Working with Bozo

With a title like that you might think that Lisa is writing this blog. I assure you that I, Dino am writing this. That does not mean I am calling Lisa a clown because I am not. I wouldn't even call her a cow like someone else I know who's initials are JN. I know better. Keep reading to find out who is the clown.

 The calendar has flipped a page here in Minnesota. What that means is that it can cool down very fast. We went from the 80's to the 50's in a matter of days. In fact as I write this it is 36 degrees out with frost. The frost is a good thing because it will kill all of the blood sucking mosquitos that erupted from our excessive amounts of rain in August. The cool temps really have us scrambling to get our house built because the campground we are in closes September thirtieth.

Since our last update we have seen some progress that we can actually call progress. 

We were at a point where the next step was to have the person spray the walls and ceiling with spray foam for insulation. We were giddy with anticipation because that was an important step to get completed so that the electricians can come in and do their thing. We hired a local guy thinking that giving him some business would be good karma. 

He would start the job on a Tuesday. We got a call Monday night from him telling us the foam he ordered for the job hadn't arrived yet. Uh-oh. He accepted this job back in June. He would let us know in the morning if it arrived. Tuesday morning arrives and no word from him. Uh-oh. We finally get a hold of him and he says that he is taking matters into his own hands and driving to Fargo to get the foam. Great! A real go getter! He gets to the bungalow around 2 and starts to get to work. Usually foamers like to work when it is cooler out but he was bound to get going. He stops around 5 and says he will get an early start in the morning and should be done in one day.

We drive out there Wednesday morning to check his progress and guess what? He isn't there. Uh-oh. Lisa calls but he isn't answering his phone. Uh-oh. Finally after 5, he emails Lisa saying that his phone "broke" and he had some "stuff" come up and will be there first thing Thursday morning. 

Again we drive out there Thursday morning and no foamer. Damnit! Again no calls and no emails. Lisa gives him an ultimatum. Get to work on Friday or that's it. By Thursday afternoon she is fuming and we just decide to fire him. What a clown. 

So what he got done was part of the living room and that was it. Now we have to find someone else to finish the job. Thankfully the guy that built our barn knew a company out of Fargo and they were able to come in and finish it later on the following week.

They did a much better job than the clown and we are very pleased with the outcome. Thanks to that clown, that put me a week and a half behind on putting up the rest of the walls for the electricians.

Other things have happened while we messed around with the clown. Our well got drilled.

The first day they came in with the big trucks to find water. It was very interesting to watch them drill. They found water at 100 feet which was good. We were quoted for 150 feet and at $24 a foot, we saved some money. That crew left and then the next day another crew showed up with a very big digger.

This crew was installing the well pump and the water lines to the yard hydrant and to the house. In this part of the country the winters are long and cold. So cold that the frost will go 6 feet down into the ground. So they had to bury our water line 8 feet to make certain that it wouldn't freeze. 

You can see that there isn't a lot of topsoil. It is mostly clay. It was wet clay all the way down to the 8 foot level that they dug. It is just a wet summer here. In fact it was interesting that when they drilled they could tell what kind of earth they were going through. 

From 0 to 1 ft.  it was black soft dirt.

From 1 to 31 feet, it was brown hard clay.

From 31 to 80 feet, it was brown sand/gravel.

From 80 to 100 feet, it was grey sand/gravel.

There is no chance that "Timmy" will fall in the well. 

Once the foaming was done I started to get the walls ready for the electricians. Running stringers across the beams. This is not like a normal house and the studs don't go vertically. That's the problem I was having trying to figure out how everything will come together. I was thinking like it was a normal house. I even finished the bathroom like that and then tore it out.

Now everything is running the way it is supposed to be,

While I was struggling with that Lisa was working on some landscaping with the help of her mother.

I also found the time to fix the floor drain that they put in the barn. It just drains to the outside. I dug it out and it was plugged with dirt. I was thinking, how could this drain? So I made a big hole.

I then put a couple of inches of rock in the bottom.

Then I took a 5 gallon bucket and put drain holes in the bottom and sides. Then I put that in the hole.

Then I filled the whole thing in with more rock.

