Good morning all!
For those keeping up on the new home saga:
1/2 of the property line along the back is opened up
Now mowing about 1/2 an acre
Removed the old H2O heater
Found where a pipe froze behind said heater
Late week I will preassurize the lines with air to check for leaks

Brought in reinforcements, Mom is here to help with grandkid so I can focus on more work.
Now have a freezer here!

Okay! Update to yesterday:
One busted window repaired
One window unit installed--yes I do HVAC but the window units were free and I still need to replace the furnace and water heater.
Next window unit goes in this morning--too hot & humid to work inside without them

Mom has been watching grandkid and cleaning windows etc--basically whatever she wants to do
Hoping to be working on water by lunch
*if anyone wonders why I post these it kind of helps keep me on track

Yipee! We have A/C!
Some of the water lines are now valved off
Due to a sudden storm I now have 2 more lights installed--previous owner cooked the old fixtures with too big a bulbs
Slowly making headway on getting workspace organized
So all in all not a bad day.

Emergency closures now installed on hydric acid conduits
Pneumatically preassurized conduits
Preassurization failure
2 hither to unseen conduit ruptures discovered
One emergency closure device made an unscedualed rapid disassembly
Discovered not all acid was removed from conduits

See pic for yesterday's find
Mostly mowing
Did find one property corner (at least it lines up where the county says) bonus it fences down the line at back and between us
I am up to 8 ancient tomato cages (several found with the mower deck)

Took time today to investigate a bit of the abandoned guest house on the property wich leads us to today's find (see photo.) A piano from the 1800's (?) Currently buried in other junk but first impression is awesome.

Learned that the hydric acid conduits have unexplained orifaces in the area below the floor
Tomorrow will involve spelunking into the dark, dusty, area below the structure to ascertain the condition of the conduits and if they need replaced.

Well lurking in the crawlspace turned up loads of information and some finds--stuff hidden everywhere with this place.
The worst thing is there are too many additional orifaces in the hydric acid conduits so the entire supply system must be replaced

New system is awaiting installation now
As to finds see pics of assorted stuff, 2 monkey wrenches, a pipe wrench, and creepy spider webs--loads and loads of spider webs

Okay, I'm a little behind on updates:
Had a down day on repairs--2 houses go figure stuff needs cleaned and packed
Removed the barely there bottom of kitchen cabinet and made new bottom 1/2 installed until water lines are installed

A portal has been opened!
What new discoveries await?

The portal is closed for now
4.5 hours of lurking beyond the portal opening
Ungoliant says "Hi" (Sorry only fellow Tolkien fans will get that)
New hydric acid conduits now installed
Conduits are colour coded
Atmoshperic preassurization to 5.2 bar to commence tomorrow

Woo hoo! Hot side holds preassure!
Sadly the cold does not because there is no meter in the pit.

We have WATER!
Cold side holding good
No hot yet but at least it is hot enough outside to not really need it yet
Discovered the commodes need new seals between tank and bowl so there's tomorrow's 1st project

Well today's fun lead to:
Grinding the tank to bowl bolts out to replace the seal
A flushing toilet
Began removing moldy drywall from around the tub & found a second moldy layer beneath--oh joy!
Drywall is now gone and new is mid install
Did I mention the toilet & tub are pink?

Random pic of my shop thermometer that came over yesterday
This thermometer actually makes an appearance in my current WIP

Moved the big tool bins today
People who have seen my temporary shop are impressed at what I am getting in there--kind of surprised myself actually
No you can't see the workbench all the time but supplies come & go
Began installing the impervious wall covering on the tub as well

Tub walls are in place!
Needs some trim at the top but it is now water tight
Moved more tools as well but I need to spend some time putting them all up before more get brought over.

Time for a quiz!
Can you identify this tool?

Recent move from shop to shop:
Yes it really is from mid 20th century
Yes I need to clean it
No children can reach it as it is 4 ft/1219 cm off floor and 1 m/38 inches from edge

Upon thought I'm not sure about that 4ft to cm conversion.

If anyone is remotely curious these are books from my personal book shelves.

Been a few days, mostly packing then moving various boxes of stuff
Took down the two peg boards from the old kitchen and garage then swapped their homes so the kitchen now has a 4' x 8' peg board since it has limited cabinets and the temporary shop has a 40" x 42".

