New House...Missing in Action...Lack of Turning

[John Hart]

Howdy!!!!

Hey everyone...Sorry I've been missing in Action lately.:o For the past month, I've been buried in muck. One of the first things I needed to do with this new house is install electricity. (For those of you who don't know....we bought an Amish house that has no power) What was required by the Electric Company, was that I dig a 300 foot trench from the road to the house and lay in the cable and hook it up to the house. I don't know how many of you have worked with 0000Guage wire, but I gotta tell ya.....It is the most difficult and unyielding stuff I have ever delt with!!!!

But the BIG problem is the rain. After renting a trenching machine and getting the trench dug to depth....it rained.....caving in most of the trench and filling it with muck.:( I spent a week, fighting thunderstorms, dredging it out by hand (laying in the muck and bailing out muck with a pitcher)....then I got the cable laid in and buried it. The Building Inspector failed the project because I didn't meet the proper specifications on the conduit under the driveway.....SO I had to dig it up again!!!!:eek: Spent another week digging and dredging and got hit with another big storm. To make a really long story short.....I got it complete last night. Woo Hoo!!!:) Reinspection is on Tuesday.:eek:
I'm having my morning coffee right now and then I'm off to go start on installing all the outlets in the house. During the rainstorms, I was able to install outlets and lighting in the shop and hook up a generator and that's working pretty good.
I also went out and bought a garden tractor...a 20HP Toro. It's very nice and I was able to mow the pasture that had grown to 2 feet high. The front 2 acres now looks like a lawn instead of a field. Still have horses and cows in the back 3 acres still waiting to be moved to their new home....then I'll have to mow all that too.

I haven't taken any pictures yet (sorry Tyler) But I'll take some today and post them. Again, I'm sorry I've been out of the loop......This trench had me terrified that we would not have electricity in time for the kids to start school at the end of August (There's a 6 week waiting list for power-up) .
My 10KW generator is on order and should arrive this week so we'll have to run on generator power for a few weeks.

Sorry for this being off-topic...but the Turners Forum is my normal hangout....Please move this JM if you see fit.;) Oh wait!!! I know!!! My lathe is just waiting for me to start turning again. I have a spindle that I have to turn for the Amish folks that just built their new house. It's a four footer...Bannister End...Aromatic Cedar. It'll probably crack.:rolleyes: :o

I hope to spend more time on the Creek now.:o

Off to work I go! Laters!!:)

[tod evans]

hey john good to hear from you! a few years ago i pulled 3 runs of 4ought and a strand of double ought to power up the shop........375` through 3" conduit by my lonesome. no fun at all! i`ll bet you`re pooped and fustrated. so how far out are you from moving? i take it the girls haven`t talked you into keeping just oonnee horse?:rolleyes: try and stop by once in a while....tod

[Dennis Peacock]

Good to SEE you John Hart..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow!!!!!!!!! You've been through a lot lately. Glad to know you and the family are ok, just real busy. Yup, I know about wrassilin' 4 aught cable, used to do it almost every day. Kinda reminds me of trying to wrestle and fold up a big bore hog. :eek:

Keep safe and thanks for posting John, we were getting kinda worried about you and the family. :D

[Karl Laustrup]

Glad you're still kicking and fighting John and making progress. I see you had your priorities in order when you installed lights and outlets in the shop BEFORE the house. ;) :D

Just check in every couple of days so we know all is OK. OK??

Karl

[Ernie Nyvall]

Inspectors... I think there's a special place for them when they die.;) Just kidding, I know we need them... on someone else's job.:D Glad to hear you got through that part John. If I was retired, I'd make myself useful. I could stand around your place and point at things that need to be done.:eek: :D
Nice to hear from you John. Good luck with everything else.

Ernie

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Glad to know you are making progress and you are alive my friend! I'm thinking about you.

[John Bailey]

John,

Good to hear from you. Last spring I went 180' with the stuff and it wasn't fun.

John

[Andy Hoyt]

Man! I'm glad to see your name on a post. Be well.

