Dec 8th - Electrical Begins

Pat completed the interior details for the framing in the master bedroom today. The oak is so hard, very unforgiving and heavy to work with. Most of the material left is never quite straight and must be ripped down. I've given him a hand installing the final piece. We have more blocking to take care of, but it will require insulation to be installed between the rafters on the exterior walls.

Greenbay continues to work on the loft framing, where every stud cut is a different length. While it may not look like a lot of work, it's tedious building the short and sloped knee walls. By this weekend, the framing on the loft should be near completion.

This morning I removed a few stones from the fireplace and managed to attach a piece of conduit to the end of the vacuum cleaner hose. The extension allowed me to get into the hollow channel space behind the glass blocks on the fireplace and clean out the small amounts of mortar I discovered last night behind the glass. It's a difficult space to work in but I have now cleaned up the small amounts of mortar and resealed the end of the chase with tin and silicone. This will keep mortar from entering the space. I carefully attach the 2 old cast iron building stars to the the 2 stones Mike has cut and installed above the glass bricks. The fireplace and stove are both fired up and cranking out the heat and while it takes a while, by late morning it's comfortable working inside. Hagen should be back in a few days to finish up.

I've begun hanging recessed light fixtures downstairs and have been working with Lynn on the layout of the switches and outlets. It takes a lot of forethought to get this area set up. I've framed in a partial dropped ceiling in the downstairs 1/2 bath and then proceeded to cut a 4" round hole thru a 4" piece of micro-lam with a new hole saw. By evening I have the recessed light fixture in place as well as the bath fan. I have had to return 2 of the fans as they need to be wall mounted within a 6 inch space and the ones I have are for minimum 8" ceilings.

It will be a busy week ahead preparing for my trip back to Iowa and I am hoping the weather will hold.