Uniberp's Progress

Still working on the cabin in Muskegon, Michigan:

Triage continues. After finishing demolishing and replacing all the garage roof decking with 35 pieces of 1/2" OSB and covering with battened down roofing felt, which made it wind-and-watertight, and having heard that OSB can withstand a certain amount of exposure, I decided this weekend to take it easy and  do cleanup and estimating, which included 2 trips to the dump to offload 1800 lbs of old roof.  Will-calling a crate of new steel roof of 44 pieces 15 feet long weight 850 lbs, to save maybe $100 on delivery was not so smart, but using Egyptian lever and roller methodology got it off the trailer and stowed inside.
What started out as the following day of survey turned pretty readily into resigned belly crawling in the 24 inch sand crawlspace, cutting away someones' misguided ambitious project of running 10 runs of romex through individually drilled holes, presumably to offer a semblance of code compliance. In order to position new joists for sistering along the old ones, a Bolivian jungle of old PVC water pipes also had to be hacked away.
A cleaner hole is left. One with better defined margins. The next steps seem a little more obvious. I look forward to next weekend.

Previous post on this project here.

OSB is Oriented Strand Board, or chipboard in your common parlance. I can't understand why it's called 'oriented', to me it looks more like disoriented strand board.

He sent me the coordinates, so I thought I'd use Google's StreetView to take a look at the place. Surprise, Streetview doesn't go down Miner Avenue. It looks like a perfectly good street so I don't know why it hasn't been recorded. Could it be that Google is getting lazy?

Lake Muskegon, Michigan, looking East

The cabin is about a mile from the ferry terminal on the South shore of Lake Muskegon, which reminds me that I put up a post about a ferry running across Lake Michigan. Could it be the same ferry? No, it's a different one.

Flight

Michigan shoreline seen from the nose of the B-25

Uniberp took a flight on a B-25 with Air Adventure. He reports:

You can't see it in this picture, in fact that's not the Muskegon channel at all, but as we were flying over the flight officer painted down out the window and said "submarine" pointing to the USS Silversides at dock. Sitting duck.

There are a couple of other lakes just inside the shoreline like Lake Muskegon within a few miles. 

USS Silversides in the Muskegon Channel

Since he didn't get a shot of the sub, I thought I'd take a look using Google Maps.

B-25 Rosie's Reply

In case you didn't know:

The B-25B first gained fame as the bomber used in the 18 April 1942 Doolittle Raid, in which 16 B-25Bs led by Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle attacked mainland Japan, four months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. - Wikipedia

 

Uinberp's Progress

Uniberp at his Muskegon Cottage

So here is what I've been working on, 3rd year. Finished (nearly) the new steel roof this past weekend.
In reality it only took like 6-8 working days to strip  and replace the roof but i had long periods of recovery between so the roof took about 6 weeks.
The 5th and 6th pics show some the extent of the gutting inside, and all new sewer, plumbing, HVAC, 2 additional bedrooms upstairs,
It's still gonna take a lot to make it habitable. Siding done on 2 sides, the 4 sides showing are left to be done, about the same sq footage as already done.
18 foot cathedral ceiling. 1.5 bath. I demolished and removed ~30,000 pounds of debris (300 barrels, 10 at a time, to the county dump). Demolition is pretty much done, one section of ceramic floor to go.
Some floor joists had to be replaced, I may replace them all at some point. The upstairs is all new anyhow, so new joists and flooring.
It originally had 10 foot ceilings with a tall attic  kneewall as well.
Double lot. 30 x 30 garage on the alley. 2 blocks from Lake Muskegon.
I got a DIY Foam-It spray insulation kit  for the crawlspace foundation wall.
For the cost of a 2014 Chevy Suburban.
Plus $1500 property tax annually. Not really using any significant amount of utilities.
6 Attachments

He has a zillion times as much energy as I do. I might have had that much energy once, but it was a long time ago. Previous posts on this project.

