My “laboratory” has arrived

RustBeltCowgirl
RustBeltCowgirl Posts: 1,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

 

The yard barn that will house my “lab” has been delivered. Okay, it’s not all mine. The deal I made with Dad was that I get the back 1/3 (6x12) of the 12X16 building. Where the man door is. He can have the front section for his Case lawn tractors and other stuff. There will be a full partition wall built to separate his section from mine. His stuff “creeps” a lot. Too many occasions I’ve heard “you can put it there” and then suddenly “you have to move it, it’s in the way”.

I’ll be bringing my camping equipment home from the storage locker, so I will have the Coleman camp stove and other things available. I’ll also be installing a small solar panel set-up off the back to learn how to deal with that. The back faces south. We have a 275 gal. IBC tote off the back of the 3 car attached garage (which isn’t big enough for his stuff) for water catchment.

Time to let the fun begin. That is, after I survive another annual Physical Inventory at the plant this week.

Comments

  • judsoncarroll4
    judsoncarroll4 Posts: 5,490 admin

    Could be a good place to grow some mushrooms! You could suspend bags of straw to grow oysters on straw. Or, put in shelves and grow shitake, etc on sawdust blocks/bags. Maybe seal off that area with plastic vapor seal so you can use a humidifier.

  • marcy_northlightsfarm
    marcy_northlightsfarm Posts: 103 ✭✭✭

    Sounds like a great start. What are your goals for the lab?

  • RustBeltCowgirl
    RustBeltCowgirl Posts: 1,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @marcy_northlightsfarm I want to relocate when I retire and the area that I'm most interested in could possibly be mostly off grid. It's definitely dirt road territory. So, I'm using the lab to learn some things like dealing with solar power, wildcrafting, etc. It's place to "play" with things and not have to explain why I'm doing them. It will save on inter-family pushback.

  • frogvalley
    frogvalley Posts: 675 ✭✭✭✭

    @RustBeltCowgirl You go girl! It's wonderful when you can just go out and experiment/play. I do it all the time because I wasn't allowed to play with building kits when I was little as ........ I was a girl.

  • RustBeltCowgirl
    RustBeltCowgirl Posts: 1,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @frogvalley Like when they wouldn't explain to me (way back when) how an Easy Bake oven worked. I took mine apart to find out for myself. Just didn't have the ability to put it back together quite right.

  • RustBeltCowgirl
    RustBeltCowgirl Posts: 1,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    The wall framework for the partition wall is up. Progress is being made.

  • frogvalley
    frogvalley Posts: 675 ✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2020

    @RustBeltCowgirl I did it with computers. Couldn't believe I read the computer manual, took them apart, got a job as a computer analyst without having a degree or advanced math and then taught computer repair classes internationally, but couldn't get a job six months earlier selling batteries at Radio Shack because I was a girl.

    Life - gotta love it!

    How is the lab going?

  • RustBeltCowgirl
    RustBeltCowgirl Posts: 1,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @frogvalley Partition wall is closed on Dad's side. He opened access to the loft on my side, so that I can put stuff up there. I'm looking at a lantern style wind turbine. Dad says that he'll have electricity out there by fall. My response was that I'd like to have my side run on solar/wind power. We're less than 3 miles from Lake Erie and get a lot of wind. Plus we have quite a few farm fields and open space around us. The barn is currently lit by 3 small fluorescent lights powered by a small solar panel feeding into a deep cycle marine battery and 400W inverter.

    Now that the annual Physical Inventory (aka $#LL WEEK" is over, I can actually work on my side.

    Will keep posting updates.

  • frogvalley
    frogvalley Posts: 675 ✭✭✭✭

    Sound fun! Wish I was closer so I could come take a look.

    @RustBeltCowgirl Is there a reason you are using fluorescent as opposed to LED lights?

  • RustBeltCowgirl
    RustBeltCowgirl Posts: 1,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    That's what came with the barn package. Dad installed them. I could probably change them out without much problem. Well, I didn't really look at the box very closely, they could be LED. Will check later.

