At Home In The Woods

[Obed]

We have been cutting and sanding boards that will be used for the porch/deck railing. I am enjoying having a garage in which I can work during the rain. I cut off the top of that middle post that leans so badly. I cut around the post with a handsaw to get my cuts started straight. I finished cutting through the post with a sawzaw. The handrail will sit on top of the middle post.

 

[Obed]

Our garden is slowing down. We bought a second motion activated Scare-Crow Sprinkler and relocated the first sprinkler to protect the fall vegetables from the deer. Our garden has stayed mostly free of critters this season. I'm pleased. I really did not want to have to put up a fence.

 

[Obed]

All the boards for the porch railing have been prepped (cut, sanded, drilled). Drilling all the holes in the 2Xs to hold the vertical steel rods has been time consuming. I made a "jig" out of a scrap piece of composite decking to help me drill the holes straight. My BIL said I should just use a drill press. That would be a great idea if I had a drill press; but I don't. Each rod requires drilling 3 holes, one throught the 2x4 at the top of the rod, one half-way through the 2x4 at the bottom of the rail, and another smaller hole drilled through the bottom hole to drain rain water. We have 110 rods to install so that makes 330 holes!

 

[Obed]

This picture shows one of the rods beside a smaller drill bit I used for creating the drain hole. Hopefully, the drain holes will prevent water from collecting in the holes that hold the bottom end of the rods.



Here's a closeup of a hole in the bottom 2x4 that will support the rods. You can see the smaller drain hole.



On the drill bit used for drilling the larger hole, I made a mark at the top of the bit. While drilling, when the mark lined up with the top of the jig, I knew my hole was 3/4" deep.

 

[Obed]

Here's the first railing panel without the cap rail installed at the top. We have blocks nailed to the posts below the bottom rail and top rails for support.



We bought some 6d galvanized finishing nails for attaching the top and bottom 2x4 rails at the local hardward stores. These nails were expensive and are some of the softest nails I've ever used. I'm sure they are made in China. It almost seemed like the nails were made of lead, as soft as they are. In order to nail 8 nails, I had to throw away 4 because they bent. And my hammering is not THAT bad. My wife is going to buy some more from Lowes or Home Depot and see if the quality is any better. I'm not terribly optimistic. I was even nailing the nails through pre-drilled holes and they would bend.

Here's the panel with the 2x6 cap rail sitting on top of the 2x4 top rail.



One panel down, 8 more to go.

 

[955Lincoln]

I can see those rods bending and pulling out of the holes if someone pushes or falls hard enough. I really like the looks, nice and clean.

 

[Obed]

I can see those rods bending and pulling out of the holes if someone pushes or falls hard enough. I really like the looks, nice and clean.

955Lincoln,
The rods are 5/16" steel and are quite stiff. The top end of the rod fits snuggly 1 1/4" deep inside the hole drilled through the top 2x4 rail. The bottom end of the rod sits inside a 3/4 deep hole in the bottom 2x4 rail. In order for the rods to bend, the holes in the 2x4's would also have to give. If a full grown man intentionally kicked one of the rods, he might be able to knock it out, maybe, but even then I'm not sure if he would knock it out. Someone pushing or falling against the rails will not knock them out, especially since their weight would be distributed against several rods. I'm not concerned about the ability of the rods to hold.

Obed

 

[srs]

We bought some 6d galvanized finishing nails for attaching the top and bottom 2x4 rails at the local hardward stores.

Obed, Are you nailing the top 2 x 6 CAP RAIL to the top 2 x 4 TOP RAIL with the galvanized nails? What about drilling holes through the TOP RAIL, setting the CAP RAIL on top, then using galvanized screws to insert the screws from the bottom and then attaching. That way the CAP RAIL would not have any nail heads showing and the screws would pull the two boards in real tight.

 

[Obed]

Obed, Are you nailing the top 2 x 6 CAP RAIL to the top 2 x 4 TOP RAIL with the galvanized nails? What about drilling holes through the TOP RAIL, setting the CAP RAIL on top, then using galvanized screws to insert the screws from the bottom and then attaching. That way the CAP RAIL would not have any nail heads showing and the screws would pull the two boards in real tight.

