Rebuilding my shack

[tallyho8]

It's been another busy day. I couldn't wait to see how it looked with a porch. I got most of the porch up using the rest of my cypress boards for floorboards and some old cypress 4x6s for posts. I had to buy new treated 4x4s for cross braces and a new treated 4x6 for the top beam. I don't like the look of "yellow wood" but I have some stain to put on it later so it will match the cypress.

It's getting too hot for me to keep up these 12 hour days. I am going to slow down a little now.

 

[Defective]

Looks good enough to live in.

 

[tallyho8]

July 4th, I took the day off to work on my shack. I guess everyone celebrates in their own way, huh?

I put the rest of the steel panels on the roof. I used the surviving panels off my old shack and put most of them on the back side of the roof and had to get a few more new panels to finish off the front.

The porch is 8 x 16', just big enough to hold my swing and a rocking chair. I don't have a rocker anymore, have to look for a good one somewhere, sorta country looking. Anyone have any ideas?

OK Eddie, the porch is up so next time you pass through stop and we'll try it out.

Defective: I may be living in it if I get out of line again.

Since I do all my work by myself it takes a while to complete a project like this. This one room with a half-bath is about 1/5 the amount of work of a small subdivision home so I figure it will take me about 4 months to complete the project. Lots of things left to do: Insulation, sheetrock, install a/c, install plumbing and home-made septic tank, electrical, flooring, interior painting, steps, and after I finish the building I start on the patio, pond with fountain, and garden. I have to go up to my land in the Ozarks to get a couple tons of rocks for the landscaping.

 

[EddieWalker]

OK Eddie, the porch is up so next time you pass through stop and we'll try it out.

I'm looking forward to it!!!!!!!!

The porch turned out great and really makes a nice, inviting statement.

Eddie

 

[weldingisfun]

The porch is 8 x 16', just big enough to hold my swing and a rocking chair. I don't have a rocker anymore, have to look for a good one somewhere, sorta country looking. Anyone have any ideas?

How about this one? Available at Cracker Barrel resturants. They come painted white or natural oak.

 

[firemanpat2910]

you cant call that a shack any more, It needs to be the bunk house, the tool box, the guest house, the dog house, the fridge, ..... anything but a shack. Or maybe the building formerly known as the shack...

 

[scott_vt]

Mornin Tally,
Hey that came out great ! Gotta question for you. On top of your foundation blocks, are those aluminum cooking trays ? I heard you mention the termite problem down there, so Im assuming that those are a deterent?

Thanks for all the pics, nice job !

 

[tallyho8]

weldingisfun: Thanks for the info. I have a Cracker Barrel about 30 miles away. I will check them out as soon as I get a chance.

Scott_vt: Those are galvanized steel termite shields sold at Home Depot. All pier buildings down here have them to protect them from termites coming up through the concrete blocks. Even if your concrete blocks are filled with concrete, termites can usually find small cracks to work their way through and if they can't come through them they build their tunnels on the outsides of the concrete blocks and work their way up. Then they would tunnel over my creosoted beams and treated floor joists and sole plate and eat their way through the studs to the rafters until they ran out of wood.
By the way Scott, have you ever heard any more from Thingy? I miss his posts.

firemanpat2910: Shack is the short name we use to refer to it now because we don't want to make any derogatory statements but when people used to ask us what it was, we used to jokingly call it our wetback shack, where our Mexicans were going to live when we got too old to care for our horses anymore. Of course, this was before Katrina when Mexican labor was rare and cheap in this area. Now that our latin population has hugely increased and their labor rates have more than doubled, this is no longer even a dream.

EddieWalker: When you come by be sure to bring a sample of Rox's olive oil with you.

 

[EddieWalker]

EddieWalker: When you come by be sure to bring a sample of Rox's olive oil with you.

Do you honestly think there will be any left over?

Beside, I'm really hoping you can make it here in the fall. I know I'd love to meet you and maybe go over some horse hotel ideas with you. We're hoping for a good turnout and spending lots of time just sitting around visiting and trying different foods. I know you must have a couple dozen secret recipes we'd all love to try out!!!!

Eddie

 

[scott_vt]

By the way Scott, have you ever heard any more from Thingy? I miss his posts.

Mornin Tally,
No I havent heard from him, another poster on TBN made a post that he was banned from this site. Im not sure if thats true or not, possibly one of the moderators would know for sure ! In any event I miss his posts also !