[Kenneth Hertzog]

missed ya John know what you are going thru. Glad your back
ken
slippery rock, pa

[George Conklin]

Man! I'm glad to see your name on a post. Be well.

Me too!!!

Been thinking about you lately. It looks like there's light at the end of the tunnel. Hum??? Sounds like there might be a pun in there;) .

As you can tell, the crew has missed you around here. Good luck. Come back when you can.

[Tyler Howell]

Thanks John,
Pixs when you can.
Now that I'm abysserated I've gotten soft and mellow from beathing exotics:rolleyes: :D . I've know the joys of 0000. Take care.

TJH

[Bernie Weishapl]

John good to hear from you again. It seems like forever but know you have been busy. I know about 0000 cable. Laid over 2000' of it. No fun and especially with all the rain you guys have had. Hope things go well from here on.

[Jim Becker]

Good to hear your update, John. I hope the rest of the electrical falls into line. It really would be nice if the inspector would have looked at things before you filled in the trench! But having had my own run-in with a local inspector not long ago (fortunately, the paperwork was on my side), that would likely be asking too much...

[Corey Hallagan]

Glad your doing ok John. Hope yo get thru all the electrical mess etc. soon and you can start enjoying the new place and the new shop!

Corey

[Doug Thompson]

John, I could not imagine pulling that much wire... if there is a bright side you only need to do it once. If you need some help with the move contact me, I'm only a hour away.

Hang in there,
Doug

[Travis Stinson]

Good to see you back around John. I hope the rest of your adventure is smooth sailing for you.:cool:

[Don Baer]

Thanks John,
Pixs when you can.
Now that I'm abysserated I've gotten soft and mellow from beathing exotics:rolleyes: :D . I've know the joys of 0000. Take care.

TJH

I too have a been on the wrong end of pulling OOOO and it ain't fun. Take care John and I hope the rest goes smoothly for ya.

[Bob Noles]

John,

Excuses, excuses..... you are good at them :D

Seriously, good to see/hear from you buddy. We were about to give up on ya and figured those nice Amish folks turned you into a jar of jelly or something.

Can't wait to see your new place.

[Jim Sample]

John

We are glad to hear from you, just knowing you are there but not doing what we prefer to do is good. Please, send us some of your excess rain, we have not had a rain since before we went to Louisville to the AAW symposium in late June. Hang in there, we are thinking of you

Jim Sample:) :)

[Glenn Clabo]

All I can remember is standing there at your new ranch when you gave me your estimate of how long it would take you to get power installed...and thinking HE's NUTS....but he's sure nuts in the right way.:D

Don't forget your tick check!:eek:

[Matt Meiser]

Glad to hear everything is going well. Sounds like you found out the real reason that the Amish don't use electricity :) Knowing the Ohio Amish country, did your new house come with a woodworking shop? Seems like every other house down there has one out back as evidenced by the cyclones.

[John Miliunas]

Dang it, John!!! Awful nice to hear from you and know that you're still alive and kickin'!!! :D Pulling 10-14ga is "enough" fun for me!!! I can't hardly imagine pulling on that much 0000!!! That's gotta' be one heckuva' workout! As would trenching, cleaning out and then re-trenching that long of a run!!! :eek: Let's hope you're done with the worst of it and the rest goes smoother and easier! Just keep thinking to yourself: "Big shop. Big shop. BIG shop!!!" :D :cool:

[Curt Fuller]

Good to see your smiling avatar again John. Too bad you couldn't wrangle up a couple of those Amish draft horses to help you pull that wire. That or borrow one of their old 'hit and miss' farm motors to run your lathe.

Good to hear you're making progress though.

[Kurt Rosenzweig]

Yea! Yea Yea! All I wanna know is when the barbecue is!:D :D :D

[Glenn Clabo]

Wait till you see it Matt...not only does he have a shop...he has a loft over THE shop that is as big as most houses...which he now has two of btw...with a stable thrown in to complete the complex.

