Gibbon, Cozad & Western - "The 100th Meridian Line"

[Specter3]

Mike

That is a great moment for you and Robyn. I have thoroughly enjoyed watching it come together. Very few people get to do what is occurring here(though many, many of us dream of it) and to have it all documented and out there for us to gawk at is just that much more awesome. Congratulations on this milestone. It means neater, and warmer, things are soon to come.

[MVW]

What Specter3 said.

OK, Mike. Looks like you're just about ready to get to work on this project! 

Jim

[Scottl]

It does look great, and it is nice to know that the available hobby money will go to things other than the energy bill this winter!

[C855B]

Thanks, everyone! Yeah, nearly 28 months at this point. But we're still having fun with it, and it's always great to see each little project done so we can move on to the next.

While we finished those three missing bats today, we only managed to put up two bats of the R-13 layer this afternoon before realizing we needed to revise the process. There was too much up and down with the lift for each single 13' bat, taking nearly 20 minutes for each bat. That's not going to get 'er done! We think we have a working solution, and will resume that part of it on Monday since she has a pottery class tomorrow and a progressive art studio tour on Sunday. What is done is making a difference, tho' - last week the HVAC could only hold a 25° differential, now suddenly we're holding 35°... even with no ceiling insulation yet. That's fantastic considering the 15° lows next week.

Meanwhile, I have more rough electrical to do. If I work it right, I can get the layout lighting circuits, workshop heat and the last bit of layout room outlets all into the breaker box at the same time. It's been a pain opening up the box every time something is finished, and I'm wearing-out the fasteners.

Finished the grid ceiling plan tonight including the lighting, so I should be able to order grid parts next week. Looks like a 3-week lead time. There's plenty to do in the meanwhile.

[C855B]

Final lighting test this evening confirmed the DMX control and RGBAW+UV mini-PAR cans as the way to go. A DMX control console (Chauvet "Obey 40") and a "dimmer pack" - multi-channel DMX-controllable dimmer cluster - arrived this afternoon. Does nearly everything I want from effects lighting and house lighting control. I was able to dim the "house lights" (a test bulb), the fill spots (a test floodlight), and then sequence in the sunset yellow-to-orange-to-deep-orange, fade it into night simulation, and then to moonlight. It was a little eerie once I had the effects mixture down, especially the moonlight. Surprisingly effective.

This is a good thing, because we are now in push mode to finish the lighting support wiring above the grid ceiling. Grid components are scheduled to arrive second week of December, and before it goes up there's a small task list ahead of it: aside from the lighting wiring, there's finishing the R-13 layer on two walls, modify a roof truss for balcony access door, and put up a 2' strip of drywall around the entire ceiling perimeter. That last job has its own daunting aspect, relocating the piles of building materials moved for the concrete pour last month, just so we can get to the walls.

There are a couple of other "above the grid" tasks, too. In looking at what the lighting will need, it would be prudent to have catwalks in the attic space for lighting control maintenance. It would be a real pi$$er to blow a fuse in a dimmer pack and then try to get to it through the grid panels and 12" of insulation on top of it. Not a difficult project, as the support framework is already in place - all that needs to be added is a couple of joists and then probably plywood or 1x12's. I also need to wire for exterior lighting, as two minor incidents (no damage, etc.) on Halloween weekend underscored the need for a couple of motion-detector lights on the dark sides of the building.

In better news, the insulation work even without the ceiling done is showing remarkable results. The duty cycle on the furnace (as monitored by the digital thermostat) is cut nearly in half of what it was just two weeks ago, despite temperatures having fallen an average of 15°F. I also wired the heat in the workshop and Robyn added insulation in that space, and it made a big difference. Once the ceiling is in I expect to finish the drywall in comfort... after which we can start actual layout construction.

I am friggin' counting the days!

[C855B]

And now for something completely different.

... two minor incidents (no damage, etc.) on Halloween weekend ...

Versus the discomforting events today. I went out to our box truck parked in front of the building to find an empty can of Coleman camp stove gasoline wedged behind the cab, and obvious signs of gasoline being splashed around the tires and beneath the engine compartment. No signs of attempt to ignite, just clearly a threat to do so. I filed a report with the police at their station, and the responding officer started with "I won't sugar coat it...", that the apartments next door to us have become a major problem for them (he personally responded to three situations this week), with the recent turnover in tenants leaning decidedly towards drug dealers and other serial criminals. Most alarming to Robyn and I was the revelation that a pair of career burglars hang there, and I was warned that the arson angle was their particular m.o. in covering tracks.

Oh, joy. I have done little to warrant the unwanted attention other than (nicely) let a couple of visitors know that our parking area is not part of the apartments and on their next visit they will want to park on the street. OTOH, these kind folks are there to buy drugs. We've suspected one or two small-time meth or crack dealers over the past year, but this time we're 99.9% sure the latest is a major pot broker. Interesting, 'cause they're a nice couple, and the clientele seems to be better, but the problem is there is a lot of said clientele. We cannot believe the sudden huge jump in traffic at their apartment, you know, the in and out in under five minutes thing. We know they got a big shipment in last Friday only because of the steady parade of buyers ever since. The police officer indicated that they are frustrated, they are very understaffed and the top brass will not allocate resources for investigations, stake-outs or other tools to bring it under control. He told me I need to go "above his head" (translated: city manager) to get any interest in doing something about it.

So this evening I hastily installed a surveillance camera covering the front of the building, and will configure activity recording during daylight hours tomorrow. Don't know if it's going to do much if anything, but at least it'll be there as an evidence trail should we need it, and hopefully not.

