Nick

27NOV16: We're finally ready to receive our logs. Wow, what a lot of work! Site is 95% cleared and ready. Here's my best before and after pictures:

BEFORE:


AFTER:


The telehandler was key as it allowed me to drag/pick-up the trees the excavator pushed over. I then spent a lot of time cutting off the stumps and limbing the trees. Chipper took care of the limbs and a logger is coming over to take away all the logs. Not going to get as much for them as I hoped though. Pulp and wood prices are way down so I'll probably only get a few hundred bucks for 2 dozen trees, mostly oak and maple. Seriously underestimated the time and effort to cut all those stumps off. Learned some serious good lessons though about handling the chainsaw and feel a lot more comfortable with it. Need a bigger one though. I have a small Husky and an older Husky 51. Takes a lot to get through a 30" oak stump.

The Good: Now we just wait. The logs for our 32'x 32' garage are scheduled to arrive sometime late in December. Only thing I have to do is cut down a few scrap trees to set the logs on. Going to the class as a refresher in February with two good friends who signed up for the first time. One is a general contractor who builds stick frame structures for a living and he'll be a huge asset down the road. It's nice to have a few of the major costs out of the way (excavator, tele-handler, logs, etc.) and have a few months to save a few bucks up again. Have also learned some basic mechanic skills and can see myself being a hydraulic specialist by the time were done.

The Bad: Set-backs were numerous. Biggest being the tele-handler. It's an older machine an I knew I would have some work/repairs on it as the process went on. Key stuck in the ignition and caught the solenoid on fire to start things off.

Got that fixed and when I only had one tree left, I blew a hydraulic hose in the inner boom. That led to finding out that the hose management system in the boom was missing parts and non-functional. We think we have the right parts ordered and hope to get it back up and running this winter. Still can't figure out where the cable for the pulley system attaches to though. Also found out that WHITE hydraulic fluid is bad - lots of water. Had no clue before this until my excavator pointed it out to me. So now have to drain the whole system and re-fill. Also learned that you can't start the machine if it's in gear - after spending almost a day tracing every single wire I could find and replacing all the new wiring I had done to fix the solenoid. Felt deservedly stupid, but won't make that mistake again for sure.

Chain saw fax-paus were plenty. Luckily my leg is still attached and I can always buy new pants. Became a chain sharpening guru too. Learned how NOT to get the saw stuck, but I'm sure it's going to happen some more.

Glad for the winter break but looking forward to Spring and peeling logs. Hopefully pour the foundation late Spring and start building!