31 July 2010

Drove down to Quincy, MA to surprise Tasi and help him load the contents of his apartment into a large U-Haul truck for transport to his and Kristen’s just-bought co-op in Bethesda, MD. Dinner at Alex and Katy’s new apartment in Brighton, MA. Alex calculated that the pressure at the bottom of a 7′ 8″ column of concrete (having a density of 150 pounds per cubic foot) is about half a ton per square foot. No wonder the lower sections of the concrete column forms blew out!!!! That evening on the trip back north and with the red light on the gauge glowing brightly, fortuitously found a gas station still open in Bethel, VT, just before starting the trek up and over the Green Mountains. That would have been a nerve-wracking adventure with only fumes in the tank! Round trip 15 hours and 400 miles. Back to Fern Lake by bedtime. Upon returning, found a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers sitting on Delores’ still unretracting main cabin door steps and a bag of garden vegetables attached to the door handle, thoughtfully provided by Lynne and Perry.

30 July 2010

Spent the morning grinding down the east-side concrete column tops. They came out “okay”, but some top'n'bond (a special masonry product that firmly adheres to cured concrete - something that regular mortar mix doesn't do) is going to be needed on a few of them before they’ll all be the same height... or close enough. After returning the grinder to Taylor, continued dry-laying the second course of between-column rocks. I’m discovering that trying to work with misshapen rocks makes the wall building task very difficult. I spend WAY too much time trying to find a rock that will fit some weird gap caused by the rock below being a far less than rectangular shape… which just means the same problem will keep recurring. The number of good rocks lying around just ain’t a lot. So do I spend my time looking / digging for good rocks or do I keep trying to fit the rocks that are available into the walls????

29 July 2010

Torrential rainstorm overnight, a start-building-the-Ark deluge, in the midst of which I realized that the main cabin door steps were still deployed and really should be retracted. Well, they’re still deployed… seems that Ms. Delores is being a bit persnickety again, even though this means she’ll have to go to the RV doctor if she doesn’t get straightened out right soon. Dawned a beautiful day, so went up to Goodro Lumber for a NIOSH-approved P-100 respirator and to Taylor Rental for a cement grinder (which is why I needed the respirator). The cement grinder is nothing but a BIG electric motor with a very tough grinding wheel on the end, weighs 16 ½ pounds, and you can see the neighbors lights dim when you pull the trigger. A real man’s machine. After a few hours use, found out I’m not the real man I hoped I was… completely knackered best described my physical state. But, as you can see from the picture, by total exhaustion time all the concrete column edges were nicely beveled and the west wall columns had smooth and reasonably level tops. Covered in cement dust from head to cell phone, had to dive in the lake to clean up enough to take a shower. Dinner at Marty and Merry’s – totally delightful, as always!!!! Saw two bats during the short trek up the hill; they’ve been pretty decimated by a lethal fungus and none have been seen hereabouts for over a year.

28 July 2010

All of the rocks in the first course were VERY solidly attached to the footer and each other (with one exception – shown at right before being 2-pound tenderized). So I guess the mortar / sand / water proportions I used yesterday must have been in the ballpark. Perry came over mid-morning with the leveling transit and we confirmed my suspicions that two of the concrete columns are about ½″ too high, but the tops of the others should be made right with only minor to moderate grinding. Worked on dry-laying the second course of between-columns rock for most of the day. Only got half the course put together, but learned some valuable lessons about how to leave the underlying course in order to more easily place the rocks in the next course. Hit the lake early, hot and frustrated, when one of the sections, that I had spent an hour getting just right, fell over when I gently covered it with burlap. I need a hug…

27 July 2010

Laid the first course of stone between all the concrete columns and parged them into position using two batches of mortar (25 pounds of mortar mix, 75 pounds of sand, and 9 pounds of water per batch – carefully weighed on our old baby scale). Will find out in the morning if I mixed the mortar properly… think it might have been a tad dry. Okay, so what the heck is "parging"?  Well that would be the process of applying a cement mixture to a surface (in this case the back of the rock walls) to join masonry together.  From the front, the between-column rock walls will look like they are dry laid.  However, by "parging" the backside of the wall, the rocks actually will be cemented together.  Used 70 stones which averaged 4″ in thickness. Doing the math (for what else is there to do of an evening at Fern Lake?), the between-columns rock walls will need approximately 1,550 stones. Finding that many stones on our property, not a problem. Finding that many stones no more than 6″ wide with two reasonably parallel flat surfaces and a good perpendicular face, that’s going to take some sleuthing... and maybe even a backhoe?!?!

