LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

Not quite in the workshop...

48K views 163 replies 37 participants last post by  dbhost 
#1 ·
Making room and clearing junk out of the way...

You know the problem with Texas homes is the lack of basements all you Yankees brag about… Actually lack of storage in this suburban ranch style layout is pretty typical of the size and age of home around here…

The most common fix for this problem is a shed, or garage storage, but what do you do when you don't have a shed (or enough funds to build the shed you want) and your garage is also your workshop?

Simple, look up. No I mean beyond the ceiling, to the attic…Most of these homes were NOT built with decked attics, so it is up to the homeowner to figure out how to deck theirs.

Now my attic has suffered from some (expletive deleted by author) poor contractors, and low quality insulation. So as I head up to the attic, the original deteriorated cellulose insulation got shoved in contractor trash bags, brand new Owens Corning Kraft backed R30 rolls got rolled in place, and 3/4" OSB decking got tacked down on top of the joists…

I am about 15% done with the project. I am picking up insulation and OSB as I go. As I move forward with this, totes of stuff that are taking up space in the shop, and spare bedroom are getting stowed in their respective spaces in the attc. Poorly run coaxial cables and network cables in the attic are also getting re-run so as to not interfere with anything else in the attic.

I sold off my Central Machinery tool stands this afternoon as well. This clears that bit of floor space. Per my Sketchup layout my Wet / Dry vac and 20 gallon Thien cyclone are heading to homes under the table saw extension wing.

I am very pleased with the progress I am making this weekend. While a FAR cry from done, I am seeing some real positive steps forward with both the house, and the workshop. I am just hoping the light at the end of this tunnel isn't a freight train.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Many years ago in Fairbanks, built an addition that included some attic space. Reminds me of that. We have an attic here, but it is not substantial for storage, nor do we need it. Of course insulation is a big deal here in Alaska. This is an older home, so has 4" walls mostly, not including the last addition, (there are two), which I believe has 6" walls. The stuff that was totally absurd in the structure of the house is appalling, beams going no where, without support, etc. All fixed now. We took all of the old structure down to studs, and fixed everthing. Read between the lines - money.

If I can ever get organized have to try Sketchup, which I have installed on the computer. I have done a lot of 3-d modelling, for flightsim of all things, so I am pretty familiar with the genre, and graphics programs in general. I am one of the original geeks, nerds, whatever you want to call us. Usually have 2 to 4 computers running at a time, 3 at this moment, not counting Sherie's. That's some of the hobby stuff I have curtailed to a great extent to do woodworking. I am currently programming and into other computer stuff, just fewer activities than before. I was into computers heavy in the 70's and from then on till now. I tend to be a niche guy with computers, just do what is important to me.

Have a new silly blog entry, if you are into light entertainment…......

Hope all is well. Isn't organization the pits? Only feels good when you are done. I just finished tuning up the table saw (see the blog), and that feels good. Good thing I am not on a strict schedule….....

Sawdust up the nose, fiberglass between the toes…....isn't it all wonderfull….....

Jim
 
#3 ·
db i am one of the yankees with a basement and sometime i wish my shop was in a garage (more head room and you don't have to bring everything up and down the stairs. i can relate to you quest to remove non ww stuff from the shop the first thing I did was to give the wife a 1st floor laundry worked well for both of us. she didn't have to deal with sawdust in the clean cloths and I aquired some prime realestate for my shop.
 
#4 ·
But rather above the workshop... Insulating a day late and a dollar short.

This current cold snap has done something I haven't been able to do in the last couple of years, convince LOML that I need to add more insulation to the house, AND insulate / seal the garage…

I guess morning commutes in the Houston metro area at 26 deg F got her attention…

So last night, the first 3 rolls of R 30 got packed into the rafters above the shop. I have 6 to go in order to fully pack the garage / workshop ceiling with insulation. Unfortunately my local Home Depot didn't have but 3 rolls of R30 in stock. I have 2 more to check, and 2 Lowes to check tonight.

With the toolbox in the bed of the truck, I am kind of limited to about 10 rolls strapped down, so before the entire house is insulated, I will have a LOT of trips to the home centers…

With any luck, tonight gets 10 more rolls brought in, and new garage door seals. I have to replace some of the trim on my doors anyway, so this is a good time to add seals…

I am looking at by the end of the weekend, having the garage ceiling insulated and moving forward into the main house at least 3' over the kitchen / laundry room. The garage doors should be sealed up, and Reflectix fully installed on one of the overhead doors.

If I can keep this pace up, I can have the entire shop insulated, doors, walls, ceiling, long before the summer gets here… I'm just hoping I can get some winter benefit out of this project this year too!
 
#17 ·
Insulation almost done, door seals installed. WOW what a difference...

I am now fully insulated in the ceiling with the exception of the last 2 feet before the common wall, and the niche, which has some insulation, just lousy insulation is all…

When I had sunlight out today, I installed the garage door side and top seals on both doors, and while there is still one spot in the doors where sunlight bleeds through (gap between panels) I have now eliminated the breeze coming in through the closed doors. This is something to celebrate!

So now the results…

Current outdoor temp. 30 deg F. Wind of 15 mph.
Current shop temp, 70 deg F. No wind except for the wind I create :)...

Now mind you, only one of the doors is insulated, and even then, only 3/4 of the way (ran out of Reflectix, and changed my mind on HOW to insulate it…).

The space is presently being heated by a Mr. Heater Portable Buddy heater, admittedly on the high setting…

I think… insulating the remaining attic piece (and continuing through the house…) not to mention the walls, and doors.. will mean that the heater will be sufficient on LOW setting through most weather like this… And honestly, this is oddly cold for us…

If I had it to do all over again, there is one thing I would do different…

I used half rolls that were encapsulated in plastic, and half not encapsulated. The stuff in plastic keeps the fiberglass off of you WAY better… Even with the respirator, safety googles, gloves, long sleeves etc… This was a hard project on the body.

Now on to other, better projects, like burning out stumps and putting up a fence…
 
#18 ·
Did I say I hate to work with fiberglass? Gets between your fingers, down your shirt, up your nose….........

Sounds like you are nearing success. And the other projects sound more instantly satisfying, although you will enjoy the insulation for a long time.

I thought of you when I read a book, "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind", by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer. It is an autobiography of William, and it is the ultimate "do it yourself" book, and the ultimate "make do with what you have" book, Authors site. Don't know what you read, other than wood working machine manuals (-: I read this on my Kindle. Finished it on the plane on the way down here to Hawaii. It has interesting commentary on the impact of religion, and magic, in Malawi, and probably African countries in general. It has a section that drags on about a terrible famine in 2002, but finally ends. That last part is quite exhilarating. It makes it more enjoyable to have a little knowledge about electricity, magnetism, and physics. It's right up your alley. Don't know if you have read it, but except for the caveat about the length of the famine part, it is quite enjoyable, and in the end quite upbeat.

Took a nap this afternoon, finally totally relaxed and winding down.
 
#28 ·
Attic insulation complete, outlets installed, curcuit just needs final connection.

