Large Scale Central

Stupid house

Other Hobbies
#1

I am not sure if this is what id call a hobby unless life is a hobby.

But my dramatic (dramatic at least to me) silence isn’t for the lack of trains as much as my house decided i have too much free time and too much disposable income. Dishwasher leak decided to show itself. But not before ruining my kitchen subfloor and kitchen cabinet.

But thankfully I am a industrious guy with a lot of tools that I need to justify to the wife why I need them.

Ripped out 9 feet of cabinet and counter top. 12 feet of floor. 12 feet of sheet rock. And a few feet to stud wall. New 2x4 wall scabbed in and reinforced. New sub floor in. New sheet rock installed. Soon floor leveling compound and a new 12 feet of cabinet (we are expanding). Then the entire kitchen is getting brand new epoxy counter tops to match the fish tank divider wall I made last year. And the final touch will be about 1500 to 2K in New flooring.

In all basically a major kitchen remodel. This will be on and off my summer. But again glad I have the tools and skills to take this on myself. Otherwise I am not sure what this remodel would cost.

#2

My brother in law had an issue with his water lines pump supplies tank that feeds house. The tank has run dry in hours not days so they had 4 different people come in Al look at what the issue is. Saturday his son came to look , crawled around under the house and for a pipe with several pinholes just below ground level , that was enough to lose water but not big enough flow water , it percolated down ! Fixed it in a couple of hours saved $$$$$

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#3

I hear ya on the tools & skills. Got both, but not your energy!

I’m on year 4 of an I don’t know how many year plan to salvage my aging camp trailer. It was a victim of numerous water leaks. Some roof, some plumbing. In 2019 I gutted the bathroom and replaced the upper layer of the floor and installed new vinyl flooring. The next year I painted the roof with silicone and replaced the awning. 2021 was a multi-week troubleshoot and fix of the furnace and in 2022 was mechanical: brakes and tires. This spring I’ve ripped out and replaced the inner layer of the ceiling in the bath and this week a new power converter installed.

I get tired just typing the list :laughing:

#4

I hear you Jon. I think I have more brains/testosterone than energy. While the kitchen is a necessity i am also continuing on the camper restoration. And working 60 plus hours a week (40 to pay the bills and 20 to pay for the hobbies) is taking its toll regardless of my efforts to deny my age.

I earned a 500 buck pay check at my “other” job (door dash) this week to pay for my mid life crisis Jeep Renegade payment but also I now have what I need to buy my 360 dollar backpack. I have about a month before embarking on a 5 day 21 mile pack pack trip.

Someone needs to remind me I am 53, fat, and out of shape.

#5

I think my saving grace is i have a hole in my head. It gives me an excuse. Intelligence has leaked our. Thats my story and I’m sticking to it.

#6

Just be sure to wear some kind of GPS so thy can come find you when you need to be rescued! Kidding I know you are out in the wilderness all the time

#7

Actually I am in the wilderness and much of the time solo. You maybe kidding but its sound advice. I give multiple people my itenary and my location. I call before I lose cell service and again the minute I have it again. I also leave common names of the location and GPS coordinates and never go somewhere I didn’t plan to go. And even then it’s a concern because the wilderness tends to be a big place.

A very soon purchase will be one of these. . . Amazon.com

Will have one before my 5 day trip. Allows rescue to pinpoint you anywhere anytime. Also can send a satellite text message if in trouble.

#8

This can be a touchy subject with many back country enthusiasts and their loved ones. My family asks why I dont take a buddy. For one, none of my closer friends have the desire or ability. For two, I find my serenity alone in the woods. I shut out the world and just exist. If someone were to go with me then inevitably the world will follow as well in the conversation with them. Pepper doesn’t talk politics, religion, work, or home. She just exists with me quietly. There is also a satisfaction of “surviving” alone. I have no fear of the wild or being in it. I am a part of that creation. I certainly respect it. While its peaceful it humbles you as well. You become very small in its power and grandeur. There are dangers for sure but with a heavy dose of respect and caution and skill danger can me mitigated and minimized. I am not feeding the grizzly bears. I also go fully prepared to REALLY survive an extended stay should something happen.

My family worries of course. But they also know I have devoted a large part of the majority of my life learning the skills to survive and putting the to the test. I have been in the woods my entire teen and adult life. I have worked there and most of my recreation revolves around being in the wild. I dont fear it. I am as comfortable in the middle of a forest alone as I am in my living room.

Funny anecdote. I have come to realize there is a real phobia about being alone in a forest at night in the dark. I am shocked at how many people(most in fact) tell me they would not sleep alone in a forest without shelter. Even a tent seems to offer them a mental hedge of protection. But LOVE it. Some of the best time spent is in the quiet in the dark just listening to what is going on after dark. I very much enjoy listening to the critters of the night do their thing. The forest comes alive at night. And only a very few things would be out there to hurt you. Most critters are there BECAUSE of the safety darkness brings.

I could go on forever and ever about all the things and reasons why I love being alone in the woods. Its just where I am most at peace. Its my happy place.

And my wife hates it when I say this, but should I meet my end in the middle of the forest on one of these adventures then it will have been a “good death”. Not that I am asking for it but if I have to go I can’t think of a better place.

#9

Devon,
I have a Garmin Tread GPS in my SXS and it has In Reach satellite capability.
I don’t have the In Reach hand held transmitter to leave with someone at basecamp, nor the hand mike hooked to the GPS.
We carry 5 watt talkies to communicate with each other. I figure that is good for now.
Besides, In Reach requires a subscription (Don’t know how much) but the few times, if any, that we go out in the boonies wouldn’t justify the addition cost.

