It has taken a while for this project to get to the top of the priority list for a variety of boring reasons - not least of which has been the STINKING HOT weather alternating with rain. Also, my original plan had "legs" that were 36" and a trial run immediately demonstrated that it was waaaay too top-heavy and unstable, especially when the wind was blowing. (by the way, the wind is almost always blowing on the 11th floor).
So last week I decided it was a priority and I got busy on it. But first I had to find a way to cut iron (or are they steel?) rods to shorten the legs. The way I originally designed it was with "off the rack" rods of some metal that was rusty so I know it has a high iron content ( I am not sure what the intended use is for these) from Lowe's. Fortuitously, I talked with a real estate agent who knew of an ironworks in Mannassas - about 17 miles outside of the metro DC area. [Shout-out to Steve Wydler: thanks for the tip; I owe you one!] So I drove out there and they were extremely helpful. A guy promptly cut my 36" rods into 18" pieces.
Got home ready to assemble, but then realized I now had to cut down all the copper tubing, too. That took another day or two because I couldn't find my cutting tool. Broke down and bought a new one at Cherrydale Hardware and did that (Tom helped - thank you, Tom).
Finally, I was able to try assembling it and find out if my design was going to be functional:
1. Rod goes into premade base.
2. Copper tubing goes over rod and plastic tube in base.
3. Figure out where the bases go, and figure out which end to start with since the fence panels need to link and make a 90ish degree turn. (Had to start over after putting up the first 6 panels.)
4. Put one side of a fence panel onto the leg by threading it down inside the copper tube and onto the rod. Then connect the other side to the adjacent panel.
It only took about 4 hours! Slightly longer than expected. Just one problem - I needed two more panels!! At first I was freaking out because Lowe's website was showing that this was unavailable at any Lowe's on the planet. But I finally talked to someone and we figured out that the website actually has the wrong item number (320832) where it should be 0320834. Turns out they had 45 in stock! So we made the trek to the Alexandria Lowe's on Saturday, and NOW it is complete. I have to say, it looks fantastic and seems to be very stable. And it helps enormously having these beautiful potted plants. There are a few spots where we will use some black cable ties to make sure the panels stay together, but that is really just preventive, not a structural defect.
We finally let the cats outside over the weekend, and they loved it just as much as we did - maybe even more.
p.s.: while we were at Lowe's, Tom decided he wants another tree, so we bought a big pot there. We found a tree we liked, but they were quite surly about delivering a tree and managed to talk us out of buying it there. (Another local nursery (whose initials coincidentally are "MF") also responded with a big "HUH?" when I inquired about planning and installing a rooftop garden.) So I will take that pot out to Cravens Nursery where they did the other plants for me. They happily helped me plan the plants, potted and delivered them via the freight elevator and put them out on the terrace, which was a big deal and a lot of work. Some people know how to do things, and some don't.
As soon as we let the cats go outside, they checked out everything and then rolled on the concrete pavers in the sun. We have already enjoyed some pretty spectacular sunsets. This picture was just before dusk when the light was not so harsh, but before the sky became really colorful. The cats especially love to go outside after the sun sets and it cools off. Most nights we have to go out and bring them inside at bedtime. And one of the best things is that it doesn't look like it was designed for cat containment - it is very pleasant and relaxing for humans, too!
No comments:
Post a Comment