Episode#10 Back Up Generator & ITB Construction

Back Up Generators, Why am I giving up on this one so fast, and In the Beginning (ITB), looks at the first days of construction. So generators are much like cars. Well at least the engine part is. You can get a high end jobbie that will cost a fortune or a low end unit that costs a lot less. I went for a low end unit under the self misguided assumption that I would hardly need to run it. At the time I selected the model, I seem to remember several people advising me to step up a bit but I had convinced myself and also convinced my supplier that I was looking at the whole cottage project as a experiment and well, OK, Our Country Cottage was turning out to be way more expensive than originally thought. This is one area that would not be too hard to upgrade later. Not like the windows or the insulation etc. The generator is not even in the cottage. It is across the drive on a cement pad so replacement wouldn’t even require going inside. Not even getting a muddy boot print on the floor. In the price range I was looking at, there were several manufacturers, but only one that had a warranty that would get me through at least one winter. This was important to me as this was an experiment and I really didn’t know how much use it would have. I was hoping that when all was said and done I wouldn’t need it at all. There is still part of me that is holding on to that ideal, even though reality has smacked me in the face a couple of times now.   The first smack in the face.... The first smack in the face came when construction got delayed until winter and then some. I will get into this more in this podcasts instalment of “In the Beginning”. But for now suffice to say that when our generator was put into service, it became the main power supply for the cottage construction and heat. Yup the whole cottage was heated by one of those little electric cube construction heaters that kept the generator running, for many times, 24/7. The hours piled up very quickly. Settings for the solar power system were still being worked out. I would show up at the site with the sun shining brightly and the generator running full bore and had been for several days, even though there was enough power from the sun. gad. I have since realized that this range of units are mainly designed to be used in city back yards when a storm strikes and the city power goes off for an hour or so, so you can still watch TV and surf the net. 3000 hours is a lot for these things and will only get that far if serviced well. Ours wasn’t. Before I knew it there was over 500 hours on it. The first oil change should have been at less than a hundred hours. To top it off our plumber had noticed that two of the main bolts holding the generator part to the motor were hanging down as though they had come undone or something. There was so much going on at this time I didn’t pay as much attention to this as I should. If you are wondering what the plumber was doing at the generator, he is a pipe fitter that hooked up the propane to the generator. At some later point, when it was warmer and I remembered, I tried to put these bolts back on and found I couldn’t. They were too short. And they were too short because they had broken off. Yup they had snapped off flush. The only thing I can think of that would cause this is that the unit had been dropped at one point, but I don’t know this for sure and no other information was brought forward. Anyway, only several months into service the unit died, just gave up the ghost. The supplier offered to replace it at cost and being in the latter part of winter and still relying on it for construction, I agreed. The solar power system was starting to get figured out and it was getting warmer and I thought the end was near for construction. Yeah well. So the day came for the generator to be replaced. I had been kept busy trying to keep heat in the cottage by building a couple of fires everyday for about ten days. As it turned out they were going to replace just the motor and generator part of the unit, leaving me with the original case, wiring etc. I was so burnt, I was just happy to get a gen running again. Ha HA burnt cause I was building fires ..Ha Moving on..   The second smack in the face…. So yes, this is the second generator of this make and model that let me down and froze the cottage out, this time breaking toilets etc. It was pointed out to me that even though the generator and motor had been replaced all the support stuff was from the first one and probably coming to the end of its life as well. And this is why I wasn’t so kean on building fires everyday and why I shut Our Country Cottage down relatively quickly and why I am so ready to kick this generator to the curb. Why did I replace it with the same thing the first time and what happened to the warranty? There was a lot of stuff going on at the time and all I saw was that the cottage needed power and heat and, at the time, it was the easiest and quickest solution. It is hard to take a step back to evaluate things when your back is against a wall. The warranty, I can only say I walked on it because I knew how much abuse the unit had been through. And I might have got a bit of a break on the replacement. Maybe not though, in hind sight. And now In The Beginning.... Starting Construction This is the section where I try to remember what went on. This time I am drawing on the pictures that I took during this phase. I think that if you undertake a project like this it is important that you try to record as much as possible especially during construction. I always had my camera with me when I visited the site. I got into the habit of printing out these picture on plain copy paper and putting them in chronological order in those cheap paper binders, starting a new one each year. In our case it was especially valuable as you will find out soon. I would also like to mention that our project coordinator said that site visits probably weren’t necessary as the site supervisor always takes pix for their records and copies would be passed on. Well, that didn’t happen but I can understand why, again, in our case. It all started out good in the early spring of the year, with papers being signed and deposits being made to get things started. We were told that it would take 240 to 300 days to complete construction once it began. I remember we had a family vacation in the beginning