Podcasts by Kottage-tek - MP3 Edition
A sometimes humorous look at technology at the cottage. Also known as the land of duct tape and deck screws. Where the power tool and the beer fridge reign supreme.
Further podcasts by Cliff Robertson and Bruce Hanson
Podcast on the topic Technologie
All episodes
Episode 01: The floating dock from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.398854
Bruce and Cliff attempt to prepare the old cribb style dock to accept a new section of floating dock.
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Episode 05: Sweeping the chimney and visiting Frantic Frank's xmas party. from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.384948
Bruce and Cliff worked on the annual ritual of cleaning the chimney for the wood stove. This year they actually decided to climb on the roof for this task before the snow came. What a brilliant con...
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Episode 07: The Mouse Spa and the Cottage Closet from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.373455
Bruce gets mad at Cliff because he seems to have an aversion to cleaning out the"Mouse Spa". The Mouse Spa is of course the ultimate in mouse traps and usually has a good collection of smelly thing...
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Episode 24: JABBA The What? from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.295904
It snows again so Bruce builds a snowman. Sort of.
Episode 26: Should we break out the sandbags yet? from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.288131
Posible solutions to the flooding problems and we prove we are almost illiterate!
Episode 27: Rattlesnakes, hemp beer, and the Barns Boys in the house! from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.283205
The Barns Boys discover we have a beer fridge.
If that isn't enough we also have to deal with rattlesnakes!
Episode 35: Smokes on the Wahta! from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.254646
This was mostly a finish getting ready for winter kind of weekend. We closed up the crawlspace vents and Bruce did another upgrade to the mousey spa to Revision 3.0.
We also went for a drive t...
Episode 38: The Potato Cannon from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.244319
Cliff builds a potato cannon, but not just any potato cannon.
Thanks to a Pentium 4 cpu fan and a can of spray ether, this baby packs quite a punch and Cliff is already planning the thanksgivi...
Episode 45: Finally, WiFi at the cottage. from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.212565
Bruce is finally able to get internet access at the cottage. And without a phone line or modem.
We also rescued a chickadee on the deck and a crawfish in a beer can.
Episode 49: The BBQ Fleet and Stolen Sleds! from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.198705
We add another"newish"BBQ to the ever growing fleet lined up on the deck.
We also talk about some dumb crooks who stole a snowmobile and got caught.
Episode 50: Damn Beavers! from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.192841
Violent storms hit the Muskokas
We also went for a field trip to check out some beaver baffles.
Episode 56: Cooking ribs at the cottage. from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.172763
First we BBQ some ribs and chicken. Then we find that someone has been putting food in the beer fridge. blasphemy!
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Episode 57: The Newfie Screwdriver. from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.167558
Sarah gets stuck in the truck thanks to the kiddie locks. and we build a new platform deck for the tin garden shed.
Bruce and Sarah get to work driving deck screws with the Newfie Screwd...
Episode 60: The beer machine that goes BING from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.151219
Bruce has a dead battery and a flat.
The machine that goes"Bing", and maple syrup collection re-invents the beer me zip line.
Episode 61: Outsourced labour for residing the old bunkie. from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.144421
We finally replace the old siding on the bunkie and even get on a couple of coats of paint
We also have a toast to the war of 1812.,
Episode 68: Water Water Everywhere and now we can drink it! from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.118867
Bruce finally pulled the trigger on a water purification system. Paul Godwin Plumbing took care of the project and boy does it make a difference when professionals do the work
We put in ...
Episode 71: The LED Electric Guitar from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.106564
Cliff installs LEDs into a clear acrylic electric guitar
And we come full circle with the LED guitar playing Smoke On The Water so close to the Whatta reserve.
Episode 78: Hot swapping water pumps from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.080818
We started out with pump problems again so we made our usual trip into Parry Sound to the Home Depot for a new pump and other assorted parts. OF course we were all decked out in our finest kottage-...
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Episode 81: Cliff builds another woodshed from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.068425
Bruce and I were supposed to build a new woodshed this week but he got called back to the city. How convenient. That left me all alone to get the job done.
I enlisted several cheap/free apprenti...
Episode 83: The Walk Out Beer Cooler. from 2023-12-12T19:26:54.058880
Its"SNOWMAGEDON"! We’ve have had so much lake effect snow this year that the temporary garage Bruce puts up for his car has collapsed under the snow load. Everything else is buried under several fe...
