The Teddybear Cottage started out to be my woodshop. When it proved to be too small for that purpose Sue agreed to buy it from me and I bought a larger building to be used for my shop.
The building was delivered on January 30, 2007 when the temperature was about 20 degrees with a wind chill of zero. There were two identical buildings on the trailer, one for me and by a sheer coincidence, the other was for someone a short distance up the road from us. We can see it as we drive by. |
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The trailer was parked in the driveway belonging to a neighboring farmer. The trailer was tilted until its tail was dragging on the ground. It was pulled forward leaving the building sitting on the gravel surface. |
A machine that is basically a two wheeled fork lift, which had been stored inside the building, was moved around to one end of the building. The "T" shaped stop presses against the wall of the building and makes it possible to lift the building. The "T" stop is heavily padded. The end of the building was lifted and an axel inserted underneath. The extra set of tires in the picture belong to the axel. |
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The machine was then moved to the other end and that end lifted. Now the building was on 4 wheels powered by the engine on the machine and can be moved by one man. In fact the whole operation was accomplished by a lone man. |
Here the building is seen passing the lawnmower house. Note the similarity in appearance. |
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We had this building set on concrete blocks. The delivery man placed a level inside the building and inserted shims between the blocks and building frame to level it. |
The building was placed at an angle to avoid covering the underground electric service line which runs in front of the building. It comes to the main house just beyond the airconditioner unit. |
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At this point there was no electric wiring to or in the building. It was also still my workshop. An extension cord stretched from an outdoor outlet on the carport provided energy for power tools and lights. I completed this radio desk in the shop. The desk is made of Burch plywood and finished with clear polyurethane. |
While working on the radio desk it became apparent that this building was too small for a decent woodworking shop. As I worked on the desk I took up most of the floor space. There wouldn't be enough room for a workbench, table saw, drill press, and other equipment I would need. I was beginning to eye the Shop Smith, but even that would not leave any room for a workbench and tool storage space. |
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We began finishing work on July 5, 2007. The first step was to install an airconditioner. I don't like the idea of installing airconditioners in windows. Windows were meant to look through and an airconditioner can work just as well if installed in a hole in the wall. Of course, this is best done before the installation of insulation and paneling. |
We now had electricity in the cottage and an airconditioner but we couldn't run it. The reason was there was no insulation. Closed up it was like an attic. The AC couldn't even make a dent in the heat. Add to that, we were in the middle of the worst heat wave in this part of the country since the 1940s. The doors and windows were open and an industrial strength fan blowing when the picture of the thermometer was taken. |
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Completing the installation of the insulation gave two benefits. We could close the doors and run the airconditioner, and we could start on the paneling which meant we were on the home stretch. |
The wall paneling wasn't too bad, neither was that sloping ceiling. The edge of the panel could be rested on the top plate of the rear wall and nailed in place with the electric brad gun. However, when it came to the horizontal part of the ceiling, it was a different story. Sue and I were up, each on our own stepladder, and trying to hold the 4 by 6 foot piece of paneling in place, getting it lined up, and driving a couple of nails to hold it in place. NO WAY! |
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One of the fans was mounted and that meant we no longer needed the industrial strength fan mentioned earlier. The other one had to wait for the access hatch for the attic fan to be completed. |
I felt it was unwise to just nail up the ceiling panels and close up the attic fan with no access. An opening was left in the ceiling paneling and a frame built. This frame was hinged to two pieces of 2 by 4 that were mounted below the fan and on a level with the ceiling joists. A piece of duck tape insured that the door could be opened after the paneling was nailed in place. Magnetic door latches of the type used in cabinets were used to hold the door closed. The addition of a handle and insulation on the top side made it complete. The other ceiling fan could be installed and due to our marvelous planning, the door did not hit the fan blades when pulled down. |
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Next, the floor. The floor provided by the builders was most unsatisfactory. First of all, some of the pieces of plywood were thicker than others. There were large headed nails driven in at an angle. The ones that were straight kept popping up. No matter how many times we pounded them down they kept rearing their ugly heads again. |
Here, Sue sweeps the MDF sub-floor before the lock-together tiles go down. |
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The airconditioner presented a special problem. Manufacturer's instructions called for a 5 degree tilt outward to allow condensed water to properly flow to cool the condenser coil. This placed the vent partly inside the wall. Part of the solution can be seen in the edge of the picture of Woody, and in earlier pictures above. A piece of plywood mounted at an angle deflects the air out into the room. |
Standard door and window molding and a window sill made of 3/4 inch board, not plywood, and a piece of 3/4 inch symmetrical molding give both a finished look. Compare this with earlier photos in which the door and window show in the background. |
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When I was very young I remember my mother and father calling this mop board. For many years I have called it base board and quarter round. Sue informs me that today it is called the base and the quarter round is called the shoe. What ever you call it, it hides many mistakes and just plain screw ups as noted earlier. |
Molding around the ceiling, along the transition from sloping to horizontal, and in the corners brings the project close to completion. Sue has filled the nail holes and cracks where two pieces of wood join with wood filler and sanded prior to painting. |
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Now we come to painting the wood molding. That's left up to Sue because of her superior vision. In case the color doesn't quite come out on your screen, it is a gray with a slight brownish tint. |
Now back to that pesky circuit breaker panel cutout. We decided to hide it with something like a wall mounted medicine cabinet except that, this one has no back, shown at top right. Once painted and mounted on the wall it covers the electrical box and the cutting mistakes. |
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Here is the finished product. This is a full 360 degree panorama moving to the right around the cottage. It was pronounced finished on November 5, 2007. I am typing this on the eve of Thanksgiving 2007. We are both thankful that the job is done.
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Sue painted this picture on a piece of quarter inch plywood. My next project is to make a frame for it.