It is doubtful the temporary shop will hold everything from the garage but I am endevoring to get as much as I can in there--safety reasons not a masochist.
Tomorrow should mostly be putting things away in the shop plus another load of kitchen goodies.

Put important kitchen items on the peg board today
Built a stand for my 1950s drill press before someone knocked ot over--very top heavy and weighs about 120 Lbs. May seem like a weird priority but safty is an issue.
Loads of other tools put away as well so all in all a good day.

I feel trapped in a temporal distortion loop of late.
I move at minimum a station wagon of stuff daily, yet seem to get nowhere.

I strongly recomend if you have lived in your home any length of time, pack it up as if you're moving because you will be amazed how much junk accumulates.

Recent find and a question:
Obviously it is a marker but does anyone know what type of ink to use in it?

I guess I'm getting closer to living here as the cookbooks moved today!
Here is the collection and two odd highlights.

Hurray! We have begun hauling furniture!
Now one house is begining to look like home and one is begining to look kind of empty.
Fixed my front storm door so now it opens and closes easily instead of dragging on the concrete.

And the stuff moves on
And the stuff moves on
Loading the boxes beats the brain
La de da de de, la de da de da

An antique sewing machine made the list
Followed by boxes and a jar of grits
Things starting to move faster at this time
Before to long I'll have moved the last dime

Okay, today & tomorrow are pretty much lost--moving my Physics Nerd back to school.
This will be my first night staying here as it's 1/2 way to Nerd's university.
Entertainment center is reassembled--they don't make em like mine anymore.
So here are pics including a dining light

A lot has happened in two days!
Found a refurbished fridge on the clearance rack for 1/2 price! (No moving the beheamoth from 1982)
In removing the old cook top I discovered:
1) whoever put in the gas line shouldn't have
2) my counter top was made 11/09/1971!

Okay, things are finally starting to wind down in the old house--hoping to be totally out real soon.
For now I have now switched from plumbing to wiring as I need a seperate circuit for the microwave because the original wiring is insufficient to handle one.

Old 1971 cooktop & ovens have been removed!
Discovered it is a miracle the house still stands as the old cooking appliances were propane & when they switched to Nat gas a range was added but never disconected the original appliances so the piolet lights were still spewing gas!

I'm glad I did not have the gas turned on!
So like the water lines these will be capped and preassurized for leak testing.
New appliances are on the way even as I type this morning
At this point it is a race to get everything gas powered up and running before fall really hits.

Picked up a new furnace, water heater, and all the goodies to install them today.
Old furnace was a monster and pressumably a gas hog.
New is sleek and way more fuel effeficiant.
If all goes well I should have hot water and heat in say a week or so.

In the meentime work progresses on converting the old dbl ovens to accomodate modern appliances.
This should be done tomorrow--if all goes well.
If you haven't worked with one of these saws before play with them on scrap and get a feel for them. They are awesome but can run away.

How in blazes can you move stuff until if you look at the new house and think it must all be here, but look at the old house and wonder how the stuff is multiplying!

In news:
The wiring for an oven and the microwave is done!
Permanent wiring for the air-compressor is in.
Wiring for the internet is in.
Spent the day under the house pulling wires through and passing them to mom to draw up to the respective places

You know things should be getting somewhere when you move the cat.

Feline update:
Gabby has made herself at home
Wanders about like she's been here forever
Decided that under my workbench is a neat place

The old furnace is removed without issue. Judging by a note on its side its first fire date was in Oct 1970!

Okay:
Reinforcement (mom) was returned home safe & sound yesterday.
Got the old yard all spiffy again--too much rain lately.
Brought the last of yard & garden equipment to new place
Using the old guest house for temporary garden storage--all it's good for.
Found an ancient relic

Finally back to action today!
Floor where furnace mounts is now reinforced from damage caused by impropper mounting of previous unit
Iron reinforcement brazed together for perimeter of opening in prep for reducing opening to accept the modern unit--& yes I am recycling material.

Next step set up!
Ready to pan in & add the next level which holds the furnace--yes this is backwards from the normal coil on top but this is what is a downdraft system so coil on bottom*.
*If the coil were on top the blower would draw the condensate into the heat exchanger.

