Whatcha doin????

Yesterday I had a go at the sealant around some of my downstairs windows. It's dated and some of it has perished, so I used the new blade on my oscillating tool to scrape it away and get some new sealant applied. I'm still not 100% sure just what I've got going on with my windows - it seems I've got wooden frames with modern plastic frames inside them, and metal flashing over the outside. I'm thinking more and more about looking to fill gaps with something more like concrete blocks (or even solid poured concrete, if that's a viable option) to make sure that all the gaps are filled.

I'm starting to wish I hadn't had these windows put in at all, so I could do a larger job and get rid of everything. Maybe if there's a market for used windows I'll still do that, although I'd need to consider how to replace window trim so that it made sense.

 

I decided to try and get a couple of tidying up jobs done while I figured out the best way forward with my windows. I finally found the way the light switch for the basement lights used to be wired. The cable ran from the room with the lights, through to the room behind it, then across, then back to the adjacent room, then up. It really was one of those "you gotta be kidding me" moments. Now that cable is gone.

I also replaced an old ungrounded cable that powered my chest freezer. The socket had three holes but the ground wasn't connected to anything. Now it's got a nice new piece of 12-gauge cable powering it. It was on a 15-amp breaker so I guess it was 14-gauge so it's an upgrade every which way.

And then, for good measure, we decided that we're never going to use the socket for a dryer in the basement that the former tenant used, so I took the socket and the cable out completely. That frees up two spaces in my breaker panel, which is handy. Maybe I'll think about which circuits go together so I can group them, to save having to hunt for the breaker I need. That could be a handy thing to have done, but I can get to it as and when.

Now there are more coils of old dead cable in a box in the basement. It's almost too heavy to move. When my wiring job is completely finished I'm going to have to haul the cables upstairs in stages - it could be difficult to lift this box given its current weight.

 

Back in the land of the living.

Over the weekend, investigated and figured out why GFCI outlets in master bath at the river house weren't working. (We have never tried to use them during the 2 year remodel!)
Turns out that they were in sequence with another set of GFCI's in another part of the house, the first of which was wired incorrectly. Just a matter of changing line and load sides out at the first GFCI, once I finally found out what circuit they were tied to.

On the work front, finished and filed a 80+ page brief Friday, and another 28 pager today.

Ready for a few days of simple hearing prep and contract writing. Brain hurts.

 

A little more wiring work today. I started out with a walk in the woods, that was just what I needed. Then got to adding a few more light fittings in the basement. In some areas the headroom is limited so I've been installing them on the side of the ceiling joists. It means I don't bang my head on them, but also limits how much light they cast.

I installed a replacement light in the very tight room in the basement that's little more than a tunnel. Then I ran wires back to the live feed and went to get a switch to join them all together and found..... no switches in my box. So my job ground to a halt for the sake of a switch that costs about 80c. The local hardware store was closed by then and I didn't really want to be making a 30 mile round trip to the one that's open. It can wait until tomorrow when I'm in town anyway.

In the room with the chest freezer and a load of shelves where I keep boxes of drinks that we don't have space for upstairs the extra light really makes a difference. So it wasn't a totally wasted exercise.

 

Words you never want to hear from a Superior Court Judge in discussing a point of law that affects your client: "Counselor, that's an excellent question. I don't have any idea."

 

That sounds ominous.

 

I got my switch fitted. Annoying to think that a fairly trivial job ended up stalled twice for lack of parts but them's the breaks I guess. Now I've got a bit more cable in my box of dead cable, as I pulled out most of the former cable that powered the light. It's just one more thing that's now on nice new cable. There are now three circuits left in the house that use old cable. One powers the cooker (not ideal but it works), another powers the fridge and a couple of other odds (that one's tricky to replace because I can't get at the socket without moving the fridge), and one snakes its way around the house powering all sorts of things with no rhyme nor reason to where it goes nor why it goes there. That one will have to be replaced a bit at a time because it really is ugly.

Today I went for another walk in the woods. I love the woods and the mountains. I keep thinking maybe I should sell this house and buy a place that's tucked well away from everything.

 

Perhaps like this.
34.662544,-84.519458 (Ssshhhh.. that could be hypothetically the WSHT TEOTWAWKI Batcave/Norther Command Center)

 

Looks a bit too near to neighbors. The river nearby looks like a bonus. I kinda fancy the idea of a cabin that doesn't use a whole lot of electricity, that can be mostly or totally powered by solar or hydroelectric.

 

As a Canucks fan, I'm never crazy about the Sharks, but I'm happy the Knights are out. Let them have some disappointment. That was an incredible third period and OT. I don't think I've ever seen 4 goals scored on a 5 minute PP.

 

You should have a look up this way. Different country of course, but still lots of space here.

 

I'm looking at this for hydro..

http://idenergie.ca

Also looking for 10-15 acres within a 15 minute drive for more seclusion/garden/livestock

 

That looks interesting. A lady I loosely know from my local state park likes space, and her husband shares her view. So far they've accumulated something like 250 acres of woodland around their home. They really don't want neighbors.

 

I just need enough for clear kill zones for the zombies

 

I must admit I rather like the idea of owning as much land as I can see in all directions. You know, the kind of situation where if you can see someone they are either invited or trespassing.

 

Fixed it.

 

I'm fairly sure that we have quite a few Americans who own large tracts of land up here, and either it's the type who buy the land here, or it's a general American thing, but they some interesting takes on private property. One owner's ranch I had to cross to get to some claims would not even let drive my vehicle up the drive and park by the barn. As it was it was not a burden it was no real big deal, but the attitude is puzzling. Just a couple weeks before I talked to the care-takers there (Australian) and they were ready to drive me up to the property on their side-by-side. When I talked to the owner he was telling me not to disturb anything up on the claims because they get their water from up there. Of course, he has zero right to telling me that under the Acts that govern my work. Plus, after being up there, I would want to have my water checked because there is a lot of sulphide ores up there.

 

A bit more wrecking today. In one of the rooms that's part of the extension I was pulling off some of the featherboards so I can get at the windows more easily. These windows never had weights so no cavities, just honking great wooden slabs either side of the windows. Needless to say there are small air gaps between the wood and the concrete blocks, but not as bad as some of the other rooms. This time I took the window panels out completely, lifted the bug screen out, and leaned out of the window to scrape away the caulking. Then I gave it a good blast out with my air compressor, brushed it with a wire brush, blasted with air again. Then it was time for a generous squirt of caulking from the outside, and building foam from the inside. I got most of the way through the fifth gap when my can of foam ran out. I didn't start a new one because I'm not sure whether I'll be using enough of it before I get at the windows more thoroughly (taking the frame out completely and sealing around it), because then I'll want to put a different can in the foam gun.