I like the idea of building something unique into a deck, however, I must need to get better at estimating how long it will take to design and build something new and different. Obviously, this statement is somewhat self-contradictory. How can you anticipate and predict the length of an event, and therefore get better at estimating its length, which you have not observed before? The owners wanted clear sight of the swimming pool, so no railing. They wanted something functional but attractive. So, they came up with the idea of beveled steps and I was tasked with executing it. See how I did at Beveled Stairs.
Archive for the ‘Work’ Category
Beveled Deck
Posted in Capentry, Decks, General, Project, Woodworking, Work, tagged Carpentry, Challenge, Deck, Project, Woodworking on July 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »
A Swingin’ Place
Posted in Capentry, General, Old, Photo, Project, Woodworking, Work, tagged Carpentry, Deck and Porch Repair, Repair, Woodworking on March 27, 2022| 1 Comment »
I have been privileged to work on various types of projects since I began Decks And Such (see https://www.facebook.com/decksandsuch). Friends at church asked me to repair the porch on their house that was built in 1875. They built houses differently back then. Likely, the beams and boards were milled on the property. The beams in the porch were treated with tar that smelled like creosote. I can imagine a crew of workers cutting, milling, cooking tar and applying it, building the foundation and floor joists all from materials found close about. Check out the progression of my repair work at This Old Porch
End of an Era?
Posted in Change, Cutting Wood, General, Outdoors, Photo, Work, tagged Change, Firewood, Heating with Wood, Working up Wood on October 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »
I have talked about heating with wood several times over the years of writing this blog. Particularly at this time of year, it is entails a significant input of time, energy, and mental focus. You might wonder why anyone would expend so much energy over the course of 38 years heating their house. In generations past is was, no doubt, a simple necessity of life. It certainly has saved me thousands of dollars in heating bills which I would have struggled to come up with in certain years of the past and always preferred not to spend.
But even more than that, it is a lifestyle. David Thoreau was generous when he said that heating with wood warmed you twice. Cutting, loading, unloading, splitting, stacking, carrying in, starting and maintaining fires, enjoying the heat, carrying out ashes, and cleaning the chimney are a few ways it warms me. I think it probably warms me nearly ten times. Central heat is good, but I don’t know where to go to warm my hands or dry out my wet clothing. And when the blizzard of ’93 hit, we were warm for the 8 days that the power was out and cooked beans and soup while we heated the house. My boys split wood while they were home, but I even participated then. I have been loaned a hydraulic wood splitter thrice that I recall, but never split all of the wood that way for a season. At my latitude the winter is not long or bitterly cold. 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cords of wood is sufficient for the warmest and coldest winters we have. I prefer taking dead wood over cutting live trees and the majority of trees here are oak.
I have gotten to where I can smell what kind of wood is being burned and whether it is wet or green or dried. When the first fire of the season is lit, the smell of dust burning off of the stove brings warm reminiscence of past years. For all of this, the 39th year of heating with wood may be the last. I am not tired of the work and fire making effort. If you had asked me 5 years ago what would cause me to stop heating with wood, I would have said ability and energy to gather it. The real reason now seems to be that all of that smelling of fires, and more specifically chainsaws has had a bad repercussion. Between mowing, weed eating, leaf blowing, and chainsaws I have become “allergic” to combustion products, particularly 2 cycle oil. An hour or so exposure brings on aches and sometimes debilitating joint pains. So, since I haven’t converted over my heat source, still mow and weed eat and blow leaves, I have to wear a organics fume mask. Try working in that on a hot day. And since I don’t sport a Hitler mustache (regulation for gas masks), The seal on the mask is not ideal and I still get some mild ill effects from the fumes. So, check out my latest foray into the woods to cut and split wood here.
I thought as I pulled my truck out of the woods and passed a super duty four door diesel truck that I am thankful to have an old truck that is still functional and being used for what it was designed for. I guess that I like working, even though I want to do it at a slower rate these days. What’s the rush? Of course, there is the need to get wood in the dry before the wet and cold days when very little dries out. I believe I am ahead of that curve this year.
Symmetry and Strength
Posted in Capentry, Decks, General, Photo, Project, Woodworking, Work, tagged Carpentry, Deck, Woodworking on July 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »
At first the owner just wanted the decking replaced, but I noticed that the center of the deck was several inches higher than around it. I went to look underneath and discovered the problem. As I began removing decking boards, I paused to record the deterioration that caused the owner to contact me.
The old stain reminded me of weather worn whitewash on a New England coastal style house.
The pattern of boards was interesting but probably contributed to the deterioration and would certainly take more wood and more cost to replace.
Here was the real problem with the deck, a hidden hazard that I declared, “If you had had a party with 30 people on this deck, there may have been many of them in the hospital.” You see, the cracked 2 x 12 is bolted to the side of the post and expected to hold the weight of eight 2 x 8 joists. The 1/2 carriage bolts held, but the board did not. Notice the 2 x 8 at the right has dropped down with the settling 2 x 12. This is where the rise occurred on the decking boards, which must have been taking much of the weight as well.
