phoenix / goodwill rebuild

[Andy White]

Austin,
I have nothing but admiration for the ethics you and Stacey are instilling in those precious children. They are reflecting their upbringing in every task they do, even tho they may think it's a fun game. The framing is looking great, and you are really making progress now. Keep up the good work, and tell your "crew" we said hello. See you soon.   8) 8) 8)    Andy

[dablack]

Thanks guys.  I really appreciate it. 

Tomorrow we find out about the layoffs.  Oilfield lost hundreds a couple of days ago, foundry lost a bunch today.  We find out in my branch tomorrow.  Prayers requested. 

thanks
Austin

[Magicman]

My prayers are with you my friend.

[Bill Gaiche]

Praying that your job will always be there for you and the family. bg

[dablack]

Looks like I made it through the layoffs!  I'm very pleased and I really appreciate the prayers. 

Last night the boss and I got another 60 studs cut to length and I got two walls of the laundry room built.  I'm hoping to finish the big stuff tonight so I can move on to plumbing this weekend. 

thanks,
Austin

[Magicman]

Prayers are answered.  Now you can keep on with the new home building.   

[Andy White]

Reap what you sow {old saying} has always been true for me, and I see it works for you too!!! Great News, keep up the good work.   8) 8) 8)     Andy

[dablack]

Got most of the interior framing done.  Still need to do closets and door trimmers/headers. 

Here is Madeline standing in the laundry room.  That front wall she is standing in, hits three other walls.  She and I built that wall about 10 ft away and then had to move the whole thing over to where it went.  It took a little bit but it was sort of fun. 



 

I got started with DWV.  Sure enough, the toilets lined up almost on top of the floor trusses!  I got some offset flanges and made it work.  It is going to be too cold for me today after work so I won't be getting back to it until Tuesday. 

Austin

[Magicman]

The joys of DIY.   

[WDH]

With plumbing, here is a Corollary:

One trip to Lowes = two trips to Lowes .

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

With plumbing, here is a Corollary:

One trip to Lowes = two trips to Lowes .

.......and your just getting started.  ;D

[Andy White]

When doing plumbing work, remember the golden rule! IT runs downhill. 8) 8)    Andy

[redprospector]

Reap what you sow {old saying} has always been true for me, and I see it works for you too!!! Great News, keep up the good work.   8) 8) 8)     Andy

That is quite possibly the oldest old saying that has been used on this site. I understand that Jesus used that one.  ;D

[dablack]

With plumbing, here is a Corollary:

One trip to Lowes = two trips to Lowes .

.......and your just getting started.  ;D

The closest Lowes or HD is about 30 minutes away.  Luckily, there is a good hardware store with a huge plumbing section just in town (5 minutes).  Unluckily, they close on Sat at noon and arne't open on Sun at all.....

To combat the situation, I have bought many random pieces that I might need.  If I don't use them, I can just take them back.

Austin

[dablack]

Well, I got just a little more done with the DWV.  Weather and a sick kid have taken their toll on productivity. 



 


Last Thursday Andy White and Nancy came for a visit.  We were so busy trying to figure out how to use our sloppy tape measures that no one pulled out their camera for some pics!  Andy has offered to take up the task of building our cabinets.  That is a great task to it self, but the main hurdle is trying to figure out what my wife and I mean when we say, "long skinny drawer" and other such statements.  We would point at stuff, showed him pictures on the internet and he happily took notes.  He made it through the visit with a smile on his face.  I've said it once and I will say it again.  He is a better man than I!  With so little info, I would have been frustrated in his position.  After they left, I told her that I have no idea what we want, so I'm not sure how we expect him to know. 

Over the weekend I spent some time with the wife and tried to translate what we wanted into a drawing for poor Andy.  We think we have it figured out.......

More than a year ago Allen (ARp) and a friend of his, helped me fell, buck, and stack most of the pines from a back field.  Those pines (and others) were then cut for lumber during the big sawyer trip a little more than a year ago.  That back field still has some oak and sweetgum in it along with the old pine tree tops.  Luckily West TX A&M has a sapling program where you can reforest cheaply.  I was able to purchase 25 pecan seedlings for $35.  They showed up Friday and I put them in Saturday morning.  11 of them went to that back field and 14 went to another area.  I spaced them at 35'.  The plan is to let them grow a couple of years and then take out the other trees that are in the way.  These are seedlings from improved varieties, but are not grafted.  I might buy some grafted varieties in a couple of year to fill out the field.  I will need at least another 20 or so to fill out that back field.  I'm hoping in 10 to 15 years I will have some pecans. 



