Home Improvements

When I purchased this trailer a few years ago, there were a few windows that were broke in one way of a another. I have been fortunate to have a cousin (the same one who fixed up my electricity) who scrapped out an old trailer that by chance had the same type of windows as my ancient model. He kept a few different sizes that I needed and brought them over for me. Last night I removed one of the worst ones and put one of the replacements in its place. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the whole process went. It was just a matter of removing about twenty screws from the metal frame, pulling the old window out, cleaning the old window seal material off and cleaning the new replacement before applying silicone around its perimeter and then placing it in the opening so the frame was against the outside wall and then using the screws to attach it in place. Overall slick and fast, though in a way the ease highlights the simplicity and cheapness of the trailer building process. Regardless, I now have a working window without broken glass that cranks in and out. Later this week I will be tackling one of the other problem windows.

The other day I spent a few hours starting to block up the perimeter and boy, it makes a big difference. I started around the door which was not as level as it should have been and did not open or close easily. I tweaked the opening just right with the perimeter leveling and then worked on the door itself. I had not noticed before, but many of the screws that attach the long one-piece hinge were loose which allowed the door to sag down. I spent a few minutes tightening these back up. With the leveling of the perimeter wall just right and those screws being tight on the hinges, the door now opens and closes like a champ with no scraping on the bottom like it had been. It swings smoothly and the door latch catches perfectly. Now before winter I need to place some new weather striping around its perimeter and all should be good.

I did not get around the whole perimeter though because I ran out of block. This coming weekend I will be poking around to dig up some more. I know of a few places where relatives have stacked old block that is free for the taking. Free is always good, particularly on this project since it is only temporary.

Last night I noticed that the grass is starting to take; little green shoots are now poking through the hay. Just last night I had thought about going and filling up the 55 gallon water barrel to water the lawn since we had not had rain in a few days and according to the weatherman it was not going to rain for a few more days yet, but as usual, he was wrong. Because I had a wheel bearing to go install in my car, I opted to hold off and lucky for me, in the wee hours of the morning we had a proper soaking rain which beats the deluge of rain we have had with every storm prior for the past month. I can''t wait until the whole lawn is all green.

More Work

Well, this weekend was extremely busy getting the trailer up and going. The first order of business Sat. morning was getting materials together that I would need for the day. This involved driving to the local feed store and buying some grass seed and hay. My next order of business was getting some hay, so that once I put down the grass seed I could cover it up. Needless to say, I live in farm country but the problem is everyone now uses those big round bales that weigh a ton. Finding square bales that are of a size that can be easily carried around is next to impossible now days. Having failed in finding hay, I instead went to my uncles and picked up the drag for leveling and smoothing the yard and driveway.


After picking up this stuff minus the hay I went home and used the lawn mover to pull the drag around the yard for a few hours. It worked very well. After that, I put aside yard ambitions for the time being and instead focused on deck building. Rather than sinking posts into the ground, I instead opted for building a box frame that the deck could sit on. This is not a permanent structure, so I scrounged around for wood that could be used without costing me any money. For the stairs, I also cobbled together something that is solid and will work well for the next few years.


Sunday was seal the roof day. I used sealant and went around all the roof caps (furnace, vent, etc.). Besides that, I also made sure all the windows and doors were properly sealed. I also slid under the trailer and sealed up any holes with expand foam. While I was at it I replaced the water heater vent cap and connected the chimney to the new furnace which I had installed a while back but never finished (its summer!). I also set about starting to set in the septic line. Digging thru hard pan is not fun, let me tell you.

Monday came around and rather than go into work I instead took the day off and went back to the local feed bin and purchased a few bales of hay that I had lucked out on finding this past weekend. I sucked it up and paid their exorbitant prices and brought my purchase home. I then focused on finishing up the septic and also put in a new toilet. I had been given a 'Toilet in a Box' as a gag gift. Now let me tell you, its a neat idea. You get everything in the box: toilet base, back, lid, seat, guts and even a wax ring. The parts though are cheap but apparently work so far.

