Finally, some progress on windows

Today I worked on setting up saw for second time, since I exchanged the first one I bought. It was much easier this time, except saw they gave me isn't new and I had to restore factory settings. It was pretty hard to get everything lined up with 90 degree angles, etc and I was thinking I should have kept the one I exchanged which was new (it was later found to work after I exchanged it. This saw is fine however, and I'm making it work.

Here is a shot of the laser cutting guide. You can see the red laser line on the wood as I am about to make a cut. It makes accurate cuts super easy - you just put the laser line right next to your pencil mark and the blade cuts right where the mark is.


And here is the cut piece:




I cut my first piece of window trim, and it seems to fit perfectly on first try! Using the miter saw is so much easier to be than using a manual miter box. I am glad I held out and got the laser working - it is SO much easier to make good cuts. I'm still kind of mad at our prior incompetent contractor who gave me a bum steer when he told me to buy a manual miter box. The box was 15 dollars, and for 75 I got this awesome saw. Each manual cut takes about 10 minutes and isn't as accurate. The miter saw takes a split second and makes very accurate cuts. We could have used the saw so many times already, but at least we have it now.

There is a little bit of a learning curve in using the - how to cut the two different 45 degree angles, how to clamp, etc. One combination of miter and clamp doesn't work because a screw gets in the way so I have to find another way to make this cut. I also only have a few feet on one end of the saw so I can't cut the end of a 7-foot piece of trim with the end that way.

I would have nailed the trim piece in, but that involved getting the air compressor and nail gun out in the living room and set up. This is lots of noise, lifting, and set up time plus the dogs have to be contained in the bedrooms for safety. I decided to wait until my next session when I can nail this first piece and then do at least one other, but I am optimistic of finishing the first living room window in 1 session as long as I don't have to remove any plaster.

Today's session was 1.5 hours, bringing the total hours on the windows to 219.25.

Ready to throw the miter saw off a tall building

I started today by spending an hour today exchanging the saw. The manager tried the saw as well and could not get the laser to work either. I thought of asking him to test new saw while I was there, but it seemed so unlikely that I'd get two bad ones that I didn't.

When I got home and tried the saw, the laser didn't work on this saw either! Ugh!!!!!!! Now I am really frustrated. I either got two defective saws or there is something not obvious to two different people and not in the instructions.

I also installed gas gauge on the propane tank in the firepit. According to the gauge, the tank looked empty, which would explain why not working. It stopped working around Thanksgiving, and it's taken me this long to get to it. Everything house related is such a project - I had to find a gauges at Amazon, read reviews and choose a model, order it, wait for it to arrive, and then finally got to install it today. Part of the delay is that I had to be in work clothes since this job involved sitting on the dirt, it had to be during day so I have daylight and I simply had to have time. It often takes a while for the factors to line up. The gauge showed empty, so I took a chance and returned the tank while I was at the store returning the saw and also purchased a second tank so we can rotate them and never be empty. While it was being loaded in my car I had a thought about where to store the extra tank, and asked the guy if the garage was okay. He said no, and didn't know if I could store it outside where it would get rain. I checked the safety info and sure enough he was right. All the way home I thought about where to store it and figured I'd do a junkyard fix for tonight and store it alongside the house or at the end of the driveway and cover it with a trash bag. But then I was thinking of buying a small storage chest for behind the garage and then it came to me to use a big trashcan with a lid. I ended up going right back out again to my local hardware store that seems to have everything and they had just what I needed. I like that this place has a few of everything not a million. There were 3 models of trashcans to pick from and one was just what I needed. It was nice not to have to confront a whole aisle of something that just doesn't need that much selection. While not great looking, it did work perfectly, and eventually we are going to put some tall fencing behind the garage to hide the yard waste bin, sprinkler controls, this trashcan and a composting bin.

I installed the new propane tank with the gauge and the fire pit is now working perfectly. I am looking forward to using it after not having it for 2 months.

Here is the fire pit on and working! The table is covered with dust and needs a good wipe down. I was doing it every few days when we were using the firepit, but I stopped doing it when it got too cold to sit outside with no fire.


Here is the back of the garage. The big can is our yard waste bin, and the small one holds the propane tank. Eventually we'll cover this area up with fencing.



After tackling the fire pit, I went back to the home improvement store to exchange the saw for a second time. I was not looking forward to this as they told me one I took today was the only one in stock. That would mean dealing with another store or having them order it which I know from experience they are not good at.

