Latest Work in the Bathroom

Sheetrock for the ceiling.

Eddie had to add pieces of lumber in the corners to be able to install the sheetrock.

This is where the linen closet was in the bathroom before, and now it will be opening into the hallway instead.

First coat of mud.

More Work on the Bathroom

We kept working all weekend, and here are some of the pictures to show what was involved. First, the cabinet, sink and toilet were removed. Then the tile on the walls came down.


More tile in the shower.

The wall boards were removed, exposing plumbing and wiring.



Then the floor tiles had to come up. I got assigned most of this job. I don't know why I can't get the picture to rotate and stay that way!

The tub was removed, not very heavy considering it was iron with enamel.

A look at the tub plumbing.

Eddie had removed the flooring that the tile was mortared to, and replaced it with new subfloor.

There was a wall here between the tub and closet. We took it and the frame for the doorway out, so we'd be able to bring in a new-construction, one-piece fiberglass tub/shower.

And there it is, temporarily in place to check measurements for the wall to be replaced.

First Floor Hall Bathroom

So it begins . . .

Smoothing Out the Concrete Patio

We rented a concrete grinder last weekend and Eddie got the whole back patio done. It was really rough, and even just kneeling on it would hurt--so imagine falling from a bike or just tripping!

He went over each section in a cross-hatch pattern--north/south and east/west--and did that three times. The man is nothing if not thorough!

We filled the large cracks with concrete filler.

Before

After--hard to see that the chalk makes a smoother mark now, oh well--you can see the paint has been mostly ground off though.

It looks a lot brighter now too.

Great Automatic Chicken Coop Door Idea

My brother sent me a link to something his friend did recently.

The Automatic Chicken Door is pretty cool-looking. There's a short video clip at the link. And he got his plans for the door from this site at BuildEasy's The DIYers pages, How to make an Automatic Chicken House Door, by John Beaty, Director of Technology Programs, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts.

If you're looking for plans for your own coop, they've got one set posted here. We've been talking about making the coop doors automatic for years now.

Our coop is different, in that the walls aren't made of wood but of hardware cloth, so we'd have to modify the system a bit to make it work. The doors would have to be pulled up from the ground, maybe using some kind of arm? I don't know--I'll let Eddie figure that one out.

If we ever get around to doing something, I'll be sure to blog about it.

It's that Time of Year Again--Back to Splitting Wood

We already had split a bunch of wood the other week, and used up probably an 8ft by 4 ft stack of it. Eddie brought home more, probably all oak and some pieces weighed more than him, so that was our post-Thanksgiving workout.

Splitter still in pretty good shape, but Eddie's not happy with the gas reservoir; it seems to have a leak that he's unable to fix. There was also water in the carburetor. At any rate, it's functional.

And here are three buckets of small bits of wood that will be kindling.

Interior Door and Window Trim , part 3

Last but not least, Eddie put the trim up around the kitchen window. The only real issue to deal with was ripping the bottom trim piece to fit above the sink back splash.

The sill is in place.

I painted a primer coat on the unfinished piece of wood, and then we'll be caulking and filling holes and painting the trim on the window and the two doors.