It was another beautiful weekend with temperatures around 60 and mostly clear, although late Saturday it did begin to cloud up. Thankfully we had received a half inch of rain on Thursday!
Loveable Loo House
I had gone by Home Depot and purchased 3 4x8 sheets of T1-11 and 75 siding screws, as I was anxious to get some walls up. First I had to cross brace the back -- I used one 2x4 and one 2x6. (I still need a vertical 2x4 to nail the siding into.) With that done, I went ahead and put the T1-11 up on the north and south sides, Sally was a great help by holding things in place including the ladder) throughout this process. The siding will provide the bracing needed east/west.
(The front will have the door with a bit of plywood spanning overhead. Hopefully that will be enough to keep it from rocking side to side.)
I then put a 4x4 across the bottom of the front for a threshold and to anchor a vertical 2x4 onto (where the door will close and the siding will be screwed. I then cut that 2x4 and one to go across the top of it (to be attached to the 4x4 posts). I messed up here (again) and measured from the bottom, but the threshold was not level, and so that cross 2x4 is not level. But it will work.
I then cut my last salvaged (and partially rotted) 4x4's to go across the top posts north-south. I had to notch these so my three 2x4 roof rafters running east-west would nest.
Then I cut the door from the last sheet of siding and installed that piece sans the door. (I had found a 5" ripped piece of T1-11 in the barn which fit perfectly on the left side.) All the corners but one meet up nicely -- its good enough for a crapper.
The first picture shows everything I had strewn about where I was doing the cutting. The roofing is laid out so I could do the measurements for the decking (I'll have just enough 1/2" plywood though it will all have to be pieced in the middle) -- a task for next week. The last picture shows Sally testing it for size. I used all 75 screws.
Next week will be the roof, the back, and the door. I have some old gate hardware from Houston I plan to use with the door, but I am still uncertain about the bracing I'll use (and I'm out of long 2x4s).
Cedar Posts
Since Jeff agreed to take some of the posts, Sally helped me take two loads down to his barn. They are full of dirt and sawdust because some tiny borers are in them. Also the pack rats have nests underneath and have brought in lots of leaves and litter. Sally certainly did her part lifting some very large and heavy posts. We also took him the telephone pole (cut in two) that had been taken down that first year we bought the place
(ran the service from the pole by the barn underground to the house).
I didn't tell Jeff how many posts I had, and I was pretty sure he said to put them in the lower part of the barn on the east side. But when we got there, there was not a clear place to put them. We moved a couple of chairs and piled them between the defunct freezer and the stack of 4 tires (complete with wheels). I hope this is okay with him. He now has almost 40, and I'm not sure where we could put any more. Though, as we were leaving after the second load I noticed 4 or 5 bleached posts outside that end of the barn. Made me begin to question whether he didn't want them outside versus inside. This did convince me to just move the rest of mine just outside my barn (store them outside) -- at least those I don't end up using. Sounds like I may be making more rails.
Garden/Fruit
Sally watered and planted some more seeds. The ribbon of spinach seeds I had planted the week before had not yet come up. The onions are looking okay. Sally put some fish emulsion on them to give them a kick.
The nectarine is covered in blooms, and there were several coming on the alberta peach. The two wild peaches below the house were in full bloom. There were no signs of blooms on the apple or pear -- yet. I am really hoping for some pears this year.
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