Construction Journal Entry Week of 2/21/10

2/24-26/10 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Wednesday through Friday.

I arrived late because I stopped at Priscilla’s to drop off a lamp of hers that I fixed, then I stopped at our tax accountant to drop off our income tax material, and then I stopped in and had lunch with George and Marilyn. I arrived at Camp Serendipity at 1:40. There had been a trace of new snow, but there was still about the same amount on the ground as before.

After moving in, I started a fire in the wood stove. Then I rearranged the furniture to match how it will be when the cabin is finished. I put the big dining room table in the dining room and put both leaves in it to see how it would fit. It is a little snug, but it fits, even with chairs all around it.

I placed the other three tables in position to simulate where the kitchen counters would be. The tables are wider than the counters will be, but it still gives the idea of how the kitchen will be laid out. I lined some chairs up against the living room walls to simulate living room furniture in there. Since everything is cleaned up, it looks nice in there now and it is easier to imagine how it will look when it is finished.

Before I start another project and make another mess, I decided to make a couple of videos showing the inside of the cabin. The camera shut off for some reason after a couple minutes, so I started it again and resumed shooting. I tried a second time and it shut off again, so I shot two videos each of them in two parts. When our computer gets fixed (it is broken right now) I’ll see if I can’t make one good video out of these pieces.

I spent the rest of the afternoon working on the solid blocking under the floor at the base of the stairs.

On Thursday, I started another fire in the wood stove. Bert and Ernie came by for their biscuits and hugs. I don’t know why they didn’t show up yesterday. I had contacted Dave’s Plumbing and arranged for Dave to come up to Camp Serendipity today and give me an estimate on the wastewater plumbing job. When I was down in the crawlspace working on the staircase blocking, I heard someone upstairs and figured it was Dave the plumber.

I went upstairs and learned that it was not Dave but Larry. He came by to see if the staircase was done. I was happy to show him that it was, except for handrails, the blocking down below, and some more varnish. He tested the stairs by walking up to the loft, and I think he approved.

After he left, I finished the work of installing the blocking. It involved driving 64 joist hanger nails upwards using a 3 lb hammer. That was a lot of work, but the job is done. I was disappointed that the plumber didn’t show.

On Friday, I made some aluminum post caps for the handrail posts on the concrete staircase. I installed one of them. Then I varnished the top tread, the header, and the entire stringer. I left for home at 2:15.



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