wire in conduit in trench

Dale came over this afternoon and we got the wire for the house electric service in the conduit and in the trench. Nothing is hooked up yet. Tomorrow, the trench job will be inspected and if we pass, then we can start hooking stuff up.


Technically, when you use conduit (not strictly necessary in this case - but we would have had to dig the trench deeper), you're supposed to assemble the conduit and pull the wire through it. But this wire is way too big - it's for 200 amp service - and we don't have the equipment to pull wire that size thru it, so we assembled the conduit around the wire.


It's been raining and the trench was full of water at the lower end. We had to do some more digging, so it got to be another big, muddy mess. There was no point in trying to wait for the rain to stop and the trench to dry out - that won't happen 'til around the end of June.

New Year's Eve Mud Party

Spent the last day of the year getting the runoff from the newly-installed gutters under control. Started at the new drywell "access port" and worked my way counter-clockwise around the house.

Have we mentioned that we have lots of clay in our soil? This is what it's like when you dig this stuff when it's wet... You stick the shovel in the ground - it slides in real smoothly because wet clay is slippery (unless maybe you hit a rock). Then you have to work to pry your shovel-full loose from the rest of the ground, because wet clay is very sticky. You get it loose and lift it, but it's real heavy, because, of course, it's waterlogged. Then you dump your shovel-full off to the side, but it's sticky, so it doesn't just fall off - you have to shake it off - and remember how heavy it is. So, you shake it, but not all of it comes off - some if it sticks to the shovel. You stick the shovel in the ground to get the next shovel-full, but you don't get as much, because you already had a bunch stuck to the shovel. You try to shake that off, but more of it just sticks to the shovel. After a while, you're getting smaller-and-smaller amounts of wet clay from the trench and shaking a heavier-and-heavier shovel. Meanwhile, your boots are sticking to the ground, too. Whenever you move your foot, you get this odd "sucking" sound and your feet seem to get heavier and heavier with each step. Before you start this exercise, you think you're going to make a nice deep trench, but you're really pleased just to get any trench at all.

And while you're digging this waterlogged clay, you're thinking about how this stuff is going to be hard as a rock next summer when you get around to having some time to do some landscaping.

(I can't help but to think that all this clay is good for something - pots, sculpture, cob houses, earth ovens, etc - but this is another story.)

By the end of the day, I had 3 of 4 downspouts running into the drywell. I also had this cramp in my left arm, so I had an interesting time trying to dry off after my shower (can't tell you how good that shower felt ... I even took my pants in with me to wash off the wet, sticky clay ... oh, forgot to mention - washing off muddy stuff in the shower is perfectly normal when you have an outdoor shower as we do).

cabinets being built

If Dale can't make something with it, then it's not wood...

When we were planning the house, we got to the kitchen cabinets and Dale asked us what we wanted. All we told him was that we wanted him to build something that would go with the house. He and Les built the house and now, here he is in his shop building our cabinets. He also does boats, tree houses ... basically, everything (well, maybe not timber-frame bridges ... correction: yes, actually, he has built a timber-frame bridge! - at some park in Pt. Townsend).



This is Betty's "access from both sides" cabinet:








That guy has got to cut back on the caffeine! (but not before he finishes our house)


Looks unpretentious on the outside...


These cabinets are beautiful - you'd have to see them up close to appreciate them fully. We'll get some pictures after they're installed in the house.

sheetrock hung

The sheetrock has been hung and is now being "taped".

This huge pile of odd pieces in the middle of the room is now gone.


The big hole in the floor is where the masonry stove will go (after the sheetrock is all done).