June Is Almost Over

I'm now posting short updates on Twitter. (http://twitter.com/les_stockton) If you care to keep that close of track of my daily activities, you can get on. It's free.

I didn't get as much completed in June as I had originally set out. Things got in the way. A job, for one thing. Other things too. It's just the nature of things. Progress is made though and I'm happy. When I get the chance, I'll establish goals for July, which will probably be to complete the goals I set for June. It's do-able.

We'll have visitors soon.

Recently, a local television news anchor (who I track via Twitter) expressed interest in our earth home construction project. She wants to come out and see the place and ask questions, and possibly do a news story. I'm hoping that she wont mind that the place is not closed in yet, and that we don't have dirt on the roof yet, and that it's a work in progress, but with some considereable progress to-date. I'm also hoping that we can provide some good information on earth homes since the general public will be viewing the story. I'd hope that this would share an alternative on how to save energy, and since we live in a tornado prone area, that it might also be an alternative that people around where we live might be interested in.

Being interviewed for a story like this is quite an honor, but I'm careful not to make it a vanity thing. I want the information to get out. I have to temper my enthusiasm with being realistic, realizing that I can't get too technical when the questions are asked, although I'm not really sure what questions will be asked. So I'm hoping I can anticipate the questions, and have answers that will be reasonably understandable by the average joe that will be watching on television.

One thing that is a bit of a pain, is that Rachel wants the place cleaned up before they do the story. That means I wont get much actual electrical work done this weekend, because I'll be mowing, trimming, cleaning up and organizing not only the construction site, but also around the current living quarters (inside and out). Since our son is completely absent when it comes to doing any work around the place, this leaves it all to us (and the majority of the work outdoors to me, in the 90+ degree heat). And I've got to get all of this done this weekend, because the visit will be on Thursday (as currently scheduled). So I have to get all of this done.

The good news is that I am healthy, and all of this work will get done. The place will look good. Rachel wont be ashamed when it's seen on television. I just hope the story turns out good and that the place photographs well for the average public, and that we can impart good useful information.

What I've Been Working On

I thought I'd tell what I've been working on, but before doing so, I want to say that I'm very annoyed with Terra-Dome right now. I called to get some dimensions (not clearly identified on our drawings, although they should be) and Jacki said she'd send them, but she never did. I also called Jay and left a message, because I had what I felt at the time was a very serious issue that I needed to resolve and I needed his expertise. I never got a call back, even a week later. I know he had family in from out of town, so I allowed him that week, but over a week has passed. His answering machine seemed to work fine when I was leaving him messages before, so I think he just didn't want to bother with me now. This is poor customer service, and I want to make note of that.

Now, as to what I've been working on, I went through the master suite, guest suite and the great room, marking where interior walls will be located. I did this with utility flags that utility companies normally use for marking utilities in the ground. I marked both sides of the interior walls. This was quite intensive (since I was missing some of the dimensions I needed and Jacki never got back to me with them). I took measurements, to both sides of the interior walls. I took measurements twice, three times, and even a fourth from a different direction, just to make sure I had the positions correct. I also used my laser level as a pointer in some cases.

Anyway, marking the wall locations will be necessary so that when I want to start putting in the electrical conduit, I'll be able to locate it all of the circuits in the wall locations where they will be. Then when the concrete is finally poured, the conduit will be in the location it is supposed to be. These things aren't done by themselves, and they're not automatic, and it all takes time. Doing it by yourself takes a lot of time.

This week, I'm working on the garage, putting in sand, compacting it and then leveling it so that I can have a half to an inch of insulation, and then a 4 to 5 inch slab on top of that. And I don't want this floor to be higher than the floors in the rest of the house, and since they will be 4 inches above the footings, it is important to make sure that I start out at the right level in the garage. I also have the plumbing that is already in the floor, to make sure that I adjust levels as necessary so that the drain in the bathroom and garage floor still work.

Anyway, leveling the floor is not easy by yourself. I managed to get a couple of photos of myself doing this week, and I'll eventually get around to posting them. I used a laser level that I have for sighting across the room, and then a pole that I've marked at 5 inches and 6 inches. These are so that I can have an inch of insulation and at least a 4 inch slab, but probably a 5 inch slab on top of that.

I move around in the room every foot or so, and let the laser hit the pole, and then check to see if I'm within the 5 and 6 inch marks. If not, then I scrape out sand in that area until the level is correct. Then I move on. It's a lot of work because of doing two functions, but only one person doing the work. Plus, I have to calibrate the laser level each time. It's really just a laser sight, and if I had it to do over, I'd buy a self-leveling laser rotary level, which would make things a lot easier. Mine does not self level, so every time I move it, I have to re-calibrate it (and I sometimes think I don't get it accurate enough, and so I have to recalibrate).

Anyway, once I get the floor leveled, I will make the bathroom wall locations in the garage, and then I'll be able to start running conduit. Once all that is done, I can put in the insulation and then get a slab contractor to put in the mesh, rebar and a concrete floor. I've got to keep moving.

We didn't get much done this last weekend, because we went to an estate auction near Miami, Oklahoma. This was because of the death of a family friend, and their surviving family members needing to eliminate a few things and get some money in the process. We ended up going there for support, but came home with a rake tool to pull behind the mower (or our tractor). We also got a band saw, which I'm not sure if it works, but we also got a router table (without the router, but I have one).

Lately, things have come up on the weekends, so I'm not getting as much work done as I'd like, but I'm trying to make up for it during the week (and then we've had bad weather). So I just get the work done when I can.

Goals for the Month

I wanted to mention that progress is still slow. That's the nature of things. It's the time of the year when we get a lot of storms, so I've been limited on when I could work on the house. In addition, there are times when you need to live life. We're not only building a house. We're building a marriage. Our anniversary was in May, and we took a little bit of time off to spend with each other. If we don't build our marriage, there's no sense in building the house.

Now, about June, I have some goals. They're aggressive and I doubt that I'll achieve them, but if you don't set goals, you'll meet none of them.

• Utilities to the house. Trench work. I hope to rent a mini-trackhoe or backhoe for a week.
• An electrical line from the new pole to the house, and into the garage where the main breaker box will be located.
• A propane line from the tank (near the location where the electrical pole is) over to the house. We'd like 2 lines. One goes out back where the porch will be (for a propane grill, and possibly a backup generator for the house)
  Another line will go up over the roof to the vent above the hvac room, where the propane line can enter the house. (Propane lines (by code) do not go under slabs).
• Extend the water line from the house to the shed where our well pump control and pressure tank are located.
• We might want an additional electrical line from the new house to the shed (for a supply to the well pump. Currently, this is from the current house, but we might want this switched so that power comes from the new house since this is where we hope to eventually have some solar power).
• I'm seriously considering (since when I do the trenches, I might as well do another) a network line (and intercom line) between houses. This will allow me to set up IP cams out in the new house. This is optional though.
• I would like to refine the drainage system at the north of the house so that area doesn't get swamped anymore.
• I want to get the sewer line from the house to the water treatment system (fancy septic system).
• I'd like to get the electrical work (below slab done in the garage so that we can poor the slab in there.

We had hopes of hiring an electrician to get the electrical work done. We asked for bids from two electricians, who agreed to do the work (or at least provide bids). Both took floor plans, but I never heard back from either. They evidently are doing so well that they don't need our business. So, I'll do the work myself. It's slower, but I'll get it done. It'll be to code, and we'll save money.