Here today, gone today

Lots going on today and the days to come. Dusty came with his concrete pumping machine. We had to have the top cap and columns pumped because of the height. Doing it by hand would have been a nightmare.

You can see the steel rebar in the trough at the top where the guys are pumping. This rebar encircles the foundation as well as it ties to vertical rebar down the wall every 2'.

A concrete truck is feeding the pumping machine which in turn feeds the hose attached to the 'J' handle.

 We hit good weather for the work. Should be reasonable temps tonight and the next few days.

The pumping took about 2 hours but saved us a great deal of time and muscle.











The next and last pour will be the slab for the garage floor. Maurice will be back on Wednesday or Thursday to finish that part.

Floor trusses are being delivered in the morning. We'll start framing the first floor floor right away.


Today was a big day for another reason. I got out of the campground and into my new digs (I'll send photos tomorrow). It was kind of sad in a way. I'd been at the New River State Park since August 18th. You can do the math.


I'm so glad to be in a place where I can stretch, walk around, etc.



More coming,
z

The top cap ties everything together.

Yesterday and today

 Yesterday was cold and our mountain got a good dusting of snow and ice. This photo was taken from just above our cabin looking down.

I stopped by today and the ice was dropping all around, much warmer and beautiful.

Weather looks good for our concrete pour tomorrow. The rest of the week looks good also.

While Katy and I were on a 2.5 mile hike we were somewhat lost until we came upon this directional sign in the neighborhood below our cabin.

Somebody's got a good sense of humor.

More coming,

z

In spite of the weather

Big plans for today. Scratch that! We were set to pour the top cap and columns of the foundations, set anchor bolts and get ready for setting the sill plate tomorrow but Mother Nature has other plans. We'll be back on schedule and better weather Monday.

The best laid plans of mice and men...oh well! As you can see, the weather is nasty. Rainy and cold but due to clear later this weekend.

The plumber was there yesterday and roughed in the drain lines, ran the water supply to the mechanical room and connected the septic tank to the house. Nothing like an unconnected septic line!

The plumbing rough-in at this stage is done before the gravel bed and concrete slab for the garage is poured. The slab will be poured next week also.


The floor trusses are being delivered Tuesday and will be installed pretty quick. Subfloor will go down after the trusses. We'll be in good shape for delivery on November 9th of the SIPS. You'll notice a marked difference in the look of the house and my attitude once the SIPS (walls) are installed. My favorite part is when we get to 'wood'. Concrete doesn't do much for me.

Sorry for missing a few days of posts but I'm starting to go a bit 'wacky'. I told someone recently that living in my small camper is very much like living on death row. Very small quarters and no visitors. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy...it's just that I'll be happier when I get paroled and head to the luxury of a friends cabin next Tuesday.

Almost forgot...our address is   210 Maple Tree Lane,    West Jefferson, NC 28694. The mailman told me he would deliver anything folks mailed to me, like, care packages, donations, letters, etc.

More coming,
z

Almost at the top

We've made it to the top of the foundation today. Tim and James are setting the steel rebar in the walls every 2' by the height of the wall and also along the top edge all the way around. We're scheduled for our foundation inspection tomorrow. We will pout Monday because we have some pipe to set, run the water and electrical line under the slab, etc.

What's that old story..."he huffed and he puffed, but he couldn't blow that house down". I'd like to see him try!!!

We're also being proactive with regard to the weather. I wrapped the well, pump and pressure tank with insulation and tarp material. We should be good for any temperature...famous last words.

It's not the prettiest but it is functional and temporary.

Lots going on this next week as we finish up the slab and foundation and start to set the floor trusses. To be honest, my favorite part is when we get to 'wood'. So far it's been nothing but cement and blocks. That's going to change real soon!



More coming,
z

Warm-Cold...make up your mind!

One day it's warm, then rain the next and then we get snow flurries. I wish it would make up its mind!

The gentleman with the tan head is Maurice. He's my go-to-guy for all things 'mountain'. He and his crew are handling the grading work which is very near complete. They are sliding water line and power line into a long 500' 4" black pipe from the cabin to the water pump location. You're looking at beautiful Carolina blue sky on Tuesday.

The next and last thing they'll do is pour the garage slab, dig small deck footers and move some big rocks around for me. I'm going to miss those guys, they've been great.

