John Weiland

....on the other hand, y'all are robbing yourselves of a great way to boost your immune systems to Legionella pneumophila.... :-)    But interesting discussion from an energy-saved standpoint.  Our old electric hot water heater soon will be crystallizing it's innards to its death from calcium deposits.  Are the specs regarding 'on-demand' hot water heaters (gas or electric) for low use households convincing enough to go that route in the future?

Nicole Alderman wrote:....He's left a lot of big flexible pipes and weird things under trees. And, I can't see why he'd be trying to put a water line down there, as it was so close to the road and far from everything. Maybe he was planning on installing it, and then decided it wasn't worth the hassle and just put it down?

That would be my guess.  Our well is 12 ft from the house:  The water comes into the pressure tank in the basement, then splits in two----one line running the house water and the other line exiting the house for the outbuildings.  Those outbuildings are over 100 ft. away from the house....so there are underground water lines (6 ft underground to be below frost line) that run that distance and carry the water pressure from the well out to those buildings.  One hydrant (similar to what you show in the photos but about double the length) is now dead and needs replacing, but the other hydrant in a separate building is working fine.  But the flexible tubing is pretty standard for water lines of this kind, so it could have been that he was thinking of locating a pasture and/or buildings around there and never got to it.   Or the tree'd area was just where he like to toss things out of the way while considering the projects on the property.

Just updating this thread with some comments and questions.  First a question.....I've successfully installed Elementary OS on a USB drive and can boot to it when not wanting the machine to boot to Win7.  (Seems a bit trickier with Win10 where accessing the boot menu on my Gateway laptop is a bit more labyrinthian...)  What is unclear is (a) which version of LibreOffice should be used with this latest version of Elementary OS (Juno5?) and (b) whether the download of that LibreOffice should be directed to the USB drive, or to the computer's hard drive, and then telling the installer to put the app on the USB drive?  Any advice would be appreciated....

Secondly, in the process of navigating the LibreOffice site, I came across an "OS-less" portable version of LibreOffice that apparently runs independent of location or traditional OS.  Since it was only a few Mb for the install, I did this and it works pretty nicely, even if a bit slow in comparison to MS Office.....and it's free!  More reading took me to the PortableApps.com site where the phenomenon of OS-less apps seems to be flourishing.  As a non-user of a smart-phone, I imagine most are already accustomed to portable apps that run on phones, etc., but the portable app/software package on a full computer was a bit of a surprise to this geezer.   In addition to open-source culture in general, is this OS-free portability the future of computer interfacing?  Is there any reason/advantages I should continue with the download of LibreOffice for Elementary OS instead of using the portable version?

Nicole Alderman wrote:.....I'll try replacing the washers and o-rings!

You should be able to find parts and information online as well as Ace Hardware or similar.....maybe call around locally to see who else in your area sells Campbell hydrants.  If you need to replace the inner plunger rod, make sure to get the same size rod as the one presently in it.  Lots of YouTube videos on installation when the time comes.....

https://www.acehardware.com/departments/plumbing/valves/rough-faucets-and-hose-bibbs/4510483

Thanks, Wayne!.....Slammer Hammer is the item I was looking for.   May actually end up purchasing this and the Crescent based on their attested usefulness.

I've seen a few videos of a nail-puller.......it grabs the head of the nail and then uses a slide-hammer action to pull the nail out of the wood.  But I can't seem to find one from perusing typical internet sales outlets.  I need this for a lot of nail-pulling from corrugated metal siding where I would like to preserve, as much as possible, the integrity and contours of the metal.  The "Crescent" tool seems to be more of the lever kind of puller, right?  Can't recall if Dale H. or someone else doing demolition and reconstruction had demonstrated the sliding version here?.....Any help would be appreciated.    Thanks!

The comments about stability of the floating home are well taken.....It is certainly something that should be considered carefully with some engineering/experience in mind and with a great deal of knowledge of the flood situation.  The interesting thing about our present location is that flooding occurs in its worst form when there is a great deal of snow and ice around during the rapid transition out of winter into spring.  Most of the rivers and surrounding lands that begin to flood are, at the same time, releasing large chunks of ice that were part of the frozen river(s).  That said, the observation is that the current is simply too slow to be of great concern to a potential houseboat-type dwelling that might be properly anchored and buoyant.  (This of course changes where the water has to move under a bridge.....the flux increases there for the obvious reasons, but in the open areas, it really is like a rising lake.)  Like so many contemplations, it becomes one of weighing pros and cons.  The natural landscape of the area is, in the mind of many, the most attractive near the waterways, the open prairies feeling a bit more desolate for most.  The waterways also allow for a source of water for gardens, emergency purposes, recreation etc.  But the flooding!....What a drawback when it occurs, infrequent though that may be.  So just thinking about some way that the advantages of being near such waterways could be realized without the downside of the floods.  The buoyant foundation idea mentioned is interesting, with a 'socket' secondary foundation to keep the building in place horizontally.  In the meantime, we still dwell in an old farmhouse...with an old basement.....and commence with the usual knuckle-biting this time of year as the roulette wheel is spun regarding the potential confluence of temperature, rainfall, and snowpack that might be cause for alarm.  And in these times, trying to envision a better solution to the problem, tend to think of ways to float above the problem.

