What Will We Do with the Pavers

 Right after Roger told me about the free pavers, he asked me "what can we do with them?"  At that time, I really didn't know  how we would use the pavers and I really didn't have time to think about it, either.  Part of the deal was that we needed to get the pavers off site before the demo crew brought their dump truck back to fill with all the debris and that included the pavers.

Stacking pavers is very boring so I had a lot of time to think about what we could do with all those pavers.  The pavers are various shades of brown so I don't want to use them close to the house. We want an exposed aggregate concrete patio to match the existing sidewalks and the house is grey.  Then it hit me like a ton of pavers.  We could build a large round patio under the large willow tree.  That area is very shaded and cool in the summer.

The brown of the pavers will match the dirt in that area because we will not have grass due to the shade.  But will have hostas and ferns because of the shade.  Plus, I didn't buy any hostas this year and I am jonesing to buy hostas.  Lots of hostas....sorry I can't help myself.

The ground under the willow is slightly sloped so I estimate 1 layer of retaining block buried and then transitioning into 2 layers on the low side.  When we broke apart the swimming pool we kept the wide concrete bull nose coping pieces.  They are 12 inches by 24 wide and have a bull nose on one side.  They are weathered because they are from the 1930's but I like the non new look.  We will need to rent a concrete saw to cut angles so we can form a 18 edged circle using rectangular pieces. 

The bull nose concrete pieces are very close to the same thickness as the pavers so I think that our only costs will be sand, crushed stone, renting the saw, and polymeric sand.  It would be great to keep costs as low as possible because we want a pool but that can't happen until we finish the back of the house.

 I did some very rough drawings and the patio will be at least 12 feet in diameter.  We have a square gas fire pit and 2 heavy handcrafted wrought iron tables, that I purchased at auction on the cheap.  The tables have wood tops but I want to cast concrete tops for them and a concrete top for the square gas fire pit.  That will repeat the patio bull nose coping pieces.

What will we use for seating?  We love Adirondack chairs but not the plastic ones nor the wood ones.  We want to be able to leave the tables and chairs outside year round.  We already have enough 'stuff' to store every year.  So we are going to deconstruct our wood ones and trace the pieces onto solid PVC boards.  This will be pricey and but they will be heavy and not blow over in a storm.  Build them once and they should last a long time and only require periodic scrubbing.

For quick daily updates follow Gear Acres on Instagram. 

Gratuitous kitty photos.

So that's the plan.

And as always...

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5 Items I Buy at The Dollar Tree

These are my 5 go to items that I purchase at The Dollar Tree store.  YMMV (your mileage may vary) if you use a different dollar store.  Unfortunately, not all items are a dollar in some dollar stores.

Pillar jar candles... Don't burn that $20.00 candle you've been waiting for a special occasion to light, when the power goes out.  Six of these take up about a 6X9 inch square of space in your cupboard.  No scent, long lasting, uses all the wax up so they are efficient, glass jar candles are safer, and they are 1 buck each.  Store on the top shelf, out of the way, and you will be ready for the next power outage.  While you are there buying candles, buy one of those lighter for lighting the BBQ.  They are perfect for lighting these pillar candles and they are just a buck to buy.

Reading glasses.....$1.00 a pair.  There are serious ones

 or brightly colored ones. 

Buy a couple of each style.  One for the purse, one in the kitchen, one in the bedroom, one for the top of your head, and of course one to hang from the neck of your shirt.  I have been known to wear two on the top of my head at the same time. But I am fancy like that!! Seriously, if you are over 40, invest a buck or 2 in some of these readers.  Your older self will thank you.

I love these boxes of aluminum foil in pre cut sheets.  They are perfect for baked potatoes or making a packet of veggies or fish for the grill.  No more messing around with trying to rip off a piece that is actually square or rectangle.  Mine always wads up on the little saw blade and the only thing that gets cut are my fingers.  Buy 2 and you will never look back.  Of course you will always need a roll for when you have a large pan to cover but these sheets are perfect for those smaller items.  Your fingers will thank you. 

