Quella porta d'ingresso sembra fantastico!

It had always been my goal to reuse/recycle as much building materials as possible.  Through friends (Greg’s lumber donations were a G_dsend) and craig’s list…I was able to save quite a bit.  I thought I was maintaining this goal when I acquired the 36” solid wood entrance door complete with screen/glass door for $35.  Replacing the threshold with a beautiful hickory duplicate through Millwork Design Solutions bumped the total investment to $75 which would have still stuck with the theme to miser out the cost of the build.  However, I was plagued with how much manipulation was required to force this old, tired door to operate within the Shed-Mahal.  And, when I was finished (the previous post) with its installation, it didn’t fit “perfect”.  The gaps around the frame / door and frame / rough opening would require more time, labor and additional weather stripping to seal the inside from the outside.  The wheels of thought and more accurately reason began to paint a picture that maybe it would be better to rewind and begin again.  If you’ve stuck with me along this journey and watched the way we’ve constructed this structure from start to finish, this door was a black sheep of all the other steps that we’ve completed up to this point. 

After discussing my displeasure with my partner Floatman Jim, it was decided that we’d just replaced the old-new door with a new-new door bought from the big box store.  Yesterday, I spent the better part of the day up at camp extracting the CL wood model and replacing it with a weather tight and brand-spanking-new metal entrance version.

The removal of the wood door went surprisingly fast due to the bi-metal blade attached to my Porter Cable tiger saw.  Not to go off on a tangent, but this professional power tool was purchased the year we bought our home and has been a faithful and durable work horse that has not seen a material bond it couldn’t chew through at break neck speeds.  Takes off skin and flesh quickly too, but don’t they all? LOL!  Anyway, five minutes flat and the old door was out and I was cleaning up the rough opening for the new replacement.  Following the instructions meticulously, a generous amount of caulk was applied where specified (which was practically everywhere).  The instructions went as far as saying, “This step requires an entire tube of caulk!”  I found that funny, they weren’t kidding either.  About an hour later, the door was installed, it was closing without rubbing, without visible perimeter gaps and with an excellent seal.  Another hour later and I had the locksets in and the aluminum framing for the screen door in place.  Another hour (we’re into the third hour now) and the “manipulation” of the screen door had it returned to practically factory new.  I repaired some of the hinges that were bent and replaced some screws that were either missing or mangled. Finishing up the third hour and into the fourth had an entire new set of hardware installed including the handle assembly, return piston and safety springs.  The job finished up with setting the glass panels back in place and adjusting the return piston to close at an appropriate speed.

What’s left on “Things To Do List”?

Interior-

• Maple Floor
• Linoleum Loft Floor
• Loft Ladder
• Insulating

Exterior-

• Metal Roof
• Painting
• Edge Trimming
• Painting
• Eave Trimming
• Windows
• Entrance Wall Extension Deck
• Entrance Door Stairs
• Roll Door Entrance Ramp

I was able to reduce the usual 50 minutes of setup time to 35 minutes of take down through efficient use of my back and forth trips to the SUV with tools and flying through the 200’ of electrical cord manual winding.  It was target practice time and I was ready to have a little fun and filming.  The rest is documented in the video clip attached.  Enjoy!

Entrance Door, In & Functional...

     With the kids spending an overnight at Grandma and Grandpa's house, Jen and I were afforded some quality time together to catch up on each other's lives.  It was nice to share time together with little interference from the children.  The drive toward camp was spent conversing about a myriad of topics.  Jen did most of the talking, I did most of the nodding and "Uh-huh"-ing.  With work for me and school for Jen always seeming to come between us, family/wife time has been something that I yearn.  My recent labors at camp help to comfort me in a small way.  Whether seated in fantasy or reality, the toils of my efforts will one day provide the ability to spend more time with them removed from the distractions of the concrete jungle and electronic matrix that defines our existence currently.

     Sunday morning, I set to work on the "Shed-Mahal" once again.  The project this time was to figure out why our entrance door didn't want to be a door and fix it.  After a couple hours of playing with the hinges, shims, etc...I had the deadbolt installed on a door that would swing open and close freely.  To be perfectly honest, I'm not happy with the fit, finish and overall look of this door.  The new hickory threshold is the best part of it.  My biggest concern revolves around whether it will continue to operate freely and how weather tight it will remain in the future.  With everything else we've built into the structure to elevate it to "Mahal" status,  I think this door is just a distraction.  After discussing my dissatisfaction with Jim, I believe that despite having a door that works, we will likely replace it with a new steel clad panel door that is a "ready-install".

