Start the Party

I have now passed the final electrical inspection. Whoo-hoo. I'm moving in. All of the paper work is done. I did call and check to see if I needed a Certificate of Occupancy, but for an outbuilding I was told it was not necessary. I'll be moving stuff in in minutes, oh where to start... I know, pray that it will stop raining long enough for me to move my tools.

Enjoy, and be careful of the splinters.

The Building Inspection Passed

But apparently it is not the final inspection. The building final passed dependent on the electrical final. I called and scheduled that for tomorrow....did you hear me scream? So I have one more inspection to go.

Enjoy, but be careful of the splinters.

Bricked Up

Or is it bricks down. In the driveway ramp I put just over ½ ton of bricks, and so far about ¼ yard of masonry sand. I put down 1-2 inches of sand down, tamping it tight to get a better base, the screed it level. The I started placing all of the bricks and I got lucky, not one cut brick here. After laying down the bricks I tossed sand across the surface to sweep it in. The sand was wet when I first started sweeping it in, so not a lot fell into the spaces. I spread some sand across the top and let it dry some (it's only in the low 60s today) then I swept it in, and gaps kept showing up as the wet sand dried out and fell in, and the dry sand feel through. It is supposed to work that way, but I don't know if I'll get a full week of dry weather for the next 4 months, which is what I'll need to pack it in. I went around a few times with the tamper too, to try and get the sand to settle. Here's two views, one from the inside, the other from out.

While the sand was drying, I stacked bricks along the backside of the shop to help keep the dirt away from the sides. I looks good, hopefully good enough for the inspector.

I'm all worn out, so I'm quitting for a while.

Enjoy, and be careful of the splinters.

Bummer

I called Thursday night to schedule the inspection, since the system is automated. The county no longer does inspections on Fridays due to budget cuts. I'll need to schedule the inspection for Monday, but I won't be here for the inspection to see if there are any problems.

Ouch, I got a splinter.

Up The Hill

Okay, so I'm still getting cute with the phrases. What I have been working on this week is the ramp that goes from my gravel parking strip up to the garage door shop entrance. This requires the removal of a lot of dirt, separating a lot of gravel from the dirt, and trying to dig into stuff that wasn't meant to be dug into. I made the ramp 8 feet long, with a total rise of 8 inches. The pictures shows the ¾ minus gravel I put down and compacted with one of those hand tampers (heavy steel plate on a stick). I've got a full yard of rock in there, and below that is some ¾ gravel and cement chunks left after they poured the slab. The ¾ minus is at least 4" deep, but below that is the other stuff. The blocks on the side are from Western Interlock as will be the bricks I put in center. I still need to get the bricks, and the sand that goes between the gravel and the bricks. Unfortunately they close a t 4:30 PM PST and I can't get there until Saturday. I suppose I could put in the bad with the good, the width between bricks at the top is 78" and at the bottom 76", but I ain't going to change it.

I think I'll be putting bricks down for the next 5 years, one section at a time. It looks like I'll call for the final inspection for Friday, as I have that day off. I'd get the bricks then, but you never know when the inspectors will come by. If he is early enough, I'll get them then. I'm ready to move in and would like to be there before the month is out. Wish me luck.

Enjoy, but be careful of the splinters.

A Quick Post

I was able to level the ground in front of the shop door last night, so the porch is now sitting on solid ground. Unfortunately, the rototiller decided it was tired and I was unable to finish the job. Looks like it will wait until next week. Once I get the ground level and compacted, I'll call for the Final Inspection. I'd say soon, but I know that I'll be out through Monday, so it may still take a couple of weeks. I'm trying to get where I can move in and the only task that I know of is pushing the dirt back up against the building. I still need the rototiller for a while, so I'll replace the plug, see if it has oil, and try to look for water in the gas. It has been a trouper and I need it to keep running a little longer.

Enjoy, and be careful of the splinters.

Pushing the dirt

Well, I've included three shots I took late tonight that shows the current progress. Inside I've trimmed the windows in a more bungalow style. But the stark white was getting to me so I painted them 'Desert Caravan' according to the can, although 'dark gold' works for me, or 'baby shit yellow', depending upon your thoughts. I made the bottom ledger a little wide so I could use it as a shelf.

The next two shots are from the outside, the front showing the fascia boards added, and the side where you can see I've started pushing dirt back up to the walls. The porch is not set yet, as I need to rototiller that area yet, so for now I've shoved a couple of boards under the porch to keep keep it from wobbling.



The rototiller throttle cable broke last week, while I was trying to loosen the soil, so on Saturday I went down to the neighborhood lawnmower shop. As I walked up to the guy at the counter he said "we don't carry that." Hell, I was still halfway across the shop. He suggested I try a choke cable at the auto parts store, and in fact, AutoZone had a generic push-pull cable that was perfect for what I needed. After fixing the machine I got to talking with the wife and we realized that the rototiller was over 35 years old.

Enjoy, but be careful of the splinters.