Thursday, March 26, 2009

Sedgwick Bound

I could be going to Sedgwick as early as next week. There's a special meeting of the school board next Thursday, and the later, regularly scheduled meeting might not work because Michelle's brother's coming to visit around then. The compressor I ordered will just make it in time for the trip north. I would have a long list of things to accomplish in a few days. Get sworn in as a member of the school board. Go to special meeting. Meet with Jeff about preparing the ground for our barn/summer living quarters. Try to fix rototiller. Resurrect oysters. Build temorary stairs to the 2nd floor. Talk to Five Star about apple trees. Talk to plumbers about the next step.
The first three in the list are the reason for going; the following five would be nice but aren't necessary.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Conrete is Forever (Redesign Part ?)

I don't know why it occurred to me last night as I was trying to fall asleep. Perhaps it was a rare moment of clarity. I've been talking up the concrete wall for many months. On the plans the thermal mass wall was about 12' long and 4' high, terminating in an L at the wood stove. I bought the special form material and put most of it together not long before we left for Block Island. Pouring it was to be the first thing on the agenda upon our return. And then last night I decided to scrap it. It could have been fabulous. The finish and color might've be just right, the little built in shelves perfect. But it could also have been a disaster, and a disaster set in stone is the worst kind. So I thought: We'll have enough concrete with the floor, and getting the floor and the wall to agree in finish and color could be tricky. Though it would have worked well as a heat sink, perhaps a little less mass might work just as well. A doubling or tripling of sheet rock on the dividing wall would be more responsive to solar gain. There'll be a wall there, same length, coming to an L at woodstove, framed with studs and sheetrocked.

I've been looking at compressors for way too long, and I've finally settled on a DeWalt. And, again, Amazon has the best price. I may make a quick trip to Sedgwick near the end of April. I was elected to the Sedgwick school board (write-in candidate 10 votes) and there's a meeting I should attend. At the same time I could set up a meeting with Jeff Gray, my excavator-in-chief, to show him where I want to put the gravel pad for the barn before I show up in May. I could also ferry a load of stuff up there so we aren't so loaded down when we leave the island.