tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22715572741638635602024-03-12T04:55:12.769-06:00The Treehouser. . . . . . My Treehouse Building Experience, . . . . . . . . . . . . .and Other Slightly Mad ProjectsDIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-39983607488222367762015-12-28T21:27:00.001-07:002019-01-15T18:47:58.738-07:00Treehouse Story: The Squirrel & Her Suitors<h4>
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Hey Treehousers! Buy a copy of "<a href="http://amazon.com/gp/product/1792792735/" target="_blank">The White Rim Trail: Mile by Mile</a>" at Amazon:</span></h4>
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Squirrels in the Treehouse</h2>
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/yfQ6TIo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/yfQ6TIo.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The nest, i.e. the <i>love</i> nest.</span></div>
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Truly, I never imagined having the IP camera up in the treehouse would be nearly this much fun. But it is, and I'm not ashamed to admit I have the feed up and on the iPad almost all the time during the day.<br />
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Which is why, this morning, I discovered that all the evidence points toward "Fuzzball" (as my daughter named the little squatter) being female. Because today there were two other squirrels, presumably males, running around and generally being entertaining while trying to curry her favor. What makes one squirrel a better potential mate than another is beyond me, as they all looked like complete loons scurrying around this morning, chasing one another and sniffing what I can only presume was a <i>lot</i> of pheromones.<br />
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The camera feed was interesting enough that I ran outside when Fuzzball seemed to be leaving her nest to go "play" with the boys. But just enjoy the video and you'll get the idea.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qSxgExPmUH8/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qSxgExPmUH8?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Want to see more interesting stuff? Read about our <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/other-projects-vw-bus-bed-part-1.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VW Bus Bed Build</a>, or maybe the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-solar-stock-tank-swimming-pool-part.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool</a>. If you're not tired of beekeeping stuff, see how our bees deal with unwanted intruders as the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLMe_Y-sepM" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Hive Guards Repel a Robber Bee</a>. </b><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Or, visit the </b><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/search/label/Chicken%20Coop%20Playhouse" target="_blank">Chicken Coop Playhouse!</a></b><br />
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<br />DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-81409115979375785382015-12-27T16:15:00.000-07:002015-12-27T16:20:58.045-07:00Treehouse Story: The Bucket Cam<h2>
Keeping Watch on Treehouse Visitors</h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Oh look, a bucket of leaves and rope.</span></div>
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So once again we've been graced with a mystery visitor in the treehouse, specifically inside the bucket. Faithful readers will recall that last year I stumbled across evidence that our otherwise tidy treehouse actually <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/05/who-over-wintered-in-our-treehouse.html" target="_blank">had a squatter over the winter</a>. At that time I'd really no idea who it might've been; it had made a nest behind the door out of leaves and the cotton rope I'd left coiled in this wide metal pail. This year, however, he or one of his colleagues had just built the nest inside the pail itself.<br />
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Here's a little video of the nest, it's super cozy-looking:<br />
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Now generally speaking, I like to stay off the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/01/part-12-treehouse-rope-ladder.html" target="_blank">treehouse rope ladder</a> all winter. Water can soak into the rope, then it freezes, then putting weight on the thing might cause slow but irreparable damage. But at the same time I really, really wanted to see who lived in this super great spot -- and clearly planned on wintering there.<br />
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So I did the only sensible thing; I brought the pail and nest inside the treehouse, bungied the door open for the winter (prevailing winds come the other way anyhow), dropped a long extension cord down the trap door, and set up an IP camera.<br />
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/Iqkfn17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/Iqkfn17.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The surveillance state has landed inside America's treehouses.</span></div>
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The result was satisfying, and took just a few hours!<br />
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<a href="http://i.imgur.com/KewC7Ei.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/KewC7Ei.gif" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
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There's the cute little rascal. He seems most active up in the treehouse in the early evening, then hunkers down for the night and heads out in the morning if it's not too cold. My now-6-year-old daughter named him Fuzzball. We'll see if "he" has babies -- which the internet tells me is pretty likely, considering the quality of the nest and the timing. I'm trying to figure out how to make this incredibly interesting view available for public view, which is taxing my meager technology skills.<br />
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While we wait for spring babies, my daughter and I also go out whenever it's mild enough and shoot peanuts up to the treehouse deck with slingshots. Which is way more fun than it should be. :)<br />
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<b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Want to see more interesting stuff? Read about our <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/other-projects-vw-bus-bed-part-1.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VW Bus Bed Build</a>, or maybe the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-solar-stock-tank-swimming-pool-part.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool</a>. If you're not tired of beekeeping stuff, see how our bees deal with unwanted intruders as the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLMe_Y-sepM" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Hive Guards Repel a Robber Bee</a>. </b><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Or, visit the </b><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/search/label/Chicken%20Coop%20Playhouse" target="_blank">Chicken Coop Playhouse!</a></b><br />
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<br />DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-88475790437685123262015-06-02T17:51:00.001-06:002015-06-02T18:24:44.762-06:00Treehouse Rope Ladder Demo Reel<h2>
How To Climb Down Our Treehouse Rope Ladder</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpvfN_s5TgX1H2oOm0IMlrojX0CbFDF7FhB6D5z_Dtr3_4v7K_GsOEeaPf5h-g7g8xTUbPCf5e6m-6ExE2p1DHXFY3MMULn3JAT3XN0Ofv8nFZm6r_hTmasL2MvwZWpRoVi3098YFAfo/s1600/IMG_0206.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDpvfN_s5TgX1H2oOm0IMlrojX0CbFDF7FhB6D5z_Dtr3_4v7K_GsOEeaPf5h-g7g8xTUbPCf5e6m-6ExE2p1DHXFY3MMULn3JAT3XN0Ofv8nFZm6r_hTmasL2MvwZWpRoVi3098YFAfo/s640/IMG_0206.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Of course, this is looking <i>up</i>.</span></div>
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My daughter was kind enough the other day to demonstrate the proper method for climbing down our <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/01/part-12-treehouse-rope-ladder.html" target="_blank">treehouse rope ladder</a> -- assuming you're 40-odd inches tall and six years old, it will work great for you. The cameraman has a few more difficulties, but it's of course worth it. :)<br />
