Bob's caboose build

[Philip]

You should be afraid of them tree rats. They can mess up wiring real fast. It's like candy for them.

My brother has a 2006 chevy 2500. At its one-year-old mark one of those tree rats got under the hood and ate the main wiring bundle off the under-hood fuse box. Every wire coming in and out. Try finding an engine bay harness for a 1-year-old truck. Chevy was back ordered no idea on when it could be had. Took him 5 months to find a used harness. Needless to say, his infestation of tree rats has hit its all-time low for quite a few years now.

BTW they chewed out about 6" of wire out of that bundle. No way to pull enough slack to resolder them back together.

[bobhenry]

The only effective method has been red pepper and vegetable oil as a spray. We have 182 (just a guess) on the 5 acres and the little shits are everywhere. Dryer sheets have had a bit of effect but the red and cayenne find ground pepper is the only effective deterrent.

[rjgimp]

I find a .22 to be very effective but in close quarters a wrist rocket will do.

[Philip]

I find a .22 to be very effective but in close quarters a wrist rocket will do.

Yep I gifted him a 22 with an aim point on it. Put the red dot on the place you want to install the perforation.

[bobhenry]

This summer is when I finally closed the envelope. Put R32 in the ceiling of the caboose. Already had R 25 walls and floor. I was very proud of the performance of my little Mr. Heater propane wall heater. We just went thru 3 days of sub zero with 35 to 50 MPH sustained winds. The wind chill numbers were up and down side of Minus 40 for 3 full days. I left Mr. Heater on the low #1 setting while gone and popped it up to #3 when home. (It goes to 7 or 8.) I am guessing I have used about $200.00 worth of propane so far this heating season. Tank is never fully filled by my provider and is now down from 80% to 55% . I may have to see them in early February but really trying to make it thru. I really should take Sheila's idea of candles as a nice little auxiliary heat source. During the day if the sun is out I can feel the solar gain thru the garden window that is oriented due south. I can almost work on my tan. Hope you all stayed warm during our arctic blast !

[ParTaxer]

Nice to hear from you Bob.

[bobhenry]

WOW A 3 MONTH ABSENCE ! I am gonna have to turn in my tiny trailer card if I don't get busy....... Today was just nostalgia day. I started at the front of my thread and read till my eyes bled. Man, simply looking back at all that work made me exhausted. I had to do some investigation. My side door install has failed thanks to water intrusion. I needed to get a look at the skeleton of the framing to see what I will be up against when I tear into the repair. It is nice that you can have the benefit of seeing what you did before burying the framing behind drywall and trim. As I peel the onion I will post more about this delima. A door leak went unchecked and water has destroyed a wall stud and a large portion of the floor and siding. It will be a gut job after easter. After Easter we will pull the gal pals prize Mustang out of hiding and I will have the tractor barn back to move the office furniture into while I make the repairs. This build was ultra cheap and sometimes that hinders your selection of the better options in materials and treatments. Poor folk have poor ways and sometimes that makes poor choices. This little house has kept me warm and dry and has proven to be a great fortress of solitude when I wanted a get away. It has proven to answer all my needs. In the last few years I have finally gotten ahead financially and could afford the big LP tank install and the addition of the internet These have both proven to be fantastic additions. More to follow !

[Gold5one]

Bob,
Sorry to read about the wood rot.
I have been renting since last July when we sold our house at the height of the home buying mania in Florida and I sometimes miss being able to work on my own place.
You'll have that rotted wood fixed in no time, unless you go with the penetrating epoxy repair like the lazy boat owners use, to help speed it up. I built my own home back in 1983 - 950 sf, 3br, 1-1/2 ba and I spared no expense to do it right. I used treated wood mud sill plates, treated 1x6 for all the eave and soffit ends, etc. I hope to go by that house in Rossville, IL one day and see how well my craftsmanship has held up. It never occurred to me that I was building a house that would outlive me one day.
Mark