I ran a bundle of old lathe boards through the planer and polyurethaned them. These will become trim for the upstairs suite at 1403.
When my arms have healed a bit more, I’ll resume work there. Here is my to do list.
leftovers
Food leftovers are great, in my book, but sometimes you need an extra fridge to store it all, like a porch fridge with turkey or a beer fridge in the garage.
I have quite a bit of leftover inventory from the latest projects (main, up). The mudroom at 1403 still has a lot of drywall and other material, tools, and equipment to complete the upper suite. Most of the other material is stored at home in the shed. I bought some plastic storage totes from Walmart and organized it all in an inventory list.
rear walkway nearly complete
We (finally) resumed work on the rear walkway for the house. We picked up 3/4 yd. of gravel from Lethbridge Landscape Supply and spread it out along the walkway area. This is what it looked like over time.
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So today’s work was to add more gravel, level everything with a slight slope, and put in the paving stones (basically concrete blocks 24″x24″). The existing ones needed to be moved to line up with the new ones, so the steps were temporarily removed. The pavers were not quite lined up with the house because the patio area slab (formerly gazebo slab) was slightly askew. We straightened them all out, and now I think it looks alright.
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Next is to straighten the edge of the gravel with a form, fill in the remaining edge with soil, and plant some sort of vegetation – small shrubs maybe. But at least now the tenants can shovel the walk of snow without digging up the gravel.
However, the gate still isn’t up yet, so I guess that would be next.
temporary barrier
A temporary barrier was put up at the front veranda so that Halloween kids won’t fall into the pit.
It was supposed to be old and scary looking. I’m not sure if I captured that.
baseboard heater fixed, faceplates added, stairway storage completed
The baseboard heater works now.
According to my electrical engineer friend, the thermostat was arcing. When dialing it up and down, one can hear a kind of buzzing or hissing sound, the sound of a small arc going on within. Likely the contacts are dirty. He thinks it’s fine, but I think I will replace it anyway. Arcing leads to carbon building which leads to more arcing.
faceplates, baseboard heaters
More finish work was done today. I added faceplates to most of the outlets and switches. Double outlets / switches aren’t done yet because I bought the wrong ones. I’ll pick up the right ones tomorrow.
Seam sealer, normally used in vinyl flooring, was used to seal the butt joints in the countertop.
The baseboard heaters were all installed except in the bathroom. The heater does not work.
organizing
Today is organizing day. I brought home much of the building materials, supplies, tools, etc. from 1403 and put it in the garage at home. Now comes the sorting, storing, cleaning, throwing away, recycling, and … the big one … inventorying. Why make an inventory? As workdays went on, stuff became less organized and more chaotic, so, when something couldn’t be found, a new one was purchased. This was the case for everything from a box of screws to a laser meter. If only I had stuck to a method of accounting for all of my stuff, my accounting wouldn’t be in such a state.
The upper suite at 1403 is not yet complete, but they are moved in, any my arms are sore, so I will spend the next while organizing.
the other half day outside
Another trailer load of junk.
The rear light, previously used at the rear of 520, was malfunctional (yes, it’s a word), just as my tenant attested. The neighbours here at 1403 said the damned thing flashed all night long. After changing the settings, it still flashed. “Cheap is cheap”, as a long-forgotten person would say. So I picked up a motion sensor light from Rona along with a 2-pack of 15-Watt bulbs. Dave held the ladder and handed stuff up to me while I scrambled up there in the wind. I’ll have to go by the house at night to see if it works.
microwave, toilet light, baseboard heaters, cabinet door pulls
After working outside for a while, the microwave was installed today. It took a while to get it installed because of the same problem as the rear suite at 520 – the cabinet bracket screws are almost lined up with the microwave mounting screws, forcing the mount to be slightly off-center.
However, there is a little flange that sticks out at the top left, preventing the cabinet door from opening.
It seems to have no purpose, so…
half day of work outside
My arms are still sore, so today was just a half day.
I noticed some gaps in the first floor bedroom window framing where the wood wasn’t taped with flashing. I sealed as much as is showing in preparation for window trim.
Meanwhile…