My Acreage Project - Let the fun begin

[firebane]

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I built my system based on my water test that I got when I bought the house and they tested the well water, but it really depends on your water. Any filtering is better than no filtering, so you can decide. Due to the chemical composition of my well water, RO was the only thing that was going to make good drinking water.

Its not just taste to be concerned about. Minerals will really screw up stuff in your home too such as water fixtures and appliances. So having good clean water helps everything.

[eblend]

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#AllSouthernAlbertaWells

First time on a well, had no idea it was like that around here.

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Its not just taste to be concerned about. Minerals will really screw up stuff in your home too such as water fixtures and appliances. So having good clean water helps everything.

Yah, I would love to have clean city water for everything, but the FOK system I installed takes care of most of the crap that would ruin my fixtures and appliances, so I will just have to live with it as is for now. Whole House RO would require too much space I didn't want to give up

[MOB68]

If you have space for it, a cistern system is great option for a heated cabin. Ours is just a large plastic tank (220 gallons) with a submersible well pump dropped inside and connected to an expansion tank equipped with a pressure switch.
When you open a faucet, the water in the expansion tank initially feeds the plumbing system until the pressure drops below a certain value (eg. 20Psi), then the well pump kicks in to refill it. We bring potable water in using a smaller tank from a local fill station, but there are usually companies that can also deliver. Transfer is just by gravity using a long 1.5" pvc hose via a nearby window. You can daisy chain more tanks if you need a larger storage capacity. Just don't let it freeze!

[eblend]

Hi All, just a tiny little update on where things are right now. Nothing earth shattering. The biggest update in all of this is the fact that I got my flooring delivered today. I ordered all my flooring and adhesive from
Flooring Clearance Warehouse up by Costco in Deerfoot Meadows. I dealt with Joel Cloutier, who is the Sales Manager there. He provided me with the samples and some guidance, and was very pleasant to deal with overall, I highly recommend him. The flooring I choose is made by Cascade Flooring Products and seems like every flooring store I went to carries this brand, and I got quotes from a few places, but Joel was able to beat them all. This is the exact product that I ordered, 125 boxes of it, a total of 3000 sqf worth. I am out of town on business next week and got a few household things to finish, so I won't start installing until after I am back, but stay tuned for some exciting (to me) updates



Little sample from one box just laid out in a rectangle



Aside from this, nothing terribly interesting. Got a new TV (85" Samsung Frame)





And ran the snowblower for the first time with the first snowstorm. Will be doing a bit more this afternoon it seems. Thanks to @firebane and @HHURICANE1 for guidance on shear pins, as I already managed to snap one the first day....stupid rocks. I tried to run it pretty high but still managed to shoot some across the land, hopefully this will improve as the ground freezes over and the road becomes compacted snow vs semi-melting snow gravel






That's all for now. Next update will have some more interesting things in it, like flooring, but will be a 2-3 weeks before any of that.

[ExtraSlow]

I like vinyl planks. Good Call.

[eblend]

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I like vinyl planks. Good Call.

It's the theme for this house. I like natural products as much as the next guy, but I hate the required upkeep, so I go with stuff that looks good, and has some of that natural look at the same time. LVT is waterproof, durable, easily replaceable (with this, I just heat up the plank with hair dryer and the glue will release, replace with new one). I had natural hardwood in the old place, and while I liked the look, I hated the fact that it got all scuffed up, with few giant dings ect, and only way to fix that is full sand and refinish...no thanks.

[jwslam]

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It's the theme for this house. I like natural products as much as the next guy, but I hate the required upkeep, so I go with stuff that looks good, and has some of that natural look at the same time. LVT is waterproof, durable, easily replaceable (with this, I just heat up the plank with hair dryer and the glue will release, replace with new one). I had natural hardwood in the old place, and while I liked the look, I hated the fact that it got all scuffed up, with few giant dings ect, and only way to fix that is full sand and refinish...no thanks.

Are you gonna do that thing where you sort out all 9 patterns before laying floors down, so that it's not obvious when they repeat?

[firebane]

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I like vinyl planks. Good Call.

My only issue is some of them and stupid slippery when wearing socks.

[eblend]

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My only issue is some of them and stupid slippery when wearing socks.

Yah I can see that being a problem. These ones have pretty realistic pattern by feel as well, so hopefully that provides enough traction

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Are you gonna do that thing where you sort out all 9 patterns before laying floors down, so that it's not obvious when they repeat?

Yah I am going to do that. Gonna haul all those into the house, get the acclimatized, pop them open and lay them out. These are loose lay, so you don't even have to glue them down if you don't want to (but I will), so our plan is to lay out a few rows, verify no repeats nearby, and then pick them up and glue them down.

[ExtraSlow]

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My only issue is some of them and stupid slippery when wearing socks.

You need the textured ones for sure.

[jwslam]

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pop them open and lay them out. These are loose lay, so you don't even have to glue them down if you don't want to (but I will), so our plan is to lay out a few rows, verify no repeats nearby, and then pick them up and glue them down.

What I've seen people say is to open 3 boxes, for example, then sort them. That way when you go to lay, you just take one off each pile in order.

[schurchill39]

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What I've seen people say is to open 3 boxes, for example, then sort them. That way when you go to lay, you just take one off each pile in order.

Not in order because then you will end up with a repeating pattern. You want to open multiple boxes (at least 5) and pull randomly from different boxes as you install it. Then you standback every once and a while to make sure nothing seems repeating. The same for tile. eblend has done this lots though so he knows how to do it but just wanted to provide clarity in case jabjab came across this thread.

[eblend]

Thanks guys for the input, I will probably do the 5 box trick, I have mave ocd when it comes to repeated patterns When I did my soffit, it came in 20ft long planks, and despite the company stating they do 6x different patterns, I only got 3, so I had 40 of one pattern, 40 of another, and only like 20 of the third, so I had to do lots of picking and choosing as I was cutting those 20fts down to just under 10ft each. Luckely the pattern shifted from piece to piece up and down the face, and wasn't always in the same area, and I noticed that with the flooring as well, so that will make it a little bit easier. Looks like there is about 7 different planks from the one box I opened so far, just 1 repeat and it's shifted.

[eblend]

Well back from the business trip, and time to resume work. Started out with measurements to lay out the first row. This first row dictates the entire floor throughout the main level, so 3000 sqf of flooring relies on me getting this right, as I won't have any transitions and will be a uniform floor throughout. I am gluing the entire floor down. So far my observation is that the glue has no smell (thanks god) and the flooring is of very high quality. Everything is perfectly cut, 90 degrees, and with exact dimensions. This whole system could go very wrong if that wasn't the case, so glad it's all good.

Marked and laid out the first two rows:







Got most of the entry hallway done



Installed and finally terminated my floor plug








And finished the one side of the living room. The plug is where my coffee table will be, no more cables laying around for my laptop. Also got my white frame for the Frame TV.





And put a deposit on my outdoor enclosure from Suncoast Enclosures. Will be built sometime next spring. Not final design but very close. 90% sun/wind block material, very thick stuff, make this outdoor space enjoyable in the summer.