Looks Like November

And I'm not interested! Low of 38 degrees this morning got me to thinking time to get some use out of the firewood collected this past summer, though I didn't expect to be using it for another four weeks. The annual migration to Florida will begin earlier this year, much earlier.

Last week son Ryan and I started insulating the crawlspace. I'm 3/4 of the way done with no interest in going down there until my back begins to feel better. Yep, can't do things like I used to be able to do, even five years ago. It made a pretty boring weekend doing nothing but laying on the couch for the most part. Incidentally Ryan has gone back to Florida. It was a combo decision. Afterall, there just isn't much up here for a kid that has no interest in doing the kind of things people his age do. IE drinking and partying. Besides he has an interest in a lady down south. Good for you son. Be happy and go for it!

Oh, a month ago I said to hell with that lawn, but thinking it through I knew I'd regret it come spring. So throw a little Rye and some Fescue and hopefully it will look halfway decent come May of next year. At least this time around the seed didn't get washed away like the heavy rains of last fall. Looks pretty strange eh? Hoping the Fescue will blend in once it germinates. I didn't have a very well organized plan of attack this time around.

Time For Some Maintenance

I let this repair drag on mainly because I didn't want to hear the worst case scenario. My fear is the drain field may be clogged from who knows what. Having discovered and uncovered part of where the septic was two months ago, the honey truck was finally called in. Knowing very little about the systems, that darned Sycamore only 20 feet away tree started leaching into it. Scott the crapper pumper mentioned in typical Georgia drawl..."Kin, you jest mite have some roots growin' and cloggin' it all up(where it empties into the drain field) on the other side."

Shown in the first pic is a side view before pumping. This is a 1,000 gallon tank (two people have said that) that I guess measures something like 10 x 10 x 10...but it looks like only five feet wide? Apparently it extends about 10 feet to the left in the picture below.

Shown from above or on the side porch, all sorts of smallish roots and matted material...

So that's where I'm at now. I need to dig up other side so I can access the other lid and find out what's clogging it. Hopefully it's a simple cure because the drain field runs into my new garden areas. Why this tank was built this way doesn't make sense, but this place was designed as a weekend retreat and not a permanent home. Accessing the tank requires digging under two foot of soil. I suppose it needs to be pumped every 5-7 years according to Scott but I have plans for a wooden stair way here similar to the one on the other side of the house but longer... That sure screws things up!

And we have a roofer in the house. After the bird feeder got dumped a few months ago it needed a roofing repair....

Need More Space

I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately. There just ain't no room if I get visitors. Well one is fine, but what if sister Kim can drag along her hubby to the mountains. Hey, at least it's not like muggy Florida. May would be a great month...my favorite, when everything is so vividly green.

Then we have my son Ryan. It's too crowded with Mom coming up as well. And I have thoughts of selling  floors online again...no Ryan can do that...he has an interest and is very good at it.  Maybe two or three products...with the traffic I'm now getting, there's money to be made. It may be up his alley, but I don't want the hassle.

But...there's a space problem for sure. I thought about a temp trailer, an addition, then finally...a detached garage with an apartment upstairs! It would work great as an office area too. So here are some ideas. Preferably I'm looking for something that doesn't overwhelm the small cabin in the dimensions of 20 x 36 deep or so. Plenty of room for a workshop downstairs, and space for equipment, when or if we ever get into the installation thing we've talked about. Business on that end is downright dreary and the more I learn about the Atlanta market, it may not be worth pursuing...extremely competitive and low priced.

Just a few ideas. A balcony in the front upstairs is a must. French doors or sliders so one can enjoy the mornings. The garage would be situated on the west of the cabin.

Some initial ideas.

I like #3 with some adjustments. It would also be the same dovetailed log scheme as the cabin.

Sealing Deck From Rainfall

I could not resist this idea while checking out the Home Depot in Blue Ridge Friday. I had doubts about using the plastic sheathing and plywood all along in keeping water out. I always thought "Great Stuff" that foamy insulation in a spray can was for insulating but it claims to work as a water proofer too.