Snow on the cement blocks this morning

Up here they say, if you don't like the weather, then wait a minute. The photo to the left is this morning. We got a light dusting of snow. Yesterday I didn't post because it was a rain day...all day!

We're still on target despite the weather. My sweetheart is coming to visit and 'check' on me!!! I keep telling her that I'm busy but I think she has the link to this blog and really knows the truth.

More coming,
z

Lots going on...

The foundation continues to rise and that's a good sign. We're trying to beat the clock with winter on the horizon so every block laid gets us closer to dry-in time.

The power company came today and swapped out our temporary hot box for a permanent one. We now have electricity on the property. The electrician was due in later today to connect the well pump wiring and tidy up.

Power lets us stage for all of the wood work we'll be doing in the next 30 days not to mention how good it is to have water available. There was a point when I didn't think water was possible (read back a few posts to catch up).

A big truck came today with what appeared to be my crypt (I want to be buried on the property with a large shrine). It was actually our brand spanking new septic tank, clean as a whistle, but not for long.

This might not be a big deal to you city slickers but waste removal here in the mountains is critical if you don't have an outdoor privy.










The crew was working hard to lay the drain lines in the drain field. These are the lines that accept run-off from the septic tank and also provide a wonderfully green patch of grass...see Mom, I'm good for something!




I'm heading from the library this afternoon to order up the last of the masonry material for the house and the sheep shed.


More coming,
z

First blocks of the foundation

Today started out a bit rainy but has ended up very windy and cool. We had a load of block, sand and mortar mix delivered this morning for our long awaited foundation. Tim (in the trench) and James are laying the block. What you're seeing is the first course of block going down. Tim and James will also help with setting the SIPS later this month.

They project completion of the foundation by next week. Hopefully we'll have good weather for awhile and can meet our deadline of early November for dry-in.

Our neighbors, from Miami, are here and have been very kind to let us use their water for mixing mortar. 

Laney, the 911 Address Coordinator for the county came out and marked the cabin and workshop on official GPS. We'll be assigned an address on Monday and the tax department will be notified that we have added to our property. I guess our taxes will go down...

The power company has the order to turn on the juice. I didn't see them today but Monday was the next day for schedule.

I heard from a man in Zionville, NC who has locust posts with bark and other fancy woods. I'm going to take a drive there in the morning to check it out. The locust posts are for our wrap around porch.

Maurice will be back next week to dig for the septic tank and drain field. Then it will be inspected and we're done with the Health Department.

more coming,
z

The ball is rolling...stand back!

I'm enjoying a rainy day at the library, my office away from camper, after spending a super busy day yesterday on the mountain.

Here's the scoop on what's what!

I thought it would be a good idea to show you a glimpse of my commute to work each day. Big Tree Road winds up the mountain approximately two miles to our property. This is a private road and well maintained by the Big Tree Road Maintenance Association. Fall is in full blaze and hopefully the rain won't drop too many leaves.


The biggest news is that we have water. A bunch of water. So much water that we are thinking about selling some of it to the City of Raleigh. This photo to the right is of the pipe coming from the pump. Crystal clear aqua pura is in the bucket. The pump guys set up the pump, ran wire to our temporary electrical service and took a water sample for testing.





The next big event was that our footers were dug, rebar placed in the trenches, inspection that passed AND the concrete was flowing. Now this might not be a big deal to you but this event sets in motion our officially getting an address (no longer homeless), beating the hard freeze that is coming in November, start the foundation (block work for basement garage) and keep us on schedule for trusses and SIPS deliveries later this month. The photo shows concrete being loaded into a really neat device at the end of the backhoe. The operator can place the concrete exactly where he wants it and can control the quantity from his cab. I'm amazed at the use of construction technology here in Ashe County.

I dropped a 2011 penny in the house footer and in the workshop footer for good luck. The guys were teasing me about how they we're going to find the pennies. They were also quick to say that to be really traditional I should have used silver dollars ;^)

While some of the "stay out of the way Kent" work is going on, I am chainsawing old timber, etc. I had to drop a good size tree that was damaged a few years back and died. Once the tree hit the ground, I start to to cut it up in manageable lengths for firewood (if it's good wood). I was amazed to see this black bat crawling from the downed tree to higher ground. He was OK but obviously seeking safer footing. A gentle pickup with a shovel and relocation to a safer area spared him from harm.

