Kottage-tek - MP3 Edition
A sometimes humorous look at technology at the cottage. Also known as the land of duct tape and deck screws. Where the power tool and the beer fridge reign supreme.
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Episode 93 - Snowshoes and Uproarious Applause
05/31/2020
Episode 93 - Snowshoes and Uproarious Applause
We finally get a live audience and boy do they ever like us. Ok, so it helps that they are family and well bribed with food and liquor. My applause sign probably didn’t hurt either. Everyone went snowshoeing today and it was nice to just go for a quiet walk in the woods and enjoy the peace and quiet of winter in the back country. Now most people don't realize that there are lots of different designs and they all serve a unique purpose. Largely determined by the aboriginal tribe, the area where they lived, and what they used them for. There is everything from bearpaw for maneuvering through dense bush to the traditional ones with the tail which were for traveling across wide-open country like crossing large lakes. The tail helps keep you walking in a straight line. We also noticed that the couch family have their rink setup on the lake but this year they’ve gone overboard by installing lighting for night skating. All they need now is the beaver tail concession. Of course, we did get to our beer of the day Dark Helmut from in Vanleek Hill Ontario It's an extra strong version of a German black lager which comes in at 7.3% ABV. It uses only traditional, Aramis, and Hersbrucker hops giving it a IBU of 33. You can find more info at http://beaus.ca.
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Episode-92 - Rain chains and roasting coffee
05/20/2020
Episode-92 - Rain chains and roasting coffee
I solved the sagging rain gutter problem by installing a rain chain. This is a concept from ancient Japan that became popular in North America during the Victorian and Craftsman eras. I did a Kottage Knowhow video on our YouTube channel. I experiment with roasting my own coffee beans using a hot air popcorn popper and it worked out really well. I sourced some green beans from Ashanti Roastery Cafe in Elora. Then I dusted off the old Proctor Silex Popcorn Pumper. I dropped in about ¾ of a cup of beans and plugged it in. The whole process took about 12 minutes to get to a medium dark roast. All the way to second crack! Checkout our YouTube channel. I had a problem helping Karen get the capsule off a bottle of white wine. After slicing open my finger I discovered it was a screw top bottle and not a cork with a capsule. This did give us the chance to perfect the “mandaid”. You cannot beat paper towel and duct tape to stop the bleeding. Our beer of the day is Shoulders of Giants Imperial IPA. It comes from Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery in Barrie. This beer uses Galaxy, Falconers Flight, and Amarillo, hops to give it an IBU of 86. Be careful though, it comes in at a whopping 10% ABV in a 750ml bottle. Definitely not sessionable.
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Episode-91 - Tornados on Six Mile lake?
05/19/2020
Episode-91 - Tornados on Six Mile lake?
We had some serious storms with high winds come through the north end of the lake. Everyone thought it was a tornado that cut a path through the forest, but it was actually a “downburst” that flattened all the trees. Everyone had to literally cut their way down the cottage road but at least there will be lots of free firewood. With all the trees down, power was out for quite a while. Hydro One has a pretty sweet mobile app that lets you see where the outages are and what the expected repair time is. Really cool. Bruce mentioned “The Dam Grill” in Port Severn. It’s a great little restaurant right on the water. It has great food, cold beer, and a huge deck for those great summer evenings. A nice place to stop on the way up to Muskoka. Our beer of the day is Red Racer IPA. It comes from Central City Brewing in Surry BC. IPA is a style of ale that was fashioned to survive the long voyage from England to India during the British colonization. Hops, hops, and more hops! This beer uses German Magnum, Centennial, Amarillo, and Simcoe hops to give it an IBU of 80. Be careful though, it comes in at 6.5% ABV. Before we go, I would like to say thanks to Alex Beroza and Admiral Bob for the track "Free Music Free Beer". This is from the creative commons pod safe music site called CCMixter.org. There will be links on the kottage-tek.com website.
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Episode-90 - The scurge of Invasive Eurasian Milfoil.
05/18/2020
Episode-90 - The scurge of Invasive Eurasian Milfoil.