I'll bet this isn't in anybody's layout design plan, that's for sure. Ugh.

[3DTrains]

Bummer about the demographics, Mike. Above all else, make certain your insurance covers all shenanigans your neighbors throw your way.

Perhaps you can post signs on the side of your building that read: "Police Dog Training Facility - Protective Gear Required Beyond This Point".

Cheers!
Marc - Riverside

[C855B]

Thanks, Marc. Even given all of it, the thing I find most disturbing was the camp stove fuel. It's odorless, so these kids have figured out a way to foil low-level arson forensics, which is pretty much all we get in our little town. If it had been vehicle fuel I would have smelled it right away; I only noticed the can and then the oily spots because I was about to tilt the cab to look at something.

Yeah, our dog would crotch sniff 'em into submission. Coincidentally we upped the insurance coverage about a month ago given the magnitude of the improvements in the past year, so we are at least protected for building and contents at the moment. But I should put our insurance agent on the to-do list for tomorrow to address the concerns. Fortunately our insurer is closer in business model to one of the old farm mutuals ("Farmers" and "State Farm" used to be farmer mutuals) - we're even required to be members of the local farm co-op - so they're more knowledgeable or at least understanding about rural risks such as slack-jawed idiots setting your barn or combine on fire just 'cause they don't like the way you look.

We do have a game plan beyond talking to city admin. If you glanced at the video link, you might have noticed the system supports four cameras. So three more can be added cheaply. Then we've agreed that a simple bar gate across the drive would send the message about access without being confrontational. Another option is to approach the apartment owner about buying him out since our properties bracket his, and, if successful, just razing the SOB. Not that we want to take the big hit, but the defensive nickels-and-dimes are adding up.

We surely don't need this added distraction this close to building completion.

[wm-webb]

Another option is to approach the apartment owner about buying him out since our properties bracket his, and, if successful, just razing the SOB.

 Convert it into senior citizens model railroader's home. 
Where do I need to sign.

[C855B]

HA! Now there's an idea! But, sadly, as you can easily conjecture from the clientele it attracts these apartments are pretty worn out. The structure is a classic old storefront from the 19-teens, originally built as a store downstairs and a residence upstairs. The upstairs have been subdivided into four apartments and the store was at one time two, and is now back to one.

I am on our city's architectural commission, and if there were public funds available the preservationist in me would love to sponsor the place and restore it to its early-20th-century appearance. It is the last or one of the last wood frame structures of this style here. Aside from vinyl siding and a small garage bump-out (and umpteen satellite dishes), the basic form is unaltered. There was little else anybody could do with it because it's an old city-style lot with no setbacks - it's built to the property lines. But I do know it has serious problems with the mechanicals and being 100 years old there are hidden major structural issues, so to preserve it properly is well beyond financial sanity.

Robyn shares your thinking. She says "Railfan B&B! Who else would put up with something so close to the tracks?"

[reinhardtjh]

Robyn shares your thinking. She says "Railfan B&B! Who else would put up with something so close to the tracks?"

Knock it down and haul in a couple ex UP cabins, er cabooses and a diner for a real railfan B&B?

[Specter3]

Well ya know the neighborly thing to do would be to return the stove fuel and other flammables. While carelessly smoking....

[C855B]

Heh heh. Truly.

Let's just say I had a productive meeting with the city manager and police chief this morning.

[C855B]

Due for an update, I s'pose. Second layer of insulation on the north wall of the layout room is done. Observation deck structure is finished, access is momentarily on hold while I modify the truss above it to make room for a door. I have started sanding the new concrete in preparation for sealer - yes, you can sand concrete - and so far it's polishing-up quite nicely. The rough joint between new and old concrete required a belt sander, and I burned through a belt about every 5 feet!

Rough electrical for the outlets is finished in the layout room, and one box left in the workshop, only delayed because cutting in this particular circuit means I have to take our video, e-mail and web servers down. Since the server cabinet and network wiring isn't ready yet, I'm putting this off in an attempt to take things down just once... but truth is, as I key this I realize it's not that big a deal. I really should get the workshop circuit done and worry later about the permanent systems' home.

Robyn is about half done with the insulation in the workshop ceiling. I might reprioritize this since heat from the workshop area was part of the ice dam problem last winter.

Big headway on layout lighting rough electrical this week. All of this work is conduit (EMT) since some of the runs have four separate circuits, plus ground. I have a couple of more days left of locating boxes up in the trusses, then I can start pulling wires. A sample of the LED troffers we plan to use should be here Friday, and maybe by then I can have a live ceiling circuit for testing.

Ceiling grid hardware has not arrived as yet. It is due this week, although we're certainly not ready to do anything with it. I have a call into our contractor to see if he can free-up a day to add perlins as was discussed several pages back. I have the materials, but it's going to take more than just me to get them up. I'm trying to entice him with the possibility of a paying job in a heated space.

The situation with the apartments next door has quieted down a little, thanks to a few key arrests. OTOH the drug dealer visitor traffic has been overflowing onto our parking area. We know the young couple doing the dealing hate the apartments ("A hovel!" according to the girl), so it's a matter of time before they move on. We hope.

[Specter3]

Well

Nice report. Wiring is interesting to me, though I am always working in 50+ year old buildings and am about the 20th guy who has been up in the space doing the same thing. I have told my wife that I will be the one that finds the live 440 circuit that someone coiled up and left up there one of these days.

As to the drug dealers, they sound like reasonable folks who have seen Weeds too many times. They should know they cant stay in any one spot too long or they will get busted. So you are right in that they will be gone before too long.