The different perspective of the problem reveals more of the near failure of the joists.
I cleaned it all out except for the facing boards attached to the walls that had been under the overhangs with no deterioration.
The center post of the deck held a larger percentage of the total weight, so I increased the post from 4 x 4 to 6 x 6.
I did have to replace one facing board that was not holding well to the wall. I used numerous concrete screws and increased strength of the joist ends with joist hangers.
Take note that the joists now sit on top of the post, a much stronger configuration.
The part of the deck that you don’t normally see is the most important part that supports the weight, the part that takes the most energy to construct and get right, and the part many casually observers think shows little progress when being constructed.
In order to reduce leaf litter and deterioration, I caulked between brick and face plate.
And the decking begins!
The joints are not obvious and the area has a clean and spacious look.
The requested steps, near copies of the old ones were complex. I quit early this day for rain.
Getting standard stringers to fit the rise and run of available space is a significant challenge.
The lady of the house wanted the deck to have symmetry, so the landing and stairs running two ways.
Concrete for some reason that I don’t understand causes quicker deterioration of treated wood than straight clay. So I have taken to putting tar on posts to lengthen the their life.
Wow! It’s finished. All that I need to do is stain it. I finish it off with a belt sander on the railing especially and any other place that looks rough.
And there it is in its light gray stain, all matching the brick and trim and gray, wicker deck furniture and white, metal furniture that we moved onto the deck a few days later. Another good challenge for Decks and Such completed.
Throwback Thursday
Posted in Decks, General, Photo, Project, Relationship, Woodworking, Work, tagged Carpentry, Decks, Maintenance, Relationships, Woodworking on June 10, 2021| Leave a Comment »
I have been building decks as work arises for just over a year now, but before that when I was full time teacher, I would do projects in the summer and sometimes on weekends. The following deck was built in the summer of 2013 and turns 8 years old this month. Unlike another one that I built that had no maintenance in the ensuing years, this one has been taken good care of. I cannot find pictures of building the deck though I remember taking some. My two youngest sons helped me with the project which included replacing the front steps, installing a thermostatically controlled vent in the front porch shed roof, trimming two trees overhanging the house, reshaping the the contour of the ground above the house to direct water away from the house, and building the deck which replaced a similar one that had not been maintenanced properly. Besides being re-stained regularly since it was new, there have been improvements like the skirt underneath and the concrete pads at the base of the steps and underneath. The wall below the deck was there but has been landscaped along with other areas around the steps. Decks are certainly not permanent structures, but when taken care of properly may last and look good for more than 30 years.
Though you may take care of your deck and it may rot anyway because of circumstances of the wood quality or environment of the deck*, it is much more likely to last in good shape when you do some maintenance.
This idea of maintenance applies to all things that you own, but also applies to your body and relationships. Make time for taking care of yourself. Make time to get to know better those you love and those with whom you are acquainted. You will be happy with the result and the benefits will be long term.
*Things very detrimental to decks include intense solar radiation (south facing or reflection off of glass or radiation from brick or asphalt), residing under trees where there is much litter accumulated and constant moisture that promotes algae and mold growth.
Deck Renewal
Posted in Capentry, Decks, General, Photo, Project, Woodworking, Work, tagged Carpentry, Deck, Deck Repair, Project, Woodworking on May 16, 2021| Leave a Comment »
I renewed another deck near ruin. I had been asked to come and cut off the deteriorating beveled tops of the 6 x 6 posts so that a friend of the owner could install caps to protect the posts. Caps or top rails are a good idea because water and fungi will root a post from the top down. The owner asked me about the longevity of the deck. Upon quick inspection I saw that it had 8 to 10 16′ decking boards with rotten spots and some at ground level post deterioration and some top rail warping and rotting. Following is my effort to renew the deck.
The owner requested that I pressure wash the deck before repair and restaining and provided a pressure washer borrowed from a friend at church. The deck had not been stained in five years, a time well within the stain can’s recommendations and “guarantees”, but the elements know no such time scales. This deck is close enough to trees, though not overhung by them, to get their leaf litter, catkins in Spring, and Yellow Poplar samaras. These get down between the decking boards and collect moisture, fungi, and bacteria (read “rot”). Particularly on this deck the gap between boards was not sufficient to allow this detritus to fall through, so it collected. You can see from the picture that the stain acted more like paint, clinging only to the surface and peeling when pressure washed. That is not good and may have been a large part of the deterioration. I would not have thought much of which deck treatment to use before I started repairing them, but I have some strong opinions now.
So, time consuming and tedious as it was, I got down with my knee pads and wire brushed and whisk broomed the boards.
This deck had been put together with screws, square drive heads, so there was no warping in the decking.
I ended up replacing ten decking boards and was pleased with the ones I was able to pick out.
The caps are plastic and functional and I had to replace only two top rails and two balusters.
