Bathroom electrical work

I am still working on my bathroom remodel, albeit slowly.

This post is about the electrical work done.

Since the bathroom ended up being gutted this is how we had light in the bathroom for a good portion of the project until Larry got the new lights wired.  Until the new lights were installed we hung several trouble lights around the room.  Having only three walls also let light in the room.  I am looking through the frame of the fourth wall before we put sheet rock up.

Here is how I get into the old part of the house's attic to access the electrical wires there.  Before the bedroom addition was added this was an outside wall of the house. Now this opening is between the original attic and the bedroom attic.  This opening used to be a third smaller.  I enlarged it seeing as how I go in and out of this part of the attic more often than expected.

The attic before we started (and after I moved the insulation).  Under the insulation batts is the original loose grey insulation.  I scooped some of it up into plastic bags so we could work on the electric above the bathroom.

The vent on the left is for the bathroom.  It didn't work.  One electrical wire going to the vent is the power.  The other electrical wire went to a timer in the wall.  Since the vent never worked I never realized the timer controlled the vent.

The tall silver vent in the background was the double oven exhaust vent.

(Above) the newly wired bathroom area.  The new light/vent/heater unit (not shown) went where the previous bathroom vent was located.  We had to cut a little larger hole in the ceiling for the new unit.  The new box is the junction box between the wire from the switches in the wall and the wire to the unit in the ceiling.

Instead of laying the wire on the ceiling studs, Larry and I hung the wire used for the bathroom vent on the roof studs.  It is nice to not have the wire under all the insulation.

The circuit breakers outside the house.

The bathroom (and adjoining wall) before the remodel had four electrical wires, with three of the wires dedicated only for the bathroom (and adjoining wall):

1. old bathroom light and vent
2. electric heater in a bathroom wall
3. double oven in the adjoining wall to the bathroom
4. electric heater in the wall next to the double oven

At the end we had only two electric wires:

1. new light over the sink
2. new light/vent/heater unit

I wanted to remove the two wires we no longer used.  I also wanted to replace the third wire dedicated to only the bathroom.  The reason was that the old wire did not have a ground wire.  I wanted to replace the wire with wire with a ground. In the attic I could easily push the wire down the hole in the stud covering the top of outside wall. However the wires came from a hole in the wall into the back of the breaker box on the right.  Once the wires entered the box they clamped in place before going to the breaker.  The clamps were in the back behind the wires that came from the main center breaker box.

Ya... a pain.  Larry and I considered turning off the power and disconnecting the main wires so we could get to the clamps in the back.  Then we could pull the old wire out and pull along a new wire to replace it.  This would take a little time and we delayed it until the next day as we were worried we would run out of daylight before we were done.  The bathroom remodel took off  like a rocket the next day and we never did find time to replace the wire.  When we needed a wire for the ceiling light/fan we reused the existing wire I wanted to replace.  Someday I'll replace the wire.

Notice the two burn marks on the bottom of the main circuit breaker.  I had taken the panel off to check the wires that run to the right breaker box.  When I put the panel back on I wasn't paying close attention and put the panel in upside down.  The panel touched the two wires that come into the box from the top and caused sparks and a short and you can see the two burn marks that resulted from touching the wires.  Larry said I was lucky.

The wall with all the switches and outlets that Larry wired.  I took this photo just before we put the sheet rock up.  The left set of three switches is for the ceiling light/fan/heater.  The right switch and outlet is for the light above the sink.

Tonight Tammy and I started to install the sink and vanity and part of the linen closet (the second part of the linen closet was damaged in the box and I need to take it back to Lowe's tomorrow.  ) What we discovered is that Larry had centered the lights to the room, not to the location of the sink.  With a 18" wide linen closet next to the sink and vanity, the lights are a little to the right of the sink.  Oh well... too late to do anything about it now. The wall is painted and done.

I believe the stringers between the studs are so we can attach the large mirror over the sink.  However, while we did measure the studs' locations, we forgot to measure the stringers' locations before the sheet rock went up.  I hope the stud finder works.

The electrical work is not done.  For some reason the ceiling fan and heater do not work.  The light works.  Larry could not figure out what the problem was.   He even called an electrician friend of his for advice.  The friend suggested a test of using another outlet as a source of power.  I don't remember why, but using the outlet in a certain way caused sparks to fly when I inserted the wires into the outlet.  Reversing the wires I put into the outlet stopped the sparks but the ceiling fan/heater still would not work.

