Took the bikes out

Nov 24, 2012

Today I took the bikes out.  Took my brothers, wife and daughter for a ride at the local play area (pretty much a water drainage basin with a few berms on the hill).

 1st gear cruise around the parking lot.

 First time with my wife on the back of my bike... I didn't dare go faster than 1st gear on a bike meant for 1.

 Somebody brought out a small scale RC car

Crash

Jump

Landing

Added Light

Nov 23, 2012

Tonight I unloaded my work supplies from my truck.  It was dark so I decided to add a some light to the shed.

Shed Shelf Started

Nov 17, 2012

I worked on the shed today and yesterday.  Yesterday I started on the shelf in the very back.  I used what scrap 2x4s I could and they came out to be the perfect length to fit 2 milk crates deep.  I only had time to get enough 2x4s in to hold up the milk crates for that night.

Today I put a few more shingles on the roof.  It still is not 100% complete but they are good enough for this winter.  I still need to put some roof tar on the top nails, but I'm not too concerned if it does leak a little.  I finished adding the 2x4s to the shelf.  I like the 2x4 shelves, they were cheap and are very functional(also made mostly of my scraps).  I think I will add one more shelf allowing myself enough room to stack 2 milk crates tall.  This will make the to shelf more like a triangle but will give me enough room to stack more items upward.  Overall I am pleased with the added storage space I have. As far as the area is concerned the shed addition is taking up less space than what my things took up before, plus I have more room to grow if needed because of the added upward storage ability.  AND everything will stay dry!  Today I also added a wall to the end of the shed.  I really wanted to use the pre-made walls like my shed walls but I had the extra sheet of 4x8 plywood so I just decided to use that.  I may decide to swap it out for the pre-made walls in the future because they do look a lot nicer.

 I still have a bit of organizing to do.  I need to build that additional shelf and organize everything better.  Also my scrap metal pile is starting to get large enough to make another run to the scrap yard. I have several milk crates and 5 gal buckets of wire and I have 4 car batteries.  I also need to take 4 gal of oil to Autozone.  I would like to have more floor space and walking room.  So I will need to get most items off the floor and onto shelves so I have more working room.  I will probably end up using this lean-to as a garage when the weather gets colder or it's raining or snowing.  I plan to have tarps for walls and a heater inside if its really cold outside.  This will allow me a weather proof place to work on the xr600 this winter.  I would also like to find some other projects to make a little extra cash.  I have thrown around the idea of welding water fountains and selling them as art or landscaping water features. I'm sure I will find some other income based projects, now that a I have a place to work out of the elements.

Everything under shelter

Nov 15, 2012

Tonight I got off work a little early.  I worked outside from 4:00 to 6:30.  I worked on organizing my outside things and also organizing my work supplies in the truck.  I fixed a tarp system in my truck so I can cover my supplies and tools from the rain or snow.  On the shed addition I still need to get some shelves set up and some walls put up but for now everything is underneath a roof in case it rains or snows and it will be protected much better than it would have before the addition was built.

Roof on Shed

Nov 14, 2012

I didn't have work today so I got an early start on the shed.  I started around 8 and the plywood sheeting was covered in frost so very slick.  So progress was slow til the sun came out enough to melt the frost.  In total I worked on the shed about 5.5 hrs.  I got most of the roof finished.  I got free shingles and I am short about 5 shingles, so that is a bummer.  I know where I can get some more to finish it but they won't match... oh, well.  I threw up a temporary tarp wall in the back corner.  It may stay that way for some time.  It is out of the eyes of the neighbors so I am not too concerned about the aesthetics.  I will make the front face look nice and that is what matters.

 Starting with shingles

 Tarp up on back and tarp on bikes, exterior still not organized (I need to make shelves).

Roof complete except for the top edge that I need a few more shingles to complete. 

My wife working on my daughters Christmas present.

Tonight I also changed the oil on both the Tacoma and Echo. The Tacoma has 218k and the Echo has 180k.  Both happened to hit 3k miles at the same time (within a few hundred of each other).  The Echo has been a good car.  It gets good MPG and has very low maintenance costs.  But it is starting to burn a little oil which is a little frustrating to me cause my parents '86 Tercel lasted til 230k before really burning oil.  The Echo's oil was darker than the Tacoma oil this change(lots of variables so nothing for sure-but to me this means the Echo's motor is in worse shape than the Tacoma's).  I have been really pleased with my motor in the Tacoma.  I expect it to last til 250-300k without major issues.  The Tacoma does however have higher maintenance costs.

More work on the shed

Nov 13, 2012

Tonight I put another 2 hrs into the shed.  Most of that time was moving stuff out and in from underneath it. The whole roof is now completely covered with plywood.  I just need to throw shingles on  and the roof will be finished.  I have an extra sheet of plywood because the roof came out to be 16'x6'.  I think I will use that to enclose the rear portion. I will also build shelves in that same area (the area by the original shed).

More work on shed

Nov 12, 2012

Tonight I put in 2 hours on the shed.  Most of the supports for the roof are up now.  I still need to cut the pieces correctly for the roof and add some walls (probably a combination of tarps and pre-made osb walls).

Snow!

Nov 11, 2012

One of the advantages of moving further North was that we expected more snow.  Last year that was not the case and we had a very mild winter.  My wife and I enjoy the snow and had a hard time that we missed out last winter.  This winter has started off with a bang.  We have been getting snowed on since early Friday morning.  I haven't taken a tape measure to it but my guess is we have a good 12-18" of snow on the ground.  Looks like I should have added to the shed a little sooner since that project is only half complete.  At least the bikes have a partial shelter that is holding 12" of snow above then in stead of on top of them on top of a tarp.  

Friday Morning

 Sat Morning

 Leaves haven't fallen yet

 Luckily the branches didn't take down the power

Shed Addition

Nov 8, 2012

Tonight I decided to add on to my 4'x8' shed.  I decided to build that shed to store my tool box and 33" tires.  It served it's purpose and still houses those items and many more.  It is now over full and I need to add another shelter for my outdoor items.  I would have made my origional shed much larger if it weren't for the fact that I am renting and can only use the concrete pad that it sits on (which is also a driveway).  This portion of my driveway is the best area I have to work on my vehicles, it is level and doesn't have a fence on one side and the house on the other side like the rest of my driveway.  Making a shed any larger than 4'x8' would make it so my small truck (Toyota Tacoma) would not fit there. I could have made it longer, like 4'x16' but I wanted it to have a door and if I did this most of the space would be used up by a walking space.  The shed addition I started tonight is more of a lean to an it's main purpose is to shed rain, snow and sunlight off my dirt bikes, work supplies, and any other items I have to store outdoors.

I will make the addition 5' wide and either 12' or 16' long.  It will make my upper driveway skinny like the rest of my driveway but I will have the extra room on the grass side.  My main purpose is to get a roof up.  I am thinking that I will be adding panels on it also.  I was planning on using tarps because I wanted to keep this project on the cheap side but it looks like for function and also for appearance that side panels will be the best option.  I overbuilt my 4'x8' shed and wish I could do the same thing for the addition.  But the shed cost around $500 and so far I have only spent $150 on materials for the addition.  Currently it is 8' long but I have enough materials to make it 12' long.  I spend about an hour and a half working on it tonight and getting things under it for tonight's storm.