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Episode 93: Snowshoes and Uproarious Applause. from 2020-05-31T16:47:18
We finally get a live audience and boy do they ever like us. Ok, so it helps that they are family and well bribed with food and liquor. My applause sign probably didn’t hurt either.
Episode 92: Rain chains and roasting coffee. from 2020-05-20T15:17:45
I solved the sagging rain gutter problem by installing a rain chain. This is a concept from ancient Japan that became popular in North America during the Victorian and Craftsman eras. I did a Kotta...
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Episode 91: Tornados on Six Mile lake? from 2020-05-19T18:19:11
We had some serious storms with high winds come through the north end of the lake. Everyone thought it was a tornado that cut a path through the forest, but it was actually a “downburst” that flatt...
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Episode 90: The scourge of Invasive Eurasian Milfoil. from 2020-05-18T13:48:32
We start out with a whole wheel of Oka cheese and nobody likes to cut the cheese more than Walter, Bruce , and I. Nothing beats Charcuterie at the cottage.
We mostly talked about one of the la...
Episode 89: From canoes to steampunk? from 2020-05-18T13:45:54
Boy when Bruce said Deb dragged her canoe from out east, he wasn’t kidding. There were some serious holes worn all the way through the fiberglass. Luckily, Walter has lots of experience repairing f...
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Episode 88: The vanity is not in vain. from 2020-05-12T15:46:11
We started the weekend by visiting Christie's Mill in Port Severn for a nice dinner together. There was a wonderful musician named R. G. Peever playing guitar that we thoroughly enjoyed. He seems t...
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Episode 87: Ten pounds of rotting flesh. from 2020-05-10T16:07:05
Well I think Bruce and I were in fine form this time. Our segment on Cottage Cheese finally aired on Cottage Life TV so that's our seven minutes of fame. We are going to have to do one more show an...
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Episode 86: “Someone get me a hoe” from 2020-05-10T16:02:56
It became blatantly obvious that beer belongs in glasses and not potato chips. And just to ice the cake, mother nature is keeping us snowed in well into the spring. Even the cottage road looks like...
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Episode 85: What the heck is a growler? from 2020-05-10T15:59:41
We started out with a project that we thought was going to be at least a three or four beer job. It turns out we were in and out in under an hour. Bruce has a “Greenway” UV light as part of the wat...
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Episode 84: The Ugliest Bird In The Woods! from 2020-05-10T15:52:57
Well this time we had to deal with a leaking hot water heater. Somehow the pressure release valve failed and sprung a leak. We also discovered that not all presure release valves are the same so yo...
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Episode 82: Splitting mauls, ax handles, and Francie Dancer takes a dive. from 2018-10-13T18:09:17
Bruce picks up an eight-pound splitting maul but it didn’t come sharp from the store, so I had to grind an edge onto it before we could use it. This was to compliment the six-pound maul that has do...
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Episode 80: Biblical Rain and A Space Odyssey from 2018-03-25T15:29:35
Mother Nature gets “Turkey of the Day” for raining on our parade this weekend. The rains were biblical at times and confirmed our belief that a metal roof, although not as quiet as regular shingles...
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Episode 79: Bush Buggy Envy from 2015-02-28T17:28:33
Hydro One has been in to brush the hydro right of way for over a week now. It's slow going because of the rough terrain but they sure came equipped. They have a big orange articulated boom truck th...
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Episode 77: Swimming cinder blocks and The Wolverine is sick. from 2014-09-22T11:46:53
I can’t believe Bruce even considered swimming a cinder block more than 50 feet out into the lake where it has to be about 15 feet deep. At least he plans on taking a life jacket along next time. I...
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Episode 76: Cheese In Aerosol Cans. from 2014-09-14T12:22:32
We got a lot of small chores done today but the biggest was taking down the temporary garage. It's been up for two years so it's about time it came down. Bruce should know that you just can't stop ...
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Episode 75: Yellowknife, and Beer makes us smarter! from 2014-04-12T16:47:59
This time Cliff talks about his travels to Yellowknife. It may not be"the cottage"but there's lot of roughing it and being outdoors that they both have in common. Everyone should try to spend at le...
