Abby at 5 months and 32 lbs:
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Friday, March 17, 2006
The Arkansans Have Entered the Neighborhood!
Well, we finally finished the damn fence. It's been more weeks than I'd care to count, but it's done. After running into a few snags (of course, totally unforeseeable) we adapted our way through.
First, the final product: (note the little retaining wall on the right side!)
Then, the Gate that Gave Us Trouble. See, what had happened was...time prohibited us from removing the cemented in chain link post, so we'd originally hoped to attach a wood post to the metal post and install the gate between two wooden posts as planned. For reasons I assume are obvious, that was not a viable option. So Chris ingeniously adapted the old gate to the chain link fence to swing 90 degrees out, so it would become the gate to the new picket fence (see Illustration 1, below). We knew there would be some logistical problems with the latch, but having few other options, this seemed like the best solution, and we pressed on.
Illustration 1:
So: long story medium length--Chris screwed two pieces of wood together around the chain link, (see exhibit A, below) onto which we screwed the latch, planning, cleverly, to simply put the other half of the latch on the already cemented post. Alas. About an inch too wide the gap remained. So we grabbed a cedar 2x4 (detritus from a previous project) and nailed it to the post, bridging the gap and allowing the gate to shut.
Pushing out on the gate (from the porch) it's sturdy as all get out. Pulling in on it, the built-in give of the chain link makes me a bit nervous, but our primary concern is Abby jumping up on the fence from inside, and I'm sure you all know what a Nervous Nancy, Worried Wilma, and Frantic Freida I am, so if I had any doubt about the security of that gate, I wouldn't let Abby out in it.
Exhibit A:
Next, the gate leading into the garden, for which I was primarily responsible (in terms of hardware). Let me emphasize, though, that this gate was much, much more straightforward, and didn't require contortions and creativity to construct. Just good ol' fashioned common sense. So it was a mind shattering challenge for me. Of course.
With much fanfare, I submit to you...
Exhibit B: The Gate that Wasn't As Much of a Pain in the Ass:
Note the diagonal on this gate; Chris put that together, and it's fabulous. He had to use the inverse sin of 35 (or some such) to calculate the measurements, but he mitre sawed the ends so it all fits together beautifully. I told him that Jesus didn't need inverse sin functions to do his carpentry, but Chris thinks Jesus probably built fence crossbars that were equilateral triangles, or maybe isosceles. 30-60-90, and whatnot.
All in all, a successful construction project. Now we can open the back door and let Abby into the yard. All is well.
Abby update: she's really teething now, and almost all of her top front teeth are grown up teeth; she's currently missing a lower canine. She's had a sudden resurgence of neediness and whinyness, but I think it has to do with not feeling well. She loves eating ice.
Basement update: Humidity is down to 45% (from 90% when we got here), carpets feel dry, and the smell is dissipating. I think a good cleaning will get the carpets back in shape. Aside from some celing tiles, some cardboard boxes, the bottoms of some wood paneling and some curtains, there don't seem to be any major losses. Amazing, given. Our next project will be a pseudo-moat to redirect the water.
Thus concludes our carpentry adventure.
First, the final product: (note the little retaining wall on the right side!)
Then, the Gate that Gave Us Trouble. See, what had happened was...time prohibited us from removing the cemented in chain link post, so we'd originally hoped to attach a wood post to the metal post and install the gate between two wooden posts as planned. For reasons I assume are obvious, that was not a viable option. So Chris ingeniously adapted the old gate to the chain link fence to swing 90 degrees out, so it would become the gate to the new picket fence (see Illustration 1, below). We knew there would be some logistical problems with the latch, but having few other options, this seemed like the best solution, and we pressed on.
Illustration 1:
So: long story medium length--Chris screwed two pieces of wood together around the chain link, (see exhibit A, below) onto which we screwed the latch, planning, cleverly, to simply put the other half of the latch on the already cemented post. Alas. About an inch too wide the gap remained. So we grabbed a cedar 2x4 (detritus from a previous project) and nailed it to the post, bridging the gap and allowing the gate to shut.
Pushing out on the gate (from the porch) it's sturdy as all get out. Pulling in on it, the built-in give of the chain link makes me a bit nervous, but our primary concern is Abby jumping up on the fence from inside, and I'm sure you all know what a Nervous Nancy, Worried Wilma, and Frantic Freida I am, so if I had any doubt about the security of that gate, I wouldn't let Abby out in it.
Exhibit A:
Next, the gate leading into the garden, for which I was primarily responsible (in terms of hardware). Let me emphasize, though, that this gate was much, much more straightforward, and didn't require contortions and creativity to construct. Just good ol' fashioned common sense. So it was a mind shattering challenge for me. Of course.
With much fanfare, I submit to you...
Exhibit B: The Gate that Wasn't As Much of a Pain in the Ass:
Note the diagonal on this gate; Chris put that together, and it's fabulous. He had to use the inverse sin of 35 (or some such) to calculate the measurements, but he mitre sawed the ends so it all fits together beautifully. I told him that Jesus didn't need inverse sin functions to do his carpentry, but Chris thinks Jesus probably built fence crossbars that were equilateral triangles, or maybe isosceles. 30-60-90, and whatnot.
All in all, a successful construction project. Now we can open the back door and let Abby into the yard. All is well.
Abby update: she's really teething now, and almost all of her top front teeth are grown up teeth; she's currently missing a lower canine. She's had a sudden resurgence of neediness and whinyness, but I think it has to do with not feeling well. She loves eating ice.
Basement update: Humidity is down to 45% (from 90% when we got here), carpets feel dry, and the smell is dissipating. I think a good cleaning will get the carpets back in shape. Aside from some celing tiles, some cardboard boxes, the bottoms of some wood paneling and some curtains, there don't seem to be any major losses. Amazing, given. Our next project will be a pseudo-moat to redirect the water.
Thus concludes our carpentry adventure.
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