    Besides installing a door that will most likely be looked at a complete waist of time on my part, I was able to do a couple other things.  I was able to install two missing catch/stops on the roll door lip that prevent it from winding too far when open.  I installed a metal safety handrail (one of two or three that we'll have) where the loft ladder will be positioned, straighten up the wood pile under the shed and took the necessary measurements to construct the loft ladder at home where it is extremely convenient.

     My next trip should involve the transport of a completed loft ladder and possibly the installation of the new entry door.  I have found exterior paint (Lowe's) that is both primer and paint in one and can be applied down to 35 degrees.  With temperatures slowly increasing, I'm hoping that an upcoming visit (soon) may allow me to apply paint where the edge trimming, soffit and door opening borders will be installed and thus permit me to begin trimming the entire structure.  Once the trim is installed and the edges treated with caulk where necessary, we can paint everything and remove all the plastic protective sheeting that is stapled in place.

     Onto the enjoyment of the trip.  I ran another 100 rounds through both the SR9C and 40C and have really taking a liking to the way the 9mm performs.  I believe I'll need to adjust the elevation on the .40 because it consistently hits targets low, but the 9 was zeroed in right out of the box.  I played around with micro bulleyes drawn with a magic marker on a white bucket placed on top of a heavy wood stack in front of our backstop and was amazed.  I was doing a fairly great job at hitting a quarter sized dot from some respectable distances and with some of the cheapest ammunition available.  I know it would be silly, but I'd love to see what this pistol could do with a red dot or scope as a sight.  I had quite a bit of fun in both slow-focused and rapid fire style target practice.   When I was finished, the bucket was in sorry shape and looked like Swiss cheese.  I'll take a few minutes of video the next time I decide to practice  with them again.

The Roll Door Experience...

   Despite the horrible weather, Jim and I made it safely down to camp by 9:45pm Saturday evening.  I called in a few favors and as we pulled into the new not-so-local tavern, we were greeted with a wave and nod from the kitchen and a "Are you the friends that just came up from Pittsburgh?"  "Why yes, yes we are!" LOL!  

   The bar was hopping, the music blasting and the patrons were definitely enjoying themselves!  In only a matter of minutes and after just a few swigs from our frosted aquarium sized draft Yuengling mugs, our attentive waitress presented us with a loaf of fresh baked sour dough bread, twin salads, baked potatoes and the largest, most delicious, prime rib that I have ever had the pleasure of attempting to consume.  I say "attempting" because the 2" thick, 22+ ounces of perfectly prepared and slow cooked moo-cow was too much for me to conquer.  Jim, on the other hand, had no problem! LOL! What made the dinner so special, besides the taste, was the fact that our meal was prepared fresh for us an hour after the kitchen had closed and the chef made sure on two occasions that it was exactly what we desired.  How's that for service!?  The very best part, besides making new friends and calling in awesome favors, was the value:  $35.00 total for both our meals including beverages!

    While the food was spectacular, the driving conditions were certainly not.  I've taken the trip up to camp several times in some fairly poor conditions, but this trip was possibly the worst.  The 9 degree temperatures, mixed with snow squalls, white-outs, snow packed roads and black ice made it quite "exciting".  One especially hazardous point was inability to stop at a "T" shaped intersection while passing through town.  We needed to make a right turn, and thanks to G_d, there was no one in the lane while we slipped straight through the stop sign and on our way.  And, before you think it, I was driving very very cautiously sloooowww, but it didn't matter.  

      Enough of the hazardous conditions and onto the fun stuff...with bellies full we traveled back through town and back up the mountain.  The road up to camp was groomed and densely packed snow, it was slippery, but manageable.  As we turned onto the private drive I noticed tracks.  Jim and I had discussed the obstacle of sleeping in a 10 degree cooler (what Pedro's cabin what surely be hovering at) and there seemed to be a bit of anxiety mixed into the conversation.  All of that disappeared when we realized that the tire tracks leading up through 8-10" of snow was actually Pedro at the cabin.  What this meant was the cabin would be more like 90 degrees!  And it was!  Woo-Hoo!  

