|
Rotten Cookies posted:Between everything I've seen you post, I envy you real hard. I like to think of myself as a do-it-yourselfer, but you take it to another level. The only other person on these forums who even comes close is the guy who makes those lightsabers
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2010 21:05
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 12:05 |
|
|
Nonentity? no way man, that guy is a loving craftsman. I'm just an overgrown kid who has a big sandbox that I get to play in with my neat electric shovel. But thanks, all of you. As we move toward winter, I'll probably be doing a lot more smithing, so keep an eye on that thread too. Some of it will be house related, like a table I need to make. As an addendum to yesterday, I, along with my family who came over for dinner (pulled pork, gently caress I love that stuff) have planted my 27 or 28 bushes. I ordered 30 in total, 10 nanking, and 20 saskatoon, some did not survive as is to be expected. Saskatoons:  Nanking cherries:  Leftover saskatoons and one tiny carrigana volunteer grown from seed.  If they do well here, I will get some more for that curved row. The soil isn't great on that side of the house, and it won't be in the sun for a lot of the day during spring and fall. My friend keeps suggesting I plant raspberries in the neighbouring empty yard 
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2010 02:26
|
|
|
Rasberries are great. Do it.
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2010 13:49
|
|
|
Yey, update. Seriously, Slung, it looks like building a life in the country is fun. I can't remember if you already answered this - but what do you do for a living, out there, in the middle of nowhere?
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2010 13:50
|
|
|
I put up 3 of these rain barrels. Been sitting on the loving things all summer, may as well put them to use. Are those rain barrels made from garbage cans? I've been trying to find 55 gallon drums without something toxic in them and haven't had much luck. I was tempted to go with a rubbermaid can and use mosquito netting for the gutter fill side, use an overflow (also with screen), and a pvc spigot feeding into a soaker hose for watering duties.
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2010 15:20
|
|
|
I'm a computer scientist. I work for a company that does SCADA systems for various industries, but mostly oil and gas stuff. Specifically I do mostly database migrations and the occasional communication protocol. I commute about 40 minutes to get to work, which is bad, I know, but I stick to low speed highways to get better mileage. I'd like to telecommute more, but when I work on a system it's usually on our staging floor on a private network that I can't access outside of the building. The rain barrels are fiskars brand. http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-58-Gallon-Harvesting-System-Granite/dp/B00213JPFA That little diverter thing is for 3x4" or 2x3" downspout sizes only, and mine are 3x3, so if you get them, be aware that you might have to be... persuasive with the sheet metal tubing. I got these at canadian tire earlier this summer. They're not cheap, but they won't overfill because of the diverter, when the barrel is full, it drains back out the downspout. Pretty neat system. Plus they come with the tap to drain them. Huge pain in the rear end to set them up though.
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2010 17:01
|
|
|
Maybe it's a stupid question, but why is it better to plant bushes in the fall? I recently purchased a house (my first!) and I'm planning on tearing out a bunch of weeds that the previous owners allowed to grow alongside the house and put in some bushes. I was going to do this next year in the spring, but is now a better time?
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2010 17:07
|
|
|
It's not necessarily better, but it is fine to do. http://www.canadiangardening.com/what-to-do-now/jobs-in-the-garden-by-season/what-to-plant-in-the-fall/a/1207 If you have the time now, and can get the plants, then I would go for it. Spring will work just as well though if you can't swing it this year.
|
|
#
?
Sep 27, 2010 17:29
|
|
|
In the way of composting, I'd suggest as well as making an area to dump the stuff to decompose, also buy one of these Basically you put compost inside, then turn it 3 times every few days, it bakes in the sun and makes amazing compost, we have two at home.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2010 07:03
|
|
|
jermsz posted:In the way of composting, I'd suggest as well as making an area to dump the stuff to decompose, also buy one of these My mom has had that exact one for probably 12 years, it's simple and awesome. Seeing that makes me miss her.  spin bake spin wait dump rinse repeat
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2010 07:21
|
|
|
Buy? Why buy when he can weld the sheet metal together himself? With an electric motor? And bling? DIY all the way.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2010 16:45
|
|
|
I compost my grass clippings, so I need a lot of volume. Thus far I've just been heaping it. I'm planning to build a three chambered wood one out of recycled pallets. The tumblers are neat, but they just can't handle the volume.
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2010 17:25
|
|
|
Between this and Nick from the Books post about building his house, I'm jonesing for some countryside living as soon as possible!
|
|
#
?