I spent a few quality hours in my attic today finishing up some shop related, but not quite workshop projects…

#1. The 1/4" plywood decking by the attic door has been stripped out and replaced with 5/8" OSB.

#2. The last two rolls of R30 have been rolled into place, and it was just barely enough to insulate the attic over the shop. I used a grand total of 9 rolls of pink fiberglass insulation in there.

#3. As you may recall, I am setting up my shop lights in 2 columns, 3 rows, from the common wall to the garage door wall. The common wall outlet is pre-existing, the center outlet, which is a double gang box with two sockets for a total of 4 outlets there (the additional to power an air cleaner) which is new, and will be tied into the existing circuit in the existing single bulb box next to it. I am going to replace the single bulb fixture with a blank cover plate and use that box as a simple junction box. Then lastly the outlet by the garage doors, which has the GFCI in it. The new boxes are wired, and waiting to be tied into the soon to be junction box. (Probably have to wait until next weekend…

I now remember why I don't do construction or home remodeling for a living, while I enjoy it, it sure hurts after a day of doing this…

While I wait for my opportunity to connect tot he circuit, and test, I will move my shop light fixtures into their proper places, and mount them up, so that I can be ready when the time comes, to get it all plugged in, and the cords carefully bracketed to the ceiling and out of the way. I am looking forward to having more, and better placed light in my shop.
 
#32 ·
Almost done with the electrical upgrades for the lights...

I got home from work today and put the finishing touches on, and double checked my connections for the newly added outlets, and fixture in the shop light circuit. I have moved one of the overhead lights into position, and will be real happy to get the rest done.

I discovered while up on the ladder today that I have a mismatched shop light fixture. This is also the light that doesn't want to start up real well, and buzzes when it is really hot, or really cold. Between this, and the one additional fixture I need to have all 6 in place, it looks like I need to make a trip to Home Depot to get some fixtures. Cash is a little tight right now as I had spent too much picking up bargains last pay period. I got a Wolverine system with Varigrind, and Skew Jig for a few $$ less after shipping as the PSI jig setup.(I got a smokin' deal used on the Vari-grind and Skew jig, Had I known this guy was selling his Wolverine setup I would have gotten an even better deal and bought his whole setup including the base Wolverine setup), I also snagged a Ryobi BGH827 grinder. Not sure if I got a deal on it or not. I snagged it for $59.99, and I picked up some Norton 8" aluminum oxide wheels for less than $20.00 a piece…

Tomorrow brings connection of the extension to the live circuit and testing. Soon thereafter I get to move the remaining lights that I do have to their designed positions. I picked the locations for more even light distribution, and putting the maximum light where I will need it most.

I have a busy weekend planned, but if all goes well, it will be time and effort VERY well spent.

Not sure if I have mentioned this yet, but since the insulation has gone in the attic, and the gasket has gone around the garage doors, it is downright pleasant to work in there, even without heat. I have been in there for the last week and a half through below freezing temps outside, and have been in short sleeves and completely comfortable, without any sort of heater running… Sweet stuff folks. If you have an uninsulated shop, I would suggest insulating it, this was a cheap projec (About $100.00 in insulation, and $60.00 in gasket material). t, and WELL worth it. I am actually getting antsy to move on to getting the sub panel in, and insulating / re-rocking the walls…
 
#38 ·
Hi ho, Hi ho, it's up to the attic I go!

So while discussing bills and such over dinner last night, LOML is leafing through the Home Depot sales circular, and finds R30 unfaced fiberglass roll insulation for cheap… More discussion, and I get informed that we WILL be buying the insulation and we are going NOW… (She saw the February electric bill, I HATE having electric heat!)...

So I get over to the BORG, grab a flat cart, and wheel back to where the insulation is… I start loading the cart with the 6 roll cases of R30… Now that's no big deal, but I'm one guy, my wife is this petite little thing, and the staff at my local Home Depot is nowhere to be found (of course), so I had to pretty much solo manhandle these cases of insulation onto the cart….

Long story short, to keep from throwing my back out, I ended up using 2 carts, for a total of 4 cases of insulation. I wheeled the product out of the store and started loading it up into the truck. Did Home Depot offer any assistance loading up? Nope… So I am manhandling the cases into my truck. To get them all in, I had to stand 3 of them on end, narrow ways between the wheelwells, and then the last one cross ways across between the other rolls and the tailgate. I was barely able to close the tailgate, but it fit…

Now for the return trip home, I managed to get the insulation back to the house without incident, and unloaded care of my hand truck. (Which is really in my possession because of my Bass Amp cabs… But that is another story all together…). Once in the shop, I got the stairs open, and started popping cases apart, and throwing insulation rolls into the attic one at a time.

2 cases of insulation rolls in the attic later, I realized I managed to wiggle a wire and found a short in a lighting circuit. A quick trip to the breaker box to insure the circuit is without power, a flashlight, and screwdriver later, the lighting circuit is back in solid working order.

I am done with shoving that stuff up there for now, but this weekend is a different story, I have to get up there and roll out the insulation. currently 24 rolls of R30. Yeah fun! I should have the house about 3/4 finished with insulation with this supply. There are a couple of areas I simply have other repairs that need to happen before I put insulation in, specifically I need to fix the AC drain pan, and do some sheetrock repair before I can pack the last of the insulation in place.

In a way, I am glad we don't have kids, as they are not a distraction while I do this work, but in a way, it is kind of sad. This is the kind of project I would like to share with a daughter or son…. Well, the good Lord willing maybe that will change…
 
#39 ·
Hear you on the insulation install. Last summer, I did roof work and had to add insulation in between the joists. Straddling rafters on my belly while inching along with no air flow…blahhh. But at least it is all done now. Good luck up there and do not hurt yourself.

David
 
#47 ·
Painfully busy weekend, very little (read NO) shop time...

It hurts to type right now. Why, oh why didn't I just hire a contractor? Oh yeah, I wanted the job done right. Gotcha…

So anyway, I don't even recall, did I regale you with tales of insulation following me home from Home Depot? Well that is as good of a place as any to start. So here goes…

After yet another punishing electric bill, we decided that we were going to go to HD and pick up some Owens Corning R30 unfaced rolls. I figured at the price I had seen before, it would run me about $20.00 / roll after tax, and had planned on a dozen, even though I really needed at least 2 dozen to finish the job I started. Well lo and behold! Home Depot was having a sale! I have proved that without a doubt, You can carry 4 cases of R30 rolls home, in the bed of an F150 6.5' box fitted with an in bed toolbox, and no additional straps are needed. Actually they all more or less wedge in there pretty nicely.