And  while we are talking about aluminum foil lets also talk about aluminum baking pans, the throw away kind.  If you look closely you will find pans that also have plastic (some red some clear) covers.  These usually come two to a package for $1.00.  I use them when I make cold appetizers or for appetizers that I need to cook like smokey links wrapped in bacon or dates filled with goat cheese and wrapped in bacon.  I make them ahead of time but don't fully cook them.  Then when I get to my destination I put them in the hostess's oven for a quick warm up and finish up the baking.

  Hot appetizers are so much better when they are hot.  Especially if there is bacon involved, nobody wants cold bacon.  They want bacon, just not cold.  These are also great for when you want to bring home some leftovers from your sister's house.

And finally I am going to wrap this up with the wrapping paper and bow aisle.  It is shocking what the stores that specializes in cards, wrapping paper, and bows will charge for just a bow.  At the dollar stores you buy a bow, a roll of wrapping paper, and a card for what they charge for a card at those fancy schmanzy stores.  If you sell items on the Internet and use tissue paper to wrap your item before you ship, then you need to check out the dollar store for tissue paper.

I hope this will save you some $$$.  

The next few months are going to be stressful for everyone.  If we all have a little patience and work together, we can get through this uncertain time.  Know that at the end of the day you, me, and everyone around the world will be one day closer to having this  time behind us.

In the mean time

always

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Grandmother's Tuna Salad Recipe and Update

My paternal grandmother made the best tuna salad and she always served it in a hobnail moonstone bowl.  Reminder to self....search the Internet for 'The Bowl'.  For years we have been trying to crack the recipe and I think I have finally done it.  

My daughter in law came very close in the winter of 2018.  But I think that it was just one ingredient off and that one ingredient was Miracle Whip instead of mayo.  I always felt like the tuna salads we were making looked too yellow.

  My grandmother's philosophy was that there was nothing that couldn't taste better with a little sour cream added.  AND if it was something sweet she was of the mind that peanut butter could make it better.  Her peanut butter Rice Krispies  treats were very tasty.

But back to sour cream, Miracle Whip, and tuna salad.  We are a Hellman's household and there isn't a jar of Miracle Whip in the house but one day it dawned on me that Miracle Whip was the cat's meow in the 50-60's. AND Miracle Whip is WHITER than mayo.  So last week I tried the recipe again with Miracle Whip and it looks and taste like my grandmother's.

Grandma Brunette's Tuna Salad Recipe

2 cans of chunk tuna in oil NOT water. Must be chunk and in oil, drained (do not rinse). 

shell pasta approximately 1 1/2 cups uncooked (the photo shows shell and elbow because I ran out of shell) 

celery 2 or 3 stalks sliced lengthwise and then diced into 1/2 inch pieces.  Any bigger and you start getting those celery strings caught in your teeth.  

1/4 to 1/2 white sweet onion diced into 1/2 inch pieces, must be sweet onion or the onion taste will over power the other ingredients

frozen peas 1/2 to 3/4 cup

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, we always salt lightly

Miracle Whip

sour cream

OPTIONAL dill weed just a dash or two

Garnish with paprika.  She ALWAYS garnished everything with paprika.

Cook the pasta until al dente.   Drain and rinse with cold water.  If you do not rinse the shells they will stack inside each other (been there, done that). Drain and place in a large covered bowl,  and put in fridge to get cold.

While cooking the pasta you can dice your celery, onion, and thaw out your peas.  

Don't mix together any of the ingredients until everything is cold.  Add the drained tuna to the pasta and break apart the chucks into flakes and mix into the pasta.  Now add the rest of the ingredients and look for any shells that might be sticking together and separate them.

In a small bowl mix 1/4 cup Miracle Whip, 1/4 cup sour cream, and salt.  If you are adding dill weed this is the time to add it to the dressing mix. 

Add half the dressing and mix lightly so that the tuna doesn't fall apart.  If salad is too dry then add more dressing.  The photo above is how I like my tuna salad.  If you want more dressing then add more.  Just don't add it all in the beginning.  It is much easier to get to the correct amount of dressing by slowly adding.  Once you have made the salad a couple of times you will know the correct amount to add right from the beginning.

Garnish with a couple of light shakes of the paprika jar.  This is just for looks and was always how my grandmother presented her tuna salad at the table.

Now comes the most important part.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 12 hrs.  I have found that if you don't wait, the tuna flavor will be too strong.  I don't know why, but it is.  

