The people from RISE Engineering gave us a proposal to put 14″ of insulation in our attic. The attic had a room in the back that needed to be demolished. Since we wanted to use the attic for storage and the existing joists were 6″ deep, I put 2″ x 8″ joists, perpendicular to the existing joists and demolished everything that had to go. I know from my bill at the dump that I removed 3000 pounds of garbage. In the process, we updated all knob and tube wiring to modern romex. In all, it’s really clean and satisfying to be done with such a major project.
Facing East, after project
Facing West, after project
Facing West, during demolition. The center section had no insulation at all.
two truckloads like this to the dump
A west facing room in the attic. Had a hot water radiator tied into the hom’s heating system. Archaeological evidence shows that a teenage boy lived here in the 1960s.
I built this patio table in 2016. The wood came from a mill on Coventry, where I bought a whole pile for around $100. The seller said it was Cypress, and I’ve had my doubts about that, because it is so lightweight. However, it has lived up to its reputation of resisting rot. Anyway, the top is made of two pieces and has breadboard ends. The base is all mortise and tenons. This week, someone must have bumped it pretty hard because the mortises gave out and I figured it would be good to document and share where it failed, as I consider how to salvage the top.
breadboard ends
Breadboard Ends
The first thing to fail was the breadboard ends. The idea, drawboring is supposed to make the joint last longer. In my case, the wood grain split and broke off where the drawbore was attached. See mortise and tenon below. This wasn’t a critical failure and I have left the ends loosely attached for years.
failed tenonthe mortise and drawbore pin are intact
It’s All About that Base
As mentioned earlier, the base gave way and is useless now. In retrospect, it’s easy to see why it failed – the leg isn’t straight grained, so the mortise is only supported by the grain that ran the length of the mortise. Straight-grained wood would help and it would also have worked better with a stronger wood. The leg is 2″, square. The outside of the edge of the mortise is 1/2″ thick and the tenon is 1/2″ thick, leaving a 1″ square inside.
glue joint is fine, it’s the wood that split
Final Thoughts
So, the table lasted five years. I can replace it altogether or build a new base. I’m leaning towards a new base, since the top is fine, but what wood should I use? Maybe some black locust. What construction technique? How thick are legs supposed to be? How long does a patio table last if it is build right?
How I Fixed It
Update 9/24/2021: The original base was flawed by design because the grain wasn’t running straight and the wood was weak (very light). 3″ legs seems a little awkward but, if they has a taper towards the foot, it could work but still; the added girth would only add minimal strength. The solution I chose was practical and promises durability – it’s called a trestle table. The 2 legs are attached to the top with figure 8 connectors (screws that allow for seasonal expansion). The stretcher and the through-wedge-tenon is a rigid solution that allows for easy break-down and stand-up if it is needed. Interesting to me that it should be simultaneously more durable and more aesthetically appropriate.
There are several problems with the existing “toy room”:
it is a toy room
it is a mess
noone plays in it
floor plan showing it isn’t a huge room but it has potential!
The Goal
I’d like the room to have a bookcase which flanks the window and heater, a desk, and a console gaming area. I’m using this image that I found online as inspiration. I’ll use maple for all of the woodwork. I would also like to have any moulding match the other mouldings in the house.
this is not my house, it’s just a pic that I am using for inspiration
The fieldstone foundation’s mortar is crumbling and leaks when wet, as you can see in the pictures here. I am the two dry pictures are from the basement wall on the south side of the house.
humorous leaksouth side walls with, what looks like a more modern patchanother south wall shot. on the right side, you can see a thin outer layer that is more white than the rest.
