, especially against a stippled ceiling.
> 
> Don't think they were ever designed to do the "field" of a wall. They don't hold enough paint.


We found a couple of videos on these things, one from the U.K. where the fellow could cover about 20 square feet with one charge. But his pad was a bit different.

The company, I think it is shur line or something like that, says to do an area of 18" by 18". Heck, even with half the pad dipped in paint you can do several times that.

What I found was that the pad didn't want to travel very quickly over the wall, it left tiny lines - not really noticeable - and dripped paint like it was free, even though I didn't put any paint on the lower part of the pad.


----------



## gma2rjc

I have the small one that's used for edging, where the ceiling meets the wall, or against trim. It works pretty well. I found it's important to be very careful to clean the small wheels as paint gets on them and will leave paint where there isn't supposed to be any paint.


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> I have the small one that's used for edging, where the ceiling meets the wall, or against trim. It works pretty well. I found it's important to be very careful to clean the small wheels as paint gets on them and will leave paint where there isn't supposed to be any paint.


Yes, that happened to me as well, but it was because I used it on a corner where the opposite wall had been painted.

Soon discovered that if you leave the little rollers facing upwards, that you can do a corner and the wheels stay clean. Val likes the little corner roller, she has good luck with it.


----------



## cocobolo

Val is headed for the coast again tomorrow, so we won't be able to spend Valentine's day together. So, to make up for it, I took her out to Earl's in Kamloops for dinner last night.

While we were there, we also dropped by our favourite House of Pot and got paint for the doors, and another box of closet stuff. Underlay for the carpet and other small stuff.

I will have photos a little later.

Yes, the ceiling spray went quite well after all our worries!


----------



## cocobolo

The ceiling process that we went through.

First we need to tape off the top of the walls with masking paper. Then add the thin poly to that.

The poly seems to have a magnetic attraction - static electricity I think - and clings to the walls.


----------



## cocobolo

Next we have to mix up the texture mud.

After having read the destructions and watched too many Youtube videos, we proceeded to attack the mud. Now the one thing that they ALL caution you about is mixing the mud too thin. Do that, and apparently it will bounce off the ceiling.

So I added just a very small amount of water to the mud at a time and mixed very thoroughly. After awhile, Val decided she needed to do this as well rather than stand around and watch nothing happening.

After two or three minutes of that she decided that perhaps it wasn't quite as easy as it looks and handed the drill back over to me, claiming that her arm was ready to fall off.


----------



## cocobolo

Finally got the mud to a pourable consistency, set up the hopper and started spraying.

Now this thing puts out a fair volume very quickly. So the closet, about 60 square feet, only took a matter of two or three minutes to spray.

When the fellow did the ceiling in the kitchen, he sprayed it one day, and then came back again to do any necessary touchup. I, on the other hand, really didn't want to spread this out over two days. So just as soon as I could I added a bit here and there as Val directed.

It isn't quite as easy to see what's happening on the ceiling as you may think. That second pair of eyes can pick out any thin spots right away.

The pic of the ceiling wouldn't focus, so you can't really see how it came out. But for our first effort we were pretty pleased, and you can see that I wore my share of spray! :wink2:


----------



## cocobolo

From there we went immediately on to the bedroom ceiling. Val didn't get any pics on the Canon, except for this one, I think they are all on her iphone. She wanted to be able to send pics to her girls.

This room came out better than the closet, so Val was happy! :smile:


----------



## BigJim

Looks great Keith, I am amazed that you didn't get more over spray on you, I know I would have.


----------



## cocobolo

After we cleaned up the mess, next up was the installation of the closet "organizer". Val just loves this stuff. You know, easy to install, no cutting etc. You betcha.

Anyway, these things are adjustable for whatever your little heart desires, so once we got the "hangers" installed, it was pretty straightforward.

This one she bought last year, and when we had finished with it, Val discovered that it didn't have enough bits and pieces, so of course we needed to buy more.


----------



## cocobolo

So the new box came home with us yesterday, and Val right away gets into reading the instructions. Sheesh, I figured that we should remember what to do from the day before...?

It looks like she still wants to add a few more bits, so next trip into town we will grab them and hopefully that will be the end of it.


----------



## cocobolo

As soon as that was done, I received instructions to get the carpet down.

OK, we picked up the tackless and underlay, so that is now down, and perhaps tomorrow I will get the carpet down in the closet. Still have to find a couple of my carpet tools.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Looks great Keith, I am amazed that you didn't get more over spray on you, I know I would have.


Jim, I tried to keep out of the way, but that spray goes everywhere. 

I think next time I will wear safety goggles. Luckily I didn't manage to get any in my eyes, but I can see that it could easily happen.

There are three basic sprays that you can use, and I tested the pattern on some cardboard first, as they suggest, and it looked OK.

Next time I will drop the air pressure a few pounds and keep the valve not quite so open. That way a little less mud will come out and make a slightly finer pattern.


----------



## cocobolo

Quickie update...

First order of business for the carpet is to get the perimeter nailed out with tackless strips. Surprising how much it takes. Over 80 feet just for the bedroom and walk in closet. 

Which also means it's going to take that much baseboard as well.


----------



## cocobolo

The underlay that I was able to find came in a size of 6' x 9'. The House of Pot also had a big roll on hand from which one could take their chosen lengths.

The young gal who was working that department had only just started, and she didn't know what I meant by lineal feet after I asked her how wide the big roll was.

Turned out it was also 6 feet wide, so I said I need 44 lineal feet. But you can cut that in lengths of 16, 16 and 12. She was totally lost, so it was then I discovered they had these smaller pieces in pre-packaged rolls.

So five rolls gave us 45 lineal feet, and despite my best efforts to explain to her how this works (grade 1 math I think) the poor gal was even more confused.

Anyway, all's well that ends well, and the underlay got done without much in the way of fanfare.


----------



## cocobolo

Laying the carpet however, was another story entirely.

Val's daughter bought a new (to her) house in Chilliwack last year, and took all the carpets out and replaced them with hardwood floors.

That's what I have to work with. Don't really know how old the carpets are, just a few years I guess, and decent quality. But that means that there is different wear patterns everywhere, along with some sun faded colours in places.

Under the circumstances I did the best I could, but using new would have been better. But then the price was right, so cannot complain about that.


----------



## cocobolo

After I got the carpet cleaned up a bit, I tackled the closet doors.

I found something rather odd about how the instructions said to mount these particular doors.

There is a metal channel that the doors mount to, and the instructions say to install this channel flush with the face side of the wall.

The holes in this channel are pre-drilled about 5/8" in from the front. 

Now, it strikes me that maybe someone wasn't thinking too clearly when they wrote these instructions, because if you go back 5/8" from the front side of the wall, what do you get? That's right where the drywall and the wood framing meet. In other words, you aren't getting much in the way of holding ability there.

Since I didn't think I could trust that, I moved the channel an extra 3/4" towards the inside. At least that way the screws - only two mind you - hit solid wood.

Other than that little dilemma, it went well.


----------



## cocobolo

That hole in the wall should be full of door. But it's off getting painted in a white semi gloss enamel. Don't really know why thy call this paint enamel, when it is really still latex.

Just one more coat to go on the second side, which I can do in another half hour...then tomorrow I can re-hang the door. One room down!


----------



## cocobolo

Val is still down at the coast babysitting the grandkids for a week, coming home Monday.

She apparently took a tumble going in to the house and landed face down on the wet ground and smacked her knee on the curb. Her glasses hit her eye quite hard and the area was all swollen. She says she has the swelling down using ice.

Still has a very sore knee, her back got jarred and one hand is all scratched up. She says she's going to be fine. Sure hope so as I can't afford to be without my star helper! :smile:


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Val is still down at the coast babysitting the grandkids for a week, coming home Monday.
> 
> She apparently took a tumble going in to the house and landed face down on the wet ground and smacked her knee on the curb. Her glasses hit her eye quite hard and the area was all swollen. She says she has the swelling down using ice.
> 
> Still has a very sore knee, her back got jarred and one hand is all scratched up. She says she's going to be fine. Sure hope so as I can't afford to be without my star helper! :smile:


Wow, really hate to hear about her getting hurt, bless her heart, hopefully she will get over the hurt really soon.


----------



## 123pugsy

In Val's case, I think pain is afraid of her more than she is of it. :wink2:
She's a tough cookie.


----------



## jlhaslip

I was going to "Like" your last posting, but thought it would not be appropriate.

Hope she heals well and soon.


----------



## cocobolo

Gentlemen, thank you. She is headed home tomorrow morning, it's about a 5+ hour drive mainly depending on what shape the Coke is in. I haven't looked at the highway cams yet, just going to do that now.

We haven't had any snow here for a week or so, but there is still plenty on the ground.

I'm going to meet her in Kamloops tomorrow. If she isn't up to driving the last 112 kilometres we can park her car there for a day or two and she can come home with me.

We have yet another list of materials to pick up just to make sure I don't run out of things to do next week.


----------



## cocobolo

Happy to see that the highway cameras all look good.

Val left the coast at 6:40 am, should be in Kamloops about 3 1/2 to 4 hours from now.

Thanks to Pugsy I will be looking for some baseboard this morning. Hope they still have a half decent deal on. If not, it is always possible to buy sheets of MDF and mill our own. Unlike plywood, MDF machines really well.

I'll be loaded coming back later today! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

I think she must have been driving like a mad woman...beat me to Kamloops by 5 minutes! I should perhaps mention that we had heavy wet snow here this morning and it was laying. That lasted to just the other side of Chase, about 50 kilometres away, then it turned to rain. Val said the Coke was completely clear and that's why she made such good time.

She has a few sore spots from the tumble, but only one bruise. Which means that she's still in fighting form! :smile:

Note to Pugsy, the baseboard today was priced at $4.73 a foot. And it's only 1/2" MDF. So what I think we will do is to buy a few sheets of 5/8" MDF, rip it into strips and we will make our own baseboards. We could get either 8 or 9 strips from a sheet, 9 for sure if I just cut the sheet a little under 5 1/2", which gives us 72 lineal feet for $30. The 1/2" MDF was $24 a sheet, so for the smaller stuff, that would be fine.

One good thing about MDF is that it machines extremely well, plus it is very stable.

I might even make door casing out of it...they were after $13.48 for a set of skinny casing today. Jeez, you'd think the stuff was made out of gold! :surprise: And that's only for one side of the door.

Also picked up some different tile for the front entrance. Val wants a tile with some texture to it so that it is not too slippery.

And she got yet more bits and pieces for her closet. Oh my, will it never end? :devil3:


----------



## BigJim

Oh my stars, those prices are absolutely unreal, you could buy poplar and make your own for much much less, that is what I did in our house. At that time FAS poplar was only $1.44 a bf.

I hate machining mdf. it is so dusty it is unreal, not to mention it will dull your cutters very quick. But I sure don't blame you, I would be doing the same thing. Wow, just wow!


----------



## 123pugsy

BigJim said:


> Oh my stars, those prices are absolutely unreal, you could buy poplar and make your own for much much less, that is what I did in our house. At that time FAS poplar was only $1.44 a bf.
> 
> I hate machining mdf. it is so dusty it is unreal, not to mention it will dull your cutters very quick. But I sure don't blame you, I would be doing the same thing. Wow, just wow!


This is our world up here Jim.
When I complain about it, the Yanks think I'm just a whining Canuck.

If you're ever on Amazon, just for giggles, change the .com to .ca and hit enter. You'll see our wonderful pricing.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> I think she must have been driving like a mad woman...beat me to Kamloops by 5 minutes! I should perhaps mention that we had heavy wet snow here this morning and it was laying. That lasted to just the other side of Chase, about 50 kilometres away, then it turned to rain. Val said the Coke was completely clear and that's why she made such good time.
> 
> She has a few sore spots from the tumble, but only one bruise. Which means that she's still in fighting form! :smile:
> 
> Note to Pugsy, the baseboard today was priced at $4.73 a foot. And it's only 1/2" MDF. So what I think we will do is to buy a few sheets of 5/8" MDF, rip it into strips and we will make our own baseboards. We could get either 8 or 9 strips from a sheet, 9 for sure if I just cut the sheet a little under 5 1/2", which gives us 72 lineal feet for $30. The 1/2" MDF was $24 a sheet, so for the smaller stuff, that would be fine.
> 
> One good thing about MDF is that it machines extremely well, plus it is very stable.
> 
> I might even make door casing out of it...they were after $13.48 for a set of skinny casing today. Jeez, you'd think the stuff was made out of gold! :surprise: And that's only for one side of the door.
> 
> Also picked up some different tile for the front entrance. Val wants a tile with some texture to it so that it is not too slippery.
> 
> And she got yet more bits and pieces for her closet. Oh my, will it never end? :devil3:


$4.73 a foot?????

What????? That's freakin insane. I got 8' for under 10 bucks.
Your price puts it at 37 bucks.

Casing is in stock in Kamloops but the price has already gone up 8 bucks on a ten pack: 
https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p....in-x-2-12-in-x-7-ft-10-pieces.1000518567.html

They have value pack of the short base, bot I prefer something taller: 
https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p....in-x-3-14-in-x-8-ft-10-pieces.1000518570.html


----------



## jlhaslip

For the price they want for MDF, why not find a Sawyer in the region to cut you some real wood for base and case.

I have a few friends in the Golden area with machines. Need a referral?


----------



## BigJim

123pugsy said:


> This is our world up here Jim.
> When I complain about it, the Yanks think I'm just a whining Canuck.
> 
> If you're ever on Amazon, just for giggles, change the .com to .ca and hit enter. You'll see our wonderful pricing.


Buddy, that is not whining, that is justified complaining. I would be looking at a used Williams and Hussey molder and making my own trim for that cost.


----------



## ica171

Do you have any tips for painting MDF baseboards? I installed some a few years ago and despite multiple coats of primer, multiple sandings, multiple coats of paint, more sanding, and more paint, I still have rough spots and occasionally yellow bleed-through. I would have been better off spending the few extra dollars and getting wood; the headache of these things has not been worth the money savings. But I see other people installing them and loving them, so I feel like there must be something I'm missing.


----------



## 123pugsy

ica171 said:


> Do you have any tips for painting MDF baseboards? I installed some a few years ago and despite multiple coats of primer, multiple sandings, multiple coats of paint, more sanding, and more paint, I still have rough spots and occasionally yellow bleed-through. I would have been better off spending the few extra dollars and getting wood; the headache of these things has not been worth the money savings. But I see other people installing them and loving them, so I feel like there must be something I'm missing.


Sounds like they have been contaminated with oil or something.
They may never cover. Perhaps an exterior alkyd oil based primer?

Post a new thread in the painting section and see what the pros have to say.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Oh my stars, those prices are absolutely unreal, you could buy poplar and make your own for much much less, that is what I did in our house. At that time FAS poplar was only $1.44 a bf.
> 
> I hate machining mdf. it is so dusty it is unreal, not to mention it will dull your cutters very quick. But I sure don't blame you, I would be doing the same thing. Wow, just wow!


Jim.I have here an industrial shaper which I got from a cabinet shop on the coast last year. Quite a few bits with it as well. I also bought his dust collector at the same time and I'm pretty sure it is up to the task.

True that MDF makes dust, but with the heavy carbide cutters, I think they will last for a long time. Certainly long enough to do what we need to do here. I tried to see what we needed for baseboard, and upstairs it is about 250 lineal feet. Don't have a number for downstairs, but it's probably going to be similar.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> $4.73 a foot?????
> 
> What????? That's freakin insane. I got 8' for under 10 bucks.
> Your price puts it at 37 bucks.
> 
> Casing is in stock in Kamloops but the price has already gone up 8 bucks on a ten pack:
> https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p....in-x-2-12-in-x-7-ft-10-pieces.1000518567.html
> 
> They have value pack of the short base, bot I prefer something taller:
> https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/p....in-x-3-14-in-x-8-ft-10-pieces.1000518570.html


Price here is $38 and $40 respectively for the above. It will cost me way less than that to make our own. I don't mind spending the time to do it, and I can always make up my own pattern as well.

I don't care for that short baseboard either. I mean, it might be OK here, but your house definitely needs the taller base.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> This is our world up here Jim.
> When I complain about it, the Yanks think I'm just a whining Canuck.
> 
> If you're ever on Amazon, just for giggles, change the .com to .ca and hit enter. You'll see our wonderful pricing.


How true, how true, how true...I got a set of bore gauges a little while ago through Amazon.ca. It was also listed on Amazon.com, but wouldn't ship to Canada for some reason.

I don't remember exactly whit it cost me, but I recall the .ca price being at least double the .com price. Just completely ridiculous.

We see this all the time - "Does not ship to Canada" - which I think is just laziness on the part of the U.S. shippers. I think they are afraid of taking the 2 minutes it takes to fill out the customs form, which is very simple.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> For the price they want for MDF, why not find a Sawyer in the region to cut you some real wood for base and case.
> 
> I have a few friends in the Golden area with machines. Need a referral?


There is a good local sawyer here, Dwayne Bentley, he's a pretty good guy.

He is cutting the cedar for our siding, and he seems able to get some decent logs.

Having some 100,000+ board feet of cutting experience myself, I'm well aware of what to look for. The cedar might work, although it would take a year or so so dry properly before it could be machined. There's some nice Doug fir up this way, and lots of Birch. 

I'm going to take the quick, easy way out and stay with the MDF.


----------



## 123pugsy

It must be nice to have a shaper in stock.
Sweet device. My buddy has one and he carved out my handrails with it.

Looking forward to your MDF cutting updates.


----------



## cocobolo

ica171 said:


> Do you have any tips for painting MDF baseboards? I installed some a few years ago and despite multiple coats of primer, multiple sandings, multiple coats of paint, more sanding, and more paint, I still have rough spots and occasionally yellow bleed-through. I would have been better off spending the few extra dollars and getting wood; the headache of these things has not been worth the money savings. But I see other people installing them and loving them, so I feel like there must be something I'm missing.


Is it MDF or a lesser quality fibreboard? Sometimes it's hard to tell.

I think Pugsy may have nailed it by suggesting that there is some sort of contamination.

With MDF you shouldn't have any rough spots, as the product itself is consistent all the way through.

It sounds to me as though the boards had perhaps been kicking around for awhile and just got dusty somehow. One way to ensure a good start is to use lacquer sealer first. Once the boards are properly sealed you shouldn't have any trouble at all painting them.

I will, of course, let you know how it goes here when we get to doing that.

I was tempted to bring home a couple of sheets yesterday, but it was snowing and raining on the trip. Sheet goods either stick out the back of my van, or get carried on the roof. I need a good weather day to move that stuff from Kamloops to the house. It's a 112 kilometre trip, so I need a good weather day.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> It must be nice to have a shaper in stock.
> Sweet device. My buddy has one and he carved out my handrails with it.
> 
> Looking forward to your MDF cutting updates.


I may well end up doing the machining outside. The only problem that presents is moving the shaper. The damn thing is all cast iron and weighs a ton. Of course that's a good thing in a machine, just not fun to move. But we do have a heavy metal dolly which should work.

Once it is outside the room, I can lift it with the excavator.

On the other hand, if I can get a good dust collection setup rigged up, I could do it inside.

I plan on shaping the siding as well with the shaper, and some of those boards are 20' long. That's going to be awkward inside a 30' long shop. But I do have a door at each end so I suppose it could be made to work.


----------



## cocobolo

The next major area of attention is the living room.

While Val was away, I made a valiant attempt to clear as much out of the room as possible. At least enough to be able to get at the whole ceiling.

Before I cover up any wall with gyproc, I like to take a picture for the record so that I know what's behind it. Particularly if there is anything like the air handler lines or other plumbing. It just might save my bacon down the road if anything untoward happens.


----------



## cocobolo

By far the biggest, heaviest and most awkward item to be moved was the armoire. It is part of a set that Val has, most of which is still in storage.

After considerable finagling, I managed to get it on to a metal dolly and got it moved into the bedroom, where it remains still sitting on the dolly.


----------



## cocobolo

As part of the living room re-do, we needed to take out a big window and replace that with the new French doors.

Doing something like that is always worrisome because of the less than stellar framing here. 

So we decided that because the forecast called for rain yesterday, and counting on the fact that the overpaid forecasters are usually wrong, and that the sun started to shine before noon, that we would tackle the job.

First up remove the wide cedar boards around the window. Done in nothing flat and showed the usual population of stink bugs.


----------



## cocobolo

Under normal circumstances, you would think that getting rid of the cedar would allow one to take out the window. Well, not here of course.

The siding, if you can legitimately call it that, it nothing more than thin plywood, which they nailed and gun stapled on top of the 3/8" plywood sheathing. This obviously went on after the window was installed, and it was necessary to cut the siding back around the window to access the nails.

Now, if you are not going to add nails to the top of the window, that's OK, but you do always add them below the window. Here it was done in reverse.


----------



## cocobolo

One of the problems that we knew we were going to have was the fact that there was wiring running in the wall below the window. I had planned what we were going to do beforehand, and just had to hope that we could get the jack studs out without too much of a fight.

Notice that loose 2 x 4 in the top pic? Yep, that's the way we found it when the window got pulled out. Not a nail in sight!

So we pulled and beat the plywood sheathing off under the window and then lining up the prybar with the grain of the wood, gave it a good whack. They all came out without any trouble...more good firewood!


----------



## cocobolo

With the bulk of the outside work done, we moved inside. I had left the 6 mil poly in place to avoid having too much unnecessary heat loss while we were doing the demo. There is, after all, still a foot of snow on the ground outside.

First thing I did was to check the plumb on the right hand side of the framing, which is where we needed to attach the side of the jamb. Hallelujah brother, it was actually plumb. Obviously a mistake made by one of the original framers. But I suppose there has to be a first time for everything.

The procedure from here was to attach the first side of the jamb, which went well. These doors are set up so that two of the holes in every hinge are used for jamb attachment. Not a bad idea.

Then I added a stud alongside the opposite jamb using the same attachment method.

And lastly, I added another 2 x 4 above the head jamb.

As you can see by the lack of light in the last pic, it was well after sundown when we got done. The doors were in, but did not align that well. So more adjusting would be necessary the following morning...that would be today.


----------



## cocobolo

I haven't downloaded today's pics yet, so that will have to wait until tomorrow now. We did get the new wiring run and in the process had to add another duplex outlet as you will see.


----------



## 123pugsy

Good job of it.

Outside in a tee shirt in the middle of winter? You trying to show the Yanks that all those Canadian joke emails about Canadians out in shorts and tees in the winter are true? 
You must have the same warm spell we're getting.
Calling for 12 today and 14 tomorrow.


----------



## Windows on Wash

That view....!!!!


----------



## 123pugsy

Windows on Wash said:


> That view....!!!!


Ya, eh?

It's awesome.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Good job of it.
> 
> Outside in a tee shirt in the middle of winter? You trying to show the Yanks that all those Canadian joke emails about Canadians out in shorts and tees in the winter are true?
> You must have the same warm spell we're getting.
> Calling for 12 today and 14 tomorrow.


The fact is that right now it is -2º outside, going to +4º today. But when the sun shines directly on the old bod, it feels much more like 20º, doesn't feel cold at all.

This morning we are blessed with heavy fog - again - and supposed to be getting snow flurries and/or rain. No t-shirt weather today!


----------



## cocobolo

Windows on Wash said:


> That view....!!!!


Yep, it's not too bad at all. Especially since I took out the trees on the lot right below us. Sometime this spring I will need to buck up all the logs into firewood for next season.

What you probably don't see is the ice on the lake. Even with the daytime highs going above zero, the ice doesn't seem to be in any rush to go away. We are still in the -4º to -7º range overnight, so we aren't out of the woods just yet!


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> The fact is that right now it is -2º outside, going to +4º today. But when the sun shines directly on the old bod, it feels much more like 20º, doesn't feel cold at all.
> 
> This morning we are blessed with heavy fog - again - and supposed to be getting snow flurries and/or rain. No t-shirt weather today!


When I was in the Navy we were in the Brooklyn Ship Yards for a good while. I had a friend who lived in Conn and he asked me to go home with him over the weekend. I went up there and it snowed about a foot or so and we had planned to go ice skating. I didn't wear my coat because to me it just wasn't cold. Down this way when it is cold, it is really cold, there was so much difference it was unreal.

His grandmother was French Canadian, I couldn't understand a word she said and she was supposed to be speaking English. They got a real kick out of my southern accent.


----------



## cocobolo

Jim, you aren't the only one who has a hard time understanding the French Canadians. Val's friend Denny is from La Belle Provence (Quebec) and he's been out in B.C. for at least 20 years. We have to really pay attention when he's speaking otherwise we don't get half of what he says.

Well, we got more snow again this morning and yet more this afternoon. Another month before spring arrives, but I sure hope this snow gives up soon.

Yesterday we ran new wiring over the top of the doors. In order to do this, I had to put a box in on the left side, as there obviously was not enough wire to reach all the way around.

Not really a big deal, except that there wasn't even room to get a screwdriver between the studs to screw the new box where I would have preferred it. So it ended up right up against the adjoining wall.


----------



## cocobolo

In the last photo above, you can see a cable coming in at the lower right. When we stripped the old wall, there was no box with this cable, so I can only assume (I know, I know...) that this is the way it's done.

The wall plate was screwed to the 1/8" plywood. Now it will be screwed to the 1/2" drywall, and if worse comes to worse I will stick it on with silicone.


----------



## cocobolo

While I was trying to get the drywall attached around the doors, Val was taking it easy sitting on the bedroom floor.

You know that's not really true I'm sure. Actually she was going through a stack of papers that keep getting moved from A to B. This time she says she has them organized.


----------



## cocobolo

The drywall is now on around the new doors, and that completes all the board work in the living room/solarium area, except for the small amount that will be needed when the new front door goes in place. Not until the snow has gone though.

Tomorrow will see some mudding done.


----------



## cocobolo

Is anyone else having trouble with the DIY pages loading slower than molasses in January? Or is it just me? It has been doing this for some time now. Other sites I'm on still seem to be fine.

Anyway, other than that, I think I will use a couple of drywall anchors to mount that cable plate. That will work OK.

I do have more photos to load up...we changed the window in the second bedroom and that went well. That gave us the ability to do the drywall on the last wall in that room.

That leaves only the smallest bedroom to do the taping and mudding on upstairs. Can't think of anything much more boring to do, but we are getting close to being able to do the painting upstairs now. Looking better every day! :smile:

Val is temporarily on a week on, week off here. She has been called up again to act as babysitter down at the coast every other week for the next few months. It's a long story and no sense in boring anyone with it. She does love to visit the grand kids, so it isn't all bad!


----------



## gma2rjc

I'm not noticing the pages loading slower.


----------



## jlhaslip

There have been a few instances lately where the Database system has thrown an error, but they announce themselves with a message.
Try back in a few minutes and it is all good. Go figure.


----------



## BigJim

I haven't noticed it being slower but we have the one Gig fiber optics here in Chattanooga. Do you have the ads loading? If so try downloading Ad Blocker Plus, that will stop the ads for you.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> There have been a few instances lately where the Database system has thrown an error, but they announce themselves with a message.
> Try back in a few minutes and it is all good. Go figure.


Right, I did get that a few times.I think it might be my server, because it does the same on both the laptop and the desktop.

I see you have a new avatar...looks like a cross between Mick Jagger and the Donald! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I haven't noticed it being slower but we have the one Gig fiber optics here in Chattanooga. Do you have the ads loading? If so try downloading Ad Blocker Plus, that will stop the ads for you.


I did run the ad blocker for awhile Jim, at your earlier suggestion. But believe it or not, every once in awhile something interesting comes up which I buy.

I have no idea what sort of system we have up here. All I know is that Telus has just taken over our server and it has got worse. They claim they are going to spend something like half a billion dollars on upgrades over the next 4 1/2 years. Maybe we will actually end up with a functioning system, who knows?


----------



## cocobolo

We worked like a couple of slaves all day today, trying to get the last of the sanding and mudding done. It was a long day.

I think that all we need to do tomorrow morning will be to sand the last of the mud that went on tonight. Then Val will do her wall wiping trick and it will be time to paint! 

Definitely looking forward to that! :smile:

Sorry, but I'm too tired to put up the photos tonight...tomorrow for sure.


----------



## cocobolo

Woke up this morning to a couple of inches of fresh snow on the ground. It was forecast, so I suppose we shouldn't be surprised. The worst part is that there is more snow due just about every day for the next week.


----------



## cocobolo

A couple of days ago we had yet another most unexpected break in the weather and had some more nice warm sun for about two hours. That's when we took advantage of it and changed the bedroom window.

The old ones were likely somewhere around 50 years old, re-cycled when they were originally put in this place almost 40 years ago. No telling how good or bad they may have been.

It was about the same procedure as installing the French doors.

Remove the cedar around the window, cut back the plywood siding, add some filler wood as the new window is slightly smaller than the old one, pop some wrap around the opening and slip the new window in. Done.


----------



## cocobolo

Forgot to mention that just as we were about to start on the window change, our power went out. Luckily I have one of those little battery powered saws. Saved our bacon that day.

As soon as the window was changed over, I added new drywall to the wall, and shortly thereafter got the first tape and mud done. That's pretty much where it sits now, as we have concentrated our efforts on the living room area.


----------



## cocobolo

Back in the living room we got the final mudding and sanding done. And this morning saw the last of the sanding and cleanup before we proceeded on with the painting.

That's Val wearing her new Bionic Dust helmet! Keeps the worst of the dust off her head.


----------



## cocobolo

Before painting any new walls, we wipe them down with a sponge to get the dust off. We do use the vacuum first, but that only does a so-so job. Getting rid of the dust makes for easier painting of the first coat.

We managed to run out of primer this afternoon. So it was a quick trip in to Scotch Creek for a couple of gallons more. Just made it before Home Hardware closed...4 o'clock is their winter closing time on a Sunday.

By day's end, or should I say night's end, we have one coat on the ceiling and two on all the walls and the face of the beam.

Val heads off to the coast early tomorrow morning for another week of looking after the grand kids and two more medical appointments. Which means I will be left alone to see what sort of trouble I can get into while she's away! :devil3:


----------



## drtbk4ever

That is looking fantastic Keith. Great job.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## cocobolo

drtbk4ever said:


> That is looking fantastic Keith. Great job.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


Thanks, the real painting starts today. Should be fun! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Think I must have had senior morning this morning. No energy at all and I could hardly stay awake. We did get another coat of paint on the ceiling, which does look good, but I kept thinking I was going to fall off the ladder every time I got up on it.

Val got away to the coast OK, but said that the second half of the Coke was bad news with tons of new snow. The snow continued on all the way through the Fraser Valley as well. Strange weather year we are having for sure.

I eventually ventured off to Kamloops for more stuff. Plastic for when we tape off the walls. More paint for undercoating...three extra gallons which should let us finish the whole top floor. HD only had but one box of spraytex for the ceiling, and I don't think that will be enough.

I didn't tell Val that I was going to pick up some P.T. wood to get started on re-framing that awful deck outside the bedroom. I'm hoping it will be a surprise for her providing that I get some of it done before she gets back. With this nasty forecast I don't have a lot of hope. But if not, I think I will hide the wood before she returns and sneak the new deck framing in when she's away for her next trip. 

Gotta have the odd surprise up my sleeve for her. :devil3:


----------



## cocobolo

That weather I was whining about yesterday?.....well, it's -17º this morning (at 5 am) and there is yet another snowfall warning for the Coke of an additional 25 centimetres of snow. That's ten inches in English. Aye aye aye!

I suppose that means we are likely to get a big dumping here either later on today or overnight.

Feeling better this morning, so time for a snack and pick up the paint brush and get at it. :smile:


----------



## jlhaslip

Hey, Coco,

What's Val's email address? I want to send her a message.

I'm thinking you need to have a Web Camera set up, probably wireless, so we can keep an eye on you while she is away at the Coast.

:lol:


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Hey, Coco,
> 
> What's Val's email address? I want to send her a message.
> 
> I'm thinking you need to have a Web Camera set up, probably wireless, so we can keep an eye on you while she is away at the Coast.
> 
> :lol:


Hahaha! You're probably right you know. I just need to accept the fact that I'm close to 3/4 of a century old. Have to learn to take things easier once in awhile. Usually, I'm OK working every day, like today when I did the upper wall painting. It came out very nicely, and I will post some photos after I get the bottom colour done, which will be hopefully tomorrow.

And on top of that, we had sunshine just about all day here. But as I guessed, the snow which hit the Coke has arrived here right on time. Lucky me! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterdays' efforts revolved around getting two coats of paint on the top part of the living room walls.

There's a lot of cutting in to do what with all the wall to ceiling joins. No troubles and it came out well.


----------



## cocobolo

This morning I started out by doing my laser line trick on the walls.

Then added the two rows of masking tape as carefully as I could. It seems to take ages to do that, but I think the end result is worth it.


----------



## cocobolo

The next step is doing the brushing for the lines and all the corners. I just have to be careful not to go over the top of the masking tape, otherwise it's a real so and so to get the paint off. Can't believe how sticky that stuff gets after just a minute or two.


----------



## cocobolo

While I was slowly going around the room, paintbrush in hand, I noticed motion in the driveway across the road at the Anglemont Inn.

After several minutes of watching, there were several deer feeding right opposite our window.

Yes, we did have the predicted snowfall last night so everything is covered in a fresh blanket of snow.


----------



## cocobolo

Back to work with the roller, at least that is one job that goes quickly.

It takes two coats to get good coverage, but when the paint first goes on it is way darker than what it is supposed to be. Of course, once it is dry it looks fine. But you can't help but worry a bit while it is going through the drying process.

Then after the tape comes off it all comes together.

The light plays havoc trying to get any sort of decent photo, but I'm sure you get the idea.


----------



## cocobolo

Early this morning I heard the rumble of the snowplow going down the road to clear things up for the school bus.

There wasn't that much snow when I checked outside at 7 am, but it was still snowing lightly.

After I saw the deer across the road, at which time it wasn't snowing at all, it returned with a vengeance.

This looks like our forecast for the next week. :vs_mad:


----------



## 123pugsy

Look good. The paint really changes up the look of the room. :wink2:
Finally feels like you're getting somewhere, eh?


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Look good. The paint really changes up the look of the room. :wink2:
> Finally feels like you're getting somewhere, eh?


Yes, it sure does. :smile:

Now the two smaller bedrooms to do upstairs. They shouldn't take too terribly long to finish up.


----------



## gma2rjc

That long arch looks fabulous Keith.


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> That long arch looks fabulous Keith.


Thank you! Once the arch and walls were painted, that side of the room became much more cohesive, for lack of a better word. Once the new carpets are laid - not for another 6 to 8 weeks - I'm hoping that the entire room will look much better as well.


----------



## cocobolo

More moving stuff around in the cards for today.

Once I get the small bedroom cleaned out, then I can tackle the last taping and mudding upstairs. Should be able to get at that some time later today.

There has been massive snowfall on the Coke and Val is due to return home on Monday. We are both hoping that she catches a break on the way back. It has been a bad winter for snow on the Coke this year.

One of her medical appointments this past week brought some good news. She has a cyst which the doc thought could be malignant, but the MRI showed otherwise! So she is very happy about that. :smile: One less operation that she needs now! 

Today is her grand daughters' 10th birthday, and we are getting her a guitar! Hey, don't blame us...that's what she wants. :wink2:


----------



## cocobolo

Oh my goodness, what a day here. It has been snowing steadily since mid morning here. The snowplow has just gone down the road, presumably clearing things up for the kidlets tomorrow to go to school.

It has taken me almost all day to get the taping and mudding done in the last bedroom, and I'm not quite finished yet. Time for some supper and then I must get it done tonight, as Val is homeward bound tomorrow. 

Back with a couple of photos after supper and when I'm finished for the evening.


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday I was able to get what I hope to be the last coat of mud in the 2nd bedroom.

Val has started to get a tendency to oversand everything into the middle of next week. If I'm lucky tomorrow I can get this room sanded - gently - and pretend that nothing happened.

The corners were especially thin, so another coat there and it should be OK.


----------



## cocobolo

Third bedroom, first mud coat.

The drywall was not on around the window, and when I cut the poly out of the way, I found that I needed to caulk down one side of the window and add somewhat over 1/2" of Roxul down the other side.

I don't know why, but I seem to have difficulty in getting my corner bead to line up perfectly at the corners of the windows. It seems that all the corner beads have a twist from one end to the other. Fortunately I didn't need to resort to the Ford tool for this one. I'll see what it looks like in the morning with some daylight.

I have added an extra heater in there overnight so the mud should be dry by morning.


----------



## 123pugsy

Looking good.

When I watch you suffer like this, I am so glad I hired this job out.
I hate mud......lain:


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Looking good.
> 
> When I watch you suffer like this, I am so glad I hired this job out.
> I hate mud......lain:


I can't say it's near the top of my favourite list of "to do" things either. But is has to be done.

Over the years I've done a bit here and a bit there, but never had to do a whole house from scratch before.

Funny thing is, once you catch on to most of the tricks, it isn't so bad. Of course, the pros have all the best expensive tools to do the job quickly and efficiently. It wasn't worth spending what it would have cost to get the best tools, i.e. bazooka, flat boxes, mud pump etc.

When Val hired the local chap to come in and touch up the kitchen and spray the ceiling, that was a $600 bill. It seemed like spraying a ceiling was a black art, but once I looked into it, it didn't seem too difficult. I'm glad we got the hopper now, because there's really nothing to texturing a ceiling at all. 

It's the same with painting. Val's daughter paid well over $5,000, plus another $1,400 for paint to get their interior repainted when they moved in. Call me cheap, but in a DIY world, I can put that sort of coin to work elsewhere...like on my '33 for example! :devil3:


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> I can't say it's near the top of my favourite list of "to do" things either. But is has to be done.
> 
> Over the years I've done a bit here and a bit there, but never had to do a whole house from scratch before.
> 
> Funny thing is, once you catch on to most of the tricks, it isn't so bad. Of course, the pros have all the best expensive tools to do the job quickly and efficiently. It wasn't worth spending what it would have cost to get the best tools, i.e. bazooka, flat boxes, mud pump etc.
> 
> When Val hired the local chap to come in and touch up the kitchen and spray the ceiling, that was a $600 bill. It seemed like spraying a ceiling was a black art, but once I looked into it, it didn't seem too difficult. I'm glad we got the hopper now, because there's really nothing to texturing a ceiling at all.
> 
> It's the same with painting. Val's daughter paid well over $5,000, plus another $1,400 for paint to get their interior repainted when they moved in. Call me cheap, but in a DIY world, I can put that sort of coin to work elsewhere...like on my '33 for example! :devil3:


Painting is something that's not hard to do and paying someone 6 g's for that is crazy.

So, being frugal sometimes is good.


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday we finished the sanding in bedroom number two and got the first primer coat on.

Today we hope to get the 2nd primer on, mark the lines, and then get two topcoats on the upper part of the walls.

And just in case you guys were worried...we got even more snow last night! It's getting way beyond ridiculous now.

My cousin Christine down in Australia returned home yesterday to find their greenhouse destroyed by wind, and the chimney knocked over!


----------



## cocobolo

Second primer coat is on...lines are marked...first topcoat is on...and Val is just starting on the second topcoat.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I have been stuck doing more mudding in the final bedroom. So far so good...perhaps a few pics later on this evening. :smile:


----------



## MindyT

A dream place for me. It's like waking up to a vacation house everyday. I wonder how you would decorate inside.


----------



## cocobolo

MindyT said:


> A dream place for me. It's like waking up to a vacation house everyday. I wonder how you would decorate inside.


Mindy, it is basically a vacation area.

And I think you have a few pages to go through and then you can see how we are decorating inside.

Welcome to the thread. :smile:


----------



## BigJim

Good thing you are working inside, looks like you got some really cold air headed your way.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Good thing you are working inside, looks like you got some really cold air headed your way.


Jim, I spoke with a friend of mine up here...he's been here for decades. This is one of the snowiest winters that he can recall, but not the coldest.

Still and all spring is officially less than two weeks away, and there's no way that all this snow is going to be gone by the first day of spring. Usually by this time the new shoots are showing on many of the plants. But as of now they are all buried under the snow.

I went on to the north side roof over the workshop today to get rid of some of the snow. Officially the snow is 16" deep on the roof!


----------



## cocobolo

Good grief! More snow, the plow just came by twice!

But now it looks like the snow will end tomorrow night, and then the monsoons start. At least we don't have to shovel that, and it will melt the snow much faster. 

Just downloaded some photos, so I will get at resizing and post up a few shortly.


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday morning we woke up to the usual overnight snow, and then the sun came out, but only for a short while of course. 

The cedar in the middle with its' drooping branches looks kinda neat.


----------



## cocobolo

One small thing that I did inside was to hang some 6 mil poly off the second bedroom. There is no door there to close the room off with, and we definitely needed something to contain the drywall dust...or at least make a vague attempt to do so.

That stuff seems to have the ability to travel everywhere, and this really helped.


----------



## cocobolo

Have you ever tried to capture a laser line? It's harder than you might think.

To the eye, the line looks like it is continuous right around the room, but the camera says otherwise.

Here I am setting up to do the lines in the 2nd bedroom. I set the laser at the lowest speed to get this small line.


----------



## cocobolo

Here the lines are taped ready for painting, then the paint is on and the tape is coming off...and a happy lady at the end of the day.

Just the one small bedroom to paint upstairs now!


----------



## cocobolo

This was the window that was causing me grief earlier. Now that I have a whole lot more mud in place, it looks like it will come out just fine.

Finished the third mud coat tonight and tomorrow I will do the final coat in readiness for painting on Saturday. Happy days! :smile:


----------



## jlhaslip

Coco,
Are those drywall returns on the window or jambs?

Either way, they look good. Nice work (again).


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Coco,
> Are those drywall returns on the window or jambs?
> 
> Either way, they look good. Nice work (again).


It's all drywall jl. Easier and faster to do it that way now that I have the hang of it. They make a very nice tear away plastic trim to go up against the window frame itself. It actually makes it quite easy and quick to do a decent job. Pull the tear away off, run a bead of caulk and you're done.

Well, wouldn't you know it, the snow continued overnight again.

Now I have to clear Val's car off and do the driveway, as she has to head in to Chase for an early morning physio appointment.


----------



## cocobolo

Thanks to all the recent snow, Val had a bit of a hard time travelling in to Chase this morning for her 9:40 am appointment. The roads were so bad that she was actually the first patient to show up for the day. They open at 8:00 am, so several people didn't make it.

It continued to snow well into the afternoon here, giving us another 5 inches or so of new snow. We may get more wet snow tomorrow, but then they faithfully promise us that will be the end of it. Where have we heard that line before?

Anyway, we got the final mud coat done today, ran the extra heater in the room on high so we were able to sand today. With that done, cleaned up the dust, wiped down the walls and washed the floor and got the first undercoat of paint on the walls tonight.

Tomorrow will see the next undercoat and hopefully both topcoats on the upper part of the wall. Lots of heat overnight should cure the paint well and I can lay the lines out first thing Sunday morning for the lower colour.


----------



## cocobolo

Still snowing here this morning. Honest to Pete this is getting positively tiresome.

With a little luck and some hard work we might even have some pics of the mostly painted last bedroom this evening. Then I get to move downstairs and start tackling that mess.

I'm also trying to make up a list of things to get done this year outside. Of course, I am making the improbable assumption that we are actually going to be getting a spring and summer.

Don't forget to turn your timepieces ahead tomorrow night, otherwise you will be late for work on Monday morning! :devil3:


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Still snowing here this morning. Honest to Pete this is getting positively tiresome.


Same here. Anymore snow and the tips of the grass will be covered.......sheesh!!


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Same here. Anymore snow and the tips of the grass will be covered.......sheesh!!


Tips of the grass? What grass? There is almost 20 inches of snow here in places, like the back roof for example.

Even where Val cleared the snow away completely down below where the deer eat the grass, there's a good 6 inches of fresh snow there.

Now they are saying wet snow today and tonight and rain tomorrow onwards.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Tips of the grass? What grass? There is almost 20 inches of snow here in places, like the back roof for example.
> 
> Even where Val cleared the snow away completely down below where the deer eat the grass, there's a good 6 inches of fresh snow there.
> 
> Now they are saying wet snow today and tonight and rain tomorrow onwards.


Just bustin your chops Keith. :wink2:

Only 3 more weeks of winter left...:smile:


----------



## BigJim

After all the flowers blooming, trees in full bloom and the grass needs cutting here, they are predicting snow for us tonight.

*Every* year around our area, the peach and plums bloom, then it comes a hard freeze and kills the blooms, it has done this for many years.

We have had to turn our AC on because it got up to 80 inside with no heat on, yesterday. Going to be a really hot summer again.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> After all the flowers blooming, trees in full bloom and the grass needs cutting here, they are predicting snow for us tonight.
> 
> *Every* year around our area, the peach and plums bloom, then it comes a hard freeze and kills the blooms, it has done this for many years.
> 
> We have had to turn our AC on because it got up to 80 inside with no heat on, yesterday. Going to be a really hot summer again.


Only 80º...such a pity Jim. I hope your prediction of a hot summer applies up this way. Last year it was wet and cool far too often. Maybe it will rain itself out this year, who knows?

For the record, the snow continued here until well past noon, then turned to a mix of snow and rain. An hour or so ago we got fogged right in and everything got dark. Now we are still in mostly fog with light rain. More wet snow forecast for this evening. 

This stuff gets really old quickly. Not quite so bad when we get the odd sunny break.

Today we got the second undercoat on the last bedroom, plus the two topcoats on the upper part of the walls. Tomorrow will see the bottom coats done, and that should be it for paint upstairs. Except for when the window and door get installed, but that is very little in the way of drywall and paint.


----------



## cocobolo

Last bedroom is all painted! Hurray!

Val is off to the coast again tomorrow, but has a physio appointment in Chase at 8 a.m., which means she will need to leave here around seven. Considering that this is the "clocks ahead" weekend, really she has to go at six the old time.

I will follow an hour later and meet her at Chase and from there we are headed to the House of Pot to look at carpet. Also have to grab a couple of blinds for the two windows which face the street.

Now I move downstairs and continue on with the work down there. I think once that old electrical mess is straightened out that things will go fairly quickly. At least, that's what we are hoping.

Oh yes, no more snow today. Just enough rain to get the snow starting to melt quite quickly, water is running everywhere now.


----------



## cocobolo

Pics of the painting getting finished in the last bedroom. Glad to have that all done.


----------



## cocobolo

Moved to the bathroom on the main floor today, which has been sitting in limbo for what seems like forever.

I had to do some framing to box in the lines to the air handler. Then proceed to finish the drywall which was partly done months ago.

It's always best to use the mold resistant sheetrock in any damp locations.


----------



## jlhaslip

Another fine job well did... Are you getting ready for your outside chores yet?


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Another fine job well did... Are you getting ready for your outside chores yet?


Actually, yes I am.

Supposed to be three consecutive days of sun starting this Sunday...how appropriate.

I picked up another load of Pressure Treated wood on Monday, getting ready to start on the refurbishment of the deck off the master bedroom. Can't really put the plywood and vinyl down until such time as we get some warmer weather, but that could happen in April. So I'd like to be ready for it when it gets here.

We will stockpile the necessary materials in readiness for the forthcoming heatwave! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Oboy, how quickly time passes when you're having fun!

Val gets home later this morning, but the weather isn't exactly great. Supposed to be getting flurries/rain this morning.

I don't seem to be any too good at taking pics when she is away, usually she's in charge of that department.

I did get started on the deck refurbishment, and yesterday went to town for more materials for it. It turns out that it's going to be quite a time consuming job due to the method of original construction of the narrow deck. Nothing wrong with the original method, except that you should always introduce the 1/50 slope away from your building. That's the part they didn't bother to do.

I do have a "fix" for it, but just like everything else, it's going to take some time.

With the ever worsening forecast, it could now be a few days before I can get to it. The promised three days of sun didn't show up, although Sunday was pretty good.

Not to worry though...still plenty of things to carry on with inside. And with the Madame of the Mansion returning home today, things should speed up. I do have a few pics, which I will try to get to later on today, or maybe tomorrow, depending on which day we will be making the trek in to Kamloops for another load of drywall. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

The original deck off the master bedroom was simply a 4' cantilevered affair. It was vinyl covered, and I understand that it wasn't done that many years before Val got the cabin. 

So the first order of business was to take off most of the original railing. This has now been done.


----------



## cocobolo

The next part of the process required that the fascia board be removed from the deck framing.

Now in the case of a vinyl covered deck, this would mean taking off the metal flashing first, which also means cutting back the vinyl. 

The metal flashing is usually attached with either roofing nails or ring nails.

With that gone, the next thing is to remove the screws which are attached through the plywood deck to the fascia board. Once they are gone, a little judicious use of a 4 lb. hand sledge gets rid of the old fascia board.


----------



## cocobolo

There was a rather odd batch of framing at the end of the deck - apparently it must have been an addition to the original deck framing at some time in the past.

Once again, more judicious use of the 4 lb. sledge came into play. With the framing out, the only thing left holding the plywood in place was the vinyl itself. Easily sliced off with a knife.


----------



## cocobolo

With the bulk of the garbage out of the way, actual construction of the refurbished deck could begin.

After doing the basic calculations of beam location, post height etc., the two support posts were put together. I used three P.T. 2 x 6's for each at a height which allowed a 1/50 slope away from the house.

