Harper Creep Falls

Harper Creep Falls
Harper Creek Falls

Saturday, July 2, 2022

Cardin Place

It once was a mountain farm. One of the former fields is now a wooded shelf on the south mountain slope of TVA land at Wilbur Lake. It must have been hard making living off of this land, but I do know that the yard is fertile because I grew gardens there for several years.


The barn looks small from the road, but it had two stalls, a loft, and a corn crib attached on the side.


The neighbor rebuilt the front porch about 30 years back. It is still holding up well. That was a screen door when we lived there.


The front yard underbrush has been cleared further down into the woods and an opening made to see the lake. I planted the Eastern White Pine just to the right of center. It was not as tall as me when I planted it there.


Ah, the smokehouse, a shed and workshop and artifact of a past life. My 32 gallon garbage cans used to sit there beside it. One evening, my oldest son came out that back door to right to meet up with a raccoon as big around as the top of one of those can crawling up out of it. He was as scared of raccoons as bears.


Calas and Tiger Lilies contrast the old wood well.


And a very nice visitor alighted, too.


The outhouse is still there, though the last time I looked inside, a groundhog likely had nearly collapsed it.


The barn looks both more noble and more worn from this vantage point. I replaced that near post on the overhang. Black Locust holds up well.


The memories of 29 plus years ago flooded my mind as I saw how little had changed. I felt as though we could move back in and take up where we left off. Oh, life has changed and is so much more complicated. I am thankful for the many years God has guided and used us for His purposes. If our grandchildren had a desire to hear them, we have a few stories.

 

Beveled Stairs

The 2 x 10 double beam warped dangerously. The joists were set to fall. The owner was aware that the railing was leaning in, but he had no idea that the joist ends were ready to fail. If he had had a party with neighbors and friends, then someone might have ended up in the hospital.


I am not real partial to the red oxide color, but it was functional and fairly ubiquitous in the past. The posts were fairly rotten and not good to build upon. The joist were decent but probably half of their lifespan completed. It would have been hard to simply replace the beam, and they would still have an old deck.


The new deck was just a bit smaller with the bevels and steps the full length of the front that would just reach the concrete pad around the recently installed swimming pool. The concrete had been poured within a few inches of the old deck, but the owners wanted more swimming pool skirt and less deck.


The decking boards always give the appearance of great progress in the build.


This build was split up due to a five week commitment that I had out of town. To prevent the hot sun from overly drying out and cracking the floorboards while I was away, I stained what I had completed before I left. The owners wanted the deck to match a covering (gazebo?) on the wider end of the swimming pool skirt.


The bevels required an outlet to be moved.


They also required some additional concrete onto which the steps were to land.


Those pesky bevels increased complexity at every turn. (1)


The end result was satisfying and met the owner's wishes.


A few detail shots of custom fits are in order.


Besides the look, the stair railings will be useful for anyone who needs them.


The concrete forms became trim work and the underground wiring still needed and an access point.


I also replaced a crawlspace access door that was rotten. It was a challenging job with agreeable clients. I thank God for the skills, energy, tools, encouragement, variety of jobs, and money made to pay bills. It's a classic win-win situation.

1. Sad pun