Before we could start rebuilding, we had to take it apart to see exactly what we were dealing with. So in early September of 2011 we started tearing things out.
Papa Turbo pulling down the sheetrock ceiling (great use of the mask!)
Mud wasp nests!
A look up at the roof after the sheetrock is all down. Notice electric running through the gray conduit right in the middle of the shed.
Taking inspiration from Cousin Eddie, I'll "flush" the "polite-speak" for this post, and instead speak candidly of our toilet solution for the Mill office. We knew we needed an outhouse of some sort - there's no septic on site and no plans for year-round running water. We were debating whether to put in the time and expense of building a quaint outhouse, or whether to look for a port-a-let to cut the bottom out of for a quick fix. It was an ongoing debate - we even looked at kits/plans from Jamaica Cottage Shop (which is an awesome company, btw).
Meanwhile, my father in-law (affectionately aka "Papa Turbo") is well known for cruisin' the roads (at a whopping pace of 15 mph regardless of road condition/surface) checking for wildlife and, on occasion, running into some sweet road-finds. Well, in late August of 2011, Papa Turbo stumbled upon the mother load of road-finds: an old port-a-let, with the bottom already removed, fully vented, already cleaned out and spray painted a homemade camouflage to boot! And the best part - it was free for the taking on the side of the road! So Papa Turbo and I piled into his pickup to go pick up my new sh#tter!
Mark and Papa Turbo sizing up the project
Mark digging the hole
Placing the throne
It's all good
You can hardly tell it's there ;-)
Mark installed some beams under the edges in order to get it off the ground so it will be easier to open the door when there's snow on the ground
With this very important, if not so very glamorous, piece in place, we were finally ready to start tackling the shed renovations!
This shed has history. In addition to a storage shed, it's been a hunting camp, a sugar house, and year-round shack. It's certainly seen better days, and soon it will see better days again! These "before" photos were taken in August of 2011.
It's cute from the outside, no?
A bit overgrown on the backside...
But it's located on the banks of a babbling brook...
So, it's in need of a *little* TLC before I can use it as my NEK office (but at least there's a place to store eggs!)
In the next post, I'll cover the installation of necessary facilities! Can't plan to accomplish much renovation work without a proper "sh#tter". :-)
You can't tell by reading it here, but we actually have been making progress on the Mill Office! The biggest issue is my complete neglect in retrieving photos from the camera... BUT, the good news is that I've reduced the number from about 2000 to about 400, so I'll start posting some progress photos here shortly! Promise :-)
