Solar Power Day 27
Hot damn at last!
It’s been about two weeks since I last posted, longer than I was expecting. Ultimately everything has worked out fine, I just spent a lot of time waiting. It was almost two weeks before the project lead for the pergola returned for the last day of work. When he did, I had already finished gluing up the remaining boards for the pergola posts. I ended up using a combination of biscuits and pocket screws, alternating about every four inches. The thickness of the boards landed in between settings on my pocket hole drilling jig (Kreg K5) so to ensure the pocket screws didn’t pop out the front side, I set the depth stop so that I was drilling a touch higher than recommended. This worked out fine since the biscuits and glue are what are really holding these boards together, the screws are to clamp it all together. The only bit of touch-up work to do was grind down the exposed screw heads so they were flush, otherwise there could be a bulge in the center of the boards and that would not be good for joint integrity.
More beveling on the table saw in the shop and these were ready for install. Outdoor rated Loctite and brad nails later and the last of the boards were installed.
Once stained, the color differences between the two halves should be better blended
The pics above were taken two days ago, the last day of work. This was taken today after the crew came back to grab the very last of their tools and equipment.
IT’S DONE!!!
Such a short post feels a bit anticlimactic, but the last few weeks has just been the final details. If this project happened during the summer, or at least during a warmer time of year, the next step would be staining and then I’d be working on the electrical conduits. Those are still the next steps, but those will have to wait until spring. It sucks a bit that I can’t enjoy this thing for some months, but the construction is done, and that definitely counts for something.
Not sure when the next post will be, but as things develop I’ll be sure to post them here. Until then, see ya when I see ya!