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I do believe I'll have to re-stain this year, or next at the latest. The rope ladder rungs have fared pretty well, but I don't think they're totally immune to the weather just because they're right under the treehouse. The problem will be figuring out an "easy" way to stain a rope ladder rung that's going to stay on the rope while it's being stained. This will take some deep thought... perhaps I'll sit up in the treehouse this week and mull it over. :)<br />
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<b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Want to see more interesting stuff? Read about our <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/other-projects-vw-bus-bed-part-1.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VW Bus Bed Build</a>, or maybe the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-solar-stock-tank-swimming-pool-part.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool</a>. If you're not tired of beekeeping stuff, see how our bees deal with unwanted intruders as the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLMe_Y-sepM" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Hive Guards Repel a Robber Bee</a>. </b><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Or, visit the </b><b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/search/label/Chicken%20Coop%20Playhouse" target="_blank">Chicken Coop Playhouse!</a></b><br />
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<b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></b>DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-38290894468361771662015-05-31T19:03:00.000-06:002015-05-31T19:03:13.180-06:00Who Over-Wintered In Our Treehouse?<h2>
We had a treehouse guest -- but who?</h2>
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Today was a nice warm Sunday, and the kiddos were playing in the sprinkler and going up and down the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/01/part-12-treehouse-rope-ladder.html" target="_blank">treehouse rope ladder</a> pretty much all day. The treehouse has become a part of everyone's summer here, and we're so lucky to get to enjoy it.</div>
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So the kids were exhausted and I volunteered to climb up and bring down the towels and blankets and what-not that had somehow ended up there after everyone went home. While I was there I tidied up a bit, and happened to discover I'd been altogether wrong about the treehouse's vacant status over the winter....</div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GjmdrgKrBP8/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GjmdrgKrBP8?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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<b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Want to see more interesting stuff? Read about our <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/other-projects-vw-bus-bed-part-1.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VW Bus Bed Build</a>, or maybe the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-solar-stock-tank-swimming-pool-part.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool</a>. Or, if you're not tired of beekeeping stuff, see how our bees deal with unwanted intruders as the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLMe_Y-sepM" target="_blank">Hive Guards Repel a Robber Bee</a>.</b></div>
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DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-19541524976778782732015-05-25T08:50:00.000-06:002015-05-25T08:50:30.244-06:00Memorial Day: Treehouse Spring Inspection!<h2>
Treehouse Construction Seems To Have Held Up Nicely</h2>
Finally, a treehouse post about tree houses! About time, am I right? :-)<br />
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With apologies to readers who are a little tired of beekeeping stuff (did I mention <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8zOSV1nwwg" target="_blank">I stuck my finger in a swarm</a>??), I did find my way up to the treehouse with the camera for a good look-around. I couldn't have been happier!<br />
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Things are looking great, the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/01/part-7-installing-treehouse-bolts.html" target="_blank">treehouse hardware</a>, the platform, the roof -- everything held up through the winter and the kiddos have been treehousin' at every opportunity. I <i>will</i> have to replace my basket rope, though ....<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/A9cIhSoWuk0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A9cIhSoWuk0?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Want to see more interesting stuff? Read about our <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/other-projects-vw-bus-bed-part-1.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VW Bus Bed Build</a>, or maybe the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-solar-stock-tank-swimming-pool-part.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool</a>.</b><br />
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<b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></b>DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-36571893552617878652015-05-11T19:21:00.001-06:002015-05-12T21:05:27.069-06:00Anatomy of a Swarm: A New Hive Begins<h2>
How to catch a swarm of bees</h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixAEJviHmNPBQb0Cap_OrtOFtEl7RupLvFcocrYACd0RiNeNY3Kzv7pA4l7z3m-4qzBdLXQqgjYpdk9K22lGpyUqarz4gwZYTHc3vPFIszMbSCMn9xjCU5lj4kPyc2faTuM0U6yMxPRIA/s1600/IMG_9820.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixAEJviHmNPBQb0Cap_OrtOFtEl7RupLvFcocrYACd0RiNeNY3Kzv7pA4l7z3m-4qzBdLXQqgjYpdk9K22lGpyUqarz4gwZYTHc3vPFIszMbSCMn9xjCU5lj4kPyc2faTuM0U6yMxPRIA/s640/IMG_9820.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I know, I know. It's turning into a beekeeping blog. I promise, there's a lot of Treehousing to be done here in a bit. But the bees have been so darned interesting lately ...</div>
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Today, the swarm that had been threatening at our hive finally happened. It's a pretty amazing thing to watch -- and in the end, we had a friend over who collected a bucket o' bees to start a new hive on his property.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghnPB8MntcAQJIu-GwLy2U9cmcyw4G442gsUSXOPgO__VaBFHHqwxZlE6U_U1xvzku5Bvpm4rZIjOqcTbE8eIVTR_sneVkGbwzHCErOWAo4IGAEI2c0XixjjAVlEkczvTa7Xg9Cs-e0yQ/s1600/IMG_9825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghnPB8MntcAQJIu-GwLy2U9cmcyw4G442gsUSXOPgO__VaBFHHqwxZlE6U_U1xvzku5Bvpm4rZIjOqcTbE8eIVTR_sneVkGbwzHCErOWAo4IGAEI2c0XixjjAVlEkczvTa7Xg9Cs-e0yQ/s400/IMG_9825.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The wonderful part is, of course, our bees in the hive are doing great -- so great they needed to expand their operations, so to speak.</div>
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How do you catch a swarm? Here's how it's done.</div>
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<b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Want to see more interesting stuff? Read about our <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/other-projects-vw-bus-bed-part-1.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VW Bus Bed Build</a>, the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/01/so-you-want-to-build-treehouse.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Treehouse Build</a>, or the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-solar-stock-tank-swimming-pool-part.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool</a>.</b><br />
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DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-14082105560319695482015-05-03T07:59:00.003-06:002015-05-03T08:00:08.184-06:00Added Supers to Bee Hive, Got Neat Video<h2>
Bees go out, bees go in</h2>
So my wife added supers today to the top of the hive -- she has them so nicely decorated, after all -- and the bees skedaddled out of there and were buzzing about somewhat madly. They often do this, but the hive is so strong this year it was pretty amazing to see.<br />
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That's about half the bees that exited the hive, the rest are swarming around -- you can see them in this video, which also finishes up with my first-ever time lapse. See that black windmill in the photo? That's where I stuck my phone to do the time lapse.<br />
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So what's happening? My wife thinks she disrupted some swarming behavior -- she spotted some queen larvae when she had the hive open -- so some (or all) of the bees were getting ready to leave because the hive was too hot, or too small, or otherwise unsatisfactory. Adding the boxes on top should give them room to do their thing comfortably.<br />
