My Journey

[ITTOG]

Great idea on the barn door. I am sure that will tie it in better with the house.

I agree on the Lowe's paint as we had that issue a while back as well. Next paint job I went to Sherwin Williams and it performed as they said it would. Interestingly I see your can indicates Sherwin Williams. Does Lowe's sell their paint now?

Great progress on the place. It will be nice when you get to kick back in a chair for a day and take in all the work you have done. Knowing you, that will be your cue to hit the road.

 

[Riversdad]

I always figure I'll need twice as much paint as the can says and am usually pretty close. Are you going to end up selling this place when you're finished or just rent it out. Seems you're not to keen on living in it.

 

[bigskypylot]

So today was finally the day to leave Lander and head into the mountains. The City Park sure was a nice place to call home.....

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On the way out of town I decided to get some wiring redone for towing the Jeep at this local shop. I've been talking to these guys since I've been here about building me a new rig (more about that at a later time) so I felt comfortable having them do the work. Less than (2) miles from their shop my truck died.....lost almost all power from the engine. They came out and diagnosed as something not attributed to what they did. Hmmmm.....

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So here I sit in the same parking lot as last Friday / Ssturday. Hopefully they can get it repaired tomorrow and I can get on down the road.....

Hey Jerry! I was just going through old photos and came across this old photo! It was dated Jun 28th 2016. I think I had been at the laundromat in Lander after being out on the road for a bit. I think we had a conversation but can't quite recall. How funny!

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

ITTOG.....what you say about "tieing in" is exactly what I thought and it really does. I'm continuing with that theme on the little deck (you'll see eventually what I mean). Yes.....I didn't even notice that it was Sherwin Williams paint but I did purchase the paint at Lowes. Possibly Sherwin Williams provides Lowes with a lower quality paint (it was $40 per gallon so I thought it must be good stuff).....

Riversdad.....I'll tell ya.....I honestly don't know. Other than getting this project completed I tend to live life one day at a time. My plans are nothing more than thoughts & ideas until they come to fruition. I have no need to sell it so maybe it'd be a good idea to keep it. I'll let you know one day.....

bigskypilot.....that's definitely my old rig and I did spend some time hanging out in Lander, Wyoming but I swear I have no recollection of meeting you. I was more than likely in a terrible mood that day if I was at the laundromat.....sorry for the scowl on my face.....



A little more about that non-performing paint that I purchased from Lowes (not to beat a dead horse here).....but here's a warning if you're buying paint in this town.....don't trust this paint salesman at Lowes.....



Sure he looks honest (I fell for it) but he'll say anything he needs to when it comes to selling paint. Now I will tell you this about that guy that they call Eddy (he told me he got his name from being a great river runner).....he had some amazing stories.....



Now he told me that he lived in a one room house and he painted his whole house with less than one gallon of that paint that I bought.....I was impressed but I never thought to ask how big that one room house was.....I did notice that he had trouble looking me in the eye when he told me that story.....



His best stories were about all the women that he meets.....he says he has his way with the women.....he's a good looking guy with excellent manners so I tend to believe those stories.....



Anyhow.....if you cross paths with this guy.....just plan on buying double what he says.....and don't be in a hurry.....he's still my kind of guy.....

 

[tgil]

Eddy...short, dark and handsome! I can see how that fella could sell ice to an Eskimo!

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

tgil.....that would describe Eddy perfectly.....you've got to love a Lowes that actually has a Black Lab come to work everyday.....



August 22, 2021.....Next up was covering that wall that I had painted black.....and of course I covered it with that old wood that I gathered from the hoarders property from across the road.....



I know that I ********** & moan about nearly every task involved with house construction (sometimes I think who would want to read this stuff ) but finally I came across a task that I absolutely loved.....



Every board was a unique challenge with all the bends, warps, cracks and what-not that I had to deal with. It wasn't redundant.....it was challenging.....and it was nearly like creating a work of art.....



Before I started this task I visted my friends at the mill where they process reclaimed lumber and they gave me a few tips on working with old wood.....one of which was using black line chalk as a wood dye as opposed to using a wood stain from say Lowes.....and this black line chalk was just amazing. I mixed it with water and was able to get a countless number of colors with my boards.....from a deep black to some boards which got no treatment whatsoever.....three and one half days later.....the wall was completed.....



I spent another day and a half trimming out windows, doors, closets and the bathroom.....



The bedroom window was another challenge since I chose not to replace it so it's still white.....



I wanted to hide the white color of the window as much as was possible plus the drywall that surrounded it so I decided to enclose the entire thing in old wood rather than finished drywall.....



.....and I loved the outcome here.....it feels good to complete these tasks and see the progress that I've made over the summer months.....



