I wanted to get the wooden part of the woodshed bridge put up today. I had the wood in the back of the pickup. I went to get it out and had the 2×8 boards sticking out either side of the pickup with the 2×10 over the cab. I damn near knocked myself out again by hitting my head on a 2×8, I jerked back after smacking my forehead and smashed the back of my head into the other side 2×8 boards. I ended up with an abrasion and small goose egg on my forehead. The only real problem I have with not having hair is that there is no longer a cushion to protect my head from trauma.
I laid out the five 16’ boards and then screwed 10” pieces of 2×8 between them. I used 2×8 boards because I am cheap. I saved about $40by using the 2×8 boards and strength wise I just needed them to keep the boards from warping. I altered the height at which I screwed them in and alternated each board so I could get to both sides with the impact driver and tighten down the screws easily.
I used old 2×10 boards that used to be a concrete form for the decking. They were free so they make excellent decking! I only had one ten foot piece left by the time I was done. The bridge decking is five feet wide and the support underneath is four feet wide. I hung approximately six inches of the decking over the support frame. The decking will be easy to replace if needed and free was a wonderful price.
So far the supplies have cost $360 each for a pallet of Quickcrete. $300 for pressure treated lumber and a box of three inch decking screws. So at this point in supplies we have just over $1000 in the bridge. I may be able to salvage some of the concrete forms to use in the wood shed to line the walls. I need to look at it first before I attempt to reuse them for the fourth time.
There is a little kitten in the wood shed that keeps meowing all of the time. Annmarie is working on taming it down. She wants to have a permanent resident in the barn shed. I am hoping it keeps the raccoons out of the buildings. I have two huge piles of raccoon poop again in the upper parts of the barn. They like to poop up high and they make huge piles over time, so annoying.
I did move some rocks around and attempt to get the rock wall on the wood shed side to meet the bridge. The next big part of the bridge build is to fill up the backside with dirt. Get that all compacted down then I can put in a little gravel and install the large concrete pavers. I am currently leaving that for now to work on the freezer room and the wooden piece for the upstairs bathroom.
Stewart Creek Somethings 