Oh Fort Heaven's Sake!

So. After last night's debacle, I surveyed the damaged: both main lag screws were bent and would need to be replaced. On good advice, I also flipped the joists so I was boring new wood instead of trying to reuse the old one:

With great help from Dominic, instructional assistance from Jonas, and with critical help from Milo (the kind of help that can't be photographed because all our hands are busy and both our lives are on the line like Julia would never approve), this came out:

Ready to start flooring with decking, right? Right?? Well... Not without one more trip to the hardware store for an additional ledger to make up for my incorrect measurement:

Shown above: flush on one side, the plank doesn't quite reach the other :( so close...

By the way, all the forecast tstorms have been wrong! But tonight.. Expecting storms.. :D

Forty days and forty nights. New heights, new low.

Well ain't this just something of beauty!

My friend Eric (who has been advising and teaching me all along) came by today and helped me put together the frame you see there. My homework after he left was to run to the hardware store and bring back some more lag screws, add a couple braces, etc.

But.. I thought I'd juuuust add the one more joist hang first. Turns out the nails don't have much grip when nailed straight:

So tonight I returned in the dark to fix my flub but ended up far worse!

Expecting thinderstorms tomorrow. What a sad state in which to leave this humble project for a couple days :(

Fort - gathering materials

Our ten year old has taken a special interest in this project, and our first trip out to the hardware store was so focused, he didn't even ask to see the Christmas decorations there!

Fort Knocks: first nails and screws

Today we started in on lag screws for the ledger board, the part that attaches to the tree. And I lacked a deep enough bit to bore a hole to accommodate my lag screws... So short pause to visit hardware store again and return tomorrow to drill again!

I used some scrap wood to help align the ledger horizontally. The angle of the trunk behind it is so steep, I'll need to tuck in a big shim.

Kids' fort - Sketches and notes

Who ever knew building a fort would take several years? Well, that's how long I've been sitting on the idea. But, a few evenings out daydreaming in the backyard and a little time sketching and researching later, and I finally got the gumption to just do it!

Here are some preliminary sketches of the build site and platform. Shows my (lack of) ambition and confidence: I have put off any further planning (commitment to style of railing, trapdoor, ladder even, shelter..) to see how far I get with just the platform :)

The design is really basic:

There's the tree pictured: This live oak has got a fat trunk which splits off into 14" and a 12" diameter vertical limbs. This will hold one end of the fort platform via a 6 ft 2x12" ledger.

The platform will be made up the aforementioned ledger, three, 8 ft  2x6" joists, and another 2x12" piece at the far end.  The far end is held up by two 8 ft 4x4" vertical posts either sunk into the ground or resting atop a pair of cement pads I happen to have.  8 ft is overgenerous, because the slope of the terrain should bring that end only 5 ft off the ground, but I want to have some stubs up there to work with.

I've got a bunch of 6ft 5/8x6" deck boards to provide a very strong decking.

Once the platform is assembled, then I can see about adding access (probably a ladder), maybe a trapdoor, and definitely some form of railing.

Working in the winter time has advantages of cooler weather, longer work breaks, and no foliage with which to content.  Come Spring, we will have good covering around some parts making this structure a real hideaway for the boys!

Christmas Play "We Three Spies" at St Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in College Station 2014

Having fun rehearsing for "A Spy-lent Night" one of the songs in this year's family Christmas musical at our church. I'm in the pit (live trumpet, trombone, guitars, keyboard, clarinets, bass, violin, sax, drums), and my 6 year old is on stage: welcome to show business, son! I also have been helping with props and set design.

Performance is Friday at 7:00p, under an hour long , fun for the WHOLE family. Not your average Nativity Story-- far from it!

Some of the pit musicians and stage

Singers (and dancers!) on stage

"Warehouse scene" props

"Jingle Alert" prop

"Fruit muffs" prop

Tip of today: Fold back ziplock when filling

Tip: Always fold back the zip part of a zipper baggie when filling so the juice or powders don't get caught in the locking zipper or make a mess on the outside of

the bag.