How I spent my tuesday.. fucked.. and had to use a vacation day.
Woke up to the first image, posted below, and spent the day surgically removing
the offending foreign object from the tractor shed. Temporary repairs have been done so now I
have a skylight. At least it's a nice blue shade for the time being.
Tools used were loppers, pole saw, and Ryobi 40V chain saw. I chose the battery saw for lightweight and no ear protection needed so I could hear how the limb was reacting as well as the other snow loaded ones still attached on the trees above me.
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| The horses must have shit themselves. Maybe a little more than they already do. |
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| Looks like it had been rotting for awhile |
Here's were I got really lucky. I had cut everything back that was extending over the edge of the damages roof and soffit. I was on the back side of the shed and make the final cut you can see in this picture, circled in red and the last section I cut, red rectangle, wasn't touching anything so I was hoping to lay it down gently on the roof.
Once the pc. separated the weight was released and whole precarious limb just rolled off the edge and slammed into the ground. As I was working I was very aware of the danger. I constantly pushed and pulled and bounced the limb to see how sturdy it was.
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I was able to salvage the soffit until real repairs can be made and I wanted to make it water tight
to the best of my ability
We may be fucked again. This warning hit my phone mid afternoon:
Stay tuned, if you like.
I don't know about anybody else but if I was you I would be pretty damn proud of myself for getting that off there by myself.
ReplyDeleteI know I am very impressed.
Thanks Buddy:) I know there's more bad weather coming and I didn't want to leave it open and wait for someone to "stop by and check it out". At the end of day no one is coming to rescue us :)
DeleteGood job, as that's quite a limb. Amazing how heavy that wood can be. Times like these when a cherry picker (on tracks) would come in handy.
DeleteIrish. You've done did well. I'm impressed as well. My chainsaw days were filled with morbid comedy.
DeleteTo your last line, "At the end of day no one is coming to rescue us :)", the more I see and read, the more this is becoming a reality. An ild Greek saying, the wolf has a thick neck because he does the job himself.
-Ερωτόκριτος
Wow! Yall are dramatic as hell. I'd never have thought to post mundane stuff like this lmao
DeleteAnon. Please do send a link to the exciting stuff you post on your blog.
DeleteWould love to see it.
All the best. Irish.
Of course, you missed the point. My activities are equally boring. I just don't have the need to claim otherwise, lmao.
DeleteOh, boy. Best of luck. And, nice Rush quote!
ReplyDeleteThanks, I knew someone would get it!
DeleteI assume you made them all equal by hatchet, axe, and saw?
ReplyDeleteAnother Rush fan :)
DeleteLots of rush fans read what you post. All interesting. I would have to hire that job out as I would be too busy plowing snow. Plus, time off in the winter is hard to get. But it pays well enough to make the needed repairs.
DeleteNoticed the stories about the bad weather in your region. Hope the worst of it is over.
ReplyDeleteNice work on the repair work!
It's been a weird season. Not a lot of snow, but the stuff we have gotten has stayed on the limbs.
DeleteAs a carpenter/builder for the last 45 years I can say you did good. I've had a handful of fallen branches and trees to contend with. One was so large I hired a crane to lift it off. Dangerous work. Good job.
ReplyDeleteThanks BC. Being safe was my priority. I probably looked like a golfer lining up a do or die putt. Walking back and forth surveying the lay out.
Deletethat's just bein smart. my life long education has taught me that shit happens a whole lot faster than what you'd ever think it could.
DeleteIrish:
ReplyDeleteNever realized that you too were in NH. I am near Wakefield and we just dug out late today. Fortunately my neighbor has a huge front end loader for moving the piles out of the way. Bracing for the next incoming as the lights have been gently flashing all day and I expect to lose power if there is a strong wind with the next blast.
Stay safe and warm.
Howdy neighbor. Yup, down here in Rockingham County. As noted, more crap headed our way.
DeleteRyobi 20volt or did you mean 40 volt? Mine is 40 and quite a nice small chainsaw.
ReplyDeleteHope we both get less storm than expected.
Corrected. Yes 40V Thanks 👍🏻
DeleteIrish
The Ryobi 40v chain saw kicks A$$. I’ve been impressed by that line of tools as a homeowner. This is the sweet spot in terms of battery powered equipment. My experience several years ago with a Toyota Prius made me realize it is not a good choice for vehicles, no matter how well they are engineered. I’m a huge fan of Hydrogen Fuel Cells based on my experience in warehouses and their application with powered cars industrial trucks. That technology has a much brighter and sustainable future!
DeleteI've got a 36V Makita with an 18" bar, and it's at least enough saw for what I do. Light, easy to handle, and wails through wood like a banshee.
DeleteWell Done, Sir! That's a freakin' HUGE limb. We lost one about that big on our ash tree Spring before last, and it took a week or so to get it off the roof, and a tree guy out here to inspect the tree. Ours just barely grazed the roof, and only damaged a gutter, so we ducked a big one.
