TRAILER 1.5: BONES

VIEW TO THE SOUTHWEST

The bones are exposed:  two steel beams with outriggers, the trailer tongue and lateral steel angles spanning between the two beams to hold the beams together.

The original installation clearly was not level.  It was visible from the beginning and the reason for the sway back structure is revealed:  A less than stellar effort to level the trailer when it was brought to site.  My favorite comment from one of the guys that helped remove the platform:
" I really like the shake shingles that were used to sort of level this thing!"

We (those that have been watching this de-construction) have realized how badly sited this structure was and how it's removal opens up the site so nicely exposing the very cool elm tree along the fence.  It is almost as if the site is breathing a sigh of relief..."finally".

The partial summary of weight of materials and materials saved, re-cycled and discarded:
     Two (2) 30 yard dumpsters filled:  12,000+ pounds of materials to the land fill
     Over 1,000 lbs of metal sent to the re-cycling center
     
Miscellaneous materials thoughts:
     Windows were removed and will be sold and intended to be re-used (weight to be determined)
     The aluminum skin of the trailer (not including skirt) weighed 300+ pounds
     Refrigerator re-bate will be addressed this week (required powerwashing and 4 boxes of backing soda - assuming the baking soda worked)
     Will try to sell the circa 2010 gas water heater....anyone interested?
     
All the utilities have been capped which fulfills the requirements of the demo permit.  The electrical supply was capped for possible future re-use as a construction power source.  The sewer and water lines capped.  The water line capping is a story in and of itself...with thanks to the Town of Eagle Public Works crews that assisted in finally shutting the water off.

Next steps will be to cut the steel, move it and store it.  We have a great idea for the trailer tongue end of the steel...stay tuned for that one.

More to come....

NORTHWEST VIEW

TRAILER 1.5: BONES

VIEW TO THE SOUTHWEST

The bones are exposed:  two steel beams with outriggers, the trailer tongue and lateral steel angles spanning between the two beams to hold the beams together.

The original installation clearly was not level.  It was visible from the beginning and the reason for the sway back structure is revealed:  A less than stellar effort to level the trailer when it was brought to site.  My favorite comment from one of the guys that helped remove the platform:
" I really like the shake shingles that were used to sort of level this thing!"

We (those that have been watching this de-construction) have realized how badly sited this structure was and how it's removal opens up the site so nicely exposing the very cool elm tree along the fence.  It is almost as if the site is breathing a sigh of relief..."finally".

The partial summary of weight of materials and materials saved, re-cycled and discarded:
     Two (2) 30 yard dumpsters filled:  12,000+ pounds of materials to the land fill
     Over 1,000 lbs of metal sent to the re-cycling center
     
Miscellaneous materials thoughts:
     Windows were removed and will be sold and intended to be re-used (weight to be determined)
     The aluminum skin of the trailer (not including skirt) weighed 300+ pounds
     Refrigerator re-bate will be addressed this week (required powerwashing and 4 boxes of backing soda - assuming the baking soda worked)
     Will try to sell the circa 2010 gas water heater....anyone interested?
     
All the utilities have been capped which fulfills the requirements of the demo permit.  The electrical supply was capped for possible future re-use as a construction power source.  The sewer and water lines capped.  The water line capping is a story in and of itself...with thanks to the Town of Eagle Public Works crews that assisted in finally shutting the water off.

Next steps will be to cut the steel, move it and store it.  We have a great idea for the trailer tongue end of the steel...stay tuned for that one.

More to come....

NORTHWEST VIEW

SITE 1.1: The Peonies Arrive

We have accepted a gaggle of peonies to the site.  The agricultural work on the site has begun.

A temporary bed has been created for a bunch of peonies, full white, white and red, pink and Lizzy's Red.  They were lovingly dug up, separated and brought to the site from Washington State.

The rototiller was started up, and after warming up and not having been used for a number of years, performed admirably.

The bed was prepared by tilling down into the dirt about 16 inches...multiple passes with the tiller.  We encountered a few rocks (I call them tiller killers) that have been stashed in the rock storage area we have started.  Two 2.5 cu ft bags of miracle grow potting soil were mixed in to ammend the soil, the peonies were planted, marked and are now resting comfortably on the West side of the garage.  They will be re-distributed as we move closer to setting up planting beds and other flower arrangements on the site.

We have another round of peonies to dig up from another site here in Colorado.  That will necessitate another round of tilling and bed prep.

Fortunately I have taken down the construction fencing both at the trailer and the deck accessing the skeletal remains of the trailer (stay tuned for the "artifacts" blog entry).  So securing the bed from stray small critters will be relatively easy.

Cool peonies are now resident on the site...more plant materials to come...and lots of work on the soil will be done to make it healthier.

SITE 1.1: The Peonies Arrive

We have accepted a gaggle of peonies to the site.  The agricultural work on the site has begun.

A temporary bed has been created for a bunch of peonies, full white, white and red, pink and Lizzy's Red.  They were lovingly dug up, separated and brought to the site from Washington State.

The rototiller was started up, and after warming up and not having been used for a number of years, performed admirably.

The bed was prepared by tilling down into the dirt about 16 inches...multiple passes with the tiller.  We encountered a few rocks (I call them tiller killers) that have been stashed in the rock storage area we have started.  Two 2.5 cu ft bags of miracle grow potting soil were mixed in to ammend the soil, the peonies were planted, marked and are now resting comfortably on the West side of the garage.  They will be re-distributed as we move closer to setting up planting beds and other flower arrangements on the site.

We have another round of peonies to dig up from another site here in Colorado.  That will necessitate another round of tilling and bed prep.

