Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.

[Bruce]

LOL Home on the range... yup, it's been official since last week. All closed and the problems and issue are now all mine! I knew the truck repair was going to have to happen but pretended to myself that I could put it off indefinitely... Of course we all know how that works... and how it turns out in the end. $3,088.00 later I have my truck back. Not sure, but it seems this fix also fixed my speedometer. Didn't know, but it may have gotten it's input from the front transfer case. My tractor down payment money is dwindling fast... And I have a barn to build as well and home upgrades/repairs. Might have to pick up a few lottery tickets.

I used to do a lot of high altitude camping/hunting in late fall early winter, snow/ice/mud, goat trials and all that good stuff. Many places I went I would not have gotten to or back out of without 4 wheel drive. Even with the 4x4, there were a couple times I didn't think I was getting back out . Never got to the point that I had to chain up, but there were a couple times when it came real close. I do keep a set in the truck for emergency situations. Other than that, the 4x4 isn't really "needed" down on the farm too much... IF you have a tractor or dozer to pull/push stumps. I use the truck in 4 wheel drive to pull stumps. Not as effective as a dozer/back hoe or tractor, but gets the job done in a pinch. Having posi-traction/locking differential in 4 low helps also as there's no more wheel spin on one side.

Bruce, when they built the outbuilding, the contractor took a LOT of shortcuts... I mean a LOT. It's a ~32'x16' bldg & they did lap siding directly to the stud walls with no OSB or house wrap. Since there's only one small nail at the top of each lap into each stud, the studs have the ability to move laterally and "fold" like an accordian would (think dominoes falling, but all at once, to one side or the other). In order to keep that from happening you need a single piece of wood (4x8 sheet of OSB for instance) with multiple nails vertically in each stud to keep that (and all other) stud(s) vertical and unable to move/fold side to side.

In addition, one front corner is substantially lower than the rest of the floor and I believe the entire front of the building is in fact, lower than the back. The one front window won't close as the window frame is no longer square... one side is much lower than the other at the low corner side. So I need to jack the front of the building up to level the floor and the side walls at the base before I winch the top of the building forward to pull the wall studs back vertical. Then I need to brace the side walls internally and remove all the lap siding and do house wrap and OSB before putting the laps back on.

They ran the electrical wire in the gap provided by the lap siding, between the 2x4 studs and the siding, not through drilled holes in the studs, so I'm going to need to re-wire the bldg as well before I can really "finish" the outside walls...

They built platforms for ceiling height storage at either end, but they weren't built or anchored properly, and will probably need to be taken down and re-done. They will also most likely need to come down as they used 2x4 studs for the roof and there's no low rafter horizontal tie in or support like with a typical truss so the peak of the roof is slowly sinking as the roof rafters push the front and back walls out. So I'll probably need to use a jack on the roof peak beam while using a come along to pull the front and back walls back in to the proper distance apart, and then probably use a fabricated metal plate outside the header/top plate and up against several of the rafter ends, and then wire front to back with wire & turnbuckle to hold them in proper placement.

Seriously... I've contemplated if it wouldn't be easier (though more expensive) to just take the building down to nothing but floor joists, then jack up the floor piers and pour concrete footers under them to level the floor, re-raise the walls, and re build the roof with a proper truss system. No matter how you look at it, I've got a bit of work to do to fix it. Both side walls are leaning toward the back of the building. The North wall is leaning worse than the South wall. There doesn't seem to be a problem with the level on the front and rear walls (leaning to either side. They ARE both leaning back, due to the lean back of the side walls). I haven't dared to look underneath and see what the builder used for floor joists... I am afraid I'll find he used 2x4s there as well.

I knew all this before I put a purchase offer on the place. I have time available to me to do these things.

Holy TOTALLY ILLEGAL AND UNSAFE BATMAN!

Since it is an unheated shed, I don't know of a good reason to use house wrap. Presumably that is done to deal with the difference in humidity and temperature on the 2 sides of a wall that is finished on the inside. If you have open studs on the inside, I think it is "breathing" better and less likely to rot any of the wood as it sits with no sheet goods on the outside and no wrap.

Sure sounds like you have a serious foundation problem there though. If you can get that fixed, there is no stronger shape than a triangle. You should be able to square the building and then keep it that way with angle bracing on the inside. Corner to corner both directions on all walls except the front with the doors.

2x4 rafters on a 16' wide structure? Quite undersized unless that roof has a serious pitch. Does sound like another place to make triangles with rafter ties after the building is squared.

 

[babsbag]

@Bruce
Why no bracing on the front wall with the doors?
In CA, since it is earthquake country, we have to have on sheet of plywood as a shear wall for 'x' number of linear feet of wall, I don't remember how many feet exactly. Our garage has two 8' doors on the front and we had to have a plywood shear wall in between them and on each corner. Diagonal bracing is no longer good enough.