Then I put 2X4's over the top of it and filled it all in with more rock and gravel.

You can't even tell its there. I think it will dran much better than what the original plan was. That is the side of the barn our RV hookup is on but it is too close to the build that our fifthwheel won't run over it.

A couple other things that got done. One was to move our propane tank farther from the building. It was too close and after a 4 inch rain running off of the building, it started washing away the concrete blocks that support the tank. So that got moved. Second thing is that we got our gutters and downspouts installed.

We are getting closer. Electricians have installed our meter and circuit panel. Now the power company has to run a power line from our pole to the house.

I have a couple of days to finish the walls before the electricians get back. So we could have power in a few days which is very exciting to us.

Stay tuned boys and girls. We might not be homeless in just a few short weeks!

On a more personal note. I had an emotional set back as I try to cope with my physical limitations. This was due to Lisa telling me "That if I fall off my bike I should just get right back on it." Maybe she was referring to how good I look in bicycle shorts? So what does she want to do? Eat Sushi! Well in my case it is more like wear Sushi.

As I struggle trying to eat it, battling hand cramps and flying Sushi, it dawns on me that maybe "I" am the clown.  I know Lisa sure got a laugh out of it again.

Turtle Speed vs. Sloth Speed

 As we build our "Fortress of Isolation", Lisa and I are having a heated debate over which is slower. Turtles or Sloths. One thing we both agree on is that our house project is slower than both. We have been discussing amongst ourselves about these construction companies in our area. The building season is short, there is a ton of work to do and the fact that they keep telling us they are way behind for one reason or the other. What we can't figure out is,why can't they work on Saturdays if they are so far behind? None of them do and we have asked all of them. Weird. Work when there is work because you know you will be taking the winters off. Sorry for the rant.

13 days since my last post and I expected to have a lot of progress to report. There has been steps forward but it is the ole' hurry up and wait game. One day while we were waiting we got a surprise call from our plumber. He said he was in the building putting in the floor heat and he had a question. We really don't know why these people don't call us ahead of time to say they are going to be there on a certain day so that we can meet them. But he was out there which meant the concrete people had to have been out there also. Communication is a wonderful word when used properly. (I don't know if you can tell by now our frustration levels are getting higher.)

Sure enough, they had been there and by the time we got there they were gone. I guess we shouldn't have slept in that day.

The top picture is the barn floor with the rebar waiting for the concrete. The other picture is of the bungalow with the floor heat installed. So we were excited that we were going to get concrete any day now. Then mother nature had to throw a monkey wrench into the mix. Rain. We got a storm one night that dumped over 4 inches of rain on our property.

So I went out to check on things that morning and saw the rain gage. I drove around and looked at other things. The road that we use to access the back part of the property was underwater and will probably be like that till next summer.

The road that the cement trucks have to access our property was washed out so I had to fix that before they could get in there.

This is nothing but a mudhole now. There was no way a fully loaded cement truck would get through that. so we told the builder that I would get a load of rock and spread over that for them. I ordered 12 yards of rock and then I needed something to help with the work. I have a tractor with a bucket, but I needed something more. A blade. Off to the local farm store I went and bought this.

I know the blade is not green, but I saved several hundred dollars by not getting a green one. I got this on a day that Lisa was not with me because getting it out of the truck was a little tricky. This thing weighs 300 pounds and knowing how accident prone she is, it probably would have fallen on her or something. So with her out of the way I was able to use some good old fashioned ingenuity. Remember kids, don't try this at home, I am a trained professional. (You can see how high the mud goes up on my tires.)

Easy Peasy. Once it was all hooked up I went to town on that road. Spreading rock like crazy.

It still looks wet. That's because I was dumping rock over mud. Remember I said something about communication before. We told the builder we would get rock. So the next day we go out there to this.

They dumped another truckload of rock on it. There goes $350 right into the crapper. Once they are done with the concrete though I will haul that rock away because the excavation company will fill that in that area with fill and gravel later on. More rock for me.

So we wait for things to dry out some. That gave me time to perfect some of my cooking skills. It has been awhile since I have done omelets. It took a few days of practice to manage the flip, but I did it.