This had been posted before under a different topic on "Naming things" but it may provide food for thought (or simply sow confusion..?..) in this thread:

"He remembered it had been spring then, which is a wonderful time in Montana, and the breeze blowing down from the pine trees carried a fresh smell of melting snow and thawing earth, and they were all walking down the road, four abreast, when one of those raggedy non-descript dogs that call Indian reservations home came onto the road and walked pleasantly in front of them. They followed the dog silently for a while. Then LaVeme asked John, 'What kind of dog is that?" John thought about it and said, "That's a good dog." LaVerne looked curiously at him for a moment and then looked down at the road. Then the corners of her eyes crinkled and as they walked on Phaedrus noticed she was sort of smiling and chuckling to herself. Later, when John had left, she asked Dusenberry, "What did he mean when he said, 'That's a good dog.' Was that just 'Indian talk'?" Dusenberry thought for a while and said he supposed it was. Phaedrus didn't have any answer either, but for some reason he had been as amused and puzzled as LaVerne was. ....

For some time now he'd been thinking that if he were looking for proof that "substance" is a cultural heritage from Ancient Greece rather than an absolute reality, he should simply look at non-Greek-derived cultures. If the "reality" of substance was missing from those cultures that would prove he was right. Now the image of the raggedy Indian dog was back, and he realized what it meant.  LaVerne had been asking the question within an Aristotelian framework. She wanted to know what genetic, substantive pigeonhole of canine classification this object walking before them could be placed in. But John Wooden Leg never understood the question. That's what made it so funny. He wasn't joking when he said, "That's a good dog." He probably thought she was worried the dog might bite her. The whole idea of a dog as a member of a hierarchical structure of intellectual categories known generically as "objects" was outside his traditional cultural viewpoint. What was significant, Phaedrus realized, was that John had distinguished the dog according to its Quality, rather than according to its substance....."
-- Robert Pirsig "Lila: An Inquiry into Morals"

My impetus for this post is the flooding (and snow storms, and tornadoes) in our region which is very flat and 'exposed'.  (Many have shelterbelts and these do provide good protection from flat-line winds as well as creating microclimates for the homestead.)  But for excess water, it is for sure flooding by 'bathtub effect'----the relatively slow rise of a few rivers (or overland flooding) that coalesce into one large lake during the worst of times.  So it seems feasible in such a situation to have a structure that may be on pontoons or some other set of flotation enhancers for when the river/flood water rises.  In terms of a concept of adjustable anchoring of the structure, I like the idea used in floating lake docks shown in the photo below.  The floating dock has guide posts adjacent to the dock and sliding rings affixed to the decking.  When the water rises, the whole dock floats upward, but not away since the guide posts are anchored in the strata under the water.  When the water recedes, the dock follows the water line down to its original position.  If the posts are sturdy and deep enough, even if the house anchored in such a way is on dry land, it should not blow away except in the most violent cases like full-force tornado/hurricane.  The point is well taken that one might be concerned about a flood incident where, upon the waters receding, the house was lowered onto unwanted debris from the flood.  I guess I feel for the relative infrequency of the event, using jacks to raise and re-level the house temporarily while removing the debris with a tractor or other such assistance might be a tolerable drawback to the idea.  That, and the question of septic/waste....which could be compost toilet or some other permutation.  The next addition in my mind to the idea is to couple it with 'skids' or some type of trailer wheels so that the building could be moved with a large enough tractor or truck if one desired to relocate it on the property......or to a new property altogether.

I did not find mention in a search of the forums of the phrase "amphibious home".  With many reaches of the U.S. in the approaching spring of 2019 looking at high risk of flooding, I was wondering if anyone had ever experienced being in an amphibious home......or simply saw someone place a house-boat on flood-prone land?  I place this post in "natural building", not because the building itself might be natural, but that by being 'amphibious' with the home design, one is no longer fighting natural flooding.  Perusal of internet entries on amphibious homes indicates that the idea is not new, but the codes for building and location seem to be at odds with the idea.  Seems to be a good fit for 'tiny' homes as one might just retrofit them with pontoons! ....  (example below, clipped from Google images:  https://www.pinterest.com/pin/346284658843758016/)