Muskegon Project

Reroofing house at Lake Muskegon

Uniberp reports:

Somehow my addled brain considers roofing the most manly of tasks, but like I said, I'm addled. I am still hoping to have this place habitable by summer but be warned any visitors will be pressed into service without humor, because i am increasingly defensive about the worth of this project.

It took several weeks of daily stairmaster to work up to this 4 day task (1 prepare, 2 strip old roof three layers, 3 rest and take 1320 lbs to dump, 4 cover with ice dam waterproofing) and that's one half of the roof. Recovered ok, i think, so far, maybe.

Well it depends on the neighborhood. Up here it can be done cheap. My criteria was city water/sewer/sidewalks with some amenities and open water nearby.
Almost anything you would buy, though, would benefit from a gut rehab. In that sense, only houses up to about 1955 were built with lumber, not plywood or osb. [Zillow listings]
At these prices it's of marginal benefit. Timing is everything. Boots on the ground give you an even better advantage. I think wait until the next crash. I anticipate a significant dip next year. The yield curve has inverted, and I think the market response will be a lot quicker this time through. 

As I get further into it, my panics about structural integrity lessen. It is actually fairly sound, despite being chopped up and sorely neglected. I was able to comfortably stand on the roofing planks, although some are showing dry rot in spots, but largely solid. Hence, steel roof will be easiest to install. Mind you I am doing this as probably the last restoration for this place. In 50 years it will need to be demolished, if there is a civilization, that is. 

I have no idea what living there would be like, it could be harleys and breaking glass all night. I hope not, but ya never know.

The weather/climate is the big factor. It is just getting tolerable outside. WInter was hard from Dec1 until now, almost 4 months. I would like to think I could spend 4 months a year writing by the fire, but maybe not. I may have to camp south.

Roofing is high because nobody can do it themselves. It's brutal. Your friends and relatives would never speak to you again if you recruited them. 

Everyplace is going to suck in some way. If it's all nice, you have to pay excessively. If it's reasonably priced, you have to put up with morons occasionally.

Previous posts on this project.

• Uniberp's Progress
• Uniberp's Latest Project

Canoe and 1.5 HP motor

Michigan Mike goes for cruise.

It's quite slower than it appears. Upstream against a 5 mph current it makes about walking speed against the bank. On flat water it manages a good clip. It's a Sportspal canoe, like 35 lbs superthin aluminum, and an Evinrude Mate 1.5 HP 2 stroke water-cooled from 1969, that weights about 20 lbs. Portage whole thing if needed, I suppose. You can find those motors occasionally on CL. I got mine on ebay. (Another) Mike (redacted) brought home a dead one which I replaced rings in and it ran. Needs main bearing before it grenades, though. Mine has cord start, his has recoil. And they are noisier than paddles, so earplugs are needed. But I think I could do a multi-day trip in one. Looking at Muskegon River.

Parts are available online still, except for main bearing, which I found on ebay and came in an "OMC Waukegan, IL" OEM envelope.

OMC is responsible for the nearly complete deadly contamination of Waukegan Harbor due to improper PCB disposal of hydraulic fluid through floor drains.

But I got a sweet little motor out of the deal...

Uniberp's Latest Project

Big Bag O' Skunks

Uniberp reports on his latest project:

I'm rehabbing a tattered 19th century cottage a block from Muskegon Lake, in a decent neighborhood of modest homes. I bought it for about $30 a foot, plus an oversized 28x30 garage on a double lot. I am 3 weeks into demolition. Triage demolition is a couple weeks to completion. It will require total replacement of the rear sill, which a 10x10 beam, notched for joists. I'll figure out how that will go together when I see it. Prep is supporting the back wall top plate, supporting the joists, then removing the wall pretty much entirely.The garage, although with a good slab and heavy fiberglass door, has severe roof rot, although the trusses are intact. I replaced 10 sections of decking( need 15 more), and will put a $1200 steel roof on it. Colonial Red, I think. 

I bought it because I am bored and bitter on weekends. Now, instead, it is all so familiar, as I drag myself to my old truck full of tools and drive a half hour to the job site. Once there it is fairly automatic. If I am strong and fresh I tackle an improvement. If not, I shovel and sweep mindlessly. I last about 6-7 hours, then confusion and tiredness forces a stop. 