That is a sausage, onion and cheese omelet. That's how you get the day started. Not by eating porridge or gruel like someone else I know.

I also had an epiphany. During this global pandemic, I noticed that everytime we went to a store and walked down the canned food section, the Spam shelf was always empty. Making me think that a lot of people are eating canned meat. So by chance I was able to get a can and created what I will trade mark as a "SPAMBURGER!"

Take it from me folks. It tastes as good as it looks. Feel free to cook up some of those at your next barbecue, unless you don't want to use some of the Spam you are hoarding (Jim).

Our grandson Virgo came out for a visit. We bought him his first bat and ball. He loved it and I was amazed that he took to it like a natural. He had the perfect swing and technique. Mark my words, you will see him in the major leagues.

Finally we got our cement. The floor looks great and we are happy with the outcome. It still is not finished because there is supposed to be a 4 foot apron along the front. That will probably take another month to get that done.

They told us they ended up pouring 5 inches instead of the usual 4 inches. Hopefully it won't crack but concrete up north always cracks. Once the floor was in, that gave me 4 days to put up some walls before the spray foam insulation guy comes in to insulate the outer walls and ceiling.

BAM! Walls! Those walls will go up to the ceiling but we left room for the spray foamer to reach the ceiling.With the walls in separating the rooms really gives us an idea of what things will be looking like. We think we will have plenty of space for us. Keep in mind we have been living in a camper for the last 6 years and this will be like the Taj MaHal. I may not be able to find Lisa in it for days.

Also we had the fireplace people come out and install our chimney for our woodstove. They wanted to rough in that before the spray foamer got in there.

The woodstove will go in that corner of the room. Hopefully there will be room for a bear skin rug that Lisa can lay upon in front of it with a come hither look on her face.

So that is where we are at now. Still a long way to go. We are still looking at a September move in date. We have to because the campgrounds close september 30th The three things we need are sewer, water and electric. None of which we have yet.

Turtle Speed

Our "Fortress of Isolation" is moving forward at a very slow rate of speed. We keep asking them if it will be liveable by the end of September and they keep telling us it will be. But it is hard to believe them when we see nothing happening for days on end. In Minnesota the building season is short. 6-7 months, tops. As we wait for things to happen, we look at the calendar, we get worried that time is running out and there is so much left to do.

Here's what has gone on in the last 10 days.

The concrete people came and leveled the ground inside and out. They also put insulation along the walls. That took them a day.Once that was done the plumber came in and roughed in the plumbing. That took another day.

Our RV sewer connection.

Bathroom and kitchen plumbing.

Utility room.

So now we are waiting for the concrete people to come back and regrade it again. Install the rebar and lay down the foam. Once the foam is done the plumber will come in and install the floor heat.I am going to pause here for a little rant. The blogger website that I use has gone and changed the format of the whole website. WHY? If something works, don't mess with it. Or give a person the option to use the old one or the new one. I don't know why all of the sudden everything is underlined and in a different color. I have wasted 10 minutes of my time trying to figure it out.  I inserted a picture and that is what happened. Why do people always feel the need to change S**t?Back to the topic at hand. Things that Lisa was been working on in the mean time have been ordering gutters. She ordered our wood burning stove. Also our propane tank has been delivered.

Those little white flags in the foreground are where our new well will be going. We got that taken care of and we should have water in less than 2 weeks now. So there are things getting done and once the concrete is in it will move at a faster pace we hope. There is so much that needs to get done in such a short amount of time.We also started building a first aid kit. You know for those times that Lisa has those accidents. She is very accident prone for some reason.

I carry it around like the guy carrying the briefcase with the nuclear codes following the president. Just to be safe.

One more thing. Frankenleg is healing fine. She got all of the stitches out now. She will have a great conversation starter as she sits by the fire.

"What happened to your leg?' an inquisitive camper will ask.

"You should have seen what my husband did to me, bless his soul." She will say.

That's how I picture the conversation going but in reality there may be many more expletives. 

You can hardly tell anything happened. 

Things will start to move at a more rapid pace I think so stay tuned.