 



 

Once the house build is done, I will chip up those old pine tops and dress the pecans.  There is no way for me to get water back to them so I hope they do ok.  If it is a dry year, I will have to figure something out. 

Austin

Austin

[Magicman]

Mulching should help to keep the sun from baking the moisture from around them.  The first year will be the most critical.

Andy and Nancy are true gems.   ;)

[dablack]

What do you do when you order a one piece shower/tub combo and it won't fit up the stairs.  Well, you cut out the stairs of course!  Cut them out as one big piece. 



 

Now the shower/tub will fit but how do you get it up there?  You use the same winch you used to lift all the OSB up onto the roof!  Mounted the winch at the top of the stairs and pulled her up.  Once it was high enough, I put some boards across the stair opening and set the tub down.  Then just slid it over onto the floor.  No muscle required.  I love that winch.  It has paid for itself 10 times over. 



 

The stairs behind the winch go to the attic.  If I was smart I would have come up with a trap door that went from the attic, all the way down to the garage.  Mount the winch above the doors and there you go.  From the back of the truck, to the attic!  Unfortunately, the kids bedrooms are between the attic and garage. 

After the shower was in place, I used the winch to lift the stairs back where they went!  HA!  Cutting out the stairs took about 30 minutes.  Putting them back took 15. 

Austin

[Magicman]

You are da man with your innovative ideas.   

[Andy White]

Austin,
You are showing off now! You took a page from old Clint, "adapt, improvise, and overcome!" You will be living in there before long, so I better get busy. Looking good.     Andy

[dablack]

Oh no!  Not showing off.  I just love my cheap chinese winch.  You can pick them up at harbor freight for less than $150 and they are oh so handy.  120v and 30' of cable.  The brackets bolt to a 2x2 but with longer bolts you can bolt to a 2x4.  I used that thing to lift fully sheathed gable end trusses into place.  You have enough cable to throw a pulley on what you are lifting and double the capacity.  If I hit the lotto, everyone on the forum gets one. 

It is sort of like the forks BG built for my front end loader.  You didn't know you needed 'em until you got 'em.  [old saying]

[dablack]

Time for an update.  I didn't mean to wait 3 weeks between updates.....

Last week, I took a week off to do pex and wiring.  I'm about 70% complete with wiring and about 50% complete with pex.  I should be done by Monday the 6th. 

I promised pictures yesterday but it was already late by the time I got home so the pictures aren't the best but I did promise. 

The electric comp came out and installed the lines to the meter box.  The lines go up the pole but aren't connect.  I can see the three lines hanging from the pole.   I check those lines before doing anything.  It would be bad if they snuck up there while I was at work and hooked up to the pole!



 

Inside I've got the breaker box and most of the wires run to it. 



 

I've got all the home runs done.  Now I'm working on the plugs and lights. 



 

I've got my spool set up in the hall upstairs to pull wire from.  The board is bracing from the shower.  Waste not...(old saying)



 

I've also got a spool downstairs by the breaker box.  Bill and Andy will recognize the structure holding the wire.  They built that for me out of scrap to hold the other end of the boards by the chop saw.  I'm not doing much chopping right now so....    waste not....oh never mind.



 

Up in the attic I've got power to the water heater and right next to that is the pex manifold.  I've got showers and toilets to do and I will be close to done. 



 

And for all the guys that are still in winter, I got a picture of a honey bee doing his thing on a black thorn tree.  You can see the pollen on his legs.  Also my pecan trees that went in are getting buds on them.  The pear trees and apple trees that went in Dec of 2013 are doing ok.  The pears have leafed out way ahead of all the other trees so the deer are eating on them.  I'm going to have to put up some fence or something. 



 

Austin

[Andy White]

Austin,
Looking good with the project! All will be known when test time gets here. Does the conduit in the meter base go to the power pole? What size wire is that , and is it the same size as hanging at the breaker box? The pex looks good, I have never used that before, so how do you make the connections? Did you ever think you could put that much wire in a house? Our house ended up with over 3000' of 12-2 with ground, for plugs and lights alone! Don', t be afraid to put too many circuits in that box. I used all the spaces in a 40 space panel. Sorry about all the questions, but inquiring minds want to know! (old saying) Watching the weather for a cabinet delivery Saturday, I will need the space in the shop for the island!!    Keep up the good work!      Andy

[Magicman]

Looking good my friend.   

[WDH]

I believe that your black thorn tree is a plum.

[Bill Gaiche]

Looking good Austin. That Pex is pretty nice stuff to work with. I have it in my house. I bought the 1/2" and 3/4" ring clamper. They work pretty slick. bg