Post Christmas update

Since Heather wanted some snowscape pictures, here are a few:

The driveway had largely melted off by the time I got back.  The parts that got snowblowed were clear, outside of a little bit of ice.

I could even get to the electrical panel.  Too bad we are getting 12-16" today.

I found another use for the PVC pipe.

I also ordered a new gas cap for the weed whacker today.  

Also came home to a bit of a surprise.  Yet another leak in the roof.  This time over the kitchen.  

It made a bit of a mess.  They supposedly fixed it before I took off for the LAN.

Lastly, my cobbled together power system for the cooler worked.  Maybe not the safest solution in the world, but the cooler is running off my computer power supply.  Yes those are exposed alligator clips onto 28gauge wire...

First big snowfall

Didn't get much done today, I was out at a Yankee swap last night, got home late and woke up later.  According to Andy, the AC cover has a foot of snow on it and has held up fine.  I went up and checked on the property today, since I hadn't been up there since the major snowfall on Friday night/early Saturday.  I didn't try to take the truck up the hill since the bank at the end was in the grille of the truck (there was more snow there than we got at my apartment), but everything looked fine.  The shed had already completely shed its snow, the roof was clear.  No leaks inside either.  The creek was high, but given the rain that followed the snow, I am not too surprised.  I am still debating on whether or not to bother snowblowing the driveway.  There is about a foot still up there that wasn't melted by the rain, but it isn't supposed to snow this week; it is supposed to be warm and sunny, so most of it will probably melt off.

Didn't make much progress on my winter projects (too busy sleeping and wrapping presents) but the parts have started to filter in.  I got an old mixer valve from a washing machine, and hope to start working on it this week, though I don't have a lot of time the next few days with Christmas on the way.

AC Cover ready for delivery.

I put the final touches on the AC cover today.  Those included trimming the fiberglass, putting another layer of resin on the sides, some sanding, and lastly installing the latches.  Because it is a completely tool-less design, the latches are mostly to aid in setting it up to keep things from falling over.  They are not intended to be load-bearing.  All of the work I did on the roof I performed while it was on the base, so it is sturdy enough without them.

The profile shot:


A side view:


The back:


A better look at the roof after running it over with sand paper.  It isn't as smooth as I would have liked, but I did learn a lot about fiberglass building this, so hopefully I can do a better job next time.  

I also went up to the property and put some final touches on the mailbox.  I now have numbers on both sides of the post.  I also put a few more screws and a bracket on the 4x4 junction.  Previously it only had one screw holding it together.  I didn't use the 4x4 bracket I had, but just a corner brace.  It should be fine.

While I was up there, I also put the stuff away that I wanted on the slab, like my bathroom sink.  It is all in the shed now.  I thought about tarping everything, but am not sure what that would accomplish.  The tractor has sat outside all of its life, as has the pushmower.  The only thing that might be worth covering is the grill, and that was never covered by its previous owners either.  I also briefly considered covering the trailer, but the trailer is all freshly primed and painted, it shouldn't be hurt by being out in the elements.  So for all intents and purposes, the clearning the stuff off the slab task is done.  I forgot my compressor (one of the tires on the tractor doesn't hold air) so I didn't try to jump the tractor and drive around on it.

I also noticed that the ground up there was frozen, though I might still call the guy for the gravel and the electric.

And with that, the only thing left on the winter checklist is the gravel and the electric:

1. Buy a new truck.
2. Install the outrigger supports on the shed.
3. Install the inter-rafter supports for the ridge board.
4. Rework the pilings for the shed.
5. Remove the trailer tanks.
6. Sand and paint the trailer.
7. Weld the new pieces onto the trailer.
• This will likely get pushed out to next year.
8. Put gravel down in the driveway.
• Nice to have.
9. Install driveway markers.
10. Stabilize the mowers.
11. Cover the piles and stuff on the slab.
12. Electrical panel work.
• Nice to have
13. Install the mailbox.