Oh and while I am talking about tuna, do not buy tuna in water or tuna pieces.  It is tasteless and the pieces are so small that it is more like tuna slime and not tuna flakes. 

ENJOY

Update....we haven't embarked on any interesting projects of late.  But we have a long list to start on when the weather breaks.

  We did a massive tree trimming and shrub removal at the Torrey Road house in preparation for when we put it on the market.  

We installed a 3rd gen Nest thermostat in the Torrey Road house and I will do a tutorial in the coming weeks.

I also made a great potato soup recipe the other day and I will do a post about that recipe along with my sister's crock pot potato soup recipe which is to die for.  

I am also planning on writing a blog post about how we sold 2 properties (FSBO) without an agent.  One property sold for 10K under asking but 40K more than properties adjacent to it.  The other sold for asking on the second day even after the first buyer's agent told me to lower the price.  The property sold for 35K over identical other properties and it is still the highest selling condo in the area.

I am thinking about writing a post on my fave YouTube channels.  I watch some unusual ones that if someone told me I would watch these in 2020, I would have to say 'No way'. Hint there are kitties involved and maybe a dog or two.  

If any of these future posts sound like something you are interested in, just subscribe to my Instagram account where I will post whenever there is a new post on the blog.  

 https://www.instagram.com/gear_acres/

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The To Do List is Getting Longer Every Day

*Paint the shingles grey

*Paint the windows trim and sashes white (deck area)

*Prime the door trim (new door)

*Paint the door trim white

*Paint the doors white

*Make 4 of the faux wrought iron hinges

*Install the dummy handle on the stationary door

*Touch up the wrought iron furniture with black satin spray paint

*Take the outdoor cushions to the upholstery guy

*Hang 3 wrought iron baskets and plant with flowers 

*Haul out the umbrella and the umbrella stand

*Buy and plant flowers on the deck 

*Buy and plant flowers in the flower boxes on the railings

*Haul out all the deck decor items

*Put down the outdoor rug

*Plant flowers in the window boxes on the front and side of house

*Plant flowers in the pots on the front porch

*Fix paint on the bottom of the front door

*Add wide cove moulding to the bottom of front door

*Remove and replace 3" eavestrough and downspout with 5"
*Rent heavy equipment to break apart what remains of the swimming pool
*Call and get estimate for retaining wall in the backyard
*Cut down almost dead large pine tree
*Finish building gable vent and prime and paint it
*Install gable vent
*Paint the bistro set 

I purchased this set at an auction for about 40 bucks.  I can see why this set has peeling paint.  When it rains the rainwater pools in the seat area and in the middle of the table.  I am thinking about drilling a pattern of holes in the seat and the center of the table.  Then I will sand and paint.  I will probably spray paint the set with satin black but then paint a checkerboard in the seat area and center of the table.  That should be tedious.

*And of course there are always more cedar shingles to take down and install new cedar shingles.

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Cedar Shingle Update

We have just two rows left to install but the best part is that we no longer have any of the fussy cuts to mess with just basic straight cuts.  Yahoo!

Tomorrow morning (Monday) we have to make a dump run to get rid of the last 4 non original windows.  I am so over looking at them leaned up against the house.  Goodbye, so long, farewell, au revoir, auf wiedersehen, and sayonara.  You won't be missed because you never should have been installed in the first place.

The weather forecast is for no rain or snow ALL week.  So we have no excuse not to finish the shingles on the southside of the house.  We really are antsy to get the east side shingled so that we can hang the secret project up.  You can subscribe to our Instagram page for updates on the secret project and to follow along in between posts.

Follow us on Instagram at Gear Acres 

If you don't live in this area (MI) you may not know that earlier in the week this part of MI experienced several tornadoes.  I think that the last I heard was 60 or 70 houses were damaged or destroyed.  The temperature was 59 degrees which is odd for a tornado.  We worked outside all day and I had mentioned to R that one minute it was blowing from the south and then the next minute it was blowing from the west.  The skies were getting dark so we called it quits about 530pm.

I went inside and was on the computer when my phone went off with a tornado warning alert.  I actually thought it was a mistake until the sirens started blaring.  So I turned on the TV to a local channel and sure enough there was not one but 2 tornadoes on the ground.  

