Chapter 124...Making Cabinets For an RV Refrigerator

Off Grid...Chapter 124 It's time for another story and to finish up what we did in January. So let's get to it We are still working on the refrigerator situation. The old one is still in the house and being used. Now it's time to get the new "RV" refrigerator in place. As I told you before these refrigerators only come with the shell....no sides and no front door panels. We are going to use 2 pantry cabinets to make up the sides but Mike had to add an extra piece of wood to get it farther out from the back wall to make sure the refrigerator has air behind it. The two sides that Mike painted black to match the refrigerator. Next we have to work on the new cabinet...which I got for 30% off because it had some minor scratches This is the cabinet that will go on the side of the refrigerator closest to the front wall of the house. We have to put in an air vent through the cabinet and out the front wall. Mike drills the pilot hole for the bigger hole we need. Mike using the 4" pipe to draw the circle for the hole to be cut out. Mike cutting out the 4" hole with a jigsaw. That was all we did that night. Now the next day....it's back out to the Buckeye tree that we cut down. We have to try and clean the rest of it up. Of course we ran into the cows on our way down. Mike cutting the big part of the tree to make it easier for us to manage. Cutting the tree into discs to fit our wood stove since we haven't bought a log splitter. And we are loaded up. Back up to the house and we unload the trailer. Here is our new wind generator. Hopefully it is a good windmill. We will see. Mike finished the water pump box by putting shingles on top to match our roof. Back inside the house. It's time to work on the outside vent hole for the refrigerator. The hole is cut out on the inside. Now we have to go outside. While I hold the flashlight Mike draws the hole to be cut. Next he cuts out the hole.....and hopefully the pipe fits in the holes in the cabinet and the holes in the house Mike hooks up the gas, hooked up the 12 volt to run the display panel, and hooked up the 110 to run the refrigerator on electric. It all works. Next we had to do something about the front door panels. Originally we thought we would make them but decided it was easier to order them. I called to see if they made stainless door panels....and they said yes...for $300.00 Really...just for some flimsy decorative panels? I think not...so I ordered the black panels instead Seriously these refrigerators should come with a finished panel for the doors Mike put the top panel front on the freezer door. And sliding in the refrigerator panel. The new refrigerator is in...now we just hope it works like we planned. The next morning I get the cleaning bug. I cleaned all the trim, doors, handles, door trim and now it's time to hit the kitchen area. My last section to clean. Our clock above the cabinets has a blackish ring. No problem....I will just take the clock down and wash it. Well some things never work out as easily as you expect I started to wipe the black ring and realized it was soot on the "whole" wall Apparently when we had that negative air pressure problem when I had the gas dryer and the wood stove on at the same time, I smoked up the house and got the walls dirty. So now instead of an easy clean...I have to wash the wall I got that wall done...but I am not touching any other walls in the house until spring. BTW, the air vent for the refrigerator solved out negative air pressure problem We learn as we go, lol. The cows are enjoying this beautiful day We should be having babies soon And looking out the front door. It's amazing how green our front grass stayed this winter. That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed our story and I will write again soon. Have a wonderful week. Lisa