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#10

I hear you Devon. My household budget is currently going towards a new roof and gutters. Being a adult sometimes stinks.

But as you’ve said saving money doing the labor yourself is something I try to remind myself in the middle of the projects.

#11

John going with a group would be very different than back country solo hiking. I wouldn’t even consider the In Reach system if I were with a group or even another person. It is an expensive service from what I understand. But when I am 1, 2, 5, 10 miles from a main road alone and if I get hurt or lost the price will suddenly be pretty cheap. And I am doing it several times a year now and hope to do even more.

And above all it will put my wife’s mind at ease.

I have a 21 mile 5 day trip planned next month. And several smaller weekends. Next year I am doing a 3 day solo float trip on the East Fork of the Owyhee. On these remote location solo trips it would be nice security.

#12

all of that locomotive money…

#13

John and anyone else interested.

The Garmin In Reach system is pretty flexible. I just looked and they have a three tier subscription plan with two different payment options for each tier.

You can do a very basic safety plan which is more or less just that, safety. Gives you the sos feature when you are in trouble and unlimited preset messages to predetermined recipients basically as check ins with no expected replies. Then you have a limited amount of custom more personal messaging. You can get an annual plan that is 12 bucks a month with an annual contract. Or it’s 15 month by month.

Then there is a recreation plan which gives you more tracking data and more personal messaging. And finally an explore plan which gives you even more personal tracking and messaging.

One nice feature on all of them and depending on the plan will very how much you can do it, but you can enable a tracking mode which links to a sharable url that uploads your exact position at set intervals to a website that people can view and it gives them realtime tracking on a map. So they can follow your adventure.

That website allows you to download quad maps satellite maps plan trips set waypoints and then people can see your trip and where you are in that trip.

But more importantly to me is that the device pairs via Bluetooth to a smart phone or other devices. So you can actually access that web page in the field on your phone via the paired connection to the device. So you have access to that mapping and information in the field when you do not have wifi or cell service. Nice for mapping features which I use my phone for already but this will give much better information.

But just some food for thought. For 15 bucks a month I can use the device the three months a year I will be out and have the peace of mind that I am in contact should something go south. Nice insurance for a solo back country enthusiast.

#14

Devon,
Us Boaters are also concerned about safety, and we’ve had various satellite options available, like those you mention. Much the same problems and some variety of devices, though it sounds as if you have a detailed understanding.

For everyone, I read recently of a couple with an iPhone who ended up in a ravine, and found there was an emergency call option that sent their GPS coordinates via satellite to a service center, who called the local police.
I personally do not have an iPhone, but if I did, I would be investigating!

#15

Peter,

I was watching reviews on Youtube of the various SOS devices and they too mentioned that option on an I Phone. Like you I am not an I phone user. But I agree if I had one I would be looking at what it takes to use it if there were ever any reason I should need it.

The nice thing about the I Phone idea is we all have our phones with us. On one of our recent vacations the wife and I were traveling to Japser, Canada and we missed the gas station. At the time we were not to worried. But as the snow began to fall, the light disappeared and no other cars were to be seen on the highway and our tank becoming dangerously low I/we began to be concerned. Not a very nice place to be stranded in the middle of the night without fuel. (we do prepare for such things like blankets, water, and food). With no cell service a phone call was not possible. We would have been very stuck for an indeterminate amount of time in an inhospitable place at least overnight. Something like the I Phone deal would be good and at a time when no one would have thought we would have needed it.

#16

Well the stupid house saga continues. Not much railroading going on. But the kitchen is coming along nicely. I have all the demo done. I put in the new sub flooring under where the cabinet will go. I will still have to scab in a few other pieces through out the kitchen where it has been damaged or was missing from when I removed some walls. I scabbed in some 2X4 materiel where the old wall had rotted from a few different leaks over the years. I replaced the necessary sheet rock and it is taped, mudded, and textured.

I bought the wood to build the cabinet base. I will begin work on building the cabinet this week. I will have to put a temporary top on it until I have all the counter tops made. Since we are doing one I have decided to do them all. We are going to do poured epoxy countertops in the entire kitchen. So once I get the cabinets built I will start on those. And then the final piece of the puzzle will be the new LVP floor. So a long ways to go

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#17

Got my LVP flooring at Lowe’s, we think it turned out great and we had Lowe’s install it due to they did the demo of old tile on concrete

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#18

Too tag onto Devon’s thread, I’m stuck in the middle of a roof replacement. Today was afternoon number 5 of working on tearing the old roof off. Tomorrow night might be the end of phase 1 tear off.

Owning, no wait, paying a bank monthly to eventually own a house, is sometimes so frustrating. And it’s taking away my hobby time and money. :joy: I mean really what’s more important a completed layout or a leaking roof… :man_facepalming::stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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#19

Is The train in the yard?:rofl:

#20

So still progressing along with the kitchen remodeling. Got the cabinet that was ruined rebuilt adding 2 feet onto it from 8 feet to now 10 feet. Also added the cabinet above the sink. Not shown is another cabinet on the opposite side extending that cabinet out another 10 inches.

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And the counter tops are all made and prepped for pouring epoxy tops. Here is a sample board of what I think I am shooting for.

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Will be pouring them this weekend and then I can begin the floors.