We could not figure it out and Curt wanted to get on with the remodel so we gave up for now.  To be on the safe side we turned off the breaker to the unit so that meant using the trouble lights for a little while longer.  Once I get the sink and vanity installed I will turn my attention back to fixing this problem as it is getting annoying searching in the dark for the light switch in the middle of the wall.

Then Larry got the lights above the sink installed so we had light in the bathroom.  Hurray!

After my uncles left I continued to work on my bathroom remodel.  For a few days the weather was so cold outside (high temperatures only in the 40s F and rain), and I hadn't started the wood stove for heat, so I decided to use an electric heater in the bathroom to warm it up while I continued to mud the sheet rock.  I discovered that the switch controlled more than the light - it also turned the power off to the outlet. 

The problem switch and outlet.

How it was wired.

I found that the problem was that the hot (black) wire was split.  The wire from the breaker went into the switch (line position).  From the switch a connector joined the switch's load with the outlet's line and with the light itself.  I changed the wiring to go from the breaker to the outlet (line).  The outlet's load hot wire went to the switch's line.  The switch's load went to the light.  The switch had to go from first in the chain to second in the chain as it controlled the power to everything in the chain after the switch.

The outlet is a GFCI outlet.  While re-wiring the outlet the screws that hold the wire in place would not turn and hold the wires in place.  If it's not one thing, it's another.

It was too late that night to go to Lowe's to replace the outlet.  I wired a regular outlet in place as a temporary fix overnight.  Everything worked correctly.

The next day after I got the GFCI outlet replaced I wired it in place.  The outlet would keep tripping and turning off.  I discovered the neutral (white) wire was wired like the black (hot) wire.  That is, it also was split and joined, though in this case the white wire never went to the switch.  I re-wired the white wire to also go to the outlet, then the switch, then the light.

The switch and outlet work correctly now.

Slowly, but surely, I am getting there.

Dan's cattle

Late Saturday morning Dan brought his cattle to my pasture.

Dan brought ten cattle.  Earlier in the Spring I mentioned that I planned on getting ten head and that would leave ten head for Dan as I only wanted twenty head of cattle in the pasture.  Dan was with me when I got eleven head of cattle.  He even made a comment that I need to quit buying cattle or he wouldn't have any room for his cattle.  So I thought he knew that left only nine head for him.  I was surprised when he said he had ten head.  Dan said his tenth head was a smaller one.  ...okay.

When the cattle jumped out of Dan's trailer I noticed his tenth head was smaller - but no smaller than my largest heifer.

Dan's cattle were so large he had to have two loads to bring his cattle. They appear to weigh more than a couple hundred pounds more than my cattle.

Each time Dan brought cattle everyone immediately got together.  Then the newcomers wanted to immediately check the pasture out and off they went.  Lots of wandering around and around checking everything out for the rest of the afternoon until they finally settled down for their siesta late afternoon.  My cattle has been in the pasture for almost a day so they had settled down.  But with the newcomers they were up and around with them all day.

Last year I had nineteen head of cattle total and still had grass left at the end of the year.  It was a wet year and the grass grew tall.   This year had been a drier year up until mid-May and the grass is lagging.  Hopefully the weather doesn't immediately go into mid Summer and hot temperatures so as to give the grass time to absorb the moisture and grow before the ground dries up.  We'll see if the pasture will support the twenty-one head of cattle.

Here is a 1:16 video of the cattle.  The first part shows two of my cattle.  The last part is of Dan's cattle.  Notice the one in the background licking the tree.  After the video she took to using the tree to scratch an itch in the middle of her head.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1neCmJRBLXk&feature=youtu.be

Leaving the corral

Friday, after they got de-worming spray and ear tags, and after I fixed the pasture fences, I let the cattle out of the corral.

The past Winter and Spring the deer had broken the top fence wire in a number of places around the middle pasture.  In addition to the odd nail popping out of the wooden posts over the past year I found a half dozen metal posts had missing wires for holding the barb wire.  It is hard to explain why they are missing.  I check the fences each Spring for missing nails and such. 

