The view from the outhouse
Tuesday September 7, 2021
It is 7:25 pm here. A lot of my FB friends are fast asleep. I had most of this post typed on my phone and saved in FB with pictures ready to proofread and post. Some how a zero turned into a one in my phone and the post was gone. So this is the second version of the story. Like Jen Psaki I’ll circle back around to the real story. I’m happy that today is the first time in months that I’m caught up with the progress on the Spruce Manor addition. I will be happy when it is finished so that I can get back to telling you the temperature, what time the sun rose and set, and if the river is high or low. Here it is.
Monday August 23
It was raining today so Cory cut and planed the one inch lumber that we had left. Roger and I did some equipment maintenance sheltered from the rain under the deck. We spent a long time changing a seal in the front end of the Kubota only to find it was the wrong part and wouldn’t go back together. We used the old seal and got it reassembled. We use the Kubota every day to do something, either at the mill or at the site.
Tuesday August 24
The weather is better today so we planed, cut and set the 3 rafters on the east side of the structure. Then we added the vertical posts and gusset plated everything
Wednesday August 25
We need more logs milled, so Cory and I dragged logs to the mill and hauled finished lumber to the cabin. Kari and Roger ran the mill. I drag the logs with the forks off the bucket. Then we put them on to lift the beams off the mill and put another log onto the mill. While the forks are on I take a load of slabs to the scrap pile. Then I take a load of finished lumber to the cabin on the forks. I don’t know how many times the forks went on and came off for the day but a lot. Next life I’m going to get the quick connect kit for the loader so I can just drop the bucket and pick up the forks.
Thursday August 26
More dragging and milling today. We broke off in the afternoon and started setting 6 x 6 rafters in between the trusses. After work I mowed down by Al’s and Steve’s cabin. I destroyed the Bush Hog loosing a blade. It is going to need some welding. I have a spare blade left but the special bolt and nut is gone.
That’s ok I’ll just paddle my canoe down to the Tractor Supply Store and get a replacement. Not.
Friday August 27
Rain today. Roger did more maintenance on the rolling stock, fixing a flat tire on Kari’s four wheeler. Roger took a metal detector and found the missing blade, bolt, and nut for the Bush Hog Then he took the broken part and went home to weld it. I don’t know what is more amazing finding the parts or that the batteries in the metal detector were still good after setting for 4+ years.
Cory, Kari and I removed the knotty pine from the inside of the cabin where the addition is tying in. Kari headed down to Myra’s to pic berries in the afternoon. Roger came back and said Kari and Myra were soon to follow with snacks. Break out the refreshments, it’s Fridee night in the big city.
Saturday August 28
The weather is good today. We started building the next two trusses by building the west half first then setting the ridge beam on temporary center posts.
Sunday August 29
Missing from my memory
Monday August 30
Missing from my memory. I have no photos with those dates, so I guess it didn’t happen.
Tuesday August 31
We have a new member of our crew joining us today. Dan a neighbor that lives over by Roger and Cory. Today we got a lot done. Dan and I planed and cut the material. Roger and Cory put it in place and fastened it. We set the east side rafters on two trusses and swapped out the temporary center posts for the planed permanent ones. We also added 3-6 x 6 rafters. Doesn’t sound like a lot but we have to build scaffolding and platforms to work from. The timbers are heavy and each truss has about 140 lag bolts holding the gusset plates.
Really good day today.
Wednesday September 1
Dan came back today. I guess we weren’t too tough on him. He brought his 14” diameter beam saw. It will cut a 6” timber in one pass. Cory, Dan, and I added 5 more 6 x 6 rafters. Roger welded the brackets that I had made in Sterling to the tops of the last 4 pilings that hold the posts for the deck. We got the first 10 x 10 set on the outside corner. It is 18 feet long. It takes a while to get everything set to go up. With the help of the Kubota and a chain hoist it was standing tall and temporarily braced at quitting time.
