Progress!

There are, in any project, times that you feel like you're standing still and times that it feels like you're going somewhere. Today was a "going somewhere" day.

The first thing that helped it be that way actually happened last night. I worked most of the afternoon and was finally able to get the well pump working! It required priming, water had to fill the pump itself plus the pipes leading down into the ground where a little water at high pressure would push a lot of water up at lower pressure.

Not knowing how much water it would take, but figuring it would be a lot, I bought a 65 gallon tank to fit in the back of my pickup and rigged it up with some hose and a valve. Ironic moment: it only took five gallons of water to prime the pump. (So now I'm set to play "water boy" when I do some long marches with friends next year, but that's another story.)

The first gushes of water were pretty ugly. They didn't smell but they were rusty, muddy brown and I was concerned that this would be all I'd get. After about 15 gallons or so, the water cleared right up and ran clear and cold the rest of the evening. I flushed out the well, ran it dry in fact. Ooops. The first 15 minutes I watered bushes, then I scrubbed down the deck around my pool. After that I put it to run into the pool, figuring that if there was anything in there that was harmfull it would get diluted and killed by the chlorine. After about 90 minutes of constant pumping at about 30 psi and a delivery rate of around 3 gpm, the water flow stopped. I didn't get anything muddy or foul at the end, it just stopped flowing. So far so good!

I used the rest of the water in my truck's tank to help replenish the pool. I've calculated that each tankful raises the level in the pool by 1/4". Even though we got some rain today, I don't think I'll pump the well at my current home dry trying to completely refill the pool. :)

I'd like to figure a way to collect the rain water off the barn roof for that use, but that'll be a project for down the road.

So well water is now on site, available in at least limited quantities from the ground. The house plumbing that is now there is full of splits due to freezing and neglect, so it's all coming out and an entirely new system will be put in it's place. I'm going to use the PEX tubing because it offers me the best options as a DIYer in terms of safety, speed and flexibility. Since I will be doing an "in slab" PEX heating system in the back wing, and in floor heat for the rest of the house where there are wood floors, I splurged and bought the tool that will let me crimp several sizes of tubing. Cool stuff to work with. I was stunned that Home Depot didn't even know anything about it. I had to go to Lowes to find the supplies.

The second big thing wrt progress happened today. Our kitchen cabinets are essentially finished. All the base cabinets and wall cabinets are done, with a few minor things like window glass to still be installed. My wife was really excited to see them all set up and arranged in the shop's warehouse, ready to be packaged and stored until we're ready for installation.

It looks like the wooden floor now in place under three layers of linoleum will not be a candidate for refinishing. It has been overlaid with tarpaper and the tar has stained the wood beyond the level it can be refinished, methinks. So we stopped by the flooring showroom today and looked at some options for the kitchen. We saw one we liked, a sort of limestone tile looking product that glues down and is sealed but individual tiles can be heated, removed and replaced should they be damaged. Lifetime warranty, etc. We didn't talk price yet, but that's a very attractive system for me so far.

Now I just have to build the walls in the kitchen space to give us the insulation "sheath" that we need, with all the do-dads of window, wiring and plumbing to go with it. We're moving forward!

Gotta snooze, more another day.

Doug