Garage is Done!

I am so amazed with how much work the Hubs and the Farmer got done in just 10 days!  They were totally exhausted at the end though.  During this building process, we thought about things we could do to extend the life of the garage, because this is not something we want to do again in the near future.  We decided to put in a French drain around the garage. A French drain is a trench that is filled with rocks and gravel that helps re-direct rainwater away from a structure and it's foundation. Since our old garage had so much termite damage, rot and water damage, the hub's dad, the Farmer, highly recommended we put one in. So the hubs and I dug a trench 1 foot deep and 6 inches wide all the way around the perimeter of the garage. No trench is needed in the front where the garage door is.   I love this photo of the Hubs, he is not amused that I'm taking photos rather than digging. LOL.  I quickly took this photo, then grabbed a shovel to help him dig.  Haha. He's such a good sport!

We went to a landscape retailer to buy a yard of blue stones for the trench. They had a lot of other prettier stones, like river rock, but we were trying to stay on budget so we opted for regular blue stone.  It only cost $32 for a whole yard of rocks.  We went and picked it up with the Farmer's truck. We decided to pick it up ourselves because that saves us the $50 delivery fee.  For a renovation project like this, every little bit of money saved helps!  The hardest part was unloading the truck, which was the Hubs and I and two shovels.  A yard of stone weighs about 1 ton.  Heavy!!  After we removed all the rocks out of the truck, I felt like I could use a spa day. 

We haven't poured the rocks into the trench yet.  We had to get back to working on the garage.  Before we pour the rocks into the trench, the Farmer suggested we cover the trench with landscape fabric.  The landscape fabric will be a barrier to keep dirt out of the gravel. So we'll do that before the rocks go in.  Over the plywood walls, the men installed some insulation foam boards to help with the whipping wind.  Doesn't this look like a Lowe's ad??  Actually, during this project we received two Lowe's coupons in the mail, so we saved $35!  So I don't mind giving a shout out to Lowe's.  However... it is a drop in the bucket, because I lost count after already spending over $2,000 at Lowes.  But every little bit helps right?  I have to keep saying that like a mantra, haha.  We only put the foam boards on two sides of the garage, the sides most exposed to the direct wind and the elements.

Then the siding went up.  We picked out an almond color vinyl siding.  We went with what they had in stock, which wasn't much of a choice.  White or almond.  We could have done a special order with other color options and styles, but it would have cost more money and honestly, we're on a budget, so I can live with the almond color.

Bye, bye Lowe's advertisement.

One wall done!

Two walls done!

All walls done!!  It took 10 days and every waking hour of my husband's and his father's vacation to do this!  The guys worked so hard on this project!  We are ecstatic!

This is before!

And after!  I am seriously smiling right now, not only because we have a "new" garage, but also because now that my husband has one building project under his belt, you know what's next?  (smile) Three words.  My garden shed!  (bigger smile)

Pay It Forward!

This is my 200th post! I can't believe I've already written 200 posts on this blog. I guess what I quickly learned about writing about our first garden is that when you write about something you're excited about and passionate about, it's easy to reach 200. So I decided for this post to PAY IT FORWARD. Throughout these 8 months of blogging, I've been reading all of your blogs too and have learned A LOT about not just gardening, but also about composting, canning, saving seeds and extending the harvest.   And many of you have been generous with not only your gardening advice and extensive knowledge of homesteading, but also so incredibly generous with sharing seeds! So I decided for my 200th post, I would like to give away some seeds in effort to pay it forward. Many of you sent me seeds without expecting anything in return. I think that is so amazing! Gardeners are so generous with their time, advice, and their seeds!

So here are the seeds I've been collecting that I would love to share. The infamous Habaneros, I have been collecting these every time I use a pepper.  Here's the disclaimer about these seeds, we received this plant from a friend, so I don't know if this is a hybrid.  But if you are willing to try an experiment and grow these seeds, I'd be happy to send you some, just email me your address by using the contact form here.

I also have saved some Long Island Cheese squash seeds.  The squash was from the family farm, so I can vouch for it's deliciousness, check it out here.  However, I don't know if the seeds will germinate into a Long Island Cheese squash, since these plants are planted next to other kinds squash.  Farmer father-in-law says that there's a chance they can cross pollinate so if you want to experiment with these seeds, let me know.

I also have some other seeds that I didn't collect but purchased that I have extras of.  If you would like some of these seeds, send me an email with the contact form above.  I have the following:
1. Chinese Mustard Greens
2. French Breakfast Radish
3. Blue Lake Pole Beans
4. Black Eyed Susan
5. Purple Coneflower
6. Mediterranean Oregano
7. Detroit Dark Red Beet

I wanted to say a special thank you for all of those who have sent me seeds!  I can't wait to grow these seeds in our garden this spring!
Thank you Our Engineered Garden!  I am a tomato novice, so I can't wait to try new varieties!

Thank you Bellas Rose Cottage!  I love poppies so I can't wait to try these!

Thank you Frugal Gardener!  I never tried white cucumbers before, so this one is going to be extra exciting!

Thank you Nyack Backyard.  I love climbing plants, so this cardinal vine is going to be fun!  Maybe I can get the hubs to build me a trellis especially for this vine!

Thank you Char's Gardening.  I haven't tried growing cauliflower or brussel sprouts before so this is going to be so awesome.  Love brussel sprouts!

Thank you Food Garden Kitchen!  I've been wanting to try Green Zebra tomatoes ever since I read about them.  I love green tomatoes so this is going to be a dream come true!

This has been a fun journey of gardening, blogging, and reading your blogs. I look forward to more gardening, more blogging and reading more of your blogs!

Garage Renovation: Part 3

We were so fortunate to have good weather this past week.  We only had one day of rain where work had to stop.  After the trusses were all installed, the men (the hubs and his dad) moved onto adding the roof.  Plywood was added and then we decided to spend the extra money to install an ice and water shield so that it would be storm proof.  No leaks or holes in this roof! After the roof shield was installed, the roof was water tight and then the roof shingles were added. 

Doesn't the new roof look awesome?

Then they moved onto installing the new garage door.  Here you can see the inside of the building and all the old framing and walls are still there, only more stable with all the new beams holding it up.

Here it is, with new exterior walls, new roof, and new garage door!  Next up, siding!!

More photos to come!

Garage Renovation: Part 2

Here are more photos of the renovation of the old garage. My husband's dad, the farmer, is also a master carpenter. Before owning the family farm, he had his own carpentry business where he specialized in custom built furniture and cabinetry. So it was fantastic to have him visit to help guide us with the reconstruction of the mess we call a garage. Not to go into a long drawn out story but, we decided because of all the various zoning rules to keep the framing of the existing garage. Long story, short, we are considering this an "emergency renovation" project. The building was literally a hazard and so it had to be renovated. There was not a chance that the building would hold up to another New York winter! On the second day of working on the garage, after clearing out all the damaged wood holding up the walls, the father-in-law showed me how you could move the entire wall with just your hand.  Hello, scary!  So first up, he built a temporary wall to take the load off the existing wall.

Once the temporary wall was in place, then it was safe to replace the bottom boards and add new 2x4s to the wall to shore up the stability.  This was done to all 3 walls.

On the outside, the hubs and father-in-law attached new plywood to the outside of all the walls. 

Once the walls were solid again, the roof was completely removed.  There were gaping holes in the roof, so nothing was salvaged.

Then my father-in-law built all new trusses for the roof.

All the old trusses were removed and new ones were installed.

Here is a photo from the front. It's really starting to look so much better already!

Stay tuned for more photos!