I feel like the end result looks like new and will last another good many years. I suggested to the owner that she treat the top surfaces yearly to prevent the deterioration that was happening. With a roller and stain the decking and top rails would take no more than 1 1/2 hours to treat. The look and longevity will be satisfying.
If you look closely, you can see the tar that I put around the base of the posts. In my experience, the interface of post to ground, an inch or two above and below grade is where the most intense deterioration occurs. Though the treated lumber is rated for below grade, and actually does fair quite well in the ground, it does not do so well at the interface. I guess the conditions of moisture, air, and temperature are conducive to rotting bacterial and fungal varieties.
By the time it weathers and she treats the decking boards again in a year, you won’t even be able to tell the new boards from the old as in this picture.
I am reminded of the preacher in Ecclesiastes who is reciting a polemic on the vanity of life. Several times he softens the blow of the discouraging speech with a commendation similar to the following: “There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and tell himself that his labor is good. This also I have seen that it is from the hand of God.” (Ecclesiastes 2:24) At a later time He even calls this enjoyment of life “the gift from God” (Eccl 3:13). So I end with thanksgiving to God for giving me strength to work, money for bills from my labor, and satisfaction that I have renewed a product to increased usefulness and slowed the deterioration in this fallen world for the benefit of a fellow being (in fact, fellow saint in this case). It is a gift from God that I can pass along to someone.
Repair the Supports
Posted in Experience, General, Photo, Problems, Woodworking, Work, tagged Deck Repair, Decks, Woodworking, Work on January 20, 2021| 3 Comments »
I could be talking about the underpinnings of society, but that seems to be going no where at the moment. So, I’ll just talk about a recent deck repair that I did.
Two of the posts had significant bows due to warping at a knot or knots. The first one pictured is the worst since a crack goes almost all the way through the two knots on either side. Gravity is persistent and will overcome any imbalance eventually. For that reason I hand pick all lumber when I am building a deck and take back boards that are not looking like they will go the distance. Nothing is permanent and decks can be expected to last 20 to 30 years depending on how often you stain it, the quality of the original boards, maintenance, and how it was designed.
Here is it close up. I should have shown the other side so you could see how serious the problem was to the structure of the post.
The other one looked as follows. If the grain at the top of the knot split to combine the two cracks, the post would not be far from gone.
The first step was to install a temporary support. A few posts from a previous job and my trusty persuasional tool (sledgehammer) served the purpose well. I hammered the temporary up to plumb, allowing you to see just how bowed the post was.
The next step was cutting the post off and rigging a way to pulled it out of the concrete slab. The slab was added after the house and deck were built, so they poured it around the posts. My car and truck jacks worked slowly but surely.
I was surprised how shallow the post was set. The aluminum plate, badly corroded, was sitting on gravel in the hole whereas these plates were usually used to set posts on concrete. There was not too much cracking of the concrete.
I filled the hole with concrete and inserted a “J” bolt that would later secure the bottom plate.
Two days later I installed the new posts. You can see in the background that I had not yet installed the second post.
A post whose bottom can dry out will last much longer.
Next I went around and clamped together joists which had warped and separated and screwed or bolted them together as needed. Some just looked ugly and others presented possible structural problems.
That does not look good from a structural standpoint. I had to jack up the left joist a bit to clamp and screw it together.
This one looks bad but is well supported so I don’t believe it caused a real problem.
However, real or perceived, I was tasked with fixing it.
My father would always say that there was nothing better than a nut and lock washer. I have a son and son-in-law, who are Materials Joining Engineers, who would likely differ. At any rate, I must not have quite learned the lesson. However, in my defense, I find that a flat washer crushed slightly into wood works quite well.
Decks And Such (https://facebook/decksandsuch), be the job small or large, fixes the prob lem (prob-><-lem -> problem) and gets the results.
I am pleased to thank God for the strength and experience to work in this way and the flow of work that has begun in 2021. When work slacked up in December, I became concerned, but it was all part of the plan. I had back problems soon afterwards that prevented me from working. As soon as that subsided, the work started coming again. We can depend on God to provide; we need to trust Him even when things get lean.
1:12
Posted in Capentry, Creating, General, Photo, Project, Woodworking, Work, tagged Carpentry, Decks, Handicap Ramps, Little Things, Ramps, Woodworking on January 15, 2021| 1 Comment »
1 to 12 is the maximum steep ratio of rise to run for a handicap ramp, which means that for every 1 inch the ramp needs to rise it must have 12 inches or a foot of run. I needed to build a ramp up onto a porch 29 inches above the gravel driveway. Following is my solution for the limited space available. It is a very little slope that feels almost like walking on the flat.
I had to double the joists at both ends of the eleven foot span. Notice in later pictures that one of the occupants began washing the siding. It looks so much better now. I also had to reroute the downspout and extend it to again reach the drain pipe it had not been draining into recently. The little details matter.
