Today's Leaf Pile

27 Sep 20 - Today I pickup up and bagged another 2 large lawn and leaf bags of leaves!  I used the blower to more them towards one location.  I had to use the rake when the line of leaves were too much for the blower to move.  Then put them in the bag lining the trash can.  I now have 4 large bags at the curb for the trash guys.  The biggest tree on the east side of the back yard still has over half its leaves, so I know I will be back out blowing and raking!
 

Cedar Chest almost Complete.

27 Sep 20 - Katie's cedar chest is almost complete.  The outside finished better than I thought it was going to.  It blends right into the walls and floor at our house.

I have a few more little things to do to it and it will be ready to go back south and not be kept in a closet!

 

It Must Be Fall

25 Sep 20 - The Sycamore trees in the back yard believe it is fall!  Saturday morning I picked up 2 large trash bags of leaves.  I used Jonathan's Ryobi leaf vacuum mulcher  until the battery died.  The leaves are a little too large and got jammed in the chute quite a few times.  But for the smaller leaves it would work well.

 

Stick Burning

24 Sep 20 - It was finally dry and not very windy so we could burn the pile of sticks!
 

Form Removal!

24 Sep 20 - I hope I did it right!  Removing the form in hopes it will stay in the shape of a step.

So far, so good!

It looks like a step!  Still has about 30 days to cure before we can call the tile guy.
 

Front Porch Step Concrete Pour

22 Sep 20 - Today was to pour the little piece of front porch step.  This is the first 60 pound bag of concrete.

Mixing the second bag of concrete.  I borrowed this mixer from a good friend and it made the job so much easier!  I also got the black flat pan from him.

Mix and then dump into the pan on the wagon and pull it to the front yard.

Dump it into the form.  On to the next bag.

Dumping the third bag of concrete.  Well almost all of it was needed to fill the form.

Making sure it is flat and level with the existing step. 

The remaining bag of concrete went into a box lined with an old shower curtain that should be used as a paver somewhere in the yard.

I came out after the first flattening and saw 5 small toe prints in the top of the new concrete.  The 5 year old next door neighbor came over to check my work.  I troweled the prints out of the concrete and waited for it to set.  When I came back out there was a scratched line in the top.  I figured it was from the stick he was carrying around.  But that is ok, the front porch is going to be tiled after the concrete sets for at least 30 days!
 

Staining the Chest.

21 Sep 20 - Started staining the chest today.  I actually started with the back.  I first treated the back with a pre-stain wood conditioner per the directions on the stain can (pic below).

Lightly sanded the back when it was dry then started to apply the stain.  The stain didn't want to go into the wood much at all.  So I decided not to use the pre-stain conditioner on the rest of the chest. 

It took several coats of stain for it to start looking good.  I was a little worried at first.

Got the ends and the molding around the bottom looking much better.

Front has a few coats of stain.

It will need a light sanding and then a few more coats of stain.  Then I will put on several coats of polyurethane to make it shine.

I wear a glove on the right hand but the un-gloved left hand always find the wet stain!  I also got a drip on my shirt!
 

Puddle on the Living Room Floor?!

 20 Sep 20 - This morning we saw a puddle right next to the couch in the living room right where you come in from the front door.  I started pushing on the wall and found a soft spot just below the window.

It is a little soft and moved when I pressed on it.  We have had some pretty heavy rains for the past 2 days.

You can see the water coming out from between the grey board and the white plaster when I peel them apart.

The water was still dripping from the bottom of the window frame and from the firing strip.

The paper on the back of the drywall was moldy.  Have a small fan on it right now and have sprayed it with bleach to get rid of the smell.  Going to have to remove more of the wall to find where it is leaking from.  It is always an adventure around this house!

Rained Out!

 19 Sep 20 - Picked up the cement mixer this morning and borrowed a trailer.  Was going to pour the step today, but shortly after we got home with it it started raining.  I managed to get the mixer and 4 bags of concrete into the shed before the rain.  It is supposed to rain until Monday some time.  More adventures then.  Sorry no pictures of the pick-up.

Another Project

15 Sep 20 - After Kathy and I dropped the truck off the have the old changed we walked home.  On the way home she spotted this wake board in the trash and grabbed it.  So this is going to be another project.  The top doesn't look too bad...

The bottom has most of the damage and will need to be sanded and refinished!
 

Front Porch Step Prep

17 Sep 20 - Finally getting around to finishing the front porch step.  I have called the concrete guy that I have used in the past and he keeps saying he will get back to me.  I finally got tired of waiting.  So I drilled and set the rebar and made the form.  Now I am waiting on a friend with a small cement mixer to be home so I can borrow it!

The old wall that had the flower bed in it was there when the step was poured the first time so that is why it ends where it does.
 

15 Sep 20 - Did some hand sanding on the molding at the bottom of the chest.  Got a little sweaty!

Sanding the molding at the bottom.

Repairing the back of the chest from a nail split at the bottom.
 

Lane Chest Refirbishment

14 Sep 20 - Well this is my next project.  This Lane chest belongs to Kaitie and she asked me last year if I could refinish it.  We finally loaded it into the camper and brought it home this past Saturday.  It is now on the operating table.  It has been abused and used as a coffee table with drinks put on it and a magazine got wet by the looks of it.  Lets see what we can do with it to improve its appeal.

Before pictures of the end and back.

You can see the magazine rectangle in the top.

Before from the other end.

The front has some really nice marking.

The top sanded out very nice for the first sanding.  The drink stain and the magazine stain is gone.  The circle is a disk sanding pad.

Most of the chest has been sanded once.

The trim at the bottom is going to be the hardest part to sand because of the the hills and valleys.  More tomorrow!
 

Tree Limb Down

12 Sep 20 - After backing the camper into its spot.  I had hooked up the power cord and turned on the breaker and was walking towards the fire pit when a very strong wind came up and snapped off this dead branch!  It missed the wall of the fire pit and did no damage!

We already have had one branch break an arm rest on the glider a few months ago.  But look at the placement of this branch.

Straddled the wall like it was grown that way.

This is the end that snapped from the tree.  It is wider than my foot.  I am going to have to get out the chain saw tomorrow and get it cut up for burning at a later date.