Escape From the Prison Planet

[DRIVEN]

Good info.
I mostly just tackled it out of boredom. Honestly, it's been hard to resist the urge to do a bunch of home improvement projects. I have to keep reminding myself that it's wasted effort and money. If all goes according to schedule this house won't even be here in a year. However, there are 150 10' 2x6s (Not including the steps) that are pretty protected by the cover that could be repurposed for a garage or shop.
...or I'll just include the gigantic porch with the sale of the house. Haven't decided yet.

Side note; The new house will most likely have composite decking. Advice on finishing it?

[wayno]

All I know about the composite materials is that they hold the heat of the sun hitting them and you cannot walk on them bare footed, the darker the color the hotter they get, as far as I know you do not finish them decks, I pressure wash a few of them every year, they get these black dots/stains on them that don't really come out, but that is in this area where it rains a lot and the decks can stay wet all day.
Wood is not cheap anymore, 150 good 10' 2X6s are worth money, hundreds and hundreds of dollars, I don't know about you, but I save everything and use it to build something.

[Taterhead]

I'm the same way. And down here, with the humidity, those composite decks tend to mold easily.

[DRIVEN]

There's a lot of materials in this front porch plus the tin roof that covers it. Could probably build a nice sized garage if I add a slab and some sheeting.
Good info on the composite decking. New house will have a covered deck so heat won't be a huge issue especially at mid day. Also pretty low humidity here so maybe tthat will help. Seems like composite is pretty standard here. I'll quiz my builder more though based on what you guys are telling me.

Got another offer on the house today. It's a good number but they want 15k toward closing and other costs which makes it not so good. But...theres another offer inbound so hopefully I can pit these 2 buyers against each other to get where I need to be.
Wish me luck.


Did some tractor work for my dad at the farm today. He'll have the barn painted by Friday and the roof done next week. It's really coming together.

I'll be dropping some trees at my place in the morning.

[wayno]

I guess I am used to the early composite type decks that came out, they are made out of re-cycled materials and epoxy, they are very heavy decks and tend to be wavy when installing them.
There are other composite materials out there now(lighter?) that I have seen but never dealt with, I don't know how they weather and stand up to stuff that can stain things.
Good fine grain wood lasts a long time when completely under cover, I don't know how long the stain lasts in that situation, but I have seen 20 year old decks that had no rot or mold because they were covered completely or actually in an enclosed environment like a glass patio, but if even 1 foot is not covered they rot as the wood they sell for decks now is crap wood unless you spend a large fortune for nice wood, and even nice wood weathers when the elements can get to it.
I have even seen this plastic material used for decks, but it was slippery when it got wet.

[wayno]

It double clicked on me, that is the first double post I have had in years, I actually don't recall ever having a double post before, but I heard it double click and I had 2 responses/posts saying the same thing.

[DRIVEN]

Happens to all of us eventually.

[DRIVEN]

Yesterday's project was to drop 3 trees to widen the new driveway location. It was already wide enough for final use but before it's done there's some excavation equipment that needs to go through and a manufactured home that'll need to be moved out when we're done. My dad came down and we had them dropped, limbed, and cut by noon.
Since all 3 trees were leaning over the neighbor's fence, we had to get creative with a chain and tractor.

[DRIVEN]

Today's project was to paint my dad's barn. He sprayed it out while I acted as helper monkey shuffling ladders, spotting thin areas, moving junk, and whatever else he needed. Got it done with almost no paint left to spare.






Again, done by noon. Next on the farm list is south field cleanup and get tin on the barn roof.

Two guys seem to get work done a lot faster than one.

[wayno]

Don't you think that you should get tin on barn roof first, this heat cannot last forever, and when it starts it's not going to stop, at least it has not stopped once it started for the last 5 years, and it has started raining in the middle of September for several years now.

[DRIVEN]

The materials are on order. He's hoping to have it finished by the end of next week if everything shows up when it should. He'll be out of town the week after that. I'll probably be doing the field work for him while he's gone.
He has renters in the house right now but they are moving out later this month. At that point he may be putting it up for sale. There's still some work to do before it's really ready though.

[wayno]

You just moved there and now he is fixing it up and selling?
Is he moving in with you, I have been there and done that with my dad, you likely do not want to go there.