Notice the tar at ground level. Even though treated wood is rated for below grade (underground use), I have noticed numerous times that it does not particularly rot below grade but does at ground level where it mildews and grows algae prolifically. I do all of the posts with a good quality tar, too. I did not run the deck all the way to gravel so that I would run a mound of gravel to redirect water which was washing out near the foundation. Some little details are not so little.
I detest wasting material. The lumber yard didn’t have 10′ decking boards that I wanted so I had to cut off nearly 3′ of board that was not long enough to use on the 4′ wide ramp. I used some of the scrap for erosion control. A little scrap is a big deal- don’t waste!
I was pleased with the result and so was the homeowner. She gets up and down easily now. The little things make it worth doing a good job.
Classic Pine woodgrain that almost looks like plywood. Would you notice such a little thing?
This turn was the most challenging part of the railing, but it sure makes it sturdy. Notice that the siding is cleaner. Turning every board so that the good side shows takes a little extra effort, but it reaps big benefits in appearance.
Based on what I just said about turning the boards, can you imagine how many knots I hid? The little detail that should also be considered when selecting the side up is the crown or dip of the board. Lumber is cut out of a more or less cylindrical trunk. The grain curves in the board. If the crown is down, the board will bow with a dip in the middle across its width. This can hold water on a flat surface and increase deterioration.
The day is nearing an end and I have a little clean up to do before I talk to the homeowner and head for the house. Another project completed for Decks And Such (www.facebook.com/decksandsuch).
Rightly Dividing the Wood of God*
Posted in Cutting Wood, General, Heating with Wood, Nature, Outdoors, Photo, Strength, Tree Cutting, Work, tagged Axe use, Heating with Wood, Hydraulic Wood Splitter, Power, Splitting Wood on November 29, 2020| Leave a Comment »
Two trees down, and what do you do with the wood? Neighbors came for some of it. The woodworker snatched away the trunks. The city took the branches. The compost is chewing on the leaves. The friend of a friend ground the stumps. But those pieces in the range of ten inches to two and a half feet in diameter and many with multiple forks were still around. I had suggested to my friend that he borrow a hydraulic log splitter, but he could not find one. Then I remembered that a recent acquaintance, a brother in Christ with whom I hit it off well at first meeting, had recently offered me the use of his wood splitter in an unrelated circumstance. The problem had been that his splitter was at the back of a large workshop that had been converted to temporary storage. It had wood and tools and equipment stacked in front of the wood splitter. So, my homeowner friend with the two big trees on the ground and I offered to help him dig it out. That was an adventure in old wood, old tools, old memories, and dreams for future projects. With a will to get it out, we dug it out in under an hour, inflated the tires and off we went. It appeared that the woodsplitter had been used very few times and it had been stored for several years. Thankfully the gasoline had been drained out of the tank, as that can gum up the carburetor over time. It wouldn’t start anyway. There was definitely fuel in the cylinder. There was no spark on the plug. There was spark from the coil. We took a trip to the Tractor Supply for a new spark plug. It still wouldn’t start. We took the air filter off, found a neighbor with starter fluid, but it still only barked once or twice. I prayed more directly about it starting. The neighbor put his hand over the choked intake. It sputtered. It sputtered a few more times and then started up with very little smoke, running well the rest of the day, and restarting easily after refueling. Those pesky double problems can take time and troubleshooting skills.
We split wood for more than six hours. The claim and assumption is that a hydraulic wood splitter takes all of the work out of splitting wood. It most definitely makes it easier and splits twisted and forked pieces that are hard to do manually, but it does not remove all work. And, there are pieces that can only be done with sledgehammer and multiple wedges. Following I have two sequences of the splitting process. The observant viewer would figure out that these are not actually sequential pictures, but ordered from various images to show the process. Most of the work of hydraulic wood splitting is getting the log under the wedge.
The fun and easy part is pushing the lever and watching the wedge split, mangle, or destroy almost any piece of wood put beneath it. I found that on the tougher pieces, when the splitter was straining to go through the wood, that I would press harder on the lever as if that would make a difference. Part of the trick on the larger and more twisted grains is “reading the grain” as I call it, or “grainology”, as my friend termed it.
Sometimes the wedge goes through but the wood is not fully separated. Here we are determining what to do next.
Since the piece is heavy you want to avoid having to flip it around or over. Frequently the answer is a well placed blow with an axe or sledgehammer.
We were very tired after so many hours heaving the pieces into place that we totally overlooked one last big chunk. When I returned several days later to load another truckload of wood, I assured my friend that we could split it with sledgehammer and axe. The next sequence of pictures arose from my friend trying to time the shutter of the camera with the blow upon the block of wood. I’m glad he missed numerous times so that you could see what goes into a swing. Splitting a piece of wood is not a strength move but a power mover. Therefore, the power is produced by the whip you give to the axe handle from about its highest point to just before the impact. There was not need for great power in these straight grained pieces I was splitting for this sequence, so my swing is not quite what makes for the most powerful swing. If I was producing more power, I would slide my top hand (right hand in the pictures) down the handle to increase the whip and thus the power. The reason the whip is so effective is that power is how fast work is done. I have a limited ability to increase strength, but the whip can greatly increase speed, reducing time and increasing power.
