ArizonaRanch

  Building the Littlehouse Porch Roof by rdpecken on Oct.16, 2011, under porch We went up in mid-October to put a roof over the Littlehouse porch. Littlehouse Porch Roof in progress After a really late start on Friday, Oct 7th, we got up to a chilly Saturday morning to finally complete our roof install. It was about 27 degrees when we awoke, and the frost was melting off of the metal roof, and dripping down onto the deck. Brrr… Frost on the porch We started out by bolting some 4×4 posts upright, sitting on the beam beneath the porch. Porch Posts bolted to frame There are 7 posts, separated by 4 feet between each pair. Porch Posts Because we had to cut holes in the deck to put the posts down to the beam, we had to put some cripple studs under in some spots to support the deck boards where they were cut. Cripple Studs Once the posts were upright, our good neighbor Wayne K., and his wife Lisa stopped by to check on us.  Along with them was the other Wayne’s son, Sha

  A Little Adventure by rdpecken on Oct.02, 2011, under Area On all of our trips to the Ranch, we pass by a turnoff that says, “Perkinsville – XX Miles” (I don’t remember how many miles, maybe 17 or so…) So on this trip, on the way back, we came up on that sign again, and I thought, “Maybe this is a shortcut to I-17… Seems like about the right distance.” So As I was making the turn to Perkinsville, I asked John, “Are you up for a little adventure?”. Turns out, it was a little more than I expected. The road started out as a nice paved two-lane road going to the Drake Cement Plant. Within just a couple of miles, we got the dreaded sign that says something like… “Travel at your own risk, unmaintained road”. But the road was still in pretty good shape, so we decided to continue on. Here is the path we ended up taking. Starting at Drake, and ending up in Jerome, AZ. Drake-Perkinsville-Jerome Road Once the pavement ended, we had a pretty good view from point #1 on th

  September 2011 Visit by rdpecken on Oct.02, 2011, under porch John came down to help with the porch construction a little bit during September.  We started out by cutting a notch in the vertical trim pieces for the roof ledger board to fit into.  I used my “poor-man’s sawzall”.   Next, we added three 8′ 2×8 ledger boards, sitting on top of the trim piece. These are what the roof rafters will attach to. We used 3-1/2″ lag screws every couple of feet, into the studs behind the siding.  This puts the top of the roof just a couple of inches below the main roof.   John, attaching a ledger board Here is a view of the ledger boards after they have all been attached. Ledger Boards and Porch Trim installed The next task was to finish the porch trim fascia. I had made a mistake on the first piece, so we removed it, and correctly notched a second piece to take it’s place. Notching the fascia for the porch After that, it was just a matter of notching the other end in the