The house next door...or how to NOT build a house

[IntheGroove]

What voltage and frequency are used there?

[jdurand]

What voltage and frequency are used there?

50Hz. single phase

Most things will run on 220V, the sauna and the milling machine run on 380V

The 220V does limit my welding some, I asked for a high current outlet like I have in the USA and he chuckled. Our land is zoned for "small country home", the mayor had to intervene just to get us a decent amount of power as it is.

So, I can pull up to 20A at 220V for the welder. Not the end of the world, I use mostly MIG and don't weld battleships.

[Frank S]

OOPs I was about to post a Frankin work around, by telling you how you could get a 40 amp circuit but thought better of it for now.Let the newness settle and the ministry of power will eventually have other victims to harass.

[jdurand]

something like this?

[PDXsparky]

something like this?

Wow, they even used the correct colored wire. They must be professionals.

[IntheGroove]

It's not AC. It's not DC. It's AD...

[Frank S]

something like this?

I have a slightly safer idea in mind although it can mess with the GFIC/RCD breakers if not connected correctly

[jdurand]

The Tar Pit house:

Today they've had vans parked out front from Best Buy and Geek Squad. We heard them discussing the speakers that go up in the soffetts along with all the lights they have up there. I sure hope all that stuff can take the heat.

I hope whoever buys our house doesn't mind the UFO glow and music that will be coming from The Tar Pit. In any case, we should be gone long before they're done.

[jdurand]

The house Next Door is now getting a metal roof. Just flat metal with no patterns. I haven't gotten a picture but it's also not that exciting.

That's on the sloped part, remember the flat part is tar.

On our new house the walls are being hard plastered (stucco) over the wires. When set a second layer will be put on and smoothed, to be ready for paint.

The plumbing will be run along the floor and then a few inches of concrete will be poured, leveled, and ready for final dressing. We're planning epoxy for the workshop, tile for the kitchen and other wet areas, and some sort of wood laminate for the other rooms.

Building materials are getting hard to find, many supply companies closed either for now or permanently. This isn't good when orders have been placed and partially pre-paid. There's a LOT of people trying to get the stuff they paid for and/or find alternative suppliers. I joked that our fence may wind up being used shipping pallets, the contractor said that might not be too far off...

We have a backup buyer for our house here, so if our friends can't buy it we can still sell it. For considerably less than we would have sold for 6 months ago, but such is life.

We don't have a definite move date yet, the Russian border is supposed to open in August for Americans. We have all the papers we need so that once we set foot in the country the rest of the path is clear. Our sponsor and lawyer are working overtime to make sure we don't have any more problems than necessary. We now have backup sponsors beyond the minimum needed, just in case of need.

We posted a Summer Solstice update and sent the link out to our friends and relatives. It's here for anyone interested
https://durandinterstellar.com/photo...020_Letter.pdf

We had a small adventure with the guy wiring the network and gate income, he ad-libbed a bit. We caught it and can work with what he installed. The plumber and heating guy will now be watched constantly to make sure they clear all 'good ideas" with us before actually implementing them. We're not at all opposed to suggestions, just don't go off-script without permission. There may be a good reason I wanted that funny thing in a specific location.

[jdurand]

Updates:

The part of the house above ground next to here is looking like overall it's not bad (other than that flat roof). My wife and I think the builder got in over his head with the deep basement, probably never did one before and the rocky ground here certainly didn't help.

Anyway, we've talked to him some lately, he's been interested in us selling this house. Originally he just wanted to buy the land here, flatten the house and build a quick house for sale.

Then he started thinking this is a really nice neighborhood, we even had a block party in the middle of the STAY AT HOME AND PANIC period.

He's also been looking at our yard and house from the roof of the one next door.

So in talking with us we showed him around a bit and he said this would be a nice place for HIM to live. THAT's a change. But, we had friends already buying the house.

Until yesterday. The friends told us due to the virus panic there's been a major job upset and there's no way they could afford it now. Riches to rags as it were...

I told the builder and he came over today, looked around inside. We mentioned having trouble donating stuff, the centers are often closed. He said no problem, he now supports a couple of non-profit groups. Any construction related materials he doesn't need go to a reuse-resell group that will try to use every spare bit to build low cost housing for people. Any household items he doesn't need will go to a non-profit that takes those items. He would definitely keep all the fruit trees (a lot), fish pond, and the chicken run.

Also, he knows we are uncertain when we can actually get into Russia due to the border closure. He said no problem, he doesn't need to be in here before January so we could stay as long as 31 December. We have to leave the USA before then anyway for tax reasons, we HAVE to sell the house and be gone between 3 July and 31 December, so even if we're renting a room from out sponsor's daughter in Sweden we'll be out of here.

Given all that, he made an offer and we agreed. He'll bring the family by shortly to see their new home.