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June 14, 2006
Walls, week two
The day began on a sour note. I woke early, walked to Dunkin Donuts to buy a couple of Great Ones for the thirsty carpenters (and a more modest coffee for myself), and then proceeded to the barn. I was tidying up in preparation for the day's indusstry when Seiko appeared and informed me that Michael had called. He had run out of gas on the outskirts of town and was in need of rescue. I grabbed the gas can and set out. I found the stranded truck, which contained only Michael. Apparently, Chris had come upon an opportunity to ride his motorcycle with a group of guys and had decided that carpentry was not in the cards. Michael, somewhat against his better judgment, had resolved to stick to the original plan. (Perhaps running out of gas was a silent protest? Perhaps.)
Our work for the day focused on making the old barn fit for receiving wallboard. Its beams and studs were not designed for finishing, and do not line up neatly. We had to take careful measurements and add strips of wood appropriately sized to fill the gaps, to even things out. It was slow and tedious work, and Michael looked frequently at the open windows, somewhat wistfully, certain that there was a better day for him somewhere outside, on his motorcycle.
Nevertheless, he helped us measure and cut boards lengthwise, "ripping" them on the table saw. These thin strips were then nailed into place along the uneven beams and studs. The light strips of new wood stand in contrast to the dark original wood of the barn.
We also had to add a bunch of "nailers" throughout the frame, boards meant to provide an anchor where none existed for attaching the end of a piece of sheetrock.
Eventually we ran out of boards and had to buy some more. At the lumber yard we decided to buy a new ladder to replace Bob's rickety death trap. We were taken with a spectacular specimin of a ladder, an 8 foot beauty rated to support 300 pounds. This is a ladder among ladders, and will come in handy when I'm hanging insulation in weeks to come. Bob will likely balk at the extravagance.
See me in action, high upon the new ladder, attaching a nailer. Feel free to swoon.
If that wasn't enough to impress, I increased my nail gun prowess.
I even got to use the circular saw a time or two when Robbi wasn't looking.
Though evening up the walls and ceiling took most of the day, we also installed a door frame between our living space and the side of the barn devoted to the Florabana warehouse. You'll notice that the door we will install is much wider than the space available. This is one of many ways in which our barn doesn't quite live up to code. It seems that our barn is really two barns: an original barn with a tradtional roof that rose to a peak and a supplemental structure cribbed on, with a gently sloping roof that covers the space we will inhabit. Easy passage between the two halves was apparently not a priority of the subsequent builders. We don't care, of course, as long as the building inspector doesn't come calling.
I was thankful to Michael for sacrificing his day in the sunshine with the boys. Robbi, however, was less sympathetic. Whenever Michael mentioned the fun he might have been having, she let out a wicked grin. She can be a churl.
In fact, she was downright ornery all day.
When we were done, we cleaned up the mess. Sawdust, remainders of cut down 2' x 4's, empty The Great One cups...
Next steps: the wiring. Calvin and his crew will descend upon the barn tomorrow morning at 7:30am to install 19 outlets, four ceiling fans, three phone jacks, and a lightswitch or two.
We're getting there.
Posted by bogenamp at June 14, 2006 11:36 PM