Rustic Harrison Specials (3).

Before and After "Puttin' on the Trim".

[Photo: The main roof is made up of four cedar slats]

I knew when I designed this type of birdhouse that it would take more time to make than a basic four-sided box. But the extra cutting, sanding and assembly time are worth it, in my humble and dusty opinion.

I get to show off the old cedar faces a bit more, and the extra space at the front gives me room for a small picket fence. As well, parents get extra space for those teenagers who are occasionally reluctant to leave home for college right after they get their high-flying-school diploma.

Before and After the Trim Job:

I add roof edge trim, windows, perch and fence. (Good use of scraps).

More photos and a final "Voila!":

This is the last batch for 2018.

Time now for The Big Sweep!!

See you in the spring!

Please link to Rustic Harrison Specials (2).

Photos GH

Rustic Harrison Specials (2).

I've Got Shingles, The Good Kind.

[Photo: Western cedar house on a square pine base]

After cutting the thickness of the cedar slats down to 7/8ths of an inch (approx.), I cut the slats into several pieces, seen assembled above into a birdhouse with a side apartment large enough for a teenager to rent from its parents for a week or two.

I have not noticed other birdhouses like this (Who else thinks like a teenager who wants his own pad for just two weeks?), so, I call it the Harrison Special, or Rustic Harrison Special, or After Two Weeks You're Outta Here!

The inside looks almost as nice as the outside in my opinion:

The two sides are a titch shorter than the roofline, allowing for air flow.

I often make the roof slats out of the cedar that has been trimmed from the rustic cedar slats, but on this occasion I spotted some rescued cedar shingles in The Annex (lumber, bicycle, yard tools and lawnmower storage facility). Why, I think they're perfect for the apartment roof!

Final photos soon to follow.

Please link to Rustic Harrison Specials (1).

Photos GH

Rustic Harrison Specials (1).

This Style Goes Way Back!

[Photo: Last batch 2018; solid houses with side apartment]

The western cedar is pretty rustic, for sure. It came from Joe Flagler's dock repair, Fenelon Falls, five or six years ago, and Joe said it had been his dock for twenty years. And from the look of it, the cedar was old when he bought it - and it aged like fine wine (next to the Trent-Severn Waterway), in my humble opinion.

 Joe's lumber just needs a titch of sanding.

Rustic, rescued, valued western cedar!!

Age-wise, the cedar is quite old, and it's also aromatic, easy to cut and sand. Nails pop through it as nice as you please.

I rescued it (paid for my son to truck it to London) after Joe and son David found it was going to cost them $150 per pickup-truck-load to get rid of it, well over $1,000 total (!), at the town dump. David, in charge of building Joe a new dock, didn't go for that price. So, he called me.

David: Dad, do you want the 2 by 6s from Joe Flagler's dock?

Gord: You've got me interested. Tell me more.

David: There's a lot of it ("150 per truckload!"... ), and I'll bring it down. You just have to pay for the truck. 

Gord (Pause. I thought about 1,000 cedar birdhouses for 5 seconds, no more): I say, yes.

And, several years later, I'm still working on that pile. Log cabins are next up (as a spring project)! 

I had to go back to photo files to find samples of my last rustics. I'll do more of them in the spring as well.

Photo from July 2015:

Link to Harrison Specials 1 for more details.

I'm already looking forward to my first workshop projects for 2019 - a western cedar bonanza.

Rustic, rescued log cabins, from Spring 2018. 

To see more rustic log cabins, please link to The Shop is Open, Already Dusty.

Photos GH

Custom Four-Plex (2).

Finished Before the First Snow!

Fresh off the workbench, in spite of the 1970 license plates!

This would be a good time to clear away the tools and dust in the shop - The (annual) Big Sweep is surely needed - that is, before the snow flies and it gets too cold to work comfortably on any further project. But, I have six rustic birdhouses 'in progress', so I will press on for another week at least.

That being said, I liked working on this sturdy four-plex and will do more like it in the future.

 A "bird's-eye-view", as it comes in for a landing.

There's no back door for my feathered friends.

More about the rustics soon to follow.

Please link to Custom Four-Plex (1).

Photos GH

Custom Four-Plex (1).

Yes, I Have Some Left-Over Lumber.

[Photo: 1970 license plates make a sturdy roof. One more roof to go]

Before winter comes and the workshop gets too cold for comfort, I'd like to finish one custom four-plex and six rustic cedar birdhouses.

The four-plex is made chiefly from white pine barn board and old pine from left-over battens (originally stained green) that once were part of my house's siding.

An hour here and an hour there in the shop should allow me to finish everything in time for a December 1st sale at a local church.

 Roof slats for the right-hand section are cut and sanded (lower right).

 Sections of the three roofs can be removed, and act as clean out doors.

  More cedar trim and a fence is one the way.

More photos to follow.... before the snow falls, I hope.

Please link to - Western Red Cedar Birdhouses for GOG2, PT.2

Photos GH

Last Library 2018. Part 4.

Metal Roof Helps Make a Sturdy House.

[Photo: Somewhere in Wortley Village - more books, more trades]

Last Friday I carefully loaded my Civic up to the gunwales with necessary supplies: Shovels, a tarp, power drill, level, pair of heavy gloves, the last Little Free Library for 2018 (and beyond, very likely) and a couple of used books for future fair trade. And off I went to dig a hole.

The week before that day, however, the workshop was a busy place. The metal roof needing edging, as did the front, sides and back, door latches and signage had to be attached, and more boxes had to be checked before I could say 'voila' and grab my trusty spade.

