Another great shed link...

This one's my favorite! 

Check the link: http://www.shelterness.com/10-cool-garden-potting-sheds/

Backyard House project

My friend the wonderful botanical artist Sigrid Frensen sent me this link...great ideas here, too!  Repurposed materials, wonderful lighting...

Check out the slideshow and all the marvelous, quirky ideas HERE:
http://www.riseoverrun.biz/the-backyard-house.html

Interior IS filling up...WORTH IT!!

Soooo...this is a fan, a camp chair and a TV table, plus the folded camp chair in the corner.  Definitely filling up...

But we decided we really needed AC if I'm going to work out there at any time but morning!  (After hitting the emergency room with heat exhaustion a few years ago, I don't do hot really well...) 

We've only got the one window  that could have fit, but it's awning type.  Won't work for AC and sure not going to get central air for a shed!

I hated to cut a big enough hole for a window unit in that south wall, and we didn't really want to make it too obvious anyway...so we found a small freestanding portable unit on sale.  It came last week, and it was finally cool enough this morning to work on installing it!  MUCH smaller hole necessary than for a whole unit...

My handy man lined up the holes and cut the second one from the outside...electricity ROCKS.

Fine-tuning the hole...I'm inside, he's outside with the saw...

And yep, it DOES take up more floor space than either of us imagined.  WORTH IT. 

Especially later this morning!  For some reason the electricity went out at home while J. was out running errands, and though I thought I switched the errant breaker in the basement back on, nothing happened.  It was nice to go to the shed and be cool till he got home.  (Guess guy fingers are better than mine for flipping that switch--it worked immediately for him!)

Now if we could just figure out WHY the breaker blew...

Indoor progress

We got the second coat of paint on the floor, the woodwork touched up, and the trim around the small door painted white, plus the second coat of spar varnish on the French doors.  Bought the wood for the baseboards and shelves, but it's been a bit too hot to get them cut, painted, and installed.

We're still trying to dry that waterlogged trim board by the door, and one day when the weather was nice this week, I just sat out there keeping an eye on the heater and loving the space--sketching, writing, reading, drinking coffee, working.  Delightful...

The AC arrived this past week, but turns out we need a 5" hole saw...we had borrowed a 4" one.  Maybe THIS week...

As we play around with ideas and space, I realize how really small 10' x 10' is, and how much I like the open, airy, serene feeling of the uncluttered space.  So we'll only be adding a few things at a time.  Right now we've had two chairs like this one inside, a folding TV table (which will be replaced for the coffee space), and a small stand, and the space feels fairly full, already.  I still plan to add the small desk, though WHERE may change...we'll see where it works best. 

The original plan for floor to ceiling bookshelves seems as if it would take too much floor space, so we may start them higher on the wall so there's room for the chairs to fit there if need be.  

It evolves...

Meanwhile, J. offered me this rug that was in his living room in Virginia--it's 5' x 7' it will be lovely in the winter when I need warmer feet!  If we can get the dust and musty smell out...we're airing it!

So progress!

Yep, still sketching...

I haven't had as MUCH time for sketching and journaling lately, what with building, painting, and working on the new North Light book, but I have gotten in a few...my total mess when I paint was just too funny not to document!

And this morning while Joseph put the second coat of paint on the floor, I kept him company, sketching the summer woods off the end of the deck.

More about the squirrels on our group blog, Sketching in Nature.

Let there be...paint!

Yesterday, when the texturing was finally dry enough, I cut in around the trim with a brush and the pale yellow paint we'd mixed up from leftovers. (J. says "good luck matching that later!"  And he's right, of course.  I'm doing a Miss Scarlett, and worrying about that tomorrow.  Or years from now...) 

I used a roller on the walls after that and it went MUCH faster.  Still really tired yesterday, though...finally got back to "bread labor" in the afternoon!

I used painters' tape around the windows and small door, but didn't worry about it on the French doors; there I had sheet plastic to protect the wood.  (Still have to do a couple of coats of spar varnish on the wood.)

You can see the floor is speckled like a Jackson Pollack painting!  That's why we left it for last; we'll sand and sweep/vacuum, then add a couple of coats of deck paint.  Can't wait!

NEW links we like...

Hi all--be sure to check the expanded list of links in the sidebar at left if you like small places.  It seems like synchronicity that I've found so many new ones to add to the links list--some, people have shared with me because they knew what we were doing, but some seemed to just show up, gifts of the Universe!

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did...most are intended to be actual living spaces but almost all would be wonderful studios or workshops.  Have fun!

Texturing the walls

 

Joseph did the high stuff for me; I'm not that wild about ladders.  Of course, neither is he...

We wanted to cover some of the roughness and seams; originally I had planned to add the drywall compound to the paint, but since the last time I did that I had the powder form and this time pre-mix, we decided maybe we'd take the extra step and texture the walls first! 


J. teased me about living with a 5-year-old, but I did find the best way to get the stuff into corners was with my hands!


