About that inspection...

Well it turns out (apparently) that our King pins (no idea) are 'quite worn' and need to be replaced. I seem to remember hearing about this on RV Love a couple of years ago so I recognize the name of the problem but still have no clue as to what it is - other than something something steering.

As this will be around $2000, we are hoping it will be covered by our enormous super duper extended warranty but haven't had a chance to check on that as yet. Problem is that its a 2 day repair, Yikes. Boss man won't like that... no idea how we are going to manage this but I'm sure we'll figure something out.

As is the way of it, we sat around here for weeks with trickle phone calls sometimes 2, 3 or 4 a day sometimes none in a day but a steady trickling of bookings... Thinking 'hey its Monday in early March, no one will call' off we go to Duncan to deal with our stuff and lo and behold the voicemail was full and I had 10 emails on top of that this morning.... naturally! All caught up now though but wowsers the pace at which this place is filling is increasing exponentially.

We had our taxes done at H&R Block while we were in town, Brad usually does them but we have a lot going on so we let them do it while we were in town. Quite a nice return coming and away we went, then the lady (she was new) called to say she hadn't given Brad his disability credit so he had to stop back in the shop and the difference was an extra $1600  - so that was a nice bonus.

Ray & Deb of Kastle's Journey drove in to Duncan to meet us for lunch. Very nice of them as its the better part of a half hours drive from their place to Original Joe's where we met up. Had a nice visit and some good grub and we were off again to do yet more running around.

I went to Dollarama for some Irish Spring ( yes, the soap) to put around the yard, again - just planning ahead, I don't know what to expect and I don't want to learn the hard way. While there I also picked up some seed pots which were 48 for $1.25 - you'd never get a price like that on the island so I grabbed them as the seeds I've ordered (designed yet again to deter mice, flies, wasps, etc.) have been shipped from Vancouver so should be arriving in short order.

Also, we've been having a propane issue, not sure if I've mentioned this or not, but we first noticed it in California... occasionally we would smell propane, and it seemed to be getting worse. We had a propane guy over to the rig to check it out and he couldn't find any problem, assured us that it was just the something something burping... don't ask me, I know nothing.... anyway, so we ignored it but lately its been getting worse or seemed to be anyway so we stopped at Greg's RV in Duncan and had them take a look.

Turns out, one of the lines had a crack, the line was not copper but neoprene or something like that. Anyway, they didn't have time to deal with it yesterday but they did close off that part of the line, fortunately the only thing at the end of that line was the cooker/oven. Yes, this will be a nuisance but we still have the convection oven and instant pot, so we should be able to manage. Besides we eat out a lot and we're currently searching for our next BBQ.

We have booked in tentatively for March 27 to have this propane line replaced but we'll have to see what arrangements we can come up with in that regard. Since this is a Wed and we also need 2 days for the King Pin repair in order to finish the inspection and properly plate this rig - I'm going to try to make arrangements to do it all at once. This of course will depend on getting someone to cover us while we're gone. Leaving for 1 day is one thing, 3 is a whole other ballgame... though if I take the booking sheets with me, I could still take the reservations and just process them when we get back... hmmm, that is totally doable.

Well I think that's it for today, pretty much in a holding pattern until the Conservatory is lifted.

New curtains and a BC Safety Inspection

I finally managed to get those curtains done, in the back shed. The windows are so small that I just cut the fabric the shape I wanted and hung them. Since they are new the colour makes them really stand out, a bit of sun fading would go a long way here, and I believe that to be in the cards.

Back Shed

Office

The office curtains are not very visible through the glare but look great inside. These I actually sewed and I'm happy with how they turned out, I even made the tie backs.

RV

Today we are off to Duncan with the RV. Our timeline for getting everything switched to BC is running out in another month and we haven't been able to find somewhere to have the safety done (to ensure it is roadworthy). Several days ago I finally contacted ICBC directly and explained the situation and that I could not find anyone, I was directed to their online ICBC approved list (which I had searched for but could not find online).

Turns out it was a terminology issue. I had been asking for a Safety Inspection on our motorhome but should have been asking for a Class 2 safety inspection. Class 2 is any vehicle over 5500kg here.

Anyway, today is our appointment and so away we go. In order to ensure we can be on the ferry we want to be on in order to arrive on time, we have to leave here 2 hours ahead of the appointment. We've been told it should take about an hour..... Cross everything that she passes, will ya!?!?!?

While there are companies on Salt Spring which do Class 2 safety inspections (I called them all), they tell me their shops are not big enough to accommodate such a large rig.

The Conservatory

Is on hold because the owner was by the other day and the building needs to be lifted slightly (you may recall that from earlier posts), this is not in our wheelhouse so next weekend he will come by and give us a hand with it.

Also, we will be insulating the walls which will certainly make it more comfortable for guests. I hadn't intended to insulate it because as its not our building I didn't want to pay for it and certainly couldn't expect him to...  Imagine my surprise! While it will only be a couple of hundred dollars, I thought that was very generous of him. However, none of this can be done until it is lifted, obviously.

Meanwhile I can work on the couch/bed and some decor items. Not sure that the solar furnace I was planning will be needed with it insulated but I have the plans should we deem it so, however the solar water heater plans are still on my list for the shed which houses my laundry facilities.

Conservatory Day 3 & 4

Not much to report I'm afraid, yesterday I saturated the ceiling again hoping to remove more of the stain but to little or no avail. Still, I'm happy with the difference from where it started.

Today, as it is still fairly cool outside (high of 7C) I worked on cleaning the windows - lots of tree & leaf bits in the runners. An old toothbrush and some elbow grease and for the most part I was able to remove all the biodegraded gunk out. Too cold to wash the windows really so I decided to leave that for another day.

