Creating my "Over the Top" Deer Blind

[EddieWalker]

I'm done with the shingles, flashing and putting the Hardi on the cupola. The roof is now water proof and ready for some rain. This was the hardest part of building the blind for me, and I'm very happy to have it over with!!!

Steph came out to check on me and with my ear plugs in, I didn't even know she was there for the first few pictures that she took. When I looked down, there she was.

Eddie

 

[groundcover]

Wow! Wonder what the deer are thinking? I know the many threads about using the loader as a work platform but I think I would rather be on that than most ladders.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

It is looking good Eddie. Don't worry about the safety police. We do these things knowing the risks and we have to weight the risk to the cost to do things in a different manner that is safer. As long as you don't get cocky up on a roof like I did you will be fine. Its when you believe you won't fall is when you make a mistake. I have been on ladders 36' in the air as recently as this fall and while I can't do roofing anymore because of physical limitations I am not scared of heights. I just am careful now and take more precautions when working on ladders and up on roofs.

 

[CurlyDave]

Eddie:

I think your loader and pallet is safer than a ladder.

A few weeks ago the guy who put tile on my balcony came back to fix the job because the original tile all started coming loose. The balcony is 16 feet above a concrete driveway. The ladder broke and he fell when he was about half way up.

I was standing right next to the ladder and just froze when it happened instead of doing something to help. Fortunately he landed on his feet and sprained one for a few days, but nothing serious.

Anyway, if he had been in my loader this would not have happened.

 

[jinman]

I hate ladders, but I'm fond of scissor lifts and manlifts. They can also fail, but they do have lock valves. Eddie, your tractor's hydraulics must be very tight to not leak down and the platform sag. Most of our CUTs don't have the quality hydraulics of your tractor. The only issue I have is you working by yourself at those heights. That's the scariest part to me. I'm glad Steph showed up to check on you.

 

[txdon]

Eddie, don't worry steel hydraulic lines don't rupture.

 

[Captinjack]

Here's a tip for those who will build a hunting shack in the mountains.

I see that your hunting area is level. For those of us in the mountains, locate the downhill window lower and the uphill windows higher than normal making it convenient to shoot/view out of. DO NOT make them the same height as you will regret it for the life of the stand.

I bought a commercial box stand that I placed on the side of a mountain and I have to put my nose up against the downhill window to see all the way down and it's uncomfortable. Ditto for the uphill side only opposite, I have to get my head down low to see all the way up.

I bought the stand already made as I wanted to make my own stand, but didn't for at least 6 yrs. The cost was only $250 more than I budgeted to build my own and was a no brainer. I planned on putting it 12 ft. up in the air, but after locating on the mountainside, I saw that this didn't yield any advantage so I just set it on the ground. No problems with slipping down a set of snow covered stairs and busting my butt - a big advantage as we are all getting on in years and we don't heal as well.

 

[EddieWalker]

Yesterday I put two layers of insulation into the attic. I have some R13 wall insulation laying around, so I put one layer in one direction and then another layer in the opposite direction so it overlaps. I thought about making a basket when I was doing this.

Then I put in the OSB ceiling. Just doing this gave the building a totally different feel. Then I started to do the interior walls, but ran out of battery power on my cordless tools. My cordless sawzall eats up the batteries. Normally it's not a problem since I have two chargers and four batteries, but working out in the woods without any power for the chargers makes it impossible to keep them charged.

Today I finished off the interior walls and did some small things to the exterior siding that I had put off until now. Then Steph came out just as I was cleaning up the mess from cutting out the windows.

Then we both put on the house wrap. It was windy today and one time we had too much unwound, which took off like a parachute!!!! Funny how quickly that happens.

It was getting late in the day, and I hadn't bought the windows yet. That's the next step, but while there is still an opening in the walls, I decided to take advantage of Steph's help and put in the soffits. I wanted the house wrap on first so that I could tuck it up and over the soffts and add one more little level of water proofing.

Eddie

 

[wushaw]

I think if y'all look real close at the L/H cylinder there looks to be a "U" block so as to lock the loader in the up position as the hyd leaks down.

At least that's what it looks like to me......

 

[EddieWalker]

Yes, there's a block there, but it's for safety while working on the engine with the loader in the up position. I have it locked while on the platform, but it's not touching. The cylinders don't leak down while I've been using it. No movement at all. If it did, I would be to afraid to be up there.

Don't CUT's have this for safety?

Eddie

 

[Bird]

It was windy today and one time we had too much unwound, which took off like a parachute!!!

Is that the reason you put it on upside down?

 

[jinman]

Don't CUT's have this for safety?

