Mom's Home Office

Mom's Home Office:

Susan has decided to put me onto a smaller project, to do this first, and then get our skills up for the big job. I think that's a fine idea, but boy do I wish she'd had that brainstorm earlier! No matter, it will be a small project, and get our skills up, like she said!

The better reason to do it, is it will be next to  my Wood Shop, that building to the right in the drawing. This view is from behind, where there will be a small area behind the shop like a secret garden. I'll pop a door out the back, and make a great spot for us, away from the constant eye of the kids.

Workin'

Been working, mostly. Not much progress to report.

I've been working at the hospital, and Susan has been busy with kids and school activities. David L. has been here a few hours each day working on another project, we are reclaiming an old strip pit that was left here 40 years ago. The area we are working on lies on the southern border of our property, and includes a spill pile of tilings that forms a dam between two lakes. The southern most lake is a strip pit, and lies mostly on my neighbor's land. The fence between our properties actually runs through the shallow lake. The pile of tilings rises much higher than the water level, it is so devoid of organic matter, even weeds will not take hold on it. David has been scraping it down, pushing it north and south into a small ridge, and then adding some topsoil over it so it will grow something. It is tedious work, but he is doing such a nice job. I wish we could devote more time to the barn project, but with me stuck at work so much of the time, and Susan and the kids going strong with school work and activities, I'm afraid it is going to be slow movin' for a while.

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Cedar Trunk

This one isn't so big, but will make some nice T&G boards for a closet or for the kitchen. We've got a larger cedar in the area below the dam I may be willing to take down for some ceiling planking. I think that would be a good use of it.

Post & Beam outhouse

This comes from another site, they used this little set up to make an outhouse. I'm thinking about a composting toilet, like the one on the British show "It's not easy being green". I like the looks of this, but I'm not to sure about the utility of those through tenons on the bottom.

Corner braces

These are four by four knee braces from the antique barn. The will come in very handy in the stall sections of the timber frame. No matter how beefy the large timbers appear, we need resistance to racking at the corners.

SketchUp revised versions

 

Image via Wikipedia

 I have been getting more confident with SketchUp. I can't say enough about this program. As you can see, We plan an upper floor. Stairs are yet to be inserted. The loft doors on each end will be flanked by windows. I need to frame up supports for a bale lift, a beam extending out from above to hang a block and tackle from, above each end door. I also plan to put a pass-through from above each stall. And then comes the roof! The question is: trusses versus site-framed rafters, in the post and beam style.

 

The bottom view shows some features of the foundation. Each of the twenty upright posts will need a firm footer. I have planned for three foot square footers, 24 inches deep. The county building inspector will no doubt have a significant say here! My plan is to dig a trench for the outer perimeter footing, that will support the bale walls. It will be 24 inches deep, and 24 inches wide. The outer wall posts will set on the inner edge of this perimeter footing, with a bump-out three foot long and 20 inches wide, so a full footer will support each of those posts. I will ask the county inspector about rubble trench technology. We may be able to decrease the amount of concrete yardage by using compacted rock in the trenches. * Finally, the foundation will be insulated with EPS [expanded polystyrene] boards, and protected from rising damp with a good vapor barrier.

Pasture wild flowers

The pasture is awash in yellow. Our pasture program has been "organic" to point that we grow almost everything but hay! I'm not sure what we can do to remedy this problem.

Another big tree falls.

A very large poplar, mature, and leaning, will make several good beams.

Lakeview

A hazy day view from the middle of the dam, facing south, across the lake to the peninsula the house sets on now. Someday, our dream home will set there.

Lake time fun

The water is warm, the dogs want to play too, and there is nothing funner.

Smaller posts and Beams

We have been slowly culling the smaller posts from the pile, and here's a picture of some of the resulting items. I am so pumped! These are in such good shape, and have hardly any cuts, or defects, or nails.

Wood braces

These are 4X6 corner braces from the barn. There must be twice as many still in the pile at the site. They will come in handy when the time comes. The holes you see are from wood bees. Most of the wood is poplar, but some is walnut, few are oak.

A few pics

Here are some pictures I've wanted to share.

David L. Spreading some seed on the barn site. We want something to hold the soil in place, and as things go, we are a slow moving crew. The several weeks it will take for fescue to grow will be used gathering more wood for the basic frame.

 

This will be the tree centered in our turn around at the end of the driveway. It's quite large, and despite having a little lean, it is very sturdy. Below is a photo of her leaves. Any good tree aficionados out there able to give me an I.D. ?

?

Susan, the prime mover.

Susan has been the prime mover on this project. I may be the imagineer, but she makes it all come to life. That is a 30' trunk from an eastern ceder she is setting on. It came down after the Kentucky Ice storm in February this year. [That is a whole 'nother story!] I'm not sure what we'll use this wood for, probably  mill it into boards for the bathroom walls, and for a small closet.

 

My little blue tractor is her second best friend. She manages to get it to do things I would never think to try. Somehow, I seem to get it stuck in a mud hole whenever I use it! Sometime when I know she isn't looking over my shoulder, I'll tell the story of how our first little blue tractor ended up!

 

She's a beauty! [I refer to the upper photo!]

Tulip poplar trunk

This sucker is 60 feet long, and 22 inch diameter at the small end! It was standing in the wood below our dam, damaged by the winter ice storm. Most of the top had been broken out of it.

Pics from earlier in the summer.

 

Jonathan, moving so fast, he's just a blur!

  

 Matthew, doing what he does best!

 

Jonathan, showing disbelief as Matt lends a hand.

Jon helps take out the Sumac

 

My boy Jonathan turned out to be a real trooper. It was like pulling teeth to get him started, but then once he got to going with that pole saw, he made quick work of that stand of sumac. I had knocked as much of it down as I could, with the tractor and bush hog, but the center of the stand had too many years to get established.

  

He was proud of himself, and I of him. I'm glad I've got him to lend a hand. We both got a rash from this stuff, but easily treated. I've got some pictures of the bonfire we had latter, I'll post them sometime.