Demolishing a Garden Shed

Today we are going back to something we had hoped to have done a few months ago but it just was not possible to do so, but we badly needed to get on with Demolishing The Garden Shed.

The weather stayed good for the first few weeks of this month

                 
                              and our son was able to get an afternoon off work

                                     
                                                            when Fred wasn't travelling so

the demolishing of the old wooden garden shed
 was scheduled for Wednesday.

If not too interested in the details then head on to the end of the post
and watch the short video.

I was ready with the camera as well as old clothes and two other items that I was just excited about having the chance to use for the first time

an AXE 

and

  a SLEDGE HAMMER

this was going to be some FUNWORK this time!!!

Equipment needed:

• Hammer
• Crow Bar
• Screw Drivers
• Axe
• Sledge Hammer
• Chainsaw
• Gloves
• Safety Glasses
• Face Shield
• Wrench
• 2 Stepladders

Why Demolish The Shed?

The shed had to be replaced because this wooden one was rotting away.  

The trees from our neighbour had been overgrown and hanging badly over into our garden since we bought the house 4 years ago and the lower branches had been lying on the roof of the shed and rubbing along the roof during windy weather.

NI is known for it's rain and so with the wet branches rubbing against the roof of the shed we now had a roof with holes in it and the wood was ruined resulting in everything in the shed getting very moldy and dirty and wet.

Our neighbour finally decided to cut off the offending branches but

 it was too late to save the shed.

The Demolishing

Fred & Daniel started with the roof.

They took out all the nails from the tar-covered felt and got the felt off and the rotten wood removed while I unscrewed the hinges of the doors.

Then came my moment.

Fred allowed me to have a few swings at the front of the shed with

the axe 

and then

 the sledgehammer 

and then I was happy & left them to do the rest of the knocking down of the shed.

They soon had the front of the shed taken apart and started on the side and this was time for the chainsaw to come into action.



Safety

My husband works for a global company who take safety very seriously and so does he; hence the gloves, safety glasses and face protectors were donned from the start.

Another aspect of safety was always to make sure the electric cable of the chainsaw was clear of the saw and other objects and even Daniel knew to keep an eye on this.

With the first side all cut away they started on the other side which was closest to the garden fence .

This picture above was taken specifically for me as Fred had to bend over to get right down through the wood with the saw.

(Well there had to be some more FUN in all this WORK for me and not just getting to wield an axe and a sledgehammer.)

With the second side completed they were on to the back of the shed.  Which they lifted off the base in one piece and

then proceeded to cut into narrow strips.   

But this was not the end of the shed.

There was still the floor of the shed and they first had to remove all the edging of wood around the base.

Extra Work for ME!

I knew that the previous owners had left some things behind the shed where the oil tank sits but I was surprised to find that there were:

• 3 white plastic planters, 
• 3 white plastic oil containers,  
• a football, 
• 2 brush heads, 
• a brush shaft, 
• 2 swing seats with ropes 
• and a large red sledge 
• plus many planks of wood 
• and strips of old skirting board.  

Finishing The Demolishing

Then the first plank from the floor of the shed was removed

and Fred cut the rest of the floor in two with the chainsaw so that they could lift each half up on it's end and cut it as they had the sides.

You can see from this next picture just how much damage had been done to the floor of the shed from the rain getting through the roof.

All Done!  Well Not Quite Yet!

Now the shed was all cut up but that wasn't the end of the job.

All the pieces of the shed and the junk found behind it had to be got rid of.

So it was on to the phone to order a skip to be delivered the next morning to take all the rubbish.

All of this was done in 2 and a half hours;

 including 

two breaks for drinks and fruit and biscuits

 to keep the workers happy and because they needed it, as we were all getting rather hot 

working in 19 degrees that afternoon.

Now there was another piece of equipment that Fred had used and that was the new time lapse video app on his iPad.   

He set up a stand to hold the iPad and videoed the whole event. 

