I have spent the last several days drying out the carpeting in the trailer. We it measured to get an estimate for redoing the vinyl the carpeting, The trailer is 10 years old and it's time to replace it. Remodeling is a better alternative to buying a new trailer for at least two reasons. Number one is cost. New rigs hover around $40-50 K. The other reason is that we have not been able to find another trailer that has the floorplan that we want. Fifth wheel trailers seem to come in two sizes. 25-27 ft (week-end rigs) 34-40 ft (full-time rigs). One is too small to live in for the length of time we travel. The others are Way Too Big. I don't want to haul something that big and heavy. I don't have a big or new enough truck and they are tricky to maneuver into gas stations and campgrounds.
My current trailer has a total length of an inch under 31 ft. There is some skill involved but it is ok for most places.
As for the floorplan, nothing comes close. We lived in "Tiny House for 8 months this year and were very comfortable, even with two dogs. The dogs were especially content because when we were home they knew where we were at all times. The other room was just a few feet away.
Getting back to my story. The carpet guy informed us that we have a leak. I pulled the trailer out enough to let the big slide out and ugh! The carpet was indeed very wet. "Where did it come from?" is the $64 question. The shop vac sucking up moisture from the carpet, furnace on high, space heaters going full blast and it is finally drying up. Now I guess I need to take it to a shop to see if they can figure out how the water is getting in, Obviously we want the leak fixed before we install the new floors.
Monday, October 24, 2016
Tetons
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Sun
I can't believe it! I can see sunshine! It's the first day since last Wednesday that it hasn't rained. It is good to see the sun. We have received over 3.5 inches of rain this last week. The Coast got more rain and lots more wind as well. Listening to the weather people on the media, we should have gone out and bought batteries, water, blankets, etc. for the upcoming weather. Well, it came and went without much ado here in the Willamette valley. Maybe next time.
The sun is here for a short time, however. The forecast is for more rain by this evening. Oh boy!
While working at the Home Show a couple of weeks ago, we visited many booths while walking Hunter around the building. We are toying with the idea of replacing the vinyl counter tops in our kitchen so we invited a couple of vendors to stop by and give us an idea of what was available, costs, etc. A representative from Sears was here Monday and another from Costco yesterday. Both reps were well prepared and very professional but had totally different styles. Both outfits are self-contained meaning you do not have to deal with any outside contractors from start to finish. The Sears installers do one job at a time, so they will not be called to another job midway through your job. They get another assignment only when the customer has signed off on the current one. The Costco vendor, FloForm, has one contact person to answer any questions you may have during the process. Good ideas from both.
Sears offers Corian, Quartz, and Granite, but only a limited number of patterns of each that they have tested and approved. Costco offers only Quartz, (Cambria to be exact) The sales person said that when they offered unlimited counter materials, wood, granite, quartz, Corian, etc. over 80% of the time, Quartz was chosen. Costco researched quartz products and picked Cambria as the best. I have to say that the Cambria patterns had more movement than the Sears quartz products.
All of that being said, I have a couple of observations.
Both of the appointments were made as a "We'll stop by and let you know what options are available to you. No Pressure".
Both salespeople expected to get an order at the end of their presentation.
Both bids were substantial amounts: Sears was close to $11k, Costco a little under $9k.
I am not going to make a snap decision with an amount like that involved. (Sears did offer a 10% discount if we ordered at the time of the sale.)
Neither agent left us with a written estimate. Was that on purpose?
No decision has been made. Do we really NEED new counter tops? Do we want to start making monthly payments? Hmmmm...........
The sun is here for a short time, however. The forecast is for more rain by this evening. Oh boy!
While working at the Home Show a couple of weeks ago, we visited many booths while walking Hunter around the building. We are toying with the idea of replacing the vinyl counter tops in our kitchen so we invited a couple of vendors to stop by and give us an idea of what was available, costs, etc. A representative from Sears was here Monday and another from Costco yesterday. Both reps were well prepared and very professional but had totally different styles. Both outfits are self-contained meaning you do not have to deal with any outside contractors from start to finish. The Sears installers do one job at a time, so they will not be called to another job midway through your job. They get another assignment only when the customer has signed off on the current one. The Costco vendor, FloForm, has one contact person to answer any questions you may have during the process. Good ideas from both.
Sears offers Corian, Quartz, and Granite, but only a limited number of patterns of each that they have tested and approved. Costco offers only Quartz, (Cambria to be exact) The sales person said that when they offered unlimited counter materials, wood, granite, quartz, Corian, etc. over 80% of the time, Quartz was chosen. Costco researched quartz products and picked Cambria as the best. I have to say that the Cambria patterns had more movement than the Sears quartz products.
All of that being said, I have a couple of observations.
Both of the appointments were made as a "We'll stop by and let you know what options are available to you. No Pressure".
Both salespeople expected to get an order at the end of their presentation.
Both bids were substantial amounts: Sears was close to $11k, Costco a little under $9k.
I am not going to make a snap decision with an amount like that involved. (Sears did offer a 10% discount if we ordered at the time of the sale.)
Neither agent left us with a written estimate. Was that on purpose?
No decision has been made. Do we really NEED new counter tops? Do we want to start making monthly payments? Hmmmm...........
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Storm
Windy, windy. Are we in storm number one or two? I do know the rain gauge has been filling during the last few days. Yesterday, there was 1.6" when I emptied it. This morning, 1/2 ". Will there be more today? Stay tuned. I know the wind is back. The Coast is where the storm has been having the most fun. Being at the coast during a storm is lots of fun. (In a house not in a RV).
Sunday, October 2, 2016
Fall
Fall has fallen. The temps have dropped the sun is being hidden more and more. The irrigation system is turned off and the lawn is greening up. My "lawn" consists of many green plants, some of them are actually grass. There is also clover of some kind, weeds, dandelions, and of course the perennial favorite, moss. Moss has trouble in the summer here in Oregon, but it holds on and flourishes the other 9 months of the year. Weeds can be dug up or pretty much taken care of. Moss is a different story. It's always laying around waiting for a day just like today. Gray, cool, and an all-day light rain. If you listen you may hear the moss sighing with happiness.
Swan Island
Last Monday afternoon we drove to the north side of Canby. There the Swan Island Dahlia farm is located. The graphics on their trucks say, "The Nations Largest Producer of Dahlia Bulbs" and I believe it. Acres and acres of Dahlias of all colors, sizes, and flower types. When you think of these flowers, you think of large blossoms that resemble intricately folded crepe paper. At Swan Island the plants vary from chest high to 12-15 inches and the blossoms from 6-8 inches to 1-2 inches. Lots of photo opportunities plus the gift shop sells cut flowers and offers bulbs for your home garden. The bulbs can be ordered online as well for delivery in the spring.
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