The dump is 13 miles away and $25. I have 10 steel barrels on a 10x5 trailer that I fill and 2-wheel up the ramp. I fill them as best I can on Saturday afternoon and Sunday, and make it to the dump by 1 pm the following Saturday. Monday morning I go into work feeling stiff, but already knowing I did my own work for the week.  

It has real potential, as a flip, or a cottage, or for retirement. Space for a big garden, although very sandy. 2 block walk to the marinas, parks, bars and restaurants, but as yet I am too filthy to go anywhere but straight home to the shower.  

I should have the thing together with basic plumbing in a few weeks. I ripped it all out, since it was what rotted the back sill and floors. I have an electrician installing a new service and panel this week.  

Once that is in place, it will be functional, and design can begin. I have lots of extra time during the week to plan the engineering and layout. and that helps, because I am so sore I can only move slowly. It takes me a couple of days to recover fully, even though I use all the safety equipment: gloves, goggles, real respirator, hardhat, Still some gets through and gagging on dust is exhausting. 

I don't even want to talk about the skunk abatement, suffice to say that I believe I took out the entire regional population.

Previous Uniberp reports here.

HVAC

HVAC (Heating, Ventilation & Air Conditioning) stories from the North & South.

Uniberp reports on his latest home improvement project in Michigan:

Goodman  GMH80803BN Forced Air Furnace

I did pretty well last weekend replacing a central forced air 80k BTU 80% efficiency rated furnace.
About a year ago I purchased one online for about $500. Goodman  GMH80803BN.
It sat in the basement until Friday when the blower motor on the old one refused to start blowing.
I got my last dime outta that one.
The output flanges matched the sheet metal, so that fitted well. The furnace case is 5.5" shorter, so the whole thing is sitting on concrete blocks, off the floor, which is standard installation technique. I had to shorten the return plunum by 5.5" also, but that cut off nicely with a throatless electric shear.

Masterforce™ 12-Volt Cordless Metal Shear

...which is a tool I should have had 2 years ago when working on my steel roof.
Had one piece of 1/2 black pipe cut to length and threaded by the clerk at Home Depot, hooked up the gas line, color matched the wiring and humidifier transformer and it ran correctly.
The whole job took about 6 hours, once I got started in earnest Sunday about noon, plus a whole day off recovering from the effort, The house got down to 48 degrees, but I kept the basement/bed/bath warm with the pellet stove.
Now going to Muskegon with renewed confidence in re-building a downdraft crawlspace forced ari heating system. Hope to get out there this weekend.

Iaman relates a couple of stories from Texas:

Milwaukee Hole Hawg

Story 1:
My landlord Sam, an electrician, and I were talking about Dish network techs coming to the house tomorrow to install wiring.  I volunteered to let them in.  He was nervous that the salesman couldn't tell him how the cabling would be routed.  I offered that Dish would probably send a DACA kid with a Milwaukee Hole hog. to perforate his house.

Mobile Home

Story 2:
Sam then related of how he as a 16 YO kid working for his electrician father at $3.35 an hour.  By his lonesome, in his old pickup with a AC A-coil bouncing in the back,  would follow new mobile home trailers down dusty Texas roads to a clearing in the cedar break.  While the truck driver set the home on concrete blocks,  Sam would be in the 140 degree trailer, all of 90 lbs dripping with sweat, pounding the hell out of recalcitrant knock out panels,  No cordless hole hogs in that day.  The new proud owners outside worriedly yelling" Kid, what the hell are you doing to my beautiful new trailer?!?".
Once the panels were popped, the coil installed,  he'd route the lines, charge with Freon, connect the house to the pole power box.
The irate seating customers were invariably soothed when the felt the cool air blowing.  Ah home sweet trailer!
Sam then went on to the next trailer install. 

Rebuilding Cottage Porch

Cottage Porch Outside

Uniberp is rebuilding the porch on his cottage.

Cottage Porch Inside

Fallout from an email coversation:

California Bob is contemplating painting: . . .  need advice on paint sprayer.