ReplyDeleteGreat job!
Thanks drjim. I was extremely cautious for sure. The logs weigh a ton. Very dense wood.
DeleteIs that the corner where the lawn mower is suspended?
ReplyDeleteJerry
Damn, Jerry. You remember that? and Yes. I had to take it down to access the corner.
DeleteLucky guess. But like you said, having "more" is just that much more work!
DeleteIrish. Are you on garage journal as well? I seem to recall someone doing the exact same thing over there.
DeleteGood work. Seeing the weight in your mind's eye is a skill. Glad you weren't under anything else that turned loose. That snow and ice up there is some kind of dangerous. Down in my old stomping grounds, there wasn't any trees to really worry about. Just slick roads, and highline wires for the most part.
ReplyDeleteThanks STxAR. I surveyed a lot as I got to the critical part. I didn't feel comfortable getting on the slippery roof and I didn't want to make the news.
DeleteGood luck, J. Glad it wasn't worse, and that you're are a cautious fellow.
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
DeleteNice work, Irish.
ReplyDeleteOhio Guy
Thanks OG.
DeleteI count at least 10 big ash trees that are right next to the street that are all dead from that ash borer. could get exciting if any of those come down none of 'em are small....
ReplyDeleteThey'll come down. Ash start shedding limbs like a flee bitten dog once they're dead.
DeleteThere are a LOT of large trees along the street. The pines across the way are extremely tall and top heavy.
DeleteThey will take down the main feeder and probably a couple poles if/when they go.
Looks like a beautiful place, man, even if it is 600 miles too far north! LOL!
ReplyDeleteFunny, that barn could be on my property way down here in EastTN, not a stitch would look out of place. I bet half the readers here could say the same thing. We're all pink on the inside brothers.
It's nice, just a lot of work. I'm not getting any younger! :)
DeleteAlls well that ends well. Lots of free firewood there for the future. The challenges of a northern winter are really a blessing. It takes a hardier breed of people to populate the countryside this far north. Cold, ice, snow, short and long term power outages, etc, are definite demotivators for weaker people. Look at the whining over in Kennebunkport over a few days without power. The rich ones, like that antifa kids dad, will opt for snowbirding it to the South in winter or even eventually leaving. Even the rich will have less options when the economy finally tanks, and the poor and newly poorer will opt for the easier climates to scrape along in. This should be particularly true for newly arrived barbarian vibrants from the lower latitudes.
DeleteYep it's coming brother, it was hanging out here for the last 18 hours or so. NW Arkansas supposed to get the brunt. Here it was heavy wet snow in area's, right at freezing so melting about as fast on the roads so you will get a different story. Stay safe dammit and make sure your footing area is always clear when cutting.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're done safely. I grew up logging. I still do tree work and it's still just as dangerous as it always was. I used to live just south of Albany NY until I came to my senses and took my Yankee bride back to to Texas.
ReplyDeleteYeah, those northeast winters can feed a tree man pretty good! But that's also why they're called widow makers...
Well that's a hell ofa note. We lost some limbs here at the condo complex, but nothing serious. they all landed on the ground without doing any damage to townhouses.
ReplyDeleteThose corrugated steel roofs are slippery when they're dry, never mind when they've got snow/ice/rain on them, and even when the pitch is shallow. Good to see that you didn't end up among the detritus. Stay safe.
We got a some power blips here for a couple hours during the storm. The UPS that I have for my computer was barkin' at me every 15 minutes or so, but no actual power outage in the Gate City as far as I know.
Nemo
In the Portland area putting up a blue tarp and moving on is considered acceptable. Annual tarp replacement is optional.
ReplyDeleteI'm at the other end of the country (farther south than Jeffery) and have a yearly $2k budget for trees that are giving the house the side eye. Get a suspicious looking one and down at the knees it goes. Still have plenty left for the next tornado.
ReplyDeleteSpin Drift
Dang - that's rough! But excellent work on getting it out and the roof fixed up. Hope the storms go away from your place, so you can just relax some.
ReplyDelete--FormerlyExpatGuy
Nice work Sir! We had a clueless dude in Winston Salem last week up on a ladder cutting a nice size limb. It parted at the cut and folded just enough to smack him in the head and send him back to his maker. You really need to trust yourself or let someone else have at it.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people have been complaining about the various snow damages here in the Wasatch Range in Rocky Mtn Utah because of the simply magnificent snow we've gotten here. . . . .but let's be real. . . this is how Winter used to be--especially when I was a kid. For example, right now Snowbird Ski Resort has a 125" base, with 425 inches YTD. And just last summer, all of our lawns were effing dying. So, we've had a ton of broken trees and associated collateral damages this winter. There is ONE distinct difference this year, however. . . .and that is that the trees did NOT shed most of their leaves in October and November as usual (in fact, I've never seen it like this in 50+ years), and they stayed on and shriveled. . . and that issue combined with heavy, heavy, wet snow, and CRACK, baby. . . there they go
ReplyDelete