At least I know that when my manufactured home falls down in a an earthquake I will have a garage to live in.

 

[Latestarter]

I think he was saying that corner to corner bracing won't work on the front wall as it would cross right in front of the door. It essentially forms an "X" to keep the whole square. The roof pitch is not steep at all, hence the issue.

 

[babsbag]

Ah...duh...that makes sense.

 

[Bruce]

Yeah, what @Latestarter said Depending on how wide the door is, cross bracing the walls between the door frame and the side wall could be useful.

With such a shallow roof, I can see why you mentioned trusses. I guess you could convert the existing rafters to trusses by adding the necessary wood. I'm not a structural engineer but I would guess the 16' horizontal pieces would have to be larger than 2x4 to carry the load from the peak of the roof out to the walls since I'm sure you don't want any posts running down the middle of the shed, nor do you want to watch those pieces of wood start to bow down

 

[farmerjan]

No, it wasn't a last minute on losing the sale of the steer, it was just the whole aggravation of them wanting it then not wanting it etc. I just don't really want to get stuck with the two so was basically venting a bit. One of the reasons I am doing less and less direct sales and only raising for myself and selling the feeders off the beef herd at the stockyard sales. They are gone, I get a check and done. You get these complaints from buyers, and I have gotten so aggravated with some of it since they would have the same issues if they raised it themselves. Sold a half steer to someone, took it to the slaughter plant. They worked with the butcher to get it cut the way they wanted. I picked it up and delivered it as they had a little car and it was close, so easy to put the coolers on the back of my truck and just do it. It cost them 1000 total, beef processing everything. They weighed every piece of meat after I had delivered it and then said that they didn't get enough meat. They went to the butcher, and tried to tell them that there wasn't enough meat, and that the animal should have dressed at 62% of live weight and should have given them closer to 45% total weight in edible meat. This according to USDA figures. The butcher told them that 25-30% tops on final return to home on the meat and that was somewhat dependent on whether they had alot of bone in steaks etc. They were very unhappy, I got a bank check, took it back to them, got the meat and that was it. It really soured me and the meat was very tender and I ate every bit of it. It averaged out to nearly 10.00/lb. as there were no bones in any cuts (like t-bones) but this was also when feeders were bringing 2.50 lb at the market. Then when you have someone cancel out like this one did recently, it just makes you want to say no more. No wonder some of the places get the high prices they do, you have to deal with alot of b.s. and so many people only want the good cuts. Hey I like steak too, but that is not only what you get....
Don't mind me, I'll get over it !!!

 

[Latestarter]

I completely understand but have to be honest Jan... That's one of the things that makes it difficult for me, or has in the past... I'm not "made of money" and I'm not one of those "all natural, pay big $$ to know what you're eating and where it came from and how it was raised etc" folks. I can buy pretty decent, high quality rib eye steak, which is my preferred cut for (normally) about $10/pound or less, and get bone in even cheaper per pound (I actually prefer bone in as IMHO it adds substantial flavor and tenderness to the meat when cooked). I don't have to worry about all those other less desirable/tough cuts and parts/pieces that I don't ever use. The only other cut/steaks I've bought over the past 2 decades is NY strip (my daughters fave cut) and an occasional T-bone if there aren't rib eyes available and I really want a steak.

When I buy hamburger, which I do use and like, I prefer 85% lean, (I'll go to 90% or 80% if there's no 85%, but rarely if ever leaner or fatter) and I don't think I've ever paid more than ~$5/pound for that and mostly much less. I think I've bought one roast in the past 5 years and that was a rib roast. I've bought 2 racks of beef ribs in the past 2 decades. I don't normally make beef based soups so don't buy beef bones. I rarely make beef stew. Mostly because the stew beef you buy in the stores virtually never comes out tender and is normally grainy and tough.

Generally when I'm buying meat, I buy large quantities when it's on sale and then break it down to individual servings and freeze it. In CO before moving down here, I would buy rib eyes at $5.99/lb (or sometimes less on real good sales) and NY strips for $4.99/lb. I'd spend several hundred dollars and have enough steak to last me till the next sale 4-6 months later. So for me, though I'd love to eat "all natural", non GMO, no antibiotics, no growth hormones, grass fed, etc, meats... If I have to pay $10+/lb for it, I can't see spending it on stew or hamburger, I'd rather spend it on the cuts I like to (and know I will) eat.

So these are some of the reasons I've never gone in on those whole cow or 1/2 cow deals. I'd get a lot of meat (like more than 1/2 the total weight) that I don't normally use, and the price per pound is substantially higher for all but the most expensive cuts, than what I'd have to pay in a grocery store or even at a butcher shop for the same cuts.

