New Life in the Woods

Before I launch into the plumbing repair saga again, it is worth mentioning that the new email notification system I setup checks my blog just once a day in the evening, so you will typically get notified of new posts between 9-12 p.m. and may not see it until the next day. But since I typically write these posts late in the day anyway, that should work out fine. I only mention this because I got my notification of my post from last night late in the day today — so sometimes notification may also be delayed by one day (if I write the post after the system checks for it).

You can see here that I got the toughest section of siding off today. I decided to put off extending the scaffolding until I was really sure it was needed. I am pretty sure I have to do it now, but I wanted to explore a bit more first. Getting that triangular piece of siding off was tough, but not quite as bad as I’d feared. Still, it took quite a while to get all the little pieces of sophet off above it and then get the siding itself off.

I was promptly rewarded by finding the site of two leaks, as you can see here. There may be more. I got started late so the light was already failing when I took these pictures. Also, as usual, the pictures aren’t crystal clear, so I circled the locations of the leaks so you can find them easier (just click on the picture to enlarge it). These are the pipes that run up behind the shower. I know there is at least one other leak along the wall where the pipes run back to the utility closet.

I will uncover the rest tomorrow, get a good look at everything, and then head into town to buy fittings to replace as much of the copper pipe as I can. You can see from these pictures that the old copper pipe is probably even older than the cabin. It has paint on it in many sections, suggesting that it was salvaged from another building and reused here. That shouldn’t make a big difference, but it is possible that the pipes and/or the fittings were stressed in various places when they were removed from their old home and subsequently put in here. Anyway, it will all be gone in a day or so.

I fully expect to be able to take a shower here either tomorrow night or Friday at the latest. That will be a huge relief. As will being able to flush the toilet without carrying buckets of water over to fill the tank.

It is clear and sunny out here this week, which is a mixed blessing. The sun helps warm things up during the day, but the lack of clouds means it cools off fast at night, so temperatures have actually fallen somewhat since the weekend. It has been around 36 to 37 degrees during the day, and it is about 34 degrees outside now. Meanwhile, I just opened up some huge holes in the walls. I taped plastic over the plumbing under the bathroom sink, but I can tell that, without the siding on the house, cold air is seeping in through all kinds of other cracks here and there. It has finally gotten up to 61 degrees inside after hours of running the woodstove hot tonight. Needless to say, I am anxious to get these repairs done and get the house buttoned back up tight. Having a hot shower to help me warm up will be a big help too.