The other factor in a good blow is hitting the right spot at the right angle. The next picture captures that moment when I focus on the spot to be hit before commencing to swing. I find that I must focus there all the way through the swing and that distraction or fatigue decrease my likelihood of hitting my intended target. Basically, you are trying to strike parallel to the radial grain toward or away from the growth center.** On smaller or thinner pieces you can strike along a ring to split a piece. It is more tricky with forks, but there are places and directions to hit that make those more likely to split as well. It is all in reading the grain.
Splitting wood is both an athletic move and an endurance move in order to keep repeating it.
I attribute my next stance to both the partial stiffness of age and the positioning of the axe for a powerful blow. My young friend takes a similar stance just before striking but with a little less evidence of stiffness.
Proof of the ease of the pieces being split is the axe going all the way through and into the ground. This does not often happen. After the photo op we split the fork with wedges. It took quite a few blows to go through that.
I love this next picture. It shows my friend’s determination, focus and strength. He was amazed at the first decently large piece that I split cleanly with an axe. I felt like I had done a Hollywood stunt*** and quickly explained that I was able to do that because it was so straight grained. These pieces are the joy and fun of splitting wood before the real work commences.
There’s that stance again.
It is amazing how fast the wood can pop sometimes. The piece has flown off to his right before his axe hit the ground. He learned something else this day. Though plastic handled axes and sledgehammers have the advantage of being hard to break, the handle pounds the daylights out of your arms all the way up. I swung his axe a few times and then went over to get my wooden handled axe for the remainder, as you see above.
White Oak wood has such a pleasant smell. I actually took a cup full of ground stump mulch home as a potpourri for my livingroom. The wood has the property of cooperage, swelling to seal fluids in barrels and buckets. It makes lovely, sturdy furniture and provides much food for woodland animals. Its foliage is beautiful and especially in the Autumn when it turns yellow. It can live to a ripe old age five or six times what any of us will. It makes for good shade and grows in rich or poor soil with less water than most hardwoods. It is, in short, another of God’s good creations with much beauty and utility. I enjoyed observing and extracting some of that goodness for multiple people’s use.
*I hope you don’t think my pun inappropriate, based on 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV). He does own both after all.
**The growth center is where the rings come together, that is, where it began to grow, and is not the same as the geometric center because trunks and branches frequently grow faster on one side than the other based on tension or compression caused by holding weight.
***Have you ever watched an old Western movie with someone splitting wood? They go through every time. Why? They use straight-grained, dried Western varies of wood like cottonwood or fir that you could split with a hatchet.
K2
Posted in General, Heating with Wood, Outdoors, Photo, Tree Cutting, Woodworking, Work, tagged Chainsaws, Firewood, Tree Cutting, Tree Trimming, Trees on November 21, 2020| Leave a Comment »
…that is, Kerplunk number 2, not Karakoram Mountain #2, the second highest peak in the world above sea level. After the first tree fell without warning, being a seemingly healthy tree and not on a particularly windy day, my friends began to suspect another White Oak tree in their front yard. Was it similarly diseased and fated for freefall? They had a company drop the tree and then called on me to cut it up. I observed that the outer dozen or more rings were indeed darker as if diseased, which you can see in the first picture. It took me over six hours to cut up the branches and part of the trunk. It would have been longer but the local ironworks/woodworker agreed to get the main trunk. Because the tree felling company did not report grounding until late morning, I did not start cutting until 11:30. My friend, the homeowner, came home from work early to clear away brush and firewood. I was cutting pretty much non-stop for 6 hours. My forearms were very weak and achy the next morning.
My stance indicates to me that I was cutting upward to prevent pinching of my saw by the weight on the branch.
Because I knew the iron/woodwork was coming, I cleared the branches off of the main trunk first. I left outriggers to keep the trunk off of the ground and prevent it from rolling over. Then I began to clear the driveway.
I spend a considerable amount of time working outside for which I am thankful. I have however, began wearing light, long-sleeved SPF-50 shirts and hat to protect me from the Sun. My forearms indicate that I spent far too many years baking in sunlight.
There were many forks up the tree because it had been severely topped some time long ago. Don’t trim more than a little from a tree, especially oak trees. It uglifies them and shortens their life.
The ironworker/woodworker has all of the toys. Below he is clearing the smaller pieces in order to drag the trunk down to the driveway. The front and rear wheels of the forklift steer. It is not quite “zero-turn” but close.
I thought that my Husqvarna Rancher 460 with the 2′ bar was quite a lot of saw, but the Stihl was far more powerful and appears to have a 30″ bar.
