ALERT !! Tragedy !! 67Dart273

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Couple more of the sled project HF winch mounted above, with a snatch block about knee level to allow more room when "up." and a small block on the sled. The return line does not actually move, is anchored to an eye at the floor level

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Looks like you're making some good progress. It will be good when you get to the point you are putting stuff back. I realized I haven't had enough coffee when I was reading your explanation of the workings of the sled. I got to the part about 'small block on the sled' and was looking for a 273/318/340/360!! :BangHead: :realcrazy: Glad you're making progress.

:thumbsup:
 
67Dart273 said:
Making some progress, and found a temp guy who is a real worker. Got the living room down to wood, along with the smaller bedroom, kitchen, and laundry, yesterday. It was the worst mess. Should get the main bedroom carpet out today. THEN it's on to the basement. Some photos


Below, laundry. The "clean" walls were somewhat shielded by the large counter/ cabinet at left, and the washer dryer at right
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Old Hallicrafters receiver, not pretty
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Into the kitchen and on towards the laundry. Ahead is a sled we built I hope to be a big help hauling heavy items out of the basement. HF winch visible at right of door at very top
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Living room was clean, has now sort of become a staging/ work area. Tools and some salvage
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The small bedroom, one of the worst. The smoke just settled there. Bottom is antenna feeds, the panel is access to shower fittings. Had a huge corner multitier desk for the amateur radio stuff. Lots of that went away
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Hy-gain antenna rotator control, and Ameritron AL-80 linear amp. They are a mess
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Used to be a very nice Hallicrafters SX-101 receiver. These were top of the line of Hallicrafters and expensive. It may be junk. This was on top of a chest in my main bedroom, so not even that escaped.
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Living room. Ceiling was brought down by water. I'm pretty sure I can clean and repaint (hi temp) the gas heater
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This wall of the kitchen was fridge and range, about where the ladder is. You can imagine how THEY looked. We tore the compressor out, rope tied the doors shut, and carefully dollied it out and tipped it down on it's back in the trailer. Never opened the smelly thing!!
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Winch for the sled project
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Good to see you making some excellent progress Del.
 
67Dart273 said:
Thanks to all you have helped. Every bit, large or small helps!!! And get this. Randy, "missing linc" came down on vacation from Alberta and put in some hours. We made a HELL of a big hole in part of it. And in the rubble, he dug out my dirty and somewhat damaged but very likely fixable, stainless, Colt 380DA they call a "Pony". Similar models are Mustang, and Pocketlite. Parts of it are not stainless, the hammer, rear sight, mag release, and other parts of the trigger system.

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Good Man, Randy!

:thumbsup:
 
CFD244 said:
A little closer to the finish line :thumbsup:
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Actually we are just getting a little closer to the starting line. Once the basement is cleaned out, or at least to the point we can maybe cover the lathe, etc, it will be time to demolish. Pull out ALL sheet rock insulation, and at least the upstairs wiring and maybe the basement. Clear out to the studs and rafters

I have had a hell of a time getting reliable help. I've got just one guy here and he had to go to another job on the 23rd
 
Sort of a progress report. have had a LOT of trouble finding independent, square people who will WORK. Just fired a guy the other day, but that is a good thing, he was a twitchy twink.

Anyhow, ALL the ceilings and wall board is gone except a small amount in the basement, behind the work bench in the electronics room, all insulation is out except above the bathroom, which I'm "keeping going" as long as I can, for toilet, for washing dishes, and for showers!! Electric heaters (maybe more than one!! later!!) and a dedicated cable from the garage to water tank for hot water

All belongings and electronics are out and stored except what was in the "lathe room" (furnace room.) Some of that will stay because that was and will remain unfinished.

Big issue now, is getting people (and the damned city!!) for scheduling and permits and so on, and of course the weather is getting colder and will be getting wetter.

I still have the use of the loaned dump trailer, and am likely working on the very last load right now. Day before yesterday, had a neighborhood helper over here and we picked up most of the mess in the side yard. Fire guys through glass and junk all over the side yard. That actually went faster than I'd figured. No idea if and how to get rid of the broken glass. Maybe next spring, a walk behind bucket rig or something, and scrape up some soil.

