Tag Archives: construction

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Repairing a boo boo.

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There’s always something that needs to be repaired at Casa River, and sometimes that something is the Barn Mahal porch.

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For some reason ( read – crazy Maine weather, massive frost heaves and lack of gutters ) one section of the porch lifted over the years with the result being smashed and then rotted wood under the corner post.

A cousin was called to assist… as there was heavy lifting required and yours truly sucks at that.

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I also suck at not exclaiming WTF! when I go outside to check on the repair progress.

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I doubt that set up was OSHA approved… but it did the job and supported the roof while the post was removed.

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Rotted wood.

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Please note I am not standing on the porch to take pictures.

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Rotted wood replaced….

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Corner post cut and reseated.

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With a hammer, because fine tuning was required.

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And yes, it’s a bit crooked now.

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But my bat was rehung and the roof is still over our heads… so I’m calling it good.

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The moose is loose.

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My booze moose came in the mail Saturday.

And I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t a puzzle .

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This is the type of thing that makes the spatial reasoning challenged among us break into a cold sweat.

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Oh! The horror.

But I wanted to surprise the husband so I dove right in….

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And soon, a boozy moose appeared.

Was I disappointed in the lack of decent beer portrayed? Yes.

Busch Light and Coors Light will never pass our beer fridge’s portals.

Nope. Never. Not happening.

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I’ve determined the best place to hang him is on the big barn doors that are no longer doors. The husband’s warped antique mirror will have to be relocated…

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And his English pub ring toss game might be an issue.

Because while the booze moose is fun, it’s not what you would call solidly constructed. One errant ring toss could ruin him.

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This will require deep thought, so for now…..

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He’s just bellying up to the bar.

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And to think it only took 9 years.

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Today we can finally say the barn construction is complete. After breaking ground (not to mention our backs) in April 2012, the last pieces were just put into place.

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Said pieces being soffit under the eaves. For years they had been open…

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But now they’re boxed in, vented and painted.

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And also impossible to photograph without massive sun reflections.

If I had my druthers, I’d finish off the porch ceiling as well….

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But for some reason the husband draws the line there.

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I think it’s because people compliment us on the new paint job… the one I wanted and he didn’t. It ticks him off everyone loves it and he has to take his revenge where he can.

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The shelf war.

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We started with these 3 foot long shelves under the bar.

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They’re floating shelves… and while they technically don’t float, they are an absolute pain in the ass to install. So when I told the husband I wanted two more on the adjacent bar wall, he was less than thrilled but agreed they were necessary. Of course then the stupid electrician put the new outlets too high up on the wall to install 3 foot shelves at the same height as the others. That’s when the war began.

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I was fine with moving the bottom shelf higher.

The husband was not. Which resulted in a major kerfluffle.

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We disagreed on placement…. and though I had won the 4 versus 3 custom liquor bottle shelves battle, this war ended differently.

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Busy with other things we put this chore on the back burner… or so I thought until the husband disappeared one afternoon and I found him under the bar. Removing my 3 foot shelves and all their contents.

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Unbeknownst to me, he had returned my 3 foot shelves to the store and come home with the 2 foot versions instead. I told him I didn’t want 2 foot shelves. That it would look off balance and not provide enough space.

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To which he paid no attention and proceeded to install the stubby 2 foot shelves. He was determined they fit right into the corner and ripped out the nice trim piece I had our contractor install. When I looked displeased, he assured me they would line up perfectly with the existing shelves and look great.

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I think you know how that went.

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They didn’t line up, despite the numerous hours he cursed like a drunken sailor tinkered with them.

No matter what he did, the new shelves rose slightly above the older ones and wouldn’t lay flat.

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His solution?

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A few pieces of too thick moldy old wood from under the baby barn…. to bring them together.

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Which makes me wonder what part of the invisible bracket floating shelf aesthetic he didn’t understand.

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I’m hoping once we get the double tap kegerator in there the unbalanced shelves won’t be quite so noticeable.

But either way, there’s still not enough room.

😒

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Because one day I might be under it.

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As previously reported, the barn bar construction is finished and now it’s just a matter of waiting for chairs.

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But on further inspection, I noticed this.

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Not visible until you’re slightly under it (which I may be some day in the near future, don’t judge) was an exposed lip of pressboard used to support the top.

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I wasn’t loving it and decided to turn it into a nice little black strip.

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What a royal pain in the ass that was.

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I didn’t paint the whole thing, just the trim edge. But it looks better.

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More finished.

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And it picks up all the other black accents in the room quite nicely.

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It took me forever, but there. Mission accomplished.

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We have a bar!

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An honest to goodness, sturdy and well built, fully stained and polyurethaned, ready to dance on (or fall under) bar!

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It was a long time coming but we’re pleased with the result.

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The wood grain is lovely, the top is smooth and shiny.

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And once the custom ordered chairs and shelves are ready, it will be time to get down to business.

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The business of mixing my first Barn Mahal cocktail.

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It’s like the blue or gold dress all over again.

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* Disclaimer – a mistake was made in scheduling. This post should have been viewed before yesterday’s, so please forget you saw that one. My bad. *

Our (magical, never to be caught actually working, might be an elf) contractor was by the other day to put the first coat of stain on our bar top.

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So while the husband and I were checking progress, I took pictures.

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And it wasn’t until I started posting them that I realized the damn thing appeared to be 2 different colors.

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At first I thought it was a matter of angles and shadows but the picture above and below this text are basically the same, just taken 12 minutes apart.

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And I swear I didn’t alter the hue or color on my phone.

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I have no explanation. Although now that I think about it, this might be a fun bar game after a few toddies.

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Just for the fun of it I placed a few fronting pieces to get an idea what the finished product would look like.

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And I think while not a perfect match to the chairs we ordered…

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It might be close enough.

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Things are moving quickly in the Barn Mahal.

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After waiting a month and a half for construction to start…

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Our rarely seen contractor is really picking up the pace.  I’m starting to think he might be an elf, as we never actually catch him working.

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All the facing boards and bottom moulding are in place…

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And it won’t be long before we’re bellying up for our inaugural beverage. Ironically right after we discovered the new updates a friend and his son showed up to check the progress.

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They hadn’t been here in months and were shocked at the transformation.

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Darts were played.

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Beer was imbibed.

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And shock was expressed that still live rounds were prominently displayed.

🤣

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