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Interestingly, it took them about an hour to go from their "bearded" state at the beginning of the time lapse movie to get mostly inside -- you'll notice if you watch carefully, they seem to mostly make their way to the main entrance on the bottom of the hive. Interesting stuff.<br />
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<b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;">Want to see more interesting stuff? Read about our <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/other-projects-vw-bus-bed-part-1.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VW Bus Bed Build</a>, the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/01/so-you-want-to-build-treehouse.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Treehouse Build</a>, or the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-solar-stock-tank-swimming-pool-part.html" style="color: #6699cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool</a>.</b><br />
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<b style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></b>DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-90777381122684627192015-04-08T10:37:00.001-06:002015-04-08T11:23:21.890-06:00Bees Enjoying Store-Bought Pollen<h2>
Too much of a good thing?</h2>
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My wife built (and painted) this lovely little dispenser for store-bought pollen for the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/03/midwinter-remembering-bees.html">bees</a> -- sort of a way for them to get a little extra as the flowers are just starting out.</div>
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It looks like it was an awful lot of pollen all at once -- and now they're mostly avoiding it, probably because there are more flowers blooming. At any rate, it made me laugh.</div>
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DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-22090463783594714572015-03-26T18:50:00.001-06:002015-03-26T18:50:46.788-06:00Treehouse Rope Swing<h2>
Sometimes a harness is better than the best tire swing</h2>
So with a few of the leftover rungs from the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/01/part-16-hanging-treehouse-rope-ladder.html" target="_blank">treehouse rope ladder</a>, I’d cobbled together a sharp-looking three-sided tire alternative for our rope swing. Three lengths of rope met at a single carabiner up top, and the kiddos could sit on the triangle of rungs comfortable. It turned out great, could hold three friends, was easy to attach and detach, and was the go-to whenever my daughter had friends over.<br />
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But when it was just her, she wanted to be in her harness and swinging free. Back when I hung the rope for the swing, I’d sort of guessed how much I needed and bought rope without measuring. Which meant I overbought. Which meant I had this “tail” at the end of the swing.<br />
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The cool part about the tail has been it’s been super easy to swing the kids with — easy to get them going without pushing. It works so well neighbors on both sides assumed I did it on purpose. I made no moves to correct them.<br />
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Here’s the kiddo swinging in her harness. Upside down, of course. And I still have no idea what she was saying, maybe some of you can figure out her rope swing glossolalia.<br />
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Back to previous post: <b><a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/03/midwinter-remembering-bees.html">Remembering the Bees</a></b></div>
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DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-26967893449159189142015-03-05T06:21:00.002-07:002015-03-26T18:29:52.420-06:00Midwinter: Remembering the Bees<h2>
How do those bees stay warm all winter?</h2>
With the cold temperatures outside, I’ve been thinking about how honey bees stay warm in the winter time — and specifically thinking about <i>our</i> hive, off in the corner by our little garden.<br />
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We don’t think about them much with the snow on the ground; they stay inside the hive, clustered around the queen to keep her warm, honey at the ready to feed everyone through the cold weather. Sort of like penguins, they huddle together with the bees on the outside keeping the inside bees warmer — except, unlike the penguins, they don’t rotate. The outer bees take the brunt, and many of them don’t make it to spring.<br />
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Really interesting to me is that they do more than huddle; they actively make heat for each other through friction, wiggling their flying muscles without moving their wings. No matter how cold it is outside, the queen is kept at a cozy 90-95 degrees F — as long as the honey supply lasts. When it warms up, they’re ready to get out there pronto — a “cleansing flight” is a bee’s first time out of the hive to answer the call of nature, so to speak.<br />
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Neat little animals. I put together a video to show how we came by our hive — from a swarm that formed one afternoon right on our next-door neighbor’s tree.<br />
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<b>Still feeling cold? Warm up reading about the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/other-projects-vw-bus-bed-part-1.html" target="_blank">VW Bus Bed Build</a>, the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/01/so-you-want-to-build-treehouse.html" target="_blank">Treehouse Build</a>, or the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-solar-stock-tank-swimming-pool-part.html" target="_blank">Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool</a>.</b>DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-23467874648706108292015-03-01T16:15:00.003-07:002015-03-01T16:16:31.416-07:00Treehouse Picture: Waiting for Spring<h2>
The Treehouse in Winter: Even More Frozener</h2>
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No treehousing to be done today. Stay tuned. And think thaw!<br />
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<b>In the meantime, read about the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/other-projects-vw-bus-bed-part-1.html" target="_blank">VW Bus Bed Build</a>, the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/01/so-you-want-to-build-treehouse.html" target="_blank">Treehouse Build</a>, the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-solar-stock-tank-swimming-pool-part.html" target="_blank">Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool</a> or the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-monster-tub-part-1.html" target="_blank">Monster Tub</a>.</b><br />
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<b><br /></b>DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-87493432427120980862015-03-01T04:30:00.000-07:002015-03-14T19:21:22.872-06:00The Chute-A-Phone: Teach your Smartphone to BASE Jump<h2>
The Chute-A-Phone: Want to throw your phone out the window? </h2>
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<i>Please don't make me put a disclaimer here that throwing your phone out the window might break your phone. Please.</i><br />
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So I was thinking the other day that it would be fun to have a GoPro or similar, to film some first-person footage of me messing around in the tree and treehouse — so people would have a better idea of <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/treehouse-story-return-of-shaky-cam.html">what it’s really like up there</a>. But those cameras are expensive, so I was looking for ways to strap my old iPhone to my head and do it on the cheap. People do it, but the results are less than optimal — plus there’s a good chance of dropping the phone, and when you’re 30-35 feet in the air, that’s all she wrote. I'm in no position to buy a new phone at the moment, frankly.<br />
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This started me thinking about how to protect the phone from a high fall. Which led me to thinking about putting a parachute on the phone. Which made me think, now that would be fun video to watch! This is what spawned the Chute-A-Phone, possibly the most stupid name for something in history. But it seems to have stuck, so, I apologize.<br />
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This project is so easy, so inexpensive, I expect my readers to build it and start tossing phones off of things right away. I mean, don’t break any laws or anything. But there’s no excuse not to build one right now and shoot some fun video.<br />
