Showing posts with label rural living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rural living. Show all posts
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Get a Grit! And What About Bob?
Well I'm excited to say that I will be blogging for Grit Magazine. If I can get my act together, and get over the "first post fright". This is really exciting for me, it will basically be a more organized extension of this blog. With the language cleaned up of course! I've decided to focus on homesteading for the beginner, the tired, the time challenged. Homesteading Lite. It should be fun! Plus I might get free Fair Tickets and they've just added West Bend, Wisconsin to the Fair Venues! I know exactly where that venue is because I used to pass it every day. Maybe me and fellow homesteader Bob Reksten will be able to share some fair antics together. Bob is a friend I made while hauling laundry out of Cudahy, WI. They put me on my supervisors 3rd shift route that covered 4 stops. 2 in West Bend, and 2 in Fond du Lac. I was able to re-route the route for better time efficiency, a talent I have but seldom use ;0) Anyway, Bob worked at my first stop and we got to talking about cats and chickens and his farm. Soon he was bringing me chicken catalogues, and we where exchanging ideas. He lived in a very old brick house on a farm outside of West Bend. He's promised to send me pictures. I'd love to share them. His house is of that very old and sound construction, with 3 layers of brick. One for the outside, a wall of air, a middle wall of brick, another wall of air, and an interior layer. This makes for incredible solar banking in the winter! I was so excited to see that West Bend was added to the Mother Earth News Fair Venue. It means that my long time friend Bob can go and really have some fun. He's one of my longest running friends. You see, I don't make, keep or even regularly keep in touch with people. When I decided to go with my mom on her move to Georgia, I asked him if I could have his address so I could have a friend to write to back home. Plus, I've always wanted a pen pal. We've written to each other almost monthly ever since 2005. Our card theme is cats, we pride ourselves in finding new and unusual cat cards to send. Usually from the Dollar Store. Bob has often been on the receiving end of hard times, down sizing, and injuries. The company where we met was bought out a year after I left and he lost his pension, and then his job. He was then the subject of agism and had to take a job as a greeter at Walmart. Despite having a Bachelor's degree in English from UWO. He's finally closing in on retirement, and I'm pulling for him all the way. I'd like to hear in his letters that he has all the time he needs to take care of his foster cats and other projects that find themselves on indefinite hold. So Bob, maybe I should dedicate my first article to you. A true homesteader that grew up on a farm in rural Wisconsin. And even though it was the 60's and 70's they still had to use an outhouse! I have a lot of admiration for my friend. He recently got injured again. So I should probably end this here, and give him a call, right now!
Friday, January 31, 2014
Draft Dodger
So this home has been a thorn in my side since the get go. It has so many little and not so little issues that I get overwhelmed. I'm tempted to just bulldoze it and build a series of cob houses instead. At least I would have control over what's going on that way. Ah control. It's more of a pipe dream at this point. I am going to start out by making a cob playhouse for our daughter and go from their. I'd love to build a little cob cabin with a cob stove and everything. One thing I have way more than I need of is red clay. You don't even have to dig for it, it's all right there! Difficult, sticky when wet, hard to grow grass on, clay.
I've scouted out where my first attempt at growing will be. A sunny patch just to the right of the fence. It's a south western facing plot. While digging the soil samples though I kept hitting gravel. Was this a drive way at some point? Out to the barn perhaps? Is this why the grass here is so scrubby? Hmmm. Do I need to find a better plot? It's a 10 acre tract, but it's anything but flat. The land is either going up or down. Same goes for the house. It's folding in have over the main sill beam like a Salvador Dhali clock.
So what am I to do? I need to go into the scary crawl space and see just how terrible the foundation and under belly of the home is. It need to be cleaned and sealed. But that cost money. We have a moisture issue for sure. There's mold in the attic near the eves and at the roof top above the chimney. It's kind of a mess if you ask me. Just sloppy construction, and even sloppier renovation work. I mean, if you're going to go through the trouble of a reno, why not do it right? Yes, I am an idealist, it's why I'm so miserable, but I'm right.
