60+ year old thread.

Good morning all,

Happy belated BDay Mike - hope you had a great day.

Got the septic finished (sort of), found more issues as we duck out the old DB and in brining it up to 'Code' we had to put a filter tube in the tank at the outlet that leads to the drain field. Not sure how this system passed any inspection, the pipe leaving the tank was not installed properly, the pipe was not sealed at the outlet so it has been leaking for years. So we had to dig back 10' to splice a longer pipe leading into the tank to receive the new filter system (tube with a removable filter) and seal it properly. Took pics as we packed in sand then built up a mound around the new DB that is now concrete with two risers and a removable cap. In doing all of this the backhoe destroyed the ground due to the melt and mud. Can't do much until the inspector comes out and looks things over. Then I will have to rent a tractor to re-grade the property, it is really bad plus I need to trucks of fill to finish building the mound for the DB.

Oh and snow is in the forecast for tomorrow. Warm today supposed to get in the mid 60's up here with high winds (already in a red flag warning) then dropping tomorrow but in the high 60's this coming weekend.

Have a great and safe day - back to catching on the last two days on the thread.

 

I got the skid plates installed. I'll give it two banana's as I was working solo; 1/4" aluminum is easier to one hand hoist up while getting bolts in place with the other hand. There is one part when getting the transmission plate in place. Leave engine plate loose, slide in transmission plate while holding two spacers up. You need three hands. A good mental challenge. Good thing I didn't skip gym day!

After I would have had clearance for a Fujimoto drain valve but not sure if my fingers could flip the little lever with skids in place, still has access for service, but the transmission plate would come off for transmission service (I don't like that 2021 doesn't have an AT cooler).

 

Sorry for your septic system problems Mike. Seems that your problems should never have happened if the system was installed correctly.

 

Tom, you are entirely correct. The group that initially installed the system was banned from the county after a lot of their work was creating problems. That inspector was also fired - I guess drive-bye inspections with a gift of Jack wasn't county policy. Seriously, working with a local you hear find out a lot. The guy I hired to help me has been working here for over 40 years, he was surprised how bad the whole system was.

 

Good Morning Cool Old Dudes & Susan

Tom
Not exactly, if you can see it, the mountain resembles a Silverback Gorilla...we talk with the "monkey" regularly; oddly enough, it keeps us sane.

 

Yo... coffee!

Mornin'... Scheduled a checkup on the wrecked 2012 Taco I just repaired to see if I missed anything crucial. Pretty sure everything is good, but want to be sure. They'll check fluids and lube, too. So far I like the truck.

Windy and overcast just like yesterday. We need rain but as usual it will probably go north and south of us.

 

Having followed your account of crappy problems, I have empathized to the point of waking in the night from bad dreams about your stinking situation. I can no longer sit on my own commode without thoughts of where these things will wind up. Now I have an idea which in the long run may help relax your sphincter.
Your County, which compelled you to pay for and comply with the directives of their Official Representative has done you great damage. It only makes perfect sense to me that the County should be held liable for the misdeeds of it's Representative. All your past and present anguish and expense, including the new inspection and permit fees and not forgetting your upcoming property tax reassessment triggered by the upgrade, all should be presented as a claim to the County by your Lawyer. It's the American Way.

 

Alan, I so wish my crappy troubles were not causing your nightmares and your commode issues - what a terrible mess I have caused you.

In filing a damage claim may get some financial relief but I would forever be tagged in the county to be scrutinized at every turn. One thing I have learned living here is follow their rules and work with the local (established) contractors whenever possible. The contractor I worked with is licensed in the county and has a good reputation with the building department and inspectors - plus my wife knows and works with the two inspectors where she works. We have a reputation of doing the right thing as far as the county is concerned so no repercussions like some of my neighbors that are always trying to cut corners. The county services are all over these two neighbors with everything they do and to be honest they deserve it.

Working with this contractor gave me the opportunity do a lot of the work with his instruction and direction on my own while maintaining all code requirements so we could save some money, heck at 67 I was the youngster of the three of us - both he and his employee are in their 70's. He has the backhoe, I did the pics and the new layout so he can file the changes and under his license to secure everything was done to correctly and to code.