[DRIVEN]

no, no, no. 3 separate properties. My property is 2 miles south of town. My parents have a really nice place on the river 2 miles north of town. They aren't moving anytime in the near future. The farm is an investment property that they bought last winter that just happens to be about 1/2 mile to the west of their place on the same road. The farm house was built in 1935 and had been remodeled just previous to their purchase of it so it needed very little. The barn, corn crib, hog pen, and the 4 acres it all sits on is what needed the attention. The house has been occupied over the last few years but the farm has been unused and really fallen into disrepair
Unfortunately, the barn roof collapsed under the weight of last winter's snow before he could get to it so it's been the largest part of the project. Almost done though.
Shortly after they bought the place he got some short term renters that are having a custom home built. Since their new place is now done, they'll be moving out in a couple weeks. At this point he's undecided as to whether he'll list it as soon as the barn is done or go further and really clean the place up along with doing some fencing and irrigation and try to take advantage of the spring time selling season. I think it's got potential to be a really nice horse property or maybe a hobby farm. Kind of rocky soil but grows whatever you plant. Probably best suited for animals. Was originally a dairy when it was built.

[DRIVEN]

Forgot to mention, The Compound is under contract yet again. Hopefully this buyer can keep it together better than the last one. Not expecting it to close until some time in November.

[Taterhead]

Good luck. Hopefully everything will go smoothly

[DRIVEN]

Thanks, man. We're all hoping.

[Laecaon]

If I was in a position to buy a house, I would 100% buy your old place.

[DRIVEN]

Money isn't in my account yet so assume the position. There are still a hundred ways this deal could fall apart.

[DRIVEN]

Was busy Tuesday and Wednesday with jobs in Bellevue and Puyalup. Smoke was pretty thick going over Snoqualmie Pass.


It's pretty bad around here most of the time too but occasionally we catch a clearish day.

Did some cleanup at the farm in preparation for field work
Gathered all the big rocks, wood, scrap metal and tires. It's been mowed and is ready to disc. I also helped get the first of the roofing tin up.

[DRIVEN]

My buddy, Jerod came over Friday. We decided to do a little trip to the back side of Silver City to a peak called War Eagle. We were able to fit both steeds in the back of a short bed Chevy with the toolbox in place.


Unlike last time, we decided to drive a little closer and enjoy the ride a bit more.


Most of the trail would be like a really neglected gravel driveway -- narrow and rutted. There was also a good portion that is single track.
War Eagle in the distance.

It's unfortunate that the smoke and phone-grade camera really don't convey the scenery. This is at 7800' (home is 2300) so those Yamahas did some climbing.




It ended up being a pretty short day so we were back home, cleaned up, and sitting in a Mexican restaurant by 3. Perfect end to day 1.


Day 2 (today) started just a little earlier. We loaded up and headed NW this time. Trespassed through a farmer's field and unloaded a few miles above Homedale. Then we rode west toward Owyhee reservoir. This is a much more sparse region.


Saw lots of cattle in open range, a couple snakes and a Coyote. No deer or antelope though. This time of year they hang out closer to the corn and alfalfa in the valleys below. Most of our riding today was seldom-used roads interspersed with, "Hey, see that rimrock over there? Should be a road just at the base." Followed by a mile or two of cross-country.




After we ran 15-20 miles over the first range we dropped down into Tunnel Canyon. I think I mentioned in the old thread that Jerod spent his summers here because his grandfather worked at the dam. He rode these trails a lot as a youth so he took me on a tour of the irrigation canals. The water comes out of the dam and runs through a combination of pipelines and open canals. There are tunnels that bore through the mountains that were built in the '30s and he told me one is over five miles long. In the winter it is dry and you can see through to the other end.-- it's that straight and flat! This one is dated 1932.

Look close and you can see Jerod climbing the ladder on the side. He's 6'5" if that gives you an idea of scale.



A few miles of climbing beyond that put us far above the west rim of the lake. It's about 50 miles long in total. I saw one single boat. Again, too bad about the smoke. At one point in the morning we rode about 1/4 mile on the road along the river below the dam. Plenty of climbing again for team Yamaha.






It was another great day in the saddle. We got loaded up and back to town before it got too warm and were enjoying a pizza at a local spot by 2.