Done... maybe

Well, I think I've done all that I'm going to. Which is alot. I really didn't plan on doing anything after October, so I as far as I'm concerned this entire building is a bonus. Other than making the window for the dormer, I think I'm done until spring, which, this winter, isn't far away :-) I slapped on some Z-Brace doors, but I never got around to putting the battens on. Basically I ran out of sawn siding. 800 sq. ft. wasn't nearly enough wood! I had to mill a couple more trees just to have enough for the doors. The problem is that once you slice hemlock as thin as 1", you start to see alot more shake (splitting between growth rings) Of course you don't see it until you go to crosscut a board and it just falls into two pieces :-(Hmmm, my shed just got a whole lot smaller, and the lawn mower still needs to be put away.I noticed the crows seem to like my new roof, which didn't bother me until I noticed they have actually been ripping off my shingles. Muther F*&%$!! Time find a real scare crow.On to indoor activities: Bridgeport Mill :-)

One Side to go ...

Oh, and doors to build...Oh, and a window...

Yet another week in Dec.?, I'll take it :-)

Put a little work in on Saturday, 2 1/2 sides done. The snow came and went and it looks like it won't be here by Christmas. Can I still say Christmas????
This was the little bit that I received just after I finished the roof :-), Although I had about a foot and a half at the other house. Even that's melted now.

Shed Construction Continues

One down 3 to go...This is why I used 2x4 nailers, lots of shelves :-)
Click here for a 1 meg flash animation shed.swf

Roof Complete :-)

Finally done( with the roof), including ridge vent. It's a little crooked, but that may be because of my ridge beam being so straight... not!
It was just a little colder this morning,Just in time, and this is why I chose a 12/12 slope. :-)

So, Close...

I almost made it, but the rain, 60 m.p.h. winds and snow will be here today. The backside is only about 75% covered :-(

Well, finishing the sheathing on that dormer took waaaay longer than expected, but it's done. I have the drip edges and a couple rows of felt down (no pics)

Progress Continues...

Almost done with the sheathing...


Added fly rafters, lookouts, and finished the dormer rake wall
Skys this clear make for cold mornings and icy lumber...

Sunshine

Just some more pics now that the sun is out.

weird blue stuff...

Rafters...

Well I have the rafters up. The missing rafter is where a gable dormer will go...maybe. ( just for practice)
The pictures are dark because it's dark @ 5:30 !!@^&%@. Photoshop does wonders though
AFTER PHOTOSHOP:

BEFORE PHOTOSHOP:

Board and Batten Siding Cut

Well I've added yet another pile of lumber. 1" hemlock that will be used for the siding on the shed. The far pile has about 800 board feet of siding. Since everything is green, and hemlock tends to check alot as it dries, I'll be putting on vertical board and batten siding. This will allow for movement as the siding dries, and the vertical checking will shed water instead of holding it. This may be the last pics for awhile because my camera is starting to fail from a bad lens motor ( a well know "feature" of this model :-()

This is whats left of a pile of logs after you make siding. Lovely isn't it, just call me Billybob. Although, I have to say, I've used almost all of the trees that were moved to make way for the driveway.
This is why you don't leave the bark on logs all summer... worms! Fortunately only one log was infested.

Two more walls

Two more walls :-) It's going a little slow because of the fact that I'm using the rough cut lumber. For each wall I've had to use the mill to trim all of the boards to the same width. It works great, it's just one more step.

Finally building up, instead of knocking down

I'ts been snowing, raining and dark... but I'm still getting stuff done ( Dan!) A 16x12 "shed" to store all my crap for the winter. The foundation is actually 2 - 16' 6x6 rails, so I can move this later. Once I raised one of the 8' walls, I realized this thing will be as big the "house" on the property next to me :-)
Bah... a only a dusting

I knew all that sawdust from the mill would be useful ...


short walls, with doors, tomorrow :-)

Slab Me

Well, since I blew most of the summer, I wanted to at least get some hardwood cut. So, I grabbed a load of blocks, a big ole wheelbarrow, and started cutting. Yes that is a 2 inch thick 16" wide plank of Cherry! ( 5 of them :-) I also cut some slabs of maple, of which some was splated

Ready to Rent

Well, the duplex is close enough to to start showing. A few more nails and some cleaning and it's ready to rent. It took awhile, but it included some upgrades and maintenance that I hope will bring more rent and last through multiple tenants... I HOPE...

