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Other Miscellaneous Stuff |
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Trellis
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I built a trellis. I think it looks pretty cool. I went to
Menards (a Midwest lumber/hardware store) and bought these 24 inch brackets
that you hammer into the ground, essentially, huge spikes. The top end is square and accepts a
4x4 post. Cost-wise, it wound up being about the same as buying the
post cement. Anyway, the trellis now creates a doorway into the
orchard. I still have to restring the wires for the grape vines, which
will eventually grow back toward the trellis. I'd like to have some
climbing plant with nice flowers grow over the trellis. We'll see. |
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Pergola
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July 4, 2009 -
Now I'm working on putting in a patio, with a pergola on top. The
total patio space is 24'x24'. The pergola is going to be 19'x16'.
I originally thought I would extend the garage roof out over the patio, but
eventually decided to go with a pergola, after seeing an example in a local
garden center. I want to surround the pillars with blocks up to waist
high, and cap
them with a solid stone. |
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First, I dug down 11 inches. I had no misconceptions how hard it would
be to dig a hole 24'x24'x11" deep, so I rented a Bobcat for a day.
I also used it to bring together some large stones that were scattered about
the property. I found out that there is a lot of clay in our yard.
I was able to dig the hole except for one corner, but it was a lot of
ripping and tearing. I also tried to create a space beside my
workshop, but that proved futile. Lesson learned: get a blade
with teeth. The blade I got with the Bobcat was smooth. After I had
the hole more or less formed, I used my post hole digger to go down another 27 inches in four holes,
for the pillar footings, per instructions from the local lumberyard (39
inches total depth). If I had been smarter, I would
have framed the concrete forms together, to ensure they were spaced
properly. They did move around when I was pouring the concrete.
I did have strings to align the J-bolts I set in the concrete, so it isn't
totally screwed up. |
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The next step was to get 10 yards of crushed rock laid down to fill the hole
back in. The lumberyard made three deliveries, but it seemed like not
enough. I measured the pile, and it was roughly 12' wide and 4' tall.
The volume of a cone, in square yards, is (1/3 x pi x radius (squared) x
height) divided by 27. That came out to 5.58 yards. When I
spread the gravel out in the hole, it pretty much confirmed my calculations.
I talked to the yard, and they were good about making another delivery to
bring it up to 10 yards. They assumed the scoop they used was one
yard, when it was actually about .8 yard. |
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I used 2" PVC pipe to gauge how much gravel I was laying down. I
also rented a compactor to pack each layer. I started to move
the gravel at first with a wheelbarrow, but that was obviously going to take
a long time, so I rented the Bobcat again. That made the whole process
much faster. |
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I also used the Bobcat to dig out a few more rocks I missed the first time.
There was one just barely sticking out of the ground in the back of the yard
that I chewed around on. Eventually, I used a shovel to try to find
some edges, and I found out there was a lot more rock than I thought. |
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7/28/2009 update - I went to a local stone store and picked out
four red sandstone pieces, 24 inches square and at least 2 inches thick.
I also bought a 3/8 masonry bit for my drill , which has a hammer function,
to try to make square holes in the center of my capstones for the posts to
fit through. It proved completely inadequate. I spent 30 minutes
trying to drill one hole in a capstone. So I went to the hardware
store and rented a real hammer drill and a four inch masonry hole saw.
The hammer drill came with a variety of bits, and I discovered that the
masonry hammer bit worked very well, going through the capstone like it was
butter. I tried the hole saw (which I rented separately) for one hole,
and decided to just use the masonry bit. The masonry bit did cause a
lot of knock-out on the underside. Eventually I settled on drilling
out all four corners, flipping the capstone over and cutting between the
holes with a masonry blade on my circular saw, and then going back to the
original side and drilling out between the holes with the hammer drill and
masonry bit. Between slowing down just before I punched through and
scoring the underside, I minimized the knock-out damage.
When I was looking at all the options, every place I checked wanted an
extra $100 apiece to make a six inch hole in a 24 inch square piece of rock.
My advice: keep the money, rent a hammer drill, and set your hose to
trickle water on the piece as you work, to keep the dust down and the bit
cool.
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The next step was to notch out the 6x6s and bolt them together.
Getting a 20 foot long crossbeam into place with just me and my kids was a
challenge, but we got it done. The concrete footings actually came out
very well. Both sets were 163 1/2 inches apart. I assembled the
first set of posts and crossbeam, and slid a capstone up each leg, and then
secured them with some scraps and screws. Then I stacked the second
set of posts and crossbeam on top of the first set, and notched and bolted
them together, as well. Now I'm waiting until this Friday when
hopefully some guys from work will be able to come out and help me stand
them up and get the support rafters bolted on |
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8/7/2009 update - The guys came over and were a huge help in getting the
posts and crossbeams up and braced. We also lifted up the first four
rafters, and nailed them to the posts, to make it easier to bolt them
together. Then I got out my12 inch drill bit I bought for this special
job, and drilled two holes through the posts and 2x8s, and bolted everything
together with ten inch carriage bolts. The guys also carried over a
bunch of the 2x8s in preparation for cutting and lifting. I wasn't
sure what kind of decorative detail I wanted, and they had to go, so that
was where we stopped. It was still a huge step forward. |
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I freehanded a pattern for the tails of the rafters, and cut out a jig.
