At Home In The Woods

[Obed]

Yesterday I had the day off from my regular job. After returning home from the fireplace store, I cleaned out the 2 story gutter. I attached the Louisville Ladders stabilizer to my ladder without any trouble. The stabilizer made the ladder much more steady. I still didn't like climbing that high but there's not much I can do about that part of the job. I can probably put up with cleaning the gutters 2 or 3 times a year. Having the ladder stabilizer really helps.

I raked up the leaves that came out of the gutters and removed them.

 

[PAGUY]

Obed - When are you going to cut that grass as shown in pic? Your lawnmower will have a hard time and will clog up unless you raise the cutting height for the first cut and then go back and lower and do it all over again. Try and do it only once and you'll see how that mower turns into an oil eater or just burn out.

 

[Obed]

Obed - When are you going to cut that grass as shown in pic? Your lawnmower will have a hard time and will clog up unless you raise the cutting height for the first cut and then go back and lower and do it all over again. Try and do it only once and you'll see how that mower turns into an oil eater or just burn out.

PAGUY,
I don't plan cutting the grass until sometime next spring. I want to give our new grass plenty of time to get established before cutting it. Since we are in the woods, we don't have any pressure from the neighbors to cut it too soon.

My lawnmower won't have any trouble cutting it. I have cut grass 3 ft tall with it. It is a nice Kubota mower that I bought used from a friend a few years ago. It is my dad's barn. We plan on making a trip to my dad's house in a week to get some of our stuff that he stored for us while we built our house. (Yes, I said it, "WE built our house.")

Obed

 

[Tororider]

For residential grass, only cut one third the overall length at one time. If you cut more than that you will stress the grass.

 

[Obed]

Shelving Question
We are going to build some shelves in our unfinished basement over the holidays. Our basement just has stuff sitting all over the floors and needs some serious organizing. We are thinking about framing the shelves with 2x4s and using plywood for the horizontal shelves. The top of the frame would be attached to the floor trusses for lateral support.

I'm curious what you guys have done or seen that seems to work well. Pictures or links would be very welcomed.

 

[Coyote machine]

Skip building them, and go to Home Dump or someplace similar and buy 3'Wx 5'h plastic shelf units that take 10 min to assemble. They're spaced off the floor, moveable and have slats for dust to fall through to the floor. You can disassemble them and move them to another location or move them assembled if you have the head room. No expensive standard and bracket hardware, will not rust, mold mildew etc. They come in different sizes and are usually grey in color and look good and hold tons of stuff. Job done. Next!

Other points...your ladder is not really long enough to do what you're doing. I don't know how long it is but you have it to maximum safe extension and you're still not reaching the roof to clean out the gutters. Personally, I'd never climb that high and reach over to get leaves- VERY dangerous, ladder could fold on you depending on where your weight is distributed.
What class rating is that ladder?

Grass: cut it now. It is better to have it shorter for the winter months and that grass is WELL established. If you mulch the grass that's there you will have a good lawn next spring. Leaving it long over the winter does not allow it to breath and may attract rodents, or in you area alligators, etc.:thumbsup:

 

[Obed]

I spent a few hours raking leaves this weekend. It was slow work because the grass is long and the ground and leaves were wet. I still have some more raking to do. I didn't like the stress I felt that I was putting on the tender grass with my plastic rake. However, leaving the leaves in the grass was going kill it so I had little choice at this stage.

I expect that this year will be my last time going through this raking leaves rigure. At our last house, we had several large oaks. I was able to use my lawnmower to blow the leaves into rows and then load them in the ttruck bed to move to the compost pile. Next year I should be able to use my lawnmower to blow the leaves into the woods.

 

[Obed]

Skip building them, and go to Home Dump or someplace similar and buy 3'Wx 5'h plastic shelf units that take 10 min to assemble

Coyote machine, thanks for the shelving suggestion.

Other points...your ladder is not really long enough to do what you're doing. I don't know how long it is but you have it to maximum safe extension and you're still not reaching the roof to clean out the gutters. Personally, I'd never climb that high and reach over to get leaves- VERY dangerous, ladder could fold on you depending on where your weight is distributed.
What class rating is that ladder?

My 24' ladder is rated for 225 lbs; I am nowhere close to that weight. It is rated for maximum reach of 23'; that gutter is 21' above the ground.

When using a ladder stabilizer, the stabilizer has to lean against the wall which means the top of the ladder will be slightly under the eave based on the depth of our eaves. I would not want the stabilizer ends resting on the roof; doing so would be sure to damage the shingles. Thus, a longer ladder would not help. The ladder standoffs are 24" which are the longest I could find. Our eaves are 24" deep plus the gutter. You can't tell by the picture, but I was able stand straight up and look down into the gutter to clean it out. I honestly don't know how I could reasonably clean out that gutter much more safely while using a ladder. The only improvement might be a heavier fiberglass ladder but that comes with it's own issues involving the weight of a heavy fiberglass 24' ladder and the difficulty in raising, lowering, and moving it.

 

[Obed]

Do you ever just put the cut wood in the front end loader, position it so you don`t have to bend down, then put the split wood in the near by bin so you can then just lift the whole load up to wherever you store it? Tony

Tony,
I haven't tried that yet. Part of the issue is I normally have the forks on the FEL bucket while splitting wood so I can move the pallets around. I believe the forks would need to be removed from the bucket in order to do what you described.