Just think about it for a moment, you're sleeping, minding your own business, when all of a sudden you're flying without the use of your wings...wait a minute, that sounds like some experiences I've had from the 60's!

More coming,
z

Roads and Boulders

In spite of the gloomy overcast day, it's still beautiful up on the mountain. The grading crew is working hard to keep us on track. The drive from the paved road frontage is covered with a good coat of gravel.

They'll be bringing in mulch for the slopes later today. Mulch will dress up the entrance and help to hold loose soil from erosion.

While we waited on the next gravel truck, Maurice started working on the footer for the house pad. So far we've hit loose rock, some the size of a VW Beetle, but loose. The operative word is loose. Of course, when we start digging the footer in the NE corner of the house we hit a boulder the size of a bus.

The photo to the left shows just a bit of the boulder. The machine to the right in the photo is a jack hammer attached to a skid steer (Bobcat). They used to use dynamite, which I would have loved to fool around with, but now use the jack hammer. Dynamite could ruin our neighbors well, break glass for several hundred yards around, and throw large rocks high in the sky. I asked Maurice, after he told me that, "what was the downside to using dynamite?"

The jack hammer was not near as impressive as dynamite. As of this post, they broke through the boulder and were able to get the footer in place. The plan calls for concrete to be poured Thursday which means we start the foundation on Monday/Tuesday. Once the foundation is in, the cabin starts to take shape and actually look like a place someone might want to live in.

More coming,
z

Pipes, dirt and grading

Today has been a busy day grading, laying septic drain pipe from the tank to the field, culverts, and pushing a bunch of dirt so things look nice when we're finished.

Maurice and his guys are fantastic. He's the guy in the middle. They are laying culvert at the bottom of the drive to carry water into an existing street side culvert.

I have been so impressed with how professional he operates his business. He's extremely thorough and very aware of how the mountain 'reads' so ultimately we'll be happy with the final grading.

The photo to the right is of our septic drain line being placed under the drive. Maurice added a second pipe to carry the underground electrical service from the hot box to the house.

Gravel is being delivered tomorrow and placed on the drive. That should make the drive easier to use and keep the mud down in the event of rain.

He plans on starting the footers this week. Once the footers are in then we can start the foundation. After that, things start to mve at a faster pace. All of this preliminary work makes for a better finished product.

More coming,
z

Look Out Noah, here it comes

Water, we hit water!!!!

They started drilling and hit water at 76', then again at 95', then again at 150'. They stopped drilling at 204'. The photo shows the water coming out the 'blow hole'...pretty romantic huh? Notice the clay color. They were concerned at that at first but as we stood there talking for 10 minutes or so, it started to get much clearer. They suspect it's sediment and dirt from all the drilling.

They did a calculation and arrived at between 35 and 60 gallons a minute. Folks get excited at 8 gpm. Milton, my 'star' driller said the best he ever hit was 25 gpm.

They packed up and headed home with rig in hand. They'll be back Monday to drop a pump down the hole to see if over the weekend, as they suspect, things will settle down and we should get good clear water.

My buddy, Jason, from Environmental Services was on hand to witness the 'grouting of the well'. The county has to verify that it has been done properly.

The guys are busy doing the final grading, setting the house pad and driveway, etc. So there's been lots of activity today.

My sweetheart is coming up to spend the weekend so I'm off to spruce up before she arrives.

More coming,
z

Can't wait to make lemonade...

I'm looking forward to making lemonade from the lemons we got this week. I can taste it now. Things are starting to brighten up here on the mountain. As you know, the well site has changed to a 'hopefully' better location. They are just starting the serious drilling today. I'll let you know when we hit China ;^)

Can't remember who made the suggestion but I could kiss them smack on the lips. They said, "why don't you use the 800' hole for geo-thermal heat & air?" Shazam, a stroke of genius. So that's what we're gonna do. I'll post another time about how geo-thermal works.

The photo is of my good buddies, Maurice and Cole (in the background). Maurice is our grading contractor and superb at his craft. Cole runs the big equipment and has more experience than most people twice his age.

What they're doing is laying out the final position of the house pad. There's a lot to consider like drainage, runoff, Darlene, position, etc., etc. I'm just glad that they are so knowledgeable about this crazy, slanted land!

I'm at my usual post, the library, but heading back up the mountain. Lots going on and I need more practice at walking the property.

