Home Improvements

[Mort]

Hey V....Need a home improvement sub category.....
So all of you that went blasting at birds this weekend...good for you
As for me, I did home improvement's before it really gets cold.
I replaced my water line from my pressure tank to house...1/2" to 3/4"



Do you think that make a difference??? Well it did, the tube on the left is what I put up with for the last 15 years. Just they way they ran the line into the house was not to my liking and I always had it freeze up at least once every winter. I was sick and tired of shoveling two feet of snow next to the home, busting down the skirting and putting a heater under it to get it unthawed..enough is enough I said. And,yes I had it heat tape on it with insulation wrapped around that, I'd be a millionaire every time someone asked me that.


The middle pic is the where the well pump and pressure tank is located, ran the new line under that brick wall, down about 6 ft, we started to back fill that why it looks shallow with the ladder.
And for the pop bottles.....well seems like someone buried garbage in this area years ago, because
we also unearthed a old schiltz beer can too. I should take pics of that.

Last and not least, you all got that survey card from the Game and Fish, right???
Well, here's what I'm sending back....

 

[Fishmission]

Seems I remember those sprite bottles from the late 80s to early 90s.

 

[Mort]

Was wondering what year those came from, late 70's 80's?? This house was established there in 79. so possible somebody who had the land before then buried part of his garbage there, because at that time, I'm told it was pretty much out of the city limits and the city limits back then ended where 18th St is now and it was all dirt road from there. In fact, my street used to dirt when I first moved here in '80 and the people who had this place just put the mobile home here. Interesting how this town has grown.

 

[Fishmission]

That sounds correct. For me 70s 80s 90s all run together now....
There should be a bottle date on those somewhere.

 

[lunkerslayer]

Yeah copper pipe sucks for corrosion buildup lime, rust, calcium and other heavy metals. Did you notice the new copper pipe is actually a lower grade copper line type L. becuase it's softer making it flexible less splicing but that also is a bad part of this pipe it becomes brittle at the joints. Should of went to pex pipe if you were going with coiled line especially if you deal with heavy metals underground installation. JMO

 

[Mort]

Hopefully in a few years when the new home can gets put in, along with being connected to city water and sewer. I'll go a different route with material.

 

[Auggie]

New roof last spring, new doors this fall, updating kitchen and bathroom this winter. Next spring I'll paint the house. Then hopefully the Bakken rocks for a few months so I can sell.

 

[DirtyMike]

I get to spend $1400 on a new garage door. yay

 

[Mort]

I get to spend $1400 on a new garage door. yay

OUCH!

 

[lunkerslayer]

I get to spend $1400 on a new garage door. yay

1400 for a garge door wow

 

[DirtyMike]

OUCH!

Windowsill garage doors. Apparently they're made of gold.

 

[BrokenBackJack]

Windowsill garage doors. Apparently they're made of gold.

Never heard of them.

 

[eyexer]

I would never have used copper. Pex is the only thing to use. Won't break if it freezes. And 1000 times easier to work with.

 

[Mort]

Have to give you guys an update on how this is working out.
Upping the size of the main line is doing the trick, everything doing well, after being in sub zero temps this past week, only down fall I've encounter was this morning, the cold water line was froze, I got all the hot water I wanted, so it froze in the belly. that is something I will not be able to fix, however, I put a electric baseboard heater under there, I also put a wireles thermometer under then to monitor the temp for shits and giggs, this AM, its was 18 went it was frozen, at about 24, I got water, at this time it is 32, I'm gonna watch it all day and tomorrow, I may have to unplug it, we'll see, but upgrading the size of my line from the pressure tank the trailer, I am very happy with. Just this freaking 40 yr old trailer I am not.

 

[Davey Crockett]

A FWIW gadget that I ordered last fall and happy I did. It's a thermostat plug in that turns power on at 35 * and off at 45 * I have my pressure tank in an insulated box inside a pump house and use a light bulb for heat . Problem is if the light bulb burns out I have a freeze up . This allows me to use two bulbs that turn on and off as needed so it saves electricity and there is always a back up bulb incase one burns out. Simple and cheap solution with many applications.

 

[Mort]

A FWIW gadget that I ordered last fall and happy I did. It's a thermostat plug in that turns power on at 35 * and off at 45 * I have my pressure tank in an insulated box inside a pump house and use a light bulb for heat . Problem is if the light bulb burns out I have a freeze up . This allows me to use two bulbs that turn on and off as needed so it saves electricity and there is always a back up bulb incase one burns out. Simple and cheap solution with many applications.

Look like I'll be getting one of those...thanks

 

[BrokenBackJack]

Just be real careful Mort that nothing flammable is around that heater (which i am sure you are aware of). Don't want you or your family involved in a fire! Have read about quite a few trailer houses starting on fire from heaters or heat tape that shorted out underneathe them. Scares the heck out of me.

 

[Mort]

Just be real careful Mort that nothing flammable is around that heater (which i am sure you are aware of). Don't want you or your family involved in a fire! Have read about quite a few trailer houses starting on fire from heaters or heat tape that shorted out underneathe them. Scares the heck out of me.

Thanks for the concern, I kept an eye on it, had to shut it down after it was tripping the breaker, too many things on circuit and its only a 15 A circuit. Thats the other thing I hate about this trailer, the electrical is very limited and no room to add another breaker in the panel. I resorted to leaving the kitchen cold water tap drip alittle to get it from freezing and as of this typing I have running water, so that tells me my heat tape is working on the main line. The insulation in the belly of this thing is sooo broken down, its not insulating it like ti should.

Any finance guru's on here that can help me figure out how to come up with money for a down payment on a new home? I have very low debt, the land is all mine and paid for.

 

[Ponyroper]

Thanks for the concern, I kept an eye on it, had to shut it down after it was tripping the breaker, too many things on circuit and its only a 15 A circuit. Thats the other thing I hate about this trailer, the electrical is very limited and no room to add another breaker in the panel. I resorted to leaving the kitchen cold water tap drip alittle to get it from freezing and as of this typing I have running water, so that tells me my heat tape is working on the main line. The insulation in the belly of this thing is sooo broken down, its not insulating it like ti should.

Any finance guru's on here that can help me figure out how to come up with money for a down payment on a new home? I have very low debt, the land is all mine and paid for.

Mort, when I got my new double wide home loan in 2002 I didn't have money for a down payment either. I told the loan officer at the bank (Dakota Community Bank) that I didn't have the money and she said no problem. She got me a no interest 10 year loan from the Lewis and Clark Foundation for the down payment and away we went. She did all the paperwork and all I did was put my John Henry on the applications. I don't know anything about that program or if it is still available. I paid off the loan quite a while ago so I don't know where my paperwork is anymore. You could check around to see if there still is a program like that, it's worth a shot. The bank sold my loan to the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency after everything was done and I had a 30 year loan with them. When interest rates dropped a few years later I used the equity in my house to refinance the loan to 15 years at an interest rate half of the original loan. Monthly payment was lower and by my calculations I saved about $42,000 in interest charges over keeping the original loan rates. It's incredible how much interest you actually pay over the course of a 30 year loan at 6.3% interest if you don't refinance or make any early payments. Just for perspective my original loan was for $107,000 so saving $42,000 can give you an idea of how much I would have to have paid in total. The total interest I would have had to pay would have been way more than the total amount of the loan.