by colpar0 | Oct 7, 2024 |
The final project before all of the building efforts begun in 2020 were complete was the dorms. The work on the dorms began in 2021 with the pouring of the concrete slab and the creation of the hallway, but continued in 2023 and was completed in 2024. In 2023 we completed the room doors and the framing of the rooms. Here’s a view of the doors after being painted with spare paint from past projects: Noah helped me with the room framing and the door painting. I didn’t get any pictures of the rooms as they were being framed, for some reason. We also spent a lot of time sealing the dorms area so that insects and rodents wouldn’t be able to get in. In 2024 we picked up with finishing the remaining exterior doors: I worked with a workawayer named Kelvin to finish the carpentry in the dorms area, including the cabinets and outdoor shower areas. The last step was to select fabric for the ceilings: This colorful piece was selected for the hallway ceiling. Here’s photos of the completed space, which came out better than I even anticipated:...
by colpar0 | Oct 8, 2023 |
In an effort to increase the number of beds on the property, I decided to build two custom redwood twin beds for the main room of the house. They would double as sort-of couches for lounging as well. I selected some exceptional redwood boards from Lowes and ripped them in half vertically to create the .75″ thick face pieces: Here are all of the parts layed out for tung oiling: For the second time, I used LibreCAD to design this project. I oiled and clear-coated the pieces with polyurethane before assembly. They came out so...
by colpar0 | Aug 24, 2023 |
After the crazy snowstorm in the spring of 2023, the wood retaining wall on my driveway began to fail: I knew that I needed to upgrade the wall to a proper masonry brick wall and that it would also match the existing walls and improve the aesthetics of my driveway. Since I am not a skilled bricklayer I decided to contract my friend Romi to do the work. Here he is removing the old wall timbers with the bobcat: Here’s a picture taken after the old wall was removed and before the new wall work was begun: The next step was to use the excavator and dig a trench where the footing for the new wall would go: Next, the rebar for the new footing was installed: Next, the footing was poured: Once this step was complete, the bricklayers came and completed the entire wall in one day. It was amazing to watch the team work. Unfortunately I didn’t get any photos of them, but here’s the completed wall: I thought they did a fantastic job and I’m very happy with how it all turned...
by colpar0 | Aug 18, 2023 |
One of my original goals with the new awning was to add some capacity to my solar system. Although this is not something that homeowners typically do themselves, I have become quite comfortable with electrical work and decided to do it myself. I purchased the solar panels on craigslist and picked them up in Yuma, AZ, and I purchased the microinverters and combiner panel on eBay and then the rack mounts I picked up in Palm Desert. Once I had acquired everything I needed, I got to work, with Noah’s help. Surprisingly, I was able to complete the entire install in two days. Here we are wiring the microinverters after putting up the rack mounts: And here’s a look at the wiring inside the combiner panel: Even though this might look complicated, it’s actually really simple and pretty easy to do. I also had to add some conduit to the roof in order to clean up and protect the wiring from moving the old solar panels: And finally, here’s a look at the new solar panels once the install was completed: The new system has been very helpful and has increased my electricity generation by 40%. I’ve got an app on my phone that lets me view the power generation. Super...
by colpar0 | Aug 10, 2023 |
Now that the front awning was complete, the space on the deck was protected from the sun and could be put to good use. I decided to add a home gym space, including a speed bag, free weights, squat rack, etc. Here’s Josh giving me pointers on dumbell...
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