He cut two logs, a ten foot one and a twelve foot one and loaded them in 30 minutes. I estimated the larger of the two logs to be 3500-4000 lbs based on size and typical weight of green oak wood.*
While I was editing the next picture, I zoomed in to count rings. This is about 22 feet up the trunk on the smaller of the two trees (2 1/2 feet in diameter instead of 3 1/2 feet in diameter of the larger tree). I counted 70 rings. Even if the base revealed 90 years of growth, this was a mere youngin’ in White Oaks trees that can live for 500-600 years.
*60 to 70 lbs per cubic foot- wow! Especially amazing considering the dried oak is 48 lbs/cu.ft
Lean-To Shed
Posted in Capentry, General, Photo, Project, Work, tagged Outdoors, Pictures, Project, Work on October 10, 2020| Leave a Comment »
You wonder how some terms came to be. Then there are others so descriptive of their meaning and utility as to need no further explanation. An example is a Lean-To. Enough said.
I had bought a used riding mower in exchange for labor earlier in the summer. At 60 years of age, mowing a 3/4 acre lot with a push mower was becoming daunting rather than jaunty. When I first got the mower I parked it under my firewood shed to keep the seat dry and deck from further rust. But as Autumn approached I began considering where to put firewood in the dry if I should ever find any. So, I decided to build a lean to onto the side of my shed. The double doors of the shed were not wide enough for the deck of the mower and would require a tedious rework for the purpose of parking the behemoth in the already crowded storage/workspace. I did not want to buy the lumber since it has gone up considerably of late and this was just used mower. When a job required taking down an old deck, I put the better, slightly deteriorated boards aside into my truck for homegoing. One of my sons thought it impressive that I did the lean to in one day. I really took 3 hours of previous day to clear the space of shrubbery and set up the posts, but my wife did not tell him that. I did not think to catch quite the whole process, but following is my lean to build:
Some of the lumber was quite nice to be used. I had built the shed years before. I had hand built roof trusses that allowed a vaulted ceiling over the middle half of the 20′ long shed. I had plywood gussets at the top and ends of the trusses. It had a large Virginia Pine behind it at one point. On the a Friday after Thanksgiving several years ago while we were away at an extended family gathering, my third son was awakened by a loud crash. He looked outside to see everything covered in copious amounts of ice and the Virginia Pine snapped about three feet up its trunk and lying on the shed. The two foot diameter tree and ice broke one truss which slowed it down enough to only crack others. It was a tedious repair job. The new sheets of roofing did not hold onto the forest green Rustoleum paint very well. I need to sand it and try again.
The shed sits in a very wet spot, a fact I did not know when I built it there. For that reason I had to plant the lean to posts on concrete bases, “feet” if you will. The last two years have been very wet, even record wet last year.
Stacked Decks
Posted in Creating, General, Photo, Work, tagged Creating, Decks, Designing, Projects, Work on July 11, 2020| Leave a Comment »
God has provided me with projects to do. It is good to remind yourself that “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10) And Colossians 3:24-25: “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” I am thankful for work to do and things to create and supplementing my income. If I can continue to get regular jobs, I won’t have to work constantly since I have retirement income. So, I think that I will take a few days off and rest from my labors. Even before my retirement went into effect, people were thinking I would have time to work for them and began asking me to do projects. In my mind and plans, this is a transition phase to a “second career”, but since it says, “The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9), I don’t know what is going to happen. Following are two creations of the last month between home chores, climbing, and parties.
Heavy Duty Support
A deck below the deck
The owner plans to build a retaining wall that will be back-filled to level the ground at the base of the stairs and then lay a stepping stone approach to the stairs.
Grand Entryway
The original deck is about ten years old and needed some repair. It is eleven feet off the ground so they wanted a reasonable exit/entry to the back of the house.
repairs
Final Inspection by my wife
The second deck is at a lake house where a Jacuzzi was slid down the steep side yard to put in place on a concrete pad. The also had a new patio poured and then wanted an easy way to get in and out of the Jacuzzi.
The hidden support
adding the beauty
My new design
sturdy, functional, and aesthetic
Entry from the newly poured patio
There were many custom cuts. The patio is slanted in order to drain water, though more than usual. That makes the first step vary in height across the deck. The Jacuzzi is on a level concrete pad so that the water is level in the tub. The floor boards immediately around the Jacuzzi are tightly fit to prevent dropping small items under the deck.
Comfortable lounging
I enjoyed designing the bench so that it only overhung the deck by five inches while being sturdy and fifteen inches wide. The deck is low enough to not require a railing. There are temporary steps off the back since they are considering a stairway up to the master bedroom deck. There is a significant amount of sweat and planning in a deck, but a significant of satisfaction when it comes out right. After my short time off, I start another deck. God is providing and guiding. I must have patience and trust for how He is doing that.
Stop Gap Procedure
Posted in Experience, General, Photo, Problems, Work, tagged Car Repair, Do It Yourself, Photos on August 4, 2019| Leave a Comment »
I am a self described “Jack of All Trades, Master of None”. How does one become part of this nation? My observation has been that there are generally two paths to “Jack”. 1) Be very smart and well studied and carefully try many things, having the resources to continue and succeed. 2) Be very desperate (or needy), having few resources, particularly money, imprudent to the dangers of failure, fail alot, learn from experience, and at last succeed. I am of the latter tribe. In the first tribe are those who have confidence that it will work because of their circumstances. In the second tribe are those who against all odds need it to work or “it ain’t happenin'”.