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You’ll need a large trash bag, and if you’re lucky you have a big round table to lay it out on. Start by trimming off the bottom edge and one of the side seals.<br />
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This will allow you to open it up like a book. Spread it out nice and flat; don’t worry if it doesn’t quite reach the edge of the table, it’s close enough. Cut around the table to make a big plastic circle.<br />
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Take some fishing line (or other lightweight string, about anything will work) and cut 8 lengths that are the same as the table’s diameter. Tie loops on both ends of each one.<br />
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Tear off a square of duct tape, and fold it in half over the edge of the circle.<br />
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Do this eight times all the way around, spacing them evenly.<br />
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Tear another strip of duct tape and again, fold it in half over the edge of the circle — but this time, slip one end of a fishing line loop inside. Repeat until you have all 8 of them attached.<br />
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Hook the other end of the lines onto a safety pin.<br />
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<i>Close</i> the safety pin before you forget, set it down, and get a big mess of knotted fishing line. Speaking from experience here.<br />
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Now when you lift up the safety pin end, you’ve got a parachute hanging from the other.<br />
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Next you need some rubber foam, preferably a block of some kind that’s got enough space for at least an inch or two all the way around the cavity you’ll be sticking your phone into. I had this from a box a remote came in, and it took just a little fiddling to jam my phone in there. I attached the safety pin with stretchy string, but you can use a rubber band as well, as long as it doesn’t compress your foam too much.<br />
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Jam your phone in there. Now, mine happens to be in an old Lifeproof case as well, so that helps. But really, if you’ve got no good case, use more foam. Get it in there tightly, and feel free to use additional rubber bands to keep it in there. Remember you'll start recording, then put your phone in, so plan ahead.<br />
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Set it up so it will hang horizontally (no vertical video!) and not fly out when it lands, more or less gently, on the ground. Now your Chute-A-Phone is ready to capture some stunning footage. Miniature BASE jumping!<br />
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I took mine up into the treehouse, got it ready, and sent it on its maiden voyage. I’m guessing it was about a 35-foot fall.<br />
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You can see I didn't "prime" the chute, but it opened after about 20 feet of fall and "wafted" for the last 10-15 feet. Here it is in slow motion, a little better:<br />
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Again, this is the same terrible footage I posted the other day (feel free to skip the long wait for me to climb down the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/01/part-16-hanging-treehouse-rope-ladder.html">treehouse ladder</a> at the end of the first one), but bear in mind I only did it once, and I’ve not had a chance to Chute-A-Phone off other stuff yet — mostly because of this winter snowstorm business.<br />
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But that gives everyone plenty of time to make their own versions of the Chute-A-Phone. So get on it, friends!DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-40851388516062766472015-02-26T10:29:00.001-07:002015-02-26T10:29:06.499-07:00Converting a Chicken Coop into a Playhouse<h2>
Chicken Coop to Playhouse (and Maybe Back Again)</h2>
Final product (-ish) first for a change, here’s the playhouse as it ended up.<br />
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My daughter was pretty pleased, and enjoyed her time in there:<br />
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So this was one of my first little projects for her, done a few years ago. The initial steps involved a ton of weeding inside the coop, actually; the previous owners of our house hadn’t kept chickens for years, so the coop was working like a greenhouse for thorny nasty plants. Then there was a bunch of bleach to be sprayed, just in case; then the "airing it out" portion of the project. After a bit I put down this cement board I had lying around, just to see if it would be any fun to play in. My daughter figured out what was up (she was about 2 at the time) and started helping.<br />
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A better look at the plexi windows that were already in place. The advantage is they’re south-facing, so the coop (and eventual playhouse) is pretty warm in the winter. The disadvantage is you can see how a man’s yard goes to heck when he has a kiddo.<br />
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I pulled out the cement board and put down actual boards — in this case I took nearly every bit of random scrap plywood and deck-size board out of my garage and cut it to fit. There’s a 2x6 acting as a sort of joist underneath, as well as a bunch of cement pavers just to keep the floor off the dirt. I didn’t put too much effort into making it last forever, although it has (so far).<br />
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My wife added a cork board above the north window (which eventually became filled with kid art!) and some window trim. The little chicken perch turned into a shelf.<br />
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More window treatments.<br />
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To compensate for the state of the yard in general, we put together a little planter box. We picked out flowers the first year, but every year since we’ve let our daughter pick out what to plant. Some years are more successful than others!<br />
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Moving in some friends, toys, and kid-sized furniture.<br />
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Pooh became a fixture in the play house.<br />
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Tinker Bell approved of the flower choices; my wife did some stenciling of butterflies, dragonflies, and other little critters around the house.<br />
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Ultimately I switched my paver plan around to make a little front porch. Something to sweep! Kids love sweeping until they're older.<br />
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I wrapped the little perch/shelf with a carpet remnant, which made it a little more fun for small hands to fiddle around with.<br />
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Open house! The neighborhood kids loved it, my daughter loved hosting.<br />
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Later I made this little shelf for her cooking stuff; it sort of turned into a kitchen area.<br />
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The fun thing about this project is that now, years later, she’s starting to outgrow the playhouse (what with a <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/01/so-you-want-to-build-treehouse.html">treehouse out front</a> and all), so she’s been letting us know we should think about converting it back into a chicken coop — and get chickens! We’ll see, I’m not sure I want chickens necessarily, but from my standpoint it’ll be an easy job switching back from playhouse to chicken coop again.<br />
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<b>On to the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/other-projects-vw-bus-bed-part-1.html" target="_blank">VW Bus Bed Build</a>, the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/01/so-you-want-to-build-treehouse.html" target="_blank">Treehouse Build</a>, the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-solar-stock-tank-swimming-pool-part.html" target="_blank">Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool</a> or the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-monster-tub-part-1.html" target="_blank">Monster Tub</a></b><br />
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<br />DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-35700769872572015882015-02-23T06:33:00.001-07:002015-02-27T18:41:33.243-07:00The Chute-A-Phone: Treehouse Test<h2>