Two opinions from actual knowledgeable guys at Home Depot sold me on the idea. Good advice is rare these days in HD except for this store. Lot's of orange smopped folks looking to help. The outcome doesn't look pretty. I may just foam it from the topside and trowel it into the cracks. At least this way I'll get a more uniform appearance, but lose the rustic look. I'll have to think about that because all the excess will have to be sanded off. Now the porch will have to be painted.

Another reason for this alternative: I can't stand up down there with plywood on the floor joists. It's no fun ducking while walking in and around the other storage. Had I known about Great Stuff before I could have sealed the other area better. At least the perimeter above the walls from the inside.

Always looking for ideas. Make a comment...please!

Lattice Painting - Can You See It?

Another flaw, yikes. Incidentally I managed to line up the lattice after sleeping on it. I was really trying the save one full "sheet" and the leftover pieces didn't cut it. Any guesses on what's wrong in this picture? It's not the seams in the lattice, nor the paint job either. That's unavoidable.

Painting the lattice is a breeze with the right tools. I could not imagine doing this by hand!

Last few things to do

• Build the ceiling inside
• Build a table inside and thingies to hang tools on.
• Bring in some rock for the floor.
  
• Grade the open part near the door on porch.
  

Next project? Aerate the lawn. After spending about 45 minutes last night doing a small portion (70 SF) by hand, I've come to realize I really don't want to spend 24 hours aerating the lawn manually. I may change my mind after the expected rain ahead of us. It may soften the soil enough to make it easier, but I'll call around to see what it costs to have a lawn guy do it.

Btw, remember those problems I spoke of in the past? IE; blogger not working well, hard to work with, photos etc? Oh and all those freaking DIV tags it likes to stick in there. It's an Internet explorer problem. I may finally be using Mozilla from now on. I'm tired of taking these PC's to the shop.

Added August 29...the window is level

Can't See It From My House. How About Yours?

Fairly common expression in home construction or at least what I've heard. It it wasn't perfect and not noticeable unless you looked for, it became... "can't be seen from my house." The missing lattice portion under the window is off considerably, but it sure looks like a great place for some bushes huh?

Why didn't the lattice go all the way to the ground? The plywood will be coated with a roofing tar/sealer then backfilled with dirt. A year or so it will never be seen with some plants and or bushes.

I may have this painted Wednesday once I get the itty bitty areas completed. The window frame and sash will be green like the rest of the cabin trim.

Making A Door - More Carpentry Work

I've always enjoyed doing this stuff. It's too bad I didn't have more time in May of '08 to do the original larger storage area that lies below the main porch. Tom the handyman did do a great job, but we should have thought more about trying to keep the place water tight.

It works, but from time to time I see moisture running down the walls when it rains. My rope trick from above the porch has helped considerably in keeping much of the water from leaking on tools and so forth. The area is only protected by pressure treated plywood as a ceiling. Prior to the rope, rain water would seep through the seams

It looks messy now from the mud and recent rains, but someday I'll paint the entire area. Installing the rope was a real time consumer, and I'd rather not do it on the other side for now. Instead here's some progress on moisture control from above in the new area. That's as far as I got...boring work.

On to making a door. I thought breaking up the continuous lattice look, so I wrangled some lumber from Lowes. It's actually made from 5/4 decking material...and heavy. Probably because it's soaked with moisture. I just hope it doesn't shrink that much when kit dries out...yikes.

Progress... a bit nippy Sunday morning...notice garb...and why does he wear a hat all...er, most of the time? It's a better pencil holder than my ears.

56 degrees 8AM

Final product. Whatcha think? Carve a quarter moon in the center of the door?


Still haven't found a window. Other side incomplete.

I'm Not A Block Mason For Sure

I'm not handy with the trowel so I probably lost more than a third of the cement when it fell in between the block. I actually resorted to using my hands on part of this wall that has been constructed on top of a footer (above) I poured a few days ago. For the wall built (below) I used 3 1/2 -60 lb bags of mortar mix. Experts probably use two. At least it's level, but it does look off comparing the deck eh? The deck was designed to slope for rain water runoff, but it falls in between the deck boards.