There is, perhaps, a third tribe, but they are small. They are masters of many trades, but those guys retire early to make YouTube videos with over a million subscribers.
My modest car had a modest oil leak, the kind you might ignore because you only need add a half a quart of oil between oil changes, unless you were at highway speeds for extended times (ring blow by likely as not due to mileage above 200K). I wanted to stop the leak because it was dripping on the exhaust manifold, burning, and smelling. That meant that my wife and I could not open the windows on a cool evening or dash through the mountains because the fumes made us feel sick. It also meant that the leak was hard to find because there was very little evidence.
My son who is training to be a mechanic found the leak that I could not. It turns out that the Rocker Arm Cover Gasket includes rings around the spark plugs. The leak was covered and the oil came out elsewhere in small amounts where it was burnt. Oh, what small problems cause such consternation.
- A fun drive, decent to low power, dependable, hoping for another 50 to 100K.
- Simpler approach than most modern compact car engines.
- Clean engine for 207,000 miles!
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The offending tale-tale indicator of leakage
Over the years I have had many successes at mechanicing, carpentering, plumbing (oh, I hate that one), electricianing, tree felling, and the like. I ask lots of questions of people who know how, proceed carefully, beg, borrow, or buy tools as I can, and get help when I get stuck. I have also failed at times, needing costly bailout. But the need of this tribe member not to fail has compelled me to many paths, however so circuitous, to multiple successes. Because of properties of my personality (flaws?) I am not sure I would want to be so provided for that I had not learned all of these neat skills (unless it avoided plumbing, scraping paint, or completing a project after multiple nights after midnight). Therefore, I am thankful to God for the many, many times He has enabled me to provide for my family by a frugal rework of equipment I already possess. I could learn another way of just “Honey, call the plumber,” but that is not the path God has most usually called me to and I am content. I hope this present fix is just works at length.
Thankful That I Can
Posted in Blessing, General, Photo, Running, Strength, Thanksgiving, Work, tagged Photos, Running, Thanksgiving, Work on November 21, 2018| Leave a Comment »
I have nothing to brag about. “For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). But I do have much to be thankful for, because I have received many good things from the hand of God. “O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” ( I Chronicles 16:34)
On this Wednesday before Thanksgiving I am reflecting on one particular facet of what I have received for which I am thankful among the many I have been given. I am healthy enough to be active. I just finished carrying my ladder to the side of my house and then my neighbor’s house, climbing up, blowing off the roof and out the the gutters. Afterwards I blew the leaves off of a portion of my yard. Before that I got up on a step stool and cleaned a light fixture. And before that I ran a continuous mile for the first time since January. I had tried running 0.1 mile three months ago but had to quit because of pain. The beginning of November I tried again. For the last three weeks I have been building up slowly because my knee felt weak and because I was easily winded.
At my age, I’ll not get back what I lost in speed the last 10 months, but I am so thankful to God that I can start over and make progress. I hope that I may use what He has given me to glorify Him.
I am more deeply thankful that God has saved me from my sin, has given me purpose in life, has given me a believing wife, five believing children, and six beautiful grandchildren. Beyond our relationship with God, people are the most precious gift we have. Take time to delineate your blessings this holiday and declare what you are thankful for to those around you.
First continuous mile in 10 months
Disparate Joys
Posted in Blessing, Cutting Wood, Family, General, Grandchildren, Outdoors, Photo, Relationship, Work, tagged Family, Grandchildren, Photos, Woodcutting on November 10, 2018| 2 Comments »
I would write more if I weren’t living life so much, but then it would all be stale reminiscing. That will have to wait for later or never. Last Friday evening my wife and I fought traffic to get to our son’s apartment (usually 2 1/2 hours but nearly 3 1/2 this rainy, dark, Friday rush hour). We ate out and spent the night. Next morning we traveled 2 hours to my daughter and son-in-laws’ house to see our sixth grandchild for the first time and help son-in-law take down two mostly dead trees. He had acquired by purchase and neighborly borrowing all of the equipment except for my larger chainsaw (He bought a smaller one.).
Felling trees is adventuresome, challenging, and useful. Being a variety of poplar, possibly a cultivar of Eastern Cottonwood, and dying from some disease, made for a threat to his garage and house. We set up the following rig with cable, pulley, and winch. In place of the truck was a neighbor’s skid-steer loader as an anchor and winches on the other side with a pulley at the tree:
I set to notching the tree. As I did the wind was widening the gap in the notch, demonstrating the necessity for the cable set-up. Both times the trees were slightly weighted toward the structures and the wind was pushing in that direction, too. But we put them safely on the ground within the approved drop zone.