<p> We start out with a whole wheel of <a href="https://www.fromageoka.ca/en" target="blank">Oka cheese</a> and nobody likes to cut the cheese more than Walter, Bruce , and I. Nothing beats Charcuterie at the cottage. </p> <p> We mostly talked about one of the latest invasions in Muskoka. Its not party animals from southern Ontario, Its Eurasia Milfoil. A water plant that grows incredibly fast and can literally kill a lake if not controlled. This is definitely not a project for the cottage mower. Even with a snorkle. Here are a couple of links where you can find out more.<br /> <a href="http://www.invadingspecies.com/eurasian-water-milfoil/" target="blank">invadingspecies.com</a<br /> <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/eurasian-water-milfoil" target="blank">ontario.ca</a> </p> <p> We also touched on another invasive species in Muskoka. THis one is destroying beer fridges all around the lake. These are those "girlie beer" that come in silver cans or have fruit flavours to spoil the watery beer. Lets all support <a href="https://www.ontariocraftbrewers.com/Ontario Craft Beer" target="blank">Ontario Craft Beer</a>. </p> <p> Of course we did get to our beer of the day from <a href="http://collectiveartsbrewing.com/home/" target="blank">Collective Arts Brewing</a in Hamilton. It's Rhyme and Reason Extra Pale Ale. It’s not what I would call session beer at 5.7ABV but with four different hops coming in at 55 IBUs this is a very flavourful pale ale. </p>
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Episode-89 - From canoes to steampunk?
05/18/2020
Episode-89 - From canoes to steampunk?
<p> Boy when Bruce said Deb dragged her canoe from out east, he wasn’t kidding. There were some serious holes worn all the way through the fiberglass. Luckily, Walter has lots of experience repairing fiberglass boats, so we put him to work. </p> <p> After most of the prep work was done, we headed into Honey Harbour for the jazz festival. It was surprisingly impressive. It was a small festival, but the talent was fantastic. </p> <p> Once we had our fill of classy jazz music, we headed over to Coldwater for the <a href="https://www.steampunkfestivalcoldwater.com/" target="blank">Coldwater Steampunk Festival</a>. It’s a bit like HG Wells lands in the Victorian industrial revolution. There was lots of steampunk related stuff and people in full costume as well a quite a few sweet ratrods. I am not even going to try to explain it to you. You will just have to google “steampunk” or “ratrod” to find out for yourself. </p> <p> Our beer of the day is Georgian Bay Beer. A lite crisp beer, great for an afternoon on the dock. Its brewed by Hockley Valley Brewing Company in Orangeville. You can find more info at <a href="http://www.georgianbaybeer.ca/" target="blank">Gerogian Bay Beer</a> or <a href="http://www.hockleybeer.ca/" target="blank">Hockley Valley Brewing Company</a> </p>
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Episode-88 - The vanity is not in vain
05/12/2020
Episode-88 - The vanity is not in vain
We started the weekend by visiting Christie’s Mill in Port Severn for a nice dinner together. There was a wonderful musician named R. G. Peever playing guitar that we thoroughly enjoyed. He has let his domain laps but is on twitter and last posted in 2017. He also seems to have a new domain called . We finally got around to installing the new vanity in the master ensuite and boy was it a challenge. We had to pull all the rabbits out of the hat for this one to get all the plumbing into a three-inch space behind the cabinet drawers. Of course, we have been calling Bruce "squirrel" for years and now he has the T-shirt to prove it. I think we need more T-shirts myself. And someone went after the beaver dam with a backhoe ripping out the beaver baffles that a bunch of us help install way back in episode 50. Do not worry though, the beavers don’t need heavy equipment to rebuilt and they do it pretty quick. Our beer of the day is from Nickel Brook Brewing Co in Burlington. It's Naughty Neighbour American Pale Ale. Believe it or not, its named after an undefeated Roller Derby Champ. Its bold and in your face and Its sessionable at 4.9% ABV and 38 IBU. You can find more info at nickelbrook.com Before we go, I would like to say thanks to Alex Beroza and Admiral Bob for the track "Free Music Free Beer". This is from the creative commons pod safe music site called CCMixter.org. There will be links on the kottage-tek.com website.
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Episode-87 - Ten pounds of rotting flesh.
