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What's going on out at GrandPaul's Place?

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grandpaul

grandpaul

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Joined
May 18, 2006
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Location
Leander
First Name
Paul
Last Name
Zuniga
Well, since lots of the stuff I do doesn't necessarily take place IN my garage, and doesn't ALWAYS involve motorcycles, I figured maybe i ought to start my own thread and not clutter up the garage one with barn building, spider killing, snake snaring, porch building, ultralight airplanes, and all the other cr@p I do from day-to-day.

Take for instance, swapping out the rooftop A/C on our camper.

The new A/C unit arrived, so we set up a makeshift "crane" out of two extension ladders, several straps & rope, and a ratcheting hand winch.

Note the strap at the top, over to the old A/C unit, to keep the ladders from flopping over the back end under the weight of the new unit slung underneath (still in the box).

Also note the strap tied from the bottom of one ladder, slung underneath the rear bumper, to the other ladder, to keep the ladders from simply spreading apart at the bottom when load is applied.

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Well, it worked.

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Chilled down REAL nice, but the condensate is not draining properly. Will have to get that figured out tomorrow at the earliest, truck is in the shop for several things I have no interest in doing.

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mr72 said:
that woulda been a good job for my portable winch.
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I have the hand-cranker that came off my HF truck boom hoist. All I'd need is to fab up a bracket for the ladder top.

Not a bad idea!
 
I'd left the "What have you done in the garage" thread without updating because I was so dang busy. So, here's the updates more or less in the order they happened over the last 3 weeks (not counting the camper A/C which was just last Sunday).

Got busy 2 weeks ago with starting to prep the A/C equipment I got from @mr72 . 1st order of business was cleaning the evaporator coil; I had never used this petro-based foam, I always used to use mild acid...

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Black Widow #3 was set up in the A/C condensing unit, next to the compressor,

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Cleaned out that space and removed panels and grilles for stripping and re-painting-

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This system should do real well for this space, might even install an electrically-operated duct damper to redirect half the airflow from the upstairs bedrooms into the hangar...
 
A couple of days ago was fun and exciting. I arrived to work on ceiling blocking and I needed to "de-caffeinate" before getting to work, so I stopped in the decaffeination station and lifted the toilet seat. First thing I thought was that Alex had forgotten to flush down a mighty turd...

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Turns out it's a (mostly) harmless Texas Rat Snake, about 5' long.

I quickly made a snare and snagged him...

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I released him on the way home, down near a nice wooded area by a roadside creek.

Ceiling blocking done...

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Anyone just stumbling on this thread and has any interest in building a barndo, my project started in way back HERE
 
I hope that insulation holds up better than the stuff we put in our building. It eventually pulls away for the siding and hangs down. I will do spray foam the next time around regardless of the price difference.
 
Tigerkf said:
I hope that insulation holds up better than the stuff we put in our building. It eventually pulls away for the siding and hangs down. I will do spray foam the next time around regardless of the price difference.
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It's tough stuff, with fiberglass scrim in the plastic sheeting. There's not much place for it to separate, as all the roof sections run from eave to eave, and all the wall sections run from slab to eave (except where the windows and doors are, those ends are anchored with the door & window frames).
 
My shop is insulated with bats like that 38 years ago , still good except around the bottom where I have bumped it and torn it . Now there is so much stuff around the walls that it’s protected . I would like to have put plywood up 8 feet all the way around but that was out of the budget at the time . Also would have been better had they taped all the seams . The coldest temp I have ever seen inside is 40 degrees and I have never seen it hotter inside than the outside temps .
 
Cagiva 549 said:
My shop is insulated with bats like that 38 years ago , still good except around the bottom where I have bumped it and torn it . Now there is so much stuff around the walls that it’s protected . I would like to have put plywood up 8 feet all the way around but that was out of the budget at the time . Also would have been better had they taped all the seams . The coldest temp I have ever seen inside is 40 degrees and I have never seen it hotter inside than the outside temps .
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I'm installing 7/16 weather sheathing all the way around the shop; everything else is stud walls with sheetrock, except the hangar section (which I might sheath after all). All joints have the wide scrim tape that has super-sticky adhesive. Thankfully, lumber prices have been dropping steadily (although my first 2 loads were "covid-priced")
 
I hope those black widows were new residents after you took home the AC system. I really don't want to think I might have black widows crawling around my house.