The beam is built of three P.T. 2 x 10's, and I installed that one piece at a time. As is typical of today's lumber, the boards weren't terribly straight, but with the use of sufficient clamps and plenty of screws it came out fine.


----------



## cocobolo

Next up is the installation of the new deck joists. These are 2 x 8's, pressure treated.

The best method I could come up with was to utilize the original joists to carry the inboard end of the new ones.

The method entailed holding the new joist in place directly below the inside edge of the original plywood decking...which will be going in due course. I used three 3" decking screws to hold the inside end, and will later add a couple of through bolts using 4" galvanized bolts to ensure adequate strength.

The original joists, currently about 4' long, will be cut back to about a foot each. The explanation as to why this is done will be forthcoming later on when I get to that stage.

You can spot a lone 2 x 4 which was originally put in to carry one end of a sheet of plywood. Because the original framing appears not to have been on perfect 16" centers. That entailed a long battle to remove.


----------



## cocobolo

The replacement for the end section of the deck, which attaches directly under the French doors, required a little out of the box thinking.

The pics will show what I had to do.

The end boxer joist had to have a five foot long taper in order to clear the roof. This made the end which attaches to the house barely 2" deep, hardly good enough to carry any weight.

So my solution was to add several joists between that end joist in order to give some stiffness to the assembly.

Now, not for one minute do I think this is strong enough to hold up indefinitely without splitting at the thin end, so I'm going to slide two or three wedges between that joist and the roof. They can sit there loosely and will provide a more direct bearing, which in turn will alleviate any concerns.

When I stood on that end joist, as you see it framed here, I was very surprised to see just how strong it was. I surmise that the cross joists, all attached with many 3" screws, have provided considerable extra strength. Far more than I first thought.

Not only that, but once the new plywood is installed, the strength will increase even more.


----------



## cocobolo

Back inside, I got the two blinds installed on the north side of the house which faces the street. 

We don't think it's necessary to have blinds on the south side as there is no visible access from that direction.

These are the "cut to fit" blinds we got from the House of Pot.

They can be installed what they call inside or outside. That's about all the explanation they give you...very similar to the IKEA instructions I think.

What they don't mention is that if the blinds are installed "inside", then the valance will not fit. Not that it really matters, as the appearance of the top of the blinds are quite OK without any valance, but it might have been a good idea for them to let you know that in advance.

Turning the slats from facing one side to the other does make a difference in the end appearance though. And the off white colour goes fine with our paint choices in both rooms.


----------



## cocobolo

With the carpet now ordered for the stairs, we needed to paint the stringers. I'm too old and too lazy to do much else, so this will just have to do. I used the same colour paint that we used for the lower part of the walls upstairs.


----------



## cocobolo

You know how it is when you are getting to the end part of something, there's always just that one more thing you need to do.

Well, the railing upstairs wasn't any too strong. So I have now added a couple of 5" x 1/2" lag screws and two through carriage bolts to try and fix that.

The improvement is substantial, but I think there might still be room for some additional strengthening. Hopefully next week for that, we'll just have to wait and see.


----------



## cocobolo

Same subject, this time I have drywalled the various framed corners, which has improved the appearance considerably. The outside has been painted to match the walls, inside is to follow. Soon I hope! :wink2:


----------



## cocobolo

Once again we made our all too familiar trek in to the House of Pot today, this time for 36 sheets of drywall - no that won't be enough to finish downstairs - but that's what we can carry in the small utility trailer.

Plus a couple dozen more studs, some corner bead and a little tin of red paint. When I get to using that I'll show you what it's for.

While we were there, we inquired as to why we hadn't heard from the carpet guys as to when they were going to come out and measure for the carpets. It has been some 10 days since we were there about the carpet. :surprise:

Hmmm, guess what, no record of our order. When we arrived home we found our copy of the order, so we know it was made. Upon closer inspection, they managed to spell the last name incorrectly, hence the mixup. Yes, they have been advised! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

We did hear from the carpet fellow today...it seems not only did The House of Pot have the name wrong, but also the telephone number. Two for two! :vs_no_no_no:

He'll be out next week to do the measuring.

We dug into the drywalling in the entrance today and it took us until 8 o'clock this evening to get it done. What a chore. So many small pieces, along with the fact that this corner of the house leans every which way. I did fix some of the out of whack parts, but not all. There's only so much one can do in a case like this.

However, once it is all mudded up I don't think the out of whack walls will show.

We're hoping that the rest of the downstairs won't be quite such a pain to get boarded. More of that tomorrow. lain:


----------



## gma2rjc

cocobolo said:


> ......* We're hoping* that the rest of the downstairs won't be quite such a pain to get boarded. More of that tomorrow. lain:


If I had a dime for every time I started a sentence on the subject of home improvement with, "We're hoping....", I'd be rich. :biggrin2:


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> If I had a dime for every time I started a sentence on the subject of home improvement with, "We're hoping....", I'd be rich. :biggrin2:


I hear you Barb! Loud and clear! :smile:

Today was spent rearranging the immensely overcrowded area off the kitchen, the one which has no drywall. 

We have managed to find room for about 2/3 of the stuff so far, have done lots of purging, and we hope to start working properly in that area tomorrow. There's that hope word again.

What we are going to do is to bump the size of the north wall from a 2 x 4 to a 2 x 6. I have ripped a whole pile of 2 x 4's in half and will add those to the present 2 x 4 wall. Yes, it's true it doesn't quite add up to 5 1/2", but it will be close enough.

All the old fibreglass will be coming-out and new Roxul going in, so the improvement will be quite noticeable.

Since Val is here, I'm quite sure there will be plenty of photos taken. :biggrin2:


----------



## Windows on Wash

Nice updates guys.


----------



## cocobolo

It was a busy day yesterday. We got the eating area done out with the extra 2 x 2's ready for insulation.

Got the various wall outlets shifted to the outside of the extended framing.

Got the insulation in the wall and titled up more of the old wiring in the ceiling.

Added some backing for the new drywall where it was required.

Then came the fun part...putting up the drywall on the ceiling.

The first sheet went well, no problems. The second sheet, not so much. We got it up on the ceiling, and then I noticed a big hollow in the middle of the sheet???

So we decided to back off the screws holding the drywall to see if that would help, but that didn't fix anything.

It turned out to be just one ceiling joist which was a LONG way out of line with all the rest. I will get the photos up of what we found, but it looks as though this joist was installed upside down. In other words, crown down...and it has one heck of a crown!

We took the drywall off the ceiling, and then I used a straight edge to see how much we had to take off the bottom of the joist to get it to come into line with the rest of the ceiling.

It started out about 1/4" low at one end, rapidly increasing to 3/4" and then tapering again to about 1/4" at the other end.

Now the one thing that's hard to understand is why is the joist out right at the very end, in other words, sitting right on the double top plates? It should be the same as all the others there. But it isn't. It could be that the original outside wall isn't level at that point which certainly wouldn't be any surprise.

Anyway, last night I took an old power plane to the underside of the joist in question and removed almost of the excess wood. The reason for using an old plane is because these are very old re-cycled joists in the first place. All sorts of nails, staples, screws and whatnot all over the place. I didn't particularly relish the idea of ruining a new set of planer blades.

Val did a yeoman job of cleaning it up before I attacked it with the plane.

I'll get some of the photos up later that we took. Just suffice it to say that we wasted nearly five hours - so far - trying to get to the bottom of this. Close, but no cigar yet. 

First thing on the agenda this morning will be to get this sorted out so we can carry on with the drywall.


----------



## cocobolo

Quick pic doing inside the entrance. It's only a small area, about 6' by 9'.

All done now, next will be taping & mudding.


----------



## cocobolo

Another one for the books. The plywood on the floor upstairs is not T & G. Just regular plywood and re-cycled at that.

In order to prevent any movement between the two sheets I added some plywood backing from below, while Val operated the screw gun.


----------



## cocobolo

Getting ready to fix the wall in the dining area. First thing - as always - is to try and manufacture some room to work. Actually, we had a lot of stuff moved out before I got around to picking up the camera.


----------



## cocobolo

At one end of the dining area wall, there was a sheet of 11/16" plywood attached. Just a few screws and some 3" finishing nails holding it in place.

But not to forget that the floor had been raised here to make it level, and that had very effectively captured the plywood to the point that no amount of prying or interesting language would budge.


----------



## cocobolo

Sometimes you just have to get annoyed enough to do what's necessary. So this time it was Husky to the rescue. Problem solved. :devil3:


----------



## cocobolo

With that out of the way, Val tackled the removal of the old vapour barrier. More or less about the same shape as everything else here, so no loss whatsoever seeing it gone.


----------



## cocobolo

Then it was out with the old fiberglass insulation. We're going to save this and put it in the big shed down below. There may never be any heat in there, but it helps to keep buildings dry.


----------



## cocobolo

Next it's my turn to do something constructive. So we added the ripped 2 x 4's to all the framing. Two top plates, studs and bottom plate.

You may recall that the floor was leveled up, thus making all the studs different lengths. Just one more thing to add to the time factor.


----------



## cocobolo

After bringing the outlet boxes forward on the new framing, it was time to re-insulate.

This time with the much better R-22 Roxul.


----------



## cocobolo

Then we started hanging the drywall on the ceiling. The sheet on the lift turned out to be our problem child. :vs_mad:


----------



## cocobolo

That line you see on the joist shows how much I had to cut off. I wasn't sure if the jigsaw would have been able to do a good job, so I used the old power plane instead.

Yes, it was time consuming and dusty as all get out, but it worked. The thing about taking off the wood by planing, was that it could be reasonably fine tuned.


----------



## cocobolo

Val got several pics of the planing operation. Heaven knows it took long enough. And the mess when I finished was quite impressive.

But now the bottom of the joist at least lined up with the others. More or less anyway. I did have to adjust the main beam a little, and do some chisel work at the outboard end of that joist.

But the proof is in the pudding as they say, and the new sheet of drywall went up well.


----------



## cocobolo

The net height gain on the beam ended up being nearly 3/16". I suppose the beam support may have settled this much since the install. Not surprising given the very poor concrete below.

That was done back in '78.


----------



## cocobolo

Once we got close to the outer wall with the ceiling drywall, we added a new 6 mil vapour barrier.


----------



## cocobolo

Then we finished off the ceiling drywall without further ado.


----------



## cocobolo

Then on to the walls, which are always much easier to do than the overhead stuff.


----------



## cocobolo

Val loves it when I make lots of sparks.

This time it was as a result of me taking off a "temporary" 2 x 4 which was used to stabilize the beam during installation. There were additional screws protruding from the beam, which of course had to go.


----------



## cocobolo

By the end of the day we had the drywall done pretty much everywhere in the dining area.

I needed to add some thin shims to the underside of the beam in order to make it level. Less than 1/8" out, but it's nice to have it looking right.


----------



## cocobolo

I think the bead is done where possible...here adding it to the beam.

There will be plenty more to go when the other three small areas get done.


----------



## cocobolo

Val has had a whole lot of new LED kitchen lights sitting on a shelf for awhile now. So she asked if we could perhaps put one up to see what it looked like.

This is it, 22 watts of LED in all its' glory.

One down, seven to go.


----------



## 123pugsy

Looking good Keith.

Drywall makes such a nice change in the look of a room.
Be careful there. You're going to run out of projects.


----------



## jlhaslip

123pugsy said:


> Looking good Keith.
> 
> Drywall makes such a nice change in the look of a room.
> Be careful there. You're going to run out of projects.


No doubt there will be outside chores coming along soon. :biggrin2::devil3::biggrin2:


----------



## 123pugsy

jlhaslip said:


> No doubt there will be outside chores coming along soon. :biggrin2::devil3::biggrin2:


Oh shoot.....I got same ailment about to hit me as well....


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Looking good Keith.
> 
> Drywall makes such a nice change in the look of a room.
> Be careful there. You're going to run out of projects.


I wish! I don't think that's ever going to happen in my lifetime. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> No doubt there will be outside chores coming along soon. :biggrin2::devil3::biggrin2:


If ever this weather would quit dumping all this moisture on us and warm up a bit I could get outside and do something more constructive.

Still very cool and wet for the immediate short term. I think we must be close to a month behind what the spring weather was like last year. It was much warmer much sooner.

There's a long list of outdoor projects for this year...including a stone/concrete wall, more block walls, a greenhouse, a long shelter for all the equipment that we seem to have accumulated, an extension off the east end of the house for wood storage, another extension off the end of the workshop and we would really like to get started on the garden this year. It's all a matter of time...and energy of course. No doubt there will be plenty of other things that show up outside that need to be done as well.

I know I can't keep this pace up forever, so the sooner we get this stuff done - especially the inside of the house - the better.


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday was quite the ordeal for Val.

I had to make a day trip to Vancouver, and she had to go to the emergency at Salmon Arm. That cyst which wasn't causing any trouble before had a change of heart. They were able to get some, but not all of it out. So she is on forced rest right now.

The ER Doc referred her to a local surgeon to remove the remainder of the cyst, and would you believe it, but she got a call from his office this morning and has an appointment booked for next Thursday already! So we are trusting that will go well.

The weather on the Coke yesterday was terrible. As soon as I got up the hill heading out of Kamloops, which is the start of the Coke, I was greeted by fresh snow! And from there it was either snow, rain or fog all the way to Vancouver. Same on the return trip.

It was bad enough getting close to Merritt, that I joined a line of cars running behind two snowplows. One of them was towing a huge tank with anti-icing liquid onboard. And to think, it has been spring for more than a week now. :vs_worry:


----------



## cocobolo

I'm sure I've said this 100 times, but isn't it true that every time you think you're ready to do something...like cover the walls with drywall...that two or three other little things are there to interfere. It never seems to fail.

This time I had to replace a damaged box where the light switch was and add an outlet below. Then after that, having adjusted the support studs for the beam, I had to trim a small amount from a 2 x 4 on the floor which is serving as a plate under the support studs.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the same corner with the drywall installed. At least now the room is more defined with that part done.

Moving on to the next two areas after this.


----------



## cocobolo

Beyond the dining area are two kind of separated areas. One has that old metal door which goes out to what used to be the "garage", now the workshop. That wall has a very considerable lean to it, to the point that when that door is opened, it contacts the floor.

As you will see in a minute, that wall has now been furred out with additional 2 x 2's. I'm hoping that if I pull that old door out and install a new insulated door, that I can get the new one to be close to plumb. I don't mind that it will look crooked in the wall, but it would be nice to have it hang properly.

By the time I get the new flooring down in there, the door won't even open all the way if I leave it as is.


----------



## cocobolo

The wall is now furred out here.

As usual, there was more electrical to fix. The box was one of those ancient things you put on with a couple of spikes and the plug itself was broken.

Now we have a new one.


----------



## cocobolo

Then it was on to the insulating. Yes, this was a couple of days ago before her trip to the ER.

She gets time off now for good behavior...and to rest up. :smile:
Plus she gets her :vs_coffee: delivered in the morning.


----------



## cocobolo

Next up, vapour barrier. All nice and straightforward.


----------



## cocobolo

Here Val is letting me know that I had better check the ceiling joists for level.

Good thing she did, as once again, a couple of them need adjustment. But this time it looks like all I need to do is to add some shims to the underside. 

I have a variety of thicknesses cut for the job, but not yet installed. We would have done that today, but for yesterdays mishap.


----------



## cocobolo

Subsequent to the visit from the carpet measure guy, we received a call from the House of Pot this morning regarding the quote.

It seems to me that the House of Pot is having difficulty between the left and right hands, as there seems to be no agreement as to what is going on.

They emailed us the quote, which included the incorrect name - again - even though we have been dealing for many years and have patiently explained how the names are spelled.

Next they had the incorrect type of underlay, somewhat of a surprise given the lengthy chat I had with the carpet guy about what we wanted and why.

Next was the very wrong price for the carpet itself, some 30% higher than what we saw in the store.

And to top it all off, the carpet was apparently delivered a week ago already? No, we don't know how that works either.

The best part is that they forgot to include the Provincial tax of 7%, which I am quite sure the government will frown upon.

So tomorrow we will make another trek in to see them to try and get this sorted out. I want it done before we leave the store, otherwise Val wants to look elsewhere. There's only so much she will put up with and this has stretched her patience to the limit.

I spoke with the carpet guy again, just to keep him in the loop. He was sure that the House of Pot will go out of their way to get it straightened out pronto.

Other than that, I ran out of Roxul just before completing the re-insulating downstairs. One bale short! We'll grab that tomorrow along with the last of the sheets of drywall to finish the entire place! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Back from our visit to the House of Pot.

It seems that there was a price increase of $8.90 a square yard in the price of the carpet since we were first in the store. For 90 square yards that amounts to a pretty penny. Hence the wildly overpriced estimate.

After our chat with the assistant store manager, we were able to get everything straightened out with relatively minimal bother, and they will honour the earlier pricing. One thing down.

The underlay had also undergone an upward price adjustment (do they ever go down?) and we got that fixed as well.

And for her trouble, Val asked for - and received - another 10% off the entire bill. This boiled down to a difference of some $1,335.00 from the quote!

Now we just wait for the carpet to arrive and get installed, which is expected to take a month or so. We're good with that. :smile:


----------



## jlhaslip

Oh Boy!

New carpet to clean your boots on...

:devil3:


Val... :vs_mad::vs_mad::vs_mad:


----------



## cocobolo

Oh I must say I burst out laughing when I read that one! :biggrin2:

I think we might just keep a few pieces of the old carpet for that purpose. Besides, the new carpet will all be upstairs, and where we come in downstairs will be tiled. So I will throw a big chunk of carpet on that...strictly for boot cleaning purposes! Glad you mentioned that. :devil3:


----------



## cocobolo

Things are slowing down somewhat due to Val's little cyst problem. It's getting temporarily better, but she cannot do many things that she could before. Once the surgeon has his way with it, things will improve.

However, in the mean time we did bring back the last bale of Roxul and have that all done and the area vapour barriered.

As of tonight we came close to finishing getting the drywall on (that which we could reach anyway) and hopefully tomorrow will see the pantry - renamed from the middle room - and the office drywall completed.


----------



## cocobolo

As usual, there was something to slow us down this morning, and that was the big Husky tool box.

When we opened up the box and put it together, well truthfully Val did most of that, we didn't put the wheels on.

I have to tell you that thing is getting really heavy, and both of us together can barely move it anywhere. 

So we spent some time this morning getting it mobile. Had to bring in a car jack to raise one end so we could get the first wheels on. From there it wasn't too bad, but it took us almost an hour to finish the job.

Why we didn't do it before baffles me, because now it moves like it's on wheels! :devil3:


----------



## 123pugsy

Did you add the missing screw at the bottom left of window?
If so, please disregard this notice...ha.....


----------



## cocobolo

Ummm, I don't know. Still in bed this morning reading this. That could be a serious structural problem. I might need to call in the engineers to see if the house is going to fall over without it. :surprise:

You just never know what's going to happen around here! :smile:


----------



## jlhaslip

Better put two in if you are concerned...LOL


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Better put two in if you are concerned...LOL


Oh, for Pete's sake...NOW you tell me.

OK, well I got the one in, second one will be done tomorrow morning.

Started on doing some of the re-shaping of the driveway after dinner tonight. I'm going to take advantage of the soft ground to do any earth moving. Spring breakup is here and most of the side roads are at a 70% maximum rating. So that's when to get the digging done.

There has always been this big dip in the driveway about half way down. And that's where Val had difficulty getting the snow blower to go up the steep part.

I think I might try pulling a heavy string from the bottom end to the top to see if I can find enough fill here to make it a steady slope. Otherwise, we may need to get a load or two of fill brought in.

Once it is an even slope, I'll get a load of crusher chips to put on top. I guess it wouldn't be a bad idea to pack it down first with the tamper.

Ahhh, more work, just what I need! lain:


----------



## drtbk4ever

Keith, just saw this and thought of you and all the car guys on here. I think this place isn't too far from where you are.

Five acres of land – with more than 300 cars included – for sale in B.C

http://driving.ca/auto-news/news/five-acres-for-sale-beside-the-trans-canada-highway-in-b-c


----------



## cocobolo

drtbk4ever said:


> Keith, just saw this and thought of you and all the car guys on here. I think this place isn't too far from where you are.
> 
> Five acres of land – with more than 300 cars included – for sale in B.C
> 
> http://driving.ca/auto-news/news/five-acres-for-sale-beside-the-trans-canada-highway-in-b-c


There's an ongoing discussion on the Canadian Rodder site about this place.

The land that those cars are sitting on he actually rents from the museum there. He has his land adjacent to this (I believe).

We drive right past this place every time we go to Salmon Arm.

Also on the property is Canadian Hot Rods, an outfit that makes up various car frames usually of the 5-6-7 Chevy Variety.

We're going in to Salmon Arm tomorrow morning to see the surgeon for Val, and I'm thinking about dropping in to talk to the fellow at CHR as he also is the subject of a discussion on the rodder website.


----------



## cocobolo

Our trip to Salmon Arm this morning was great all 'round.

Firstly and most importantly, the surgeon that Val spoke with says he thinks the ER doctor did a great job and that he doesn't think that he will have to go digging inside any more to take care of that painful cyst.

He is of the opinion that her three times daily sitz baths with Epsom salts are healing the damage up extremely well. She just has to keep it up for 7 to 10 more days and that should do it. So she was tickled pink about that.

Then I stopped in at the Canadian Hot Rods shop at Tappen - never been in there before despite driving by it 100 times.

I will try to get the photos posted that I took while I was there early tomorrow. But I will say that they really do some nice work. Not cheap, but reaaaaal nice.


----------



## cocobolo

And on the home work front, I'm pleased to say that I have run out of drywall and corner bead, which is a good sign. I do need more of each and we will get that this Saturday. We were tempted to pick it up on the way home today, but it really was raining like nobody's business so I opted to wait.

The first good weather day is supposed to be Saturday.

In the mean time, there is still some very minor electrical to tidy up and plenty of taping and mudding that I can get into.

Oh Look! There is a light at the end of that tunnel! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

From yesterday's trip in to see the boys at Canadian Hot Rods in Tappen.

These pics are of a frame that they have built with C4 suspension. It's going under a pickup truck.

At the end of the shop in the last photo is a '57 Pontiac, which they have just finished installing a brand new LT4 engine. Sorry I didn't get any pics of that, as it is a really nice job. All the sheet metal smoothed out on the firewall and all round the rad support.


----------



## cocobolo

Next in line is a pickup they are working on. Just got the new 572 engine installed. They were explaining how they had to route the headers around the front of the suspension. Very awkward, but once again they did a great job.

The back end has a built 9" and the bars, as with most everything there, are all built in house.

You can also see a stack of stainless steel gas tanks they make. $1,000 a pop. Not cheap, but they will last forever.


----------



## Windows on Wash

572 CI....


----------



## cocobolo

Windows on Wash said:


> 572 CI....


Yeah, well, it may not get the best gas mileage, but on the high side of 600 h.p. it should go like a bat out of hell. :devil3:


----------



## cocobolo

We picked up the remaining drywall that we need this morning, along with a couple of dozen 2 x 4's.

I see that our illustrious gummint has seen fit to impose a 276% import duty on drywall from the U.S. That's not a mistake, two hundred and seventy six percent.

The construction industry is in an absolute uproar about this, but it seems that there isn't anything that we can do about it.

The way I understand it, is that the Canadian drywall manufacturers couldn't compete with the U.S. pricing, so they asked for this garbage tariff. The only minor benefit I've been able to find is that a Vancouver company put 30 extra people on their payroll, that's it.

And one of the bigwigs in the construction game estimates that it's going to cost Canadians something in excess of $2 BILLION annually for this fiasco.

Seems like a great deal. A paltry two billion for 30 jobs. Hold me back for Pete's sake! :vs_mad:


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday we used our last sheet of drywall to tackle the stairwell area, both above and below the stairs.

Just 16 more sheets to go and we are done! :biggrin2:


----------



## gma2rjc

If you don't mind me asking Keith, how much are they charging for a sheet of drywall?

What a dirty shame - 276%! I'd be a 'little' upset too.


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> If you don't mind me asking Keith, how much are they charging for a sheet of drywall?
> 
> What a dirty shame - 276%! I'd be a 'little' upset too.


The price last December was $9 a sheet for the ultralight drywall, which it seems everyone is using these days. That was retail at H.D. And usually about once every 4 to 6 weeks we could get 10% off that.

The overnight increase was $4.50 a sheet, bringing the price up to $13.50 at H.D. At Home Hardware up here it has gone up to $18 something a sheet.

The 276% would be charged on the wholesale price that it crosses the border at, which is likely under $2 a sheet.

We are told that the U.S. manufacturers were "dumping" drywall in to Canada at LESS than what they were charging their U.S. customers. There may have already been some sort of tariff on the drywall before last December when they put this insane charge on, I don't know for sure.

We're just thankful that these will be the last sheets that we need for the house here.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> The price last December was $9 a sheet for the ultralight drywall, which it seems everyone is using these days. That was retail at H.D. And usually about once every 4 to 6 weeks we could get 10% off that.
> 
> The overnight increase was $4.50 a sheet, bringing the price up to $13.50 at H.D. At Home Hardware up here it has gone up to $18 something a sheet.
> 
> The 276% would be charged on the wholesale price that it crosses the border at, which is likely under $2 a sheet.
> 
> We are told that the U.S. manufacturers were "dumping" drywall in to Canada at LESS than what they were charging their U.S. customers. There may have already been some sort of tariff on the drywall before last December when they put this insane charge on, I don't know for sure.
> 
> We're just thankful that these will be the last sheets that we need for the house here.


That sucks.
We're still at $8.84 for 1/2" x 4 x 8 ultralight.


----------



## BigJim

I just checked home dump here and 1/2X4X8 light is $11.49 a sheet. The way everything has gone up, there is no way an average man can build a house here any more. I don't like sheetrock in our house anyway, I use different things for wall coverings.


----------



## 123pugsy

BigJim said:


> I just checked home dump here and 1/2X4X8 light is $11.49 a sheet. The way everything has gone up, there is no way an average man can build a house here any more. I don't like sheetrock in our house anyway, I use different things for wall coverings.



Costs are getting out of hand.

People can build a house in the city around here and if they sell, they would recoup their investment.
If they build in the country, they would end up losing more than half the money spent.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> That sucks.
> We're still at $8.84 for 1/2" x 4 x 8 ultralight.


That's got to be the best deal anywhere. If you take the price that Jim has just been quoted, it converts from $11.49 U.S. to something closer to $14.80 Cdn.

Either way it is outrageous.

It appears that the Canada Border Agency, the morons who rammed this tariff down our throats, only feels that it is necessary to punish the four western provinces.

This is definitely one that is worth looking into.

Thanks for the info pugsy.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Costs are getting out of hand.
> 
> People can build a house in the city around here and if they sell, they would recoup their investment.
> If they build in the country, they would end up losing more than half the money spent.


A good example of this is the fortune that we lost on our house down on Ruxton Island.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> That's got to be the best deal anywhere. If you take the price that Jim has just been quoted, it converts from $11.49 U.S. to something closer to $14.80 Cdn.
> 
> Either way it is outrageous.
> 
> It appears that the Canada Border Agency, the morons who rammed this tariff down our throats, only feels that it is necessary to punish the four western provinces.
> 
> This is definitely one that is worth looking into.
> 
> Thanks for the info pugsy.


My stars, that is unreal buddy.


----------



## ddsrph

cocobolo said:


> We picked up the remaining drywall that we need this morning, along with a couple of dozen 2 x 4's.
> 
> I see that our illustrious gummint has seen fit to impose a 276% import duty on drywall from the U.S. That's not a mistake, two hundred and seventy six percent.
> 
> The construction industry is in an absolute uproar about this, but it seems that there isn't anything that we can do about it.
> 
> The way I understand it, is that the Canadian drywall manufacturers couldn't compete with the U.S. pricing, so they asked for this garbage tariff. The only minor benefit I've been able to find is that a Vancouver company put 30 extra people on their payroll, that's it.
> 
> 
> 
> And one of the bigwigs in the construction game estimates that it's going to cost Canadians something in excess of $2 BILLION annually for this fiasco.
> 
> Seems like a great deal. A paltry two billion for 30 jobs. Hold me back for Pete's sake! :vs_mad:


That may be similar to what happens here. All those great jobs Trump plans to create by limiting imports will be costly for US consumers.


----------



## cocobolo

ddsrph said:


> That may be similar to what happens here. All those great jobs Trump plans to create by limiting imports will be costly for US consumers.


I can't remember just how many jobs the Donald was going to create, but I know it was quite a lot. Certainly more than the 30 for our drywall outfit.

The funny thing is that the drywall we have been using all along came from the States. I don't ever remember seeing Canadian made drywall before. I think that goes to show that the local outfit not only cannot compete pricewise, but neither are they able to supply the local demand. In which case, I fail to see what that ridiculous tariff has done.

Oh, wait a minute...it has provided the gummint with an extra couple of billion dollars to squander on some other useless stuff. How nice. :surprise:


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> That sucks.
> We're still at $8.84 for 1/2" x 4 x 8 ultralight.


I meant to ask you pugsy if that drywall is made in Ontario?

I believe there are still one or two outfits in Ontario (Mississauga perhaps) that make drywall.

You should have a big enough market back there to enable them to take advantage of the economies of scale.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> I meant to ask you pugsy if that drywall is made in Ontario?
> 
> I believe there are still one or two outfits in Ontario (Mississauga perhaps) that make drywall.
> 
> You should have a big enough market back there to enable them to take advantage of the economies of scale.


No idea.
Just googled and found it.

I'll have to try and remember next time I go in, to take a look.


----------



## jlhaslip

There used to be an outfit up here. Their yard/plant is on the Yellowhead east of town. 
Not sure if they are still running. I will need to have a look to see if the plant is functioning still.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> There used to be an outfit up here. Their yard/plant is on the Yellowhead east of town.
> Not sure if they are still running. I will need to have a look to see if the plant is functioning still.


Thanks for that, do you happen to remember their name off hand?


----------



## jlhaslip

cocobolo said:


> Thanks for that, do you happen to remember their name off hand?


No, but I know exactly where it is located. Beside, or near the Fibreglas Plant which is now an Owens Corning plant along the North side of the Yellowhead.

I need to head out that way this week, so will report back after the trip.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> No, but I know exactly where it is located. Beside, or near the Fibreglas Plant which is now an Owens Corning plant along the North side of the Yellowhead.
> 
> I need to head out that way this week, so will report back after the trip.


OK, thanks very much. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Very busy day today.

We started out by removing a cluster of birch trees. Unfortunately, they were all leaning the wrong way towards either the shop or one of the storage sheds. And as we have learned from experience, birch trees aren't the best things to leave standing. They have a propensity to fall over at the most inopportune times.

So I climbed up a ladder, tied a long rope to each tree - there were 6 of them - tied the other end to the hitch on my van, and had Val put a little pressure on each one as I made the cuts.

Mr. Nosey Neighbour came by and said he thought I would kill myself, so Val told him don't worry Mr. Nosey, we know what we're doing.

We survived without any accidents, and now have quite a bit of wood to cut up for firewood.

Next thing I did some more work on the new road that we're putting in place behind the sheds on the other lot. That went OK.

By the end of the day I had shifted to the driveway, which has been getting better by the day and I very nearly have it done. Just doing the last cleanup when the right track quit working on the Komatsu.

So if anyone has any idea what the cause of this malfunction might be, pleas let me know. There are two things I know about hydraulics, and the second one is nothing.

By then it was well past 6 o'clock and I was pretty beat, so I stopped for the day.

I thought I might try to find out what was wrong and decided that a good place to start might be to take the covers off where the controls are. But they are held on with my favourite screws - Phillips - every one of which is rusted securely in to place. Put some 50-50 fluid on them and I will see if they are removable tomorrow morning.

If I wake up enough later this evening, I'll get some pics up.


----------



## cocobolo

A couple of days ago, Val decided that she would like to place the new storage shelter behind the two storage sheds.

This would entail a considerable amount of digging, not to mention the fact that we will likely need to build a serious retaining wall, this time out of concrete.

So, being the glutton for punishment that I am, I started on the excavating.

About the only way we could see to do this was to go in alongside the first shed and then dig out behind them as I went. This meant that I would do some digging, then drag the material out backwards and pile it to the south side of the sheds.

By the end of the day there was a substantial pile already built up, and I cannot see where we can put much more fill.


----------



## cocobolo

The next morning when we were walking down the partly fixed driveway to start work, it appeared that we might just be able to push a road through right from the corner of the house to go directly behind the storage sheds. So this is what we are doing now.

And as usual, there was no shortage of rocks to be moved. Some are too heavy for the machine to lift, so the best I can do is to roll them away. So far, so good.


----------



## cocobolo

First order of business this morning was to tackle the clump of birch trees.

The slope of the lot is pretty steep, which turned out to be an advantage when it came to falling the trees. With the rope tied to a tree and the other end to the van hitch, the line was quite level, giving a good pull.

Nothing too exciting here, except that when the first one came down, it broke into several pieces...rotten! Those are the kind that make me nervous. You could have a ladder leaning against one of them and it could go over without giving you any warning.


----------



## cocobolo

After the trees were felled, I went back to working on the driveway again. We figure it needs to get finished first so that we can bring vehicles down if necessary, or the tractor to move loads of firewood.

We had a track go off the machine, this is the second time, so there was a break while it got fixed.

First the pressure in the system needs to be released in order for the track to get very loose. Once that is done the track can be manhandled back into place again. It's not an easy job and requires the services of two long prybars. In a shop environment, the usual procedure is to use a forklift to install tracks, that's how heavy they are.

All was good again until the right track stopped responding to the controls.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Very busy day today.
> 
> We started out by removing a cluster of birch trees. Unfortunately, they were all leaning the wrong way towards either the shop or one of the storage sheds. And as we have learned from experience, birch trees aren't the best things to leave standing. They have a propensity to fall over at the most inopportune times.
> 
> So I climbed up a ladder, tied a long rope to each tree - there were 6 of them - tied the other end to the hitch on my van, and had Val put a little pressure on each one as I made the cuts.
> 
> Mr. Nosey Neighbour came by and said he thought I would kill myself, so Val told him don't worry Mr. Nosey, we know what we're doing.
> 
> We survived without any accidents, and now have quite a bit of wood to cut up for firewood.
> 
> Next thing I did some more work on the new road that we're putting in place behind the sheds on the other lot. That went OK.
> 
> By the end of the day I had shifted to the driveway, which has been getting better by the day and I very nearly have it done. Just doing the last cleanup when the right track quit working on the Komatsu.
> 
> So if anyone has any idea what the cause of this malfunction might be, pleas let me know. There are two things I know about hydraulics, and the second one is nothing.
> 
> By then it was well past 6 o'clock and I was pretty beat, so I stopped for the day.
> 
> I thought I might try to find out what was wrong and decided that a good place to start might be to take the covers off where the controls are. But they are held on with my favourite screws - Phillips - every one of which is rusted securely in to place. Put some 50-50 fluid on them and I will see if they are removable tomorrow morning.
> 
> If I wake up enough later this evening, I'll get some pics up.


You got one of these?

https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/9-pc-manual-impact-driver-set/A-p8311615e

I won't attempt a rusty Phillips w/o using it first.

I know two things about hydraulics also, they work or they don't work....sorry...


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> You got one of these?
> 
> https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/9-pc-manual-impact-driver-set/A-p8311615e
> 
> I won't attempt a rusty Phillips w/o using it first.
> 
> I know two things about hydraulics also, they work or they don't work....sorry...


Yes, I have two of those impact drivers. Now I just need to find one of them! I knew where they were before we started clearing everything up downstairs, but they aren't where they were. Not to worry, they are here somewhere.

As for the inoperative track, if I move the control, nothing happens at all. No noise from the engine loading up, and the track will freewheel if I drive the other side. That's the part I don't like.

It could be something as simple as linkage which has come apart, or something much more sinister.

I think we're going in to Kamloops in a day or two, so I will drop in at the Komatsu dealer and see what he suggests.


----------



## jlhaslip

Dirt in the valve body is what I would suspect, but that linkage issue sounds just as likely.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Dirt in the valve body is what I would suspect, but that linkage issue sounds just as likely.


Of course I will be praying for some bad linkage, but didn't go outside in the rain today to check. We did find the impact drivers at least.

Still lousy weather in the forecast for tomorrow, and we may be headed in to Kamloops on Friday. If so, I will visit the Komatsu dealer. Last time I was in there they were quite helpful. I believe they allow Komatsu owners to access their database of manuals, so I should be able to track something down through that avenue.

So it was back to drywalling today, this time in the stairwell, which took most of the day. Just all kinds of little pieces, but they are all done. Plus, naturally, there was a light fixture that needed to be properly mounted in the ceiling over the stairs.


----------



## 123pugsy

The dealer is open on Good Friday?


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> The dealer is open on Good Friday?


Aaaaahhh, shoot! Never even thought of that. I guess that means we're on our way in today then. Good thing you mentioned that.

That's what happens when you're retired...one day is just like any other.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Aaaaahhh, shoot! Never even thought of that. I guess that means we're on our way in today then. Good thing you mentioned that.
> 
> That's what happens when you're retired...one day is just like any other.


That's why I mentioned it....must be nice to have a problem like that...ha...


----------



## jlhaslip

As my Dad used to say:



> The thing I hate about being retired is that you never get a day off.


----------



## cocobolo

Back from Kamloops and a visit to the Komatsu dealer, and the prognosis is not good.

I was able to speak with both the head parts guy and the service manager. Both were very helpful and both came up with the same thought.

Bill, the service manager was kind enough to print out the relevant sections of the manual which covers that part which they think is probably broken.

They believe it is the drive shaft right inside the final drive unit. It's not the easiest thing to get out, but I will give it a go and see how I do.

According to the parts manager, the normal procedure is to replace both sides of the final drive unit when this happens. Apparently it is possible to replace the shaft itself, but it's not an easy task. A used replacement final drive is around $2,000, or if you want a new Komatsu unit, you're talking about $9,000. OUCH!

Either way, it's going to be a real job and obviously take some time. So, it's going on the back burner until the weather gets a lot warmer - going down to 1º tonight and zero tomorrow night - and I will carry on with the stuff inside the house.

And regarding the inside stuff, I found a sealer which the carpet guy said I should use before laying tile on top of the OSB. And the other thing was that Val decided she would like a bi-fold door on the laundry room, so we found one which fairly closely matches the other doors we have now.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> That's why I mentioned it....must be nice to have a problem like that...ha...


Have you forgotten that I work EVERY day....and don't get paid for it? :vs_mad:


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Have you forgotten that I work EVERY day....and don't get paid for it? :vs_mad:


Oh, c'mon now..... We know you love it. You'd go crazy otherwise....:wacko:...ha....


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Back from Kamloops and a visit to the Komatsu dealer, and the prognosis is not good.
> 
> I was able to speak with both the head parts guy and the service manager. Both were very helpful and both came up with the same thought.
> 
> Bill, the service manager was kind enough to print out the relevant sections of the manual which covers that part which they think is probably broken.
> 
> They believe it is the drive shaft right inside the final drive unit. It's not the easiest thing to get out, but I will give it a go and see how I do.
> 
> According to the parts manager, the normal procedure is to replace both sides of the final drive unit when this happens. Apparently it is possible to replace the shaft itself, but it's not an easy task. A used replacement final drive is around $2,000, or if you want a new Komatsu unit, you're talking about $9,000. OUCH!
> 
> Either way, it's going to be a real job and obviously take some time. So, it's going on the back burner until the weather gets a lot warmer - going down to 1º tonight and zero tomorrow night - and I will carry on with the stuff inside the house.


Buddy I know what you mean, I tore the final drive out of my dozer, back in 90, I thought I would cry at $1,700. Fixed that, two months later tore the rear end out couldn't find but one ring gear and pinion and too much for my blood, scrapped that money pit. It sure was fun while it was running though.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Buddy I know what you mean, I tore the final drive out of my dozer, back in 90, I thought I would cry at $1,700. Fixed that, two months later tore the rear end out couldn't find but one ring gear and pinion and too much for my blood, scrapped that money pit. It sure was fun while it was running though.


Well Jim, it seems these things aren't cheap when they break. However, this isn't something that we can afford to be without either at the moment. It has done us yeoman service since we bought it.

I only have put around 150 hours on the machine, and when we look around to see what it has done it really is a big pile of work. It would have cost us far more to bring in a machine and operator, which costs between $90 and $120 an hour here.

As an example, when my friend Bill got a quote to dig out for his septic system, that was going to be 40 hours of machine time at $90, plus fuel, plus tax, plus delivery, and that's for a small machine.

So I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and fix it. One possible good thing is that Val's daughter works for a big gravel operation down on the coast, and apparently they deal with SMS Equipment in Kamloops. She's going to ask her parts guy if he will order the necessary parts for us and get them at wholesale. That might slice the bill by a few hundred $.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Well Jim, it seems these things aren't cheap when they break. However, this isn't something that we can afford to be without either at the moment. It has done us yeoman service since we bought it.
> 
> I only have put around 150 hours on the machine, and when we look around to see what it has done it really is a big pile of work. It would have cost us far more to bring in a machine and operator, which costs between $90 and $120 an hour here.
> 
> As an example, when my friend Bill got a quote to dig out for his septic system, that was going to be 40 hours of machine time at $90, plus fuel, plus tax, plus delivery, and that's for a small machine.
> 
> So I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and fix it. One possible good thing is that Val's daughter works for a big gravel operation down on the coast, and apparently they deal with SMS Equipment in Kamloops. She's going to ask her parts guy if he will order the necessary parts for us and get them at wholesale. That might slice the bill by a few hundred $.


 I surely understand, you need your machine, mine I could have done without, it was just something I wanted, not needed.


----------



## cocobolo

Back at taping and mudding again for the past couple of days. I was having all kinds of trouble with paper bead, to the point that I wasn't installing anything but metal bead.

Now just about every experienced drywaller claims that paper bead is better in every way. But for the life of me I couldn't seem to get it right. Finally ran across a video where a fellow was showing how he does the paper bead, and I realized that his mud was really runny. Ahhh, so that's the secret.

Well, yes it seems to be, as I spent much of yesterday trying to see if I could make the paper bead work on all kinds of awkward spots. This morning, there were none of the bubbles that I was getting before, which frustrated me to no end. So at long last I am finally in agreement with the PROS!

We spent much of today removing a window and re-framing the hole to install a new front door. What a chore...as it was part of the original framing which was miles out of whack.

I should be able to get the pictures up tomorrow and the story that goes with it. We might even tackle the last window replacement tomorrow, as the forecast is for a mix of sun and cloud.


----------



## cocobolo

At last we have a new front door upstairs. As usual, it was an interesting installation.

Previously, I had built a new wall inside the house which lined up with part of the window - now removed - the intent being to simply take out the window and add the door.

Now I was aware that the floor on this old addition to the original house was not level. So allowances had to made for that. On the inside, the new ceiling joists only left minimal room on the hinge side of the door, so it became a balancing act of sorts. There really was no room to play with.

As you might guess from the look on Val's face, she had just unearthed a big batch of stink bugs.

I only needed to add an extra 2" of wood to the new 2 x 4 framing inside to achieve a 2 x 6 wall. Fortunately. it happened to work out perfectly.


----------



## cocobolo

Once the new framing was sheathed, we did a test fit of the door.

It was close, but it works fine. 

We got rained off the job in the afternoon, so I quickly added a deadbolt to keep things somewhat secure.

I'll probably finish the installation after Val goes to the coast on Tuesday for more babysitting duties.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's some of my more successful paper bead applications. I must admit that when you get the hang of this stuff it really is easier and faster.

Don't tell anyone I said that. :vs_no_no_no:


----------



## cocobolo

We woke up this morning to sub zero weather again. What a crazy year.

So it was inside work for awhile waiting for the promised sunshine to arrive.

There's a small passageway between the laundry room and the door to the workshop, and we decided to start on the drywall there. It's too small to fit a full sheet anywhere, so everything has to be chopped up.

After we got some sheetrock up on the ceiling, we decided to add an extra 2 x 4 wall in front of the sub panel. This thing has been a reliable source of cold air since the day it was put in, of that I'm sure.

So more delays while we fixed that. It looks far better now and the small loss of floor space in there is completely meaningless.


----------



## cocobolo

Once the sun showed its' face, we went outside to change the last living room window.

As with the front door, I had already done a new inside wall, and it was really just a matter of adding identical framing to the outside, giving us a 7" thick wall.

I was aware that this side also had a slope to the floor, which in turn meant that the top plate (on the original framing) was not level. I had made my new inside top plate level, so it should just be a matter of fixing the old one to match.

That was pretty much the case and with the new framing and sheathing added, we popped the new window in without further ado.


----------



## cocobolo

Since there was still some time left in the day, we started on removing the next sheet of plywood on the old deck outside the master bedroom.

The procedure was to slice off strips of the vinyl decking where the rows of screws were.

Then we had to dig out that grey sealant which hid the screws and try to clean out the square holes in the screws so that we could undo them. Sounds easy, but first you have to locate the screw holes, and as they were buried, it took us quite awhile.

We did end up getting the one sheet off, and that has opened up the deck so that I can cut off the old deck joists just leaving about a foot or so protruding from the house.

There is no slope on the original joists, whereas there is on the new ones. So removing most of the old joists and planing the tops to match the new ones will overcome that problem.

By this time there was no gas left in our tanks, so we retired for dinner and a good rest.


----------



## BigJim

I kinda wish we had some of your cool air down this way, it has been in the mid to high 80s here now, it is going to be a scorcher this summer around here.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I kinda wish we had some of your cool air down this way, it has been in the mid to high 80s here now, it is going to be a scorcher this summer around here.


Hey Jim, any time you want to ship us some of that nice warm air is OK with us!

This has been a very different winter and spring so far. Hard to believe that there was more snow up on the Coke just yesterday. I hope it clears up before Val heads down to the coast on Tuesday morning.

I will be going down on Friday to catch the big car show at Tradex in Abbotsford. While I'm there, I will also fit in a few days working on the '33.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Hey Jim, any time you want to ship us some of that nice warm air is OK with us!
> 
> This has been a very different winter and spring so far. Hard to believe that there was more snow up on the Coke just yesterday. I hope it clears up before Val heads down to the coast on Tuesday morning.
> 
> I will be going down on Friday to catch the big car show at Tradex in Abbotsford. While I'm there, I will also fit in a few days working on the '33.


Will there be pictures? :biggrin2: Be safe buddy.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Will there be pictures? :biggrin2: Be safe buddy.


You betcha!

I will make sure my camera battery is full for sure. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

A couple of days ago - in between the monsoons - I managed to get the first sheet of new plywood down on the deck. That went fairly well.

Then I opened up the next part, about the same amount of trouble as getting the first sheet of plywood off.

With that gone, I was able to cut back the original joists, leaving just a foot or so still in place.

Then planed the tops of the old joists down so that they would clear the new ones,

Then attached the second sheet of plywood and that's where we stand now.


----------



## cocobolo

Anyway, moving right along, yesterday it was time to do something about finishing the new front door.

I first tried to add some plastic molding on to the edge of the drywall, and while I was able to get it on, it didn't look like it was finished. On to plan B.

Then I tried to fit some paper bead in place, and after backing the jamb away from the framing just enough to be able to slide the bead in (dry fit) I decided that looked OK.

But, of course, as soon as the wet mud was applied, the bead wouldn't go in the narrow slit. I tried several implements of destruction to force it in place and some of it fit and some didn't. So it is what it is.

Didn't get photos of the mudded bits yet, but it looks like it will end up being all right.

Since I'm headed off to the coast in another hour or so, nothing else will get done until later next week.


----------



## cocobolo

Made it to the Tradex show yesterday...FANTASTIC!

Got lots of pics to bring back home, and I'll show you some of them next week when we get back.

As for the '33, it's doing well. Very close to being back to a rolling chassis again.

A handful of things to get done and then we will be test fitting the motor and tranny to make some new engine and transmission mounts. That may not be done this trip, but I'll be back to the coast again in a couple of weeks.

Plenty of photos to come.


----------



## cocobolo

Well, wouldn't you know it...

We are bleeding the brakes yesterday, when we find not one, but two serious leaks at the proportioning valve. There shouldn't be any reason for that to happen...so we take the brake lines out, yank the prop valve and cannot see anything obviously wrong.

OK, back to Mopac to see if they have any answers. It turns out that this valve was mis-machined and there was no way that the two output lines could possibly seal. It seems that their machining of the threads didn't go deep enough, so the fitting would stop before it reached bottom. Lovely!

It turns out that Mopac has just got 75 of these things in and they are all machined the same. They aren't happy. :vs_mad:

Therefore, first thing as soon as the stores open we will be hunting for a new valve. Our Googling last night showed that one of our major suppliers is a distributor for a different brand. Just as soon as they open we are going to see if they have one in any of their branches.

Isn't it always the way? You think you have the cat by the tail, and then some silly thing like this shows up. Wasted at least one whole day. lain:


----------



## BigJim

I sure know what you mean buddy. I just bought a Toyota 4Runner with a cam gear bolt head and pin sheared and thought the worse would be replace the cam, gear and maybe the belt. No such luck, the further I got into the engine the worse it got, blown head gasket on the opposite side from the broken cam bolt, heads toast, engine really gunked up bad. To make a long story short, the engine is shot. On to plan B. LOL I hope you found a good one so you can get past the leaks.


----------



## cocobolo

Morning Jim.

