Pond screen fish house

[Jeff]

Building Mamma a screenhouse on the pond. I started it before the pigroast, and am getting back to it now that my burns are well underway to healing. My goal is to build it completely with dead trees and materials on hand. I finished decking today. I have no idea where I'm going with it from here. I wish I had some cedar logs.

[thecfarm]

That's going to look great!!!

[Magicman]

I like the cantilever.    

[Jeff]

Everytime I think I'm done with post hole diggers, I find I'm not. Just gotta always be after that PHD.
So My test hole was,as close the the waters edge as I could get. 3 ft of clay and never had a drop of water to where I stopped at about 30" deep No water, so I went ahead and put in 4 posts..

[Resonator]

Need to find a cedar log for the cedar dog!
Lookin good!

[doc henderson]

Cedar is a good helper, seating that post well to the bottom of the hole.

[Nebraska]

He looks great btw..

[chet]

My posthole digger was perminately retired when I got da backhoe.  

[SwampDonkey]

I remember one guy charging $200 a hole with his post hole digger. That was over 30 years ago.    My brother wanted to put up posts around the perimeter of the property, has 2 small dogs he fences in. So he bought one. Me, the only post hole I thought of digging in 50 years is for an umbrella clothesline, to anchor it in. The clothesline has been in the box now for 6 years. I decided I don't want to look out across the only flat part of the lawn, the direction of my shop, and see a dang clothesline.   I'm not against a clothesline, but I've got no place for it. Wish I did, but life ain't fair sometimes. :D

[Jeff]

Going back to building my fence at home to the present, that counts my poll structure out back,  I've peobably dug 100.

[Magicman]

Just buy or dig up an old abandoned water well and buck it up into post holes.  

[YellowHammer]

Everytime I think I'm done with post hole diggers, I find I'm not.

There's always another hole to dig and post to set.   

[Jeff]

And then its time to stand back and complain about digging holes as you admire what youve accomplished. All in all the toil of manual labor is what makes me tick, but oh I love me backhoe!

[SwampDonkey]

You was talking a manual post hole digger? I was talking an auger type on the back of a tractor.    But, I do have one of them manual ones. Never been used. :D My uncle had a screw type manual hole digger. But he had no rock, just nice sandy loam to dig in. I've got rocks by 1 foot down.  It's like subsoil, but filled with rocks from gravel sized to tire sized. Goes anywhere from 1 foot to 8 feet before bedrock shale. :D

[Magicman]

In some locales one can push a sharpened post into the ground with a backhoe bucket.

Betcha Ray couldn't.    

[chet]

That ain't gonna happen in this neck of da woods. 

[Resonator]

Yup. Helped replace a chain link fence around a playground earlier this summer, and that's how we set the posts (they were heavy wall pipe). All went in easy but one, hit a rock and the wheels of the 200hp tractor came off the ground.

[thecfarm]

I put a green house up for the wife. Had 2 inch pipe to pound into the ground. I used an old auger wood bit to test the ground. Suppose to be 48 inches apart. yea right. Some are 42 some are 52 and everything in between. Out of 12 only about 2 went in without having to cut them off. 
I even have a hard time putting in those plant hangers in the ground. That's where the auger bit idea came from.

[Magicman]

Funny because there is not a natural rock anywhere on my property. 




The creek ranges from about 10'-15' deep and the creek bed is clay...no rocks.

[Otis1]

Your creek bed in the second pic looks like a fossil rib cage.

[Magicman]

Yeah, one of these days I gotta check old George out.  Looks like he died about 2 millions years ago.  Just need to get a roundtoit. 

[Jeff]

Finding dead trees, sawing logs and making parts

[Magicman]

Gots ta have dem parts. 

[Southside]

Posthole?

[Jeff]

Posthole?

NO! No more phds! 

[Magicman]

I hope that you have plenty of dead or reject trees. 

[Jeff]

Spruce bud worm has given me plenty.

