September 2, 2018 – The newest project – cement ramp into shed

         I’ve been waiting to get better since June 19^th.  I think I am “officially BACK” to my old self – not 100%, but, I am going to push on through in getting better.  I can’t continue to sit around like a cake of lard.  I have a life and living to do and I have plans – big plans that I want to get done.

         We had wooden planks to get our lawn tractor in and out of shed – yes, they can get slippery when wet, and you can also not be watching your feet when you are carrying filled bird feeders from the shed out to the feeding stations in the mornings.  [We bring our feeders in at night – or the critters climb the trees and swing on them at night and they come crashing down – possum, raccoons, squirrels – they are all in on the act.  So, it is easier just to take them in at night and put them out again when the birds start to sing in the morning.]

         On my TO-DO list was making a cement ramp for the shed to make it easier on us to get the lawn tractor in and out and to remove the potential tripping hazard.  Step one was to take off the old boards.  I did enlist the help of my husband in that portion so that he knew I was serious.  Once the wooden plank ramps were off, then I could proceed.  We took the lawn tractor out of the shed and parked it.  A bit of teamwork and the ramp came off.

         I had researched making a cement ramp last winter.  It was on my July 4^th project list – then the hamstring pull and you know the rest – June and July evaporated into thin air.  I revisited the research on how to calculate the amount of cement I would need with the width and depth and length.  The internet has some great tools for this DIY stuff.

         We always have a sale at Lowe’s on the major holidays – Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day – the long weekends that are DIY weekends for those of us who don’t go off on vacations during those times. As I expected, the Sankrete fast drying 50-pound bags were on sale and I calculated about 10 bags. On Friday, September 1^st, we drove the old pickup truck down to Lowe’s and they tossed 10 bags on for us and I promptly paid them and home we came.

The ramp is 8 inches from ground to the lip of the threshold.  It will drop from 8 inches down to one inch over a length of 5 feet to where the brick pavers will create the patio which will stop the muddy feet coming into the house.  The ramp is 5 feet x 5 feet.  I lined up a row of a brick pavers under the threshold and tucked in bricks along the sides for the initial few inches of cement. I took advantage of the pebbles I had taken up from my old vegetable garden paths and filled the base so that I would use less cement. 

          I left the bags of Sankrete on the tailgate of the truck and brought out the oldest wheelbarrow that could stand being mucked up with cement – in fact I inherited it from a neighbor that moved away – it already had leftover cement stuck in it that hadn’t been washed off properly.  I would do no worse. 

I have learned a few things about gravity – it is easier to grab a heavy bag and ease it downward into a wheelbarrow than to lift it up off the ground into one.

         Then, I rolled the wheelbarrow close to the work area.  I took my trusty box cutter, cut the bag open, turned it over gently and emptied out the cement.  I made a valley in the middle of the cement mix, added half the water and with the oldest garden hoe, started the mixing process.  Then, I added the rest of the water and I was ready to start placing the mixed cement into the foundation.

         Using my Dad’s trowel, I scooped the cement into the foundation area.  Then I took a 5-minute break.  It hardens fast – you can’t dawdle around. When it was hard, I was on to bag number two, and so on until I had used up 5 bags of concrete.

         After five bags of concrete – I was done for the day.  I covered the area with a tarp just in case we had rain that night. 

         

I would finish it the next day.