!!! SEPP to Boot: Stephen's Experience (BEL)

Last year was when I discovered how big a difference insulated, thick curtains could make in keeping our unheated family/dining room space warm! We have a sliding door which doesn't leak but which does provide a big space for cold air to migrate through the glass. What you've done with your rings is basically create a roman shade. Well done!

BEL #703

Winter is coming, for certain. Thankfully we've been able to continue and complete a handful of tasks, with many thanks to Boot Lisa and SEPPer Garth.

Today, Garth and I wrapped-up the first step in repairs to a section of the Berm Shed at Basecamp. It's sagging a bit, and we needed to shore it up. I intended to cut a notch in the "deadman" support underneath the supporting timbers, add a saddle to the top end of a new support beam, then slide it in place next to our temporary roof jack.

Here's the deadman with a notch sketched in the surface of the wood.



Here's the notch I ended up with. I started it with the chainsaw, but then quickly switched to the hammer and chisel to make things more exact.



Once the foot had a place to go, I started on the saddle joint at the support beam's head. Here's the sketched-in saddle.



After some chainsaw work, I ended up with this. As it happens, after a test fit this was redone about three inches shorter. The beam's length was deceivingly long when trying to add it in at an angle.



A mallet came in handy as a method of persuasion to move the beam into the notch below, and to make the saddle snug against the upper support beam.



Here's a closer view of the saddle where it touches the support beam. Not bad for using only a chainsaw, I think.



After the new support beam had been hammered into place, Garth suggested we adjust the roof jack. To my surprise, it slid right out of its original spot. So that means the new support beam we added is actually holding up the roof timbers (it also means we likely won't be moving it out any time soon).



I still think some more repairs and/or replacements are in order for that corner of the Berm Shed. Paul and I will have a closer look and discussion about it next week. In the meantime, the roof jack is returned as an additional support, because "two is one, and one is none." For big, heavy things, I think a little extra support is the way to go.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

Have you ever watched The Woodwright's Shop? It's an old PBS program that still lives online that I bet you would enjoy. Roy Underhill makes old-fashioned hand tools for specific purposes. If you get some internet, see if you can find it!

BEL #704

Hope to be back in the saddle again with these BEL posts, after a break.

Today I was prepping for the cold. Seems like we're in the midst of a warm spell and I want to work outside while the weather is still agreeable.

The snow tires are now down at Basecamp. I loaded up Roy, our daily hauler rig, with two vehicles' snow tires and I ought to be able to install them this week.



Also had some fun processing the logs that Fred and I salvaged last week. Here I am bucking a few logs to firewood length.



Next, I brought what I had bucked up to the Red Cabin, then split and stacked it up outside. My supervisor, Black Spark, nodded approvingly before going out to hunt some mice, voles, and other various "bags of ice cream."



The stuff on the left is mostly the new wood, which needs some drying-out. The wood on the right side, on the other hand, has seasoned all year long and will provide plenty of warmth for anyone staying there over the cold season.



That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!

BEL #705

Happy Taco Tuesday to you...!!!

"Have you ever lit a fire at the rocket boosted dehydrator by the pale moonlight?"

Well, that's how I wrapped-up my evening. A belly full of Taco Tuesday goodness, followed by a jaunt down to the dehydrator in the dark, encircled by a whirling halo of cats.

Earlier in the day, I added over half a dozen apples to the dehydrator, and I want to make sure they keep drying overnight. Two more fires like the one I set up this evening, and they'll definitely be done.



At the start of the day however, I picked-up on the window quilt "bumpers" that still need finishing and installation. I call them "bumpers" for lack of a better term. They're narrow sections of quilting added to an existing window quilt to add some overlap round the edges of a window well. The completed quilt for the fourth and final window of Allerton Abbey allowed just a bit too much light in for my comfort, so once these bumpers are done and installed, I ought to feel a lot more satisfied.

I had a little more fun with my GIF animation software to illustrate this project:



The finished bumper looks like this:



Also retrieved the snow tires for Roy, our daily hauler pickup truck. Now that all three rigs' snow tires are at Basecamp, I have simply run out of excuses as to why I can't install them. I suspect I'll have a go at those tomorrow. Took care of some minor repairs to the junk pole fence surrounding Allerton Abbey, and processed some firewood, It seemed like a full day.

Question for those of you in and around Ellensburg, Washington: anything nice I ought to look for while there? I am on a fetch quest starting this coming Sunday, and I'll be passing through that area and staying overnight. Never been there, so it would be nice to hear some guidance to the nearest coffee-and-donuts stop. Thanks!

That's all for now. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day...!