Sunday, April 2, 2023

 Well, this air conditioner is a 5,000 watt thing.  That's pretty much the smallest, standard window unit that is sold.  I'm not sure it's going to cover a tin shed sitting in the baking sun running a dryer in the middle of summer. Insulation will help, for sure, I guess it will be a wait and see thing.  I have the hot air from the dryer being pumped outside, anyway.  If it doesn't work out, it can go on the other side to cool the bathroom. I'm not necessarily inclined to cool the bathroom atm, but if I end up with an extra unit, I'll put it in there. Otherwise, I intend on installing the bathroom door in the center so that cold air from the ac unit on the other side can move in there when the door is left open.  

I really need some trees to shade that shed. I do have some on the east side, but the western sun will be baking it most of the day.  Oh well, trees are not a priority atm. At some point, they definitely will be and I do intend on getting some fast growing evergreens for the southern end to replace the trees they cut down.

Church was great.  Very inspiring message.  2 men had just returned from a missionary trip to a place on the other side of the world on some islands near Papa New Guinea.  I don't recall the name of the village, but it takes 6 days to get there starting from here, including an 18 mile trip by foot which takes you over numerous rivers. They had plenty of video to show it.  These tribal people used to be cannibals that went around killing other villagers nearby in other villages and apparently those villagers did the same thing back.  God, however, had other plans and sent a missionary there to preach the Gospel, of which a particular man gave his life to the Lord and started a church there.

These people are hungry for the Word and hungry for learning more about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and all that the Bible entails.  It was really inspiring and took me back to my missionary days traipsing around Mexico to villages in the middle of nowhere, mostly without electricity and very much with people that spent their days getting water and food.  

Now that I've ordered the wire, I can think about tomorrow's activities.  I took a snapshot of the different style, flexible, plastic tubing style pipe they used to hook up the shower and toilet. I'll need more of that to hook up a vanity.  I will need some fittings for the sewer setup, but that really isn't my first priority. Besides getting that AC hooked up, I need to buy the stuff to finish the bathroom.

I have a list.  It includes 2X4's for the walls but also I will need some to frame in a spot for the AC unit.  You can't just install a unit on tin, lol, you have to have the framing for it. The people that built the shed did frame for an ac  unit - but on the other side.  I will be running an ac outlet for it in case I decide I want to install one over there.  This is stuff you do now and it doesn't cost much more in wiring that I already would have had to install over there.  

Basically, on the circuit, will be the main shed light, the bathroom light, the ac outlet and probably another general outlet.  Oh, and I will need to have a feed for an outdoor light.  I'm trying to think of everything I will need before I go to Lowe's.  I know that undoubtedly, I will end up having to make a few trips, but at least try to get most of it on the first trip.  I suspect a lengthy stay at Lowe's tomorrow trying to gather everything I will need.  

Why not do that today? Because it's Sunday and I don't feel like it, that's why.  I typically despise working on Sundays. It is a day of rest and my body tells me it's a day of rest in no uncertain language.  My goal for tomorrow is get all of that stuff, frame in the AC unit, install the AC and seal it. All holes coming in are going to be sealed, I bought a gallon of that duct seal and I am going to use it on everything, not just the electrical wiring it was recommended for. I need holes plugged up to keep hot air from coming in during the summer.

If I get anything else done after that, great, if not, my goals for the day have been accomplished. If I do, indeed get further, it will be to start framing everything up.  I will have to look at some youtube videos about installing a pre-framed door.  Lowe's has an entire row devoted to them, there are all kinds of them. I just need something cheap that can lock.  One would assume you can just stand the entire, framed door up wherever you want it and frame it in.  But, my assumptions on this particular project have been wrong many times over. Hence, watching videos and asking professionals questions.  The electric has been on for several days, no issues. The water has been on a week now, also no issues. 

The first tenant to use the washer/dryer setup is doing that as I type this. I gave her a key, she texted a while ago asking if she could use it? Yes, and please let me know how it goes. Oh, am I the first one to use it?  Yes, beyond my trial runs.  She did, for some reason, experience excitement over this, that coming from her.  I just need the thing to work as it was designed.  30 minute wash, 45 minute dry.  

Well, the Sunday afternoon yawns have hit me. They always do. It's time to take a nap. 

 Sunday - early morning.

They completed the installation of the shower stall and the toilet yesterday. Well, most of it anyway.  The trench still needs backfilled and I had them add an extra T to the 4 inch sewer line that has a 2 inch inlet on it for a vanity. I decided a bathroom without a sink would be....stupid....on my part. Lol.  I found a small, brand new vanity for $100, if it hasn't sold by Monday I'll go pick that up.  

They, of course, charged me far too much for "parts and supplies". They kept to their original labor quote but the amount of money they charged me for parts was way too high for what they did.  I mean, unless there's something there I don't know about that costs a fortune.  He said he added a 1% fee to the parts cost, so that wasn't it.  I'm wanting an itemized list with the cost of each item.  

But, I paid up regardless. At least it's done and it would have taken me a long time to figure all of that out, I was watching them going the trials and tribulations they were going through trying to get the plumbing into the correct spot. I knew that would have been a big-time headache for me to figure out.  These guys do this stuff all the time and they were having trouble. 

