Getting Electricity, Continued

This has been a very busy and exciting week.  As I shared last time we have spent the past few months working towards installing electricity for the cabins we intend to build.  Step one was to clear the area, not an easy task as it was full of large rocks and Mountain Cedar trees.  But working together that task was completed in a couple of weeks.  Then PedernalesElectric Coop came out with their surveying equipment and marked off the area.  Next Rick spent a week building the rack, which in itself was not an easy task.     
    

This part of Texas is rocky.  There are rocks of every size on this property.  I am currently digging a trench so I can build a raised garden bed and I am picking out tiny pieces of gravel and small rocks out of the few inches of top soil I am clearing away.  Under that few inches of top soil I am finding larger chucks of rocks and then bedrock.  The garden is on the South side of the property.  There is a slight downward slope to the land, the North side being a bit higher in elevation then the South side.  The cabins will be built on the North side which is solid rock.  The area where the power pole and cabins will be built is solid rock, there is no top soil.  Around here I like to joke that we take the Bible literally. These cabins are being built on solid rock, no sand for us.

    

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock.  And the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house. And it did not fall, for it was founded on a rock.  And everyone who hears these sayings of Mine and does not do them shall be compared to a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  And the rain came down, and the floods came, and the wind blew and beat on that house. And it fell, and great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:24-27) 

   

Obviously, one does not dig a hole using a shovel when dealing with solid rock.  Rick used a hammer drill with a one inch chisel to make the holes to put the two steel pipes needed to support the electrical rack.  Then he used cement to secure the pipes in the holes.  That task alone took him two days of hard physical labor.  He would then spend several days building the rack and wiring it.   He also was required to build the weatherhead (the long metal pole with wiring inside that is attached to an electrical pole and covered to protect the wires from rain).  In the city the power company and an electrical contractor would build and install the weather head and rack, but out in the country the home owner is required to complete this job.  Since we are installing a lot more power than a single family dwelling would use, bigger wire was needed.  Minimum code called for 3 strands of copper wire 1 inch (2.54cm) thick.  Each strand was 30 feet (9.14 meters) long.  Not only was this wire heavy but to fit in the weather head it had to be bent, a very difficult task that required my help. 

     

Most of what Rick was required to do would have been done by a licensed electrician if we were in the city.  Out here in the country there are only a few licensed electricians within a hundred mile radius willing to come out this far.  Thankfully Rick has enough electrical experience that with a little guidance from folks at the Electrical Supply Store he was able to accomplish this very difficult task.  If I had been forced to hire a licensed electrician, this project would have cost several thousand dollars more.  As it was the cost of materials to build that rack and weather head were well over $2000 and I had to pay Pedernales Electric Coop over $4000 for their part of the job.

    

Getting that rack built required several trips to both Rocksprings and Kerrville in search of needed items.  Last week we basically made 5 trips in 6 days as Rick faced one challenge after another.  Since we had no way of knowing when Pedernales would come out to install the power poles, Rick had to work fast.  I prayed that he would be totally finished before they arrived.  He finally finished his part of the job on Wednesday, then moved some very large rocks (maybe 100 pounds/46 kg or more each) out of the way for the trucks.  Then in answer to prayer Pedernales arrived Thursday morning.  God answers prayer perfectly.

     

It took Pedernales five large trucks, a crew of men, and 3 ½ hours to complete the job.  Fortunately they arrived in Thursday morning when both of us were home and it was relativity cool.  The morning low that day was 76 (25c) and very humid.  Most mornings we average in the low 70’s (21+c).  We have been hitting 100f (38c) or above most days for several weeks now.  By noon (often 11am for me) it is usually to hot and sunny for either of us to be outside working.  God knew I wanted to take lots of pictures and He arranged for Pedernales to come in the morning so I could do just that.  I am not sure I would have been able to stay out in that sun if they had arrived in the afternoon.  God is good. 

     

I took over 450 pictures and so it is going to take me some time to sift through them.  As soon as I am done I will share more of that day with you all.