Shed

I been busy...

As some of you know, I like to build things. Building things is a finite process. You measure a board, and cut it, and if you haven’t made a mistake, it always fits. I like things that are non-negotiable. Buildings are real, you can even hit them with a hammer. There is something satisfying about creating something real.

If you look through the photos, you will see that the left side of the photos has the remains of a thirty year old redwood deck. The newer cleaner boards next the house are the start of a new deck. I started building the deck one half at a time. I moved everything to the front side, took a 20 x 40 foot section of the old deck down and rebuilt it. I started this project this fall, while the weather was nice. I pretty much left my tools on the deck overnight. When the weather started getting iffy, I had to put my tools away every night. I spent more time picking up and moving tools than I did building.

On the right side of one of the photos you will see an old dove cage. The doves had long ago died of very old age, and we have been using the cage for storage. The cage is 3’ wide x 8’ long x 6’ tall. I was stashing my tools in there, but the problem is that everything that I needed was in the back. When it came time to move the cage, the bottom was so rotten that any attempt to move it proved to be futile. In my frustration with the poor storage and condition of the cage I half-jokingly told my wife, “I’ve had it, I’m going to build myself a new storage shed”. To my surprise, she said “Okay… but build it big enough, because I get half”. Wow… that was easy.

So, I started building the shed on the new part of the deck. When I get the shed fished, I will move all my outside stored stuff from the cage to the shed, then complete that section of the deck. The front deck is basically 40 feet by 40 feet. We justified the large deck because it is our only level yard. We have enjoyed it almost as much our house, so the deck has been darn well worth it. When I finish the front part of the deck, I will skid the shed onto a foundation on the front part of the deck. So, no, I didn’t build it too close to the house.

When I started it, I thought about a building permit, then I remembered that it would take a long time, so I just started building. I felt somewhat guilty, because as everybody knows, I have a thing about following rules… (NOT). I later found out that you can build a storage building of under 100 sq. ft. with NO permit! Well, that paved the way considerably.

The neighborhood people laugh at me, and my “grow room”. I’ve heard some pretty funny stuff. But, I don’t care. If the eradication teams ever want to check it, I’ll give them a key. After my wife gets through putting her stuff in there, there won’t be any room left. Can you make a deal with them, that if they check your shed, they have to take all your wife’s stuff with them?

As you can see from the bottom photo, I already have the shed filled with junk.