So anyway, I get up to the attic with this stuff, and the problem is the framing in the rafters has a LOT of kickers crossing over everywhere, which means I need to manipulate my fat backside, and 24 rolls of fiberglass, over and through, and blah blah blah…

I have 6 done so far, and I feel like it is a major accomplishment. Thank heaven that I don't do this for a living… At least the rolls are up there, just not all installed…

In the mean time, yet another family health crisis has reared its ugly head, and this one is critical. Without going into much detail, I will say that for those that pray, please pray for my Sister in Law… She needs it…

We took the dog to the vet Thursday, which really put the pinch even further on what budget we do have, and found our 14 year old dog with yet more arthritis complications, not to mention low Thyroid and a weight problem. Maybe I need to have ME checked for low thyroid. I have a weight problem

Nice bright sunny weekend, what did I get volunteered to do? Paint a 4×8 trellis panel the same color as the house trim. No big thing, but it sure would have been nicer if we could have just spray stained it…

Well, long story short, this weekend I have…

Hauled 2 dozen rolls of insulation to the attic.
Installed 6 rolls of insulation.
Painted the trellis, started on the trellis frame.
Stained the planter box
Transplanted 4 bushes
Washed out the garden fountain in the front yard garden and refilled it.
Cut down the 2 Hibiscus that died this winter
Installed the 2 wonder winders for my shop.
Ran my lovely bride around to go do the shopping.
Woke up too late for Sunday services, so we caught our services on a webcast… He sure does look funny that small!
Helped clean up the kitchen and living room.
Bathed the dog, and cat (real water bath for the dog, bathing wipes for the cat).
Cooked Dinner (I cook on the weekends usually). Low Cal, low fat Spaghetti with meat sauce tonight!
Checked the progress of the stump out rotting stump. I can kick it and it has a hollow sounding thump now. Hopefully this means that it will soon be ready to burn out…

All in all, I would say I have had a VERY busy weekend. I can't WAIT to get a vacation instead of a "staycation"!...
 
#54 ·
More quality time with fiberglass insulation...

Now I know you are wondering how all of this time I am spending in the attic relates to woodworking. There is a tie in here, trust me…

Even though the daytime highs have been in the mid to upper 70s lately, the overnight lows are, well downright cold into the mid 40s. Once the sun starts going down the attic isn't a horrible place to work, aside from all the fiberglass dust that is…

I took up a span of OSB to spread between the rafters to give me a more acceptable platform to stand on while working, which sped up my work substantially. And I have now finished the horizontal insulation over the master suite.

Funny thing is, with this bit done, those overnight lows don't seem to impact me quite as much. I never realized how much energy loss I was suffering at the hands of my deteriorated insulation until I packed in the R30. This holds out a LOT of promise for much more reasonable electric bills in the months to come.

Now I mentioned HORIZONTAL insulation. There is some vertical stuff, a piece of wall that goes with my cathedral ceilings that is exposed up there, and the original insulation has slumped exposing LARGE expanses of wall to the attic with only sheetrock between the spaces. Now this stuff was originally held in place by what looks like 1×6 fence pickets without the dog ears, or fancy things like sawing to even rough length. I need to get my camera up there, but there are spots where it comes to a corner, and the boards just keep going for another 20 or so inches!

I have about 4 rolls of R-19 Kraft faced insulation waiting to go in, I am planning on picking up a mess of 1×2, shoving it up in the attic and getting after the bracing, keeping the insulation from slumping. The original stuff slumped and folded right over the original braces, which were halfway down the wall. I want to avoid this this time. Pack the insulation in well, and brace it well…

Funny thing is, with the insulation in over the main part of the house coming together, it seems like the shop temps are staying more even as well. I wandered out to the shop this morning when the outside temps were 50 deg, and the thermometer read 72 deg F. Same temp that it read at 6:00 P.M. last night and 74 deg F outside…

I'm hoping and praying for some cost savings, I could really use it, and soon, but I will be happy with the added comfort in the house. That is kind of important too!
 
#55 ·
Okay, I am really groping here, taxing my sense of ingenuity and originality for…......a comment. This one was really tough, David….........I am sure this was a test….....just for me.

........hmmm…....have you ever insulated a dog house, David? I have. In fact, I insulated a goose house…...and that is the last you are gonna hear about the geese.

We had 4 dogs in Fairbanks, and they did not live inside. They lived outside, and three of the dogs were short hair, and I guarantee that the temperatures, every winter, since we were at the bottom of the temperature inversion, reached 65 degrees below zero. That is not wind chill. You have to have absolutely no wind to get that kind of temperature.

One of the solutions was technical….....the other was social. The technical solution was to insultate the dog house, have it above the ground so that the dogs had to climb a covered ramp to get into it, (stored dog food in the enclosed space beneath the house) that trapped the warm air from escaping out the flap door, and I had a 100 watt light bulb that burned in a topless coffee can, nailed to the wall, that served as one source of heat. The other source was the dogs.

The social solution was one the dogs hit upon. The Saluki got the spot the furthest from the door, she was at the top of the pecking order, the irish wolfhound could care less where she was, she was the only one equipped for that kind of temperature with her long hair and her 160 pounds…............and the smooth haired fox terriors slept on TOP of the irish wolfhound. Social solution.

Now at this point I could put out a general questionaire about who sleeps on top….................but somehow I don't think that would come out right.

Did I do OK?...............(-:
 
#56 ·
Took the day off of woodworking, to replace stuff that takes up shop space...

It will be 4 weeks ago Sunday that I managed to find a root / stump under a clump of tall grass that I didn't know was there until the blade of my 2001 vintage Craftsman 6HP high wheel 3 in 1 push mower ran into it at full speed and managed to give the mower a MEAN vibration… Now not having the hook up on small engine repairs, I hauled my mower, and my younger brother in laws mower over to my older brother in laws shop. Unfortunately since this is work for the family, it took pretty low priority, and took a while to get info back on it… Well Tuesday night older BIL calls to let us know, that my mower is toast… (no shock, the main shaft was bent pretty good). So I did some research, and came up with a mower that had the features I wanted (Biggest engine I could get, mulching deck, Large rear wheels for easier turning, Briggs engine, reasonable price etc… And came away with, after reading the reviews, a MTD High Wheel 2 in 1 mulcher / rear bagger with high wheel from Home Depot on the cheap…

I brought the mower home, followed the assembly instructions to the letter, and only had the problem of setting the pull start cord to the retainer (I didn't want to pull the cord without SOME oil in the case) So I added the oil one step early… Big deal… Anyway, so the mower was set up. Now to dig out the gas can…

Mind you, this is all happening about 8:30 at night, and it is DARK already…

So I filled the new mower with gas, double and triple checked the setup, and the oil, looked for the primer bulb, and found none. Reread the instruction sheet. No primer bulb, none needed. Suuuuureeee that will work… Give the cord a half hearted yank not knowing yet quite how much force it needs… The mower sprang to life, somewhat unexpectedly, and more notably, quietly. VERY quietly… I heard the whooshing of the blade spinning under the deck FAR more than I heard the engine running…

So with my wife using a Q-beam out of the truck to light my path, I literally mowed my front yard, that has been waiting almost a month, in the dark… I bet my neighbors loved it! Who knows, as quiet as this thing was, and it was early enough (nobody with small children within 5 or so houses of me, mostly teens, and young adult couples in their first houses…). But what stunned me most, is how good the lawn looked when I got up and went to work this morning… I need to finish off the edging and weed eating, but no more 32" tall grass blades! (April / May is the fastest growth time for my grass here…)

The only thing that bothered me about the entire experience is when I completed the mowing, I had to roll the mower into my shop…

Still need to build a garden shed to get this stuff out of my shop!
 
