Shopping and Building on a budget

ASK. You can save MONEY, if you ASK.  

Howdy Y’all!!! 🤠Welcome back! Last time I told y’all that I would share my questions and my requests. Derrick and Corbin with Corey Sly Electrical Service Inc. were great.

They answered all my questions and helped me with my request. Question #1…”How much money can I save?” LOL! I’m not kidding. 🤠

Derrick, being the line man, walked me through the garage. I showed him the main breaker box to the house. No problem, there was room for a double breaker that could run the Shop. I cleared the way in the attic. (I know, Electricians sometimes have worked in terrible conditions) I did not want to be one of those Customers, so I made sure they had plenty of room in the attic above the garage. The big gauge wire would run from the breaker box, up the wall to the attic, across the attic floor to the other side and down the other wall. I had already decided to go with no sprinkler system.🤔 That story, I will explain later. I took the sprinkler main box off the wall and asked Derrick if the hole in the wall was sufficient for the big gauge wire they were going to use. He said yes. I will share pictures later. Next, we walked outside where the wire would exit and go toward the Shop. Here I go!🤠  I asked, “how much does it cost to dig the trench?” He replied, “We usually charge $25.00 a foot.” Electricians usually outsource the digging of a trench. “Can I do it myself?” I asked. “Sure,” he replied.* It just has to be 18” deep, 20’ long, 2” to 3” wide. Enough room to allow working a ¾” conduit through the trench. So, I clearly said,  “I will be your trench digger.”🤠💪 I saved $500.00 right away. 🤑🤠LOL! YES!!!

Let’s continue the walk. By asking questions, Derrick helped me save more money. They would do all the MAJOR wiring. They would leave the minor wiring to me.  i.e. light switches, outlets, dryer outlet, a/c outlet / that story coming up too. Light fixtures and all the covers. I’ll share pictures and links of everything. Derrick and Corbin were fantastic. They saved me more money and even answered my questions about the CORRECT wiring and parts / materials needed to complete the job. I was sure I could handle this job, but I just wanted double assurance that I wouldn’t kill myself or burn the place down.😂

I’m ready to dig. 🤠💪 LOL! I will need the proper tools, work wear, materials and energy. Oh, drink PLENTY OF WATER. Save the beer drinking for after the job. LOL! 🤠

Cover your head from the sun too. I’ll mention my Resistol from Amazon a few times in my stories. 🤠

Men cargo pants Workwear Trousers , 2.5 lb. Pick , Lowes Craftsman Sawzaw , and or keep a good, sharp axe handy , I don’t have a link picture (these two tools I’ve had for ever) of my hand held pick axe 1 1⁄2 lb. with a 12” handle or my hand held sledge hammer 2lbs. with a 12” handle. I bought both tools at Home Depot and they come in handy for the close areas of the dig. I also shared a link of a Sawzaw, because the ROOTS. Yes, roots can be a problem. I was able to clear the dirt away from the roots, then cut them with MY sawzaw. Mine comes with my drill that my son gave me  . This “Matrix Black+Decker drill SET” is the closest to MY cool tool. I just haven’t seen my older model at either store. 🤔 I didn't need my axe at all, but I had it ready.

I began on the outside of the wall of the house. 3 feet and I was already up against the sidewalk. I dug down on each side of the sidewalk. Then I used a 3 foot metal pole and my hand held sledge hammer to poke through under the sidewalk. Easy, peasy. 💪 LOL!

As you can see. I started pretty wide. I called Derrick to double check the dimensions. I thought it was great that he answered my call. 🤠  “He said no worries, just enough room for the ¾” conduit.” As you can see, my dig got a little thinner.

Can y’all see those bricks in the ground? In front of the Shop Door? Dirt is blocking some of the view, but y’all can see what I did with some of those bricks. I built a sidewalk from the existing cement walk to the Shop door. 🤠Just fyi, I placed a 2 inch PVC pipe, 3 feet long at the edge of the slab for proper drainage. It's not visible, but it's there. This is West Texas. Normally I wouldn’t be worried about RAIN. The forecast calls for a storm coming our way, one day before Derrick and Corbin were scheduled to arrive. Aaaah!!! 😱 So, I knew I had to be ready and I could not let rain water pour into my newly dug trench. I covered the trench with what I had. No added expenses.

I used some of the dirt from the trench to build small levees on each side of my trench. Some of y’all may call them embankments or ridges. I just wanted to keep the rain water OUT! 🤠

Yes, I’m a keeper. Here I go to the shed. I knew I had these long pieces of metal roofing material. I placed them over the trench and then added some of those bricks to lay on top. Not sure what kind of wind the storm would bring. 

See my picture below. The rain came and went. 

My trench stayed dry. 🤠 

As y’all can see in the picture above. I did a good job covering the trench, with what I had. All those bricks are coming in handy too. 🤠

 Well,  I think I've done enough damage for one day. 🤠🤣

Please join me next time at the DURON RANCH for the rest of the story.  Don’t forget to click on my LINKS, tap the LIKE button👍, send Feedback, ask questions and definitely SUBSCRIBE to the DURON RANCH.🤠 Until next time, stay safe, make good choices and we'll see y’all soon. 🤠