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- #61
Roof is finished (ridge cap was the last piece).
Floor issues are solved. When the builder came back to move it to its final location, he "fixed" the door issue by "leveling" it by raising it and sliding a block under the nw corner. He didn't use a level; just went by how the main doors closed. The floors got continually worse - more creaking, popping, bouncing, and all the seams with two coats of blackjack were completely opened. And the doors didn't stay working - the floor lock didn't stay lined up so it was completely unusable.
We dug out enough of the sand to look at the skids... none of the middle cement blocks (either direction) were touching the skids. I brought two handiman jacks up from the farm and jacked it up far enough to knock the block out. I should have practiced first but managed it without damaging anyone or anything permanently. I dropped it rather than ratcheted it down -damaging my ears, pride, and some trust on the part of the birds. But it was only two or three clicks up and all fingers, toes, and teeth were well clear of all moving parts.
There was immediate vast improvement in the floor. Only one small area creaked a little and no bounce anywhere. The skids touch every cement block except one in ghe most middle. Even that one doesn't miss by much; we thought it might fix itself as the shed resettled from being torqued up on that block.
The most used half of the main door doesn't close anymore but we can rehang it or sand it or take it off, cut some off the top, and rehang it. I didn't think to open the other half of the main door. When I thought of it the next day, I couldn't even unlock the top lock by hand. I ended up whacking the lock with a 2x4 to get it out and again to get the door out of the frame. I immediately noticed the creak in the floor was gone. But the doors aren't even close to fitting.
I'm irritated at the build quality (again) but delighted not to have to fix the floor.
The screen wall is next. Then the doors. Then painting.
The chicks like to sun themselves between the south door and their bathtub. The coop is cooler than outside through the hottest part of the day. And we have consistently been far warmer than is typical for the hottest months, much less early June) for weeks now.
Floor issues are solved. When the builder came back to move it to its final location, he "fixed" the door issue by "leveling" it by raising it and sliding a block under the nw corner. He didn't use a level; just went by how the main doors closed. The floors got continually worse - more creaking, popping, bouncing, and all the seams with two coats of blackjack were completely opened. And the doors didn't stay working - the floor lock didn't stay lined up so it was completely unusable.
We dug out enough of the sand to look at the skids... none of the middle cement blocks (either direction) were touching the skids. I brought two handiman jacks up from the farm and jacked it up far enough to knock the block out. I should have practiced first but managed it without damaging anyone or anything permanently. I dropped it rather than ratcheted it down -damaging my ears, pride, and some trust on the part of the birds. But it was only two or three clicks up and all fingers, toes, and teeth were well clear of all moving parts.
There was immediate vast improvement in the floor. Only one small area creaked a little and no bounce anywhere. The skids touch every cement block except one in ghe most middle. Even that one doesn't miss by much; we thought it might fix itself as the shed resettled from being torqued up on that block.
The most used half of the main door doesn't close anymore but we can rehang it or sand it or take it off, cut some off the top, and rehang it. I didn't think to open the other half of the main door. When I thought of it the next day, I couldn't even unlock the top lock by hand. I ended up whacking the lock with a 2x4 to get it out and again to get the door out of the frame. I immediately noticed the creak in the floor was gone. But the doors aren't even close to fitting.
I'm irritated at the build quality (again) but delighted not to have to fix the floor.
The screen wall is next. Then the doors. Then painting.
The chicks like to sun themselves between the south door and their bathtub. The coop is cooler than outside through the hottest part of the day. And we have consistently been far warmer than is typical for the hottest months, much less early June) for weeks now.
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