I have also started a list of winter projects.  Those will be cropping up on here shortly.  The current slate of winter projects (in no particular order):

• Valve controller for the washer.
• Build the desk/entertainment center.
• Design/build the platform/loft.
• Complete the detailed trailer design and BOM.

Fiberglass laid, another thing checked off the list.

Today was a productive day.  I got the supports installed in the shed, and checked another item off the list.


I also got everything prepped for fiberglass.


I did it in two parts.  One per sheet of fiberglass.  The first sheet didn't go well, though it was my first time ever doing fiberglass work.  I learned a lot of things.


I completed the top.


I need to figure out something for the sides.  I tried just wrapping the cloth and dousing it with resin, but it didn't stick.  I might just put a layer of resin on it and call it good enough.


A list of things I learned:

• First and foremost, DO NOT use a foam brush.  The resin is too thick and heavy, and it tears the foam apart.  It also doesn't have enough rigidity to put a nice finish on it.
• Mat would have been a much better choice than cloth.  The cloth comes apart when tugging on it trying to press the air bubbles out.
• It is easier to pour it on the wood and then spread it out with the brush.  
• It uses a lot more resin than expected.  

A couple more finishing touches and it will be ready for delivery.  

For the winter checklist, it is getting really small.  The only thing left that is required is to cover the stuff.  I would still like to get the electrician and gravel done, but those can wait for spring.

1. Buy a new truck.
2. Install the outrigger supports on the shed.
3. Install the inter-rafter supports for the ridge board.
4. Rework the pilings for the shed.
5. Remove the trailer tanks.
6. Sand and paint the trailer.
7. Weld the new pieces onto the trailer.
• This will likely get pushed out to next year.
8. Put gravel down in the driveway.
• Nice to have.
9. Install driveway markers.
10. Stabilize the mowers.
11. Cover the piles and stuff on the slab.
12. Electrical panel work.
• Nice to have
13. Install the mailbox.

Last post before Thanksgiving

Since I probably won't be on here until I get back from KY, Happy Thanksgiving!

Despite the miserable weather moving my efforts indoors, I managed to get a fair amount of work done today, though not as much as I had hoped.  I kept getting distracted.  I got my car cleaned out (well, kinda, the stuff was taken out, it still looks like a mess).  I also got my second bedroom organized a bit so I have a place to work now that I am transitioning to working indoors for the winter.

I did get the rest of the framing done for the roof for the AC cover.  This is the underside, and you can see all the rafters and the lip to hold it on are installed now.


Unfortunately things were a bit tighter than I would have liked, so I spaced out the lip boards and will have to trim them.  Annoying, but not a big deal.


I got the plywood for the roof cut and installed.


I wanted to get the fiberglass on, but at this point I have run out of time, and not to mention someone didn't read the package...


In my defense though, I was only doing a 38" x 40" space, I thought one package would be more than sufficient.

All I have left to get done before taking off tomorrow morning is a trip up to the property to drop a bunch of stuff off, which might get delayed since we got a lot more snow than we were supposed to, and just packing things up.  I intend to go out to Albany tomorrow, spend the day with Aunt and Uncle, and then stay the evening at Mike's.

Mailbox checked off the list.

While not technically 100% complete, I haven't installed the bracket, I put the name and numbers on the mailbox today.




I also continued work on the AC cover for Andy.  Frustratingly, I split two of the rear cross beam supports.  I think I will drill and use screws for the third one.  I had been using my air nailer.
The first casualty:


I have the beam cut and the support on the right installed.  I haven't decided yet whether or not something to keep the board from falling off the back will be required.


I also got the box framing for the roof done.  The brackets are in addition to some long screws that took forever to put in with only the little driver.  It also has the main "rafter" installed.


I also went and picked up the ripped board from Tim.  I had him do it since it was easier than bringing my table saw back to my apartment to rip one board and then bring it back to the shed.  He also had an extra inverter lying around which he is letting me borrow until I get the power up there fixed.  One of the ripped boards is for the center "rafter" and the other will be used to make a lip along the outer edge so that it sets on and stays put on the rest of the frame.


