It never rains but it pours...

A very disappointing week. We lost two days to poor weather and another two to no generator.  It rained so much that water somehow managed to get into the generator fuel tank and contaminate the fuel.  This is despite the fact that the generator has been sitting under cover in the garage. Not that we realised that this was the problem when we couldn't start the generator but, after a few hours of diagnostics we eventually narrowed it down to the fuel supply.  We thought it was a problem in the carburettor but when we took it in to be fixed the professionals discovered it was contaminated fuel.  It was quickly fixed but we still lost two working days.

Having said that, we did manage to put the remaining valleys in the dormer roof frames and added the short rafters for all of them as well.  They went in very quickly and just shows what could be achieved if only the weather would let up, which it is forecast to do at the end of the coming week.  So hopefully only another week of frustration to cope with.

The arrival of spring and warmer, if not nicer, weather has triggered the genetic spring cleaning clock in me and this weekend I had a sudden urge to clean things up around the property. I have done some yard work clearing off cuts from the building lumber that have been gathering in the garage and stacking them on the firewood pile.  I have also been collecting rocks to line the driveway banks. This is tiring work and there is still lots to do but, at least I have made a start. I have also taken the chains off the quad tyres, now that the snow has gone and what more falls will last only for a few hours.  I have, however, decided to leave the blade on the quad. I might need this in a few weeks time to help smooth out some of the ground around the cabin.

Here you can see some of the problems that all the rain is causing. I have since drilled holes in the floor to let the water drain through the floor, siting them where the water can go down harmlessly into the garage below. The basement has half an inch of water in it as well but this always dries quite quickly and I am less concerned about it.

The dormer over the en-suite bathroom now complete with valleys and rafters.

The same for the dormers in the bonus room, ......

.... the second bedroom and ...

the master bedroom - not that it is any larger than the other bedroom.

The beams jutting out from the bedroom dormers have also been trimmed and shaped.

Haven't shown you this view for a while.

While the generator was away being repaired, we decided to make use of the time, back at the contractor's workshop, making spindles for the deck and banister railings. The process started here, where the spindles that I had cut two weeks ago out at the property were cut to size (33") by me on this chop saw. When we ran out of the spindles that I had cut we used wood that Kevin had found and cut on Crown land. More about cutting and collecting wood on Crown land later.

I passed them over (bottom left) to Tex who stripped them and shaped them.

He then passed them to Byron (a poet in another life) who trimmed the ends ready for putting into the railings. Note the spindles top left, peeled and shaped by Tex. The finished article bottom left.

I took my turn on all three tasks and managed to cut the cord to the planer but, we quickly fixed it.

Sorry about the quality of the last few photographs. The camera on the iPhone didn't seem to like the dark light in the workshop.

On the G1/G4 front there have been some hits as well. Poor John the homeless man that I have told you about has been told by the Forestry Service that he must pack up and quit his camp. They have given him a month to get out and have said that they received a complaint from someone. They wouldn't say what the complaint was or who complained, only that there had been one and he must move. All of us who have been helping John are very angry at what has happened and last week Ron was going to the office of the local MP to complain. I haven't had any feedback from this yet.

I really don't understand what there was to complain about. John keeps a very clean and tidy little camp which is hidden away in the forest on crown land and he is as quiet as a mouse. He really isn't a nuisance to anyone and therefore I am finding it very difficult to understand what there was to complain about.  There is a law about camping on crown land which specifies that you are only allowed to stay in one place for two weeks but this is really intended to stop people building permanent residences or occupying popular sites for too long and denying them to others. John was doing neither of these things and someone is being very small minded.

On the bright side, it is rumoured that, someone who has a small out-house on their property may offer it to John, while he tries to find an alternative site or accommodation.  Anyway, we will do what we can and Ron and I, and probably one or two others, will help him move.