Introducing...

Harriette! The new Honda generator (acquired via Marriott hotel reward points) was brought onsite, and now sits next to Mungo inside Jabba, The Hut. Harriette and Mungo don't have much to do these days... C+C sure hope they practice safe mingling over the winter.

and...

Woodshed #2! Located at the intersection of Park Avenue and Main Drive, this Woodshed was made by Chris out of scraps and surplus materials. Sometime soon, firewood will be stacked neatly inside. This includes firewood left over from last year as well as Park Ave Firewood (year #2) which was purchased by C+C - yes, PURCHASED, by two people who own 147 acres of wooded land - delivered to the Poocham rental house and carted over via Vermoose.

and, (finally, after a stalled debut and a quick redo)...

The 20' Yurt! Pacific Yurts' replacement top cover arrived; Chris transported to site and up top. C+C took the yurt apart, neatly setting side cover and insulation aside. In keeping with history, rain fell. The next morning, Jere arrived. Chris transported him to the site, but not up top. Jere walked his own self up! C+C+J experienced the easiest top cover installation ever! Yippee! Yurt was raised by 5:30PM, and by the end of month, the scaffolding dismantled.

speaking of redoing things...

The Deck Structure (posts, beams and joists) should have been finished by month's end. The final four rows of beams were lined up and (lo and behold!) found to be square; woohoo! But, later, after one of the more complicated rows was attached, a major mismatch in level was discovered. And, the carefully considered resolution involves (go figure!) undoing and redoing that beam row. And, so, deck structure work continues.

speaking of the Deck...

The deck is clear! Well, yes, of snow. Firstly, there hasn't been much snow. Also, one of Cassandra's new tasks is to keep it clear of snow. But, the deck is also clear of deck board stock. C+C took inventory and calculated how best to make the various remaining boards fit into the remaining deck. More cutting, sanding and sealing of boards happened (including Cassandra's Successful and Safe Solo Sawing Sessions). After a bit of a dry spell, C+C moved the supply of deck boards off the front deck and into the 20' yurt for storage. When it snowed and iced a week later, this was deemed a very worthwhile use of time!

speaking of snow and ice...

Frozen pipes! Well, OK, PEX and copper are pretty difficult to freeze; the water inside the pipes was frozen. Early in December, Cassandra was without water for most of a week while the day's temps remained below 32F and the sun stayed hidden behind clouds. Ugh! She obtained some water from a stream and got by. Chris constructed a pipe for leaving the water trickling into the sink (bypassing the water filter) during cold nights, to prevent future freezing. (Last winter, the indoor plumbing wasn't finished until after the threat of freezing was over. Outdoor water pipes were left open, and thus kept flowing.) The platform underside does need to be finished. Cassandra had (temporarily) covered the open underside section w/reflectix so the pipes going into the platform were no longer exposed to air.

the month of December also saw...

A one-year anniversary of the move to Park Avenue (this passed without celebration), some unseasonably warm weather, the solar shower tower dismantled, GIPPEE shutdown for winter, numerous boards and supplies carried uphill by C+C, various site cleanups, continued difficulties for Cassandra (recovery from DMV trip, plywood/underside exposures, yurt raising exposures, etc), a very long "Holiday Week" to-do list (which did not all get completed!), and a snowy-sleety-rainy, much needed, day off for C+C (only their 2nd all year!).

December Journal

12/01/06 - Friday

Notes:

• It is 58 degrees @ 10:54 p.m.

213.01 Posts + Beams (Deck)

• Installed first angled beam on back of deck
• time: 1.25 hrs

12/02/06 - Saturday

Notes:

• The new Honda generator (acquired via Marriott hotel reward points) was brought to the MLA.
• Cass returned to the team roster.

