Back Out to the Woodshed

Earth-speckled baseplate and firewood

There was mud on my wood.  The wood I stacked and stored lovingly and carefully was all dirty. (Shouldn't the sweet attention I gave it make it stay nice?) And there was mud in the sides and front lip of the woodshed as well. Ick!

Fine tuning is an art.  For some when a project is finished, it's finished.  If there's a problem, well, just too bad because enough effort has been contributed.  But my brain constantly is creating preferences, tweaking, adjusting for practicality and precision whenever possible.

Trench lined and ready for gravel

The woodshed was such a lovely rush--design, build, and fill--that the result of the recent rain startled me.  The wood was safe, finally.  But when I went to admire the project for the fifth or sixth time during the rainy next few days, the mud, mud, mud on the shed and stored wood made a gritty, wet grab for my attention. This mud thing set my mind spinning to fine tune the design's best next step.

Let it rain.  Wood should stay cleaner and drier

It turns out that the muddiest of the Things I get to do today is dig an out-sloping trench and fill it with gravel. Pretty simple solution that will dovetail with the rest of the plan to put in a few stepping stones as well.  Let it rain.

Out to the Woodshed--Roofed and Loaded

This morning is chilled.  No visible sun.  My ears do not like my work hairdo today.  Folks with short hair and bare ears must suffer in the winter!  A wool scarf accents my "outfit" by wrapping over the work hat, ears and around the neck, tied in back--be grateful there is no picture of this.

None of that really matters because roofing the woodshed with reclaimed 1x6 cedar boards is top of the Things I get to do today. A split second after roofing is finished, collecting all the wood and stacking it in its brand-new, luxury accommodations will be "top" since both are on my "mission" list.

Warm gratitude swells up over the roof boards already being cut and ready to go.  My assistant/consultant/husband shows me a time-saving way, "how the big boys would do it," he calls it, to position each row of roof boards.  We position them together.  I screw them down.  The sky starts to spit as we place the last one.

The finished beauty

No time to waste.  I measure and cut the sides.  My "assistant" mans the cordless drill, screwing them in place.  Measure, cut, fasten.  Measure, cut, fasten.  It is beginning to sprinkle.  It's noon straight up as the last board is in place, including vertical section supports inside to keep the wood in place.

Yard-side view--perfect blend
Notice in right distance wood to be gathered

The rain is serious, but we aren't and don't care at all. Since I love to stack wood, that's my job while my husband wheels barrow after barrow from all over and dumps it within my reach.

Dry wood in the left compartment;
Center is still a bit wet;
Right side is full of  fresh trims from
the Apple Tree Face Lift

Every stick is stacked and stored.  Let it rain. And it's supposed to do that for the next full week. Since I make trip after trip "out to the Woodshed" to admire its handsome, elegant, practical, perfect suitedness, I'm noticing the rain.

Sweet roof.  The water runs right off!
It was tested immediately.

Practically invisible from the main patio

 We are eager to spend many evenings watching the fire and soaking up starlight.  

The end: but, of course, really the beginning.

Out to the Woodshed--to the Rafters

Front "wall" framed and in position

The weather is holding, and I'm on a mission.  "On a mission" is my family's code talk for "Get out of Mom's way."  Things I get to do today have never before included heading "out to the Woodshed."  And today I get to, though the woodshed has at this exact point in time only a floor and one wall.  Handy Andy's going to change that.

Sides braced and rafters on
Ready for the roof and side walls

Cutting rafters can be a challenge. The hen house ones took me hours. This time around, my "work shop" is right here on the back patio, and the new miter saw works so well, all that's left is to nail them in place (well, I did measure and carry the boards back and forth).  On rafters it's odd, but tiny little measurements of 1/8 of an inch can make things all cockeyed.  Not a problem. A little fine tuning with the hammer--BANG--and everything fits together just fine.




Roof will be made of the same cedar boards.  Twisted the arm of the table saw this afternoon to chamfer one edge of the boards so they would make better roof "shingles."  This shed is nearly ready to shine!

The weather gods say they'll hold off the rain tomorrow until noon.   With two people working (consultant-husband is joining me), I'm sure we'll make that appointment.  (In case you're wondering why it's raining on you and not me as I work, there's a bit of lag time between writing and posting a blog.  It really was sunny last week.)

Out to the Woodshed--from the Ground up

Perfect location:  next to the privacy fence
 Close but out of the way

Clear lines of where the pavers and frame were.
Now in its correct position.

He dropped by midday and announced, "Inspector's here to check you out."   Moments later it was clear that the pad/floor for the woodshed was too close to the fence leaving no room for the back wall needed to keep out the rain and let the wood dry which was the reason for the woodshed in the first place.  It's not everyday that the Things I get to do today include moving a foundation.  Oh, my, all in stride.  So much better to know that now rather than later.  Relatively simple process to move the "foundation" and paver blocks two inches away from the fence. Just glad my husband stopped by to eat his lunch.

