Homeowner's Blog
A blog about fixing up a 1960's ranch house in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Topic include repair work, landscaping, installation, and energy efficiency.
Barn Project, Part V, Framing
- Details
- Published on Saturday, 18 February 2012
Authors: Paul
Finally, the project is out of the ground. It seemed like this day would never come, however, on Jan 18th, I had delivered all the framing material needed for the project. Now, it was starting to look like something. Neighbors began to stop by and ask questions.
First floor of the barn framed and sheeted
The framing is 2 x 6 studs,...
Barn Project, Part IV pouring the slab
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- Published on Thursday, 16 February 2012
Authors: Paul
With the frost wall back filled and the center of the foundation filled it, it was time to get ready to pour concrete. The first thing that went down was a vapor barrier, consisting of 20 mil poly plastic.
Then 4 inches of polyisocyanurate insulation with a foil backing. The hollowed out sections of concrete block were filled with ver...
Barn Project, Part III, french drain, temporary access road
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Authors: Paul
So here we were, waiting for the yard to dry out in the middle of October. Then, it snowed! Snow! What next, plagues of locust? We had to get this project moving again, so I purchased a 20 foot length of eight inch drainage culvert and 4 yards of crushed stone. I dug a trench across the front lawn and put the pipe in, covering the...
Barn Project: Part II, Frost wall
- Details
- Published on Monday, 13 February 2012
Authors: Paul
Since we are spending good money on this project, I want it to last. Thus, building a complete frost wall and footings to the proper depth are important. The idea is that this is an outbuilding, but may be converted to another use in the future, if needed.
We let the footings cure for about a week, then began to lay block for the...
Barn Project: Part I, footings
- Details
- Published on Saturday, 11 February 2012
Authors: Paul
I think the worst part of any project like this is getting it out of the ground. Once the exact location was decided, it was time to submit the plans to the building department and pull a permit. For that I needed to draw up the design and submit a detail of the footings and foundation, framing and a plot plan showing the location o...
Building a small, energy efficient barn
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- Published on Thursday, 09 February 2012
Authors: Paul
We like living in this house, it is a great area. The kids love running wild in the woods, bears not withstanding. My wife has a good job at the local school district, the commute is less than two miles. All in all, it is a great location.
The house itself is just a bit too small. We also have no general outside storage. The lawn m...
Neglect
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- Published on Saturday, 07 January 2012
Authors: Paul
Happy New Year!
Once upon a time, this blog was a happening place. Then, like so many other things, the house renovation and the blog where put on hold. I could have continued blogging about other things, but made the decision to stay on topic and post nothing.
Situations have shifted, slightly, for the better. We are back to doing...
Sundial, part deux
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- Published on Sunday, 29 August 2010
Authors: Paul
So, a sundial is pretty much useless, unless it is in the sun. I decided, since this was a scientific sundial, indeed a precision instrument, that it needed a precision base.
With left over materials from our last solar job, I fashioned a base using 8 inch sonotube, 3 inch PVC conduit and an 80 pound bag of ready mix.
Scientific
...Grapes!
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- Published on Wednesday, 25 August 2010
Authors: Paul
This year we have lots of them:
Concord Grapes on the vine
I picked several pounds of these, destemed them and washed them:
Concord Grapes ready to be juiced
Using a potato masher, I smashed them up as best as possible, then put them on the stove. Brining them to a low simmering boil for 10 minutes, I mashed them again. Then, I strained...
Sundial
- Details
- Published on Monday, 23 August 2010
Authors: Paul
I wanted to get a sundial for our kitchen garden for the last several years. There seemed to be many choices, all good. Truth be told, I couldn’t make up my mind. I also had several other projects going on simultaneously. I figured I should finish some of those before starting something new.
Fast forward to this summer. I...
