30 May, 2022
May 2022 update
It has been 2 weeks since we were I Idaho. I had to go back to California to work. I still do not know how I will manage work in California and home in Idaho. I will figure something out once the dust has settled, but for now, we are travelling frequently to get our new home done while still returning to California to fix up our house to sell.
While we were away, gutters have been installed over the time areas I painted on our Idahome. I am glad I had the opportunity to paint those areas first. I only painted exterior trim where the gutters were going to go and some window trim, 1 gallon of paint worth. Inside, convection/microwave and stove installed.
Pending items…vinyl flooring in living room. Drop well pump, trench power and water line from well to house, and set pressure tank. Install septic tank and leach lines. Continue painting exterior.
We bring another 2 loads of household stuff. 2 trucks, 2 trailers. We need more storage. We buy a 10 x 17 foot carport from Harbor Freight Tools (Loooove this store!) and take half a day to put that up. Unload over another 2 days.
Septic is under way. Leroy Ross from Construction Management Team once again is here to work for us and we are so grateful. Day 1, leach field trenching. Pump from house to field, non-pressurized.
Rain today, light and steady, turned to thunderstorm, hail, and massive winds and downpour at one point. Day 2. Septic Tank delivery (by Bonner Concrete Products) using knuckle boom truck. You must ask for this special truck if your ground is at risk for collapse. Our ground is sand, like a beach. This truck has a boom that can reach out to place the concrete tank.
Day 3 continue leach field trenching and hook up septic pump. Pump and most of the supplies came from R C Worst, additional supplies from Home Depot. It took quite awhile to set the tank because the walls kept caving in as the tank was being dropped and it had to be taken out and the sand scooped out. The tank weighs 13,000 pounds and you wouldn’t think that it could float up, but water is an amazing force and if the tank is left empty, it could. The day before the tank was placed, we had an incredible amount of rain in a very short time with thunder and lightning and pea-sized hail. It passed in the course of an hour and was sunny afterwards. This spring has so far been unseasonably cool. It has been 40-low 60s during the day (May 2022) when it is usually 60s and even low 70s around this time. Record for latest day of the year to hit 70’F is May 21 and it seems like this year the record may be broken. In contrast, California is unseasonably warm, already in the 90s and up to low 100s in the Central Valley. Fires in Laguna Beach. Leroy was gracious enough to fill 2 of our water totes and we used that water (500+ gallons) to fill the septic tank.
Once the septic tank was set and we were sure that the pump was working, I made an appointment with Panhandle Health Department to inspect it so that we could cover it up. Bonner County strives to provide service within 48 hours of a call and inspector Sara came as promised. Complete process from breaking ground was done within a week…and we Passed!
The Well… While Leroy was working on the septic, we were simultaneously, working on the well pump. Pump supplies from R C Worst and additional wiring, conduit, and other electrical supplies from Home Depot. We uncoiled the polypipe to get the bend out of it and let it stretch in the sun. Rope purchased turned out to not be rated with enough weight capacity and we had to order new stronger rope to drop the well pump. A lot of thought went into the execution of dropping the well pump prior to us actually doing it. The well pump itself is very heavy and to drop it 300 feet needs a controlling mechanism and a brake. We bought a hoist from Harbor Freight to assist with dropping the pump. So far, we cut the top of the well off, capped it and drilled a hole in the side for the water pipe.
Polypipe comes in a large roll and wants to stay coil up when cold. We laid it out in the sun to heat up and soften because it is very hard to work with when it is stiff.
We made a rig for the hoist and are using a ladder with supports across the rungs to hold our wire, rope, and guide the polypipe. It is important to secure the bottom of the ladder base because once you get started, the weight and pull is going to make the ladder want to pitch over.
Before dropping the pump, we attached a safety rope to it, wiring, and polypipe. Once it got going, our rig held and we were able to drop it in half a day.
We hit water at 150 feet and dropped it further to about 280 feet.
Next big project is to trench 300 feet up to the house, get the water pipe under the foundation and attach to house supply. In line with water supply is the electrical that goes to a box on the outside of the house.
marker tapes should be buried above actual lines/pipes to protect from being dug up in the future
The entire process for well pump, trenching, and connect to house took us about one and a half weeks.
With water supply to the house and septic done, 2 MAJOR items are done and the house is almost ready to live in.
Next trip in a few weeks will be smaller items such as sealing grout and granite, continue exterior painting, and hopefully final walk through. Once final walk through is complete, builder needs approximately 2 weeks to complete the ‘punch-list’ (unfinished business)…and then…we are able to move in! We.are.so.close…..
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