      After a restful and warm night sleep, waking up to coffee was a G_dsend!  Two cups later (and some wasted time spent chit-chatting) Jim and I began the process of setting up shop to actually get some work done.  I had trailered up the maple flooring and it now resides in the loft awaiting installation at a later date.  Working together, and in a matter of a couple hours, we had the roll door installed (which actually took just about 40 minutes to put into place) and the entrance door's frame and door partially installed and locked down.  The insulated roll door is very nice.  I couldn't be happier with how easy it was to install and how well it turned out.  There is some relief that in hopefully just one more trip, we'll have a locked and secure structure.  Slowly we'll be able to bring up supplies that make camp life easier and the packing routine prior to camp less stressful.    

     

     I apologize for the crappy video.  I promise that I will tape a longer version with inside and out shots of both doors on my next trip up.  There just wasn't enough time and I was in a hurry to fire my new toy.  Which is a very enjoyable firearm.  Recoil, target acquisition during rapid firing and grip ergonomics are all quite manageable and a definite improvement from the older Glock that I previously owned.  I'm glad I made the switch.  

During the next trip, I hope to tackle the following:

• Finish the white entrance door's installation so that it can be used
• Install the screen door, latches, return spring and retraction piston
• Box in the area around the drum of the roll door bringing the loft level over top of it
• Install the side draft guards and top draft stop on the roll door

I'll keep you updated!

Dj

Making Magic @ Millwork Design Solutions...

Oak Floor Preparation...

  Last year, August, 2011 to be exact, I blogged about a "wanted advertisement" placed on Craig's List for flooring that was answered by a gentleman named Ernie of Erie, Pa.  Oak Flooring  I ended up receiving approximately 140-150 square feet of 3/4" oak flooring that was removed as part of a gymnasium renovation for the low-low price of free (if you don't count the $35 in gas to get it).  At the time, the floor was still attached to multiple crisscrossing layers of 1/4" plywood pieces and had tons of fasteners that needed to be removed.  (See video)  Having done little to the floor besides stacking the individual pieces and storing them within the Banner Camper, it has become time to get the ball rolling...

     This past Sunday I began the morning by modifying another Craig's List "gift" to better suit our needs at camp.  When the work was finished, I had a two door base cabinet complete with heavy duty ball bearing casters.  After a light sanding to the top, which really brightened up the butcher's block, I then used it for the second "things to do" on my list:  prepping the floor.

     The oak floor, when removed, was originally cut into big (and heavy) sections with a concrete saw by the guy who gifted it to me.  As a result, the tongue and groove connections were severed around the perimeter.  The job of returning those areas back to factory was my goal.  I set up a home-made router jig on the top of the rolling cabinet.  Returning the boards back to factory so they could them be reinstalled into the Shed Mahal required three passes.  One for the top edge of the tongue notch, one for the underside cut and then one for the groove that the tongue fits into on the opposite end.  Inspecting a board that had the factory tongue revealed the top dado is a deeper cut than the bottom.  So, the fun begins with a router pass for all the tops and then resetting the bit depth and repeating for the underside.  After this stage was complete, I was left with two piles.  One that needed nothing and an equal sized pile that needed the groove put back into the end.  The bit that Shawn's Dad let me borrow made quick work of this task and in no time, I had a floor that was ready for sanding.  The next job is transporting the floor to Millwork Design and running the boards through the wide belt sanding machine.  Shawn ran a sample for me and with the finished sanded off, it looks fantastic.

      Jim and I have decided that we would  make up the difference of approximate 42 square feet that we're short with rubber flooring at the entry door wall.  So, once the milling and sanding of the floor stock is finished, brought up to camp, doors are installed, and the floor is laid from the North wall toward the south door wall...the rubber flooring will fill in the gap when we run out of oak.

The video begins with excerpts of the work performed on the flooring and the finished look.  At the end of this part, I show the nice stack of wood that is now completely usable, but unsanded.  The one "odd ball" board is how it'll all look once the old finish has been removed.  The second part of the video transports us up to camp where I show the nice rolling, butcher block cabinet I constructed (for free) and then finally the video finishes up with the North side of the Shed Mahal begin finished with the t1-11.