I am not sure if I will get much done tomorrow, it is supposed to be cold and rainy, but I hope to at least finish the roof part and get the fiberglass done.  I intend to use Andy as a guinea pig to see how well the fiberglass holds up to a winter.  

The updated to-do list (it is getting smaller!):

1. Buy a new truck.
2. Install the outrigger supports on the shed.
3. Install the inter-rafter supports for the ridge board.
• Boards cut, need to be installed
4. Rework the pilings for the shed.
5. Remove the trailer tanks.
6. Sand and paint the trailer.
7. Weld the new pieces onto the trailer.
• This will likely get pushed out to next year.
8. Put gravel down in the driveway.
• Nice to have.
9. Install driveway markers.
10. Stabilize the mowers.
11. Cover the piles and stuff on the slab.
12. Electrical panel work.
• Nice to have
13. Install the mailbox.

Another casualty.

Since I didn't get up until almost noon (what a bum...) I didn't get as much done today as I had hoped.  I did manage to get the mailbox installed though.  I do have a bracket for the 4x4 junction, but I forgot it at home, I left in a bit of a hurry because of how late it was.  Sorry for the crappy pictures, I also forgot to grab my camera.

Unfortunately it came at the expense of another unexpected tool failure.  My new drill that I just bought in July apparently has turned it chuck into goo.  It still spins, but as soon as you put any resistance on it, it makes a very bad grinding sound and the chuck stops.  I will be looking at RMA'ing it.  At least I managed to get all but a couple of the screws into the mailbox before it gave up.

I did get a little bit done when I got home, including cutting the boards for the rafter supports, and got another couple of pieces cut for the AC cover for Andy, but didn't get anything installed.  

Nice weather and a productive day.

I went up and got the entire frame painted today.  It was plenty warm enough, and I spent most of the day up at the property.

here is a before and after:




The whole frame is done. I only got one heavier coat on it, but that will hopefully be sufficient.




I also got the back mowed while I went to run the push mower out of gas.  Both mowers are now stabilized.  I had run the tractor out of gas a while ago, and now apparently the battery is dead.  I will deal with it in the spring.


Before I left, I tried to move the trailer into the spot where it is going to eventually go, but while I can lift the front of the trailer and push it around, the dual axles make it near impossible to turn by hand.

I also got the bulk of the air conditioner cover for Andy done.  All that is left is the top and some hooks in the back for the cross beam.


So just as an update, the to-do list:

1. Buy a new truck.
2. Install the outrigger supports on the shed.
3. Install the inter-rafter supports for the ridge board.
• Design done, boards need to be cut.
4. Rework the pilings for the shed.
5. Remove the trailer tanks.
6. Sand and paint the trailer.
7. Weld the new pieces onto the trailer.
• This will likely get pushed out to next year.
8. Put gravel down in the driveway.
• Nice to have.
9. Install driveway markers.
10. Stabilize the mowers.
11. Cover the piles and stuff on the slab.
12. Electrical panel work.
• Nice to have
13. Install the mailbox.
• Post installed.

Weather didn't cooperate, but at least it wasn't a wasted day.

Happy Veteran's Day!  It wasn't supposed to rain at all, but when I woke up this morning, it was raining.  I also missed that the high for the day was at 8AM.  I had intended to go up and paint today, but that obviously didn't happen.  I did go up to the property though to pick up some tools, and it was snowing up there.  Paint would not have gone well.  To add insult to injury, I actually forgot that today was Veteran's day, and had also planned to go take care of property taxes and truck registration (I am still running on the temporary plate...  Which expired a week ago).  That didn't work out well either.

Today was not a complete lost cause though.  I did get some time after everything that wasn't supposed to be cleared out to start on the air conditioner cover for Andy.  The side that is a joint is all ready for further construction, the other set I still need to go over with a rasp and file to smooth everything out and make it not so tight.


