The Schnoodle Shack - Final Update - Goodbye My Friend

[caseydog]

Glad to hear you are okay. I hope you recover quickly.

I met the guy who invented the heart stint. I photographed his collection of rare Porsche race cars for a magazine. Very nice Gentleman -- and very rich!

You just made him a little richer.

BTW, I like the shack. I usually just browse through most of the build threads. But, I thought I'd post a "get well soon."

CD

[Jim Edgerly]

I thank you all for your well wishes! Off for my morning 10 minute walk...

[CliffinGA]

Jim glad it went well with the surgery, just leave the trailer alone for a while because we all like it when your not having a "cardiac event". Still keeping you in our prayers!

Cliff & Sheri

[LDK]

Hey Jim

Checked out your build thread and all I can say is WOW. I hope you get to feeling better soon. My dad had a heart attack at 47 and I'm almost 49 now so I wondering when or if this will eventually happen to me.

[aggie79]

Hi Jim,

Haven't heard from you in awhile and was checking in. I hope your recovery is going well.

Take care,
Tom

[Jim Edgerly]

Hi Tom, I'm allowed to do small stuff (according to my wife lifting nothing heavier than 10 pounds). I have a stress test at the cardiologist on the 11th and that will set my cardio limit that I can work to. As long as I don't exceed my cardio limit working on The Shack the wife (the real boss when it comes to work) should not have a problem. It's been over a month since I did anything on The Shack and I really want to finish it before this camping season is over...it ends much earlier in New England than it does in Texas!

take care, Jim

And a big THANK YOU to everybody that checks in on my build journal!

[Jim Edgerly]

Once again things are being delayed. I got out a couple weeks ago and stained and finished the inside of The Shack with spar varnish...but failed to take pictures of it to post. I went for my stress test at the cardiologist on the 11th as scheduled, to determine my exercise level for cardiac rehab. Failed the test...I knew I should have studied harder! EKG wasn't very pretty. The surgeon was consulted and I'm back in the cath lab tomorrow for another heart catheterization. So basically the last 5 weeks have been wasted, other than keeping me alive, and I'm resetting the clock before I can continue work on The Shack. Looks like another month of doing nothing, then working as fast as I'm physically allowed trying to finish The Shack before late fall and putting it away for the year. Good thing I did a lot in my basement over the winter or I would have so little done at this point I would question continuing work on it. I've got far too much invested at this point not to finish...even if it doesn't happen until spring! Sorry to string my followers along only to leave them hanging for so long. I appreciate the following and will do more as soon as I am physically able. Thanks and regards, Jim

[S. Heisley]

Condolences on your set-back, Jim. But, most of us understand that first things have to come first. If you don't put your health first you won't be able to go anywhere or use the Shack anyway. So, you know you're doing the right thing. With all the modern medical advances in the area of the heart, you should be able to get your health back on track and have many active years of sweet life left to enjoy. Take it easy and enjoy the little things of life for now. Stay in touch and don't forget us.

[aggie79]

Jim,

This latest medical stuff is just a minor setback. Get yourself healthy first. The Shack completion can come later.

Take care,
Tom

[Jim Edgerly]

After my second visit to the cath lab in as many months I had another artery opened, without a stent this time, and have been cleared by my cardiologist to start getting back to normal activities. I specifically asked him about the Shack and he said "sure, why not." So after cardiac rehab this morning I dragged the Shack out of the garage for the first time since the first week of June. You can't imagine how great if felt to drag that thing out into the sunshine. I dry fitted my aluminum to the top to see where the seam is going to fall, and sure enough I have to add another support spar for the seam/overlap. As if I did not have enough spars already I added more wood for the seam. Of course I had to take off the plywood that was there and was surprised how much memory the plywood had. It held it's shape fairly well once unscrewed so I know it should go back on pretty easily.

The only picture I have of my progress is the inside of the hatch which I finally got stained and spar varnish on. As you can see it is still in the basement where the Shack was originally built. If anybody is wondering why my light is on this wedge thing it is to position the light better to illuminate the galley. I tried just placing it against the curved hatch and #1 a flat light doesn't look good on a curved piece of wood, and #2 the angle of the light placed the majority of the light out past the end of the galley. The wedge re-angles the light so that the inside of the galley is well illuminated, including right down inside the cooler, and over the stove.

I hope to make more progress soon and will update this file when I do. I'm really sad that I lost 2 full months of work on the Shack, but as my wife says "it'll get done when it gets done." I'm just happy to start making progress again. My wife has been my rock through this whole heart thing...and I thank God I have her.

And I thank you all for your comments and well wishes during my difficult journey these last couple of months.

[aggie79]

Jim,

Great news about getting "doctor's release". Sounds like your health issues have rounded the corner.

The hatch looks great! I really like the way you mounted your galley light. I wish I had done mine that way.

Take care,
Tom

[Deryk the Pirate]

Just take it 1 day at a time...it will get done. Your health is most important.

[droid_ca]

glad your back take care and not push it to much

[David S]

Glad you back, just remember",Tear Drop Time" no need to rush.

[Jim Edgerly]

Well, made some progress on the roof the last couple of days. I glued the roof (liquid nails rather) to the spars. I've had my fair share of stop-go-stop-go on this project so committing to closing in the roof was a little scary...knowing that no other design changes can take place in that area. I over lapped the plywood over the sides, then came back after the liquid nails had hardened and used an edge router bit to take the excess off and make the roof flush with the sides. I also used the edge router bit to open up the hole in the roof for the ceiling vent/fan. So I guess the next step is to start making trim for the sides. The battery box in the picture below is just sitting on the frame right now and will not be bolted down until after the trim work behind it is completed. Same with the running boards...they are just sitting on top of the untrimmed pressure treated 2x4's for now.

If anybody is wondering why I have a carabineer hanging from the center of my cabinets...it's for the dog. A 22 pound Schnoodle will be sharing the sleeping quarters with us, and as with most small dogs, is not trustworthy off-leash. So he will be wearing his harness and hooked up inside so the middle of the night bathroom runs we will not worry about him jumping out and running off. He normally sleeps like a log, but just playing it safe in a strange setting for him.

I will be coating the roof with the black asphalt paint before covering with aluminum. Even though the roof is marine grade plywood the extra layer of sealant under the aluminum is worth the effort in my opinion. Eventually I will be putting the aluminum on top of the roof...but I have one question in regards to the aluminum covering the ceiling vent.

How is the most efficient way to cut out the vent hole through the aluminum? I'm using .04" aluminum on the roof. Is the easiest way to just use a hacksaw blade in my jigsaw?