At Home In The Woods

[Obed]

Good thinking, my wife always worries about the bugs that would come in under the deck, i say, who cares it cant be that many??

The only problem i see is that with to much dirt/debris it will fill up the cracks between the boards. Dirt will wash through but they eventually will fill up with pet hair and debris that you track in and or what blows though the open door?

I think Obed can always use an air compressor or blower to blow any debris up and out as long as it is not allowed to accumulate and compact..but good point and something to watch out for.

Yes, dirt and debris will be an issue. We'll have to see how bad it will be. We might be able to us a shop vac to periodically suck stuff out of the cracks. Eventually, the screen may droop a little with junk sitting on it. I'll be interested in seeing how the dirt/debris issue plays out. However, I'd rather deal with dirt/debris than mosquitoes.

This spring the mosquitoes are worse than this time last year. My wife suspects that the new grass around the house is providing a place for the mosquitoes to hang out. I'm not sure about that but have noticed the mosquitoes have gotten worse. However, they are still nowhere nearly as bad as they were at some other places I've lived. I can sit on the front porch without being bothered much during the day but don't want to be out there at dusk.

It will be nice to be able to sit on the back porch at/after dusk in the cool of the evening once we get the porch screened in.

Obed

 

[Obed]

For two years ina row I`v had the tomatoes fall over later in the season...Make sure the post is well driven into the ground...Once they fall over , the tomato vines break, and that`s it.

Tony,
The T-posts are solidly in the ground. We do plan on installing one more post for additional strength. I don't think we'll have a problem. I could put all of my weight against one of the posts without knocking it down.

Everything is sure looking good, and the view from the porch is a nice one Tony

Thanks. I really think the back porch and deck will be one of my favorite features of the house. I already told my wife when were were building the house that I'm going to get a meat smoker once we finish the deck. I'm looking forward to grilling and smoking pork on the deck ... eventually.
Obed

 

[Obed]

Pretty sure the screen was suggested earlier in the thread (though it may well have been last year or sometime long ago), as I think I suggested it along with a couple others. I've done it before and heard of others doing it. But no matter, it is a good trick to use. The downside is that it will collect crap, but if the porch is screened in, that gets reduced significantly. Oh yeah, and it makes installing deck boards a royal PITA as you have to be careful not to poke through it (or step through it...). But well worth it in the end, IMHO.

dstig1, thanks for the suggestion. I obviously took it into consideration. It's been so long since that discussion that I didn't remember where I got the idea. And of course, after a long enough time, I'm capable of claiming credit for any good idea someone else made!

I might also suggest that you allow a bit more of a deck board gap around your twisting posts, as they may not be done twisting yet and if they do more, it could buckle your deck boards. Wood movement is basically The Unstoppable Force of the world, so it is best to allow for it rather than fight it...

I've allowed for a 1/4" gap. The posts have been sitting in our garage for over a year and a half so I'm hoping most of the twisting has already occurred. Certainly a 1/4" gap will be enough at this stage.

BTW, did I mention how much I dislike working with pressure treated wood? PT wood bows and twists terribly and puts splinters in tender computer geek office conditioned hands like mine. And the PT chemicals don't even resist carpenter bees.

Obed

 

[clemsonfor]

Yes, dirt and debris will be an issue. We'll have to see how bad it will be. We might be able to us a shop vac to periodically suck stuff out of the cracks. Eventually, the screen may droop a little with junk sitting on it. I'll be interested in seeing how the dirt/debris issue plays out. However, I'd rather deal with dirt/debris than mosquitoes.

This spring the mosquitoes are worse than this time last year. My wife suspects that the new grass around the house is providing a place for the mosquitoes to hang out. I'm not sure about that but have noticed the mosquitoes have gotten worse. However, they are still nowhere nearly as bad as they were at some other places I've lived. I can sit on the front porch without being bothered much during the day but don't want to be out there at dusk.

It will be nice to be able to sit on the back porch at/after dusk in the cool of the evening once we get the porch screened in.

Obed

nothing to do with grass, its the mild winter we had, it did not kill off as many insects as a normal one would, so there back with a vengence this summer!

 

[brin]

nothing to do with grass, its the mild winter we had, it did not kill off as many insects as a normal one would, so there back with a vengence this summer!

Also any standing water...like in old tires or puddles , gutters ....anywhere water stands is a breeding ground for mosquitoes...

 

[Ranger Rick]

Brin,

Maybe, if the carpenter bees don't destroy it. I keep finding sawdust under some of the holes and it's quite annoying. After we get the deck boards installed, we'll puddy up the holes when it's easy to move a ladder around.
Obed

Obed I read that carpenter bees to not like to dig their holes through paint so maybe you should paint the bottom side also if they are a real problem.
Rick

 

[Obed]

Obed I read that carpenter bees to not like to dig their holes through paint so maybe you should paint the bottom side also if they are a real problem.
Rick

Rick,
That is something we have considered and might do. Yes, it has been my observation that they don't eat into painted wood.
Obed

 

[Obed]

We finally started installing the deck boards. Yay! The first board down was the picture frame board beside the posts. We then used that board to line up the ends of the other boards that run parallel to the brick wall. We have found that the published dimensions of the Trex boards cannot be relied upon. The boards were narrower than advertised so we are one board width shy of what we need.

