Old Rusty Waits Patiently

One of the vehicles waiting to go in the new shop is a 1951 Ford pickup. I wrote about old Rusty in a couple of earlier posts and you can check those out by clicking on Heavy Load and Emerging From the Snow. You can see another photo of Rusty by going to the bottom of my posts and you can enlarge these photos by clicking on them. Rusty has been watching the shop construction in anticipation, sure that his day was about to come. At an auction earlier this summer, Marty bought some pieces and parts to use in the restoration and some of those got put in the woods behind the shop.

Some of the parts were put in the bed of Rusty. You could almost hear him humming to himself.

Sitting next to him is another of the old cars waiting on a little TLC. Vicky is a 1956 Crown Victoria with a glass top. She needs some engine work and some new pieces of chrome and a few other repairs.

The cars are all set to be put in the shop for the winter. It looks like Vicky is going to get the pride of place as the project car for the winter. This means another winter sitting out in the snow for Rusty.

Vicky has a big toothy grin. When I took this shot I thought I heard giggles from Vicky and a heavy sigh from Rusty.

Summer Projects

We had a few projects that we finished this summer. The biggest one was the new shop. I last posted on the shop construction in May. In that post, the walls went up and the roof was put on. You can click here to go to that post. For previous posts about the shop, look under my Label section in the sidebar and go to Shop Construction. Lots has happened since that post. The siding has went on, insulation, sheetrock, painting, doors and windows, power, heat, and plumbing are all done. The shop is divided into several sections. My husband is a carpenter and he also has a passion for classic cars. This shop addresses both of those interests. As you look at the shop photo below, the overhead door on the lefthand side opens into the carpentry shop. The next overhead door opens into the mechanics shop. The man door enters into a small entry area off of the mechanics shop. Back from that door, you see a window. That is my part of the shop! I have a small "potting shed" with a sink and countertops. We're still working on the shelving, and there will be room for my stand for starting seedlings. Finally a place where all my gardening supplies can be kept all in one place! Right behind that is the mechanical room with bathroom facilities. The next overhead door is the entry into the storage area for the old cars. It runs the full length of the shop and all the old vehicles can be in out of the snow.
Now the fun part has begun. Marty has begun setting the shop up. He's got his tool boxes moved over from the garage and has a workbench and some of the shelving in for the mechanics shop. He has one workbench done in the carpentry shop and some of the shelves in place. He is still working on getting the dust collection system in, and he has more shelves to put up and another workbench on the back wall. Right now he is working on getting all his tools and various carpentry supplies in place and organized. You're asking, "Where does the fridge go?" That will be in the mechanics shop. He'll have one of his cars in the mechanics shop to work on over the winter. I think he's going to put his '56 Crown Victoria in. It needs a bit of engine work and odds and ends on the body. I expect that most mornings this winter he will head over to the shop and I won't see him again until it's time for dinner. He definitely will be enjoying his retirement.

The next project we got done was putting in a walkway from the driveway to the front door. Between the walkway and the garage we put down rock and then put planters on top of that. The edge of the lawn needs a bit of reseeding, but we'll get that done next spring.

Last summer we put a flower bed along the front of the house. It is mostly ferns, wood violets, dwarf delphiniums, columbines, and violas. Although I only got a small portion of the shop for playing, I do have my own play area in the house. Behind the two windows you see in the photo below are my sewing room and my office.

We moved into this house two years ago. We felt the front entryway was not well defined, and people got a bit confused trying to figure out which way to come into the house. To the right of the front door is the garage, and on the other side of the garage is a parking area with an entry door. That was the door most people were coming to, and that meant they had to come through the garage, the mudroom, and then into the hallway leading to the kitchen and dining room, and then finally into the living room. The photo below is the front of the house as it looked when we moved in.

The last project we did was putting a good surface on the driveway and parking area. It was pit run rock and sand, and sand was always being tracked into the house. We put down rap, which is crushed pavement that is packed hard. It's a much nicer surface and looks a lot better. You can see a bit of it in front of the walkway and in front of the shop. Next summer we'll do more work on flower beds and landscaping.

