Outdoors
Outdoor projects I've worked on.
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Building Solar Panelled Driveway Lights
You heard me right. We are building our own solar driveway lights to replace the previous store bought electric ones which lasted for 13 years.
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Kiln Building – loading door
The kiln building is almost complete now. With the kiln floor in place, testing of the drawbridge style loading door has been met with success in its initial testing.
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Sharpening Shed – the foundation
Time to make some more covered storage. There never seems to be enough space. The woodworking shop is becoming a bit too close for comfort for some of the work to be performed. It plan is to recycle some wharf timbers and then to mill some logs to put up the buildling.
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Spray Foam Insulation in the Kiln Building
Woohoo, the day has finally arrived!! We are getting ever closer to finishing this project. With the kiln doors installed, spray foam insulation is now being added to the kiln building. So fun…so expensive. Can’t really complain though, so far the only expenses have been the steel roof, the man door and the hinges. Everything else we had on hand or made ourselves, meaning we milled all the lumber on the sawmill.
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Making a Live Edge Bathtub Tray
When we finished the basement a few years back, we took our time to find the things we wanted to outfit it with. That included going to an auction and getting this dresser which we turned into a vanity. Since this bathroom doesn’t get high use, we left the original mirror even though it is a little wavy.
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Back to Work on the Kiln Building
How is it the middle of October already? We have a to-do list that needs to be finished before winter arrives. We last left off on this kiln building project when we set up the kiln’s computer. We decided to work on the two most important things first. Finishing up the firewood (we have a long way to go) and working on the kiln building. We are busy splitting kindling in our spare time and evenings ( short as they are) but spent some time furthering the progress on the kiln building too.
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Larger Planer Means Bigger Projects
We have been on the lookout for a larger planer for the workshop. Our old one only takes boards up to 12 inches wide. We priced out planers that took 24 inch boards but they were beyond what we were willing to pay. Hate when that happens. Then the clouds parted, the angels sang, and one came up for sale in our area. Love when that happens.
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The Firewood Process
Remember a few weeks ago I showed you the pile of hardwood we bartered skidsteer hours for. Well we spent the weekend working on it. First thing Saturday morning we loaded up the truck and headed out to the location about 10 minutes from home.
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We Bought A Truck That DUMPS!
The last few years, on countless occasions, one of us has said, “It would be so much easier if we could just dump this.” We considered buying a trailer that dumped, but already having two trailers for different uses, we thought three would be overkill. Then we mulled over the idea of converting our current truck by buying an insert that dumped. Didn’t really want to do that since it is our only vehicle. Like a dog with a bone, Jim searched online and finally came across this truck for sale.
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Bartering Skidsteer Hours for Firewood
Ever use the barter system? If not, you are missing out. Living in a small community people often barter for services. Case in point, we saw an ad for local firewood that sounded too good to pass up and after contacting the owner, turns out it was someone we knew. See, we have enough firewood for this coming winter but would really like to have a head start for next winter so we don’t have to scramble in the spring.