Today I decided to investigate some of the drafty spots in the house that have been driving me nuts. There's a lot of cold are coming out from the bottom of the cabinets on the north wall, and cold air literally blowing out of the outlets on that wall. I tried outlet insulators, they help some. I tried putting some expand foam in the gaps at the bottom of the cabinet, but that didn't do much. I notices a hole in the outer wall near an electrical box and put foam in it. I think that helped the outlet draft. I found it weird that the cabinets are drafty when in front of that outer wall ins the furnace house which covers 3/4 of the outside wall, as it's own building. I peaked inside the furnace house and looked around. I did see two large openings into the homes outer wall to accommodate the ductwork for the furnace. Perhaps this is my culprit? I need foam board in the worst way.
Another drafty place was the kitchen window facing south. It's a tall window, about six feet high, almost from floor to ceiling. I noticed there was a lot of cold air on the floor by it. So I tried stuffing draft foam into the gap between the window and the sill. It was still really draft. I tried putting a rolled up towel on the ledge. Still drafty. So I finally look at it from the outside, now that the ground is dry. I see the issue. Missing siding? WTF? The siding moves down at an angle and creates a large opening into the exterior wall and window unit. Maybe this is the issue. I get my expand foam and seal it up. Now, it's not 20 degrees out like last night, but about 30, but I think I'm noticing a big improvement. It's still cool under the window, particularly where the wall corner is next to it. I've noticed that the floor is molding at that corner too. It's also molding by the draft cabinet bottoms. I think these spots are more of an issue coming from the crawlspace than the outer walls. I'm not sure though. There are moldy, or dry hollow and crunchy boards throughout this tiny home.
Now you can't give me, "It's an old home argument" I've lived in older homes. This home was built, or somewhat thrown together, hand hewn rafters and all, in 1943. I lived in a house from 1920 in Milwaukee and it was beautiful. The original floors on the first floor didn't have a single gap. The floors where level, no sloping, and they didn't creak. The windows where original on the first floor and need some of the ropes replaced in a couple units. It also still had it's original built buffet with leaded glass doors, and beautiful stained glass piano windows.
So what's the difference? Oak floors versus this sift pine? I swear if I so much as drop a pillow on the floor the wood gets a dent in it! Maybe it is the oak. What is the frame of the Milwaukee house made of? Oak or pine? Good question. I can tell you this house is pine, pine, pine. What am I going to do with these floors? every board has a gap. What a pain. I read on This Old House to use jute rope as a filler since it will allow contraction in the summer. You know, when all that warm moist air comes up from the crawlspace.
I've scouted out where my first attempt at growing will be. A sunny patch just to the right of the fence. It's a south western facing plot. While digging the soil samples though I kept hitting gravel. Was this a drive way at some point? Out to the barn perhaps? Is this why the grass here is so scrubby? Hmmm. Do I need to find a better plot? It's a 10 acre tract, but it's anything but flat. The land is either going up or down. Same goes for the house. It's folding in have over the main sill beam like a Salvador Dhali clock.
So what am I to do? I need to go into the scary crawl space and see just how terrible the foundation and under belly of the home is. It need to be cleaned and sealed. But that cost money. We have a moisture issue for sure. There's mold in the attic near the eves and at the roof top above the chimney. It's kind of a mess if you ask me. Just sloppy construction, and even sloppier renovation work. I mean, if you're going to go through the trouble of a reno, why not do it right? Yes, I am an idealist, it's why I'm so miserable, but I'm right.
Today I decided to investigate some of the drafty spots in the house that have been driving me nuts. There's a lot of cold are coming out from the bottom of the cabinets on the north wall, and cold air literally blowing out of the outlets on that wall. I tried outlet insulators, they help some. I tried putting some expand foam in the gaps at the bottom of the cabinet, but that didn't do much. I notices a hole in the outer wall near an electrical box and put foam in it. I think that helped the outlet draft. I found it weird that the cabinets are drafty when in front of that outer wall ins the furnace house which covers 3/4 of the outside wall, as it's own building. I peaked inside the furnace house and looked around. I did see two large openings into the homes outer wall to accommodate the ductwork for the furnace. Perhaps this is my culprit? I need foam board in the worst way.
