Ah, Home Projects!

So, a couple of weeks ago I really got excited about installing irrigation (in-ground sprinklers) in our yard. It would make watering through the summer much easier and make for a nicer surface for the kids to play on. Amber agreed to let me proceed, and the biggest home project I’ve attempted was begun. I spent a ton of time researching, planning, and plotting the project. I was nervous attempting it since it came with the possibility of absolute failure! Below is the final plan for the project. I think I used more of my engineering training for this project than I have at work in a long time!

The week prior to construction was spent locating sprinkler head positions (Ethan was a big help with this!), digging for underground utility wires, and painting trench lines in the grass. My Dad agreed to help with the project, so he and Debbie came down 4th of July weekend. Friday afternoon I went by the rental place and got the biggest trencher I could find. It was a beast! Tank treads and everything! Fortunately the minivan was able to pull it home. It was probably a bit much to haul, but God got us home safely.

So, the work began. We thought it would be good to start with a nice short, straight trench to get a feel for the machine. It started well. It ended badly! I had no idea there was so much rock in our yard! That trench ended up being the twistiest, turniest, trench in the yard! After that trench, things went pretty smoothly. Lines stayed pretty straight for the most part. There was one rock on the side of the house that we had to work around, but in the process of working around it, we were able to get it out. Ethan had been watching a movie called “Balto” about a dog sled team that took vaccine to a remote town in Alaska. The movie ended showing a memorial statue regarding that event. He thought the rock we pulled out should be a memorial stone for the project. Amber and I thought that was a great idea and explained how the Israelites had done that in the Old Testament. Here are Ethan and I sitting on it. I’m not sure what we’re going to do with it yet, or how we’re going to move it for that matter!

Saturday continued along pretty well. There were trenches everywhere. All of a sudden water was shooting out of the trench I was digging. I had hit the water main between our meter and house. No one can understand why the line was where it was, but that didn’t change the fact that I hit it and water was going everywhere. I ran to the meter and got the water shut off. Dad went over to Lowes to try and put together a repair kit. While he was gone I did this with the trencher:

This was not a good thing to do. I tried to restart it, but it wouldn’t turn over. So, I went to my neighbors and asked for help. It was too heavy for the two of us to lift. He tried attaching some cables to his truck and pulling it over, but we broke the cables!!! This was a big machine! A few minutes later I tried the key again, and it turned over. I was able to lower the blade and use it to leverage the machine into position. So, it was pretty embarrassing since everyone who walked/drove by saw what I did, but God got us out of the situation relatively quickly.

By the end of the day Monday, all of the pipes were in, and risers were in place to attach the sprinkler heads. Dad and Debbie headed back home that night. His help was invaluable. I’m extremely grateful he took the time to come down and help. I definitely could not have done it without him! 

I took off Tuesday as well to try and knock out the project. I had assumed we could do it all in about 2 ½ days. It actually took 4 full days and 5 evenings to "finish" the project (there have still been little jobs to do here and there). I’ve never been so filthy in my life! Honestly, though, it was fun to be outside and ‘work the land’. There is something neat about that. And it was fun to have Dad there to take advice from and bounce ideas off of. And in the end, it works, and it looks pretty cool!

(I can't believe Amber let me in the house looking like this!)

Lastly, here's a thrilling video showing the sprinklers spraying water.  This is primarily to show my Dad that after all our hard work, they do work!

Thanks, Debbie, for sending the pictures!