Camp is becoming more homelike

[catsittingstill]

Well, we're mostly moved.  There are a few bookcases that still need to be packed out, and most of the contents of the attic, and the carport (especially the canoe and bike stuff) but we're most of the way to being cleaned out of the old place, and we have till the end of the month to be packed out and gone, so I'd say we're comfortably ahead of schedule.

The new place is gradually becoming more homelike.  The glorious addition of DSL (the modem wasn't supposed to arrive until yesterday but it actually arrived two days early) was a big improvement over the dialup ghetto we were living in before.  Getting our desks assembled in the office so that we had a place to sit was also a quantum jump in homelikeness.  Moving the rest of the kitchen (who'd have thought we'd miss the condiments and the dishwashing stuff so much?  But the one day we didn't have them, we did.) was another jump.

Thank goodness for the paper "insta-curtains" they had at Lowes.  They're basically this accordion-pleated paper stuff with an adhesive strip on the top pleat--cut to width with an exacto knife, peal the cover strip off the adhesive, and stick to the top of the window frame.  They have two clips (a bit like clothespins) to hold them up and out of the way during the day, and at night you take the clips off and they accordion down to cover the windows so the neighbors can't see you wandering around in your pajamas.  And they cost a trifle over 3$ each, which considering how many windows this house has, is a Very Good Thing.  Eventually I will need to replace them with something real, but at least I don't have to worry about it right now.

There have been little surprises, like discovering that one of the garage windows was on the verge of falling out, but so far they've all been fixable.

And today I go pick up the used washer and dryer I bought in Knoxville.  I wonder how hard they are to hook up?

Comments

[msminlr.livejournal.com]

It will probably be worth it to get a new set of washer hoses and a new dryer vent hose. Also new "hose washers" FOR the new hoses.

I discovered the last time I bought a dryer that Not All Dryer Electric Plug-ins are Identical. If you have a digital camera handy, get an image of the plug-in at your new place. If the existing cord on the dryer will not plug into that socket, you'll need to add a new dryer cord to your shopping list.

I've been presuming this is an all-electric dryer.
If it is gas-fired, you'll need a new gas line hose, but the electrical plug-in will be generic.

Doing the actual hookups is pretty intuitive, unless you wind up having to do the dryer cord transplant. Depending on how electric-savvy folks in your family are. It's not something that requires a licensed electrician, though it DOES help to have done it before.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

New washer hoses and dryer vent hose are a must, as the units didn't come with any. I sprang for the good braided wire reinforced washer hoses.

I actually did the digital camera trick (with a tape measure in the picture) for the washer inlets and the hookups in the wall to make sure I got the right sizes of hoses--only to discover that they are standard sizes. Oh well, better over prepared than under prepared.

It is indeed an electric dryer.

I think I'm savvy enough to do a dryer cord transplant if necessary, but would prefer to avoid an extra PITA if possible. But as long as they used the right colors of wire, I'll be okay.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Washer is pretty trivial; hot hose on hot, cold hose on cold, plug in the socket, use the screw-feet to get it some semblance of level, fire up a "warm" cycle and check for leaks. (Also check to see if "warm" is really "warm".... my apartment has so much more cold pressure that "warm" with both faucets on full isn't even tepid, it's just not freezing.)

Dryer only has two hookups, the big 220V plug and the vent, but OMG the vent can be a PAIN!

Second the previous remark, new hoses and vents and such are probably a good idea. If you need it, the dryer power cord transplant isn't too bad, RTFM that comes with the package and you should be fine. (Basic electrical crash course: Black is hot, white is neutral, green is ground. This goes for wall switches too.) But if you're lucky you won't have to do this.

Oh, and make sure that when the dryer is on, you're actually getting something out the vent. We had to have our general contractor come out with a huge ladder and clear a couple birds' nests out of the vent... you can get these venitian-blind-looking things that go over your vent that keep the birdies out when the dryer is not on. RECOMMENDED! (If there's not one there alreddie. If there is, it's easy to check that you're getting good venting!)

There's a phrase for this... "House poor." New gorgeous house, but your Home Depot credit card is maxed out with all those little things that the place desperately needs...

Good luck!

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Good point about levelling it with the screw feet. The floors in this house are pretty level (nothing like the last one, where we had to put wedges under the front of Every Single Bookcase), but it would be good to check. If the top of the cabinet is level, the tub should be level, right?

Hmm. Come to think of it, this is a front loader; it won't spin around a vertical axis anyway. Is levelling as important with a front loader?

Right now the hot water heater is set *quite* hot. I haven't measured the temp yet, and maybe it's because the house has a dishwasher, but getting a warm shower that isn't too hot is a bit of a trick. So I expect the warm wash to be, um, probably quite warm. I almost always wash in cold, so maybe it doesn't matter too much.

New hoses and vents are purchased, since the units didn't come with any, except the washer outflow hose :-) I got the good hoses with the braided wire reinforcement--I heard those were less likely to fail.

I *hope* a dryer cord transplant won't be necessary, but haven't checked whether the cord will fit the plug yet.

The vent goes into the attic, through the attic by means of a LOOOONG piece of dryer vent, and ends at a soffit vent. The problem is it's twisted around in there, so the open end of the dryer vent doesn't point directly at the soffit vent. We may have to take the soffit vent off, which I am unenthused about because it appears to have been fastened with nails rather than screws. But if necessary I will do it; I have screws to put it back with.