Here the top wire has the wire holder.  The bottom wire is missing one.

Once I got the fence fixed it was time to release the cattle.

They were expecting to be fed another bale of hay so they just stood near the feeder for the longest time after I opened the gate and stepped away.

Finally a few came to where I was calling them.

Here is a 1:30 video of them leaving the corral:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Q5ue5zYt2o&feature=youtu.be

As you can see they had muddy legs and hooves. It definitely was time to get them out of the corral before they got hoof rot.

I wanted the cattle in the middle pasture. Instead of herding them when all they wanted to do was eat green grass I let them be.  In their explorations they would eventually get to the middle pasture. I went down to the river where I spent some time repairing a fence overlooking a high river bank.

Later I heard a noise and it was the cattle when they discovered the river.  The cattle were in the middle pasture. Great!  I always enjoy watching cattle when they see a river for the first time.  They always are so surprised they stop and stare at the river trying to make sense of it.

This time instead of watching them I took off to close the gate.  The gate is at the other end of the pasture and I ran for it.  The cattle didn't remain at the river.  Instead they took off on their exploration of their new home and were running towards the east side of the pasture and gate.  I ran as fast as I could but that is still much slower than what cattle can run.  Even with a head start I would lose the race.  But the gods were smiling as the cattle turned to the SE corner of the pasture and not the NE corner where the gate was located.  I was able to close the gate then catch my breath.

Mission accomplished.

Getting ready for the pasture

It was an eventful day for the cattle on Friday: de-worming, ear tags, and then out to the pasture.

Dan came over to help me with the de-worming solution and ear tagging.   I had never put a de-worming solution on cattle before as the cattle I had bought in prior years already had it done to them.

The smallest size of the de-worming solution available in the local stores was 5 liters.  This size can treat up to 200 head of cattle.  Much more than I need but I had no choice.  The solution I bought was Ivermectin. 

I also bought a nozzle sprayer made by Pfzier.  It had a chamber where you can set the dosage based on the cattle's weight.  This is good as in the heat of the moment all you have to do is spray and not worry about spraying too little or too much.

Once we got the cattle into the loading ramp I took a large wooden panel and pushed forward to crowd the cattle into the front part of the ramp.  Since I have not finished my corral rebuild I do not have a mid-ramp gate to crowd the cattle.  Holding the panel protected me from getting kicked.

The spraying went well and quick. All you have to do is spray the solution on the cattle's back.  Once Dan sprayed the backs of all the cattle we turned to tagging the heifers (and steer) who did not already have tags.  That was five of them.

The last heifer to get an ear tag was the white heifer.  She knew to avoid the ear tag.  She kept her head down low to the ground.  She also put her head on the opposite side of the loading corral from Dan where he couldn't reach her.  She was closer to me so Dan gave me the applicator.  As crowded as she was the heifer quickly moved so her head was close to Dan.  I handed the applicator back to Dan and the heifer moved to the other side of the corral before Dan could use it.

Dan walked around to the other side of the corral and the heifer moved her head to the other side.  Dan half climbed into the corral but still couldn't reach her.  I told him not to get into the corral but the next I knew he was in amongst the cattle.  He didn't try to tag the heifer and instead moved over to the other side.  This side is the old corral which I hadn't rebuilt and one of the boards was loose.  It was a challenge for Dan to get back up onto the corral.

Eventually we tagged the white heifer.

One red heifer with a white face got the tag in a vein in her ear and was bloody for a while but it didn't take long for the blood to stop.

The de-worming solution needed to be on for six hours to take effect.  After an hour or two it rained.  The rain wasn't hard so I hope it didn't wash the solution off their backs.

Typical June day this year

In May and June this year we have had only a couple days where the temperatures got into the 70s.  A number of days in the 60s. A number of days with highs in the 40s.  Most days have had highs in the 50s.  It froze the other night and the grass was all covered in frost in the morning.   Dan said he had to scrape frost off his vehicles' windows.

The heavy rain we had a few days ago resulted in the ski runs on Whitefish Mountain getting all covered with snow again all the way to the bottom of the runs.  Back in Minnesota they are having more 90 degree days.  It seems like Minnesota is hogging all the global warming as we aren't getting any out here in Montana.

Friday morning Tammy was dressed as usual:  sweatshirt, blankie and a cup of hot chocolate. 