After septic and the toilet I decided it was time to put down grass seed. I dug out my old seed spreader, loaded it up and went to town. Once I had spread all of it I then spread the hay out over it and watered it all down. Hopefully if all goes well within the next few weeks I will have the start of a yard.

The next major job will be re-insulating the bottom and then sheeting the base prior to the cold weather hitting, which in this area of the world is soon. Its mid August now and for example the temp last night hit 43 degrees. That makes it a little chilly when you wake up in the morning. There are a few other minor projects to complete on it before I can say it is fully done. Over the next few weeks I'll be tackling those.

More Gravel

Spent the evening spreading gravel at the end of the long driveway we had built last summer. This is the area where the vehicles will be parked, so I made sure that it is thick and wide enough to turn around on.

My wife told me she did not think it was going to be as big as it is and I had to remind her that vehicles need space for turning around in and that in the end, once the main house is built and the trailer is gone, the lawn for the trailer will be turned into more driveway. As far as I'm concerned, there can never be enough driveway space, particularly once you start parking multiple cars there and having people visit.

Buying Stuff

I just want to take a moment to say that I like Craigslist. I often hear how people don't like it and they say buyer beware and in those cases, I would have to agree. I purchase mainly automotive parts, the likes of tires, and building materials and appliances. When I contact someone to inquire about a sale, I do my best to ask all the questions I can think of about the item prior to asking to actually look at it and buy it. So far, when I have shown up to pick up what I am interested in, it has been as described. If it wasn't, I can certainly tell you I would thank the person who was selling it for their time but tell them I will not be buying and the reason why. I don't need more junk than what I already have floating around.

Having said that, if you look around you can get some very good stuff. Some people sell stuff because they have no need for it any more and not just because it is junk they have sitting around. Last week I picked up a stove from a gentleman about 45 miles away. I needed a propane stove and this fine fellow had one. Best yet, it was only for $10! Add in the cost of $20.00 for gas, this was still a deal. I went in knowing that the stove was working in good condition. When I got there, the guy told me he and his wife had used it for one year in a trailer they lived in while they built (similar to what I am doing) and that once they were done they had upgraded to something a little fancier. They put this one into storage and their it sat. Now he was cleaning out old stuff and had to get rid of it and so I got a deal. As you can see from the picture, it was better than just working, it was like new! Like I said, I love Craigslist.

Temporary Home

Well, this last week has been very eventful. After waiting nearly two months longer than originally planned, the logger who was clearing the area for a future garage and dozing it level finally finished this past Saturday. He finished about ten in the morning and by about two in the afternoon I and my cousins were hauling into place the single wide trailer I had purchased a few years ago and had stored on another part of the property. It is only 12x40 with two very small bedrooms, full kitchen and living room and an actual roomy bathroom. It is old, but the inside was very well maintained. Their are a few cosmetic defects on the outside, but nothing that can't be repaired.

The plan is to live in this home while construction of the new home takes place. With my astute cousin, I have tied in the electrical, prepped the water (more on this in a future post) and leveled it. So far so good. My wife and I paid cash (on the cheap at that) for this trailer and so in essence, we not only own our property, but we own our home too which is very satisfying! There are many things to take care of yet. We have to spread gravel on the upper part of the driveway for parking, attach the deck and stairs and hook up the septic and sheet the trailer perimeter besides little things like start a lawn so we can enjoy a small yard of grass.

My beautiful wife spent a whole weekend just cleaning the house out, hand scrubbing the floors, walls and every nook and cranny, changing the water regularly. The place is spotless! We moved furniture in and found we had to really weed out much of our goods; finding minimalist is best when living in such a small space. I have put into a storage building we have some of the items we are not willing to part with, but other than that, two couches and a plethora of furniture went to better homes. I am sure this little abode set right next to our building site will serve us well for the next few years while we hammer away at building our house and wont have to worry about paying for rent in the big city. The only expense will be property taxes and utilities.