More Life as a Truck

at the lumber yard

Today I finished the next coat of mud, showed the addition and kitchen remodel to a long-time friend from Habitat, and actually got the 1/4" plywood to smooth out the subfloor.

The plywood is so smooth and lovely that we're considering using it as the flooring. I just need to find a durable enough (and non-toxic) finish to protect it, and a good way to fasten it down. I'm contemplating ripping it into 2x8 or maybe 1x8 strips, so it can be laid out in a staggered pattern. In any event, we'll have it as our flooring for a while to consider, so we can see if we like the look or not.

The plywood is so smooth that I had a hard time securing it to the roof. It seemed OK, but it slid significantly when I braked. While I was stopped to refasten the load, someone stopped and asked me for directions that I could actually give (and had a map to show them), so it worked out nicely.

My Car's Life as a Truck

mosaic mobile

I made what may be the final dump run for the kitchen remodel (which is not to say there won't more for other projects), with my little VW Golf stuffed to the gills with bits of wood, old drywall, and scraps of clean drywall.

On the way back I stopped at Orchard Supply Hardware for some more mud, and when I came out, this beauty was parked next to the Golf. It's not just painted -- if you look closely, it's bits of glass tile glued all over. The lump on the roof is a skylight which is covered, as are the back windows, so it's very colorful inside, too. Between the added weight and the reduced aerodynamics, it's gotta suck on the MPG front, but it's a beauty.

Muddy Kitchen

one coat on, two to go

Last week was a blur of putting up drywall and taping and mudding it. The momentous part of that is that I'm done with the drywall lift, so it'll be headed over to Casa Decrepit for them to use in redoing the ceiling in their dining room. That room will eventually become their kitchen, but regardless the plaster needs to be replaced as it has water damage coupled with the damage inflicted by the lowered ceilings. Drywall lifts make putting drywall on ceilings so much easier, they're worth borrowing, renting or buying if you've got very much to put up. Even more so if you've got high ceilings like they do.

Today will be a (final?) dump run, and buying some more mud for the second and third coats, and some 1/4" plywood to put over the subfloor. That's because we'll be putting down linoleum (the natural stuff, not vinyl flooring), and it's best to have a smooth surface for it. The OSB subfloor would probably be OK, but the old 1x8 diagonal subflooring that I didn't replace doesn't come close to qualifying.

Inspection Passed!

Hugo, the inspector from the city, left a few minutes ago. I passed building, electrical and plumbing, so I'm good to go to cover the walls. He would have preferred I had all the plumbing done (right now I just have the vent stack), but was OK with deferring it to later. That's because I can't go into the wall and down, but have to go straight down, so more of it will be in the sink cabinet. The other comment upon inspecting the subpanel was that the bedroom breaker needs to be AFCI. That's relatively new to the building code, so I wasn't aware of the requirement. I'd seen AFCI breakers at Home Depot, but didn't know where they were required, and given the higher cost, wasn't going to go installing them in every circuit. In any event, I'm happy and K will be, too, because now I can cover the walls (and more importantly given the current weather, the ceiling.)

I'm Back...and so is Winter

German marketplace

I didn't manage to get the inspection in last week after the build-a-thon before I headed off to my nephew and godson's confirmation. I'm back from that, mostly over the jet lag, and have the inspection scheduled for Monday. I'll spend some time today making sure everything is ready to go.

Winter decided to come back, too. After the 90 degree temps during the build-a-thon, we're back to chilly weather and rain. We need the rain so I can't complain too much.