The electricians were coming soon so we anxiously awaited their arrival.....

 

[GregSplett]

I love Eddie!!!! He could sell me anything, even at lowes. which I dislike to be nice.. Sherwin Williams bought Valspar which was Lowes store brand. So yea Lowes now carries Sherwin Williams. There is some dicusion whether there is a diference between what is sold at lowes vs SW other than price. I hate Valspar paint my go to is the Orange store but lately I have been having mixed results with their paint. Something is up because I would say that room would be 3 gallons....Not including the ceiling??Looking good guys.

 

[Riversdad]

Love the wood accent wall and the trimmed windows, good job.

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

Greg.....it took just short of (7) gallons to do the bedroom, "great room" / kitchen area, both of the rather small closets and the four foot long hallway and all of the ceilings as well. It did not include the accent wall and a small portion of the kitchen wall. The salesman (not Eddy) suggested it was a drywall problem.....

August 23, 2021.....Riversdad.....thanks so much.....I did have a bit of help from a friend. I exchanged a few nights in the camper for a few days of hard work.....Tanner and I moved into the truck bed and it was wonderful.....





.....and speaking of friends helping friends the house mover finally got me off this property and over to his house to help unearth a broken water pipe.....



This is more my speed these days.....helping people as opposed to making money.....



He owns twenty acres a mile up the road with a river running through it.....beautiful, beautiful piece of land.....



And that guy owns more equipment than I could ever think to own.....funny thing is.....I left thinking "less really is better than more".....maybe that's why I manned the shovel & he manned all the pieces of heavy equipment.....



And then there's my best friends.....the spirit healers.....

 

[ITTOG]

tgil.....that would describe Eddy perfectly.....you've got to love a Lowes that actually has a Black Lab come to work everyday.....



August 22, 2021.....Next up was covering that wall that I had painted black.....and of course I covered it with that old wood that I gathered from the hoarders property from across the road.....

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I know that I ********** & moan about nearly every task involved with house construction (sometimes I think who would want to read this stuff ) but finally I came across a task that I absolutely loved.....

View attachment 679101

Every board was a unique challenge with all the bends, warps, cracks and what-not that I had to deal with. It wasn't redundant.....it was challenging.....and it was nearly like creating a work of art.....

View attachment 679102

Before I started this task I visted my friends at the mill where they process reclaimed lumber and they gave me a few tips on working with old wood.....one of which was using black line chalk as a wood dye as opposed to using a wood stain from say Lowes.....and this black line chalk was just amazing. I mixed it with water and was able to get a countless number of colors with my boards.....from a deep black to some boards which got no treatment whatsoever.....three and one half days later.....the wall was completed.....

View attachment 679103

I spent another day and a half trimming out windows, doors, closets and the bathroom.....

View attachment 679104

The bedroom window was another challenge since I chose not to replace it so it's still white.....

View attachment 679105

I wanted to hide the white color of the window as much as was possible plus the drywall that surrounded it so I decided to enclose the entire thing in old wood rather than finished drywall.....

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.....and I loved the outcome here.....it feels good to complete these tasks and see the progress that I've made over the summer months.....

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The electricians were coming soon so we anxiously awaited their arrival.....

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The accent wall looks great.

 

[tgil]

I know I could google and get several methods, but how did you attach the boards to the accent wall? I was also curious about the slats you put on the exterior? I could live in that house and feel like I was in a palace, but doing the same in my neighborhood wouldn't fly.

 

[longhorn1]

Well I'm caught up and have WiFi to boot. Left Yellowstone early today, taking the Beartooth Hwy. to just outside Red Lodge. The smoke was really bad. Most of our time in Yellowstone saw pretty clear skies, except yesterday where we could barley make out the Absaroka Mountains. Today provided no good photo opportunities.

The "Cabin" is looking awesome. The Dog's look awesome. Our lab is so dirty, it is going to be a miracle getting her clean.

We did get a couple of days at Finley Point on Flathead. When we left we drove up 35 to Bigfork, past the fire area. Burned to the lake edge, leaving nothing but chimneys and burned out autos, 13 homes and 17 out buildings.

3 days around Red Lodge, then Big Timber and my cousins cabin for some fly fishing.