It would obviously be different if I raised the beef and had it slaughtered and butchered... Then I'd pretty much keep the (bone in) rib eyes & strips, tenderloins, a couple of roasts, some thin sliced meat to make jerky, some limited stew meat, and grind the rest to burger. I "might" keep the tongue (for me to try), liver & kidneys & some bones (for Mel), but have no interest whatever in tripe or brain or any of the more exotic organs or "edible" parts.

Having said all that, and having never bought a 1/2 or whole "all natural" cow, I WOULD like the opportunity to buy some of your beef Jan and try it. I might find that I need to change my view/perspective. And aside from that, it would be nice to meet another BYH'er

 

[farmerjan]

Don't blame you for your "buying practices" of on sale and freezing in your size pkg for use etc. If I didn't raise my own that is how I would do it too. I don't cook alot of roasts, but when I do, try to cook it rare so I can slice for roast beef sandwiches. The stew meat is usually very tender when slow cooked in a stew and I have often cut it smaller and "stir-fried" it and do not need to get out a hacksaw to cut it to eat....haha. Thing is, you can get it cut anyway you want and can get cube steaks, thin steaks, no roasts, mostly all ground beef and steaks, etc.. But yes there are cuts of meat most people don't normally get that you learn to use/cook. It is amazing how we have gotten away from the "total use" of an animal that is butchered by being able to pick and choose the cuts we want. And I also totally understand not wanting to spend so much per pound AVG. for say 40% of it to be hamburger....But again, I cannot eat hamburger from walmart or most anywhere else and next to never eat beef out except at a BBQ place on occasion.....The jerseys have a slightly sweeter flavor to their meat and marble at a little bit younger age and hold the tenderness longer than alot of breeds. If you have a little time, look up on cattle today about some of the tenderness ratings, they are up near the top like aubrac (sp?) cattle. Anyway, not trying to talk you into anything, I will worry about what to do with it after the holidays and if I have room, may just take some more of this past years beef up to the mennonite and get more beef sticks and hot dogs and chipped beef made and other stuff as once it is vacuum packed it will keep for a couple of years in the freezer with no problem. Still, if I can make the time work, would love to try to get together with you and whomever else for a meal and gab fest and bring you some to try. I like to know where my food comes from and I am getting more picky as I get older. I realize that the whole "natural, grassfed, know your source" movement is for the more affluent folks, but I figure that if they can spend it on electronics and expensive "toys" they ought to spend it on food instead of the mindset that food needs to be cheap in this country. One of my dairy farmers just got back from a trip to the switzerland/germany area; to visit a farmer who has bought several embryos from his reg holstein cattle. They talked about how costly food was there and how much more it cost to live in general and that people don't have all the big trucks and stuff; and that there are still many 20-50 cow dairies and that the farmers can make a decent living on a farm like that, because they get paid a decent price for their milk. He said that they got a real education on things like priorities. Interesting.
Let me know when your plans are firmed up to come east; and if I can manage it, would like to try to come south to NC and meet up with you and any other BYH members that can manage to rendezvous somewhere....

 

[NH homesteader]

It is an interesting thing in our country these days. I am one of those people that cares where my food comes from but can't afford those prices. So my family very rarely eats beef. We raise and eat pork, chicken and turkey and we eat venison stew instead of beef stew. No plans to raise cattle here so we will have to see if we like lamb and/or goat meat!

 

[Latestarter]

Well, I just got back from a round robin drive. Took a trip over to Winnsboro to the Jerseygirl Dairy http://jerseygirlsmilk.com/ to buy some raw milk. I got the address from @Devonviolet and have wanted to get some. I had raw milk once back when I was about 14 or so and still remember how rich and sweet it was. I tried a small sample and bought 2 gallons. Now trying to finish the store bought gallon as quick as possible so I can start drinking "real" milk.

Anyway, Jan, as I was pulling up into the store yard, they had dozens of jersey bull calves in small enclosures with igloo houses for sale. They're selling them as day olds for $80 or $80 + $1.50/day after that. I asked because I'd want weaned calves rather than having to bottle feed twice a day. So I could get the calves for ~$225-235 each at ~90 days old. I don't know how that is for a price... They also had a couple of heifers available. Most were still well below weaning age but I could reserve them and get them once weaned. I explained that I intended to put them on pasture and just raise them there with little to no grain and they said it would take 2-3 years (with no grain) for them to mature to full size/butcher weights. They also said they are smaller than typical beef cattle and will yield less meat but that it's good meat. I asked if they ever do crosses and they said yes, they have, with angus bulls and a couple of other breeds, but I don't think they had any cross calves right now.

My kids were basically raised on venison... I couldn't afford red meat back then either. Haven't had deer now in a number of years and I do miss it. After I get this place up and running, I too hope to feed myself from my own raised animals. Chicken, turkey, pork, goat, sheep, and possibly beef. If I can afford to get a pond put in, I hope to have bass and catfish as well down the road. I also hope to be able to hunt deer on the property down the road.