April 2, 2017

A Project Never Mind

Have you ever done a quicky job on something with a promise to tend to it properly in the near future? And then forgot about it so that you no longer even noticed there was a problem? Our carport has been that way for a number of years now.


Dan had set it up for his workshop but it didn't get very good rain protection so we tarped it. It looks kinda junky, but we've been so busy with other things that we stopped noticing. Last weekend we were doing some general clean-up in the yard and got to talking about the tarp on the carport. That tarp is getting torn and worn and it seemed as though it would be a fairly quick job to replace it with some plywood, add battens like we did on the chicken coop and Little Barn, and paint it to match the other outbuildings. Couldn't take more than half a day, could it?

When Dan took down the tarp and pulled off the fascia board we discovered that double beam on that side of the roof was in very bad shape.



We discussed what to do about that, but then he took a flashlight to get a peek at the ceiling joists. Our carport has a plywood ceiling which hides the joists, and he wanted to see what kind of shape they are in. Most of them are rotted away as well.

This is likely happened because whomever built the carport didn't overhang the roof more than about an inch. There was no flashing, so rain was able to blow in under the roof. Dan could also see where the roof was leaking. We figure the plywood ceiling is the only thing holding the carport together.

In the end we decided to put the tarp back and leave it be. Hopefully it will last long enough for us to finish our outbuilding projects (one more to go) and then we'll just tear it down. I'd kind of like to use the space for an outdoor kitchen, but we'll see.

We've managed to salvage quite a few things on our place, but sometimes things just aren't salvageable.

A Project Never Mind © April 2017 by

10 comments:

Rain said...

Hi Leigh :) I've had those never mind projects too. Other things seem more important don't they? I do hope it holds up though. I LOVE the idea of an outdoor kitchen! Will Dan build you a pizza oven too? ;) Wouldn't that be a treat?

Ed said...

If I had a dollar for every time I started in on a quick project and then backed out when I realized the true scope, I would be at least a handful of dollars richer if not more.

Leigh said...

I hope it holds up until we get everything moved out from inside it!

We haven't really planned an outdoor kitchen yet. Dan would like a smoke house and for sure there will be an oven. Seems kinda distant at the moment, but as we get closer we'll come up with a design.

Leigh said...

Well, we're probably the richer for not sinking a lot of money into it, LOL

Cozy Thyme Cottage said...

This all makes good sense to me! Nancy

Leigh said...

Sometimes it's just better to cut the losses and make new plans!

Anonymous said...

I saw the picture of the wood and had a little sigh with you all about the obvious wood rot. Sorry for you in that, I hope the tarp holds out for you until the time is better to build a new one. *smile* Our place here doesn't have a shop and over the last several weekends we have been working as a family to build a yard tool shed to clear out part of the garage of those tools so he can have the garage for his shop. This weekend we did the math and things for the ceiling joists. The best part is that we are doing it together. *smile* Have a great day and enjoy your fresh country air. *smile* Sincerely, Mommy of two growing blessings & so much more!

Sam I Am...... said...

Oh my...that's the story of my life and my house...inside and out....will I ever finish? So sorry about your ceiling joists and I do hope it holds up until you can spare the time to take it down. My roof is still leaking....that is my money pit right now so we are on to another solution....hopefully that will work! Take care!

Leigh said...

It's wonderful you are doing it together. :) We probably should have built a proper workshop earlier on, but the carport made do. I hope too, that the tarp holds up until we can get everything moved out of it!

Leigh said...

Oh dear, leaky roofs are worrisome! I hope your new solution works too!