After I had the wood burning stove going for a while she warmed up.

River otter

I thought I had already posted this, but apparently in the rush to start remodeling my bathroom I must have forgot to post it.  Here it is...


Friday, May 5, at the river I spotted an animal I never seen before.  It was on the opposite bank and a little upstream when I spotted it.  After a short time sniffing around the bank it went into the river and swam across to my side.  This was not easy as the river flow was 588 CFS.  Amazingly the animal swam almost straight across.  A few times it would dive under the water for a short time as it crossed.

Then it swan upstream along my river bank.   I thought it was going away and I looked elsewhere and downstream.  A few minutes later I spotted the animal as it surfaced on my side of the river downstream from where I stood.  Whoa!  That was fast!  It continued floating with the current as it went around a bend and out of sight.

Now what animal was it?  It was large enough to be a beaver but it didn't have a flat tail.  And the body was long.  It was much too large to be a muskrat.  I suspected it was an otter, but... I only knew of sea otters.

I researched the internet and found that the animal was a river otter.  What I saw matched this description exactly:

"it has an elongated body, short legs, webbed feet and a long stout tail. Out of the water it walks with an awkward humpbacked gait, sometimes belly-sliding down muddy or snow-covered hills. On the surface of the water it dog paddles, but underwater the otter swims with its entire body, pushing with its webbed feet and steering with its long tail."

"Otters even eat muskrats and beavers!"   Wow.  Even another reason I like these animals.

Photo by Bren Bowerman

http://www.tnaqua.org/OurAnimals/Mammals/RiverOtter.aspx?gclid=CKyJg8jB6K8CFagbQgodWA1c1w

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otter

http://www.wildernessclassroom.com/www/schoolhouse/boreal_library/animals/otter.htm

June moon

Here are a few photos of the moon the other night.

Wet and muddy

Last month I, and many others, were wishing for rain as it was pretty dry.  You know the saying "Be careful what you wish for"?  Yup.  That's right.

It had been wet from rain the past few weeks but the heavy rain that started last night continued all night and into this afternoon.

Here is the view when I went out to check on the cattle.

My soil is sandy loam so the water disappears right away.  To see standing water means it is raining long and hard.

The corral is pretty muddy.

Primary election

Tuesday was the primary election in Montana.  I again worked as a chief election judge.  Tammy worked on my team as an election judge, her first election.  I also had two other new people on my team of six (including me).  I think Tammy enjoyed the day and the characters both in other judges and in the voters, even if quite a number of stretches of the day were slow and boring.

The day was long as we had to be at the the election site by 6 am to prepare to open the polls at 7 am.  That meant getting up by 4:30 am and feeding the cattle and leaving the house by 5:30 am to get there.  Tammy and I did some of the initial setup (for an hour) last night to take some of the pressure off this morning.

We had a few glitches with the voting and auto-mark machine setup but got them resolved in time to open the polls for voting. Overall the whole process during the day went well.

In contrast to the 2010 general election where we had a record number of voters (495), this election at 267 voters had for us the lowest amount of voters I and my experienced team members have seen.  It was so slow in the morning Ted and I were predicting a total of maybe only 150-175 voters.  In the afternoon the traffic picked up and after work more voters came.

Tammy suggested the election judges have potluck for lunch and supper and we all brought stuff with Tammy and I bringing two crock-pots.  One had shredded beef for lunch and then a Tastefully Simple Creamy garlic chicken with brown and wild rice.  Yum!  Everyone loved the meals.

After the election was over Tammy and I were delayed in leaving for a little bit when the two new judges left without signing the time sheets after writing their hours down.  We had to call them and get them to return to sign.

The weather was cool and threatened rain all day.  Finally an hour or two before the polls closed the rain started and fell steady.  The election department's headquarters is temporarily at the fairground and the parking is poor.  Fortunately we got a space close to the door to unload our supplies as it was still raining hard.

The wait to be checked in was longer than in 2010 and it took us almost 40 minutes to be checked in so we didn't get home until a quarter to eleven.  I then had to feed the cattle who had eaten most of the hay I had given them before I left in the morning.  With all the rain a good part of the corral has turned into part lake / part mud pit.