I have been experiencing something going on with my body. One leg appears to be growing a bit longer. How do I know? It's easier lately for me to stand on the mountain and not feel like I'm about to fall off.

More coming,
z

p.s. the mountain is getting ready to burst out in color. 

Still looking up

My grading contractor, Maurice, put me on to 'Shade' who is an 86 year old native that dowses for water and is well respected around the county for his abilities.

I asked him if it was OK to shoot some pictures and he said yes. Little did he know that I'd use the footage here. The first clip is of Shade and Katy (our dog) doing some 'wishing for water'.

The next short clip is Shade talking about his life. He's full of stories and was a pleasure to meet.

Based upon his recommendations, the drill rig was moved to a new location where Shade really felt the presence of water.

The rig getting into position

Here are a few photos of the 'exact spot' Shade dowsed and the bit getting ready to find out if he is correct.

The drill bit, precisely positioned!

I know you all think I'm crazy BUT I don't hear any other recommendations!!!

More coming,
z

Little better today

After dropping a wad of moola down a dark, deep hole. I decided to give dowsing a shot. One of my new friends, Maurice introduced it to me. We walked an area and identified several places where water might be. I know what you're thinking...don't go there, I'm desperate!

Maurice made a call to a friend, an 80 year old friend, who has a high success rate for finding water AND can hit the nail on the head for how deep. I know what you're thinking...

I'm waiting for a call to see when his friend can take a peek.

Here's a short summary of the process: minute recoverable to the surface; for example, is it greater than one gallon per minute, tw

Dowsing For Water ...

To start, choose a dowsing tool that seems most comfortable for you to use.  The dowser is usually seeking flowing, underground, potable water suitable for drilling and pumping.

To begin, assume the search position.  Start walking across the area of interest.  Mentally ask the dowsing tool to indicate when you cross a vein of potable and palatable water which, for example, is less than 300 feet deep and would deliver currently, year round, five gallons per minute from a well to the surface.  Therefore, you have limited your search to exactly what you are searching for; excluding other targets of all kinds.

You should indicate to your dowsing tool that you wish it to indicate when you are over the center of greatest flow and a suitable location for developing a well.  To determine approximately the depth in feet, with your dowsing tool in the ready position, ask if it is greater than, for example, 10 feet.  If the answer is yes, then ask about 20 feet, etc.

Using the same system, ask about the gallons per minute recoverable to the surface; for example, is it greater than one gallon per minute, two gallons, etc.  This method may be used to determine other qualities or aspects; for example, pH, temperature, etc.

OK, what would your plan be???

More coming,

z

Not Having A Good Day!

What you're looking at is Kent NOT having a good day!!! The well drilling rig is at 660' and no aqua pura as of 3pm. There are several wells around us that hit pay dirt at the 500' mark or less.

The cost is about to cause a heart attack. We're going to have to make a decision about moving the rig to another location by 5pm today.

Gotta go, sorry for the short post but did I tell you? "I'm not having a good day!"

Today Is Photo Day

Greetings to all on this c-o-l-d Saturday morning in Western NC.

I thought it might be good to show several photos first then a bit of what's happening later.

As you can see, this is Darlene's onsite office that was set up Thursday. It's a place she can use as her office while on the property. The frig is being installed Monday.

 ALL OTHERS use this office!!!











 Notice how her office is level and the other office is running downhill. Management has its advantages!






What you see, obviously, is a beautiful rainbow that greeted us when we woke this morning. I say we, because Jere is visiting from Raleigh. He has been getting the cook's tour and was impressed with the rainbow that I ordered. He's heading back to Raleigh this morning after we hit the mountain top.

Stopped by the Farmer's Market on the way up the mountain. What you're seeing is ham butts and chicken on the barbie. The grill was started Friday at 4pm and attended to throughout the night for this mornings market.

O This is a 'Scratch & Sniff' label. Scratch your screen for a sniff of the BBQ.

Got to the top of the mountain about 10:30 this morning and was greeted by the season's first snowfall. Don't panic, it was just a dusting and now that I'm at the library, it probably has already melted.

The sign on the back of my truck is advertising 'The Cabin Keeper' and since Thursday, when I put it on, it has already drawn some activity.



An update on the well drilling is in order: as of yesterday, they have drilled to about 275'. I spoke with David this morning and he says they should finish up on Monday. That might indicate that 'gold' is near!!!

More coming,
z