Casa Decrepit
Other Uses for the Water Tank
- Details
- Published on Saturday, 14 July 2012
Authors: ayse
A while ago Noel came up with a great idea to save water while making beer.
We make our batches of beer on this little portable burner on the side porch, in a 5-gallon pot. But when the batch is done cooking, we want to bring the temperature down fast, which is no small task given the thermal mass of water involved.
The way you deal...
Deck Plantings
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- Published on Friday, 13 July 2012
Authors: ayse
Once we have the deck sides all trimmed off and everything sealed and railinged and everything, I need to install some raised beds around the deck. This is not an aesthetic choice; we got the permit we did based on a deck height of under 30 inches, so I need to bring the ground level up to be consistently in that range.
So this is my...
End of End Trimming
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- Published on Sunday, 08 July 2012
Authors: ayse
And just like that, we're almost done. After a brief foray in search of some concrete blocks (more on that in another post, after I've made some phone calls), Noel got back to finishing up the last bits of wood on the deck.
He installed the wood over the right side of the lower stairs. After doing the other side, he didn't have to...
End Trimming
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- Published on Saturday, 07 July 2012
Authors: ayse
We are closing in on the end of the deck project. It seems like every time we work on it we are so close.
Today Noel got almost all the ends trimmed and rounded over.
We started with the ends all ragged. We snapped a line at the depth we wanted, then Noel clamped on the long straight edge and cut down the line, making it all neat and...
Stair Sides
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- Published on Sunday, 01 July 2012
Authors: ayse
We got off to a late start today, which is better than we did yesterday, when the combination of our relentless social schedule and checking out the local food truck thing and the fact that our neighbors were having a garage sale so we of course had to hang out and chat with them rather than squeeze in some work all came together for...
More Sides to the Deck
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- Published on Friday, 29 June 2012
Authors: ayse
Last weekend, Noel finished sawing off the last of the big beam ends. This was the last step before we were ready to put the sides on the two remaining edges of the deck.
It feels like we are so close now, just all these little details to get done. Each of which is small and not too hard, but the sum of them are kind of daunting.
In the...
Come Take Down Our Walls
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- Published on Wednesday, 27 June 2012
Authors: ayse
Once again it is time to smash up some plaster and make an almighty mess of the house. This time we're taking down one ceiling and the (remaining) walls of both bathrooms, and you are all invited to come over and break some stuff. Specifically the stuff we tell you to, of course. Can't be breaking all kinds of random stuff we weren't...
My Compost Empire
- Details
- Published on Monday, 25 June 2012
Authors: ayse
This weekend I started a big project I've been meaning to get to for a while. That is going through the chicken yard with a shovel and bucket and turning and sifting every bit of compost in there.
Not only are there piles in the chicken yard that are as old as the yard itself, but the soil level back there has built up by several...
Chicken Drama
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- Published on Sunday, 24 June 2012
Authors: ayse
Integrating the little chickens with the main flock has been more dramatic than in the past. The drama has ranged from finding the little chickens piled up being the waterer to discovering that they'd flown over the fence into the neighbors' yard.
So clearly, some fortifications were in order.
Noel put in more roofing over the chicken...
Chicken Door Repairs
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- Published on Saturday, 23 June 2012
Authors: noel
Carole, our oldest and largest chicken, is not exactly graceful. When getting off the top perch, she frantically flaps her wings while launching herself at the exit door. Unfortunately, that's exactly where the the electronics which control our automatic chicken door are mounted. This week, the circuit board just couldn't take any...
