Farmerjan's journal - Weather

[farmerjan]

Whoops... hit the post instead of the space bar....

Have a "field day " here at the Mc Cormick farm station ... part of the Va Tech ag college that has different area farms where they do "experimental farm stuff" like with rotational grazing, different crops, all that sort of stuff. It is from 1-5 and I had signed up for it not knowing what I would be doing at the time.
I am going to go over and see what is going on. I need to be doing some other stuff here... but t.s..... It is only about 4 miles from here... I can come home if not very interesting...
Going to have to find a new mower I guess... this one just is not doing the job. I meant to call the "traveling mower repair guy" ... might just get him to come and see if it would be practical to do work on it or turn it in for parts to someone....

Meters are in the storage chest thing, some of the boxes for tomorrow in the car. Will take the bottles out of 2 boxes and it gives me 2 empty boxes to start to put the bottles in, since I try to put them into the boxes in number groups... like all the 5500's and 5600's and all up to the 6900's... each group in one box which makes packing at home easier to find by only looking for them in one or 2 boxes than in all 12 boxes... So, I will put the bottles in the racks and then use them on the next farm.... Should only need about 9 boxes total when they are packed, but take 12 and then I can get the number groups together and gives me "space" when I start packing them instead of having to move bottles to put others in numerical order.

Just got the clothes on the line. Sunny and getting hotter and more muggy. Guess I will go to the field day and then go from there.
Plan tomorrow to finish up the bush hogging at the pasture after I get done testing and all. Should only take a couple hours at most. Had thought to do it today when I was reminded about the field day.
Need to go out in the garden this evening and get things picked that need it. Want to get more of the grass/weeds down so the spaces between the cukes and all is opened up. Too hot to do it now anyway.

 

[Bruce]

So he re balanced the 2 fronts and said to see if it took care of the shimmy.

HE should drive it and make SURE it took care of the shimmy!

 

[Baymule]

I would like a clothesline. It’s so hot now I’d finish hanging out a load and go back to start and take them down. LOL

More PT will be good for you. Get everything in good working order.

 

[farmerjan]

HE should drive it and make SURE it took care of the shimmy!

No, he is the only one there today, and would have to go up on the interstate to check as I got the shimmy at around 60-65 mph. He didn't charge me to balance both the fronts, and I will take it in the morning to work, go up the interstate to the farm... so will know.

 

[farmerjan]

Went to the field day, it was okay... saw a few things but it was more just to go and get out... listened to some stuff and learned a couple things... had a full meal and am now stuffed... going to bed so I can get up and leave at 3 to go test the 500 cow herd...

 

[Ridgetop]

Yes, long habitation by mice or rats will leave a bad odor since the wood in the floors and cabinets will soak in the urine You can't ever get rid of that after a long enough build up.

You don't have to do custom cabinets in a home to get a custom look and have a pretty kitchen for resale. Use off-the=shelf cabinets from Home Depot or Lowes. They are not terribly expensive and usually those stores will have a 25% off sale sometime during the year. Once you have decided to do your kitchen and have the plans drawn up watch for the sale and buy then. Real estate agents say that up-to-date kitchens and bathrooms sell the house. Keep the cabinet colors neutral since you can bring out color in walls. Paint is much cheaper than new cabinets. Oak is out of date now which is a shame since it is a long wearing wood.

Before redoing the cabinets in the kitchen, go to Staples or another office store and get an architectural scale ruler. This rule is triangular with each side having measurements equivalent to different scales. 1" = 1'; 1/2" = 1"; 1/4" = 1'; all the way to 1/64" = 1'. Using this scale ruler you can transfer the floorplan of your kitchen to paper and plan out your new cabinet arrangement. Show the location of the windows and doors so you don't put overhead cabinets where there is a window, etc. Be sure you also measure and mark the water lines and drains for the sink, the gas lines (or 220) for the stove, and electrical switches and outlets on your floor plan. If you don't want to move the utilities around it will be cheaper to plan the cabinet layout. Moving cabinets on paper is easier (and cheaper) than after they are in your kitchen with you pushing them around to see where they will fit.

Most cabinetry is made in stock widths and heights (even the higher end stuff you have to order). All base cabinets are 24" deep. Overhead cabinets are all 12" deep. The sizes start at widths of 18". Heights can be 30", 36", or 42" (which is the height that goes to a standard ceiling without soffits). Over-the-stove cabinets are 30" wide x 18", or in the case of 42" cabinetry up to 30", to fit either a vent hood or a microwave with vent hood under them. Over-the-fridge cabinets are 36" wide by 15' or 18" high. The less expensive overhead cabinets are 30"/36' tall. You can make your cabinet layout look more expensive with cheaper "off-the-shelf" cabinets by mounting taller cabinets over the stove and hanging a microwave under it. The different heights will look more custom. And by hanging the cabinets at ceiling height you will not have an exposed vent pipe from the microwave or stove hood.

By keeping the sink and stove in approximately the same locations you will save money by not needing to move any water, gas, or 220 electric lines. You can move appliance locations up to a foot in either direction with minor plumbing work. Natural gas or propane appliances attach with flexible lines that can move a certain length. Make sure that your shut off valve is reachable though for gas.

Stock off-the-shelf premade cabinets are readily available at Lowes and Home Depot. I think you can also get them on Amazon. Ikea also has stock cabinets that use a different hanging system. I used to buy stock off-the-shelf cabinets at Lowes but they have discontinued their original brand and I don't like what they are offering now. Check Home Depot instead. You can also order some of the cabinets with large deep drawers that they don't carry on the shelves i the store. If you can get cabinets with wood doors you are better off since you can get similar wood and stain it to match if you need to fill spaces. Stay away from the fancy "cherry" and painted finishes since those doors and cabinet fronts are not real wood but either press board or something. The real wood can be sanded and refinished if necessary. The old cabinet line at Lowes also sold filler pieces in the same finish as all the cabinets, as well as dishwasher panels to use at the end of a cabinet run if the dishwasher was there instead of between cabinets.