No way in the world it's going to cover some of those seams, but hey, it's a shed!

It took longer to dry than I expected, so we had a day off, yesterday--at least off from shed work.  We did errands, I worked on the book, and we read...and then in the evening, kicked back and watched movies.

Wahoo, electricians are HERE!

So we should be all hooked up and good to go, today, then get the final inspection from the building codes guy, and FREE.

Fingers crossed, positive thoughts, all that good stuff...

So. Every step seems to take a week, once codes are involved.

Actually, it was the code inspector that told me that, last week! :-D

The building permit has been rained on so much in the past month it's about ready to become paper pulp...

Sooooo ready. Ick, exposed wires and itchy insulation.

So. Here's our rough Chronology...never mind our schedule!

(Skipping all the dates that had to do with checking with the City codes and P &Z contact and thinking we were good to go. Not. Suffice it to say we started roughly about June 5, sketching, planning, talking to Mark, and laying out the ground, AND getting our ducks in a row. We thought.)


June 23--Dealt with the Surprising and Confusing Stop Work order and building permit; good to go. Again.

June 29--Electrician #1 arrives for consultation

July 1--Preliminary electrical preparation

July somewhere in here--DigRite comes again to re-mark the lines, since it's been so long the first one washed off (who knew it could take that long?)

July 13--Electrician #2 here for consultation

July 14 or 15--Electrical permit obtained by electrician (not us this time)

July 14--Joseph digs preparatory hole to make sure we miss the phone line when the trench is dug.

July 15--Mark rents trencher and digs the trench--misses phone line! GO MARK.

July 16--City inspector OKs trench; good to go. Again. But that was Friday, so we wait, over the weekend.

July 17--Wire and conduit in trench, rough covered

July 17, late--More rain, more mud.

July 18--Lay stepping stones so I can reach the shed. Sandals weigh about a pound each...

July 20--Electrician scheduled to come today or tomorrow to hook everything up

July 21-22, yes, these days aren't here yet, I know, but that's when he's supposed to come, now. Tomorrow evening or Wednesday.

July Soon, then, I hope, final inspection... ;-P


Mind you, all in here we get a number of conflicting opinions/takes on what has to be done, both official and non-official. How deep the trench has to be (3", 18", 24"), whether or not a conduit is necessary (yes, after all, even at 18"), where the disconnects go.

My head is spinning--no wonder I just want that final inspection done so I can kick back! (Not to mention being free to go out of town or whatever instead of waiting on something or other...Mark's been good about letting us know, but he can't control some stuff!)

And of course all in here there's been progress--insulation, walls, windows, doors, doorknobs, step, trim, etc.

My advice to anyone contemplating building anything, anywhere? GO DIRECTLY to your City offices, Planning and Zoning Department, do not pass go. Even if you thought you'd checked it six ways from Sunday. Just do it. Make it easy on yourself.

Easier.

And yes, we've had conflicting info from various people involved in the City or licensed by the City or experienced in this sort of thing; that's partly because they're having to update their codes to comply with State changes, but believe me, it's been really, really confusing.

Just want done. <:-}

Almost done with one phase...

Joseph worked on some of the fixtures today--Sunday--and we discussed what we wanted to do with the walls and baseboards, etc.

We're waiting to find out when the electrician can schedule us, then one more inspection...

And then we'll do some of the fun inside stuff--paint, trim, floor--and J. will build screens for the two windows that open, and finish the deck, and get more mulch for the muddy path, and find a doorknob for the storage compartment, and figure out shelves...

And breathe!

...of course I do that now, in the early mornings when the light comes in these big French doors...

One MORE step...

The ditch passed inspection.

But more confusion ensues...

The licensed electrician said we didn't need conduit, at that depth.

In inspector says we do. He's going to check the codes, but we told Mark to just GET THE CONDUIT. This way, they can hook it up and do the disconnects at each end and we just need one more inspection.

Rather more complicated than I had originally imagined...



Meanwhile, wonder what the heck this pipe is?? DigRite didn't mark it, because it's apparently not attached to anything we now use.

Urban archaeology...

ah ha...

I think I've figured out what this needs to stop the leak. They really are interior doors, I think Mark said. Since we have the roof overhang, they couldn't open out, they need to open in. Makes for a gap under the edge of the door, and the weatherstripping you see here on the left really doesn't seal anything. It doesn't touch the board at the bottom, at all, and the rain comes right in under the door.

We'd thought to put more weatherstripping like that on the outside, or perhaps that long, curved stuff underneath, on the bottom edge. But I think what this really needs is a stop on the outside for the doors to butt up against, and then a seal on that. That's what the small door has, molded into its aluminum sill.

SO. Just have to figure out how not to make such a big one I trip over it going out. *G*

Trench is in!

It took longer than I expected, because of all our trees and a surprising number of big rocks underground! (They'll be fun to use for landscaping or stepping stones, though...)

The trench is mostly deeper than the 18" required, and is ready to be inspected--and for the wire to go in. Then the hookup and THEN it will be much more comfortable to work over there. (Yesterday the heat index was something like 105 by afternoon. Eeep...)