Gandolf Becomes an Ambulance

Disclaimer! This blog may contain some graphic images of raw carnage. If you are squeemish or faint at the sight of gore (and I'm not talking about Al) (that was a joke) please stop here and have someone with a strong constitution read it to you. You have been warned.

When last we left you Gandolf needed new tires. He did get some and he is very happy about it!

We are at the mercy of our builders as the rollercoaster of building this house continues its ups and downs. What I mean is this. We waited for a while to get the shell up. We were excited to see some progress, but then things slowed down again. So the waiting game begins again. We are doing what we can in the meantime as we wait for something else to happen.

Lisa has some ideas of what she wants the inside to look like. One of the things she does is search the Marketplace universe for things that we could use. One of the things she found was some cedar boards (70 twelve foot boards in fact). Tongue and grooved and full of character. They have been in a barn since the 60's or 70's and they have never been used. She also has an idea of where those boards are going to go so I then prepared the parts of the walls for the tongue and groove.

Since this building isn't like your typical house construction, things are different.

Since this is more of a pole barn type of construction I had to make some modifications to how some things would work. Normally they would just attach steel siding to the boards that run horizontally and be done with it. Since we want tongue and groove cedar there going horizontally I had to use 2X2 boards  running vertically so that I would have something to nail the cedar to. The board by the hammer doesn't have the 2X2 on it and the one behind it does. It then makes everything flush for the next phase.That wall between the barn and bungalow will be 10 to 12 inches thick once it is all said and done.

Mowing is always a job that needs to be done so that helps keep us busy. I had cut down some trees along the side of our road because they were just too close. I didn't have time to remove them the day we rented the stump grinder so we decided to finally cut them down with a chainsaw.

Disclaimer time again. Some images may not be suitable for everyone.

Cutting a stump with a chainsaw is hard. You have to get it low to the ground and then you are likely to cut dirt and gravel which really dullens the saw, making it much harder to cut. We had about 20 to 25 stumps to remove and things were going well. Confidence was high. One chainsaw chain went dull, so I replaced it with another. We continued cutting until that one went dull. Now on our third chain and only 3 very large stumps left. Then that project would be in the books.

That's when everything went wrong and it went wrong very fast. I was cutting the stump and struggling. Lisa was there to help push the stump away so that the weight of the stump wasn't resting on the blade. How it happened is unclear but somehow I hit Lisa's leg with the chain saw. GASP! I know. This turned into the scariest day of my life.

I heard her scream "OH NO!" and saw her fall backwards onto the ground. I saw the blood instantly as she grabbed her leg. It was not spurting which was good but it was oozing a lot. We jumped into the Ranger and sped off to the barn to get the pickup(Gandolf). We didn't have time to wait for an ambulance because we were 10 to 15 miles away from the hospital. Lisa found a hoodie in the back seat and placed it over the wound and applied pressure. I drove like hell to get her to the ER. 

Surprisingly though, she was very calm during the whole ordeal. That was good because it helped me stay calm. We got to the hospital and they brought her into a room. I parked the truck and by the time I got back there they had it all cleaned up and were waiting for the PA to look at it.

Once you take all of the blood away it didn't look that bad. I am so glad that it wasn't deep. She said that she saw the saw coming toward her and had started moving away so that helped. The nurse reassured us that it would be okay. WHEW! I felt terrible knowing that I had caused that. The PA came in and started stitching it up. I watched. I thought I would be queezey with it but I found it rather fascinating. 9 stitches and she was good to go.

The reason that I shared all of this is that I hope we all can learn something from it. Were we complacent? Maybe. Were we tired? I know I was. Cutting stumps is a lot of work. We learned that we really need to have a first aid kit around. They are called accidents for a reason. You have no idea when or where they will happen and we were not prepared. Thank God it wasn't more serious.

After the incident you always have the what ifs?  What if it was deeper? What if I cut an artery? What if I can't get the blood out of the seats of the Ranger and the pickup? And most importantly, what if she wrecked my chainsaw? (That was a joke) 

Lisa is doing great and is enjoying her recliner. 

