With winter closing in the woodshed floor needed reinforced. Wood filled, heavy wheelbarrows would be moving in and out endlessly. Weak floorboards snap under the weight and the last things I wanted were injured ankles of my helpers. It would be fairly uncharted territory for me to fix the weak and broken boards though, but I felt up for the challenge.
I like using power tools, I find them intriguing, and using them to solve problems makes me feel powerful and capable, affirming that we can do hard things. I opted to use a pry bar to loosen the old boards, the hammer was helpful for prying up the nails and a measuring tape, chop saw and square were needed to cut new boards to size.
Safety glasses and ear muffs to keep things safe. Measuring was likely my biggest weakness, and generally being scared about messing things up. Onward with the task anyway, as long as I kept things safe. The scariest moment was using a, what I call a rolling saw (skill saw) to cut the old board sections out.
When measuring I remembered to indicate which side of the line I needed to cut on to make sure I didn’t shorten the board.
I was so incredibly proud of this fix. Sometimes you need to push your boundaries and embrace something new. With the new boards drilled into place, we’d have solid footing for wood in day (well, until other boards ended up snapping!). I didn’t fix it on my own, I had previously been shown how to use the tools and felt confident I could run them safely.
Remember it’s ok to reach out to people to get help too, I asked lots of questions and was guided by helpful tips and input.
Ready for winter wood just in time….the wood shed is now full!
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