Construction Journal Entry Week of 4/1/12

4/2-4/12 I went up to Camp Serendipity for 3 days: Monday through Wednesday.

This week's schedule was moved up a day so I could pick up our new car from the shop toward the end of the week. I stopped and visited with Uncle Charles on the way and arrived at Camp Serendipity at 1:50. Bert and Ernie were both there to greet me, so after hugs down below, we all went up to the cabin where they got biscuits and gravy. I had a lot of stuff to carry up to the cabin so it took me four trips up and down.

The weather was sunny and beautiful so after lunch I went to work and planted the new giant sequoia tree, named Chuck, near where it had been sitting in its pot. It was terribly root bound, as the sales lady at Molbaks had told me it would be, so I cut the root ball with knives as I had been instructed. I tried to follow all the other instructions so I hope the tree will adjust to its new location and thrive.

While I was outside with a shovel, I rebuilt the top stone step in the flight just above the concrete stairs.

On Tuesday I re-located the bedroom heater. This heater had been temporarily installed on the bare stud wall prior to the drywall installation. I removed the heater and measured and recorded the exact locations for the mounting screws. Then after the drywall was done, I couldn't find the paper with the measurements. So I guessed at where it should go and I was off by five or six inches. The heater nearly covered up a receptacle outlet.

I had found the paper some time later and the project of re-locating the heater had been on the back burner for some time. Today I bit the bullet and moved it. It is much better now.

Next I went to work on cabinet installation. The next one to install was the lower corner cabinet unit. I figured that I would have to trim the bottom of the back of it to make up for my non-level floor, so I positioned it carefully and marked the bottom for cutting.

But then I used a plumb bob to check the level of the sink unit more accurately and discovered that it was not exactly plumb and level. In fact, I decided that it was not satisfactory and I decided to un-install it. I could see that a little more of the log wall behind it needed to be cut away in order for it to be perfectly positioned, plumb, and level.

I removed all but one screw that I had used to fasten the sink unit in place and cut away the logs where they needed to be cut.

My work was interrupted by another visit from Bert and Ernie. I took a break, went outside, and gave the dogs their expected hugs and biscuits.

I re-installed the sink unit and this time I was pleased that it was as plumb, square, and level as I could measure with the instruments that I have. Then, to my delight, when I positioned the corner cabinet unit up against the sink unit, I discovered that I wouldn't have to trim anything off the bottom of it after all. The front of the unit had to be shimmed up a little, so that back didn't need to be trimmed.

After lining the corner unit up, I screwed it to the sink unit and fastened it to the floor with hurricane ties. It does not touch the log wall so I couldn't fasten it to the wall.

By the time I finished that, it was time for lunch and a nap. I spent the afternoon installing the final cabinet unit which is the one to the left of the stove and at the end of the peninsula. I fastened it to the floor by screwing two short 1x4 pine boards to the floor and then screwing the cabinet unit through the bottom front and back into the edges of the two boards. I don't know how real cabinet installers do it, but my method seems to work and to be a good easy way to do it. I was very happy to have all the cabinet units finally installed.

Since I am going to try to find some subcontractor who will install counter tops for me, the only thing left for me to do on the cabinets is to install the finished panels on the back side of the peninsula. Nothing else depends on that unless it needs to be done prior to the counter-top installation, so I have decided to put the job off for a while. I want to turn my attention to the ceiling board installation from now on so that I can stop the mice from getting in once and for all.

On Wednesday morning, Bert and Ernie came around for more hugs and biscuits before I had even finished breakfast. After breakfast I put away all the tools I had been using for cabinet installation, and then I vacuumed the entire cabin upstairs and down. I made a video of the clean cabin after that, and I took a picture of the newly transplanted sequoia tree. I left for home at 12:45.



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