Glad to see everything building wise is moving along. jd

 

[Crowfly]

@YukonMontanaTannerTrapper Hmmm.... Started looking at the F-550, then I called the insurance company (actual lizards don't deserve to be associated with those lizard-people, but, I've heard, life isn't fair or easy if you are green). No go on the ********** 55Oh my! But they were happy to add the F-450 to my policy (for a mere $100/year more than a similar new F-350). Why? Who can say for sure? In any event, I'd have to go sit down with a local (AZ) "insurance broker" and see what they could come up with for the F-550 and my personal RV (an assemblage of my own creation) use case. Hitting brick walls erected by some of the deepest pockets in the history of human economic civilization right out of the gate give me pause for thought in most endeavors. The first thing that comes to mind is, if a major insurance company can not issue me a policy for the F-5## under any RV use case circumstances, then what other small-print traps are laying in wait for the personal use F-550 owners? Now I don't know much about CDL license laws across the 50 states or international borders, but, as we live in the most litigious society probably since the Roman Empire I'd also be extra careful who I let work on a personal use F-5++ with my name on the title. Meaning, when the high school kid comes out of the shop bay dragging a floor jack leaving a dripping trail of hydraulic fluid that looks like it was maintained by Mad Max at Thunderdome Motorsports and Repair shop you might want to send him back in for the assistant manager to have a small print tete-a-tete. Why? Just because the police chief couldn't find a technical/criminal violation when your F-5++ turned his nephew's legs into parking-lot pizza it doesn't mean the local prosecutor and hospital administrator stuck covering the uncovered portions of the medical bills (big enough bill and the County Commissioners will probably join in ...) won't try and seek civil redress if they think they can. We enter into signed and unsigned implied contracts constantly going about our routine daily movements blithely ignorant of the obligations we may risking until Murphy's Law comes crashing down upon our heads (never mind what may happen over the border). In fine, being of the singular persuasion, I'm starting to wonder if I really need more than the approximate 9000 pound payload the F-450 configuration of choice promises on paper.

@Riversdad's praise for the newish Ford 7.3L gasser definitely got my payload craving desires juiced. Noticed a Whipple supercharger for the 7.3L will be available soon. It will probably cost the same as the diesel option on a new truck but it will weigh a small fraction of the diesel. I completely overbuilt/loaded a previous 4x4 camper once. I was getting discouraged until I added the TRD supercharger and then my frown turned upside down! It's nice to know that 725 or so of torque will be available aftermarket with a 'simple' bolt-on for a genuine truck gas motor which gives every indication of being more than capable of handling it in the stock configuration without further add-on ado. For the feather-footed at least. As I recall the TRD was a screw type with about a 100k service life before recommended rebuild. Gas-wise I didn't notice it really if I used lite-pedal technique, but, it was hard to resist punching it sometimes at green lights cuz nobody expected to see a hardside camper peel away up a steep on-ramp and then have to hit the brakes in order to merge with the freeway traffic. The screw type makes a slight high pitched whine at low speeds during acceleration which you learn to drive by ear and thus quickly stop needing to monitor gauges. Once the wind noise on the highway got loud though, fine tuning my foot with the gauges got the fuel consumption pretty equivalent to the pre-install. With a crate motor cost of under $7k the 7.3L may well cost less to completely replace than the ever higher compression diesel's post 100k mile exhaust/fuel system maintenance/repairs as anti-pollution standard's become ever more onerous. But that is just uniformed speculation on my part, albeit, I am parroting my favorite mechanic's musings along similar lines ...

 

[YukonMontanaTannerTrapper]

ITTOG..... .....

tgil.....I used (as few as possible) bronze colored 2" long fine / tiny head screws. I thought the color might be an issue but every screw is countersunk into the old wood and pretty much disappeared. Regarding "slats", I'm not sure what you're referring to but I'm guessing it's the cedar siding ? The cedar siding comes from the mill that way.....

JD.....sounds like an excellent trip so far.....I'm envious (not jealous) of the travelers.....stay safe.....

crowfly.....I'm happy with my decision to keep the F350.....it sure was close.....



August 29, 2021.....With temperatures dropping slightly and a slight lull in the "must do list", I headed over to the neighbors place to wander around his little forest and transplant some of his trees to my place.....



It's kind of like a small retreat back there.....a little world of It's own. This is about as close to nature as I get these days.....but as I've mentioned several times recently there's light at the end of the tunnel.....



This time I decided to go for big trees.....some reaching as much as twenty feet in height.....which of course meant that I had to dig big holes.....



Big holes attract big puppies it seems.....



.....and there's just something irresistible about that cool refreshing dirt.....



......and before you know it.....well.....you've found yourself laying down in / on it.....and literally falling asleep.....



These are reminders to slow down.....to take a few minutes to appreciate life.....it was just yesterday that I visted my favorite Lowes store to find out that one of the guys that I've worked with there over the summer passed away on Friday from Covid-19.....so yea.....





There will be a forest here one day.....



We've just begun.....

 

[Arjan]

Love that last picture !!
You've been busy - missed this place for a few weeks.
That wall is inspiring... May use that idea for the new office I'll be building.
Many thanks !