#57 ·
We finally hired a lawn care service a couple of years ago, so not much mower trouble hear. I have an older Honda though, that always worked perfectly. We just don't use it any more.

Bummer about hitting the stump. I have taken some chunks out of lawn mower blades through the years, but never bent a shaft.

My favorite mower was the three bladed attachment for my Gravely lawn tractor that I owned for about 8 years. Sold it when I moved here, too big for the yard. That Gravely was used to mow about 1.5 acres of grass in Fairbanks, as well as till the gardern, blow snow, etc. When mowing grass the thing sounded like a jet plane, direct drive to the mower attachment, the attachment used belts to deliver power to the three blades. You could take care of 1.5 acres of grass in no time…..........but the 15 HP motor was not silent. When using the snow blower (all direct drive) it threw the snow over 30 feet. A real brute. I opened up the internal workings of the tiller attachment once, had to fix something, I can't remember what, and found beautiful big machined gears. and a worm drive. Of course, every one of those attachments cost over $500. Commercial duty machine.

Miss the great machinery, don't miss snow blowing and mowing the lawn….........(-:
 
#60 ·
Burn, baby burn... Disco inferno! What a weird labor day weekend!

So my labor day weekend was fun filled, with all kinds of barbecue. All told I used up 6.5 16lb bags of charcoal, and a mess of pecan smoking wood… No not all of it for cooking.

If you might recall I had intended on burning out a rather large (36" ish stump) from my fence line that was from an ike downed tree, and a couple of much smaller stumps (3" and 4" respectively, again right along the fence line). Well the 36" is now history, down at least 6" below grade (I gave up digging), but I need more charcoal for the smaller stumps. It took me 5 bags to get that 36" stump going well enough on its own, and that was after nearly 2 years of being a dead tree, treated with stump rot, and roundup the whole time… Stubborn isn't the word for it, it's well past that…

So I have been slowed, but not stopped by a severely stubborn stump. But progress moves forward, at least it will this weekend…

I should mention just HOW this all worked. You see in order to keep the fire contained, the heat concentrated in a smallish area, and the burning charcoal from simply spilling on down the bayou banks, I made a ring of simple steel flashing, and CAREFULLY avoided breathing any of the burn off fumes from the galvanized steel (sorry, it's what I had…). I simply cut slits in each end to slide together, like a childs paper doll setup…

With just the smaller stumps left, I should be completely done with burning out the stumps this weekend, which means… a delivery from the soil lot is in order! I need to re-level out where the stumps were, and years of dogs digging holes under previous fences etc… To say the least, I have some work there to do. I figure I would have about 3 cubic yards delivered, that should be enough for that, and to level up a sinking spot on the tree lawn by the storm drain that has been sinking a little more each year, and is getting hard on the mower…

And now the big question. What am I to do for concrete? I am considering renting a mixer from a local concrete company, or even Home Depot. I just need something that will mix a bag of quick-crete at a time… Just pour, add water, mix, pour in hole, set post, repeat… wash out when done… I am pretty sure I do NOT want to mix quick-crete in my wheelbarrow again… Not that it is that hard to do, but that it is that much of a pain to get it clean enough that concrete doesn't foul future projects.

If it is bad enough, I may actually consider buying a cheapo wheel barrow just for concrete mixing / pouring purposes, and pass it along when I am done… (I do NOT need 2 wheel barrows!). Dumb question… Does anyone make a decent, heavy liner for wheel barrows that would put up with mixing and pouring concrete, or how do I keep the concrete from being a permanent part of my current wheel barrow?

Okay stupid concrete thoughts aside, we did get to do some real BBQ, which LOML dragged me away from the house when the smoker was going… Ended up with charred ribs because I wasn't able to douse a flare up… The brisket ended up as chopped brisket sandwiches per LOMLs request, we also had Johnsonville Bratwurst, Kielbasa, smoker roasted potatoes, roasted corn on the cob, man I am getting hungry all over again…

I spent very little (read NONE aside from putting things that didn't belong in the house back where they go) time in the shop this weekend… Just no time to spend. And it is getting HOT. Now mind you, the highs in the shop have been around 80 deg F. But the humidity is just brutal… I will not have a chance to get back there for a couple of days (busy week scheduled until at least Friday), but when I do, I am going to have to blow down the garage before going in. Basically I open the garage / kitchen door, put a box fan in, and blow the cooled air from the house into the shop, the hot air circulates, and comes back in to the house and gets cooled, takes about 20 minutes, but it works… I just don't keep it going when running machines…

I am trying to find a portable AC / Heat unit that I can duct through dryer vents (HOA restrictions, they won't fuss at dryer vents). I am finding a lot of complaints about the larger models though. Anyone with suggestions for a good quality 12-14K BTU model, let me know!
 
#61 ·
David

Congratulations on worrying that stump to death.

I cannot remember the last time I mixed concrete. Over 25 years ago. I am no help.

Not much into AC here in Anchorage. I am no help.

Home alone and working on Memorial Day, I BBQed a New York Steak and ate most of it. I didn't want any help.

For cooling this large house, I place a powerful fan in front of a partially opened window in the master bed room (highest point in the house) to blow air out, and strategically open windows around the house to allow the outside air in, from whichever is the shaded part of the house. That way the house isn't much warmer than the outside air. It is only 57 deg here right now, but I am using the fan to bring the house down into the sixties, so that later today it will be easier to cool.

Since I worked the last four days, think I will indulge myself and go fry up some potatoes and eggs for brunch. Don't want any help with the cookin' or the eatin'.............

...............(-:

Later,

Jim
 
#74 ·
Another step closer to freeing up shop space...

Last night, I took the rings off of where the stumps were, and 3 of the 5 stumps to be removed were nothing but holes in the ground filled with ash. 1 was a half burnt 4" tall stump, the other untouched (ran out of charcoal). I will grab a couple more bags of charcoal, and finish the task over the next couple of days…

This weekend is not promising for any shop or even fence time as LOML are signed up for a 5K fund raiser with our Weight Watchers group (yeah I am a middle aged balding fat guy…). Afternoon highs are supposed to be in the upper 90s, so not much chance of any outdoor work happening except in the mornings, which plans are made around that… Ugh…

We are at the point now where i need to get my posts, rails and pickets out to the back yard and out of the shop. If for no other reason than to be ready. The burn outs will be happening over the weekend (BIL watching the burn out for me). That will give me ready access to the wheel barrow, and the fence posts for setting fence posts, but I am less than thrilled with the idea of putting that much building material in my back yard, open to the bayou, for that long without a fence up in the first place… Ugh…

I have one more tree / bush I need to deal with. There is a really pretty Crepe Myrtle in my yard, that is simply in the wrong place. It is where I want to put my shed. It's GOT to go… In all honesty, I have 4 trees that have GOT to go… A crepe myrtle, 2 pines, and a China berry that is too close to my foundation. The China Berry and the 2 pines will be hired out to professionals as I simply do NOT want to take the risk of taking these trees down. I can handle the crepe myrtle though.

