Sunday, August 26, 2012

Entryway 5

It occurred to me that I really needed to at least partially install the ceiling joists in the entryway before connecting the entry walls together. So I cut the small joists...


...tipped the wall back so I could set the joists in place...


...then tipped the wall back up, and screwed together the remaining two walls of the entryway. I added a second top plate to the top of the entryway walls.


I cut out the 2 x 4 across the base of the doorway...


...and attached the ceiling joists in place. (They are spaced in an odd way in anticipation of an exterior ceiling light being installed at some point.)



Also see:
Entryway 1
Entryway 2
Entryway 3
Entryway 4
Entryway 6
Entryway 7
Entryway 8

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Entryway 4

I made some progress on the JayBee's entryway this weekend in spite of the rain. I welcomed the break from the sun, actually, even though I could have done without the saturation of humidity.

If passersby or my neighbors heard squeals and shrieks on Saturday, it was because every time I uncovered the lumber pile to grab some lumber, I was greeted by snakes. Yikes--I really don't like snakes. (Even if these are very tame compared to the snakes my son is encountering on the Appalachian Trail this summer.) At first I thought there was only one snake but, after I saw two at once, it occurred to me that there could be a whole family in there!



The butterflies were out in force this weekend as well--ones that match my car...


...ones that kept landing in or on my work area...


So...I cut all the pieces needed for the wall that will hold the door.


Then I had to build a header. Haven't done that for almost a year. Remember, oh header goddess (you know who you are), how many of these you built last summer? The notches on one side of this header will hold the bottom side of short ceiling joists I will install above the entryway.


Then I got the wall assembled...


and held in place with clamps. (I plan to make sure all the parts fit and are square and plumb before I attach anything.)


Next, I built the short wall to install on the west side of the entryway...


...and connected everything with more clamps.


At the moment, there is a 2 x 4 running across the base of the doorway, which should not be there when the door is installed. It is helping to keep the wall aligned. Once everything is fully connected, I will cut out that portion of the 2 x 4. (I have already made partial cuts on the underside of this board to make finishing the cuts easy.)


Bear had a traumatic visit to the vet on Saturday, and proceeded to spend the rest of the weekend trying out new places to sleep.







Also see:
Entryway 1
Entryway 2
Entryway 3
Entryway 5
Entryway 6
Entryway 7
Entryway 8

Sunday, August 5, 2012

Entryway 3

Here is the entryway that needs to be framed in. Notice that there is a step. The hole in this south wall is four feet wide, but the entry door is only three feet wide, so the entry needs a series of small walls to frame in the step and the door.


This first wall (on the east side of the entryway) was challenging because it had to incorporate the final ceiling joist and both the wall and the joist had to be square and plumb to the existing walls, joists, and floor. (This also required crawling around underneath the JayBee with a 12-ton jack to level it up. It was only a smidgen off--amazing since we've had almost a year of frost heaves and wet and dry weather since I last leveled it--but I wanted it perfect before attaching the new wall.) Finally, I got it done.


Here is the east entryway wall with the full (and final, yippee!) ceiling joist in place. The bed area is now more clearly defined, and the living area feels that much smaller for it.



Also see:
Entryway 1
Entryway 2
Entryway 4
Entryway 5
Entryway 6
Entryway 7
Entryway 8

Friday, August 3, 2012

Pocket Door 4

Some of you may remember that, back during the winter, I started to build a pocket door for the JayBee. (See Pocket Door 1, 2, 3.) I stopped attending my woodworking class about half way through because I was spending most of my evening hours at work. When I stopped working on it, the pocket door consisted of all of its parts--rails, stiles, and panels. Those parts have been cluttering up my house ever since.

Today I thought: I'll assemble the pocket door today. I have all the parts. How hard can it be? Uh huh, right.

First, I had to drill all the holes for the dowel connectors. I had purchased a tool specially made to help with the drilling of these holes, but it kept slipping. I gave up on the tool and drilled the holes by hand--hoping, of course, that everything would line up correctly and easily.


Door assembly turned into a painstaking process. I'm sure it didn't help that it was a very humid day today. (Some future dry day when my pocket door loosely rattles, I'm going to shake my head remembering this assembly day.)

I had to use the table saw to widen a few channels by just a smidgen. I had to use a chisel to shave a skosh off here, there, and everywhere. Slowly, the door started coming together.


After all this time, the panels had warped a bit, so they took some convincing to set in place. I ended up "convincing" all the various parts to go together by pounding on them with a block and hammer. Hours later, voilĂ ! Here it is all clamped and weighted.



Isn't it a thing of beauty? It feels like a real door, too--quite hefty. Mostly done. Now all it needs are inlaid handles on the sides and edge (already purchased), hanging hardware (already purchased), stain, and finish.


Also see:
Pocket Door 1
Pocket Door 2
Pocket Door 3
Pocket Door 5
Pocket Door 6


Thursday, August 2, 2012

Reconnecting

After all this time...

I am getting reconnected with the JayBee, and resuming work. Thankfully, the JayBee stayed well-covered and protected through the winter and the spring. The old tarps were done in, though, so step one was installing new covers. Took me most of a day.


Next, I moved the two big saws out of the JayBee and set them up outside with sunshades.


I vacuumed out the JayBee. Lots of dead insects! Mostly moths and crickets.



My first project: a short divider/cork wall to go between two desks at work. All the cut pieces...


...then mostly assembled...


...and tested with the cork dividers I made (plywood pieces with 3/8" rolled cork tacked and glued to both sides)...


...then painted. (What do you do when you open a can of paint and discover it's not what you expected or asked for? I asked the guy at Lowe's for the blackest, glossiest paint they had. I groaned when I opened the can because it is a semi-gloss dark gray. It's only for work, after all, so I proceeded to use it anyway.)


Final assembly and touch up. The two feet sitting in front drying will sit perpendicular to the wall underneath the legs under the middle of the two cork pieces. All that's left to do is figure out how I'm going to transport this thing to work!


Update 7 Aug 2012: Here is the cork divider wall set up and in use at work.


Now, you may rightfully ask what this project has to do with the JayBee. Honestly...nothing at all. It's a project that had to get done, and doing it has reconnected me with my love of woodworking. I'm ready to tackle the JayBee now. I've been staring at the (unfinished) roof framing and I'm feeling a bit daunted. It's a good thing I cut and installed all the matching roof rafters last summer/fall because I cannot remember anything about the angles or the cuts. I think I'll start with something a little easier--like the wall framing around the entry door. (Stay tuned for the next post.)

In the meantime, Bear has been present but generally less pesky so far this year. He's doing a lot of sleeping.


Last night, the poor thing was surprised (actually terrorized) by the neighbor's dog running through the yard; Bear shot into the JayBee and up onto the wall plate before I even knew what was happening. The dog would have jumped into the JayBee too, if I hadn't been there to stop her. (Despite our leash law, the neighbors let their dog run loose; she terrorizes my cats at least once a day. Grrr.)