Putting a Roof on the Shop

On Tuesday morning the boom truck and the trusses for Marty's shop arrived. His brother had come from Oregon the night before, and the rest of his helpers had arrived before the truck. The trusses were first unloaded from the truck and then setting them in place on the walls began.

After setting the first truss into exactly the right position, the second truss is lifted above the building.

The process continued down the length of the building. Marty was at the peak of the roof ensuring each truss went into exactly the right spot.

Finally the end of the building was reached.

The whole process took about three hours.

Then began the much less dramatic process of tying everything together.

The roof was prepared for plywood.Then metal was put on the roof.
Tomorrow the last of the metal goes on the back side of the roof and then the roof trim pieces will go up. It is beginning to really look like a shop, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Marty has been tired every night, but he is one happy camper!

Raising the Shop's Walls

Work on Marty's shop is progressing. The last week has been devoted to building the walls. You can see the stacks of walls on the slab in the first photo. The boom truck is setting the first wall into place. The next picture shows the second half of the back wall being set into place.

The last photo shows all the walls in place. The openings are for overhead doors. The left rear opening is for the carpentry shop, the left front opening is for the mechanics shop, and the right front opening is for access for winter storage for Marty's classic cars. Next week trusses are being set for the roof and the metal roofing installed.

Since Marty began work again on the shop this spring, a good share of his time has been devoted to that. That will continue for the next month or two, and then I'm sure just as much time will be spent inside the completed shop. Will I only see him at mealtimes? Now he comes in to get a popsicle or other snack, but the plan is to have a small refrigerator in the shop to keep beverages and popsicles. One thing for sure, he will be a very happy camper.

Emerging from the Snow

After a long winter, the old '51 Ford is emerging from its snow cover. I posted a photo in March titled "Heavy Load" and you can see that and a few other photos in the sidebar.The sun once again brings warmth and light and a promise of a new beginning. No one knows for sure what roads this pickup has traveled over the years or what sights it has seen. My husband hauled it home 5 or 6 years ago, and has been planning its makeover into a hot rod--a much different life than the working vehicle it surely was 50 years ago.It sits close to its brother that has been restored to beauty and has already been providing transportation this spring. Rusty doesn't mind, though, because he knows he is destined to become a one-of-a-kind pickup that will outshine Big Blue.

Both trucks are keeping watch on the new shop construction where they will spend next winter, Rusty in the mechanics shop, and Big Blue in the storage area with three other classic Fords. The shop building will also have a carpenter shop. It combines space for both of my husband's loves, old cars and carpentry. Even though there is still snow on the ground and mud all around the shop area, he is beginning the framing process. Last summer the slab went in, so now he is pushing ahead with construction at the earliest possible time.

Let's get the shop built!

I took this picture of Marty's shop on Monday. He has been chomping at the bit for the last week or so waiting for the wind to die down so he could blow the snow off the slab and the surrounding area. That way the snow will melt faster and it will dry out quicker and he can get started building.

This morning the wind was gone and the temperature was around 20 degrees, so he got his snowblower out and got to work. Then he got his tractor out and blew the rest of the snow. So now it's all set to begin melting, and the weather forecast looks like that will be happening. Today was in the low 30s and more of the same is forecast. This is a picture of what the slab looked like on September 14. Hopefully in a few weeks time we'll see the ground again.

Heavy Load

Buried in snow and sitting in the corner of our yard is this old '51 Ford pickup. Looking like it has been abandoned for years, Marty's project truck sits waiting for the new shop construction to be finished. Well, actually, I guess it has been living the life of a derelict for many years, but next winter it should be sitting inside the shop and the process begun to give it a new lease on life. Marty has been making plans for this restoration for several years now, and is looking forward to gettting started.

Checking Out Tools For the New Shop

We drove to Bellingham today to go to the Grizzly store so Marty could check out the tools he wants to get for his new shop. He bought a couple of small things to be sent home, and decided on the bigger things to order in a few months when things warm up at home and he will be able to put them in the garage. What a great toy store! Marty would have been happy to spend all day there.