[Tom Sherman]

John good to hear that you are OK, pooped but Ok. Hope the inspection goes well. Look forward to seeing more posts from you.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Good to see you drop my to check in, John.

It's kinda hard to get on SMC when you have no electricity, huh? Probably explains why you don't see a lot of Amish forums on the Internet, I guess. :p

- Vaughn

[Glenn Hodges]

Good luck with the inspection this time John. Sounds as if you need to add some goats to help with the grass.

[John Hart]

.... so how far out are you from moving? i take it the girls haven`t talked you into keeping just oonnee horse?:rolleyes: try and stop by once in a while....tod

Nope....no horsey-talk. They've agreed to not consider it until they've spent a year in the country and learned from the neighbors about the work involved. The neighbors have 12 horses and 13 kids (not goats). Moving Date? I figger about 2 weeks....barring any unforeseen problems....3 weeks at the latest. (school starts)


Glad you're still kicking and fighting John and making progress. I see you had your priorities in order when you installed lights and outlets in the shop BEFORE the house.

Got that right!!!!!:D


All I can remember is standing there at your new ranch when you gave me your estimate of how long it would take you to get power installed...and thinking HE's NUTS....but he's sure nuts in the right way.

Don't forget your tick check!:eek:

Trust me Glenn....I think about you often....That "He's NUTS" look on your face.:) Funny thing...I keep checking for ticks and don't find any.....Looks like you picked up the only one!!!;)


...Knowing the Ohio Amish country, did your new house come with a woodworking shop? Seems like every other house down there has one out back as evidenced by the cyclones.

Yup Matt.....One of the big reasons I wanted this property was for the woodshop....2 story...3000 sq feet...brick...garage...two overhead doors...porch....comes with a diesel engine....big compressor...1000 gallon air tank. And now it has electricity!! (Generator-driven for now):)


Yea! Yea Yea! All I wanna know is when the barbecue is!...

I don't know when yet Kurt....But it's gonna be a humdinger!!:D


Good luck with the inspection this time John. Sounds as if you need to add some goats to help with the grass.

Yup...the kids are talking about Goats alot


Thanks everyone....Yesterday went pretty well. I cleaned up some stuff around the trench, installed the phone lines and installed electrical outlets in the kitchen, family room, and living room. The family went to a birthday party and stole my camera so I didn't get any pics. I'll get a bunch tonight after work. Had more thunderstorms last night so I figger the trench is full of water again.....but no matter...the inspector will just have to inspect by "feel".:D

[Mark Cothren]

Man John... good to hear from you! You had some of us worried...:) I was afraid the Amish had converted you and you were building you a "pump it with your foot" lathe and we weren't gonna see you postin' anymore on the Creek...:D

Sorry to hear about all your troubles, but sounds like you've just about got'r licked now! Hang in there - looking forward to pics when you get time!

[Michael Stafford]

John, definitely good to hear from you. One branch of the Creek is a little dry without you...

I also have a story about digging a ditch. I will never forget the Summer of 1963 when my Dad had me dig the ditch for the new waterline and electrical cable.

We lived on top of a big rock, and I mean that literally. It was virtually impossible to dig more than a few feet down without hitting huge boulders. For instance our basement was carved out around the huge rocks in the ground. Because of this we had to locate our well some distance away from the house, 800 feet away to be exact. It was the closest place we put one in and not have to go through massive rocks.

The first time the water line to the well was put in it was some kind of black plastic flexible pipe that constantly deteriorated and split and leaked. Leaks always occurred at the worst possible times and finally my Dad decided to do something about it.

He laid out a line from the house to the well with chalk and string and handed me a shovel, pick and mattock. My job that Summer was to dig the ditch for the new waterline and electrical cable, all 800 feet of it.

Every day I dug, chopped through roots, some of the ditch passed through a small stand of woods below the house, and excavated rocks. Every day my Dad came home and measured my progress, dutifully taking out his tape measure and making sure that it was deep enough so that the water line would not freeze. By the end of the Summer I had finally finished digging a ditch 30 inches deep and 800 feet long through Carolina red clay, rocks, roots and sod.

