Drifting Projects Into Fall
Bountiful Harvest? Not So Much - Oliver Wendell Douglas

Pictured above is the entire production from this year’s vegetable garden; one bell pepper and two cherry tomatoes. Just a tad removed from the vegetable stand output I anticipated. Still, chopped up and melded with some sauteed onion, garlic and pepper, it was a killer addition to two oversized links of Italian sweet sausage. Burrrp.

Where did I go wrong? What lesson did I learn that might contribute to next year’s garden and resulting produce? The decision to plant tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers in grow bags may not have been optimal. It did allow me to place plants on the porch, near a rear door, for ease of maintenance, watering, mobility, and neatness. It also prevented the plants from being over saturated by Maine rainstorms. However, two hours of daily sunlight might not have been enough. Note: Cut down forest surrounding home and garden.

Adding nitrogen based fertilized can be overdone.  Yes, you can love your plants to death. An excess will make for giant plants. However, ten foot tall tomato and pepper plants, may not produce actual tomatoes and peppers (See photo above for sum total). My plan, at this juncture, is to starve what remains of my garden of all nutrients, and let the little bastards die under the weight of coming winter snow. See if they have the same cavalier attitude next year. Note: Grown plants with a more positive attitude.

Rehab Reramp

Getting back to manual labor is annoying. Frustrating? Aggravating? So I am on a five project program, each more complex, each more labor intensive, all to be done before first snow. The shed ramp was the easiest, and so it began.

Seems like I made that ramp only twenty years ago, and already the deck boards were breaking through. It wasn’t so much the walking up and down that was a concern, I could feel lumber bowing to breaking under my feet, but around this coming Thanksgiving, it would have to support the weight of the garden tractor being put up for the winter.

Sidebar: I just caught myself singing along with Donovan’s “Catch The Wind” on Spotify.. About halfway through, I realized how terrible of a song it is; musically, instrumentally, vocally, lyrics. I miss those simpler times. 1965. I wonder if I will feel the same way about Tift Merritt’s “Traveling Alone” in 2085? I hope not. I really like her music. Female vocalist, female lyrics, but she is quite a poet and the sound is pleasing.

Oops!

With the decking stripped off, I gained some exciting insight into the original constructions. Errors of a young man of sixty.

When the original ramp was constructed, I cut mount brackets out of 6″ angle iron, secured them to the fascia board and cross drilled them to secure the frame. Apparently, I installed the deck boards with the frame laying on the ground, lifted it up and rested it on the mount brackets without securing the frame to the brackets. So the ramp was held in place by the decking board, closest to the door, resting on top of the mount brackets until I returned to finish the job. Yikes!..!!

As pictured, the top of the original bracket did not slope to match the angle of the frame. So the top decking board would not have cleared the top of the mount brackets with the frame bolts installed. Yikes again! Additionally, the spacing on the frame rails was too narrow to sit flush on the sides of the mount brackets by 1/2″. Twenty years ago, I must have realized there was more work to do, but got busy on something else. Or, I just lost my mind in the midst of too many projects in process.

So I removed 1/4″ from each inside frame rail with a router where they contact the mount brackets, and put a taper on the top of the brackets with a die grinder to match the installed angle of the frame rails. Right image, picture above. And, no, I did not use the bolts pictured in the final assembly.

A manly worksite

I did not finish the job in one day, but fortunately I remembered how to make a simple project look more complicated, thereby justifying the lack of completion. I did not anyone to think I was slacker. So I backed up the trailer to collect the old boards, found a purpose for four workhorses, holding the original frame, and then stacked new lumber on top of the frame. No, I don’t know why, as it would need to be moved to allow work on the frame, but it does look more impressive.

I have a Chevy truck. Why would I need a workbench?

I got in the habit of keeping corded power tools in the basement, which is temp controlled and at a constant 28% humidity. Plus all of the carpentry machines are in the basement, so the arrangement is more efficient. When I work on outdoor projects, I being power tools up as needed. Sixteen steps for each trip, but who’s counting? Then I open the garage door, lower the tailgate on the truck and use it for a workbench.

Unfortunately, over a period of couple of days, stuff accumulates and I began thinking about all of the put away that will have to occur when the project is done. Then I get to thinking it might be more efficient to keep power tools in the garage…. where there is no place to put them. So…

In process, squaring

A little lens and perspective distortion makes the ramp look like it is wandering out into traffic on its own, but that is not the case. With the frame secured to the mount brackets, a carpenter’s square got the frame rails square to the shed’s fascia board. A piece of rebar staked its location while I worked. A drywall T-square was used to locate the top deck board perpendicular to the frame rails.

A 3/4″ piece of PVC trim board was used to set a uniform spacing between deck boards. The boards were secured with 8×2″ Torx head deck screws, 4 screws per board.

Done

Finished, for now, while pressure treated wood seasons a bit before finish is applied. Made from Lowe’s cupped, warped, end split lumber, it will do. First project since surgery. I was standing when i put down the first board, found myself in more of a dead cockroach position near the end, but feeling great after tools were put away. Next, a couple yards of gravel to put down for the refurbished drip line. Work is good, unless it kills me.