Wednesday 5 October 2011

A story of sheds

We're still stuck with little to do as the painters continue to plug away and we can't move more stuff in. But our annual trip to Maui is looming, as is winter. Looking at the garage the other day, we came to the conclusion that until we build the shed we knew we needed, no car could park in the garage. The shed had to be built before we head to Maui, as it will be serious winter when we get back. We needed the shed now. So we initiated yet another project: "The Shed."


We went first on Monday to the lumber yards in town. There's two. One doesn't do shed packages, and I'm just not "handy" enough to do it without a package (though someone should tell their web site dude and catalog maker, because both say they do sell shed packages). The other didn't have any in stock, nor did they know the price. This morning we called, and after 2 days, they still didn't have a price, but they did know it would be at least 2 weeks before we could get one delivered. That's bad timing, as we're gone in just over 3 weeks, and we have to have the thing built before we leave. Did I mention that we have nothing to do now?


Instead we called my favourite lumber yard in Calgary. Yes, they have shed packages (actually, a pile of lumber and an instruction book). Yes, they are in stock (because it's a pile of lumber; nothing is pre-built). And aside from a high delivery charge, could deliver it tomorrow (when it's supposed to rain here). Obviously these guys do not work on Canmore time.


This afternoon we started assembling the skid foundation system, which isn't much: six flagstones and two 4x4s. But you gotta get them level, and the space we chose is very slightly not level. So some had to be fully sunk into the ground, some get to sit on the ground, and a few are in between.
Right side nearly done; left side still to do
The shed has to be painted before the winter. Our painters tell us outdoor painting is basically over for the year, as our lows are getting down to 0° these days (it's snowing as I type this on the mountains about 600 m above me, but raining down here in the valley). We're going to try to paint the thing in the garage Thursday and Friday where we can keep it warm enough, then build on the weekend when it's supposed to be sunny.

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