I am getting a little anxious about getting this all done now. I am seeing things progressing in the right direction, and starting to see results. This is all a lot of fun actually. I guess that proves I am getting older huh?

Oh well, like I said, things are coming along. I have seen some excellent ideas for small garden sheds / storage boxes recently, and just need to decide on which one, get the plans approved and get my permits, and I should be good to get started on that project…
 
#78 ·
More disco inferno...

Storms, just when you don't want them summer storms. At least I am not in a burn ban right?

So today is now, according to NOAA, supposed to be the last stormy day until next week, meaning, I should have a full 48 hours or so before I get off of work Friday of nice, dry weather. This means that the few remaining stumps that need to burn are going to be barbecued this weekend…

The charcoal is standing by, at the ready, the fire rings are waiting to go. I just need to get my dryness all in order. Mind you, these stumps are small enough I should be able to hand saw what is left down almost flush to the ground, and just burn the rest out with 1 bag of charcoal for the cluster of stumps… That leaves migrating material to the back yard from the shop, and getting concrete.

Now my wood hauler (pickup truck) has a slightly expired safety inspection sticker, I am within the grace period, but I do need to get it into the inspection station and get it cleared. No biggie. My truck is in good shape, 6 years old and low mileage and all…

I bet you guys and gals are wondering where the disco inferno thing came from… You see, on Memorial Day weekend when I started this thing up, PBS was doing their fund raiser thing, by doing a weekend of Disco…. So I would watch the stump burn out the window, while watching the PBS Disco special… Yeah I was bored…

Anyway, that song came on, and it has since stuck in my head… Hence the blog title…

Okay back to the fence…

I am making my new fence taller than the original, mostly to match my neighbors fences. This brings up one HUGE problem…. A fence post I replaced about 4 years ago. Unlike the original posts which were just sunk into the mud (PT held up well over 25 years considering how it was installed!), this ONE post was properly anchored in concrete. which unfortunately is all tangled up with some very tough roots etc… And is out of place for where I want to run the new posts. Originally they started from the right side, and went over in 8' increments, I am going from the left side, and doing the 8' increments. I may have to cut and burn this out as well. At least to get it flush to the ground… Either that, or figure out how to bust out the concrete base so I can remove the post and back fill the hole.

I am VERY hopeful I can get this done in short order. Might have to get a couple of cases of beer, invite some friends over, and have a fencing party!
 
#79 ·
And once you get the fence done, the only comments you will get will be…...

......why didn't you run the fence over there…....
......that post isn't as straight as the others…....
......But honey, I really liked to look out at the ducks in the morning when I was drinking coffee, and now I can't see them….....could you move the fence over there and…..................
......I would have put in a chain link fence if I were going to go to all that trouble….....
......You know, the color of the fence doesn't really match the house, why don't you repaint the house….....
......Did you put in protection so that dogs can't dig underneath?.......
......I think you are too far over into municipal property, and they are gonna ask you to move that fence, that's what happened to Bob Bonkers down the block…..
......Bet you didn't get the property line surveyed. Bet you are over the easement….......
......Isn't that last post right where the main water shutoff valve is?.............
......I heard they are running new underground cable back there and since you are on the easement, they won't even pay you after they take your fence down…....
......But if you get it surveyed, then the city will figure out that your house is too close to the property line, and your covenants say…....blah, blah, blah
......I'll bet the neighbors are going to be real pissed, they used that corner for access to the bayou…...
......Isn't there a regulation about obstructing the migratory path of red toed, green eyed, moth eating minitoad from the bayou to the pond across the street?
......Bet you needed a permit for that, and didn't get one. Betty Busybody turn Waldo in for that and he not only had to remove the fence but they fined him….......even made him plant new trees where the stumps were, claimed they would have regrown given time.
......Didn't you understand that that tree is a protected species in this county….....they fined George $10,000 and he had to hire a lawyer and…...............

Been involved in putting up a few fences myself over the years…..............(-:
 
#88 ·
From Disco Inferno, to the Victory Dance!

For starters, I want to thank GregD (or was it CraigD?), I will have to double check the responses to my prior blog entry, for the guy that suggested hydraulic removal of the fence post…

The weather played well enough cooperation wise that last night I was able to finish burning out the stumps, but I want to go further below grade, and I still have charcoal… so if the weather holds then tonight it goes…

The lone fence post that refused to die is now horizontal. The Method was amazingly simple, and straight forward. Take a shovel, and create a gap where you can around the edge of the concrete, take the garden hose / nozzle and hydro blast away soil, until you can rock the post back and forth, continue until you have the post loose, and jack the post out of the ground. But… No old school jack. So what to do? I have wood, I know how to use a lever. Simple machines time… Last night is one of the first times in a LONG time I have been glad that Weight Watchers is working slowly for me, I needed the extra weight to apply to a 2×4 rested upon a fulcrum to lever that post out of the ground… And yes I tore out roots with the concrete ball…

Now I have the post laying across the hole because, well there is a hole in the ground. Tonight, I get a bed full of fill dirt, and get after filling the holes, then leveling them up… I COULD rent a proper tamper, but instead, it's going to be a simple piece of scrap plywood, and my fat can applying the downward force. Should be more than enough…

With any luck, I will be able to set the tie in blocks for my first rails on the posts tonight as well, that way I can have an idea where the new posts will need to be cut. Now WHERE is my line level and spool of twine? I guess I could use some cable pulling twine for this…

One bit of bad news to report though. My "Bronco" spade point shovel handle, that is allegedly unbreakable, I managed to break… Go figure…And it appears that Lowes no longer carries this brand… I guess this is fine, I got 2 of these shovels, the Bronco, and an Ames, for housewarming gifts 10 years ago. Not like I need 2 of the same kind of shovel… And I could use the space in my garage, uh, shop…

Ah bliss! Once those holes are filled, and the fence line levelled, the fencing material comes OUT of the shop.

I'm thinking of hiring a band to play as I move the pickets, 2×4s, and 4×4s out to the deck in celebration.

Now if only Home Depot would get on the stick and send my A/C unit to me!
 
#89 ·
I spoke too soon. Just checked my BORG account… Last night just before bed it was still pending, this morning it shows as shipped, and arrival is scheduled for TODAY! So by the time I get home, LOML is going to be having fits on how to get a portable A/C, and 3,000 sq/ft of AtticFoil radiant barrier into the house so I can do something with them. It would appear I do NOT have as much time as I suspected to get my shop empty of construction materials before more move in… Ugh…
 
#98 ·
Shop projects more or less on hole. (expletive deleted) Masonite siding!