Then Dad and I laid the galvanized water pipe and cable and filled in the ditch. I was 13 that Summer and by the end of the Summer I had muscles in places I did not know I had places....

I did not have to battle muck and floods but I can sympathize with you.

[Keith Burns]

All I can say John is HURRY UP EVERY CHANCE YOU GET !!!:D

[Mark Cothren]

Okay Big Mike, the only thing missing from that story was......................"...and that is a true story." :D

[Ed Scolforo]

Hey, John, good to see you post again! Sounds like most of the nightmare is behind you now. Take care.
Ed

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Hey John, good to see you around again, glad to hear you are winning, and not whinning :D

I wish I was closer, I'd surely give you a hand, that kind of crap work goes better when you have someone to suffer along with you, and the tall tale you can tell afterwards are priceless! :D

We did a similar thing for my Grand dad's house at one point, not nearly as long a run, but it was much later in the year, and we has an early frost/freeze, which made the last half of the trench a fun chip through the ice thing:rolleyes:

Oh yeah, that 0000 wire is even MORE fun to handle when it is near frozen!

Can't wait to see the pics and be colored GREEN with envy! :D

Cheers!

[John Hart]

Ok....I took some pics this evening and there's a few from a couple weeks ago, to kinda give you an idea of what's goin' on out there in the country. I have thirteen pictures so I'll have to split'em up a bit.

1. A trench full of water....Again :(
2. Installing the Water Heater
3. Mary trying to get Duncan accustomed to big brown creatures
4. Mowing the pasture into a lawn
5. Mary and Rachel in the kitchen

[John Hart]

1. Rachel in the Back Yard
2. Brown creature eating the Back Yard
3. Another trench shot
4. The Woodshop (not my hay):D
5. Stable (not my buggy) :D

[John Hart]

1. The Main House
2. Both houses
3. both houses and a trench

In case you didn't know...I'm building a 30X15 foot atrium that joins the two houses into one. The atrium will have a vaulted ceiling with timber cross beams (per Andy's suggestion) and a rough slate floor.

Anyway...that's where we are right now. Tomorrow is the final inspection on the trench and the phone service gets installed. Friday is Satelite TV.....the rest of the month is outlets...lighting...atrium construction.

lots of work but it gets fun from here on.:)

[Barry Stratton]

The rewards look like they definitely outweigh the work!!

Thanks for the pics and GREAT to hear from you John!

[Earl Reid]

Hi John
Thanks for the pictures , you have your work cut out. (I wired a couple of Amish houses in the Middlefield area about 35 yrs ago) .
Hope the inspections go well:)
Earl

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

John, I don't envy you the work, but is it OK to hate you................ just a little........... :D

Nice digs, when will you be holding a turning Demo, get some of the top flight guys to come on by and "Git-er-Done"........... you know if you did that, you would have to upgrade to a better lathe.... :rolleyes: ;) :D

Cheers!

[Dick Strauss]

John,
I'm sorry to hear about your difficulties. It will al be worth it in the end. Imagine how nice it'll be to have all of that workshop space.

By the way, I think there was a typo for the label of this pic...
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=43724&d=1154399224

Shouldn't it have read "5. Mary and Rachel in the ballroom"! Seriously though, boy that's one big kitchen!!!

Good to hear from you buddy!

Take care,
Dick

[Vaughn McMillan]

I've lived in apartments smaller than your new kitchen, John. The whole property looks like a great place to be. Lotta work, but surely worth it.

- Vaughn

[tod evans]

thanks for the pics john! nice digs....tod

[Mark Pruitt]

My oh my.....a piece of heaven on earth you have there John! (even if you had to go through h--- with an inspector to get there!) Love the spacious kitchen, the beautiful shop building...heck, I love it all!!!

Congratulations!!!

Mark

[John Timberlake]

That is quite the spread. Looks like you have a great house, great shop and a big barn to store the wood in. Might want to keep the cows, though. Don't have to mow as much that way. Good luck on getting moved by school.