Kenneth Elwell

R, two notes on preparing any panel that you choose to work with:

First, seal the reverse side too. Warping is caused by an imbalance of moisture, so if one side is coated and can no longer absorb moisture, and the other is bare, it will be able to absorb moisture unevenly and warp. If, as one side is coated, the moisture from the coating causes warping... then coating the reverse side counteracts the warping, and once dry it remains flat, if it does absorb any moisture from the environment, it will do so slowly and evenly.

Second, shellac might be a good option for sealing, it is commonly used to cover stains and knots that bleed through paint. Shellac is natural, has a yellowy-orange hue, and you can buy it as dry flakes that you dissolve in alcohol or pre-mixed in a can (there's a few brand-name 'stain-killer' shellacs that are tinted white). The best part, is that it dries FAST ! like ten minutes, so recoating goes quickly, and each new coat dissolves into the prior ones...

The 12" x 12" size you are using is likely to be considered "scrap" by most woodworkers. If you know any local woodworkers, furniture or cabinet shops, you might inquire about what they could let you have from their scrap bin. You could take an assortment of material types to test out, as is, in whatever size/shape they might be. You could also ask if someone could trim some of the "scrap" into the size of squares you want (or rectangles). If you have gotten in the door, and they didn't already say "But we're not cutting anything!" then they might consider that quick task as well. They could invoice you an actual (nominal) fee if they are real sticklers, or it could cost a small bribe like "beer-money", or cookies or brownies, or it could just be free if they aren't busy.

Matt McSpadden wrote:
Now, I am trying to figure out, the outside. The roof is a gambrel roof, which does not lend itself to extending the eaves... which means a plaster finish is probably not a good idea. And I am learning about the benefits of having a rainscreen behind the siding.

You mentioned the roof needing to be redone, and you mentioned plaster on the sloped walls on the interior so that's conditioned living space. What about a "cool roof" or adding an entire second roof on top of the old, either framed/insulated/sheathed, or SIP panels? All of these would extend the eaves to varying degrees, and allow more insulation in the old roof system, or even add more to the outside.

Christopher Weeks wrote:How about when you're going through a door and there's a person behind you that isn't clearly close enough that you can hand the open door to them and isn't far enough away that you're comfortable just dropping it and letting them deal? Is that just me?

Tell me you're not from Boston, without telling me all the places you've ever lived. (yeah, I just read about where you ended up...)

As for cutting the fabric straight, without loose threads, here are some thoughts.
A printed pattern might not be exactly registered to the weave of the cloth though it ought to be close. You might be able to see the weave better from the "wrong" side.
Working flat, on a table, you can get the cloth laid out straight and square. Making it easier to follow a line with scissors, or to use a straightedge and a rotary cutter (with a cutting mat below).
If you have the selvedge (factory edges of the fabric) they can be measured from to get parallel cuts.
Sometimes you can pull a thread out of the cloth, leaving a visible line to follow, perfectly in line with the weave.
If you can tear the cloth (begin with a snip where you want) it will tear in a straight line. The edge will be fuzzy, but you can trim that away easily.
If your cut edge is slightly off, you can pull away the loose threads and then trim it.

I will second what Douglas has said.
I will also add:
Do something first to loosen the corrosion/seizing of the bolt. Heat and a penetrant will make things easier. The packing might be damaged by the heating, but that's probably something you are replacing anyhow.

Use a center punch to mark the center of the broken bolt to keep your drilling concentric to the bolt/hole. The extracting tools work best if they are centered, and if you goof and drill close to one side the thin bit can deform... and that can be counterproductive or even damage the internal threads.

Then, if it still won't move, you can keep drilling larger until you reach the root of the threads of the bolt, leaving only the spiral thread bit. Then you can pry and twist out with a pick and needle-nose pliers, and finish off by running the proper tap to clean up the threads. The brass rod that bolt is holding is replaceable, so if you drill into it, all is not lost!

Here's an excerpt from the manual, it does not explicitly mention a need for securing other than placing on a solid and level surface. Elsewhere they mention to be certain that any means of securing does not deform the tank as the stress over time will cause leaks or failure. I think replacing the soil with a compacted base of crushed stone, with a layer of compacted sand or stone dust on top would be good.