Mark encountered one rather odd pipe that the DigRite guy didn't mark--must be an old one, not attached to anything. It's not our gas line, and our water pipes are out front. Anyway, it didn't break, for which I'm grateful--even if it's old, I'm glad it's intact.

We had hoped to get it dug in time for the building inspector to come by, but it was JUST after five...oh well! Manana...

So now we have a nice deep trench and piles of dirt; getting it covered back up and using mulch on the patch will fix that area nicely.

One step closer...

Soooo...Electrician # 2 came yesterday with Mark, looked over the job, saw what we wanted, made recommendations, and got an electrical permit from the city yesterday.

YEAH.

Here's Joseph discussing our needs with him...

And here's my sweetie digging the pilot hole by hand this morning, looking for the buried phone cable while it was still almost bearable out there! (Typical Midwestern Summer weather--that is to say, a sauna...)

Mark will get a trencher for the rest of the line, but we hoped to fine-tune it so the phone cord didn't get cut. (That's also our Internet connection, of course!)

Success!

We'll snake the electric wire under it...

Meanwhile, J. ran an extension cord out to the shed so we can run the fan on the waterlogged board--and when it's NOT aimed at the board, it's aimed at me, so I can breathe...

Breathing good...

Greenmen and the shed

We have another greenman, from one of the old tin ceilings around town--lots of people don't see the foliate face, but he's right there in the middle, speaking green words with leaves.

The greenman has been around for centuries--you find him in churches and cathedrals all over Europe, as well as in gardens and public buildings there, in Asia, and in America. He gets around--but no one knows the origin.


We'll probably put him right below this window...I'd originally thought to use him as is, but he's pretty light colored and wants to compete with the window, making it look smaller.




I painted the original one I had, and glazed it with a darker brown. Thinking that's what would work best on the shed, too...he needs to be subtle...

Rain, again...

So yeah. It appears it would be a LOT better to have the weatherstripping on the outside of the door instead of the inside. Ya think? More pools and rivulets...it goes right under the door and onto the floor.

The spar varnish really protects the wood I got it onto, though, look at how the moisture beaded up! (It's still tacky after 24+ hours, but hopefully it will decide to dry hard and I can do another coat...)

More rain...

...sigh, we hadn't had rain in 6 days, and that nasty board never DID dry. And now it's raining again. I tried blocking it to protect it from new splashing, but we'll see. It's hard to imagine how it could have still been damp--was it soaked in salt water and attracting moisture? A spring in that corner of the shed? What?!?

It's like the Amityville Board. Considering an extension cord and hair-dryer!

And sigh again, the 4-hour spar varnish I put on yesterday morning still is tacky. Glad I got it on, though, at least it will somewhat protect the French doors, even with only one coat. (Yep, I did stir it. Enough? I don't know. Too old? I don't know. Midwestern humidity? Probably...)

I cleaned the wood with mineral spirits before varnishing, but allowed it to get completely dry before applying the spar varnish, so it wasn't that.


We had to have the phone line marked again, this past week...it had been so long that Dig-Rite's original markings had disappeared. Joseph went out and ran a string along them today, in case that happens again. NOT that it should. Surely we'll get the electricity taken care of this week. (Patience, Kate...)

I still got in a bit of time there this morning for yoga and coffee, and the lovely neighborhood kitty came for a visit, again. Guess I need to bring some treats over for her...

Bits and pieces, again

Not good. It's been almost 5 days since our last rain, and this board is still damp. Everything else dried promptly--it's also mildewed and a bit rotten looking
at the top as well as the bottom.

I like using recycled stuff, but this isn't good.

This morning I took my coffee and my manuscript out to the shed to work on the final polishing before sending off this chapter. J. came over and brought me fresh coffee and asked if I was doing my "editation"! Yes, exactly!

MODIFIED yoga, too, I really don't want more injury to that knee, so doing most of it as "chair yoga."

This sweet cat lives up the street--she's come for a visit twice lately...

And here's most of the first coat of spar varnish on the French doors. I got the small door frame done, as well as the inside and outside of this one and the outside of the one on the left, as well as most of the frame (except the damp part.) It's lovely, like painting on honey. It will take another coat, at least.

So, obviously feeling better, though I did decide to stop with the varnish till tomorrow; my shoulder was beginning to complain, now! (Ralph Macchio I am not!)

SO READY to make some forward progress.

Still waiting for the trench to get dug and the electrician to come; that was supposed to happen this week, as you may recall. Nada.

Is it the rain? Well, no. It was predicted but we've had three lovely dry days (at least) now.

SO ready for some progress.

Meanwhile I've got the French doors almost ready to varnish...maybe over the weekend. Maybe we can get some paint on, inside, too, but we were sort of waiting for the wiring to be finished.

I messed up my knee this week and J. messed up his back, so maybe it's a sign. SLOW DOWN. Take it easy. Patience, my girl...