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I did get a good deal of what I wanted done completed. Though taking care of the cat litter boxes made it so that I needed to sweep. Sweeping has delayed my vacuuming. A good thing too, as while I was making potato salad, I had a few minor spills. So, tomorrow is vacuum day. Dishes were completed, the trash and recycling have been tended, the refrigerator was cleaned out a bit, and potato salad was made. I had forgotten how long it takes and how much work it is to make a batch of potato salad, especially doing it all at once. I did some straightening as well, if not completely hitting the whole house. Further, I received a call from the electrician involved with the inspection. I faxed him the form my insurance company wanted, and a hand written letter, asking for some advice concerning whether bringing in the breaker box from outside and doing the kitchen wiring, from what he saw, was something I could do. Who knows if I will get a reply, or what form it will take.
I did not vacuum, as I had said. I also did not straighten the place completely. Some of the tasks I did do, however, became a bit more complicated. I did do a few things not on the list. As well, making potato salad was a major task actually. Boiling, skinning, peeling, cutting, mixing... and then cleaning up to do it and cleaning up after. All of the dishes, pots, knives, spoons, and such are clean. Oh, I still have not cooked rice. Still, not bad if not perfect. I can live with this.
It is well past bedtime. Way past it. Good night.
To save a step in making potato salad next time... peel and cube the potatoes before boiling. Actually, I use red potatoes and leave the skin on. Just sayin' d:-)
ReplyDeletePotato salad sound good, i'm not a fan of the rest though, i could never get the other salads. The way i see it, salads just take up valuable space that could be used for more meat. :)
ReplyDeleteMoving breaker boxes (or adding subpanels) is probably something an electrician would be better suited to do. Branch circuits (adding more outlets or lights) is one thing relatively straightforward, but there are a bunch of requirements for a breaker box, some of which vary depending upon whether it is the first in line or a sub-panel. Do you understand the requirements for bonding and grounding? When can the neutral wire be tied to the grounding electrode? What are the clearance requirements, wire size requirements, conduit size requirements, temperature rating of the insulation, etc. That's the trickier stuff.
ReplyDeleteIf you want the place to maintain value, you want to make sure it is done right so that a future electrical inspection at sale time doesn't show up any deficiencies.
Which is not to say you couldn't do it yourself and get it right. I'm comfortable with this kind of work, partly because I took a course designed to bring non-electrical engineers up to speed with commercial and residential electric design, and partly because I buried my head in the NEC during the planning for my solar setup.
If you really want to tackle it yourself, drop me a line, we can discuss the parameters.
Jean,
ReplyDeleteI've thought of those solutions. So far, skin on potato salad has not been a success, for me. Peeling and slicing before hand seems like more work than after? I boil the potatoes whole, then peeling is easy after a bit of cooling and dicing is really easy. I sometimes do that if I need to make mashed potatoes in a hurry, though. Even then, I think it is more work, but allows for a faster cooking of the potatoes, so it makes up the time that way. Am I wrong?
M.K.,
I pretty much agree with you. However, when at an invitational, just eating meat is sort of boorish. I am sure they would all have looked at me funny. (and fairly, these people live quite frugally, since meat is more expensive... when in Rome type of deal) Though too, my last love sort of got me into veggies, to a degree. I learned first to cook them, then to appreciate them. I can't really do it for myself. In part because to do it right requires nearly daily shopping and a lot of prep for regular supplies. And, like you, meat will do nicely, mostly, thank you.
D.C.,
Actually, I would be starting from scratch, knowledge wise. However, I am more than interested in this project. I would like to at least find a way to see what I am up against. One of the main reasons I would like to get into this project is as an initiation into alternative sources. A heavy secondary reason is to know my electrical system, learn the basics of home electrical systems, and perhaps to do some upgrades or at least understand things better when I am able to get to those.
I will send you an email, too, though. I suppose I need a source, like a book or a few books, that cover the material in a logical manner. I have several manuals, but they are project oriented and only very roughly cover the big picture. I think one has something about a breaker box, but I think that is limited to adding branch circuits.
They had to add something to the electrical system here. I think it was... a sub panel which officially modernized the electrical system. I am not absolutely sure, but could it have been hole house GFCI? Not sure, I was never given the inspection, repair, or other such papers (or if I was, didn't realize... I was drowning in paperwork, often duplicate or triplicate, from several sources).
D.C.,
ReplyDeleteHey, urhm, I can't find your email, and I recently lost all my email addresses to the wipe of '10. *sigh* I will look again, tomorrow, for you email clicky or cipher typed addy.