Beginning Framing of Dormer

With all the work we've been doing preparing for the farmer's market, I haven't had as much time to work on the barn, which is a bummer because I am under a time constraint. I need to get those dormers done in a reasonable time, i.e., before the roofers give me a hard time. Then again, they got their money, what do they care?

I did finish framing one of the dormers-note the before and after (the lower pic is the after), not to mention the new fascia. Now that it is framed, I can Tyvek the beast and get the windows in, which we have. On the subject of Tyvek, I was worried that I might have to buy a huge roll (they're 9 feet high) to finish the wrapping, but of course, in steps my Mentor to suggest that I look into finding smaller rolls. Sure enough, they had smaller, cheaper (yay!) ones at Home Depot, so I didn't need to get the big rolls. That's why every real-man in training needs a mentor.

I am tempted to put the siding on now that I'm all set up on that end, but need, of course, to get more supplies, like shiplap pine. Fortunately, now that Britton's has been saved from insolvency by Bethel Mills, I can get wood nearby. I'm thinking I'll do that, because once the standing seam roof is in, I think standing up there will be harder. No more roof jacks, that's for sure. Speaking of roof jacks, now that I've got them, suddenly everyone I know has them and told me I shouldn't have bought them and could have borrowed them, instead. Where were you when I needed you most?

Life can be so unfair, but I'm not complaining.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.

Real Men at Work

Boy, just as I was thinking that I was on my way to being a real man, I watched a bunch of loggers clear a hill and realized there is still work that needs to be done.

Our neighbor is clearing perhaps hundreds of trees off his land, and he brought in a logging company to do the job. Being the nice person that he is, JH contacted us to tell us that they were beginning and if we wanted to watch. We had seen them delivering the equipment, and it was pretty impressive stuff, but nothing compared to actually seeing it in action.

They basically had a five-man crew. On guy ran the cutter, which is a big tractor with claws to grip the tree while a saw cuts it cleanly off at the base. Another tractor picks up the fallen trees and drags them to the clearing, where a third machine lays them on a platform and cuts them with this massive circular saw. Finally, there was this incredible chipper that literally ground up entire trees, some of which were at least 2 feet in diameter, and filled the back of an 18-wheeler. There was also this guy who was the rover who trimmed the logs with a massive chainsaw that made mine look like a toy, albeit a manly toy, but a toy nonetheless. It really brought to light how forests are clear cut, amazing stuff.

N couldn't get enough, it was better than TV, and I have to confess, it was pretty cool. A was a little tepid to whole thing because I think the noise and gas fumes were getting to her, but she was still impressed, just a little less so.

We could have stayed there all day, and N was bummed when we had to go eat, but I'd learned that they will be there all next week, so we have something else to look forward to. I still can't get over how quickly and efficiently they cut down those trees.

And I know one thing, when those loggers go out to eat, they sure as heck didn't spend too much time at the salad bar. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some firewood to cut.

Until then, thanks for reading.

Firewood Insecurity

With most of the woodpile now cut up into blocks (7 cords), I can set my sites on several new goals. First, moving that woodpile over to the splitting area, splitting it, and then stacking it. They say wood warms you two times, but that's a gross understatement if there ever was one. And, of course, I need to get another truckload of tree length so I can keep my chainsaw busy. Boy, you just can't beat a chainsaw as a manly toy. Loud, dangerous, and uses gasoline. What more can you ask for?

On the subject of log length wood, I contacted our wood source and haven't heard back from him, which kind of makes an OCD type like myself a bit uneasy. I'm not really comfortable until the pile of wood is sitting in our yard. Then, I can obsess over something else.

Until then, thanks for reading.

More Roof Brackets, Fascia Done (sort of)

After consulting with my Mentor, who reassured me that putting nails through the roof was standard practice, especially in light of the fact that we were replacing the roof anyway with a standing seam, I went ahead and put in the roof brackets. I needed two more and our good friend CF said he had plenty and not to buy anymore but borrow them from him. Sounds good to me, though they are not exorbitantly expensive. These things add up, however, and being frugal is just in my genes. For the record, as my Mentor knows, I suffer for it.

With the brackets in (note the green rope-for my harness), I now needed something that would extend the platform up the root and allow me to work higher up. An extra ladder would have worked perfectly, but I don't have an extra ladder. I had to make this crazy elaborate set up just to get onto the platform which involved one ladder flush with the roof and a second ladder just to get up to that one. I could have borrowed a ladder, there are plenty out there, and our good friend and neighbor K&BJ offered his (they have several, they're farmers), but I figured I could come up with a solution that was simpler, cheaper, and definitely much less safe.

So I built one. I figured it doesn't have to be perfect because it is not holding up my total weight since it will be laying flat against the roof. It works pretty well, and in a pinch, I can still borrow one, but for now, this works fine. In fact, I don't know if you noticed this, but not only are the windows gone from the dormers, but so is most of the fascia. Of course, taking the stuff off is the easy part, now I have to cut, stain and install the new fascia, which is a bit of a bummer, especially with the heat really starting to kick in and the multitude of wasps nests that are in the dormer, but that just adds to the fun, and only increases my cache amongst real men. For the record, I've been stung enough times by wasps and hornets to know that they don't hurt that bad, but somehow, when they start flying around my head, I can't help but panic, which is a bad thing to do when you're standing on the roof of a house.