• Would like something to do a large quantity of trim, baseboards. 
• Would like something portable and self contained -- not one you have to hook to an air compressor.

I seem to recall you used one to paint the inside of a garage. Suggestions?

Uniberp replies: 

Battery airless came out this year. Several to choose.

Harbor Freight, Avanti, Graco

• https://www.harborfreight.com/20v-cordless-handheld-airless-sprayer-tool-only-58520.html
• https://www.graco.com/us/en/homeowner/product/26d280.html

But the most important thing is the paint. Oil based enamel is the most durable, and flows so well that spray is overkill, plus it takes a whole day to dry and you have the vapor to deal with.

If you do it before it's installed you still have to fill nail holes or clamp it in place with adhesive.

I'll work up to painting this whole place at some point.  I delay because painting is my least favorite part.

Click on the Muskegon label to see other posts about this project. It's been going on for years.

Table of Places

I noticed that my list of labels was getting out of hand so I am attempting to make some sense of it. Places seemed like a good place to start, so I have made a spreadsheet with all of the labels related to places and organized them according to their region. I am also making a page with this table and adding it to the sidebar for quick access. I don't know if anyone else every uses labels, but I do, mostly to refresh my memory.

Continent		Country		City	Number of Posts
	Region		State
Africa					70
	Congo				6
		Algeria			4
		Egypt			3
		Morocco			2
		Sudan			2
Antarctica					9
Arctic					14
Asia
	Central Asia				17
		Afghanistan			7
		China			63
		Russia			172
			Crimea		3
		Kyrgyzstan			1
	East Asia				17
		Japan			14
		Korea			11
		North Korea			13
	Arabia				3
	Mideast				73
		Yemen			2
		Iran			11
		Iraq			4
		Israel			4
		Lebanon			1
		Saudi Arabia			1
		Syria			4
		Turkey			28
			Cyprus		1
	Persia				2
	South Asia
		India			33
		Pakistan			7
	Southeast Asia				5
		Singapore			2
		South Korea			5
		Thailand			4
		Vietnam			8
				Hong Kong	2
Atlantic Ocean					2
		Iceland			3
			Greenland		2
Australia					14
Europe					40
		Albania			6
		Austria			1
		Belgium			1
		Bulgaria			1
		Denmark			1
		East Germany			8
		Finland			9
		France			31
				Paris	1
		Germany			14
				Berlin	1
		Greece			2
		Holland			2
		Hungary			2
		Ireland			2
		Italy			12
				Florence	4
				Rome	5
		Norway			29
		Poland			6
		Spain			14
		Sweden			4
		Switzerland			1
		UK			35
			England		6
			Great Britain		1
				London	2
		Ukraine			12
Indian Ocean					2
		Sri Lanka			1
North America
	Caribbean				4
		Cuba			41
		Haiti			2
	Central America				5
		Guatemala			1
		Honduras			1
North America
		Canada			17
		Mexico			31
			Alabama		2
			Alaska		17
			Arizona		8
				Phoenix	2
			California		35
				San Francisco 2002	1
				San Francisco 2008	2
				San Francisco 2010	6
				San Francisco 2015	1
				San Francisco 2017	1
			Colorado		7
			Florida		5
			Georgia		1
			Hawaii		3
			Idaho		2
			Illinois		3
				Chicago	1
			Indiana		3
			Iowa		17
			Kansas		1
			Louisiana		1
				New Orleans	1
			Michigan		5
				Muskegon	1
			Montana		2
			Nevada		6
			New Mexico		4
			Ohio		11
			Oklahoma		4
			Oregon		55
				Eastern Oregon	7
				Hillsboro	36
				Portland	134
			Texas		16
			Utah		5
			Washington		6
				Seattle	3
			Wyoming		3
Pacific Ocean					19
		New Zealand			15
		Philippines			5
South America					61
		Argentina			33
		Brazil			6
		Chile			1
		Colombia			1
		Ecuador			4
		Venezuela			13
World
	Island				6
	Caves				3