A Couple of Long Overdue Projects

For years we had a dark blue tiled kitchen countertop. We had been wanting to replace it as we were feeling a little squeamish about the grout after all these years. I had some good looking cedar boards so I planed them down, glued them together and ended up with a nice looking counter.

While probably not the best wood to use (on the soft side) it will probably last our lifetime so we’re pleased with the results.

The original single step into the living room was a doozy with a 20 inch difference in floor levels. We could foresee a time in the future where negotiating the step might prove to be interesting as our mobility waned. I used a couple of 8 foot x 10 inch by 1 ½ inch live edge cedar and made two steps instead. Much more comfortable though my muscle memory is still working with the original step so if I don’t watch what I am doing it is a bit of a tripping hazard. Time should remedy that!

When We Get Older

In September we passed the landmark of forty-five years since we started building our house. An amazing feat considering it is still standing despite our lack of building experience and the materials used – mostly scrounged. (For those interested you can see our story here – https://hardtocomebylifestyle.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/beginnings-2/)

The original part of the house was built on posts on un-level ground. One side of the house was almost ground level while the other was three feet off the ground. The house was a hexagonal and the framed foundation looked like a spiders web made from saplings.

Eventually we started to expand, first adding a bedroom, then a bathroom (a big upgrade from the outhouse) and then a living room. In order to accommodate these extensions, the easiest way to add on was to build the extensions below the existing roof line. This meant each new room was about two feet lower than the original floor – two steps down to the bedroom, two steps down to the bathroom, two steps down to the living room. So far, so good.

Forty years or so later I would lie in bed and think about what happens when we get older and can’t manage the steps. We could put ramps everywhere but they would take up the most of the floorspace in our small house. We could also drop the floor in the main house two feet which seemed like a fun and interesting project but wasn’t whole heartedly accepted by others in the house. That is when I thought of our guesthouse. With a bit of alteration and addition it could be turned into the perfect one level retirement home for when we get old (we’re only in our early 70’s right now).

The guesthouse was originally built as a workshop (https://hardtocomebylifestyle.wordpress.com/2013/03/23/hard-to-come-by-b-b/) and evolved into our bed and breakfast cabin which we ran for twelve years. It was two rooms – the bedroom/sitting area and the bathroom. Covid 19 came along and I wasn’t going very far afield and so I decided to tackle the project. The largest part of the venture was adding a bedroom and the remainder was a renovation of the bathroom.

Building the bedroom door

Handmade cabinet with live edge cedar

Shower with galvanized metal roofing

Live edge cedar counter and floating shelves

Handmade cedar French doors. A Cubic Grizzly mini wood stove to the left of the door

The extended ‘kitchen’

Milled board and batten siding from the property

So there it is. The perfect project for these times and a good solution for future times.

Cedar Fence from Scratch

It all started with a dead cedar tree and a need for a 42 foot long privacy fence.

I cut down a cedar tree that had recently died and cut it into eight foot long logs. I used the tractor to move the logs to the mill.

I cut eight 8 foot long 4 x 4 posts, fourteen 6 foot long 2 x 4’s, fourteen 5 foot long spacers and two hundred and seventeen 6 foot long 1.5 x 2 laths.

One of the logs about to be milled

Cut 2 x 4’s

Cutting the lath

Some of the finished lath

For finishing and preserving the posts, 2 x 4 cross pieces and 1 x 1 spacers I decided to try a Japanese woodworking technique called shou sugi ban. I used a torch to scorch the outer surface of the wood – just enough that the wood developed an alligator skin like texture.

The charred wood is wire brushed and then treated the wood with boiled linseed oil.

As the fence is for privacy I decided to go with a lighter build and make the fence with a ‘woven’ lath design. I made seven sections just over 6 feet in length.

The finished fence

 

New Door

For years now I had planned to repair the door to my workshop but I came to realize that the poor old door was too far gone to save. It had fallen victim to a momma bear that was very intent on getting into the workshop and the freezer we used to keep there. In the process she destroyed the octagonal window and removed the bottom panel of the door. Just before Christmas I built the new door and restored the old hardware.

Pieces of the new door with the old door in the background

 

The new door

The restored door knob

Writer’s Studio

The Guest House

Catio – near completion (4 photos)

Mocha on the Perch

Leaping Cats

The Catwalk – naturally

 

The Cat Door – it had a bit of a learning curve to it but Mocha has now mastered it -we are no longer her servant

 

Catio (Cat Patio) – the Start

Mocha the cat’s catio is now under way.

This is the first time I have had an indoor cat. With eleven acres of forest it seems a shame to keep a cat indoors but it has now become a necessity with the increase of predators. The birds and squirrels will be pleased with the arrangement though! Mocha doesn’t show a tremendous interest in going outside but I think a bit of fresh air and grass between her toes will do her good.

The ‘room’ will be covered with wire mesh and have elevated cat walks, a tree trunk, platforms and a sleeping box if she is feeling adventuresome. Access will be through the living room window.

More later.

Completed Shed

Well, the storage shed is finished. It was an interesting first project using my own milled lumber – a bit of a learning process I must say. Like any homemade project it is hard to put a price on it. The money I put out for the plywood roof and floor along with the metal roofing came to about $500. A pretty good price for an 8′ x 12′ building. Adding the time factor of milling the lumber adds to the equation and if a dollar value is put on my time then perhaps not quite the bargain. However, time is what I have and it was extremely satisfying using our own windfall trees (brought down in windstorms) and turning out a pretty fine looking building.

Building Project

Over the past ten days I have been building a small (8 x 12 foot) storage shed from the first lumber cut on our mill. It has been a great project and very satisfying knowing most of the material was free and salvaged from our forest. I did use plywood for the sub-roof and floor and I will install a metal roof. Once all the exterior walls are boarded I will put 2 inch battens over the board joints.