The living room had some abused, faded, animal stained carpet that I replaced with wood laminate flooring. I can swing a hammer at this stuff and it doesn't even leave a mark (literally). Only time will tell if it can stand up to tenants.

CLICK on any pictures for a larger view
carpet up... thin foam down, then "wood"






The bathrooms were not terrible, but the master bath's shower was destroyed by the previous tenant ( the owner). The tried to put in a new shower door. It was crooked, held in with sheetrock screws, caulked, painted, glued, puttied, and I think even some porcelain repair material.
I had to chisel off the old crud, which did chip it some, but the new door covers "most" of it. I replaced the vanity, mirrors, toilets and every water pipe and valve there was, becuase they all leaked as soon as I touched them. AND THIS BUILDING IS ONLY 15 YEARS OLD!?

BEFORE / DURING

AFTER, it's tough to get a good wide angle shot of the whole bath
BEFORE / AFTER shower door
Gee, ya that was almost straight? ( door removed, lookin straight down at the old bottom door rail.

"And they fastened it with sheetrock screws? WOW!

No base molding yet, but I'd say it looks a little better. There are a few "extra holes" that I left on the inside of the shower, but it is still WAY better than it was.

Duplex Update

Well I finally closed on the duplex and it's time to clean the spooge left by the previous owner. The tenant on the other side is great, the owner, who lived on this side, was the pig!

The only way to paint a cathedral ceiling :-)

Boy I love cigarettes. I had no idea that everything was this coated with tar until I sprayed the area with cleaner.
Faded carpet... Soon to be wood like. Oh, and when I pulled the carpet it became apparent that they had a cat. YUK!

New Blog

OK, I have created yet another blog for my latest project...

House Flip Blog

Big Ole Pitch Fork

Insert "Tim the toolman" grunt here:-)

These puppies make quick work of moving logs , and brush piles, and sawmill scrap and...

New Piston Rings

Well, the new hydraulic cylinder seal kit finally came in. The repair was simple.. well, the concept was simple, the repair was painful. The cylinder nut (the back one) was torqued to 275 ft/lbs and had lock-tight. For every 1/4 turn I had to hang from a 7 foot cheater bar which was attached to a 3 foor pipe wrench. WOW! and !!@%^#*!. Maybe I can actually start the foundation some day soon.

Cylinder
Old Piston, New Piston.
Old Gland Nut, New Gland Nut.

Old O-Ring, New O-Ring

Refurbished ram ready for installtion.

Bucket Forks

Well, it was a pretty rainy weekend, and I'm still waiting for the replacement seals for the backhoe cylinder, so I decided to make my bucket forks. Construction details are HERE

Still Chasing Hydraulic Leaks

Well, you get what you pay for ;-) Everytime I replace an old hose, the next weakest one shows. This time the seal on the left bucket cylinder blew. 10 days to order :-( Oh well, shit happens.

Different New Home

OK, I know this isn't exactly related to the new home theme, but it's new to me . I bought this duplex that in the long run should pay for my other house :-) Two 2-bedroom apartments with cathedral ceilings, 2 full baths, and sheetrocked garages. Parish, NY about 1.5 minutes from I81. Should be about a half hour commute to Syracuse or Watertown. I won't mention the lake effect snow when I have to rent it ;-)

I Think Summer is over...

It didn't even come close to starting :(
I blasted my way back in my truck, but, in the half hour I spent trying to get the backhoe started, another 3 inches of snow fell. I BARELY got out of there! I guess I'll have to fire up the generator and hook up a block heater...

