Another Aerie Project

I started another project today.

We have this huge attic upstairs that has a multitude of storage possibilities. Until today, however, the only floor space available was right down the center. The sides, beneath the roof and out to the eaves, had no plywood/particle board flooring. I had finished insulating that area two weeks ago when I took a rain day from working on the garden bed but it wasn't until today that I decided to go get the 3/4" OSB sheets needed to put down the floor. I calculated I would need 12 sheets for the job and easily hauled them up to the Aerie in the bed of the Tundra.

To get these sheets in and around the trusses of the roof, I needed to rip each sheet to a 2-foot width and a 2-foot length. Then to get them to fit the first row had to have notches cut to fit around the 2" wide truss supports.

I started ripping each sheet as it came off the back of the pickup and had a heck of a time holding a straight line. I had to run back down to the store to get a new blade as mine was too dull to do the job. (At first I thought it was the saw and I picked up a new DeWalt. Which was good. But I picked up a new combination blade and tried that on my Ryobi before breaking the DeWalt out of its box. The blade made the difference so the DeWalt went back to the store. *sigh* and I so wanted a new toy for my birthday.) Then I used the jig saw to cut the notches. Well, the metal plates used in making the connections on the trusses meant that the supports I would be going around weren't really 1 1/2 inches wide as I had cut but rather closer to 2" which called for a second cut. (Of course, all these cuts were being done in the driveway necessitating my carrying the OSB boards up and down the stairs. Several times.) Anyway, I've got the first two feet of flooring in on half of one half of the attic and now that I know what the heck I'm doing I should be able to get the rest done lickety-split tomorrow.

When it['s all done, I'll be able to put some of the boxes that have Xmas decorations off to one side, those that have my son's belongings in off to another side, those that have all the kitchen stuff for Jessica (who is living with Grandma and therefore has no need for them at the moment) off to another, and all of Terry's romance paperbacks in yet another area. Maybe then I can use the area to actually store the window AC unit (which will be coming out soon) and other vital stuff while still being able to walk in there and actually turn around.

The next project after that will be the workshop. I need a real workbench and a better layout for my large tools. But that will have to wait until after Thanksgiving or a deer or two in the freezer...whichever comes last.