Dying too close to the garage
Notching high enough to leave a fence post
Relaxed Tension
More work to do
The other joy was meeting my grandchild and holding him. He has many difficult days ahead with heart surgery sometime in the next several months to repair deformities. But this day he was happy and content, and looking healthier than he really is. As he grows his heart will not be able to provide sufficient oxygen to all of his body. Conversely, the doctors want him to grow larger and stronger before they attempt surgery. When is the right time? We pray that the doctors will know the time, that God will strengthen this boy, direct the doctors, and grow him in to a blood bought warrior for the kingdom. He is a handful for his parents who must give him special care and manage all of the other parts of life as well. May God superintend all their provisions for life and godliness. We are thankful to God for this young extension of our family and their new arrival.
Mamaw holding a precious grandson
The little man
Nurse (big sister) holds a stethoscope or microphone?
Drink up and grow strong, young man!
It is good to be home after the long hospital stays.
Circumspectly
Posted in Blessing, General, God Thoughts, Piety, Proverb, Relationship, Truth, Work, tagged Diligence, Humility, Purpose, Relationship, Spiritual Walk, Truth, Work on October 12, 2018| Leave a Comment »
When I am walking in an unfamiliar part of the woods, I give attention to my feet to avoid snags and stumbles, what is beyond a log I am stepping over, the topography, stream flow direction and size, water, food, daylight left, cloud cover, and sounds. The quietness and loneliness of the woods encourages a tendency toward introspection. But these observations are needed focus; one needs to be circumspect. It is important to give attention to these variables. And it does not mean that I am paranoid or overly worried. Most of these observations are part of the enjoyment of being outdoors. Nature is enjoyable to observe because God has given it much beauty and intricacy. But I have been in enough potentially harmful situations in the woods to look around and take calculated risks.
“The basic meaning of Latin circumspicere is “to look around.” Near synonyms are prudent and cautious, though circumspect implies a careful consideration of all circumstances and a desire to avoid mistakes and bad consequences.” Math students know that a circumference means around a circle. And many types of training from military to pilot to driving to playing sports involves keeping one’s “head on the swivel”. It is important to have situational awareness for many pursuits, both enjoyable and serious.
But this way of walking in the woods is but a metaphor for the more challenging spiritual walk. Ephesians 5:15-16 says, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil.” What brought this word to mind happened just last Sunday at my church when we recited our covenant together, which includes the phrase, “…to walk circumspectly in the world…” What is the practical outworking of these ideas? Following are a few Scriptures and thoughts on walking circumspectly.
“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.” Proverbs 3:7
“Heed instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it.” Proverbs 8:33
“prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” James 1:22
“Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” Proverbs 3:3
“And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27
“ Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4
There are many hundreds of verses that could be quoted about walking circumspectly. The focus that I intend here is care to avoid pride in the areas of truth and relationship. Or to state the idea in a positive and more casual way, be humble about what you know, teachable, convinced of God’s truth, and be humble and kind in how you relate to others.
We are given many good gifts. One is life. God has a purpose for us being alive.
Another is time. We should use it efficiently. I don’t mean by being a workaholic because of some vague guilt that you must utilize every minute in profit making pursuits. Instead, seek the deeper profit of following God’s leading. It may seem a circuitous route, not at all according to your day planner. Rest is profitable. Stopping to converse is profitable. Enjoying a few moments of contemplating nature is profitable. Completing a job in a timely fashion is profitable.
Another gift is work, because it gives purpose. “Whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10) “He also who is slack in his work is brother to him who destroys.” (Proverbs 18:9)
So, my preliminary, totally non-exhaustive definition of walking circumspectly is be observant and prudent in how you handle truth, relationship, and pursuits so that “whether… you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (I Corinthians 10:31) May God grant us each a deeper, more careful, more enjoyable walk with Him through this world.
Tree Felling Hazard Rule #1
Posted in General, Outdoors, Photo, Work, tagged Chainsaw, Outdoors, Photos, Work on May 6, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Odd shaped trees make for hazardous felling.
So, I climbed a few feet up on a ladder and took out some limbs. Then I was on the ground taking down the snagged limbs. I had to cross a barbed wire fence to get to some of the limbs. Several of the trees needed pulled by truck and rope. One twisted and the stump end jumped toward me. I had noticed when the tree began to move that it was twisting, so I stepped back two steps. When it landed at my feet I jumped back again. Even small trees are due respect since they outweigh me many times over, are much taller, and fall in surprising ways. Oh, you can read that it will fall funny, but not always the exact path. I cut Sweetgum, Willow Oak, Eastern Redcedar, Black Cherry, and Maple. The trees ranged in size from 6 inches to 2 feet- small to medium. It was to help out a friend’s mother. My friend helped cut downed trees and pull with the truck and two of his daughters hauled brush and loaded firewood for him and for me. Everyone worked hard and everyone was safe, including, as best I know, not getting poison ivy that was thick on several of the trees. And did I mention that I got paid.
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