Well, we found a different proportioning valve, but it's at the main distribution centre so we have to wait until it is delivered to the local store in Surrey. Looks like it will get there some time this morning, which is the good news.

Of course, it isn't just your regular valve, oh no, it has to be a polished version. And we all know what that does to the price. Just another "OUCH" along the way.

Now we have to hope that we can make it fit right! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Back home after our long trip and I would say it was successful all round. Crazy weather over the Coke...incredibly heavy rain, some sunshine, mega winds, hail, snow and dense fog. Did I miss anything?

Probably the most important thing was our trip to the hospital for the knee replacement seminar.

There were two very knowledgeable gals there doing the presentation and we could ask all the questions we needed to. Now Val is looking forward to getting on with this whole episode, although she's not really liking the long recovery time. One interesting thing we learned is that now a ceramic joint may be use, which bumps the lifespan of the joint up into the 20 year bracket, quite impressive.

Then went to the scooter place to see which one she wants to buy. Given that it is likely she will need a scooter for some time and how far we are away from civilization, it's probably better that we buy instead of rent. Her medical plan covers a fair chunk of the cost.

As you already know, the Tradex show was great and I will be getting pics of that up starting tomorrow. And the '33 is coming along nicely....again, plenty of photos to come.


----------



## 123pugsy

Looking forward to the pics.


----------



## cocobolo

Pics from the Tradex show. There is likely to be quite a few, so I doubt I will get them all up this evening...but we'll give it a go anyway.

It was a dull and sometimes rainy day, typical west coast. Here's a few cars that were parked outside the building. Not really sure why they were there.

Right behind me in the lineup were four guys from the Kamloops area, one of them a good friend. Talk about a coincidence!


----------



## cocobolo

You might notice that there were several black or otherwise very dark cars in the show. When I got home and downloaded the pics, I was disappointed to see that all the dark photos did not come out well.

I will do as much adjusting as possible to see if I can improve them. I suppose it may have something to do with the lighting at Tradex. And of course being inside didn't help any either. But I'll do the best I can.

I did try to get at least one photo of every car, but unfortunately quite a number just didn't come out well.

First car inside the door was this Willys, and this set the stage pretty well for most of the cars in the show.


----------



## cocobolo

One of the vendors selling chassis and motors.

Note that the rolling cart the motor is on is painted to match the chassis! Well, I guess if you have the time, money and inclination to do that.....


----------



## cocobolo

Different vendor...different chassis. This guy is a bit more serious when it comes to horsepower!


----------



## cocobolo

Everybody's favourite (except mine) a deuce.

This one has a blown flathead. Obviously for appearance, as really, no matter what you do to a flathead it still doesn't make much jam. It's the nature of the beast.


----------



## cocobolo

Some non-black cars.


----------



## cocobolo

Back in black again.

This Merc had lots of copper touches all over the place. Really nice well done car. Sorry that it's so hard to see here.


----------



## cocobolo

One of the problems I had getting photos was that I had to get in front of everybody to get a clear shot. Unfortunately, this often meant that I didn't get the whole car in the frame.

Here's a nice '56 Chevy, at least what you can see of it.


----------



## cocobolo

Nice little Chevy twice.


----------



## cocobolo

Now here is a car that's completely insane.

They took this jet outside and fired it up. OK, the noise the engine makes is impressive enough all by itself. Then they "pop" the engine. For a split second the flame goes out and when it comes back on there is a really loud concussive bang.

Honestly, the first time it did that I dropped two or three inches involuntarily. You simply cannot keep yourself upright if you don't plug your ears. Frankly, I think they let us way too close to this thing. If you had a youngster there, it could have caused serious hearing loss.

The driver has multiple layers of hearing protection as he sits right next to the compressor. I think he must be certifiably insane to drive that beast.


----------



## cocobolo

Right after the jet car there was a burnout contest. Unfortunately, by the time it got going it started to rain lightly.

First car up was the old pickup owned by a friend of ours. I must say the blower makes a snoot load of power...it actually shifts up all the way into drive with the tires spinning.

Next was the blue Chevy II which you may have seen earlier in this thread, I worked on this car with my boys last year. Craig's daughter drives this one. So far she has hit 10.60's with it.

By the time the third car came out it was too wet to make much smoke, so they quit.

They gave the win to Alyssa and the crowd loved it.


----------



## cocobolo

They had a small contingent of some of the old time dragsters as well. I remember seeing Jerry Ruth's car run decades ago. 

All of the cars have been immaculately maintained, and I guess they just do the show car circuit now.


----------



## cocobolo

One more of Jerry Ruth's car.


----------



## cocobolo

If you're a Plymouth fan, you might want to race down to your local dealer to see if he has one of these in stock.

Powered by a supercharged 354, it claims to have 520 H.P. and that could well be true. Also something like 570 lbs. feet of torque if my aging memory serves me.

The show announcer says this car will run 8's on the track...not likely Ralph.

520 H.P. and 3,500 lbs works out to an 11.00 on my calculator, so I don't know who they are trying to kid. And that's without adding the weight of the driver!

I saved the best for last, the price tag. Are you sitting down?

$170,000.00, plus tax, which gets it to over $190,000 here in B.C.


----------



## cocobolo

I'm not even sure if they still run these short wheelbase altered's any more. For sure they are a hairy ride.

I think the Nitro brothers car is quite a bit longer.


----------



## cocobolo

Just spent over 1 1/2 hours trying to get some of these photos to lighten up. If you do it too much you lose the real colour of the vehicle. So just about all the rest of the pics have some sort of "fix" or other.


----------



## cocobolo

Lots more to come yet...


----------



## cocobolo

The blue Pontiac Acadian (Chevy II lookalike) is Alyssa's car.


----------



## cocobolo

Pretty fancy display with the red LeMans and the bike.


----------



## cocobolo

There's only one car I'd like to build - after the '33 is done of course - and that's a C-cab.

This one looks like it has been around for awhile, done in the old school style. But it's still clean as a whistle and it looks like he races it judging by the number on the windshield. Couldn't find the owner anywhere to ask any questions.


----------



## cocobolo

Nuthin' but red!


----------



## cocobolo

The paint job on this '40 was truly incredible.


----------



## BigJim

These are some real beauties Keith, some bring back great memories.


----------



## cocobolo

If you like lowriders, you'll like this one.

The trunk had some plexi in place of parts of the floor, and the underside was lit with red neon. Very cool.


----------



## cocobolo

A selection...


----------



## cocobolo

A few more...


----------



## cocobolo

...again.


----------



## cocobolo

...more.


----------



## cocobolo

The phantom flames on the '40 were terrific...but this paint job is over the top! Unfortunately, much of the colour subtlety isn't showing up. Maybe if you have a big screen...


----------



## cocobolo

"Welcome to My Nightmare", built for Alice Cooper.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> These are some real beauties Keith, some bring back great memories.


I figured if anyone would remember some of these cars, it would be you Jim!

You know, I still have a few hundred photos on hand, but our time is very limited what with Val going away to Hungary and Ireland for six weeks commencing next week. So I'm going to have to pick my battles with just a few more pics from the show.

Then I have some of the progress on the '33, and a few from the work at the house.

Last week I managed to break a tooth, and this morning I was at the dentist's office to get it fixed. So more time gone with another round trip in to Salmon arm.

We are painting today, so when that's all done (for the day) I'll see if I can get a few more pics up. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

A few more...


----------



## cocobolo

This 1940 Nash was, without a doubt, one of the very nicest cars in the show.

It was for sale for a paltry $52,000 Cdn. I would hesitate to say what it may have cost to build, but at a rough guess not less than $100k.

The only trouble is that the car is so nice you'd be afraid to drive it anywhere.


----------



## cocobolo

This was a pretty neat display. His and Hers hot rods. Hopefully you can read the details on the signs.


----------



## cocobolo

When I got back from the coast, the latest issue of "Street Rodder" magazine was waiting for me in the mailbox.

Opened it up and saw a lengthy article on this very car.


----------



## cocobolo

Every year the show imports one or more big names in the hot rod and/or motorcycle world.

This year they brought in Dave Kindig of Kindig Design. And Dave brought his 1960 Caddy with him. Six thousand, five hundred hours in this car, and it shows.

To top it off, Dave turned out to be a really nice guy, and we had a chance to kibbutz with him for several minutes. He was also kind enough to autograph the T-shirts we bought from his wife.

Number one son is the big guy.


----------



## cocobolo

This one's for you Jim. The flame job reminds me of "The California Kid" driven by James Dean.


----------



## BigJim

Wow, just wow, that is just too cool Keith, I am really enjoying your fantastic photos. These are some extremely gorgeous cars and trucks. Had I seen that Nash on the streets I would have never guessed it was a Nash, it kinda reminds me of an old Willis. That is one beautiful car with the flames.

The orange 55 Chevy two door post looks just like one a friend of mine who use to work at Memphis Engine Rebuilders with me back in the 60s. I wish I had some of the old cars I had back then, it blows me away at the price of them these days. Thank you for showing us your photos.


----------



## cocobolo

Jim, I just realized that my old memory has been paying tricks on me again.

The California Kid wasn't driven by James Dean, but by Martin Sheen. The car was built by Pete Chapouris of "Pete & Jakes" and "So-Cal" fame back around '73-'74.

Pete Chapouris, one of the real giants of the industry, passed away very recently, a real loss to the hot rod community.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Jim, I just realized that my old memory has been paying tricks on me again.
> 
> The California Kid wasn't driven by James Dean, but by Martin Sheen. The car was built by Pete Chapouris of "Pete & Jakes" and "So-Cal" fame back around '73-'74.
> 
> Pete Chapouris, one of the real giants of the industry, passed away very recently, a real loss to the hot rod community.


At least you have a memory to play tricks on you, more than I can say for myself. LOL

That is a shame that Pete has gone on, it seems we work and study all our lives and when we get to the point we do actually know some things, poof, gone. 

We have several car shows around here each year but I have never seen any of the cars here of the quality and beauty you have up your way. At Pigeon Forge, just up the road, they have cars from all over lined each side of the street for a couple of miles or so but still nothing like you have there.


----------



## Windows on Wash

Looking good.


----------



## cocobolo

When I last left the boys in early December, the '33 was basically a bare frame with nothing attached. Still covered in copper paint.

With the terrible winter that this province has gone through, it was quite impossible to get any work done until recently, just too cold to work in the shop.

These first pics are of the frame as I saw it when I arrived at the coast to visit the Tradex show.

Unbeknownst to me the boys had the front end assembled and the rear end in place. Brake lines were run and new master cylinder and booster had been installed.

What they had failed to mention is that they had replaced ALL the front suspension with new parts. The old upper and lower control arms were history and the new power rack is apparently from an '82-'89 Thunder Chicken. They chose this one due to the pressure that it can handle.

Things were not yet bolted on hard when I arrived, and after doing so we discovered that the tie rod ends did not fit properly in the spindles. I think they were using the rod ends which came from Heidt's and they seemed to be just a hair too fat to go all the way home. So we tracked down a pair of T-bird ends instead.

That presented another problem, as the 'bird ends were both 2" longer than the Heidt's. They could not be adjusted to bring the front wheels into line.

So you know what any hot rodder would do...yep...cut the suckers off.

It only needed about 5/16" from either side and that did the trick. Somewhere I have a pic of the different ends and the size difference is really big. But they fit fine now.

And of course the frame had been sprayed with the same bed liner that the boys used on the gas tank. It looks just like paint, except that it's a bit thicker. Hopefully it will handle our sometimes poor road conditions up this way.

The rear end had been narrowed by Danny at Pro Gas Engineering and was all fully assembled with custom length Moser axles. The new Wilwood discs are installed and have been plumbed.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the tie rod ends...the bird ends are the longer ones.

Aside from the length issue, the short ones were not correctly machined. It seems that the holes for the cotter pins were not centrally drilled, but were off to one side by a small amount. So even if we could have got them up far enough, the pin would not have gone through the hole.

I have a hunch that they are an offshore brand and the others are made in the States. The machining is far superior on the long version.


----------



## cocobolo

The rear brake lines had been plumbed before I arrived, but the front lines had yet to be done.

These lines are a stainless braid with some sort of plastic covering on the outside. I haven't seen these before.

The one drawback is that you have to have them made up to your specific length, and I must say they were pretty rich at $70 each. Not only that, but because of the ends they need to be perfectly indexed or they will twist too much.

Frankly, if I had to do it again, I would use the standard type lines up front. The rears have no need to flex as they are run solidly from the centre section right out to the rear cylinders.


----------



## cocobolo

All four corners now sport QA1 shocks, which are adjustable.

The front springs which came with the new front end parts were chromed. But it turned out that those springs are too short...at least in my boys' opinion. So they have been replaced with QA1 springs.

The ride height can be adjusted by re-setting the shocks. Once we get all the weight on the car, we can get that part fixed.


----------



## cocobolo

When we last left the motor, it had been running on the dyno at Jimmy Richmond's shop. We had to change the oil pump due to having too much pressure.

In doing so, it wasn't possible to get the corners of the old sealant out cleanly, and the engine developed minor oil leaks in the front corners.

So I rigged the motor up to the engine stand, removed the oil pan, cleaned everything out meticulously and put the new gasket in. I must say the one piece neoprene gaskets are a godsend, no more fiddling around with those terrible crank seals.

One little thing I noticed was that the crank appeared to be brand new. So I casually mentioned this to number one son. Oh yes, he said, the machinist said there was some sort of a problem with the forged steel crank that was in the motor, so we got you an internally balanced forged steel Scat crank...hope you don't mind!


----------



## cocobolo

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, some work has been done on the deck.

The outer ends of the new joists have been trimmed back to make a straight line. The boxer joist has been screwed into place and all except for 1/2 a sheet of plywood the surface has been screwed into place. Just waiting for the next sunny day to finish that up.


----------



## jlhaslip

What are you putting on top of the decking?


----------



## 123pugsy

So, what exactly, did the hot rod originally go to your son's for?

I don't recall you mentioning frame off resto.....ha.....:smile:


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> What are you putting on top of the decking?


Vinyl. But we have to wait until it's warm enough to apply. In the mean time it is covered with a tarp.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> So, what exactly, did the hot rod originally go to your son's for?
> 
> I don't recall you mentioning frame off resto.....ha.....:smile:


Hmmm....I don't recall a frame-off either.

It was going to get a new engine, because the old one was shot to hell. And then when I discovered the terrible back brakes, that was going to get fixed as well along with a better rear end. Plus a new wiring harness.

But you know how it is pugsy, once you get into one of these things, one thing leads to another. If you want it done right, might as well go all the way.

Once all the mechanicals and electrical are brought up to snuff, we will do the interior. And last on the list will be the paint job. Did I miss anything?


----------



## BigJim

That car is going to be as close to perfect as perfect is. Your "boys" must really love you buddy.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> That car is going to be as close to perfect as perfect is. Your "boys" must really love you buddy.


Just one little thing you have to remember Jim. They are the ones who will inherit the car! :wink2:


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday we had some sun during the daytime, until the heavy cloud rolled in and ended up giving us a massive lightning/thunder/rain storm. It was incredible! Six hours of some of the most fabulous lightning strikes I have ever seen.

Val was on her laptop and mentioned that Kamloops (70 miles to the west) was experiencing this storm. Barely had the words come out of her mouth when the first lightning strike hit here. We watched it for about half an hour, with strike frequency being as often as every 10 seconds. 

Then the torrential downpour followed, and this morning when we went in to Celista to get new spark plugs for her Honda, Ross Creek was a giant rushing mud bath from all the rain.

So yesterday we filled in the last half sheet of plywood on the deck.

Then we attacked the baseboard upstairs. Got that finished just after dark but before the storm. I had a cutting setup out on the deck.

Replaced the spark plugs in the Honda this morning...the old ones looked like they have about 125,000 k's on them and the engine had a hard time starting. Despite the fact that her Honda dealer has done ALL the required servicing on the car from day one. Obviously they don't care if they charge for something that they really don't do.

Val has been going over every inch of the floor in preparation for the new carpet on Monday. I have some levelling compound to add to several places and that has to be done before dinner time today! Better get busy! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Busy day today again.

With the carpet arriving on Monday, the biggest thing we had left to do was to texture the ceilings in two bedrooms, the living room and solarium area.

We just made it sometime after 7:30 this evening. Ran out of texturing mud right at the very end. Val already has all the paper and poly removed and stuffed into garbage bags.

I think she took some photos while I was trying to turn myself into a snowman. Tomorrow for those.

Not much else to do now, just some trims to finish up under the doors and touch up on the levelling cement. If we have time tomorrow we'll also likely do some touch up on the baseboards.

Time to turn in for the night! :sleeping:


----------



## drtbk4ever

Hey Keith, I hear there is some flooding in your neck of the woods. I hope your roads in and out of your area are not impacted. 

Can't wait to see the carpet down.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## cocobolo

drtbk4ever said:


> Hey Keith, I hear there is some flooding in your neck of the woods. I hope your roads in and out of your area are not impacted.
> 
> Can't wait to see the carpet down.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


There has been widespread flooding in many areas. But as of this afternoon, I think most of the roads are open again including the main highway.

Shuswap lake has millions of pieces of tree debris floating all over the place. When this happens, the debris tends to gather together in long lines. We haven't experienced this before up here. It can only be from dozens of creeks or washouts driving all this debris into the lake. The boaters aren't going to be happy. And there are miles of shoreline covered in all manner of debris as well. I can see this is going to take some time to clean up.

As for the carpet, well it seems that Andrew from "Advantage Carpet", who was responsible for getting the carpet in to Kamloops (yes, it's there) and co-ordinating the installation thereof messed up.

Yesterday morning we were up early to move ALL the furniture out onto the deck. For a couple of old farts that was enough of a job by itself. We had that done by 8 a.m.

I expected that the installer would arrive between 9:30 and 9:45, that would give him time to load the carpet in Kamloops and drive out here.

So when 9:45 came and went I called the installer to see if they were close. Yes, they were, but on another job in Anglemont! After a brief chat, they would call their boss (not Andrew) and find out what's going on. Shortly thereafter we got a call from Andrew saying that they were going to come and and do the measure first. What??? You did that over a month ago. Not only that, but you have our carpet on hand already...and you are the one who booked the installer for today.

Next available day for Gerry, the installer is May 23rd. So I said OK, here's what I want you to do. Confirm with Gerry that he will be here on the 23rd and CALL ME RIGHT BACK! As of late this afternoon we had heard nothing at all from Andrew.

Now, when Val was coming back from the coast on her last trip she said her Honda was making a "funny noise". I think this is a standard female diagnosis for anything wrong with a car. So, after a test drive I got the feeling that there was something amiss with one of the front brakes, although because it would clear itself up within a mile or so, I couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was. In case you think this has nothing to do with the carpet, in a manner of speaking it enabled us to go into Kamloops to have the problem at least diagnosed, if not fixed. 

Since I am to drive Val to Calgary early tomorrow morning, we decided to at least see if it was fixable on short notice. And while we were in Kamloops I went to see Jeff, the Assistant Manager at the house of pot.

None of this recent fiasco was in any way the fault of H.D., so I explained to Jeff what had happened. I suggested that H.D. might like to revise their policy of having all these third parties speak with the customer (us) and instead they should liaise with the customer directly as things unfold.

Jeff is always right on the ball, and shortly after we left the store we received a call from H.D. head office apologizing profusely for the mixup (not their fault) and letting us know that the delivery will be done on May 23rd. Head office will now look after this one.

As for the Honda problem, well, it turned out to be a sticking caliper. With 1/4 million kilometers on the car and the calipers never having been changed, I think they did OK. The second side of the front brakes was also on the way out, so I got them to fix the whole shebang at the same time. Ever noticed how expensive Honda parts are compared to say Chevy parts? I tell you. it's downright criminal.

They checked the rears as well, and it looks like they are getting close to being done.

So, bright and early tomorrow morning, we are off to Calgary. Oh joy! :surprise:


----------



## jlhaslip

Drive safe! You know how those Alberta drivers get rammy... :lol:


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Drive safe! You know how those Alberta drivers get rammy... :lol:


I was thinking of buying an AK47 just for this trip! :gunsmilie:


----------



## cocobolo

Just heard from our chum Al Christopherson this morning that there are two huge slides just east of St. Ives. The road has been wiped out and is expected to take between one and two weeks to get fixed. That would account for all the debris so close to us.

Off to Calgary very shortly.


----------



## cocobolo

Made the round trip to Calgary...an unbelievable amount of landslides all across the province right through the national parks. More mess than I could imagine.

I expect Val is close to landing in Frankfurt right about now, while I am down at the coast already with my boys.

Great progress on the '33 since I was last down...all the details when I get back and can post photos. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

We need some mandrel bent tubing to make up the headers for the '33. Do you think anyone around here has the stuff? Not likely.

We searched all over the place, checked out half a dozen leads and still no luck at all. Finally ordered the bends from Speedway in the States, and they will arrive here this afternoon by 5. Talk about fantastic service!

Likely headed home either tomorrow or Friday with the driveshaft. Have to take that back to the machine shop for alterations to fit the new rear end...it has a different yoke than the original.


----------



## jlhaslip

It never ends, does it.

Almost like house renovations. One thing leads to another and there is no end to it.

Safe trip.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> It never ends, does it.
> 
> Almost like house renovations. One thing leads to another and there is no end to it.
> 
> Safe trip.


Except sometimes I think these car renos are even more expensive than the house!

Had to find a different U joint for the steering column this morning. $104 later...

Did you hear about the SNOW on the Coke yesterday? What the heck is going on? Past the middle of May and still snow? I thought this was supposed to be global warning, not global freezing. :vs_OMG:


----------



## jlhaslip

Had 4 inches of snow on May long weekend a few years back. Isn't it great living here?

Planted the garden a few times that year.


----------



## cocobolo

Before I get into updating the '33 pics...I had a call from Val in Hungary a couple of days ago. It was Andrew The Great calling her to say that the carpet will be here next Tuesday. He claimed that he didn't have my phone number so he couldn't call me directly?????? Good grief Charlie Brown, what does this guy have for a memory? It's even worse than mine if that is indeed possible.

Anyway, Val has reported that her mum is now laid to rest in the family plot and the entire ceremony went off without a hitch. So now she can relax and enjoy the rest of her trip.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, onward and upward with the car. The engine and transmission are installed and the boys got the engine set back as far as they possibly could. The distributor clears the firewall by less than half an inch. If we have any difficulty with that, we can put in a different distributor with a small cap to gain another 1/2" or so. Hopefully, we won't need to do that.


----------



## cocobolo

Inside the back of the car, the wheel wells have been cut out in order to widen them by about two inches. This will provide room for the Mickey Thompson street radials that the boys seem to think are so necessary.


----------



## cocobolo

The car now sports a new rear end with a four link suspension. Since this is very different from a leaf spring suspension, we have to make sure there is room inside the car for the rear end to move up to it's maximum position without hitting anything.

So what the boys have done is to remove the springs from the coil shocks an sit the frame right on top of the rubber bumpers on the rear end, it can't go any lower than that.

There is still plenty of room for the bigger tires. The rear end will be raised once the springs are back in place, but the ride height is adjustable courtesy of the QA1 coil/shocks.


----------



## cocobolo

There's going to be quite a bit of fabrication work for the back floor. We started with a couple of cross pieces of 3/4 x 1 1/2 tubing to get a base for the reinforcing sections. Lots of cutting and trial and error fitting yet to be done.


----------



## cocobolo

Since there is so little room for two people to work inside the car at the same time, I went ahead and started on the header mock up with the plastic lego kit.

This stuff is a real treat to work with as compared to the old way of doing things. You can mock up one side in less than 20 minutes, and if you don't like something about it you can change it in just a few seconds.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Since there is so little room for two people to work inside the car at the same time, I went ahead and started on the header mock up with the plastic lego kit.
> 
> This stuff is a real treat to work with as compared to the old way of doing things. You can mock up one side in less than 20 minutes, and if you don't like something about it you can change it in just a few seconds.


Tell me more about this mock up kit please. Looks better than my pipe fittings.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Tell me more about this mock up kit please. Looks better than my pipe fittings.


It is made by ICEngineworks, they have a web presence, so they are easy to find.

What they have is a series of plastic blocks of different radii, 2" 3" and 4" centre line radius, plus straight. Each block is exactly one inch long on the centreline.

When you put the blocks together, you can adjust them infinitely to exactly whatever direction you like. They rotate 360º. The one inch length also aids in trying to get the primary tubes to a similar length.

Now, since mine is just a street car, I'm not going to get fanatical about equal length primaries, but I will try to get them reasonably close. And the longer the better, as that always helps with torque, and torque is what moves you.

Space will obviously be the limiting factor with these headers but I will still aim for something close to 30" if at all possible. I'm going into a collector with 2 1/2" outlet, which in turn will feed a 2 1/2" exhaust system. 

So once you have your primaries put together, you then make up whatever pieces you require out of your mandrel bends and straight pipe. The plastic system has a series of markings, which you in turn transfer to the steel counterpart.

When you have the pieces all cut for one side, they have a very trick clamp which will hold two pieces of your tubing together so you can tack weld it. Once that is done, you remove the clamps and either tig or gas weld the whole section.

It sounds easy, and so far it is. I am just now making up a jig to hold the tubing for cutting to each precise length. I will be sure to get photos when I get to that stage.

Home for a few days...carpet is due here Tuesday. I should be going back next Thursday with my revised driveshaft from Magnum in Kamloops.

If you need anything else, just ask.


----------



## jlhaslip

So does that set of blue pieces and parts become your actual header set?
Or is it merely a pattern that gets copied?


----------



## cocobolo

On the drivers' side, the steering shaft interferes considerably. But with the kit, it is still relatively easy to work your way around it.

So there are two things to look out for on this side:

1. Can you get to the spark plugs.
2. Can you remove the header if necessary.

The answers are yes and yes.

In order to pull the header, you simply undo the steering shaft at the bottom, slip it out and you're good to go. Nothing to it in a big outfit like this.


----------



## cocobolo

The old steering column had what I think was a pipe hanger to hold the steering shaft inline. Very probably not the best idea.

I'm still using the old shaft for fitting purposes here, it will be replaced by a nice shiny stainless double D shaft once things are all fitted up.

The new steering bearing fits precisely, and I made up a simple steel bracket to keep it in place.

I did test the steering and it appears to work OK. So that is another major item out of the way.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> So does that set of blue pieces and parts become your actual header set?
> Or is it merely a pattern that gets copied?


That is strictly for making your pattern. The plastic parts snap into one another, and I doubt they would last 5 seconds with 1,000º+ exhaust running through them! :vs_no_no_no:


----------



## cocobolo

Last Tuesday was the big carpet day. The installers didn't arrive until after 1 o'clock in the afternoon and left at 4. That wasn't supposed to happen, but it wasn't their fault.

They got most of the underlay and all of the smoothedge installed, and I helped for much of the time.

The next day, they brought the rest of the underlay that they were short the first day and two more rolls of carpet.

It did end up getting finished that day, and I must say it looks great. Plus I was able to learn several thing about installing carpet. Certainly enough that I know I don't want to do it by myself ever again.


----------



## cocobolo

The carpet delay caused a delay in my trip to the coast. But I was able to pick up the shortened driveshaft from Magnum in Kamloops on the way through. That was Friday morning last week.

First thing we did when I arrived at the boys house was to mow the grass, about four acres of it! With two riding mowers going full tilt, it took us about two hours to finish the job. Glad we don't have much grass at home.

Back in the shop, we started working on the floor of the '33 again. The back section was done by the time I got there, so we proceeded on with the rest of the floor pieces.

The original floor had sagged a fair bit in the middle, as I think you can see. So we added a piece of 3/4" square tube to it, and that got it straightened right up.


----------



## cocobolo

The hat section of the original floor frame had a big chunk removed at some time in its' previous life. So we bent up some steel and got that fixed first.


----------



## cocobolo

Next thing was to check the shifter mount to see what mods we needed to do there. It was close, but we still needed to cut out a small piece of the hat to get the back end of the shift plate to clear.


----------



## cocobolo

Next piece was the lower firewall. I made this out of 16 gauge metal, the rest was 18 ga.


----------



## cocobolo

Looks like the forgetful photographer missed a few steps. I should have a word with him about that.

Here the middle and front sections of floor are already in place, and it looks like we are fitting the new transmission tunnel.


----------



## cocobolo

Last night my ancient Mac seized up on me, so I couldn't finish up.

I made the transmission tunnel on the new English wheel. First time I've tried one of these guys, and I don't think it will be the last. It worked as advertised, just takes a little time.


----------



## cocobolo

Up at 5:45 this morning and spotted a deer in the back yard looking up towards the road. Nothing unusual, see this all the time.

An hour later, the deer was still there, but laying down in the long grass this time. OK, still not that unusual, except the deer usually will go through the property and head off up the hill within 15 or 20 minutes.

Look outside again three hours later, and the deer is still here. So I observed for several minutes and finally saw some movement in the long grass, which turned out to be a newborn Bambi.

At first the little one could barely walk, but within an hour it was doing well.

I have never seen this before and I thought I would share it with everyone. Both mama and baby are still outside as I am writing this. Enjoy!


----------



## 123pugsy

Now, that's quite cool Kieth.


----------



## drtbk4ever

Great pictures Keith? Any updates on the car?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## cocobolo

Happy Canada Day everyone!


----------



## cocobolo

Well now, firstly apologies for the considerable delay with any updates.

Val has obviously returned from her extended trip to Hungary and Ireland and she's still in one piece. Although her knee suffered considerably during the trip.

Her return to Calgary was mainly for the wedding of her niece Amber to her brand new husband Jay. The wedding was really quite spectacular and the happy couple looked...well...happy!


----------



## cocobolo

drtbk4ever said:


> Great pictures Keith? Any updates on the car?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


I have received a few pics from the boys, but as usual, I can't seem to transfer them from an email to here.

Not to worry too much though, we are on our way tomorrow morning to the coast where we will spend several days working on the car. Val will be looking after her medical stuff, including - we hope - picking up the electric scooter for when she gets the knee replacement done at the end of August.

I think the air conditioning system has arrived at the boys shop, along with some new seats for the car. It seems that the seats I got at auction are just a bit too tight, so another pair has been ordered and should be there by the time we arrive.

We still have one storage locker that is wasting over $100 a month, and now that the upstairs is all carpeted, we have started to bring the remaining furniture to the house. We will complete that little chore before the end of July. Val is having great fun arranging and re-arranging the furniture upstairs.

We expect to be back home late next Friday, so with a little luck I should be able to get caught up with some photos on the weekend. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Happy July 4th to all my great American friends on the DIY chatroom!


----------



## cocobolo

For the first time since 2003, a province wide state of emergency now exists in British Columbia. This is as a result of the wildfires which continue unchecked and now number over 200. The announcement was made by Todd Stone, our minister of transportation and infrastructure.

Bans on any sort of outside fire are in effect until October 2017.

The closest large fire to us is over on the other side of Kamloops near Savona, about 90 miles away. However, when we returned from the coast yesterday, the smoke was visible about 40 kilometres before we got to Kamloops and continued all the way home.

This morning, we are not able to see across the lake due to the dense smoke.

We are going to make up evacuation packs to take with us in the event that a fire starts here and an evacuation order is put into effect. That could well happen due to the intense heat here and absolutely zero chance of any rain for the 
foreseeable future. 

There are about 3,000 people under evac orders now, but that number is expected to increase as the wildfires grow in size and get closer to built up areas.

Hopefully we will not be affected, but it's better to be prepared than caught out is such a situation.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> For the first time since 2003, a province wide state of emergency now exists in British Columbia. This is as a result of the wildfires which continue unchecked and now number over 200. The announcement was made by Todd Stone, our minister of transportation and infrastructure.
> 
> Bans on any sort of outside fire are in effect until October 2017.
> 
> The closest large fire to us is over on the other side of Kamloops near Savona, about 90 miles away. However, when we returned from the coast yesterday, the smoke was visible about 40 kilometres before we got to Kamloops and continued all the way home.
> 
> This morning, we are not able to see across the lake due to the dense smoke.
> 
> We are going to make up evacuation packs to take with us in the event that a fire starts here and an evacuation order is put into effect. That could well happen due to the intense heat here and absolutely zero chance of any rain for the
> foreseeable future.
> 
> There are about 3,000 people under evac orders now, but that number is expected to increase as the wildfires grow in size and get closer to built up areas.
> 
> Hopefully we will not be affected, but it's better to be prepared than caught out is such a situation.


Holy @%$%$#&%!

Scary stuff Keith.:vs_OMG:


----------



## cocobolo

My mistake...there are now 7,000 people under evacuation order, and the number is expected to increase very substantially over the next day or two. It is changing by the hour.

The province will be receiving help from other firefighters in other provincial jurisdictions immediately. Not a good situation at all.


----------



## BigJim

Keith, I wish you had some of the rain we have been having. We have been watching the fires on our news. Maybe it would be a good idea if you could get your most prized things together and take them to a storage somewhere out of the danger zone. We have fires from time to time here in the mountains, it is not a good feeling. Be safe buddy, we will be watching.


----------



## Windows on Wash

Stay safe and we are praying for some rain for you guys.


----------



## drtbk4ever

Yes, stay safe Keith.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## jlhaslip

I saw a report on the Tee Vee about Ft Mac is sending supplies to BC as a thank you for the support they received last year.

Those bug-out packs sound like a good idea. 

How well treed is your property? Is there a safe margin between the house and the big trees? I recall the Insurance folks suggesting the distance needs to be X number of feet but don't remember the details. 

If you do a bug out, what about leaving a sprinkler running on your roof?

And as others have suggested, stay safe. Get out at the first sign of local troubles. No room for being a Hero in this case.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Keith, I wish you had some of the rain we have been having. We have been watching the fires on our news. Maybe it would be a good idea if you could get your most prized things together and take them to a storage somewhere out of the danger zone. We have fires from time to time here in the mountains, it is not a good feeling. Be safe buddy, we will be watching.


Hi Jim. If you can send the rain up this way, I'm sure that would be a real Godsend. Still no rain in the foreseeable future.

The smoke got even thicker today while we were working outside. I tried to take a photo of the red sun, which is what it looks like through all the smoke. If the pic turns out OK, I'll try posting it later. Apparently the Kamloops area (which we are included in) has the worst smoke, and people who are having difficulty breathing are advised to try breathing through a blanket.

I will say though, that the heat pump system that we had installed does a pretty good job of filtering the air. There's a big difference between the inside air and the outside air. You notice it as soon as you open a door.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to pick up another load from the storage locker over at Scotch Creek. I think we will go first thing in the morning before the heat of the day arrives.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> I saw a report on the Tee Vee about Ft Mac is sending supplies to BC as a thank you for the support they received last year.
> 
> Those bug-out packs sound like a good idea.
> 
> How well treed is your property? Is there a safe margin between the house and the big trees? I recall the Insurance folks suggesting the distance needs to be X number of feet but don't remember the details.
> 
> If you do a bug out, what about leaving a sprinkler running on your roof?
> 
> And as others have suggested, stay safe. Get out at the first sign of local troubles. No room for being a Hero in this case.


There are two or three trees fairly close to the house, but almost all have been removed. The lot below us, owned by the estate of Val's mum has been cleared, although there's lots of fuel on the ground. I can't even use a chainsaw here now, as their use is banned. I think we would be safe as far as trees go.

And one thing I learned when the big fire raged through Kelowna several years ago, was that asphalt shingle roofed houses didn't catch fire. It may sound strange, but that's what happened. Cedar shake roofs and metal roofs caught fire. If you're wondering why the metal roofed homes caught fire, it's because the metal transfers way too much heat through to the framing below...and up it goes.

If we get a visit from the police telling us to go, we know they give us 30 minutes to get out. So we have important papers, clothing supply, cans of drinks ready to go. We'll add the computers should we be forced to leave.

We are fortunate in having a fire hydrant right across the street from us. So in the event that the local fire department stays in the area, we may be OK. It's now boiling down to what resources are available. Because there are so many fires spread over hundreds of miles, they have to pick and choose the most urgent fires to direct the resources to.

If you have ever been up close and personal with a big forest fire, you know that it is VERY noisy, and you also know that it can throw big burning embers for a very considerable distance. That's the sort of thing that concerns us here.

Our local fire chief lives close by, just below us. And as long as his place stays safe, so will ours. That may be our ace in the hole.


----------



## cocobolo

15,000 people now displaced by forest fires. I wonder where it will all end.


----------



## lenaitch

And I heard tonight that about 10K are on standby in Williams Lake.

The one warning I heard about asphalt roofs is that they tend to trap needles and many people don't clean them.

Be safe.


----------



## cocobolo

lenaitch said:


> And I heard tonight that about 10K are on standby in Williams Lake.
> 
> The one warning I heard about asphalt roofs is that they tend to trap needles and many people don't clean them.
> 
> Be safe.


Yes, Williams Lake could be a real problem if they have to go. That's a lot of folks to find a roof for, even for a few weeks. But B.C. has a record of looking after their neighbours in times of need. We would house a small family here if it is necessary.

As for the needles, that's probably right. I can't say that I have noticed much on our roof, but that could be due to the big winds that we get here on a regular basis. Or the rain! One or t'other.

I expect to be re-doing the last side of the roof very soon, so I will get a first hand look to see what needles may be there. Actually, there are more birch trees close by than conifers.


----------



## cocobolo

After some delay, here's an unretouched photo of the sun on one of our smokey days. Happy to say that it is much improved since then with the southerly winds.

The Prince George area is suffering badly from much heavier smoke however. Now there are winds forecast up to 70 kilometers an hour which will cause more serious troubles for the firefighters.


----------



## cocobolo

While we were at the coast, there was some more work done on the '33. Not much of it shows up, except that when I arrived the body was now fenderless.

Prep work has started on the body with the wheel wells receiving some attention. I must admit I wouldn't have worried too much about the wheel wells, as the steel is still in excellent shape. Apparently that wasn't good enough for the boys, and they are filling and sanding any imperfections to get ready for paint.

Under the back of the body, where we put in the new floor, they also decided that the steel framing should be covered with more steel, to make it look smoother you understand. What will they come up with next?


----------



## cocobolo

They did have the steel welded in place before I left, but didn't get any pics of that yet.

They also decided that - due to the space taken up behind the dash with the air conditioning system - that the panel for the gauges would need to be moved forward somehow.

What they came up with was the idea to use some 1/2" thick aluminum plate and have the holes cut with a water jet. The outfit doing the cutting kept giving us excuses for their delays until I decided that we would go and pick up our piece of polished plate and have it cut elsewhere. Miraculously, they had it done in two hours!


----------



## cocobolo

My boys got me a custom painted tool box for Fathers' Day, painted by a Big Daddy Ed Roth licensed pinstriper. I have to say I was more than a little touched with their thoughtfulness. It looks better in person than in these photos.


----------



## cocobolo

We're going to need to budget our time carefully between now and the end of August when Val goes in for her new knee. Lots we want to get done before then, including getting the front part of the roof finished up.

We got started on that two days ago and we have some progress made.

Here's where we're starting.


----------



## calumingraining

Man that location is to die for, loving the view.


----------



## cocobolo

There never was any roof overhang on the front of this roof, so now I'm addressing that little problem once and for all.

We're going to add an 8' long section above the old roof and have it project by slightly over two feet.

Here I am drawing out the long taper on the new rafters. We need 22 of these.


----------



## cocobolo

calumingraining said:


> Man that location is to die for, loving the view.


Thanks...now that the smoke has receded we have our view back again! Although I see this morning there is quite a haze out there. I think that is to be expected until all the forest fires are extinguished.

One of the bigger fires has now exceeded 100,000 acres in size.


----------



## calumingraining

cocobolo said:


> Thanks...now that the smoke has receded we have our view back again! Although I see this morning there is quite a haze out there. I think that is to be expected until all the forest fires are extinguished.
> 
> One of the bigger fires has now exceeded 100,000 acres in size.


Damn, that really sucks. All the wood 

Are you a woodworker by trade cocobolo?


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> My boys got me a custom painted tool box for Fathers' Day, painted by a Big Daddy Ed Roth licensed pinstriper. I have to say I was more than a little touched with their thoughtfulness. It looks better in person than in these photos.


That is too cool buddy, you are a good dad, and it shows. I know you are proud of your sons also. That is one special tool box, are you really going to put tools in it? :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

calumingraining said:


> Damn, that really sucks. All the wood
> 
> Are you a woodworker by trade cocobolo?


You could say that. My Granddad helped me with my very first wood project when I was just six years old. More or less been working with wood ever since.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> That is too cool buddy, you are a good dad, and it shows. I know you are proud of your sons also. That is one special tool box, are you really going to put tools in it? :smile:


Hi Jim. Well the boys seem to think that I should put tools in it for use strictly with the '33. But I would hate to even think about putting a scratch on it. Maybe if I line it with some sort of protective material on the inside...

I'll have to think about that.


----------



## cocobolo

Working on the roof this morning...started early and we'll have to get off the roof shortly past noon. It's just too hot up there in the heat of the day.

I have all the new rafters on and we just finished the sheathing. Now have to find either a membrane, or good old fashioned tarpaper before I get the shingles on.

The two foot overhang makes all the difference in the world in the appearance, not to mention that it will protect the new siding far better than before.


----------



## jlhaslip

Pictures would be great.

Stay hydrated.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Pictures would be great.
> 
> Stay hydrated.


We're off the roof now until this evening, when we hope it will be much cooler.

Had plenty of water, but the heat coming off even the roofing felt was insane. Val has taken a few pics.

Got some not so good news this morning from the neighbour across the road. It seems that there are now three new forest fires burning not too far over the mountain behind us. We cannot see any smoke from these fires as the wind direction is blowing the smoke north. As long as it stays that way we're OK.


----------



## jlhaslip

Go rent a houseboat and spend a week out in the middle of the lake.
Move around according to the smoke patterns.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Go rent a houseboat and spend a week out in the middle of the lake.
> Move around according to the smoke patterns.


Not a bad idea. Unfortunately it won't get the roof done!


----------



## cocobolo

It seems that I spoke too soon about the forest fire smoke. It's back today with a vengeance.

The wind direction has changed again and we have seen the choppers criss crossing the lake and heading over the mountain behind us.

This was the scene early this morning.


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday, when we had nice clear skies, we got the new rafters up. Here I'm attaching a stringline to one of the two end rafters in order to try and get the roof straight. 

If you've read my earlier remarks about the framing on this place, you know that nothing is either straight or plumb.


----------



## cocobolo

More from yesterday. Getting the rafters and fascia installed.

Val got on to the staining as soon as the new fascia was up. Easier to stain now than after the shingles are on.


----------



## cocobolo

There's not a lot of difference between the angle of the new roof and the old one. But to ensure that there was a smooth transition between the two, I put a taper on the top edge of the OSB sheets which ended up running in quite seamlessly.


----------



## cocobolo

And by the end of the day we had the new section all shingled.


----------



## cocobolo

This morning we stripped off the upper half of the old roofing, laid the new roofing felt and got the new shingles all completed.

Val just couldn't resist coming up on the roof and "helping". 

Now you get to compare the old and new roofs.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> This morning we stripped off the upper half of the old roofing, laid the new roofing felt and got the new shingles all completed.
> 
> Val just couldn't resist coming up on the roof and "helping".
> 
> Now you get to compare the old and new roofs.


Man you are unbelievable, I don't see how you just keep going like you do, amazing.


----------



## 123pugsy

BigJim said:


> Man you are unbelievable, I don't see how you just keep going like you do, amazing.


X2...I used to go like that until about age 50. Man, Keith is like 40 years older than that and he still does it...wow...:surprise:


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> X2...I used to go like that until about age 50. Man, Keith is like 40 years older than that and he still does it...wow...:surprise:


Hey, hey, hey....I'm only 75 this year, not 90! :vs_OMG:

Does this mean I have to go another 15 years at this pace? Good grief Charlie Brown, I don't think I'll make it if I have to keep working like this.

Today we move the load of old roofing to the dump, then pick up a load of furniture from the storage locker on the way home.

I think the next major chore will be to start on the siding. We have rough 1 x 6 cedar here, in long lengths. Have to make a setup for ripping, planing and moulding next. Or maybe it will be the new roof over the carport....


----------



## cocobolo

Some bad news for the Williams Lake folks...they are now under an evacuation order. Everyone is hoping for a change in the wind direction, then maybe it will improve. 

The latest total for evacuees that I read this morning is now 36,000. Still no rain in the 7 day forecast, yet ironically, we had two brief but heavy rain showers here yesterday while we were doing the roof. Figures. :vs_mad:


----------



## 123pugsy

The rain is all over here this year.
Wow. I could hear the water just running into my sump yesterday.

Now I know how people living in Vancouver and Seattle feel....

I'd like to share it you guys and the fires.


----------



## NotyeruncleBob

123pugsy said:


> The rain is all over here this year.
> Wow. I could hear the water just running into my sump yesterday.
> 
> Now I know how people living in Vancouver and Seattle feel....
> 
> I'd like to share it you guys and the fires.


It hasn't rained here in Seattle in a month. 15 day forecast says 0% rain. That's actually pretty typical for the summer here. Everyday is about 70-80 and clear sunshine. Then the switch flips in September and it drizzles till spring. That's pretty much ideal conditions for fires...water all the undergrowth for kindling all winter and then really dry it out in the spring/summer.


----------



## cocobolo

NotyeruncleBob said:


> It hasn't rained here in Seattle in a month. 15 day forecast says 0% rain. That's actually pretty typical for the summer here. Everyday is about 70-80 and clear sunshine. Then the switch flips in September and it drizzles till spring. That's pretty much ideal conditions for fires...water all the undergrowth for kindling all winter and then really dry it out in the spring/summer.


Here in the Shuswap lake area, our normal daytime highs are steady in the mid 30ºC range, let's say 35ºC, which is about 95ºF. We often see higher temperatures than that locally, which really dries everything out very quickly.

Our monsoon season often doesn't start until well into October, and perhaps that is why we are now under a complete outdoor burning ban until mid October of this year.

You guys in Seattle are fortunate in that you have a big ocean to moderate your temperatures. I spent many years living on the coast on one of the small Gulf Islands. I don't ever remember the usual daytime highs getting anywhere near what they do in the southern interior of B.C. Nor the winter lows getting as cold either.

The smoke is still very much in evidence here today. Fortunately, the wind has calmed down somewhat.

I see most of the big fires are still consuming acres of forest at an alarming rate.


----------



## lenaitch

cocobolo said:


> Still no rain in the 7 day forecast, yet ironically, we had two brief but heavy rain showers here yesterday while we were doing the roof. Figures. :vs_mad:


I think what needs to happen is for the entire province to start a project like roofing or exterior painting. If you have my luck, it will pour as soon as you start.

A former colleague of mine took a job in Port Moody for a few years. Not being from the 'left coast' he never did get used to the rainy season - not always a lot, just always. The interior could use some of that right now.

Be safe.


----------



## cocobolo

lenaitch said:


> I think what needs to happen is for the entire province to start a project like roofing or exterior painting. If you have my luck, it will pour as soon as you start.
> 
> A former colleague of mine took a job in Port Moody for a few years. Not being from the 'left coast' he never did get used to the rainy season - not always a lot, just always. The interior could use some of that right now.
> 
> Be safe.


Well, we did the best we could to make it rain. 

Just as soon as I get some siding made up Val can start staining. That should do it.

I hear another chopper going over right now, one of several today again.


----------



## cocobolo

Sad to say that the forest fire situation has worsened once again this morning.

Todd Stone announced this morning that there are now 40,000+ people displaced by the fires.

There is a small possibility of rain later this week, but the coast mountains are expected to intercept most of it. Very little rain, if any, is expected to make it to the fire zones.

We still cannot see down to the lake here this morning. I have heard a couple of choppers go over this morning already, presumably headed to the fires behind us. I'll keep you posted.


----------



## BigJim

Buddy I hope the rain will get there and knock the fires out, that is scary. What part of Shuswap lake are you closest to, if you don't mind my asking?


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Buddy I hope the rain will get there and knock the fires out, that is scary. What part of Shuswap lake are you closest to, if you don't mind my asking?


Jim, we are very close, less than two miles away from Magna Bay, which is right on the lake itself. On one of the north arms.

Anglemont itself, where we are, is also directly on the lake. In fact it has a marina where people can moor their boats. I don't think there is a marina at Magna Bay.

We are 22 kilometres east of Scotch Creek, another community on the lake.

We are roughly opposite Blind Bay, which is on the south side of the lake from us.

I would say that we are less than 1 kilometre in a straight line directly up from the lake. Straight up the side of the mountain.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Jim, we are very close, less than two miles away from Magna Bay, which is right on the lake itself. On one of the north arms.
> 
> Anglemont itself, where we are, is also directly on the lake. In fact it has a marina where people can moor their boats. I don't think there is a marina at Magna Bay.
> 
> We are 22 kilometres east of Scotch Creek, another community on the lake.
> 
> We are roughly opposite Blind Bay, which is on the south side of the lake from us.
> 
> I would say that we are less than 1 kilometre in a straight line directly up from the lake. Straight up the side of the mountain.


I just did a google map street view and went up Squilax-Anglemont Rd, man it is beautiful up your way. I saw some places that looked familiar from some of the pictures you posted when the bad storm went through there, at least they looked like some of the places you posted.

