Randall's Blog

Two home improvement items:

Firstly, I replaced the stairs to the attic on Wednesday. The old stairs were a little steep and I have spent a bit of time preparing the new stairs. I used a thickness planer and router on ordinary dimensional lumber to create an attractive, sturdy (I hope) yet inexpensive staircase. This shot shows the old stairs removed and part of the new staircase in place. The "shadow" of the old stairs is just below the new stringer.

The assembly process:

Finished stairs:

There isn't a great difference in pitch but it allows Smudgey to get up to the attic all by herself - and they are easier for humans to climb as well.

Today Chris came by and helped me hoist the two solar hot water panels up to the frames that I finished recently. I used a couple of old ladders that were around the property to act as slides. We used a lot of straps and ropes to make sure that the panels didn't fall.

Halfway there:

"Hold it while I get a picture..."

The final result:

There were some glitches; like the way I slammed my head into one of the steel "L" brackets holding the frame as I climbed onto the roof... I thought I had scalped myself for a few seconds but it was only a scrape (that hurt like hell). Then, when we got the first panel up and in place the frame - that was custom made for these panels - turned out to be 1/4 inch too narrow. I had to take down 4 braces and use a drill to expand the holes so the panels would fit correctly. Actually, I took down three braces, the forth would not come down because of a nut that wouldn't come loose.

Oh well, they are secure now and I just need to do some plumbing work - a lot of plumbing work actually (more later).

Thanks again to Chris for all his help! Some times having a second person really makes all the difference!

R