You can see it propped up against the stack of rafters ready to be lifted
into place in the picture to the left.
Cutting and stacking the rafters in a new pile took another evening after
work to accomplish. Cutting the tails on the four rafters already up
and bolted tot he posts was a short, but very dirty job. |
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I went to Menards and got one of those ladders that fold into different
configurations. It is not a Little Giant, but it does a lot of the
same stuff. You can climb up either side, which I really like, and
will extend up to 21 feet, if necessary. I bought a bunch of rafter
ties, which have a large surface area for attaching to the top plate of a
wall, and mounted them on the backside of the crossbeam closest to the
house. After doing the math, I figured out that I had to space the
rafters at 7 15/16ths, so I cut a block to that length and used it to space
the rafters as I went from one side to the other. I also got some
premium deck screws at Menards, and used those to connect the rafters tot he
front crossbeam, screwing up through the crossbeam into the rafter.
Screws designed specifically for decking are a whole different breed of cat
from a drywall screw, nowadays. They have a cutting tip so they punch
in, and use a star drive bit, and go through wood like it was butter. So,
some more gravel, some sand, and I can start contemplating laying down some
bricks.
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Digging out the hole for the patio dislodged a bunch of seeds the chipmunks
had stashed around the yard. We've got a number of things volunteering
in our yard, from field corn to this very pretty batch of sunflowers.
This picture really doesn't do them justice. |
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8/24/2009 Update - I managed to install some corner braces, and also a set
of 2x4s and some blocking to help lock the purlins in place.
Screwing 1/2 inch lag screws through a 6x6 into another 6x6 was a lot of
fun. I really wanted a breaker bar by the time I had that done.
I have a 3/4 inch socket set with a two foot long ratchet handle,
somewhere. Once I had them all in place I cut some blocks from
a2x4 and screwed them inbetween the purlins on the front of the pergola.
The backside is all secured with hurricane straps. Then I cut
decorative ends on 19 foot 2x4s and bolted them to the upright posts, on top
of the purlins, and then screwed them down into the purlins to lock
everything in place. |
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So, now it's back to hauling gravel. My boys had some friends over, so
we had a working party. I'm glad we didn't have to move it very far.
Did I mention that Tru Temper wheelbarrows SUCK nowadays, at least the
common grade ones? The front wheel axle and bearing set is sloppy, the
bar that joins the two handles together in front of the wheel needs another
bend to it so it can't rotate over and stop the wheel from turning, and the
undercarriage is flimsy and completely worthless, a total waste of $60.
I laid in 2x4s to get the pitch right. I probably didn't make it
severe enough. Online sources said to give the patio a 1/8th to 1/4
drop per foot, and I'm only dropping mine 2 inches over 24 feet. I
guess we'll have to see how it goes. I had the lumber yard deliver
another 2 yards of gravel and it is still not going to be enough. I
probably need another 2 yards before I'm ready for sand. But right
now, I need to rent the compactor (again) and smoosh down what I have spread
out so far (again). Online sources are unclear whether or not to
compact the sand. I've found sites that say do, and others that say
don't. |
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9/15/2009 Update - Well, it's been a busy time. We took a vacation the
last week of August, to go to a cabin in northern Minnesota. Got some
good fishing in. I did get several days over the Labor Day weekend to
work fulltime on the patio. I rented the compactor, again, and packed
everything down really well. Then I bought 4 yards of sand. I
added 1 1/2 inches to the height of the depth rails, and started hauling
sand, and screeding it.
I calculated that I needed 2457 pavers, so I went to Stoughton Lumber and
talked to them about pavers. I had a brain flash about using some
accent pavers, so I told them I wanted 2100 "Iron River" Holland pavers (a
mix of red, black and blue), and 350 "Charcoal" (grey) pavers. They
only had 880 Iron River pavers and no charcoals, so I took what hey had and
bought 350 charcoals at Menards. Hauling them home in my trailer was a
long, slow ride. I even had to stop right outside Menards to fill the
tires of the trailer with air. I thought pavers were 4 pounds, but I
was told they are six, so I was 100lbs. over my trailer's weight limit.
Stoughton Lumber delivered the pavers right up to the worksite, and left me
room for the trailer load, so all the pavers were all very close at hand,
which helped out a lot.
I started laying pavers on the outside corner, next to the garage, as I
wanted the patio to extend from the edge of the garage out into the yard,
and any adjustments would be buried in the corner that is partially covered
by the stairs coming up out of the garage. You are supposed to start
in the center and work your way sideways in both directions, but I had the
sand all spread and screeded, so I decided not to do it that way. I
decided to use a straight basket weave pattern. This does require a
fair number of half pavers around the edges, so I got out my brick chisel
and split the entire first layer of one pallet of Iron River pavers.