So I am busting my rump trying to get the fence line level, and ready for installing the fence as you may or may not know, when I happened to glace between the side of the house, and the fence and saw something funny…

What on earth could it be? Upon closer inspection, it came to light that, well my attic was apparently well illuminated due to the absolute failure of the existing Masonite siding. Or to sum that up. The cheap siding on the gables fell off…

Now if the truck was empty, which i it isn't I still have about 1/3 of a cubic yard of soil in it, I would have just run to Home Depot, or Lowes, bought the Hardi panel, rented a scaffold, and gotten the job done right, but having a full truck, and too many OTHER problems right now, I eneded up fishing through my shop for… Well guess…

If you guessed a sheet of Masonite T1-11 siding, you are absolutely right.

You see a few years back, I needed plywood as a hurricane approached the coast, and none was to be found, but the old OLD lumberyard I went to had a few sheets of Masonite T1-11 left over that they let me have cheap. I used some to cover my windows, the rest got stashed in a stack behind the lathe. I had no clue I would ever actually use the stuff for anything other than hurricane prep…

So out came the circ saw, the compressor, air hose, pnuematic stapler with what I thought were sufficiently long 1" staples, angle gauge etc… Measured it up, marked it off, cut if up, and slapped it up there, after a few false starts… And then trouble in paradise… The 1" staples go nowhere. I had to resort to my HF framing nailer to tack the thing to the framing, and then ran a total of 4 galvanized framing nails in place, THEN I finished it up with staples… Go figure…

Anyway, so that piece is up there, no more hole tot he attic, just hope no birds got in there when the side of the house was open.

In all fairness, the side of the house could not have been open more than 24 hours, I was over on that side of the house yesterday evening pulling weeds and would have noticed the sheet of Masonite down, and we had a particularly strong wind blow through last night. I figure it came down sometime in the overnight hours.

I did make one REALLY nasty mistake in the project though. I had a pull off rail from the original fence that was in the yard, and it appears that I forgot to pull ALL of the nails out of it. My right foot hurts like, well the opposite of heaven to say the least…

So go back and check my Tetanous records, 2005, they are good for 10 years, so I should be fine… But boy oh boy this hurts…

Pretty much cooked my head out there working on this thing, my foot hurts, and my muscles are now complaining about all this lifting, nailing, sawing, screwing and whatnot that I am just not putting everything up for now. It is all sort of sitting in the mud room, locked up, and LOML isn't fussing. I got her curtains in the kitchen hung up first, she's happy…
 
#101 ·
New puppy, fences, and making space in the shop...

Funny thing is, I wasn't really looking for a puppy. I was thinking if I get another dog, I want to adopt an adult dog. None of this putting up with the chewing on everything stage etc… But the puppy more or less found us… Sooo…

Fence line is levelled, and post holes are marked. Deck still needs to be cleaned, and materials transferred to back yard (this week). And then… Saturday is coming…

This upcoming Saturday, I am borrowing a friend and his auger (note to self, get fresh load of gas / Sta-bil), and we are going to double / triple check the hole locations, then start punching holes, and then setting and levelling posts…

I have the bench top done for LOML's reclaimed PT and cedar potting bench for the yard. Built sort of like a picnic table top. Nice and solid, not super even but who cares? The purpose behind this bench is to get flower pots, and worm poop fertilizer OUT of my shop…

Now this cedar base for this bench, is the very same base that is presently doing duty as my workbench base. I decided for hand planing, cedar is WAY too light. I found a REALLY easy to follow, and solid looking plan on Shop Notes for the base, and instead of the long table saw cut dadoes of the FWW plan, I am going to quick & dirty the new one with simple biscuit slots where I want the top hold downs. Yes I will experiment with this some first.

Well.. So much to do with only so much time, and money. I can reclaim lumber all day long, but the problem sometimes is how much of that all day long do I really have? Oh well, get it squeezed in there where I can…

Of course I have to train a puppy too… Anyone have suggestions for training the fear of strange noises out of a pup? I want him in the shop with me when its safe…
 
#102 ·
Left a note on your picture post of the pup.

I am betting you don't have to do a thing. But if you have to, might bring the dog in while a machine is running, sit down and pet and play with it a bit. After a bit the dog will assoiciate good things with the shop and the machines there. Tie it up at first so you don't have to discipline it in the shop. Better yet, might be wise to teach the dog to stay first, and have a bed and toys in the corner somewhere. It is just a matter of associating good things with the shop and the noises.

......oh…....and while you are sitting petting the dog, while you have a few machines turned on just idling, cuss up a storm so that dog gets used to that too…..........(-:

Alaska Jim
 
#108 ·
Can you dig it?

Because I sure can't… But I guess you need some background information to know just WHAT I am babbling about right?

Saturday was the big day to get the post hole auger out of my friends shop, and tackle the fence posts. Well… there were 8 measly holes to drill, that's all, just 8. Only one of them was fairly easy…

We started off breaking the shear pin within 6" on the first hole, only to discover I had no 5/16" carriage bolts to use as shear pins… A trip to Ace hardware came up with a small bag of 5/16" x 2.5" grade 5 carriage bolts and matching nuts… I bought a dozen. I should have gotten more…

The easy hole was #4, and it is the one right next to the discharge line for the Reverse Osmosis system flush out, so it stays wet… Hmmm. Drilling into this soil dry is like drilling into concrete, drilling wet is nice and easy…

out comes the garden hose…

Out method turned into start one hole, go as far as we could dry, pull the auger, fill hole with water, go to next hole, drill as far as we could dry, lather rinse repeat….

Well by the time we were starting to get a little bit on the heat exhaustion side of things, I had 6 of the 8 posts with holes drilled, and posts installed, concreted in, and posts levelled. The 2 remaining holes are at 6" and 12" depths, and have been repeatedly filled with water….

My hole drilling partner to use the 2 man machine, isn't available again until tomorrow night.

Tonight, Lord, my wife, and the puppy willing, will be a night cutting the new posts to height and starting the rails across the already done posts. So I get to make plenty of use of the miter saw, compressor, air nailer, and level. I am sure the neighbors will love me…

One of the 2 remaining holes, happens to be the post hole that will have the new gate catch installed on it. I am planning on building a gate to allow me access to the bayou for cleanup, mowing and when the bayou grasses are mowed and all acceptably, walking the dog… So that will be a good bit of work to get done, but I am using a good stout iron gate hardware / framing kit from Home Depot. It's been in my shop for years, and was one of those projects that Ike screwed up… This gate will be 48" (more or less depending on how things go in concrete you know?) and is also intended to move equipment and such into / out of the back yard that will NOT fit in through the side gate…

Even with just the posts pulled out of the stack in my shop, there is an appreciable reduction in the amount of stuff in my shop. This little bit of progress is in a weird way, a little ray of hope for my shop. Like I have mentioned before, every little bit of progress, just makes me that much more encouraged to move that much further forward. Lacking that, it would be so easy to just feel like I am doomed to working in a cramped space where I need to wheel everything out to the drive to make a cut…

To be this close to done with the fence is a great feeling. And I can't wait to get out there this evening and make some more sawdust!
 