Roof trim and signage to finish before installation

The roof had been the hard part. The rest of the parts flew into place - old pine and western cedar trim, nothing upside-down or backwards!

The two-foot deep hole appeared quickly. The five-foot pole was planted and levelled. The collar/platform was attached in a relative jiff, with help from two eager neighbourhood children.

"Can I use the drill?" said the sister. "Me too," said the younger brother.

"Sure, I'll just start things off for you."

Teamwork completed, I lifted the library onto the platform and secured it with four hidden screws. Had somebody yelled Bingo I would have said Thumbs Up.

"T'umbs Up!" I say.

Next project? 

We shall see what we shall see.

Please link to Last Library 2018. Part 3.

Photos GH

A Little Library - Woodland Avenue, London (Pt. 3).

Safe and Sound, In the Ground.

A Tozer Library, on land once owned by the Tozer Family

Property now home to Chartwell Retirement Residence 

A freshly-painted home for books - new and used, ready for trading - now resides on Woodward Avenue, just off Riverside Drive. Shortly after this photo was taken, a retired librarian filled it with a wide assortment of fiction and non-fiction offerings, hoping to attract fair trades.

It sits opposite a Gothic Revival home (c1887) that was the centre-piece of inspiration for the library's design. The owners of the house even allowed me to borrow the matching paint from their own supply. 

So, if you're out for your evening walk and want a route with a hill or two, travel west on Riverside from Wharncliffe, then turn right on Woodward.

Carry a used book and make a trade!

Please link to A Little Library - Time For Trim (Pt. 2).

Photos GH

Last Library 2018. Part 3.

No Cat on the Cool Tin Roof.

[Photo: Heavy duty tin covers one-inch cedar roof. Indestructible!]

Of course, as soon as I say the cedar and tin roof is 'indestructible', a local squirrel will start calculating - maybe with a few of its buddies - how to take it apart and transport the pieces to the top of a maple tree. Little beggars!!

That being said, shortly after I'd measured and cut the tin (hard chore, with old-time snippers) and sanded the edges to remove burr, I had two pieces snuggly screwed into place. Oh, it's not going anywhere for a long time.

The signage and door need second coats and proper placement, and several pieces of western cedar trim need to be attached before I can say 'fini'.

I say, by sometime next week I'll be digging a hole for the sturdy post and platform.

More photos to follow.

Please link to Last Library 2018. Part 2.

Photos GH

Last Library 2018. Part 2.

Heavy Metal in the Workshop.

[Photo: Cedar roof adds stability, permanent shelter and 20 pounds!]

Once the interior shelf was in place, leaving room underneath for 12 - 13 inch-high books, I added a very substantial cedar roof.

The two sides of the roof are each made up of 4 slats of cedar decking. Three of the four slats overlap with neighbouring slats, thereby preventing rain from dripping between the joints.

Cedar slats ready for overlap.

It's a technique I employ on all libraries, something I learned from an old ship builder who once said:

"I's the b'y that builds the boat.
And I's the b'y that sails her.
I's the b'y that catches the fish.
And brings them home to Lizer."

He was a pretty chatty guy - always singin' - but we got along okay.

 Collar and platform, in yellow and blue. Door in red, and

four red arrows and two yellow strips for signage.

Heavy-duty metal to go atop the cedar roof.

More to follow.

Please link to Last Library 2018. Part 1.

Photos GH

Last Library 2018. Part 1.

Sturdy Barnboard and Metal Roof.

[Photo: Once pieces are cut, the assembly begins]

2018 was a productive year in the workshop, with many birdhouses and 'little free libraries' filling my workbench with stock, dust, paint tins, brushes, etc. - and lots of cedar aroma. I can live with all that.

I am in "hurry up" mode because October is getting cooler and working with frigid tools is not a lot of fun. And since this final library will sport a metal roof I will have a few sharp edges to watch out for, as well.

 Lots of pieces to paint in primary colours

The cedar "under roof" pieces are ready to attach. 

 Here are the sides, back and bottom ready for assembly...

Now, it's taller than I am!

I have not cut or assembled a metal roof before, but with the right tools - and a steady hand - I should make do just fine.

More to follow.

Please link to A Little Library - Time For Trim (Pt. 2).

Photos GH

A Little Library - Time For Trim (Pt. 2).

"99% Finished," I Say. And It's Not Complicated.

[Photo: Outdoor pictures show off the colours in a natural light]

I thought the roof edge trim would take a month, but once I made a wooden stencil of a section of the repeated pattern I was away to the races.

After examining these first outdoor photos I discovered that the fine coat of dust from the workshop made the roof look like a lighter co;our than it actually is. So, subsequent shots will be tidier : )

The side windows were a breeze to paint and attach. 

 Fine dust makes the silicon on top roof edge look visible. It's not.

"Live and learn!"

Signage over door needs to be completed, then I'll say 100%

So, today I do the signage, and work on the roof on my next (and last) library. That's progress.

Please link to A Little Library - Time For Trim (Pt. 1).

Photos GH

A Little Library - Time For Trim (Pt. 1).

It's Complicated! : )

[Photo: The bulk of the library is ready for trim, lots of it]

This is the first 'little free library' that I've painted up, down, inside out and sideways. Not complicated. But the exterior trim is another matter.

 Colours match a lovely house in west-central London.

 Lots of custom trim will take me a while to cut, sand and paint.

 Trivia: What British Pop group sang "Bits and Pieces"*

 Little Library isn't so little anymore!

Trim and touch-ups are underway. 

Now, as long as the finished project fits into my Honda, all will be well!

More to follow.

Please link to A Little Library - Ready For Trades (Pt. 4).

Photos GH