The roof! The roof! (July 2012)

Last October we'd intended to replace the roof. We had scheduled a weekend to tackle the job not once, but twice. Both times we were washed out with record amounts of rainfall. So the leaky tin roof remained until Mark, Chad and Ray had time to work on it over July 4th, 2012. After stripping the tin off, we could see that several pieces of plywood needed replacing. After that, we added drip edge, installed ice and water shield over the entire thing, added a ridge vent, and installed shingles. One of the first things people ask us is why we didn't use new tin instead of shingles - the answer is simple: the shingles were free, found curbside in CT :-)

Replacing rotten plywood

Temporary skylights

Looking a little better, as a storm rolls in

Waiting out the storm

Cousins, up to no good

Drip edge

Shingles started :-)

Meanwhile, Buzzy, Chad and Ray worked on freeing up one of my windows

Foundation Pier Reconstruction (November 2011)

In November of 2011, my dad went up alone and spent some time digging out and reconstructing the foundation piers, filling around them with crushed rock for drainage. It survived the winter very well and didn't shift from the frost at all.

My dad's block pier construction - hole dug

Crushed rock and cement pads

Rest of the cinder blocks

They held up well over the winter!

More demolition (Mid-September 2011)

For a just a few minutes we actually gave some consideration to leaving the interior paneling the way it was and painting or staining it. I am so glad we came to our senses and decided to take it down to studs! Nasty, nasty, nasty stuff was behind those boards. We salvaged as much of the paneling as we could, but some of the planks were pretty stubborn. We left the rigid board insulation in for the time being, but I took that out the following spring.

Nasty!

Found some rot in one of the walls that will need repairing

Dad cranking on a stubborn plank

The salvage pile in the front, the burn pile in the back

Jacking it up (Mid-September 2011)

One of the things we wanted to get done before winter was to jack the shed up and get it up out of the ground and onto cement blocks. It was sinking into the ground pretty well, but in mid-September of 2011 the boys used some handyman jacks and started cranking on anything that wasn't rotting. They managed to get three pressure treated 6x6s under it. My dad came back later and improved the foundation piers (blog post with more details to follow...)

One side up

Canine supervisors, Hobbes & Nieko (RIP :-( )

Other side

This wall is in rough shape!

Out of the ground!

Demolition time! (September 2011)

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.

Anyone missing their fish hooks?

"Sh#tter's full!" (September 2011)

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!

The "before" shots (August 2011)

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". :-)