Last year we had a lucky break and I told my husband to order that shed he had wanted, the one that would empty the garage of gardening stuff. You have undoubtedly read my anti-shed rants.
Well, he ordered a kit large enough to be a garage. We did not expect that my sinus would be so infected that my ENT ordered me inside unless I wore a mask. Nor were we expecting I would have surgery nor that three weeks would be necessary to recuperate. Hence, what should have been done by Halloween still has about town square feet of shingles needed on the back. We would have finished Sunday but ran out of the special nails he wanted to resist the damp and salty coastal air.
Here is the shed in September:
We wanted the shed to complement the house so, like our house it has red clapboards on the front and oil-dipped cedar shingles every where else. Guess which take longer to put up? We have worked on the shingles for 2 weeks, and I have done anything that did not require power tools. I also painted the clapboards in the garage. Here is the nearly complete beast:
So, it is a rather nice building. I feel satisfaction in having helped. I should stop my whining.
The weather these past few weeks has been a mix, from 14°F and sleeting to 60°F and sunny. So, while there were days it was lovely to be out, there were others where I made Don bring out the contractors Halogen light to give me a place to warm up. By the way, Weight Watchers online give points for carpentry!
Tips:
- Until I took stage craft in school, I had no idea how to hold a hammer. The tendency is to hold it close to the neck in order to maintain control, but if you hold the grip at the lower position of the grip, the weight of the hammer as it swings will make the nail go in with fewer strikes.
- Since I was wearing gloves a lot, I would often start the nails on a flat surface and then take a bunch up the ladder. Otherwise I tend to drop the nails with the gloves causing me to be more clumsy than usual.