The best part of this project so far has been that the bleaching has removed the old smell from the space, the worst has been that I put PineSol in the window runner water -- new stink. Fortunately, PineSol is a fly deterrent so maybe the effect will last going in to fly season - though likely not.

According to those who never get it right we will be warming up here as of Monday... tick tock.

Because there is still plenty of snow on the hills and in the well shaded sites, there isn't much landscaping that we can do so I would like to take this opportunity of 'quiet' time to get as much done on the conservatory as possible.

Hoping to be able to get the wood for the potting area floor this weekend but that is unclear right now. The floor would be a good project to do while waiting for the temps to rise, it must be 10C to do exterior painting and that is still 2 weeks out - again, according to those who never get it right.

I haven't checked, but assuming its a reasonable temperature tomorrow I think I shall tackle a paint smear on one of the window screens... look close and you'll see it on the right window.

The Conservatory

Might even go all out and scrape off a paint drip I noticed today on one of the windows themselves and there is a 2nd blind to take down yet. I took the other off the other day when we took out the shelves but failed to notice the one in the potting area.

Doesn't seem like I'm doing a lot in a day but the phone and emails are coming in more and more regularly so we have to keep stopping what we're doing to deal with inquiries, bookings and the like. 

In the last picture you'll see a pile of branches on the right that was debris from the snowstorm that was recently uncovered by melt, yesterday we had another gusty evening so there is even more to be raked up. 

I have pretty much decided to put my 'solar heater' into the window on the left side of the door. That spot gets the most sunshine in winter ( I did the online test for solar directional blah blah) and it will mean not having to drill any holes in the outside of the building. It will be completely contained within itself and I will simply sit it on the 4" window sill, once I know how its working (good/bad) I can always attach a hose of some sort and push it along to the conservatory end of the building if necessary - and it can be easily removed in the height of summer's heat. Hoping that the windows will add to the solar heating of the already enclosed heater.... anyone know otherwise?

Conservatory Day 2

After emptying the new Conservatory space it was time to start on the ceiling. The Conservatory end of this shed has a floor, but the potting end does not. We will be putting a floor on the potting end and re-caulking the roof because we are not completely sure which side this mould is coming from. There is a good possibility that it is coming from the open floor area, but we want to be sure.

So yesterday (and again later today), I set about saturating this mould with a bleach solution. Because it was so heavy, I opted for a roughly 70/30 bleach solution. 

Before: Conservatory ceiling

After: Conservatory ceiling

Before: Potting ceiling

After: Potting ceiling

Super impressed with how this turned out, so much so that I'm going to hit it again today and hope to completely eliminate the staining. I have purchased a mould killing paint assuming that while the mould would be killed that the black staining would need to be painted to cover it. If however, I am able to eliminate the staining I can return the mould kill paint.

We are planning to use a white stain as opposed to paint -for a rustic look, so it would be great to be able to do the same on the ceiling.

I have also found a couch/guest bed solution on Pinterest for which I can use the heavy cedar planks that we removed from the conservatory the other day.

Still keeping an eye out for some better lighting options.

I believe we will do a Solar Heating option, though I am still researching the details of this - specifically for best options towards southern exposure for a north side building without losing all the heat before it enters the space. More on this later.

The making of a Conservatory

Okay so the snow is almost gone... enough that we can get into what we are calling the 'Conservatory', What?! It has windows....... work with me people.... :D

I have a basic idea of what I want to do in there and as much as I'd love to insulate it and do all of that, we are just not ready to go to that length as yet. So likely a splash of paint and some sort of furnishing and while I have thought about putting in my long awaited Rocket Mass Heater for some spring/fall warmth, I'm pretty sure the owner wouldn't agree for insurance purposes so no point in even asking.

Here is what it looks like at the moment:

Entrance. Not much will change here.

This is an area for potting plants. 

I intend to keep this, though it will be edited with a floor and likely paint.

This is the main 'Conservatory' part.

We haven't measured it yet but we think that door might fit where this picture was taken from, which would help in maintaining any heat we were to create in some way. Open to suggestions on heat also.

While we do not have any specific plans as yet, the general idea will be to empty it. Removing these shelves will allow us to get a better sense of the space, likely paint it white and add some furnishings. I'm torn between just having camping chairs or building some sort of seating that I can make cushions for... 

Since I will not be putting a Rocket Mass Heater under the windows as I had originally conceptualized, the entire space opens up all the more options for other seating arrangements. I'd like to try to use the current blinds (wicker things) as an outdoor shade thing somehow once we learn the 'hot' areas of the outdoor garden space. I think white curtains, while they might suit the space better, will likely not hold up well in an outdoor environment such as this so perhaps a pop of colour or texture on the windows will be the best bet.

If anyone has any other suggestions, now would be the time to share them... I am open to anything as its all up in the air at this time... The space is approx 8'w x 10'd.

The intent here is to create a comfortable space where we can lounge of an evening and visit with family, friends or just the two of us and our loving puppy....

Speaking of the puppy... Robbie has a 3' round dog bed which I want to incorporate into the space but I'm concerned about bugs/mice, etc.... I suppose I could put the stuffing inside a large garbage bag and include some Irish Spring (possibly shaved) inside the bag as well... anyone have any better ideas. We don't know what the mice situation will be but I don't want to find out the hard way either.

PS Yes, Irish Spring works and they are cheap as borscht at the Dollar Store.... buy as many as you can reasonably afford, cut them in half and put them in every bay and around tires ( I rub the bottom of the tires with the soap first - including the back side), leaving one tucked out of site behind each tire. I also put a couple in the engine compartment.