Beat the Heat
Most people don't know the history of my retail store building. When I was handed the keys, there was chain link fencing wrapped around the entire building, blown out windows, termite infested everything, two front doors that were 6" apart from each other, flooring that was doing the wave, an electrical system that I swear had phone wiring used as a repair, and the list goes on, and on, and on.......... and on. I'll find an original picture and will edit this blog with it ASAP.
I worked on the building to get it to it's current state for 1 year in the afternoons and whenever else I had extra time. (I can't forget to mention and thank my buddy Roger V. for his many hours of help!) I was paid $0 for my efforts to restore the building, but materials were graciously provided. To this day, I am very thankful for the two persons that gave me this opportunity. I'm sure there was easier ways to achieve the same result, but easy is not always best. Some things in life, especially life changing events, need to be earned. The sense of ownership in business is priceless. Just go ahead and try to pry me away from this building. GOOD LUCK!
So being that this building doesn't have a concrete foundation and was built on wooden skids in the 50's when east 22nd street was a dirt road, the building has been sinking for years. I've been slowly pouring a concrete stem wall / sidewalk combination all the way around the building to stabilize it. Each concrete section needs to be excavated underneath the edge of the building by hand. A toe down needs to be dug, areas compacted, and special attention to grades and utilities considered.
Finally after 2 years, I have come full circle, 360 degrees all the way around the building with concrete. I'm in the final stretch and of course it's 100 degrees outside. Picking and digging by hand is no picnic. Since in my world Shade Nets are at my finger tips, I decided to show you how easy it is to make your life working outside in the desert heat a bit easier.
I used two 8' x 10' Economy Shade Nets ($14.99 each) and six 9" ball bungees ($.75 each) to hang this temporary shade structure, protecting us from getting beat down by the sun. This took me less than 5 minutes to hang to the building and drape over the wall. Not only does this Shade Net provide protection from the sun, it also allows laborers (that being ME and Brandon) to work harder and faster. Believe me, heat will suck the life out of you or your contractor faster than you can imagine. And waking up at 5am to beat the heat isn't always an option. So next time you have to work in a isolated area, hotter than your oven set on low, spring for a couple Shade Nets, your skin will thank you.
Below, is Brandon doing a pretty good job of leaning on a shovel. This picture doesn't do him justice. He's a good worker and digs more by hand than anybody I know.
Attaching a Shade Net to a Shade Sail & Newton's 3rd Law of Motion
With the summer heat teetering around 100 degrees this week, I decided I was going to install some much needed shade where I park my vehicle at my store... tucson bobcat. I was somewhat avoiding this project because I knew the installation was going to be very challenging and time consuming. Most shade projects go together pretty quickly and painlessly, but this install was different. I was going to attach a Shade Net to a Shade Sail.
Customers were asking to see the Ocean Blue Shade Net that I recently fell in love with, so I wanted to show her off... right there in the hardest location possible. The right hand side of my parking lot, tucked into a tight corner, with limited anchor points and adjacent to an 18' Triangle Shade Sail. I had contemplated building a custom fit canopy instead in this location, but that idea was quickly nixed as we often drive heavy equipment through that area, and anything built on the ground would be in the way.
From my experience hanging a complex 1000 sq. foot Shade Net structure over my service yard, I knew there was a technique to hang a Shade Net with the use of multiple ropes, using triangular configurations to create a frame. Similar to how a spider spins a web, you can string a web of ropes together to build a support frame for a Shade Net where each grommet is being used.
The biggest difference here was that I needed support from the corner of a Shade Sail that was being pulled in the opposite direction (see middle picture). This marriage of the Shade Net and a Shade Sail was as unpredictable as two "A-listers" getting hitched at "The Little White Wedding Chapel" in Vegas. Just ask Britney about it. Quickly I said my "I do's" and was bound to make this marriage work. Besides, in my opinion, this color blue is the most beautiful of all Shade Nets especially hanging in our desert environment. Bold? Yes. Daring? Yes. Cool? Very.
Note, that when installing a Shade Net, they are not meant to be stretched with rope, especially not stretched by just the corners only! If you want to stretch a shade product tightly and by the corners, buy a Shade Sail. They come in triangles and squares. Rectangles need to be special ordered. Shade Nets have grommets and are meant to be hung on frames of some sort.
As mentioned, the installation of any third shade product in this location was going to be difficult, and though this rope configuration looks simple, it really tested my patience and will power.
