New pole barn smashed to pieces....

[Kyle_in_Tex]

looking good!

 

[mx842]

I haven't done an update lately so I guess today is the day. I still don't have siding on the building because I wanted to get my floor poured before I did anything else. It started out being a simple task and at the time I had the money to do it but I got side tracked and decided to go with a slab heating system. This project started out as a simple storage shed and a dry place to work in but now has exploded into a full scale construction project.

In a way I'm glad I did get side tracked a little because it gave me a chance to think about a few other things that will be better in the end once they are all put in place. I decided to put as much of my wiring in the floor as I could especially the heavy stuff because the runs will be shorter and the savings in wire will more than pay for the conduit to put it in, and it will be out of the way where critters can't get to it.

I also decided to rough in an area for a possible bathroom if I ever decide I want one. I did run into a major setback when I started to dig out for the conduits and plumbing pipes. When I cleared the trees out of the building site you may remember I used my old truck to pull the trees over. I managed to get them all out but in doing so I must have broke off a lot of large roots and some of the holes got filled in with topsoil that I missed when I borrowed my friends tractor to strip the pad. One side of the pad was high and I cut the dirt out of that side and used it as fill on the other side. I cut down almost 11/2 feet and the dirt looked good and there were no soft spots.

When I dug my piers I did run into several places where there were a lot of roots but just figured they were just isolated cases and put the piers in. Once the building was up and I had been working in it for almost a year the floor was so hard you couldn't drive a steel spike into it. Then as I was diging trenches in the dirt and gravel once I got down about 4 or 5 inches it was soft and after digging in an area I could go back in an hour or so and there would be wet spots starting to form and in some places there was water seeping up and actually puddling in spots. This has been one of the wettest periods in history around here and I guess the ground water is so high that the old stump holes that had been covered up filled up and was holding water.

I started to dig around in a couple of these places and the more I dug the worst it got. What started out to be a small wet spot on one end of the building ended up being a major excavation effort and before it was over I had shoveled and area 15' on either side of the whole right hand pier line the whole 40' length of the building. In some places I had to dig down 4' or 5' to get to good solid soil. When I was done it looked like one of those archeological digs you see on the history channel. I took almost two tandum loads of gravel to back fill the area that I had dug out with my trusty little shovel. This ***** ordeal took me almost 3 weeks to dig out and fill back in. Then I found one or two other spots that I thought were going to be the same way but ended up not being as bad and only took me three days to dig them out and fill them back in with gravel.

 

[mx842]

Once this excavation project was done I started putting in my plumbing, electrical, placing insulation around the outer edges of the building getting the floor up to sub grade. Doing this by myself has it's problems as no matter what I start to do there is always something else I have to do before I can proceed or I have to dig up a section again because I forgot one thing or another.:laughing: Needless to say most everything I have done here lately has to be redone for one reason or another or I just change my mind because I think of a better way to make something work.

 

[mx842]

I also have started the prework for the heating system. I have almost everything I need to put it in and once all the other slab work is done I'll start my tubing runs. I found a couple pieces of 3/4 that I put together to use as a backing board to mount all my equipment on and I have started to put some of the parts together and hopefully soon I'll have this part of the project done so I can go out and make some more money to be able to do my pour.

I also have been doing a little grading around the outside of the building in hopes the water can drain away a little better than it has been doing. This is all I have time for now but I'll be back.

 

[Dean S]

I know it's well after the original yell-ow jacket postings, but I feel for ya! Try this- the aluminum chlorohydrate found in most (but not all) roll on deodorants/antiperspirants nuetralizes the venom. Has to be roll on, not stick. The liquid has to get into the wound. It's the same stuff in the bee sting relief OTC meds. We never have that stuff around, but always had some roll on in the house.
If applied while the pore or puncture is still open, usually no longer than 20 minutes, it nuetralizes much of the venom. Of course, the quicker, the better.
Even the last yellow jacket sting in the arm pit, quickly went from the usual yell-ow jacket pain to feeling like I had just a light bruise there. Since I was home, I had the aluminum chlorohydrate roll on slathered in my arm pit within minutes of smashing the bugger.
I no longer use a roll on, but you can bet I always keep a Ban roll on deodorant in each safety kit. The youngins make sure it's in there before we roam!
A co-worker allergic to bee stings passed it on to me from his doctor. Of course it doesn't replace an EPI pen, for those who need one, but it does help. A lot.
Just had to pass it on. Hope it helps.

 

[mx842]

I know it's well after the original yell-ow jacket postings, but I feel for ya! Try this- the aluminum chlorohydrate found in most (but not all) roll on deodorants/antiperspirants nuetralizes the venom. Has to be roll on, not stick. The liquid has to get into the wound. It's the same stuff in the bee sting relief OTC meds. We never have that stuff around, but always had some roll on in the house.
If applied while the pore or puncture is still open, usually no longer than 20 minutes, it nuetralizes much of the venom. Of course, the quicker, the better.
Even the last yellow jacket sting in the arm pit, quickly went from the usual yell-ow jacket pain to feeling like I had just a light bruise there. Since I was home, I had the aluminum chlorohydrate roll on slathered in my arm pit within minutes of smashing the bugger.
I no longer use a roll on, but you can bet I always keep a Ban roll on deodorant in each safety kit. The youngins make sure it's in there before we roam!
A co-worker allergic to bee stings passed it on to me from his doctor. Of course it doesn't replace an EPI pen, for those who need one, but it does help. A lot.
Just had to pass it on. Hope it helps.

Who would have thunk that deodorant would kill the pain of a bee attack? Thanks, it is good to know though, now I can get attacked by bees and smell good too.:laughing: Usually don't have much trouble with yellow jackets until late in the summer or fall but I'll stock up for sure.