How to keep this thing water tight has been a thought provoker. So here's the plan. Create some channels in the floor joist system (notch out with a sawsaw) staple visqueen (plastic sheathing) to joists then add 1/2 inch pressure treated plywood. Water will then run through the channels and out to the left, away from the wood part so I don't get wood rot down the road. I figured on gluing some small pieces of PVC pipe illustrated below. Difficult to explain. More pictures in a few days.

That's half of the water problem. In the above photo there's an area of about four feet (lattice covers) where the decking is open as well. I figure instead of spending more dough on plywood, grade (circled) it so the water runs away from the new area and cover with visqueen. This way there's no hydrostatic pressure against the new block wall. Too much pressure and it could fall over...eventually.

Once everything is enclosed I'll wheel some 3/4 inch gravel into the area to be used as the floor. Doors should be another interesting project. One to enter from the yard and another so the crawl space and HVAC unit can be accessed.

Why the wall? After all it's about 30 inches away from the the new framing in the photo above. I wanted extra space and couldn't risk digging out more dirt close to the column that supports part of the porch. That area will serve as a ledge filled in with more gravel.

Lattice Under Porch Started

Stocked up on some lumber at Lowes Wednesday morning for the lattice/garden storage project. I wasn't pleased with the quality of the lattice particularly the way they were put together. Looking closely (above) at the way these things are manufactured, a better staple would work better as they tend to fall apart too easily unless handled gingerly.

Simple carpentry chores is a good change of pace from the sometimes grueling landscaping I've been doing the last few weeks. Unfortunately there isn't much of this work left. Anyway, the west side of the cabin is beginning to improve.

You'll probably notice there aren't many pictures from these angles. I have never been fond of the addition that was added within the last five years by the previous owner that serves as the laundry area. A stacked washer and dryer had been located in the kitchen making it quite crowded I would guess.

The addition did not take the stain job the same as the white pine logs because it's rough panel type plywood. Additionally there is no chinking. Maybe a solid stain paint job with off white chinking is in the cards? Once I spray paint the lattice I may have a better idea of the color. The same color looks well matched on the creek side of the cabin with the larger storage area.

Before starting the project...

This larger open area accesses the water shutoff valve from the spring. I thought about creating a swinging door for it but laying a loose panel in the area works just as well (below). It also serves as a good lumber storage area.

A wider view before...

And halfway into the project...

From another angle...

Now the hard part; how to frame out the enclosed storage area. I may have some pictures by the end of the day.


PM- With a paint job...

Started framing...

Neglected Projects - Back To Life

I've abondaned a few projects along the way. It's kind of... well...I'm not in the mood for that today. One in particular is this cabinet I was going to make to store all of my video equipment. Started in late June, it still sits on the side porch under a tarp.

I spent a half day on that one and was asked "are you sure you want to start that now?" Somebody was right. Six weeks and no progress. I'm still not in the mood. When finished it will stand eight foot tall by about 44 inches wide and will go against the wall where the clock is.

Here's another stalled project down near the creek. This one has been going on since last September. I had ideas to stick a fire pit in there somewhere but...I may have other places for it. I may just extend the same dimension for the path and create a low growing garden in between it and the creek?

And the next one has really been bugging me. What a frigging mess. I do need a little extra area underneath to store stuff especially the plant things as they are begining to get numerous. You would think there's enough room in the original storage/tool shed but half of it is taken up by furniture that I brought up from Florida. I had plans to put an addition on this place where Fred now "stands." But I don't think it's a wise choice for now.

So. I'm going to give it a whirl and create some space under there with a lattice cover. This one sounds promising. I just may head out to Lowes for some lumber. Somebody, I wonder who? Hinted at creating a small space for garden stuff and I think she's right. It would fit in nicely.

Hopefully it will look something like this, but not white.

