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Finally a shower


Dan Wilson
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Well about five days ago our lows were dropping down into the single digits, my water pipe insulation from the house to the trailer didn't meet the grade and it was rock solid ice (that was Monday).

Tuesday it went down to about 6 degrees here and not only didn't I have water for the trailer my water lines from the bathroom all the way down to the well in the basement were frozen solid (the pump, accumulator and well head were frozen solid as well), hell the toilet bowl was solid ice!!! Lets not talk about the sewer lines.

Well I FINALLY got all (almost all) the water back on at the house and the trailer (had to plug the pex lines to the kitchen sink in the trailer since that line EXPLODED) but it really feels good to be able take a shower again.

So its ten PM and I am just getting ready to start wrapping all the pipes in the house following running 80 feet of really really aggressive pipe heater (the ones I had before apparently dont work as good as the package said, they lied, go figure).

I really need to get the stub out in for the gas meter so I can hook up this "furnace" down in the basement; I am sure the EPA would keel over dead looking at the thing, it was made by Crane and they stopped making furnaces in 1968 so God only knows how old this thingy is - but it would carry a good 20% efficiency rating LOL

Good thing there isn't much plaster (or lathe) still up downstairs, when I get it hooked up the heat is just going to have to flow where it does since I also have many of the heater ducts pulled at the moment (some of the pipes are imitating a chimney for my wood stove so I can take the dryer "((current source of heat)) out of the living room.

Now I just have to get myself ready to start digging out my basement, a shovel full at a time.

Well I guess I will really know the meaning of old man winter when this season is over, I haven't had to wear my Mukluks since my Crew Chief days that ended back in 85 - just glad I still have em but now I think I am going to buy some bunny boots though.

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When I get the heat going I am going to canvas the front porch in so I can finish painting and getting all the bits and pieces back together.

My parlor in progress

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Closed cell spray foam for the walls?

I would love to do that, and may in some portions of the house but that stuffs pretty damn pricey!!

One inch of the spray foam gives you a R factor or R-3, for the price you can do much better with fiberglass batting, but foam does have the distinct advantage of seriously plugging drafts and small crevices.

Besides, my buddy owns the hardware store in town and has a semi load of recovered R-30 glass and will give me what I need - sweet

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Ugh - I think the longest I have ever been was two days. The first two I just melted snow on the stove top and had a "Vegas bath". The third day I drove to town and used the shower at a local pool. Fourth day the problem was fixed.

Winteralls for working in the house.

If you do not have some of those awsome as bright as a nuclear blast work lights - get some. They heat up a room much nicer than a portable radiator and you can see where the drywall needs to be resanded. :P

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Why do we "old farts" want to take on an old house? I have an old (1845 vintage) farm house in western Ny, right in the snow belt, complete with Horsehair plaster. You might as well get a new furnace as that old clunker will kill you on the gas bill this winter. You can pay for a modern one with the money you will save> You might consider hot water heat. The kind with Baseboard type Radiators. Very efficient and gives a great heat. Looks like your house is what is called " Balloon " construction, the outer wall studs go from the sill plate to the roof. BE SURE that you install "fire blocks" in between each stud at the ceiling. Might be a code requirement. At least you have the luxury and ease of being able to rewire this house easily.

Any questions, I might be able to answer, I'm about three years ahead of you on the restoration. One thing forget the outside painting till dry weather. Get yourself one of the little moisture detectors advertized on ebay. You want the moisture content to be below 12% to paint. RZ Hill

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I would love to get a new furnace, but at the moment I dont really have two penny's to rub together.

I am still having to carry my house in FL and between mortgage and utility's (my daughters still there) it sucks about 1500 bucks out of my pocket a month - ouch.

When I install the heating system I am giving a lot of thought to running gas to all the rooms and putting the new IR heaters in each room. That way I can easily Zone heat, much more efficient.

Might be a code requirement.

LOL, hell this country didn't even have a building inspector until last summer, basically you build how you want and nobody bothers you :) but yes it is ballon framed and I intend to put fire stops in, I am also going to plumb a fire protection system into the house since I am completely gutting it.

Nope, no discouragement here, actually I am loving the snow; we have been getting buried under lake effect snow for the last five days and other than the mess the boots make going into the trailer, its great :)

Thanks for the offer of help RZ, if I run into a block I will make sure to give you a scream!!

Today's project - steal some of my six inch heating ducts and use them for a chimney for the wood stove in the living room - heat is sweet!!

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other than the mess the boots make going into the trailer, its great :)

If you have a Harbor tool and Freight store - look for one of those "inexpensive" greenhouses they offer. http://www.harborfreight.com/6-ft-x-8-ft-greenhouse-47712.html

Work that around the door of the trailer as a mud room.

Some folks up the road from us have been doing a remodel on their house, since that wicked hailstorm in October. They did that with their trailer. But they had to anchor it down because of the high winds that follow in November.

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Where are you getting your frappin' groceries? Are you driving to Great Lakes NB or W-P AFB?

CharlieLS

These days, groceries aren't that much cheaper at the commissary than at the civilian grocery stores (Super Wal Marts?). I live less than 20 miles from MacDill AFB and probably have been out there less than 3 times in the last 18 months. What I save on groceries there is lost on gas and tolls.

Sorry Dan, another thread hijacking.

Don R.

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CharlieLS

These days, groceries aren't that much cheaper at the commissary than at the civilian grocery stores (Super Wal Marts?). I live less than 20 miles from MacDill AFB and probably have been out there less than 3 times in the last 18 months. What I save on groceries there is lost on gas and tolls.

Sorry Dan, another thread hijacking.

Don R.

This was an honest question to Dan. I try to avoid Wal-Mart.

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CharlieLS

These days, groceries aren't that much cheaper at the commissary than at the civilian grocery stores (Super Wal Marts?). I live less than 20 miles from MacDill AFB and probably have been out there less than 3 times in the last 18 months. What I save on groceries there is lost on gas and tolls.

Sorry Dan, another thread hijacking.

Don R.

Dan lives closer to Great Lakes; I'm a toss up between the 2 but it wouldn't pay unless you were buying 6 months worth of groceries.

Dan,

From looking at your pictures, I would put straw bales around the bottom of the trailer to help your heat tape...particularly on the NW corner. Before we put our double wide on a basement we had frozen pipes in the winter regularly and learned all of the insulating tricks.

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