Week 8 - Going, going....gone

Phew!  What a week this has been.  Everything started on Monday.  I made a run to our nearby Superstore to pick up a grocery order.  Let me preface this with, NEVER AGAIN!  I received the email about 15 minutes before my pick-up time.  So far, so good, but when I arrived at the store and called the number I was hold for nearly 10 minutes before someone picked up the call.  Then it was another 10 minutes before anyone came out to the car.  I was watching in the side mirror as the groceries were being loaded in the trunk when I realized it wasn't my order.  I opened my window and called to the clerk and she asked me to get out of my car and check my receipt.  Why she didn't read it herself, I don't know.  In any event, it turned out it wasn't my order, it was mixed up with someone else's and it took several minutes to get it straightened out.  I won't bother doing this again, because it wasn't a larger order, and I could have been in and out of the store in the time it took to complete the pick-up.  

I had just arrived home when my brother R called to say he was on his way into town to start the removal of the shed.  He, with some help from me managed to remove the doors, roof, and windows in the next six hours.  We did take a breather for a bit of lunch at one point.  What we learned that first day was the builder (a previous home owner) liked screws.  Each of the roof hangers had eight screws in them, in addition to two 4" inch screws - the latter inserted in the rafters before the roof went on. 

While I removed as many screws on the inside as I could, R was up on the roof removing the asphalt shingles.  The plywood in the center of the roof was removed before the rafters and the rest of the roof was removed.  R slid these pieces off the front of the building while I stood below to ensure they didn't fall over. After these were safely down, he came off the roof and with a little help from my son C, moved them aside.  The center rafters were taken out next and leaned against the fence.

The header above the door was removed next, then the windows came out.  As we'd been working in each we were removing trim pieces as well, and it was about this point in time I started marking the pieces of the puzzle so R will find it easier to put it back together at the farm.

Our final task for the day was to clean up the work area, putting away the tools for the next day, and moving the pieces we'd removed to the back of R's truck.  All but the roof pieces as they were hauled out later in the week. 

Looking through the window opening on one side

Tuesday started early when R and his son K (my nephew) arrived just after 8:30 a.m. It was cool but warmed up quite quickly.  It was time to start working on the walls.  Again we ran into screws and more screws.  There were two 2X4 boards on top, each screwed and/or nailed down every six inches or so. The bottom plates of each wall were also screwed and nailed down. In some spots there were three and sometimes up to five screws and or nails! One would have sufficed. The chipboard walls and siding were screwed into the bottom plates and the corner 2X4 as well.  Then each corner 2X4 was screwed into the abutting corner.  In some cases we couldn't get at the screws as we didn't want to remove the siding.  Other screws were counter sunk or stripped and couldn't be removed.  So R used his reciprocating saw to cut these off so we could lift the wall. Each wall that was removed taught us something, but it was really trial and error.

While the guys were working, I pretty much tried to stay out of their way.  I'd bring tools, or tea and water as needed, and ran out at one point to pick up sandwiches for lunch.  By that time they'd gotten two walls down and it was time to start on the back wall.  This was cut in half and the pieces set down on the grass.
The next task was to remove half of the floor because we needed to move the shed away from the lower deck in order to reach all those darned screws and nails.  K is a strong young fella (as his dad would say) and he dug around the base of the shed to make it easier to lift.  This was moved further over and flipped over to allow the joists to dry as the ground was quite saturated.

We took a tea break about then as the skies opened up and we had a heavy downpour for about 10 minutes.  When it had passed, R and K used a heavy metal bar and K's leg strength to push the shed away from the lower deck before removing the front wall, and then finally the side wall.  They also took the time to remove two large pieces of wood that were in the ground separating the grassy area from the gravel base of the shed.  After the rain there was a good inch or two of standing water on the lawn so getting rid of these boards helped it drain.
Last, the rest of the floor was flipped over to allow it to dry. We ended the day by tidying up, and R took many of his tools home with him.  The plan, initially, was he would return on Wednesday to take away all the pieces but that changed.  R decided to use the day to prep the area where the shed will be rebuilt.  

TBH, I was happy to have the day off.  Not only am I feeling muscles I haven't felt in ages, the housework needed to caught up on.  I spent the morning doing laundry, sweeping and washing floors, cleaning cat litter and so forth. I took a break in the afternoon as the temperature had reached a lovely 18C (64F).  I grabbed a book and a cold drink and relaxed in the sun room.

Thursday was the end of shed saga, at least the removal of it.  R, K and niece L arrived shortly after 11 a.m. to start the process.  With C's help they moved the 10 pieces in three separate loads.  R had borrowed his neighbour's utility trailer rather than the 12 foot trailer.  On the first trip he had parked in the wrong direction in front of the house.  Within 15 minutes parking enforcement pulled up to advise he was parked improperly.  Hmmm.....we never see the parking enforcement in our neighbourhood. I believe someone (a certain neighbour) called.  Now I wonder if he'll do the same when the RV's are parked on both sides of the street?  Probably not.

But I digress. The loading of the pieces only took 15-20 minutes each time but delivering it to the farm and returning was a lengthier process. It was just about 5 p.m. when I waved them away with the final load.  

The view from the lower deck isn't pretty, nor is the one looking into the yard from the side of the sun room.  But it's gone!  

Quite obviously there is work to be done yet to clean it up.  I'll have to get someone in to remove the gravel/shale base and bring in topsoil in preparation for sod.  I think I mentioned before that will wait until next year.  In the meantime I'll rake it and tidy up a bit and set out the planters you can see on the deck.  

Before they left on Thursday I reminded L that I wanted visitation rights to the shed.  She laughed and said, it will be a she-shed so you're welcome to come visit.  As it turned out, my first visit was a lot sooner than I had anticipated.  Friday morning, I received a text from R saying he'd forgotten his cordless drill at my house.  Since they've run back and forth to town, I said I'd run it out.  I was quite happy to go for a drive, it was sunny and warm - just a great day to get out of the house and out to the country.

R and L selected a spot up the hill and behind a bluff of trees in a small clearing.  The building doors will face south.  By the time I arrived they had one front piece, one side wall, and the back pieces up.  (He had installed the floor on Thursday evening...this guy never stops!)

I helped a little with the last side wall and the last front piece, mostly holding it in place while R screwed the bottom and sides of the walls.  He figures he's used about a quarter of the screws the original builder did. This is where the progress will slow down.  R plans to extend the walls up another 2 to 2.5 feet before he puts the roof on.  There will be windows added to all sides as L wants it to be bright.  He was showing me his stash of windows leftover from the house and old porch that was replaced a few years ago...there must be 20 or so waiting to be used for something.

We had great weather (aside from a bit of rain) for most of the week.  However, Friday afternoon it began to get windy and cooled down quickly, from 21C (70F) to 12C (54F) in just an hour or so.  Overnight we had rain and...no snow!  Snow was in the forecast but I saw no evidence of it when I woke up at 5:30 this morning.  We are expecting a cool weekend with highs of only 8C (46F) so I'll be spending my time indoors.  

I've got a pair of crocheted slippers started for my daughter that I'll try to get done today.  Sunday I'm driving out to see her and Eli for Mother's Day.  Our province is now permitting two families to be together.  D and I will wear our masks though to be on the safe side and I will change out of my clothing and throw it in the washing machine when I arrive home since I've also spent time with my brother and his family this week.  In our region of the province there are only 2 active cases of Covid-19 and none in the region she lives in.  Thus I feel the risk is lessened to a reasonable degree that I feel comfortable spending the day with them.


Take care everyone and stay well!  Have a great weekend and week ahead.