  • ltwickey
    ltwickey Posts: 369 ✭✭✭

    Good luck in your endeavor!! Wish more young ladies would get involved in this type of life experiences!! Never stop pushing yourself and continue learning at every corner!!

  • RustBeltCowgirl
    RustBeltCowgirl Posts: 1,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Well, annual Physical Inventory is over, except for the clean-up. Finding the inventory that someone forgot to count, Just another day at the job.

    Time to start getting my section of the yard barn worked on. I've moved some stuff over from the storage locker and some stuff out of the house. I'll get some pictures shortly.

  • karenjanicki
    karenjanicki Posts: 996 ✭✭✭✭

    Sounds like a neat project! You said you are 3 miles from lake erie. That's cool because we are from Erie Pa and only a few miles from our section of the lake :)

  • RustBeltCowgirl
    RustBeltCowgirl Posts: 1,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @karenjanicki I'm in Vermilion. What isn't boat dockage is farm land.

  • RustBeltCowgirl
    RustBeltCowgirl Posts: 1,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    My tools are starting to re-appear. I'm moving my stuff out of a higher priced storage unit and into a cheaper one. Also, doing a purge of stuff. My Sawz-all and heat gun have popped up a;long with a couple of boxes of nails and wood screws. Plus 6 pack of double outlets. Things are rolling again!!!!

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited March 2021

    How fun! And its great the tools are reappearing

    And I understand the shared space and wall. My assigned space used to disappear all the time

  • annbeck62
    annbeck62 Posts: 1,028 ✭✭✭✭

    How fun. Someday, I'd love to have a lab to play in.

  • RustBeltCowgirl
    RustBeltCowgirl Posts: 1,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Found material to close in the walls. They are redoing the summer hangout at a marina and are using tongue and groove on the walls. I'm scoring the leftover bits for the shed. It's a "win win". i get to learn about putting up T&G, they don't have to fill their dumpster.

  • Annie Kate
    Annie Kate Posts: 680 ✭✭✭✭

    @RustBeltCowgirl, you go, girl!!!! Sounds awesome!

  • RustBeltCowgirl
    RustBeltCowgirl Posts: 1,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Newest addition to the "lab".

    The firepit is set on 4 16x16 pavers set at grass level. The camping quad chairs stay in the barn when not in use.

    Yes, in the background; is the bucket from a very old International backhoe, very appropriately nicknamed "Mud Maker".

    We'll be cutting the chip board to go up on the dividing wall inside tomorrow morning. Too hot this afternoon to do it. BTW: the chip board was acquired in a Father/Daughter roadside foraging expedition for free. Dad said he looked today at Home Depot. It's now $44 a sheet.

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I love a good foraging haul. And yes, any wood pieces ar a fortune now.

  • JennyT Upstate South Carolina
    JennyT Upstate South Carolina Posts: 1,273 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @RustBeltCowgirl So excited for you. 😄

    That fire pit looks impressive. I've not seen one like that before.

  • RustBeltCowgirl
    RustBeltCowgirl Posts: 1,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @JennyT Upstate South Carolina The firepit could possibly be considered as foraged. A neighbor 2 houses ago was moving and didn't want to take. I was told if you want it, it's yours.

  • RustBeltCowgirl
    RustBeltCowgirl Posts: 1,403 ✭✭✭✭✭

    The interior wall on my side is now closed in. It's currently tacked into place, need to put a few screws in. next I need to decide how to handle the exterior walls. Do I insulate or not? Maybe just some foam board.

  • vickeym
    vickeym Posts: 2,134 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Another option for the insulation might be the "reflectix" or bubble wrap and foil style. I'm in Alaska and our first year in our current place one wall had a section 4 foot high by 24 foot long that was only the "reflectix" insulation on the inside and a tarp on the outside. We have a small Federal Airtight wood stove. At times we had to open a window as it would get too hot in here.