One more note that cascades into several, my cousin Dave accepted delivery of the insulated steel roll door and it is now safely stored in my garage.  It looks great!  Once the threshold is repaired for the solid 36" wide entrance door, I'll bring it and the roll door up to camp and install them.  At that point, we'll have a structure that is sealed to the outside elements and lockable.  The following trip will involve the installation of the oak flooring.  Things are really coming along now!  And, as I mentioned in an earlier post, once the weather becomes warmer, we'll begin painting the surfaces that will have trim, install the trim corners, horizontal band and window framing boards and then repaint it all.  The paint color?  We're going to go with forest service brown (as shown in the photo above).  Our deep green metal roof (forest green) and door will look great next to it!

For some reason, it appears as if the 1/24/2012 post didn't hit the blog.  I noticed it when I was writing the draft for this one.  So, if you're interested, hop back two posts and read the work Matt and I did and watch the short video.

Dj

One more peak to go...

In a slight change of pace, I chose to sleep at home and make my trek up to camp in the cover of darkness in the early morning hours of Wednesday.  And, since we're doing something different, I did most of my driving on route 6 east into camp.  It took about 25 minutes longer, but I figured "What the heck?!"   The wheels stopped turning around 8:45 and I methodically unloaded the SUV.  Let's face it, I've done this enough times that I should have a doctorate.  After putting the stolen sleeping bag back into Pedro's cabin, sometimes you've got to keep an eye on your friends and their sticky fingers, I strung the power to the Shed Mahal and got to work.  In just a few hours, I had attached the final sheet of T1-11 for the first level, filled in the two areas with 3-4" scabs where the width of the cabin was wider than 12', router the door openings for both the roll door and 36" entrance door and filled in the South side peak with T1-11 cut to fit.  A big thank you to Shawn's Dad Ray for providing the router bit that made the creation of the door openings match perfectly to the stud framing that was in place behind the exterior panels.

What's left?

• Install the roll door
• Install the entrance door / screen door
• Paint
• Install the metal roof
• Frame & install the (3) small windows
• Trim frame the exterior corners, doors and wall seams
• Install the trim panels for the ridge rake and eaves
• Install the faux board and batten look every 16" across all walls.
• Caulk where needed
• Repaint the trim

Many of the things on the list can't be done until spring or at least until much warmer temperatures.  So, one more trip to complete the North wall's peak panels and we're done until spring.  This will free up time for me to bring the solid wood floor I acquired up to installation ready condition.  I can do this at home where it is much more convenient.

Sweet!

Siding The Shed-Mahal

This past Saturday evening Matt and I hit the road in a vehicle packed full of tools on our way toward TC.  We pulled into town around 9:30 and hit the not-so-local pub for some grub.  Prime rib was the special and we quickly placed an order for two of them before the kitchen closed.  We were delighted to see two 12-16 ounce slabs of meat nestled in a steaming puddle of au jus flanked by a baked potato, side salad and a bowling ball sized sour dough baked bread.  Add a total of 4 Yuengling drafts to the total and the best surprise of the night was a tab of $33!  Yes, THIRTY THREE AMERICAN DOLLARS for all that.  Have I mentioned that I love Pennsylvania?!

The biggest fear of the night at this point was whether the SUV was going to be able to make it up the bad part of our private road with are overstuffed fat rears loaded within it!  The road had not been used since the last snow fall and there was a fresh foot of it sitting waiting to be trudged through.  I hit the gas hard and as the Mountaineer rounded the corner and slide up the narrow turn I felt all four wheels ripping away toward some lower level of traction hidden under the snow.  We whipped from one side of the road to the other sliding like a luge from right to left (which was kind of fun).  In 2 seconds flat I was backing up to my neighbor's cabin to facilitate the unloading of sleeping bags and pillows.   That wasn't so bad, but the 10 degree temperatures was another subject.

We tried desperately to warm the cabin, but even a decent fire and a space heater couldn't fight the fierce cold.  After an hour or so of building up a fire and adding logs, we called it a night and slide into our sleeping bags.  We awoke at 8:30AM, I called the decision to head down to the local diner for some warm breakfast and coffee.  It was a wise choice.

Fully fulled we worked as a team and prepped the Shed-Mahal for walls.  There was some minor, time killing,  preparation work to be done on the one side facing the elements, but after installing a ledger board of cut 2X4" spacing pieces for a upper edge nailing surface, we started to nail the T1-11 in place.  Three hours later, we had skinned the structure over 90% of the first floor.  The last sheet was saved for my next trip as boarding it in place would have prevented entrance into it completely.

Here's a video recap that begins with a panning of the Allegheny River.  This time, no endless babbling and repetition...(for those that turn off the volume, you won't need to this time!).