 

[tallyho8]

Mornin Tally,
No I havent heard from him, another poster on TBN made a post that he was banned from this site. Im not sure if thats true or not, possibly one of the moderators would know for sure ! In any event I miss his posts also !

No, he wasn't banned. I checked his profile on TBN and he is a platinum member. If he was banned, it would say banned.

 

[scott_vt]

No, he wasn't banned. I checked his profile on TBN and he is a platinum member. If he was banned, it would say banned.

Mornin Tally,
Thats a good point, didnt even think of doing that ! I did send him an PM shortly after you and I talked the last time and did not receive a reply ! So I have no way of knowing whats going on with him, maybe another poster close to him may know whats up with thingy ?

 

[tallyho8]

I've finally been getting all the "little" things done. I put in the steps and I stained the treated "yellow" beams to more closely match the cypress beams. I put in the electric and the water and I put on some porch lights. I insulated it well and I installed the air conditioner.

I don't know if I want to do the interior next or put up the porch swing and get my rocker. I need a place to rest while doing all this work.

I got a bunch of stepping stones which I have piled up in front of the shack now while waiting to see how I'm going to use them for the patio.

I scheduled the first week of October to go to the Ozarks to get my rocks for my pond. I'm hoping it's cool enough then to slow down the snakes that are always under the rocks when I pick them up.

I sure wish I had a backhoe for my tractor to dig a hole for my septic system. I'm afraid that this may be the only part of the project that I am unable to do alone.

 

[VABlue]

AC... Vinyl siding... Patio... Electric/indoor plumbing...

This is no 'shack', it's a cottage. I understand the shortened nickname, but sheesh!!

 

[tallyho8]

Well, I decided to do the interior next. I got the sheetrock work done and painted and put in a ceramic tile floor. I used large 16x16 tiles and they sure make my bathroom look small. I recycled an old ceiling fan light for the main light. Now I've got to see if I can find time to get that rocker for the porch.

 

[crbr]

Well, I decided to do the interior next. I got the sheetrock work done and painted and put in a ceramic tile floor. I used large 16x16 tiles and they sure make my bathroom look small. I recycled an old ceiling fan light for the main light. Now I've got to see if I can find time to get that rocker for the porch.

Absolutely amazing. All I can say is that I envy your carpentry skills and motivation. A very nice job indeed. I have enjoyed following your progress. Thank you for sharing.

:tiphat:

 

[jinman]

Now I've got to see if I can find time to get that rocker for the porch.

Dudley, you sure deserve some rocker time. That project has turned out extremely well. It's amazing to me how fast you go from planning to doing. I'm sure it seems like a long project to you, but I missed a few posts and you went from framing to complete.

...now how are you gonna haul a couple tons of rock?

 

[tensaw12]

Tally,
Absolutely, fantastic job!! I admire your skill, and determination.
I have a question if, you have time to answer?
i have just bought, an old log cabin, that has several "rotten logs", that need to be replaced. Any suggestions?
I think, that I saw, some one, post on here, that they had some experience in this type thing.
Eddie Walker, maybe?
Any help, will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance for any help.
I will try to upload pictures, but, I am computer challenged

 

[tallyho8]

...now how are you gonna haul a couple tons of rock?

I am going to drive my F250 diesel to my land in the Ozarks, ford the creek halfway and stop in the middle, open the tailgate and start loading up rocks by hand. My truck has a 4000 pound payload and it doesn't take too many rocks to equal 2 tons. Most of the rocks will be in the 50 pound range though I expect to get a few about 100 pounds. Load a few, rest a while, repeat.....soak sore feet in ice cold creek water.....reflect on the beautiful scenery and solitude of the area which is inside the Ozark National Forest with no neighbors for miles....and wonder why I decided to raise horses instead of mountain goats.

 

[tallyho8]

Tally,
Absolutely, fantastic job!! I admire your skill, and determination.
I have a question if, you have time to answer?
i have just bought, an old log cabin, that has several "rotten logs", that need to be replaced. Any suggestions?
I think, that I saw, some one, post on here, that they had some experience in this type thing.
Eddie Walker, maybe?
Any help, will be appreciated.
Thanks in advance for any help.
I will try to upload pictures, but, I am computer challenged

Sorry, I have absolutely no experience with log cabins but I am sure you will find much useful advice on this forum.