Concrete coming today!

[Wstar425]

On the third year of this project and really no excuse since I’m retired now. I plan to build a two sided lean to covering the back 8 feet basically from the right side of the step. Putting my air compressor in the back and the generator in the front. My transfer switch is inside the panel. I plan to use the same metal setup and colors but it will be wood framed instead of red iron. Not sure I’m boxing in the eaves yet. It will face the back of the chicken coops and is in the most inaccessible part of the property. No one will see it or ever be back there but me.

The prevailing winds from the west will be from the back of this building. You can just see a bit of the Sandias in the little triangle under the wire and between the trees, in the first picture.

 

[Creedmoor]

I would run a piece of conduit or two in the dirt, before you pour your concrete.
It can make life easier down the road.

 

[Tactically Fat]

Nice! One of my cousins lived out there (Bernalillo) for several years.

He's been in CT now for 5 or so.

He misses the desert SW for sure.

 

[Wstar425]

I would run a piece of conduit or two in the dirt, before you pour your concrete.
It can make life easier down the road.

I kinda had plans to do that for my Internet coax but waited too long so going overhead. That’s the black wire in the first picture.

In the project we had overhead to the house, rerouted that to the shop, and then everything is buried to the house. I filled the trench but before I did that I ran 1 1/4 conduit on top of some dirt on top of the power line. That’s the little box on the lower left, so that runs to the house then Ethernet back out to the shop along with two CCTV feeds. There’s a camera on the gate and one in the front part of shop. I’ll cut the coax, reroute it over the trees and reconnect at a later date.

Everything is set up with the idea of putting solar on the shop roof facing south towards the road, but I’m not convinced that really pays yet at this later stage in life. I’m not really a fan, but will admit I haven’t really looked at it well enough. If I did it I’d want batteries, which doubles the cost. (Ball park)

I just bought a 11K generator which will run the entire house (swamp cooler A/C) and I have two 100 pound propane tanks to start with and avoid the small engine ethanol issue. Trying my best to at least get a little short term prepared for who knows what. Fenced in property and two German Shepherds.

 

[BFG]

Looks like the dogs are scoping out where the footprints are gonna go.

 

[Wstar425]

Nice! One of my cousins lived out there (Bernalillo) for several years.

He's been in CT now for 5 or so.

He misses the desert SW for sure.

We moved here three years ago from Wisconsin. I’m still not sure that was a wise decision. Wife wanted to be by grandson, and I don’t miss the northern Wisconsin winters that much. It’s not a bad place to be retired, we have a gorgeous view of the Sandia Mountains.

Albuquerque on the other side, 20 miles west. It’s uphill all the way here, my thoughts were the zombies would go south on the downhill.

 

[Wstar425]

Looks like the dogs are scoping out where the footprints are gonna go.

Yeah, pup is in kennel and letting everyone know she is not happy about it!! Older dog is better trained but not taking any chances once the concrete is poured.

 

[Wstar425]

Grandson was pretty interested in it all. Then on to something else.

 

[INP8riot]

I think the dogs were looking at it more judgemental than anything that it has taken as long as it has. I have 2 GSD and I know those looks!! LOLOL

 

[Wstar425]

 

[Wstar425]

I think the dogs were looking at it more judgemental than anything that it has taken as long as it has. I have 2 GSD and I know those looks!! LOLOL

I don’t know, they seemed to like lying in there in the cool dirt. It’s in the shade except about 2 hours a day.

 

[Creedmoor]

Did you forget a few expansion joints?

 

[Bugzilla]

There’s something about freshly poured concrete!

 

[Creedmoor]

Nice! One of my cousins lived out there (Bernalillo) for several years.

He's been in CT now for 5 or so.

He misses the desert SW for sure.

Does he miss it like a Marine misses 29 Palms?

 

[Wstar425]

Did you forget a few expansion joints?

I don’t know, I’m hiring it done. Not my thing. They are still here. We don’t get the freezing here like in N. Indiana anyway, don’t know if that makes a diffence even.

Same guy that poured my shop floor.

Edit: I see they have expansion joints every 4 feet or so. Pics when they clear out.

 

[Wstar425]

There’s something about freshly poured concrete!

Asked grandson if he was putting his handprint in it and he decided it was time for him and Grandma to exit stage left.

 

[firecadet613]

I just bought a 11K generator which will run the entire house (swamp cooler A/C) and I have two 100 pound propane tanks to start with and avoid the small engine ethanol issue. Trying my best to at least get a little short term prepared for who knows what. Fenced in property and two German Shepherds.

That's the way to do it.

My 13k generator will run our whole house (including a/c with a soft start kit). Can't beat it for the price and I even picked up a second generator because at $600 off on Prime Day (making it $900 total), why not?

 

[Wstar425]

That's the way to do it.

My 13k generator will run our whole house (including a/c with a soft start kit). Can't beat it for the price and I even picked up a second generator because at $600 off on Prime Day (making it $900 total), why not?

Yep, I got quotes of $17K and $21k for the Generac whole house auto start one. I bought the Duromax 11K inverter style for all the electronics. I found that all pretty confusing whether you really needed an inverter or not. But I could buy 4 of these for $17K, and being retired now I will be around to hook up and start. It’s a process throwing switches and plugging in cords that my wife did not enjoy doing while I gave her instructions over the phone from Salt Lake, 11 hours away.

A lot of people don’t like the swamp coolers but I like it cause it’s cheap to run, a motor and a pump basically. But, it wouldn’t work in the Midwest.

If solar made sense anywhere it would be here or AZ. We have over 300 days a year of sunshine. It’s a lot of money tho, I could pay my electric bill for 20 years and still have money left over.