The cattle were dry in the loafing shed and were slow to come out.  Initially I pondered on waiting till morning to get a bale of hay from the barn into their feeder but as I deliberated the cattle came over in the rain and mud to me as if to tell me, "yes, I want hay tonight".   I got a bale out for them.

It is so wet here everyone is sick of it and wishing for drier weather.  That's not in the forecast anytime soon.

A bullet whizzed by

Sunday evening I heard gunshots down near the river and went to investigate.  The shooting was on the other side of the river on the neighbor's land. I saw two guys moving around in among the trees along the ridge.

Years before I moved here my neighbor got a bullet that went through two of his house walls.  From the angle of the two holes it appeared the bullet came from the ridge across the river. Since then the landowner apparently banned most people from shooting on his land and even then supposedly banned them from using rifles when shooting on his land.

The two guys were shooting lots. "Pop.  Pop. Pop.".  As I heard of the "no rifles" rule I wasn't concerned about bullets on my side of the river.  And who would be stupid enough to shoot across the river?   I stood out on the open listening and watching.  Shots for a while. Then quiet.  Then more "pop pop pop" shots.  Then after a shot I heard a bullet whiz by near me.  A little up and to one side.  "Whiiizzzzzzz...."

What?!

I shouted to the two guys that their bullets were crossing the river to my side.

Silence.

After a few to five minutes more shots.

Really?!   Not even the decency to verbally reply.  I know they could hear me as off-and-on earlier I could hear the two talking to one another.

I left and went home to call the landowner.  He is supposedly pretty ill with cancer.  He may not know someone was shooting recklessly on his land.  It was by now 8:45 pm.  No answer.  I didn't know if he was home or away on another journey for a medical solution.

I called another neighbor friend of his.  He steered me to the landowner's son who I reached.  The son told me no one should be shooting on the land other perhaps his son (age 19) who currently was out with a friend. The son's son was allowed to shoot with a 22 rifle on the land.

I explained what had happened and the son promised to speak to his son to learn if it was him who was shooting.

Man, always excitement.  Though dodging bullets is not my kind of excitement.  I'll leave that to the movies.

Frustrating auction

Like the May 19th auction this auction held last Saturday (June 2) also was only advertized two weeks before the auction and not the week before.  However Carpenter (actually his wife as she told me) mails out postcards to the previous auction attendees on their list, of which I am.

Saturday was a wet day.  I spent all morning at a memorial service for my hiking friend Bill who passed away a little over three years after he fell on ice and hit his head.  I didn't get to the auction until after 1:30 pm.  The auction had started at 10 am.

The rain had stopped by the time I arrived.  It didn't matter as they were selling stuff inside the large shop building.  A good crowd was there and it seemed as if most stuff was selling for reasonable prices.  I spotted a few things I didn't need but I was interested in and settled in for a wait.

It took much longer than I anticipated to get to what I was interested in, which was among the last stuff sold.

When the shop stuff was all sold the auction moved back outside and within minutes it began to rain lightly.  Figures. When they moved to a small old building and sold pitchforks and other similar tools they had to squeeze everyone inside the small building because it began to rain hard.  When it looked like the rain let up they took a break to go outside to sell a horse and a saddle. Of course once they started the bidding it began to rain hard again even though the sun was shining now

The rain quit for good by the time they finally got to what I was interested in.

My problem with stuff that I like but did not need is that I wasn't willing to pay much for them.

My interests:

•  A wooden two wheel cart.  Great for hauling bulky stuff that would be awkward in a wheelbarrow.  My "bad" as I spaced it out and lost out on the bidding when one of the women suddenly dropped out.  The winning bid was $15 and the woman took both carts.  The carts needed minor work but certainly worth more than $15.  A woman with Don (see more about him later) bought the carts.

• small 2-piece heavy duty round metal feeder.   I have a large 3-piece metal feeder even though I mainly feed my cattle from my two wooden feeders.  But if the price was right I would buy this small metal one.  It was kind of cute.  My limit was less than $50 - though if I did not have a metal feeder already I would have paid more for it.  Wouldn't you know it the winning bid by someone else was $35 as I would have had to bid $50 as the next bid.  Oh well, I already have a feeder.

