Small Winter Projects

Even though I didn't work out in the JayBee during the worst of the cold and ice this winter, I tried to keep the project moving forward by thinking through plans (like totally changing my mind about energy and appliances--for a future post), designing some storage cupboards, sewing curtains, and creating a few small things. The project below turned my old house into a wood shop. Sawdust everywhere--what a mess! Can you guess what it is? The answer is at the bottom of this post.

I also made a number of functional, decorative boxes...

and put them to use in drawers that will be used in the JayBee. Everything in its place!

I also made some extra boxes that I haven't put to use yet.

And that wooden rack? It sits on top of my pot rack (that will be installed in the JayBee) so I can store stock pots on top.

Radiant Barrier Totally Done!

All of the vapor barrier and radiant barrier is completely done! Every joint/break/seam is taped.

I miscalculated how much radiant barrier I needed for this project--by a lot. I never even opened this last roll.

I continued to install boards in the corner of the closet...

...until I was done.

The view from the inside of the closet...

This next shot is looking straight down the outside wall of the closet. I placed a board on the outside there to show that there is a purposeful gap between the lower edge of each of those boards and the kitchen wall on the outside of the closet. The gaps should keep these boards from trapping a bunch of dirt at their bottom edges. Because...

...all of these boards are shelves for shoes!

After finishing the shoe shelves, I cleaned out the JayBee and vacuumed. From the bed alcove, looking toward the bathroom/west end...

From the bathroom looking toward the bed/east end...

The JayBee is now ready for ceiling and wall boards.

Scrambling in All Directions

My work on the house these last few weeks has gone in a zillion directions. We've had a lot of very hot, humid days. When the heat and humidity wipe me out so that I have to cut back on the more strenuous activities, I move to my long list of little things that need to be done...

No one would believe how long I spent getting the shingle guide installed on the bottom of the north wall of the house. Part of the challenge was handling the 24-foot-plus length of the board all by myself on that steep slippery hillside. The bigger problem was that the northwest corner of the house is just about sitting on the ground, so there wasn't enough room for the guide to fit. I ended up cutting the last five feet of the guide to fit around the stumps, roots, and lumpy hillside.

Finally, the guide is set level and straight for the first course of shingles!

A nice thing about working on the north side of the house: all the beautiful flowers.

One tiny project: I grabbed a piece of 3" PVC pipe out of the trash that the plumber had thrown away, and I cut a short piece of it...

...to use in the bathroom as an easy way to store my hair dryer.

I removed the electrical box that was installed over the shower and replaced it with this light that has its own junction box built in. (Ignore the insulation sitting up there. It was pulled out of the ceiling when the plumber drilled the vent hole up through the roof. I want to confirm after a big rainstorm that the roof is not leaking around the vent before I re-install the insulation in the ceiling.)

This junction box for a light that will hang in the bathroom next to the window and over the sink has been bugging me for awhile. See how close to the corner of the bumpout it is? I've been thinking that the box is so close to the corner that, once the wall boards are installed, the light fixture won't fit.

I dug out the light fixture and held it up to the junction box. Sure enough--the light was not going to fit once the wall was done. So...I pulled out the insulation, removed the box from the stud, added a board as a spacer, and reinstalled the box.

I held the light fixture up to the box to confirm that it will fit.

And I reinstalled all the insulation.

Yes, I did cut a gazillion tiny pieces of cedar.

When I started assembling them, I had all kinds of trouble. I was trying to use stainless steel finishing nails, but the wood pieces were too delicate for that--even with pre-drilling the holes. Once I switched to using staples, the cupboard went together a little easier.

Finally, I ended up with a shelving unit that is less than 3" wide and over 45" high.

This shelving unit is for a hidden space in the bathroom. The alcove next to the shower in the bathroom bumpout is going to have a built-in cabinet with shelving. In the left side of the alcove, there is a space between the studs that backs up against the side of the shower. Here is the shelving unit starting to be slid into that hidden space.

