Howell Cabin

The paint on the stove vent pipe is done, so I can finally install the kitchen lights. As with some other spots in the house, the suspended lamps are a very close fit with the cupboard doors. Whew!   I installed the rest of the under-cabinet lights and added some trim tracks that I designed and 3D-printed to hide the wires. Looking good! I made a nice little cap for the condensation drain in the closet. I set up a bunch of smart outlets so I can monitor the crawlspace dehumidifier and turn off the water pump when I leave.   Oh, and here's the shower door that got installed:  I'll leave you with this trillium.

When we roughed in the electrical, we sent power out to a box on the back of the house anticipating needing to run a water pressure pump in the cistern. It turns out we got a pump in the crawlspace instead ... which has been plugged into an extension cord for a couple years. It needs an outlet next to it, so I spliced one into an existing branch in the crawlspace.   Our display-model microwave was missing some vent covers. The store sent us replacements, so those got put in. I routed low-voltage wires through the cabinets and fished them through the wall to supply the under-cabinet lights. Remember that cabinet screw I couldn't reach once the sink was installed? I bought this tiny ratchet and cut a hex screwdriver tip down to squeeze it into a space barely big enough for my thumb. I was up here today because Ian's crew was up here spreading topsoil that will get grass seed in a week or two. I cut off the toilet bolts so the plastic caps would fit on top. Today I learned that an...

I had a plumber out to do a bit of work I found too challenging or that needed Pex tools I don't own. He replaced a faulty master shutoff valve, spliced in the water heater hookup, attached the back spigot, and sorted out the tight drain plumbing under the kitchen sink.   Meanwhile, Jeff and I got the rest of the faucets installed.   We installed the mounting hardware for the under-cabinet light strips.   We painted the big stove vent pipe to reduce its visual impact.   I replaced the bathroom receptacles with GFCIs.  

    We may not be done yet, but the exposed beams have been out there in the weather for six years now, and it's time to give them another coat of varnish. I rented a personnel lift for an arm and a leg. Unfortunately, I found that the weather had gotten through the first coat in a few places. In one spot, I dug out some decay and filled it with epoxy. Maybe I should check in a little sooner next time.   Jeff and I installed the toilets and made progress on the sink faucets and drains.    

I banged out a bunch of odds and ends today. Dishwasher receptacle: Face plates for switches, including fighting with the mounts to straighten them out:   I brought up some tubular LEDs that fit inside the glass "shades", which let me complete six fixtures in the upstairs bedrooms and both bathrooms:     I fastened this face plate back onto the bathroom cabinet. It had come off for the tile, and I forgot to put it on before the sink went in, which made accessing the screws remarkably difficult:   I hauled a truckfull of trash and recycling to the dump: I attached valves to all ten water outlets to get ready for toilets, sinks and faucets:    I moved all the outlets in the closed out to make room for the drywall furring, and installed nail plates to protect the wiring that's near the surface.  

 Jeff came up today. We did a bunch of odds and ends. We tuned up some of the mud repairs. The mud repair over the cabinets is done, so I painted it. We made progress on the stove vent pipe, but it's still putting up a fight. I used lacquer thinner to clean paint off all the water supply and drain stub-outs. I sure wish I had had the foresight to mask them! We installed all the doorknobs.   We furred out the closet wall and adjusted the wiring routing to prepare for drywall under the stairs, another thing I didn't plan for. I think most of the remaining work is "fixing things Jon didn't plan well for." :v)