213.47 woodshed #2

• Need a woodshed for Park Ave firewood, so Chris is making one out of scrap and surplu materils on hand. Woodshed II will be at the intersection of Park Avenue and Main Drive.
• Three posts were raised for front side of shed.
• time: 4 hrs

213.01 Posts + Beams (Deck)

• Four joists raised as C&C start work on the back deck sections.
• time: 3.5 hrs

213.04 attach decking

• Cass attached deck boards on the north side
• time: 2 hrs

213.34 winterize

• Chris took down the old solar shower tower at Park Ave.
• time: 30 min

12/03/06 - Sunday

213.47 woodshed #2

• Two more posts raised
• Everything's square and plumb so far
• time: 2.5 hrs

213.01 Posts + Beams (Deck)

• Blocking installed on north side of deck
• Chris started the tweaking of west deck beams to make sections meet up square at the back
• time: 1.5 hrs

213.04 attach decking

• Cass measured and marked next section of deck boards
• Chris cut, sanded and sealed.
• time: 2.75 hrs

12/4/06 - Monday

Notes:

• Dusting of snow in AM. Cold. Cold.

213.04 attach decking

• screwed in cut boards.
• Time: 2.5hrs

12/5/06 - Tuesday

Notes:

• One year since move to Park Avenue. A little more snow in AM. Colder. Pipes frozen. Never got above freezing. Cloudy too so no sun warmth. Another one of those -clear skies late afternoon and night, but cloudy during morning and most of day- days. This

275.04 materials transport

• Cass carried rest of boards down to end of PA. Had done some last week too one day.
• Time: 0.5hrs

12/6/06 - Wednesday

Notes:

• PA water still frozen.

213.04 attach decking

• screwed in rest of cut boards.
• Time: 2hrs

12/7/06 - Thursday

Notes:

• PA water finally unfrozen. Woohoo! Or, YIPPEE!! Cass gets spare corex from up top and rigs drainage so that outdoor hose-outlet can be left running tonight so water pipes won't freeze. Other day she had covered the open underside section w/reflectix (

12/08/06 - Friday

213.47 woodshed #2

• Last post raised, ready to put in structural 2*6 boards
• time: 1 hr

12/09/06 - Saturday

213.34 winterize

• Made a waterpipe contraption to allow us to trickle water into sink w/o running through water filter. Should help us keep pipes from freezing
• time: 1 hr

213.36 Site Cleanup

• Cass raked under 20' yurt
• time: 30 min

213.01 Posts + Beams (Deck)

• Modified three posts to bring into alignment
• Squared beams again after post adjustments; ready to get back to joist hanging.
• time: 5 hrs

213.47 woodshed #2

• Carried lumber down from MLA
• time: n/a

288.04 Park Ave firewood, yr 2

• stacked @ house, brought some to site
• time: 3 hrs

12/10/06 - Sunday

213.01 Posts + Beams (Deck)

• Set more beams
• More joists hung
• time: 5 hrs

12/11/06 - Monday

Notes:

• Warm(40) but unfortunately rainy. Short work day. Cass finally feeling better from DMV trip and also from the plywood exposures last wk.

213.01 posts+beams

• marked joist placements on new beams, marked joist placement on posts under yurts and drip edge cuts needed
• Time: 1.75hrs

213.04 attach decking

• marked new joists, discovered prob with end board meeting up with beam edge, made some calcs to discuss with chris later for solution options
• Time: 0.25hrs

12/

12/06 - Tuesday

Notes:

• Ahhhhhh! Yippee! Clear sunny day. Wowee. Very nice.

213.04 attach decking

• remarked joists as discussed w/chris last night. Measured and marked deck boards. sorted thru stack of joists to identify possible deck boards, since have extra joists.
• time: 2.75hrs

213.01 posts+beams

• marked joists for cutting, got setup for doing joist hangers, but none available. Called chris and discovered they are in box by generator, not accessible by cass. counted remaining joists needed.
• time: 0.5hrs

275.04 materials transport

• carried joist up
• Time: negligible, cass only to carry 1 at a time and not full length of driveway/up to site

12/13/06 - Wednesday

Notes:

• Rain before Cass even awake (officially), and continued thru day. Ugh. Cold (35ish) and very grey. Cass in yurt working on catching up on many docs.

12/14/06 - Thursday

Notes:

213.04 attach decking

• Cass cuts some boards solo (then sanded and sealed), but only a few cuts before both batteries died. Unfortunately the boards cut were not ones that gave her additional work to do.
• Time: 1.5hrs

213.01 posts+beams

• marked two more joists for cutting (carried one up first)
• Time: 0.25hrs

20' Yurt Raising - the Conclusion, 12/15/06 - 12/16/06