 

When I was in Vietnam, the bulk of my time was spent on the Danang peninsula between Monkey Mountain and Marble Mountain. There was a road to Monkey Mountain which went up the mountain. It could be 115 down by the beach but 85 on top of the mountain. As a young snot nosed kid I learned a lot about people in the service and i will be forever grateful.

 

Good Morning Folks . Washed the new Tacoma yesterday and by the time I put it in the garage ...covered in pollen dust. Looks like we are scheduled for nice weather until Thursday with high temperatures in my neck of the suburbia .
Hope everyone has a good day and be safe.

 

Morning oldsters, received my second vaccine Saturday, hoping to get back to some normalcy soon!

 

Good morning everyone!!

I'm back from a 5 day trip to the Blue Ridge mountains in NC where we pushed the Z3 through lots of awesome mountain twisties. Weather was colder than most years and we had a day washed out by really hard rains but it was still a great break. This was the 21st year we've gone and met friends there - missed it last year.

We are also supposed to have a few days with temps in the 70s. Wish we had that down in NC last weekend!! Grass needs to be cut here again - glad I did it last week before we left or I'd be facing 7 acres of Jungle to cut.

Saw this in today's paper. Ahh, the lost art of driving a manual transmission.




Be safe and enjoy the day!!

 

The new anti theft device

 

Manual transmissions are getting harder to find. Glad I have a 5 speed in my Tacoma.

New electric outlet box is installed. My son took the day off for a dental appointment and he helped out quite a bit. I think he actually learned a lot in the process. He has wanted to help on the last few home repairs and learn what is happening with maintaining a home. Next up for repair is replacing the the front driveway flood light. The current one, LED, just stopped functioning properly. I picked up a decent deal, on Amazon, on a Phillips Hue "White and Color" floodlight. As lights wear out and when I add a new light my replacement is a Phillips Hue lamp. I have quite a few of the lamps now and you can program them for a lot of different functions and colors. Dusk to dawn is one of my favorite programming options.

Have a great day today.

Today will be y last Meals on Wheels delivery. The distribution of the meals is moving next month to a new hospital and the new hospital already has a paid distribution service in place. I guess it was inevitable due to the U of MD taking over administration of both hospitals two years ago. They finally got around to consolidating the meal preparation to a single location. I will miss my long term delivery customers. I now need to find another volunteer opportunity for me to do. This will be the first time in over 30 years I do not have some type of scheduled volunteer commitment.

 

That's great. It is amazing how the feeling of relief grows as you get back to a more normal routine.

 

Morning all:
Mark, I have read several articles about where car thieves were foiled because the thieves couldn't drive a stick shift.

Yea, grass, time to start mowing here also.

 

Good Morning Porchites! Got my mowing in yesterday, and reduced some weight! At some point, I'll have my son help, but it's good exercise, and I have that stress test coming up. Sweat equity also helps keep the Dr. happy! Got Little Big Red dropped off, and should have my quote today. Going to do it pretty much regardless - don't think he'll be ridiculous - seemed like a really good guy, and a beautiful little shop. Driveway seems empty without LBR!
Have a great second Friday!

 

Good morning all,

I am going to ask my auto insurance to decrease my rates for four of my vehicles due to the new anti-theft device - they are all manuals.

I bought my F250 diesel four years ago which I use for hauling fire wood and lumber for projects it is a 6 speed with a granny gear and an over drive gear. I got it cheap with only had 122K on it. The dealership said they had a lot of interest until they saw it was a manual, "how do you tow with a manual" - that is how I learned to drive and tow growing up. A true lost art and one Toyota is taking notice - I heard and think I read that Toyota USA will be dropping the manual in all their vehicles by 2024??? Not sure how accurate that is but it is a marketing and build challenge for them.

Thunder Snow predicted for tonight - it is spring here....

Have a great day and be safe

 

Mark,
I enjoy hearing about the Z3.
My sister had this one since new, and she finally had to let it go last year
She sold it to a friend of hers and it currently resides in Eastern Pennsyltucky.
She was sad to see it go.