House building journal - Part 1

The house we are about to build will be our third and most probably, our last. Shortly before our marriage in 1971 we purchased a 3 acre, brook-side property with a shell of an old tenement house in Morristown, for $5,000. The stories from that adventure are fading so with that in mind I shall document this process as we go along.

We are definitely older and, I hope, wiser but I expect that there will be plenty of stories to tell. That first house tested our endurance and physical strength to the limit, we thought at the time. The only running water was in the brook and there was a shed with a toilet connected to a pipe that ran to who-knows-where? For more than half a year we lived in a school bus parked on the lawn while we tore the house apart. It was cold for the first couple of months but as spring turned to summer, bathing in the brook became preferable to the bucket. Only when you are in your twenties and newly-wed was this considered an adventure by some. For us it was a necessity.

Now in our sixties, not as physically strong but with just as much endurance, it seems, we have chosen to repeat the experience and this time we do consider it to be an adventure. More about that later.

While our house languished on the market, we continued to make small improvements and to have it always 'showing ready'. We made frequent trips to the new property to stake out the house site and to select a place for the barn. As I mentioned earlier, the site is all ledge with dramatic peaks and deep gullies. The leach field had been installed early on and Frits had cleared many trees giving us firewood for years to come. Now a flat area had to be created for the house.

First we needed vast quantities of fill so that the gulley could be broached and the machinery brought in.

'Rockaway' arrived on scene with dynamite and huge rubber mats to blast the ledge away and within just a few hours we had a pile of rocks so big we could have created Stonehenge 2.

Some of the boulders were as large as Volkswagens while others were flat and could form a patio single-handedly. Some we were going to need but most would have to be trucked out. Deciding which should stay and which should go was more difficult than one might think.

Lily particularly liked this one.

Frits enjoys building walls especially when machinery is involved. He directed the careful placement of each stone to form a retaining wall for the parking area.

We loved being on the land but knew we must be patient. We could pick away slowly but had to stay within our means until the right buyer came along for our Stowe house. It was still going to be a while.

More little critters - continued

My newly repaired car still sounded a little noisy the day following it's purging at the garage. Maybe the just installed fan needed adjustment? Or maybe a family member who had shown up for the wake hadn't left?

In case you haven't read my previous post, a family of mice had taken up residence in my car and were quickly destroying various parts of my heating and air conditioning system.

So now, three days later, all was still not well with my car. The vibrations were back and I was limited to using only the lowest fan speed. Then to add insult to injury, a mouse ran out from under my car as I was parking at the office. Spiders, snakes and the like do not send me running for cover but those little furry critters do a number on me. The only thing worse is a rat!

Returning to the BMW service department I was met with the the dire prognosis of 'now we have a problem'! Mice infestation, it seems, is not uncommon and it can be so severe as to total a car. Once the mice move in they can be very difficult to remove. They find their way into the most secretive places requiring the car to be stripped down to a mere skeleton. The service agent even reported on a very large rat having been found in the engine of a BMW. I guess they have expensive tastes. I shudder at the thought!

It was now time to call the insurance company. The cost could escalate very quickly. The next step before total disembowelment, however, was to see if the mouse (mice?) could be enticed to leave their hiding places with DeCon. The car was once again examined for damage and this time they had chewed up the air-conditioning vents. New parts were ordered and all debris cleaned away and the car parked outside. DeCon was tucked under the hood.

2 days later the news was good. No new signs of mice presence. Maybe the mouse exiting at the office was the last and saw no future living in this RV alone, as comfortable as it was. I can only hope.

Friends suggested mothballs might discourage rodents in the future but who wants to drive around looking at houses with that odor up your nose? I might have become used to it but my clients surely would not. So for now, little net bags of cedar balls hang from hoses and dryer sheets are stuffed into every nook and cranny. Anyone have any other ideas?

Under the hood

Living in a cold climate can present problems that some of you may never have considered. Starting your car once the temperature dipped below zero used to be very problematic but today's highly technical, computer driven beasts barely hesitate before jumping into life with the press of a button.

My car, a 2011 BMW X3, like the one before it, has been very reliable even though it has had to live outside during our transitional time. So last week, while heading to the office one cold morning, I was shocked and alarmed when it suddenly started to vibrate wildly and a nasty clanking sound was heard. Pulling quickly to the side of the road, I shut off the engine and all was still and quiet once again. What could have fallen off? Not terribly mechanically minded but hesitant to call my husband before at least an attempt at sleuthing, I tentatively turned on the auxiliary power and the vibrations kicked in with a vengeance. Now I know it is not the engine - phew!

It appeared that the blower for the heater was the culprit, I discovered. By reducing the fan speed I was able to reduce the amount of vibration until no heat equalled no vibration. These were not 'good vibrations' as the 70's song suggested. Pleased with myself for having diagnosed the problem but now irritated that an expensive car with only 8,000 miles traveled could be defective, I continued my short trip to the office with my seat heater and steering wheel heater on full blast. It could be worse!

In fact, it was going to get worse. The 40 minute drive to the dealership for repairs several days later, was enough to freeze my feet although my bum and my hands were toasty. The loaner they gave me was at least warm but lacked snow tires. With no snow in the immediate forecast and my feet still complaining this was an improvement.

The call from the service department came the next day. The blower fan will need to be replaced, I was told, and it will not be covered under the warranty. How is that possible, I was about to scream. Mice, he continued, are not covered under warranty. Mice!!!! When the technician removed the housing to the blower he was met with a very unpleasant sight. Body parts were splattered all over the inside together with pieces of fan blades. Mice, it seems had crawled up into the engine seeking warmth and had been blended once the fan kicked in. Not pretty! No photos attached.

$300+ later I was back in business but I fear that repairman may never be the same. The story does not end there. Stay tuned.