 Thankfully because of the time lapse aspect of it we only had to watch around 4 mins of video which you can also watch below & see me having a few swings at the shed with that axe and sledge hammer. around the 1.55 mark

This even makes it all look like FUNWORK!

Patio Furniture Restored

The Patio furniture was all rusted so the question was...


"Do we need to go buy new Patio Furniture?"


"Well no, not at all!"   is the answer.

We had bought a wrought iron Patio Set 2 years ago and a cover to go over it to protect it in the winter time.

I chose it because of the blue and white mosaic pattern which I really like and I knew it would brighten up our patio.

The first winter we dutifully put the cover over the 4 chairs and the table but we had a very very stormy winter and so the wind would catch under the cover and sometimes was strong enough to actually move the set.

Several times we would have to go out and fix the cover back into position and sometimes move the table and chairs back too.  Hence, because we are a lazy couple we got fed up with that and then last winter we didn't bother to put on the cover at all.

Well that was a big mistake because this summer we really noticed the rust taking hold on our otherwise sturdy chairs and we were not a happy couple then.

So I got on the internet and did some reading round the great DIY blogs that are out there to find out what we could do to get rid of the rust and save our Patio Set.
Having done that I proceeded to tell Fred that we needed to get brushes to rub over the chairs and get rid of as much of the old paint that was lifting off the furniture as we could.  Then we would need the rust treatment to paint over it and then the proper paint.

Fred headed off and came back with 2 steel brushes (one softer than the other)

and one tin of paint.

Now being me as usual I said

but that is not what I read in the blogs

Fred however told me that in the shop they explained to him that one type of paint would be perfect for the job because it was a dual purpose one,

it treats the rust and paints it.

but it would require 2 coats of this paint.


So off we started.



BEFORE


1.

The table was hardly affected by the rust at all but Fred gave it a quick go over with the softer brush anyway as we were going to have to paint it because originally the wrought iron was a dark grey but the paint we had got was black and the table & chairs would have to match up at the end.



2.

You can see here how bad the chairs were both front and back and underneath.


However the whole set was still very sturdy it was just dirty and rusted.




PREPARATION


3.

We had to tackle the chairs with the harder brush on the rust and I rubbed the white around the mosaic design part with the softer brush to clean it up as well.


There is a scraper on the harder brush and Fred needed it to help make it quicker to lift the old peeling paint.

Look at the nice sunny day we had for starting our project.

PAINTING  -  First Coat


4.

When all the chairs were well brushed over and wiped down we were able to start the painting.

It wasn't long before we were sitting down while painting and then also down on our knees to get at the lower and underneath parts.

We needed some masking tape to protect the mosaic part while I tried to paint around the tops of the chairs.

When we got the first coat of paint on the chairs we were tired and really had done as much as we could for one evening.

So then after a discussion of 

rain or no rain tonight?

we put the chairs into the garage because I was sure it was going to rain.




PAINTING  -  Second Coat


5.  Well we had quite a spell of rain over the next few days but eventually we got back to the chairs to give them and the table a second coat.

Notice it is no longer shorts and T-shirts but trousers and jumpers as in the two weeks we were doing this the temperatures changed dramatically, but then we are in Northern Ireland!

6.    Now there was one last thing to be done and that was the cleaning up of the table.

You can see how bad it was close up and how much better it looked after I had worked on it for a while.

The very centre out to the second round of light blue tiles was done using the softer brush and then some thin bleach rubbed along it.

The next section of dark blue tiles and next ring of light blue was done only with the bleach.

And then a small part of the outer section of mixed tiles was done with only the brush.

Definitely it is worth doing all of it with both brush and bleach as the centre part is really white now.

AFTER

7.     So now the job is completed and the Patio set is back in its place on the Patio

The Patio set was not very expensive 2 years ago at £199 but I certainly did not want to have to pay money for a new set next year and so investing in the brushes and paint was a much better option.  Plus the fact that Fred and I tackled a job together which makes the chore more bearable and we had some good fresh air while doing it.