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Episode 74: Recreating The Bleeding Edge. from 2014-02-17T12:51:49
Bruce had a good friend named Walter Martindale join us this time for a boys weekend. It turns out Walter is a master knife sharpener. We of course put him to work sharpening every knife in the pla...
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Episode 73: The Belkin WeMO, IfThisThenThat, and Daniel Steele is a chair leg? from 2014-01-26T13:29:32
The first project this time was replacing some of the trashy novels that were holding up the furniture with actual legs. We left a couple of books under the corner of the sofa because we figured no...
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Episode 72: Tis The Season To Hang Tchotchke, And is it ready for human testing? from 2014-01-19T10:33:47
It's Christmas time in Muskoka and there's no better time to get all the old skis, snowshoes, and other paraphernalia off the floor, out of the hallway, and up onto the walls where it belongs
...
Episode 70: Cottage Life TV visits Kottage-tek. from 2013-11-17T17:00:55
Blue Ant Media comes to shoot a segment for the upcomming"Cottage Cheese"show. on the new Cottage Life Television channel
Now we know how George Clooney and Brad Pitt feel. Or maybe it's...
Episode 69: The history of cottaging in Muskoka. from 2013-08-13T22:25:52
We talked about the history and traditions of cottaging in Muskoka as well as most other places in Canada
We told stories about moving the outhouse, cooking on a real wood stove and of c...
Episode 67: Bruce you sak of krete! from 2013-06-26T13:22:07
This time we get into a bit more detail about pouring cement. We covered scribing forms to the uneven rocks which is a handy skill to have.
We also talked about mixing cement. We discuss...
Episode 66: Patio stones and cement. All for fresh water. from 2013-06-26T08:47:42
Bruce is finally installing a water purification system so we don't have to keep hauling water from the city or at least the town pump.
We did a bunch of cleanup in the crawlspace and pr...
Episode 65: Two Bruces and The Montreal Crew. from 2013-01-13T15:34:57
Bruce and Asis, aka The Montreal Crew show up imediately jumped in to help with cleaning out the beer fridge. Their years of training and experience pays off as we actually had to re-stock before t...
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Episode 64: Infrastructure is a pretty big word! from 2012-12-25T17:17:49
We talk about a couple of big projects at the cottage like the bathroom vanity and a new steel roof
We also talk about the loons amassing on the lake in preparation for their winter migr...
Episode 63: The 802.11ac Wi-Fi Cordless Extension Cord from 2012-10-20T12:30:07
First the Rogers 3G hub melts down but we get that working again.
Then I create the 802.11ac Wi-Fi Cordless Extension Cord.
Episode 62: Misting Bruce with a paint gun. from 2012-10-13T12:39:26
We finished off the re-siding job on the old bunkie.
I also get to mist Bruce with the paint gun. Boy hes going grey!,
Episode 59: Hunting with a plate glass window. from 2012-03-19T20:53:25
Bruce catches a Ruffed Grouse.
Actually it flew into a window so we cooked it for dinner.
Episode 58: We need to flush at least 5 times each night! from 2012-03-11T11:37:13
We work on ways to prevent the water line from freezing.
It's truly a franchise opportunity.
Episode 55: The Fridge of DEATH from 2011-12-24T12:56:07
The food fridge is renamed the fridge of DEATH and Bruce wants to open a micro brewery.
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Episode 54: The Water Garden Beer Chiller Hot Tub from 2011-09-16T10:42:56
Cliff creates a unique water garden at the cottage. It does double duty as a beer and wine chiller by day and a hot tub by night. Pure genius!
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Episode 53: The Kottage Kreations Beer-Me Zip Line from 2011-08-14T22:04:46
We have a problem down on the dock that needs a solution.
Fortunately I figure out a solution and implement it.
Finally, cold ones on the dock.
Episode 52: A couple of curmudgeons if you please. from 2011-08-12T17:48:31
We do a major spring cleaning both inside and out.
Karen fires the cottage mower and I cut up the old paddle boat with my demo saw.
Then its of to the dump and them Mactier for plum...
Episode 51: Do we have to go tubing? from 2011-08-12T17:48:29
Faced with a boat full of bikini clad women, Bruce and Cliff take the neighnours tubing and waterskiing
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Episode 48: It was a dark and stormy night! from 2011-07-23T13:21:07
Violent storms hit the Muskokas
We spend the rest of the day repairing the washed out gravel on the driveway and walkways.