I would refrain from "pallets", as most won't handle that amount of weight, the boards are generally of low-quality, and thin. The tank will likely have a concentrated load balancing on the center stringer of the pallet, and the decking boards will act like a springy see-saw which will make it less stable (especially if the pallet isn't perfectly sized for the tank). Over time, pallets out in the weather and on the ground... they just get worse.

1.5 Units shall be installed in a location that protects them from direct sunlight, inclement
weather in general, and freezing temperatures in particular. Installation in a secured room is
strongly recommended to prevent vandalism or tampering with control settings. Not following the
guidelines above may cause the unit to malfunction or fail prematurely.
1.5.1 Home Hydrant systems are not designed for unprotected
outdoor installation or storage.
1.6 It is imperative that the surface the Home Hydrant is installed on is capable of supporting the
weight of the unit when full of water, and is level and solid in nature. Do not install the unit on gravel,
dirt, grass, or other substrates which may shift or contain materials which may puncture the tank.
1.6.1 Fresh water weighs approximately 8.34 pounds per gallon. Use caution when
deciding where to place a Home Hydrant. Never attempt to move a unit that is full of
water.

The environmental concerns, including sunlight exposure is another issue altogether. Protection from freezing, if you intend this tank for irrigation, could be as simple as draining it out and diverting the downspout until Spring. Protection from sunlight, will preserve the tank and prevent/reduce algae growth, a solid wall/roof/fence/screen or an opaque paint would work best.

As far as tipping over is concerned, the solid base is the most important. The most likely tipping scenario will be when it is empty, with gusty winds, and a rope or strap secured to the building will be enough. The next most likely scenario, would be erosion of the base in a severe rainstorm, if the gutter system and/or the tank overflow weren't capable of redirecting excess water safely away.

We've got a countertop espresso machine with a grinder built-in, and it does a good job. Before that I also used an AeroPress for years, I wore one out and got another! Until the day that... the nice grinder that I had burnt up!
The espresso machine had already arrived, maybe the grinder was like "WTF, cruel world!"
I think the AeroPress coffee was better.

K Kaba's mention of a class, makes me think of a watercolor class that I took long ago. There were eight or ten of us, and the instructor. Each day we would walk to a location and each choose a view that we liked to paint. I don't remember anyone ever bothering us, although the locale was "exclusively" rural (we were on an island in Maine, well known to artists).

It makes me wonder if an interloper would have been deterred by the "official" appearance of a "class" with "students", rather than a lone painter. Safety in numbers?
The other aspect, fewer people to be pests, can be achieved by choosing times or places that are less popular or off the beaten path rather than in the hustle and bustle.

An extreme step might be to find or create a secluded spot to paint. Like the guy in the hatch of his van, or a hunter in a blind, not exposing/advertising yourself to passers by.

On that island in Maine, lived a well-known artist. He often painted from secret, hidden spots, to avoid detection and being hassled by admirers of his paintings. One day, HE walked past our class on his way to his boat, he paused to see what this group of people with painting gear was looking at. My mother noticed him first, and poked me, we exchanged glances with him, as he hurried off. Once he was away on the water, Mom told the others, who asked and answered their own question - "Oh, why didn't you tell us?!"

Douglas, the weedy nightmare you describe is in fact another mode of the second "modern" block that Josh Hoffman posted a picture of.
I have seen that block marketed under the name "TurfStone", and seen it in-situ in a municipal park. The idea being that one can create a hybrid lawn/pavement, that from afar looks like lawn, and will support vehicular traffic. It is permeable, and protects the grass in the cells from compaction or "wagon ruts" from traffic.

It's been a long time since I tried maple sugaring, twenty years? Around that time however, there was a trial that I read about where they were sugaring from literal saplings! Instead of drilling a larger tree, the sapling was cut (not sure if a branch or the leader, or what the diameter) and the collection tubing slipped over the entire cut end. Supposedly the production per acre was comparable to mature trees, since the density of the saplings was far greater, and it was obviously achievable years sooner.