I got quite a bit done this weekend. I left a little early on Friday and actually had enough daylight left to get some stuff done.
The first thing I did was flip the carport back over. I just attached straps to the corners, and pivoted it while keeping it from flexing too bad back over the way it flipped originally. It isn't heavy so it wasn't difficult, and worked surprisingly easy. I had more control with the two straps than I expected.
Surprisingly, when I opened it up and peered in, there was no apparent structural damage. All the poles and beams still looked straight, though the structure was a little twisted.
I started to disassemble it, but realized that I hadn't put the storage bin together yet. This is where I stopped.
The storage bin is assembled. It is overkill for the volume of the carport, but it was the smallest I could find that I could put the 54" poles in.
I got that done just in the nick of time.
Saturday was a tractor day. I got the power center charged up, with the intent of pulling it out. I thought I had screw in hooks, but apparently I didn't, or at least not ones beefy enough to handle that kind of weight. I will pick up some this week.
I greased the tractor. It didn't take much grease, I have been pretty diligent about doing it.
It was close enough to being due. It is every ten hours, which seems a bit excessive to me, but since ~90% of the tractor's hours are loader use I stick to it.
I started more of the driveway. I at least need to get that done before winter. I noticed that the grading blade on the back started dragging even when fully raised however, so I checked the hydraulic fluid (which was still in the good zone) and just tightened up the three point hitch. To be honest, I don't really understand how this could have loosened up; you have to drop the blade to adjust it, and this was the first time in over a year the blade has been off the tractor. I use it mostly as a counter weight for the bucket, so the blade hasn't seen a lot of action.
This was as far as I got on Saturday, I went to a cookout Saturday night.
Andy made fresh apple cider donuts which certainly helped me put on a few pounds. I brought cider and egg nog. I heated some of the cider in the crock pot since it was a little chilly, but the crock pot doesn't seal nearly as well as I hoped. Thankfully I had a towel wrapped around it and didn't pour a bunch of it in my truck, but I arrived with a wet towel and noticeably less cider than I left with.
Sunday I started more of the driveway, but after lunch moved over to the taking down the carport for some variety. I already had the tractor out, so I used it as a transporter. Most of the tape I put on the joints came right off, though some of it was a pain.
It all fit nicely in the storage container. It didn't even fill it halfway.
So I moved a bunch of other stuff from the carport into it as well, most notably my sprayer and the wire racks I got from Mike, which I intend to set up in the shed (and maybe one in the carport if I have space) to clear out the carport.
The reason for that is I put a few bucket loads of gravel in there. A couple of times last winter the tractor tires got frozen into the ground, since they were in a puddle which then froze. I never had trouble getting it out, but this should ensure I won't going forward. I didn't do much spreading; this will likely have to be done by hand because of all the stuff, and can be done at night since I have light in the carport.
I also did a couple of other odds and ends, like rearranging stuff on the slab, and I bungee corded my grill down to the table so it doesn't take a tour of the back yard.
I also finished up the driveway, or at least as much as I intend to do this winter. I got it redone all the way down to the leech field. The bottom portion was already fairly smooth, and I didn't have enough gravel left to do it. To be honest, I didn't even expect to get as far as I did with the pile.
There is still a little bit left too. If I have time, I might finish leveling the parking spot at the bottom, but that is low priority since I don't normally clear it.
Somebody needs a little practice making a straight line...
I know it isn't crushed stone, which in theory shifts less creates a more solid layer due to its rough edges catching better, but I really like this stuff. It makes a nicer and smoother surface that I can walk on barefoot even with my feet being super-wimp. I actually did part of the manual smoothing with the bo-rake in slippers and it didn't hurt my feet. It took five years, but I finally have a nice driveway (well, mostly).
I am not sure how I am going to clear the driveway this winter. I settled on getting a snowblower for the tractor, but good luck finding one right now. I might just stick with my walk behind snowblower this year, and try to order a tractor one before November next year. It isn't in theory supposed to be a really snowy winter, more chilly than snowy.
This completes the driveway for this year. I didn't get around to doing the leveling in the yard and I might not. There is only one weekend left before I go down for Thanksgiving, which is the LAN so I will likely not be around, and courtesy of daylight savings (which I hate), even if I leave early from work now, I won't have enough daylight (unless I take a half day, which is tougher to sell). Nothing left on the checklist is critical for before winter. I dislike postponing the shed support work, but as I mentioned in the last post, it is too cold for concrete.
2021 Projects:
Before Trip (currently planned for 10/16)Camper Power Center (portable AC power source and generator)Baffle box
- Before Ground freezes/Gets too cold
- Shed supports
- South wall siding
Driveway round three- Level back yard
- Level front yard
- Before Snow cover
- Remove dead/dying beech trees
Winter projects:
- Fix shed floor.
- Review options for house (mobile home vs stick built vs modular)
