South Central Oklahoma Farmhouse

[egon]

What do you do with all the spare time Pat? [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Pat]

Spare time... TV... Action movies, unless wife is watching and then educational stuff or antiques or the news.

All I can say is that it is a good thing I'm retired as I don't have enough time for my projects now and a regular job would certainly get in the way, A LOT.

One of the reasons I tackle some of the projects is that I can't find reliable workers to show up and do them for me. I still don't have the standby genset wired up. Went through 3 electricians before one actually showed up and that was for a few hours two evenings and then...

"My grandpaw in Michigan died and I will be gone for a week or two..." This was 3 months ago and he hasn't been back and wasn't paid for the time he was here with his helper at $40/hr for the pair of them.

I guess he inherited and doesn't moonlight anymore.

I have discovered another shortcoming.. I need an exhaust fan mounted high above the loft and great room to suck out hot air near the ceiling and blow it out into the attic. This would be especially handy when T-Storms are likely and I can't have the windows open on the second floor. I would like to wire it to a differential thermostat so that it would activate when the air near the ceiling is X degrees above the outside temperature. The value of X is user selectable.

Pat

[CJDave]

[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] It's too bad you aren't a little closer, Pat; there is nothing I like more than doing a changeover system for standby power. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] These days we are keeping busy doing some air conditioner work for friends and acquaintances. Right now if you call in for A/C service, the companies cannot even TELL YOU when they might get to your job. I keep a jug of F-22 and a few cans of R-134 at the ready. Have Freon, Will Travel. [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img]

[JazzDad]

Re: Have Freon, Will Travel. Under the RADAR. Most states require a license now, don't they?

[Pat]

Too bad I'm not closer to IOWA (please excuse the 4 letter word) hmmm besides such blandishments as fishing, meals, lodging in the guest room depicted in the following posted pix and other benefits to numerous to list here, what wodl it take to attract you?

Anyway, here are some pix of the basement guest room/safe room. The outer wall is 12 inches of steel reinforced concrete. one side wall is underground. Two are interior but 8 inches of steel reinforced concrete. The door is super HD steel (FEMA approved safe room door) with three deadbolts. The double hung window has interior overlapping storm shutters made of approximately 7/32 steel sheet steel hung on continuous piano hinges made of 3/4 inch steel tubing with solid round bar as hinge pins.

The shutters are held closed with bolts welded to one shutter and matching holes in the other over which you spin on nuts with welded in place washers. The shutters on the inside are super convenient, very strong and safe, and sort of go with the rustic interior motif.

I logged all the timber used to make the lumber used in the basement projects.

Pat

[Pat]

EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES...

Additional attempts to post additional pix met with already posted message from system.

[Pat]

Trying again...

Ahh... sweet success...

Here is a shot of the closed shutters. I may repaint the shutters matt white and let a local artist friend paint pictures on them. A different picture on each side. the one on the side showing when in the closed position will be a western scene looking through a multi-pane window out onto the ranch activities.

If storm tossed debris hits the window it can break the glass and glass, rain, and hail, can fall inside the room below the window sill but that is all the further it will penetrate so the occupants will be safe.

How are the shutters attached? Bolts with large washers were set in place with the washers behind the rebar of the wall before the concrete was poured. Angle is bolted to the wall with those bolts. The continuous piano hinges are welded to the angle and the shutters to the piano hinge as well. Extremely robust construction, way overkill but confidence inspiring.

Tornadoes range up to F-5 but this safe room and its shutters are built to survive a more powerful storm than has ever been recorded or is expected to be able to exist so is very comforting for visitors who have had the news media over enhance their fear of tornado alley.

Pat

[Pat]

Been shooting pool in the basement under bare fluorescent tubes. Lots of illumination... and lots of glare, especially if you aren't under the lights looking down and away from them. For proper visual comfort you want to keep the brightness variation in your view to no more than a 3 to 1 ratio for most practical applications.

Having logged significant Eastern Red Cedar, having had it sawed to rough lumber and stacked to dry for some time I was ready to use some of it on yet another project.

I designed and built decorative covers for the fluorescent tubes. I used the "Cracked Ice" type diffuser panels from Lowe's to make the little windows on the sides of the enclosure to let out some general area lighting and avoid brightly lighting the table surface as if it were an island of light in a large dark space.

For the main down lighting for the pool table illumination I used the little ice cube tray looking square grid pattern that lets light go straight down from the tubes but not sideways so when you look at the light from the side you see the lighted plastic but there is no direct light going straight in your eyes from the tubes. The table remains well lit but the discomfort of the bare tubes has been virtually eliminated. You can lean over the table and look upward if you want to look directly into the bright tubes but that is not the normal way the lights are used.

Attached is a picture of the light cover.

Pat

[Pat]

Another angle. You can see the diffuser panel with little rectangles open straight through for light headed straight down toward the table.

Ah, ERC (Eastern Red Cedar, Virginia Juniper actually) Nice color that is enhanced and retained by the oil based poly urethane coating. The water based version turns the wood more brown as can be seen in some of the shots where you can see other items.

Pat

[Pat]

Another view of the light cover. Background shows cedar bark-on wainscot, chair rail, and o'jec d'junk on the rail.