One of our grandsons is stationed in Tacoma WA, not too awful far from you.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I just did a google map street view and went up Squilax-Anglemont Rd, man it is beautiful up your way. I saw some places that looked familiar from some of the pictures you posted when the bad storm went through there, at least they looked like some of the places you posted.
> 
> One of our grandsons is stationed in Tacoma WA, not too awful far from you.


Jim, the Squilax-Anglemont Highway runs from the point where we turn off the main highway right to the tiny hamlet of St. Ives. I think our local highway is about 50 kilometres (30 miles) long.

From there, the road turns into a logging road, and you are required to have radio contact with the company in order to travel safely on that road. If a logging truck is coming at you fully loaded, and you don't get out of his way, it's YOUR fault, not his.

Yes, I'm sure you would have seen some of the spots that got hit by that storm, Jim. I will see if I can get a few shots from where we turn off the highway and head over the bridge towards home. Then it is through Lee Creek, Scotch Creek, Celista, Magna Bay and then home.


----------



## BigJim

Buddy, if it is the bridge I saw, that was beautiful, not many bridges down this way that sharp. I will look forward to the pictures.


----------



## cocobolo

The scooter people had Val's new toy delivered to Scotch Creek yesterday. So we took the small trailer over and picked it up.

We both thought that it would be possible to just drive it onto the trailer, but as it turned out it was in a crate and strapped to a pallet.

Good thing they have a forklift at the Home Hardware store where it was dropped off.

Anyway, here's Val showing off on her new hot rod! :smile:


----------



## jlhaslip

You will need a trailer for the car when the boys get done with it.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> You will need a trailer for the car when the boys get done with it.


I have a dual axle trailer here...but the car should be running under its' own power by the time we're finished.

The only thing I would want to do would be to make sure that it is a good weather day all the way from the coast to home before I made the drive. After all that work, I wouldn't want to mess the car up.

And as of today, I don't have any idea when the car will be roadworthy, mainly because the boys insist on adding something new every week. And all these neat little tricks take time.


----------



## cocobolo

Are you ready for this?

Seven hundred and fifty thousand acres of forest are ablaze in B.C. Incredible.

We've had some rain here (not much) over the past 36 hours or so, and when we were in Kamloops yesterday, there was a torrential downpour for a short while. Not a single person complained about the rain!

I haven't been able to find out if any of the rain made it through to the larger fire areas.


----------



## cocobolo

It is Monday evening as I write this, just got our internet connection back again.

Yesterday was quite the day.

Started out early in the morning with a bunch of airplanes flying directly over the house here. Every few minutes, it sounded like a formation was coming over us.

Went outside to check what all the noise was about, and it was four water bombers. They followed each other at short intervals, between 10 and 15 seconds each. At first we thought they were doing some sort of practice runs, but when it had been going on for more than an hour, it was obviously something different.

Turned out that there was a wildfire burning on a ridge just over at St.Ives, about 5 miles away. We have since seen video of the fire and of the bombers dropping their water loads.

They kept this up for about five hours non-stop, making a pass about every 6 minutes. They stopped flying over just before 1 o'clock in the afternoon. We assumed (never do that!) that the fire was out.

Apparently, it was under control at that point, but later on just before 6 p.m. yesterday, we had a huge windstorm came through that was even worse than the tornado that came through last September. The high winds lasted for a full hour and caused more massive damage. Four minutes after the wind came up, we lost power. Didn't get it back until shortly before 1 this afternoon. Luckily, we have a generator here and were able to hook up the fridge and freezer and some rudimentary lighting.

It should go without saying that the wind lit the fire up again, and this morning the water bombers were back in action. Last we heard was that the local fire department has stationed a fire truck right on the road at St. Ives opposite the last house. The fire is within one kilometre of the road, but is still apparently being contained. There is no evac order yet, but it could happen at any minute for the St. Ives folks.

B.C. Hydro had at least six big trucks out overnight and very early this morning to replace the broken power poles down at Magna Bay, the same area that took the brunt of last years' storm. I don't know which crews had to clear the highway, but it was closed for several hours.

We have heard various reports of trees down (we have two more down) plus trees landing on RV's at Magna Bay and here. Several houses had trees land on them, but I haven't heard any specific reports of damage.

We did get down to our storage locker at Scotch Creek and have that cleared out at long last.

I tried to take pics of the water bombers...we'll see if they came out OK later. These planes were from Alberta, as all the B.C. resources have been deployed elsewhere.


----------



## jlhaslip

Glad to hear that you are okay.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Glad to hear that you are okay.


Yep, we're still good here. But right after I did the last post our internet went out again. Came back on after dinner tonight.

Apparently there were more power poles down around the St. Ives area, and Mascon - our ISP - isn't allowed to fix their lines until after B.C.Hydro is done.

So when Val called them this morning they were unable to say how long the fix would take.

We drove over to St. Ives some time after 6 this evening, and there are still two choppers dropping water on that fire. It looks to us like it has now come over the ridge and is quite close to the houses. I will say definitely less than one kilometre away. Didn't see any flames, just a lot of smoke.

Took some pics, but my auto focus has stopped working on the Canon...no idea why. I'll check see if anything came out or not.


----------



## cocobolo

When we went in to Scotch Creek yesterday, this was just one of a number of Hydro crews that we saw. The fallen trees have all been cleared off the main roads, just a few of the side roads still to clean up.


----------



## cocobolo

These are three of the four water bombers that came over our place yesterday. I didn't think to adjust the brightness until the last pic. You might be able to read the plane ID's on the last one.

By the time I took pics, the fourth aircraft had stopped coming over here.


----------



## cocobolo

Around noon today, we had another materials delivery from the House of Pot. Looks like a lot more work for me.

We're going to try extending the lower deck outside the kitchen. This is more or less so that I can build a place to get the siding milled. We've been yapping about this for ages, time to get off it and do the job.

Then I'm going to see if I can rig a set of steps just outside the back door down to the driveway. As it is now, we take our life in our hands scrambling down some unstable and slippery ground to get there. Plus it will be much shorter to get to the pool for our afternoon dips on some of these hot days.

Temperatures in the low 30's C all week.

Then I really should get a roof over that excuse for a carport. There's no footings under the 6 x 6 supports, just pier blocks, and the south corner is very obviously too low. So I guess I will be starting with new concrete there and adding some sort of proper walls to keep the new roof from falling down.

The the top deck outside the bedroom and living room needs to be finished up, so I now have the framing lumber and plywood for that. Still have not decided which vinyl we will be using.

And lastly the back end of the workshop needs to have the foundation completed, walls and roof added and an extra exit door.

We should be getting delivery of a load of navajack tomorrow morning to start making concrete.


----------



## cocobolo

Like I said, the auto focus doesn't want to work on the Canon, so these are manually focused...sort of.

The chopper goes down right close to the water, drops a big hose looking thing down and sucks up a load of water to drop on the fire. Only takes him around 15 seconds or so. Different from the old water buckets.

Then a couple taken right off the road by the last houses at St. Ives. No telephoto here, that smoke is blowing right down to the lake. Makes you cough right away.


----------



## cocobolo

Bright and early this morning I got started on the deck extension outside the kitchen.

By the end of the day we made it. Had to take a break during the hottest part of the day, it was showing 36ºC in the shade here.


----------



## cocobolo

Our load of navajack arrived around 11 this morning. We couldn't quite bend the dump truck around the corner enough to get the load exactly where we wanted it. Looks like I'm going to have to hand bomb a few yards over closer to the bank.

I might see if there's any way that the excavator could do the job, although the room is very limited as it sits now.

One thing is for sure...it means plenty more work for me again. :vs_OMG:


----------



## cocobolo

Another exciting day on the wildfire front again.

Early this morning we heard some different aircraft racing over our place.

They looked just like oversized float planes. But it turned out that they were a different breed of water bomber.

There were six of them this time. They were very noisy and very fast compared to the bigger aircraft that were here before.

They seem to operate in the same fashion, that is they go in one right after the other in line and do their coordinated drop.

They stayed about three hours this morning, then came back again later in the afternoon and stayed until close to 7 pm this evening. I notice that they like to do the drop with the sun behind them.


----------



## lenaitch

cocobolo said:


> Another exciting day on the wildfire front again.
> 
> Early this morning we heard some different aircraft racing over our place.
> 
> They looked just like oversized float planes. But it turned out that they were a different breed of water bomber.


It's a 'Fire Boss' made by Air Tractor. They're a variant of an aircraft that was originally designed for crop dusting. They're a dedicated-role aircraft: just a fuselage, engine, cockpit and amphib. floats.


----------



## BigJim

Man, that is a good looking plane.


----------



## cocobolo

lenaitch said:


> It's a 'Fire Boss' made by Air Tractor. They're a variant of an aircraft that was originally designed for crop dusting. They're a dedicated-role aircraft: just a fuselage, engine, cockpit and amphib. floats.


Yes, that's the ones! They zip across the water pretty quickly when they are picking up. Neat to watch them, especially when six of them are following one another.

Thanks for the photo. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday we started on the small deck extension for the stairs to go down to the driveway.

Got the deck portion built out from the back door and we have installed a couple of temporary supports for the outboard end of the deck.

Cobbled together a 4' by 4' form for the concrete pad on which to land the stairs. Just as the last load for the pad was mixing in the machine, the motor decided that was enough and quit.

So we hightailed it over to Salmon Arm to pick up another mixer...still in pieces in a box in the back of my van. Maybe this evening when it cools down I will put it together.

Got the stringers all worked out this morning, on paper anyway, and after cutting them out Val has put two coats of preservative thereon.


----------



## jlhaslip

Plan on gluing the treads into place? PL400 is wonderful stuff.
I usually predrill the screw holes for the treads from the inside so they don't miss when you line them up from the outside after assembly.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Plan on gluing the treads into place? PL400 is wonderful stuff.
> I usually predrill the screw holes for the treads from the inside so they don't miss when you line them up from the outside after assembly.


Just 3" screws, five on each side of the treads. I'm always afraid that something like PL400 will tend to hold water. 

I've also been drilling the holes from the inside for several years. First time I showed that was on my old Gulf Island thread.


----------



## cocobolo

Well, would you look at this...

Issued at 18:45 Saturday 29 July 2017
Smoke is causing poor air quality and reducing visibility. Smoke is expected or occurring.

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, in collaboration with the Interior and Northern Health Authorities, has issued a Smoky Skies Bulletin for North Thompson, South Thompson, Shuswap, 100 Mile, Cariboo (North and South), and Chilcotin due to wildfire smoke.

Smoke concentrations will vary widely as winds, fire behaviour and temperatures change.

Avoid strenuous outdoor activities. If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, contact your health care provider: difficulty in breathing, chest pain or discomfort, and sudden onset of cough or irritation of airways. Exposure is particularly a concern for infants, the elderly and those who have underlying medical conditions such as diabetes, and lung or heart disease.

This bulletin will remain in effect until further notice.

So now the government is suggesting that I'm "elderly", the nerve of those so and so's.

It's quite hazy looking over the lake this evening, but it has sure been an awful lot worse before.

Just a single chopper working on the wildfire at St. Ives today. I honestly thought that it would have been put out by now. But when you walk through any of the bush here, you realize just how tinder dry it really is. No rain in the forecast.....


----------



## jlhaslip

We have had a few sprinkles here and wondered if you had gotten any.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> We have had a few sprinkles here and wondered if you had gotten any.


We wish...wouldn't that be nice. Not just to cool things down, but to actually dampen the ground a little.


----------



## drtbk4ever

We are down in Osoyoos this week. This morning the wind started blowing from the North and brought in the smoke from the fires in the northern BC. It is thick enough that it stings the eyes. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


----------



## cocobolo

drtbk4ever said:


> We are down in Osoyoos this week. This morning the wind started blowing from the North and brought in the smoke from the fires in the northern BC. It is thick enough that it stings the eyes.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


I believe you.

Trouble is, after awhile you start getting used to the smoke. The smell is completely embedded throughout the house now, similar to when you go into a burned out building.

The sun here is still red, especially at the end of the day when it shines through more smoke.


----------



## cocobolo

Some success on the stair front today.

We got the job done before the heat of the day slowed us down.

Then later I dug out two more holes and added concrete and saddles for yet another deck extension. Tough digging in this hard, dry ground.

The lady of the mansion wanted a skinny little 4' wide deck added under the library window so she could put two tiny portable greenhouses there. That was strictly an afterthought.

Rather than do that, I asked if she might not prefer to make the extra part the same width as we made for the stairs. That way we would have a useful size deck instead of a glorified walkway.

"Great idea" says she. Hence the heavy duty concrete work.


----------



## jlhaslip

Man, you stay busy. Nice work.

I usually "square off" the bottom of the stair stringers with a plumb cut that matches the rise so there is no tripping hazard there.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Man, you stay busy. Nice work.
> 
> I usually "square off" the bottom of the stair stringers with a plumb cut that matches the rise so there is no tripping hazard there.


Sometimes I will do that, and others not. This time I chose to leave it alone.

If it was inside, I'd most likely chop the bottom off, but outside, I think it looks better and there's no lack of room on the pad either. If I trip over it, it could be chainsaw time! :devil3:


----------



## jlhaslip

cocobolo said:


> Sometimes I will do that, and others not. This time I chose to leave it alone.
> 
> If it was inside, I'd most likely chop the bottom off, but outside, I think it looks better and there's no lack of room on the pad either. If I trip over it, it could be chainsaw time! :devil3:


I know what you mean. 
I have to re-train my feet every time I get new shoes.


----------



## cocobolo

Another pretty good building day here today, despite the smoke.

We drove in to Scotch Creek early this morning and picked up all the pressure treated wood that we needed for the new deck extension outside the library.

We did have to break again in the early afternoon due to the heat, but by late evening, around 8:30, we had the deck done. I just have to rip one board to go up against the house.

Then we celebrated by having not one, but TWO desserts on the new deck.

Val is really tickled pink with this one.


----------



## harmonieschulte

Looks awesome!


----------



## cocobolo

Looks like I'm going to be a somewhat unwilling recipient of no less than SIX of Val's relatives arriving tomorrow for five days.

Yesterday we both had a panic day trying to get most of the weeds out of the mid level driveway here...that was just to make it "look better" for the kids???

This morning - early - we were off to Kamloops to do a big grocery shop to feed this hungry mob. 

While we were there Val decided that we should stain the new deck and stairs BEFORE the mob arrives tomorrow sometime around noon. Thanks for the warning honey! OK, bop over to the House of Pot and pick out a stain to do the job. And not to forget the three new blinds to be picked up...couldn't get them earlier because the machine that cuts the blinds to width was broken for several weeks. Apparently it was just a blown fuse in the on/off switch...and nobody could figure that one out!

So it looks like I will be burning the late evening oil trying to get the staining done. The Lady of the mansion has 1,000 things that she wants to get done inside, you know, so it "looks better" for the kids! Oh well, whaddayagonnado?


----------



## gma2rjc

It'll be a fun 5 days Keith!


----------



## jlhaslip

Free labour!!!

What's on the list of To Do's?


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> It'll be a fun 5 days Keith!


For who? :surprise:


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Free labour!!!
> 
> What's on the list of To Do's?


There's two guys coming up, late 30's, macho clowns. Don't worry, I've got lots of heavy stuff for them to move for us. They'll be tired out by two in the afternoon. That'll teach 'em! :devil3:


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday got the deck and stairs stained...almost got it done before the mob arrived.

I'm going to need a handrail on the stairs PDQ just to keep things at least somewhat safe for the two grand daughters.

The mob is headed down to the lake this morning so I will see what materials I have laying around for that. Anything temporary will be better than nothing.


----------



## cocobolo

I did get a handrail done on the stairs outside...somehow I didn't manage to get a pic. Tomorrow for that I guess.

The macho guys still haven't moved anything...gotta get on their case tomorrow for sure. They all went to the local golf course today and made fools of themselves in the smoke. "Too tired" to do anything when they came back.

Tomorrow the girls are all going to the local winery at Celista. Leaving the macho dudes at home here.

Here's the campground they have set up here. You should see the size of the tents these kids have today! You could hold a dance inside! For comparison, the round pool is 12 feet across.


----------



## cocobolo

Happy to say that our macho visitors got all the windows moved yesterday with one exception. It's so big and heavy that I'm going to need to disassemble the window before we can move it. I will try and do that today. If they are gone before I get the window apart, well, I guess Val and I will have to move it by ourselves.

It took four van loads to get all the windows and glass moved down below...sure am glad that little chore is over with. :smile:


----------



## jlhaslip

Did you get any rain over the weekend? Had a few drops here.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Did you get any rain over the weekend? Had a few drops here.


No rain at all. 

Still very smoky here, from time to time we may be able to make out the lake down below...all depends on which way the smoke is drifting.

However, the latest forecast is for possible thundershowers later this week. All we can hope for is that the lightning doesn't start more fires.

The mob will be leaving today, so peace and quiet will reign again.

Actually, one of the guys is a full blown chef, just a great cook. So we put him to work cooking all the breakfasts and dinners. I'm going to miss that part for sure, but I did manage to learn a few tricks while he was here. 

Gaining a pound a day was the downer part...but the food sure was excellent! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Oh Boy...I'm glad the family left earlier this afternoon, as the smoke has now got to be the thickest we have ever seen it. 

I'm going to check on what the current wildfire situation is...haven't updated for a few days now. This is pretty bad.

Val is going down to the coast next Monday, so she will be getting some respite from this bad air situation. She's taking a well earned rest now after all the hectic action for the last five days! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

I don't think I should have checked.

What they call the Elephant fire is now closing in on 300,000 acres. 462 firefighters, something like 30 aircraft and 108 pieces of heavy equipment are now involved with this fire. It is still not under control.

The fire at Angle Mountain (that's us) is listed as "under control" and is a mere 20 acres. Barely enough to have a decent barbecue. :vs_OMG:


----------



## gma2rjc

I sure do hope they can get the fires under control soon Keith. 

Why did they name it the Elephant fire?


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> I sure do hope they can get the fires under control soon Keith.
> 
> Why did they name it the Elephant fire?


This fire has been out of control for about a month now...so realistically, I think it's going to take some heavy rain to put it out. :vs_rain:

As for the name, I think there's a spot there called Elephant Hill. If that's not it, then maybe because it's so damn big! I honestly don't know. :confused1:


----------



## cocobolo

Finally had a chance to take a couple of pics of the handrail. Plus I managed to get it stained as well. One thing about all this heat is that the stain dries in nothing flat.


----------



## BigJim

Blame, did the folks take the swimming pool with them, I don't see it in the pictures.


----------



## 123pugsy

Hard to put out fires when you got some real schmucks in your hood............... https://www.theweathernetwork.com/c...ect-caught-on-camera/sharevideo/5536758876001


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Blame, did the folks take the swimming pool with them, I don't see it in the pictures.


No, it's still here Jim. But we could never get them to put the cover back on after they used it. So now we have to drain the pool again.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Hard to put out fires when you got some real schmucks in your hood............... https://www.theweathernetwork.com/c...ect-caught-on-camera/sharevideo/5536758876001


Hard to believe, isn't it?

I can't imagine how low this idiots' IQ must be.


----------



## cocobolo

I think we must have had the rough cedar to make the siding from for something like two years. Today we were able to start on the thicknessing process.

Some pretty long boards here, a few over 20' long.

We did get everything off the trailer and moved down the lower driveway by using the van. Way too far to try and carry by hand.

We did get everything planed, both sides as well. 

One thing I don't care for about Woodmiser sawmills is that they have a tendency to cut at different thicknesses on the automatic setting. Kind of plays havoc when you need all the boards to be the same.

So what we did today, so far, was to run all the boards through the planer until one side was cleaned up and the second side more or less done. It doesn't matter that much, as the unfinished side - if indeed there is one - will be the back side of the siding board anyway.

Tomorrow, I'm going to check on the thickness of all the boards and separate them into piles within 1/16" of each other. I'm sure there will be at least three piles, as the boards started out rough anywhere from 11/16" right up to 1 1/16", quite a variation. Once separated, I can use all of one thickness for any given wall. But it would be a nightmare trying to use random thicknesses on the same wall.

So here's some of the pics of todays' efforts.


----------



## jlhaslip

Are you doing board on board or board and batten?


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Are you doing board on board or board and batten?


Making a channel siding, very similar to what I did on the Ruxton Island house, except this time the boards are much wider. I'll be putting it on horizontally.


----------



## cocobolo

We cleared a pathway in the workshop today, so that we could pull out all the rough siding boards that we had put in there at least a year ago. At least they are all nice and dry, whereas some of the wood on the trailer was surprisingly wet.

Got about half the wood out so far and I will start on the planing tomorrow. Most of the wood looks pretty good. Still debating on the pattern that we are going to cut for the channel.

Finished thicknesses are varying between 5/8" - just a few of those - and right up to 1 full inch. Most are 11/16" to 7/8". We have them in different piles, and once we are done planing all the wood so that both sides are more or less OK, I think I will run each of the different sizes through one more time to make sure we have enough of each to cover a respectable area.

Lots of physical work and it is still warm and smoky here. Not exactly ideal working conditions. Really looking forward to getting the first siding on a wall! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Quickie updates...

The Elephant Hill fire has now grown to 160,000 hectares, or about 400,000 acres. The winds of the past few days are blowing the fire in the direction of Kamloops. It's still a long way off, but when we were in Kamloops today the smoke was pretty bad...and when we arrived home this evening the smoke had reached here as well. So much for our two half decent days.

All the 1 x 6 cedar has now been planed on both sides and I have decided that everything will go down to 3/4" maximum. Quite a few boards will be 11/16" or possibly less.

Some time back Val decided to see how good Apple keyboards are and tested mine with a cup of coffee. Score: Coffee 1, keyboard 0.

Picked up one of these new fangled solar powered wireless keyboards this afternoon. I like it so far, this is my first typing with it.

Val leaves for the coast tomorrow morning, all medical stuff again. Nothing too serious this time. Both her hearing aids broke within a day of each other, and you would think that I am giving her "what for" when I talk to her now. I have to really speak up and talk slowly so she can hear most of what I'm saying.


----------



## cocobolo

My Oh My...five days and no updates.

Well, the hearing aid outfit "fixed" Val's aids, but as soon as she put them on, one of them quit. So much for that. Now they have sent the broken one back to the manufacturer in Ontario to get repaired...we hope!

All the cedar is planed down to a maximum of 3/4" now. One edge has been ripped so that I can now use the dado blade to make the rabbets on the siding boards.

Tried one long board, and it ran so far off the runoff table that I couldn't hold the end against the saw table properly because of the leverage. So had to make another runoff table to try and alleviate that little glitch. Got that done just before dark this evening, so tomorrow morning I should be able to wake the neighbours up with a screaming table saw. With a bit of luck I might be able to get all 130 or so boards cut. I'm expecting that will take just about all day. Wish me luck. :smile:


----------



## 123pugsy

Good luck with that.

Any rain yet?


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Good luck with that.
> 
> Any rain yet?


Thanks Pugsy. Not a drop of rain yet.

Yesterday it was reasonably clear here, which only means that I could see across the lake. This morning it is VERY hazy and there's no breeze. So it looks like the same old story of the smoke drifting lazily from west to east again.

Heading outside to get to work now. :smile:


----------



## lenaitch

I've been meaning to ask if there is any thought out there that the magnitude of the fire season this year is at least partly a result of the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation BC had a few years ago. I know it left a lot of standing dead timber. I haven't any reference to it on any news coverage but admittedly haven't been following it that closely. Or is it just plain hot and dry?


----------



## cocobolo

lenaitch said:


> I've been meaning to ask if there is any thought out there that the magnitude of the fire season this year is at least partly a result of the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation BC had a few years ago. I know it left a lot of standing dead timber. I haven't any reference to it on any news coverage but admittedly haven't been following it that closely. Or is it just plain hot and dry?


That's probably a damn good question.

Most of the fires I've seen which had some up close pictures or video seemed to have healthy trees. There are huge areas out here where the pine beetle has ravaged huge tracts of forest. When that happens, you can see right away that the trees are done for.

In those areas, you will see thousands of dead trees which have fallen down, or been blown over by wind. There is no green on them at all. That would make for a super hot fire and I doubt anything would be able to get it out.

Now, oddly enough, when I opened my big mouth about "No Rain" this morning, no sooner had I said the words but we had a shower. Just a very light one mind you, and it only lasted a few minutes. It has been mostly sunny and warm since then.


----------



## lenaitch

Thanks. I heard they were trying to harvest some of the standing dead timber since it has some limited commercial value but there is just so much of it around and I have to believe it is more risky to work around with large harvesting equipment.



cocobolo said:


> . . .
> 
> Now, oddly enough, when I opened my big mouth about "No Rain" this morning, no sooner had I said the words but we had a shower. Just a very light one mind you, and it only lasted a few minutes. It has been mostly sunny and warm since then.
> 
> . . .


Well, there's your solution - you and the missus (and the neighbours) need to get into a regular "rain" mantra routine. :biggrin2:


----------



## cocobolo

They have actually been harvesting these trees for many years now. In fact, the big skating rink in Richmond, built for the 2010 Olympics if my fading memory is right, was constructed from that wood. Or at least the roof was made of beetle killed wood.

There are several operations that are milling this wood to this day. I think they are mostly small portable mill type setups, but done under the auspices of the Forestry Department.

Personally, I think they should get hundreds of small mills going out there rather than let this resource just go to waste.

There is nothing wrong with the wood as far as strength goes, it is just discoloured. Has a sort of blue-green stain running through it.

In order to kill the pine beetle larvae, the temperature needs to go down to -15ºC for a period of six weeks. And right there has been the problem. It has been too warm.


----------



## jlhaslip

When the Pine Beetle started killing trees over in the Eastern part of BC when I was living there, the Pine Beetle wood was not preferred due to the staining but after using it on several projects and having the blue stained wood presented as a finished product, people started to like it after a while. And the strength was not affected at all. 
Built a few projects out of it. Decks, Porch covers, tool sheds. It looks great as a finished product.

Glad to hear you got a little bit of wetness. Hopefully more is coming your way, but without the thunder boomers.


----------



## cocobolo

I don't think we had more than a cupful of rain today. Possibility of a small amount of rain next Thursday. But their forecasting record is anything but stellar for this area.

They seem to get that it's light in the daytime and dark at night, but that's about it. :vs_unimpressed:


----------



## cocobolo

Don't forget to take a peek at the solar eclipse tomorrow.

I have a special Ca-k telescope, but unfortunately I don't have a mount for it. The darn scope has never been used!

So I will pull out my 10" Dob for which I have a white light solar filter. May even see some sunspots if there are any.

I think BigJim should get an excellent view of the eclipse.

Anyone else going to be near the path of totality? :vs_bulb:


----------



## BigJim

We don't have any of the eye protection so we will probably punch a hole in a piece of cardboard to watch the eclipse.


----------



## cocobolo

Do you have welders goggles by any chance Jim?


----------



## cocobolo

Jim, it looks like you are just about in the path of totality. That means you can look at the sun - which will be covered by the moon at that point - for about 2 to 3 minutes without needing glasses.
Just chatted with someone in Nashville who says they are going to be in the path of totality. Good luck!


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Do you have welders goggles by any chance Jim?


No, I sold all my welding/cutting equipment, I am watching it live on youtube right now. It should already be over by now out your way.


----------



## cocobolo

Well, I had a great view from here of the eclipse.

Still some forest fire smoke here, but not as bad as most days. The sun bullied its' way through that no trouble at all.

I did try taking some pictures, so when I d/l them later on today I'll see if any came out OK.

Had to try shooting through the eyepiece, just handholding the camera. Not expecting great results as the autofocus no longer works on the Canon. I tried 3 different eyepieces, but the smaller 1.25" ones were nearly impossible to focus on. You really need an adapter, which I do have...but naturally could not find. I did use one 2" eyepiece, so we'll see later this evening how it worked.

If anything looks even remotely close to what I was able to see through the scope, I will post for you.


----------



## BigJim

We did get to view the eclipse after all but with a piece of tin foil with a hole in it to reflect on the concrete. The really strange thing is we were also watching it on TV and Down Town it got really dark there, it didn't get that dark here, not but about 8 or so miles difference. I didn't think that little distance would make that much difference but it did.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> We did get to view the eclipse after all but with a piece of tin foil with a hole in it to reflect on the concrete. The really strange thing is we were also watching it on TV and Down Town it got really dark there, it didn't get that dark here, not but about 8 or so miles difference. I didn't think that little distance would make that much difference but it did.


Oh, it definitely does. There is a path about 100 kilometres wide (60 miles or so) where you have totality. Immediately outside those lines the sun is still shining. So it's nowhere near as dark as in the main pathway. It only takes a little bit of sun to light up our world.

I'll try to be back in a bit with some pix.


----------



## cocobolo

Before I get to the sunshots, I'll bring you up to speed on the siding situation.

I set up a new Freud dado blade in the portable table saw. Sadly, for some reason, I thought it was a belt drive saw...but no, it's direct drive. Only just took it out of the box to do this job, even though it has been sitting here for ages.

It works well enough to rip the cedar to width. But when it comes to cutting a big dado it runs out of steam.

So after struggling with the wide dadoes for a couple of days. I deemed it to be easier to cut the wide dadoes in two passes. This turned out to be much easier. And I finally remembered to wax the run on table, which made another big difference.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, on to the eclipse.

I am sorry to say that my worst fears were realized after I downloaded the pics of the eclipse.

I had my doubts that much would turn out due to the setup I had to use. Nothing wrong with the scope...but the camera setup left much to be desired.

It was a matter of hand holding the camera, rather than having it on a dedicated adapter, which would have improved things immensely. It was pretty much by guess and by gosh.

The scope is a 10" Dobsonian by Antares. The first eyepiece I tried was a big 2" 38 mm with a 70º field of view. Definitely the clearest one. Plus the eyepiece itself almost matched the camera lens in size.

I had two smaller 1.25" eyepieces, the smallest being a Televue 25 mm. Both of the smaller eyepieces made it very difficult to line the camera up with the middle of the image in the scope. They give greater magnification, which distorted things even more.


----------



## cocobolo

There's probably about 80 shots of the eclipse here, but most of them have some sort of an artifact (read screw up here) generally caused by misalignment between the camera and the scope.

So here's the better ones starting from when I realized the sun was already being obliterated by the moon. This was courtesy of an email from a chum down on Pender Island. The eclipse got there before it arrived at Anglemont. So I was late getting started.


----------



## cocobolo

Next batch. You can see the progression of the moon in front of the sun. The camera was held at about the same level for all the pics.


----------



## cocobolo

If you have a larger screen for these shots, in the last two above you should be able to see some sunspots. They just look like tiny dots, but each of them could easily swallow our planet earth without a hiccup.

Unfortunately, it wasn't possible to tell when I had any of the pics in focus.

Th...th...that's all folks! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Good evening all:

Took Val in to hospital yesterday at 8am, and her knee surgery took place between 10am and noon. It appears to have been successful so far, now the long road to recovery begins. :vs_OMG:

She's still very drugged up of course. In good spirits despite the agonizing pain. Possibly getting out of hospital either Sunday or Monday. Depends how quickly she can walk and manage stairs.

I hope to visit the boys and check up on the '33, but No. 2 son - he's the whiz mechanic and electrical expert - is down with a very bad back. Since I will be heading home as soon as Val is out of hospital, I may or may not be able to get to visit the '33. If not this trip, for sure in mid month when I expect to bring Val back home again. She will stay on the coast until the stitches are out on the 13th.

When I get some time next week, I'll bring you all up to snuff with the latest happenings at home. :smile:


----------



## gma2rjc

I hope the surgery is successful and she's up and around very soon.


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> I hope the surgery is successful and she's up and around very soon.


We THINK everything is OK, but she took a tumble in hospital yesterday due to a careless nurse. The hospital administrator will be receiving a letter from me, and I doubt he will be any too pleased about it. However, if it will prevent the problem from being repeated in future with other patients, the letter will have served its' purpose.

As of this evening, while we cannot be 100% certain, it appears that she is mending as she should. 

The physio boss took her over to the rehab room where she managed to go up and down a set of four steps. That's one of the major hurdles that they need to see completed before being kicked out of jail.

By this evening, she was able to walk down the length of the hallway, back to the nurses' station and then back to the room. Short rests along the way, but made it with no trouble.

We're hoping that she gets her walking papers tomorrow morning.

Went over to see the '33 this morning prior to the hospital visit and managed to forget my @#$%^&* camera! Dumkoff me, I couldn't believe it.

Perhaps some of you recall that this was supposed to be little more than a simple engine swap and away we go. Every time I go there, it seems that yet more things are being done. Let me hasten to point out that none of these are at my request.

The current situation is such that No. 1 son, the body man, has now gone over the body with a fine toothed comb, and has decided that every little thing that is in any way not right, will need to be corrected. Believe me, I am getting an education in just what this entails. Hard to believe all the work involved here.

No. 2 son, currently on sick leave with a very bad back, has decided that the door latches as supplied by Chrysler Corporation in 1933 are simply not up to the job. So he is in the process of adding bear claw latches, which are much safer. Evidently more than one door has come undone at highway speeds on these things with catastrophic results. So, we would prefer that not to happen.

Next: Wind up windows are passe, or so I'm told once again, and therefore four power windows are being installed. Three are done, one to go. While we are on the subject of windows, I am told that the glass is not up to snuff either, so that is getting replaced as well...along with a new front windshield.

When the old windshield was removed, there was some minor rust uncovered, and that will be totally removed prior to the new glass going in.

Anyway, that's more or less where we stand right now. I absolutely will NOT forget my camera when I'm down again to get Val's stitches removed on the 13th of September.


----------



## cocobolo

Well now...long time no post. But I have a good excuse.

All went well with the removal of the stitches, and Dr. Stone was very pleased with how well Val is doing with her recovery. Definitely far better than expected based on previous recoveries. So that's one good thing.

She has already been attending physio twice weekly at Chase (100 km round trip each time) and now has to get a recumbent bike to exercise the knee correctly. Picked one up yesterday.

She managed to walk 1/4 mile a couple of days ago - against my wishes - and she was very tired afterwards, but regardless of that she has a will of iron to do all these exercises that must be done. That means we have really high hopes that she will mend and get better quickly. That's a relative term in this case and 6 months will be considered to be quick.

No pics of the '33 when we went down, as both boys were down with bronchitis and we couldn't run the risk of either of us getting the bug so we stayed away.

Back at the mansion things are proceeding as well as can be expected given all that we have to do.

I've made a big dent in the front and west wall siding to date, not looking too bad. But first up I had to make a long work table to cut the siding on. Some of the boards are over 20' long.


----------



## cocobolo

Couple of shots of the new siding on the front wall, this faces the street. I'm sure the neighbours must be sick and tired of looking at a grubby old OSB wall with half ripped off tarpaper!

No soffit here yet, and that's going to be a bit of a toughie. It's very awkward to get at so I will have to come up with a way to do it as simply as possible.

The left end of the wall isn't sided, as I need to have the remaining part of the old roof replaced first. Doesn't look like that will get done before the snow flies this coming winter.


----------



## cocobolo

Next I moved around to the west facing wall. This is what everyone sees when driving up the hill towards our place. It has been another eyesore for years.

I was able to start on the soffit on this wall, which of course is the right way to do it.


----------



## cocobolo

There was an opening at the right end of the above wall, which you can just see in the last pic.

I closed that up, as the deck will no longer be used in future. I will be putting a roof over it which I will extend slightly beyond the current deck. That will give us a little more room in the carport below.

So, under the watchful eye of the superintendent, I now have that wall sided.


----------



## cocobolo

Aside from being the 24/7 caregiver for Val, I have signed up for a year long course online which requires that I spend 30+ hours a week trying to learn! I guess I will be finding out whether or not you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Aside from that, I also have managed to get the new back deck ready for vinyl. Now, since it has been at least 25 years - maybe more - since I took my Duradek certification, I have asked number 1 son to help. We are supposed to have decent weather this week, which means that I hope to go down to Penticton to pick up the vinyl this week. I couldn't seem to find a good supplier in Kamloops, which seems surprising given that Kamloops is a way bigger market than Penticton.

Hopefully I will be able to get a few pics of the vinyl install when it is underway.

That's about it for now, off to Val's physio in a few minutes.


----------



## Windows on Wash

Nice updates as always buddy. 

Hope that Val is doing well.


----------



## ddsrph

Nice job. Is the vinyl the type with the foam insulation on back?


----------



## Lager

And inquiring minds would like to know what a magician such as yourself would be interested in? Thirty hours a week!


----------



## 123pugsy

And also, did the fires go out yet? Did it rain?


----------



## cocobolo

Windows on Wash said:


> Nice updates as always buddy.
> 
> Hope that Val is doing well.


Thanks WoW, yes she is doing incredibly well. Yesterday at physio they measured the back bend of the knee at 112º. For those that don't know, that is extremely good for four weeks post surgery.

We are confident that the recovery will go very well this time around.


----------



## cocobolo

ddsrph said:


> Nice job. Is the vinyl the type with the foam insulation on back?


It's not exactly a foam insulation on the back, but it does have what is called a fuzzy back.

Vinyls come in either smooth or fuzzy back.

We picked up the roll of vinyl, a 5 gallon pail of contact cement, the drip edge and the clip. 

It looks like we are going to try for a Monday install - October 2nd now - as the weather has turned against us temporarily we hope.

Yesterday, right before a big wind and subsequent rain hit, I added a strip of 1 x 2 around the perimeter of the deck. This was on the advice of number 1 son, and gives more room for the water to run off the deck and not run down the fascia boards.


----------



## cocobolo

Lager said:


> And inquiring minds would like to know what a magician such as yourself would be interested in? Thirty hours a week!


Magician! Hahahaha! Good one.

Actually I think it's going to be more than thirty hours a week. But I will withhold any answer until such time as I either succeed or fail.

Those of you who may know me somewhat, or who have been following for awhile, should know that failure is not an option for me. At least I will give it my best shot. Trouble is that finding time under the current circumstances is proving to be very difficult.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> And also, did the fires go out yet? Did it rain?


Hi Pugsy...I honestly haven't had the time to check to see the wildfire situation for some time. I'm pretty sure the local fires are all out, and when we were in Kamloops a few days ago the air quality had improved. Although north of Kamloops there is a long valley which you can observe from one of the high spots on the highway, and it looked as though it was still very smoky up that way.

This morning it looks like it is raining over on the far side of the lake, but it's not raining right where we are, although it sure did last night.

Visibility disappears totally about 7 or 8 kilometres away due to what I think must be rain.


----------



## cocobolo

Sheesh, another week come and gone. 

One of number one son's business acquaintances came and did the vinyl install for us, did a great job. I was just available to hold the dumb end. Looks good. I did take a few pics, just no time to upload yet.

I needed a much better computer for my courses, along with an extra monitor.

Picked one up a few weeks ago, but didn't open the box until last night. Couldn't believe it, but the new iMac wouldn't even set up! Took it back to the store this morning and there was a tiny switch on the back of the keyboard which I didn't even see. Dumkoff me!

Anyway, got that all sorted out and got an extra monitor this morning and have everything set up (finally) tonight.

Now I find out that my supposedly great satellite setup is extremely slow today. Gonna change the modem tomorrow morning and if that doesn't fix it, I guess we will be having a little chat with my ISP.

I see Val is on a Skype call to a family friend in Edmonton and it's working OK...so maybe the speed has picked up a bit.

As soon as I get a decent chance, I'll post a few pics of the deck. We'll be getting some aluminum railings asap.


----------



## cocobolo

Update...I guess whatever I did on the new computer hookup is OK.

D/L speed is 37.45 Mbps. Whew, thank goodness for that! :smile:


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Update...I guess whatever I did on the new computer hookup is OK.
> 
> D/L speed is 37.45 Mbps. Whew, thank goodness for that! :smile:


Is your speed Megabits or Megabytes?


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Is your speed Megabits or Megabytes?


Hi Jim. It's bits. I understand that when you use MBps, that's megabytes, when you use Mbps (small b) that's megabits. There is an 8 to 1 ratio between the two, with MBps being the larger.

I'm experiencing a strange problem this morning.

I have a chart up on my screen on the new computer. When I enlarge the chart to fill the screen, a roughly 40 second delay ensues. No idea why and refreshing does nothing.

On my laptop, I get the chart in real time which is how I know how long the delay is. Any ideas?

I think I will call the geeks at Best Buy later to see if they have any ideas?


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Hi Jim. It's bits. I understand that when you use MBps, that's megabytes, when you use Mbps (small b) that's megabits. There is an 8 to 1 ratio between the two, with MBps being the larger.
> 
> I'm experiencing a strange problem this morning.
> 
> I have a chart up on my screen on the new computer. When I enlarge the chart to fill the screen, a roughly 40 second delay ensues. No idea why and refreshing does nothing.
> 
> On my laptop, I get the chart in real time which is how I know how long the delay is. Any ideas?
> 
> I think I will call the geeks at Best Buy later to see if they have any ideas?


That is strange, I don't have a clue.

Keith, I found out about the 8-1 ratio after we got the Gig service here. I thought we were getting a Gigabyte and found out it is a Gigabit, still pretty fast but sometimes it gets slow.


----------



## NotyeruncleBob

cocobolo said:


> I have a chart up on my screen on the new computer. When I enlarge the chart to fill the screen, a roughly 40 second delay ensues. No idea why and refreshing does nothing.


My guess would be memory caching or how the two machines are rendering the graphics. The other possibility is that one machine downloads the high res graphic and is just scaling it up and down, and the other is reloading the chart from the source so it is downloading it again each time you scale it. 

BTW, 120 down 12 up here. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Jim:

Talked to my new ISP a few minutes ago and this is a brand new problem to them. We tried pinging the site in question, but it showed up as "no host found" which means you cannot ping.

We did ping a couple of other sites and they were all fine. Typical ping times were 600 to 725 ms. So that's good.

Oddly enough, it only happens after the page is enlarged out to full size. There's no delay while the page is small.

I think I may need to end up contacting Apple directly.


----------



## cocobolo

NotyeruncleBob said:


> My guess would be memory caching or how the two machines are rendering the graphics. The other possibility is that one machine downloads the high res graphic and is just scaling it up and down, and the other is reloading the chart from the source so it is downloading it again each time you scale it.
> 
> BTW, 120 down 12 up here. :smile:


Thanks for your reply.

First I must admit that you're speaking well above my pay grade! But let me fill you in with my setup.

I have a brand new iMac four core 27" screen and a brand new LG 32" monitor attached with the usual umbilical cord. Both have very high resolution screens.

It doesn't seem to make any difference which screen I slide the page in question on to, the problem still remains.

Once I enlarge the page, it stays there, I don't keep shrinking and enlarging.

Going to call Best Buy now and see if their geek squad has any ideas. After that it will be Apple directly.


----------



## NotyeruncleBob

When you first open the web page with that chart on it, does it take 40 seconds to load? Or did it the very first time you opened that page? After that, your computer is probably hanging on to that chart and the other images on that page for a few days in case you go back to it, so then the computer will still have the image on file and not have to download it, thus making it faster to load. That's caching.
What might be happening is that the machine isn't hanging on to the full res image so it has to download it again when you want to see it full sized. The memory caches sometime have a limit as to what they'll hang on to. 
All of this has nothing to do with anything that the ISP, Apple, or Best Buy can "fix". It's just the version of your browser and it's own little internal protocols. Or the site that is hosting the image. 
...again, this is just speculation based on the evidence presented and my experiences with this sort of thing. I'm not a web expert, though I have played one on TV.


----------



## cocobolo

NotyeruncleBob said:


> When you first open the web page with that chart on it, does it take 40 seconds to load? Or did it the very first time you opened that page? After that, your computer is probably hanging on to that chart and the other images on that page for a few days in case you go back to it, so then the computer will still have the image on file and not have to download it, thus making it faster to load. That's caching.
> What might be happening is that the machine isn't hanging on to the full res image so it has to download it again when you want to see it full sized. The memory caches sometime have a limit as to what they'll hang on to.
> All of this has nothing to do with anything that the ISP, Apple, or Best Buy can "fix". It's just the version of your browser and it's own little internal protocols. Or the site that is hosting the image.
> ...again, this is just speculation based on the evidence presented and my experiences with this sort of thing. I'm not a web expert, though I have played one on TV.


My goodness, so now we are dealing with a real life web expert! That's great!

OK, so what I have since done is this.

Called Best Buy and the young fellow suggested that I go onto a gaming site, he suggested Switch - which I've never heard of before.

Went on to a streaming soccer game and enlarged to full screen from the original. Absolutely zero delay, none at all. So at that point he suggested it wasn't anything to do with the computer, but was likely an individual issue with the stock site.

Now, you're the first person to suggest that it might be a browser issue, and that just might make sense.

One other thing that has happened since we last spoke is that the delay has dropped to just about exactly 10 seconds. I think there was about the same number of people in the chat room - around 250+- - so I don't think that should have any effect.

Now also, the site in question has just had a brand new state of the art internet setup installed, and since that has been done, the previous choppiness of the sound in particular, has been totally eliminated.

I can't do any testing really until tomorrow morning now when the market opens, as nothing is streaming right now. That's when my site will come back online.

To answer your first question, the page loads instantly once my connection to the website itself has been established, which is just a few seconds. Then I go into the chat room which takes another few seconds to load the live chat. Maybe up to 5 seconds at most.

So now what I will try is to see if there's any difference between Safari, Firefox and Chrome. If there is, then I'll just use the fastest one. I don't know if the site has any particular preference, and I likely won't know until tomorrow morning now.

I haven't loaded Chrome on to the new computer yet, so I can get that done next.

So thank you very much for your suggestion, and I shall let you know tomorrow if there is any improvement.


----------



## NotyeruncleBob

cocobolo said:


> My goodness, so now we are dealing with a real life web expert! That's great!


I said I wasn't a web expert. Just that I played one on TV. Not the same thing at all. Anyway, I hope it works out and mainly I just wanted to make sure you didn't throw out the computer over something that's most likely on the other end of the internet!


----------



## cocobolo

NotyeruncleBob said:


> I said I wasn't a web expert. Just that I played one on TV. Not the same thing at all. Anyway, I hope it works out and mainly I just wanted to make sure you didn't throw out the computer over something that's most likely on the other end of the internet!


Yes, I know what you said...but I elevated you to the status of web expert anyway!

Highly unlikely that I would be giving my new computer the boot. Not much I can do now until tomorrow morning.


----------



## ica171

What browser are you using now? Chrome is known as a bit of a memory hog, but I'd still check and see if it's faster.


----------



## cocobolo

ica171 said:


> What browser are you using now? Chrome is known as a bit of a memory hog, but I'd still check and see if it's faster.


I usually use Firefox, since it seems to work well with just about every webpage. But I have downloaded Chrome now and I will test each of them on Tuesday morning when chat goes live.


----------



## jlhaslip

Try Opera browser. It is faster than FF.


----------



## BigJim

Judy uses Firefox and I use Chrome, Chrome is faster for me than Firefox. If you do a defrag, clear your cookies and history and dead temp files it will speed things up a lot also. One thing a lot of folks don't think about is their trash being loaded, if it is it will also slow things down.

One more thing, check your startup and see what is loading when you first log on. On a Mac I don't know how to get to your "startup" but with a regular pc just type in from the start menu* msconfig*, once the screen opens look for start up. Do not under any circumstances do anything to any of the other tabs, just one click and your pc will not work, just go only to the startup tab and click on that. If you have a lot of programs checked that will for sure slow your pc down, as it has to load all of those programs before it will go on to open.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Try Opera browser. It is faster than FF.


Thanks jl. Went to the opera website and it looks like they have more than one browser.

The quickie introduction video doesn't say a whole lot, but I can d/l it anyway and compare.

I do know that there are hundreds of sites that are specifically geared to one browser or another.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Judy uses Firefox and I use Chrome, Chrome is faster for me than Firefox. If you do a defrag, clear your cookies and history and dead temp files it will speed things up a lot also. One thing a lot of folks don't think about is their trash being loaded, if it is it will also slow things down.
> 
> One more thing, check your startup and see what is loading when you first log on. On a Mac I don't know how to get to your "startup" but with a regular pc just type in from the start menu* msconfig*, once the screen opens look for start up. Do not under any circumstances do anything to any of the other tabs, just one click and your pc will not work, just go only to the startup tab and click on that. If you have a lot of programs checked that will for sure slow your pc down, as it has to load all of those programs before it will go on to open.


Hi again Jim. Since this is a brand new computer, it's still basically completely empty. So there's nothing on it yet. And I do believe that the latest Mac o/s eliminates most of the items you mention. I always wanted to be able to defrag my old Mac, but never could. The new one is a quad core, so should be blindingly fast regardless of what I throw at it. Aside from the kitchen sink that is! :smile:


----------



## jlhaslip

The download link for Mac is here.
The mini browser is for phones, I think.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> The download link for Mac is here.
> The mini browser is for phones, I think.


Got it downloaded already! Thanks anyway jl! :smile:

Loaded both Opera and Opera Neon.


----------



## cocobolo

Sheesh! I just logged in to my market page...and you're right about the speed. VERY noticeably faster. I hope it's the same for live chat. All will be revealed tomorrow!

Incidentally, I had Opera up as the browser and Apple kindly sent me an email to let me know that "someone" had logged in on the new Mac. I had the laptop open at the same time and the email arrived about 5 seconds later on the laptop. So we may be on to something here! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Way behind as usual on my posting it seems, sorry about that.

Well, I have been very complacent about getting the new solar backup system installed, but yesterday was a grim reminder of what happens when mother nature throws a little wind our way.