26 July 2010

A perfect day in so many ways! Blue skies, temp in the low 70’s, NO flying insects! Spent the morning moving all the cement forms from down by the shed cellar hole up to temporary storage near the RV, then cleaning up the detritus that had accumulated on top of the footers. A humongous Goodro Lumber truck showed up right after lunch, bringing a pallet (45 bags x 75 pounds each = 3,375 pounds) of Type S mortar mix. Late afternoon Bob LaPorte arrived with 7,640 pounds of masonry sand, which may not be enough, given that one pound of mortar mix gets combined with three pounds of sand. Between deliveries, picked rock for an hour, then began dry-laying the first between-columns rock wall. There is a distinct line between building a stone wall quickly and building it perfectly. You’ll never guess which side of the line I fell on… The day ended with three ears of the first Kingsley sweet corn of the season (without question, the world’s BEST!!!!), a T-bone steak briefly shown to the wood fire, and some 2008 Louis Jadot Beaujolais-Villages. What could be more perfect than that?

25 July 2010

Spent most of the day finishing the job of stripping forms off the concrete columns. About 5% of the deck screws that held the form braces together were sheared off; the #8 2½″ screws much more prone to shear than the #9 3″ Deckmate screws. Three of the four screws were sheared in one brace where the form “blow-out” was particularly bad… very lucky we didn’t have a catastrophic failure with that form. Two hour “break” mid-afternoon to help Marty Lapidus assemble a portable basketball hoop. Later, Marty and Mary treated me to a wonderful dinner at the Shoreham Inn (an Irish pub / bed & breakfast).

24 July 2010

Worked on condo ceiling painting all day. Two lessons learned: (1) always use the same paint for cut-ins as you use for the surface to be painted: there IS a noticeable difference between “white” and “bright white” ceiling paint and (2) when George Bedard (Treetops Condominiums handyman) says that a Treetops condo ceiling needs to be sprayed vice rolled, LISTEN to him, even if two “professional” painters say differently. Seems the good folks from Corner Cutting Condo Construction kind of forgot to prime the sheetrock before applying the original popcorn ceiling paint. Thirty-plus years later and that corn will pop right off if you so much as look at it sideways. Suffice it to say that after George gets the walls painted and the wood trim around the windows refinished this coming week, I’ll be doing quite a bit more ceiling repair and repainting. …and here I thought I was going to be building a woodshed this summer. Silly me! Returned to Fern Lake after dinner for a much needed cooling-off swim.

23 July 2010

Up to East Calais in the morning, where I retrieved three gallons of almost-impossible-to-get Vermont Grade C maple syrup from my long-time supplier, Paul Orlander. Then on to South Burlington, where I spent the afternoon learning by doing popcorn ceiling repair. Bove’s Café with my mother for dinner for their world–famous roasted garlic spaghetti and a fairly good bottle of 2008 Bell’agio Chianti. After way more than our fair share of garlic, good thing there’s plenty of Ben & Jerry’s in the freezer! We got to the restaurant at 5:15 and didn’t have to wait for a table… first time that’s happened in recorded history (which is just about how long Bove’s has been in business). Supervised by retired-RN Alverta (who INSISTED that I sterilize my surgical instruments before proceeding), removed the five stitches from my left hand that were the result of my little axident down in Virginia.