The published lenth of these boards is 16'. I measured a half dozen of the 16' boards just to get an idea whether or not they would all be the same length. Since they all measured the same, I figured the whole lot of 16' boards would be 16' and 3/8" and accordingly calculated the cuts of the picture frame boards that lie perpendicular to the brick wall at both ends of the 16' boards.

It turns out that only half of the 16' boards are 16' 3/8". The rest are varied lengths up to 1 1/4" longer than the 16' 3/8" boards. I'm fortunate that I planned the layout of the boards using the shorter boards. If I had assumed all boards were the same length and happened to measure one of the long ones for planning the layout, then I would have had a mess when installing boards that were over an inch shorter. You can always shorten long boards but I haven't done this type of work long enough to figure out how stretch short boards.

The only board that has been screwed down so far in the pictures is the picture frame board by the posts. The rest are just lying on the joists.

 

[tony Cecil]

I am not sure where I read this, but wanted to share it...Both of us have been stung in the past......Today I was in the woods and stepped on a yellow jacket nest...got stung multiple times before I could make a hasty retreat-----I read just recently that a `kind` poster somewhere said to blast the stung areas with a `hair dryer`....Two of the stings were the very painful ones--a nerve--and it took the hurt right out by the time the hair dryer got hot..The swelling continued and I took a `demeral pill`a couple of hours later,and within an hour the swelling was gone......The hair dryer was amazing....Tony

 

[Obed]

I am not sure where I read this, but wanted to share it...Both of us have been stung in the past......Today I was in the woods and stepped on a yellow jacket nest...got stung multiple times before I could make a hasty retreat-----I read just recently that a `kind` poster somewhere said to blast the stung areas with a `hair dryer`....Two of the stings were the very painful ones--a nerve--and it took the hurt right out by the time the hair dryer got hot..The swelling continued and I took a `demeral pill`a couple of hours later,and within an hour the swelling was gone......The hair dryer was amazing....Tony

Tony,
That's interesting. I have had great success putting a piece of ice on the sting, something that would seem to have the opposite effect of using heat. Also, when I get a mosquito bite I will often put a piece of ice on the bite and the area will permanently stop itching.
Obed

 

[Obed]

We started laying deck boards at the side of the porch farthest away from the house. We tacked up some cardboard on the posts to provide some shade. We are using the Trex hidden fasteners. After fastening down a few boards, we started getting a system. However, using the hidden fasters is noticeably slower than just screwing screws through the boards. When my wife was no longer able to help, I jammed a 2x in the ~2 ft gap to push the boards tight together while fastening them down. We have fastened down about half of the boards on the porch so far.

 

[tony Cecil]

I made a mistake ---it is Benadryl--not demaril.....I tell you the hair dryer worked as the poster said....I sure do not understand, and I too use ice or an onion...Believe me the hair dryer worked...and the Benadryl took the swelling right down....Keep that in mind for the future..... Tony

 

[dstig1]

dstig1, thanks for the suggestion. I obviously took it into consideration. It's been so long since that discussion that I didn't remember where I got the idea. And of course, after a long enough time, I'm capable of claiming credit for any good idea someone else made!

I've allowed for a 1/4" gap. The posts have been sitting in our garage for over a year and a half so I'm hoping most of the twisting has already occurred. Certainly a 1/4" gap will be enough at this stage.

BTW, did I mention how much I dislike working with pressure treated wood? PT wood bows and twists terribly and puts splinters in tender computer geek office conditioned hands like mine. And the PT chemicals don't even resist carpenter bees.

Obed

Happy to help. That's why we're here! :thumbsup: The gap around the posts should be OK, given what you said.

Oh and you forgot haw dang heavy PT wood is. One more to add to your list...

 

[Obed]

My wife put some powdered fire ant poison into the carpenter bee holes. She taped a straw to rubber bulb used for sucking the junk out of baby's noses. Her homemade applicator worked well putting the ant poison into the carpenter bee holes. We are seeing fewer carpenter bees but they are still not all gone.

 

[Obed]

My wife harvested some basil out of her herb garned and hung it up in the bathroom to dry.

 

[Obed]

My tractor isn't running.

I suspect the problem is water in the fuel. The hose that drains water from around the fuel cap clogged up and water was collecting around the fuel cap. Yesterday I used our air compressor (a recent CL purchase) to blow out the drain line which cleared the drain clog.