I think my circular saw is officially toast, it cut out several times during the cutting.  Good thing I will be using the miter saw for the rest of the cuts.

I also got some of the plastic up.  I have everything cut for the living room, but ran out of tape.  I have another box which has another roll in it for the bedroom though, so I should have some leftover from that I hope to finish the living room.  With a little motivation, all my windows should be winterized this evening, which is good since my heat has been running for the last couple weeks.

Preliminary results in

I went up to the property today during my lunch break, and scoped things out.  It appears that the concrete set, but didn't seem to grip liked I hoped it would.  I had hoped it would stick to the heavy clay a lot better than it did, but oh well.  I can move the post with my hand without too much trouble.  But it will do fine until it starts to lean, so I finished burying the post in.  Now just to cut it and install the mailbox.


I got a good look at the trailer today.  I am not impressed with how the rust converter came out.  Interestingly enough, it looks great on the rustier parts that I covered, but a lot of the frame wasn't rusted, and on the spots that had just started to get a tiny bit of surface or weren't rusted at all, it didn't come out well.




For a head to head comparison against what I did with the wire wheel and paint.  I like the wire wheel job better.


I will withhold judgement until spring though.  If it doesn't look any worse come spring, then it still did its job.  It is also just a primer, it is meant to be painted.  If it looks crappy or rust starts to come through it, I can deal with it in the spring.

Trailer is done!

The trailer is completely done.  It took a little longer than expected (like everything seemingly has) but I allocated the whole day to it, so I had plenty of time.  It also never even got remotely close to the temperature it was supposed to be, but was still barely warm enough.  The high was supposed to be 66, the highest I measured was 57.


This is what it looks like going on.  It turns black very quickly, but the bluish whitish liquid takes a few hours to dry.


The whole trailer is done.  This turned out to just be the first coat.  It is supposed to be one coat and done, but it is supposed to be a heavy coat, and mine was apparently heavy enough, so I had to do a second one.  My roller worked better than a brush, but I should have gotten a nice roller, not a cheap one.


The finished product.  I might still paint it (this is only a primer) if I get the chance, but I am not holding out much hope for that.


I got the hole dug for the mailbox this morning as it was warming up.  It is about 18-20 inches deep, so it should be plenty deep enough.


Unfortunately I realized that the spare 4x4 I had lying around needs a bunch of work to detach it from the framing it was previously on, and apparently the two bags of concrete I had got wet at some point, so I had to go get a new 4x4 and bag of concrete.  The post is in though.  I hope it cures properly.  It is supposed to set in 20-40 minutes, but I left after an hour and it was still soupy.  This is no-mix concrete, and I did follow the directions, so we shall see.


I will have to cut it off with a hand saw to the correct height and make the arm once it cures.


While I was waiting for the concrete to set, I noticed that I apparently have an apple tree.  Not sure what kind.  It doesn't have thorns and the apples don't really look like crabapples, so I will have to nab one and find out.



Got a nice view of the sunset on the way home.  The picture isn't great since I took it while driving, but it was a nice view.


I also think I saw a deer today, in my back yard.  I heard something large moving, so I got up from under the trailer to look, and I saw a white tail bobbing walking away, a few feet off the ground.

I checked off another item on the to do list:

1. Buy a new truck.
2. Install the outrigger supports on the shed.
3. Install the inter-rafter supports for the ridge board.
• Design done, boards need to be cut.
4. Rework the pilings for the shed.
5. Remove the trailer tanks.
6. Sand and paint the trailer.
7. Weld the new pieces onto the trailer.
• This will likely get pushed out to next year.
8. Put gravel down in the driveway.
• Nice to have.
9. Install driveway markers.
10. Stabilize the mowers.
11. Cover the piles and stuff on the slab.
12. Electrical panel work.
• Nice to have
13. Install the mailbox.
• Post installed.