Episode 47: The Touring Troy-Bilt. from 2011-02-26T15:12:27
First Bruce starts the old two stroke snow blower in the dinning room
Then he buys a sweet Troy-Bilt 24"2 stage dream. Then I go to work on it."Stay off the roads".
Episode 46: Pipi the septic sucking truck. from 2011-02-18T16:02:46
Pipi showed up today with his septic sucking truck. The biggest baddest shopvac on the cottage road
Episode 44: Breathing fire into the Stihl dragon. from 2011-01-22T11:59:40
Well its firewood hunting season and Bruce actually had to buy firewood this year.
we talked about just what is a bush cord and a face cord. We also cut some windfall trees with my new Stihl ...
Episode 43: 10W30 and painting the floors from 2010-12-27T12:38:45
It has been a big weekend for wildlife outside the cottage. Including the 5-O'clock beaver.
Now we need to send an exiction notice th the muskrat nesting in the floating dock.
Episode 42: Building a picnic table from 2010-12-27T12:38:33
It has been a big weekend for wildlife outside the cottage. Including the 5-O'clock beaver.
Now we need to send an exiction notice th the muskrat nesting in the floating dock.
Episode 41: The 5-O'clock beaver from 2010-09-20T19:17:32
It has been a big weekend for wildlife outside the cottage. Including the 5-O'clock beaver.
Now we need to send an exiction notice th the muskrat nesting in the floating dock.
Episode 40: Feeding the septic field from 2010-09-20T19:17:29
Bruce has killed the septic field so its time to feed it.
Bruce also dons Sarah's wetsuit to put in the water intake and the floating dock.
Episode 39: The Wireless Pepper Mill from 2010-07-10T10:38:53
Cliff builds a new kitchen gadget just in time for BBQ season. The Wireless Pepper Mill!
Bruce and Cliff have to borrow tools to get an early start on fixing the dock. Again.
Episode 37: WiFi media stream for the Mousey-Spa from 2010-05-22T17:26:32
Its an early taste of summer at the cottage.
I setup a wireless video stream for the mouse spa. Unfortunately our lack of connectivity foils us again.
Episode 36: Merry Xmas from Kottage-tek.com from 2010-03-13T14:15:44
A belated merry Christmas from Bruce and myself as well as all the gang at the cottage
Karen did an incredible xmas tree as usual. We also did some outdoor decorating as well as sampling some ...
Episode 34: The Women Folk! from 2009-12-26T10:16:06
This time Cliff builds a bench for the back hall so they can sit down when they return from partying with the Barns Boys late at night
They also get a visit from Mr. Plow while"The Women Folk"...
Episode 33: Flying Monkeys? from 2009-12-19T12:54:55
Cliff gets out the big tools and makes a ski rack for the back hall. Several years late but better late than never
The Mousey Spa gets an upgrade and CLiff starts training chipmunks to fetch b...
Episode 32: I Find it Shocking!. from 2009-12-12T14:59:14
Bill Whip gets a shock from the lake when standing in his boathouse.
We also discuss expensive beer in Manitoba.
Episode 31: Floating Foundations and Bonfires. from 2009-11-28T12:33:03
One of the neighbours builds a boathouse on a floating foundation 15 feet from the shore line.
We discuss floating the bonfire on the lake since the boathouse is on dry land.
Episode 30: Finally. High Speed Internet at the Cottage! from 2009-11-28T12:32:59
Cliff finally gets high speed internet at the cottage.
He even does it without a postal code thanks to the Rogers Rocket Stick.
Episode 29: Dropping the big oak tree. from 2009-10-20T17:50:47
Bruce finally lets Cliff drop the big dead oak tree.
Its 60 feet high and has been threatening the cottage, the bunkie, and several power lines for years.
Episode 28: Helicopters and a flying dock. from 2009-10-20T16:46:37
This time we talked about various ways to get up to the cottage and some of the stranger things we encounter on the way..
Oh yeah, The Barns Boys in the house again. They've taken a liking to ...
Episode 25: The satellite dish debacle! from 2009-08-15T15:00:48
Melting lake ice and the satellite dish debacle.
Episode 23: Snow just"BLOWS!" from 2009-05-18T14:11:09
The cottage road almost gets closed due to too much snow..