22 July 2010

Used my 2-pound sledgehammer after breakfast to beat the $%&! out of… I mean, tenderize the leftover steak from last night’s dinner, then set it to simmer with a pot of celery, mushrooms, onion, red pepper, and tomatoes. Two hours later a fabulous quasi-Swiss Steak stoup emerged. While the pot was on, removed three more forms and all of the bracing materials on the bank-side of the concrete columns. The forms fall right off the concrete except for the vertical keyways, which have to be pried out. No deer flies so far this visit and the only mosquito that landed on my arm got “tenderized” with the 2-pound sledge; bet that’s going to leave a bruise. Took Delores up to Junction Auto at noon for her annual state inspection and to have her rear bumper repaired. (Refer to posting for 21 May 2009.) After the bumper was removed from the RV, Don Thibeault (Junction Auto owner) laid it out on the shop floor and ran over it with his forklift. Took the dent right out of that sucker… looks almost like new! Well, not really, but it ain’t too awful bad! Unfortunately, getting the bumper support brackets straightened out took 3 hours, a lot of oxy-acetylene, considerable whaling with Don’s 5-pound sledge, and $200. Discovered upon return to Fern Lake that two of the under-coach storage bin latches got broken during the sortie. Double grrrrr!!!! (…reduced to an “oh, well, stuff happens” after a plunge in the lake and a LARGE gin and tonic).

21 July 2010

Worked on South Burlington condo ceiling repairs / repainting all day. My mother, bless her heart, bought home a very nice steak for my dinner, even though she is a staunch vegetarian. T’was a very tasty but very lean (shall we be polite and just say “chewy”?) tranche of cow. Returned to Fern Lake after dinner, just as a major thunderstorm (2 inch hail, 3 inches rain per hour elsewhere) finished venting itself.

20 July 2010

While waiting for G. Stone to finish work on the Ranger, got the forms off two of the concrete columns. Quite curvilicious. The vibrating (in addition to blowing out the form bottoms) caused the wood grain in the plywood to transfer to the concrete, so there are some beautiful imprints preserved for posterity. G. Stone sent their courtesy van to fetch me back to their shop to pick up the pickup. They also only charged the 4 hour “book” time for the repairs to the front hubs, even though the invoice showed they actually worked on the truck for 55 hours over the two weeks the truck was in their care. On top of that, they took the initiative to address an outstanding recall notice for the cruise control (a feature I use ALL the time out in the woods!) at no charge. And, finally, they washed the accumulated mud and grime off the outside and vacuumed (shoveled-out is more likely) the inside of the cab. Impressive service… which I guess you should expect when getting the key back costs $900. Sure hope the 4WD works! With the Ranger returned to Fern Lake, headed to South Burlington in the van to begin ceiling repairs / painting at our condo.

19 July 2010

Began the process of stripping forms from the concrete columns. Got all the top braces off, the mid-level cross braces removed, and the scaffolding taken down. As soon as the top braces were removed the forms eased away from the concrete, boding well for their easy removal. Spent two delightful hours chiseling out the four wooden plugs in the underground roof corner columns that created voids that will be used to “lock” the roof onto the concrete columns. Rob from Safelite Auto Glass showed up a day earlier than scheduled to repair two chips in Delores’ passenger-side windshield. Toby Rheaume (ace lumberjack) came by late afternoon to look over the job of sawing the shed beams and removing the marketable trees on the house site. Thunderstorm hit just as Toby was leaving… many lightning strikes into the lake… very intense! Figured might not be a good idea to work under those conditions, so started making dinner. Halfway through preparations, had to make a run to Hannaford’s in Brandon for several key ingredients (lemon for the gin, beans for the pot, band aids for the flesh wound). Got ethanol-free gas for the chain saw at the McDonough Station… but the attendant said “them damn do-gooder politicians” are going to require all gasoline sold in Vermont to have ethanol come this fall. Grrrr!!!!

18 July 2010

Springfield to Fern Lake, 509 miles via NJ 31 and US 202, in 8 hours 16 minutes – a new personal best. No accidents, no construction delays, and only moderate traffic volume. And, with an average speed of only 61½ miles/hour, clearly there still is room for improvement. Air temperature on arrival a pleasant 80 degrees; water temp now a balmy 83 degrees. Delores must have heard that she was supposed to be taken to the RV Doctor tomorrow… the main cabin door steps are working perfectly once more.

