Rankin Family Website

Week 2

(0)Monday July 2, 2001 - The construction loan is now funded and all systems are go! Except for the fact that it rained today so nothing got done except some paperwork. I got the final quote on the sips from Premier Building Systems and started the process of getting in their queue.

(1)Tuesday July 3, 2001 - Today I applied for the building permit, electrical connection, and finalized the SIP package from Premier Building Systems. I also drove the back hoe the eight miles to the land with Patti following in the truck. It took about an hour and went well. Once we got there, I had to start clearing some trees at the entrance so we could get in. I also had to trim some limbs up high. This was made easy because I would get into the bucket and Patti would lift me up to the limb then go to the next one. We managed to clear about 400 feet of the drive. I was even able to push over and dig up some oak trees that were almost a foot in diameter. This back hoe rules. We only got to work just over an hour before it got dark.

(1)Wednesday July 4, 2001 - I got to the land about sunrise and hooked a chain around one of the oak trees to pull it out. I pulled the oak tree to a clearing and headed back to get the other one but when I stopped, I heard a hissing sound. Well, I got my first flat, something had punctured the right rear tire so I parked the back hoe and took the tire off. I spent the rest of the morning with the chain saw marking the rest of the drive. I figure I have about another 1400 feet of drive to clear. At 10:00 we went to the 4th of July parade in town. I think the kids got about five pounds of candy. We also stopped by the Wimberley Christian Church which was giving away free hot dogs, drinks, and cookies. After that we went back out to the land to see what else we could do without the back hoe and then we went swimming.

(3.5)Thursday July 5, 2001 - The tire guy came and brought a used tire to put on my spare rim but forgot to fix my flat tire. He will get that tomorrow and then I will have a spare tire. I got to the land about 4:30 and put the tire on and started clearing more driveway. I got about another 250 feet cleared before the septic designer showed up. He and I discussed our alternatives and it looks like I am stuck with an aerobic spray system. He is designing it so that it will handle this house as well as the main house so I won't have to visit this issue again.

(4)Friday July 6, 2001 - We are at about 950 feet of driveway with about another 800 feet to go.

(8)Saturday July 7, 2001 - I got out to the land about 6 a.m. and started clearing more trees. The last 100 feet had many large rocks that I had to dig out with the back hoe. This has slowed progress somewhat but I still want to reach the house site this weekend. Stay tuned to see if I make it. I found another arrowhead today. This makes two and some chips that I have found.

(6)Sunday July 8, 2001 - Well, I didn't make it to the house site and since we went to the movies last night, I didn't get an early start. We went out to the land after church, about 2:00. We worked until 8:00 and got another 420 feet cleared. This leaves about 200 feet before we reach the house site. I need to have some gravel delivered because there are several places that are only passable with the back hoe. It turns out that the house site is 0.34 miles off of the main road and heavily wooded the entire way. The back hoe has done a wonderful job of clearing the trees and rocks. There are about three rocks that are so big that I can't budge them with the back hoe. I need to break the tips off or pile the gravel over them. We will see how that goes. The last tree that I took out was a large oak. It took almost an hour alone and I broke my logging chain twice. The rest of the trees are cedar and they are easy to dig up and drag off. I ordered a digital camera Friday so maybe next week I will have some pictures to show you.

Week 2