Awesome progress BTW! Maybe I should bring my old Suzuki out there and help knock down the trails you are trying to make with your ATVs. I'm sure my dad would bring his TUX to help out. I'm always looking for a good place to practice riding on not-pavement.
 
mr72 said:
I hope those black widows were new residents after you took home the AC system. I really don't want to think I might have black widows crawling around my house.

Awesome progress BTW! Maybe I should bring my old Suzuki out there and help knock down the trails you are trying to make with your ATVs. I'm sure my dad would bring his TUX to help out. I'm always looking for a good place to practice riding on not-pavement.
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I think the 'Widows took up residence "locally".

Come on out with your Dad! I'm out there 3 or 4 days a week, sometimes every day. PM, call or text. I rode out today, the truck is in the shop.
 
Got some of the electrical rough-in done, drilled a bunch of studs, set the boxes in place and started pulling wire. So far, I'm done with the kitchen, dining area, some of the living room, and most of the master bedroom.

Kitchen
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Master bedroom (1 side)
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(other side)
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Planning ahead, the box up high near the stairs will be for the TV...
 
I'm about 20' short of 12/2 romex to finish wiring the 1/2 bath fan/light, then the pre-wiring will be 100% complete.

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This photo reminds me that I'm about 20' short of 1-1/2" PVC also! (Vent pipe for 1/2 bath)

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Made a verbal contract with a sheetrocker this morning, will sign a hard copy with a notary probably Friday, and he wants to start on Sunday. He's going to install the wall & ceiling insulation as well!
 
grandpaul said:
Made a verbal contract with a sheetrocker this morning, will sign a hard copy with a notary probably Friday, and he wants to start on Sunday.
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I absolutely hate sheetrock. Glad to see you farmed it out. I think I have the romex you need, but we are a bit far apart.
 
Jeff S said:
Notarizing a contract for sheetrock?
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I was a GC for a few years and figure it's nice to cover my assets.

Contracted the slab guy and steel erector, too. Anybody getting over a few thousand bucks needs to be dealt with professionally.

It also gives the sub HIS rights. Only fair.
 
And always a lien release on final payment. Don't ask me how I know, at least it wasn't my personal residence.
 
sracer said:
And always a lien release on final payment. Don't ask me how I know, at least it wasn't my personal residence.
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AMEN to this

When I handled my mom's estate (~2015) I sold her house that was paid-off circa 1990, but a roofer had not recorded their lien release circa 1995. Fortunately, my mom was meticulous about records (bordering on OCD) and there was hard copy of the notarized lien release in her records.
 
sracer said:
And always a lien release on final payment. Don't ask me how I know, at least it wasn't my personal residence.
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How'd you guess?!

10% retainage until the cleanup and haul-off is done. Lien release for amount of every check (deposit, progress, retainage).
 
Some of the first A/C ductwork I've done in 30 years! Roughing in the ceiling register boxes...

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The old Zuniga Mechanical work shirt still fits; circa 1983!

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Amazing how much this small batch of materials costs, IF YOU CAN FIND IT! Flex duct is especially hard to get.

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Pulled out my large shop cooler and LO AND BEHOLD - MY GOAL LINE! I see motorcycles and an ultralight airplane in there!

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Had a real good day as far as productivity - Finished the last bit of pre-wiring, installed the last PVC vent pipe in the walls, and finished the master bath exhaust fan duct over to the point where I'll run it outside with a weather cap.

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Got the first of the west wall done with sheathing to back up the sheetrock, and the window framed with a sill; it turned out to be easier than I thought it would be...
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We were on a roll, so we finished the 2nd window before knocking off when it was already getting toasty hot out there...

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Drywall contractor will be here Sunday, we'll be done by then as far as everything that'll be covered up.
 
LaserDave said:
I couldn't turn around fast enough when I saw this laying on the side of 281.
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SCORE!

I found a 50' coil of 3/4" A/C copper tubing 2 years ago at the intersection of New Hope & Bagdad here in Leander, I'll use it sometime next week.

My son & I found a bundle of Owens-Corning pink R-11 unfaced insulation on the side of Ronald Regan near Georgetown a couple weeks ago. The sheetrock guy used it up yesterday.
 
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