Smarter Than the Average Bear!
The picnic table at the shack is over 60 years old. Over time, one of the legs has started rotting at the bottom. So, what I did was is use the cordless saw and cut the leg off to get to good wood. Then I took a Oak log from one of the dead trees we cut down and attached it to the table leg with metal straps. Perfect!
The Small Things
There are also small projects that I've wanted to get done. We once had an old fiberglass patio table that was really, really old. When I disposed of it, I took the top off and kept the legs. For 15 years. And now, new life and use has been breathed into them in the form of a kitchen table!
The table uses the same paneling as the walls, glued to a base piece of plywood. Then it was stained and attached to the legs. A small hour long project that turnd out nice.
The other small project is more shelves. With tiny homes, storage space is at a premium and since I'm not planning on closets, shelves are the next best thing. I've got several brackets that match for all the shelves we've put up.
Living in the Gutter
Left: The gutter on the addition side of the shack. Note the solar security light as well
The gutters went up the first week in August - from start to finish, handyman Dann and I got it done in under two hours. Good thing too, it was blazing hot out. When hanging gutters, one of the most important things is the angle of the gutter - which means higher at one end than the other with the low end having the downspout.
I also put in gutter guards which are screens that keep out the leaves and debris.
With any building, disposing of rain and melting snow runoff is very important. Our plans for next year is to have a raised bed veggie garden which of course needs water. Since we don't have a well and truck in our water, a nice way to get water for a garden is using rain barrels. Luckily, there is a person who sells rain barrels fairly close to the shack. So, we're getting two rain arrels for the planned garden.
Below: the gutter guards - note that I'm using zip ties to secure the guards.
Another important aspect of usi
ng rain barrels is keeping the water clean. The means a method of filtering the water before it's used for the garden is needed otherwise the drip heads will plug up.
The barrels themselves will be at either end of the old side of the shack, since they're 35 feet long and will capture far more rainwater than the addition side would.