Litterally just found in attic

The great dumpster has arrived today!
Let the junk and worn out furniture be dispatched from my life!
Also I found a prized trinket that had been missing for some time

If $17 dollars is gangsta does 24.48 megabytes make you nerd?

Hearing protection on
Work space set up
Time to grind! (And weld, paint, etc)

Uprights in place!
Time for lunch
Rest in the A/C
Jeans and 80°+ heat are not fun but neither are hot sparks on bare skin!

Last image of the day
Made a mistake earlier--right part wrong place--and when attaching things with a torch it takes time to correct them.
There's always tomorrow and things don't always go as planned.

Back at today, at least it is progressing.
Here is a nice example of weld vs brazing. Welding usually involves some form of added heat and either fusing two pieces together directly or using a similar metal to fuse (upright weld on left)

Brazing uses a dissimilar material (here I am using bronze--horizontal filler plane)
Brazing requires less heat & is faster (for me) my torch is great for the typical copper found in HVAC but not really large enough for this work (ESAB Purox W-200) so I only weld when I have to.

Here the joint has been dressed out with a grinder. Note that the weld blends in but the brazed joint shows vividly.
This would be much faster & better if I were using a MIG welder however:
1) I do not own one (yet)
2) I do not have the electrical capacity to run one in my home.

This is the nearly complete frame
It has been dry fit with a/c coil and furnace
Still has some panning to finish where it reduces the opening from old furnace to new
Sadly I must finish it another day as I ran out of materials

These go with the thread and were taken by my 3.5 ft tall photographer--great eye but can't stand still, but they are just pushing four.

Working outside under a heat advisory is ironic when what you are building is part of your furnace.
The good news though is the rack is complete!
I'll let the paint dry overnight then put it in place tomorrow.

Okay, for those wondering what that iron rack is for:

The furnace is above my ductwork therefor it blows down not up so the airconditioner coil goes underneath
The obvious issue here is the furnace is larger than the coil & must be supported, hence the frame
Now to research flue fittings & create the incoming plenum and filter rack

For those curious as to "what has Maura been up to lately?"
Cleaning out the last of the old house--hopefully it is gone by month's end
Realizing that the bulk of everything in the house is from the old garage--old garage was 360 sqft new work space is 96 sqft
~cont~

My dear readers may notice an issue here. Also of note that was a full garage where one could not actually work in it because of tools and a motorcycle being in the way.
So what to do?
Pause furnace work
Clean out part of guest hose
Make a new door for guest house

Move overflow to guest house ASAP
So here are a series of pics of door making. This is mostly the exact method used by proffesional companies except where I had to use a lot of nails they press them together, but the innards are the same--more or less.

New door on sawhorses
Old door in forground
(And you wondered why I needed a new one ;)

Been a bit so an update:
Have been putting things away
Did some brush removal this morning before mowing.
Yes that is a random tire that was hiding in the brush, along with a concrete block.

Well the last couple days have been a sheet metal extravaganza!
Made the intake plenum and filter rack for the furnace.
When working with sheet metal ALWAYS wear cut resistant gloves
Be careful
By GOOD sheet metal snips

In this group we see my makeshift brake and workbench as well as raw material.

Here we see the new plenum in what will be its normal habitat.
The opening is for the filter and will have a door once final fit-up is complete.

So what has been happening in Casa Alwyen lately?
Waiting for the last of the furnace parts--I know cutting it way to close.
Removed the avacado green vent hood and backsplash from around the stove area
Replaced green with aluminium
Installed new hood
Contimplation

Pipe fitter Legos

The results of pipe fitter Legos

The back of the surround sound head unit--I still have another game system*, AM antenna, and 2 speakers to tie in
*Note the Atari and Odessey do not pass through here. However because the TV does they will still have surround sound--sort of

Finally got a gas meter!
Only took a week of arguing with the gas company that "yes there is a pipe at the house, it even has your lock on it." Apparently in the nearly 9 years it has been off they merged the gas and electric billing systems and lost my house...go figure.

Been a while so:
Work is slow at this time
Began teaching my grand kid
Little projects mostly getting done
Have begun clearing brush--hope to be done by Spring pics from the brush pile me & @Docta_Jazz delt with over the weekend & I still have 1/2 an acre to clear

On the brush point, these blew out of a dead tree in the 50 mph gusts
(Before and after)

Almost a month so:
Plumbing is almost done
Furnace cycles nice & quiet
Gas/electric is way cheaper
Now making various shelfs & racks to hold things
Did a little suburban exploring in the guest house (see pics)
Opened top of piano no maker's mark but a wooden soundboard?!