Fortunately I have taken down the construction fencing both at the trailer and the deck accessing the skeletal remains of the trailer (stay tuned for the "artifacts" blog entry).  So securing the bed from stray small critters will be relatively easy.

Cool peonies are now resident on the site...more plant materials to come...and lots of work on the soil will be done to make it healthier.

THE SITE 1.0: The Peonies Cometh

Saturday morning I was informed that we were soon to recieve a shipment of 20 peonie plants that are to be divided into 80 plants.  Since we now have "dirt" we can also anticipate the re-location of existing peonies from another site here in the valley - probably another 15 plants that will be divided into another 60 plants.

Lots of peonies.

We need a space to put them. A temporary space on the new site.

The challenge is to put them somewhere that will be minimally impacted by the construction we are anticipating in the spring.  A bit of a tough issue as we have not really started the design, although I do have and idea of where things are, and that we need to prepare to install utility conduits to different structures on site from a central supply point.

All this to say that the first shovels of dirt were turned Sunday morning to being to prepare the site to recieve new plant material.  Peonies.

To be fair, peonies are not the only plants we will have.  We have saved seeds from columbine, penstemmon, lupine and other plants.  There will be native color on site as well as a few colorful companions. 

The first pile of dirt we tackled was against the garage.  We sifted the dirt to remove roots, gravel and other undesireable material prior to stockpiling the dirt in the sandbox to mix the sand in with the dirt as well as soil ammendments.

We used a heavy gage 1/2" x 1/2" galvanized screen mesh stapled to frames.  The frames were made from studs harvested from the trailer we are de-constructing and the screen mesh was attached to frames with staples I removed from the aluminum panels that were attached to the trailer that were re-cycled.  Sustainable re-use of materials.

It is always significant when the gardening starts.  It marks the beginning of the reclamation of the site and comes with a fun anticpation of what we can do with this site.  Gardens, plants, vegetable raised beds and a lot more....to come.

The shovels, pitch forks, rakes and even the roto-tiller will be put to good use.

The peonies cometh.

THE SITE 1.0: The Peonies Cometh

Saturday morning I was informed that we were soon to recieve a shipment of 20 peonie plants that are to be divided into 80 plants.  Since we now have "dirt" we can also anticipate the re-location of existing peonies from another site here in the valley - probably another 15 plants that will be divided into another 60 plants.

Lots of peonies.

We need a space to put them. A temporary space on the new site.

The challenge is to put them somewhere that will be minimally impacted by the construction we are anticipating in the spring.  A bit of a tough issue as we have not really started the design, although I do have and idea of where things are, and that we need to prepare to install utility conduits to different structures on site from a central supply point.

All this to say that the first shovels of dirt were turned Sunday morning to being to prepare the site to recieve new plant material.  Peonies.

To be fair, peonies are not the only plants we will have.  We have saved seeds from columbine, penstemmon, lupine and other plants.  There will be native color on site as well as a few colorful companions. 

The first pile of dirt we tackled was against the garage.  We sifted the dirt to remove roots, gravel and other undesireable material prior to stockpiling the dirt in the sandbox to mix the sand in with the dirt as well as soil ammendments.

We used a heavy gage 1/2" x 1/2" galvanized screen mesh stapled to frames.  The frames were made from studs harvested from the trailer we are de-constructing and the screen mesh was attached to frames with staples I removed from the aluminum panels that were attached to the trailer that were re-cycled.  Sustainable re-use of materials.

It is always significant when the gardening starts.  It marks the beginning of the reclamation of the site and comes with a fun anticpation of what we can do with this site.  Gardens, plants, vegetable raised beds and a lot more....to come.

The shovels, pitch forks, rakes and even the roto-tiller will be put to good use.

The peonies cometh.

The Trailer 1.4: The Skeletal Remains

End of day - August 12, 2012

The skeletal remains of the trailer have emerged.  A good friend in Alabama remarked:
 "... This reminds me of what a beached whale looks like after the sharks have had their turn, plus the wolves and polar bears on shore. A little skeleton left."

The dumpster is essentially full.  The remaining studs will more than likely be cleaned up and placed in the materials inventory for future use on site.

In removing the skin of the trailer I have saved some aluminum trim shapes that will make great gutter profiles for the edge of the lean to to help channel rain water into the new garden area.

The studs should be down during the course of the week or Saturday at the latest.

Then the fun begins.

The safety gear is being acquired in order to begin to clean out the underside of the trailer deck.  We have no idea what is under the trailer.  Only part of the skirt has been removed and what was in there was NASTY!  With concerns for rotten wood, black mold and the remains of the nests of mice and other such great considerations...I don't want to breath that stuff.

So, goggles, a respirator that filters organic compounds and probably a disposable tyvek overall will be employed until such time as we have - to our satisfaction - cleaned underneath the trailer...including the removal of the deck.

The deck will come out in sections.  I have a new demo blade for the skillsaw that is eager to tackle the floor assembly.  There is one area of the floor assembly that is in the former bathroom area that is really soft - indicating some pretty rotten substructure underneath.  Judging from what I found in the walls of the bathroom - not surprised.

So...we will bring in another smaller dumpster...get the floor deck out and expose the steel and move to other fun issues with the project. 

I'll provide a synopsis of materials weight here soon.

Final note...this project has generated a significant amount of thirst this summer.  The bottles containing adult fermented beverages have been insulated with bottle covers from my friends at CAD-1.  In the "shameless promotion" category I submit the photo below in gratitude for helping keep the beverages cool after hot days on a dirty job site.