They missed us but one was heading in the direction of my sister's house.  She doesn't have a basement because her home was built on the foundation of a old farm house.  I called her and warned her.  She is a labrador dog breeder of show doggies so she rounded them up and put them all in their crates and then watched the skies.  I think she said the tornado went just south of her by about a mile.  I really must take some photos of her house.  They did an attached kennel that blends right into their house and future owners could use it as an office or beauty salon.  It has an attach courtyard with wrought iron fence around it.  It is really a clever design.

This is the time of year where we need to think about birds, butterflies, and bees AND what we can do to increase their populations. 

Monarch Watch

Honeybees Conservancy 

All About Birds

I purchased a large bag of dried mealworms last week and already the woodpeckers have found the mealworm feeder.  We also noticed that the red winged blackbirds are back and that is usually a sure sign of spring.  During the winter we use sunflower seeds and thistle in our feeders.

Last week we also purchased a replacement top for a concrete bird bath base that was given to us last year.  Birds like a shallow basin that holds about 2 or 3 inches of water.  Don't confuse bird baths with fountain basins.  Fountains basins are far too deep and the birds can't splish splash around without drowning.

Bedlam in the Bird Bath

 collyersam 

We have 8 concrete bird baths that are located around our 2 acre lot.  They see a lot of action especially when it hasn't rained for a while.  The birds both bathe and drink from these basins so it is important to keep the water fresh.  This not only keeps the birds healthy but will bring in more birds that are in search of drinking water during times of less rainfall.

Happy St Patrick's Day

May the road rise to meet you, and the wind always be at your back. May the sun shine warm on your face and the rains fall softly on your fields.

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Secret Project Work and a Few More Shingles

The high temp today was 16 degrees for about an hour in the afternoon.  R braved the bitter cold to hang more shingles.  In the meantime I stayed indoors with the cats and worked on my secret project.

A long time ago I purchased a box of offset hinges to use in the kitchen.  The price was great and at 10 bucks I purchased in haste.  When the hinges arrived I realised that I could not use them on the kitchen cabinets.

But I have since been able to use the hinges on various projects but not as hinges.  So today I again hauled out the box of hinges to use on my secret project.

I'm not using them as hinges so I cut the hinge portion off with a hacksaw.  I'm repeating a design element that has been used both inside and outside of the house.  I now have just 6 hinges left!! 

So tomorrow R and I will make a placement adjustment on the exterior lights on each side of the french doors.  One of the lights is 7/8th of an inch further from the door.  The light fixtures were in the correct spot for the other door but when we installed the new door we tried and tried to center it in the opening. Unfortunately the door just wouldn't stay plumb and level unless we moved it over 7/8ths of an inch.

It's not a big deal because we wanted to use a wood block under each light rather than have the fixture sit on the shingles.  The fixture will fit against the wood block tighter than it currently does against the cedar shingles.

I hope that everyone enjoyed their paczki today.  I had two, raspberry and lemon.  Why have only one???  R had to wait in line for almost a half hour because there were so many people buying these tasty calorie filled pastries.  It was worth it.

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Worked on Secret Project Inside Where it is Warm

We really wanted to hang more shingles today but it was like 14/15 degrees outside.  When it is that cold it is just brutal on the hands.  The day before yesterday we worked on installing shingles next to the door.  It was 19 degrees out and it was slow going.

 So today we stayed inside and continued working on a project we started last summer.  Most of it is scrap lumber but I did have to buy the working parts.  I am going to keep it a secret until the reveal this summer.  I can tell you that it is an outdoor wall decor piece.  That is your one clue.

 We had some cut off pieces that worked perfect for the outside frame and tomorrow we will miter the corners. Then I want to add another piece to the outside of the frame.  I haven't dug through the dwindling scrap pile lately and but if I can't find what I am looking for I will just buy a piece of pine.  Pine is cheap.

Tuesday I have several morning appointments and then I need to go to the township and pick up a dumping permit so that we can haul away all those old Andersen windows that we removed and replaced with the restoration windows and also the old patio door needs to be tossed.  We have to order 2 more restoration windows for the second story and a custom made exterior french door for the master bedroom on the second floor and that should wrap up the window situation.

