office

headquarters for hydrogeologic engineering operations, famously relocated.....

split-rail fence & fire pit

Fire pit

This fire pit is a simple unmortared stone circle, Joe and I put up today. Joe is my 12 yr old neighbor.

Setting up: trapezoidal cement block from local supplier, traprock base from neighbor, 2 bags playsand.




The rest of the blocks were still on the truck, also cinder blocks + lanscape tiles for tray table next to fire pit


Partway done. The surrounding grass being removed by hoe and is to be replaced with traprock, as protection from sparks from fire.

Fire pit! The pit is surrounded by traprock to prevent fire from sparks coming outside the pit. Inside the pit, are 2 bags of playsand as a base, then a couple inches traprock over that. This design is the same as the neighbor's who helped out.

Coulldnt take a final shot without Emily running in.

Split-Rail Fence

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This split-rail fence took a weekend to put in with help from Joe and Tony. It's 16 sections, around 200 ft. It is decorative, and uses pressure-treated split-rail timbers and posts from Lowe's. It runs along the street on both sides of the driveway, and partway up right side of driveway.

Below, the "before" picture. Check out the stakes- I used these stakes to play around and decide where exactly I wanted the fence to go.

Below, some of the tools: Posthole digger was essential. The holes were 22 inches deep. It took 20 minutes per hole provided there werent too many rocks. The prybar to the right was for loosening up rocks in the hole. The shovel is to dig out the grass & start the hole.

Partway through. It helps to put the dirt onto a tarp, so you don't have to clean up the lawn afterward.

Assortment of split rail timbers and line posts. There are three types of posts: end posts, line posts, and corner posts. The end and corner posts have slots in one or two sides of the square posts. Line posts have holes straight through so the rails can overlap.

Cement and traprock. Post-setting cement is easy to use because you can just add mix and water to the hole, without having to mix it in a barrel. Traprock is set at the bottom of the hole before putting the post in, to allow drainage so moisture doesn't wick up the wood post and cause early rot.

After setting Post-Set concrete.....

We used 1 - 2 bags of post-set per post.

We ended up mixing a batch of cement to smooth off the ground and slope around the posts so water drains away from the wood posts.

Cleanup Time!

Some rocks pulled from the post holes...

Finished !!

Line post closeup

garden part 6

Sunflowers are 8 or 9 feet high & tomatos nearly 6.

Squash patch is lush but still early in season for them it seems. A couple tiny squash buds just starting to appear.

Amish heirlooms so far so good

Apples look alright since pruning the tree this spring but I am seeing fewer this year even on the lower branches.

From the painted deck. That teak was $20 from a mill store, they sold it as defective but all it needed was a bracket

accidental shot

motor bike ride

The lawn behind Goodspeed Opera House offers a river view and most civilized surroundings. While catching rays on the lawn one can hear the surrounding dining at Gelston House & nearby bridge traffic & boat traffic. I do not find this background noise to be a distraction and the quiet busyness is actually part of the draw...been down here a few times already on the bike. It makes a worthy destination for an evening spin on the motorcycle. The 40-minute ride down from Hebron is scenic and hardly traffic.

Below is the view of Connecticut River from the lawn. This is East Haddam, CT and across the river is Haddam. The lawn is a great place to rest, catch some rays, or read before turning back.





View of Gelston House from lawn. That terrace on the right, with the tent-cover is the outdoor dining and beergarden. Unfortunately this fine establishment is too far from the office otherwise I would drag my drinking comrades here regularly.

Below, view of the swing bridge from lawn:

What is a swing bridge?? It is called a swing bridge because the bridge rotates, to let boat traffic through, by swinging on a pivot.


Photo below, lawn, & opera house in background. Can you imagine taking a boat to the opera? These premises were built in the mid 1800s. The aristocracy along the Connecticut river no doubt lived well.

Where to dock for the Goodspeed!

Goodspeed Opera House is a neoclassical Italianate marvel on CT route 82. Connecticut river in background.

Gelston house, next door to the Goodspeed and of the same vintage.

Approaching the swing bridge. It is a steel-deck bridge, which causes a weavy feeling on the motorcycle. Takes getting used to.

Map of places talked about in this Blog:

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Before the Canterbury tales, a little bit about motorcycle controls

Most of the motorcycle controls are on the handlebars, except for the rear brake and gear shifter. Those are controlled by foot pegs. Turn the right hand grip (throttle) to speed up.

Friday afternoon up in the Northeast Corner:

View from downtown Scotland, CT

Scotland General Store. That is about it for destinations in Scotland Center. A few towns in eastern Connecticut still have general stores.

Photo below, Route 169 between Canterbury and Pomfret is scenic. The road is usually scenic before you see these signs, so my reaction once was something like "this gets even better?"

cornfield, Canterbury CT

Brooklyn, CT

Brooklyn Ct

Before heading home, lunched at Vanilla Bean Cafe, Pomfret. It is biker-friendly and a guy there tried talking me into riding in the Hoka Hey Challenge, a bike race from Key West to Alaska with a $500,000 purse. It's $1000 to enter and there's no second prize. I had to say no thanks!

antique door hinge replacement

In this post I prepare an antique door to replace a hollow-core door. This door will go in an upstairs bedroom. The house came with all hollow core doors and this is the final hollow-core that I want to replace.

The antique I got from New England Salvage & Demolition, New Bedford MA. Their long aisles of old doors were organized by number of panels. As you can see, this is a four-panel and it was $80.

The antique was 1/4 inch too narrow so here I prepare to widen it. First I fill in the old hinge mortise. A mortise is just a cut in the wood so the hinge fits flush, see?
Here in photo below, I'm raising the hinge location using a mount that I cut from a piece of scrap wainscoting.

In photo below, can you see how I raised the hinge?

I used really long screws for the hinges because 1) screws that came with the hinge are too short to go through both the new mounts and then anchor into the door itself. And 2) shorter screws loosen more easily, 3) the door was manufactured as an exterior door and is therefore very heavy; 4) the hinge area already had many holes in it due to past re-hinging. Here I use 2 1/2-inch long deck screws to firmly seat the hinge.

In photo below, I widen the rest of the door using lattice wood (1 1/2 x 1/4 inch), which makes the door 1/4 inch wider.

Currently I've sanded and primed the door. I will paint it a historic cream color.


Part 2: Garden

The rose bush is blooming like crazy. There's the famous motorcycle behind the roses.

Below is the layout of the garden. I have been fastidiously weeding by dragging a large hoe over the soil 2-3 times a week.

From another angle...

Kale from mom's friend, just planted

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