05/10/2020
Episode-87 - Ten pounds of rotting flesh.
Well I think Bruce and I were in fine form this time. Our segment on Cottage Cheese finally aired on Cottage Life TV so that's our seven minutes of fame. We are going to have to do one more show and a commercial if we are going to get to 15 minutes. The snow has been so heavy this winter that it tore the snow guards off the new steel roof. Its black fly season again and they are swarming like mad this year. Either Deb is going to have to sacrifice herself to them or we need ten pounds of rotting flesh. We also poked some good fun at the proverbial red neck. Of course we did get to our beer of the day from Barnstorer Brewery in Barrie. It's Deadstick Milk Stout. A sweet milk stout that tastes of roasted coffee and dark choc0late. You can find more info at http://www.barnstormerbrewing.com/ and of course there will be a link to them on our website, kottage-tek.com. Before we go I would like to say thanks to Alex Beroza and Admiral Bob for the track "Free Music Free Beer". This is from the creative commons pod safe music site called CCMixter.org.
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Episode-86 - "Someone get me a hoe"
05/10/2020
Episode-86 - "Someone get me a hoe"
It became blatantly obvious that beer belongs in glasses and not potato chips. And just to ice the cake, mother nature is keeping us snowed in well into the spring. Even the cottage road looks like it belongs in the winter Olympics. Thanks to the heavy snow pack the spring runoff is flooding the crawl space. We had to engineer some kind of floor drain to move the water to the sump pump well so it could then be pumped out to the still frozen lake. Skating anyone? And of course I always wanted to get away with saying “someone get me a hoe” so that’s the tool of the day. How childish! Of course we did get to our beer of the day from Great Lakes Brewery in Toronto. It's My Bitter Wife IPA. This is one of their seasonal releases and is named after Carrie Nation who was a stong force behind the temperance movement. It is a stong beer at 7.0% alchohol and it has an IBU of 88. You can find more info at http://www.greatlakesbeer.com/ and of course there will be a link to them on our website, kottage-tek.com. Before we go I would like to say thanks to Alex Beroza and Admiral Bob for the track "Free Music Free Beer". This is from the creative commons pod safe music site called CCMixter.org.
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Episode-85 - What the heck is a growler?
05/10/2020
Episode-85 - What the heck is a growler?
We started out with a project that we thought was going to be at least a three or four beer job. It turns out we were in and out in under an hour. Bruce has a “Greenway” UV light as part of the water filtration system and it fell apart and started leaking shortly after the warranty expired. Fortunately, Greenway stepped up to the plate and sent Bruce an entire new unit at no charge. Full marks for the excellent customer service. I also figured out that I could spin the fittings inside the PEX pipe without it leaking. This saved us having to cut up and dismantle several elbow fittings and replace them with new ones. So far, no leaks! Bruce also explained why they call the big jugs of beer “growlers”. I checked this out on the “interwebs” and it seems he is right. And you know if its on the internet it must be true! This time out beer of the day was a bit different. Instead of having just one, we decided to let a couple of blondes go head to head and duke it out for our attentions. In the red corner is Flight Delay IPA from barnstormerbrewing in Barrie. And in the blue corner is Kissmeyer Nordic Pale Ale which is a gypsy brew by Kissmeyer brewing from Denmark but its brewed at Beau’s All-Natural Brewing Company. Of course there will be a link to them on our website, kottage-tek.com. Before we go I would like to say thanks to Alex Beroza and Admiral Bob for the track "Free Music Free Beer". This is from the creative commons pod safe music site called CCMixter.org.
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Episode-84 - The Ugliest Bird In The Woods!
05/10/2020
Episode-84 - The Ugliest Bird In The Woods!
Well this time we had to deal with a leaking hot water heater. Somehow the pressure release valve failed and sprung a leak. We also discovered that not all presure release valves are the same so you may want to take the bad one with you when you go to town to get a new one. We also talked about wild turkeys. These have to be the ugliest bird ever to grace the fields and forests of Canada. Apparently they are rather good eating because hunters keep shooting them. Either that of hunters hate ugly birds. Of course we did get to our beer of the day from Lake of Bays Brewing Company in Baysville Ontario which is east of bracebridge. It's Spark House Red Ale. You can find more info at http://lakeofbaysbrewing.ca/ and of course there will be a link to them on our website, kottage-tek.com. Before we go I would like to say thanks to Alex Beroza and Admiral Bob for the track "Free Music Free Beer". This is from the creative commons pod safe music site called CCMixter.org.