The other stock sizes you need to know are for appliances. Standard stoves are 30" wide, dishwashers are 24" wide, refrigerators may vary according to capacity, but be sure to allow 36" wide since that is the width of the largest ones.

Once you measure and draw out your kitchen floor plan with the utilities, windows and door locations, then you are ready to plan the cabinets you want to put in. Be careful about corners since unless you have pull outs or corner cabinets with turntables you will end up with either blind cabinets that go behind other cabinets and are almost impossible to get stuff out of, or lose storage to dead space in the corner.

I like to start with the corner cabinets, then the sink cabinet and dishwasher space. Once that is marked out you can fit in the other cabinets. You can get a booklet about the available cabinets at Home Depot and it will have the available sizes and types of cabinets in the back.

Once you have your floor plan drawn out, make multiple copies on your printer to save having to redraw it over and over as you redesign the plan. Keep in mind what you want to store in each cabinet, do you want a baking center cooking center, etc.

Hanging the overhead cabinets will require 2 people. Make sure to use a level along the ceiling if hanging cabinets up to the ceiling since many ceiling/wall corners are not straight. Always hand the overhead cabinets first since they are easier to hang without the lower base cabinets in the way. The easiest way to hang overhead cabinets is to use a straight 2 x 4 board and using a level mount it to the wall at the height you want the bottom of your overhead cabinets to be. That will give you a straight level line to rest the cabinets on while attaching the to the studs in the walls. Find the first couple of studs then you can use a level to follow a plumb line up the wall to identify each stud location. I also check with an 8d nail before screwing the cabinet up. You will need 4 small clamps to clamp the face frames together in order to screw them together without shifting. Shims may be needed to bump the cabinets out from the wall to have a level front. Always remove the doors and shelves before trying to hang the cabinet boxes. Remember to measure the distance between the cabinets if an appliance is going to go in between the lower base cabinets. Nothing looks as bad as cabinets above the stove that are not
plumb with the base cabinets on either side of the stove. The sink base cabinets are open in the back so you don't have to do any plumbing cutouts. The stove top overhead cabinets though will need to be cut out for the stove pipe going up through either the roof to vent, or the wall. The vent pipe MUST vent to the outside, not the attic. If doing a microwave with a vent, the microwave usually comes with a pattern to use.

Countertops can also be self-installed. Again, they will require 2 people for fitting the corners. They are heavy too since the Formica is applied to pressboard. If you can afford it, I would have someone just install either granite or quartz. There are several less expensive granites that will look lovely for resale. Remember that granite needs to be treated every 6 months.

 

[Baymule]

Reading all that information on cabinets makes me want to paint my cabinets now! I’m not going to buy new ones, the ones I have are nice, but some paint sure would dress them up!

 

[Baymule]

Could Jan seal her cabinets with Kilz, polyurethane or something else to get rid of the mouse smell?

 

[Ridgetop]

Not sure. If the urine has permeated the wood (or press board) maybe not. It might have gotten into the floorboards too. Worth a try though and certainly cheaper than new cabinets. Except Jan doesn't like her cabinet arrangement anyway so . . . .

Bay - your cabinets are in good condition. With so much to do, I would wait to paint them for another couple years. Eventually you can paint or refinish them. Save your money and time for fence and that barn.

DH saw on the internet that we are in for a really hard winter with lots of snow and low temps this year. Anyone else hear about that?

 

[farmerjan]

@Ridgetop ... thank you for all the instructions... but understand that is all way over my head. I HATE doing carpentry work of any kind. JUST do not want any part of it. SORRY... sounds stupid I guess... but I hate it. Fencing, gardening, inside sewing and things... but not carpentry. I miss my mom so much because she was the carpenter in the family. Some of this extreme dislike might also be, because my ex was a carpenter, and he was impossible to ever please and I got to hate being around him with any project.......
If you were more available,,,, like closer.... I would pay you to do it....

I got some stuff to spray in there that is supposed to get rid of urine and pet odors. Going to try it. Then probably paint the "floors" of the lower cabinets that are going to stay there. See if that helps to get rid of the smell. I am going to see about doing something with the stupid corner double sinks (that are too small for much of anything.... ). But I would be redoing whatever within the spaces that they exist now. Just aggravated with it all. I would NOT replace the upper cabinets if I do the lower. Don't particularly care if they all "match".... and with the price of things right now... not going to spend that sort of money. Like @Baymule ... fences and things outside need doing more than the cabinets.

Tested and got home. Ate a sandwich. Samples in the house ready to pack. I went out and got the laundry off the line from yesterday as it is already getting cloudy out there. Forecast is for showers/storms later and then 30-60% rain for the next 7-10 days... Totally abnormal for here.... Especially since none of it is "hurricane caused " rain.....

I am going to get the samples packed and then head for the pasture to do the bush hogging. Might get home and get some lawn mowing done if it doesn't start raining...
DS is wanting to ship those steers tomorrow... so he will be getting them in this afternoon I guess. I will probably have to go up there to help, sort, or give my opinion. Plus to make sure he gets the couple off my cows that are up in the back lot behind the barn. I want them gone too. Not pushing him to sell any heifers this trip.... want to hold on to them for a bit... Whatever he does not take (heifers I guess) have got to be weaned anyway... cows are due starting the end of Sept.....