I browse around on craigslist quite a bit. Sometimes I something specific I am looking for. Other times I am just seeing what is out there...and keeping a mental tab on how much stuff sells for.
Well, today, I was browsing around and saw a post for free wood. The wood was mostly pallets, but what caught my eye was a rather large pallet-looking picture. It basically looked like what I was trying to build for livestock racks...and it was already built!
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| This is "Picture 5" from the FREE section on craigslist. Those look like perfect livestock rack sides already made!!! |
So I made the call.
"Hi, do you still have your free wood?"
"Yes, we do."
"Do you happen to know if Picture 5 is still available...and if the wood is at least 8 feet long"?
"No, I do not. But you are free to come take a look. There is enough wood out there to probably build a house."
Ugh! The drive was about a half-hour. I did a quick mental math on gas and compared that to local wood for sale at the boxstore. It was worth a drive. I would imagine I would spend $150-$250 on wood alone. Plus I had a day of freedom, AND my house was freezing cold.
So I made the 30-minute drive.
Frankly, the findings were disappointing. I looked all around for the pictures I saw on the post. They simply did not exist. It was an old picture recycled. I was bummed. But I kept looking around regardless. Surely there had to be SOMETHING here.
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| The pictures were not up-to-date. I came upon this mess of weathered wood. Most of it was just junk. |
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| One of the many piles of wood laying around. It was quite a mess. |
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| More of the mess. I looked through EVERYTHING for good wood. |
I found a long piece of wood. Hmm, that might come in handy. I found a couple of long 2 x 4's. Might as well take those, too.
And then that's when I saw a long piece of wood buried beneath all kinds of other stuff. It was the side of the crate that I was hoping to find intact! But it WAS a side! It's a start! I pulled it out from the rubble. And that's when I found another one! WOO HOO!!! I was ecstatic. Maybe not such a wasted trip after all.
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This is where I found the two sides that gave me hope that this wasn't a wasted trip after all!
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| I saw this side (similar to the photo that made me drive out in the first place) buried underneath snow and lots of other heavy wood! HOPE!!! |
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| THIS is why I drove out here! Woo hoo!!! |
But I needed more. So I dug through the mess. I lifted up heavy pieces. I found occasional pieces here and there. But the hard work paid off, because I found a third side! Now all the pieces could match!
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| I found the third side there in this mess! See it buried in there?! |
It was frigid cold, and my hands and body needed occasional warm-ups, but I probably spent 30-45 minutes scrounging for scraps. I filled up my truck bed, though! I probably had $300 worth of wood...for FREE!!!
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| I filled up my bed with lots of free wood! |
Not to waste a trip, I also stopped at a local pole-barn shop. They closed at 4:00, and I pulled up at 4:01 as the guy as locking the door. But he graciously let me in and allowed me to ask lots of questions. I basically asked if it was possible (it is) to re-side the old barn. I am quickly falling in love with the old thing. It's from the 1930's-1950's but boasts beautiful architecture on the inside. But I have been researching "re-skinning" old structures, and this looks like it could be an awesome project.
The contractor said it's $1/square foot for the materials. Labor is, of course, extra. But he would like to come out and make a bid. I did some quick mental math, and with a 30 x 40 barn that is probably 15 feet tall, that means the long side is $600, the other side is a bit less as it's lower in height, so we'll call it $450, and the sides are roughly $600 (because they have a peak). So for $2250 plus labor, I could have a gorgeous red barn that will last another 50 years!!! Of course, I'll probably need to do the roof, too, so I am guessing around $6000-$7000, I could have a gorgeous-looking barn. Someting to think about for down the road.
But all in all, a decent day. I picked up a lot of wood for free. Now it's time to build livestock racks!
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| The mess of wood back home. |
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| What a perfect size! It's exactly what I was going to build anyway! Already put together! |
Unfortunately, though, my truck is having some issues. It's not shifting properly at high speeds. It goes in and out from over-drive, and the temperature gauge never gets above 140-150 degrees. I called two transmission places and asked them about it, and they both said that the temperature will definitely affect the shifting. (I knew this because my truck does not shift into the last over-drive gear until after the engine is warm, but I wanted to verify). I stopped at AutoZone on the way back to pick up a thermostat. Hopefully that $11 purchase remedies the problem.
Why?! Because I have a special purchase set up for Wednesday!!! More on that later!!! But it involves the piggies!!!
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