Back to Work

I finally completed the last piece of the coop (main door) and finished painting (small touchup needed in the spring), so it's back to working on the layout.

I started by leveling the benchwork as it had a small slope to the front. What a pain! I had installed T-nuts and carriage bolts on the legs but had screwed them all the way in. Since this rests on the carpet, the bolt heads sank into it and I couldn't access them with a wrench. so I had to put some small pieces of masonite under them, use narrow-jawed pliers to turn the bolt head, and then I could use the wrench to turn it. I unscrewed them about 1/2 inch, then worked at leveling. Still a pain but it's done.

I had intended to screw the plywood from the top down into the joists, and still will do so, but I've decided to use star-headed trim head screws instead of Phillips-head wood screws. They are left over from the coop construction and should work fine. The head will be much smaller and the lengths are the same (1-1/4"). This should avoid any wood splitting and reduce the need to pre-drill the holes. We'll see.