I saw this on the way :-)

Great weather for a drive...
I was pushing snow with my bumper all the way down Babcock Road... Boy If you thought is was quite in the summer ;-) No Deer tracks at all?

My lumber pile is dry, but I can tell I need to keep it clean...

No more sunlight after work!

My little SONY digital doesn't like working at night, but I finally got some exposures (with the help of photoshop).
The generator works great. In fact, it's going on 15 hours on the first tank of fuel :-) Granted, it has only been running lights, but I can't imagine a gas generator would last this long :-)

Water!

Well( no pun intended), we pulled the pump and hose from brothers old well Saturday. After figuring out how the connection worked it was trivial. Transferred everything to my property and everthing worked :-)

The Pump...

The hose, electrical, and pull rope...

With hose attached and ready to be submerged...

WATER!

Final version of the garage plans... maybe.

The lights in these pictures will actually be fluorescent, but "3D home architect" only has track lights :-)

"Green" Tree House, er uh... I mean Stand

This is a tree stand built, by Hovak and friends, from "scraps" I had left over after cutting the boards for the garage. Crooked, wet, undersized, with bark... PERFECT!

Old Jed's a millionaire

Water Found!

82 feet deep @ 15 Gallons Per Minute :-)

Water Soon

Well, the well guy showed up today. I should have water soon, hopefully very soon $$$ :(



Notice the ladder in the last shot. I couldn't resist a few aerial photos. Let me tell you it's higher that it looks!

The first picture shows the approximate location of the house. The area above the backhow needs to be cleared for the garage and leech field.



The trees on the ground were all dropped by Dave so that I could have a little sun, although the moon rises have been pretty nice too. I should probably clean up those trees before the snow falls :(

Trusses for my 28 x 60 garage

Well after many nights reading the New York State code requirements, tons of calcuations, and numerous discussions with my architect, I have come to the realization that I cannot cut my own wood for the roof. Being in the Tug Hill region means that my roof must support 70lbs per sq foot of snow! I would have to cut monsterous rafters, or put in supporting posts all over the place. So... I made the call to the truss engineers and ordered 44 scissor trusses. This will give 12+ foot high ceilings in the middle of the shop and no center supporting beams. Is the garage excessive, yes, but it will also serve as my apartment as I build the main house. The bedroom will make a nice wood shop or spray booth down the road. I wonder if anyone else has 240v outlets in the bedroom :)

Generator

No word from Niagra Mohawk Power Company yet, so I got on ebay and picked up a generator.

Katrina

Well hurricane Katrina provided the most rain I've see so far since I bought the property. Everything looked good except the low part of the driveway. I had planned on a culvert and a couple a feet of fill to raise the driveway through this low part, I just haven't got around to it yet :-(

Utility Vehicle

A must for 40 acres...
I have been able to get to the back of the property and grab some nice timber with minimal impact..

Wood Mill

Well, I figured it was time to cut some wood. If I cut it now, it can dry while I put in the septic and build the foundation and slab for the garage. Since I will living in the garage while I build the main house (shhh, don't tell the inspector), I decided to cut 2x6's fro the outside walls. That way I can put in more insulation.
New Mill.


The log pile from the area cleare for th driveway. Unfortunately many of these logs came from low, wet, land and the centers were rotten.
However there are a few good ones...



15 2x4's from one medium sized log, :)

A;most all of the 2x6's I need. I stil need some 2x4's for the inside walls.

Labor laws... BAH!

Left to Right: Austin, Triston, Tyler, Froggy

Backhoe

Well after getting some ridiculous quotes for a driveway, I decided to build my own. Even though the ideal tool for building a driveway is a dozer, I decided a backhoe/loader will be a more usefull piece of equipment. After all I still need to dig a 1200 foot trench to run power. I can come up with some more justifications if you really need them :)

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