Kitchen project

I finally decided to start tackling the kitchen expansion project. The hole you see in the wall is where a window used to be in the original house. We have had it covered with a curtain so it didn't look bad. I am going to knock this wall out and put a beam in so the space can be opened up and Kerry can have a big kitchen.

I figured I better put up some plastic to save the rest of the house from all the dust that is created when you tear down plaster. As you can see I have all my safety gear on. Dustmask, glasses and gloves.

Once again I have a mess to clean up. I am positive that a man has to do more cleaning than a woman does. I really don't get the myth that women do more....

Disassembly

I started tackling the motor today. I needed to get it inside before it started freezing. There is water throughout the motor so it wouldn't have done any good to drain it out of the normal drain plugs. I didn't want it to freeze and break something. I took pictures of every step as I pulled the motor apart. This is a picture after I pulled off all the water lines and the water pump. I also wanted to get a picture of the fuel line so I knew how it was routed. I took the engine down to the block.

Now I have a whole bunch of pieces of engine!

It was a little dark by time I took the pictures so they are kind of hard to see. Right after this I dragged all the parts down to the basement. I used a hand truck to get the block down the steps.

I think I am going to be able to get away with just taking it apart and checking everything over. I haven't found anything that would make me think that I need to rebuild the thing.

I also found a windshield. When I was at work I was in Tulsa. I went to visit Kerry's parents and visited a boat junkyard. They had a windshield that I thought might fit so I used newspaper to make a template. I brought the newspaper home and cut out cardboard the same shape. I tried it on the boat and I am pretty sure it is going to work. My father-in-law is going to go buy it and bring it up when they come for Thanksgiving. It was a pretty good price at 30 bucks.

Project boat

I took a trip to Harbor Freight Tools in Louisville and picked up a shop crane. I had never been to HFTs so I picked up quite a few other things while I was there. I like that place.

The first thing I had to do was put the thing together. It is a pretty big crane and the box says it weighs 250 pounds.

Kerry got home from school just in time to help me. She did the jacking while I guided the engine out of the boat. I know it doesn't look like I am helping much in this picture though.

The engine has to come up enough to get over the back end of the boat. It is the same engine as a 305 Chevy V8. There are a few differences but not much.

Kerry is 5'6" and this is how high the engine had to go up to clear the boat. I also had to jack the tongue up as high as it would go to lower the back end.


Here is the motor on another of my new toys. I have always wanted an engine stand. Now I have a project that allowed me to get an engine stand AND and engine hoist. I love projects! I have no idea how to get the engine and stand somewhere that I can work on it though. I covered it up where it is on the back carport pad and will tackle that when I get back in 2 weeks.

Project boat

I got the engine pulled on the project boat today but I don't have time to post pictures. We are headed down to the houseboat to winterize it. It has been getting colder faster than I thought it would. I guess I am going to have to talk to AlGore about his global warming plan.

Will post pictures and whatever else we do tomorrow.

Just stuff

I got most of the carport cleaned up. The weather warmed up a little today so I was able to get some of it done. I wasn't in a hurry since I only get to fill the dumpster up once a week anyway and it doesn't get emptied until Monday. I have been trying to only put a certain amount of shingles in the dumpster at one time because I don't want them to complain it is too heavy to dump.

This pile is all the aluminum that was on the carport. I give all my metal stuff to a guy from church. He makes trips to the salvage yard all the time. I would probably spend as much on gas as it would bring for scrap.

This is all that is left of the carport. I was right about it taking three dumpster loads. I still need to cut up all the lumber in the back. Everything has to be six feet or less or it won't fit. You can see the dumpster in the top left corner of the picture. I moved everything off of the cement slab so I could start on my project boat.

I started by pulling the prop and pulling the outdrive. I was pretty sure there was going to be water in the housing behind the upper unit. I was right. It was pretty easy to pull off. I watched some videos on youtube while I was sitting in the hotel in Atlanta so I knew what I was doing.


I pulled the boat off the concrete so the tires of the trailer were well below the surface of the slab. I am hoping that will give me enough clearance to get the engine out. I am going to rent an engine hoist tomorrow and hopefully the boat is low enough now. It is pretty easy so far to work on. The engine is just a Chevy 305. There are a few things that are different that make it a marine engine but most is pretty straight forward.

Cleanup

I got quite a bit of the trash cleaned up. Unfortunately the dumpster is full and there is no point in cleaning any more up until they empty the dumpster on Monday. I am still trying to decide if I want to build a garage here and a new roof over the whole back addition... or if I should just go back with a carport. The main problem making it a garage is the brick wall you see in the picture. The cement slab doesn't go under the bricks. I would have to figure out how to make the concrete go level over where I take off the brick or I will have to build on top of the brick. Decisions.... decisions.
I put my boat out in the front yard with a sign "Project boat, 700 firm". If I can sell it for 500 I will make a quick 150 bucks and be very happy. If I actually sell it for 700 it would be fantastic! If I keep it... that is great too.

Tear down

My back carport was in pretty bad shape. When we bought the house this roof was home to many pigeons. Sometime before that termites had climbed up a tree and ate quite a bit of the supporting wood. I have been wanting to tear it down for about five years now. Today I finally got around to it.
I put a scrap 2x8 under the corner of the roof to take the place of the aluminum column. After I removed the column I pounded on the 2x8 until it fell out and "poof" down came half the roof.
To get the other side down I went up on the roof and broke each rafter in succession so it would fall down toward the pile of junk instead of on my boat. I called the family out so they could watch it fall down.
Now the fun part starts. I have to break all this up and put it in a 4 cubic foot dumpster. I think I can get it in 3 loads. I am going to sort out the aluminum to give to a guy from church that I give all my scrap metal to. What a MESS!!