Another drafty place was the kitchen window facing south. It's a tall window, about six feet high, almost from floor to ceiling. I noticed there was a lot of cold air on the floor by it. So I tried stuffing draft foam into the gap between the window and the sill. It was still really draft. I tried putting a rolled up towel on the ledge. Still drafty. So I finally look at it from the outside, now that the ground is dry. I see the issue. Missing siding? WTF? The siding moves down at an angle and creates a large opening into the exterior wall and window unit. Maybe this is the issue. I get my expand foam and seal it up. Now, it's not 20 degrees out like last night, but about 30, but I think I'm noticing a big improvement. It's still cool under the window, particularly where the wall corner is next to it. I've noticed that the floor is molding at that corner too. It's also molding by the draft cabinet bottoms. I think these spots are more of an issue coming from the crawlspace than the outer walls. I'm not sure though. There are moldy, or dry hollow and crunchy boards throughout this tiny home.
Now you can't give me, "It's an old home argument" I've lived in older homes. This home was built, or somewhat thrown together, hand hewn rafters and all, in 1943. I lived in a house from 1920 in Milwaukee and it was beautiful. The original floors on the first floor didn't have a single gap. The floors where level, no sloping, and they didn't creak. The windows where original on the first floor and need some of the ropes replaced in a couple units. It also still had it's original built buffet with leaded glass doors, and beautiful stained glass piano windows.
So what's the difference? Oak floors versus this sift pine? I swear if I so much as drop a pillow on the floor the wood gets a dent in it! Maybe it is the oak. What is the frame of the Milwaukee house made of? Oak or pine? Good question. I can tell you this house is pine, pine, pine. What am I going to do with these floors? every board has a gap. What a pain. I read on This Old House to use jute rope as a filler since it will allow contraction in the summer. You know, when all that warm moist air comes up from the crawlspace.
Saturday, December 21, 2013
V is for Vermiculite
One may say I'm particular even fastidious, or picky. I just like things done right and preferably up to code. Well, I made the mistake of trying to brush off the bathroom exhaust vent and it started to pop out and re-pop out. Each time it did little flakes of what looked like mica fell out too. I wasn't sure what it was and though it was something to do with the sheet rock. Now I'm watching "Holmes Makes it Right" and they are redoing the insulation in a porch roof and he found vermiculite, which looks like mica, turns out it's an old form of insulation which, yay, contains asbestos. So I'm really excited about how much more of that is up there. You know, I paid a lot for the home inspector that came out, with all his glowing reviews. His first mistake, he didn't bring the radon test I requested. And even said it wasn't worth his time to come back with one another day. He also missed a lot of big issues, like the leaking toilet, the broken and no conforming washer drain, the wasp nest in the chimney, the nails sticking through the shingles and the roof boards and into the attic, the loose un-boxed wiring in the attic, the mis-matched note up to code circuit breakers, oh yeah, and the vermiculite. The realtor was right, why pay more for an inspector, they apparently miss the big things. This guy was supposedly an air force mechanic. Sure.
So what is vermiculite?
Vermiculite is a mica like mineral that puffs up like popcorn when heated. It was used in homes as insulation between 1920-1990. Most of the vermiculite insulation came from a mine in Libby, Montana which contained a significant amount of asbestos contamination. If you find vermiculite in your home, it's very likely that it came from the Libby mine and it's probably contaminated with asbestos. About 80% of all vermiculite insulation produced between 1920-1990 came from Libby, MT.
So now what to do? There's no reliable testing methods, so you're best to just assume that it is contaminated and do the following:
Limit trips to the attic, stay off the insulation, and try not to store anything up there.
So now my attic is a useless toxic waste zone?
Where a properly fitted mask rated for asbestos if entering the attic.
Seriously? I've already been up there and the stuff is falling into my bathroom!
Seal around penetrations in your ceiling such as attic the attic hatch, cracks, holes, light fixtures, ceiling fans, and heating vents.
Well this is getting funner by the minute.
If planned remodeling will disturb the vermiculite, have it removed by a trained , certified, and properly trained asbestos abatement contractors.
Should this have been on the disclosure? Can I sue my home inspector?
If the vermiculite has been disturbed, have an accredited asbestos testing firm come and test the air for asbestos fibers.
I'm sure the bathroom exhaust is blowing it all around.