The accent rectangle of Charcoal pavers under the pergola required a lot of
half pavers, too, so I wasn't worried about splitting too many.
I did not have a set of paver tongs at first, and actually laid the
first 1600 pavers without them. It was not a lot of fun stacking,
hauling, and then unstacking all those pavers. I finally went looking
for a pair of tongs. Stoughton Lumber didn't have any, neither did
Menards nor Home Depot. I finally had to go to County Concrete.
It was $35, and worth every penny. It makes hauling pavers so much
easier, there is no comparison.
So, I have almost all the pavers in place. I have to cut a few and
fill in the last few pieces. I still have to sheath the pergola
columns. I've decided to use Charcoal pavers for that, too. That
should look nice, capped with the red sandstone. I still need to rent
the compactor again, and pack everything down.
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11/15/2009 Update - The patio is now complete, and I've started on a couple
other projects. The red pavers with gray accent looks pretty nice.
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There was disagreement on how to sheath the columns, and I'm not totally in
love with what I came up with. The footing for the columns stood proud
f the pavers by a couple inches, so anything I came up with had to start
wide enough to surround the footings. I used a layer of gray pavers,
and then lap-jointed some 6x6s to get above the footings, and hen I sheathed
the columns with 2x8s, up to a 4x4 cap, which the stone tops rest upon. |
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Flower Garden I |
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Cindy decided she wanted a flower garden surrounding the stump I left behind
from one of the pine trees I cut down. I left he stump about
chest-high, so we could mount a feeder on top, maybe to attract squirrels or
woodpeckers. So, I dug a trench in a circle around the stump, layed in
two inches of sand, and built a wall two blocks high with Iron River
landscape blocks, topped with gray capstones, to tie into the patio. I
used some of the same landscape blocks on one corner of the patio, as it cut
into a slope and I didn't feel like regrading it. Anyway, it wasn't a
whole lot of work, and I think it looks pretty nice..
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Flower Garden II |
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The patio butts up against another flower garden. I decided to loop
out around it with more of the Iron River landscape blocks and gray caps.
This actually took a lot of work. You wouldn't think it would be so
much digging, but a 12 inch wide trench cut 9 inches deep actually turns
into a fair amount of dirt. The trench linked up with the patio on one
and, and ran out to a point in space on the other. Eventually, we are
going to build a fire pit off the end of the patio, but that is a project
for next year, so I ran the blocks out around the flower garden and then
just left it, to be finished once the fire pit is done.
I made a short form from 2x4, 12 inches wide and about 18 inches long,
open on one end, to get the depth of the sand right. It had to be that
short in order to fit in all the curves of the trench. The boys and I
worked the form along the bottom of the trench, putting in 3 1/2 inches of
sand, which tamped down to 2 1/2 inches of packed sand, with the hand
tamper. The boys got the honor of hauling all the landscaping blocks
and capstones over from the pallets, and now the second flower garden is as
done as it is going to be, until the fire pit is made.
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Workshop Wall |
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I rented the Bobcat one more time in October, and dug out a space beside the
workshop so I have a place to park my trailers. I got the blade with
teeth this time, so I could get into the clay. It was hard work, and I
really messed up the back yard hauling bucket after bucket of heavy clay
back to the woods. I have deep ruts to fill in, now. I made a
huge pile of dirt. It was actually a lot more dirt than I dug up when
I cut out the base for the patio. I wasn't able to remove all the dirt
I wanted to. Cindy had car trouble and I had to go help her, and it
started to rain while I was gone, and the whole thing turned into a greasy
pit. I was lucky to get the Bobcat out of the worksite Stoughton
Lumber dropped off 10 more yards of gravel with the Bobcat, right on the
driveway, so I spread that about 6 inches deep over the part I did manage to
dig out, and then made a pile with the remainder near the back corner
of the workshop.
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The next step was to build a little retaining wall for the hostas planted
along the side of the workshop. The boys and I dug another trench, 12
inches wide, nine inches deep, 32 feet long, and wrapped around the corner
on the back end. It was a lot of work as it had to be
done by hand and there was a lot of clay, and it was almost like peanut
butter. It took four days to get this trench cut. I never would
have estimated it would be that much work, but that clay was next to
impossible to work with. It was a straight shot, though, so we were able to use long
2x4s to ensure the sand base was level. We shoveled in 3 1/2 inches of
sand and tamped it down, laid in the blocks, and topped with the charcoal
capstones. It is too cold to use any glue, so next summer I'll have to
go over it and glue all the caps in place. I still need to build a
retaining wall, but now I have a place to park the trailers so they are out
of the way of the mowers and snowblowers.
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Links |
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I am the administrator of the Marine
Moms Online Discussion Board. We offer fellowship and advice for
families of US Marines. Check us out!
MMO Discussion Board |
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This page was last updated:
11/29/09
Copyright © 2004
Cindy's Treasures. All rights reserved.
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