Logistics

I've been recording the more aesthetic and spiritual aspects of having a sense of home, but it turns out it all comes down to plumbing.

While we now have a 5th wheel on the property, we haven't moved in yet because all systems are not yet go. We need power, water and sewer to make the place really functional. Though this seems like it should be fairly straightforward, I thought I'd share some details.

Running water
First, we have very nice neighbors. They have offered to let us hook up a hose and extension cord to their place any time we want. How thoughtful is that!

However, since they've already mowed our giant lawn twice, we're reluctant to impose on them any more than is absolutely necessary.

Now, there is already a house on the property. So one would think getting running water to the trailer would be no big deal, right? Well...picture this.

The guy from the water company comes to turn on the water at the road. So far so good. We turn on the water in the house at the main valve. We hear water making it's way through the pipes. Very exciting! It's working! Then we realize we hear a bit more water noise than we should.

Racing upstairs from the bowels of the basement we find a geyser shooting up the middle of the kitchen, soaking the thick, burgundy carpet and spraying everywhere. Much shouting, running and fumbling for shut-off values ensues.

It turns out the previous owners had cleverly removed the dishwasher and not capped off the line. After all, why would they? They wouldn't be there when the water was turned on again.

This adventure with water happened before we took possession of the house. We quickly ripped out the lovely burgundy carpet in the kitchen to reveal about 1/4 inch of mud/sand, lying over stylish parquet oak. Sheesh.

At any rate, yesterday was a blue ribbon day since I got that dishwasher line capped off properly and was able to turn on water in the house. Which caused...a riotous leak at the hot water heater. Grab the bucket to catch the leak, turn off water to the heater and drain the heater down to a level below the leak point. Phew.

It's official: we now have running cold water in the old house and we can hook up a hose to the trailer. Why do we care about running cold water in the house? Because...

Sewer
...it means we have somewhere to go to the bathroom.

Now, there's a perfectly nice (though tiny) bathroom in the RV. We're just not sure what we're going to do when we fill up the waste tank. And, there's now some concern that the tank might be full of solidified gunk anyway. This is based on talking with other trailer owners and thinking about what the sellers told us. It may not be true, but we're concerned. So, we're doing anything we can to keep material out of the waste tank.

Longer term, we hope to get a cleanout put into the sewer line in the yard and then hook up the trailer to that. However, there's some concern that the trailer is too far away from the exisiting sewer line for that to work very well. Another reason to minimize waste.

On the upside, in addition to indoor toilets in the old house, we're two blocks away from a gym. Can you say "warm showers"? I certainly can.

Power
We are not turning on power to the house. No way.

When we first bought the house it was raining. Inside. Dripping down through the electrical fixtures on the ceiling. Kind of a neat effect if you don't mind being electrocuted.

It's dry inside now so maybe we're being paranoid but really - what are the odds the electrical is safe to turn on after five years of roof leaks? Also, they were a little free with their staple gun when they secured the wiring so there are several scorched spots where the wiring meets other materials - like the wood floors.

Our plan is to get a temporary power pole installed. We'll need one anyway for construction, so it's not a big deal. The last quote came in yesterday so I'll get an electrician lined up soon and PG &E approved a big area where we can put the pole.

All of which means we're well on our way to moving into the trailer. I've moved in my knitting books and removed the horrible cabbage rose bedspread, so it's already feeling more like home. Now if I can just figure out how to get the cable hooked up...