Sunday, August 10, 2014

Workship - Finished!

My workshop is done! It was a long road (11 months - framed the first wall on September 9 and I finished up the last of the trim work on August 9) but if feels great and I'm very happy with the results.

Now I get to start building the benches for inside the workshop. And the house...I guess I should find some time to finish off the house as well.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

The queen of bling

Emma wanted her loft bed back. Not a problem, the ceiling fan had to be removed though (replaced with a floor version). This meant a shopping trip for Emma and her dad for a new light. This is what she picked...






She was really impressed with the chandeliers the hung down 3 feet or more but those were vetoed.

Let them eat cake

Emma wanted to make and decorate a cake. Pretty yummy results.







Thursday, June 12, 2014

Workshop - My Helper

As I've been building my workshop, Emma's always been interested in what I've been doing. She also wants to help. Unfortunately, there's not a lot that she can do to help, but she has become my official tape holder and chalk line snapper.

On the weekend, she tried her hand at mudding drywall.

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Workshop - Starting the inside

It's been a while since my last update, but the lack of pictures doesn't mean no work has been happening.

I've known for a while that the 8' ceilings called for in the plans were going to be inconveniently low. (Especially given that I'm going to raise the floor 5" - see below.) My original plan was to just insulate between the rafters and then drywall the underside, giving me a cathedral ceiling. Fortunately, the roofer tipped me off that this would cause trouble with moisture build up unless I built and insulated the roof in a completely different way. Unfortunately, it was a bit late for that sort of change (and it would have added a lot of cost).

So, after some research, I found that I could raise the joists about 18" without risking the structure of the workshop. This still left me with enough of an attic that air can circulate properly while giving the extra headroom I wanted.

Once that was done, it was time to wire up the workshop. The electrical inspection was a bit depressing - a couple minor issues with what I had done and eight problems in how the professional had wired the workshop into the house. I was able to fix everything up though, and I got my electrical inspection passed.

After that, it was time for insulation and vapour barrier. Figures - get the place insulated just as the weather starts to get warm. I must have done something right though - as the summer heat is starting, the workshop is staying comfortably cool with just the windows and the skylight open.

Another part of my plan was to put in a raised floor. I wanted this so that I could get some insulation between my feet and the concrete, and so that I would have space to run power and dust collection to the table saw under the floor. Originally I was going to lay 2x4 sleepers with plywood over top, but with the high density styrofoam insulation, the recommendation is to lay down a layer of insulation and just put the plywood over top. That made the job a lot easier.

Finally it was time to hang the drywall - the end is in sight! As I mentioned before, I have to use firecode drywall, and that stuff is heavy (80 pounds a sheet). Fortunately, I've had mom, dad, and Christine around to lend a hand at the points where I couldn't support a sheet and drive the screws in at the same time.

Next up - mudding! (I don't think Emma believed me when I told her I was going to put mud on the walls.)

Monday, June 2, 2014

Super Ova!

Had soft and hard boiled eggs for breakfast yesterday. Doug put the food away, marking which were hard/soft boiled. Preparing my lunch this morning, I found this in the fridge



Yep, a super egg complete with cape.

... and that is why I love my geek.  : )

Sunday, May 11, 2014

Happy Mother's Day



My two favorite people making me dinner.