Stucco take 1

May 5th & 6th

The video explains it all.

Front Door Installation X2

The video is part 1. Part two is;
A week after Preston’s' birthday party, My Dad and I removed the door & frame, and leaned them against the house. Next I hacked out a few framing members and the header because they were not square. I had to cut a new header from a beam I had sitting in the back yard. After about two hours, I managed to get that done, and we put some plywood over the doorway opening before I had to go make dinner and clean up for the night.
Next day we put the door frame back in place, and this time I wasn’t in a rush, so I got to square it up correctly. I got about 85% of the screws in place before I hung the door and cut 1 new piece of plywood to replace the 4 poorly done exterior plywood scraps. Many thanks go out to my dad, who did the tedious work of tape removal, and cleaning the glue off of the glass panels. He was a great help. Day done.
Day 3 came about a week later. I finished screwing the frame in place, installed the catch plate for the door latch, and installed the deadbolt. I also finished nailing the plywood and header in place. The door looks and works great, and Kelley is very happy.

There's a Hole in my Life

4-08 thru 2-09

Plumbing became this epic adventure for me. I kind of enjoyed the puzzle of getting water from point A to multiple point B's, following the rules of the city's plumbing code, and avoiding any beams that can't be drilled through. I learned how to sweat-solder copper, a task that was familiar to me from soldering audio and power connecters over the years. Mostly I enjoyed it.

It took a lot longer than I had planned on. I didn't factor in how much time it takes being a stay at home dad. I had to constantly reprioritize groceries, laundry, housework, dinners, kid time, homework, Wife time, and a plethora of miscellaneous chores. However, it’s a part of the reason we decided I should be a stay at home dad. Now that it’s been inspected, and passed, it’s on to Electrical, and complete home audio, video, & Internet.

Fixing a hole where the rain got in.

I had dug this hole with the help of my friend (Thank you Finneous) last fall. My kids loved playing in it, and even built a fort with boards and a cardboard box over it, to create a two-level play space. Over the course of the winter, the rain had washed about one foot of dirt back into it. Nathaniel ‘helped’ me dig it out. I found all kinds of treasures that were forgottenly stashed from imaginary bad-guys.