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Episode-83 - The Walk Out Beer Cooler.
11/04/2018
Episode-83 - The Walk Out Beer Cooler.
We’ve have had so much lake effect snow this year that the temporary garage Bruce puts up for his car has collapsed under the snow load. Everything else is buried under several feet of snow. The first priority is digging out the Muskoka chairs, so we can get in some serious deck time. Leave it to Bruce to gamify clearing the deck. It did let us build an igloo though. I’m sure it won’t pass inspection, but it works. We also talked about other winter survival techniques including how to build a quinzhee and even surviving without a fire or shelter. I’m not waiting for the wolf pack. We also mentioned survivor dude who was lost on the lake for fourteen years with nothing more than a beer fridge, a nine-volt battery and a piece of steel wool. Now that’s a call back if I ever heard one. Check the website. Our “tool of the day” is the walk out cooler. Basically, it’s the snowdrift just outside the patio door. We stuffed it with cans and bottles. As always, we didn’t miss out on our beer of the day. Its Prison Break Break Out Pilsner from . As usual there will be a link to them on our website, . Before we go I would like to say thanks to Alex Beroza and Admiral Bob for the track "Free Music Free Beer". This is from the creative commons pod safe music site called . There will be links on the website.
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Episode-82 - Splitting mauls, and ax handles, and Francie Dancer takes a dive.
10/15/2018
Episode-82 - Splitting mauls, and ax handles, and Francie Dancer takes a dive.
<p> Bruce picks up an eight-pound splitting maul but it didn’t come sharp from the store, so I had to grind an edge onto it before we could use it. This was to compliment the six-pound maul that has done years of service at the cottage. Bruce also picked up a new ax handle to replace a broken one and I’m glad he went with the hickory rather than the fiberglass. </p> <p> Wally Canoe gives us a good tip about soaking the end of the ax handle in glycerine or linseed oil to prevent it from drying out and shrinking which causes the ax head to fly off. Who would have thunk it. He also sharpened all Bruce’s knives to a surgical edge and we are going to do a special video episode just on that. </p> <p> Also Late last night, Francie Dancer went for a short walk off an even shorter dock. Luckily everything worked out ok, but it certainly could have been a disaster. Always let someone know when you leave the cottage even if its just a walk down to the dock. Especially late at night. </p> <p> Our beer of the day is Ten Bitter Years Imperial IPA from Black Oak Brewing Co. <a href="http://blackoakbeer.com/index.php/the-beer/the-seasonals/" target="blank">Black Oak Brewing</a> </p> <p> A special thank you to <a href="http://ccmixter.org/files/AlexBeroza/38167/" target="blank">Alex Beroza and Admiral Bob</a> of <a href="http://ccmixter.org/" target="blank">ccmixter.org</a> for the composition titled "Free Music Free Beer" which is the intro and outro music on this episode. </p>
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Episode-81 - Cliff builds another woodshed
10/15/2018
Episode-81 - Cliff builds another woodshed
Bruce and I were supposed to build a new woodshed this week but he got called back to the city. How convenient. That left me all alone to get the job done. I enlisted several cheap/free apprentices to help. This was definitely a 24 beer job. </p> <p> Our beer of the day is Millenium Buzz Hemp Beer from Cool Beer Brewing Company in Toronto, Ontario. This is not what you would expect. Apparently hemp has a similar flavour profile to barley. And don't get all excited because there is no THC. <a href="http://www.coolbeer.com/beers-millennium-buzz.php" target="blank">Cool Beer Brewing</a> </p> <p> A special thank you to <a href="http://ccmixter.org/files/AlexBeroza/38167/" target="blank">Alex Beroza and Admiral Bob</a> of <a href="http://ccmixter.org/" target="blank">ccmixter.org</a> for the composition titled "Free Music Free Beer" which is the intro and outro music on this episode. </p>
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Episode 79: Bush Buggy Envy
02/28/2015
Episode 79: Bush Buggy Envy
Hydro One has been in to brush the hydro right of way for over a week now. It's slow going because of the rough terrain but they sure came equipped. They have a big orange articulated boom truck that is well set up for the task. Complete with chainsaw holsters, a couple of Stihl ms260s, a hydraulic pole pruner and a cherry picker it's pretty unstoppable. It's like the ultimate ATV.