The manager again looked at it, as did someone familiar with the saw and neither could not get it to work. The cashier at returns said someone had gotten my returned saw to work, so now we were all baffled. After trying everything we could think of, the manager thought to try new batteries even though mine were fresh out of a pack I just bought. AHA!!!! That was it all along - the brand new batteries were bad. Ugh! What a huge waste of time. Between packing the saw and two trips to exchange, those bad batteries cost me 3 hours and about a week's setback on the windows.

Today's window/saw drama brings the total time spent on the windows to 217.75 hours.

So frustrated I want to cry in defeat

Today my plan was to install the trim on the one living room window that is ready for it, and then do a coat of shellac tomorrow. That would have meant the front door was done and we could remove the blue tape and plastic bags that have covered the glass for 2 1/2 years and put up a privacy film. The one window in the living room would be very close to ready for a shade, and I was going to work on ordering a shade. I so wanted some progress! I could taste it!

The miter saw was all ready to go, or so I thought. I build a bench, bolted the saw to it, cleaned up all the tools I used and assembled the tools I'd need for the trim (square, work light, pencil, tape measure, etc). I grabbed a piece of trim and started to make some practice cuts and .......

the laser cutting guide didn't work. Yes, I should have checked this, and I did check that the saw worked but didn't think to check the laser. I did think it was strange that the laser required batteries even thought the saw is electric. I put in brand new batteries so I didn't think that was the problem. I really wanted to just throw the towel in and keep the defective saw, but the laser is a really nice feature that would make accurate cuts much easier. I dug through my filed receipts and found the receipt so I can return the saw. Not fun. I spent 1.5 hours today with no visible progress. So far the windows have taken 215.75 hours.

Due to scheduling issues, I won't be able to do the trim till at least Monday. Assuming I finish the trim on Monday, I hope to get another coat of shellac on Wednesday. That's almost a week's delay, and is a full week on getting finshing the front door since I need C to help with that and it can only be done on weekends.

This remodel is becoming and endurance test. I worked so hard the first two years - there were many 15 hour days and 7 day weeks. I just can't continue that pace any longer and also now have some work-at-home business activities so my time is much more limited.

Add to this the general scheduling difficulty of the widows it gets hard to make progress. The windows have to be done during the day because I need daylight to see properly. A coat of shellac requires a large chunk of uninterrupted time to do, usually 23 hours. The windows have to stay open for 3-5 hours to let shellac dry, which means I have to do a coat on a day that has nice weather and I can do a coat in the morning and stay home all day . We have a one-story house so I am not comfortable leaving the windows open while nobody is home.

I really need some visible progress or I feel like I'll just collapse. We've lived in an uncomfortable house for so long and there is no end in sight. I really feel like home improvement is a way of life now, not a task that can be done.

I did finish installing drawer bumpers in kitchen, which is great because the drawers not so loud anymore. We bought our cabinets at Ikea, and the price and look is great but because of the use of particle board, the drawers and cabinet doors close with a loud bang. The bumpers are small stick-on pads that you put at the point of contact that soften the blow. It's so much better to not hear a loud bang every time you close a door or drawer. When I put this on my list, I thought I'd be done in May 2008, so I only missed my estimate by 8 months! That's much better than usual.

Windows, slatwall

Today I spent 1.25 hours on the windows, bringing the total so far to 214.25. I am getting really frustrated with how slow the progress on the windows is. I want shades so badly! I am so sick of newspaper and plastic taped over the windows. We've lived here for nearly years and the grossness and discomfort are really wearing thin.

The miter saw comes with holes in the base to attach it to a sturdy work surface. In the instructions it says to buy 3/8 screws, which I bought at my local hardware store. I even got help from one of the staff to make sure I got the right thing. I got home, and the screws won't go through the holes! Who is that incompetent? I ended up having to go back to the store and exchange the bolts for the next smaller size. Ugh. My error, one I have made many times, is that I failed to assume a high enough level of incompetence.

I did finally get my miter station all set up, and it took a lot of time. I think I've spent about hours just getting the miter saw ready to use (including the purchase time), but it's an investment as we'll use the saw for other projects as well. It will also allow me to make cuts almost instantaneously instead of taking 10 minutes or more doing it by hand. I will get better cuts too as this saw has a laser to help you line the cut up.