I see that they are forecasting above freezing temps later this week.  The last thaw we had didn't melt all the snow before it refrozed. Now we have a lot of ice under a thin dusting of snow.  I have fallen or nearly fallen a half dozen times.  So I am looking forward to the next thaw before I don't want to start springtime with any broken bones.

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Cedar Shingle Update and a New Cast Iron Bench

Today we installed more cedar shingles and removed any partial and broken shingles left over from the door installation.

We started on the far end and then nailed some short thin shingles over the windows.  When installing shingles over windows and doors you will need to lay down an undercourse so that you end up with a double layer of shingles.  If you look closely you can see that we cut the thick portion of the shingle off so that the top shingle doesn't stick out further in this area than the other shingles do.  It's hard to explain.

We ran out of shingles after we finished the undercourse over the window.  I have already ordered another bundle and will pick them up tomorrow.

I also purchased another cast iron bench and two side tables at an auction.  We really don't need another bench but we liked this style and the fact that it has two matching side tables.  Over the last two years I have looked at a lot of cast iron benches and this was the first one that had tulips.

 The quality of the casting is much better than the other benches.  There isn't any poresity or excess flash.  The bench is also heavier.  I haven't decided exactly how I will paint this bench but I need for it to some what match my other two benches that are black cast iron.  

The wood on the tables needs replacing because it is plywood plus the width of the boards are wrong.  Also several of the oak slats are in broken or almost broken condition so they will need replacing.

I have these wooden tulips that were my mother's and I will probably plant a chartreuse colored sweet potato vine in two pots for each side table and then add these wooden tulips.  I think these were made by my uncle.  I will have to ask my cousin.

Spring can't come fast enough.  Every day my list gets longer.

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Gameroom French Doors Part 3

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Google+ and G+ are going away so you will no longer be notified when I post.  You can follow my blog by using Bloglovin and they will notify you by email when I post.  I am also looking into using feedburner etc. as a means of notification.  Also, Bloglovin has 1000's of blogs so you might find an additional couple of blogs to follow.  Gear Acres is in the DIY/Craft category.  You can only pick one and Decor didn't seem like a good fit.

Actually, I think getting rid of the Google+/G+ will be good.  I have been told that some people wanted to comment and couldn't because they did not want to join G+.  I probably wouldn't want to subscribe and remember yet another password, either.


Gameroom French Doors Part 1 
Gameroom French Doors Part 2


Today we installed a wood threshold that we made to mimic the concrete thresholds on all the original exterior doors. I didn't want to just use the same thickness of board that make up the door trim.  The door trim was made out of a 2X6 that was ripped down to 5 inches wide.  For the threshold we used a 1X6 and a 2X6 screwed together so that the threshold was thicker.  If we had used just a 2X6 it would have looked too picture frame like.

After we finished with the threshold we measured and cut the PVC drip cap for above the door.  All windows and doors need drip cap on top of the top piece of trim.  This piece of trim hangs over the edge of the top trim board and keeps rain water from getting behind your trim and eventually rotting the trim and sheathing which ultimately lets rain water get into your house.

I have been replacing the original wood drip caps, on this house, with the PVC drip caps. Several of the wood drip caps showed the beginning of rot so why not replace now and be better safe than sorry.  It's not a design feature so I am not changing anything aesthetically about the house.  I am though changing to a better performing material that will not rot.

The PVC drip cap in the photo above shows the little groove on the bottom.  The drip cap is attached to the top trim with small finish nails and positioned so the little groove on the bottom sticks out slightly over the trim piece of wood.  The groove works like magic when a slow moving drip wicks around the front edge of the drip cap.  Rather than continuing to wick back towards the wood trim the groove breaks the surface tension and the drip falls off.
  
FYI A good concrete porch with a design where the concrete porch cap has an overhang should also have a groove incised into the underside to eliminate drips from wicking back.  Without that groove the drip continues back and will then leave the sides of your porch wet.  If you have a brick porch and live in cold climate the wet bricks can freeze and crack.  If you already have a porch without the groove you can add the groove by using a grinder with a thin masonry cut off wheel.

Notice the thin white line on top of the top trim board.  That is the drip cap installed.  Barely noticeable but very important to the long term health of my wood trim.

Tomorrow I will cover the new door handle, the install, and why we chose this style, color finish, and what measurement you will need before ordering your door handle.