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Episode 78: Hot Swapping Water Pumps
01/05/2015
Episode 78: Hot Swapping Water Pumps
We started out with pump problems again so we made our usual trip into Parry Sound to the Home Depot for a new pump and other assorted parts. OF course we were all decked out in our finest kottage-tek T-shirts from our swag shop and we actually got some attention from a couple of hunnies. Wow!
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Episode 77: Swimming with cinder blocks and The Wolverine is sick.
09/22/2014
Episode 77: Swimming with cinder blocks and The Wolverine is sick.
I can't believe Bruce even considered swimming a cinder block more than 50 feet out into the lake where it has to be about 15 feet deep. He first swan out with the foot valve and then came back to get the cinder block that weighs down the water line so wave action doesn't break it off the foot valve. Does the name Jimmy Hoffa mean anything? At least he plans on taking a life jacket along next time. I think I'll stick to using something with a bit more boyancey like a boat. Even the paddle boat is a smarter idea.
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Episode 76: Cheese In Aerosol Cans.
09/14/2014
Episode 76: Cheese In Aerosol Cans.
<p>We got a lot of small chores done today but the biggest was taking down the temporary garage. It's been up for two years so it's about time it came down. Now Bruce should know by now that you just can't stop the demolition man. Especially when he is fueled by beer. We did finally get it taken apart and packed up the way he wanted it, but it did cut into dock time a bit more than I would have liked. </p> <p> The up side is that we had sustenance in the form of "Kraft Easy Cheese" also known as cheese in aerosol cans. This delectable gourmet delight was specially imported into Canada from North Carolina specifically for enjoyment at the cottage. It's kind of an American food concept that never seemed to catch on in Canada. I wonder if it has anything to do with the Canadian Health Act prohibiting the sale of Easy Cheese because it has ingredients that are deemed "unsafe"? I specifically chose the "sharp cheddar" flavour because it would go so well with our more flavourful beers without being over powered. The up side is that you don't even need a cracker. Just point the can into your mouth, press the nozzle, and presto! Instant cheesy snack. Tuck one into your back pocket and you are good to go for the whole day. They also fit quite nicely into a case of beer or a cup holder. </p> <p> Our beer of the dayis Scottish Ale from the <a href="http://highlanderbrewco.com/" target="blank">Highlander Brew Company</a> in South River, Ontario. Now I've done my due diligence on this and it turns out that South River is a village on Highway 124 near Algonquin Park in the Almaguin Highlands region of the Parry Sound District of Ontario. It is about halfway between North Bay and Huntsville. The Highlander Brew Company has been around since 2009 and Scottish Ale was their first recipe.
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Episode 75: Yellowknife, and Beer makes us smarter!
04/12/2014
Episode 75: Yellowknife, and Beer makes us smarter!
This time Cliff talks about his travels to Yellowknife. It may not be "the cottage" but there's lot of roughing it and being outdoors that they both have in common. Everyone should try to spend at least a bit of time there. Everything from incredible fish that are pulled from Great Slave Lake, to driving on ice roads and Ragged Ass Road. The magic of the Aurora Borealis is a must see. Even on one of its dull nights it's spectacular. The trip made quite an impression on CLiff and we don't think he will ever forget it. Unfortunately that includes the hotel from hell which will haunt him for the rest of his natural life.
