On the way home today

Drew Watson

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Salt Spring Island, BC Canada
Recieved a call last night about frozen pipes at our place on Salt Spring Island so an emergency trip to play plumber for the day. All went well with the repair except one joint that just didn't want to stay glued together in such cold. A little heat and it finally stuck but it caused us to miss the intended ferry. So every dark cloud has a silver linning and ours was on the way home when the captain of the ferry got on the PA telling everyone about a pod of orcas right in front of the ferry. He slowed down the ferry so as not to distube the pod which gave me the time to grab the camera and stand with everyone on the deck in the bitter cold to get some shots. It was spectacular watching them breaching and saw some one youngster in the bunch. Not something that you see every day from the deck of a ferry. Took some pics to share with everyone. One of the repair job too. :thumb:
 

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Very cool Drew!

Like I say, no other DIY project has the potential for frustration like pluming, but it sounds you got the better end of the deal today... :thumb::thumb:

Nice pics too!
 
We hired a plumber last year when this happened to get the pipes fixed and this PVC repair was his doing. I just repaired it but plan of re-doing the entire thing in copper this coming year when I rebuild the pump house. That way I can run heat tape on it so that when it gets cold it can simply be plugged in.
 
We hired a plumber last year when this happened to get the pipes fixed and this PVC repair was his doing. I just repaired it but plan of re-doing the entire thing in copper this coming year when I rebuild the pump house. That way I can run heat tape on it so that when it gets cold it can simply be plugged in.

The last 2-3 years the pipes in the kitchen freeze when the temps drop down into the single digits (F). The people who did the kitchen ran the sink feeds through the exterior wall, and I don't think they put any insulation in there. I pile wood pellets on the outside to try and keep it from freezing, there is a crawl space vent right next to the pipes and no matter what, they usually freeze up. (Note to self: Close up poorly located vent and fill with insulation...)

Used to require going into the crawl space with a heat gun and manually thawing the pipes. Last year I bought the heat tape and an extension cord.

I'm hoping it works this year and I don't have to go down into that rodent graveyard where I can't get up on my knees and crawl. Instead, have to do a belly wriggle, just like the snakes I imagine live down there....
 
I hear ya Brent my old house had a crawl space like that. This place has a crawl space too (Knee height), Nothing was done right on this place as it was only suppose to be a summer cabin. There is no foundation just concrete pads. I plan on pouring a full concrete foundation around the entire place when we move back there and digging out the basement to a better height and maybe doing a rough poured slad. Nothing fancy just dry. Right now the hot water sits in a hole they dug out under the house on the soil and concrete blocks as it was too tall to fit under there. So much has to be changed and I still have to build a full sized shop.
 
that is one thing i wouldlike to do before i go back to dust is see the orcas coming into the main land bays be it WA or elsewhere.. i hear that WA is a good place near bellingham? bill satko could possibly set me right on this??
 
Nothing was done right on this place as it was only suppose to be a summer cabin. There is no foundation just concrete pads. I plan on pouring a full concrete foundation around the entire place when we move back there and digging out the basement to a better height and maybe doing a rough poured slad.

(emphasis added)

I was going to ask what on earth you were doing living in Victoria if you owned a place on Saltspring. But I see that you at least plan to live there eventually.

(visited it once, wayyyy back in 98)
 
that is one thing i wouldlike to do before i go back to dust is see the orcas coming into the main land bays be it WA or elsewhere.. i hear that WA is a good place near bellingham? bill satko could possibly set me right on this??

There are a chain of islands between Bellingham and Vancouver Island (Canada) that the Orca's hang out a lot. Saltspring Island is one of these islands. The U.S. islands are referred to as the San Juan Islands, which causes some confusion as one of the islands is also called San Jaun Island. These chain of islands (both Canadian & US) are a boater's paradise, rich in wildlife.

Sounds like you need another trip out to the Pacific Northwest. This time, I am sure I could work out a boating trip to the islands.
 
There are a chain of islands between Bellingham and Vancouver Island (Canada) that the Orca's hang out a lot. Saltspring Island is one of these islands. The U.S. islands are referred to as the San Juan Islands, which causes some confusion as one of the islands is also called San Jaun Island. These chain of islands (both Canadian & US) are a boater's paradise, rich in wildlife.

Sounds like you need another trip out to the Pacific Northwest. This time, I am sure I could work out a boating trip to the islands.

what time of year is the best time to see them bill??? i have seen pictures of them swiming threw a pass or narrows that you could see them easily from shore..
 
The three pods that roam the San Juan Islands are there from about late April to the first part of October. Sometimes they are late. Where they go in the meantime, I don't know. Summer is generally best. They tend to hang off the west coast of San Juan Island feeding off salmon, so if you are going to see them from land you generally do it from there. They have viewing stations on that side of the island. It is best to be in a boat though and they have whale watching tour boats in Bellingham. Best time of year? Probably August when the weather is constantly good. Personally I like September the best, when the kiddies are in school and the weather is still good. Also, that is the month that Chris Schwarz and Garrett Hack are teaching over at Port Townsend (hint, hint) and they have the Wooden Boat Festival.
 
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