Canali

 

Like Mars, my home is is covered with canali.

My home is on a slight slope and water flowed from the neighbours house under mine then to the shed (flooding it) and out the back corner of my property.

Formerly in the wet season the doors within my home would stick. I guessed that the moisture around the house stumps was lifting the house and so the doors were no longer swinging true.

My solution was to under take civil engineering works steering water away from under the house and guiding it passed the shed. 

I built embankments to gather the water from the neighbours yard and steer it to the backyard. I also built a Grand Canal under the house for the times of heavy rainfall to take overflow from the embankment directly from the high side of the house directly to the low side without pooling.

Investigating the shed, I found an old trench across the front to divert water. So I cleaned this out and reinstated it. I added a weather strip to the shed door to keep the water out.

The doors no longer stick in the wet season. And the shed flooding is minimal.

Caravan Improvements #3

 

I added a gas fuse between the gas bottle and the caravan appliances. It can also be used to detect gas leaks.

Caravan Improvements #2

 

Simple but effective - a level glued to the frame. But I did make a mistake - when the frame is level the bench inside the caravan is not quite level so I must compensate.

Caravan Improvements #1

 I have made several improvements to my caravan.

The original jockey wheel was solid rubber - the rubber split under load the first time I used it. Maybe the rubber was perished.

The replacement jockey wheel is steel with a rubber rim - it can withstand a larger load. The crank motion in the vertical plane is easier to operate than the original in the horizontal plane. The wheel diameter is larger so it is easier to push around. It can also lift higher than the original.

Joan Boynton - Who are you?

 

I love this illustration by Joan Boynton. I bought it second hand. At different times the moon, the clouds and the water reflections have caught my attention.

I know nothing about the artist.

Sci Fi Art

 

When I was a teenager the most exciting science fiction book covers were painted by Chris Foss.

I purchased a book of his illustrations and cut it up to make wall of exciting science fiction illustrations. I had to steel myself to cut up such a great book.

If it works...

When on holiday, the caravan mixer tap became stiff and was difficult to turn on and off. Armed with my plumbing tools I prepared to disassemble the tap and investigate the cause. I turned off the water pump. I turned on the tap to release the pressure and turned it off again - it was easy to operate. I checked again with the water pump on -it was working fine.

I put my tools away. There is an engineering rule I learned as as a student - If it works don't fix it.