Progress on the preparations for a new shed

This morning started with beautiful sunshine and the promise of 22C for later in the day.  My thoughts were about if I should cook the chicken for our dogs evening meal this morning or later in the day.  Every two weeks or so I prepare cooked chicken with rice and vegetables for our dogs and freeze it in daily portions which I then have to just warm up to feed them.  However, Benno had different plans and he wanted me to come along to purchase supplies for our to be built new shed.

First stop was our local Rona Building Supply store (for our American readers it belongs to Lowes).  We needed some Siena pressure treated wood planks and they had a good supply.  We got two 2x8x14 and three 2x8x10 planks, which we shoved right through the back sliding window of our truck, resting them on the dash.  We’ve done these kinds of things before, so no problem or figuring out of how to get them home.

Next stop was at the equipment rental store to make an appointment to rent a “One Man Easy Auger” (to tow behind our truck) this afternoon to drill six holes for postholes for the foundation of the shed.  From there we went straight home to unload the wood into our garage and to grab three 5 gal. garden pails.

Off we went again this time to a local Excavator business not very far from our home.  This company has been doing numerous jobs for us since we bought this house and when we got there, no one was around.  But that was not a problem. I called Jim, one of the owners on his cell phone and told him that we needed some gravel/sand mixture for the posts holes.  They have large piles of different types of sand, stone, gravel and other products piled outside on their lot and we were to help ourselves.  In foresight we had brought a shovel and Benno had attached the cargo tray on the rear of our truck where he hived the heavy pails to take them home.

There was no time wasted back home after depositing those pails and off we were to the local Home Hardware Store.  They carry the Quikrete, a fast drying fence post cement and we needed three 30kg bags of that.  With our purchases completed we went home to unload and to have lunch. 

The appointment for the auger was at 1 p.m. so there was no time to linger over lunch, which consisted of sandwiches, yoghurts and a cup of tea.  Benno drove off again to get that machine and some screws he’d forgotten to purchase this morning. Meanwhile I painted the cut ends of six fence posts with a green wood preservative to protect them from rot.  Then I walked around the perimeter of the new shed with my weed trimmer to cut the grass, which should make working in the area easier.  While I was at the trimming I continued around our fences and all places that needed trimming. If you think that was enough activity for one day, I have to agree. However, the work had not even yet begun.

Benno wasted no time to get the auger home, unhooked and out to the lawn.  The description of “One Man” might be correct, but “Easy Auger” could be debated. I only took pictures of the first hole he drilled and there were five more!  In addition, we had to clear out the dirt from around the holes so it would not fall back in.  It’s quite a pile of dirt, which we have to dispose of because there is again a lot of clay in it.

Next jobs for me were filling some of the gravel/sand into the holes and tamping it down all to the same height with a 4x4 post. Once the posts were in position, I filled half a bag of cement around the posts while Benno positioned them with a level to make sure they straight up. What was left was to add the required amount of water over it according to the printed on instruction on the cement bag.  When that was set I filled the rest of the cavities with the gravel/sand mixture.  It sounds easy, but involved lugging the heavy stone/sand and the cement bags (30KG each bag) around. Of course throughout Benno used the level on and off to make sure everything lined up and he mounted the 14ft board along the posts to adjust their positions.  So for tonight this job is complete.  Oh, and he had to return the machine to the rental outlet.

After cooking dinner, cleanup and dishes, I am exhausted.