Tower deer stand project

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rancid crabtree
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Re: Tower deer stand project

Unread postby rancid crabtree » Fri Apr 06, 2012 2:35 pm

I finally got some free time to work on the blind now that its warm enough. I got the remaining walls built and positioned them together for a fit-up and so I can start working on the rest of the shutters and sliding windows.

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The box now has two coats of Behr Premium exterior paint and the off season shutters are installed. The shutters will protect the stand and especially the Plexiglas windows during the 9 months of the year the stand sits outside unused and exposed to the elements.

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The view from inside. I have yet to install the sliding Plexiglas windows on the inside.

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The door has a smaller window and the Plexiglas will not open like the windows on the walls. As such, I had to install a dead bolt on the outside to keep it closed in the off season

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Here the shutters are down.

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There is a self adhesive foam gasket all around the window opening that the shutter touches to make a weather tight seal. Now its time to build the roof.


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Uncle Lou
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Re: Tower deer stand project

Unread postby Uncle Lou » Sat Apr 07, 2012 2:38 am

rancid crabtree wrote:There is a self adhesive foam gasket all around the window opening that the shutter touches to make a weather tight seal. Now its time to build the roof.


If that foam gasket could double as a sound deadener for when you lay a rifle across the window sill that would be great.

I spooked a beautiful Michigan 10 pt once when I layed that gun barrel on the wood. The deer was about 100 yds away, but it was one of those cold crisp mornings with no wind and the slightest sound obviously carried that far. I always lay at least a glove up there now (live and learn).
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gjs4
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Re: Tower deer stand project

Unread postby gjs4 » Sat Apr 07, 2012 7:18 am

Great job!
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Re: Tower deer stand project

Unread postby dan » Sun Apr 08, 2012 7:44 am

Looks awesome !
rochester coops
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Re: Tower deer stand project

Unread postby rochester coops » Tue Apr 10, 2012 3:15 pm

Excellent thinking and lots of work in that! just curious if that is regular osb or advantech?
rancid crabtree
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Re: Tower deer stand project

Unread postby rancid crabtree » Thu Apr 12, 2012 11:27 pm

Rochester, Its just regular OBS.

After spending a few hours in the warm sunshine, the rubber roofing material was easy to smooth and flatten. The wooden strips around the perimeter help hold it in place.


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Then I used clear silicone caulk all around the top where the rubber meets the wood. This roof should last a very long time.


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Hodag Hunter
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Re: Tower deer stand project

Unread postby Hodag Hunter » Fri Apr 13, 2012 5:30 am

Looking real nice. That tree house is put together better than my house. :shock:
Bucky
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Re: Tower deer stand project

Unread postby Bucky » Fri Apr 13, 2012 9:20 am

How much you want to build another? :P
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rancid crabtree
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Re: Tower deer stand project

Unread postby rancid crabtree » Fri Apr 13, 2012 3:06 pm

I'm going to have about $500 in materials in this blind and lots of labor and I dont work cheap. :D
rochester coops
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Re: Tower deer stand project

Unread postby rochester coops » Fri Apr 13, 2012 3:19 pm

You totally had me fooled with the prototype!

Hope the osb holds up for you. You have some great detail work there. Have you thought about some summer ventilation? Maybe a couple cheap alumimum louvered/screen vents?
rancid crabtree
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Re: Tower deer stand project

Unread postby rancid crabtree » Fri Apr 13, 2012 10:25 pm

rochester coops wrote:You totally had me fooled with the prototype!

Hope the osb holds up for you. You have some great detail work there. Have you thought about some summer ventilation? Maybe a couple cheap alumimum louvered/screen vents?


I'm coating the out of the OBS, (especially the edges and behind the edge should water seep in) My plane is to use 3 inch round vent for venting.
rancid crabtree
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Re: Tower deer stand project

Unread postby rancid crabtree » Fri Apr 13, 2012 10:27 pm

Yesterday I built the frame for the floor. Its made from treated 2 x 6 with joists on 16 inch centers. Then because I had lots of scrap ends, I filled in the joist spaces with additional blocking. Is it overkill?? You bet. I don’t want a floor that creeks and groans. I’m building it once so I want it too be strong rather than wish I would have when its too late to do anything about it.

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The first layer of ½” OSB was screwed down after laying beads of construction adhesive on all the joists. Then I laid down more construction adhesive and another layer of ½ OSB

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Now I have a floor that an inch thick that is both glued and screwed. Is it over kill?? You bet it is.

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DiamondEdge
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Re: Tower deer stand project

Unread postby DiamondEdge » Sat Apr 14, 2012 2:22 pm

Looks real good :mrgreen: hope your enjoying making it!
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lynchpin
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Re: Tower deer stand project

Unread postby lynchpin » Sat Apr 14, 2012 3:08 pm

Great design and plan! Thanks for sharing! Hope this cartoon happens to you!

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(The cartoon reads) "Hey, that wasn't there yesterday, Let's go check it out!
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rancid crabtree
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Re: Tower deer stand project

Unread postby rancid crabtree » Mon Apr 16, 2012 10:26 pm

I’ve moved the stand deck out to the back patio because I need the room to build the larger parts of the stand. I leveled it up because when I poured the back patio I used a lot of slope for good drainage. Eventually I will bring all the walls out here as well and give them a test run before shipping the stand to its permanent home. I would rather discover surprises in the shop than out in the woods.

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I painted the exposed edges even though the door threshold will cover this area and the OSB on the door will protect it. I just figured it was better safe than sorry with melting snow.

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Then I framed up both of the sides of the base and marked the pieces and disassembled them.

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If you go all the way back to the beginning of this project you will see I had intended to use a ladder to get into the stand. Since this stand will be used by hunters in their 80’s as well as little kids. I went back to the drawing board (literally) and designed a very easy to climb set of stairs. The cost and time went up a bit but will make for a better and safer climb. While the plan does not show it I will be adding more vert railing on both the hand rail and the deck rail.

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I don’t know what it is about treated lumber but finding 2, 12 foot long 2 x 8’s meant sorting through a lot of warped and twisted junk to get two that were usable.

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It was a fun rainy Sunday project. Its going to take more than a couple guys to raise and position this staircase. Its pretty heavy.

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Now I need to get back to making all the sliding plexiglass windows for the rest of the blind.


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