Saturday June 27

Well, here it is.  Almost done. I need to do a couple more little things, like add the fake smokestack, but it's close enough to post a picture, I think. The raw wood will eventually darken with age.  Not sure what will happen with the red, but the paneling is fire-resistant stuff made of cement, so it won't weather like wood.

Monday, June 15 - An Outhouse?

While I've been waiting for engineering and truss calcs so I can resubmit my plans, I've been working on an enclosure for my well-water pressure equipment.  There's an 85-gallon pressure tank and a pretty pricey two-horsepower booster pump sitting out in the weather, and though they would survive outside, I want to have them in a little enclosure.  The tank's probably not going anywhere, especially when it gets full of water, but I wouldn't want that shiny new pump to sprout legs some Saturday night when I'm not home.

So, do I just make a utilitarian little box or shed?  Methinks not.  Even though I will have all the modern amenities like indoor plumbing, I think a country property should have an outhouse. 

So here's what I came up with:

The red is some cheap paint that will fade, and the brown represents weathered wood, since I'm not putting any finish on the trim boards and will just allow them to age.

It will have a tin roof and a crooked, non-functioning smokestack - a nod to Grandpa Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, whose outhouse was far more elegant than mine will be.

One side will be removable for better access to the equipment.

The pressure system

The winds can really blow out east, they tell me, so a tall skinny building should have a good heavy foundation. I first had the bright idea to just bury concrete blocks and save the trouble of pouring a slab.

Bad decision.

I spent the day on my knees fiddling with the darn blocks, but just couldn't get them level enough to suit me, so today I pulled 'em all back out and did it right.

Five bags of concrete and a bag of gravel, plus an extra "anchor" I buried on the windward side, just as added insurance.

 A few days for the concrete to cure and my 70-year-old muscles to stop complaining, and I'll go back out and assemble the building.  It's out there waiting for me: