Hot Tub Deck Progress

December 22, 2021NewsDeckbkrijger

This morning I went to Home Depot in Bulverde to pick up deck boards and other items, such as the post lights.

The deck is about halfway in now; tomorrow I should be able to finish it.

Two old posts were cut, as the deck now extends westwards. For the hottub area I will also use Sisal rope as a guardrail, but as the 1″ wasn’t in stock, I will use 3 smaller diameter lines. There in a bucket of water now, so they shrink to minimal size. As the rope dries, it expands. That way, the ropes are an indication of rainfall/humidity; the more straight the lines, the wetter.

Coleman SaluSpa

December 21, 2021Newshot tubbkrijger

Of course I wanted to see how big the hot tub is and if all works, so I unboxed it and inflated it.

Don’t worry, it won’t stay indoors; that’s just for testing. It’s capacity is up to 6 people, but that wouldn’t leave a lot of legroom. But for two it’s more than large enough and four probably works too. It takes about 960 liters (254 gallons) of water, so it will almost weigh a ton. That’s why I built the deck on 9 piers. the center one being as thick as a tree. Before I can put it in place, I will need to strengthen the deck a little more with some 2×6’s in the center, going from the left pier to the right pier, to evenly distribute the weight to all piers. I probably let the concrete gain some strength before I fill it up; concrete reaches 70% of its final strength after 7 days, which means I will be able to use it before I leave.

Hot Tub Deck taking shape

December 21, 2021Newshot tubbkrijger

Now that the concrete is dry enough, it was time to build the deck foundation.

It’s 12×12 ft (3.66 meters) and the hot tub will be positioned in the center, leaving space to walk around it or even put some chairs there.

The hot tub was delivered here today (Amazon now does deliver in my subdivision; two years ago they still left things at the post office for pickup).

I will probably unpack it and have a look tonight.

F150 passes inspection

December 20, 2021NewsTruckbkrijger

My Ford F-150 safety inspection was long overdue; the last one was valid til April 2020. So today Reliable Auto in San Marcos did the inspection and after replacing one break light I’m good to go for another year.

I ended up not replacing the car battery yet; it kept starting fine, so I’ll replace it next time.

Running

December 19, 2021Uncategorizedbkrijger

Not that I don’t get enough exercise here digging trenches and such, I try to keep up my running too. The easiest loop I can do is this one;

https://strava.app.link/kBm8JczQ7lb

Due to lower temperatures, this is my fastest time on this loop.

Hot Tub Deck

December 18, 2021Uncategorizedhot tubbkrijger

Today I started on the deck for the hot tub. It’s on the west side of the lodge, as that’s a spot with a little privacy. Theoretically the hot tub could go on the main deck, but this seemed like a better spot.

From upstairs you see the layout. You may be able to spot some lines, and the concrete base with rebar reinforcements. The forming tubes will be used to create a base on which the 9 4×4″ posts will go. Once the bases have dried, I can put the 4×4’s in place and using a laser, cut them to form a perfectly horizontal support. On those 4×4’s there will be 2×6″ joist every 16 inch. That should make it strong enough to carry the weight of a filled hot tub with 4 people in it. The deck is larger than the tub; for now I will start with an inflatable 70″ hot tub. If at some point in time I want to place a nicer one, I can use the same deck.

Digital Highway Open

December 17, 2021Newsinternetbkrijger

Pick axing my way through rock for a week has paid off; as of now, Ozuye is fully connected to the digital highway through fiber internet.

After a week of 0.01Mb per second, this is 17500 times faster. In a way it’s funny; here I am, one hour away from Austin and San Antonio, yet I have fiber internet. Back in Amstelveen, I’m still on cable, as no fiber is available yet. The download speed I get in Amstelveen is a bit higher, but upload speed is higher here.

Fiber is coming

December 16, 2021Newsinternetbkrijger

GVTC has started on the internet fiber connection. The fiber cable is now through the conduit and they’re hooking up the cable to the fiber box on the other side of the road. I’ll be glad when the router is connected tomorrow; I can’t even browse web pages. The only thing that still works is email and these blog posts (obviously)

Last unfinished room cleaned out

December 16, 2021Uncategorizedbkrijger

This is what the upstairs bathroom now looks like. Until today, it was my storage room. It has hardy backer board on the floor, as this will be tiled using the same tiles as downstairs. I probably won’t be finishing it this time, as I need to put a toilet, sink and shower in, and run the pipes through the wall to the technical area, which will be challenging. The reason I started, is that this room still had all kind of gaps to outside, making multiple entrances for Paper Wasps. I took out around 50 nests, some of which can be seen below

Arrow Head

December 14, 2021Newsinternetbkrijger

I first wanted confirmation, but it seems that my trenching activities turned up the first arrow head. I checked with Bob and he thinks it could be Comanche.

That would have been around the year 1740. It’s fascinating to possibly hold a bit of Native American history in your hand.

Ozuye Lodge

B's log home