Front Porch Redo

Decided to rip apart the front porch, put in new windows, move the door to the front, and put a cover over the entrance.

Found some massive termite damage on the corner post and apparently my roof had been unsupported for quite sometime and had been sinking. Had to kill all the bugs, jack the roof back up to level and put in a new support post.

The Bug Damage

The front wall torn out, the damaged post removed, and temporary supports in place

Supports and framing done, OSB on, and tar paper being installed

New windows and door installed

Overhang framing being built

Most of the decking done, temporary step in place.

Roof sheathing on.

Decking done, stairs mostly finished, lighting installed and siding started.

Siding starting to go back in

South siding done

Just some finishing stuff to do now.

Cob Oven Base is Finished

Did a couple more batches of Cob today and finished off the base. I used a square point shovel and leveled out the top. I also hosed down the sides and used my hand to smooth every thing out. At this point I need to let it dry for a week or two then I can start building the dome. Once the dome is built and dried everything will get a coat of earthen plaster to really make it smooth and nice looking. After that a couple of coats of linseed oil to waterproof it and it'll be ready to go.

Here are a couple views:

The Cob Oven Continues....

Now that its getting nice in Oregon again decided to get back to the Cob Oven project. I decided not to do the rocket stove idea but am doing a two stage oven. This will have a base to fire in and an upper dome for the cooking. And there is a possibility I could cook in both sections at once, but we'll have to see when its done. I got a bunch of batches done today, but will need to do another 6 or so tomorrow to finish up the base.

 Here are the front and angle views:

Here is the hole in the base, there will be an area to fire in the bottom and the smoke will come up into the dome area to heat that as well:

The dark spot in the middle of this one is the hole described above:

Planter

I built another planter box this weekend, can't wait to plant all our veggies!

Attic Storage

I haven't posted in a while as I have been super busy, and I also keep forgetting to take pictures of projects as they are in the works.

We are always trying to find more storage and I needed to move stuff out of my basement/shop so I have more room for my tools and stuff. I wired in a new plug and hung some fluorescent lights. Then I put a bunch of OSB down in the attic area and now have lots of storage for the stuff we don't need all that often. e.g. Christmas Lights, Camping Gear, etc...

Cob Oven- Part 2

So I was able to get a bunch of batches done today. I was hoping for some people to make it over to help out but no one ended up being able to make it. Here are two views of my most recent progress:

Cob Oven- Part 1

So the first day of Cobbing is underway. First picture is the cob all mashed out, then after that you roll it into a big burrito and start putting it into place.

Cob Oven

So when I moved into my house there was a cool outdoor fireplace but it was old and falling apart. I had to move it to build a cedar fence and the whole thing fell apart completely. So I welded a steel frame together for a new fireplace and was going to use the lava rock from the old fireplace for a facade.

Well, I decided I didn't like that and with my new cob "kick" that I'm on I decided to build a cob oven. It actually wont be your typical earthen oven. This is because I am going to combine another technology, a rocket stove, within the oven. We'll see how it turns out.

I'm not much of an artist but below is my rendition of what it might look like when I'm done.

Extra Bedroom

So I have been trying to get the extra bedroom done for a while now but have just recently got around to getting started. It was pretty simple. Basically we just pulled everything out of there and painted the walls, added some extra subfloor to meet the height of the living room and installed the finish floor.

The finish floor is cork. It looks pretty cool and gives the room a nice warm feeling. Plus it feels really cool on your bare feet. I'm glad I finally got this project moving. All I have left to do is finish the trim work.

Pictures Below:

Shed

So I needed to build a bigger shed. I had place one of those rubbermaid click together sheds in my backyard before I left for Iraq to help store the lawn stuff because it was quick and easy. Well, now with the baby on the way I needed to build something bigger so I could store more stuff in there and get the nursery cleaned out and set up. I ended up getting free 2x6's from a friend so that is why it may seem a little "overbuilt." Here are some pics and stuff about how its going:


So here is the framing as it is almost done. When putting in the second layer of the rafter base I hit my thumb with my new framing hammer. Somehow I was able to completely detach my thumbnail in one swipe and it started bleeding everywhere. Also, after i finished the rafter framing I realized I had not accounted for an overhang with my ridge beam which I originally intended to do. So, I had to take them apart the next night and put in a longer ridge beam.
















Here it is with the new longer ridge beam and the roof sheathing attached and the roofing paper down.
















The siding is going on at this point in the picture. My dad, my amazing father, came over to help with this and we got it knocked out pretty quickly.
















The day after the siding was done i was working on installing the 2x4's around the edges of the roof and later my dad came over again and taught me how to flash and roof it.
















I have also built a couple of shelves and still need to do the following to be finished:

1. Build two more shelves
2. Install hangers for the weedwacker, shovels, brooms and the like
3. Construct and install the door
4. Install siding trim
5. Paint
6. Fill it with stuff

Starting Up

So this will be a blog to track my endless projects that I do around the house and even ones I do other places. I am by no means an expert at anything really, but love to be able to accomplish my own work and help people when they are in need. Most of this is not for anyone else but for me to record the things I have done and have grown in.