ADDING THE FINISHING TOUCHES TO THE BIG BOY TOY SHED BUILD. THIS STAGE IS THE INSULATION AND CEILING, IT’S GETTING CLOSER TO BEING FINISHED!
I know this seems like a never ending project but it’s nearing it’s finished point. If you missed my earlier posts about the, DIY Toy Shed Build without plans, you can click on the photos at the end of this post and get caught up.
A few weeks ago we had two 50 degree days and my son was home from work earlier enough so he started getting the insulation and plywood ceiling up in the shed. When the fire pit area went in we also ran conduit underground for the electrical to the shed.
If it would quit snowing here and warm up just a little the shed could get finished. The lights, windows, heat and air conditioning are also all sitting around waiting to go in but when it’s 30 out no one is to ready to work on the project.
I know spring has to be here soon but the wait is getting old. I want to get my ferns purchased and out, my pumpkin garden started, and add annuals to my pots. I’ve scrolled Pinterest for countless hours dreaming of all the things I’d like to do when the weather breaks.
I’m excited to get a new lawn mower this year, I’ve had the money set aside for a few years now but when it comes time to buy I hate to let lose of $5,000 so I break out the old mower again. There’s really nothing wrong with the one I’m using it’s just too small for the acres I mow and a new bigger one would be much better and take me less time to mow. Last year we had no rain and I only mowed 7 times all summer long so spending the money would have felt like a waste. I’m determined to get the new zero turn one that I want this year though.
Does anyone have experience with boxwoods? Mine have been in for 3 years but for some reason over the winter one half of them all turned yellow and I’m wondering if that means they’re dying off? If so, I’ll have to find another compact shrub to take their place. I don’t want flowers that I have to deadhead and divide I’m all about easy, but something that looks nice and tidy in the landscape design. If you have any advice please leave it in the comment section below.
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Lol… I’ve been doing the same on Pinterest – so many plans!
Jen, LOL you go girl!
Your shed is going to be handy once it is finished . I am waiting for spring to arrive hopefully sooner than later. Our temps are hovering betweeen -10 to + 5 so pretty close to your temps. I guess all we can do is dream of spring.
Cheryl I’m so sick of these cold temps too. News says we’re 10 degrees below normal temps for this time of year. I think winter wants to hang on as long as it can this year.
I was curious if you could tell me about how much this shed is costing you? We are looking at doing something like this and I just wanted a price estimate. Thanks! It looks awesome!!
Rachel, I won’t have a good estimate a lot of the lumber was free from an earlier project or off job sites. The steel is from a company that we get end cuts from at a huge discount. It’s a 12X16 so to build paying full price fore everything I’d estimate around $5000 but we only have around $500 into it.
With regard to the boxwoods, they sometimes can get winter burn when the wind and temperatures are just right. Normally hardy, sometimes one will have to be replaced where others nearby are just fine. I have 3 that are 3 years old across the front of my house (West facing) and one has had a spot about the size of the palm of my hand that gets burned every winter (I’m in central Indiana). I just trim off the brown part in the Spring and the new growth hides it. It seems to burn less each year it’s in the ground and this year there’s a much smaller “yellow” area than before. If you have to replace it, the next one you buy may not winter burn at all. I will be replacing old bushes next to my front-facing garage door this Spring and plan to get the taller cone-shaped boxwood to put there, so am willing to take a chance once again with the winter burn. I absolutely love them.
Pat my boxwoods are completely yellow on one side and of course it’s the side that faces out that everyone will see when driving up. I still debating on weather to pull them out and replace them or trim them and have them look terrible for a season. We had a very hard winter so I’m sure that’s what did them in 🙁
i totally agree with Pat, about your boxwood. That yellowing occurs with winter wind burn and only happens on extreme years. You can wrap the plants in burlap in the fall/early winter, to protect them from burn, or like Pat says, trim the burned parts away. If you do decide to replace them, i would put deciduous shrubs in that loose their foliage in the fall. you could plant things like forsythia, spirea, lilac, etc. that would make a beautiful and colorful hedge. That shed is really taking shape….looking forward to the finished project.
Erika, thank you for the boxwood advice I had no idea I needed to wrap them. Yes we had a very hard, cold, deep snow winter. I hate to trim them, they’ll look horrible so I guess they have to go and something new will need to be put in. I have 5 to replace 🙁
Here in Colorado when we have little snow, boxwood burn occurs. We must water monthly in winters like this as the ground never froze so roots were unprotected. Abundant Blessings!
Jan I’ve never heard of boxwood burn. I water my boxwoods that are in pots all winter long but never thought to water the ones in the ground. I’m thinking they may not recover then. Thanks for the advice 🙂
Boxwoods do require a lot of water, including during the winter, in the form of snow. Thankfully, in central Indiana, we normally have a lot of rain in the late fall, so that seems to help the shrubs here and we seem to get enough snow in the winter to supply them with water. If it’s a really dry fall, the boxwoods will show a lot of winter burn. I covered mine the first year they were put in, but since then haven’t bothered. You might want to replace them this year, keeping in mind their need for water, regardless of the season. The damage may have been caused just because of this particular winter, and possibly once the new ones are more established, less damage will occur. Good luck. Boxwoods are great for providing some green in a dull and gray winterscape.
Pat, we had a lot of snow and I’ve never watered them in the winter before I always assumed the snow was doing it for me. I went out Sunday, it was 55, and trimmed all the burn from them (they look good surprisingly) and I’m going to see how they do this spring. If they don’t look like there going to recover I’ll pull them and plant new. Lesson learned, I’ll cover them from now on in the winter and water them! Thank you for the tip 🙂