The Chute-A-Phone: Testing from Treehouse Height</h2>
So typically my build stories come <i>before</i> video, but I've got a bit of a weather delay going here with the Chute-A-Phone. I managed to crank off a single test with the finished product just before the big snowstorm hit, so here's a little sneak peek at the thing.<br />
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This video has some boring parts -- most of it, actually, but particularly after the Chute-A-Phone lands and I have to climb back down the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/01/part-16-hanging-treehouse-rope-ladder.html" target="_blank">treehouse ladder</a> -- so feel free to skip around, or frankly skip the whole thing and I'll have a build story posted soon.<br />
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Or, if you like confusing videos and guessing about what I'm on about, enjoy!<br />
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DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-74836201707268885602015-02-22T04:30:00.000-07:002015-02-22T04:30:02.355-07:00The Monster Tub, Part 5<h2>
Finishing Touches on the Monster Tub</h2>
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At this point it was just a matter of minor details around the Monster Tub. A small bead of caulk around the whole thing was of course critical; I also touched up around the shelving area. A couple of hooks will be great for towels. Or whatever else.<br />
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Glass bricks got framed in, too.<br />
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By late afternoon, it was pretty much a done deal.<br />
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By candlelight, it’s a very calming place. That's the overflow and drain plug release there on the left.<br />
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Finally, <i>finally</i> soaking my weary bones. Ahhh…. Worth every second.<br />
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Of course, as much as I might pretend otherwise, the Monster Tub wasn't just for me. The beauty of a deep tub like this, if you have kids, is that if you don’t fill it up all the way, the high walls make for less out-of-tub splashing. To wit:<br />
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<b>On to the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/other-projects-vw-bus-bed-part-1.html" target="_blank">VW Bus Bed Build</a>, the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/01/so-you-want-to-build-treehouse.html" target="_blank">Treehouse Build</a>, or the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-solar-stock-tank-swimming-pool-part.html" target="_blank">Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool</a></b></div>
DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-52101778683192405302015-02-21T04:30:00.000-07:002015-02-22T07:16:19.939-07:00The Monster Tub, Part 4<h2>
Water Testing the Monster Tub, a Wall, and Tile!</h2>
Holy cow, it worked!<br />
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All things considered it filled up pretty quickly. Very minimal creaking underneath, thanks to the beefed-up floor. It’s a lot of water.<br />
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I’d purchased a couple of boxes of a filled travertine tile (again, on clearance), and wanted to use it in the bathroom. Again, I didn’t need much — particularly after the tub took up a third of the bathroom — so to make my life more complicated I decided to turn the 12x12 tiles into some smaller ones and make a pattern. I picked up an affordable wet saw, rigged up a straight line to cut across, and went to town.<br />
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I made a bunch of these, basically.<br />
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While I was reading about how the heck to lay tile, I decided to take care of the “no door to the bathroom” problem. I found a door on Craigslist, and started framing a wall for it to sit in.<br />
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I also wanted a way to keep a bunch of the light from the bedroom coming into the bathroom (I was worried it would seem dark after not having a door at all), so in addition to picking out a half-glass door, I left a hole for some glass bricks. They were fun to put in.<br />
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I’d eventually put in a sheer curtain for the door.<br />
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Back inside the bathroom, it was time to do the tile floor. Cement board came first.<br />
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Then I started on the tile. It was brain work remembering my pattern throughout.<br />
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Spacers!<br />
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White grout and some trim. I also cut the waste pipe down to attach the toilet flange.<br />
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Which foretold the return of the toilet, to the delight of the entire family.<br />
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The Monster Tub was almost finished — all that was left was a little touching up, and my first soak.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-monster-tub-part-5.html">On to: The Monster Tub, Part 5</a></b><br />
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DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-39012407019457255752015-02-20T12:00:00.000-07:002015-02-21T15:31:07.989-07:00The Monster Tub, Part 3<h2>
Sweating Copper for the Monster Tub</h2>
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Plumbing time! Something very satisfying about soldering copper. I’m no master plumber, but my ugly work doesn’t leak, so it’s all good. The Monster Tub was going to need a lot.<br />
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Here I had little bit of trickiness. I wanted to have the tub filler faucet on the far side of the tub, but the controls on the near side. So I had a lot of copper to fiddle into the correct position.<br />
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Here’s my copper pipe monstrosity installed. Hot and cold water arrive at my bought-at-Habitat-for-Humanity-store ceramic valves, mix at the “T” in the center, and head out to the tub filler faucet. I’ve also turned a floor vent from the central heating system to vertical; it will come out of the tub box on the other side there. Warm feet sitting on the toilet! Husband of the year, right there.<br />
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Close up. Note the sheet metal over the wood, so I don’t burn the house down with the propane torch.<br />
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Here I am doing a little vertical flooring, so to speak. It went pretty smoothly until the end.<br />
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The last piece I had to cut longways to fit, then glued it in place. The pet/baby gate there is wedged in to hold the last flooring plank on tightly while the glue dried.<br />
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I’d never laid tile by myself before, much less on a wall -- but I really liked the look of these stainless-wrapped tiles I’d found online. So I bought a box to put around the tub as a sort of splash guard. Trouble was, cutting them for size (around things) wasn’t particularly easy. I finally figured out I could cut the stainless part with the Dremel, then snap the tile (where the uneven Dremel work had conveniently scored it) with two pairs of pliers.<br />
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Here’s the tile stuck on the wall before grouting. Look at how a single row of it fit just perfectly under the window sill. Like I said, not a lot of room to work with, but it's better sometimes to be lucky than good. And you can see my tub filler faucet up there on the shelf, waiting its turn.<br />
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Last thing you want is a cold tub, so I bought insulation and stuffed a bunch in there. You can see I've grouted the metal tile, too. A lot easier than I thought it would be, the grout really sponged off the metal quickly. <i>Oh look, the hole to the living room is still there....</i><br />
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That new Monster Tub was going to be so happy in this nice soft little nest.<br />
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So once I dropped the tub in place — with like a whole inch to spare on either side, thank you very much — I realized I’d forgotten I needed to be able to attach the overflow from the outside. Duh … so I took off my nice flooring, cut a hole in the particle board, and attached it properly. Then I fixed my hole and put the flooring back on. Ah, well.<br />