I bought another pellet stove, and will temporarily set it in the living room in place of where the wood stove and later, the free standing gas heater was. The city can't say **** as with it "just sitting there unplougged" it is, well, "just sitting there unplugged." And I already have one in the basement which I had not used in years. I had bought it as a "booster" when I thought I had some work lined up, and was going to do down there. The f'ing city will NOT turn the gas meter back on, very annoying. (I used to do HVAC service work, so it's doubly annoying)

They cannot say **** about the pellet units because, with them unplugged (from extension cords) and maybe rip the vent loose, it's technically not installed and operational.

And yeh, the city now requires a permit for a wood heater.

Insulation coming out of the ground floor

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Also, I came up which seems to be a fairly workable, well regulated, and I hope dependable heating "system" for the trailer. The only actual system in the trailer is an RV type furnace, which operates actually on 12V, supplied by a 120V to 12V power supply which charges the batteries. Do not want to use that except emergencies, or maybe very cold days

So I built this box...........

The trailer requires one 30a 120V circuit. I had a couple "too short" large gauge extension cord for the 50A welder circuit, and bought a nice 6 ga. 80ft cord, which required different connectors, from the neighbor. This get me 240V 50A to the trailer.

This feeds an old breaker box, temporarily mounted to the rear bumper, and an RV connector mounted off the side of it which then connects to the trailer supply

BUT I ran two X 120V 20A, no 12 circuits separately into the trailer from the box. These are separate from the actual trailer wiring.

These directly feed the box below. Each leg of the two 20A circuits feed an AC contactor, controlled by a wall stat and 24V transformer.

Each T stat switched leg then feeds separate, dedicated, temporary receptacles.

Plugged into these are two portable "milkhouse" heaters, both with tip switches, and for now, set on low power, about 1KW each. Also off one receptacle, I ran a GOOD quality heavy extension, to run a small heater up on the shelf by the bed. It is on low power, nominal 850W. Last two nights I had the T stat down to 65, and during the day and last evening, it maintained a nearly perfect temp in the trailer.

The poor quality T stats on the heaters are twisted up above the set point of the wall stat, and thus serve as "hi limit" protection

This is an T stat I had, which did work, but it chatters the relay. So last night I spent 27 bucks on a non programmable but digital. Works very well

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Good to see you making progress Del, but very unfortunate that you have so much trouble finding anyone who is actually willing to work. That sucks!
 
Glad you have heat at least. I know it gets cold as a witch's tit up there.
 
So far we've actually been a bit above average, and had a heck of an "Indian Summer."
 
Del, I've got a new propane RV type furnace that came out of a 400 sq. ft. park model if it will help you. I'll never use it and you can have it if it will help you keep things warm. I'll box it up and ship it to you if you can use it.
 
No, not. A period of "fake." I still need to clean up the remnants of the ceiling blown in insulation, which, because of the water, (firefighting) some of that is "glued" to the rafters, etc. We can't really put the ceiling in until I get most of the wiring straightened out, because most of the main floor wiring goes through the attic, and that attic is no fun at all trying to crawl around up there on a ceiling.

Winter weather is going to be an issue. So far 4 people at the city have told me "we understand your plight and will work with you" and so far not ONE of them have done **** that constitutes "working with me."

I wanted to build a temporary trap/ stem to drain the washer from down in the basement, as I can keep it above freezing somewhat. They would not issue a permit for that. So far I have yet to find out why.
 
It's 7:30AM, Wed. I JUST got back in from taking a shower. The vanity top and shink, toilet, and shower/ tub have been cleaned up enough that I can see they will be saved. I am going to attempt to clean and paint the vanity cabinet.

The bathroom is the KEY. I have put in 3 valves in the basement to quickly drain the plumbing feeding upstairs, so in cold, I can drain everything down, and then the water tank will keep care of itself. Plus, I can somewhat heat the basement

I also have some pans so I can do the dishes in the bathroom.

These photos were taken "the first round" of cleaning. They look pretty darn good now.

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Did a bit of insulation on the trailer the other day. Screwed a big piece of styrofoam right over the "front" door which is right next to the bed. I am gonna put a rope through and across it, so in an emergency, I can rip a hole in the foam, open the door through the opening, and then just push the foam out the door. There are two ceiling vents, about 14" square, cut pieces and pressed them up in those. They are single layer plastic and ZERO heat retention. Ditto the big skylight in the so called shower. I will screw some foam up against that as well. Two of the biggest losses are the big 48X24 windows, 1 on each side. The windows all open and only single pane. It will turn the trailer into a dark dungeon.

The main (rear) door is a leaky SOB and not too much I can do, there.