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Episode 74: Recreating The Bleeding Edge
02/16/2014
Episode 74: Recreating The Bleeding Edge
So this ushers in the first entry into our new Kottage Know-how category. We will do some how-to videos about common repairs, tips and processes at the cottage and post them up on the YouTube channel. We will do our best to keep these to short form and under 5 minutes but in true Kottage-tek fashion our first one blows that theory out of the water. Bruce had a good friend named Walter Martindale join us this time. It turns out Walter is a master knife sharpener. We of course put him to work sharpening every knife in the place. He also brought along a few interesting ones to show us as well. One of them has quickly become my favorite for when I feel like sitting on the deck cutting the cheese. It's known as the "Original Woodman's Pal" from Lee Valley Tool Company. I'll put a link on the website. Walter went through the process of using an oil stone to re-grind an edge on a thoroughly trashed knife and then hone it to a razor edge. He also schooled us in the proper use of a sharpening steel for maintaining that edge. Now we also made a video of this and have posted it up on our YouTube channel. It comes in at 30 minutes but it's almost impossible to sharpen a knife in under 3 minutes. We'll try harder on our next know-how. Walter also brews his own mead from local honey and we did start off with that which was excellent. Of course we did get to our beer of the day. Is Rock Cut Baysville Lager from the Lake Of Bays Brewing Company and of course there will be a link to them on our website, kottage-tek.com.
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Episode 73: The Belkin WeMO, IfThisThenThat, and Daniel Steele is a chair leg?
01/26/2014
Episode 73: The Belkin WeMO, IfThisThenThat, and Daniel Steele is a chair leg?
The first project this time was replacing some of the trashy novels that were holding up the furniture with actual legs. We left a couple of books under the corner of the sofa because we figured nobody will want to read them anyway. Besides, IKEA doesn't make that part anymore so we are stuck. I also played around with the WeMo home automation switch from Belkin. This is an interesting new product from them. It is basically a timer switch that connects to your Wi-Fi and can be controlled by rules such as on or off at sunrise or sundown or by specific times. They can also be controlled remotely from the internet via an app on you IOS or Android device. We were eventually able to get it working and firmware updates have made these devices more stable. I have a few of these devices at my house and they have proven to be quite reliable. Now if only we can get Betty to stop texting "pound off" to her son. Man what must he be thinking! Since Bruce didn't have a smart phone at the time, we used a web service called If-This-Then-That or IFTTT.com. This is a web service that does some pretty cool stuff and is worth checking out. We set it up so that Bruce or Deb could send a text message the Bruce's IFTTT account and the WeMo at the cottage would turn on a heater to warm the place up. Smart idea if only Deb would stop texting "# off" to her son. I can only imagine what he was thinking.
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Episode 72: Tis The Season To Hang Tchotchke, And is it ready for human testing?
01/19/2014
Episode 72: Tis The Season To Hang Tchotchke, And is it ready for human testing?
It's Christmas time in Muskoka and there's no better time to get all the old skis, snowshoes, and other paraphernalia off the floor, out of the hallway, and up onto the walls where it belongs. We also got to poke fun at Bruce's Dr. Seuss Christmas tree which looks like it's all ready to go back to the shop for repairs. I'm not sure this one can be fixed. We also followed up on the water purification system and it appears that human testing is in order. Bruce's daughter Cori stepped in and took one for the team by downing several glasses of lake water. It's a good thing Bruce has more than one daughter just in case. After all, what's the use of having kids if you can't put them to good use?
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Episode 71: The LED Electric Guitar.
12/10/2013
Episode 71: The LED Electric Guitar.
Cliff installs LED lights into a clear acrylic electric guitar. Now he can be seen as well as heard.
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Episode 70: Cottage Life TV visits Kottage-tek
10/18/2013
Episode 70: Cottage Life TV visits Kottage-tek
Cottage Life TV comes to shoot a segment for the upcomming "Cottage Cheese" show.
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Episode 69: The history of cottaging in Muskoka.
08/14/2013
Episode 69: The history of cottaging in Muskoka.