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Did some more taping and painting to bring just a little more orange paint down to the grout. Looked great! Now it was time to put the Monster Tub through a water test!<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-monster-tub-part-4.html">On to: The Monster Tub, Part 4</a></b></div>
DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-55198447458585821092015-02-20T06:36:00.002-07:002015-02-21T15:32:29.757-07:00The Monster Tub, Part 2<h2>
Drywall and Creative Plumbing for the Monster Tub</h2>
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I used some green drywall board I had laying around, as well as a couple of white sheets bought new. Here I’ve progressed on the tub box walls (dead-on level! I'm so easily pleased...), and I've decided to turn the closet into a little shelf, for towels and what-not. The tub waits patiently in the other half of the room — remember, it’s just a 6x9 space, so I wound up scooting it around a lot.<br />
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A little more drywall in place. My wife is downstairs, waving to remind me I haven’t closed the hole in the wall and it’s been like a week or two now. <i>Sorry, honey.</i><br />
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Tape and texture! Heavy texture covers up a lot, thankfully. Also that’s what the room already had on the side I <i>didn't</i> tear up, so I matched it. You slather a bunch on, then whack it with a brush. More or less.<br />
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Ah, the orange. I bought two gallons, barely needed one. This is the paint I eventually pulled out for the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-vw-bus-bed-part-5.html" target="_blank">VW Bus Bed</a> project. My wife picked it out. I figured I'd do the painting before I had the Monster Tub in, to spill less junk on it. Also it was easier to stand (and put a step stool) on the floor, rather than in a tub.<br />
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So I cut my plywood to fit the box, then traced the tub and jigsawed that bit out. Again, you might see the curve matches the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-vw-bus-bed-part-4.html" target="_blank">eyebrow on the VW Bus Bed</a> (I kept the plywood. I do that.). And the hole to downstairs is still there. <i>It’s going to be there for a while....</i><br />
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For the overflow drain/vent, I realized I wanted to have it on the inside face of the tub — so when you walked into the room, the first thing you saw in the tub was the (likely expensive) tub filler faucet, not the vent. Also, since it would also house the drain release mechanism, I didn’t want to have to reach over the whole tub to drain the thing. This required a little creative pipe work.<br />
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This shows it a little better; the black cable goes down to the drain plug mechanism (which is wrapped in a plastic bag so I don’t drop stuff in it).<br />
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Next, I wanted to finish the tub box with wood — because I thought it would look neat. But with the water right there, I needed a wood "product", so I chose some pre-finished lock-n-click (or whatever it’s called) wood flooring, two boxes of which I found on clearance at the big box store. I put down the foam padding first, then hand-cut a bunch of pieces to go around the tub hole.<br />
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I stopped cutting a nice curve around the wood once I realized it wouldn’t show under the tub lip. My next trick would be some complicated hot-’n’cold plumbing for the Monster Tub.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-monster-tub-part-3.html">On to: The Monster Tub, Part 3</a></b><br />
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DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-77697719437674277782015-02-19T15:52:00.002-07:002015-02-22T07:32:38.435-07:00The Monster Tub, Part 1<h2>
Putting a Monster Tub into a 6x9 Bathroom</h2>
When we first moved into our house, one of the “issues” I wanted to resolve in particular was the lack of a bathtub. I mean, I’m sure it’s done, but I couldn’t imagine raising a child without one. What’s more, I’m a big fan of taking a soak, myself; I don’t need a jacuzzi necessarily, but being able to slink into some hot water at the end of a hard day has its merits, particularly as the old bones get older.<br />
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I wanted to make a little fortress of tranquility, a quiet spa-like space where I could soak in peace. There were two candidate bathrooms, one where a tub <i>absolutely</i> would not work, and one where it <i>probably</i> wouldn’t. Here, believe it or not, is the better choice as it looked at the time.<br />
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Yeah, a monument to white paint. And, no door. I have no idea why not. But there you have it; toilet, sink (behind the half wall), shower, and little skinny closet. The space is 6 feet by 9 feet, not a lot of options.<br />
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One day I was out with my wife and we popped into a kitchen and bath store — the kind that sells high-end ovens and 27-jet spa tubs. I had a blast looking at all the things I couldn’t afford, then spotted a funky little fiberglass tub in the corner with “clearance” marked on it. For just over a hundred dollars, there was a 100-gallon, two seated (face-to-face) center-drain soaker tub, just two inches shy of 6 feet long, and just a little over 3 feet wide.<br />
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Thinking it would just barely fit and the price was right, I bought it. And the project began!<br />
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I’ll spare you the pictures of us tearing everything out, and we’ll start here.<br />
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I removed as much of the shiplap (diagonal board) flooring as I thought necessary, because I wanted to beef up the floor joists and stabilize everything with really good plywood. So by this picture, I’ve torn up the linoleum, cut and pulled out a bunch of diagonal subflooring, put in joist-hangered cross bracing between many of the floor joists, and started dry-fitting PVC pipe to figure out about where my center-drain tub was going to drain. Oh, and I’ve built one wall of the box that will eventually house the tub — you’ll step up to enter it. Next to that wall you can see I'm experimenting with diverting a former floor heating vent out the side, and the toilet's been removed -- and the waste pipe's been scooted about a foot to make room for the Monster Tub.<br />
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Interestingly, while I knew the Monster Tub would <i>just</i> fit (once in the bathroom), I hadn’t measured to see if I could actually muscle it through the long 1960s hallway, much less up the stairs and around the corners involved. In fact, it turns out there was only one door in the entire house the tub could even fit through — the front door. After that, I was out of choices.<br />
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So, Sawzall to the rescue.<br />
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I pulled some nails and removed the wall framing, then cut a Monster Tub-sized hole in the drywall — figuring I could patch it later. That’s the living room down there.<br />
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Another view from below, with the Monster Tub neatly through the hole and in the bathroom! Front door to the left, split-level basement dead ahead, dogs thinking the mailman has treats.<br />
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I quickly replaced the wall framing (just in case it was load-bearing).<br />
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I started cutting sheetrock I had on-hand to cover up the mayhem I'd already wrought; the Monster Tub project was going to take some serious drywalling.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-monster-tub-part-2.html">On to: The Monster Tub, Part 2</a></b>DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-58564233640373646102015-02-18T13:01:00.001-07:002015-02-18T13:01:17.611-07:00Treehouse Story: The Return of Shaky Cam!<h2>
More Found Footage of the Treehouse Build</h2>
At this point I'd be doubting my story myself, but it's true: I just found another short bit of video from during the treehouse construction. Think of it as a miracle, or think of it as I'm just another guy with a pretty sloppy methodology when it comes to archiving pictures and video.<br />