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67Dart273 said:
Sort of a progress report. have had a LOT of trouble finding independent, square people who will WORK. Just fired a guy the other day, but that is a good thing, he was a twitchy twink.

Anyhow, ALL the ceilings and wall board is gone except a small amount in the basement, behind the work bench in the electronics room, all insulation is out except above the bathroom, which I'm "keeping going" as long as I can, for toilet, for washing dishes, and for showers!! Electric heaters (maybe more than one!! later!!) and a dedicated cable from the garage to water tank for hot water

All belongings and electronics are out and stored except what was in the "lathe room" (furnace room.) Some of that will stay because that was and will remain unfinished.

Big issue now, is getting people (and the damned city!!) for scheduling and permits and so on, and of course the weather is getting colder and will be getting wetter.

I still have the use of the loaned dump trailer, and am likely working on the very last load right now. Day before yesterday, had a neighborhood helper over here and we picked up most of the mess in the side yard. Fire guys through glass and junk all over the side yard. That actually went faster than I'd figured. No idea if and how to get rid of the broken glass. Maybe next spring, a walk behind bucket rig or something, and scrape up some soil.

I bought another pellet stove, and will temporarily set it in the living room in place of where the wood stove and later, the free standing gas heater was. The city can't say **** as with it "just sitting there unplougged" it is, well, "just sitting there unplugged." And I already have one in the basement which I had not used in years. I had bought it as a "booster" when I thought I had some work lined up, and was going to do down there. The f'ing city will NOT turn the gas meter back on, very annoying. (I used to do HVAC service work, so it's doubly annoying)

They cannot say **** about the pellet units because, with them unplugged (from extension cords) and maybe rip the vent loose, it's technically not installed and operational.

And yeh, the city now requires a permit for a wood heater.

Insulation coming out of the ground floor

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Del,

Two questions, please:

1. How did you heat the place before the fire, and what are your plans for heat going forward?
2. Has the AHJ given you approval to open-up the gas line yet?

I'm asking as a Commercial HVAC guy who, along with some Industry buddies, may just have some extra "stuff" on his/their hands.

Feel fee to drop me a PM, if you prefer.

Jim
 
ProjectBazza said:
Del,

Two questions, please:

1. How did you heat the place before the fire, and what are your plans for heat going forward?
2. Has the AHJ given you approval to open-up the gas line yet?

I'm asking as a Commercial HVAC guy who, along with some Industry buddies, may just have some extra "stuff" on his/their hands.

Feel fee to drop me a PM, if you prefer.

Jim
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Thanks. The city are being xxxxxx LOL. Nobody has given me a SPECIFIC reason. The are hinting that it's because of building condition. Well HELL!! I know that, I'm not trying to heat it to 70F all day. I just want temp heat for keeping pipes alive, and working in there on cold days. I spent about a dozen years doing HVAC service. What needs to be done. Pressure test and city approval on the gas piping. It is not extensive. Unused stub in the basement for a never installed kitchen range, an outdoor quick connect barbie style, an upflow furnace in the basement, and a corner living room free standing "millivolt" heater where the old wood stove once was. The upstairs heater got water and blown insulation stuck to it, and I bet I can tear it apart, pressure wash, and repaint and use it. I doubt anything needs replaces, as all components are "underneath," gas valve, blower, etc.

The furnace, probably needs ducts cleaned. They are all accessable, as basement walls/ ceiling wallboard all removed and will be left that way (cost.) Thanks for the offer, too early really to know. I doubt there is any damage to the furnace per se.
 
67Dart273 said:
Thanks. The city are being xxxxxx LOL. Nobody has given me a SPECIFIC reason. The are hinting that it's because of building condition. Well HELL!! I know that, I'm not trying to heat it to 70F all day. I just want temp heat for keeping pipes alive, and working in there on cold days. I spent about a dozen years doing HVAC service. What needs to be done. Pressure test and city approval on the gas piping. It is not extensive. Unused stub in the basement for a never installed kitchen range, an outdoor quick connect barbie style, an upflow furnace in the basement, and a corner living room free standing "millivolt" heater where the old wood stove once was. The upstairs heater got water and blown insulation stuck to it, and I bet I can tear it apart, pressure wash, and repaint and use it. I doubt anything needs replaces, as all components are "underneath," gas valve, blower, etc.

The furnace, probably needs ducts cleaned. They are all accessable, as basement walls/ ceiling wallboard all removed and will be left that way (cost.) Thanks for the offer, too early really to know. I doubt there is any damage to the furnace per se.
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Got it. I hate dealing with the authorities as well, as all too often you run into one of those "big fish in a small pond" type of personalities. (Can't live with 'em, can't shoot 'em!)