We talked about the history and traditions of cottaging in Muskoka as well as most other places in Canada and even around the world. It seems a lot of people have either lost sight of the meaning of cottaging or have never had it in the first place. And to that end, the rest of us will continue to fight. In fact, maybe this is one of the reasons we do what we do here on Kottage-tek. Not as much the techie stuff, but the tradition of storytelling about the cottage experience. Maybe we listen to too much Garrison Keillor and Stuart McLean but is that really a bad thing? We told stories about moving the outhouse, cooking on a real wood stove and of course the town pump which we still do today. If that's roughing it, I'll take it any day of the week. Fortunately there has been a lot of documentation of the history and traditions of cottaging and we mentioned 3 books that we are very familiar with and recommend. There is also a rich visual history as well. Everything from the group of seven to YouTube, Flickr and Instagram.
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Episode 68: Water Water Everywhere and now we can drink it!
07/04/2013
Episode 68: Water Water Everywhere and now we can drink it!
Bruce finally pulled the trigger on a water purification system. He had <a href="http://www.paulgodwinplumbingltd.ca/en/" target="blank">Paul Godwin Plumbing</a> located in Lindsay Ontario to take care of the project and boy does it make a difference when professionals do the work. Even with me helping! Paul sent a two man crew up with a very well equipped truck. They removed the old 1/2 horse pump and pressure tank from the far end of the crawlspace and then routed the water intakes from both the lake and the barrels down to where we poured a cement pad in the middle of the crawlspace where we can actually stand up. Then they installed a new 3/4 horse pump along with the pressure tank and then connected that to the new filter system. Three "Big Blue" 20 inch filter canisters and a <a href="http://www.greenwaywt.com/products/ultraviolet_disinfection_systems/uv_advance_series/gauv_12h" target="blank">Greenway GAUV-12H - UV Disinfection System</a> which uses a 35 watt UV lamp to kill bacteria. They also put pressure gauges after each filter canister so we can easily see which one needs replacing. They did all the connections with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-linked_polyethylene" target="blank">Cross-linked polyethylene pipe</a> also known as PEX. This type of plumbing uses a slightly flexible polyethylene pipe that has bands that are crimped onto all the fittings and elbows. No more soldering and Teflon tape. There will be a video on YouTube as well as the website so you can actually see the great work these guys did in spite of me. The crew discovered that the the actual UV lamp was missing from the Greenway when they opened the box. They handled the situation brilliantly and we had a replacement bulb the very next day. Full marks go to <a href="http://www.paulgodwinplumbingltd.ca/en/" target="blank">Paul Godwin Plumbing</a> and his crew for stellar customer service. </p>
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Episode 67: Bruce you sak of krete!
06/26/2013
Episode 67: Bruce you sak of krete!
This time we get into a bit more detail about pouring cement. We covered scribing forms to the uneven rocks which is a handy skill to have. Maybe I'll do a quick "how-to" video covering this. If I do, I'll post it on our YouTube channel YouTube.com/kottagetek. I'll also put a link on the website. We also talked about mixing cement. We discussed different kinds of cement and just what makes it concrete. Bruce went with the old wheelbarrow method which was fine considering we only mixed three bags. That man loves to watch people work. Anymore and I would have wanted the big boy toys. Maybe even the big cement pumper truck.
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Episode 66: Patio stones and cement. All for fresh water.
06/26/2013
Episode 66: Patio stones and cement. All for fresh water.
This is the first of several podcasts covering a major project at the cottage. Bruce is finally installing a water purification system so we don't have to keep hauling water from the city or at least the town pump. Because let's face it. You just don't know where the town pump has been do you.
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Episode 65: Two Bruces and The Montreal Crew.
01/13/2013
Episode 65: Two Bruces and The Montreal Crew.
Bruce and Asis, aka The Montreal Crew show up imediately jumped in to help with cleaning out the beer fridge. Their years of training and experience pays off as we actually had to re-stock before the visit was over.
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Episode 64: Infrastructure is a pretty big word!
12/25/2012
Episode 64: Infrastructure is a pretty big word!
Bruce wants to talk about infrastructure. Thatss just a big word for "we didn't really get anything done this time". We talked about the new vanity for the master ensuite bathroom as well as getting a new steel roof. The steel roof may happen but don't hold your breath for the vanity.
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Episode 63: The 802.11ac WiFi Cordless Extension Cord
10/13/2012
Episode 63: The 802.11ac WiFi Cordless Extension Cord
The router did a melt down because it is up in the skylight which is like a solar oven.
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