Yes, we lost power again, but I didn't realize quite how bad it was until later in the day.

Had to take Val to physio in Chase, about 50 kms away, only to discover that the physio office had no power either. Yes, we did try calling them first, but got the recording that we often get when they are busy with patients, so we weren't terribly concerned.

Turns out that there were no less than 54 centres in the southern half of the province that were without power! Holy smokes, there were 400,000 customers in the Vancouver area that were down.

I was able to check and see if the UPS still was able to power the internet modem, and yes that still worked fine. So that's one thing that tested OK.

Still haven't got the solar panels mounted on the house but I have now decided to put them on the outside of the office wall. That meant that I had to get that wall sided, at least up to the window anyway, and I got that done the day before yesterday. So no more excuses that I can use there.

Here's what I have to install inside. I will be putting the batteries inside as well, but with a vent to the outside. Not exactly sure how I will do that yet, but batteries out in the cold of winter don't work well, hence the interior install.

Trying to design a cabinet on wheels to hold everything in one spot.


----------



## cocobolo

The Aims power inverter is designed in the U.S. but built in China...isn't everything these days? But it seems like a very solid and very HEAVY unit!

As for the batteries, I thought my old T-105's from Trojan were heavy at around 44 lbs each. Hah! These new Rolls batteries weigh in at 65.6 pounds each, and they're only 6 volts.

So I will be setting up the four batteries in series to produce a nominal 24 volts. In my experience I have found that inverting up from 24 volts produces a higher voltage than inverting up from 12 volts, even though in theory they should both end up at the same AC voltage. Plus the amp draw is half as much at 24V as it is at 12V, which is far easier on the battery bank.

Since we missed Val's physio yesterday, we'll be going in again today, so most of the afternoon will be shot. In the mean time I'll be trying to get the work started on the cabinet to hold everything.


----------



## cocobolo

Hmmm...I see that I failed to post pics of the vinyl installation on the deck.

Anyway, a long time friend of number one son's has just moved up to Kamloops. So he came over and did 99% of the install for us. I think Mike and son have been working together for about the last 25 years.

We had a great weather day for the job and everything went nice and smoothly. All I had to do was hold the dumb end occasionally. That's my idea of helping!

So a few pics of the job, last one with Val enjoying her first coffee and snack on the deck.


----------



## cocobolo

It looks like I will be getting at the panel installation perhaps tomorrow.

I will sit them right up very close to - but not touching - the windows. I think I have the necessary cables to run between the panels and the controller, just need the actual battery interconnect cables now which I will order from the same guys we got the batteries from in Kamloops. I won't know what lengths will be needed until the cabinet is made and the batteries and inverter are mounted therein. Hopefully, by the end of the day I will have those numbers and can get the order in.


----------



## cocobolo

On the first of this month, the annual Pumpkin Run was held again at Grindrod. Val said she was up for the trip, we went down to see the cars, even though the '33 is still away off from running.

Herewith a miscellaneous collection of some of the cars which caught my eye for your viewing pleasure.


----------



## cocobolo

It was raining early in the morning but we decided to make the trip anyway. As it turned out, the event itself was mostly sunny, but the rain returned early in the afternoon clearing the field of cars out pretty fast!


----------



## cocobolo

...a few more...


----------



## cocobolo

Last few.


----------



## BigJim

Now my key board is wet from droolin. I never get tired of looking at those beautiful cars and trucks, absolutely beautiful.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Now my key board is wet from droolin. I never get tired of looking at those beautiful cars and trucks, absolutely beautiful.


Haha! You and me both Jim!

Hopefully, by this time next year we will have our own car to take down there. :smile:


----------



## 1995droptopz

I just finished reading both of your build threads, and I have to say you do some fine work sir!


----------



## cocobolo

1995droptopz said:


> I just finished reading both of your build threads, and I have to say you do some fine work sir!


Wow! I guess that makes you a glutton for punishment...but thank you very much for doing that! 

About all I can say is I hope you got something out of it all, that's an awful lot of reading.

Now, lemme guess, either you or your car is 22-23 years old and the car is a convertible. Am I anywhere near close? :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday was my 75th and Val did a wonderful job of spoiling me! Now whether or not I should have eaten most of the 30 chocolate eclairs that she made, I really don't know. But man Oh man, were they good! :biggrin2:


----------



## sleepyg

cocobolo said:


> Yesterday was my 75th and Val did a wonderful job of spoiling me! Now whether or not I should have eaten most of the 30 chocolate eclairs that she made, I really don't know. But man Oh man, were they good! :biggrin2:


You only live once, eat dessert first!:vs_laugh:


----------



## 1995droptopz

cocobolo said:


> Wow! I guess that makes you a glutton for punishment...but thank you very much for doing that!
> 
> About all I can say is I hope you got something out of it all, that's an awful lot of reading.
> 
> Now, lemme guess, either you or your car is 22-23 years old and the car is a convertible. Am I anywhere near close? :smile:


Pretty warm on the screen name decipher. When I first started getting on the forums back in the day I owned a 1995 Camaro Z28 convertible. LT1, 6-speed manual, LT4 hot cam, 4.10:1 gears, all of the goodies. That car has been gone for almost 10 years now, but I still hang on to the same screen name across all sites.

I always try to learn as much as I can by reading about and watching other people's work. I may not do 99% of the things you are doing, but if I can pick up a small tip from somebody that is a craftsman in their field, then it is worth it.


----------



## cocobolo

sleepyg said:


> You only live once, eat dessert first!:vs_laugh:


Exactly...so that's exactly what I did all day long! Until we got to the birthday cake that is!!! :devil3:


----------



## cocobolo

1995droptopz said:


> Pretty warm on the screen name decipher. When I first started getting on the forums back in the day I owned a 1995 Camaro Z28 convertible. LT1, 6-speed manual, LT4 hot cam, 4.10:1 gears, all of the goodies. That car has been gone for almost 10 years now, but I still hang on to the same screen name across all sites.
> 
> I always try to learn as much as I can by reading about and watching other people's work. I may not do 99% of the things you are doing, but if I can pick up a small tip from somebody that is a craftsman in their field, then it is worth it.


'95 Zapper...not too shabby! Did you ever race it?

I've been a Chevy guy most of my life, at least since I owned my '55.

You think like I do, I read voraciously on a big variety of subjects and it's always good to learn something new every day, even at my young age! :smile:


----------



## 1995droptopz

I took it to the track once when it was stock, but after mods it was a sub 13.99 car and I did not have a roll bar and that is an issue with a convertible. I was a Chevy guy in my younger years, having owned 79, 91, 92, 93, 94, and 95 Camaros. I have been in the automotive industry my whole life, starting in prototype builds and dynamometer engine development. I worked through school and got my engineering degree, and ended up working at Chrysler and now Ford. So I have been converted to a Blue Oval guy now.

But I will say, having worked with a vast variety of automakers through my career, that they are all the same anymore. Every company operates with one goal in mind: shareholder value. They are not run by gearheads anymore who want to build the biggest/fastest/nicest/best, but by bean counters who want to make the most profit so they can get their bonus check and move on to the next company.


----------



## jlhaslip

cocobolo said:


> Yesterday was my 75th and Val did a wonderful job of spoiling me! Now whether or not I should have eaten most of the 30 chocolate eclairs that she made, I really don't know. But man Oh man, were they good! :biggrin2:


Congrats on the milestone, Coco.

Have an eclair for me... thanks.

:vs_cool:


----------



## BigJim

Man, I let your birthday slip by me this year, sorry Keith, but HAPPY late BIRTHDAY. I am one year, one month and two days behind you. LOL


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> Congrats on the milestone, Coco.
> 
> Have an eclair for me... thanks.
> 
> :vs_cool:


Hey, no problem at all jl...Val made another 40 yesterday! They are just way too good! :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Man, I let your birthday slip by me this year, sorry Keith, but HAPPY late BIRTHDAY. I am one year, one month and two days behind you. LOL


Hi Jim, I didn't figure you would ever catch up! Just glad to see that you're still around and causing trouble! :devil3:


----------



## gma2rjc

Happy Birthday Keith!!


----------



## cocobolo

gma2rjc said:


> Happy Birthday Keith!!


Thanks Barb! :smile:


----------



## 123pugsy

OK, birthday boy....birthday's over, snacks consumed....any updates?......:smile:

Happy birthday BTW.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> OK, birthday boy....birthday's over, snacks consumed....any updates?......:smile:
> 
> Happy birthday BTW.


Morning Pugsy...who says the snacks are all consumed? Hey, I've got a good three day supply of eclairs to get through yet, not to mention the cake!

Please note that I'm replying to you well before 6:30 am. Have to get up at 5:45 every day now to get ready for the market. 

Nothing really spectacular to update, other than that terrible 10" of snow which we got tagged with a little while ago. Glad to say that has disappeared now. Which really means that we have had oodles of rain here. Typical wet coast. :surprise:


----------



## 123pugsy

Ready for the market?


----------



## cocobolo

Soon pugsy....soon.


----------



## 123pugsy

Soon, what?

What is this market every day you are talkin about? You set up a booth at the farmer's market or something?

Who's on first...ha...that's what the last couple of posts reads like to me...


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Soon, what?
> 
> What is this market every day you are talkin about? You set up a booth at the farmer's market or something?
> 
> Who's on first...ha...that's what the last couple of posts reads like to me...


This market pugsy, TSX, DJIA, NYSE, NASDAQ etc.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> This market pugsy, TSX, DJIA, NYSE, NASDAQ etc.


Ha...and here I was thinking you were selling chickens or something....DOH!


----------



## jlhaslip

123pugsy said:


> Ha...and here I was thinking you were selling chickens or something....DOH!


If that were the case, he would've had a post or 12 about building the coops. (not coupes)

:biggrin2:


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> If that were the case, he would've had a post or 12 about building the coops. (not coupes)
> 
> :biggrin2:


Chicken Coupe? What the heck kind of car is that? :devil3:


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Chicken Coupe? What the heck kind of car is that? :devil3:


Firebird


----------



## cocobolo

Right...funny you should mention that. We used to call them Fiberchickens and the T-bird was - of course - a Thunderchicken. :devil3:


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Right...funny you should mention that. We used to call them Fiberchickens and the T-bird was - of course - a Thunderchicken. :devil3:


Exactly what we called them except for the T Birds. Can't say what I called them ugly things...


----------



## 123pugsy

Earth to Keith.

Everything OK on your side of the planet? Long time no hear.

Anywho, have a good holiday season.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Earth to Keith.
> 
> Everything OK on your side of the planet? Long time no hear.
> 
> Anywho, have a good holiday season.


Haha! Morning Pugsy...

Yep, other than the new snow here, which made driving in to Kamloops a nightmare yesterday, everything's pretty much OK. About 10" of the white stuff when I woke up yesterday.

Went to use the snowblower on the tractor, and it wouldn't start. Sounded like a weak battery. Yet I had charged it up just the day before????

Called the local Husqvarna guy and apparently the Kohler engines don't have a decompression valve, whereas the Husky engines do. So you need a battery with at least 300 CCA to start the Kohler. All the tractors only come with a 210 CCA battery. Found one in the 'Loops with 350 CCA, so that should do the trick.

Busy these days from 6 am here until market close. Doing OK so far, still lots of learning ahead.


----------



## BigJim

I was beginning to worry about you, good to hear from you Keith.


----------



## 123pugsy

So, trying your hand at day trading, I take it.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I was beginning to worry about you, good to hear from you Keith.


Not to worry Jim. Not a very good time of year to be doing much work on the place here.

Main thing is my time is all taken up these days on the market. It's good fun so far!


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> So, trying your hand at day trading, I take it.


Day, swing, some longer term. Still lots to learn, but enjoying every minute of it. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Every year in the past I have tried to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Please forgive my tardiness this year, both Val & I are down with a terrible dose of this damn 'flu that's going around.

I did get a note from Barb yesterday, and right after that our internet went out. And to make matters even better, now my bank trading page is experiencing "technical difficulties". Such a great start to the new year!

Happy New Year everyone!


----------



## jlhaslip

All the best of the season to you and the sidekick.

Hope the snow is not too deep for you. Stay warm.


----------



## cocobolo

jlhaslip said:


> All the best of the season to you and the sidekick.
> 
> Hope the snow is not too deep for you. Stay warm.


About 13" deep here today. That's about 13" more than I'd like! :wink2:


----------



## 123pugsy

May you have a health, happy, and prosperous New Year Keith.


----------



## cocobolo

Thanks pugsy. Here's hoping the healthy part kicks in soon!

Same to you and yours. :smile:


----------



## BigJim

Happy New Year to you too Keith, I hope you get over that nasty stuff really soon. Did y'all get the really bad cold wave like we did this week and right now?


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Happy New Year to you too Keith, I hope you get over that nasty stuff really soon. Did y'all get the really bad cold wave like we did this week and right now?


Hi Jim: We only had one night where the temperature dropped very briefly down to -26ºC. The next morning it was right back up to -10ºC. There's a rumour afoot that we might see zero this weekend, that won't hurt my feelings at all!

I trust you and Judy are keeping well. All the relatives up this way are being battered by this nasty 'flu. Sure hope you don't get this one down your way.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Hi Jim: We only had one night where the temperature dropped very briefly down to -26ºC. The next morning it was right back up to -10ºC. There's a rumour afoot that we might see zero this weekend, that won't hurt my feelings at all!
> 
> I trust you and Judy are keeping well. All the relatives up this way are being battered by this nasty 'flu. Sure hope you don't get this one down your way.


Good grief, I won't complain about our cold any more, how do you stand it?

We had a bug last week but I don't think it was the flu. Sure is a lot of it going around though. I hope you both get much better soon.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Good grief, I won't complain about our cold any more, how do you stand it?
> 
> We had a bug last week but I don't think it was the flu. Sure is a lot of it going around though. I hope you both get much better soon.


Hi Jim, well, you have to remember that our zero is your 32ºF, or right at freezing. So when we hit -26º here that was about -15ºF. Still quite cool.

Sorry to say no real improvement in our health today. Staying in bed, lots of liquids and some awful tasting medicine! :sad:


----------



## BigJim

-15F is way way too cold for me. Buddy I hate that y'all don't feel better today.


----------



## gma2rjc

I hope you're both feeling better soon Keith.

For your entertainment...


----------



## cocobolo

Thanks Barb.

Honest to Pete, I swear we have both poured the contents of at least two drug stores down our throats! Val seems to be mending now, but me, not so much!


----------



## cocobolo

Hmmm...I would like to point out that rumours of my demise are most premature. Still alive & kicking! 

Unfortunately still not rid of the 'flu 100%, but close. Val is good.

OK, I tried to take some pix of the eclipse of the moon this morning as the sky - for the most part - was clear. That's unusual here at this time of year.

When I went outside to start shooting, there was a heavy misty cloud that settled right between us and the moon. The only thing I got was a blurry blob of dull red which doesn't look like anything except a badly shaped yam. Sorry about that, I really did try.

This was the first time since 1866 I think, that we had such a combination of a lunar eclipse. I hope that some of you were able to get a better view than we had here. If the sky was OK in Edmonton and Calgary, you might have been good.


----------



## BigJim

Hey Keith, it sure is good to see your smiling face, that flu is some nasty stuff this time around. Glad to see you feeling some better. That flu is killing people it is so bad this time. Judy and I have slipped by...so far, but we usually get it when everyone else is in the clear.


----------



## 123pugsy

Glad to see you're on the right side of the dirt.

You going back on the project soon or will you continue some much needed relaxation?

How about the car?


----------



## cocobolo

Right side of the dirt!! Hahaha! Good one!

The '33 is down in Cloverdale at the boys shop. Got an email from them a few days ago...they were asking which rod runs I was planning to go on this year. They have a painter lined up once the last of the body work is done...I think that's pretty close.

I expect to be going down to the coast mid February to take a look at the latest.

Val has to do grandchildren babysitting duties for a couple of weeks starting in a couple of weeks. I'll probably go down for a weekend during that time.


----------



## fhc

Has anyone heard from Keith? According to his profile, he has not logged in since January 31, 2018.


----------



## 123pugsy

I bet he's hibernating after that long grueling amount of non stop work he was doing.


----------



## BigJim

I emailed him the other day and he is doing good, they have had some problems and tons of snow this winter. He will be back soon, as soon as the snow lets up.


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Gang:

Apologies for the long drought.

If it isn't one thing it's another.

Val has managed to develop a somewhat serious health problem in one of her main arteries. Had the X-ray and the CT scan, now waiting for the Doppler scan to determine the amount of damage. We have our fingers crossed for the best.

Today we got the news that another long time friend of Val's had passed away from a cancer related illness. Last month it was a friend for the past 48 years who went, both of these people were at the coast. Another friend back in Toronto also went last month.

So she will be headed down again on Tuesday to help out. That's Val, always the helper. Can't talk her out of anything like that.

I'm OK, just running out of energy, that's all. Guess it comes with the age...Jim would know about that stuff.

This past Friday Val had arranged for Pete, our next door neighbour to bring his big excavator over and try to re-shape the entire property. At least that's what it seems like to me. Trouble is with Val, she thinks that everything can be done immediately, if not sooner. Heck, all the snow hasn't quite gone yet and it's still cold and wet out there.

Unfortunately, Pete's machine has been sitting over the winter months under a big blanket of snow, just like everything else up here. It seems to have developed some sort of fuel blockage - at least that's our guess. It runs for awhile, then starts acting up. Replaced the air and fuel filters today, but to little avail. So now we wait for his mechanic friend to come up from Vernon to see what might be wrong.

Then we had a break in a water line which feeds one of the standpipes out in the lower garden. It has probably been broken for months, but with the break being 4 feet below the surface, it took some time for the ground to saturate and water to start running out from below where the break was to above ground. By the time we got around to trying to fix it, there was a stream running above ground.

I couldn't figure out why the snow wasn't sticking on the ground around one of the big rocks, of course it was because the water was running out all winter long.

Even with a broken axle in the little excavator I was able to move her down there and get the ground dug up. The closer I got to the break the muddier the ground became, as I'm quite sure you can imagine. What a mess that was.

To add to our pleasure, when I spoke with the chap who put the standpipes in, he said that he didn't think there was a shutoff for the standpipes in the house. To the best of his recollection he simply teed off the line which ran under what used to be the old crawl space.

The local district, in their infinite wisdom, have decreed that they are the only people who can shut your water off at the street. How terribly handy. They will send out a truck with two men, apparently one man is incapable of turning a simple valve by himself. I suppose the other is a supervisor. For this you will be charged one hour each way for two men, plus the 1 minute or so that it actually takes to close the valve. So that's a minimum of four man hours.

Then, when you are done fixing your little problem, they will do it all over again and gouge you out of another two hours for each man to come out and turn the valve back on again, which is about another minute of their obviously very valuable time. Now we are up to eight man hours...plus the two minutes it takes to do the job.

Honest to Pete, this has to be just about the most ridiculous waste of money I've ever heard of.

Evidently they get their knickers in a twist if you have the colossal gall to turn your own water supply off.

I won't admit to having the requisite shutoff tool, but then neither did I bother to call them either. You can let your imagination wander.

Spring may finally be arriving here about one month late. It's about time. usually by mid April we have had a few very warm days. Not so this year. There were still snowfall warnings being issued as recently as yesterday for some of the passes. I haven't checked the Coquihalla (the Coke to locals) for a few days, but there was still tons of snow there last weekend.

Many of the accidents on the Coke over this past winter have been really terrible. You can Google that to see what some of them were like. We got caught in no less than three of the accident scenes which typically resulted in us being turned back or having to wait several hours.  One accident had a dual fatality, the others were just very expensive semi truck accidents and when I spoke with the RCMP there were no fatalities in those. I think Val took some photos, so if we can get them out of her phone onto the computer - which doesn't seem to work very well - I'll try to post a few.

If the warm weather ever arrives, I should have a few outside projects to keep you amused with. Well, here's hoping anyway!

And by the way, thanks to our newbie poster fhc for honouring me with his (or her?) first post.


----------



## BigJim

Keith, it is good to see your smiling face buddy. I hope all goes well for Val very soon. 

That busted water leak must have cost you a fortune, it sure would have here. Man I sure know what you mean about the being old part. I just finished pulling and installing a new engine in one of our grandson's car and this week finished building a 8X20 front porch. The deck wasn't too bad, the roof like to got me though. I think I am through with bigger projects, just too much for me to handle. My mind says go go and my body says no no. LOL 

I hope your weather gives you a break, it is starting to get nice down this way.


----------



## 123pugsy

Wow, what happened, "pugsy luck" come out your way.....you have my sympathies.

We have the same weather issues over here. We now have about 7" of hard packed corn snow with the rain pouring down at present on top of it.
Gonna find out how my weeping tile system is doing now. It's a friggan mess. This winter will never end.........lain:

Hoping for the best for Val. 
Glad to see you're OK. We all get a little nervous around here when one of our regulars has nothing to say for so long.


----------



## cocobolo

Well good people, it is Canada Day once again. We are (I believe) now 151 years old. So....
Happy Canada Day!


----------



## ddsrph

Just saw your post about the water cutoff issue. That sounds ridiculous and you can bet I would have my own cutoff tool. Here in Moore county Tennessee you are required to have your own cut off valve at the street a foot or two downstream from theirs. When we are going to be away for any length of time I always cut mine off.


----------



## cocobolo

To say that things have been busy out this way would be an understatement of biblical proportions.

The weather has been basically terrible considering that half the year has now vanished and it is allegedly what is supposed to pass for summer. More rain, thunder and lightning than I care to remember.

But we have been progressing on a number of fronts here, which - hopefully - I will be able to inform you about.

Now, I usually post all the pictures on my old iMac, but I have recently discovered that it is so old that it no longer will accept the current software updates. My laptop, from which this is being sent, is also getting a little long in the tooth, but I have never entered any photos on it, due to limited storage space. When I bought it, I made the mistake of not getting the most ram possible. I think it saved me something like $150 at the time of purchase, and I have regretted not buying the better ram ever since.

It looks as though I shall have to switch over to the new desktop for any future picture posting, although that was not the purpose for which the new iMac was bought. One way or another I will need to figure it all out.

Now, as far as work hereabouts, Pete's excavator has been repaired by one of the local good guys and is running fine. However, Pete has not been back up this way (he lives down at the coast) since the fix has been in.

Val's health is now good, and the blockage in the artery proved to be insufficient to require any surgery, thank goodness.

Val also hired a new fellow to build a big stone retaining wall alongside the driveway. He got started just last Tuesday late in the day, and is very nearly finished. I will see if we can get some of the pics of this endeavour posted.

Down by the lower shed we uncovered a massive boulder. It was showing its' head just above ground level maybe 6" or so. I thought, oh well, it can't be that big so we'll just have it dug out by one of the excavators that are here. I needed that out of the way because I'm going to add a lean-to alongside the shed, and we would be rolling some of the equipment over top of it. Not very convenient to say the least.

Long story short, this boulder turned out to be something like 8 feet long, 7 feet wide and nearly as tall as I am. The excavators didn't stand a chance to lift it, so it turned out that I would have to try and break it up. Our first thought was that we could dig a deeper hole alongside it, but that proved to be more difficult than we realized. Turns out that there simply wasn't the room between the shed and the first storage shed we have there...so put on the thinking cap and figure out what to do.

Many years ago I remember reading the Lee Valley catalogue and finding out about feathers and wedges. I've never used any, until now. Picked up a bunch of these little treasures and started working on the rock. With a little luck I should be able to get the pictures of the resulting destruction posted soon.

Lots of projects on the go, including some upholstery for a pair of seats in a '30 Model A sedan delivery. I'll fill you in on that later...still have the '33 but as with all such projects, it is taking longer than expected to get done, not to mention the unending requirement for the almighty dollar.

We're expecting a delivery of a big load of lumber next week to build a platform for the swimming pool. Last year, the unstable ground allowed one side of the pool to settle a few inches lower. Which in turn caused the frequent spill of water over one side, which in turn excavated yet more ground under that side. It was a vicious cycle, so we plan on stopping that this year.

And we have on order some additional siding which should be enough to finish the house. This time, we're getting it all finished, as Val decided that we aren't going to go through the exercise of planing and machining rough lumber any more.

There's a few other things underway as well, but that should be enough for now. We're extremely busy today and tomorrow, so it may be a day or three before I can get around to posting photos of some of the damage we have inflicted on this poor old house.


----------



## cocobolo

ddsrph said:


> Just saw your post about the water cutoff issue. That sounds ridiculous and you can bet I would have my own cutoff tool. Here in Moore county Tennessee you are required to have your own cut off valve at the street a foot or two downstream from theirs. When we are going to be away for any length of time I always cut mine off.


It's just typical government greed up this way. The more cash they can grab from you the happier they are.

We do have a shutoff inside the house, which is also required here, but in the case of the two standpipes, it seems that the connection to the supply was made UPSTREAM of the house shutoff. That was somewhat shortsighted in my view. We spoke with the original installer, and all he can recall is that he just teed off from a line "somewhere under the house". Since that has now all been completely rebuilt and covered up, it's not likely that I will ever find the line.


----------



## BigJim

Man o man, is it ever so good to see your smiling face Keith. Looks like you are up to being your usual self, so busy and so many projects it makes the rest of us look like wimps. Really looking forward to all of your projects especially the '30 Model A sedan delivery, I am drooling on my key board. LOL

Oh and HAPPY CANADA DAY to you buddy.


----------



## cocobolo

Thank you Sir James! 

Your July 4th is coming up pretty quickly...I must remember to post for that auspicious day for you guys south of the border. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Jim, a quick note on the '30 A.

The car is an old school build done down in California a good number of years ago. It doesn't look too bad given its' age.

It has a 350 Chevy with a 700R4 tranny and an ancient 10 bolt rear end which seems to have a leak. Lots of little problems with it, and we have already tackled most of them.

We think the 350 is around 35 years old, and it looks like a dead stock cam. So why the builder put a two four barrel manifold with twin 600 CFM Edelbrock's on it is way beyond me. There's no way on this green earth that the motor could swallow 1200 CFM on a bet. Mind you, it does have progressive linkage on it and it seems that it was set up so that not all eight barrels would actually open.

We think it was probably done just for the looks. So we have abandoned that idea and put on a new Edelbrock single four manifold with a new 600 carb to match.

The front end is - we think - a '37 to '41 Ford solid axle. The front brakes were somewhat of a nightmare and I'll try to explain why.

Now, as any self respecting hot rodder knows, you bolt the backing plates directly on to the spindles. Well, the builder in this case had added about 3/4" of spacers between the backing plates and the spindles. While we didn't think this was any too safe, it does appear to have survived from the day the car was built. We tried to figure out why this was done, and it appears to have been something to do with the front drums.

When we took the whole kit and caboodle apart, the brake shoes were not fully covered by the drums. We can only guess that the builder used whatever he had at the time to get things running. As you can imagine, the brakes were none too effective. In fact, all four shoes on the front were cracked.

Our solution was to yard out everything from the kingpins out, and it's a good thing we did. Jim, I expect you recall those old kingpins back in the day. They came without proper bushings and often needed to be rebuilt and those bronze bushings added. I remember reading in the old Hot Rod mags from the late '50's about how to do the fix. You needed the services of a good machinist to do the job right. We found new kingpins which come with nice roller bearings. Wow, talk about an improvement.

We have opted to junk the whole original front brake system and switch to discs, which we hope will improve the braking. Much to our surprise, the car already has a proportioning valve installed, so one less thing to either have to change or add.

Now the reason that we are messing about with upholstering some new front seats goes like this.

The car has one helluva chopped roof and it rakes like crazy toward the front. So much so that when you are sitting in the drivers' seat you cannot see properly out of the windshield. So we have picked up some aluminum side pieces which they use to make bomber seats from, and we are switching the old seats out for the much lower bomber style seats.

These seats will essentially deposit our backsides about an inch off the floor. That enables us to see out of the front window.

The A is down at the boys shop in Cloverdale, and I hope to be able to get down there perhaps next weekend to fit the seats. Either that, or I will try to suck number one son in to bringing the A up here on the trailer. We can do the seats here.

Good thing the car wasn't quite ready for this weekend, as we have had nothing but terrible weather so far all weekend. There is usually a big fireworks display on Canada Day just down the road from us on the beach. At this rate everyone will need webbed feet to get anywhere tonight.


----------



## BigJim

Keith, if you can find a stock #1 327 Vet grind cam it should make your car run pretty good. I built out a 350 several years back with pop up pistons, the heads just couldn't handle it and burned about 1/4" down in between cylinders. After the fact I found out 72 heads would have done the trick.

Pretty interesting that all small black Chevy engines have the same firing order. 

Man, two four barrels, good way to wash a set of rings out.

Buddy I do remember the old Kingpins and bushings, I have seen times I had to pull the whole axle out and use a sledge hammer to get them out. I sure don't miss them. LOL

I don't blame you, I would trash the brake system also, that is not too cool the way he had them set up.

I am dying to see your car, that chopped top sounds great. I don't know if I could handle being that close to the floor though.

I know when you get through with the car it will be perfect, that is just the way you are. I hope your weather settles down for you soon, we have had our share of rain down this way already, heat index in the 100's plus, high humidity, sweat like a mule if outside for any length of time. LOL


----------



## cocobolo

Good morning Jim.

I don't think it's going to be necessary to change the cam in the A. While the old 350 has seen better days - it's blowing a little blue on startup - likely due to poor valve seals. The car is so light that it has no trouble trying to destroy the back tires if you aren't careful on the loud pedal.

Yes, we also needed the services of a hand sledge to knock the old kingpins out. Getting the locking bolts out of the side wasn't too bad. But when we finally managed to remove the old kingpins, there was some very fine rust inside. Pretty difficult to get them out with that rust.

So we cleaned everything up nicely and the new pins went in completely trouble free. They also have excellent lube points, so we shouldn't have any difficulty keeping things smooth in future.

The new spindles also require new steering arms, and we debated whether or not to just modify the old ones or buy something new that fit properly. Well, it turns out that Speedway has a large selection and we now have the proper ones on order. They should be there today or tomorrow. Of course, that also means new tie rod ends as well.

As for the weather Jim, last night was a total washout, so no fireworks here. Today has been much brighter, but we're still clouded over.

Not sure if we want to trade weather patterns with you Jim, I expect that we will warm up soon enough!


----------



## BigJim

I know I am not going to spell this word right but you could knurl the valve guides and install Teflon seals and get a few more miles out of the ole 350. I am not a big fan of knurl guides because they won't last a long long time but with the Teflon seals they won't suck oil in there for many many miles.


----------



## cocobolo

Jim, if you saw these heads you would chuckle. 

The original builder didn't even bother to match the intake ports to the gaskets.

These days the factory does a way better job of their castings and things match up quite well. So, for now anyway, we're going to leave well enough alone.

Providing that we get the last couple of items sorted out on the front end, I will likely only be driving it for the next three months or so. This definitely isn't the sort of car that you can run around in when there's a foot of snow on the ground!

I wouldn't bother to knurl the valve guides, although when I had my Snap On valve grinding equipment, I must admit I did that several times. These days I would just bolt on a set of far better aluminum heads with new valves.


----------



## cocobolo

It's time for me to wish all our good American friends a very...
Happy Independence Day


----------



## BigJim

Thanks Buddy, we appreciate it.


----------



## BigJim

Hey Keith, have you heard anything from jlhaslip, he hasn't posted since June 18th. Getting concerned about him. I hope you are doing well buddy.


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Jim:
No, I haven't heard a word. Perhaps he is up to his armpits in alligators as we have been lately. I will send you an email shortly.


----------



## BigJim

Thanks buddy.


----------



## cocobolo

Holy smokes, time sure does fly when you're having fun!

No posts in almost a month.

I've probably forgotten what has been done here since the last time I had an update.

So the bigger items that I can remember would include getting the inside of the house cleared out so that we could actually get at some more of the drywalling. We just have the small mud room and the adjoining pantry downstairs to get the taping and mudding finished up in.

While we were at it we decided that the workshop should be drywalled, if for no other reason than to hide the exceptionally ugly yellow 3/8" plywood sheathing originally applied about 40 years ago. It is all boarded now, still needs taping and mudding, presumably to be followed by some sort of painting.

We put up a roof which extends out on the east side of the house, mainly so that we had somewhere to keep the siding under cover while we were staining it all.

The shed down below where we keep the excavator in the winter has had a lean to added. This is for the purpose of being able to keep all the various and sundry small pieces of equipment out of the weather. Cement mixers, chipper, tractor lift, lawnmower, Val's scooter, that sort of thing.

Then we had the bathroom downstairs, the new one, tiled in a Turkish travertine, a natural stone. So that means it is full of holes. Not the easiest thing to grout, and I am still wondering if we shouldn't have used non-sanded grout, even though there were plenty of holes bigger than 1/8".

Inside the entrance downstairs that was also tiled, but with a simple square porcelain tile in the ever popular shade of brindle brown. Yes, we got the drywalling finished in the entrance before we tiled.

Then we decided that the old carport had to go as the original builder who installed the vinyl on top failed to run the vinyl up the wall. Just too lazy to take off the bottom row of siding I guess. You can guess just what shape much of the plywood was in under the vinyl.

We are putting up a new roof in place of the old deck and I think we should get a few extra square feet out of the deal.

So far we have the two outside walls built. Today we got the trusses glued and screwed together and got them stood up. The weather was supposed to be nothing but rain, but once the rain quit this morning, it turned out to be gorgeous. We just managed to get the first two sheets of sheathing on the roof before we got stopped by an obvious lack of light. That means 13 more sheets to go.

Since our weather forecast can never ever be relied on to be correct, we will use the old "look out the window" forecast in the morning to see what's shaking. If it's good we will have a go at getting more of the sheathing in place.

Yes, we did manage to get quite a bit of siding done in between the other jobs. So, all in all there has been a ton of activity here lately. The goal is to get the inside of the house done by Christmas. It has been house 1, hot rods 0. That better change next year! :devil3:


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Holy smokes, time sure does fly when you're having fun!
> 
> No posts in almost a month.
> 
> I've probably forgotten what has been done here since the last time I had an update.
> 
> So the bigger items that I can remember would include getting the inside of the house cleared out so that we could actually get at some more of the drywalling. We just have the small mud room and the adjoining pantry downstairs to get the taping and mudding finished up in.
> 
> While we were at it we decided that the workshop should be drywalled, if for no other reason than to hide the exceptionally ugly yellow 3/8" plywood sheathing originally applied about 40 years ago. It is all boarded now, still needs taping and mudding, presumably to be followed by some sort of painting.
> 
> We put up a roof which extends out on the east side of the house, mainly so that we had somewhere to keep the siding under cover while we were staining it all.
> 
> The shed down below where we keep the excavator in the winter has had a lean to added. This is for the purpose of being able to keep all the various and sundry small pieces of equipment out of the weather. Cement mixers, chipper, tractor lift, lawnmower, Val's scooter, that sort of thing.
> 
> Then we had the bathroom downstairs, the new one, tiled in a Turkish travertine, a natural stone. So that means it is full of holes. Not the easiest thing to grout, and I am still wondering if we shouldn't have used non-sanded grout, even though there were plenty of holes bigger than 1/8".
> 
> Inside the entrance downstairs that was also tiled, but with a simple square porcelain tile in the ever popular shade of brindle brown. Yes, we got the drywalling finished in the entrance before we tiled.
> 
> Then we decided that the old carport had to go as the original builder who installed the vinyl on top failed to run the vinyl up the wall. Just too lazy to take off the bottom row of siding I guess. You can guess just what shape much of the plywood was in under the vinyl.
> 
> We are putting up a new roof in place of the old deck and I think we should get a few extra square feet out of the deal.
> 
> So far we have the two outside walls built. Today we got the trusses glued and screwed together and got them stood up. The weather was supposed to be nothing but rain, but once the rain quit this morning, it turned out to be gorgeous. We just managed to get the first two sheets of sheathing on the roof before we got stopped by an obvious lack of light. That means 13 more sheets to go.
> 
> Since our weather forecast can never ever be relied on to be correct, we will use the old "look out the window" forecast in the morning to see what's shaking. If it's good we will have a go at getting more of the sheathing in place.
> 
> Yes, we did manage to get quite a bit of siding done in between the other jobs. So, all in all there has been a ton of activity here lately. The goal is to get the inside of the house done by Christmas. It has been house 1, hot rods 0. That better change next year! :devil3:


Man, that makes me tired just thinking about all y'all have accomplished. You are amazing to say the least. 

I may be down for the count, I messed my back up three months ago, usually I can keep going and it will work itself out, not this time. I have way too much to do to be out of commission. Back or no, I have to swap out our electrical panel soon, it is just a total mess.

I hope you can finish up your house projects soon so you both can do somethings you want to. I know you are itching to get on your hot rod, I sure would be.


----------



## 123pugsy

Thanks for the update.


Looks like we both have the same house/hot rod score.....:sad:


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Thanks for the update.
> 
> 
> Looks like we both have the same house/hot rod score.....:sad:


Exactly. I'm thinking that when the snow disappears next spring that no matter what happens, the hot rod goes to number 1!

Just got a call from number one son, and he's coming up here from the coast this Wednesday to help. I don't have a roofing gun, but he does and that will speed up the process very considerably.

Raining here now - what else is new - but we are expecting some breaks this afternoon. We will get done whatever we can today.

Val and I looked back on what has been done in the past week or two, and for a couple of old jokes it's not bad at all. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Man, that makes me tired just thinking about all y'all have accomplished. You are amazing to say the least.
> 
> I may be down for the count, I messed my back up three months ago, usually I can keep going and it will work itself out, not this time. I have way too much to do to be out of commission. Back or no, I have to swap out our electrical panel soon, it is just a total mess.
> 
> I hope you can finish up your house projects soon so you both can do somethings you want to. I know you are itching to get on your hot rod, I sure would be.


You probably remember the shenanigans we went through with the old electrical mess that was here before. Talk about a nightmare!

Jim, once you get it fixed up you'll be so happy.

I finally did get the big panel all sorted out and working well. And we completely emptied out the sub-panel and started from scratch. No trouble at all since this was done.

We have a friend up here who is a journeyman electrician, and for what it's worth he said that the old FPE panel and breakers that were here originally were not reliable in his opinion. So we went with the old standby of Square D and have had no issues since.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> You probably remember the shenanigans we went through with the old electrical mess that was here before. Talk about a nightmare!
> 
> Jim, once you get it fixed up you'll be so happy.
> 
> I finally did get the big panel all sorted out and working well. And we completely emptied out the sub-panel and started from scratch. No trouble at all since this was done.
> 
> We have a friend up here who is a journeyman electrician, and for what it's worth he said that the old FPE panel and breakers that were here originally were not reliable in his opinion. So we went with the old standby of Square D and have had no issues since.


The old panel we have now is Sq D, there was one breaker that was arcing. I changed that one out but you have never seen such a mess, I don't know who wired this mess but they need their butt kicked.


----------



## cocobolo

As previously reported, number one son came up here on Wednesday to help with the new carport roof. We got a fair bit done on the Wednesday and fortunately were able to finish the job on Thursday, but not without a few hiccups.

He has a roofing nailer which he brought along, but apparently he had loaned it out to someone else and had not used it since then. Of course, something was wrong with it and it wouldn't fire the nails.

Did a quick search online for tool rental places and the closest was over in Salmon Arm 80 kilometres away. So that is an hour each way. Called the local Home hardware store on the off chance that they might have one for rent, but they don't rent tools at all. However, it turned out that one of their former employees who lives in Scotch Creek, which is only 22 kilometres away, has recently started up his own small tool rental place.

Gave him a call, and lo and behold I'll be damned if he didn't have a roofing nailer for rent. Over we go, pick up the nailer, and as soon as I walked into his office, I recognized him right away. He gave us a good deal on the gun rental and off we went.

Thursday morning dawned with a good half inch thick layer of very heavy frost on the roof, so we had little choice but to wait for the sun to get round past a huge fir tree on the neighbours' property so it could burn off the frost. 

All was good as soon as that happened and we finished the roof without any further troubles. It was a good thing too, as the forecast for last night was snow. And they were right. Woke up to the first real snowfall of the season with about three inches on the ground this morning.

Number one son headed back to the coast yesterday, but not until he had helped me get that infernal serpentine belt back on to the Chevy. The instructions say to remove all manner of stuff that is right in the way at the front end of the motor. But he said no, you don't need to do that.

Well, somehow he managed to get in there and he got the belt on OK. I honestly don't know how he managed to do that, but it worked first try.

There was still some daylight left after that was done, so he helped me take down the old deck that was now under the nice new roof.

I really must see if I can get the photo thing all figured out as I have lots of pictures backed up and no place to go.


----------



## cocobolo

Seems like it was just yesterday that I last posted, and here it is the 24th already. Where on earth does the time go?


Let's see now...after the carport was basically put up and roofed, and the old deck demolished, it was time to try and add a half decent looking gable end to said roof. This I managed to accomplish despite the charmingly low temperatures outside - read fingers freezing within 10 minutes - and then to add to my pleasure, I decided that a couple of short return walls in front would certainly add to the appearance.


This, of course, meant more footings, albeit only two feet long each, but with the temperature being anything but co-operative I really did have to wonder whether it was such a good idea at this time. Anyway, since there's no time like the present I figured what the heck, and did it anyway.


Now all this while Val was still down at the coast trying to get her hearing aid sorted out after it crapped out completely after just two days after being repaired...at a cost of $525.00 no less! Not until yesterday, more about this in a minute, did she finally get some satisfaction from the inept hearing aid outfit. It seems that when Canada Post sent the package down from here to the coast that "it didn't arrive" according to the hearing aid people. This was now at least a month ago. 



Then they called her and said, oh yes, it is here after all, sorry about that. Half an hour later she gets another call....Oh, sorry again, it is someone else's hearing aid that came in, not yours." So Val is under the impression that by now her hearing aid has been lost.


Yesterday she got an excellent email from Canada Post saying that they have just completed an exhaustive investigation into the alleged loss of her hearing aid, and they were able to confirm delivery several weeks ago to the hearing aid company's "depot box", whatever that is. It turned out that nobody from the company had even bothered to clear their depot box out for the past FIVE weeks! No wonder the idiots couldn't find it. And all this after Val had paid for Express post delivery as well. 



Her call to the manager lead nowhere, so she asked to speak to the supervisor. Shortly after the managerial call, the supervisor called as promised. However, by this time Val was in no mood to speak in a politically correct fashion and was demanding her $525 back. Oopsy, the supervisor would not accede to her request (not surprisingly, I suppose) so Val said to her, then please have YOUR supervisor call me as your service has been atrocious at best and I am not a happy customer now.


OK, the next up the line person calls her, and this is the district supervisor...getting close to the top now. With very little fight, the DS grants Val's request and refunds the $525 to her credit card. Now, the next step involves Val needing to take yet another trip back to the coast - which would be another 1,000 kilometer round trip. This is because they re-tune the hearing aid to the present condition of her hearing ability. At the end of the day, the hearing aid clods are going to tune the gadget to her last reading and then courier the hearing aid up to the house here so she doesn't need to make another two day trip to the coast. Problem solved, but it took five weeks to get this done. Outrageous!


Back to the carport. Footings poured, framing added for the short walls, siding is done and stained and this afternoon we went in to Kamloops and picked up a couple of lights for the short walls to spruce things up a bit.


Also decided that we might need another 30 or so 24" by 24" pavers similar to what is there now for the carport floor. Now these turkeys weigh 87 pounds each, so we can only carry 16 at a time in our utility trailer, since it has a 1,400 pound capacity limit. 



Sounds like more heavy work inline for tomorrow....aaaahh...no rest for the wicked! :devil3:


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Seems like it was just yesterday that I last posted, and here it is the 24th already. Where on earth does the time go?
> 
> 
> Let's see now...after the carport was basically put up and roofed, and the old deck demolished, it was time to try and add a half decent looking gable end to said roof. This I managed to accomplish despite the charmingly low temperatures outside - read fingers freezing within 10 minutes - and then to add to my pleasure, I decided that a couple of short return walls in front would certainly add to the appearance.
> 
> 
> This, of course, meant more footings, albeit only two feet long each, but with the temperature being anything but co-operative I really did have to wonder whether it was such a good idea at this time. Anyway, since there's no time like the present I figured what the heck, and did it anyway.
> 
> 
> Now all this while Val was still down at the coast trying to get her hearing aid sorted out after it crapped out completely after just two days after being repaired...at a cost of $525.00 no less! Not until yesterday, more about this in a minute, did she finally get some satisfaction from the inept hearing aid outfit. It seems that when Canada Post sent the package down from here to the coast that "it didn't arrive" according to the hearing aid people. This was now at least a month ago.
> 
> 
> 
> Then they called her and said, oh yes, it is here after all, sorry about that. Half an hour later she gets another call....Oh, sorry again, it is someone else's hearing aid that came in, not yours." So Val is under the impression that by now her hearing aid has been lost.
> 
> 
> Yesterday she got an excellent email from Canada Post saying that they have just completed an exhaustive investigation into the alleged loss of her hearing aid, and they were able to confirm delivery several weeks ago to the hearing aid company's "depot box", whatever that is. It turned out that nobody from the company had even bothered to clear their depot box out for the past FIVE weeks! No wonder the idiots couldn't find it. And all this after Val had paid for Express post delivery as well.
> 
> 
> 
> Her call to the manager lead nowhere, so she asked to speak to the supervisor. Shortly after the managerial call, the supervisor called as promised. However, by this time Val was in no mood to speak in a politically correct fashion and was demanding her $525 back. Oopsy, the supervisor would not accede to her request (not surprisingly, I suppose) so Val said to her, then please have YOUR supervisor call me as your service has been atrocious at best and I am not a happy customer now.
> 
> 
> OK, the next up the line person calls her, and this is the district supervisor...getting close to the top now. With very little fight, the DS grants Val's request and refunds the $525 to her credit card. Now, the next step involves Val needing to take yet another trip back to the coast - which would be another 1,000 kilometer round trip. This is because they re-tune the hearing aid to the present condition of her hearing ability. At the end of the day, the hearing aid clods are going to tune the gadget to her last reading and then courier the hearing aid up to the house here so she doesn't need to make another two day trip to the coast. Problem solved, but it took five weeks to get this done. Outrageous!
> 
> 
> Back to the carport. Footings poured, framing added for the short walls, siding is done and stained and this afternoon we went in to Kamloops and picked up a couple of lights for the short walls to spruce things up a bit.
> 
> 
> Also decided that we might need another 30 or so 24" by 24" pavers similar to what is there now for the carport floor. Now these turkeys weigh 87 pounds each, so we can only carry 16 at a time in our utility trailer, since it has a 1,400 pound capacity limit.
> 
> 
> 
> Sounds like more heavy work inline for tomorrow....aaaahh...no rest for the wicked! :devil3:


Man that is one heck of an ordeal Keith, I am sure y'all are like me here, I am so sick of people not doing their jobs right. All people in the work force care about is the hand out on payday and do as little as possible, just burns my butt up. 

I have to wear two hearing aids but being a service connected disabled vet, I get my hearing aids free, they even buy my batteries. I really hate that Val had to go through all the frustrations dealing with the...people.

Man If I had to lift 87 pounds, I would be in serious trouble, my back is still messed up from covering the pontoon a few months back.

Buddy I know how you feel trying to work outside in the cold like that. There is no way to use a hammer and nails wearing gloves, just don't work. Back when I was building, we would sometime have to scrape ice off the top plate before we could lay out for ceiling/floor joists. We had a fire going in a 55 gallon barrel, About 20-30 minutes nailing before we had to warm our hands by the fire. By the end of the day we would be sweating though, even with snow or ice on the ground.

Sure am glad I don't have to do that now days.


----------



## cocobolo

Morning Jim:

Looking outside at all the cloud right now, and thinking that we are supposed to get some sun today. Not too sure about that.

We are going to have to move all the 16 pavers out of the trailer this morning and get the rest of the ground levelled off before we can lay them. Several will need to be cut and I guess I will use an angle grinder with the diamond blade for that.

I'm just hoping that the ground has not yet frozen which would make it a giant pain. I don't think so, as the roof should give some protection for that. Guess we will find out after breakfast.

Lots to do again today, and we are sure looking forward to getting all this outside work done before the next big snowfall hits. Looking across the lake to the south side mountains, I'm guessing that the snow level is still about 1,500 feet above us. It can stay there as long as it likes!

Yesterday the guys came to pick up the excavator - which has been languishing with a broken axle for ages. No idea what they are going to find inside the rear end, but they did warn us that the parts are very likely to run in the $2,000 range...ouch!

However, it will be good to get the little girl back working properly again. I still have some work to get done down by the sheds before the ground freezes for the winter. Maybe yes, maybe no. Depends how long it takes to get fixed.

Be sure to look after that back of yours Jim. I know just how much fun that is to have to put up with.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Morning Jim:
> 
> Looking outside at all the cloud right now, and thinking that we are supposed to get some sun today. Not too sure about that.
> 
> We are going to have to move all the 16 pavers out of the trailer this morning and get the rest of the ground levelled off before we can lay them. Several will need to be cut and I guess I will use an angle grinder with the diamond blade for that.
> 
> I'm just hoping that the ground has not yet frozen which would make it a giant pain. I don't think so, as the roof should give some protection for that. Guess we will find out after breakfast.
> 
> Lots to do again today, and we are sure looking forward to getting all this outside work done before the next big snowfall hits. Looking across the lake to the south side mountains, I'm guessing that the snow level is still about 1,500 feet above us. It can stay there as long as it likes!
> 
> Yesterday the guys came to pick up the excavator - which has been languishing with a broken axle for ages. No idea what they are going to find inside the rear end, but they did warn us that the parts are very likely to run in the $2,000 range...ouch!
> 
> However, it will be good to get the little girl back working properly again. I still have some work to get done down by the sheds before the ground freezes for the winter. Maybe yes, maybe no. Depends how long it takes to get fixed.
> 
> Be sure to look after that back of yours Jim. I know just how much fun that is to have to put up with.


