The Garden Shed: Finished

Peeps, 

The shed, after three long years, is finally done.

Here is how it went down. 

We started with an ivy covered mound:

After removing 2,500 pounds of ivy from the property, we discovered it was an old green house foundation:

Since it was already in place (and in good condition) we started building on top of the existing foundation:

Framed:

Siding, windows, and dirt on the roof. A neighbor gave us the door and you can see the chicken coop on the right hand side. 

And cedar shakes:

 Almost done:

Construction is complete. 

 Time for staining (and painting of doors and windows)

Trying out the paint spray gun for the first time:

Done with the base layer. 

Trim is the only part remaining:

Doing a bit of sanding:

One more coat and we're done. 

The finished product!

Old light fixture re-purposed as a pot. 

Now, I'm thinking window boxes and red geraniums. 

Thank you to the many family members that assisted us with this project over the years. You guys are seriously awesome. 

Of course, like any project, there are still a few things we have to finish up: staining the concrete, re-attaching the gutters, etc, but for now we're just going to bask in the luxuriousness of not having this hanging over our heads. Onto the next project. 

xxoo, 

Sonja

The fun continues

This was our first time using a paint spray gun...it takes a little getting used to. We have a few areas where there was some overspray but we haven't yet painted the trim so fortunately it doesn't mess us up in that regard. 

This was our 'test' structure - the next step: The Casa. 

Which is going to be one heck of a huge job, Peeps.

Now we just need to paint some trim

Perhaps this weekend. If the weather cooperates. 

Let the fun begin

Garden Shed and Living Roof Update

Chris did a major power-wash job on the garden shed the other day. Never underestimate the power of the washer, Peeps. That thing took strips of paint off the door. 

Fortunately, it also took most of the accumulated grime off as well. A good thing, considering that we're going to stain it in the near future. 

We'll keep you updated on developments. 

In somewhat related news, the living roof is having a banner year. The yellow sedums on the left are doing particularly well, which is a pleasant surprise, given that I just planted them a few months ago. They are transplants from mom's garden and they quickly became one of my favorite varieties. 

I should confess that some of that greenery is of the weedy persuasion. "Volunteers" if you will.  I need to get up there and do a bit of clearing. 

xxoo, 

Sonja

Which color would you choose?

Oh My Dears, I can say that I unequivocally detest picking paint colors. Especially for something as big and important as the exterior of one's abode.

But pick we must. The house needs painting.

Brick is a hard color to match. The house is currently a nice dark brown but coupled with the dark brown undertones of the brick...it makes for a lot o' brown.

So we're pondering other options.

We did some driving around in the lovely old neighborhoods of Seattle, seeing what other people have selected to complement their brick houses.

Cream/white is probably the most popular. We saw a lot of white trim.

Brick red is probably the second most popular. But that would be a LOT of red. Plus a big red garage. Not feeling it.

We also saw a lot of blue. More muted than this example, however.

Surprisingly, a nice jade green was also in evidence on several houses. It was used more as a trim color, however, not as a big secondary color. you can't see it in this photo but we've got a few portions of the upper story that are painted shingle. Plus an attached two car painted shingle garage. So we have to pick a color that looks good on a large surface, not just a few trim bits.

And then you have me: in typical fashion, leaning towards the boring greys.

 Not surprisingly, eh?

We'll keep you posted on painting progress.

 Once we finally decide on a color.

xxoo,

Sonja

House Activities/Easter 2012 [long post]

We have been busy little beavers 'round these parts. 

Evidently my productivity is directly proportional to good weather. 

And since it's currently raining out.....I'm blogging. 

I'll post a video of Ben at some point taking a few steps - that was big news around these parts. 

One Project Down, Many More to Go

Last night Chris came home from work and we hustled out to the shed to finish up the siding.

I am so pleased to tell you that the last shingle has now been nailed in place. We are done. Whohoooo!

FYI: that second to last shingle may look crooked, but it's not. Many of them had bottom edges that were not perpendicular to the sides. Hard to disregard the slanty edges, but vital in keeping the shingle parallel to its buddies.

Weekend Activities

We are FINALLY finished with the front of the garden shed. 

Whooohoo! 

I never want to see another cedar shingle in my entire life. 

Except that we still have two more rows on the back to do. But after that, WE ARE DONE. 

thank god.

How To Build A Garden Shed

It's not fully complete but here is a quick peek at the construction process:


The almost-finished product:

The Chicken Coop - Cedar Siding Update

Progress on the coop is marching right along. We finished the chicken run side (to the far right in this photo) and are almost done with the front and remaining side. The back still needs to be completed. We're into the tricky part on the front: fitting the shingles around the rafters at the very top. It's proving to be a time-consuming task. 

Shake it. (aka siding for the chicken coop)

We are exhausted. Worked like mad this weekend.

Chris can barely lift his arms this morning, thanks to hefting the nail gun for hours upon hours. That man is a saint.

I went to bed at 8:30 last night. But only after I had woken up from my hour long snooze on the couch.

It's not done (we've got a long ways to go) but it's LOOKING GREAT. If I do say so myself.

Living Roof Update

At the moment, I am too tired to lift my arms above my head. Sore, aching muscles.

The soil is firmly and finally resting upon our shed roof. Step One of creating a living roof is complete.

This would not have occured without the dedicated, generous work of three wonderful souls: Megan, Chris and Dad.

Thank you. Had I hauled all that dirt myself, well, let's just say that I would probably be incapable of moving. Or dead.

Pictures to come shortly.

So, who has one of these that they would like to loan me?

Anyone, anyone?

Update on the Earth-Hauling Situation

Oh my god. Who knew that moving one measly load of dirt could hurt so much.

One barrow, 500 feet. Up hill. Onto roof. 15 minutes.

And I've only done one trip. 

Today is going to hurt. 

I see you.

And our little gardening shed now has windows!

Chris installed them this weekend, despite the inclement weather.

He wasn't complaining though, he got a new power tool out of the deal.

It was actually a pretty easy project.

Step One: Cut hole.

Step Two: Put window in hole.

Step Three: nail in place.

Next up? Siding. And then the sod roof. Which will be one heck of a TASK. Oh joy.