Down in a hole

Glad I don't have to do this too often

At work about to install the new power pole. The new pedestal is just past the man on the left

The PVC conduit running from the pedestal down through the trench to the pole

Still concentrating on preparations to take down the garage, I've spent the last two days digging a ten foot long trench that is three feet deep between our electric meter pedestal and the newly installed telephone pole. It was going fine until I hit the cementazoic layer--consisting mostly of super dense rock and clay that really was cement like. At one point I was considering giving up, but just about then started to break through to the next strata down and realized I'd be able to work through it.

Today I laid in the pipes for the new power service coming from the pole and got a start on the piping for the phone line as well. Felton has been coming up periodically to check on the progress and keep an eye on my work.

All this will allow us to remove the electrical panel and meter from the garage in anticipation of next week's work.

In the meantime Nancy has spent her evenings moving the firewood to its new location away from the garage and I'm slowly working through all the tools, bike parts, and random shoe-making machinery in the garage.

It'll all come together, but we've got a lot to do!

Switched out windows

Joe looking out the original window opening

The new window in place

A sense of the view

The stair window being re-framed to lower it

The stair window in its new home, about a foot lower

Today Joe and I switched out the small triple-set second floor window for the larger pair. It went smoothly and we are quite happy with the result. Joe commented that if ever we want to sell the house, bring the potential buyer up to look out the window at the view and it'll seal the deal. I think he's right.

The new window not only opens up the upstairs room to the light and the view, it also helps to balance the exterior shapes a little. The window feels in proportion to the first floor windows.

We also pulled out, reframed and lowered the window you look out at the landing on the stairs. Now its about right for gazing out of as you pass by. It was about a foot too high.

Meanwhile, work on the garage is keeping us very busy. We continue to line up the pieces in order to bring the building down next week. This includes relocation of the power supply to the buildings, moving all our stuff out of the garage, moving the firewood stack next to the building, etc... there's a lot too it.

Raidant tubing

Joe wrestling long red snakes!

The radiant tubing stapled up to the underside of the first floor

The special stapler used to attach the radiant tubing. You have to contract the handle three times to insert one staple --which might seem cumbersome-- but it goes quickly

The power company dropping off our new telephone pole

Joe came back yesterday morning after a break of about 2 1/2 months. Its good to have him back.

He and I tackled installing the remaining insulation in the basement yesterday and today set to work on installing the radiant tubing underneath the first floor. With any new project I always feel a little apprehension about getting up to speed and working out the inevitable questions or unknowns that arise. Starting on this project was no different, but after a little time to get going we worked out the routine and it went quite smoothly.

Tomorrow we'll finish up the radiant and if we have time switch out a two windows. One is a bigger window, the other is one that needs to be lowered. Its supposed to be a really nice day.

Oh yes, the power company came and dropped off a new telephone pole. They were going to install it, but the ground was so wet from the recent rain that the decided to come back early next week to actually put it up. So for the next few days we have a telephone pole in our driveway.

Hi Mary...

Garage in the foreground, with numbered days

Our to-do plan and schedule for the next 2 1/2 weeks

Among the many items we need to move on, a Easy Spindryer vintage washing machine. I had fantasies of running of powering this by bicycle. Never happened, but we did actually do a couple of loads of laundry in it

I re-framed the opening for the window coming up the stairs, and soon we'll relocate the window to match the new height. The original location was a bit high.

Recent events have prompted us to refocus our energy on taking down the garage sooner then we had originally planned. It means some scurrying now, but we're both excited at the prospect that the house will be able to stand on its own without the dubious presence of the garage right in front of it.

Given this new challenge, Nance and I have been working through the logistics of everything that needs to happen to actually have this thing torn down. Currently (no pun intended) the electric line from the pole goes to the meter and panel housed in the garage, as does the phone line. Relocating these requires timing, coordination, digging, and materials all be lined up and carefully ordered so that we are able to maintain service and make the switch safely, allowing for a large excavator to come in, knock down the building and then load it into dumpsters. Never mind that we have tons of stuff in there we need to sort through and then relocate to the basement. Its a big project, and it will delay focused progress on the house a bit, but it is ultimately part of getting the whole project done, so it really is just a reordering towards that end.

Friday Edition

There's some tidying-up to do, but I finished all the significant electrical work today. I'll have Felton come up again early next week and we'll do another walk-through to find any omissions or problems.

Window inspectors

Window inspectors at work

This photo shows where each home-run electrical circuit comes down into the basement. Soon enough, the electrical panel (properly known as the load center) will be mounted on this space and each wire will connect to a circuit breaker. The wire coming out of the pipe in the wall is the (unconnected) power supply into the house

The electrical work continued today, with a brief visit by two young window inspectors, along with their chauffeur. While carrying out their duties, they also checked out a couple of special spots that are excellent for kids to hide in while they play hide-n-seek with their uncle. As a thank-you for their services, they were sent home with some just-made maple syrup.

Closing in on the electrical

The electrical punch list

Some wires in place

A triple switch box in the kitchen

This is where the bed will be. You can see the matching outlets and light switch boxes to the left and the right with the blue light mounting box above in the center

Last Friday Felton came up to the house and did a walk-through with me to go over the progress on the electrical work. It was useful and as we talked I made a list of things I needed to change, correct, or complete. With the list in hand, I want to work through this stuff and be as done as I can be with the electrical work. I hope that I'll be there in another day or two, although it seems to go slower then it seems like it should.

Before moving on I'm going to go around and label everything so we know what is what and what is going where for what purpose. I've been labeling along the way, but not thoroughly, so I want to make sure we can understand everything once the sheetrock is covering the wires snaking through the walls.

The challenge is to anticipate and wire for intuitive light switching as you move through the house. I drew this all out in plan but have found myself mostly just doing it from feel in the actual house. Today I ran a circuit that allows us to turn on a light centrally located on the first floor from either entrance doorway or at the bottom of the stairs. A similar issue has been working out lighting for coming up the stair and going to bed. We've decided that we'll have a light over the bed that can be switched from either side of the bed and at the top of the stairs as you come up. The last photo shows the boxes in place for this as well as the blue light mounting box affixed to the rafter centered above.

I'm ready to get done with the electrical work and move on to completing the plumbing.