The Road Home

The Road Home
There is no place like home.

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Electric & Water Lines, Day 1

This was one busy day. It started about 6:00 am and hasn't quit yet, since now I am sitting down to write this article. We accomplished a great deal today, and have ditches in the pasture, by the chicken house, through the branch in two places and into the yard to show for our efforts. Here is a glimpse of our work in pictures.

 






We started off with a real treat. As Frank left the house, right before the sun peaked over the horizon, he called me on the radio to let me know there was an eagle in the old dead tree in the pasture. He recommended I get the camera and head out, which I did. I waited for the sun to come up, but because I was on the west side of this tree, I still didn't get the full effect of the light. Eagles are magnificent birds. We had the opportunity to see one up close and personal at a veterinarians place in Alaska one time. They were trying to return it to good health so they could release it. The size of the beak and talons are a sight to see, not to mention the wing span.










 






Frank and Henry went and picked up an excavator first thing this morning as the company opened so we could make the most of the daylight. Henry ran the excavator while Frank and I worked on the wire and conduit in the first ditch.











 








 


After a few hours, we had power to the barn, which is a goal we've had for seven years now. This is just in time for our next set of baby goats which should be arriving in about 17 days.


About this time, we discovered that our neighbor down the road had a hay fire. They lost a lot of hay, but had no other major damage.

After lunch, it was time to start working on the water lines. There will be two lines in the same ditch most of the way. One will be pressurized with the water from our rural water supplier. The other will be gravity flow from the rain catchment water tanks at the barn, down to the house.


Frank got most of the electric line covered up with the tractor while Henry kept digging and I went after more PVC glue. It turns out that we got two cans of cleaner instead of one cleaner and one glue.

 
As you can tell, there are lots of deep ditches and dirt everywhere. We ran out of daylight and energy, so it was time to quit for the day, do the chores, have some supper and work on the blog.








The places where the water lines will cross the branch are full of water. This will be an interesting challenge tomorrow when we lay the rest of the water lines.

 


It will still be a few days before we can install and connect the no-freeze faucets to the pressurized water line. We need to reopen the hole Emmet dug for us when we found the location of the water line. It had to be filled in temporarily because of freezing weather. Then we will need to get the water storage tanks plumbed and connected to their water line. Since both lines are in the same ditch, we'll need to get everything connected before we cover them up.


We're very tired and very pleased with the progress of the day. We'll update you again in a few days. 

Until next time - Fern

20 comments:

  1. What an impressive amount of work and added functionality- and you make it look like a pretty straight forward project. Well done!

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    1. Hi, Jewlz. It was a straight forward project, it only took 6 years to get the electricity done and 4 years to get the water done. It really surprised me how well things went with our weekend digging and burying. My next prayer is that all the joints hold and there are no leaks. It still may be a few days before we have pressure. Thanks for the observation.

      Frank

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  2. i know it is stupid to say this but mark one water line well so you can tell it from the other if you ever have to open up the ditch for any reason.

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    1. Hello, Deborah. We did mark one line, one for pressurized water and one for gravity flow. Sure hope I never have to look though. Thank you for sharing.

      Frank

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  3. OMG, I'm worn out from just imagining what this day must have been like for you! But you accomplished a LOT.

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    1. Hello, Ilene. Saturday and Sunday were very busy days. We had planned to take off Monday, but it turned out to be an even busier day. So, instead we took off Tuesday, kind of. We didn't start going at it until about 10:00 am, and it's now 10:00 pm and we're still going at it. Ilene, work is good. It's good for the soul, the mind and the body, and we really believe that. Take care.

      Frank

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  4. Great work. I just want to know if you had to make a run to town for a can of PVC cement to replace the extra can of cleaner?

    Carl in the UP

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    1. Hi Carl. Yes, we did have to make an extra run to town, and town is 25 miles away. Irritating? Yes. That's just the way life goes sometimes. I'm just glad there was a town 25 miles away. Take care.

      Frank

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  5. Fern - you must be tired after all of that work but it must give you and Frank such a sense of accomplishment and moving forward toward all of your goals. i showed jambaloney the pics of all of the work and he only said one word - sweeeeet! congrats on all of your hard work!

    your friend,
    kymber

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    1. Thank you, Kymber. We've been given the means and the desire to work. It feels good to get things accomplished. Well, the water line is kind of accomplished, but it's close. And today, life is sweet.

      Frank

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  6. Just curious, how are you going to keep your above ground water barrels from freezing?

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    1. Hi, Everett. I'll give you a detailed explanation in a few days. I answered your CB question, and the one before it. I apologize for the delay in responding. I find excuses are exactly what they are, excuses. But go back and read your CB question and I will answer this question in a few days. No excuses, we're just plain old swamped. Not something you want to have done to your boat. We'll talk more later.

      Frank

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  7. Well done on your progress. You have both achieved so much in just one short day. Having dug trenches with my DH and laid electrical wire (he's an electrician) and put in water pipes I know just how hard and long a job it is. You have much to be proud of.

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    1. Hello, Calidore, thank you. And the lights even came on. Thank you again.

      Frank

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  8. That is a huge project, and I know you'll be glad to have it done. When Dan and I had the electric redone to our home several years ago, we had them bury the power lines. We think it was worth the cost for sure.

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    1. You're right, Leigh, we will be very happy to have this project done. Right now we are just tired. Thank you for the encouragement.

      Fern

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  9. progress comforts the heart and soul! congrats you three...looks like job well done!

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    1. Hi, M.E. It would appear that we are going to be picking up medium and large sized rocks for the rest of our lives now. I don't know if we'll ever get the topsoil level again, and the clay that's now on the top will be slick for years and years to come. But, thank you for your words of inspiration.

      Frank

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  10. Why did you use a excavator as opposed to a trencher like a Ditchwitch? We have always found them to be easy to use and less disruptive to the area we are working although maybe not as fun to operate.

    Charlie

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    1. Hi Charlie. I checked with contractors in the area that use both, and all recommended the excavator. You see we have softball to basketball sized rocks, and we were advised to use the excavator, so we did. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Thanks for asking.

      Frank

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