A Little Progress...
So, despite the craptastic weather and a lot of budget problems, I have been making a few upgrades around the house as of late...
Project the first: Building a 140 square foot working shed in the back yard.
I had the bright idea that with most of what was once my workspace now being occupied by too many boxes, and with me having no garage right now, what I really need before I get a start on any other large project is a place to work on one out of the weather that has decent lighting and proper electricity to feed power tools.
It started out simple enough: Start with preparing the foundation:
Then, after 2 weeks of non-stop rain, readjust your foundation blocks twice. And then go buy a couple of hundred dollars worth of lumber and build a box out of it.
Go buy more lumber, specifically really expensive plywood, square everything up again, and drive a bazillion nails into it all. Get interrupted by hurricane force winds, torrential rain, and other acts of nature for another week, then get 1/2 a day to finish the floor you started with more -wet- plywood and another bazillion nails.
So now I have this lovely platform that is plumb, square, true, and directionally aligned with the house and fence line via lensatic compass.
Soon, this will have walls and a roof. But not today.
Project the second: The living room fireplace.
I also decided that I was pretty much tired of having a gas fireplace in the house that was left unfinished by the previous owners. Since said owners happen to be my relatives, I called them up to ask about the concept they were working on for the fireplace and what their finish ideas were, and was answered with a resounding "We hadn't figured that out yet."
I failed to take appropriate pictures of just how badly the tile was done, how it wasn't square or aligned correctly, or how the mahogany edging was cut so terribly sideways that it made my eyes hurt every time I walked near it.
I also failed to take pictures of the gaping hole that was left behind from the missing screen, into which many a dog toy and other flammable object has met its demise during an unfortunate incident during the colder months of the year.
What I succeeded at was removing and re-installing the tile, squaring and re-installing the mahogany edging, and working with a friend of mine to weld/smith up a new fireplace screen with scrollwork handles. Oh, and taking a picture of the finished product.
There is still the matter of coming up with a proper cable chase for the electronics and television you can see on the left of that photo, but at least the fireplace itself looks proper and finished now. Not only less of an eyesore, I think it finally adds something classy to the room.
Project the first: Building a 140 square foot working shed in the back yard.
I had the bright idea that with most of what was once my workspace now being occupied by too many boxes, and with me having no garage right now, what I really need before I get a start on any other large project is a place to work on one out of the weather that has decent lighting and proper electricity to feed power tools.
It started out simple enough: Start with preparing the foundation:
Then, after 2 weeks of non-stop rain, readjust your foundation blocks twice. And then go buy a couple of hundred dollars worth of lumber and build a box out of it.
Go buy more lumber, specifically really expensive plywood, square everything up again, and drive a bazillion nails into it all. Get interrupted by hurricane force winds, torrential rain, and other acts of nature for another week, then get 1/2 a day to finish the floor you started with more -wet- plywood and another bazillion nails.
So now I have this lovely platform that is plumb, square, true, and directionally aligned with the house and fence line via lensatic compass.
Soon, this will have walls and a roof. But not today.
Project the second: The living room fireplace.
I also decided that I was pretty much tired of having a gas fireplace in the house that was left unfinished by the previous owners. Since said owners happen to be my relatives, I called them up to ask about the concept they were working on for the fireplace and what their finish ideas were, and was answered with a resounding "We hadn't figured that out yet."
I failed to take appropriate pictures of just how badly the tile was done, how it wasn't square or aligned correctly, or how the mahogany edging was cut so terribly sideways that it made my eyes hurt every time I walked near it.
I also failed to take pictures of the gaping hole that was left behind from the missing screen, into which many a dog toy and other flammable object has met its demise during an unfortunate incident during the colder months of the year.
What I succeeded at was removing and re-installing the tile, squaring and re-installing the mahogany edging, and working with a friend of mine to weld/smith up a new fireplace screen with scrollwork handles. Oh, and taking a picture of the finished product.
There is still the matter of coming up with a proper cable chase for the electronics and television you can see on the left of that photo, but at least the fireplace itself looks proper and finished now. Not only less of an eyesore, I think it finally adds something classy to the room.