5/8/13

5/8 - Junk silver mining. I didn't know that pre-1964 quarters are worth $4.32 for the melt-value of the silver. They're 90% silver. Kristin and I went though all of my stored change jars, and did not find one single pre-1964 quarter. None. There were a ton of 1965 quarters though. So it's not simple. I did, however, find a pre-1964 dime, which is worth about $1.72 for the melt-value of the silver. Pre-1964 dimes are also 90% silver. I want to track down more of these coins. I'm not collecting anything at the moment, and this will be a fun hobby if it takes off. Now I'm on the lookout. I might stop by a bank for a few hundred dollars in rolled quarters to look through - "coin roll mining" as they call it. Not profitable, but a fun activity to fill my need to be hunting something down.

5/7/13

5/7 - Sleeping out in the van now. I'm sleeping better again. It's much better. The rain on the roof was nice.

5/6/13

5/6 - Slow day on the job site. Taking it easy. Kristin told me how stressful it is when I lose my patience and cuss and rant. I have to get better about that or risk making her more upset. It feels impossible to control frustrated outbursts. I just want both of us to be happy and for everything to be perfect. Seems like a hard goal. I'm doing alright. Getting a little stagnant on building progress, but trying not to let it bother me much. I'll get there. It'll be a house when it comes together. I just have to continue to focus on the next step and not try to build it all in a day.

5/5/13

5/5 - Matheus visits. I build a bed platform to fit a queen-sized mattress into the van. I love sleeping in the van and get the best sleep ever. Kristin has a different experience. We got some plants: veggies and herbs.

5/4/13

5/4 - Trexlertown went well, but probably not as good as last time. I made my tired way home down Rt. 100. I got the Rudge Sports from 1953 - the exact bicycle I was after! Great luck!

5/3/13

5/3 - Unloaded the van. Highly frustrating. Put some more stuff in a bag to donate to wherever. Using the "Planet Aid" containers is better than a dumpster. Fill up a bag and say "hey... you sort this out." I also finally fixed the handtruck whose wheel fell off a month ago. Camping out before t-town tonight.

5/2/13

5/2 - Got all the remaining rafters cut, up, and nailed. There's a gap between a lot of the rafters and the ridge beam. It's fine, but I wish it was perfect. I don't know how I could make it perfect. Practice, maybe.

5/1/13

5/1 - Got six of the rafters attached to the ridge board. They look like rafters. I bought all new 2x6's yesterday, which cost me $80. Since I was pretty much starting from scratch, I decided to re-model the roof. I added a steeper pitch to add 10 inches to the headroom in the loft. In carpenter-speak, it's a 15/12 roof - pretty steep. It looks swell though. My work is a little bit rough, but it seems that everything is lining up in a reasonably even fashion. I also learned a new way to model a rafter in Sketchup - and how to model a roof with an even pitch that will translate well to a carpenter's square. I spent a lot more time than I probably needed to because I wanted to actually understand how to lay out a rafter instead of just making one that would work. I want my models to have dimensions which communicate well with typical carpentry tools. That means I need to know how to design a roof with an even pitch, and I also need to know how to use a framing square to make the actual rafter. It took some time, but I'm getting there. I understand the methods and measurements, but I could use a little more practice.