A lot of work got completed at The Cottage, over the weekend, as we prepare to move in.
Sadly, the solar heater that I planned to put into the south window didn’t quite make it…
I made this heater almost 20 years ago & it has held up so well, so I was sad to see it meet such an awful fate. Unfortunately, it’s entirely my fault, as I left it propped against the building instead of lying flat. One big gust of wind threw it right down onto a rock & shattered the glass.
Ultimately, it will be ok, though. We have plenty of other hear sources and can always build another, as they’re relatively simple.
And since we’re talking about heat sources, don’t message me about the lack of a fireback behind the wood stove. There will be one, it just wasn’t finished when I took the photo. Also, this placement is temporary. The stovepipe will not always run out the window, although I previously had a stove that was piped that way for years with no issues.
We also have a small propane heater, for supplemental heating, and the solar generator has officially been installed (forgot to take a picture of the panels on the roof. Oops).
The refrigerator is up & running and I will be setting up the temporary kitchen this week.
As you can see, there is still a lot to be done to the interior but it is certainly livable the way it is. It’s fully insulated (which is covered by plastic in order to both protect the insulation from kids & us from irritating fibers) & we will have a necessities covered.
We have both a solar & a gas powered generator, so there is plenty of power. We’ll be hauling water for the time being, but are working on getting a well dug on the property.
Still need to install a couple of light fixtures (we’re using the same lights inside as we did on the porch) but it’s basically ready to move in.
A lot of folks cringe at the idea of moving into a house when the interior hasn’t been fully completed but, when you’re doing a pay-as-you-go project, it’s just more practical than waiting until everything is all in place. Besides, people rarely think they shouldn’t live in their house when they’re doing renovations to part of it, so why the chagrin about living in it while working to complete it? It might be a bit annoying for it not to be complete, yet, but it’ll be manageable.