Finally Rained but Problems with Collection System

After waiting for over a month after the Rainwater Collection System was installed for a trace of rain, it finally did...from 2.5 to 6 inches.  No one is exactly sure how much rain we got on my place but the evidence is interesting to look at.

This of course is the 20,000 gal storage tank on my place.  I had marked with the blue tape where 4000 gal was indicated by the level indicator (red bobber).  This was the amount we put in at the installation of the tank.  No water had been used since the plumbing has not been topped out yet.  Some evaporation must have occurred due to the 100 degree days but not much.

Therefore, the Collection system added about 8000 gallons to the storage with one rainfall.  With my roof able to collect 2000 gallons per inch of rain, that means it must have rained at least 4 inches.  Who says I won't be able to get enough water off my roof?

BUT...I was at the site when it rained and it just poured for over an hour.  I wished I had taken some pictures of how the water was overflowing the collection boxes which have a filter in them.  But it was a signification amount that was being dumped onto the ground.  It can be seen that the brown downspout was not going directly into the white downspout.  The heavy rain moved these brown downspouts so that a lot of water was lost.

This hole was dug by the water overflowing the collection system.

As well as this one which was about 10 ft from the house..the water was ski-jumping from the collection filter boxes and not making the turn to go down the pipe.  I got totally soaked  when I took off the filters to see if the water would go directly down the pipe.  Didn't seem to make any difference.  The water only went directly down the pipes without any overflow when the flow from the roof slowed down significantly.

This is on the back porch near the pantry window and the water was gushing out of the box and soaking the stone wall and hitting the window as well.  This downspout is a 4 inch pipe which should have been able to take the heavy flow.

This was the hole dug by the water right under the above downspout...

Notice the brown section is no longer directed into the white section.  When it was raining, I walked around the house and ALL the downspouts were overflowing onto the ground.

SOOOOO guess who was out right away to modify the downspouts.

They cut off the filter boxes and added extensions so the water would go directly down the pipe with no turns to slow down or divert the water.

The pipes were also strapped to the rock to keep them in place.  Now we will see where the water goes.  If it comes down in the same volume, there may still be some overflow but then it will probably overflow the gutter.  

We will see where the water goes next.

What also showed up are small leaks in the seams of the gutters.  Austin Gutter King to be out Monday to seal them better.  Much cleaner connections with the brown pipe extended down into the white pipe.

The major offender....Just think how much water I could have collected if all of the rainwater coming off the roof could have been collected.  Even with loosing a major amount of the water to overflow, I still gained 8000 gallons.  I now have enough water (12,000 gallons) for over 6 months if I am the only one using the water.

This was an extraordinary rain event but now I am prepared for large or small rain falls.  In addition to taking out the filter and box on the downspout, they also added a filter over the inlet to the downspouts in the gutters.  So the leaves, rocks, twigs, etc will still be caught before they enter the downspout from the roof.  This will require some periodic cleaning of the gutters to keep the screens clear.

I am still extremely happy with the Rainwater Collection System especially since we modified it.  

**For those who still can't figure out how this works, the water in all the downspouts was at the level of the pipe entering the top of the storage tank or about 7 ft......which meant all the collection pipes below the level of the inlet were full of water.  So the System alone must have been storing about 200 gallons of water by itself....4 inch pipes of about 400 feet....just guessing..maybe some engineer out there with the time and the knowledge can give me a better estimate.

Painting Preparation

This month has been SOOOOOO slow.  It has been hot and the humidity high but it seems that even the contractors are tired of working.  The painting bid was finalized then it took over a week for them to begin work on my house.  Most of the days they didn't show up until 10 am and left before 4:30pm.  One day they didn't show up at all.  Complaining doesn't seem to make them go any faster.  Would you believe two young guys worked four days on covering the floors, masking off the woodwork and taking down the doors?  By Friday I hoped they would at least be ready to start the spraying, brushing and rolling of the paint.

                         NOPE!  STILL NOT COMPLETE WITH PREP-ING!

Do these pictures look like a lot of work went on?

They just draped plastic over the cabinets and taped to wall.

The Kitchen window is covered up and has lots of wood trim to be painted.  I don't know how they intend to do the spraying but the floors are still yet to be covered.

How long do you think it took them to put down the plastic and brown paper on the floor?

The marble tile around the baths and the shower were covered.  I just don't see what they have been doing for the last week.

The doors were removed.  (I had taken the door knobs off so they didn't even have to do that!)

The two stain-grade doors are louvered and they will be stained to match the cabinets.  All the rest have been primed by the manufacturer but will have an additional coat of primer and then a final coat of semi-gloss enamel.

All the trim including this picture frame around a glass insert will have a prime coat of lacquer then two coats of semi-gloss enamel.  The bedrooms will have colored walls and the rest of the walls and ceilings will be white......SOON I HOPE!

More Work in August, 2012

Haven't seen the coyote since that one morning when he/she was tracking the deer.  Matter of fact, the deer have disappeared as well.  It has been the normal hot weather in August so that may be why they are staying hidden.