Chapter 95...Re-Installing A Corner Shower

Off Grid...Chapter 95 We had one big project this week and the rest of the time we had to take care of the things that seem to just come up in life. Monday We woke up to a very cold and rainy day today. I don't think Mother Nature can make up her mind, lol. Yesterday we noticed that our one Jeep tire has a slow leak and the spare tire has no air left. Those are the last 2 original tires on the Jeep. Time to get them changed. Mike and I go into town to see about 1 new tire and plugging one of them for a spare. The tire place has to order a matching tire for us but they will have it tomorrow. Later on, back at home, we get a call from UPS. They have our replacement shower for us and they want to deliver it tomorrow. Wow, that was quick. I thought they were shipping it today. Tuesday- We waited for the call from UPS and met the freight truck on the highway where we loaded up the shower onto our trailer. We brought it back to the house, opened it, ad checked it out. It looks good. We got the new floor piece, which is the part that cracked on us...apparently the company didn't make it sturdy enough...but at least they stood by their product and sent us a new one. We also got the new side walls because when we tear out the old walls they will most likely be destroyed. I know what we will be doing tonight, lol. Next we go into town and get the tire replaced. They can't fix either of the 2 original tires to use as a spare so we order another new one. Back at home Mike gets all of the tools he thinks we need to take out the old shower. Hopefully this goes well because once we start we have no shower until the new one is on and all of the caulk is dry. At least we have water. Mike starts out by unscrewing the door. The door is off. Then he unscrews the old track And pulls it off Next Mike starts to work on the walls...which have been screwed and glued to the sheetrock. Mike tearing out the walls and I'm sure some sheertrock with them. We get the old walls out. Then he takes off the foam that was glued on the wall. Finally we get to the part that was broken, the base. The base was glued in and it's giving grief trying to get it out. We are trying to pry it out without ruining our floor. Mike tearing the base apart so we can take it out. We had to take a back board out which was screwed and glued. Oops, looks like Mike has some sheetrock repair again. Mike always said he would hate to be the one to take houses apart after the "glue" craze and he is right. More damage will be done from the glue than anything else. Mike gets that repaired and now we can see if the new shower base and walls fit. We get the new base in place and then we get the walls. It looks good. We take it all back out so Mike can cut the holes for the hot and cold water handles. That is always a scary thing...one mistake and the whole shower wall is destroyed. Mike does good....I wasn't worried at all, lol. Mike does some more patching and repairing. We bring the 2 new wall panels into the bathroom. I hold them at a right angle while Mike screws them together. Next he puts glue on the back of the walls. Once the new base is installed we put the walls in. Then Mike reinstalls the track and then we out the door back on. Five hours later and it looks exactly the way it was except we have no crack in the floor, lol. Mike does some caulking and we have to let it dry 24-48 hours. We are going to give it some extra time. Mike will spend some more time patching and re painting the walls where the old shower came out. Yay...our new shower is in...but we can't use it yet. Wednesday Ugh!!! Another trip to town. This time we have an appointment to have our windshield replaced. It started out as 2 chips but over this cold winter those 2 little chips really spread. So we drop it off and wait. We have no choice but wait since this is our only car. A few hours later we get to go home. Back at home a man showed up for the big wind generator...and he bought it. Mike does some repair work on the bathroom walls. Thursday- Today we ran to do errands in the small town. We also stopped at the old property to see how the new owner is doing. He has been mowing it and I'm sure he was grumbling about it the whole time, lol. Back at home Howard, the cow man, asked us if we saw the bull. He didn't come when they brought feed...that is not a good sign. I'm guessing one of our neighbors has some new cows who enticed our bull. Anyway, Howard will be back later with his wife ad son to check the fence line. Another man showed up and bought our tow bar. Woo hoo. I know I can't advertise here but I used a free online service to sell stuff and I am amazed with how much stuff we got rid of...and we had some odd ball stuff, lol. I got a picture of the babies by themselves. I guess the mother's felt they are old enough to be on their own. I tried to get close but they have no interest. Later that afternoon Howard, Ivalee, and Eric showed up to look for the bull. Mike took th 4-wheeler and went up to help them. I stayed at the house and did the mowing and some gardening. Apparently Ivalee got lost in the woods on the other side. They kept calling and calling for her. I think she was gone for an hour or so. She finally found them and Mike said he didn't say a work while her husband and son teased her. She must have been scared. Anyway, they found the bull...finally and got him back on our property and then they repaired the fence where he got out. They were there until after dark. Friday- We were useless today, lol. Saturday- Yay, we can take showers but the caulk in the drain didn't dry. Well at least I feel human again. Mike took me to the yard sales and to the Farmer's Market. It's still to early for anything good. We got back home and Mike took out the still wet caulk and put in a better caulk that he had, While he did that I did some laundry and the washer made a funny noise. Uh oh. Mike came in to check it and there was a leak inside our water pump closet. Now what? Sure enough our pump is leaking. Luckily Mike thinks ahead and we have a second new pump as a back up. He replaces the water pump. We will call the company on Monday since it's supposed to have a 3 year warranty and it's leaking at the seam. Sunday- Our solar building gets really hot and Mike wants to help cool it. We already have a fan for the inverter but it's not enough. Mike wants to cut some holes in the floor for some cool air to get in. He cuts the floor with a jigsaw first. And then he uses the reciprocating saw. Next he screws wire on top to keep any critters out. He cuts one more hole and adds wire to that. Now we have 2 holes to let more air into the building. And Mike did the weed whacking for me and then he blew off the grass. What a guy I planted a few more things in my garden. It will really shape up later this month. That's all for this week's story. I know it was short but sometimes you just have to take care of other things. Mike and I will be going to NY to visit family for a few days.  Lisa:)