Buddy I sure hope you can get all done outside before snow hits. I know you both are so ready to have that behind you. Man, I hurt for you having to move those big pavers, I would have to be using my two wheeler for that, no way could I pick one up.

That is the pits on your excavator, those part can and are pretty high. I tore the bull gears up in one of the final drives on my dozer and was happy to find one at $1500 20 years ago. When I blew the rear end out is when I threw in the towel. Too much money for a play purty to keep messing up like that. I didn't need my machine as bad as you need yours. It was a lot of fun though.


----------



## cocobolo

I think as far as the excavator goes, I will finish up with the work that needs to be done more or less immediately, and then we will sell the machine. It has given us good service, and although we are not looking forward to the bill for repairs, we will be happy when it is done.

Fortunately, I was able to back the trailer down the driveway and get it very close to where we need the pavers laid. We only got 2 1/2 done today, as we got tied up with doing more of the siding inside the carport. I cut the half piece with the angle grinder and that only took a couple of minutes, really quite fast and easy.

Tomorrow I think we will be able to get close to finishing the present load of pavers, then it will be off again into Kamloops to get the rest.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> I think as far as the excavator goes, I will finish up with the work that needs to be done more or less immediately, and then we will sell the machine. It has given us good service, and although we are not looking forward to the bill for repairs, we will be happy when it is done.
> 
> Fortunately, I was able to back the trailer down the driveway and get it very close to where we need the pavers laid. We only got 2 1/2 done today, as we got tied up with doing more of the siding inside the carport. I cut the half piece with the angle grinder and that only took a couple of minutes, really quite fast and easy.
> 
> Tomorrow I think we will be able to get close to finishing the present load of pavers, then it will be off again into Kamloops to get the rest.


The bad part is, as soon as you sell it, you will need it really bad, at least that is the way it is with me. LOL


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> The bad part is, as soon as you sell it, you will need it really bad, at least that is the way it is with me. LOL


Right Jim, you can pretty much take that to the bank every time. 

Our neighbour has a 6 ton machine, although I will be very careful should we need to hire him again. Simple ground moving stuff he's OK with, building stone walls...not so much.


----------



## cocobolo

We got through most of the pavers today, but it was too cold outside for us old jokes to stay out there too long at one time. So around 4 o'clock we decided to go into Kamloops and pick up the other 16 pavers. This should be all we need unless I have messed up on my figuring.

The weather liars, I mean gurus, claimed that we would have some sun tomorrow. Now when I just checked they have decided that we need more rain. I hate to disappoint them, but we've had enough thank you very much!

At least 90% of the paving work is under cover of the carport, so I suppose I had better not complain too much. Hopefully we will get it finished tomorrow.


----------



## BigJim

Kieth, you two are just unbelievable, were do you both get so much energy? Just think, every paver you lay, is just one less you will ever have to lay. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Jim: Not sure where the energy comes from...maybe from Val's good cooking!

We had rain all night long again, but it has stopped for now. No doubt only temporarily. 

I'm busy on the market every morning, so I'm up at 6 am and don't have much time to devote to the house until after 1 pm our time after the market closes.

We have four deer visiting us outside right now, so Val is happy. She talks to them and they aren't bothered at all by that. They just look up and then go back to eating the grass.

But it will be back to the pavers later on and I will try to get them all finished today.


----------



## cocobolo

Good grief Charlie Brown, has it really been 5 months since I last posted?

Could I use the excuse that time flies when you're having fun, or won't you guys buy that one?

Anyway, things have certainly been progressing apace and quite a bit has been done since I last put pen to paper, or pixels to the computer screen as the case may be.

Still haven't found the time to get back into the picture thing, one of these days.....

I managed to get clumsy outside a few weeks back and took a little tumble down a steep gravel covered bank. Landed on my hip and it hasn't quite been the same since. Gotta be more careful now I guess, since I'm not quite the spring chicken I used to be. Hard to accept these things sometimes. We all think we are invincible but I've had to change my opinion on that one.

So we finally have all the drywall finished, with the exception of out in the workshop. But all the living areas are done now and almost all of the last painting is done. Still have the doors and trims to paint, baseboards and door casings to install, but none of that is really too terrifying or time consuming.

There is some flooring to lay in the pantry/mud room, no big deal. All the necessities are here for that.

Now, to make matters worse I have just lost my star helper for the next two weeks. She's down at the coast - arrived late this afternoon - doing all manner of stuff while she's there. Most important thing to her is her girls and grand kids. She will stay until right after mothers' day, so I hope they all spoil her rotten that day.

We have just had a big excavator here and Mike has done a great job of building not one, not two, not even three, but four rock walls. He also flattened out an area to the east side which we will plant grass on. That way the kids will have a decent area to pitch their tents when they visit in the summertime. Let's face it, there isn't much in Anglemont that can even remotely be considered as level. We are, after all, right on the side of a mountain.

The area in front of the house facing west has had the driveway widened by some 10 feet or more. Even Val says she should be able to back the Honda down there now.

I understand there will be a bit of a delay in getting the aluminum railings and tempered glass done for the deck upstairs. Apparently, there is about a one month backlog for the glass to be tempered. It is custom sized rather than being one of the standard sizes. Trust us to do something dumb like that. Oh well.

The gutter guys should be here soon to do the last sections on the carport, which wasn't built when they were here last fall. Val also wants some aluminum soffit added under the roof overhang above that top deck outside the master bedroom and living room. Much easier for them to do it than the old guy here. Might be awhile before the hip and back get well enough to do much more work outside.

Still quite a bit of siding to get done, although we have all the materials on hand for that. I might have to wait until number one son comes up here with the railings to finish the siding. I seem to be having a spot of bother walking very far since my little tumble.

Still have plans for a greenhouse on the lower part of the bench, which is something else that Mike got more or less sorted out for us.

We had to get about half a dozen loads of fill brought in, along with countless loads of rock for the walls.

The local quarry over at Celista produces some really huge rocks up in the 5 to 6 ton range. Mike's 7 ton excavator had difficulty with several of them. But he managed. They use a 450 machine to load at the quarry. It's huge!

There is enough navajack here to pour a few more steps on the side of the updated driveway as well as a set of steps we want to put in at the south east corner of the house down to the recently updated driveway. I think I will need number one son to help with that as well.

We have got the excavator fixed up, at least we got the new drive motor installed and then we needed a new set of tracks for it. Always something. But is sure is good having that little girl back on the payroll again.

Val has decided that we need the help of a landscaper and I reluctantly had to agree with her. Until I can get rid of this darned cane I don't think I will be a lot of help outside. Or inside for that matter.

Then one of the last things is that I will have to remove the original retaining "wall" alongside the house where it faces the road. That so called wall is just some vertical logs stuffed into the ground with some boards attached thereto. I think it has probably been deceased for at least a few years now.

The big O and gravel is in place, so once I yard out the wood pieces, the ground can take it's own natural settlement and we should be able to walk alongside the house for routine maintenance. As it sits now, I have to try and squeeze my somewhat rotund tummy between the retaining wall and the house. I am finding that either the wall is slowly getting closer to the house, or my tummy is expanding. I have my suspicions that it is the latter.

I really must get at the photo thing again, as there's so much to post after all this work has been done.

Oh, by the way, on Saturday, we awoke to a pretty heavy snowfall. Apparently a cold front had the nerve to come down through here and dump a couple of inches of fresh snow. It has all gone now, as today was pretty nice. Don't need any more of that thank you.

I expect that I managed to miss a few things, but that's all for now folks. :smile:


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Good grief Charlie Brown, has it really been 5 months since I last posted?
> 
> Could I use the excuse that time flies when you're having fun, or won't you guys buy that one?
> 
> Anyway, things have certainly been progressing apace and quite a bit has been done since I last put pen to paper, or pixels to the computer screen as the case may be.
> 
> Still haven't found the time to get back into the picture thing, one of these days.....
> 
> I managed to get clumsy outside a few weeks back and took a little tumble down a steep gravel covered bank. Landed on my hip and it hasn't quite been the same since. Gotta be more careful now I guess, since I'm not quite the spring chicken I used to be. Hard to accept these things sometimes. We all think we are invincible but I've had to change my opinion on that one.
> 
> So we finally have all the drywall finished, with the exception of out in the workshop. But all the living areas are done now and almost all of the last painting is done. Still have the doors and trims to paint, baseboards and door casings to install, but none of that is really too terrifying or time consuming.
> 
> There is some flooring to lay in the pantry/mud room, no big deal. All the necessities are here for that.
> 
> Now, to make matters worse I have just lost my star helper for the next two weeks. She's down at the coast - arrived late this afternoon - doing all manner of stuff while she's there. Most important thing to her is her girls and grand kids. She will stay until right after mothers' day, so I hope they all spoil her rotten that day.
> 
> We have just had a big excavator here and Mike has done a great job of building not one, not two, not even three, but four rock walls. He also flattened out an area to the east side which we will plant grass on. That way the kids will have a decent area to pitch their tents when they visit in the summertime. Let's face it, there isn't much in Anglemont that can even remotely be considered as level. We are, after all, right on the side of a mountain.
> 
> The area in front of the house facing west has had the driveway widened by some 10 feet or more. Even Val says she should be able to back the Honda down there now.
> 
> I understand there will be a bit of a delay in getting the aluminum railings and tempered glass done for the deck upstairs. Apparently, there is about a one month backlog for the glass to be tempered. It is custom sized rather than being one of the standard sizes. Trust us to do something dumb like that. Oh well.
> 
> The gutter guys should be here soon to do the last sections on the carport, which wasn't built when they were here last fall. Val also wants some aluminum soffit added under the roof overhang above that top deck outside the master bedroom and living room. Much easier for them to do it than the old guy here. Might be awhile before the hip and back get well enough to do much more work outside.
> 
> Still quite a bit of siding to get done, although we have all the materials on hand for that. I might have to wait until number one son comes up here with the railings to finish the siding. I seem to be having a spot of bother walking very far since my little tumble.
> 
> Still have plans for a greenhouse on the lower part of the bench, which is something else that Mike got more or less sorted out for us.
> 
> We had to get about half a dozen loads of fill brought in, along with countless loads of rock for the walls.
> 
> The local quarry over at Celista produces some really huge rocks up in the 5 to 6 ton range. Mike's 7 ton excavator had difficulty with several of them. But he managed. They use a 450 machine to load at the quarry. It's huge!
> 
> There is enough navajack here to pour a few more steps on the side of the updated driveway as well as a set of steps we want to put in at the south east corner of the house down to the recently updated driveway. I think I will need number one son to help with that as well.
> 
> We have got the excavator fixed up, at least we got the new drive motor installed and then we needed a new set of tracks for it. Always something. But is sure is good having that little girl back on the payroll again.
> 
> Val has decided that we need the help of a landscaper and I reluctantly had to agree with her. Until I can get rid of this darned cane I don't think I will be a lot of help outside. Or inside for that matter.
> 
> Then one of the last things is that I will have to remove the original retaining "wall" alongside the house where it faces the road. That so called wall is just some vertical logs stuffed into the ground with some boards attached thereto. I think it has probably been deceased for at least a few years now.
> 
> The big O and gravel is in place, so once I yard out the wood pieces, the ground can take it's own natural settlement and we should be able to walk alongside the house for routine maintenance. As it sits now, I have to try and squeeze my somewhat rotund tummy between the retaining wall and the house. I am finding that either the wall is slowly getting closer to the house, or my tummy is expanding. I have my suspicions that it is the latter.
> 
> I really must get at the photo thing again, as there's so much to post after all this work has been done.
> 
> Oh, by the way, on Saturday, we awoke to a pretty heavy snowfall. Apparently a cold front had the nerve to come down through here and dump a couple of inches of fresh snow. It has all gone now, as today was pretty nice. Don't need any more of that thank you.
> 
> I expect that I managed to miss a few things, but that's all for now folks. :smile:


Great gobs of goose grease Keith, I was afraid to email you, so many of our friends have bit the big one. It sure is great to see your smiling face again... ok read your posts again. lol

There sure has been a lot of water under the bridge since you last posted. I really hate that you took a spill, stuff like that happens to us old far... fellows. 

Looks like you have gotten an awful lot done in the passed few months. We didn't see the first flake of snow this winter, it was all up your way. lol It is in the middle to upper 80s here some days now, looks like a hot one this year.

I hope you mend quickly Keith. Judy's car got hit yesterday by a tanker, she is really bruised and sore but no broken bones, thank the Lord. It totaled the car though so I have got to get busy and fix the Pathfinder I bought yesterday. It is sure good to see you back buddy.


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Jim:


Good to hear from you. But oboy, I'm none too happy that Judy has been in an accident. I sure do hope that she's going to be all right. Nobody ever likes to hear that sort of thing. Please give her my best.


I always thought that it was great gobs of gobbled greasy gopher guts Jim! But the goose grease one sounds good too!



I'm pretty sure I'm going to be OK, it's just that I cannot lay down for too long at a time as the hip tends to not want to co-operate after doing that. Not sure quite why that is, but I do believe that it is very slowly improving.


While Val is away I'm going to try and get all the inside painting finished and the baseboards and casings done. All that stuff will need two coats, and I'm removing the doors from their jambs so that I can paint them on the flat. Then once that is done I will try and tackle the last of the flooring. 



Really not quite sure how I will manage there as I find it very difficult to get up and down with this dingaling hip. 



Oh yes, once the baseboards are in - at least in the new bathroom - I can hook up the last of the plumbing. That's just the sink, as the other stuff is already working. Shouldn't take too long for that. :smile:


----------



## BigJim

Running baseboard has always been one of my least favorite things to do. I use to go into a room and get all the measurements, cut it all at one time then install it all at once. Helped a lot of getting up and down and running back and forth to the saw. I did ceiling molding the same way. 

That getting up is what gets me, getting down isn't too bad, If I don't have anything I can pull up on, I have to crawl to where I do. lol


----------



## cocobolo

I don't mind the baseboards so much, but this place is what I call "bitty", which is to say there's loads of small areas to be done. The big rooms are a piece of cake, but the little suckers....:sad:


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> I don't mind the baseboards so much, but this place is what I call "bitty", which is to say there's loads of small areas to be done. The big rooms are a piece of cake, but the little suckers....:sad:


I agree, the big rooms are the easiest. I really hate that you have to get down like that with your hip hurting.


----------



## gma2rjc

Knock knock! Anybody home?


:smile:


----------



## 123pugsy

Ya, poke your head out of the shell there, Keith. :smile:


----------



## cocobolo

Tell you what gang, I'll get back to you on the weekend. Up to my armpits in alligators right now. :vs_mad:


----------



## BigJim

You go get em buddy, we will be right here.


----------



## 123pugsy

cocobolo said:


> Tell you what gang, I'll get back to you on the weekend. Up to my armpits in alligators right now. :vs_mad:



Damn....the Covid chased the gators from Florida to BC?
It's getting bad out there!


----------



## cocobolo

Yeah, I think they must have. Lots of cases of the virus out here, but I think the B.C. Gov't is doing a lousy job of things out this way. Our health minister looks like a lost soul who has no idea what he's talking about when he's interviewed on TV. Not surprising I suppose.


Anyway, one of Val's girls was down in Dallas on a course for a week and came back and got sick right away. The initial Dr's response was that he thought she had this damn virus. Thankfully it turned out to be something called walking pneumonia. Never heard of it before, but it's nice and contagious. So we think that is what Val has now and the Dr. she spoke with by phone seems to agree. She has a knack for catching everything going when she makes these trips to the coast, in bed now for 8 days and just now starting to improve. I'm bulletproof of course, so I will be fine.


Practically everything on the house has been done now, just that retaining wall to go in between the house and the road. That will be a 4 x 4 pressure treated wall set into the bank. But since we still have quite a bit of snow on the ground here, it might be a couple of months before I get at it. Maybe less, I don't know.


The new decks out the back are done, one with a roof overhead so that it can be used in inclement weather. And given that we had at least 3 feet of snow on the roof at any given time this winter, I'm pretty sure that we made it strong enough. Biggest snowfall here in living memory this past winter and I spoke to a couple of the old timer locals who have been here for 60 years about that. 



Inside, just some taping and mudding to do in the workshop, I'm not in any hurry to do that. 



Val has started getting some new furniture in now so the place is slowly actually becoming habitable. Okay, slight writers' licence there. 



As you know, I trade the markets every day and we have had nothing but trouble with the platform we use for the past couple of years. Turned out to be the satellite internet was way too slow. Got the local ground based internet system in place now. 5+ times faster and all the troubles have 

disappeared. Not only that, but it's half the price to boot.


All this social distancing stuff is getting a bit out of hand. I guess we need to take all reasonable precautions, but some of the stuff is way overdone. I have a pretty good idea what's going to happen to the economy, despite Trump's claims to the contrary, and it isn't going to be nice at all. I have the most sympathy for those families with smaller children when one or both parents are told to stay off work.


If you're in the market at all, there's no time like the present to be buying. Everything from Apple to Zoom is priced dirt cheap. We've had the fastest decline ever recorded in such a short time. And while nobody knows for sure just when the recovery will actually get started, it hasn't as of today, when it does and this virus runs its' course, I'm hoping the recovery will be quite fast. Nobody knows that, but let's all hope for the best.


Take care of yourselves everyone, we don't need anyone here getting ill, I understand it's not a whole lot of fun. :smile:


----------



## BigJim

By the way, how is your car coming along? My car adventures have not been fun at all. I finally found why the sentra is stumbling and loosing some power when it gets warmed up, turned out it is an exhaust leak. The catalytic converter is the exhaust manifold and it is defective. Hope when I get another one it solves the problem. It was acting this same way before I rebuilt the engine and I was hoping it was the knock sensor but it wasn't.

It is great to see your smiling face again my friend.


----------



## cocobolo

It's kinda hard to put pressure on my boys to work on the car when they are busy as all get out. Number one son is doing a huge house reno for one of Val's daughters.


Hopefully they won't be sick and tired of him before it is all finished. But at least they cannot say he didn't warn them. For those of us who have been through that 100 times before, we know how it goes.


Wow! Did you catch the huge rally in the market this morning! Making some heavy duty dinero today! :smile::smile::smile:


----------



## shadytrake

Hi Guys! Just popping in to post a question on the HVAC thread. Loving our house and the greenhouse is rocking and rolling. Just need to repair the HVAC mini split.

Here are a few orchid photos to brighten your day during the "stay at home" order.


----------



## BigJim

Wow, beautiful. Good to see you back.


----------



## cocobolo

shadytrake said:


> Hi Guys! Just popping in to post a question on the HVAC thread. Loving our house and the greenhouse is rocking and rolling. Just need to repair the HVAC mini split.
> 
> Here are a few orchid photos to brighten your day during the "stay at home" order.


Thanks for dropping by! 

Gotta LOVE those gorgeous orchids.

The snow has finally departed for better pastures, and now Val is getting antsy to get some landscaping done.

We did get the section of rock wall finished and extended the original Allen block wall to join the two together. Now HRH wants to plant some flowers along the top by that wall. So I have to make a 28' long planter for that, then get some topsoil to fill it up. 

I can't whine about the weather this morning as it is lovely and sunny outside. But before I build the planter, we have two more concrete pads to pour to put an end to the weeds growing where Val doesn't want them to grow. 

Built the forms yesterday, so we should have that concrete on the ground later today. I'm running out of excuses to finish all this niggly stuff now. :wink2:


----------



## qtix

You probably have a different name for it down your way Jim.


----------



## cocobolo

Good morning, afternoon or evening, depending on where you are. Sorry I haven't posted in some time, but that thing called life kinda got in the way.
I had to send a note to my buddy Jim to find out how to post a pic on the new format...so here goes. This will be the test.









Well, I'll be darned, would you look at that, it worked (I think) Thanks Jim.

OK, well what this is - obviously - is some paving being done. What you don't see is the 8 weeks of work we had to do to get ready for this day.

The contractor who took care of the job said that we had to remove ALL the weeds otherwise, over a period of time, the bigger ones would poke their way right through the asphalt. I will get to that story in another post.


----------



## 123pugsy

Good to see you back Kieth.
Remove weeds? Them must be some strong weeds in BC, ha.....


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Good to see you back Kieth.
> Remove weeds? Them must be some strong weeds in BC, ha.....


Hi Pugsy: I don't know what these particular weeds are called, but they just have a very long, tough single stem and grow several feet tall, say 5 to 6'. The tap root goes straight down usually about 2'. And yes they are tough as nails. If the weather ever brightens up here I will find a few and show you what they look like. See them by the thousands driving along the highway from here out to the number 1.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, back at it again. I spoke with Val today - she's down at the coast for many reasons - back next week. She has hundreds of photos of all the work that was done here over the past year or two, of which I have almost nothing. So pretty soon I can prove to you that all my yammering actually has some truth to it.

OK, this driveway...when we first talked to the contractor who overlooked the whole shebang, he pointed out several things. Firstly, the weeds had to go. OK we get that. I had to dig up the entire driveway with the excavator, and I'm sure that Val has lots of pics of that little endeavour.

First we found one rock that had to come out. Too heavy for our little machine, but I dug all around it and then Everett brought his 5 ton up and pulled it out. We now have that rock sitting up at the top corner of the driveway. That one is about 2,800 lbs. It is the smallest of three.

As I say, if the weather co-operates, I can take some photos, but it has been atrocious for the past couple of weeks. Already had our first snowfall, which is ridiculously early for here. Usually no snow until at least the end of November or even the end of December as it was two years ago.

Next rock was about 3,500 lbs, and a young man who we are letting use our lower lot to store his equipment on, used his 3500 to pull it out. It currently sits off to the side of the top of the driveway.

The last one was impossible to move, estimated at 14,000 lbs. But Everett drilled some 1 1/2" holes in it and poured expanding cement into the holes. 24 hours later, the big rock started to break apart on top, and I was able to pull the pieces off with our machine. There is still probably ten or eleven thousand pounds of rock still in the ground, but it is low enough that it didn't need to be pulled out.

Let's get another pic up here.










Given that we live miles from any real civilization, we are lucky to have found this paving crew. These fellows, and one young lady, collectively have more than 80 years of experience. Once they got going, there was no stopping them. They may look like a bunch of rag tag fools, but let me tell you, they really know their business. The fellow in the white shirt was the boss, 30+ years experience there and he ran a tight ship.


----------



## cocobolo

Long way to go yet, so don't get your knickers in a twist.

That rock wall to the right was built by Mike Lewis, really decent young man, one of the well known Lewis clan from Celista. He also did other walls which I will show you later.

We were going to have a 3' wide grass walkway between the rock wall and the paving, but Everett suggested that might be more trouble than it is worth, so go with the paving right against the wall.

You can obviously see that the line along the bottom of the wall is anything but straight, and the fellow using the tamper had a great time trying to get into all the nooks and crannies to get the asphalt paved down. By the way, he is almost 65 years young! He ran the tamper and the roller which you will see shortly.










Here they are trying to get around a steep, sharp corner with that paver, not an easy task.


----------



## cocobolo

Once the dump truck carrying the asphalt was empty, there was about a 1 1/2 hour delay while he went and loaded up again. Had to drive about 60 kilometres each way to the batch plant, and as you likely know by now, our road out to the highway has lots of curves, so not the best to try and race your dump truck on!

While he was gone, the crew basically finished up the first half using the roller and tamper.

In case you are wondering why the tamper guy has a watering can, it's because he needs to water the asphalt all the time to prevent the tamper from sticking. The roller has it's own built in water supply of course.


























The driveway is first tamped down with the small packer, then the roller is brought into play.


----------



## cocobolo

As part and parcel of the deal with Everett, we had to build a robust drain at the bottom of the driveway. He wanted to charge us $1,900.00 for this, but considering that we have enough cement mixers here ourselves, I opted to do it with the help of Val and one of her daughters who was visiting at the time.

Everett had 14 lineal feet of very heavy duty cast steel drain sections left over from a job he did several years ago. The carport opening is actually 16', but we figured if we have to come that close driving in, there might be some body work required on the cars, so 14' it was. Couldn't find a match anywhere to get one more piece, and we really did look. Even checked on Alibaba for any possible Chinese supplier, but no luck.

I spent considerable time figuring out just how to pour this drain, as we knew it might have to carry a heavy load from time to time. Little did I expect it to have to carry the back end of the roller when it had only been poured two weeks earlier. But I had enough re-bar in there and there were no troubles thankfully.










That's the drain, and I'm pleased to say that it works very well.


----------



## cocobolo

Hmmm, got the pics out of order here, oh well.

This is the second load of asphalt arriving, and then being poured into the hopper of the paving machine.



























The crew is pretty much kept hopping all the time, and it was warm that day. Kept them hydrated with plenty of cold water and Pepsi.










Here we are getting very close to the top end of the driveway. Perhaps you can see that white paint line which we estimated would just about use up all the asphalt in two loads. Note that I had placed more gravel - just in case there was any extra asphalt left over - so that we could have a straighter shot at entering/exiting the driveway.

As luck would have it, the boss said there would be just about enough to do that after the first section was done.


----------



## cocobolo

Where ever there are "joints" in the paving, they use a propane torch to keep the edges hot prior to tamping and rolling.


----------



## cocobolo

Here we are at the top end all done very nicely. Just had the last sweeping up to do to make things nice and tidy.










If you look right to the top left of this photo, you can just see the first rock that we pulled out. I will have to get some better pictures once the weather gets better, although the forecast is less than scintillating for the next couple of days.


----------



## cocobolo

All done and loading the paving machine on to the custom built lowboy. I have no clue as to how much that machine weighs, but it's lots! That lowboy is extremely heavily built.


----------



## cocobolo

The day after the paving was done...guess what?











Perfect test for the drain. 

Off to the left side of the driveway, you will see there is an area of dirt. We have since got some sod and grassed right from the bottom in front of the carport, almost as far as the road. Except our property line ends just before that. Here's the evidence.


----------



## cocobolo

This place is so steep and terraced that it's difficult to get a photo that captures everything. So this is up top where we ran the grass to. That round thing with the ornamental grass and a few plants is actually one of the old tracks from our excavator. I think it will outlast me!




























That's Val's 28 foot long planter that she wanted. We built that some time before the driveway was done. At last she's a happy lady now that she has some flowers to look at.


----------



## cocobolo

A few weeks ago we had to take a load of furniture down to one of Val's daughters at the coast. Perfect chance to drop by the boys' garage and see how the '33 is doing.

The car spent a month or so over on Vancouver Island earlier this year getting all the body work done and being painted. Or maybe it was last year...oh my fading memory.

Anyway, it has since received the new engine, transmission, driveshaft, rear end and so forth. Now the rest of the mechanical and electrical is being attended to.

Trouble is, with this darned Covid around, we have all been restricted in our travels. And they especially say that us old jokes need to be very careful. As much as I despise any directive pushed at us by our government, this is one time where we have been paying attention. So far, so good.










Here she is in all her "Purple Haze" glory. Yes we have four doors to fill up those holes, but it's much easier getting in and out without having them in the way, and less chance of scratching or doing other damage.


----------



## cocobolo

I think I've written about the story on the car before, so no point in rehashing it again.

Just your average small block Chevy for power. OK, so it's loaded with goodies inside, maybe not average. 










Number two son has decreed that regular old Chevy pulleys and stock stuff just will not do. So he added the full boogie March Equipment stuff up front. All the pulleys, A/C pump, alternator, power steering pump, water pump, reservoir, overflow tank, and that super fancy bracket to keep it all together.


----------



## cocobolo

The next big step will be the building of the headers in stainless steel.

Given that these cars were not built with a V-8 in mind, you have to understand that there is no room anywhere near the front of the frame to fit any kind of exhaust system in there. It is super tight, to say the least. We are using this trick mock up system to get the pattern for the steel, and it can be tweaked into the middle of next week. The steering goes right where we don't need it, but with this kit we were able to route the pipes around it with a small fraction of an inch left over.


----------



## cocobolo

Not much else very exciting going on outside, except the for neat gas cap and running boards.










When we went looking for new running boards, we soon discovered that it was next to impossible to find any that would fit. Eventually we ran across a fellow in B.C. here who will make you any running board you might need. He has patterns for many of the old cars.

He took one look at the running boards we delivered and right away said they are not original Plymouth running boards. Oh really? That came as a bit of a surprise, but then we were never able to speak with the original car builder, as he had passed away several years ago.

As you can see, he did a great job on the new ones with those stainless ribs.


----------



## BigJim

My stars buddy, been busy is an understatement. You never cease to amaze me, what ever your secret is, you should bottle and sell it. You have more energy than most fellows half your age. Y'all have done wonders with your place. Nothing looks the same as when y'all first started, especially the home. What a gorgeous place y'all have made. Many many hours of very hard labor, but man has it ever paid off. 

Thank you Keith for taking the time to post some of the things y'all have done so far, just amazing. And your 33 is shaping up amazing also, beautiful. It is really good to see you here again buddy.


----------



## cocobolo

Good morning Sir Jim, thank you yet again for the kind words. 

The weather here this morning (still dark outside here) is wet. It has been raining for hours and no sign of letting up. Just looked at the future radar, yecch! We WILL get some better weather soon I hope, and then I will go out and take a bunch of photos of what has been done over the past year or so. The one thing that I'm glad we did was to get going on the greenhouse. It's not finished, but it is well underway. Pics when the better weather arrives...hah!


----------



## cocobolo

The rain didn't stop here until after 4 o'clock this afternoon. It was still totally clouded over, but I ventured outside to see if I could take a few pics. Most of them are quite dull, but I will see if I can give you a peek at the overall lay of the land here.










First up is the rock at the top of the driveway. We put it there so that if some clod goes off the road and hits it, he won't be likely to do it twice. I don't know why, but once these race car drivers get around the corner, their foot always seems to find the floor.

Val thinks it would be a good idea to attach a set of house numbers to the rock. However, for several months every year it would likely be covered with snow, so I'm not sure about that.

The second rock that came out of the driveway is bigger, a little over 5' long. Jeff pulled that one out for us with his 35.


----------



## cocobolo

There are three lots here which we amalgamated into a single property, that way the tax bill is less by quite a margin. It is not possible to see all three at any one time, for reasons which will become obvious. 

Duh, I see that dummy me didn't get a shot looking up the road. Well, if it isn't raining tomorrow, I will try again.

On the first of the two photos above, that gravel area is right alongside the road and looks east. That's where we can park if necessary, but with the driveway now "aged" we can safely park there. Did you know that it takes 75 days for asphalt to "cure"? That's what the crew boss told me.










OK, you can see the road in this one...the green roofed building across the road is the Anglemont Inn.

Way back when, I think there are photos of the Allen Block wall somewhere, so this will give you some perspective as to where we are now. The bigger rocks in the foreground were placed by Mike with his big machine.


----------



## cocobolo

Veering to the right this is the driveway that goes right to the far side of the second lot. I think it's about 200 feet long. When I came here, this didn't exist and the basic shaping of it was all done with our small excavator.










A bit more towards the lake is the grassy area, which used to be nothing but a giant mess of weeds. Val hates weeds with a passion. The septic system is installed towards the far end with the Eco-Flow tank about in the middle. You're going to love the story of how we got the lawn in there.


----------



## cocobolo

But first, I think we know where many of the missing photos went. A few months back, my laptop went on the fritz. The battery test showed all four segments to be quite dead. Put a new battery in and it still wouldn't work.

Val took the laptop with her on this trip to the coast and yesterday went in to the Apple Store to see what was wrong. It seems that there is some corrosion in a few places and is apparently the reason for the non working status.

I haven't used my old desktop for anything in quite some time as it is not updatable any longer to the newer operating systems, but there may be some photos on there we can use. I will check tomorrow.

From the other end of the new lawn, you can see the septic system covers and the fence to give yourself some more perspective.









And when I walk down yet another part of the driveway, you see where the greenhouse is.










The octagonal deck, at least what you see of it, is the base for the swimming pool. However, now that we have discovered the joys of going to the beach down at the lake, I don't think we will be assembling the pool again. I might use the base to build a gazebo on. It's all pressure treated wood, so should last a good many years.

The plants in front have various cuttings which Val stole a few weeks ago.


----------



## BigJim

Good grief, there is nothing the same as when you first arrived. It is unreal at all that you both have done, just amazing.


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Jim, yes not too much original left for sure. But that only speaks to the quality, or lack thereof, of what was here.

About 4 o'clock this afternoon, the skies parted for a brief time, and we actually had sun for almost 45 minutes. So I whipped outside and tried to take as many photos as I could before it vanished. More like the sun was getting below the clouds on the western horizon, so it was shining from beneath them.

We had our frequent visitors here this afternoon, before the sun was out, taking a rest on the lower lawn. They sleep here overnight as well sometimes.


----------



## cocobolo

Let me tell you about how that lawn came about. It has been a real thorn in Val's side ever since she arrived here. Nothing but a very unkempt area full of weeds and rocks. If I didn't at least try to run the old lawnmower over it a few times a year, it would get completely out of hand. No grass there at all, just weeds and plenty of them.

Last year she spoke with two different landscapers and asked them if they could turn this mess into a lawn. One said it was a really big job. Hello, no kidding, and the other said that he would use turf and make an instant lawn. Neither ever came back with a quote or anything. That's how bad it was.

Earlier this year, while I was toiling away up on the top driveway pulling out copious numbers of rocks, a young fellow came by and asked if he could help at all. He has a bigger excavator than we do, along with several other pieces of equipment. A smaller dump truck, skid steer, large trailer, things like that. He left me his card.

He was staying at his property here in Anglemont, but it was listed for sale. For whatever reason, properties here have been selling quickly this year, and his sold with a very quick possession date. We didn't know this at the time, but he actually was going to need a place to put all his equipment as well as a trailer than he was living in.

So we told him he could use the bottom of our lower lot to do that, for which he was most grateful. 

Getting back to that infernal lawn now...we used our machine to dig up the whole area and Val, being the unstoppable woman that she is, went about the Herculean task of getting rid of the weeds. Once this was done we ordered a couple of truckloads of topsoil. I actually had to move most of it from the upper driveway down to the lawn area. That's a lot of topsoil, but we got the job done.

Enter Jeff, the fellow with the equipment, who kindly offered to spread all the topsoil with his machine, free of charge. So it didn't take long for us to establish a great relationship with Jeff, who has since turned into a real prince of a guy.

He ran all the topsoil through a screen we have here and got two of his workers to help. He got the whole thing done in a couple of days, after which we spread lime over the area and then sewed grass seed. Well, wouldn't you know it, no sooner did we have all this seed nicely spread than we had a massive downpour which lasted for hours. It actually washed the seed away from the slightly sloping area and we had to do it all over again. Just our luck. 

I suppose all's well that ends well, and eventually the lawn made its' way to where it is now.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's looking at the house from across the road at the end of the new driveway. That big tree you see at the upper left is actually a clump of pretty big trees, and that marks the end of the second lot.










The house sits well below the road level, simply a function of living on the side of a mountain.


----------



## cocobolo

This is looking at the side of the house that faces the road. Note that there is very little window area on this side, as it faces north. In this area you want plenty of south facing glass, not so much on the north side.


----------



## cocobolo

Here we are close to the top end of the property, looking down at the workshop and two garden sheds. That big mess in the middle is the start of an excavation that I hope will eventually become a Japanese style garden. We have saved a few of the nicer rocks for use in and around that future garden.










If things work out as planned, I hope to be able to have a header pond on the high side, with a stream that flows down to the lower pond in a kind of circuitous fashion. Next year, assuming that I still have any energy left at all, we will see if we can get the Japanese garden basically built. It's not quite like using a rototiller and planting a few veggies, it's more like a full fledged construction project.

Couple of other pictures of the mess to date. Not much to look at so far.



















A few of the better rocks.


----------



## cocobolo

Standing about where the end of the stream will be looking back at the house with the new deck on the end.


----------



## cocobolo

There was yet another very untidy area alongside the stairs that lead from the new deck to the driveway. Val was always making noises about doing this or that, most of which didn't make much sense to me.

So on her previous trip to the coast, I set about building this little terraced area, which ended up looking OK. Just a little surprise for her when she came back.


----------



## cocobolo

Let's see if we can complete the circle tour of the house now.

First up, the new decks, both covered and open off the east end of the house.










Hmm, pretty hard to see just what's what with all that mess in the way, sorry about that.

I have to move down the driveway a bit further so that I can get the whole house in here.










Really must get Val to do something about that mess when she gets back! Heh.


----------



## cocobolo

One of the biggest problems here is the very steep slope of the mountain. If you want to try and make the land useful in any way, there's really little choice but to terrace it. That takes both a lot of time and effort, not to mention considerable coin of the realm.

You see three different rock retaining walls in this photo, then there is the other one on the north side of the driveway, so four main walls there. Then there are more smaller ones at the other end of the house as well. Most of the rocks need to be very big, which means very heavy, in order to do their job on a permanent basis. That's more than our little 1 1/2 ton machine can manage.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's a bit better photo of the greenhouse, such as it is at the moment. Still need to make a door for it and add all the necessary benches and shelving inside. Fortunately. we do have the material on hand for that. Maybe this weekend, depending on the weather...again.


----------



## cocobolo

If you squint your eyes and hold your head just so, you can just make out part of the roof of Jeff's trailer down below. That is a VERY steep bank there. This is the third of three lots here.










In fact, if I take a photo looking directly ahead towards the lake, we can almost see above some of the 80 foot tall trees down on Stampede Trail, where our lower lot is at the end of the cul-de-sac.


----------



## cocobolo

Val was so antsy to get rid of the weeds and get grass in as well as a few plants, that she said she would buy just ONE plant every time we went shopping.

That lasted until she got to the plant store.

On her last trip there on her own, she came back and was unloading the groceries and I asked her how many Junipers did you pick up this time. "Oh, I don't know, maybe 10 or so." Uh huh. How about 26. I had to chuckle. So we still have quite a few that need a home and preferably before the real winter sets in.

We have got a lot planted already, still quite a few to go.


----------



## cocobolo

Now, Pugsy was asking about our tough B.C. weeds, so here is a photo of a dead one. It's about 5 1/2 feet tall, and it looks like some of the top may have broken off. You simply cannot pull one of these out of the ground, even after you have dug around the root for a foot or more. All you can do is cut it off as low as you can. I our case, where I could get at them, I just dug the suckers out with the excavator. That's what it's for, no?

That black section is the top of the plant, not something else behind it.


----------



## cocobolo

I think everyone knows that we had 4 feet of snow on the ground here at one time last winter. Which means the same amount on the roofs.

The lean-to only has 2 x 4's for rafters, fortunately on 16" centres, so it didn't collapse. But I gotta tell you it sure did sag. Rather than watch that happen again, I have added a second row of 2 x 4's, well and truly screwed together, to address that situation.


----------



## cocobolo

Took this one, just to show you the tempered glass/aluminum railing setup on the top deck. A little tricky getting the glass installed properly, but as usual we prevailed.

Why black railings you ask? Why not white? Well, it's because white railings jump right out at you, whereas black ones do not. Number one son passed that little tidbit along to dad, it's what he does for a living.


----------



## BigJim

Buddy, y'all have done wonders with your home. It looks nothing like it did originally, just amazing Keith.


----------



## cocobolo

Jim, what are you still doing up at this time of the morning? Isn't it way past your bedtime now? Haha!


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Jim, what are you still doing up at this time of the morning? Isn't it way past your bedtime now? Haha!


I have a problem sleeping, about 3 or 4 hours a night is about it.


----------



## cocobolo

Isn't that odd? Likewise here. When I was younger, say in my first 20 years or so, I would only need 2 or 3 hours of sleep every third or fourth day. I got into the habit of reading overnight which is when I started learning all kinds of interesting things.

Now, I'm just getting old and cranky!


----------



## VirginiaMark

Keith, that evil plant with the big tap root is called Common Mullein.


----------



## cocobolo

Thank you Virginia, even though we have the book on noxious Canadian weeds, I probably never would have found it. 

And a big welcome to the thread!


----------



## VirginiaMark

Thanks, I've been lurking on your threads for years, you are an amazing human being.


----------



## Simon96Taco

cocobolo said:


> Isn't that odd? Likewise here. When I was younger, say in my first 20 years or so, I would only need 2 or 3 hours of sleep every third or fourth day. I got into the habit of reading overnight which is when I started learning all kinds of interesting things.
> 
> Now, I'm just getting old and cranky!


Keith, you mean you went multiple nights without sleep... Regularly?!?

Sent from my SM-A705W using Tapatalk


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Isn't that odd? Likewise here. When I was younger, say in my first 20 years or so, I would only need 2 or 3 hours of sleep every third or fourth day. I got into the habit of reading overnight which is when I started learning all kinds of interesting things.
> 
> Now, I'm just getting old and cranky!


Good grief buddy, that is unreal, I would have dropped in my tracks going that long without sleep. The bad part of my sleeping like I do, I will drop off to sleep a few minutes several times a day. I call them Social Security naps. lol


----------



## cocobolo

VirginiaMark said:


> Thanks, I've been lurking on your threads for years, you are an amazing human being.


That's more than kind of you to say Virginia. But really, I'm nothing more than a stubborn old man.


----------



## cocobolo

A little bit ago, I mentioned that Val most likely had some photos of much of the building that has happened over the past year or two, as I appear to have failed miserably in that department.

Yesterday, we spent some time going through the pics on her 'phone and I think I now have at least 200 pics to go through and attempt to place in some kind of cohesive order.

This morning, we awoke to quite a bit of snow on the ground - it's still snowing as I write - and the snow is likely to continue uninterrupted overnight. About 5" on the ground now.

Val had ordered a birthday cake for my 78th today, and so we had to drive in to Scotch Creek to the bakery to pick it up. 

On the way in we saw one pickup in the ditch and the tow truck had just arrived to haul him out, on the way back (about 22 kms each way) we saw another poor soul down a very steep embankment, I will guess at least 30 feet down, nose first into a big fir tree. Hopefully there were no injuries.

I will see what I can do about getting more stuff posted this weekend.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, we don't seem to have any pics of us destroying the original walkway from the upstairs front door out towards the road. Let me assure you that it was built to the same high standards as everything else around here. But we do have a few pics of the replacement.

In the foreground of this pic you can see a concrete pad. That is the destination for the new walkway, which is still not completely finished, but it is functional. All we have to do is to fill in the hole, nothing to it.


----------



## cocobolo

As with much of the earlier renovations, it was common to expect little or nothing to which things could be attached. So the first thing we had to do was to address that situation. 

The floor joist below the front door was in pretty good shape, so I was able to securely fasten a 2 x 10 there as the basis for our starting point. We also made the walkway wider as an added safety feature if you will.


----------



## cocobolo

Well, whaddya know. Just found some pics of the "before" as it was undergoing removal. There is no order to these, but you will see but a single joist in the middle of the underside, along with a few more of the nicer quality materials used.


----------



## cocobolo

Once the detritus was gone, we started with pouring a concrete pad on which to park a couple of 6 x 6 posts to support the new walkway beam. Despite the fact that I just counted no less than 410 new photos, (not the 200 I mentioned earlier) there doesn't appear to be any of the pad for the posts to sit on, or the pad outside the workshop door. Doesn't matter, I'm sure you've all seen enough before.

So with the beam in place....










we were able to proceed to add the new joists etc.


----------



## cocobolo

At the end of the day, the plywood was down and fully screwed into place. The vinyl wasn't done until some time later, a story unto itself.


----------



## cocobolo

With the new surface completed, we could now finish the pony wall below the end of the roof. 

Here's the opening below the roof that we replaced earlier. I wasn't able to add the final rafter when the roof was added, as we didn't know at that time just exactly how far it was going to extend. So once the front door had replaced what was once a window, and subsequently we got the new walkway in place, then we were able to locate the end of the roof. Which in turn let us figure out where the walkway would be and finally the pony wall.


----------



## cocobolo

Once the floor was done, it was a simple matter of adding the end pony wall there, then the sheathing. With that done, we were able to add the new Vinyl floor covering.










All I can find about that is just a single pic of the plywood after it was filled and sanded. Nothing with the vinyl applied.

What we did when we laid the vinyl was to first lay the vinyl out and roughly fit it to the floor allowing for overhangs all around. This is done with a single piece.

You do this first, then you fold over about half of the vinyl so that you can spread the glue on the plywood. The mistake I made was to try and do this from about where the plywood joint is visible in the pic above. What I should have done, was to fold the vinyl in half lengthways, in other words on the 16 foot length, instead of the 4 foot width.

Because you also need to apply glue to the underside of the vinyl as well, this proved to be an almost undoable task.

If this snow we have here disappears before the next big dumping, I will see if I can remember to get an up to date photo.


----------



## cocobolo

I see that on November 4, 2018, just a tick over two years ago, that I made this comment...

"We put up a roof which extends out on the east side of the house, mainly so that we had somewhere to keep the siding under cover while we were staining it all."

Search as I may, I have not been able to find a single photo of that operation. The best I have is when it was basically built and the roof shingled. I believe at the time that Val may have been down at the coast on one of her many sojourns.










We were able to hire a local fellow, Andy, a long time handyman just about ready to retire. Between he and I we got the roof done to the point of having the soffit and lighting installed. In other words more or less finished.

However, the thing is that there was no floor under that roof, just very non-level dirt. But it did the trick as far as being able to have a dry area to stain all the siding, which has since been completed.

Not until the following year did we decide to construct some sort of useful deck there, but also a run-off deck which could be used in sunny weather.


----------



## cocobolo

Some of you may recall those old stumps which were in the way when we did the original wall replacement and the new concrete footings. Well, there were still a couple of very old and very hard stumps left as well under that roof.

So, given that we did this operation somewhat backwards, what we did was to measure from the underside of the soffit down to the ground to determine where the deck would need to go. Perhaps not the best idea.

But I now remember why the roof was at the height it was, rather than a foot or so higher. That was due to needing the roof framing, where it attached to the end wall of the house, having to go below the existing windows, that's pretty obvious.










Despite our best efforts to dig around the stumps for removal, we weren't able to get both out. One we got, but the second one would not co-operate. We cut it down as low as possible, but eventually had to cut a notch in the stump so that the joist going above it had room to fit. Just a terrible situation, but it worked.










Had to cut part way into the stump, then break off pieces of it with a maul or any other implement of destruction we could find. The wood was more akin to rock than anything else.


----------



## cocobolo

Hmmm...I appear to have missed a pic I thought was there.


----------



## cocobolo

At this point we didn't even have a set of stairs to get out of the back door of the workshop, so that needed to be the next order of business. As you can see, not the easiest place to work.


----------



## Fix'n it

looks like you are having a lot of fun there. 

what is that ledger/shelf thing on the shingle ?


----------



## cocobolo

All we could do was to build a small deck outside the door and add a set of stairs enabling us to get down to the level of the new deck, more or less.










If any of you need some rock, I'll give you one heckuva good deal!


----------



## cocobolo

Fix'n it said:


> looks like you are having a lot of fun there.
> 
> what is that ledger/shelf thing on the shingle ?


Not much fun really, but...

Which post are you referring to? Not quite sure what you mean, thanks.


----------



## Fix'n it

cocobolo said:


> Which post are you referring to? Not quite sure what you mean, thanks.



right behind you. with the cords on it.


----------



## cocobolo

When we first built the roof, the supporting posts, the three main ones, were merely sat on to pier blocks. The intent was that at some future time concrete would be poured to make everything permanent.


Fix'n it said:


> right behind you. with the cords on it.
> 
> View attachment 633569


Aaah, gotcha. What that is is actually a narrow walkway to give me access to the satellite dish. When we got snow in the winter - imagine that! - the satellite would essentially stop working. So I had to walk across the roof to get at it to knock the snow off. No more satellite, so that isn't needed any more and I may well remove it. I likely have a better pic of that somewhere.


----------



## Fix'n it

cocobolo said:


> Aaah, gotcha. What that is is actually a narrow walkway to give me access to the satellite dish. When we got snow in the winter - imagine that! - the satellite would essentially stop working. So I had to walk across the roof to get at it to knock the snow off. No more satellite, so that isn't needed any more and I may well remove it. I likely have a better pic of that somewhere.


makes sense


----------



## cocobolo

I should try to finish a post before I get on to a reply. One day I will get used to the new format and won't mess it up so badly!


----------



## cocobolo

Back to our regularly scheduled programming, as they say. Sorry about that.

It was a real mishmash of moving the roof supports out of the way to be able to build forms for the concrete. I hung a plumb bob from the roof support beam to locate the corner post. That enabled us to correctly locate where to place it. Same with the others.


----------



## cocobolo

The ground at the south side, facing the lake, was about 7 feet or so lower than the north post, so I figured it might need to be somewhat more stable, So, to this end, I decided to make an angular form for additional strength snd stability. It may not have been needed, but in the end it turned out to be a blessing, as it provided much better support for the eventual backfilling and deadman wall at the front, or south side. We will get there shortly.




