I found one birdie nest, in the knee of a gutter drainpipe, and reluctantly removed it. I like baby birdies but not in the cracks of my house, please. Maybe I will put up a bird house somewhere in the yard for them.

I'm wondering just how house poor I'm going to end up in the next couple of months :-)

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Oh, you got a frontloader? *envy* Leveling probably isn't *as* important with a frontloader, but probably helps it drain right...

Hot water should be set somewhere between 120F and 140F, more or less to taste; lower saves energy and would be important if you had short people in the house; higher helps the dishwasher (although frankly good detergent *really* helps the dishwasher; I like the BioKleen natural grapefruit-based powder in the cannister.... a little pricey but a little goes a long way and does a good job on my dishes even in an el-cheapo apartment-grade dishwasher.)

You want to wash towels and such on as hot a water as they will accept; cuts down on the mildew factor. Not *as* bad in ET as it is in the PNW, but still. Other than that, cold is fine, especially with modern detergents.... some of the commercial ones are even designed for cold, and some of the natural ones work pretty well that way too. If you've got a newer front loader, look for the HE symbol on your detergent; you'll use less. (Some of the naturals are HE as well.)

Woo, that dryer vent is gonna be trouble. You want that venting all the way to the outside; if it's just pointed at the soffit vent you're gonna have moisture problems up there, and in the roof area, that's Bad News.

What kinda birdies? (A nest this early won't be actively used by babies...)

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

I knew for about a month that I would be needing a washer so I made a special point of inquiring at various used appliance places about used front-loaders. I finally found *one* and hopped on it. I figure I saved about 40% even after renting the truck. It was a bunch of extra trouble, but 40% of a front-loader is a lot :-)

There are warnings on the front of the hot water heater that make it sound like I should have a pro do the temp adjusting. I know just the guy but he just had back surgery so I want to give him a month or so to heal up.

I have plans of getting it turned around and pointed out the soffit vent; it sounds like those are more urgent than I thought, though.

I don't know what kind of birdies made the nest; it was mostly straw-like-stuff, held together with mud and with a mud lining--but there may have been down in there before the winter winds got hold of it...

A carolina wren made a nest in the nose of my old canoe a few years go and raised a fine crop of babies there, which were very cute when they went through their learning-to-fly stage. That nest was mostly sphagnum moss, or something local that is very like it, texture wise. But a nest's structural components may depend heavily on what is available nearby; I dunno.

If the nest had had actual baby birdies or eggs in it, I wouldn't have torn it down :-)

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

The warnings on the front of your hot water heater are legal paranoia, no more. What you do need to do is *test* what you've done, although it's less important adjusting in the "down" direction... easiest way to test is at your kitchen sink with something like a meat thermometer. I'd say output from the faucet full-on hot should be ~135F or less, but no less than 120F. Like a refrigerator, it takes several hours to stabilize (less if you do something like a dishwasher load or a shower after adjusting; give it 30min after the water goes off (I'm assuming this guy is electric, given you're in TVA-land; if it's gas (win!) it takes less time).

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

Bit by bit, putting it together!

I'm glad you're getting your house put together to make a new home. It's so satisfying, isn't it?

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

:-) Oh, yes.

What will *really* be satisfying is when all the stuff is out of boxes and arranged, and the garden is planted, and I can start doing things like mending the woodwork.

[robin-june.livejournal.com]

When installing the washer, make sure that its drain hose loops up higher than the top of the tub before it enters the plumbing's drain pipe.

See if there's any chance of an owner's manual you can download from the web for your models. (If the original owner's manuals come with your units, that would be splendid.)

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

There's a dohickey on the back of the washer that does precisely that (raises the drain hose).

Alas, no owner's manual came with the units. I will see if they can be found online.

[pstratt.livejournal.com]

Some other pieces of advice. Turn off the washer hose faucets at the wall when you're not using them. Hoses can fail and if you're not around when one does the damages can be astronomical.

An SCA person you might remember from Adiantum, Shara Tunoy, had one of her washer hoses fail the day after she returned from a three week trip. The ensuing flood on her second floor went to the first floor and the unit under hers. It took her five minutes to find a valve wrench to turn off the water to her condo building. The washer valves were stuck open since they hadn't been turned off for 20 years and were too hard for her to move. She mentioned a few nightmares thinking about if this had happened while she was gone.

1. Turn off washer hose faucets at wall.
2. Locate your shutoff valve.
3. Put the shutoff valve wrench in a place you know can find and *always* leave it there.

Enjoy your new house!

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, you know Shara? I haven't seen her in ages; I hope she's doing well.

There's a shutoff valve for the whole house in the crawlspace; if I remember right it's even a regular (outdoor) faucet handle rather than needing a wrench. But the downside is the shutoff is at the absolute opposite end of the crawlspace from the crawlspace entry...

There's also a place by the road it can be turned off; I think that one requires a wrench. I should probably figure out if one of the wrenches in Toolbox 1 (metal/electrical/bike) can do the job or whether I need to buy one.

Turned out no semblance of hoses came with the washer so I went to Lowes and bought some; I spotted the nice ones reinforced with braided wire and sprung the extra 12$ for them since I heard they were less likely to fail.

Thanks for the suggestions!