More Log Gazebo

Log Gazebo (and bench)

Log Gazebo (side view)

We made major progress on the landscaping today.  We finished the major structure of the gazebo, adding the second beam and all of the top rails.  We drilled the top rails in with 5 and 7 inch lag bolts and mostly had to pre-drill pilot holes.  The big challenge we faced today was getting the 18 foot rails up on top of the beams.  We would work together to get one end up on one side and then walk the other one up the ladder to get to the top. 



Looking up at the Gazebo near sun set

None of the logs are straight.  None of the logs are the same length or diameter.  Several of the posts, beams, and rails show the original chainsaw cuts used to fell the trees.  Working with these organic materials is an interesting experience and requires many specific cuts and hardware.  In some cases, I drilled large holes to inset a lag bolt head when the 7 inch bolt would not get much purchase past a 6 inch log.

It was a cold spring day and by noon the wind was rushing and knocking down our ladders as we worked to erect the gazebo.  The forecast calls for temperatures of 39 degrees tonight, and I hope it doesn't freeze as that may compromise the curing of the concrete footers.

Pergola, Gazebo, Buck Fence, Clothesline and Benches

Gazebo through new trellis on old pergola

In the afternoon we moved the whole workshop from the gazebo back to the garage to make outdoor furniture.  My mother really likes benches and furniture put together from scraps.  She wanted several of these made as part of the landscaping project this summer.  Kian, Patrick, and I put four of these together, mostly from the top 4x4 posts remains used to construct the pergola, the bracing used to keep the pergola up under construction, and various scrap wood in Dad's collection from many projects past.  I love these small, over constructed scrap benches. 

Kian is very interested in construction and carpentry so I showed him a few things today.  By the end of the day I could call out that I wanted a 2x6 marked up at 37 and 3/4s and he was able to find the board, measure and mark with a pencil, finish his mark with a carpenter's square, and affix the piece to the saw horse with a wood clamp in preparation for the cut.  He even marked the waste side with an 'X' so I knew which side of the line to put the kerf.  We cut most of the pieces on my Dad's extremely high quality industrial Delta compound miter saw bolted to the garage work bench.  It cuts 4x4 square posts like a dream.  Marking and cutting was so efficient that my brother set up a second drill and drill bit for setting screws in the bench assembly process.  The shop was humming with drills, circular saws, miter saws, hammers, and belt sanders.



Dry Rock River Bed

Patrick and Kian are headed back to Hawaii tomorrow.  Lil, my mother and I will remain to continue landscaping tasks.  I think more logging, more tree planting, and additional irrigation line installation are in our future.