I then emptied the bowl that contains the fuel filter. The contents of the bowl looked like it had a lot of water. I also drained some of the fuel from the fuel tank by opening the red drain valve shown in the picture. I drained the fuel tank until the fuel looked clear. There was noticeable in sediment when I first started draining the tank.

When I put the fuel filter bowl back on and opened the fuel valve, fuel did not fill up the bowl. Last time I did this operation, opening the valve resulted in fuel filling up the bowl without needing to crank the engine first. This time, fuel did not fill the bowl until I cranked the engine. However, the tractor did not start and the not fully charged battery ran out of juice.

I'm regretting now that I tried to start the tractor with the fuel filter bowl empty. I'm wondering if I sucked air into the fuel lines and now have an air lock. I could have manually filled the fuel filter bowl with diesel before reattaching the bowl. Doing so would have potentially resulted in less air in the lines. Of course, I'm still wondering why the fuel filter bowl did not gravity drain fill up by just opening the fuel valve.

The fuel filter is obviously dirty and needs replacing. I'm going to order a new filter, charge up the battery, and try again.

Our excavating contractor had trouble starting his track loader after he replaced his fuel filter. He said he got air in the lines. He fixed it by unattaching the fuel line to each cylander and getting the air out of each line.

I'm hoping that a charged battery and a new fuel filter will take care of my issue.

 

[Obed]

I worked more on the porch Saturday. I'm fighting a sinus infection but was thankful I was in good enough shape able to put in a full day (including trying to start the tractor). I cut off the ends of a few of the boards that were about an inch too long. I spent a good bit of time measuring, cutting, and installing the picture frame boards along the edge of the porch.

Figuring out how to attach the picture frame boards was a puzzle. We ended up toe-nail screwing the boards to the outside of the rim joists. To attach the side of the boards on the inside edge of the boards, we screwed some aluminum plates to the picture frame boards and slide these plates under the ends of perpendicular deck boards. The end result was a fairly solid picture frame board installation without any hardware (screws, nails, etc.) showing from above.

I added a few more deck boards and called it a day.

 

[PAGUY]

Obed - Problems with water is a god reason to have a shelter for your tractor.

I keep mine in a garage I added to the side of the main garage. It houses my two tractors and snow blower and push mower. My hand tools, ladders, weedwackers and chain saws are all in this garage. Another garage houses extra implements not in use during different seasons.

This garage gives me the opportunity to keep trickle chargers on batteries, storage shelfs for oil and additives for all the equipment.

Here I go again spending your money on suggestions to improve your quality of life.

 

[clemsonfor]

My tractor isn't running.

I suspect the problem is water in the fuel. The hose that drains water from around the fuel cap clogged up and water was collecting around the fuel cap. Yesterday I used our air compressor (a recent CL purchase) to blow out the drain line which cleared the drain clog.

I then emptied the bowl that contains the fuel filter. The contents of the bowl looked like it had a lot of water. I also drained some of the fuel from the fuel tank by opening the red drain valve shown in the picture. I drained the fuel tank until the fuel looked clear. There was noticeable in sediment when I first started draining the tank.

When I put the fuel filter bowl back on and opened the fuel valve, fuel did not fill up the bowl. Last time I did this operation, opening the valve resulted in fuel filling up the bowl without needing to crank the engine first. This time, fuel did not fill the bowl until I cranked the engine. However, the tractor did not start and the not fully charged battery ran out of juice.

I'm regretting now that I tried to start the tractor with the fuel filter bowl empty. I'm wondering if I sucked air into the fuel lines and now have an air lock. I could have manually filled the fuel filter bowl with diesel before reattaching the bowl. Doing so would have potentially resulted in less air in the lines. Of course, I'm still wondering why the fuel filter bowl did not gravity drain fill up by just opening the fuel valve.

The fuel filter is obviously dirty and needs replacing. I'm going to order a new filter, charge up the battery, and try again.

Our excavating contractor had trouble starting his track loader after he replaced his fuel filter. He said he got air in the lines. He fixed it by unattaching the fuel line to each cylander and getting the air out of each line.

I'm hoping that a charged battery and a new fuel filter will take care of my issue.

Yea if that bowl is not full, full it with deisel from a can. Then crack the line at each injector and crank for several seconds then tighten them. doing one at a time. This is if you have no other bleeder screw and such. Also a full tank is better for messing with the filters as there is more weight on the fuel to let gravity force the air out of the bowl. You should replace your filters yearly anyway.

Where are you buying you fuel? Or is this drian and water pudding you think your problem, you sure have a lot of problem with water in the fuel? Either park it in your garage or just put a board or something over that fuel cap.

 

[clemsonfor]

My wife put some powdered fire ant poison into the carpenter bee holes. She taped a straw to rubber bulb used for sucking the junk out of baby's noses. Her homemade applicator worked well putting the ant poison into the carpenter bee holes. We are seeing fewer carpenter bees but they are still not all gone.

It would be eiser to use a liquid spray like you use in your house for bugs or if you have some for your garden.