Floor pavers and frame correctly position next to the fcnce

Back wall framed
Applying the reclaimed boards for the wall

Back wall in position

And in spite of the mistake, there was enough time in the between phone calls and dental appointments to frame up the back wall, put the boards on it and heft it into place.









 It has been a Handy Andy's dream: free materials; vibrant, loving, warm weather with the chickens making lazy sounds for my music; an outdoor work shop complete with a brand-new compound miter saw (my Christmas present from consultant, coach, husband).  Talk about a day to plark! Hold my feet down to the earth, mama. I'm nearly blissed away!

Out to the Woodshed--the Outfit

They say the clothes make the man/woman.  Well, all I know is that to be a Handy Andy you have to have the right outfit.  Tommy Smothers still sings, "You see by my outfit that I am a cowboy (Handy Andy). If you get an outfit, you can be a cowboy (Handy Andy), too."  So I've paid careful attention to the attire needed to build a woodshed and am willing to share the details with you if you are also going to build one.  If you just want to pretend you did, the pants alone will do, and fine elements of this part of the outfit are covered in the post of 10/8/11, "Wearing the Pants."

Corner of handkerchief button on the collar.

Designer belt to hold the tool pouch!
I knew it would be good for something one day.

My nose really gets into the act and demands attention constantly when I'm plarking in the yard, so the first item is a handkerchief (tissues don't work with gloves and tools).  It needs to be available right up where it is used (remember the rule of organization), and dropping it in the mud (Oregon has mud) is not done.  Just button the corner of that baby right into the collar button hole and tuck the chief into your buzzoom.  Always handy, never dropped.



I just acquired a tool pouch (gift from my sister's cast-off pile), but it lacks a belt.  My waist has grown along with my interest in woodworking, and the only leather belt I could find was a fancy-pants woven one.  Since I seldom wear it for anything else, dedicating it to keeping my tools on the hip seemed perfect.






Along with moving forward on the woodshed project the Things I get to do today will surely include keeping the tool belt from migrating all around my hips, making it nearly impossible to bend over (contents spill on to the ground) and hiking up under my shirt.

Before

After

Again, I look to my consultant husband for guidance.  My style has been to use my work shirt as a light-weight jacket, tails flapping (though I was told it was unsafe).  My husband always tucks his shirt in, neat and snug. So I tried it:  T-shirt and work shirt stuffed deep into the brown pants, buttoned and zipped. Amazing.  Now I have belt loops. Position that tool belt, slip the belt part through one belt loop, and all is secured.  No more tool drift.

Hair secured. Handy Andy hat on.  Ready to roll.
Get a decent hammer, for Pete's sake!

Always, if you're female, always wear makeup when you are woodworking.  Can't tell you why, but the project always goes better.

Finally, the hair.  You can see from my profile picture that the hair is tied back and out of the way in a no-nonsense style. Curls falling forward into one's line of vision or little drifting hairs floating up your nose while you are getting exact measurements will not do.  And get a good hat.

Out to the Woodshed*--the Thought

The woodshed is for him, or so my husband says.  With retirement in the future, he wants a place to hide-out if I get cranky about having him under foot.  It's true that I'm hot on the idea building a woodshed, but it would be way too cramped for a full-grown man--so wood only--unless I was really cranky.

Woodshed plans: 2 deep, 6 feet wide, 5 feet tall

Ninety percent inspiration and ten percent perspiration?   I've been planning the woodshed for weeks, seeing it in various locations, imagining it full of wood, playing the "store like things together, and store them where they are used" song in my head since we have wood for our chiminea and our indoor fireplace stored in five different locations in our yard.  The apple tree's recent face lift added a new mountain of wood going every which way right by the back door.  Time to move forward on this.





All the Things I get to do today in the woodworking department are brand new, first time, first person adventures for me.  Fortunately, my consultant-husband listens to plans with a builder's ear and gently channels wild visions into something that can actually be constructed and remain standing for a period of time.  So next come the paper (I like red lines rather than blue or green), straight edge, pencil (mechanical, please), and eraser.   Once it's on paper, it feels like it's nearly done.

With enough creative thought energy behind an idea, it begins to move on its own.  My sister's neighbor had an adjacent fence fall into their yard.  They offered her (and she offered me) all the cedar boards and the treated 2x4 stringers--enough material to build nearly the entire shed.  We are ready to go!

 *"Out to the Woodshed": several posts on my latest wood plark (play/work).  Tomorrow: the Outfit.