With risk comes reward and this install was no exception. Keep in mind, I was working 15'
feet up on a ladder and by myself. So honestly, I was just happy to get the net up
properly without falling off the ladder. Phew~!
As you can see, I have used a rope to build a frame to support the Ocean Blue Shade Net and each grommet is being utilized. When installing, I did my best to apply equal tension on each grommet in order to distribute the stress evenly, likely extending the life of the Shade Net. Notice in the above picture how the corner of the Ocean Blue Shade Net is being supported by the Desert Tan Shade Sail. This created all types of problems.
Sir Isaac Newton's "Third Law of Motion" had to intervene. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. That being said, the mutual forces of action and reaction between the two bodies (that being the Shade Net and the Shade Sail) are equal, opposite and collinear. The result is that the Shade Net changed how the Shade Sail was originally hanging, causing a large wrinkle that I could not live with. The only solution was to make an adjustment to one of the Shade Sail's mounting locations in order to make this configuration hang properly. Lucky for me, the necessary relocation was not a deal breaker.
Shade is dictated by the suns location based on the season, time of day, and the angle that the shade product is directed. Due to the Hooligan's that try to cut my rope for no particular reason near the city sidewalk, I was forced to mount my anchor points for all three products so high and out of reach that the angle is not perfect. Otherwise, I would have anchored the southern end low and the north end high, which would have provided the ultimate in shade effectiveness.
The above picture was taken at about 9am, on May 8th. Starting at about 11am through sunset, this configuration casts a cooling and protective shadow on my retail store parking lot for any of my customers to enjoy.
All of these products are relatively inexpensive, provide immediate shade relief and they look good too! If you are considering hanging Shade Nets, Shade Sails or both, the sizes, colors, and shapes are plentiful and I try to stock them all. Come on in and see my selection, I'm certain you will find a combination that fits your liking.
People I Admire
"Without fear you can't have courage." Notah Begay III
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Tucson Rainwater Harvesting using 275 Gallon Storage Tanks / Totes
I enjoy learning from my customers on many levels. Since my store often links us together, our conversations are often about how a customer intends to use one or multiple products that I sell in my store. Some people like to open up. When these conversations get going, I am like a sponge. Especially when the information is coming from an experienced and/or educated person.
In this case, a doctor purchased two 275 gallon water tanks to collect rain water to service his pool. This is the first time I spoke to anybody who collects rain water to replenish a pool caused by evaporation. I asked if he would be willing to send me some pictures and he did.
Below are two tanks totaling 550 gallons that are linked together using PVC. If you look closely he has added a wood frame around each tank. He then installed a composite wood facade, and painted it a similar color to the slump block blending the tanks into his environment. Pretty ingenious, I would say. Even though this water harvesting unit services his pool, it could just as easily water his surrounding plants, and / or a nearby garden. What I like best about this unit, is that he has built the rain gutter with a clean out. Here is a explanation from him...
"The system is set up so that the first flush off of the roof with the dust and dirt goes into the down pipe. Once that is full, the rain water will then start flowing into the tanks. After the rain stops and no longer drains off the roof, I can open the cap and drain out the dirty water that is in the down pipe.
Ours is an old pool so we have to manually turn on the water to fill the pool. To use the stored water we just use a hose off the tanks to gravity feed the pool. We did this the other day using the water we stored from the last rain we had in Tucson and the system worked just fine."
Suburban Canopy - Temporary Relief
I have a few other projects around my shop that are pressing, so I am going to put the Canopy Garage on hold for a bit. In the meantime, I am going to cover the Suburban and my Toyota similarly to the way Davis Monthan covers their planes in the graveyard. This is the simplest and most cost effective way to give any of your older vehicles baking in the sun some much needed relief. 
If you look at the picture below to the left of the Suburban you can see a Premium Kelly Green Shade Net on another canopy. This canopy used to have a Standard Black Shade Net as a roof, but since I switched it to the green, the black is now an extra.
Since I'm not ready to build the Canopy Garage and don't want to open a 20'x20' shade net (which is the proper size for the Suburban), I thought this previously used black 8'x10' was my next best option. This net was simply draped over the vehicle and attached with bungee cords on the four corners, in the center, and one bungee on the hood. I don't recommend this application if you are worried about your paint job. I don't know what kind of damage is possible, but my gut is telling me to tell you that it's not a good idea. 