Please forgive me here, I am not the photographer, just the messenger. I believe these are pics of the form I built at that 
front corner.




















Although it does not show here, I did indeed add some horizontal re-bar once the concrete level got higher.


----------



## BigJim

Wow buddy, all I can say is just absolutely amazing. That is a lot of work, thank goodness it is all behind you now. There is way I could have done all that and you are a year older than me. Which brings me to the point of wishing you one heck of a happy birthday my friend.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Wow buddy, all I can say is just absolutely amazing. That is a lot of work, thank goodness it is all behind you now. There is way I could have done all that and you are a year older than me. Which brings me to the point of wishing you one heck of a happy birthday my friend.


Good evening Jim. There is a whole lot of work that I haven't got to just yet. Trying to sort through all those pics that came out of Val's phone is quite the operation.

And thank you very much for the birthday wishes. Even though it was Friday the 13th, it was a great day!


----------



## cocobolo

There are big gaps in the available pics that we have been able to find, but that is strictly my fault. I do believe that this might be the time that Val's old phone was becoming troublesome and I bought her a new iPhone. I don't know if any of the previous pics were saved or not.

In any event, what eventually happened was that once we got to working under the roof, we decided to add another deck running off the future deck under said roof. Had we not done it then, I wouldn't have been able to get the excavator up the very steep bank that we have there.

Back under the roof, we had to establish some sort of starting point for the deck level. This began with installing a beam from the house out to the north end post, like so.


----------



## cocobolo

That deck would be 20 feet long, so we decided to split it into three parts in order to avoid needing blocking between the joists. Here, if you have spans exceeding 7 feet, they want blocking in the middle of the joists. Therefore, we required a total of 4 beams to support the joists.

Once again, the proverbial monkey wrench showed up, in that we would need to do the excavations for the outside deck before we did the beams for the covered deck.

So next up was to hastily whip up a set of plans for the outside deck, so we could proceed in a timely fashion.

It seemed prudent to simply extend that inner beam line to the outer deck, which we did next.










Yes, that's another big rock there for which Anglemont has become justifiably famous! Our machine had no chance of moving it, so we just built around it.


----------



## cocobolo

More digging, more rocks, ad infinitum.

Check out the almost zero clearance between the cage on the excavator and the roof! It's pretty close!


----------



## cocobolo

Found a pic of the beam structure, that far corner which appears to have been chopped off was to try and match the lay of the land. And besides, I'm not particularly a fan of square decks.










If I recall rightly, the lumber that we bought for that deck wasn't pressure treated, so the superintendent, that would be Val of course, decided that we must apply some preservative ourselves. That is why it looks different from real pressure treated wood.










And yes, the beams in the previous photo had to be treated in place. Such great fun.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, moving on...some of the deck framing in place here.



















And as if by magic, there's the deck all nicely done. No in between pics it would seem.


----------



## cocobolo

One minor detail I forgot to mention was that we actually had to leave a 2 foot wide space alongside the house in order to run the big-O down to the lower exit point. After having decked the inner deck, I built a pressure treated 4 x 4 wall on top and then filled that space with drain rock.


----------



## cocobolo

This is all I can find of what must be the finished deck surface. Plus you will note the stairs running down from the outer deck, which precluded us requiring the ability of a mountain goat to get down below. And now, also, the lower concrete corner support is clearly visible. Nothing, it seems, comes easily here.








,


----------



## cocobolo

Found a rainy day pic of the new stairs. Oh yes, we do get rain here as well!










A couple from below after the railings were installed.


----------



## cocobolo

Apparently, there is little in the way of pics of that triangular shaped pergola thingy on the top deck. That was added to do little more than define the corner of the deck and provide some very rudimentary shade in the summer time. It has turned out to be quite OK though.










That curved 1 x 4 on top was placed temporarily in order to measure the length of each of the overhead joists.


----------



## cocobolo

Those joists were installed in a fan shape, which made for some interesting connections at the outer corner, none of which I have a pic of apparently.


----------



## cocobolo

Next we needed some sort of walkway from the newly installed steps outside the workshop door to the deck itself.










I started from the deck end of the walkway and went from there.


----------



## cocobolo

Despite my erroneous claim in post 2966 that there are no pics of the finished inner deck, here are a couple.



















Those two holes in the railings, are in fact filled with tempered glass.


----------



## cocobolo

The next order of business was to decide what to do in front of the new deck. The building inspector had very kindly advised us that if the ground extended out for 4 feet in front of the deck, that we would not require any railing. Well OK, but we are going to add a railing anyway.

Our choice was to construct yet another deadman wall, which, for us, has proven to work very well in the past.

Firstly, dig out in front of the deck to just below the predominant grade. Add some drain rock, then the first couple of rows of pressure treated 4 x 4's.

At the far end the big-O is clearly visible, and when the smoke had cleared, we had filled up the entire cavity with more drain rock. All told, we consumed an entire 12 yard dump truck load of said rock.










First deadman going in here.










As you progress up the wall, you keep adding drain rock and tamp it continuously.










Thankfully, we had the machine to do the heavy lifting.


----------



## cocobolo

Eventually we arrived at the top of the wall and decided to add a shorter wall right in the corner where the ground was higher.



















There followed staining of the wall to match the rest of the house.


----------



## cocobolo

I'm going to move now to the building of the front drain at the carport. I know you have seen the end product already, but as usual, it did not arrive there without the usual hiccups.

Now, on this little Komatsu, you can turn the digging arm sideways without needing to turn the machine itself around. This enables you to get closer to your target.










I dug the trench just over a foot deep, as we needed to have a good gravel base under the drain. That should ensure that we do not get any ground heaves when it cools down in the winter.


----------



## cocobolo

The building of the form was straightforward, even if a little unconventional. 

I needed it to have the ability to get removed without too much fighting, so to that end I built it with a slight taper.










Additionally, I needed the top to have a slight indent in the finished concrete to hold the cast steel drain sections in place. Having experienced some difficulties in the past when one makes clearances just too tight, It was deemed better to have just that little extra 1/8" extra room.

So after wrapping the form in 6 mil poly, which should assist in the easier removal of the form, like so...










I turned it right side up and added a wider piece of plywood to provide that little bit of extra room.


----------



## cocobolo

At some point between the time the excavation was made and the drain rock was placed, we had a torrential downpour which resulted in this fine mess.


















At one point, when we were not looking, the water level got high enough that it ran right into the carport.


----------



## cocobolo

There are no pics of the actual concrete pour, but it was done with the considerable help of one of Val's daughters and her husband to be. Without their help, I really don't know how well we would have managed. My ability to work even for relatively short periods of time has left for greener pastures.


----------



## cocobolo

Going now to the driveway project, which seemingly would never end.

As earlier reported, we found a few bigger rocks which were difficult to remove. 

Our small machine is perfectly capable of digging around these rocks, therefore enabling a larger machine to remove the rock.










You never know when you will bump in to one of these behemoths, but it seems always at the most inopportune times.


----------



## cocobolo

Our paving contractor had two jobs on the go before he was able to get to our place, and was renting this Kubota while his own machine was in use elsewhere. When they were returning it to the local dealer, the driver kindly stopped at our place so that Everett could get rid of this first rock.


----------



## cocobolo

This was the biggie that caused all manner of trouble.










Everett drilled several 1 1/2" holes in this rock, at least 18" deep.



















The drilling operation inevitably caused a huge amount of rock dust and periodically I would blow it away and concentrate the air gun on to the drill, which was getting very warm.


----------



## cocobolo

With the holes drilled, Everett poured some (very expensive) expanding mortar of some description into all the holes, resulting in this.

Pretty amazing stuff. It takes about 24 hours to work, but it sure does the job.


----------



## cocobolo

A major chunk of this rock is still residing in place, but enough was removed from the top that it will not bother the future gravel and paving operation.

We had to remove about 6" of ground which would be replaced with a layer of gravel and finally the asphalt. I think Everett spent a good two days getting everything to his satisfaction.


----------



## Fix'n it

darn, thaats a pretty big rock. around here, that rock would be worth $$$$'s

amazing what that expanding stuff can do.


----------



## cocobolo

Fix'n it said:


> darn, thaats a pretty big rock. around here, that rock would be worth $$$$'s
> 
> amazing what that expanding stuff can do.


Well, it would be worth money around here as well, except that you would need something like a 450 machine to move it. It costs at least $450 just to move the 450 before you even get started. I think we have been paying around $400 for a truckload of the bigger rocks that we use to build the walls here.


----------



## cocobolo

About a week or more ago, we were surprised by a very early snowfall here...




























We usually aren't quite that unlucky this early in the season. But then yesterday, we had an unusually very warm day.


----------



## cocobolo

In between that nasty snowstorm and a few days ago, I did manage to make a door for the greenhouse.

Just a simple affair made out of a couple of 2 x 2's for the stiles and three 2 x 4's for the rails. I wrapped that framework with 6 mil poly on both sides, then added a piece of re-cycled OSB to the lower front side. That was more or less to try and keep the door square and provide some rudimentary protection from any critters that might decide to get in.










And because it was so warm here yesterday, we got some more benchwork done inside. Val had to move the potted plants inside, as the deer were still very intent on chewing up as many as they could for lunch.




























Still have the top part of that bench to build, but it's cold here again today, so it looks like it will have to wait a few more days.


----------



## BigJim

Do you have some type of heat for your green house?


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Do you have some type of heat for your green house?


Just Mother Nature Jim. When we went in to the greenhouse yesterday, it must have been at least 25ºC, or about 77ºF. I think it was about 10ºC outside.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Just Mother Nature Jim. When we went in to the greenhouse yesterday, it must have been at least 25ºC, or about 77ºF. I think it was about 10ºC outside.


That is too cool buddy, nothing like free heat.


----------



## cocobolo

I see that I have quite a bit of updating to do now. 

There have been some exciting developments lately, not the least of which was the blowing up of our heat pump. OK, maybe blowing up is a small exaggeration, but it did let go with quite a bang when it died.

So we got the local guy out to have a look at it to see what the trouble is, and after doing some testing it turns out that the compressor has gone, along with one of the PC boards - naturally it is the bigger of the two - and at the same time he advises us that there definitely needs to be a disconnect right close to the pump, and that little item is conspicuous by its' absence. There might be a few other bits that need replacing, but I don't know much more than that.

He calls in to his parts supplier, located down in Kelowna, and checks on the available parts and any possible warranty claim on the compressor. By a stroke of good fortune, it seems that the compressor is covered under warranty, but nothing else. OK, that's good, because the compressor is a very cool $1,200 bill. So now we are awaiting the parts delivery and the ensuing installation thereof. Next week should see things back in order again, but in the meantime, we are putting the old wood stove to good use.

Next item: A couple of weeks ago Val decides that we need to remove a couple of trees which are shading an area which she wants to turn into a garden. No worries sez I, and the next day I get all set up to remove the fir tree, which was by far the bigger of the two. There is only one option for the direction for the tree to fall, and that goes without incident. We successfully limb the tree, burn all the branches and cut the log into firewood. In turn we move all those chunks to the carport where we have the wood splitter. That is all now split and stacked and will be ready for next winter.

The other tree is a much smaller cedar, but with all the branches growing off to the south east side, about 90º off from where I need it to go. The weight of the branches is obviously going to be a problem, so I attach a long rope to the tree, haul it up the driveway and instruct Val to pull like hell as soon as I start the back cut. As soon as the tree starts to move, it is obvious that Val's weight is no match for the tree and it unceremoniously lands on the side of my Chevy. I am not amused. Fortunately, the damage is very minor, more an annoyance than anything.

After this little happenstance, Val immediately changes her mind as to the location of the urgently needed raised beds, thus rendering the damage to the poor vehicle unnecessary.

Which brings us to today, wherein I am advised that I must build several raised beds, but not the kind you and I would normally be thinking of. Oh no! These raised beds are to be raised right off the ground, literally up in the air! In other words they are to be magically constructed high enough so that we don't need to be bending down at all in order to admire the beautiful little flowers, or harvest the abundance of food that these beds will magically produce. It seems that Val has seen some little gadget maybe about three feet long and a foot or more wide that stands on legs which will do the job. It is, naturally, filled with gorgeous flowers in the advertising, but honestly it appears to be totally useless for growing any veggies in the real world. I didn't dare ask the cost of this contrivance.

The end result of all this is that Val has no idea how these raised beds are to be built and she was quite aggravated with me when I tried to explain that raised beds are normally built on the ground and filled with dirt and you go from there. Of course, this simply will not do, and I am told in no uncertain terms that I will build these wondrous devices forthwith as the newly planted seeds are all now coming up in the greenhouse and will need to be planted outside sooner rather than later. Never mind that it is still going down to just below freezing at night lately. Hmmmm, OK, let's see what we can come up with.

To make a long story short, a trip to The House of Pot in Kamloops follows and we return home with another $700+ load of lumber and treated plywood. I am sure that with the cost of the greenhouse materials, the deer fencing paraphernalia, (more about that later) and this new pile of stuff, that we are well into the $2,500 range so that we can grow eight bucks worth of veggies and a few flowers. I'm hard pressed to come up with a more financially impressive use of funds!

Stay tuned, more to follow shortly.....


----------



## A Squared

cocobolo said:


> These raised beds are to be raised right off the ground, literally up in the air! In other words they are to be magically constructed high enough so that we don't need to be bending down at all in order to admire the beautiful little flowers, or harvest the abundance of food that these beds will magically produce.



Well, if the goal is to avoid having to bend over to tend them, then you could make normal raised beds at ground level, then excavate ditches between them for walkways.


----------



## A Squared

Interesting, the little flag icon in your information block is evidently selected automatically by the forum software based on your current IP address, not your registered location. My information block is currently showing the flag of Niger (which is where I happen to be at the moment) but if you hover your cursor over it, it says "Anchorage, Alaska" which is home, and my location in my profile.


----------



## BigJim

Good grief, that makes me tired just thinking about all that work. Buddy you are the poster child for the Energizer bunny. You never cease to amaze me and you are a year older than me. I am wore out just trying to set up my new wood working shop (small as it is).

By the way, how is the price of lumber up your way? It is almost untouchable down this way, $10 for an 8 foot treated 2X4 is just a little much. A buddy of mine just wrote that he was looking at some 8X8X10 angelique post $260 each. nope not this ole boy.


----------



## cocobolo

A Squared said:


> Well, if the goal is to avoid having to bend over to tend them, then you could make normal raised beds at ground level, then excavate ditches between them for walkways.


That's actually a very valid point of view. However, the ground where the raised beds are going is loaded with more rock than I care to mention. Plus it would mean going up and down a short set of stairs to get in and out of the trenches. So I will just grin and bear the torture that is sure to follow very shortly!


----------



## cocobolo

A Squared said:


> Interesting, the little flag icon in your information block is evidently selected automatically by the forum software based on your current IP address, not your registered location. My information block is currently showing the flag of Niger (which is where I happen to be at the moment) but if you hover your cursor over it, it says "Anchorage, Alaska" which is home, and my location in my profile.


I just noticed that in the wee hours this morning as I was reading through some of my last escapades here. Just another example of big brother keeping an eye on us.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Good grief, that makes me tired just thinking about all that work. Buddy you are the poster child for the Energizer bunny. You never cease to amaze me and you are a year older than me. I am wore out just trying to set up my new wood working shop (small as it is).
> 
> By the way, how is the price of lumber up your way? It is almost untouchable down this way, $10 for an 8 foot treated 2X4 is just a little much. A buddy of mine just wrote that he was looking at some 8X8X10 angelique post $260 each. nope not this ole boy.


We are stuck with the same criminal prices as you are Jim. Yesterday the House of Pot nailed me for $143 for 12 10 foot 2 x 4's. Not even treated. Their excuse for this greedy price is that the mills have been on partial production due to the Covid 19 virus. You can bet that once they are back to full production that the prices won't go down a similar amount as to what they went up.


----------



## cocobolo

OK, so this morning it has dawned totally overcast and 5º C here. Not too bad, but none too warm either. I have just backed the trailer down to where all this mystical construction is to happen, and once again, Val has kindly informed me that I will be adding one more element to the elevated beds. I think elevated is more realistic than raised, they aren't quite the same thing.

I will be sure to take my camera down to take pictures of this "Taj Mahal" style garden.


----------



## cocobolo

Here we go again.....

Started working on the elevated garden this morning, when Princess Val decided that it would be a marvellous idea to have all the support posts set into dek blocks. We have about three of those left, and we would need something like 15 or so to do the job.

My negative pleas fell on deaf ears, naturally, and I am completely ashamed to say that we have made yet another trip in to Kamloops today and acquired 14 more dek blocks. The only shining light with this episode, is that HD tried to convince Val that they didn't have any in stock (online said they had 18 this morning) but she had seen them outside the front of the store. Eventually someone actually listened to her and agreed to sell her 12. But due to their wasting her time for so long, they added two more for free! Such a deal!

Incidentally, we had a similar happenstance yesterday with the treated plywood. The young fellow helping me load the plywood noticed that there was a crack in the surface veneer, something which we all know is very common. However, with his four days of experience on the job, he was gracious enough to add an extra sheet for free. At $64.16 a pop, I was only too happy to thank him most sincerely for his generosity with HD's money!


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> We are stuck with the same criminal prices as you are Jim. Yesterday the House of Pot nailed me for $143 for 12 10 foot 2 x 4's. Not even treated. Their excuse for this greedy price is that the mills have been on partial production due to the Covid 19 virus. You can bet that once they are back to full production that the prices won't go down a similar amount as to what they went up.


I found what I thought was a deal on some 1X6 T&G, $.79 a lin ft, that stuff for sure isn't fit for anything inside a home. I plan to make French Cleats on a wall in my shop so some of it is usable. I have never seen such greed. Kinda makes you wish you still had your mill doesn't it Keith?


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I found what I thought was a deal on some 1X6 T&G, $.79 a lin ft, that stuff for sure isn't fit for anything inside a home. I plan to make French Cleats on a wall in my shop so some of it is usable. I have never seen such greed. Kinda makes you wish you still had your mill doesn't it Keith?


You know Jim, just a couple of days ago I was saying to Val that if someone only needs rough lumber, it would be well worth it to buy a small mill. They really aren't that expensive.

Turns out that our friends just a few hundred yards away from here have such a beast. They bought it so that they could re-machine a large truckload of timbers which they have had for a number of years. I'm not sure what it is, but Steve did mention that it was incredibly heavy, to the tune of 80,000 pounds, so I am assuming it is likely some kind of hardwood. Either that, or old growth fir.

Plus, towards the end of last year they bought what is probably the largest single plot of land in Anglemont right next door to us. I think it is 40 acres. Totally covered with trees, most of which is young growth, not over 100 years old. Lots of birch, fir, pine and some cedar. Steve blew a fairly long road through down to the main road, I guess a couple of hundred yards or so, which provided lots of trees either for lumber or firewood. We have but one fairly big cedar here which Val would like to get rid of, as she doesn't much care for the mess it makes every year. There's probably 30 to 35 feet of pipe that would make half decent lumber.


----------



## cocobolo

Considering that we are still getting below freezing overnight temperatures here, the little greenhouse is starting to produce an awful lot of seedlings. Val has Salvia, runner beans, peas, corn, an unlimited supply of kale, spinach, red peppers, and a whole lot of flowers that I have already forgotten.










Some of the non-veggie type plants which we stole cuttings of last year are growing, and some are not. Maybe it is still too early for some of them to be showing just yet, so we will wait patiently for Mother Nature to do her thing. I seem to remember the deer taking a round or two out of some of the cuttings last year before we put the pots in the greenhouse for the winter.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's some of the overpriced stuff we brought back home with us from our two back to back trips in to Kamloops yesterday and today. At 225 kilometres per round trip it's not something we like to do any too often. 

And will you get a load of that carpet that Val has put down under the soon to be elevated beds? The intended purpose is to try and thwart weed growth, but she has that filter cloth under there as well, so why the carpet on top of that, I really don't know. She further says that she's going to add some cedar mulch as well....


----------



## BigJim

Your cedars must be different from ours, ours don't make a mess that I know of. Come to think of it, I don't remember checking to see either. Buddy y'all have come a long long way on your place there, totally different from a few years back. Sure is looking good.

I love plants, I just don't take the time that is necessary for them, way to many irons in the fire.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Your cedars must be different from ours, ours don't make a mess that I know of. Come to think of it, I don't remember checking to see either. Buddy y'all have come a long long way on your place there, totally different from a few years back. Sure is looking good.
> 
> I love plants, I just don't take the time that is necessary for them, way to many irons in the fire.


Morning Jim... The cedars we have here are Western Red Cedar, very occasionally we will see a Yellow Cedar, although I have not seen any of those up here in the Shuswap Area. I'm not certain, but the Yellows may be confined more to the coastal area. I already swept up the winter mess that the one big remaining cedar made on the back walkway, otherwise I could take a pic to show you. If I remember from my boatbuilding days, you have a White Cedar over on the east side of the U.S. Is that what you have in Tennessee? Or is it yet another one? Is it the aromatic cedar you have there?

In my haste yesterday, right after we got home, I started to attempt to assemble the framework for the elevated beds. It didn't go well. For starters we used 8" Ardox spikes to put the first few pieces together and of course they are longer than two 4 x 4's nailed together - which are actually only 3 1/2 by 3 1/2 - so we had one inch of nasty looking steel sticking out of one side. OK, so that's obviously not going to fly. I was certain that we had a full box of the 6" Ardox here somewhere, but I couldn't find them.

After I wore myself out trying to take the incorrect pieces apart, which didn't work either, I remembered where the 6" spikes were. Let me tell you, once you get those 8" spikes through that pressure treated lumber, it simply will not come apart.

So this morning as it is dawning and 39ºF outside, it is back to the drawing board once again.

The forecast today is showers this morning and clearing later this afternoon, so I should have plenty of time to come up with a better plan than yesterday. I will keep an eye on the local radar to see when these showers might come to an end. It's the old story of "What follows two days of rain in B.C?" Monday!


----------



## BigJim

Keith, we have the aromatic cedar down this, I don't think I have ever even seen a photo of a western cedar tree.

I don't know what a Ardox spike is but I can imagine it being driven through treated wood would be really tough to pull.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Keith, we have the aromatic cedar down this, I don't think I have ever even seen a photo of a western cedar tree.
> 
> I don't know what a Ardox spike is but I can imagine it being driven through treated wood would be really tough to pull.


Jim, Ardox is just a brand name for one of the varieties of big galvanized spikes. We have some in 6", 8" and 10". They are used for things that you don't ever plan on pulling apart. If my addled brain remembers tomorrow, I'll take a pic to show you. They have a slight twist to them as well, just to make sure you can't pull them out.


----------



## cocobolo

The drizzle stopped right around noon today, but it didn't warm up at all until mid afternoon. We did make an attempt to get underway on the elevated beds, but what with my game knee and now Val has a terrible pain in her right Achilles tendon, we didn't make a lot of headway, but it is at least a start.

The intention is to have 5 sections of elevated beds attached to one longer one that runs off the back end. Only have a few starter pics, which really don't show much. I think it's going to take another couple of days before what we are attempting becomes somewhat obvious.





























All you see here is just the base that will hold the elevated beds. Two started, three more to go. The weather is supposed to be nice tomorrow and Tuesday, so once the market is closed, 1 p.m. local time here, I will get outside and see what further damage I can do. Believe it or else, I'm still trying to figure out the best way to do this.


----------



## cocobolo

First order of business Jim...here's a couple of those big spikes. The little guy is a 6", other one is 8", and to be honest, I forgot all about looking for a 10". For size comparison, that's a 28 oz. Estwing hammer. The twist is pretty obvious in those spikes.


----------



## cocobolo

It was minus 1ºC here this morning when I got up, but it was clear. Turned out to be a beautiful day and I saw almost 20ºC when we stopped building outside. We stopped early today because Val made us our belated Easter dinner today which was delicious and all too fattening!

It is slow going mainly because my get-up-and-go got up and went several months ago. After just a very few minutes of any sort of mildly heavy work, I get quickly exhausted and have to rest. It's really aggravating after all those years when I could carry on all day long without even thinking about it. I suppose that's one of the inconveniences of middle age!

However, between rest periods I got some more of the framing done, which - as you can see - is heavy stuff. I'm using both the 6" and 8" spikes for the assembly.


----------



## cocobolo

Please note that we removed all that carpet and filter cloth which Val hastily put in the way, in order that I can get half a chance to level the pier blocks. Plus we also unloaded the rest of the blocks and the plywood from the trailer, another half a ton of moving to do. She will put the offending items back (filter cloth and carpet) once I am finished building the Taj Mahal of elevated beds.

The framework made for a decent place to start cutting the plywood up, just about the right height.


----------



## cocobolo

The ground here isn't exactly level, and we wanted to try and keep the top of these beds somewhere around 30", give or take. The near corner in the above pic has ended up putting the top of the bed closer to 33 or 34 inches. Val says she's OK with that. From there, everything will be getting lower.

And yes, I'm trying to keep the whole shebang somewhere near level. So as the ground rises, the top of the beds will become lower. That way Val can pick and choose which plants will be going where.


----------



## cocobolo

Once the woodworking portion of this little exercise is finished, we will be lining the insides with filter cloth. 

The plan is to have a couple of inches of drain rock in the beds first, followed by the filter cloth and finally the topsoil.

Jeff, our man who moves the heavy stuff here for us, is visiting in Alberta at the moment, but expects to be back in B.C. later this week. Hopefully I will have time to get most of the beds built by then. Once the frame is all finished, I don't think it will take too much time to add the plywood.

More good weather in the forecast, so I plan to make the most of it while it's here.


----------



## cocobolo

Today was another gorgeous day here, it stayed sunny until around 3 o'clock or so when the overcast started to come in. Showers are due to start at any time now (it's just after 8:30 p.m. our time as I write this). Then it will be showers tomorrow and a mix of snow and rain on Thursday.

We didn't do too badly, got all the framing finished and Val got some of the side boards nailed in place. Heck, I even let her nail a couple of the end 4 x 4's on.


----------



## cocobolo

When we knocked off for the day, the main framing was all sheeted with the pressure treated plywood. It doesn't look as though we will be back at it until Saturday now, it will be weather troubles until Thursday and Friday I have to go into North Kamloops for a Covid vaccine shot.


----------



## cocobolo

Once we get all the side plywood nailed into place, I plan on beefing up the top with more 4 x 4's. Except where I messed up the width between the first two beds. There we will only have room to use 2 x 6's, which I hope will be strong enough to do the job. The weekend should see us finished the building part, next will be the addition of drain rock and topsoil.


----------



## BigJim

Good grief, I see why the spikes are next to impossible to pull. I think they will hold any pressure the beds put on the frame work. Looking good buddy. By the way, I sure know about wearing out quick now days. I put a window in my shop wall today and it wore me out. lol


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Good grief, I see why the spikes are next to impossible to pull. I think they will hold any pressure the beds put on the frame work. Looking good buddy. By the way, I sure know about wearing out quick now days. I put a window in my shop wall today and it wore me out. lol


Morning Jim...Well, I think having to put in a window is probably more work than nailing a few boards together.

We are contemplating as to how we are going to surround this area with a deer fence of some sort. I got 50 steel posts which are normally used to hold chain link fencing, but we are going to use a fine plastic mesh instead. Apparently it is supposed to be enough to keep the deer at bay. I guess we will find out once it's installed. The deer have made a terrible mess of the big lawn that we put in last year, and they have eaten just about all of the bulbs we planted last fall. Val is none to impressed with her four legged friends now.


----------



## cocobolo

Much to our pleasant surprise, we had but a few light showers today and so we tackled the addition of the plywood sides to the beds. Other than some sore backs as a result of the work, we accomplished what we set out to do.

Our man Jeff is back from Alberta, so we discussed the possibility of having a yard and a half of drain rock delivered, to be followed by the topsoil. No big hurry, as it will be the weekend before we get the top side stiffening boards cut and installed. Now the end result in sight.


----------



## BigJim

Y'all have that looking good buddy, that is going to be nice.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Y'all have that looking good buddy, that is going to be nice.


Thanks Jim. It seems the forecast has been changed yet again, and today might be quite nice. It's still pitch black outside here yet so I can't really tell what's happening. But tonight, they are still forecasting wet snow, which will be just dandy for our trip in to North Kamloops tomorrow for my Covid shot.

I think we will try to get at least some of the top reinforcing boards in place today if at all possible.


----------



## cocobolo

Well, surprise, surprise. Other than a blast of HAIL of all things, today has been generally pretty nice. I'm not going to tempt fate to see what the forecast is for tomorrow as we are going in to Kamloops.

But today, other than the very cold spell when it hailed here, it was quite nice. Now that we have the woodwork done on the raised beds, naturally it is warming up!










As you can now see, we have all the stiffening lumber attached to the top of the beds all round. Although I wasn't really sure just how much pressure the topsoil would be placing against the plywood sides, we deemed it better to be safe rather than sorry.










We are now in the process of tracking down some sort of a deal on the topsoil. We heard a not so good story from Jeff this afternoon about one of the local suppliers selling some which was loaded with clay last year, so we better be careful there. Might as well start with something at least half way decent if the plants are to have any chance. All that is left to do now before the drain rock gets put in place is to drill plenty of drain holes to let any excess water out.
Once this part is all done, Val has kindly let me know that there will be another raised bed put in at the top of the bank, and that will need to be about 30 feet long. Sure, nothing to it.


----------



## BigJim

I really do like the design, you can reach every place with ease. I had thought about making a raised bed but the blame squirrels would just get to it before we did so I forgot about it. I had planned to go to a horse stable and buy a load of manure, let it cook off for a while then mix with good bottom land dirt. Put several pounds of earth worms in to make the dirt even more rich.


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Jim, the lady who runs the Chase medical outfit who did Val's rehab work after her knee replacement has several horses. We are going to see if we can pop over and get some of that good manure. I think it's better than this commercial fertilizer, which is always overpriced anyway. 

Val put an ad online this evening to see if there's any good local deals on topsoil available. In nothing flat she got five replies already. So it looks like it won't be too difficult to get a truckload this year. Last year, all the local suppliers had run out.


----------



## cocobolo

Our trip yesterday to North Kamloops to get the Covid19 vaccine went without a hitch. Val now waits until the 19th for her shot.

On the way back home, we ended up driving behind our man Jeff's truck, which just happened to have the drain rock for our newly raised beds. That got dropped here late yesterday, and we have also found some topsoil which we hope will do the job. Went in to an Agricultural business in Kamloops yesterday and got an education on what we need for topsoil. 

Still need to get all the drain holes drilled in the raised beds before adding the drain rock, which will hopefully get done right after this SNOW goes away! It seems that the snow level is just barely below where we are this morning, but is expected to rise as the day goes on. Tomorrow definitely looks much better, so perhaps we will be confined to inside work for most of the day anyway.

Val's latest request - read "non-negotiable demand" here - is that she cannot live without some potato boxes. This is a fairly recent trend in vertical gardening, which involves making a box to which you can add sections to increase the height. Apparently it has the effect of making the root section of the potato plants get longer and longer the higher you go. We watched a couple of videos on the subject. One person got almost zero results, while the other got what looked like at least 10 pounds of spuds from just the one box. It doesn't look as though we will be able to plant such a box for at least a few weeks, as the soil needs to be 50ºF or warmer to work. That is like most plants I suppose. But I will get a couple of these boxes made up just to keep peace in the kingdom.

I'll check in again later if this snow disappears and the weather gets warm enough to work outside.


----------



## BigJim

I have heard of people using old car tires to make the potato deals, they just stack another tire and dirt on as needed. I admit, the wooden boxes will look much better though.


----------



## lenaitch

Our daughter and son-in-law tried the potato box idea for the first time last year and had decent results. The only thing they will change this year is to lighten the soil with some sand. They had a garage built and saved up all the off-cuts and left over lumber.

One comment about the planting boxes, which look amazing by the way, is with the drain holes. Since the pressure treatment doesn't penetrate into the core layers, you might run the risk of rot starting there. Perhaps some brush-applied preservative after you drill..


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I have heard of people using old car tires to make the potato deals, they just stack another tire and dirt on as needed. I admit, the wooden boxes will look much better though.


You may remember, Jim, that we had a whole load of old tires here not so long ago. Val decided that they were just too ugly to find a permanent home here and we took them to a local garage over at Celista and he, in turn, saves up a whole lot of them and then a fellow comes and picks them all up for re-cycing. They even use tires to build houses from and have done for some time. Dennis Weaver had one built out in the desert somewhere I believe, maybe in Arizona.


----------



## cocobolo

lenaitch said:


> Our daughter and son-in-law tried the potato box idea for the first time last year and had decent results. The only thing they will change this year is to lighten the soil with some sand. They had a garage built and saved up all the off-cuts and left over lumber.
> 
> One comment about the planting boxes, which look amazing by the way, is with the drain holes. Since the pressure treatment doesn't penetrate into the core layers, you might run the risk of rot starting there. Perhaps some brush-applied preservative after you drill..


After having read a fair bit about these potato boxes now, it sounds more like a hit and miss deal. We have decided that we are going to go with a better quality topsoil from the local supplier. He charges $38 a yard if you can believe...for dirt! But it is supposed to be very good for veggies, which is mostly what we plan on growing.

Now, as for the P.T. plywood, you have a good point there. I will check and see just how far that treatment actually penetrates. It is only 1/2" plywood, so maybe, just maybe, it does get to the middle. We're done for the day now, both of us are dead tired.


----------



## cocobolo

It did take a little while to warm up today, and we went out and got a bit more done on the "Taj Mahal" elevated beds. I decided that we would need the plywood well and truly screwed to the framing, so to that end I went around the entire thing and added screws about every 4". Next I drilled the drain holes and conned Val into vacuuming up the mess I managed to create.



















Looking at the end cut on that plywood, it doesn't look as though the treatment goes right through, but I will check that anyway. I think rather than brushing any extra treatment on, I would rather use a hand sprayer. Probably faster and a lot more effective.


----------



## BigJim

Not trying to be a smart butt Keith but here is something to consider:

Even though the new pressure-*treated* woods are considered *safe*, Wolmanized Outdoor, according to its Web site, does not recommend using pressure-*treated wood* where the preservatives may become a component of food. Its recommendation is to use an impervious liner between the *wood* and the soil.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Not trying to be a smart butt Keith but here is something to consider:
> 
> Even though the new pressure-*treated* woods are considered *safe*, Wolmanized Outdoor, according to its Web site, does not recommend using pressure-*treated wood* where the preservatives may become a component of food. Its recommendation is to use an impervious liner between the *wood* and the soil.


That's what we are using Jim. We water tested the liner yesterday, and it holds water. I'm glad you guys are keeping tabs on me!

Dawn is just breaking here ,just after 5:30 a.m., temperature is minus 0.5º C. According to the forecast we are still going to dip below zero for the next few days. How long is this freezing going to go on?

Yesterday we got the drain rock in the beds, so now with an impervious layer between the drain rock and the soil, you may wonder why we even needed drain rock at all. So what we are going to do is to install the liner next, then make some small holes in the bottom of the liner right at the outside edges of the drain rock. I don't see that there will be any contact between the plywood and the soil at all. Besides, I doubt that any of the plants we plan on putting in there will have roots that reach right to the bottom of the soil.

We will be making another bed, sitting right on the ground, which will not have any treated plywood in contact with the soil. We have a bunch of plain old untreated 2 x 6 lumber which we will cobble together and use that to grow things like corn, peas and runner beans.


----------



## cocobolo

This is as far as we got yesterday with the drain rock. 

Today's plans include trying to get the liner in place, then assemble some of the potato box sections, then make some flats for yet more seeds. When we were in Kamloops on Friday, Val tried to find some more of the plastic seed trays. She did find a few, but everybody seems to be sold out already. Canadian Tire only had two, and she found a few more at the Agri store. Hence the need for wooden flats.


----------



## cocobolo

Val spent the bulk of the day playing with her plants and then left this afternoon to attend her Sunday online church meeting at her fiends' house.

All I managed to get done was the potato box and to get a start on the liner.

We wasted some time trying to get a new sprayer to work that Val got to spray her seedlings with. It didn't want to hold any pressure. I tinkered with it for 20 minutes or so and now it seems to be fine.


----------



## cocobolo

I didn't notice that the tarpaper had blown loose on the greenhouse until I took the pic of the spud box. I got that tacked back again, and sometime this week I will see if we can cover that front wall with shingles. We have quite a few left over from all the roofs we did here.

We did venture over to Celista to order the topsoil and pay for it so that Jeff doesn't need to worry about that. Not in too much of a hurry to have it delivered anyway as I still have quite a bit of tidying up to do where the ground level raised bed is going. There's enough scrap wood scattered here and there which I think needs the services of a bonfire. Can't light a fire when it's windy here, so we will need to be sure it is calm when we get it going. We've had our share of wind these last few days.

Got just a small start on the liner.










I did check on the plywood to see if the preservative penetrated all four layers of wood, and oddly enough it went through two layers on one side, but just the single surface layer on the second side. I'm not sure why that might be, maybe just a better glue job on the one side. Anyway, I don't think I'm going to do anything about it since I doubt that I will last as long as the plywood anyway.


----------



## lenaitch

I'm only going on 2nd hand information, but our kid's box was about half the height of of yours and they found that potatoes from the lower levels were quite small and that the soil was fairly dense from the weight of the soil above. Just a though.


----------



## cocobolo

lenaitch said:


> I'm only going on 2nd hand information, but our kid's box was about half the height of of yours and they found that potatoes from the lower levels were quite small and that the soil was fairly dense from the weight of the soil above. Just a though.


Hahaha! I hope it was only half as high! I'm actually going to divide this into three separate boxes. We did look at a few of these things, and most that were lower seemed to work better. We will also be adding some peat moss and compost that we make in our tumbler. I think the point here is to try and keep the soil from compacting too much and not let it get waterlogged. I guess time will tell.


----------



## cocobolo

Change of pace for just one pic....

The boys have been working on the headers for the '33 Plymouth. For whatever reason, my neanderthal brain hasn't been able to put the photos they send me (by smart Alec phone) to the desktop, which is where I post from on the DIY site. Finally got a few to work.

Passenger side header, all stainless steel. They are tacking them together, then sending them off to a "cosmetic welder", who has tickets for every kind of welding known to mankind. They got the runner lengths within just 1" of each other.


----------



## cocobolo

It looks like we are going to have a fabulous week of great weather, but still below freezing again tonight. And our heat pump still hasn't been fixed, despite the fact that the new parts have arrived over a week ago!

These are part of the family of 7 deer who are the culprits responsible for decimating our bulbs this spring. We took a cedar tree down a few days ago and they have been munching on the greenery on the branches. No worries there, they are more than welcome.


----------



## cocobolo

Turned out to be a nice day today, not as warm as the forecast, as we had a fair bit of cloud this afternoon.

Val decided that we must fix this little piece of ground between the end section of deck and the rock wall. Tomorrow is obviously far too late, so that meant it must be done immediately.

The big-O drain from behind the block wall exits at one end of the deck, and I must admit it looked pretty ugly, having been there for a few years now. So I first dug a short trench, added some drain rock and then cut the big-O to length and stuffed it in the trench. Covered that with more drain rock and some filter cloth. There was one sizeable rock in the way, and after moving it from one end to the other, we decided to move it back again and it would be perfect for making sure the big-O never sees daylight again. Val added more of the obligatory filter cloth and then we filled the small area with cedar bark mulch.

We expect to put some concrete blocks on the back edge of the deck and fill them up with plants at some future time.


----------



## cocobolo

Well, wouldn't you know it, I hit the wrong button before I had the last pic loaded.

Here's the mulch all nice and tidy.


----------



## cocobolo

We did get started on the long outer raised bed, but nothing fancy this time. It's just going to be whatever lumber we happen to have on hand, and the first section is made from a 2 x 8 on the outside, and a 2 x 9 1/2 on the inside. The ground has a slope to it, so I ripped a wider piece of wood down in an attempt to get it sort of level.

Made sure we had the filter cloth down first, and now we are starting to add the drain rock. We need to get the rest of the drain rock moved from where it was dumped in order to make room for the topsoil which we expect will be arriving some time this week. Really no hurry for this as the overnight lows are still dipping below zero ºC.


----------



## cocobolo

Good morning! Looks like a gorgeous day coming up outside, right on zero degrees at 6:46 a.m. local time. Plenty of time to decide what we're going to do outside this morning.

Here's the first header complete with collector. Just about a work of art!


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Good morning! Looks like a gorgeous day coming up outside, right on zero degrees at 6:46 a.m. local time. Plenty of time to decide what we're going to do outside this morning.
> 
> Here's the first header complete with collector. Just about a work of art!
> 
> View attachment 649367


That is beautiful Keith, I can only imagine what it would look like had i built it. lol


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> That is beautiful Keith, I can only imagine what it would look like had i built it. lol


Aw, c'mon now Jim...with all your engine building experience over the years, I'm sure it would be just fine!


----------



## cocobolo

Beautiful weather here all this week and now staying above zero overnight. Maybe we have seen the last of the frost until the fall.

We got some more work done on the long bed and now have the drain rock installed as well.


----------



## cocobolo

Yesterday morning I heard Jeff's truck rumbling down the driveway, so I thought "Great, here's out topsoil".










Then when he unloaded, it sounded a whole lot more like drain rock than topsoil, not to mention all the dust! So I checked with the lady of the mansion, only to discover that she had decided we need another four yards or so of rock. Whatever for, I'm really not quite sure, but one thing I know is that I will now be required to move another 6 tons of heavy material. Apparently she has decreed that there will be drain rock all around the greenhouse as well as the raised bed area. Thanks for letting me know HONEY!

Now we are going to have to wait until some time next week for the topsoil, as Jeff is headed down south for the weekend.


----------



## cocobolo

We are definitely going to need to get around to providing some protection for many of the planted areas here, as the deer have eliminated almost all of the flowering bulbs. This small raised bed, made from an old excavator track, was full of blooming bulbs. Nothing left now except little green stumps.


----------



## cocobolo

The temperature inside the greenhouse during the daytime is getting to be positively tropical, and we are only hitting daytime highs of around 28 to 30ºC. I'm going to see if there's something we can rig up to provide shade of some sort. I wonder if a white tarp might help? Anyone have any ideas about this? We do have some dark tarps here, but they won't let light through, although I guess the ends of the greenhouse will still let lots of light in.

Everything in there is growing like crazy.


----------



## BigJim

Would Greenhouse shade cloth work? I have heard people putting human hair around things to keep deer away, Maybe find a beauty shop and get their hair. I wonder if moth balls would work, I have heard it will keep cats and things away. Moving all that rock is something I would not want to do. whew


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Jim. Yes, I'm just looking up shade cloth now. I had no idea that there are so many kinds. Trying to figure out which kind is going to be the best for what we need. Mostly, it's fairly cheap. Then I checked on Home Depot prices....and they are way out of touch with reality. Then there are the commercial greenhouse types, which you can buy in large quantity, but I don't think we need quite that much. Then there's all the different filtering ratios for different UV protection. Jeez, the mind boggles. Even Walmart has some, but they don't seem to keep it in stock in their stores, you have to order it. We'll see what we come up with.


----------



## BigJim

Hey Keith, check out Shade Sails, that may be an option.


----------



## cocobolo

Jim, I must have looked at literally hundreds of different shade cloths, and a few hundred of the Shade Sails. Who would have thought there were so many?

But this morning we had a stroke of very good fortune. Val remembered that she had a big suitcase with some shade cloth in it. It is the stuff they use on construction sites when they have scaffold way up in the air. And it's quite heavy and tough as nails. So we pulled one piece out, and it is about 28 feet long by about 6 feet wide. The greenhouse is only 15 feet long, so we cut one of the pieced in half - so two pieces now 14 feet long - and then tied them together through the grommets with zip ties.










Hmmm, you can't see where we tied the two pieces together in this pic, here we have already tied the shade cloth to the long 2 x 4 which we are going to screw to the top of the roof. That should show up in the following pics.










I drilled some small holes in the 2 x 4 just big enough to let the zip ties pass through, and we fixed the cloth to the 2 x 4 that way. There is a very tough edge band built in to the sides of that shade cloth which I am quite certain will last for years.


----------



## cocobolo

We set the long 2 x 4 about 4 feet or so up the south side of the greenhouse, then tied a couple of pieces of rope to the ends of the 2 x 4. Next we climbed a ladder at each end and pulled the whole assembly up to the peak of the roof. I had already drilled two holes in each end and had two 3" screws partly set in, so we were ready to fix the assembly without too much delay. It all worked out very well indeed.










I think I will leave the two lifting ropes in place, just in case we ever need to take the shade cloth down for some reason.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's a peek from the inside and you can clearly see where we joined the two pieces together. It was a toasty hot day here today again, and let me tell you the difference in the temperature inside the greenhouse has to be experienced to be believed. No matter how hot the sun was outside, the inside was easily tolerable. 










Looks like we did a bit of a sloppy job joining the two parts. But in our defence I should add that the grommets were not spaced apart equally, so this was about as good as it gets. The whole point of this little exercise is that it does the job admirably. Val is extremely pleased.


----------



## cocobolo

Next item of business was to get the shingles on the south wall. So we just tied the bottom part of the shade cloth up high enough so that we could get at the wall.


----------



## cocobolo

With the temperature being as hot as it was, it took us old jokes a little while to get the front shingled. But now that is done so one more thing off the long list of projects.

Another item that got started was to put the weed control fabric in front of the greenhouse and add some drain rock. So that's where some of the rock has gone. We did add more in that long raised bed as well, as it was a bit shy when we got all the previous load of drain rock used up. There won't be any more muddy ground there again.


----------



## cocobolo

I have a question for all you lawn experts out there. While this is not the best pic to show what I'm talking about, I think you can see a whole lot of patches in that lawn where it has turned very dead. We have raked it quite thoroughly and today it got its' first watering with the sprinkler. I should note that we have had practically no precipitation since the last snowfall except for one very light rain.

Val gave it the lime treatment several days ago, and the plan now is to add fresh topsoil - if it ever gets here - to these areas, and re-seed the bald spots. There are similar spots up on the grass by the driveway, although nowhere near as many. The driveway grass was all sod and the big lawn area we started from seed.

We should note that deer are extremely frequent visitors here, and we routinely have to clear up piles of deer nuggets every day from the grass.

Do any of you fine folks have a similar situation, and if so, how did you fix it? Thanks.


----------



## cocobolo

Jim, I have a question for you...or perhaps anyone who might know the answer.

Is it possible for me to retrieve a photo that I have posted on the DIY forum?

The reason I ask is because it seems that I have lost thousands of photos when my laptop got corroded inside and the Apple tech was not able to retrieve anything. There are a number of photos on my Gulf Island Building thread that I would like to try and recover and store on my new desktop. I haven't replaced the old laptop yet, and probably won't until much later this year.

It looks like I had some albums on the old desktop, but for some reason that all shows as being empty now. We may have transferred some of the photos to one of those Passport things, and Val says she will search for it. Neither of us can remember the last time we did a backup - maybe that will teach me - hopefully I will have enough common sense to back things up on a regular basis from here on out.

About a year ago, Val had something similar happen. She had backed up her stuff and then the backup unit failed. The company was very good about helping, but they also were not able to retrieve anything. But they did give her a brand new unit for no charge, even though the warranty had long expired.


----------



## BigJim

Wow, that is terrible Keith, I will check and see if that is possible. I just hope the change over didn't wipe them out. I will do what I can to find out.

EDIT** Yep all the photos of the Gulf Island Building are still there. Man that is going to take some serious time for you to put them back in a file. I don't know how to upload them but one at a time, you may know. Here is the link to your Gulf Island Building thread.









Search results for query: Gulf Island Building







www.diychatroom.com





If there are any in the trash ben that you need, let me know and I can bring them back up for you.

Going back and looking at the photos sure bring back some memories.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Wow, that is terrible Keith, I will check and see if that is possible. I just hope the change over didn't wipe them out. I will do what I can to find out.
> 
> EDIT** Yep all the photos of the Gulf Island Building are still there. Man that is going to take some serious time for you to put them back in a file. I don't know how to upload them but one at a time, you may know. Here is the link to your Gulf Island Building thread.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Search results for query: Gulf Island Building
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.diychatroom.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If there are any in the trash ben that you need, let me know and I can bring them back up for you.
> 
> Going back and looking at the photos sure bring back some memories.


Thanks Jim. Yes I had those same memories when I was going through the posts over the last couple of days.

But, quite by accident, I discovered that the new O/S on my latest desktop seems to be compatible with the old system. So I tried a simple drag and drop and it works! I couldn't be happier. So now I can move the photos into the latest iPhotos, which is quite different from the earlier one. I still like the earlier system better.

Thanks again!


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Thanks Jim. Yes I had those same memories when I was going through the posts over the last couple of days.
> 
> But, quite by accident, I discovered that the new O/S on my latest desktop seems to be compatible with the old system. So I tried a simple drag and drop and it works! I couldn't be happier. So now I can move the photos into the latest iPhotos, which is quite different from the earlier one. I still like the earlier system better.
> 
> Thanks again!


Wow, that will save some serious time, good deal.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Wow, that will save some serious time, good deal.


It sure will. The only possible problem is that there used to be a 100Kb file size limit for photos. So that makes some of the older pics pretty small, but at least I will be able to save them. That's really the important part.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> It sure will. The only possible problem is that there used to be a 100Kb file size limit for photos. So that makes some of the older pics pretty small, but at least I will be able to save them. That's really the important part.


