Getting the site ready for some rain.

The first thing I did today was I finished the piling.


Upon closer inspection, the concrete cracked overnight.  Time will tell if it is strong enough to hold up.


I decided to use a drum that was already up there to give my tarp some pitch to it.  I also put a long 2x4 on it to help give it a center ridge.  We shall see if that is sufficient.


I also got the tarp tied down around the outside of the shed.  I used string this time, knowing how well the staples have held.






I also covered up the concrete and put it on top of some 2x4s so that it won't get wet.


The storms were definitely rolling in, but it made for a colorful sunset.  Unfortunately I couldn't set up the camera properly for a sunset shot, but it was a very vivid orange tonight.

Nice day

The first order of business was I tuned up the lawnmower.  The oil in it was pretty bad, it was approaching sludge consistency, was completely opaque, and was way overdue.  I didn't do any maintenance on the mower last year since I wasn't sure it was going to survive the brush-hogging I was doing with it.


The air filter was bad.


Really bad.  I have never seen a mold like that.


The mower still needs the blades sharpened.  I tried to find a discharge blade, but was unable to.  For the time being I might just sharpen one on it.  It is a mulching blade, but it seems to be all you can buy.


It seemed pretty clear that the back bricks were the most off-kilter, so I decided to start there with the concrete.


I didn't have to go far to reach rock.


I decided to use a no-mix concrete.  It might work ok for posts and stuff like that, but it didn't work for my application.  I actually wanted to make a column of concrete going all the way up to the 4x4.  I bought one of those form tubes that they use, but quickly ran into a problem.  When I poured the water in, it all ran out the bottom of the tube (I poured the concrete in first).  Since I had the tube at an angle to pour stuff in it, when I straightened it up, everything plopped out the bottom.  I decided to pull the tube off, and I noticed when I pulled it out that most of the concrete in the tube was still completely dry, so the no-mix appears to have failed.  I still think it is mostly my application though, filling in a hole in the ground the water won't run completely out of the form.

Instead I decided to pull up the tube, and just make a piling.  The end result seems to have come out ok.  Assuming the concrete is well enough mixed, it would have adhered to the rock and this shouldn't go anywhere, it just means that I still the concrete blocks there.  At least it is reasonably level though.


I also finished the front part of the loft while the concrete was curing.  It didn't really need the braces in it, so I didn't bother with them.


I also learned from my last experience, and put a chalk line down where the support was so I didn't miss it with the nail gun.  I missed only one nail, and it was because it was at an angle.


I didn't quite finish the piling.  Apparently I forgot to bring up my pry bar, so I will have to do that tomorrow.  I left it up on the bottle jack for the night, though the blocks and stuff are there in case the bottle jack leaks or gives out.

Progress at a cost

I had a rough start to this weekend.  I ended prematurely on Friday because I apparently thought my finger needed some ventilation.  My hand slipped right as I pulled the trigger on the air nailer, and I ended up with a hole in my finger.  It didn't hurt (I apparently whacked the nerves in the finger) but blood pouring down my hand seemed like a bad idea, so I called it a night.

While it hurt more today than yesterday, it looks much better, though the finger is noticeably swollen, so I wore a glove all day when I was working.  After cleaning it out again today, it doesn't look bad at all.


Then just to continue the run of bad luck, the wind blew my hat off the block I set it on.  Despite the hat being cushy, and the only thing in the hat with the camera was my wallet, nothing hard, my camera finally decided to die.  The camera does still work, but without the LCD, I am pretty much shooting blind, so I apologize if my pictures the next few days are not well photographed.


Despite all the setbacks though, I did make some progress today.  The loft supports are installed, as is the flooring.  The supports are conveniently located at the edges of the flooring for the plywood.


I still sometimes have trouble nailing in a straight line.  When I work on the trailer, I will have to mark the lines to nail on.


The loft isn't technically complete, there is still a little bit at the edge.  Unfortunately, since the supports aren't all square, it will be an odd piece, and I might have to put in another 2x6 joist to support it.  I fixed the square issue on one end because I saw it in time, but didn't catch this side until it was too late.


I also borrowed a bottle jack and fixed the center support, so the floor framing is now sitting on the center 4x4 again.  I intend to take the large piles of blocks and actually pour concrete pilings for them.

Lifting up the beam.


The front fixed.  The floor creaks a bit less now when you step in, since it is actually supported.

Musings of the week.

Yesterday I went and picked up some stuff that one of my coworkers was tossing.  It is all pressure treated.  I intend to use the 4x4 for my mailbox.  The rest doesn't have a plan yet.


He also had an old wheelbarrow.  The handles were in good shape.


But the bucket needs work.


Also yesterday I got everything marked.  I had enough scrap to get it all done.


Didn't need my new boards.  So I have some 2x6 boards in case I need them.


Today, I got all the supports cut.


I tried to make a fence to cut the floor, much like I did when I cut my table top.  It didn't work nearly as well.  I will have to bring up my sander to straighten the cut a little.

A little more progress

I slept in a bit today and got a late start, but managed to put up the last of the joists for the loft.


I also got the plywood required for the flooring.


Unfortunately the generator ran out of gas, but everything is set up for the next step.  I have all the measurements I need for supports, and once those are in place then I can nail down the flooring.




I put the tarp back up as it was before, but made an amendment so that it has a spot to run off out of the shed.

Very good day

Fortunately all the rain and everything moved off last night.  So today Tim and I got the last wall standing.


In addition, we also got a lot of the joists for the loft installed.




I noticed as I was walking around that the grass is starting to turn green and dandelions have started blooming.  Looks like I will need to get my mower tuned up soon.

Tarp reapplied

Since it is supposed to rain again tomorrow, I got the tarp put back up.  Hopefully all the new holes and structural deficiencies from being ripped off aren't an issue.

Everything is set back up


The front is reattached too.


I  made a couple of upgrades.  The first was to make sure the tie down on the back didn't slide off.  I think that might have been the last straw in the last failure.


I also strapped the side on that came off as well as re-stapling it.  I ran out of string so made due with that I had.  It is hard to see, but there is string tying the front on, a ratchet strap in the middle, and the remainder of my string and a bungee cord on the back.

Snow kicked the tarp while it was down.

So the tarp collapsed even worse, which is partially my fault since I went up there, sighed and didn't do anything about it yesterday.  The end result was that I had a giant mound of snow, and a bunch of it went under the wall that I put the siding on.


Fortunately I was able to lift the wall by myself (it was friggin' heavy let me tell you) and hold it up long enough to a support under it.


But I got everything shoveled and swept.


I also had trivia tonight, we won second place, though I didn't help too much tonight.  We won a gift card for dinner and drinks, and I also got a couple of beer glasses.