When it's completely installed, you can't see it...

...unless you stick your head into the alcove to see it.

I made another, smaller shelving unit to put in the top part of the hidden space.

Here's a peek around the corner to see it.

Just standing in the bathroom and looking at the alcove, you can't see all the extra shelves. I have plans for little hidden gems that make use of all the spaces in this house!

One last little project: Here is the start of my TV hanger--a piece of maple cut into a circle turntable. Combined with a lazy susan and a TV ceiling mount, it should allow me to install my flat screen so that it folds up out of the way when not in use but will also spin 360 degrees when it is dropped down.

Crawling Along

Thank you, faithful followers, for not giving up on me completely. I have been slowly making progress on the JayBee despite my failure to post regularly.

Here is further progress on the closet wall.

Below it is set in place. See how there is a ladder (for reaching high-up storage in the closet, and for climbing up to the storage loft) inside the closet wall? Once I set this wall in place, I immediately noticed that the closet ceiling light fixture was placed too close to the ladder.

I moved the light fixture back close to the JayBee's outer wall. (Also see in the photo below that the shower stall has been brought inside the JayBee; it is currently sitting where the toilet will be installed.)

I installed the portion of the air exchanger that protrudes through the north wall of the JayBee.

I haven't installed all the interior parts (that require a finished interior wall), but I did install the filters inside it.

On the outside, I used a leftover piece of ice and water shield...

...and installed the exterior vent. (I didn't realize until after the fact that this photo was also a headless selfie.)

The vent sits above the double north window.

The electrician came back one last time because he had neglected to wire up the thermostat that will control the electric radiant heat. In the photo below, the lower box is where the wires from the electric-radiant flooring panels will be connected. The upper box in the photo will house a light switch. Above that is another junction box that will house the thermostat.

Notice also in the photo that there is a wire that runs across this side of the shower-stall wall. I decided it was going to complicate installing my kitchen cabinets, so...

... I moved it into the wall instead.

During one of my JayBee-building days, my brother enjoyed a kayaking adventure on the river. I just happened to see him returning.

I got a really good deal on a portable garage that I plan to use for storage during the winter months. This will give me a temporary, weather-protected place for materials that get delivered without having to fill up the interior of the JayBee--allowing me to work on the inside of the JayBee unencumbered during the winter months.

I began setting up the garage by myself--assuming that I would hit a point when I'd have to ask others to come over and help. 10' x 17' didn't sound very big to me--until I started putting the thing together. Here are the roof-framing pieces together.

Then the side pieces added.

The garage came with 18"-long anchors that screwed into the ground; I securely attached them to the framing pieces.

One end cover put on.

Then the other end.

Then the roof and side walls. Finally, additional metal framing pieces were installed about six inches up from the ground along the inside of the side walls.

I managed to build the whole thing myself! I like it. It's spacious and bright inside. Now to see how it holds up through the snow.

The pear trees kept dropping pear bombs while I was assembling the garage beneath them. Just when I thought I found a large, perfectly-shaped pear, I discovered that a deer had found it first!

Also while I was putting the garage together, a whole bundle of turkeys came parading through. I snapped about a dozen photos, but each photo only captured one or two turkeys each.

In the space of two days, a very LARGE fox ran through my yard twice in broad daylight. I attempted to capture it in photos, but I ended up with a lot of photos of leaves and trees. (Yes, it made me wonder how my indoor-outdoor cats have remained alive all these years...)

Speaking of leaves, I don't have brilliantly-colored leaves around my house. Around here, the oak and ash tree leaves turn a dull yellow-brown and then drop off.  My river view is starting to open up again, however.

From the roof of the JayBee...

When I drive to work, I see brilliant fall colors. When I look out the window while sitting at my desk at work, I can watch this tree going through its autumn changes.

Beautiful night sky the other night. This was actually a crisp, perfect quarter moon--not well captured in this photo.