Going Off Grid in East Tennessee; The Story and Chat Thread (Bristol: sales, tornadoes)

[ylisa7]

Originally Posted by Shogun

Hi Lisa & Mike,
Things are really comming along. sorry we've not made it over yet it's been a busy time for us both. Spent the day cutting trees in front to regain some of the view of Snake and rich, We'll be haoolar neighbors before to long. Will finish up tomorrow and hope to get your way before long. It took me a while to catchup on the posts and we are real impressed. We built our own place but it took us a little longer than ya'lls is going up. Nice Job.
Shogun

Hey Shogun,

Stop cutting trees. You think we want to see you? ha, ha. I understand because we have some really awesome views in our area. Did you get the view you where after?

We'll catch up with you and your wife soon.

Lisa

[ylisa7]

Originally Posted by FLORIDA TO NIOTA 2010

Hello,
Florida is where I am now and Niota is where I want to be. And hope to be in 2010. Niota is a little northwest from Athens, TN (McMinn county).

Gotcha,

You'll be neighbors with Forestbreath. You'll have to visit her.

Lisa

[FLORIDA TO NIOTA 2010]

Sounds like a plan to me.
And don't forget to relax a little bit. You both deserve it. Have a great evening.

[ylisa7]

Good Morning Everyone! It's time for the week of September 15 of our story.


Monday 9-15
Today we went to Lowe's(again) and "finally bought our interior paint. Yeah. We got 10 gallons of tinted sheetrock primer, 10 gallons of paint, and 2 gallons of gloss white paint for the doors and trim. Hopefully we bought enough. We also ordered the tile for the kitchen counter top, it's supposed to be in on the 22nd.(today).

We had to stop at K-mart and Wal-mart to pick up some winter items. We haven't spent a winter in the cold since 2002. We bought some winter boots, matching , and some sweats. It's a start. Poor Niki girl, she's a Florida girl and I have no idea how she will like the winter. She might be in shock when she sees the snow.


Tuesday 9-16
Now that we have all the paint it's time to really clean the house. First we cleared everything out of the house and Mike got out the electric blower. He blew off all the rafters, walls, and floors. Then he blew all the debris out the door.


After everything settled we vacuumed the house. What a dusty mess we made! We did this process 2 more times to make sure it was all clean. Then we let all the dust settle overnight.


Wednesday 9-17
We started our day by making a dump run. When we got back home we vacuumed the house again. After that we started putting plastic on all the cabinets and taping everything off. We are using a leftover roll of plastic(like a huge roll of saran wrap) that we've had for about 3 years. We don't let anything o to waste, lol.

We put plastic and tape on the kitchen cabinets.


And the shower.


And the front door.


I put the painters tape on all the outlets to protect the wires from the paint. I also covered all the gas and water lines with the plastic wrap.

Now everything is covered and ready for primer in the morning.


That afternoon Mike ordered more solar panels, another wind generator, combiner boxes, breakers, and another charge controller. He is still trying to perfect our system.

I ordered my propane refrigerator that uses "no" electric. I got the Diamond Elite 19ss. It's a good thing I saved money on my cabinets because I just made up for my savings. This is it.
Propane Gas Refrigerators


Thursday 9-18
Now we are ready to prime the walls. Mike got out the paint sprayer and mixed our tinted primer. We laid out sheets and plastic on the floors to protect them from over spray. Now hopefully we did a good job with the plastic and we have enough paint.

Mike is priming the kitchen wall.


He is done in the kitchen.


Look no more green walls in the bathroom.


Our doorways.


Front Wall.


And we are done. Mike did a great job.


We made it with the primer. We used about 8 of the 10 gallons so we have enough to do the closets, when we build them. After everything was set up it only took about 3 hours for Mike to paint the house and about 45 minutes for us to clean the sprayer, Yuk, and the paint buckets.

The house is now ready for paint. Woo Hoo!


Friday 9-19
Today was just a repeat of yesterday except Mike sprayed on the paint instead of primer. Again it only took a few hours and now the inside of the house is painted.


We let everything dry for a couple of hours then we removed all the tape and plastic. Now we have to wait for everything to completely dry to touch up any problem areas. We are now ready for the floor to be installed. We made it! The floor should be installed Tuesday or Wednesday(I hope). After the flooring is installed we can paint all the doors and trim in gloss white.

After dinner Mike started working on the outlets. I told him to do 1 each time he went down to the house and it wouldn't seem so bad. We have a lot of outlets. We will never use them all but we wanted to make sure the house had them in case we ever hook up to electric, which I doubt. Mike wants to show me how to do the outlets but I'm not sure that's a good idea, lol.

Mike also found out that our washer, dryer, and fireplace have been delivered to our propane company. We will pick them up next week(well this week).