I would imagine you still have contacts from when you were in the Trade, but if you run into anything on your furnace you can't source locally, or need a second look or opinion, please keep me in-mind, as I was (past tense) a damn good Service Tech back in the day, but thanks to two bad knees, and a bad back, I just "push paper" now (parts, sales, tech support, and the occasional permit application) for a small commercial contractor here in the Twin Cites area, and I still have a ton of connections.

Heck, I'll shoot a PM over to you with my contact Specs when I get home tonight, and feel free to drop me a line if/when you need anything.

And, yes! I'm serious.

Jim
 
Thanks a bunch. Most the guys I knew are either retired, out of it or even dead. I first started for a few years over in Spokane, there were only 4 of us counting the owner. They did mostly commercial maintenance/ repair and when I arrived, they had gotten themselves into lumber kilns. They had built one, which I never saw, then while I was there we built I think 5 or 6, hard to remember. Two were Micom screw shaft drive 60hp, two were Carrier 80hp V8 shaft drive, what 5H-80 or something? Seems like we did one with a 12hp and one was either 40 or60 hp Carrier recip. All these were used compressors which we rebuilt in the shop.

All three of the guys in that shop are gone now except me, and I'm 76

Then I came to Coeur d Alene, where I live, and worked for one of the local Lennox dealers, just in time for the rise and fall of the Pulse. The boss is till kickin, his son now owns it. He is one of the few guys I still know, anymore. That, too was a rather small outfit that varied from about 5-6 of us to about 8 or 10. Installers "I'm sure you know" come and go. We had installers who came to work and didn't last A DAY. We installed a few rooftop units but most our sales was residential forced air. We did install just one boiler / pool heater that was used to heat a driveway.

I used to service nat gas/ LP/ electric furnace/ heat pumps and oil (gun) burners. No baseboard, radiant or oil stoves, although we removed a few of those.

The boss and his son were really sheet metal guys, and both are excellent. The son worked up on the Alaska pipeline for awhile. He has done some custom copper and stainless such as range hoods and stainless galley tables, etc.

Here is one of my old vans when I first put it together. Boss bought it from a church. I built the bulkhead and shelves, and the ladder rack, pipe side bracket and vise worked like a hitch receiver. I could "plug" a pipe or bench vise into the mount. A mighty slanty for power!!

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LOL same building today, with some little feature additions, looks like the building is mostly unchanged. Most of the building is buried. You can go around back, and walk right across from the ground level to the rooftop
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67Dart273 said:
Thanks a bunch. Most the guys I knew are either retired, out of it or even dead. I first started for a few years over in Spokane, there were only 4 of us counting the owner. They did mostly commercial maintenance/ repair and when I arrived, they had gotten themselves into lumber kilns. They had built one, which I never saw, then while I was there we built I think 5 or 6, hard to remember. Two were Micom screw shaft drive 60hp, two were Carrier 80hp V8 shaft drive, what 5H-80 or something? Seems like we did one with a 12hp and one was either 40 or60 hp Carrier recip. All these were used compressors which we rebuilt in the shop.

All three of the guys in that shop are gone now except me, and I'm 76

Then I came to Coeur d Alene, where I live, and worked for one of the local Lennox dealers, just in time for the rise and fall of the Pulse. The boss is till kickin, his son now owns it. He is one of the few guys I still know, anymore. That, too was a rather small outfit that varied from about 5-6 of us to about 8 or 10. Installers "I'm sure you know" come and go. We had installers who came to work and didn't last A DAY. We installed a few rooftop units but most our sales was residential forced air. We did install just one boiler / pool heater that was used to heat a driveway.

I used to service nat gas/ LP/ electric furnace/ heat pumps and oil (gun) burners. No baseboard, radiant or oil stoves, although we removed a few of those.

The boss and his son were really sheet metal guys, and both are excellent. The son worked up on the Alaska pipeline for awhile. He has done some custom copper and stainless such as range hoods and stainless galley tables, etc.

Here is one of my old vans when I first put it together. Boss bought it from a church. I built the bulkhead and shelves, and the ladder rack, pipe side bracket and vise worked like a hitch receiver. I could "plug" a pipe or bench vise into the mount. A mighty slanty for power!!

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I bet the slant got the job done too! Although probably slowly. lol
 
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