Shed Plans are Complete

During the cold, nasty winter New England weather, we've been working on our shed plans. We've decided that the main project for 2011 will be to build the shed. There will be other things to do of course, but that will be the main goal.

We are planning to build a "monitor style" barn with one wing. I found a great set of plan in a book about building your own barns. Our goal is to have three areas: parking for a rider lawn mower and tractor, a workshop area, and a storage area. The plans we chose fit that bill perfectly.

We are planning to do all aspects of building the shed ourselves. So over the winter, we are getting our plans on paper. These are plans that we will submit with our building permit. It has also forced us to investigate what building materials we will use and the steps involved. It is also helping us develop our budget.

We know the first things we'll have to do is clear the building site and dig the foundation hole. But to do that, we have to buy a machine (tractor). Justin has been doing research on what machine will best suit all our needs. I think he's narrowed it down quite a bit, and has been looking online for one. So once we buy that and spring comes, we can get started.

I'm excited to be doing this ourselves. I've taken on the responsibility of developing the blueprints and creating a materials list. I have never done any framing (except building a dog house - which came out great by the way), and after all the research I've done, I think I can do this.

It's Getting Too Cold To Work Outside

I think this weekend will be the last that we spend up at the land working outside this year. It's now mid-December in New England and it's getting pretty cold. We've had some single digit temps in the evenings and a few days this past week never made it out of the teens.

We're really happy with the work we have accomplished this Fall. We've cut down a number of trees at the house site. It's a much safer working environment now. We have also come close to a final decision on where precisely the house will be located.

There are many things we can do over the winter, such as talk to the appropriate people about the septic design, finalize house plans, start identifying sources for building materials, and find a machine that will suit our needs.

Tool humor

My father in-law sent me this email joke today about tools. I thought it was pretty funny. Let's hope we learn the proper way to use tools for our upcoming projects.

Tools Explained

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light . Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, 'Oh sh--!'

SKIL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle... It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race.

TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes , trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.

BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.

STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short.

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

UTILITY KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use.

SON-OF-A-BITCH TOOL: (A personal favorite!) Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling 'Son of a BITCH!' at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need.

The Arm is Improving

After only 10 days, the splint and sling have come off my arm. I was told that because of the type of break I have, if I leave my arm casted for too long, I'll have trouble ever straightening it again. So I have to start moving it very soon.



I went to a massage therapist yesterday who deals mostly with athletes and their injuries. She was able to do some work on me and I have increased range of motion already.



I hope it's not too soon to say this, but I'm really optimistic that I'll have a quick and full recovery!

Septic Design Bids Are In

I send out requests for bids on the septic design not too long ago. I have received back 4 of the 5. One was priced much higher than the others, so they are automatically out. That leaves me with 3 to compare.

1. Purcell Associates. This is the firm that my cousin Pat knows well. I was interested in getting a quote from them since Pat recommended them. I sent them a detailed description of what we wanted to do in terms of a septic design. I heard back from Tom, and he indicated that our plan was unrealistic in terms of having a septic system that has a leaching field 600 ft away from the house. That's certainly not what we wanted to hear. We are going to call Tom and talk to him personally to better understand what the implications of that are. The house next door has the same set up, so we walked into this thinking it was possible.

2. Ross Associates. This is the firm that has been to the land already to do the plot plan and perc testing. I was interested in getting a quote from them since they are already familiar with the layout of the lot. I was, however, a little disappointed in the quote we got. The price is fine, but the description of the work included in that price was a bit wishy-washy. We'll need to get clarification on some points. If we do hire them however, we could probably get a better price since we are probably going to have them come out to mark the shared boundary line with the neighbors.

3. Hannigan. This is a firm whose name came up a number of times when I read through recent Planning Board meeting minutes. I get the impression that they do a lot of work in the area and are used to dealing with the town. I do think that they gave us a cookie-cutter bid, and didn't really consider the feasibility of our plan.

So now that we have the bids in, we need to evaluate them, get any necessary clarifications, and make a decision.

It's Too Early For a Setback

This past weekend, we were at the land clearing some trees. We decided to take a break and go for a walk. During the walk, I tripped over something and fell. On my way down, I held out my right arm to break my fall, and proceeded to break my arm.

I took an ambulance to Leominster Hospital and was treated and released. They diagnosed a "radial head fracture". Luckily this kind of break does better if you start to move it after just 2 weeks of mobilization. So no wearing a hard cast for 8 weeks. I'll have to start physical therapy in a few weeks.

At least it's getting cold and it's not the beginning of our work season. That would have stunk.

Blogs Tool Giveaways

There are many blogs that I regularly read. I find it's a great way to learn about a given subject area I am interested in. Sure, I could read a book about whatever the subject is, but blogs are typically written by people just like me - the average American - who has tons of knowledge and real life experience.

The blogs that I like to read are posted in the bloglist on this page. The three subject areas I read the most about are cooking, personal finances and home improvement.

This morning I was reading the latest posts over at OneProjectCloser. They are a group of friends from Baltimore that write about their home improvement adventures. I really enjoy reading their blog; especially their product reviews. Right now, they are doing a tool giveaway (which they regularly do). This giveaway is for a Dremel Trio. I haven't seen this tool before, but it looks really cool.

Check it out:

http://www.oneprojectcloser.com/dremel-trio-giveaway/#comments