Ceiling Tile - Day Three

We did not work on the ceiling yesterday because it was a ski day for me. I have my priorities!

But jumped on it today and made great progress. An added bonus is that we are still married.

Here are the pictorial results.

We have just the corners to put up and the pantry will be almost finished. We have decided that a small crown molding around the perimeter would look nicer than the sort of rough exposed edge that we have now.

Please also notice that all the bulbs in the light are working. Susan fixed it by simply putting different bulbs in the fixture. Don't asl me why that worked. I don't care. 

Ceiling Tile - Day Two

We are really going to get going today.

The light is back together and ready to be hung after we place the first row of tiles. 

The spot where the light is wired is almost the center of the room. Close enough that we have decided to place the first tile dead center on the light.

We made a template out of a piece of poster board we bought to properly locate the hole before we ruined a tile. It went perfectly.

We placed several dabs of glue on the back of the tile, placed the edge of the tile on the line we snapped to find center, and we were off. 

Once you get going, it goes quite quickly.

We finished the first row and decided that was enough for the day. We really wanted to get the light back up.

Hanging the light turned out to be quite an ordeal. The problem was that the light is kind of heavy and cumbersome, we are old, and it's a tight spot that is eleven feet from the floor. It took a while, and there was a LOT of grunting, moaning, and heavy breathing but we got it up, we got it wired and it mostly worked.

We have this light on a motion sensor so whenever we walk into the pantry, the light comes on for about 30 seconds. If no other motion is detected, it goes out. Sometimes, if you're looking for something for a while, you have to wave your arms every 30 seconds to reactivate the light. Also, if we just walk by the pantry on the way to the kitchen sink, it turns on.

For some reason, one of the bulbs works like it should. It comes on when the motion is detected. One of the bulbs stays on all the time. The third bulb does not come on at all.

I don't know what's going on but I will work on it later.   

Kitchen Remodel - Phase Four

Today we are starting on the final phase of the kitchen remodel...putting up the ceiling tile.

For the past several weeks, we have been preparing the styrofoam ceiling tiles we purchased well over a year ago. They have been sprayed with a fire retardant and now we have been painting them an out-of-the-can flat white. We added a fire retardant agent to the paint as well.

One of the things we discovered is that Susan doesn't like the flat paint. She would prefer a semi gloss. 

So we are repainting the 75 or so tiles we have already painted with the new semi gloss paint. In order to keep the look consistent, and to have the tiles treated with the fire retardant stuff, we will paint everything remaining twice. Once with flat, once with semi gloss. It's a major time consuming pain in the ass,  but I must admit the semi gloss looks better. Besides, we're retired. We have the time.

We decided to start in the pantry because it's a small area and seems like a good spot to learn from our mistakes. The first order of business was to take down the light.

Upon trying to loosen the ring that holds the cover plate in place, I broke the chain that holds the light. Fortunately, I was able to get replacement parts at Revival Lighting. We use them a lot for our lighting needs. 

Anyway, the light is down and we are ready to begin. But not today!      

Piano Repair Checkup

Today we got to go over to the “All Things Piano” warehouse and see the progress they are making on the piano. After seeing it, I’m really excited to get it back.

Here are some pictures.

There is the repaired sound board. If you look closely, you can see the pieces of spruce that have been slid in to repair the cracks. They are a slightly lighter color than the sound board.

That’s the new decal that goes on the sound board. They give it a day to cure before peeling off the backing paper.

That is the harp after it has been gilded. That’s going to look fantastic. That little addition added $600.00 to the cost of this project.

The next step after putting it back together is to restring it. I asked them to call me when that’s is going on so I can get some more pictures.

They think they will be done in a couple of weeks. I’m looking forward to getting it back. Did I mention that?

Another Day of Modest Achievements

8:10AM: I woke up today to a winter scene of perfection. Perfect because there was snow on the grass, but none on the sidewalks. Another snowfall where I don’t have to break out the snow blower. I suspect most the snow will be gone by noonish.

I plan on more kitchen work today. I am hoping to get all the remaining base shoe into place. It should just be a matter of setting up my chop saw in the Carriage House and walking back and forth while I measure and cut the pieces I need.