Episode 22: Tempered over burning witches? from 2009-03-29T11:21:45
Cliff has to deal with a major ice dam on the roof which floods the back hall and Bruce actually fixes something.
Episode 21: The bird feeder wars from 2009-01-11T14:15:27
The barns boys next door have definitely thrown down the gauntlet in the bird feeder wars. The boat winch was a nice touch but they have to get past the whole “fix the rope” thing and move up to st...
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Episode 20: They paved the road after painting the lines? from 2009-01-11T14:15:02
Of course we should have voted the municipal road crews as the turkey of the day for paving the road 2 weeks after painting new lines. I guess that was so they would get the paver down the centre o...
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Episode 19: Log splitters! Man or machine? from 2008-12-28T14:50:02
Bruce and Cliff talk about log splitters. Everything from high tech gasoline hydraulic, to low powered electric, and manual. Including Bruce’s right hand. In the end they decide to stick with the s...
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Episode 18: Never use a chainsaw on a ladder unless you name is Cliff! from 2008-12-28T14:49:42
Cliff finally drops the big dead tree behind the old bunkie. If a tree falls on the bunkie everyone would hear Bruce’s insurance agent scream!
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Episode 16: Time for new shutters for the screen porch. from 2008-11-28T18:36:16
Tired of hauling large flimsy shutters from behind the Bunkie in the fall and back in the spring, Cliff makes and installs new shutters for the screen porch. He also power washes the deck.
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Episode 15: Is that a motor drive vanity mirror? Or just a “scamwhat” from huckster alley! from 2008-11-28T18:36:03
Bruce and Cliff work on fixing the side view mirror that Bruce sheared off. They also think they have finally come up with a way to monetize this podcasting thing.
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Episode 14: Talking about plumbing and water from 2008-11-27T20:43:35
Bruce and Cliff talk about the water system at the cottage
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Episode 14: Talking about plumbing and water from 2008-11-27T20:43:35
Bruce and Cliff talk about the water system at the cottage
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Episode 13: Emptying the beer fridge. Again! from 2008-09-27T14:31:29
Bruce and Cliff take another crack at emptying the seemingly bottomless beer fridge.
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Episode 12: We are off to MacTeir wearing bug shirts and Muskol cologne. from 2008-06-21T14:30:10
It's bug season in the muskokas and this year it is a triple threat. The mosquitoes have come in early to help out the black flies, and they have both called in air support from the horse flies. Th...
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Episode 11: Going green, or so I thought. from 2008-06-14T14:28:14
Cliff thinks Bruce has installed an environmentally friendly roof but Bruce declares the gutters need cleaning again. This time the boys decide not to wait till the snow falls before climbing up on...
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Episode 10: You Will Always Find Them in the Kitchen. from 2008-05-17T14:26:52
Bruce cooks up some fettuccini Bolognese and a wicked Caesar salad while Cliff practices his new skills making the vodka martinis..
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Episode 09: Flooding at the Cottage, and a Frozen Septic Tank. from 2008-04-12T14:24:57
After a cold and snowy winter the lake level has come up earlier and higher than ever. They survived the septic tank freezing up this winter and now mother nature decides to try to flood out the ko...
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Episode 08: Motorizing the Floating Dock from 2007-10-20T14:21:41
Cliff is in the dog house for taking the boat to the marina for winter storage without taking the water line out of the lake. Since the paddle boat really isn't up to the task Cliff and Bruce hang ...
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Episode 06: The Christmas Moose from 2007-09-15T14:16:25
The Christmas Moose arrives at the kottage.
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Episode 04: WiMAX at the cottage? Not without a postal code. from 2007-08-25T12:43:23
Bruce and Cliff finally managed to kill the chainsaw but not before running without a chain brake for most of the morning. They also continued the saga of hi-speed internet at the cottage. This tim...
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Episode 03: Hot water heaters and chainsaws. from 2007-08-11T11:05:49
Bruce and Cliff replace a hot water heater full of sand with a new one full of hot water. What a concept! They also started to lay in some firewood for the winter and succeeded in almost killing th...
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Episode 02: Pouring cement foundations from 2007-07-24T19:18:44
Bruce visits John and Kim at Pike Lake and gets recruited to haul aggregate down a 50 foot slope.
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