Before on east side...

After...

New Pine Stair Treads On Steps

They call it a rustic cabin, but this was too rustic for me. The stairs that lead to the loft were never finished. The treads were installed with 2 x 12 framing lumber and 1x pine risers. Today these steps would never pass code wherever you lived. I had a difficult time walking them because the rise was not calculated properly; creating a tripping hazard.

Pine tread material source was 515 Lumber south of the Walmart shopping center on highway 515. These guys have a nice selection of treads running longer than eight feet. You will not find this in any home improvement store. Nothing over 48 inches can be found.

All existing treads and risers were removed exposing the stair stringers. What I couldn't get through my mind was how to go about the starting area at the bottom (photo above). Why not box it out I thought?

For more on how the project was done visit Installing Pine Stair Treads On Steps

Final pictures...

Log Cabin Window Screening Alternative

The actual window screening of the cabin was worn and outdated. These must be considered stretch in type screens. Fastened at the top with a thin aluminum bar and on the bottom with clips that are stretched over two screws and attached to the sill. The stretch was gone allowing for voids on the sides. Fortunately bug problems in this area are minor except for bees. Having lived through most of the summer months, nary a mosquito has been felt or seen.

For a solution I thought I'd have to call in an expert who would install a frame for the screens to slide into. I put it off for a few months thinking I could come up with another idea, until my real estate bud Jim Stover mentioned Ace Hardware can do custom screens for a reasonable price.

The new screens for eleven windows ran about $250.00. They're not the thick aluminum gauge the previous screens were. Framed on all four sides allowed for some rigidity. The installation procedure was similar to the older ones but left for a tighter fit around the frame. Removing and reinstalling the new took approximately four hours.

For each window, two swivel type clips were fastened on each side (shown above, upper right corner). These allow for the screens to be inserted on an angle from the bottom then pushed into place allowing for a firm fit without any voids. Only available in one color, aluminum, all of them were painted to match the screen border frame before use.

Once the screen is inserted from the outside ordinary galvanized screws were attached on each side of the sill. Placed in an area allowing for the tightest fit, the new clips (hooks) are pulled tightly over the screws. Also shown is an existing screw from the older screens that I couldn't remove.

Final appearance...

Mother Nature Stone - Installing Rock On Foundation

Natural stone has always impressed me. I had to do something with this awful looking block foundation so I took a trip up 515 near Blue Ridge to a place called Mother Nature Stone. I was taken back by the selections with not only color but style of stone. Choosing what type to use was no problem. Finding someone to handle the job was another, so I inquired about hiring help. The office gal pulled out a list of 20 installers then I said, "let's skip to the chase, who is the best?"


Before...

During...

After...

Stone Type: Mountain Laurel. Local.

Enter Rock On Dude

I can't recall his actual first name because everyone called him hippie including the folks at Mother Nature. Rock On is the name of his company. Appearances can be deceiving eh? What became more amaizing was his foot wear. I guess hippy never heard of OSHA because he wore sandals! I can't imagine going through life as a stone mason wearing those! But he claimed he never had any accidents...LOL.

Hippy had an impressive portfolio of job photos from all over Gilmer and Fanin County. I can't say enough about the actual quality work he handled but he did fail to seal the stone after it was done. Failing to follow through on work discussed in this area is commonplace. I just look at it this way..."you won't get any referrals from me...nor any more work, I'll do it"

The sealing was supposed to be done after I went back to Florida in June '07. His prices were a bit high too, but I figured I may as well learn from the best because I wasn't about to keep paying these locals the kind of money they wanted for work if they can't finish what was agreed on. A lot more work is in the plans including a retaining wall around the parking area, flagstone walkway to the creek, patio, outdoor fireplace and who knows what else when I get bored.

Next. Fix that gawd awful faded stain job that had been neglected for years. Time to brighten the place up after the tree guy is called in. The painting contractor to this date is one I have been the most satisfied with. He will get referrals and calls later. Name: Jason Avery of Ellijay.