Stanley,
Screwing the cap rail to the top rail from underneath is a good suggestion. That's what I will do. Thanks.
Obed

 

[srs]

Stanley,
Screwing the cap rail to the top rail from underneath is a good suggestion. That's what I will do. Thanks.
Obed

Obed, you are welcome! Hope it works out for you. Stanley

 

[Obed]

Well Challenges/Question

Watering the garden has been a challenge. Our well has kept up with our normal household needs without any problems, even during this extremely dry period we are having. However, we have found that with 3 water sprinklers running simultaneously, we can only water the garden for about 20 minutes. If we leave the garden water running much longer, water will start trickling from the springlers instead of spraying. Inside the house, the water faucets will either not work or just pour out a minimal flow rate. When we turn off the water to the garden, the water faucets in the house will quickly and often immediately start working like normal.

We are now watering the garden using 3 sprinklers twice a day for 15 or 20 minutes each time. We use a kitchen timer to remind us to turn off the garden water.

This situation caught me by surprise because the well digger told us when he dug the well that we had a very good flow rate. I do not remember the flow rate number he told us. I had thought we could water the garden as much as we wanted but that doesn't appear to be the case.

I am curious what experiences you guys have had regarding using a well to water your garden, grass, animals, etc.

Thanks in advance,
Obed

My wife has been watering the lawn to try to get the new grass to take. She has been watering with only one sprinkler going at a time. She has found that she can water the lawn all day long as long as she only uses one sprinkler. She just moves the sprinkler around throughout the day to get coverage over the entire lawn.

 

[brin]

This situation caught me by surprise because the well digger told us when he dug the well that we had a very good flow rate. I do not remember the flow rate number he told us. I had thought we could water the garden as much as we wanted but that doesn't appear to be the case.

Obed, you say " The well digger " told you he dug the well and you had a good flow rate....There is a huge difference between a " Dug" well and a " Drilled " well....The drilled well, which I hope you have taps into the aquifer below the bedrock whereas the dug well relies on surface water and shallow pockets of water, the first to dry up in a drought....Which do you have....? Drilled or Dug...?

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Obed, you say " The well digger " told you he dug the well and you had a good flow rate....There is a huge difference between a " Dug" well and a " Drilled " well....The drilled well, which I hope you have taps into the aquifer below the bedrock whereas the dug well relies on surface water and shallow pockets of water, the first to dry up in a drought....Which do you have....? Drilled or Dug...?

It depends on the area. My well is 5' deep and I've never run out of water. I even would fill my 400 gallon sprayer from this well without any issues. Some areas just have good water and lots of it. However, across the road they run out of water because the soil is different.

 

[brin]

It depends on the area. My well is 5' deep and I've never run out of water. I even would fill my 400 gallon sprayer from this well without any issues. Some areas just have good water and lots of it. However, across the road they run out of water because the soil is different.

Yep, you are right about that Robert...it is the same here in Georgia...but as a rule a drilled well is better than a dug well for a variety of reasons...at least that is what I have been led to believe all these years...but I am no well expert..I sure have had a bunch of them drilled over the years on different properties..

PS - don't forget you may have something close to Artisan...I always have wished every time I had a well drilled that they would hit Artisan...that is a sight to behold..

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Yep, you are right about that Robert...it is the same here in Georgia...but as a rule a drilled well is better than a dug well for a variety of reasons...at least that is what I have been led to believe all these years...but I am no well expert..I sure have had a bunch of them drilled over the years on different properties..

PS - don't forget you may have something close to Artisan...I always have wished every time I had a well drilled that they would hit Artisan...that is a sight to behold..

My well is spring fed. My side of route 20 is all springs so lack of water is never a problem

 

[clemsonfor]

It depends on the area. My well is 5' deep and I've never run out of water. I even would fill my 400 gallon sprayer from this well without any issues. Some areas just have good water and lots of it. However, across the road they run out of water because the soil is different.

Do you not worry with surface contamination or runoff into a well that shallow?

 

[Tororider]

Do you not worry with surface contamination or runoff into a well that shallow?

That was my thought.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Do you not worry with surface contamination or runoff into a well that shallow?

It has never been an issue, the well is in the basement so the ground filters it well. When tested it came up fine, my house has a system that adds a small amount of bleach to the system as it runs and that is all the health department wanted.

 

[Obed]

Our previous house had a 30 ft deep 24 in dia. well. The water was great. The key to preventing a well from getting surface water contamination is to make sure the casing at the surface doesn't leak. Soil does an amazing job of cleaning water. I have read that you can drink water that comes from your septic leach lines once the water has run though only one foot of soil.

 

[brin]

I have read that you can drink water that comes from your septic leach lines once the water has run though only one foot of water.

Obed.....I am going to let you try that.....not for me....