Sep 28, 2010 23:35
|
|
|
Oh man, I wish I could earn money anywhere so I could find a place like that. That looks so cool.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2010 06:39
|
|
|
Slung Blade posted:I compost my grass clippings, so I need a lot of volume. Thus far I've just been heaping it. I'm planning to build a three chambered wood one out of recycled pallets. I've always found that ones made from pallets are easier to turn than the plastic dalek style ones and easier to load than the tumbler ones, plus they're free so it's a winning situation all round!
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2010 18:44
|
|
|
I've got two compost things at my house. The original is just a C-shaped stack of cinderblocks, maybe 5 high. Used for a long goddamned time. Then a nearby township was giving compost uh... things to people for like $5, so we got one of those. It's basically a big black igloo with two holes. Take the lid off the top, throw your poo poo in. Need dirt? Open up the little door on the side, stick a shovel in, and pull out grade A compost. I still think I prefer the cinderblock monstrosity.
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2010 18:55
|
|
|
Slung Blade posted:Oh man, I wish I could earn money anywhere so I could find a place like that. That looks so cool. I didn't mean to make you feel sad. Your house is bloody great 
|
|
#
?
Sep 29, 2010 21:32
|
|
|
As a Calgarian who thankfully bought his house at the lowest price point and mortgage rate in recent years, I am still jealous of this. I keep telling the wife that someday we'll have a big goofy house like this in the country. Neat to read that you did it, and so close to home, too!
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2010 02:36
|
|
|
The house is awesome. If I had my way, in a few years, the wife and I could sell our little house on 1/2 acre and move to a bigger one on 10 acres...
|
|
#
?
Oct 12, 2010 16:07
|
|
It's burgin' time! 
|
I wanted to post last week, but I was busy. Man the clouds are low.  Oh wait it's just harvest time.  I guess that means it's time for Canadian thanksgiving   My aunt held dinner this year, but I made the pies, and some more smoked salmon and cheese.  I wish I had more pictures, but it got dark tonight. I planted four more little trees, and I cleaned another 30 pounds of cardboard out of the garage. I almost have all my metal working tools in the shed, finally.
|
|
#
?
Oct 18, 2010 02:43
|
|
|
Slung, I have to say that a surprising amount of time of building a life in the country goes into pie-making. Other than that, I really envy your view to the horizon :-) More updates and pictures, please.
|
|
#
?
Oct 19, 2010 11:42
|
|
|
What can I say, pies are awesome. Not quite as awesome as a nice sunrise though.  Neighbours to the north will be moving in soon. Foundation's all dug. The fellow in the green house there is a septic installer by trade, so he's good with an excavator and is doing it for them.  Woke up to this today.   It knocked all the grass all down, wet, and windy snow. Pretty much all melted by tonight though.
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2010 03:04
|
|
|
Slung Blade posted:
I would have thought the houses would be a bit farther apart, and it seems a bit late in the year to be starting foundation work. Don't they stand a good chance of a giant mud/ice pit until Spring?
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2010 03:54
|
|
|
I'm also curious about this, but from another angle; I thought concrete really likes to be over about 50 degrees F to set and cure right. On the other hand, Canada's weather probably has forced someone to solve this. Slung Blade, what's the deal?
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2010 08:31
|
|
|
My foundation was started about this time last year too, but 2 weeks earlier, I think. Fortunately, the weather around here doesn't immediately go into the deep freeze and stay there when October hits. The forecast is calling for mid teen (celcius) temperatures for next week, which is well within the curing range for cement. Also keep in mind that the soil is a good heat sink, it won't freeze below a couple inches of the surface for a long time now, probably not until December or January. If it gets REALLY cold by some freak storm, they can cover it with something like a big canvas tent and heat it with propane or diesel heaters. But I'm sure Lafarge or Burnco has some low-temperature setting cement. Or maybe they'd just let it sit longer to cure. Distance apart is kind of misleading. I took that picture from the second floor window, so you're not seeing the 30-40 feet of space between my foundation and theirs. The foundation wall isn't going to be right to the edge of that dirt, either. They put in the forms, pour, and then backfill, usually about 5-10 feet or so. These are 1 acre lots, so they're not the gigantor 600-feet-between-houses lots that I've seen in other towns, but it's a hell of a lot better than Calgary's suburbs where there is literally less than a foot between houses. The developers get around minimum distance laws by using cantilevered space. One day the outskirts of that city will be claimed in a righteous hellfire of Chicago-esque proportions because they all think "eh, won't happen here  "
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2010 23:44
|
|
|
Happy Halloween   gently caress I'm terrible at carving pumpkins Best part about pumpkins? The seeds of course. Oiled, salted, and toasted in the oven. Ohh yeahhh.  Since I was staying inside and actually working, thought I'd finally try my hand at making apple jelly. I didn't have a rack for the bottom of my canner, so I hastily bent some stainless steel TIG welding rod. Seemed to do the job.  Hilariously outdated (and considered dangerous) glass lid jars with rubber rings.  They might kill me, but since I only made 5 jars, and they're all going to family and will be eaten immediately, hopefully it will be ok. They were a gift from my grandma, and the only jars I had in the house. Jelly needs something... Oh yes, more bread.  I am proud to say I have not bought a single loaf of store-made bread since I moved in. Though I did get a loaf from the hutterites at the farmer's market a couple times, but I don't think that's cheating.
|
|
#
?