Occupancy inspection today!
The city wants to ensure I'm on track before they will extend my permit until I can afford to replace the roof--and add gutters to a 70+ year old house that has never had them.
Shouldn't be an issue as I have now brought everything inside up to code.

For those interested the workspace/tool room has advanced and cleaned up quite a bit of late--you only get to see the photogenic side for now the work bench is infested with wayward junk right now.

Recent updates:
Needed some fixtures for the 1/2 bath, too poor to buy them but had material to make them.
So I've been doing some woodworking--a little rough but with limited tools I'm happy with them--so towel rack, TP holder and curtain rod (wife is going to macremé curtains)

Been a while but here are a few updates:
The house is basically at a standstill between weather and funding
I have begun concentrating on the guest house (gh) and cleaning it out--one 30 gal dustbin a week, but hey, I'm not paying extra!
Gh will become my shop--eventually
1/2

2/2
Found out from the neighbor the former owner was a "lot buyer" and would then yard sale the stuff off
I am now the owner of many lots of stuff--see pic for average state of guest house
This will not be a fast project but as time moves along I may move to video of this endevor

Find from Sunday whilst doing brush removal.

Todays find and excavation results.
Yes this is going to be a long journey.

Woo hoo the weather is somewhat cooperating of late so yard work is going again!
This is the North-west corner of the property, total input time is about five hours so far
From the old down tree I have about another twety feet to clear then I can turn East

As I have mentioned before the ground was owned by an elderly couple and had not been maintained in twenty years--I imagine even 20 years ago they had cut back.
All the brush has to go per the city, most of an acre of it--see pic for how most of the yard looks.

Updates:
This is from a couple weeks back when I had a decent afternoon.
The big problem is I keep forgetting to take "before" pics.
The wood pile is now at a heavy cord and the next rank has begun.

Now what do you do with better than a cubic yard of chipped up brush? Well since most of it is from last season fill some holes where someone diced to park a car in the past.

Since I will be outside more I hope to add more pics but here is the current "before" from today.
Also I now have power run for the central air I plan to install late this spring--just as soon as my Uncle Sam gives me back my over payment.

Before and after for today's work. Vines are the most time consuming to clear.

What's under the vines? A dead tree! (I'm shocked *insert eyeroll*)

Nothing like a nice high tension snag to make you stop, contimplate, think more, then cut.

Been a busy few days as can be told by the before pic taken on the 3rd and the after taken this evening.

Today's work was about six hours with the chipper but worth it.
(The pile of chips is about six feet wide, eight feet long, and two feet deep.)

Brush disposal via the rapid oxidation process today.

So as mentioned yesterday it is bathroom remodel time!
Sadly this is not a choice but is forced by the fact the commode (from1967) began leaking. Also there was no flange connecting the commode to the pipe!
*yes it really was this awful at the start.

Under a 1/4 inch thick sheet of plywood was 3/4 inch batten boards
The batten boards are soaked worse than the plywood and will be removed tomorrow.
Remember this house was empty for ten years when I bought it so odd repairs will be de rigour for some time to come.

So from the nasty floor I left off with yesterday the batten boards were out by lunch. Run to the store for a scab board for a floor joist, then built up the joists so the new subfloor aligns with the rest of the floor. Finished installing the subfloor just a few minutes ago

Today's work involved removing the paint from a wall--not adhered, too many improperly taped joints, too many holes to repair.
First layer of mud is in place and over the next several days will be floated out smooth.

End of the day and the wall has transformed somewhat.
No this is not the "normal" method but it is how I was taught by a professional plasterer--not a taper, big difference.
The discolouration is caused by the now rough paper covering bleeding through the commpound.

Well the bath is progressing.
Had to scrape the other walls and ceiling as well since either paint or paper was not adhering to the gypsum substrate as needed. So a coat of primer and now the first of the mud work. I'd love to have this done this weekend but time will tell.

The walls yesterday morning. They look more than a bit different right now

Current state of walls & ceiling

One less hole in the wall and yes I did paint them today--hard to tell but think almost mint green

Well today saw me installing the finished floor.

