Tuesday, July 11, 2017

SHED-NADO...!!

Our Tornado shed finally arrived.
11,000 lbs, monolithic poured concrete box. Precast roof.
3/8" thick steel door.
Only 6'x6' but at least it's a place to go when Mr Twister comes a knockin'.
Shipped down from Ohio or Illinois, or some Yankee state up there.


 Really ingenious shed off loading apparatus. Lifts up box on legs, truck drives out from under it, lets box down onto gravel pad (by me). He can shift box left/right ,and back and forth a bit to fine tune location.


Hitting the rock at about 16" down with auger anchors. But these only keep box from sliding or rotating. With me inside it'll be nearly 6 tons. More than three 1975 Cadillacs weigh. Well almost.


Now I guess we'll just sit around and wait for a tornado?

Adios

Monday, July 10, 2017

Mobile home arrangements

We've been busy all summer getting a used 1983 single wide mobile home set up on the spare lot next to ours. This will be a home for my wife's Mom who is getting up in age a bit and needs to be closer to us.
My wife insists we paint over that bright blue.!!


Trailer delivery was delayed by late spring rains, but finally did make it. Septic system install was also slowed by rains, but more so due to encountering hard rock. (Also ran the price up). When you hit a solid rock layer it changes the design of the system such that a large 4-5' deep pit, that is 25' x 30' in size, has to be dug out, then filled back with sandy select fill...to allow for proper percolating.



After septic finished and covered. Need grass seed now.

I now have 12 loads (15 tons each) of leftover hard sandstone rock piled at the rear of my 2 acres, to be used for all sorts of neato yard projects.(Not).


Water line is in the ground, water meter going in today. Power company overhead line feed nearly complete.


Just like buying a used car, an older trailerhome can have hidden issues. This one has a few roof leaks we found after some recent rains. New overlay metal roof going on next week. I just hope the AC is useable once we get that reconnected...if not I'll go with a couple of "mini-split" units to heat and cool the place. Much more efficient with electricity and less than half the price of a new central heat and cool system. And so whisper quiet you can hardly tell it's running. Heat pump units are only slightly higher than the cool-only units.

Still have front and back porch and decks to build. She says she "doesn't want a ramp", but we'll make accommodation for one to be added in future.

I found a nice used $250 propane tank on Craigslist, as this is a propane heated/hwh/range home. Just need to set it in place and connect it.

My wife has been removing loose kitchen wallpaper with plans to seal it and paint walls here. Just to brighten it up a bit.

Skirting will happen with deck building, not a requirement in my run-down neighborhood, but keeps out cold winter winds and critters.

One good thing...we are outside the City Limits of our little town...so no building inspections or fees/permits to deal with. Only septic had to be permitted and inspected.

We've been trying to get away for a trip to Brewster County, but mobile home related stuff has kept that from happening. At least it looks like the hot assuming summer temps have broken out there, and the yearly "rainy season" has begun. (A bit sooner than usual, but not complaining!)




We sure miss spending cabin time out west, maybe we can zip down for a short trip soon? 

Seeya