  We will wait until spring before we install the dummy handle on the right side door because we will need to drill 2 large holes in the same location as the factory holes.  The only difference between the operating door handle and the dummy door handle is that the dummy does not come with a lock set or a door latch.

Winter Outdoor Projects

Hang cedar shingles
Finish adding the 1X4 trim on the peak area on the gable end of the roof
Build and install a replica of the gable vent
Build another 2 sets of shutters

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Gameroom French Doors Part 2

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Google+ and G+ are going away so you will no longer be notified when I post.  You can follow my blog by using Bloglovin and they will notify you by email when I post.  I am also looking into using feedburner etc. as a means of notification.  Also, Bloglovin has 1000's of blogs so you might find an additional couple of blogs to follow.  Gear Acres is in the DIY/Craft category.  You can only pick one and Decor didn't seem like a good fit.

Actually, I think getting rid of the Google+/G+ will be good.  I have been told that some people wanted to comment and couldn't because they did not want to join G+.  I probably wouldn't want to subscribe and remember yet another password, either.

We finally have the french doors permanently in place.  The tweaking took several days for several reasons.  One being the house is old and the opening was slightly askewed and the other is that we are not the best nor fastest door installers.

There is one thing we noticed right away that we love. It's the fact that you can open both doors and it makes carrying in and out larger items so much easier.  This opening is smaller than the standard opening for exterior patio doors.  Standard openings are 72" X 80" for your typical sliding or french door exterior opening.  Our opening is 60" X 80" which is an entire foot narrower.  

The old doors were sliders which meant that the open side was actually less than 30 inches and more like 28 inches.  That is OK for walking through but we are using this as our workroom which means we are hauling items in and out all the time. Now with the flick of a finger we can unlock the fixed side and have nearly the full 60 inches.

After screwing the door in place we could move on to the exterior trim.  We decided to trim out these doors to match the front entry door.  The front door exterior trim is a 2X6 trimmed down to 5 inches.  So the first thing we did was to take 1/4 of an inch off one side to get a nice crisp edge.  After that, we measured off 5 inches and cut.  We prepared all 3 trim boards at the same time so we didn't have to keep adjusting the table saw.

Now  that the boards were all the same width we measured and cut the side pieces first.  We attached them with 2 finish nails at the top and bottom.  Then we moved on to the other side and did the same.  I held the top piece in place while R marked it with a pencil.  The top board was nailed in place with two finishing nails at each end.  

Now that the pieces were all in place we went back and added 2 more finishing nails every foot on both sides of the boards.  In some places we needed to shim out the trim so that it would be level with the trim board that was next to it.  This house is sheathed with various 1 inch thick lumber and over the nearly 100 years some of it has bowed, cupped, and shrank so we use wood shims to make the trim boards lay nice and flat next to each other.

We finished up by countersinking all the nails.  The proper depth is to sink the nail head into the wood to the depth of the width of the nail head.  In the spring we will putty those holes but for now it is far too cold. 

Tomorrow we will install the door handles that I purchased from House of Antique Hardware.

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New Patio Doors and Repurposing the Pallet

The new french doors for the gameroom arrived a week and a half early,  just in time for a snow storm and frigid sub zero weather.

So installation will have to wait until the temps get above freezing.  But in the meantime I needed to pick out a lockset that would match the three original locksets on the house.  The original lockets are the black hammered thumb set with a cylinder lock above the handle.  If I searched long enough I might be able to find 1 handle but I have this thing with symmetry.  There is no way in the world that I would be happy with just one door handle.

I scraped the idea of looking for an old handle and decided to buy 2 new handles that would work with the look of the old handles.  I found a door handle on House of Antique Hardware.  I knew that I wanted a black handle and not a handle that I had to spray paint.  The door handle I chose comes in matte black. They also offer a choice of door knobs for the interior side and one of the choices match the glass door knobs on all the doors in the house.

https://www.houseofantiquehardware.com/franklin-tubular-entry-handleset-with-choice-of-interior-knob?custcol_finish=12&custcol_interior_knob=22&custcol_backset=1 

Sorry about the link but I was unable to copy just the image of the door handle.

House of Antique Hardware was also offering a 15% off sale so I saved 50 bucks.  Edited 1-22-2019 I spoke with an associate on the phone to order the dummy set.  The cost of it made my total over $500.00 and that qualified my order to receive 20% off my total.  So I saved $115.54.  The associate was very helpful and my order should ship in the next 3 days.