9 - 10 July 2010

Ford Ranger still at G. Stone, where they are fabricating two small parts for which Ford wanted $375 apiece! Also, the mechanic broke the ABS sensors (a $150 item times two) when taking the front hubs apart. Not really his fault – the truck has some major corrosion issues and the sensors were frozen tight. Suspect my wallet is going to feel some major pain before I drive the truck back to Fern Lake. Return to Virginia via Old Saybrook, CT. No dramas if you discount the two cars that tried to merge into the same lane on I-95 from opposite sides – right in front of us. Close but no cigar. Moderate construction delays in Vermont added an hour to that segment; typical inexplicable NJTP traffic delays added an hour to that segment.

8 July 2010

Air temperature was 100 degrees in the shade today; water temperature is 80 degrees two feet under the lake surface. RV A/C running all day / night. Darn the luck, Chree, dogs, and I had to swim both noon and quitting time to cool off. To prepare for swims, took down the top level of pier bracing, tried to remove the corner column blocking (no joy – they will have to be cut out at a later date), filled in around the interior of the shed footers, moved all the “spare” lumber from the shed interior to the stockpile near the RV, and continued leveling the site where the shed underground roof will be poured. Chree insisted that working in today’s extreme heat wasn’t healthy; was too hot to care.

7 July 2010

Note to file: 8 foot tall concrete forms require bracing every foot for the first 5 feet from the bottom. The shed columns are going to have a somewhat (dare I say, “attractive”) curvy look where the plywood blew out between the braces that were placed two feet apart. Further note to file: cutting the form tops off flush with the level lines would have made smoothing the concrete and getting them all the same height MUCH easier. Also should have inserted threaded rod into each column form after the concrete was poured vice installing J-bolts ahead of time. The crew for the big pier pour consisted of Jeff Parent (half-owner of Parent Construction), his daughter, Charlotte (home for the summer from Northeastern University, one of my alma maters), Jim (recent high school graduate and Parent Construction strong back), Josh LaFlam, Marty Lapidus, Chree, and I. Even with all that help, we could have used a couple more hands. Jeff brought along a trailer concrete pumper so that we could get the mix from the Carrara Concrete truck into the column forms via a 2 ½ inch hose. Glad I ordered 4 yards vice the 3½ my calculations showed we would need. By 11:00 all the concrete was in the forms and the truck and pumper were gone; by 1:00 Josh and I had finished sort-of smoothing the pier tops and cleaning up around the edges. We both then dove in the lake to cool off before lunch. Overall quality of the piers TBD but initial impressions are that they aren’t horrible… except for the blowouts at the bottom of almost every form. After returning Josh to his home and the concrete vibrator to Taylor Rental, continued wheel barrowing gravel to level the spot where the shed underground roof will be formed and poured.

6 July 2010

Ran the RV A/C all night and it still was almost too warm to sleep. Another brutally hot day… radio said it was 96 degrees. I am eternally grateful to be living a short dive from utter refreshment. Chree and I finished installing the tie down J-bolts in the concrete column forms, then I installed the blocking that will create voids in the four corner columns that will be used to secure the underground roof in place. Finished staking the house layout (for, what, the thirtieth time????). Until the heat just got too oppressive, worked some more on leveling the spot where the shed underground roof will be poured. An hour in the lake restored temperature equilibrium. Picked up an 8 foot vibrator at Taylor Rental. [Bad joke about Chree's reaction deleted.] Cooking over the fire tonight was more than warm, but the steak and beer tasted just fine!

