Progress Since Moving Day

Before the excavating company left me to my own devices, they leveled up the JayBee on stacks of cinder blocks.

They finished burying the electric lines that run from the pole to both the new shop and to the JayBee.

They also finished up the top of the driveway and made a nice little walkway to the front door.

After they left, I tweaked the leveling a bit to fix a low corner. Since I don't plan to ever move this house, I want it right before I anchor the house to the slab!

The electrician came and finished bringing the power from the power pole to the panel in the JayBee. 

I only have one working outlet inside the house at the moment because the prior electrician did not label a single wire he installed. I have a bit of work to do to get everything labeled before the panel can be all hooked up.

I found a plumber who said he could do the rest of the plumbing during Thanksgiving week, so I scrambled to get things ready for him. I stacked the tires more compactly under the JayBee to help give the plumber some maneuvering room.

Next came removing the axles and springs. Honestly, this had not even been on my radar. I just figured I'd leave the axles and springs attached--hanging out under the house. Once the plumber showed me, however, it was obvious there was no way he could plumb to the septic line under the house because the axles and springs were in the way. I could not find anyone who could do this work in the timeframe I needed it done, so I decided to do it myself. The thought of taking this on scared the livin' daylights out of me but, once I figured out how to disconnect the brake wiring from each axle end, I was on a roll. I bought an air impact wrench and a new face shield, and got all set up to start dismantling.

The air impact wrench worked great on all the nuts connecting the springs, but I could not maneuver it to reach the nuts holding on the u-bolts. For those, my arthritic hands had to make do with hand wrenches. It took me almost three hours to get the first one completely dismantled, but I did it!

Before letting all the axles drop to the ground, I propped them on boards and bricks so I could roll them to the correct side of the waste line while they were still up above it.

Finally, I got all the axles and springs off. The axles are stored up off the concrete, on pieces of plywood. I coated all the various nuts and bolts in a thick layer of grease and stored them away. See how the plumber can now access the waste line under here?

While I was sitting inside the JayBee, listening to a podcast and greasing up trailer parts, look who came to visit! I don't know his name, but he regularly wanders over from the neighbor's yard. Makes me wish George and Bear were still here to move into the JayBee with me.

I moved everything out of the end of the JayBee that has plumbing runs to make it easy for the plumber to get to things.

I installed the bathroom faucet and hung the sink on the wall...

 

...and hung the on-demand water heater.

I also installed the front steps--to make getting in and out of the house a whole lot easier. Railings and the rest of the deck to come--but probably not until spring.

Here's the bad news: The plumber did not show up, and he has not been in touch. The one phone number I have for him rings forever and then disconnects, so I have not been able to leave him a voice message. <sigh> I'm beginning to think I might end up buying some plumbing tools and doing this work myself. Stay tuned...

Spinning My Wheels

Last week, especially the second half of the week, I felt a bit like I was spinning my wheels. It began with being stood up by two contractors in one day. No calls, just no shows. How do people run their businesses this way?

I did end up having a great meeting later in the week with a guy who can do the septic and water hookups for the JayBee. He was so great, in fact, that he creatively cooked up new possibilities. Sometimes numerous options are not freeing; for me, they often add more confusion and indecision. I stewed for days--writing pro-con lists, worrying, hemming and hawing. The issue is that I'm worried about the base the JayBee sits on. Here's a photo I took a few weeks ago. When the frost started coming out of the ground, this post went crazy tilted.

The post has since straightened itself out, but it was a dramatic reminder that I need to figure out a better base for the JayBee or I will be dealing with major problems every winter and spring. The contractor and I cooked up an option to move the JayBee out of its current spot and place it on a well-constructed pad. This is not the plan I've had in my mind for years, but I think it's a good option. In addition to giving the JayBee a better base to sit on, it will make the septic, water, electric, and propane hookups all better. The scary part is that it gives me a lot more work to do over the next few months than what I'd planned. I'll explain more about this as my plans coalesce over the next few weeks.

Even though I was stewing for days, I kept trying to get little things done. I installed trim and a base for an outdoor motion- and light-sensing light.

I started putting caulk around the window trim. (Sorry, no pictures of that.) What a tedious job that is! I added coats of poly to the pocket door. (I'll do a separate post about that soon.) I also did a bunch of setup for starting to install the shingle siding. (See my next post about that.) I met with a plumber, but it was a weird meeting; I think I have to keep looking.

In the meantime...

With the bamboo all knocked down, I can see the trunk of that tree that fell over onto my drain field last fall. It is huge--almost three feet in diameter!

Boat traffic is out on the river again.

The cats and I did a woods ramble the other day.

Solar Energy Course

I am currently taking an online course called Solar Energy. By the end, I'm supposed to know enough to design a photovoltaic system for the JayBee.

The course syllabus estimates that the coursework will take roughly eight hours a week to complete. I have already spent more time than that, and I'm only halfway through the material for the first week! I also roped my son into helping me understand some of the practice questions. Maybe not strong harbingers of future success, but at least I am enjoying it so far.

Momentous (Paperwork) Week

Even with all the hours I worked this week, I was able to carve out time to get some JayBee-related paperwork done. The trailer is now registered...

...and I have the building permit I need for the project.

The house itself doesn't require a permit, but the plumbing connections to the water and septic systems do.

These things may not seem like much, but they feel hugely significant to me. Now I feel like I have a green light to proceed. Time to place a lumber order! (Due to work, it will still be a few weeks before construction really takes off but, if I can continue to get materials organized and on site, everything will be set for making real progress soon.)

Heat & Hot Water

I have been asked about the source of heat I will have for my JayBee. Here it is:

I know this kind of stove as a "gas on gas stove." My first experience with one was 30 years ago in an apartment in old mill housing in South Barre, Massachusetts. It is a propane stovetop and oven that also has a 40,000 btu heater in the left side of it. I remembered how great this heater was when, ten years later, I needed a stove for the house I had just purchased. After an extensive search, I finally found this one. The beauty of it is that it still has pilot lights (as opposed to electronic ignition) so, when I lose power in a snow or wind storm, I still have heat and I can still cook. This heater should have no problem keeping the JayBee warm.

These stoves are hard to find now, due to the fact that most things are no longer made with pilot lights. Speaking of which... When I needed to replace my hot water tank last summer, one of the reasons that I did not replace it with an on-demand unit (as I had assumed I would) was because current models of those units are now built with electronic ignitions. I like having hot water even when I lose power and I did not want to lose that. The older on-demand models that still have pilot lights did not qualify for the energy-efficiency rebates. Add on the expense of the on-demand units and the fact that they need a lot of ventilation space...I ended up buying a small propane regular hot water tank. The tank will be moved into the JayBee as my hot water tank there as well.