of June and I was concerned that I might miss being there to make some decisions during beginning stages. I didn’t have to worry. When we got back from holiday we went up expecting to see great things. Nothing had been done. And so it began, the weekly trips to the site, driving down the access road hoping to see our gate open, a sign someone was working, only to find it time and time again locked with nothing going on. I have come up with a method to keep things in order. I will start with the first indications of construction as month number 1, and proceed from there. Month #1. OK, it was August and the best part of the summer was winding down. On the 21st, I noticed the grass and some top soil had been removed. There were red strings outlining the cottage foot print. And five days later more top soil had been removed. I used my ruff cut mower to cut down as much grass around the building site as I could. On the 30ith the cottage package was delivered and unload into an open area south of the building site. Very exciting for sure. Plenty of time to get it assembled to the lock up stage before the snow flies. Wrong. Month #2  Saw some minor excavation in the early part, with it being ready for forms by the end of the month. Some major holes dug out. Month #3  The beginning saw some early snow. I was surprised to find the footings were done, during one of my weekly visits in the middle of the month. I was also surprised to see an error in the footings by, what would become the battery room entrance. I always had our copy of the plans with me to verify stuff. Yup wrong… I called the site super and explained the error, followed up with emailed drawings etc. It was easy to correct at this stage. Month #4 Snow was getting more common. The foundations were done! And the poles were on site ready to be installed for the solar panels. These were no joke poles each weighing about 1000 pounds. There was a pump in the well, now, with wires run into the “basement”. The well had been dug over five months ago and had been waiting patiently like the rest of us for something to happen. It would have to wait a fair bit more, before it would be put into use. We were also asked, towards the end of the month, to select our kitchen cabinets and counters etc. It was hard to do given we only had some cement walls in the ground. Month #5 Nothing got done this month! Month #6 Floor joists and sub-floor were installed on the foundation. On the last day of the month we met with the site supervisor at the site and on the way home established an account at a propane company, making arrangements for a tank to be installed. Month #7 On the first day of the month, the day just after being at the site, I got a phone call from our project coordinator, informing me that out site supervisor had died, when his truck ran off the road, going home late that night.  He left a wife and a young family. Our project coordinator found another crew within a week or so and they jumped on our project with both feet. By the middle of the month walls were up. It was at this time some of those pictures I was telling you about before came in very handy as the new crew had not seen what, or how things had been done. I was able to email the new site supervisor pictures of areas he had questions about. By the end of the month the cottage had a roof, windows and doors. The garage was well underway too. It also left us trying to pick out kitchen and bathroom fixtures along with finishes. It is hard to pick out colours when the room you are choosing for is finished in framing studs. Month #8 The beginning of the month found us with the cottage in lock up stage and the garage moving along well. The snow was starting to disappear revealing lots of mud and construction debris. At least while the snow was fresh it all looked nice and white. To add to the list of decisions we had to make, we also had to come up with what we wanted for a railing for the only inside stair case, and the masonry heater, and the cement floor finishes. The end of the month saw great progress in construction, a rise in mud and a rise in construction garbage. Also a death in my family would take me away for the first couple of week in month #9 I think this is a good place to end this installment of “In The Beginning” It has been one of the hardest ones to do so far and there is so much more. We haven’t even got to the generator part yet. During the process of making this I have realised that not only are the pictures I took important but all the emails and texts as well. Hold on to all of them. You never know. Also, I didn’t realize how many decisions have to be made when you build something from scratch. Just look around where you live now. Every door, door knob, hinge, design and finish. And the bathrooms OK enough. A quick update bout how Our Country Cottage. It is much the same. When we arrived (my eldest daughter came with me) about a week ago now it was below freezing inside, the water left in the tankless toilets was frozen along with a bottle of water in the kitchen sink. We cleared some snow, my daughter managed to run the snow thrower down the length of the drive for her first time. Probably better than my first attempt. I must admit it was hard to let her go at first. I checked the battery levels and took the data logger and solar  info. Also collected one of the trail cam cards. The batteries had died about five days prior, so fresh batts. Oh and my little alert systems are reporting in faithfully twice a day every day to say all is OK and the temperature. Good stuff. I am slowly getting used to the messages coming everyday and not getting freaked out when I see them. For so long they were a sign of problems. Next podcast we will carry on “In The Beginning” with month #9 and I will tell you bout what happens when the spring thaw fills Our Country Cottage’s  basement. For pictures and more info, you can visit our website at “ourcountrycottageanarrative.com” If you have any comments, questions or if you would like to be added to the “Friends of OCCaN” Our Country Cottage A Narrative, mailing list, you can email me at [e-mail]. Members on the mailing list will get website and podcast updates as soon as I do :). The Our Country Cottage a Narrative podcast is on iTunes , Stitcher and  Google Play so you can subscribe there and get the podcast downloaded automatically when they get released. Till next time, have a good one.