The patio doors came on a pallet for transportation.  We picked up the doors at the store so that we could save on the shipping cost.  After R picked up the door using his truck, we removed it from the pallet and then moved it to the deck.  The pallet was originally going into the burner barrel but then we realized that it would make a great pallet for stacking the bricks from the chimney that we are removing sometime before spring.  We have three fireplaces and three chimneys but one chimney serves two fireplaces so the third chimney is useless and just a remnant for the coal fired steam boiler that serviced the house when it was built.  

That system is long gone and the chimney is eating up valuable floor space.  We might need some bricks to fix the working chimneys when they are repointed this spring. Also, in the future I would like to have the front porch rebuilt using the red brick for the sides.

The pallet had a support for each side of the door.  We removed those boards and then removes the nails and staples.  We spaced those boards to fill the gaps in the pallet.  The boards were too long so we cut them off after we screwed the boards onto the pallet.

Viola!  A new pallet and we reused and repurposed.  Win Win

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PVC Eavestrough Installation Update

Several more lengths of eavestrough were installed today.  The photo below shows the gutter about 1 foot from the corner of the house.  That's not going to work because we need to have the diverter, a connector, and a corner piece in this area and there just isn't enough length.  

 We corrected the problem by taking down the full length of gutter (10 feet) and then installing a two foot section first, slid on 2 hangers, then a connector, then the 10 ft section, slid on 4 hangers, then the diverter was slid onto the gutter, slid on another hanger, and then attached the outside corner piece.

I held up the right end while R went back to the inside corner and screwed the hangers in place making sure that the gutter was almost level with a slight slope at both ends because that is where the downspouts are located.  The trick is to slide everything onto the gutter in the correct order.  

The above photo shows the outside corner piece making the turn on the right side of the photo.  The remaining run will have only one downspout so the install should go rather smoothly.  R will need to go back and use a hole saw to cut an opening in the gutter where the diverters are located.  After he drills the hole with a hole saw he will go back with a large burr bit in a pneumatic grinder and open up the opening in the gutter even more.

  We purchased 5 inch downspouts so we need the holes in gutter where the diverter is located, as big as we can get them.  If we left the hole 3 inches in diameter we would not fully utilize the 5 inch downspout.  We want the rainwater to empty from the gutter as fast as it can so it doesn't overflow when there is a big storm that dumps a lot of rain in a short period of time.

The hangers are generally 20 inches apart but we like to add a hanger about 5 inches from the connector on each side to help support that area.  The diverters have two holes for screws so it is supported without the need for extra hangers.  Hangers are cheap.  Better to install more than less.  Just make sure that the placement is for the most part spaced the same.  We liked spacing the hangers 20 inches but you could even do 12 inches.  I wouldn't space them any further than 24 inches apart.

The placement of the diverter is based on your house design but whatever placement you choose just try and repeat the placement.  We liked the look of 3 inches from the edge of the corner board to the edge of the diverter piece.  We didn't want it too close to the corner board because the downspout is white and so is the corner board.  If the corner board and downspout are too close then from far away it will read as a very wide corner board.  We thought it best to have some grey shingles show between the corner board and the downspout.

We might get to the downspouts on Saturday, it will depend on the weather and how quickly we can get into Flint and pick up a piece of furniture and then get back home and get it into the house.  The pick up time is 11am but with the sun setting so early we have found that there is not enough light after 430PM to be able to do a good job.

The downspouts and gutters are cut on the chop saw.  You turn the gutter upside down, cutting from the bottom to the top of the gutter.  Go slow and you will get a nice cut.

Tools we have used

Chop saw

Pneumatic grinder

Hole saw

Rubber mallet

Battery drill motor with screw bit attachment

Wire end cutter 

Utility knife

Level

Ladder

Tape measure

Eavestrough 10 ft lengths $4.16

Hangers $2.03

End caps Pr $7.15 

5 inch downspouts 10 ft lengths $7.36

Elbows 

Gutter connectors $4.20

Downspout connectors $1.97 

Downspout clip $1.63

Outside corner $6.16

Inside corner $6.16

Screws box/25 

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