Building in Slow Mowtion

Ed has been trying to do all things all the time, and keeping up with all the stuff that has to be done has been a frustration. The growth has exploded. Just take a look at the trees in the first entry pictures, and the ones a week later. Needless to say, the 15 acres of pasture were in dire need of mowing. What Ed wants to be doing is building. But since I'm too much of a wimp to learn to drive the tractor, Sunday after church, he took time out to do it. 6 hours on Sunday and 6 Monday morning took care of it. He did have company.. a pair of nesting ravens took advantage of the all-you-can-eat buffet that the brushhog turns up, and low and behold, the king of the sky showed up for dessert. He's been hanging around in a dead tree next to the pasture. With any luck he'll decide to move in permanently.

After lunch (Ed's, not the bird's), it was back to the garage. The first order of business was to rip off the old siding, put up 5/8"plywood for earthquake sheer, and drill holes in the existing foundation for tie-downs. Fortunately the existing foundation is sufficient for the second story addition. After the holes were drilled, Ed attached some plastic tubing to the compressor and blew out all the cement dust.

He shot the epoxy in each hole and sank the bolts, then installed eight of these super-duper tiedowns. And that's just the north side. These will go all around the foundation. Between the plywood going inside and out, and the tiedowns, this baby isn't going anywhere. At the risk of tempting fate, when Mt. Ste. Helens blows, we may have the last standing building along the Columbia. Seriously, after going through the Loma Prieta Quake in '89, there is no such thing as overbuilding for a major seismic event.

Once that was done, he marked out the top plates for the rafters and nailed those up. Next week the weather is supposed to be pretty good (subject to change at the drop of a hat) and Ed expects to be able to put up the rafters and the plywood flooring. That's the point that it will feel like the project is moving forward.