Please no lectures. I have lectured myself in my head already. I just want you to know I did not wake up that morning and say to myself, "I think I will cut Lisa's leg with a chainsaw and see what happens".

Stay safe out there and if you see me with a chainsaw, run for the hills. (That was a joke. You can just walk briskly because I am slow) (Again, another joke)

Building the Wall

We are still hunkered down in our super secret undisclosed location working on our "Fortress of Isolation". The builders have finished the enclosure. We added a living quarters that I like to call our bungalow onto the side of our barn.

Front.

Back or Lakeside.

Side view.

So now our next steps into making this livable is to have the plumber, spray foam insulator and the concrete people come in. The concrete people have to prepare and grade the inside of the bungalow and the barn to prepare the ground for concrete. Once they do that the plumber will swoop in and do the rough in plumbing and floor heat. Then the concrete people will come back and lay the floor. Once done the insulator will come in and spray the walls with foam. Plus there are many other things that need to take place as well.

As we wait for all of this to take place, I needed to build a wall between the bungalow and the barn so that it would be ready for the insulation.

The only thing that the builders put between them were the existing beams, the original wall of the barn.

Since the concrete floor isn't in, I had to make it a floating wall. Not sure what the technical term is but that is what I am calling it. I started by placing 2X6 boards across the bottom to support the 2X6's going up. I also secured them to the horizontal 2X6's behind them for added support.

I did the bottom 8 foot section first and then added a 4 foot section above that. It was a little more work but it was all I could handle. Lisa did help lifting the sections into place. Next came the 4X8 sheets of OSB to complete the wall. I knew I was going to have to have help from Lisa for that so we had a big ceremony to commemorate the occasion. I sent out invitations but nobody showed up. I guess our super secret undisclosed location is hard to find. (That's a good thing.) Lisa was promoted from  Gopher to Carpenter's Helper. 

It was a big deal. We both had tears in our eyes. I bought her, her very own hammer and nail pouch. Best $5.83 cents I spent. Did you know that hammers are cheap? I think it is because nobody wants to use them. They just want their air nailers. So I was able to teach Lisa a soon to be lost art. I would measure and cut the sheets of OSB and then we would both position and fasten it to the wall. Once tacked up there Lisa would finish nailing it and I would measure and cut the next one.

We had a system going and it progressed more quickly.

Inside the bungalow view.

The first row was easy. Next row required some lifting and finally the third row required some effort. For the top row we slid the OSB up the ladder and set it in place. I would hold it while Lisa tacked it up there.

It took us about 4 days to put that up. Usually we just worked 3 to 5 hours because of the heat but it came out great. That wall looks so good that it could be down on the Mexican border. 

Over the past few weeks with the heat and humidity here, it can spawn some severe thunderstorms. Although not uncommon for this area, but what is uncommon is the frequency of the storms. We are having 1 to 2 severe storms a week. They bring along torrential rain, hail, high winds and some tornados.

Our driveway still washes out from the rain, even after asphalting it but it is getting better. There was a campground in the county we are in that had straight line 80mph winds that tossed RV's around like toys. Several tornados have been spotted in the area as well.

This one was spotted near a small town in our area. It was an EF4 so it was a very strong tornado. There was one death and several injuries. so this is wanting us to get our storm shelter buried soon. Our builder was impressed with it and took down the information for other customers. I hope I get a commission.

After every storm we head out to our secret location to do damage control. Usually there are some trees that come down.

I will go get the tractor and push them off of the road and then later on go back and cut them up. 

Ever wake up some days and think that maybe you should have stayed in bed. I got up the other day and we were going out to our property as usual when I looked at Gandolf and saw this.

 We took Smaug to work that day and I wanted to get my bottle jack to jack up the truck so that I could change the tire that evening. Well I forgot the jack and used the tiny little jack vehicles com with. I get all of the lug nuts off and the tire off the hub when the truck falls off the jack coming down on the inside of the wheel, bending a stud. Sheesh. There was no way the tire was going to go on it now. So it had to be towed into town. On the brighter side though, I am getting my new tires now instead of later. They were getting pretty bad anyways.

So that is our life in a nut shell. Stay safe out there.