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Regardless.<br />
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Watching the video, it appears I did a little shaky-handed spin-around with my phone's camera, right about when I'd completed putting up all the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/01/part-15-treehouse-takes-shape.html">treehouse walls</a>, and had started on the porch. There's no roof yet (which makes for interesting lighting), nor is there a complete railing on the porch. But it shows the trap door closed, and (sort of) the view. In my characteristic "my hands are exhausted from whatever I've been nailing/screwing together for the past few hours" sort of way.<br />
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Hopefully this will tide folks over until the snow melts and I can get back up there and shoot some more. Enjoy.<br />
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DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-41803653407086818982015-02-16T15:09:00.002-07:002015-02-18T13:01:49.048-07:00Treehouse Story: Snow Falling On Cedar (Shakes)<h2>
Treehouse In Winter</h2>
I've been meaning to get up into the treehouse and take a few pictures to see what the winter's wrought -- and fulfill requests for a bit of video showing how it feels to climb up and hang out in the tree. I was finally able to get up the other day; I lowered the ladder and ascended with no problems, inspecting things as I went. Nothing was out of place. I climbed up to see what mischief the squirrels and raccoons might've been up to inside the treehouse itself.<br />
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I'm thrilled (and a little surprised) to report I didn't see a single pile of nuts, nor poo, nor anything else untoward. It looked precisely as we'd left it at the end of fall -- and even with having left the door to the porch wide open, no less. Perhaps the critters thought it smelled too much like people, or cedar, or whatever. Or maybe leaving the porch door open made it less inviting.<br />
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Whichever, it looked great. I came back down to get some lunch and the camera, and then this blew in.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The treehouse in winter.</span></div>
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Brr!! So, sorry, faithful Treehousers, we'll have to wait a bit for the video I've been promising. Spring will come!DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-2763538468971742832015-02-14T04:30:00.000-07:002015-02-14T10:28:47.172-07:00The Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool, Part 4<h2>
Testing and Using the Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool</h2>
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Holy cow, but it worked great. In about an hour, the water temperature was a cozy 80 degrees.<br />
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My tester-in-chief approved of both the design and the lovely warm water.</div>
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Most sunny days I need to cover the panel mid-morning to keep the tank from becoming super hot — as in 110 degrees (F) and hotter. The great part about this, of course, is that I can just go out and disconnect the system when it’s hot enough; I can’t just turn off the pump, because then the water in the loop turns to steam and the whole business hisses and sputters and scares us all. For a while I ran a bypass loop with a couple of Y-valves and extra hoses, so I could keep the filter going without heating the pool any more, but that just overcomplicated things.<br />
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These days I’ll take the bucket right out if it’s getting too hot. My daughter (and friends) can splash around without kicking the bucket (!) with no problems — when the whole system’s running, there’s no super-hot water involved, it’s all within a degree of what she’s already playing in. It doesn’t heat up suddenly, it takes an hour or two. After the hoses, long run, height raised and everything are taken into account, the pump moves water right around the panel's recommended 1.5 gallons per minute. Very efficient.<br />
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But what the system’s done most of all is seriously increase the use of a kiddy pool. Even partly cloudy days generate enough solar gain to warm the thing up by noon, and on sunny, windy days when getting in and out (as kids do) is sort of rough, having the option to go up to bathtub temperatures at no significant increased cost or hassle is a neat deal. To say nothing of getting up to hot tub levels for a post-sunset grown-up soak under the stars.<br />
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Additional amenities eventually included a step stool, an umbrella (Craigslist free section), and my high-tech leaf skimming apparatus.<br />
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For my daughter’s age, the solar stock tank swimming pool is perfect. Pool parties are awesome.<br />
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My custom tomato delivery system got rave reviews locally, at least. She liked it.<br />
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On a hot day, under the umbrella, falling asleep just happens.<br />
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And, because you’ve read this far, enjoy a little unbridled cuteness. Eagle-eyed readers will spot the other solar panel and salvaged deck lumber that <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/01/so-you-want-to-build-treehouse.html">eventually became part of the treehouse</a> in the background.<br />
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<b>On to: <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/01/so-you-want-to-build-treehouse.html">Treehouse Build</a> or <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/other-projects-vw-bus-bed-part-1.html">VW Bus Bed Build</a></b><br />
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DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-54959132548669255592015-02-13T04:30:00.000-07:002015-02-14T11:31:22.225-07:00The Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool, Part 3<h2>
Assembling the Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool Parts</h2>
The answer was a simple sump pump; with the stock tank pool, I’d essentially be creating a basement it could never pump out, right? I thought I had one around, but I was mistaken. Off to the hardware store.<br />
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I picked up the 3/10 horsepower submersible pump at the hardware store, expensive (at least for my projects) but a good deal compared to most pool pumps. I chose this one because it had the highest discharge height among the models they had on the shelf — it claimed it could pump more than 2,000 gallons per hour up 5 feet, which sounded plenty strong for the journey through a few hoses and a solar panel. For safety, I’d be plugging it into a GFCI receptacle, because hey, water and electricity.<br />
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It wasn’t designed to attach to a regular garden hose, so the guys at the hardware store and I figured out just the right combination of cheap plastic fittings to get down to a standard hose thread. After they heard what I was up to, actually, a bunch of them got together to help me work it out. It was kind of fun, watching them toss aside more expensive fittings per my “as cheap as possible” mandate (for the record, hardware store guys seem to love the same sorts of mad projects I do).<br />
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Eventually I had my adaptor ready. Next I needed to protect my pump. In this case I drew inspiration from some guys I’d seen online building pond filters for next to nothing. I bought a 5-gallon bucket, a bunch of 50-cent plastic shower scrubbies, and some pillow batting to make a filter, of sorts.<br />
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I put a flat rock in the bottom of the bucket, and put the sump pump on top of that. Then I stuffed the plastic scrubbies all around the pump, and topped it off with the pillow batting.<br />
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Next I drilled a bunch of holes in the lid of the bucket, and made one big one for the hose and power cord to go through, and submerged the whole thing in the stock tank.<br />
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That took care of water going out; it was ejected from the pump to the hose, which I connected to the solar panel laid flat in the yard, in what I figured was the sunniest spot. This, too, was an odd connection.<br />