Note it must be stated that it was definitely more Housework than Funwork for this project.

10 Great Uses for 1 Simple Household Product - Need Help!

I have found that I don't have a great sense of smell any more which I presume is an advantage at times.

But my husband does have a rather sensitive sense of smell sometimes so I am very gracious and do something that makes him a happier man when he is in certain parts of the house.

Yes I have on a Quick Easy Solution to some little problems.

Little problems that can occur in different rooms in your house.

Little problems that can occur in different places in different rooms in your house.

Hence my title for today's blog post:

10 Great Uses for 1 Simple Household Product 

And the Simple Household Product is

               something that many households will already have

                                 and is not very expensive


                                                     in fact I have a few packets of these all the time in the house.

Simply take one of these sheets and place it in

1.     The Laundry Hamper.

Especially for the smelly socks.


I can balance one on the hinge of mine but a little bit of sellotape can be used to stick a sheet on the underside of the lid or the side of the hamper.

And even the ironing basket if you are going to have your clothes lie here for a few days before ironing.

2.     The Storage place for bed linen

I do this in the underbed drawers in our Guest Bedroom and it is nice to keep that bed linen fresh smelling when you know it may be sitting there for quite some time between guests.

3.     Among the Hangers in the Guest Wardrobe

Even if you only do this a few days before your guests come the wardrobe will be very welcoming as they open its doors.

I wish some hotels would think of this as I often notice their wardrobes smell rather stale which is surprising as they should be used regularly.

4.     The Guest Towel Basket

I always try to get the guest room towels washed and dried and back in the guest room very soon after the guests leave but then it may be some time before they are used again so one of these tumble dryer sheets placed in between the towels just freshens them up for the next guests.

5.     The Guest Room or Bathroom Radiator

We don't keep the heat on all year in the Guest room when it is not being used so when we then turn the radiators on a day or so before our guests arrive it's nice to have the room freshened up this way too.


Of course it can just be an added bonus in the bathroom all the time!


Also placing a sheet in each of these few different places in the guest room is much less expensive than keeping one of these air fresheners on the go.

As these are expensive to buy and to get the refills.


Because I use them regularly for the Guest Room and its ensuite I try to make sure that there is always a box of them in the vanity unit in that ensuite so these are one of the items I would often think of for my Amazon Prime Pantry Orders along with their other clearance items.

6.     Cupboard under the sink

We have a small food recycling bin in the right hand side but even if you don't under the sink cupboard can soon get a little smelly.

Note to self: Getting rather untidy in here again!

7.     The Bathroom Hand Towels Sea Grass Basket

My husband Fred is not fond of the smell that can come from Sea Grass baskets.
We have some of this type of basket in our storage cupboard as well as this Drawer unit in the bathroom so this keeps him happy with the hand towels smelling nice and not of the Sea Grass.

8.     The Kitchen Bin

Obviously this will help especially as the bin fills up.

Our bin has a little groove at the back just under the lid which is handy for this but again a little bit of sellotape can be used to stick a sheet on the underside of the lid.

9.     The Vase of Silk Flowers

Yes I know they do not smell but sometimes it is just a nice idea to get a hint of a fragrance when you are near a flower arrangement or vase even if the flowers are not real.

Just another way of freshening up a living room.

10.     Your Slippers

Everyone in our family says that I have smelly feet but of course they are all wrong.

  

However I do know that because I wear slippers constantly in the house they can get (a little!!!) smelly and so I keep the rest of the gang happy by making them have a nice smell - for a while anyway!


Or you might want to try this with your boots.

Then of course don't forget there is also the 

Tumbler Dryer

Why not take a walk around the house the next time you are expecting visitors and you might be surprised where you could hide a dryer sheet (somewhere in the small toilet usually springs to mind) and not have to run out for an air freshener, light a scented candle or use one of those horrible can sprays which just make me sneeze.

Now isn't this more like Funwork than Housework?