done decking

With our best foot forward, we began working at 9 am on beloved deck. I started out with a small can of wood stain, and the intention to stain the front face of the stair stringers, which are exposed pressure-treated wood. The stain went on a little dark for my tastes, so I held off finishing that job, and moved on to 20' planks of decking - trimming the edges to an exact 90 degrees and hoisting them into place on the deck. I also puzzle-pieced the last of our decking scraps into place and located the best pattern for our scarf-cut seams.

Meanwhile, Erin was occupied with a 20 ft. 2x4, metal straps, Bill's router and some moleskin. I'll try and get a snap of this invention tomorrow, but the jist of it is the router screwed on to the very end of the 2x4 using metal straps, and all the sharp edges swaddled in a soft, felty covering of moleskin. We place to screw the 2x4 to the center of the yurt circle and make two passes with the router to cut the decking down to a perfect circle. This is, by the way, an ingenious (and yet untried) idea and we're all looking forward to being present when the router makes its orbits.

Now, with so much decking going on these days, it's easy to forget about the yurting. We were reminded this afternoon, as FedEx came rumbling down the driveway in a huge semi with a sizeable pile of yurt rafters. This particular shipment of yurt parts had already made an accidental trip to the East Coast from Colorado, and was just making its way back to California - let me tell you, it was looking pretty sad. Much to Fed-Ex-driver Evan's chagrin, we refused the delivery, citing damaged goods, and sent him packing with a still-full truck. We couldn't, in good conscience, accept such scrappy and ratty looking roofing, expecially since the rafters will be visible from the inside of the yurt. Bummer. We did, however, receive both doors, the lattice, the plexiglass bubble and some canvas(?) a week ago which I forgot to mention.

damaged rafters

"come back when you have a decent looking delivery!"

doors. to tide you over

At this point, we were still waiting for the last of our deck boards from ROSSI's, so we started on and completed the last of the deck-board support blocking/joisting. I was in charge of this last lumber order, and started to get a little anxious, hoping I'd ordered enough boards for us to finish.

And just as our stomachs were beginning to rumble, and another apple just wouldn't do the trick, Mom showed up with a satchel full of piping hot blue corn and green chili tamales with chipotle sauce and a delicious home grown tomato. We chowed down and ate espresso bunt cake and strawberries for dessert. It was back to work soon thereafter, and within a short time, ROSSI's arrived!

a "close-up" of the forklift tricycle

We put our noses to the grindstones, and finished up the last board just as the sun was setting and we were getting quite cold. We've obviously decided to do the perimeter boards before the interior boards - and we're not so sure we'd do it this way again. It necessitates a perfect fit when it comes down to the last board, with zero room for error. We measured, measured and measured again, hoping to ensure that our last board would slide into place with ease, but it was a really tight fit. A little rearranging allowed us to complete the deck with a perfect fit, and we happily packed up shop and made our way home. Maia was ecstatic to see us quitting for the day, as it was way past her dinner time. She'd already consumed 4 pears and 1 apple as hors'd'oeuvre, and was ready for some real chow.

And if you're wondering what we got up to on our highly anticipated day-off, the answer is: not much. It was really fun.

The week is only too short, and alas, it's back to the other job for a few days. Hasta entonces...