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The other end of the solar panel had a decent bit of copper coming out of it, and I had a sharkbite connector that fit the hose (again, from another project. This blog should be called “from a previous project).<br />
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Coming back to the stock tank, I got a little bit fancy. It would’ve been just as good to have the “warmer water” hose coming back just stuck in the tank, but since I already had a spigot for draining the thing, I attached it there.<br />
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The result was sort of regular-pool-like, in that warmer water would be coming into the tank through the side.<br />
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Another critical issue I solved on the cheap, that being the fact that the tank’s edges were chewed up and (in places) sharp. Slicing a couple of colorful pool noodles lengthwise down one side, I created a bumper lip that dressed the tank up, even as it made it safer.<br />
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I was time to hook it all up on a sunny day and see how it worked.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-solar-stock-tank-swimming-pool-part_14.html">On to: The Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool, Part 4</a></b></div>
DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-186045983055760772015-02-12T04:30:00.000-07:002015-02-14T11:32:00.196-07:00The Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool, Part 2<h2>
Why Do You Have Solar Panels, Again?</h2>
Good question.<br />
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There were a lot of hot water solar panels put up back when there was a tax credit for them, 20 years ago (or longer). Different from the solar panels we think about now, the ones that generate electricity, these old beasts were designed to heat water with sunlight. Think of a big radiator, painted black, stuck in a box behind plexiglass and mounted on the roof, and you’re about there. It exposes the water flowing through it to a huge surface area of hotness, and when it circulates back to a tank, can gradually increase water temperature with each iteration.<br />
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I’d planned on making a system for my house with a couple of panels and an auxiliary hot water storage tank; water could be pumped through the panels, heating it, and be stored in that extra tank — and that warmer water would then feed into my gas-fired water heater at an already raised temperature — saving me energy.<br />
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This was a great plan, but in order to make it pay off I knew I’d need to get most of the components on the cheap; I’d been on the lookout for panels and found a pair two hours away for $50. They were a huge pain in the rear to get home, being ten feet long, four feet wide, and super heavy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3LsOIC9Hd3YfK7kB4jVHxLneJOdsFNaWIX6bAYZ7MK_t1SIMiHR_cLakrgbcDt3X7J4WmTWmwLFVupC3AqhkR4wt0ief1PMYkX3xKdIObNpRwZYp5F8qM7VRqU5jr-SeX6cy4JUs94Sw/s1600/solarpanel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3LsOIC9Hd3YfK7kB4jVHxLneJOdsFNaWIX6bAYZ7MK_t1SIMiHR_cLakrgbcDt3X7J4WmTWmwLFVupC3AqhkR4wt0ief1PMYkX3xKdIObNpRwZYp5F8qM7VRqU5jr-SeX6cy4JUs94Sw/s1600/solarpanel.jpg" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Here I'm running water through to see if it leaks.</span></div>
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In the interim I’d been looking for pipe and fittings, as well as a circulator pump, that wouldn’t break the bank. If I paid full price, I’d never make the difference back in natural gas savings.<br />
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Shortly after I scored the panels, I came across a fantastically high-end, super-efficient 80-gallon gas water heater for $75, and suddenly the economics of the solar hot water system went out the window. The panels languished until the stock tank came home, and I started puttering.<br />
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I had two goals with the pool: first and foremost, I wanted to have at least warm water in it whenever we needed it. No matter how hot the day, a big tank full of cold water is bracing for a 4 year-old kid, to say nothing of her far older father. So I wanted to have a ready supply of water at, well, pool temperature.<br />
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Second, I wanted to do it without buying anything that was designed for pools; my theory was the stuff at the pool supply store was probably overspecialized, overbuilt, and overpriced for what was essentially going to be a kiddy pool. So I wanted my “pool equipment” to come from the hardware store, if not just from my own garage.<br />
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I needed a pump strong enough to circulate water from the tank, to the solar panel, and back to the tank. Pool pumps were expensive critters; the solar stock tank pool needed something different.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-solar-stock-tank-swimming-pool-part_13.html">On to: The Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool, Part 3</a></b>DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2271557274163863560.post-65369050750046213882015-02-11T04:30:00.000-07:002015-02-14T11:32:42.553-07:00The Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool, Part 1<h2>
Building A Solar-Heated Stock Tank Swimming Pool</h2>
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<i>"Redneck Sun-Powered Hot Tub"? "Hippie Stock Tank Swimmin' Pool"?</i><br />
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The Hippie-Redneck Solar-heated Kiddo Swimmin’ Pool. And Hot Tub.</h3>
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One fall afternoon I was over at my neighbor’s house, picking his apples. We both have fruit trees — I’ve got a couple of pear trees, a couple of peach trees, and an apple tree of my own. But that year, his peaches didn’t come in and my apples didn’t come in. So we were sort of trading fruit, pick-yer-own style. I think he was a peach jam guy. Me, I make cider.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Oh, man. I guess I should do a cider series at some point.</span></div>
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Anyhow, I was up on a ladder grabbing apples; I was telling him about my projects (particularly the <a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/other-projects-vw-bus-bed-part-1.html">VW bus bed</a>), he was telling me about his. I noticed he had a new above-ground pool, a pretty big one, too. I asked how he liked it, and how his now-teenage girls liked it, and he said it was pretty satisfactory — although he missed the days he could just fill up his kiddy pool and be done with it. I told him I agreed, although my daughter was about growing out of her plastic kiddy pool.</div>
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“Oh, no,” he said, pointing in the corner of the yard. “My girls played in that over there, probably until they were six or seven.”</div>
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Halfway covered by a tarp was a six-foot diameter galvanized round stock tank. I thought that looked way better than the little plastic pools from the store, and told him I’d probably have to pick a tank like that up one of these days for my daughter.</div>
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“My girls loved it when it was hot out, but man that water got cold,” he said, smiling. “You can have that one if you want.”</div>
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My favorite words! And probably my wife’s least favorite, as I think about it. But anyway, free stock tank! Yippee!</div>
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Fortunately it was just a block or so away, so I could "Beverly Hillbillies" my way home with it. Cue banjo music.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">In retrospect, I probably could've rolled it home, too.</span></div>
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My brain started cranking on the “cold water” problem, and struck upon an obvious solution: heat it up. And I already had just the thing, from an earlier project that never took off: a big solar panel. I would heat the stock tank pool with the sun! But the sun was going to need a little help.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.thetreehouser.com/2015/02/the-solar-stock-tank-swimming-pool-part_12.html">On to: The Solar Stock Tank Swimming Pool, Part 2</a></b></div>
DIYDadhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13324518026652786134noreply@blogger.com0