I also have a couple of errands to run this morning after a 9:00 haircut. I need to go by the Cabinet Shop where we bought our cabinets and see if I can get a laminate edge for a couple of shelves.

While there, I will probably head over to Costco and top off the tank and if they’re open when I get there, get some much needed vodka.

So I have a busy day ahead of me. Stand by and let’s see how I do.

1:15PM: I got my gas but had no luck with my shelves. I got back to the house and cut the shelves down to 23” x 6.5”. Then, Susan found some veneer material we had and stained a small strip to try and match the shelf. She done good. It’s a nice match. Not perfect, but you’ll never see it.

Now I have to get the strips glued on and we’ll be ready to mount these shelves.

That was the extent of what I accomplished today.

Another Spurt

Today is to be the day that I beat this malaise of not finishing projects. But this project could be the end of me. 

Putting these shelves in has proven to be much more difficult than I expected. The problem is the tight space I am working in and my ability to lie on the floor in the aforementioned tight space. Perhaps I should change that to my inability to lie in the space. I get dizzy and my glasses won't stay on so I can't focus on what I'm doing.

But before I go into that, let me tell you that putting down the base shoe went quite well. Once I got the air gun strung into the house, it was done in no time.

I fed the air hose through the open window and then used a towel to stuff the excess space. It worked quite well and kept the cold out so I could work comfortably.

Then it was just a matter of layer the base shoe into place and hitting it with my brad nailer. They're all down nice and secure.

So now we’re back to the shelving.

The lower shelf is in place and for the most part, I am satisfied. It appears to have an ever so slight slope but my level tells me it's good. It is square and level front to back as well. I may have to add a third bracket on the wall end to help with support.

After a little rest, I got back to work on installing the upper shelf. I predicted this would be easier as it is not quite as confined a space. But that remains to be seen!

As hoped and somewhat predicted, the shelf went in much easier. It was still a bit of a challenge getting it level but all in all, I am happy with the final result. More importantly, I think Susan is pleased as well. I am now invigorated to finish up the rest of the base shoe. That will make Susan happy too. At least, it will get her off my back and on to something else.

I must now take the time to admit to some poor craftsmanship on my part. I did intentionally because I just did not care. If I was more meticulous and dedicated and diligent, I would not have allowed this to occur.

On the other hand, the only way ANYONE will ever know about this shoddy workmanship is because I’m going to tell you about it NOW!

Ya see that corner down there where the shelves will be? Look closer.

Closer!

There it is. A crappy joint! I didn’t cut a coping joint into that corner, which would have made it a nice, neat, tight joint.

I just laid the flat end of the stock there and nailed it in.

And here’s why.

Nobody is ever going to see it!

A Little Spurt of Productivityness

I have recently rediscovered the fact that if you fill your days with things to do, they go by faster AND you feel productive.

Presently, I’m not too concerned about the day going by faster. It seems like I just got up and already it’s almost 4:00. But, I have not felt very productive. 

Now that we are out of the Holiday season where taking it easy seems to be the thing to do, it’s time to get back to reality and do something with myself.

To that end, I spent today working on a kitchen project that has been neglected for too long.

You see that big space under the counter. There are supposed to be shelves there. Two of em. I got to work to make that happen.

Of course, nothing in this house is as cut and dried as deciding to do a project and then doing it. First, I had to add some laminate edging to the exposed sides of the shelves. So, after getting them cut to the proper length, I ironed on the edging.

I will be pretty much ready to get the shelves in place after I finish laying down the base shoe around the bottom of the cabinets. This is another finishing job that I’ve just taken too long to finish.

So, I think I have done everything I can do today to get ready for a major spurt of accomplishment tomorrow.

If I just do a little bit every day, I will get it done!

Happy 2025

I'm always pretty good about getting on here on the first of the year and posting stuff. Then, I fall off the radar and you hardly hear from me again. 

Why should this year be any different.

We woke up on the new year to snow falling. It was pretty sparse and pretty wet. I barely stuff to the grass and didn't cover the sidewalks for very long at all.

In spite of today being a holiday, we got stuff done. We got the Christmas Tree taken down as well as the lights on the house.

Now we have a bunch of boxes to stow but that will come later.

One thing at a time.