And on the subject of fascia, all of the fascia on the ground level is done. Putting those last pieces at the apex of the gable was not easy, because they had to line up. Oh well, nothing a little wood filler can't fix. All that's left is, you guessed it, the fascia on the dormers, my favorite subject to whine and obsess over. I'm going to kind of miss it when it's all done... yeah right.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.

Roof Brackets and House Wrapped

After fiddling around a bit on the roof, I now realize I need a change in tactic in tackling those dormers, which for the record are the bane of my existence. I originally had planned on using a ladder to access the dormers to replace fascia, wrap, install siding, etc. However, after implementing this plan, I realized it was sadly deficient. First off, my darn ladder isn't long enough. If I hook it to the roof, I can't reach it from below, and when I extend it from the ground, it won't reach high enough. More importantly, when I did extend it from the ground and tried to do some work, I found it way too stressful working up at 20 feet with just inches to spare in foot space. Not a good working situation.

I resolved to build a platform and then work from there, except this brought up a few problems of its own. First off, finding the brackets. I thought they were called roof jacks, and called around to find some and nobody had them. I called reliable sources and they told me to try lumber yards or mills. Finally, I learned they are called roof brackets, not jacks. People thought I was looking to build a scaffolding on the roof, when in fact all I wanted were brackets that would hold up a piece of wood. It turns out that they can easily be found, but Home Depot seemed the easiest and most accessible.

I also decided that I wanted to get a body harness to hold me up if I fell. When you're on the ground, the rood doesn't seem so high, but when you're up there, it sure as heck looks high. I get nervous up there. It's one thing to just stand still at a high place, but another to be yanking boards and ripping nails out. Too precarious for me. If I at least had a rope attached to a tree or something on the other side, I'd feel a little better. Just a little bit.

Again, finding a harness is not easy. No hardware store I contacted had one, and again, trusty old Home Depot came through. For the record, the harness was even harder to find. HD had one that came with a complete safety kit, rope and all. It came in a handy bucket, how can you beat that?

So now I'm ready to go. One bright note, this past Thu JH came over and we tackled one of the things that's been really bugging me - finishing the wrap on the house. The gable sides are not easy, and when GS came over, we had a bear of a time doing one end, which inspired me to try and ignore the other end. I figured with JH's help, we could tackle the beast, and we pulled it off. I should say that JH did most of the work, he went up on the ladder and stapled while I stood on the ground and unrolled the Tyvek. He said he enjoyed it.

Now the wrapping is done (note the before and after) for the most part. I still have to deal with those dormers, but let me enjoy my small victories while I can.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.

Doors In, Fascia Coming Together

In what can be construed as nothing short of a miracle, we (JH and I) have managed to get all the doors in on the first floor. That's 4, count 'em, 4 doors. Doors are a little trickier than windows because not only are they much heavier, but you really have to get them in right. Otherwise, the darn door won't close properly. It's good that JH is there to instruct, because left to my own devices, I'd just stick the things in the RO and hold them in with glue and scotch tape.

I will say this - getting that French Door in was a nightmare. It took us well over two hours just fiddling with that thing, shimming it left and right. It seemed as if we'd adjust one thing only to mess up another, and it took a lot of back and forth before the gaps were even. At some point I felt like saying, "Forget about it, nobody is going to use this door, anyway." But that's no way for a real man (or one in training) to talk, now is it? My Mentor would most assuredly agree.

So the first floor is almost done as far as doors and windows. Just one more window, which is on order. We still need to choose door knobs, which could take years. Once that final window is in, I need to finish the fascia and install a soffit, and the house is sealed, at least on the first floor. I have to confront the entire second floor, including the dormers, but I'll leave that for another time. Let me enjoy this moment while I can.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.

Great Karate Class

We've been having some decent karate classes lately, and the irony is, I've been so overwhelmed with life duties that I haven't been able to practice as much as I should, or for that matter, at all. It doesn't take much time, I've just been lazy and tired.

The past couple of classes more people have been showing up, including a wealth of senseis. MG from the VA has been coming and he's a great teacher because he gives a lot of explanation and background into the basic foundation of the moves. Coupled with MH, they are incredible teachers and a unique opportunity to learn. The students have been increasing, as well, and I'd still like to get the kids to go, but it could be too soon. They can't progress beyond a certain point until they are older, anyway, so maybe it's better to wait, but at some point they may never be interested. I just see a lot of the kids losing interest, and the teachers are aware of this.

Either way, class has been good, and with the nice weather, we've been training outside, which makes for a lighter and more enjoyable time, though we get nailed by the mosquitoes. Can't have it all. I've even become more philosophical about sparring, and at times even look forward to it, especially when I go against the black belts, who are no longer nice to me and do not ease up as much. In fact, the other day I got kicked in the face, and my first impulse was to get dramatic, but there's no room for that amongst real men.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to nikki bharwani for the pic.



size is growing