[Jeff]

Tammy and I took another tree from standing to sawing to assembly today. No plans. Just building. I'm figuring out what we need as we go up.

[aigheadish]

Boy am I jealous of you sawmill guys who decide on a project and can just slice up the wood to build it... 

Looks great Jeff. Should be a lovely place to hang out. 

[Rhodemont]

Jeff, you may; not have plans on paper but they are in your head and I bet you think about it a lot as you proceed.  Gonna be a great spot to sit when finished!

[Magicman]

I would never build anything without an Architectural drawing:


This one carried me during the entire Cabin Addition project.  Blueprint

[Jeff]

The old screen door that has been screwed to the shed wall the last two years has found new life. I'll take the wood off and replace it with the patina steel like will be below the screen on the 3 outter walls.

We are going with a heavy beamed flat over hanging roof. Steel right on 4x6 rafters on 24" centers. Its only a 9ft internal span.

[Magicman]

Now that sounds like something that I would do, but my snow load is light. 

[Jeff]

I'm looking at that with that designas I am not constantly in some precarious position hung out on a ladder. I can do something safer when I am done with this. Like a double gainer with a twist into the pond from the flat roof.

[thecfarm]

Looks like someone is enjoying the view all ready.

[Jeff]

Today's progress. We gotta go logging to continue.

[Magicman]

So you are building a deer shooting house on the lake and getting away with it by shifting the blame.       

[Jeff]

Surf and Turf

[Jeff]

[jaciausa]

Jeff You have came a long way with your project. Amazing!!

[Jeff]

We've cut down 2 more trees to produce 4 12ft logs from which we've sawn 7-5 1/2" 3 3/4" x 12' and one wany 2x6.  Not a live branch in the first 25ft to where I topped them. I got them just in time. Beautiful looking material. Saws nice.

[Jeff]

Getting there. I have to climb up and nail down 2 sheets of steel I could not get from inside, add a couple diagnal bracing beams to the big front opening that will use a magnetic connect garage door screen. I've got s bunch of rolls of screen that pete had socked away in the shed, I'm hoping it will work. I also have a huge piece of brass screen Gene gave me that might be neat on the opening facing away from the pond. Tammy is really liking it

[Old Greenhorn]

Looking really good man!

[Resonator]

Glad Tammy likes it!
Love the reflection pic!  

[Jeff]

My goal was to spend zero money and use what was on hand, but I failed. We bought a set of hinges for the screen door and a box of 3" exterier screws for 2x framing and I am going to buy a roll of flex seal tape to patch the old nail holes in the steel panels,  we will also need to buy the as seen on tv magentic door screen. We should come in at less than $100 not counting sawmill gas.

[doc henderson]

some will pop a rivet in the holes and cover with tar.

[NewYankeeSawmill]

I am going to buy a roll of flex seal tape to patch the old nail holes in the steel panels, 

I had some old steel roofing panels given to me that I used on our chicken coop. To deal w/ the old holes I used tin-snips and cut little covers that I attached with a dollop of roofing tar that comes in the caulk tube (which I was using to seal the gaps in the walls)? Just a little 1-inch or half-inch square, squirt on a dot of goo, place on top of hole, onto the next one... maybe 20 or so holes like that from the old screws? Been 6 years, no leaks yet!

[Jeff]

I just back from the hardware, and roofing caulk it was! 3.99. Versus 19.99. Great minds think alike.

[Jeff]

Other than a couple diagnal braces to install when I get some more log screws from home, and the screen, we are basically done, but it's September in da U.P.! We don't need no stinking screen until poor sledding season comes back in May!

Enjoy the slide show eh?

[doc henderson]

yes, your wife is right, I think you kiss them on the lips.  I love the shirt!  thanks for representing Troop 1.  It is a neat place.

[Wlmedley]

Looks good and the pond is a lot bigger than I thought it was.

[SwampDonkey]

Beautiful time of year between now and freeze up. Yup, no screen required, but be nice to have it up before black flies start biting next May.    If you have no-see-ums, screen won't stop them, unless it's fine grained like shirt fabric.