#113 ·
Being slowed down by hurricanes, leaky radiators, and old Television sets...

Well, my fence building has been slowed down, yet again. First by a a leaky radiator. It would seem that my wife noticed the other day while driving home from a job interview that the car "smelled funny"... Upon investigating, and borrowing a cooling system pressure tester, I noted a geyser under the hood, eminating from the seam between the plastic radiator tank, and its aluminum core. So off to the parts store to grab the stuff to fix that, radiator, hoses, coolant, clamps etc… Of course some of this had to be ordered, that was Monday night… Last night I was supposed to be working on the car… Yeah right…

So I get home to work on the car, only to be told that BIL's car, which was in the shop getting warranty work done, needed to be picked up, and since our pickup was the only set of wheels running, I had to drive… Ugh…

No biggie, get in, go get the car, get to work on the Saturn right? Wrong… Phone rings. Sister in law says she has an old TV, about a 10 year old Sony Trinitron Wega, 37" that she wanted out of her house since she got a new 42" flat screen… So off to the other side of the Houston Metro area, at 8:00 at night, load up the monstrosity of a TV (no wonder they went to flat panels!) visit with SIL, then haul TV, and butt home, manhandle giant TV out of the bed of the, have I mentioned LIFTED 4×4 pickup truck with my wife, at MIDNIGHT… Hand truck it over to the door, then walk the set over the threshold (too wide to go through on the hand truck) then slide it over the floor to the living room. I have worked up a severe sweat, and no longer smell like roses doing this…

AND to top it all off, I am sitting here looking at the hurricane that is about to come on shore in Mexico, and watching the feeder bands dump heavy rain after heavy rain after heavy rain on me…

Needless to say, no worky on fency today, no worky on radiator today…

I am at least looking at this from the positive perspective. At least the clay soils will be good and wet by the time I get to augering which should make it good and easy to do… And I will have the opportunity to wait for the ground to dry out before I set the posts while I replace the radiator in the car…
 
#114 ·
Hey, it could be worse. I am right down where it is coming in. Looks like the rain will be the worst of it for us tonight though. I am going back and forth from my atrium checking on the water level to pump out and the garage playing with my new favorite Evapo-Rust.
 
#115 ·
More project progress, less room in my shop! WRONG DIRECTION!

Well, okay some of my work this weekend was in the shop… But for the most part, I continued down the road of progress on my other projects. This weekend saw the following progress…

#1. Air conditioning evaporator coils, pans, and drains cleaned.
#2. 25 feet of deteriorated and leaky HVAC flex duct replaced.
#3. HVAC plenum box taped / sealed. (This thing was blowing cold air into the attic like crazy).
The above combined should have a substantial impact on my heating / cooling bills. We will just have to see…

#4. Picked up the Sony WEGA 37" from my sister in law. She was upgrading to a flat panel, and the TV in the bedroom was dying. So I swapped around some TVs. That big Sony is a freaking TANK…
#5. Sized and cut 3/4" ply shelf for bedroom armoire for the TV, the original shelf was 1/4" plywood! The new arrangement is MUCH stronger. Had to cut the notches by hand using my pull saw. Not sure where my jig saw is…
#6. Augered 2 remaining post holes. Need to wait for the ground to dry up before setting the posts though. I don't want the ground to shrink around the concrete…
#7. Removed and replaced the radiator on my 2001 Saturn SL2. Now mind you, this car has been wrecked previously. So the A/C condenser, and original radiator were slightly bent, where the new radiator was perfectly straight. Getting parts to line up was fun… But it's all together and working well now…
#8. Spent hours on end training the puppy… He still tries play biting, but he responds to the "off" command nicely now…

With the path cleared for removing fencing material from the shop, I had to move the lawn mower over by the table saw, I now effectively have less usable floor space which isn't a good thing, but I also have less "stuff" in the shop, which is a GOOD thing…

The weather outlook for this week is pretty horrid. We have some tropical disturbance sliding east to west along the coast coming through Louisiana, and aiming our way that is supposed to be a real rain producer, and to top that off, we also have a pretty sizeable but disorganized cluster of storms coming up from the Yucatan… So far they are not predicting development into anything to worry about, and it is supposed to be here within 48 hours, too close to react anyway… So I just sit tight and hang on to my shorts as it were…
 
#116 ·
For you a DIYer weekend warrior weekend.

I at least made some real headway on the shop stuff, with a usable panel sled (only cosmetic stuff left), a unique project tabletop nearly finished, and will soon finish the arms for the Super Sled, one is already done. Entertained family on the 4th, with barbecued chicken and burgers. So busy, but I did get relaxed.

Only 3 working days this week, but I am on call today and Thursday, already have someone in labor this morning.

So have a good week, will probably have minimal shop time during the week, coming weekend should be better…....

Jim
 
#122 ·
Lousy weather, a shop full of stuff, and holes in the yard...

Last week it was hurricane Alex that hit south of us and dumped a ton of rain on us all week, now it is closely followed by what is now being called "Tropical Depression #2" whatever that means… I know all it means for me is a ton more rain.

I have the posts for the fence up, and set in cured concrete, except for the last two. The holes for those are bored, and I am praying that all this rain doesn't back fill the holes. The ground has been FAR too wet to finish with the concrete work as I am pretty sure the concrete just won't cure if it is underwater. I am using regular Quick Crete after all..

I have the lawn & garden stuff that was behind the fence lumber in the little bit of shop floor space I did have, and what little was left over, has been taken up by pulling the air compressor out to use in blowing out AC lines, and not being put back right. To say I have a LOT of shop cleaning to do is way beyond an understatement.

I am looking at the weather forecast on the Weather Channel web site, and it looks like I should be in for sunny weather after today with the exception of Saturday which shows "isolated thunder storms", which usually means I should be dry. I am hoping, and praying that by Sunday, I should be able to have dry ground in which to pour concrete, and set my posts. Until then, not tonight, but by tomorrow night, I should be able to start levelling, marking, and cutting the posts until I get to those two and start setting the rails

What really scares me, is that I have neighbors that have fences that were put up by contractors, in soaking wet weather like this, and they are already sagging. No shock there. I wanted mine done RIGHT, so I am doing it myself. I understand why contractors try to rush these jobs even with bad weather (gotta get paid man!) but the result in quality, or actually total lack thereof, isn't worth it…

Oh well, until I can get out to the yard, maybe I will get up into the attic and start hanging the radiant barrier…
 
#123 ·
May not be any help, but a trick I learned somewhere was to set and brace the posts and then just pour the dry concrete mix into the hole. Come back in a couple of days and the concrete has absorbed water from the surrounding earth and hardened up.
 
#128 ·
The weather is holding out, and a big list for the weekend...