Nov 1, 2010 03:09
|
|
|
This all looks delicious. Why are the glass lidded mason jars dangerous?
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2010 05:44
|
|
|
i81icu812 posted:This all looks delicious. Why are the glass lidded mason jars dangerous? Mostly because you can't tell if the canning process worked or not. With stamped lids, they "suck down" into the jar to confirm that the canning process actually worked (just like the little popping lids on store bought jelly and such). Glass, obviously, does not do this, so things may end up growing little beasties. I guess they might also explode if they didn't seal correctly and the jelly started to ferment. That'd be really cool.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2010 05:53
|
|
|
You can tell if you get a good seal, you just have to unscrew the tin bit and see if the glass lid is able to hold the weight of the jar with the vacuum only. It's a little tricky, and if the seal IS bad, then the jar falls, so you gotta be careful. Only one of mine was a little loose, but I took that one to my parents house and we ate pretty much all of it already anyway. It still sealed, just not super tight. I almost broke a plate this morning opening another jar. The vacuum was so strong that when it let go, my arm fighting it pounded the jar down into the table and I sent the plate flying across the room. I uh, should have had it on the table and not in the air I guess. I think the real reason people don't use them anymore is because of a slightly increased risk of botulism, though I didn't read the entire article about it so I can't give any details. Honestly, I'm just more afraid of the glass lids loving breaking when I open them. The thought of exploded glass shards in my face scares the poo poo out of me.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2010 07:00
|
|
|
Wow, I was wrecked today all thanks to you Slung Blade. I stumbled in here and found this thread and COULD NOT STOP READING until I got to the last page, around 2AM. I loved the tractor thread and this was was all kinds of better. I'm not far off buying my first home and you have inspired me to get a little bit bigger yard and a serious garage. Shouldn't be a problem here in Australia!
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2010 10:15
|
|
|
Tentacle Party posted:Wow, I was wrecked today all thanks to you Slung Blade. I stumbled in here and found this thread and COULD NOT STOP READING until I got to the last page, around 2AM. I loved the tractor thread and this was was all kinds of better. Except in Australia, that means more places for beasties to live.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2010 11:01
|
|
|
Wow. You have an awesome house 
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2010 18:01
|
|
|
Coasterphreak posted:Except in Australia, that means more places for Fixed that for ya.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2010 18:17
|
|
|
Coasterphreak posted:Except in Australia, that means more places for beasties to live. All animals in Australia fall into one or more of the following three categories: 1. Carnivorous 2. Poisonous 3. Sheep Be careful.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2010 18:51
|
|
|
nuvan posted:All animals in Australia fall into one or more of the following three categories: You forgot the over-arching "large" category.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2010 18:54
|
|
|
Thanks so much you guys, awful nice of you
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2010 07:37
|
|
|
Hypnolobster posted:Mostly because you can't tell if the canning process worked or not. With stamped lids, they "suck down" into the jar to confirm that the canning process actually worked (just like the little popping lids on store bought jelly and such). Glass, obviously, does not do this, so things may end up growing little beasties. But the old ones look so much cooler. Ah well, thanks for the heads up. Now to try to convince my folks to phase the old jars out.
|
|
#
?
Nov 12, 2010 13:54
|
|
|
It's all wintery and poo poo.  The sun is so low in the sky   At least my little trees are, uh, well insulated.  The sump is still pumping water out. loving water table.  Gets stuck around here though, freezes up solid. Gonna be a big mess once it thaws.  I guess that means it's time for christmas. My family has never been religious, and I'm no exception, but we always enjoy the pagan celebration this time of year. My grandparents gave me this awesome vintage tree. I think they used it for 40-50 years. The ornaments stored in the original boxes every year. Along with a few new ones of my own.   Lights strung up. Looks alright.  Christmas at the slung blade house.
|
|
#
?
Dec 6, 2010 03:41
|
|
|
Slung Blade posted:Lights strung up. Looks alright. Your house is awesome.
|
|
#
?
Dec 6, 2010 04:40
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 10, 2024 12:05 |
|
|
Slung Blade posted:Lights strung up. Looks alright. Beautiful, but you need a snowman!
|
|
#
?
Dec 6, 2010 04:44
|
|