This is the latest installment of a continuing story, to jump to the beginning…
Hello everyone!
We’ve been working so hard on various aspects of our new property that I’ve barely had time to organize my thoughts and document our progress. Now after two months of home ownership and one month into my new job, it’s time to share a little of what we’ve accomplished.
The first big hurdle was having some professional tree work done. We had a very large live oak (which wasn’t so much alive anymore) that had a dangerous overhang of our garage. Additionally we needed some of the canopy above the mobile home opened up to improve our satellite internet service. In all, the work took 3.5 days, which was a bit more than anticipated. Fortunately the crew worked with us to achieve what we wanted and stay within our budget.
As there isn’t a great need for firewood in Florida, I plan on processing the big logs into slabs of material to make things out of and discs for cordwood art. All of the smaller stuff is gradually being burnt, which is yielding us a ton of biochar for our future garden.
Once we were on the other side of the tree service, I started checking off a growing list of to-dos. To start with I formed and poured a new septic lid because the original one had been unfortunately cracked by the tree service. They were apologetic but I didn’t fault them for this. It would be an easy repair anyway, and good practice with concrete, which will come in handy in the future.
The challenging part was figuring out how to remove the old lid without dropping any of it into the tank. I connected all the rebar with steel cable and tried various ways of rigging up ropes and pulleys to hoist everything but nothing seemed to work as intended. Once again the Good Lord whispered in my ear and said the solution was far easier. I hooked up some chain to the steel cable since the rope was too elastic under that much weight, and used a spare tire to redirect the force of the pull. Then it was a quick tug with the truck and all but one or two small pieces came up and out of the way. We were both amused that after all my overthought plans the answer was starkly more simple and effective.
After that was out of the way I replaced three toilets, upgrading from the cheap models that came with our new home for nice new ones. We also upgraded two ceiling fans. I installed a new dryer vent because the old one was poorly located and basically disintegrating. While working on that I discovered and fixed several plumbing leaks despite the fact that the whole home had just been freshly replumbed prior to our closing.
We had a local AC service out to inspect our unit and ensure it was in good working order. Before they arrived, I managed to clean approximately 2 inches of leaves out of the fan which had built up over the months the home had been vacant and on the market. We got a good report on the condition of the unit, but were made aware of an air duct under the home that was leaking cold air into the crawlspace. After some discussion it became apparent it would be far cheaper for me to repair it myself rather than pay them to fix it. Over the next few days I dug a trench through the crawl space because it was too tight to access otherwise. This was a bit more work than anticipated because the further I got the harder it was to get that volume of sand out of the way. Eventually I made it to the T junction where the flexible ducting had partially separated. I removed the somewhat deformed sheet metal junction and the two flanges that had separated from the main body. In the garage I straightened everything out and reattached the flanges with a generous amount of metal tape. Once I had it back in place and everything reconnected with more tape and huge zip ties, I called my wife on the radio and told her to turn the AC back on. I was pleased after all that effort that everything was sealed up tight and we would no longer be sacrificing efficiency, especially with the summer heat knocking at our door.
From there I turned my attention to everything next to the AC, which was the main water line in from the well, a filter that was inoperable, and the propane tank for our oven/range. Everything about this was sloppy and poorly executed with the various elements sitting on loose cinder blocks that had clearly not been leveled. Additionally the plumbing was unsupported and showing signs of extended exposure to the elements.
To clean this up I replumbed the water line with new PVC and omitted the old filter, then poured a new slab that connects to the pad under the AC for a cleaner look. Eventually a water softener will be added and this area will be enclosed to protect everything.
We had a new range/oven installed by the Gas company and I replaced the shallow two compartment sink in the kitchen with a much deeper single bay sink that my wife had picked out.
The last thing I hoped to accomplish before starting my new job was to get the property mowed for the first time. This was no small task as there were extensive branches and sticks simply from having been vacant for so long. I worked at it in sections and eventually fired up the mower. I was fortunate to have recovered one of those small lawn mower dump trailers from my Dad’s collection of stuff, which came in very handy when combined with a grabber tool to snag any sticks I had missed while cutting the grass. With almost 4 ½ acres of mowable space it took a while, but felt great being able to see how good it looked afterward. However I did discover numerous random depressions and holes that would need to be leveled out. Fortunately the dirt road heading back to our place has large sand berms on either side, and the neighbors I’ve spoken with were glad to see me removing some of it. So far I’ve loaded 3 trailer loads of sand and expect to haul many more before I have everything leveled out to my satisfaction.
After thirty days of hard work I felt liberated and wished I could do nothing but continue to throw everything I’ve got into this place. Every bit of progress made me more excited about the future of this place. Realistically though, I did need to get back to earning a paycheck and I was excited by my new employment. As a jack of all trades I’ve done quite a lot in my years, including 2 years of apprenticing with a locksmith some 30 years ago. Now I’ve been hired with a well established local locksmith and am very much enjoying the work thus far. It’s exactly in my wheelhouse, working with my hands solving problems for people. I also like how it is detail oriented work requiring precision. The biggest challenge was to get the work van I was issued into shape as an effective work space. Apparently the former employee who had driven the van before me was not terribly focused on organization and efficiency. It took a solid week of cleaning the parts and tools out of the truck and organizing everything back into place. Even after all that I still have 6 buckets of stuff in my garage to sort through. Adding some shelving, cleaning up the power distribution, installing a new fan and LED lighting has really made the space functional. Now I am able to work quickly and efficiently, which has always been one of my core philosophies.
As always we are eternally grateful to the Heavenly Father, not just for the blessings he bestows upon us, but for the challenges and obstacles as well. For these leave us stronger and better equipped for the future as we strive to properly shepherd this land.
Thank you everyone for being here, and GOD BLESS!
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FXT LEATHER 