The Doors

It was a productive weekend over all. I worked today by myself and I actually like being by myself so that was fine. It's always nice to have the help and Crystal almost got to help some today, but then something came up.

I got the garage door in! I still have to install the springs and attatch the back end of the tracks to the ceiling but I have all that framed up and ready to go. I think I already said that we got most of the drywall up yesterday. I figured out that I need to cut a hole through to the kitchen and see if I can get a nice new pre-hung entry door from the kitchen to the garage. That and I have to get the local locksmith to change the locks now that we can use all of them. Hopefully in a week or so I can start on piping for temp heat for the winter. I'm on a schegule, gotta finish it up in the back before Laura's graduation.

Time to go rest my back now.

The end is in sight

Got almost 2 walls done today. There's a little bit left on one wall and then the back wall to go and all the rock will be up. Tomorrow we'll finish that bit and maybe the back wall and we'll start on the garage door. There'll be one little bit left to go because I want to look into replacing the existing door with something more appropriate. The old door is this heavy wooden thing with a diamond shaped window in it. We need something there that we can see through. Hopefully I can make it just a tiny bit wider as well. It's a tiny 32" door. Even a 34 would be better, though to my way of thinking there is no good door less than 36" wide.

So now I've slathered stuff on to relieve the sore muscles, and I'm in my chair with my feet up. I like my big purple chair. I'm never gonna be sure that I like it better than my old crappy green recliner, but I do feel comfortable in it.

Pics tomorrow.

Another weekend to work

More drywall today. Crystal and I got the ceiling done last weekend. This weekend we'll hope to get the stuff up on the walls so that I can put up the door and put in some heat so that Pablo can tape and texture. Once he's done with that I can move lots of stuff in and set up the cabinets! I have a ventless heater for one spot but I'll have to come up with another heater for either the kitchen or garage. The wood stove seems to be keeping up so far over there, and last week I got a couple windows fixed. There are lots of windows yet to fix, but now there are no large gaping holes to the outside and that's a good thing!

Back to work!

Sheet!

A whopping two sheets of drywall on the ceiling yesterday. I did get things moved so it can be put up on that side without too much problem. That involved moving about 14 of the 12' sheets onto my cart and moving the garage door to the other side of the garage. I also had to move a bunch of firewood inside and close up the holes in the building for the winter. Then it was a trip to the hardware store for ....... oh hell one of those cords that keeps a pipe from freezing, sometime I can't remember what the names of things are. The good news is that the measly two sheets I put up are the ones that everything else works from for the ceiling. :) One more little piece and I can fly across that ceiling like Grant went through Richmond.

OK, back to work.

Rock and roll

Today is to be more drywall. Not sure when I'll get started as everyone seems to be sleeping and there's breakfast to eat first. I love breakfast, but really only breakfast that you eat out. Mostly morning comes too early for my stomach to be awake and want food in it, so I wait until later on. Today I'll try to get the rock up on the other half of the ceiling and around the garage door. If we manage that, then I'll work on finishing up around the walls and plan on getting the door put up thru the week. Then I can put a heater or two in there and hope to pass a temp plumbing permit so I can get a gas meter set and some less expensive heat in the place! Then lights in the garage ceiling and some blow in insulation and we should be set for winter as long as I can find a long enough heat tape for the water line. :)

ROCK!

Well. Last weekend Paul and Crystal came over and started hanging the drywall. I worked on finishing up the stuff that had to be done before the drywall could cover the parts yet to be rocked. They started on the ceiling with the new drywall lifter and pronounced it to be a fine piece of machinery. I finished up the furring on the garage door, fixed the roof in one corner so it wouldn't leak anymore, hung plastic, ran errands and did a little more electrical work. For two days I worked as hard as I knew how to stay ahead of my friends hanging drywall. Come Sunday night they'd done one side of the ceiling, the East wall and started on the West wall. Monday I worked on the house we live in for a little bit with Laura's help, and tonight I finished up hanging the plastic over there.

This weekend I wanna get enough more of the rock up so that I can put up the garage door. I'm hoping it all fits right.

We'll see.

Winterizing day

It's raining today. I kinda wish it weren't but one never gets to curse the rain here in our desert valley. I've been cutting up those elm stumps from last spring, man they're HUGE! I have a 20" chainsaw and it doesn't even get close to getting all the way through the trees near their bottoms. And since snow is predicted soon I'll have to take time out to winterize a few things. Gotta get a heat tape on the waterline at the gallery and seal up the leaky roof over the studio. Gotta disconnect all the outside waterlines so they don't freeze and burst. If we get time there will be framing and wiring done. Yes, believe it or not there is STILL wiring to do. IN fact I have to get some pipe and a couple boxes and check the motor load on my clay mixer before we get to hanging the sheet rock. That'll happen pretty soon, the drywall lifter should be here tomorrow. Not that I'll get to it tomorrow. Why? Well, because I am volunteering at the local public radio station from 6 to 8 AM tomorrow (Monday October 9th). Then I have to come home and cook. The democrats fund raiser for our little county party is on Tuesday and it is to be a chili supper and desert auction for which I have to cook two pots of chili, cornbread and a couple 12 packs of pop. OK, I don't have to cook the pop, I just have to go get it. OH CRAP!, I'm doing something else on Monday night, so it's even more full, I forgot until just now. But that means Wednesday is free for either resting or working.

Resting is a bit more important these days. I'm turning 46 soon. It's not old (unless you're 10) but neither is it young. I can't go 24/7 like I used to and the worn out bits (like wrists, shoulders, back, hips) that 28 years of powerline work have degraded don't bounce back like they used to. :) Thursday is pretty full also, and Friday we usually have something to do. Maybe I can get some work done on Saturday and Sunday if nothing comes up. I have GOT to get some heat in that place.

Sometimes it all feels too big. And then I have to remind myself that it's like the huge stump I sawed through yesterday. You can only do what you can do, a bit at a time, a little progress here and there and eventually you get it done.

Insulated

Been a while since an update. Yep, the boiler is sitting there on the floor quite nicely and waiting to be installed. But FIRST, the walls and the last door have to go in. Progress is being made in that area. The wiring is done all but a tiny bit here and there. Last weekend we got almost all the wall insulation up too! :) There's a bit of framing to finish up on the garage door and some prep to do before hanging the drywall in the ceiling. But it really exciting to have the insulation in and the plactic holding it in! Last Friday I went to ebay and bought a drywall lifter to make hanging the 12 foot sheets as easy as possible, it should be here soon. The drywall got delivered yesterday! (Monday). 26 sheets of 1/2" in 4 X 12 chunks. A few folks have volunteered to help hang it, and I still have to get the 5/8 stuff for around the boiler but it should go pretty fast.