• a small metal water trough.  I already have two water troughs.  This one was a little smaller and would be easier to move.  It was old, held water and had some rust.  Again my limit was less than $50.  I started the bidding at $10.  Another guy bid $20.  I bid $30.  He bid $40.  I would have had to bid $50 and I passed. Darn. But old well, I already have two of them.

• Lastly I was interested in a 4 ft and a 6 ft gate. They were very heavy duty gates.  They had an 8 ft gate but I think I have enough of that size.  Bidding was for choice of gates.  Two other guys bid and the winning bidder got choice at $50.  A deal.  He chose only the 8 ft gate.  Perfect because I wasn't interested in that one.
  
  The 4 ft and 6 ft gates were sold as a pair.  I started the bidding at $25.  The guy who bought the 8 ft gate bid $35.  Now it is my fault as I bid $40 instead of the asking bid of $50.  Usually I ether accept or reject the asking bid, but I was still in the mindset of "less than $50" even though it was two gates and not one gate of which I had set my limit.  The auctioneer was annoyed but he took my bid.  The other guy then bid $50.  The auctioneer then made a smart-ass comment along the lines of my $40 bid was a waste of time as he got his asking $50.  I didn't take this well and wouldn't bid $60 and the other bidder got both gates for $50.
  
  Even though I didn't need these two smaller gates and couldn't immediately think of a place to use them, they were worth more than $50 each new and they were in great condition.  I know it is obvious, but I should have remembered it was for both gates, and I shouldn't have gotten mad.

So I was skunked at this auction having wasted four hours in the afternoon.  And I lost my gates bid to Don, my auction "nemesis".  This is not the first time I lost out to him.  He shows up at most auctions and is a "bottom feeder" like me.  The difference between us is that I suspect he resells some or much of what he buys as he gets a variety of stuff at low prices.

Cottage Inn auction

May 19 I attended a great auction.

This auction was great because the only advertizing was two weeks prior to the auction.  The newspaper screwed up and didn't run the ad the week before the auction.  Therefore turnout was light and deals were to be had.

The auction was a two day auction concerning disposition of the Cottage Inn.  At the auction I met the Englishman who owned and ran the Inn and he was the nicest guy. I am sorry he lost his business.

Day 1 (Friday) was the Inn's contents.  Day 2 (Saturday) was the personal property of the Inn's owners.  I only attended the Saturday auction.  I showed up over an hour after the auction started at 10 am since I helped Tammy set up her Women's Expo at the Flathead County Fairgrounds that morning.  Even though I was late to the auction I got bidder number 47.  That is how few people were at the auction.

Parking area

Auction site

Bobby Roshson: auctioneer

Many things sold cheap.  I regretted not getting there on time.  After I arrived I saw a woman walk by with a new electrical circuit breaker box still in its original cardboard box.  I could use one of those to replace my old circuit breakers for the house.

I stayed until the end of the auction.  The two photos below shows what I bought.  Grand total: $33.

There was stuff I needed for my bathroom remodel.  A current handsaw is dull and the estimate was for $12 or so to sharpen it.  I bought two sharp handsaws for $3 each.  I needed scrapers and a box for my sheet rock mudding.  I bought all the stuff to the right of the handsaw for $2.  I got everything to the left of the handsaws (except the receiver hitch) for $1. What I wanted in this box of stuff was the pair of 3-pin cross country ski shoes as most of the rest I threw away.  I bought a receiver hitch for my pickup with a 2 inch ball for $6.

I got a 2 ft level and a 4 ft level for $7.   The auction sold two of iron Shepard's hooks and it turns out I should have taken them both as Tammy has two things to hang on Shepard's hooks. And I got the wooden sawhorses which would have come in handy earlier when my uncles were here to remodel my bathroom.

Checking out my work

Friday I decided to do something about the gate wheel that sticks.  I took it apart and put grease around the bolt that acts as an axle and holds the wheel on the metal flange. The design could have been better as we'll see how well this fix will work.

When I went to get something else I needed, the cattle - who all decided to interrupt their afternoon siesta and cud chewing to watch me closely - moved in to check out my wrenches and the wheel.

One heifer then decided to lick the extra grease off the bolt.  The things cattle do. 

While kneeling and working on the wheel one of the cattle decided to sniff my hair.  I don't know what it is about my hair, but every year I get at least one steer or heifer obsessed with my hair.