Do you have a resizing program, like irfanview that you may resize them?


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Do you have a resizing program, like irfanview that you may resize them?


Jim, I did some checking about that. It seems that once the pix are set to 100Kb or less, that any attempt to increase the size merely results in a whole lot of nasty looking pixels.


----------



## 123pugsy

Keith, do yourself a favor and get an external back up drive. Install SYNCBACK Free for automatic backup.
Never use the automatic backup that comes with the drive as it duplicates everything and fills it up. I ended up buying an oversize 2TB backup because of it. The pic below shows how much is used. Almost zip. These are all my photos from home, work, all my CAD drawings, everything.

It's nice to know that all my files are in one place even if I have a crash.


----------



## cocobolo

We do have a Passport, not sure of the capacity, but it doesn't do much good if you don't use the damn thing!!! Thanks for the reminder Pugsy.


----------



## 123pugsy

Use the SyncBackFree with it. You will love it.


----------



## cocobolo

123pugsy said:


> Use the SyncBackFree with it. You will love it.


Val found the Passport, looks like it's the same as yours Pugsy. All the old photos are indeed in there. Plus val seems to know about this SyncBack gadget as well.


----------



## 123pugsy

Before you do anything, upload all the photos to your desktop so you have two copies.


----------



## cocobolo

Good idea. Won't be doing anything until this evening and over the weekend.


----------



## cocobolo

Jim and Pugsy, this one's for you.

The '33 is on its' way.....


----------



## cocobolo

To the upholstery shop. Nice clean shop, always a good sign.


----------



## BigJim

Awwwww man, that is nice, that is one sharp car buddy.


----------



## cocobolo

Earlier today #2 son sent me these pics of the new power steering mount. He had Danny at Pro Gas Engineering CNC it out of some solid aluminum.


----------



## 123pugsy

Good stuff Keith. 
I just went thru a brutal "car winter" painting _*CURSE*_, my El Camino.
Looks like we both moved ahead nicely in that department.


----------



## cocobolo

Looks like it has been a couple of days since I got around to doing any posting.

Bear with me as I try to sort out some of the mess that has happened over the last few months.

I suppose the first thing I should mention is that I came close to buying the farm just over a week ago. It seems that all the summer extreme heat we had here in B.C. didn't do me one bit of good. Luckily I wasn't one of the almost 600 people who died when the heat was at its' worst earlier in the summer.

However, last weekend when I was enjoying a nice hot bath I managed to pass out. Lucky for me that Val was able to save my sorry butt. Called 911 and the first responder arrived about 15 minutes later, but Val had also called our local fire chief, who just happens to be a good friend. He was the first to arrive and spoke with the 911 dispatcher who told him not to try and get me out of the tub.

When the paramedics arrived they checked my blood pressure, which was so low as to not even talk about. So they kept checking until it was up enough to risk getting me out of the tub. Of course they warned me that when I stood up I would very likely feel dizzy. Well, no, actually I was sort of OK. Then right away went and laid down on my favourite old red Chesterfield.

Then they checked for diabetes, but the blood checked at 7.4 which the paramedic said was normal. To my knowledge I've never been checked for that before, so that was good news.

So after about 45 minutes of conversation, by which time I was back to being my usual smart aleck self, they all left.

On the following Monday morning val called our local Dr. and she said she was extremely surprised that they didn't pack me off to hospital to get checked out properly, and she told me to get over there right away.

Details of that little trip in the next post....coming right up.


----------



## cocobolo

We left for the hospital around 11 am on Monday. Arrived just over an hour later, and to my surprise Val let me drive all the way. No problem so far.

Proceed to wait for a couple of hours when we arrive at the hospital, as they are quite busy. Eventually get to check in properly at triage, and then register at the desk thereafter.

At about 5 o'clock they call me in to steal some of blood, without my permission of course...I figured I might well need all that I have left.

Next up was the quickie version of the EKG, which apparently was just fine, thank you very much.

Then they tell me the Dr. will be in "shortly" to let me know what's up.

OK, "shortly" ends up being just over another two hours, by which time both Val and I are getting a bit peckish.

The Dr. was a very good young man, Olaf, and we went through quite a lengthy session of question and answer. It seems that the blood was OK, and the EKG was perfect. I must admit that surprised me somewhat. However, I have lousy circulation at the lower half of my legs and feet, and the feet are always cold.

He told me to start taking a low dose aspirin every day, but after talking with my Dr., the appointment for which is this Wednesday, he said I will very likely need to be put on a prescription blood thinner.

We got the boot just before 8 pm and went over to Subway to get a bite to eat.

Glad to be on the back end of this day we headed home to Anglemont, about an hour or so away from Salmon Arm.

That story will follow next.....


----------



## cocobolo

We were barely 10 minutes into the drive when we got stopped behind a line of traffic of undetermined length. Unbeknown to us at the time, it was one long line.

Eventually Val decided to check on her phone to see if she might determine the trouble. Sure enough there was an accident that had closed Highway 1 in both directions somewhere near the Tappen museum. But that is all she could find out at the time. 

We do have a local chatter group so then she checked on there. Not much additional information other than none of the traffic was moving in either direction. We thought this was a bit odd, as every once in awhile we would see a group of cars coming from the direction of the accident.

Turned out that this was just people turning around in the long line and going back to Salmon Arm.

Shortly after 9 we decided to go back and take the back roads all the way to Chase, which is on the other side of Anglemont by about 50 minutes, so it was quite the drive. Never been that way before, but I think we are going to make that drive again in daylight. It looks like quite a scenic drive and is almost all curves.

If we hadn't had Google maps we would have got lost for sure, but we got all the way to Chase without incident. From there we were home just before midnight, so it ended up being a somewhat long and tiring day.

Now I wait to see what the good Dr. in Scotch Creek will have to say. And that's the end of that story.

Now on to Val's Honda, which has been sitting unmoving in the driveway for months.


----------



## cocobolo

The Honda saga shows you that the "good guys" aren't always so good.

Several months ago the starter finally died in her car. I really don't feel like doing any more mechanical work on the Honda as it always seems to take so interminably long.

We had the car towed over to a local repair shop, who shall remain unnamed for reasons you will understand shortly.

To cut the story short, he called us when it was done and I asked how much. $1,050.00 he said. Hmmm, Canadian Tire would have done the job for $568. But of course, by then it was too late.

It ended up that this back yard mechanic had gouged us 4 1/2 hours of time for the two hour job. Not to mention another 1/2 hour to "diagnose" the issue. At $100 an hour by the way.

As if that wasn't rich enough for him he then charged us another $45 for shop supplies. Shop supplies? What shop supplies do you use to change a starter motor? A cleaning rag maybe? A pair of rubber gloves maybe.

Not only that but he stung us $396 for the starter, which Canadian Tire quoted at $220.

Reluctantly Val paid the bill, against my better judgment.

I did visit him later to present our case for his overcharging, showing him the Canadian Tire estimate, to which he replied, "Oh, they would have got you for something else while they had your car".

It was obvious I wasn't going to get anywhere with this crook as all he was interested in was making as much money as possible, which he admitted freely. Given that he's a hot rodder, I was quite surprised by his attitude. Live and learn I suppose. Never again will we darken his doorway.

We got the Honda home, where it promptly died....to be continued


----------



## cocobolo

Does this story have an end? Well, yes actually, it does.

Now we had a blown line on the excavator, about which I know absolutely nothing. So we call Max at Maxtech to come and tell us what would be needed. Turned out to be surprisingly easy to fix and within two days he had a new line installed for us in nothing flat. It was pretty obvious that he knows his stuff.

So while he was at the house, I asked him about the garden tractor we have which has decided to go into rest mode. In other words it won't start. I would say that within 1/2 an hour he had removed the broken steel cable which lifts the snowblower, traced the wiring which was causing the trouble and had everything up and running again. He did casually mention that whoever did the wiring for the snowblower motor did a terrible job. And considering that I was his helper, I had to agree, it was pretty sloppy.

Next we asked him about the non-functioning Honda. He did some checks and very quickly determined it to be the fuel pump. Actually, I thought the same, but really didn't want to tackle fixing that, as the pump is inside the fuel tank, which is located under the floor of one of the back seats.

Val, in her never ending wisdom checked on Youtube to see if there were any videos about such a replacement.

Well, wouldn't you know it, it's barely over a 20 minute job. Where have I heard that before. So at Val's urging, she conned me into watching the video. Hmmm, doesn't look to be all that difficult, so I agree to give it a whirl. First problem is finding a new fuel pump.

So I call the Honda dealer in Kamloops, that's the nearest one 115 kms away. The nice service lady says we are booked right up until the end of October, but if you wouldn't mind just dropping the car off, we could probably get you in sooner. Oh, by the way, that will be $1,100.00.

After giving that some serious thought for about ten seconds, I then call the local Lordco parts supplier and I am advised that they have two pumps in Kamloops which should fit. Starting to sound pretty good.

So then Val and I decide to try and take out the old pump. OK, other than spilling a fair bit of gas on our relatively new driveway, it wasn't that difficult.

Off we go to Kamloops, and for $350 I am the proud owner of a nice shiny new pump.

The only difficulty I experienced putting the pump in, was the gasket that seals the unit had an outward flare on the bottom, essentially making it impossible to install. It just didn't want to go. So after casting some very unkind aspersions on the manufacturer of this particular gasket I had the brilliant idea of just re-using the Honda gasket, which we knew obviously fit.

Bingo, within five minutes it was all buttoned up and the moment of truth had arrived.

Hit the key and right away the old girl was purring like a kitten. Val was one happy lady I can tell you.

Well, what's next. Nothing very serious, just some gardening stuff, for which I should have a few photos, and the latest on the '33 Plymouth. Coming right up.


----------



## cocobolo

I see that there was little or nothing about our world class garden for a ****'s age. Everything worked out rather well, with just a few exceptions.

The indeterminate tomatoes, that's the ones that grow up forever, didn't produce well at all. However, the little cherry tomatoes were incredible. We still have a few left over from when we cleaned all the plants out and saved the remaining partly ripe or green ones. Delicious!

The potatoes have been far better. Beyond our expectations I would say. Thus far, out of the three boxes that we planted, I have dug up only 1 1/2 boxes worth.

Here's the first spuds showing first growth. As they got bigger, we continued to fill the boxes with soil. 

So far I got 78 potatoes out of the second half of the first box, I didn't count how many out of the first half. They were mostly quite small, but very tasty.


----------



## cocobolo

The corn was a flop, as was the lettuce. But, honestly we put that down to the terrible temperatures we had here this summer while the so called heat dome was sitting on top of us. The peas did poorly, but the runner beans were producing like you wouldn't believe until this past week when we pulled everything out. We want to get the plants all out before the snow flies, and unfortunately, the meteorological prognosticators are already threatening us with snow almost immediately. Val has bags of runner beans in the freezer, so we can enjoy them all winter long.

Tonights forecast is for a low of -1ºC. And to add to our pleasure, the clown who is supposed to fix the heat pump STILL hasn't got it working. That's been ongoing for a full six months now.










A later pic of the spuds, now at the top of the second row of boxes. You might note we had to build some protection around that long bed as the deer thought it was a smorgasbord just for them.


----------



## cocobolo

No sooner had the raised beds started to grow the goodies, than we noticed some of the plants were being attacked. It ended up being crows, as we had put up a fabric cover all around it. That meant we needed some sort of individual covers over each of the raised bed sections.


----------



## cocobolo

How warm did it get this summer? Here's a pic of our weather station, the sender for which is on the shaded side of a post outside. Ignore the date and time, I still have no clue how to set this thing properly.


----------



## cocobolo

Despite our best efforts to shade the plants as much as possible, we were no match for Mother Nature. We certainly weren't the only ones, as the bulk of all the crops down in the Fraser valley - which is a major growing area - got burned as well. Crop losses were typically 50% or higher.


----------



## cocobolo

Not only did we have the unbearable heat to contend with, but then the forest fire smoke as well. Our friendly Provincial government was constantly telling us old jokes to be sure to stay inside and avoid the smoke at all costs.

Fires decimated the lower half of the Province, and it has been well documented that the town of Lytton was completely wiped out by a fast moving forest fire. I'm sure if you search it you will find plenty of video that was shot at the time. Everything was lost.

We were very fortunate that we didn't get a fire right here, as Anglemont has the highest fire rating in this Province. Didn't know that until we were chatting with Graham our fire chief, when he was here helping me out just over a week ago.

I will find out soon enough just what long term effects the heat and smoke may have had on this old bod.

Some pics of the smoke.



























Yes, that's smoke, not clouds.


----------



## cocobolo

Before the worst of the fires hit, we were down at St. Ives park for a swim. Off in the distance we could see the beginnings of a forest fire which turned out to be the Crazy Creek Gorge fire. It would have been nice if there were sufficient resources to have put it out quickly, but there weren't. It was probably barely over an acre at this point.

Look right in the middle of the photo and you can just make out a plume of smoke as the fire gets started.










Two days later we were back for another swim, and this is what greeted us. Could barely make out the headland which wasn't that far away. From there it only got worse and ended up consuming more than 10,000 acres of forest.


----------



## cocobolo

There were two plants that really produced well for us, other than the spuds. And that was the cherry tomatoes, as I mentioned, but far better were the peppers. It turns out that they love the heat and they are still producing like crazy. Val must have picked at least 200 peppers and there's another 100+ still on the plants. She loves her peppers, even the super hot ones.


----------



## cocobolo

Small part of the produce from the garden.










Have you ever seen a carrot with 13 legs? Well, you have now! Yep, that's just one carrot.


----------



## cocobolo

No garden that Val has any part of would be complete without flowers...lots of flowers! I will try to keep it down to a dull roar.


----------



## cocobolo

A few more...


----------



## cocobolo

OK, maybe a few more...


----------



## cocobolo

The small block retaining wall out by the side deck. Since I'm no longer able to move these heavier blocks around, we got some help from a young man locally. It was built as a surprise for Val when she was on one of her several trips to the coast for one reason or another.


----------



## cocobolo

Time for an update on the '33.

Val had the good fortune to see the car in person when she stayed at the coast for a few days after her daughters' wedding at Harrison Hot Springs. One of us (me) had to return home to look after things, so I wasn't able to get a first hand look. But Val took some photos, most of which she has no idea what they are, but her heart is in the right place.




























Take a look inside the grille, and at the bottom you will see the horns. More later about that.

The finished headers, stainless steel, primaries built to within one inch of each other, coated and now installed. Apparently all the car guys going in to the shop speak very highly of them. Built by my boys.


----------



## cocobolo

The original wiring in the car had just 7 wires going to the back. Now there's 215. No, that's not a mistake. You'll see why momentarily.

Number 2 son, who is an absolute wiring genius, would have nothing to do with any plain old stock stuff, so everything inside the cabin, is starting to look like the space shuttle.

Val took these, which are part of the wiring system.




























If that isn't enough of a mess for you, this is what's in the back. Don't ask me what the heck all this is for, about all I recognize is a battery box and an amp.










Number two son wired the amp. Apparently there's going to be five speakers with this system. A pair of speakers down in the lower front of the car right about where one's feet go. So that necessitated some strong perforated metal covers over them to prevent any potential damage.

Then there are two tweeters going in the headliner, plus a woofer somewhere in the back. But who knows where?










Here's a part of the headliner, made out of some lightweight space age material, rather than leather. Evidently, leather is too heavy to use as a headliner, as it will sag considerably over time. And good grief Charlie Brown, we couldn't possibly have that now, could we?

The two holes in the white part are dome lights, and the little holes in the front corner will hold the tweeters.


----------



## cocobolo

Remember the horns in the earlier photo? Well, here they are again, but now they have been painted to match the car. Honest to Pete, what are they going to come up with next?










They even painted the rag joint.










Somewhere in all this conglomeration they are going to fit a 10" touch screen. Jeez, I have more than enough trouble with a smart phone, never mind adding a Tesla style touch screen.










Once the power windows were installed, honestly who needs them in an 89 year old car anyway, they have started on the panels for the upholstery. It's looking pretty good to this point.










The upholsterer thought it would be a nice touch to see if he could fit the old Plymouth logo into the seats. So this is what he came up with.


----------



## cocobolo

As a side note here, I was asking number one son how the seats were going to be fixed to the floor. My thought being that if I ever have the nerve to actually use more than 1/4 of the power that this beast has, I wouldn't want the seats heading to the back of the car, with me firmly attached. Naturally, they have this covered as well, and their standard practice is to install a plate under the floor, to which the seats are firmly bolted.

This is Alex, the wiring guy, holding the new instrument panel. Please note that there are no idiot lights here.










Number one son spent a few hours getting the panel installed.



















Instruments include fuel gage, speedo, in kilometres no less, oil pressure - the motor tested at 80 psi on the dyno, so I will have to keep an eye on that, water temperature, tach, and voltmeter. I would rather have had the voltmeter and fuel gage at the opposite ends to where they are installed. But I hardly dare say a word knowing what a giant problem it has been to get all the wiring in such a tight space.


----------



## cocobolo

Found a pic of one of the front speaker covers. Fabricated from sheet metal by number two son.


----------



## BigJim

Wow, just WOW, I am totally blown away buddy. We must have STP or something, I was just thinking about you. I am sure glad you are ok. That was some scare to say the least. We got our second virus shot and that second one sent me for a loop. After two weeks I am just now coming out the other side, that one was rough.

The high temps are unreal. I saw on the news that y'all were catching the dickens up your way. I will never get use to the C vs F temps, I had to do a conversion to see how really hot it got. That is really bad, we did get close to a 100 F this year but never made it that high here. It has stayed mostly in the high 80s.

Your garden looks great to me, I would have never done that well. The flowers are totally gorgeous, Val sure has a way with flowers.

Buddy, your car just blew me away, that is one fantastic car to say the least, WOW. Y'all have had a busy summer, but as always you never cease to amaze me how you do all you do. You put me to shame doing all you do, I can't do 1 10th of what you do now days. I am happy for you buddy.


----------



## BigJim

By the way, what year is Val's Honda, do y'all have rockauto.com up your way? Those charges were way way out of line as far as I am concerned.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> By the way, what year is Val's Honda, do y'all have rockauto.com up your way? Those charges were way way out of line as far as I am concerned.


Hi Jim: Her Honda CRV is a 2002, she's owned it since new. Always looked after by the dealer. I don't believe we have Rock Auto up here. Our local supplier of choice is Lordco. Local outfit with over 100 branches throughout the Province.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Hi Jim: Her Honda CRV is a 2002, she's owned it since new. Always looked after by the dealer. I don't believe we have Rock Auto up here. Our local supplier of choice is Lordco. Local outfit with over 100 branches throughout the Province.


I just checked rockauto.com, her starter cost from $95-$235. If you can't get rockauto to ship up your way, I could order it and ship it to you next time.


----------



## cocobolo

Thanks for checking that out Jim.

Hopefully, there won't be a next time. We are going to be using the Honda through this winter, as it has 4 wheel drive and nearly new snow tires. Whereas my Chevy Uplander has FWD, decent tires, but it's terrible in the snow.

We have put aside money to buy a new vehicle next year.

The Honda has been quite the money pit for several years now. One of the worst things has been the brakes. I think that Honda undersized the rotors something fierce, along with constant troubles with the calipers. It has gone through at least three sets of brakes in the past 6 years, and not just pads. I mean rotors and two sets of calipers, and they are expensive.


----------



## BigJim

That is surprising, I always thought Honda was about as good as it gets. Do you have a garage to keep your Plymouth in to keep it out of the weather?


----------



## cocobolo

The '33 will either be kept in the shop down below, or in the carport under a car cover. Either way it's not moving an inch in bad weather!


----------



## cocobolo

Well good evening everyone. I expect by now you have heard about our delightful weather here in BC over the last few days.
Last Thursday, before it really hit the fan, I was conned into going down to the coast for my 79th birthday. Naturally, being the curmudgeon that I am, this was against my wishes. The premise that Val used was that my boys would really like to show me the progress on the car and take us out for dinner on the Saturday.
So, not wishing to destroy an otherwise great relationship, I reluctantly agreed.
Well, the visit to the car shop was amazing...and that's not a word I generally use. I'm embarrassed to say that I broke down in tears of happiness when I saw the car. Val took lots of photos, so I will get to some of them momentarily.
Sunday morning, we left to return home and this is where the real fun started.
If you care to search for the BC weather, you will understand exactly what I mean. CBC News has tons of it.
We were heading east on #1 in the Fraser Valley, going extremely slowly due to a traffic backup, when a huge mud and rockslide came ripping down the mountain to our right. The RCMP had just arrived there before we did and were about to close the road. We snuck through by driving slowly through a foot or so of water, mud and rocks and made it literally seconds before all the mud and rocks boogied their way across the road. If you doubt the veracity of my word, you can see plenty of videos of that area.
OK, so off we go headed for the Coquihalla (the Coke to locals) but it had already been closed due to a massive slide up near the Zopkios brake check. Well, in very short order, that slide became just one of many, and now multiple sections of that highway have literally been washed away. Bridges have been undermined and collapsed.
We re-routed via highway 3 to Princeton, where we witnessed unbelievably muddy creeks raging right alongside the road. It was actually quite nerve wracking. Arrived at Princeton to see that part of the town was starting to flood. 
From there it was off to Merritt, usually just an hour from Hope, but this time three hours due to the detour. By this time the traffic was truly staggering. Mile after mile of bumper to bumper vehicles. 
Arrived at Merritt in due course, fuelled up and headed home without any further ado. Little did we know that Merritt would be underwater early the next morning, with a whole town evacuation order.
Nobody that we have spoken with since then has ever seen or heard anything of this nature before. All kinds of records set, none of them welcome.
Last I heard from BC Hydro is that they still have around 80,000 customers without power.
It's windy and rainy here, and we just had a temporary power outage, but back up right now.
Back with a few car photos shortly.


----------



## cocobolo

Not quite sure where to start here, but I will try to keep it down to a dull roar. 
Dennis, number one son, had arranged with the shop to let us visit on Saturday to see the '33. They had it all nice and clean so we could have a good look.
Originally there was to be a step type box in the back intended to cover the huge mass of wiring and other miscellany. The fellow doing the woodworking portion, decided that a curved box would be more in keeping with the curves of the car. This is what he came up with.


----------



## cocobolo

The beginnings of the front door panels.


----------



## cocobolo

The ceiling panel(s), or whatever they are called. There are two tweeters along with the lights buried in there.


----------



## cocobolo

There was all kinds of trouble finding seats which would fit inside the car, due to the very narrow front section. I believe these came from Wiseguys and they are sent just as a frame and springs. You have to do your own upholstery.
This was the first part that Lyle, the upholsterer, got done.


----------



## cocobolo

I can tell you that there was all kinds of discussion regarding the exhaust system. I said, just put in a plain old steel system. It will last for years as I doubt the car will get driven very far and isn't ever likely to burn anything out.
Number two son would have no part of that and insisted that everything be stainless steel. Since there's rarely any point in arguing with him....




























It's all just tacked together here, then it was off the car to get welded.


----------



## cocobolo

Here's the different bits and pieces getting tig welded. All 2 1/2" mandrel bent pipe. Nice to see a perfectionist at work, that's rare these days.





































See that grey car to the right? It's an old Pontiac. The chap whose having it built says it's for street use. Sure, that must be why it has a 1,900 h.p. twin turbo 496 in it. Just an unbelievable motor.


----------



## cocobolo

This panel here goes in front of what's left of the rear window. I am told that the grilles will hide speakers. Who am I to 
argue?


----------



## cocobolo

Here's how far Lyle has got with the first seat. Not finished yet, but looking pretty good.


----------



## cocobolo

Val likes this one as it shows both the suicide doors open. The upholstery has not yet been wrapped here.


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Well good evening everyone. I expect by now you have heard about our delightful weather here in BC over the last few days.
> Last Thursday, before it really hit the fan, I was conned into going down to the coast for my 79th birthday. Naturally, being the curmudgeon that I am, this was against my wishes. The premise that Val used was that my boys would really like to show me the progress on the car and take us out for dinner on the Saturday.
> So, not wishing to destroy an otherwise great relationship, I reluctantly agreed.
> Well, the visit to the car shop was amazing...and that's not a word I generally use. I'm embarrassed to say that I broke down in tears of happiness when I saw the car. Val took lots of photos, so I will get to some of them momentarily.
> Sunday morning, we left to return home and this is where the real fun started.
> If you care to search for the BC weather, you will understand exactly what I mean. CBC News has tons of it.
> We were heading east on #1 in the Fraser Valley, going extremely slowly due to a traffic backup, when a huge mud and rockslide came ripping down the mountain to our right. The RCMP had just arrived there before we did and were about to close the road. We snuck through by driving slowly through a foot or so of water, mud and rocks and made it literally seconds before all the mud and rocks boogied their way across the road. If you doubt the veracity of my word, you can see plenty of videos of that area.
> OK, so off we go headed for the Coquihalla (the Coke to locals) but it had already been closed due to a massive slide up near the Zopkios brake check. Well, in very short order, that slide became just one of many, and now multiple sections of that highway have literally been washed away. Bridges have been undermined and collapsed.
> We re-routed via highway 3 to Princeton, where we witnessed unbelievably muddy creeks raging right alongside the road. It was actually quite nerve wracking. Arrived at Princeton to see that part of the town was starting to flood.
> From there it was off to Merritt, usually just an hour from Hope, but this time three hours due to the detour. By this time the traffic was truly staggering. Mile after mile of bumper to bumper vehicles.
> Arrived at Merritt in due course, fuelled up and headed home without any further ado. Little did we know that Merritt would be underwater early the next morning, with a whole town evacuation order.
> Nobody that we have spoken with since then has ever seen or heard anything of this nature before. All kinds of records set, none of them welcome.
> Last I heard from BC Hydro is that they still have around 80,000 customers without power.
> It's windy and rainy here, and we just had a temporary power outage, but back up right now.
> Back with a few car photos shortly.


Wow just wow, I did see y'all were having really bad flooding with a number of photos and videos. The first thing I thought of was is Keith ok. I was going to write you but you posted here. That was some serious damage buddy. You were truly blessed to get through all that and make it home safe. I also thought that y'all were up higher than where the water was. I hope all is well at your house. I for one appreciate you letting us know y'all are ok.

Sorry I forgot your birthday buddy, Happy late Birthday. Man, we both are getting mighty close to that 80 mark, you next year and I one year behind you. lol

All I can say is you are going to have a million dollar car Keith, that is the most beautiful machine and machining I have ever seen, it is absolutely beautiful. Wow, what a birthday for you. I love it!


----------



## cocobolo

It seems that we are in for yet another atmospheric river during the next few days. Not up our way, but down on the coast. We are told by the good weather folks that they are to expect 50 to 75 mm of rain, but this time at least it is spread over a few days.
The big problem will be in and around the Abbotsford area, which is the largest land area municipality in B.C. At least, that's what the mayor says.
Abbotsford is predominantly a farming area for both livestock and a variety of fruits and hops. This area is bounded by a major dike, which has unfortunately been breached in two areas. The army corps of engineers has arrived to assist in the repairs.
There is one huge pumping station with the ability to move about 2.1 million litres of water an hour, Given that the Nooksack river across the border in the U.S. has overflowed its' banks and has been pouring uncounted gallons of water into the municipality of Abbotsford, it is understandable that there is grave concern for the ability of the pump to keep operating at 100% of its' capacity for much longer.
The pump itself has been sandbagged all around it in an attempt to prevent it from being flooded out.
I haven't heard of any updates as of this evening, but I will see what shows up tomorrow.
The news here has been dominated by that person who drove his vehicle into a crowd of people, killing 5 and injuring close to 50 others. We sincerely hope that there will not be any further deaths as a result of this extremely nasty act. Not the sort of thing to hear shortly before the U.S. Thanksgiving.


----------



## BigJim

Y'all just can't seem to catch a break up your way buddy. I really hate that for all of you.


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Jim: well, yet more trouble today. For the past 7 1/2 months we have been trying to get our heat pump fixed. Promise after promise has been broken by "Don" from CDL. Simply NEVER shows up if and when he says he will.
Finally found another company in Kamloops - well over an hour away - to give us a hand. The fellow just left and what he told us (while I was watching all the while) is that Don well and truly messed up. We have heard this repeatedly from every single person that we have spoken to about this guy.
The wiring in all four air handlers was changed and done backwards, same with the wiring in the heat pump itself. Don told us that he had replaced the mother board as well as the compressor. The fellow today said there is no way that the mother board is new and he showed my why.
However, he does say that the mother board is now fried, highly likely caused by the backwards wiring. To make things even better, it seems that the unit itself is now obsolete and has been superseded by a different unit. Plus, in his initial calls, it seems there is no replacement mother board to be found.
We may need to replace the entire heat pump, which in itself raises another question. The Fujitsu head units need to "talk" to the heat pump, and other brands use different systems to "talk" to each other. It just sounds like a giant mess to me.
The fellow says he will do his utmost to get back to us tomorrow and let us know what they can find. In the mean time I'm going to send my little note to Fujitsu head office and let them know just what an incompetent buffoon this Don guy is.
Just another day in paradise Jim!


----------



## BigJim

For crying out loud buddy, it just never ends. I really hate that for both of you. Dern shame you can't go to wood heat but then that is a lot of hard work, been there and done that. I really love wood heat but I sure don't miss cutting and busting wood, and dealing with the ashes and going out and knocking the wood loose when it is frozen. Other than that I like it. No telling what a full cord of wood costs today if you don't feel like cutting it yourself.

If that were me the people who make those heat pumps would really get an ear full and that idiot who fouled your unit up would also. Dad blame people just won't do their job today or are too stupid too. OK I have calmed down now, the blame idiots.

Keith, I sure hope things change for the good for y'all really soon.


----------



## Fix'n it

BigJim said:


> No telling what a full cord of wood costs today if you don't feel like cutting it yourself.


around here, $175ish


----------



## BigJim

Fix'n it said:


> around here, $175ish


For anyone who has never cut a cord of wood, that is a lot of work for $175.


----------



## cocobolo

Hi Jim. Fortunately there is a small wood stove in the house. But it's nowhere near large enough to heat the whole house.
Val spoke with the head guy from the original installation company, as she knows him well.
He is going to bat for us tomorrow to see what can be done.
You might guess that Val doesn't handle this sort of thing well at all and she has been really upset since the new fellow left here this afternoon.
Now I must make it abundantly clear that this new fellow is doing things right by the book, and is giving us good advice. Fortunately, the company he works for deals with RSI, who is the original installing company.
In the mean time I did indeed send off quite a lengthy email to Fujitsu in the hope that they will contact me tomorrow.
It seems they have a new line of heat pumps, and I hope that the new pumps will be able to communicate with the older head units. If not, it may be necessary to change to matching head units, if that is indeed possible.
I guess we will find out more tomorrow.
Short of that, I will get a few of those small room heaters that are being advertised on the internet. Could be a cheap temporary solution.


----------



## cocobolo

From the previous post.....Fujitsu was absolutely ZERO help at all. I am incredibly disappointed in their total lack of help and there's no question that I will never ever recommend them to anyone. I wonder whatever happened to customer care.

Anyway, enough about that. We are officially in snow season now, and while we have had a few insignificant snowfalls over the past few weeks, it looks as though we are due to be stuck with the snow until around mid February or so. That's usually when it warms up enough that any snow that falls then doesn't stick for too long.

So our untrustworthy Husqvarna garden tractor with overpriced snowblower attachment has also gone on vacation. It doesn't want to work either. So yesterday we hightailed it over to Salmon Arm to get a walk behind unit.

Given that my stamina has also left for Mexico, or some other warm place I'm sure, I couldn't get anything too heavy. Picked up a small 24" unit, powered by Briggs....so it should be good for a few years. At 1/7 the price of the Husqvarna I might add.

I tried it this afternoon after I read all the instructions. Yes, I know, I know, men aren't supposed to read instructions, but sometimes it actually helps.

Check the oil, put some gas in it....wait for it...it starts first pull! OK, now let's see if it actually removes snow, that would be a bonus.

We had a fresh snowfall yesterday and overnight, about 8" or so, on top of the previous 4"+ over the last few days. I think the results speak for themselves...we're very happy with this little guy.


----------



## BigJim

OOOOoooooo that makes me cold just looking at all that snow. Hope you got some heat going by now, you need it.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> OOOOoooooo that makes me cold just looking at all that snow. Hope you got some heat going by now, you need it.


Hi Jim, we're just using a couple of ceramic heaters and the woodstove. It's actually working out quite well so far. The lowest temperature to date has only been -10ºC so we know there's another 10º or so to go.


----------



## Fix'n it

the troubles of living in paradise


----------



## cocobolo

Fix'n it said:


> the troubles of living in paradise


Paradise eh? Hmmmmm...seems to me that might be located about 1500 miles south of us....where the sun shines!

Merry Christmas to you my friend!


----------



## Fix'n it

cocobolo said:


> Paradise eh?
> 
> Hmmmmm...seems to me that might be located about 1500 miles south of us....where the sun shines!
> 
> Merry Christmas to you my friend!


compared to where i live ? HECK YEAH !!! its i boring/bland as F around here.

i can't argue with that

and Merry Christmas to you and yours  

btw, the car is looking real good


----------



## cocobolo

Well now, good evening folks. A number of distressing incidents have occurred since we last chatted. Not the least of which is that we experienced low temperatures of -22.2ºC two days in a row.

It seems that our local chat group in the North Shuswap has been experiencing troubles with their plumbing, perhaps not surprising given the chillier weather. All kinds of helpful advice from those who may, or may not, know whereof they speak, but all meaning well I am sure.

We too are having plumbing troubles, which I initially thought could possibly be cold related. However, since doing some checking, I fear it has nothing to do with the cold.

Firstly, our upstairs toiled backed up...I'm sure you needed to hear that, right? No. of course not.

Our usual remedy of pumping the living heck out of it didn't work at all. Then I tried the snake. Still no luck.

After talking with two different plumbers we still are not sure. One said possibly the main line to the septic system may be the culprit, especially given the very cold weather, or that the settling tank might be full, thus backing up the system. The other plumber said not likely, as main drain lines very rarely freeze, and with only two of us in the house, the tank may well not need to be pumped for 10 to 15 years.

Water has started to leak through the drywall covering the plumbing chase from the upstairs bathroom down into the kitchen, in a number of places. Now, given that the chase is basically flat, it seems to me that any water at all that might find its' way in there could easily run to where ever it wished. 

Fortunately, there is a standpipe outside which allows me to check to see if any effluent is still going through to the main tank, and indeed it is. All we had to do was to flush the downstairs toilet to check this, and it works just fine.

That leaves us with a blockage somewhere in the main drain between the upstairs bathroom and the end of the main drain where it turns down and connects with the lower drain before heading out. I did manage to push the snake about 20' or so into the line, yet that made no difference.

I should mention that no plumbers are available until at least January 3rd, or this Saturday, January 1st if we would just care to pay $275 an hour for their time.

This leaves us with the charming possibility of having to remove the toilet upstairs to see if we are able to locate the trouble. So that will be our next move.

We have been scouring all of our photos to see if there is any record of just what the main drain looks like, specifically to see if there is a cleanout close to the toilet drain. No luck so far. We do have pics of the area, but not taken from a suitable angle to see whether or not there is a cleanout. The drain from the tub and sink also run into the same spot which is why we can't see where we need to.

If there are any plumbers who happen to see this, I would welcome your input. Thank you in advance.

I will keep you posted as to what we find. Not very exciting, I know, but it's all I have for the moment.


----------



## cocobolo

The worse part of our troubles is that we believe that Val managed to get the Covid virus somehow. She has been double vaccinated. She did experience several of the symptoms, but until this evening when she was reading up on the various symptoms, she was not aware that loss of taste was one of them.

She had this experience for several days in a row and she was sure that her cooking had gone to pot. Not so, all the meals tasted fine. Putting two and two together, she is certain that she had Covid, but fortunately not seriously enough to go to hospital.

Undoubtedly this means that I got it as well, although I always claim to be bulletproof. All I got was several days of extreme tiredness, no headaches or anything else.

One of Val's daughters and her entire family all came down with Covid, at least two of them seriously. Thus far they have managed to stay out of hospital, but given that all five have been in contact with literally dozens of other people, they are now going through the tracing process.

The 18 year old twins, both attending university, have been advised that there will be no live classes until at least the beginning of February, as both Carlton University and McMaster University experienced massive outbreaks of Covid as the semester was ending.

Fortunately, they seem to be on the mend now, and the worst damage was that their Christmas celebrations with the grandparents got thrown out the window.

Oh yes, on the DIY front...they need to buy a snowblower and were considering buying a cordless electric version. First thing I did was to check the reviews. Apparently, the one they were looking at has a habit of quitting anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes after it starts. So that's out the window. I suggested they get a gas powered unit as they get much more snow in Regina than we normally do here. I think they are looking at the same one we have now, which is still working flawlessly.


----------



## BigJim

Oh wow buddy, I am so sorry yall got that virus, I will keep yall in my prayers. Hopefully it is mild and yall get back to normal really soon.

Keith, do you have one of the deals that go on a water hose that you put into the pipe. When you turn the hose on, it swells or balloons out sealing against the pipe walls. Once a certain pressure is reached, water is expelled into the pipe. The water pressure will most time push the clog on down the drain.


----------



## cocobolo

Last quickie thing for now...the '33 is back at the boys garage to get the last few small things tidied up. I have been putting gentle pressure on number 1 son for some photos. But thus far he has successfully ignored the old man. Maybe next week when Vancouver gets over the big cold snap and big snowfalls. Definitely been a bad one this year.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Keith, do you have one of the deals that go on a water hose that you put into the pipe. When you turn the hose on, it swells or balloons out sealing against the pipe walls. Once a certain pressure is reached, water is expelled into the pipe. The water pressure will most time push the clog on down the drain.


Hi Jim, thanks for the reply. No I don't have anything like that. I do suspect that once we have the toilet off, the reason for our troubles will appear. At least that's our hope.

What baffles me, is that Val said there was not an overflow on the upper toilet, yet somehow, water has got inside the chase and caused damage to the drywall. Not that big of a deal to fix, I suppose, although my fixin' days are about over. Maybe she's been fibbin' to me?


----------



## BigJim

cocobolo said:


> Last quickie thing for now...the '33 is back at the boys garage to get the last few small things tidied up. I have been putting gentle pressure on number 1 son for some photos. But thus far he has successfully ignored the old man. Maybe next week when Vancouver gets over the big cold snap and big snowfalls. Definitely been a bad one this year.


I edited my post above after you read it.
Here is the thing I was talking about, they make smaller ones for smaller pipes also, not expensive at all and they do work, if all else fails.

I would love to see the photos of the 33 also, That is one fine car.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> I edited my post above after you read it.
> Here is the thing I was talking about, they make smaller ones for smaller pipes also, not expensive at all and they do work, if all else fails.
> 
> I would love to see the photos of the 33 also, That is one fine car.


If we can't fix it easily Jim, we just might have to see if the local hardware store has one of those gadgets.


----------



## cocobolo

Well Jim, we have another one of those crazy stories to tell you about the blocked drainpipe.

I removed the toilet, only to discover that the blockage was not right there as I suspected it would be. I was able to get the snake a long way down the 3" main line from the upstairs bathroom. Something like 18 feet.

This 3" drain goes to the east end of the house, before dropping about 8 to 9 feet before it makes a sharp 90º turn. Just above that 90º is a cleanout.

What I discovered the first time was that I was not able to get a snake through there at all, so that was the first problem. The snake would only go about a foot, in other words about to the point where the pipe went out into uninsulated cold air. This led me to believe that the blockage was right there.

Next I took a small ceramic heater under the house, covered the drain pipe with a couple of furniture blankets and let the heater run for a day.

I was quite sure I would need to remove at least one section of pipe, and possibly two sections if things did not co-operate.

This morning, I was able to get the snake through for about 7 feet beyond the cleanout, a definite improvement over the previous day. Fortunately, the lower main drain is still running just fine, so we do have a useful bathroom and the kitchen is still good.

Yesterday we went over to Kamloops to pick up a variety of plumbing bits and pieces that I figured we would need.

Today I was banging around on the drain pipes to see if I could determine where the blockage might be. I got Val to pour a kettle full of hot water down that section of pipe, and lo and behold the water went through, seemingly without any trouble. OK, well that was good news, perhaps we had solved the problem.

So I put the cap back on the cleanout, and we ran several gallons of water from the bathroom sink upstairs. It didn't go through, so now I am stumped once again.

Started to make a cut through one of the 3" pipes under the house, to be greeted with a fountain of water coming out as soon as I was part way into the cut. Had to let that run until it stopped, which meant that the blockage was somewhere in the last 5 or 6 feet of pipe that was visible above drain rock.

At this point, our good neighbour Glenn arrived with his endoscope. Once I had removed a section of pipe - which was about 90% blocked with ice I might add - we looked down inside the pipe and sure enough, there was more ice. So after the judicious use of a heat gun and more checking with the 'scope, that is now gone.

Naturally, by this time it is getting quite dark and cold and I am not about to attempt gluing any thickwall ABS under those conditions. It will have to wait until tomorrow morning for that.

Fortunately, the temperature is only -6.3ºC as I write at 4:40 p.m. on January 2nd. Tomorrow it looks like we may only get between -7ºC and -4ºC, which will be quite tolerable.

Now I have a question. I was looking on Amazon for heat tape, and discovered that the first one I came across was for use in water filled pipes only. OK, never thought about that...but then I still don't quite know why the drain even froze, as the water whips through there fast. So do you - or anyone who happens to see this - know if there is a specific heat tape that I can attach to a drainpipe?

Maybe tomorrow I can get a photo or two which will better explain this mess.

Thank you in advance.


----------



## BigJim

Buddy, I wish I could help you with the heat tape but I have never used any. My thoughts were the drain might have frozen. 

Just did a search, it said you could use heat tape on a drain.


----------



## ddsrph

After several days of high 60’s and low 70’s we woke up to this in Southern Tennessee.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Buddy, I wish I could help you with the heat tape but I have never used any. My thoughts were the drain might have frozen.
> 
> Just did a search, it said you could use heat tape on a drain.


I thought exactly the same Jim, but the first outfit I ran across says otherwise. I guess I will just look for another brand. I don't see how putting a tape on a pipe that only gets to about 50ºF can possibly do any damage. I've been using the heat gun at a 1,050º setting and it doesn't seem to have any negative effect. But it does get rid of the ice!


----------



## cocobolo

ddsrph said:


> After several days of high 60’s and low 70’s we woke up to this in Southern Tennessee.
> View attachment 678377


I bet that was a bit of a surprise! Now you can build us all a snowman!


----------



## lenaitch

cocobolo said:


> Now I have a question. I was looking on Amazon for heat tape, and discovered that the first one I came across was for use in water filled pipes only. OK, never thought about that...but then I still don't quite know why the drain even froze, as the water whips through there fast. So do you - or anyone who happens to see this - know if there is a specific heat tape that I can attach to a drainpipe?


It seems odd since a properly sloped drain line should have any water lying in it; unless "something" did flush through a caused a bit of a blockage that simply allowed the water to build up.

The only thing I can think of is electric roof heat or gutter cables. They usually come with their own thermostat and are intended to lie on the roof or in the gutter and down the downspouts.


----------



## cocobolo

lenaitch said:


> It seems odd since a properly sloped drain line should have any water lying in it; unless "something" did flush through a caused a bit of a blockage that simply allowed the water to build up.
> 
> The only thing I can think of is electric roof heat or gutter cables. They usually come with their own thermostat and are intended to lie on the roof or in the gutter and down the downspouts.


Today we had a visit from the insurance company's repair service. The only thing they will cover is any damage caused by this water backup. I guess that's OK, as I fixed the drain itself today.

Now your comment is duly noted about slope...and to that end, I can assure you that the slope appeared to be damn near perfect. We still don't know why this backup occurred, but my hunch is that due to the 8 foot or so drop at the end of the long run, which then turned by a sharp 90, might possibly have been the root cause. I would think that if the turn at the bottom was handled by two 45º bends, or one of the slow 90's, it may never have happened.

To the best of my knowledge, this plumbing is at least 10 years old and has never been any trouble in the past.

Today I had to cut out a section of pipe which turned out to be almost full of ice. I started the cut yesterday when I was greeted by a shower of water.

After removing two sections of pipe, I beat the heck out of both of them in order to knock all the ice out. OK, so now they were clear.

I must admit that I was pretty nervous gluing everything back together, but it all went fairly well. In the unlikely event that the one pipe which ran away from the wall at 90º or so might not have had adequate slope, I added about 1/2" to the slope by removing that much extra from the eventual vertical pipe. The possibility that the first section of pipe, which was NOT supported from the framing, might hang a little too low when full of water occurred to me. I haven't added a pipe hanger yet, but I will do so just as soon as we get an above zero temperature, which we should get Monday of next week.

In the mean time, the furniture blankets are still covering the pipes with a heater still running, and it will stay that way until we procure some sort of heat tape.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to hear from the repair outfit after they go over the assessment which was done today. And we are also scheduled to receive another visit from Maxwell who are fixing the heat pump.


----------



## lenaitch

cocobolo said:


> Now your comment is duly noted about slope...and to that end, I can assure you that the slope appeared to be damn near perfect. We still don't know why this backup occurred, but my hunch is that due to the 8 foot or so drop at the end of the long run, which then turned by a sharp 90, might possibly have been the root cause. I would think that if the turn at the bottom was handled by two 45º bends, or one of the slow 90's, it may never have happened.


I tend to agree. We had a problem at a previous house with blockages in the inflow line to the septic that was assessed to be caused by a single 90* instead of 2x45* giving more sweep. I'm certainly no plumber but have had it explained that too slow a flow won't carry any solids along but too fast will simply leave them behind. I'm sure there's much more involved, such as volume of liquid.


----------



## cocobolo

Yes, exactly what I understand as well. I do have the Canadian plumbing book and that is what it states. But at least the slope is good. Shouldn't have any more troubles now.

Now we wait for the greedy insurance company to get their act together to see what comes next. We have already been threatened with a month long disaster in the kitchen, but I won't be tolerating anything like that at all.


----------



## cocobolo

Never mind the insurance company. They sent out some kid to assess the minor damage. Frankly I don't think he knows much about this stuff. But he was kind enough to cut a hole in a perfectly good area of the drywall right down by the floor. I tried to explain to him that there was no chance that any water got down there at all, and I would much rather he left the wall intact. It probably goes without saying that he cut his precious little hole and there was no hint of any moisture there at all.

It was becoming rapidly obvious that there was no value in trying to deal with any greedy insurance outfit, so I will fix it myself.


----------



## cocobolo

Received a handful of photos from No. 2 son today.

The exhaust pipes are back from getting some sort of coating. Perhaps Pugsy might know what they did?

Where the tig welding was done, the welds were blue. I suppose that is only natural. But after this coating all the stainless looks perfect.


----------



## BigJim

Wow, that is amazing how they did that, I never heard of a process where that could be done. Sure is going to look sharp on the 33.

I hope you are staying warm up your way buddy.
I hate insurance companies, they will go to all lengths to keep from paying on a claim.


----------



## cocobolo

BigJim said:


> Wow, that is amazing how they did that, I never heard of a process where that could be done. Sure is going to look sharp on the 33.
> 
> I hope you are staying warm up your way buddy.
> I hate insurance companies, they will go to all lengths to keep from paying on a claim.


I don't know what the process is Jim. About all I know us that it looks quite amazing.

As for warm...our heat pump still is not fixed....and the less than honest outfit that is supposed to be doing the job seems to have forgotten all about us.

As for the insurance company, oddly enough I got a lengthy article came in today on United Health, massive U.S. insurance company. It seems that all they need to do is to make sure that the premiums they collect are more than the claims they pay out. And people really have no choice to pay up or go without. They just keep increasing the premiums to ensure a good profit. I just checked the stock price for United, and they are up a staggering 37.5% from one year ago. Currently $458 a share. It was over $500 at the end of December, but the entire market has tanked for the entire month of January.


----------



## BigJim

Keith, that is just sorry that they haven't followed through to fix your heat. No one seems to want to do their job now days, they want the money but don't want to work for it.

As for insurance, they are syndicated I am sure, the gangsters figured out a way to make money under the radar and are fleecing the public and greasing the politicians hand to make sure they can keep fleecing everyone.


----------



## Fix'n it

that is ceramic coating. the finish you see will turn dull/flat, and the outside radius's may turn white, at least thats what happened to my headers. saying that, perhaps ceramic coats are better than they were 20 years ago, and/or, you are not going to heat them up the way i did.


----------



## cocobolo

Fix'n it said:


> that is ceramic coating. the finish you see will turn dull/flat, and the outside radius's may turn white, at least thats what happened to my headers. saying that, perhaps ceramic coats are better than they were 20 years ago, and/or, you are not going to heat them up the way i did.


The headers themselves didn't get coated, just the exhaust pipes. They didn't do the mufflers, just left them as regular stainless. If the car ever gets delivered up this way, I'll let you know what happens, by way of photos of course.


----------



## Fix'n it

depending on how you drive it, it will take years, if ever. but i am sure they will at least dull, that is, if you do drive it.


----------



## cocobolo

Fix'n it said:


> depending on how you drive it, it will take years, if ever. but i am sure they will at least dull, that is, if you do drive it.


Well, oddly enough, that thought did cross my mind. But that's a little awkward to do when the car is 500 kms away.


----------

