Building in Coupeville again

Building in Coupeville again - ( not quite ! )

Hi,
Here I am again building my new home in beautiful "historic" Coupeville in the American Pacific Northwest .
I must be mad putting myself through this at almost ( this month) half a century old .
Still I must say that I am happiest when I set myself goals and achieve them . The harder the better and thus the happier . No gain without pain !

I transited via a three day stopover in Boston and got off the Seatac Shuttle in Coupeville at after 1 am local time . My body clock was still mid Atlantic so rather than disturb my friends Darrell and Cindy I trundled my bags to my Chevy van , chucked out some tools , made the bed up and crashed out .
I woke remarkably refreshed and set about sorting the van out . The battery was flat after six months rest but unfortunately so was my emergency starter . I put the starter on trickle charge and was hailed by my neighbour to the right - ( in more ways than one ) Bob . After a brief chat he swiftly came up with a battery charger which I swiftly set up .whilst I walked to the local store for provisions .
On my return I turned the key and bingo !
I was mobile again !
I called Darrell and he was at home and said come right away . I tried to put the Chevy in gear but it wasn't having any of it I used reasonable force - a mistake and ping . , something broke inside and the van did not go in gear . I turned the engine off and tried to reboot it ( this often works with computers ) The key turned easily and the engine wouldn't start . I called Darrell . He picked me and my case up .
To cut a long story short I spent the next few days making lists of materials and helping out Darrell with various jobs ( pictures here ) whilst the excellent mobile mechanic , Darrell's " Uncle Tim " fixed my van . He had to replace the steering column with one he sourced from a scrap yard but still charged under $200 . The steering is now tighter and I have a black steering wheel instead of a blue one !

Comments

The S.T.EN. Gun

“ We will never surrender !” France fell to the German Blitzkrieg in May 1940 . The retreating British Army ended up being rescued from the beaches of Dunkirk by a flotilla of little ships leaving behind much of their equipment . A German invasion was expected ! Winston Churchill the British prime minister made his famous “ we will fight them on the beaches – we will never surrender ! “ speech and the Battle of Britain was on ! The UK desperately needed submachineguns . The Government ordered well made expensive Thompsons from the still neutral United States but there was never enough available . In order to rapidly equip a sufficient fighting force to counter the threat of invasion , the Royal Small Arms Factory , Enfield ( North London ) was commissioned to produce an alternative quickly and in large numbers . Whats in a name S.T.En. There Major R. V. Shepherd OBE and Mr. Harold John Turpin came up with the Design which became...

Bonny and Clyde and the Browning Automatic Rifle

Bonnie and Clyde and the BAR ! Clyde Barrow, holding a Browning automatic rifle. BAR's could fire a twenty-shot magazine loaded with armor-piercing ammunition in under three seconds. During the depression of the 1930's in the USA criminals were looked at in a different way by many of the people who had been victimized and impoverished by the rich bankers and the emerging powerful corporations. Many people saw them as people driven to the edge that were only taking back what was stolen from them and striking back at a society and Government that let the Depression cause so much harm to so many . Two of the most famous criminals of that time were Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow . They were known to be quite skilled with their weapons, and unlike most criminals, they practiced with them and maintained them . Sadly they are considered to be responsible for the deaths of at least Nine law enforcement officers and five civilians during...

501 NE 4th street - Plumbing

Drainage The first thing I have found strange is the constant requirement for testing at every stage but here with the building being largely wooden it does make sort of sense . A minor fault in the plumbing could lie undetected otherwise within the walls and only surface once damp damage had become extensive and be very costly to repair . Thus it is required that once the drains have been run throughout the building frame they are filled completely with water to ensure their soundness . I took the wise precaution of making up a screw in fitting with a pressure gauge and an inflation valve to test the pipes with air first as once the system was full of water it would be time consuming and difficult to get the water out and to dry where necessary to effect repairs . First things first - all the drainage flows within the house in a trunk and branch layout . The main 4 inch drain had already been tested and laid under the b...

The man from the Clapham Omnibus

Search This Blog