In the end, the toilet flushes and the shower stall is working without any visible leaking.  So, tomorrow/Monday I will be getting the supplies necessary to frame the walls.  Just enough 2x4's and drywall. I will grab the insulation for the entire shed if they have enough available.  But the rest of the drywall can wait. It's not a priority.  I don't have anywhere to store it, either, so getting 22 sheets of it in there would be - problematic. I likely will just have to buy enough sheets to use per day, since I intend on opening this thing up before it's totally completed.  

As it turns out, James ended up going to Maria's yesterday to help her fix a lawnmower, so he brought home the ac unit she was going to give me.  I haven't even gotten it out of his truck yet, but I hope it works. A small, 5,000 watt window unit at Lowe's was listed at $279.  

That's incredible.  The last time I priced those things it was $125 to maybe $160.  I get the inflation junk, but there is some corporate greed, IMO, going on here.  Suddenly, the cost of living - everything including electricity and natural gas - has gone way up.  

As I say, I'm just doing the bare minimum to get the bathroom walls up so people can start using it.  I changed my description on my HipCamp site a few days ago and now I have someone asking if the bathroom is ready yet? By the time they get here? Yes.  14th through the 17th, I have plenty of time.  Framing isn't technical. Measure a length, cut a board, screw it into place.  Lather, rinse repeat.  Yes, the door will probably be a pain, but not near as much as those drains.  

Actually, if the AC unit works, that will be the first order of business. It gets warm/hot in that shed and Monday and Tuesday it's going to be warm/hottish outside.  I want that thing going. It's no more than framing a place for the thing to sit on, cutting the metal out, slide the AC unit in and plug it in. I already have a heavy duty plug right there where I want it.  

If I work hard enough this coming week, I should be able to frame and drywall it including the door, get the wiring in, get a ceiling light up with switch and at least get started on the vanity set up.  The problem will be bringing the drain pipe through the wall, just like it was on the other side.  But, I should be able to reduce the 2inch to whatever side vanity's have, I think it's inch and a quarter or inch and a half, before bringing it through the wall.  I already had them put water lines in near the spot where I want it.  

They promised to come back and do that - for an extra fee. No thank you, I thought, your prices were high enough, I'm not spending another grand on that stuff. This is just pipe, no floor drains, I can do this, I have already done it  for the washing machine setup. It wasn't easy but it wasn't the end of the world, either. Just tedious and tight spaces.  I'll get it done, that's a fact.  

One thing that's nice: I have a toilet over there now. No going into the woods to do my duty or if the boys come - it's almost guaranteed one of them will have to take a dump once we get over there.  Even if I ask them if they have to go before we leave the house? It doesn't matter. "We JUST left the house 10 MINUTES ago, why didn't you do it there?!!!".  "Because I didn't have to go then, I really have to go NOW!".  Lmao.  There's no choice in the matter, but now the choice is to simply lock the shed door and have a nice toilet to flush it all away. 

Oh and I have this mystery for the extra check that the welding company sent for those 3 workers. I'd love to cash it, but I am certain it must have been a mistake.  I haven't contacted her  yet, I've been too busy with the shed.  Get that done today and find out what's going on. If they are giving me free money, woo hoo! We all know that likely isn't the case.  

I feel like once I get this thing up, running and done enough to call it good, I will start getting more of these HipCampers like the one that emailed me last night.  I have spartan overnights and now I have 2 long term I need to fill.  Don't know what to say, I'm doing what I can to get people in there, in the end, after I have done everything I can, I can sit around and fret or just go on with life, happy that I've got the operation up and running and sooner or later, the sites will fill up.  

I'll tell ya one thing: I'm going to be busting butt to get that bathroom done this coming week so I can get it posted on all the venues and get it out there.  I figure that if by the end of April, I don't have a "flood" of people wanting spots again including filling up Hipcamp - or at least having enough coming in there to make it worth it - I'm just going to go back to work.  I will probably end up doing that anyway, just that now I'm getting closer to the "do or die" scenario, where this park either works and pays my bills and then some - or it doesn't and back to trucking, get some debt paid down and make plans to add amenities and expand.  

I'm ordering enough wiring to have 2 HipCamp sites up and running pretty quick.  That's the direct burial stuff.  If it picks up, I'll order the rest for the other side to make up 4 of them.  If it really picks up, I'll go to 5, but 5 is where it ends.  The people that contacted me last night have a small, pop up trailer. This is exactly what I'm talking about. They don't need a lot of space and they only will use 20 amp electrical outlet.  Some of those have AC units, yes, but it's the only thing drawing power. I will have sufficient gauge wire to ensure they have plenty of power to run their ac's.  

My last resort going here for a loan would be a commercial refi-cashout, like I did with the house.  I have been looking that up.  I don't know how hard it is to get one of those loans, but I will be reaching out to a few of them to get info on it.  

Anyway, I just crunched the numbers for everything I want to do with the shed and we are pretty much where I expected to be with it and just got through ordering the wire for the Hipcamp operation.  I found a place much cheaper for wire so I ordered all of it. We're at around $1,200 maximum to finish this out besides all of the drywall.  So, the money I received is covering all of that.  

Well, it's time to go to church. 

 Friday late-morning Typical morning when there is no work.  It was, I should say, until the new guy called.  "There's nothing wron...