Mish Mash Catch-Up

Okay. The phone calls have begun, so clearly I have let my blog entries slide too long again. I have been doing many different things these last few weeks to keep the JayBee project moving forward...

I have made a small list of adjustments that need to be made to the electrical wiring. The most obvious is illustrated by this photo.

Oops! It would be kind of hard to install a window in that opening, don't you think? Not sure how that blunder happened, but since I need the electrician to come back and make a few other adjustments, it's not the end of the world. When I went to install the vent for the air exchanger (ERV--Energy Recovery Ventilator) I had purchased, I discovered that it would not fit between the studs in the JayBee wall, so I sold it on Craigslist, did the research to find another one that would work better, and bought that one. This new air exchanger will be installed in a different location than I originally intended, so I will need an extra outlet for it.

I have been up on the JayBee's roof a bunch of times--making templates for cutting roofing pieces. It has been so hot and humid that working on the roof is a killer. How do people build houses in hotter climates?

I have been working to prepare the north wall for shingle installation. In the process, I discovered that the electrician had used very long screws to attach the breaker box to the exterior sheathing. Really?! I ended up using a hack saw to cut off these protruding screw ends, and decided to just be grateful that at least these screws had not been driven through finished shingle siding.

I have made decisions about all the openings that need to go through the north wall, and I have been trimming them out. I installed a light- and motion-sensing light on the north wall.

Here's a bunch of wood trim and metal flashing in process.

All the lower north-wall openings.

A box for some exterior electrical outlets.

A box for incoming electrical power. (If/when I add a photovoltaic solar system, I will be able to plug it into the house here.)

A vent for the dryer.

A spot for the city water meter.

A spot for an exterior water faucet.

I have one more opening to create: the one for the new air exchanger. This six-inch opening will go up above the north double window.

I have begun to experiment with painting faux azul macauba (a blue granite from Brazil). Rather than buy the real stuff, I'd like to create a reasonable facsimile on wood with an epoxy top coat--to use for the kitchen counter in the JayBee. In the photo below, I am using printed photos of real azul macauba (in the top portion of the photo) to help me paint my faux version (in the lower portion). Not good enough yet, but not bad for a first attempt.

I missed an entire day of housebuilding when I won tickets to a Counting Crows show at the Maine State Pier in Portland. The photo below shows my perfect view of the band's sound check. They mostly played full songs during the sound check so it was like having a personal concert. Citizen Cope was one of the opening acts; he was great, too! After the sound check, I had my photo taken with the band. What a kick!

George ruling the roost.