There has also been some extra workmen on the land putting in the utilities for the change to the position and widening of the county road that runs next to my land ...well, actually on the land that used to be my land before the state purchased it from me.  We worked out a deal that I would trade the cut-thru in my land for the old road plus some additional money for fences, damage..etc.  This will give me both corners on the County Road 245/Ranch Road 2338 which will eventually be commercial property.  The State is supposed to also "recover" the road which means take up the road and put the pasture back in its natural state.

This huge pole is for electricity and is on the water/electric easement on my property.  It is so big because the line has to be supported across 5 lanes of traffic and 2 access lanes plus the side easements...must be about 500 feet.

This is looking down the easement on my property.

This is the old pole on the edge of the current CR 245 with the lines that are being moved to the big pole.

They had to stop traffic as they cut and removed the old lines...

It was interesting to see the process of moving the lines since they had to support the old pole and lines with the truck until the pulling pressure from the still connected lines could be released.  This picture also shows the current CR 245 that will be "recovered" and my property line will be at the fence barely visible on the other side of the road.

After much research I finally found the granite I loved for my counter tops.  It is called Grey Goose or a couple of other names.  I learned a lot about how to purchase granite and where to purchase it.  The price started out at $70/sq ft but that was if I purchased the granite through a fabricator.  This picture was taken at the granite supplier.  

After learning that I can actually purchase directly from the supplier without going through a fabricator, the price dropped to more in the range of $20/sq ft.  There is still  the cost of the cutting out the individual counters (6) and the sinks/faucet holes, cutting/polishing the edges, delivery to site and installation.  When all the counters are finally installed, I will know the entire cost.  Just recently, the fabricator said they needed to do some additional polishing on one section that wasn't in the original bid.  I am expecting the final cost will be $50/sq ft----still quite expensive.

The fabricators have the granite in house at the current time and the expected date of install is Aug 29....I can hardly wait.

Wile E Coyote

I now know what this animal is I saw on my place on Monday of this week.

I had suspected it was a wolf or coyote but thanks to one of my readers, Ruthie, she confirmed it is a Coyote also named American Jackal or Prairie Wolf.  This animal is what the cartoon character, Wile E. Coyote is created from by Disney.

When you look up Coyote in Wikipedia, it isn't such a sweet, lovable little animal.  They kill fawns and sometimes larger deer, mice, squirrels and small domestic animals like dogs and especially cats.  They also are the largest predator of sheep, goats and young cattle.  I suspect they love chickens, rabbits and any other small animals that may be on my little farm in the future.

According to Wiki, they also have been know to attack humans.  

DOESN'T SOUND LIKE AN ANIMAL I WANT ON MY PLACE. 

More Trim and New Visitor

Here's a question for you guys.  What is this animal.  It was bigger than a big dog, had really long ears and mean looking teeth.  He was following a family of deer who had just passed the house.  Didn't seem at all afraid of me since he came within about 40 feet of where I was standing.

This is the system of filters for the Rainwater Collection including two charcoal filters, one more fine than the previous one, a UV filter that actually heats the water to remove bacteria with two tubes.  The downside of these filters is they have to be replaced about once a year depending on the usage and cost about $350.

This is the pump that also keeps 60 psi on the lines.  It only comes on when the pressure in the lines drop to below 40 psi which will occur when a water demand is placed on the system.  Usually this system requires a 40-50 gal pressure tank and a pump.  This one uses much less space and claims to be more energy efficient.

Some of the detail of Kerwin's work.  He really pays attention to the details which required him to cut out the strike plate on the furr out of the jamb.  He is a very good trim carpenter.

More finishing work by Kerwin.

This lock has a double bolt lock which I purchased after my house in Austin was broken into.  If they try to kick in this door, they will break their legs first...much reinforcement with 3 inch screws even in the reinforced hinges.  Notice Kerwin had to cut out the strike plate on this door as well.

Which reminds me, Kerwin caught a couple of guys taking some of the cut limestone on my property last Friday.  He said they just drove up in my driveway, got out of their truck and began walking around and picking up stuff.  Very brazen since obviously there was someone at the house with the garage door open and Kerwin's truck in the drivcway.  When he yelled at them, they quickly got in their truck and left.  I guess I will have to close and lock the gates even when we are at the house.

Kerwin built a divider between the front entry and the Great Room to hold my stained glass pieces.

An example of how long I have been planning this house.  I purchased two of these "post" lights along with some plumbing fixtures in 1994.  Got a good deal then since the hardware store was going out of business.  Still look perfect and will go on the front gate posts.

Dining room wall.  Remember this blank wall.  More to come!

The guys worked on what they call "my pizza oven"  Donnie had to crawl into the opening to install the wood covering.  This is the electronics shelf behind the hearth and below the place where the TV will hang on the rock wall.  You can see the cable or dish wire hanging down.

One last thing remaining is to place a divider to attach double glass doors to later.  The tub will be cut off.  It allows the wires from DVD, VCR, XBOX, Blue Ray, Amp or whatever to go from the shelf to the back of the TV.  There are two 4-plug outlets and a hidden switch that turns off power to everything including the TV all at once....no standby or ghost use of power.