Another benifit to this style of shade coverage is that if you need to get into your vehicle, you just have to unhook one bungee and you can get inside. You can even move the vehicle around your property without taking the shade net all the way off, assuming you didn't attach the bungees to the wheels. This Standard Black 8'x10' Shade Net sells for $29.99 in my store, and a package of 12 - 32" bungees is $8.50. I've already used this shade net for two years and it's survived vicious 70+ mph cross winds, monsoon rains, 110+ degree temperatures and even the 15 degree hard freeze that we had last winter. You can tell it's not new, but it doesn't show any signs up wanting give up. When installing the net I noticed some stress spots on a few of the grommets, so I used Black DAP Dynaflex 230 sealant, which I sell for $7.99 to make some easy repairs. I have used this product exclusively to patch my shade nets because it's a premium outdoor sealant that is water proof, crack proof, stays permanently flexible, cleans up easily with just water and it matches my black colored shade nets. Since I opened a new tube, I went ahead and searched for other repairs needed around my yard until the tube was empty. It's so much easier and cheaper to just repair your shade net as needed, than it is to replace it. You can really extend the life of these products over and over with some simple maintenance.
Below is my Toyota that I used an Economic Black 8'x10' Shade Net to cover. At a cost of only $14.99 this net gives you the biggest bang for your buck. The Economic Shade Nets aren't the most beautiful, but man are they strong. I've been beating this net up for a couple of years already, purposely trying to get it to fail, and it just own won't. 
DIY - Canopy Garage for a Suburban - Step 1
I think the first step for any project is to asses your situation. You not only need a good plan of action, but you need adequate funds to support your project. In my case, I already have all of the materials needed and intend to do all of the labor myself, so funding is not an issue.
As for a plan of action, I know my Suburban needs at least 20' to cover her bumper to bumper. The space in my service yard is limited, so I prefer to use 8' width rather than 10', which is going to make parking a bit more challenging. Since I want to maximize my dollars, I am choosing to just use 3 Shade Nets to get my shade garage built. In order to do that, I going to use a Standard Black 20' x 20' to cover most of the unit - the two long sides and the top. I will cut all of my conduit legs to be 7' instead of 8' in order to maximize the shade net sides. 7' up, 8' across the top, and 7' down = 22'. If my shade net is 20', that means I will have a 1' gap on both sides of the garage near the ground, which is totally acceptable and actually preferred. So now I know that the back and the front of the garage is 7' tall x 8' wide. I am going to use 2 - 6' x 8' Premium Shade Nets to complete the shade garage.
I realize there are a lot of numbers to consider, so if you have concerns about your configuration, just come into my store and I will give you my undivided attention with a no hassles, and no sales pressure. I am more concerned with you getting the solution that you are after, than selling my products. My products sell themselves.
Okay, so now that I have my shade garage specs completed, I have to consider what problems or solutions my environment provides me. This is where experience comes into play. The first thing I always look at is the grade of the land. Grade is everything. Build anything on a faulty grade and you are setting yourself up for disappointment. The second thing I look for is access. What effect is a semi-permanent structure going to have on my access to other areas? Am I putting this canopy in the correct location short term and long term? In my case I am uncertain, so I'm going to build this entire garage shade structure on wheels that I sell in my store for $6.99 each. That way, I can grow and reconfigure my service yard as I please with minimal effort. I think that's genius. Yeah, I'll have to tie the structure down like a house boat caught up in a storm on Lake Powell, but that's no biggie. Straps and extra anchors is a small price to pay for maneuverability.
So back to land grades. In my situation, my grade is correct but to severe. Thus, my truck when parked sits at an angle sideways instead of being level. That's not the worst thing ever, but I like to do my projects just once... the correct way. I'm going to take the time to level out the entire area where the garage is going to be placed. I'm going to use my bobcat and a material called ABC that you can purchase from Acme www.acmesand.com to spread evenly and then compact it with the use of water and a plate tamper. I'm essentially building a pad for my shade garage. I want a solidly built parking area not only to walk on, but also for my Suburban to sit comfortably. Your grade should be level with a slight pitch in the direction that you want the water to flow, but visually and physically you want the land to look and feel flat. More to come, stay with me.
Look at the telephone pole in the back ground, it's close to vertical. Now look at the angle of the Suburban. Whoa, I'm getting dizzy.
As you can see from the level placed on my front bumper, my grade is way off.
