Patching the corner
Wednesday I was picking blueberries before leaving for work. There was such an atmosphere of abundance - right next to my yard the forest offers plenty of berries, after a rainy summer this we finally have warm sunny days, I have enough work to keep me financially afloat, and I'm slowly learning to better manage my timetables.
Today it is Thursday. And for the rest of the week I don't have customers for massage. But I have several computer projects I should be working with - my original plan was to get those mostly done and then concentrate on house renovation at the weekend. Well, but while drinking my morning coffee I felt all inspired and ready to fix the bad corner of my house. So I shifted my plans, hoping that I can better concentrate on office work and programming after getting some renovation work done.
I'm always rather slow in the mornings, it was around 11 am when I started to work with the corner. At some point I was thinking if I should first build scaffolding, but I decided to try working with just ordinary ladders. Since the bad parts were so close to the roof, it would've been rather tricky to work with a chainsaw, as there wasn't that much space to operate in. So, standing on a ladder, working with a chisel, hammer and a hand saw I managed to remove enough of the damaged logs. Although, once again I realized that most of the logs aren't that fine. But, replacing half of the walls is beyond my budget and resources, so I'd better just go with bit lower standards. And, anyway, as I'm going to install an extra layer of insulation on both sides of the wall, it doesn't matter that much if some of the logs are partially hollow.
After removing the bad parts I went to check my barn and collected a piece of log for replacement parts. I only needed two pieces, each 50 cm long. But the first piece was somewhat tricky, as the bottom side had to be carved to match the remaining structure of the wall. That meant four different sections, each carved into unique shapes. At first I took measures and cut the replacement part roughly about the right size. From that on it was just a process of "try to fit the part, see what needs to be worked, take the piece back to the yard, carve with a chainsaw, repeat". It took several hours (and a dinner break) to get that one part good enough. Well, but it was doable, which is always nice. I mean, it could have been that fixing the corner needs some procedures which are beyond my skills. And I never was so good at doing precision work with a chainsaw, but it seems that I've got a little better at it. Finally I was satisfied with the replacement part. I used two long screws to secure the new part to its place.
Carving the second part was a lot easier. Around 8 pm I was finished with the log work. Fine, enough for today!
EDIT: Ps. When writing the original post I was too tired to go into details. So, as an addition, here are few more lines:
Let's take a look at the second picture, the one which shows the bad parts removed. In the corner each log is carved to a dove-tail shape, which holds the structure together. And not only that, also the beam supporting the roof rests on the corner. So, I've been lucky - the topmost two logs are in a good enough condition to carry the weight of this side of the roof. Then, about the middle of the picture we see the head of a beam which is supporting the ceiling. On top of that beam there are planks of the ceiling, and then insulation material on the attic. So, again I was lucky that the log was rotten only above that beam supporting the ceiling. If the rotten part would've been spreading any higher and lower, both the roof and the ceiling would've been collapsing in this corner. So, in a way, I was saved by just inches of solid timber =)
Comments
I'm so impressed with your work. Thank you for keeping us updated.
I have a question. In the woods I live, there are a lot of ticks. Do you have any nasty insects in your woods?
Thanks for the feedback!
We have plenty of flying insects that sting and bite - but luckily enough they are not that poisonous, just a nuisance to cope with. Then there are ticks, too. Especially in early summer I have to remove ticks from the cats, two or three ticks a week. But the ticks haven't been that much a problem for me - I've had two or three of them in seven years. On coastal areas of Finland some of the ticks are carrying nasty diseases, and one can get chronically infected by a tick. It also seems that those diseases are slowly spreading, so maybe I'd better to be more careful with the ticks. To stay protected it is usually enough to just wear proper clothes when walking in the bushes or grassy areas.
That turned out well! I have been working a ton of overtime this week and haven't been able to get any house work done. D:
Oh, I hope you'll have a free weekend! Although, if one has been working a lot of overtime, it easily happens that one needs the whole weekend just to rest and recover. Yeah, that's the constant balancing between working for money and living a countryside life (which also means doing a lot of different kind of work at home).
Fortunately the work situation is only temporary (assuming all goes to plan). Once my uncle retires, I am planning to take his place on the family farm, so that will remove all of the commuting to my job at the moment. And the slow times of year for farming happens to fall during the same months as the main hunting seasons, so it will make for more time for playing in the forest, too. :D
Hard work, but it will be better than the artificial consumer-oriented stuff I am doing now, just to have money. :P
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