Matt came over this weekend and on Sunday we built my weathering in 6 1/2 hours and $130. I was very lucky and did not have to buy the welded wire. There are still a few small things left to do - add the latch/lock, put the lattice on the bottom half of the two latticed sides, put a tarp on the third side, put a tarp over the house on the inside (to protect the siding - it's a rental), ziptie together the wire overlap on the roof, put lattice over the window (which is my bedroom window), and finally, put a wire skirt around the bottom to keep out diggers. Here are pics. Many pics. First joint
Lexi's helpin' out by relaxing in the sun and watching... This feels like awesome progress! Had to get one of my roommate's dog, too Three uprights! Putting a screw in first makes it SO much easier to keep the posts lined up while putting the lags in Almost a square
Framing the doorway - I'm not quite that skinny That's better Putting in the door
Fun with the high-powered staple gun
Wire over the whole building, then cut out the door again
Here it is after cutting Gotta take a break some time Lock the dog in This is the trick to stapling the top edge against the house - small arms!
I don't know what this pic was of... (Matt took it) Last edge Added the big pieces of lattice - we're done for today
Aurelia - General I ------------------------------------------- "It's not about the style of the flight; it's about the blood on the glove"
Post by profalconer on Apr 7, 2009 23:23:00 GMT -5
Matt what do you think about coming down to california when I need to set up my new mews, weathering, pigeon loft and pheasant flight pen. nice job it looks great!
Nope, it's not anchored, only one post is buried. I may have mentioned earlier, it's heavy. We do get some high winds around here but my mentor's lived here for 26 years and never had a problem with his, which is the same. Also it does not need an anchor for stability as the crossbeams around the bottom eliminate any wiggle. Maybe not the ultimate in weathering designs but for my area (security-wise, etc) it will serve my purposes safely and effectively.
Aurelia - General I ------------------------------------------- "It's not about the style of the flight; it's about the blood on the glove"
  I don't understand why you wouldn't sink all of the posts. A little extra work, but the gain in integrity is huge. It sounds like it will work as long as nothing tests it too much. Whatever floats your boat, I suppose.
If it was up to me alone, I would have. I'll do a lot of extra work for a little extra security if it's good for my bird. But I'm in a rental place so honestly I feel pretty lucky to be able to keep a large raptor and have a weathering yard. A yard at all! My landlord wanted something easy to remove when I leave. I'm not saying I'll just do whatever the landlord wants, if he was asking me to do something that I didn't feel would be satisfactory, I would have been disappointed but would not risk a bird's safety. Like I said, this is not the ideal weathering. It is, however, good enough to be safe and satisfy my landlord.
Aurelia - General I ------------------------------------------- "It's not about the style of the flight; it's about the blood on the glove"
  I don't understand why you wouldn't sink all of the posts. A little extra work, but the gain in integrity is huge. It sounds like it will work as long as nothing tests it too much. Whatever floats your boat, I suppose.
If it was up to me alone, I would have. I'll do a lot of extra work for a little extra security if it's good for my bird. But I'm in a rental place so honestly I feel pretty lucky to be able to keep a large raptor and have a weathering yard. A yard at all! My landlord wanted something easy to remove when I leave. I'm not saying I'll just do whatever the landlord wants, if he was asking me to do something that I didn't feel would be satisfactory, I would have been disappointed but would not risk a bird's safety. Like I said, this is not the ideal weathering. It is, however, good enough to be safe and satisfy my landlord.
  Ahh... okay.   Maybe they forgot to tell you: Anything is easy to remove with a sledge... or a Bobcat... or a chainsaw etc.
and how are you getting a bobcat into a fenced yard on a rental property? Yep, landlord would love that.
My landlord let me build my mew, with the condition it would be taken down. It is not anchored either but its sheltered by houses on most sides. It's also a full mew so extremely heavy...but each wall was built separatelyso it's easy to dismantle.
If you dislike someone, walk a mile in their shoes. Then, you are a mile away from them, and you have their shoes. --Jack Handy
  A buried pole (with or without concrete) is as 'easy to remove' as anything else. Seriously, a tractor jack, a chain, a few other choice items, and them suckers come right up, unless they're rotten or something.
Most rental property leases consider anything buried into the ground as a permanent fixture. Anything built with a lease like that would have to be free standing. I agree that waterbug should feel lucky in the fact that she was allowed to build a substantial structure on a rental at all. I'm just glad I own my home. Renting is one of many reasons why I waited so long to start falconry. Great job waterbug and matt!
The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, and never persist in trying to set people right.