DIY- Canopy Garage for a Suburban - 20' x 8' x 7'
My dad was nice enough to give me his Suburban a few months ago. I know the days of the Chevy Surburban are almost dead, but in my business if the dump truck goes in for maintenance or decides not to start for whatever reason, I need something big, heavy, and powerful to pull my Bobcat trailer so that I can still go to work.
I've had this behemoth parked baking in the sun behind my retail store for a few months now. Since my store is FULL of canopy supplies, I have decided to build a 20' x 8' x 7' canopy garage shade structure in anticipation of the 110 degree summer that approaches us. This canopy will have a roof and shade on all four sides, not only offering full protection from the sun, but also protection from those pesky kids that like to throw rocks at my trucks from the hill adjacent to my yard. If you ever want to see how bad kids can beat up a Toyota truck, just come look at mine.
The Chevy may be old, and a bit ugly, but she is a loved just the same. The following will be instructions on how to build a large canopy structure when space is limited.
Impeccable
www.tucsonbobcat.com
Yesterday a client described my finished work as impeccable. I like to call it normal.
im·pec·ca·ble/imˈpekəbəl/
| Adjective: |
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DIY - Portable 275 Gallon Water Tote with Gas Powered Pump
I am often in situations working on a job site where there is no water to use for compaction and/ or dust control. As a solution, I built a light weight - portable - powered watering system out of a 275 gallon water tote that I sell at my store for $125. The tote's empty weight is about 80 lbs, the gas powered 212 cc water pump weight is 62 pounds, an oversize pallet used as a base weighs approximately 20 pounds, and miscellaneous fittings weigh about 2 pounds. Total weight = 164 pounds. This unit can be lifted my two persons that can dead lift 82 pounds each, very manageable.
I built this unit with two residential water valves on the outtake so that my helper and I can both use hoses at the same time, thus doubling our watering efforts. I carry my portable watering system in the back of my dump truck but it could just as easily be put on a trailer or even in the back of a pick up truck. Whenever we get to a job site where water is needed but not available, we disconnect the bobcat trailer and just drive the dump truck loaded with the water tank wherever we need it. With 100' hoses and over 60 psi water pressure, we can reach just about anywhere.
When building this system make sure to use all 2" PVC fittings for both the intake and outtake on the water pump for maximum pumping efficiency. Also, while in use, you need to make sure that the top cap on the water tank is unscrewed all the way. The pump is creating a vacuum inside of the tank and the unit needs to breath. Also, I tied a short rope from the top cap to the tank so that I wouldn't lose the cap. It's easy to forget that the cap is unscrewed and I don't sell replacements...yet.
Keep in mind that water weighs 8 pounds per gallon. The tank filled to the top is 275 gallons = 2200 pounds plus the weight of the complete watering system 164 pounds = total weight of 2364 pounds. Most trucks with good tires and suspension can handle this weight, but be cautious of using a light duty trailer and/ or towing with an inadequate vehicle/ trailer combo.
Total out of pocket expenses for this watering system is about $350, assuming you do all the labor yourself. If you need more water holding capacity you can easily add another 275 gallon water tank and connect both tanks together for an additional $125 plus fittings. Compare that cost to a typical 500 gallon water trailer used/ new at $3000-6000 plus tags, insurance, and maintenance - tires, trailer brakes, etc. If you are in the market for a portable watering system, this blog just saved you a couple thousand dollars. Go ahead and say it out loud...Cha-ching.
If you have questions about how to build this system or if you just need to lay your eyes on it, come to my retail store. Make sure to check my home page www.tucsonbobcat.com for the days / hours that my store is open, I'd be happy to show you in person.
If you look closely to the right of the gas tank, you can see two water spigots
This is my friend and helper Tony on a job site using both water feeds
In Vino Veritas
I think everybody is born with a gift. My gift is that I am an artist. It's something that I don't have to try to do, the art just happens.
I am inspired by many different art mediums. The last fling produced a series of Asian influenced metal art pieces that were cool enough to catch the attention of the Arizona Daily Star. They wrote an article that pictured a few of my best and then called me a "real metal head." hmmm....
Anyway, for whatever reason there is always some downtime in between art projects. After a couple years hiatus, I have been inspired again, but this time using solid slabs of flagstone.
Below is a picture of my latest efforts. This is a 3 bottle wine rack built to house your best vino. Complete with adjustable feet for leveling that will not scratch your counter top and wooden dowels installed on the backside of the wine holes, used to keep your bottles secure and held in place.
This is 1 of 2. The next one is already in the works and is bigger. If you really like / want it, it's for sale in my shop. Cheers.