[aigheadish]

I think that'll be a really lovely spot to sit during a nice rain. I could also see napping like a champ out there. 

[thecfarm]

I saw the shirt too.
That place looks like a fun place to be.

[Jeff]

A little moss transplanting.

[Resonator]

"A rolling stone gathers no moss." (Old saying).

[Jeff]

About 20 years ago I was,at the Buckley old engine show flea market and this guy had 2 of  these bundles of 4' slats. He said redwood, they may be, but They may be a western cedar too. Anyhow I know I paid $5 a bundle. Id say there were about 100 sticks in each.

The other day I spotted them and had an epiphany.  Screen frames!

I made all of these with 4 clamps, a coping saw, wood glue and a box of 3/8 staples.  They will all be mounted by pre drilling, and using another layer of slats to clamp them down
 2 of them I made with brass screen Ive had knocking around for years. The rest are fiberglass.  This will complete 3 sides od the shack. I still need to come up with how I will screen the water side. Probably with a garage door screen. They have 16' by 7.5' magnetic closure screens at harbor freight. That will probably be my starter kit for that.

I'm back in Harrison for a bunch of tests, the asap I'll be back where I belong and get these installed.

[aigheadish]

I have a saying in my house, when I finally have a use for something that has been around a while... "Hoarding pays off yet again!"

Those look great Jeff! 

I may have to consider the garage door screen you mentioned as well... I like looking through no screen but it'd be nice to keep stinkbugs and birds out of the shop a bit more.

[jb616]

@Jeff what did you hang your tarps on in your pole barn? I am looking to partition off my woodshop and found some Industrial curtains and tracks but they are a little pricey. Thanks in advance...

[Jeff]

Some wire center coated clothsline, with eye hooks and turn buckles. Also two j hooks in ceiling trusses to keep from center sag, that were placed to correspond with the ends of the tarps. There is/was foam insulation pushed up over the hanging tarps. If I had a flat uncorregated ceiling it would of been sealed pretty good. I zip tied some metal tubing we had here to weight the bottom

@jb616

[GRANITEstateMP]

Jeff,

You did a great job making those screen frames....want to do some for me?

[Jeff]

Come on over. I got pretty proficient with that coping saw.

[Resonator]

Gives new meaning to the term: "Screen Saver".

[Brad_bb]

I assume that backhoe attachment on the tractor in the backround has a post hole digger on it?
I must have missed how you got burned?
How deep is the pond, are there fish to fish for?  
Looks like a nice fish house.

[Jeff]

@Brad_bb  was burned at yhe .pigroast by a propane flash.  my hands and back of one leg took the worst. My backhoe is a dedicated backhoe it don't come off. It's an extenda hoe and can reach 17ft,  but the pond is around 8 as that is where the dolomite bedrock starts. Yup, we planted hybrid Gills and bass. There was already lots of live in it.

[Jeff]

Harbor Freight 28 bucks. It's worth a shot for my front opening screen starter kit.

[SwampDonkey]

Worth a try. 

[Jeff]

I have all of the other screen panels built. 

[Jeff]

Tammy and I finished up the screening yesterday using a harbor freoght 16' garage door screen. We are very happy with the way it turned out considering it was only 29 bucks!

Installing Panels

Screened in. Come on Bugs! We double bug dare ya!

[SwampDonkey]

Good job. Snow's gone to by the looks of it. Getting any of this 60's weather up there? 

[Jeff]

We still have some snow in the ditches, it reached 63 yesterday. Nice day to finish it up. Peepers are out.

[SwampDonkey]

Yes, peppers I noticed Wednesday beside me in a spring pool that still had ice in it (gone now) when I was gathering firewood on the woodlot. Then heard some down hill from the house in some wetland at night. I have patches of snow still in the woods under the spruce. And there some along field edges where the wind blew it.

[Jeff]

Aren't we just about at the same Latitude?

[SwampDonkey]

Yes, the UP region is pretty much the same latitude as across central NB.