No they don't, Eddie. The only lock I have on my CUT is the one that locks the joystick movement in lift. Curl is not locked in any way. From what I have seen, most CUTs all bleed down pretty rapidly. When I get a heavy load like a round bale on the spear, I find I have to feather the curl pretty often to keep it from sagging.

Do you remember when we had the TBN get-together to use Harvey's system at Scott's house? You weren't there at that one. Scott has a TC40DA and a manlift bucket that can fit on his forks. Txdon and I were in the manlift basket and Bird was on the tractor keeping the basket level. The curl on the TC40DA was pretty awful. I think Don would agree with me that it was pretty tricky working in that manlift. We weren't there long, and I felt much better when we got down and used ladders.

Here's a picture of the manlift on Scott's tractor.

 

[3RRL]

Eddie,
Your deer blind is looking good.
It should be super comfortable with all the insulation you're putting in.
Looks like you're very close to getting it done too.

"Then I started to do the interior walls, but ran out of battery power on my cordless tools. My cordless sawzall eats up the batteries. Normally it's not a problem since I have two chargers and four batteries, but working out in the woods without any power for the chargers makes it impossible to keep them charged."

LOL ... now you know what I went through when I was building my camp.
It was after having gone through 4 batteries in the first 2 hours of working building the decks that I decided to buy a small portable generator for down there. With an extension cord, I was able to use my regular power tools plus charge the cordless ones.

 

[EddieWalker]

Bird,

It's not that I put the wrap on upside down, it's actually rolled up that way!!!!

Jim,

That's interesting about the loader bleeding down. I didn't realize it happened so quickly. I've never had that happen and will run a full load of dirt in mine for a good distance without having to adjust it. I figure that the weight of the platform and myself is so small compared to what it an handle that it's almost like nothing. In face, the weight of the forks on there compared to the bucket might even equal out to the same.

I like that manlift and also one that Gary posted awhile ago. It was one of my long terms plans to make one like that, now I'm not sure. This works really good and I might keep it for pruning trees and maintaining my streetlights. If I store it under roof, the wood should last forever. I still might make a nice metal one, it will depend on how this one lasts and gets used.

Rob,

Thanks, it's a different type of building when you don't have power available. My generator is just about friend. I have over 1,000 hours on it and now I can't keep it running. I cleaned out the carburator and it's allot smoother, but after a few minutes, it dies. I have fuel, so that does't seem to be the problem. I thought it was the low oil sensor, so I disconnected it and had the same results. It looks like the generator itself, where it controls the carburator is killing the engine. I'm not sure why this is happening.

I don't want to put any money into it as it's a Coleman generator that I don't care for. I got a good deal on it and used the heck out of it, so I'm not out anything. I was thinking of buying a Makita generator from Home Depot for $750 with the Robin engine, but a client of mine said she wants to get rid of her diesel generator. Her husband passed away a few years ago and she's in the process of moving out of the house. I'm helping with repairs and what she needs done. I haven't seen the generator yet, but she says it's a diesel Kubota with less then ten hours on it. She told me what she wants for it, and it's a heck of a deal. I just need to make sure it's a Kubota and that it works. They bought it for Y2K, but never used it. Then a few years later lost power and used it that one time. Then a few years after that, they lost power again, but forgot they had it. For three days they froze and struggled to heat the house with a fire, but never thought about that generator sitting out in their shed!!!

I'll probably have a working generator a week after I needed it.

Eddie

 

[Bird]

Txdon and I were in the manlift basket and Bird was on the tractor keeping the basket level.

What you needed was probably a better operator on the controls. My 1995 B7100 FEL leaked down so I was frequently having to raise it a bit when I was mowing or tilling. And I didn't think it ought to do that, so I complained to both the dealer and Kubota, and after they replaced the two cylinders, it never leaked down again.

It's not that I put the wrap on upside down, it's actually rolled up that way!!!!

I know it doesn't make any difference at all; just that I'm accustomed to seeing the labelling right side up.

 

[KENSFM]

Bird, is this better???
Ken

 

[Bird]

Bird, is this better???
Ken

I don't know, Ken, it's going to be awfully hard to shoot deer out those windows. Of course, Eddie's calling it a deer blind even though he and Steph shoot more hogs I think.

 

[2manyrocks]

Those deer would have to be blind not to see this deer blind.

The post in this thread that still amazes me is the camper set on posts. It would really be over the top if they had also raised a tow vehicle in front of it.

 

[EddieWalker]

Those deer would have to be blind not to see this deer blind.

Maybe I'm expecting it to snow. A couple feet of snow and it will blend right in!!!!

Eddie

 

[Tororider]

Eddie,
What are you going to cover the outside with? I was at Lowes yesterday and they have sheets of OSB with mossy oak laminate on one side. I am thinking about picking some up for our "new", in the plans, hunting blind.