The rain has stopped, the sun came back out, and the former swimming pool that was my yard is now looking more like a yard again, so if this hot spell holds, I have a few items on my "Git R Done" list for this weekend…

#1. Run by Lowes and grab 4 more sheets of R-Max R5 foil backed 3/4" foam board (to finish garage door insulation project). Some 2×12's for a scaffolding deck, and a single piece of Hardi Soffit, no holes, Cedar Mill texture.
#2. I have the initial cleat started, so start running the straight / level line to existing posts, trim them to height, and measure / mark / cut and install the top, middle, and bottom rails,rot boards, and pickets as far as I can go.
#3. On Sunday set 2 remaining posts and pour the concrete. Finish staging materials out of shop and into back yard ready to finish up.
#4. Measure between corner post and first post for gate opening, finalize sizes and build gate frame.
#5. Finish leveling new posts, installing rails, and final batch of pickets.
#6. Install gate latch hardware.
#7. Mow, edge, and weed eat my lawn.
#8. Mow and weed eat BILs lawn. (he is unable to, thank God he doesn't have any edge work…)
#9. Measure and cut Hardi material for the post between, and the trim around the garage doors.
#10. Start on the upsizing the Thien cyclone separator ports. I have the template for the side inlet ready to go, and I have a 5' joint of snap lock pipe, just need to cut it to length, mark and make my cuts in the plastic, and do the install, and plug up the top hole for the original elbow…

Now that I have a list, we will see if any of this actually gets done.
 
#131 ·
So what actually got done?

On Friday, I posted a list of projects I was planning on attacking this weekend… It was overly ambitious, and completely unattainable being married and having a wife with other ideas of how my time should be spent… So what actually got done?

#1. Run by Lowes and grab 4 more sheets of R-Max R5 foil backed 3/4" foam board (to finish garage door insulation project). Some 2×12's for a scaffolding deck, and a single piece of Hardi Soffit, no holes, Cedar Mill texture.

Done, more or less. I got 2×8's for rebuilding a water heater stand instead of worrying about the scaffolding right now. Too many other irons in the fire as it were…

#2. I have the initial cleat started, so start running the straight / level line to existing posts, trim them to height,

Done. The measuring / marking / cutting and installing the top, middle, and bottom rails,rot boards, and pickets as far as I can go went on the back burner due to time constraints…

#3. On Sunday set 2 remaining posts and pour the concrete. Finish staging materials out of shop and into back yard ready to finish up.

Not even close... Not that this wasn't a good plan, but the soil is still pretty muddy down 6" or so and is just not ready for concrete yet.

#4. Measure between corner post and first post for gate opening, finalize sizes and build gate frame.
#5. Finish leveling new posts, installing rails, and final batch of pickets.
#6. Install gate latch hardware.

I am lumping these together mostly because they rely on #3 to be done before I can do them. So they are waiting…

#7. Mow, edge, and weed eat my lawn.

Done. At least in front. The back is mowed, but boy do I need to take the weed eater back there! I also need to spend some quality time with gardening gloves pulling weeds…

#8. Mow and weed eat BILs lawn. (he is unable to, thank God he doesn't have any edge work…)

Nope. Had to pass. BIL wasn't feeling up to the trip, I need to get a mower over to his place and maybe volunteer another of the brothers or in laws to help here…

#9. Measure and cut Hardi material for the post between, and the trim around the garage doors.

Well, I have the material, I just didn't get too far with it…

#10. Start on the upsizing the Thien cyclone separator ports. I have the template for the side inlet ready to go, and I have a 5' joint of snap lock pipe, just need to cut it to length, mark and make my cuts in the plastic, and do the install, and plug up the top hole for the original elbow…

Started, not done, but started. The nipple was marked, and cut 6" long, I discovered that the 5" snap lock is EXACTLY the same OD as the HF Wye fitting. I need to grab one of those wrinkly shrinker tools for the end so that I can reduce it a hair, and slide the hose over it. I have the template for the side inlet taped to the barrel, and am ready to start drilling / cutting. I am a bit concerned about machining the side inlet pipe, mostly because I went through Dremel Cut off wheels like crazy trying to cut the snap lock pipe…

Not on my original list, but worth noting…

Picked up a new project. LOML and I picked up a second hand convertible crib, and changing table for a song, but we had to drive 70 miles to pick it up. Made for a long day in the truck. The wood on the crib is in excellent condition, but there are some teething marks, and spots where it had been bumped up against drywall. So this is a refinish project. The changing table has some minor problems, which make for me having to re-do one of the shelves from scratch, and will likely redo all 3 to make the thing sturdier, and safer.

The plan as of now, is to refinish this set, fix the trays, etc… set it up as a Full size bed in the middle bedroom, and use it as guest room furnishings until we are blessed with a baby, and at that point, configure it back to a crib…

Of course if I can't find the right stain to go back to original and just touch up the original finish, I will have to strip this all the way down and refinish the entire thing. Not something I am looking forward to…
 
#134 ·
Been gone a while, not much, but some done...

Okay so it is REALLY hard for a guy with a wok shop in League City Texas to work on his shop when he is in Dallas Texas and in various points in Oregon, you see, I have been out for the last 2 weeks… But all is good. I got back from Portland last night at about 10:00, got my full work day in, and even managed to get at least ONE thing done for my shop, well indirectly for my shop.

After coming home from work, taking the wife out to dinner (nothing left in the fridge to cook) I gave the puppy a bath, and…. Wait for it…

I FINALLY got the last 2 fence posts set in concrete and curing!

Now I am very happy with the way the posts are coming along. The concrete should be mostly cured by the time I get home tomorrow, cured enough at least for me to level them up and bob the tops off for the upper rail. I can then put the circ saw away, and dig out the miter saw and get after those rails

I need to make sure that the space for the gate is nice and even, but at least i know MY posts are level…
 
#136 ·
More lumber moved out of the shop!

I have been back off of vacation a little over a week, and have gotten somewhat caught up on things. The 2 remaining posts were concreted and cured, and then they were measured, leveled and cut. The top rails were measured, cut and installed, now I am working on the bottom. 3 of 8 are in!

Now for the problem. Where are the other 8 PT 2×4s? I am not certain, but I think I left out lumber for the center rails, which is a HUGE problem. My fence design is a 3 rail design to give lateral support to high wind loads. I think I need to get to to the BORG and get a few more 2×4s…

This project is giving my B&D miter saw, HF compressor, and nailer is also getting a serious workout. So far everything is working flawlessly…

Overall, the progress I am presently making isn't exactly what I would like, but it is without a doubt, moving forward… I am having to sneak a few boards here, a few boards there…
 
#138 ·
Fence Framing is done! Gave the nailer a good workout!

I set the miter saw and compressor up under my big oak tree in the back yard, and just started measuring, cutting, and nailing, and before I knew it, I went from having a fence with just the top rail installed, to having the framing completed. I also have the top and bottom pieces for the gate cut out and ready to go, next is the uprights, and then a two cross bars, those should be plenty easy though. Pre made gate hardware brackets sure will make this an easy task… I still need to get a proper latch, but that should be no big deal…

Before I know it the rest of the fence material will be long gone out of my shop, and that precious space will be finally, finally finally after 2 years bought back. Then I can move forward with insulating and bringing additional power to the shop!

Life is good!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top