5 July 2010

Awoke “promptly” at 8:11 a.m., swore loudly, and beat a hasty retreat to G. Stone Auto (a 20 minute drive away) where I had an 8:30 appointment to have the Ford Ranger 4WD repaired. Took the mechanics awhile to diagnose the problem (bad vacuum seals in the front hubs), but the truck should be repaired (and my bank account considerably lightened) by Wednesday afternoon. While I was away, an ENORMOUS black bear strolled by the RV, causing Chree to roust Tasi from peaceful slumber to be a witness to the event. Back to Fern Lake at noon for a belated breakfast / lunch, then Chree and I went to work installing the threaded J-bolts that will secure the shed beams to the concrete columns. Must have been a 100 degrees in the sun, and only marginally cooler in the shade. Got 11 of the 12 bolts installed before the siren call of the lake got too loud. Ran the RV air conditioner all day. We need to rethink whether or not we’ll need A/C in the house we build up here. Both dogs under the weather: Shlomo with what appears to be a broken tail suffered yesterday when the queen bed storage compartment lid (that he had raised) slammed down on it and Geisha with either an adverse reaction to deer fly bites or to drinking many gallons of lake water while swimming. Attended the Lake Dunmore / Fern Lake Association annual meeting in the evening; several interesting speakers, but must have been well north of 90 degrees in the meeting hall.

4 July 2010

Perry arrived early, leveling transit in truck. Using that high-tech device, he, Tasi, and I established the marks on each concrete column form that show the level to which the concrete will be poured. If the concrete is poured, vibrated, and smoothed off correctly (fingers and toes all crossed), the tops of the piers will make a perfectly level rectangle exactly 20 feet long by 12 feet wide. Side bets, anyone???? When the leveling was done, Perry went away with a load of prime Fern Lake firewood, returning a couple of hours later with Lynne. In the interim, Alverta, Frank & Fran Tarrio (Chree's parents), and Ann Swanson (Chree's younger sister) arrived and repaired to the dock for sunning, swimming, and canoeing. A mid-afternoon picnic lunch / dinner followed, cooked over the open fire. Then everyone except the Designated Bottle Purifier went to the Salisbury Congregational Church for ice cream sundaes. Dueling fireworks over Lake Dunmore at dusk, viewed from the Waterhouse Marina dock across the road from Lynne’s office. As another example of the small world syndrome, met a gentleman there (Preston Turner) who was on the Burlington High School cross-country running team with me many, many decades ago.

3 July 2010

Established string lines between the tall corner concrete column forms on each side and then used those lines to align (get it????) the eight forms that are intermediate between the shed corners. While showing Chree how that magic was done, Shlomo climbed the red step ladder up onto the scaffolding. Just to prove that feat was no fluke, he did it again this evening while Tasi was inspecting the premises. Chree and I picked rocks and moved dirt for an hour in the morning, then headed to her sister Anne Swanson’s place in Charlestown, NH for the annual Tarrio Family get together. Tasi returned with us to Fern Lake.

2 July 2010

Chree and I spent much of the day perfecting the alignment of the four corner concrete column forms for the wood shed. We’re still married, but it was touch and go for awhile there. In between disagreements over tape measuring, Chree went to Brandon for groceries while the dogs and I took Delores up to Kampersville Campground for a much-needed $15 purging of her intestinal system. The main cabin door steps on the RV refused to retract, which made navigating the narrow back roads even more interesting than normal… with the steps out Delores is a plump 10′ wide. Discovered, once again, that even when “level” per the hydraulic leveling system indicator, the RV oven is anything but. The strawberry-rhubarb pie Chree was making for dinner overflowed BIG TIME, interrupting cooking while a major cleaning was done… all the more tricky as the oven was still hot. Marty & Merry came over for a delightful picnic dinner out by the fire pit featuring my BBQ chicken, Merry’s orzo with roasted vegetables casserole, and Chree’s pie, accompanied by a 2008 Americana Gewürztraminer and a 2009 Chrysalis Sarah’s Patio White. Marty’s mission was quality control, which he performed admirably. Don't you think the flower arrangement and bug repelling lantern are just perfect WTT accompaniments????

1 July 2010

Up to South Burlington for most of the day to conduct the move-out inspection for the tenant vacating our condo after nine years. Lynne and Perry came over to Fern Lake for one of Chree’s fabulous lasagna dinners and a great dessert brought by Lynne that was topped off with black raspberries and wild blueberries gathered from on our property.