So far, lifting the logs onto the splitter hasn't really been a problem for me for 15" and smaller logs which is most of what I've been splitting. What really makes my back tire is bending over the splitter for an extended period of time while I position the logs for splitting. The weight of the log pieces hasn't been a significant factor. If I do have several large heavy pieces, I will probably put the splitter in the vertical position.

Obed

 

[Obed]

Coyote machine, I looked online for plastic shelves from Home Depot . The shelves at the link are $50 for 36" x 24". While those shelves are certainly convenient, I think I can get much better shelves by building them myself for less money. Plus, I think it will be a fun project to build them.

Obed

 

[955Lincoln]

Grass: cut it now. It is better to have it shorter for the winter months and that grass is WELL established. If you mulch the grass that's there you will have a good lawn next spring. Leaving it long over the winter does not allow it to breath and may attract rodents, or in you area alligators, etc.:thumbsup:

I agree.....It's not good for it laying over like that.

 

[Obed]

Here are links to a couple shelving designs we are considering.

How to Build Cheap Garage Storage

Building a Garage Storage Wall | The Family Handyman

 

[Coyote machine]

Coyote machine, thanks for the shelving suggestion.

My 24' ladder is rated for 225 lbs; I am nowhere close to that weight. It is rated for maximum reach of 23'; that gutter is 21' above the ground.

When using a ladder stabilizer, the stabilizer has to lean against the wall which means the top of the ladder will be slightly under the eave based on the depth of our eaves. I would not want the stabilizer ends resting on the roof; doing so would be sure to damage the shingles. Thus, a longer ladder would not help. The ladder standoffs are 24" which are the longest I could find. Our eaves are 24" deep plus the gutter. You can't tell by the picture, but I was able stand straight up and look down into the gutter to clean it out. I honestly don't know how I could reasonably clean out that gutter much more safely while using a ladder. The only improvement might be a heavier fiberglass ladder but that comes with it's own issues involving the weight of a heavy fiberglass 24' ladder and the difficulty in raising, lowering, and moving it.

Your ladder is not standing 24' vertical. If you had, for instance, a 40' aluminum ladder you COULD reach the roof and put the standoffs on pieces of shingle wood to keep them from damaging your asphalt shingles. You would have more stability and a higher margin of safety by not having so little ladder section overlap as is currently the case. I use a 40' er at my house for just this logic, and it's weight capacity is likely higher too, which is of no real consequence to a lightweight like you!:laughing:

Cut that grass dude!!:thumbsup:

 

[Obed]

Your ladder is not standing 24' vertical. If you had, for instance, a 40' aluminum ladder you COULD reach the roof and put the standoffs on pieces of shingle wood to keep them from damaging your asphalt shingles.

How do you put the shingle wood under the standoffs without first climbing the ladder?

You would have more stability and a higher margin of safety by not having so little ladder section overlap as is currently the case.

That's a good point. I was a little uncomfortable having the ladder extended so far. We may consider getting a longer ladder.

Obed

 

[Coyote machine]

How do you put the shingle wood under the standoffs without first climbing the ladder?

Crazy glue?!:laughing: Nah, just climb up and stick them under the pressure points so they don't dent into the asphalt shingles. The longer ladder and the straighter ladder will put less pressure on the roof then one would at a wider angle as the one you are using now exemplifies, for instance.

That's a good point. I was a little uncomfortable having the ladder extended so far. And the angle/distance from the wall is a factor that has a formula, I forget it's exact specification, but the point is to not make it too far out from the wall at the base. We may consider getting a longer ladder.

Obed

A 40' aluminum ladder is not that heavy for occasional use, you could have your wife move it for you if you're not up to the task.

 

[CurlyDave]

How do you put the shingle wood under the standoffs without first climbing the ladder?

Obed

I would skip the shingle wood, and measure the diameter of the ladder extension legs.

Go to a plumbing supply store and get a 5' stick of foam pipe insulation which will fit snugly over the legs. It should be about $5. Get a serrated knife and cut off two 6" lengths of the pipe insulation. Put these on the ends of the ladder stabilizer with a generous amount of duct tape and you have all the protection you need for shingles. Plus you have a lifetime supply of spares.

 

[KentT]

A 40' aluminum ladder is not that heavy for occasional use, you could have your wife move it for you if you're not up to the task.

I have a class III 40-ft (with two sections), and it is a 2-person job to move it or stand it...

 

[weldingisfun]

Coyote machine, I looked online for plastic shelves from Home Depot . The shelves at the link are $50 for 36" x 24". While those shelves are certainly convenient, I think I can get much better shelves by building them myself for less money. Plus, I think it will be a fun project to build them.

Obed

"......it will be a fun project to build them". That is, imho, one of the most important considerations. Go for it, Obed.

 

[woodlandfarms]

I am going to be contrary to the shelves and say go buy them. In both Portland and la we have people who sell used pallet shelving. While building is cheaper than the metal it is not by enough for me when you consider labor. Wood shelves are also not adjustable. And I gave never felt any wood shelves I have built are as strong as the metal.

Carl

 

[brin]

Obed, I vote with woodlandfarms for all the same reasons given...those wood shelves will end up bowing on you and they are not adjustable as your needs change...I bought mine at Sams Club...I got the industrial chrome wire ones but they have quite a selection and the price seems right on all of them...have you priced lumber lately...and then your labor...Check these out Search Results