The light fixture had a gap between it and the ceiling so I made a rrim ring out of scrap plywood and really dressed it up a bit.

Trim sanded and waiting for finish yesterday and the most important part installed just now!

Always wash your hands after using the Loo
*This is the original sink to the house so the only major component that was reused.

Well with the near completion of the bathroom and the sudden increase in tempurature I have a new addition to my home. By tomorrow evening I should have central air!

Well, not the next evening as planned. How does that go? "The best laid plans of mice and men."
Anyway I created a tunnel to Narnia

Narnia has kind of run down a bit.

Twenty-two inches of space between the dirt floor and floor joists and I had to navigate through this.

More to come later, as the dust in Narnia is as fine as talcum powder and I need to wash it off.

Wiring finished

Outside all tied up!

Evaporator connected and the switch has been thrown!
I have central air! 5°F drop in half an hour Now to just get the humidity under control

When last we met our intrepid adventurer was installing central air.
In this episode of "What is Maura doing," our adventurer is really getting on top of problems!
I am replacing the roof!
This is no simple task and not for the faint of heart.
-cont-

You may ask "why is Maura doing it then?" And that my friends is a very good question. The simple answer is: I can't afford to hire it out.
July in St. Louis?! A roof?!
Yes I am just that cra-cra.
To top this off the current roof has four too many layers!
So tomorrow it begins!

Okay on top of things early--try to beat the heat.
Someone let 2 cedars grow up right next to the house, rotting detrius built up and allowed kudzu vies to take hold and grow up under the shingles So inclearing that away I found rotten boards...under 6 layers of shingles!

More rooftop pics

Rotten spot and selfie

Under layer one is layer two!
And my helper @Docta_Jazz

Off the roof for today
Had to stop and get a special tool to speed this up--totally worth it.
As you can see the house is over-built as the decking is 1 by 12 boards not plywood!

View East from the roof just now.

So in less than 5 hrs this morning we now have 29% of the roof stripped
The patch of visible shingles are an older & decked over section of the roof (about 12% of structural size)
This is the section I need to patch back to current deck height along with repairs to the overhang

Correction 29% of that side of the house not total house.

This morning's views from the rooftop!

One of the cedars has to be trimmed--technically needs removed
Doc is in charge of giving it a trim so it is off the roof and I had to don an old hat to assist from the ground with the powered pole saw

My task is replacing the eve extensions that create the overhang in the damaged section.
Due to instability of the ladder I am now the proud owner of a scaffolding--beats laying in the hospital ER.

Today's rooftop view and an update to Doc's tree triming yesterday.
The tree is no longer in a close relationship with the house.
Beneath the braches we found a...bulge?
We'll know in a few days what is under the bulge.

Found this little guy/girl just hanging out in the shade this morning.

Finally getting to replacing the first section of eaves. Aparently this house has had 3 progressivly wider overhangs--no I am not extending them further.

Also today's main attack weapon--who says you don't need a 70 round magazine?
Bought this monster at a pawn shop 25 years ago for $75 and it has more than paid for its self.

Well approximately half of the back has been stripped
Rotten decking has been replaced as well as the worst of the eves
The 1st section of tar paper is now in place and the plastic is covering the bare section because it is supposed to rain overnight & tomorrow.

Well, back out here today.
Heavy rains and high winds late yesterday made some wrinkles but no water infiltration.

We feel like we are in Groundhog day.
Doc keeps removing shingles, I keep replacing rotting wood.
The upside is there is less to replace today.
The major downside is Doc can only do so much at a stretch and does not feel compotent or safe doing repairs.

Day 7 of de-roofing and we are getting progessivly more tired and slap happy.
So we are opeing the day by flashing you all.

Yay! The old flashing is gone!
*this is from over an hour ago, update now while we eat lunch.

From yesterday:
This is the kind of issues I am running into
There is a roof below the roof that cannot be stripped out because of how it is in there ccoupled with time & money constraints
The multi-layer roof is the top one
At points removing shingles also has boards coming off

Today's view from the rooftop and today's section of roof.

So we discovered this lovely bit to stop and repair before we fall through
The middle board wants to give with Doc on it and she's only 5' 2"!

Repair parts! Yay?