45. A Little Woodwork With a Side of AC

One of the things I always do at the end of a work day is clean up.  I put all the tools away, or at least in some semblance of order.  I sweep and hit the edges with the shop vac.  I organize materials, and take stock, writing a list in my trusty notebook of anything I will need when I come back.  It seems like a lot of work, when I'm all wiped out - but that last push makes coming back in the morning so much nicer.  I like walking in and having a fresh start, especially since it's not long before everything is in total chaos again!

This morning I began on the paneling in the living room.  You can see the 1x8 I installed as a base board at the bottom, and the first few tongue-in-groove 1x6 panels in place.  At the top of the unfinished space, see that black area?  That is a clear shot into the space over the porch ceiling, which gave me an idea - that having this open was the perfect opportunity to get my wire out to the porch ceiling fan without tearing up the bead board ceiling.  It worked like a charm.  I had to use my 4-foot level to reach all the way in there to get it over that last beam.

This is the sunroom ceiling, where Steven had removed one course of bead board that day last week.  This was the access point where the ceiling fan wire went down the wall into the switch - so it was now ready to close up.  I had to remove one more row, just to get the pieces to fit right - there's a bit of a gap, but I am also a professional caulkstress so you'll never know the difference once it's all done.  PS you might want to buy some stock in DAP caulk before I get to that point - this is just one of those houses where every thing has a crack between it and the next thing that needs a little goop.  I'll probably buy a case or two before the whole place is done.  Watch for the Caulk Tube Count coming soon.

Anybody recognize this contraption?  It is a thoroughly modern "Air Condeeshuning Dee-vice".  Also known as a heat pump.  They got this installed, and some of the duct work done - the air handler is in the basement but not hooked up yet.  They will be back on Monday as I AM TAKING THE NEXT THREE DAYS OFF.

After I got all cleaned up at the end of today I found an amazing thing:  A living room!  Right in the middle of the house, can you believe it?  Who would have thought?  I haven't really started work on the windows (that's coming soon) but today I removed the wooden valances that I never really liked (sorry Duke) and about sixteen different kinds of window treatment hardware plus misc. staples and other things screwed into the top of each window.   I guess I'm the only one that has come along that wanted a fresh start!  Monday I will get that ceiling fan hung - I promise.

This is the door that will eventually be my beautiful front door, if it survives a trip to the hospital.  I brought it home because this weekend Dave is coming over with his router to help me repair some things on it, fill in the gaping hole in the side and otherwise return it to it's former glory.  Just structural - I'll deal with the paint refinishing later.  I promised him he could use my canoe and go fishing, and there might even be a barbecue dinner in there somewhere as well.  Fair deal?