Saturday 9-20
Today I had to do the usual running around, grocery shopping, cleaning and laundry. I can't wait to move into the house. The motorhome is exploding with stuff. Mostly food and kitchen things.

Mike worked on the electrical outlets in the house. Here are the ones in the kitchen.


This is how Mike wires and electrical outlet. Do not try this if you have no electrical knowledge.

First he pulls the wires out of the box.


He cuts them down.


He slices the coverings open and cuts off the excess.


Then he twists the ground(copper) wires together.


Connect the ground(copper) wires to the ground screw.


Connect the neutral(white) wires to the silver screws on the side of the outlet.


Flip the box over and connect the black(hot or live) wires to the gold screws.



Tuck it all back into the wall and screw the outlet in place.


Screw the outlet cover on.


That's how Mike installs an outlet. He installed 24 outlets today.

Later today I got a call from Lowe's and my kitchen tile is in.


Sunday 9-21
Today we had to do the "long" shopping trip into Virginia. We went to exit 7(our favorite) in Bristol. That exit has everything we need. Walmart, Sam's, Tractor Supply, Home Depot, Lowe;s, and a lot more. Our goal today was to find a bathroom vanity. We went to Sam's and found a really nice one but it was too small, oh well. We checked the Lowe's there and also stopped at a furniture store. The furniture store was a big disappointment. Mike and I didn't find anything we like. We are in so much trouble because we do need to get furniture this week. What's so hard about plain, simple and not trendy or gaudy? Anyway if any of you know of any "large" furniture showrooms in Elizabethton or Johnson City please, please share. Thank you.

We did find a nice and clean looking vanity at Home Depot. So it wasn't a wasted trip. We got the vanity, a sink, faucet, and a mirrored medicine cabinet. We need all the storage we can get.

After our long day of running and shopping which is never any fun for us Nicole stopped by. We had a really nice time with her.

That's another week in the Mike and Lisa world. I hope you enjoyed. This week we will be getting the flooring, hopefully get furniture, and start moving some things into the house. Yeah! It was cold this morning so we need to get on it.

Have a great week and I'll write again next Monday. We should get a lot done this week.

Lisa and Mike

[TomSD]

Wow the finishing work is going great. Things really start to shape up when you start putting down paint and other finishing touches like outlets. Can't wait to see the pics with the floor down.

[Suzanne45]

Lisa, once again thanks for taking time to walk us (readers) step-by-step through your building process. Your description always makes me feel like I'm right there with you. The pictures are so full of detail whether you are showing us electrical outlets, sanding, taping or the beautiful landscape surrounding your home. Oh, yes, let me not forget the animals. How/where do you find the time to write such thoughtful and descriptive stories we all appreciate.

[FLORIDA TO NIOTA 2010]

Looking good. Almost there.

[toobusy4this]

Hi, I live in Piney Flats, TN which is 1/2 way between Johnson City and Bristol.

You might try looking for furniture in Johnson City--they have the Factory Direct furniture store, Ashley Furniture, Grand Furniture, (all 3 of these stores are located in the North Roan Street aread and Zak's which is located in the Boones Creek area. There is also a furniture complex in Gray, TN which is 1/2 way between Johnson City and Kingsport.

I bought quite a bit from Ashley, but they do not actually keep the furniture in stock. You order from the floor pieces and it is delivered to your home in about 2 weeks.

I'm enjoying your blog. We have some mountain land that we intend to eventually build on. We've got 2 houses right now and need to sell at least 1 before we can build. Housing market is a buyers market right now, so I guess we'll hold off for a while. One of the houses is up on Watauga Lake and I really enjoy having it in the summer.

Are you in the Roan Mountain area?

[Heynow999]

If it were me, I would paint the trim before the floor goes in. It is an ideal time to paint, you can slap it on and not worry about the floor or using a drop cloth. Then once the floor is in you can touch -up any damage done when the floor was installed

Looks good, you'll be sleeping there soon

[ylisa7]

Good Mornng and Thank You for osting.

TomSD- It is so exciting to be at the finishing stages. I can't wait for the flooring to go in. We found out yesterday that they can't install until next week. I'm almost tempted to pick it up up and do it ourselves.

Suzanne45- I am so glad so many of you are enjoying our story. Thank you for your ongoing support along with so many others. And You're Welcome.

Florida To Niota- Thanks.

toobusyforthis- Thank you for the furniture info. Are you trying to sell both places? Where are you now? I love Watauga Lake. Do you have a boat?
Good luck selling. I know times are tough.

Heynow999- We don't have the trim yet. We are going to have the floor done and then install the trim after because we are going to spray the trim with paint outside. This way it's less cutting in. How are you doing with your solar?

Lisa