Thursday September 2
It is raining today so the guys stayed home. I took Kari across the slough to the river side of the island so she could take the boat down to Myra’s. They are making onion soup and canning it today. The end of the ramp is really steep going down to the water so I worked on it with the Kubota. I was very careful because I had the backhoe off and the Bush Hog on the back. If I get stuck now I can’t use the hoe to pull me out. I guess I could just call Kamala. While I was working on the ramp Teddy found some dead fish to roll in. He won’t swim in the slough like Cooper so he really smells bad. Kari came home and gave him his first bath since we have had him. He smells a little better now.
Friday September 3
There were rain showers this morning so the crew delayed until 9am. It turned out to be a nice day with sunshine in the afternoon. We planed and set the last 3 posts that support the deck and the roof over it. I’m happy to have that task finished. After lunch we started putting the short 10 x 10 beams that supports the deck floor between the posts. We got 3 planed, in place, and secured. The fourth beam had some rot on it and we decided not to use it. No 10 x 10s left except for a couple 23 foot long ones that are reserved for the beams on top of the post. A quick trip to the mill, we have a short log left that we can get one out of. It is quitting time so we plan to mill it tomorrow. When we got back to the cabin Dan had located one upstairs that we had used for ballast on the scaffold crane. We will get it planed and in place tomorrow.
Saturday September 4
Cory and Dan are working at the community potato patch getting it ready to dig potatoes on the 11 th.
Roger and I planed and set the last short 10 x 10 beam between the posts. Then we selected the best 2 x 10s we had and started placing the floor joists for the deck. We need about 16 and are short a few. They are on 12” centers because of the long span.
Sunday September 5
It is very foggy today so Dan, Cory, and Roger delayed a bit before making the trek up the river. There is plenty of water so they can park in the slough again today. Cory and Dan started sheeting the front wall. Roger, Kari, and I went to the log pile to find something we can mill into about 7 more 2 x 10s 20 feet long. Luckily we had a couple 6 x 10s that weren’t suitable for trusses so we milled a couple of them into 2 x 10s.
We hauled everything the quarter mile back to the cabin with the forks on the Kubota loader. The trail isn’t very wide but if I zig and zag just right, I can wiggle 20 plus foot lumber through the trees. A birch tree had fallen across the trail during the night so I had to drop the first load and push it out of the way. Never a dull moment in the bush.
We set the rest of the floor joists and added a couple more beams to stiffen things up and we’re ready for the 3/4” plywood subfloor. We have about an hour and a half before quitting time. Roger was cutting, Dan was applying the glue to the joist, and Cory and I were placing the sheets and nailing them down. It was working fine, we had about 4 sheets down when the rain started. Not too bad, we want to get this finished. It gradually rained harder and we were pretty wet when we finished a little after 5. The guys have a cold boat ride home in the rain, they sure went above and beyond the call today.
Monday September 6
It was 37 degrees when we started work at 8 o’clock this morning. It is clear and we can see the mountain. We are all glad it isn’t raining. We added some gusset plates. Cory and I marked the tops of the 4 deck posts with a laser level and he cut them off. We planed the two 10 x 10 beams that rest on top of the posts. Roger and Dan rigged up the gin pole to hoist the first one in place. Not too hard, the more we set the easier it gets. We got it in place and joined to the other beam with another gusset plate. Then we hoisted the second beam. The posts that the beams set on have to be plumbed and lined up before the beam is fastened. It takes all kinds of tricks with ratchet straps and bottle jacks to get everything right on and bolted down. The 3 bottom chords for the trusses are planed and waiting to be cut in the morning. The deck looks good and the view is awesome.
Tuesday September 7
Today we set the 3 bottom chords for the end wall and the trusses over the deck. We spent the afternoon getting the ridge beam resting up on the bottom chords so that it can be hoisted into place when we get the east half of the trusses built.
That catches the daily blow by blow up. I hope the weather holds until we can get the roof on.
From the Silty Slough stay safe and healthy friends.
Thank you Lord for keeping us safe.
I’ll be in touch.
Blue skies!!
The View from the Outhouse 