So this concerns me. We have a goofy bathroom exhaust situation. It basically just blows in the attic and directly onto the cellulose insulation. So all that stuff in the attic is just blowing around every time we turn the exhaust fan on. No that vermiculite has fallen out of the celling when I was cleaning around the exhaust fan, I'm worried about how much is up there, and how much is being "disturbed". I'm feeling disturbed to tell you the truth. There was a lot of incorrect information on the disclosure from the owner, and a lot of stuff left off the disclosure that the home inspector missed. Is there any sort of remediation, financially, or legally for this? Or with homes, is there no legal recourse? Next stop, Legal Zoom.
I guess the insulation in the attic was previously vermiculite until they replaced it with the annoying, every falling out of the attic, cellulose. At least cellulose has a good R value and no asbestos.
While cellulose, when installed correctly, does offer superior insulation options. I question if the guy installed his right. It's not in a smooth consistent layer, it's in lumpy piles, and the roof above the front porch, which has a gable that opens into the attic, isn't insolated at all. I'm not sure if that matters, since cold air falls.
So what is vermiculite?
So now what to do? There's no reliable testing methods, so you're best to just assume that it is contaminated and do the following:
Limit trips to the attic, stay off the insulation, and try not to store anything up there.
So now my attic is a useless toxic waste zone?
Where a properly fitted mask rated for asbestos if entering the attic.
Seriously? I've already been up there and the stuff is falling into my bathroom!
Seal around penetrations in your ceiling such as attic the attic hatch, cracks, holes, light fixtures, ceiling fans, and heating vents.
Well this is getting funner by the minute.
If planned remodeling will disturb the vermiculite, have it removed by a trained , certified, and properly trained asbestos abatement contractors.
Should this have been on the disclosure? Can I sue my home inspector?
If the vermiculite has been disturbed, have an accredited asbestos testing firm come and test the air for asbestos fibers.
I'm sure the bathroom exhaust is blowing it all around.
So this concerns me. We have a goofy bathroom exhaust situation. It basically just blows in the attic and directly onto the cellulose insulation. So all that stuff in the attic is just blowing around every time we turn the exhaust fan on. No that vermiculite has fallen out of the celling when I was cleaning around the exhaust fan, I'm worried about how much is up there, and how much is being "disturbed". I'm feeling disturbed to tell you the truth. There was a lot of incorrect information on the disclosure from the owner, and a lot of stuff left off the disclosure that the home inspector missed. Is there any sort of remediation, financially, or legally for this? Or with homes, is there no legal recourse? Next stop, Legal Zoom.
I guess the insulation in the attic was previously vermiculite until they replaced it with the annoying, every falling out of the attic, cellulose. At least cellulose has a good R value and no asbestos.
While cellulose, when installed correctly, does offer superior insulation options. I question if the guy installed his right. It's not in a smooth consistent layer, it's in lumpy piles, and the roof above the front porch, which has a gable that opens into the attic, isn't insolated at all. I'm not sure if that matters, since cold air falls.
So everyday it's something, isn't it. More than I had anticipated. I wonder, a lot, if we should just sell, before we find more things. Plus, to be honest, this house is really damn small. A good agent, which I question ours, wouldn't push a tiny house on a family of 3. It's 2 bedrooms, one tiny bath, and 1082 soft. Most of the time I'm about to start screaming from the noise. And ever since we moved in my daughter has been acting really weird. Making a lot of weird noises, stumbling around, whining, crying, unhappy, bored. 10 acres to run on and she's bored. I'm am too. It's like she's having a nervous break down, and the wood floors and small rooms only amplifies the noise. I can't send her outside because people come down the road at 55mph even though we are 100 feet from the stop sign, there are fire ant beds, a gully, and probably snakes. I guess I'm not in Wisconsin any more. What the hell am I doing here anyway?
But I'll try not to complain. Too much
But let's he
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Doing Battle with Invasive Species.
Monday, November 11, 2013
Land Scarlet!
buying rural property has been a bit over whelming. There's more involved than mortgages and home inspections. There's a well, septic, acreage, special insurance circumstances, TV and internet issues. Nothing is simple when trying to live the simple life. I think I'm about ready to drop dead from stress.
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