Here is my miter station. The saw is attached to the table top with heavy screws. It can be removed, but for almost every use it makes more sense to have it attached so we'll probably leave it attached and move the whole thing.

I also unloaded the slatwall I bought yesterday, which took about 45 minutes. Sadly, my local Border's Books closed and they were selling the fixtures. I went to take a look and found slatwall for a really cheap price. Slatwall is horizontally slatted wall covering that allows you to attach shelves, bins, hooks, etc anywhere you want. It's used a lot in stores and also in garages. I had originally wanted to do the right wall of the garage in slatwall, but when I priced it out it came to over 500 dollars just for the panels - that's not including trim or any accessories like hooks or shelves. There was no way I was spending that kind of dough on one garage wall, no matter how cool it is. I decided to finish the wall in thick OSB plywood which can be painted and then most things can be attached anywhere. Hooks to hold heavy things like a ladder would still need to be in the studs.

What pushed me over on the slatwall was that for 100 dollars I had enough to do that wall I wanted to do. They plywood would have cost me that, so no contest. Also, the slatwall panels are 2x4 feet, which means I can do the entire installation myself. If I was dealing with large pieces of plywood I would need help for sure. The fixture sale was in it's last days and the salesman gave me a great deal. I got 2 panels and two baskets for 130 bucks after tax and commission.

Here is my slatwell booty, all 26 panels and 2 baskets. Can't wait to get them up, but that might not be for a while. I wasn't planning on doing the garage wall yet, but I had to snap up the bargain when it was there.

More windows, more decluttering

Today I spent an hour on the windows bringing my total to 213 hours. I was still working on setting up the miter saw. I first built a sturdy table top out of plywood and 2x4's. I had it just sitting on the plywood, but it seemed to rickety to operate a saw that can cut my finger off in a second. I am a safety nut and try not to take any chances. I also had to go to the hardware store to buy special bolts to attach the saw to the table top. The saw will be set up after my next work session and I'll post pictures then.

It was funny that I had not only all the tools I needed to build a table top for the saw (it sits on two sawhorses) but also all the materials - plywood, 2x4's and screws. Such is the garage of a remodeler. I would happily get rid of all my leftover lumber, but it comes in handy very often. It felt really good to know exactly what I needed to build and be able to build it quickly and easily. Sometimes I am still amazed at the skills I've learned in working on the house.

I finished going through a basket yesterday that was my current unpacking and decluttering project. Today I went on the next box and was pleased to find my purses and belts. I don't dress up often, but obviously when I do I need a purse. All of my dress purses were packed away for the last 2 3/4 years and each time I had to dress up I had to fudge it or borrow one. I am so glad to find them. I also found some belts, and got rid of most of them. What is so funny about this process is that at the time we packed our apartment up, I was wearing belts to work at my most recent job. Now, I haven't worn a belt in almost years because my work has changed and along with it my wardrobe. Stuff can really accumulate if you don't stay on top of it. I also offered a big bag of hangers on Freecycle (www.freecycle.org, a place where people give away stuff they don't need so it doesn't end up in a landfill). In our apartment, we hung most of our clothing because we had hanging space but little drawer space. In our house, I've customized the closets so we have both types of space so I need a lot fewer hangers. It made sense to bring them at that time, but we no longer need them so out they go!

Slow progress on windows, unpacking

Today I spent an hour on the windows bringing my total up to 212 hours on the windows. I was mainly setting up the miter saw so I can do the window trim for the one window that is ready for it. There is a huge safety & operation manual to read and lots of adjustments to make. I also needed to set up a work surface using a piece of plywood, which I happened to have in the garage and sawhorses which I also happen to have.

I also continue to declutter and unpack. I finished a basket today that had been on a bookshelf in the old apartment. It's amazing how much life changes in the 2 3/4 years we've lived here. I was able to get rid of a ton of business cards and two holders because I use a Blackberry now and no longer keep cards once I put them into it. I also got rid of several notebooks that had information I no longer needed. It feels really good to be making progress here. It is getting really trying to live in chaos and clutter for so long. I also really want to finish unpacking. It's had to happen in stages, but slowly it is happening. It takes a long time to declutter and unpack. I'm conscious of getting rid of things in an appropriate manner instead of just putting them in the trash. I shred everything personal.

one window done

Today I spent half an hour on the windows bringing the total hours to date to 211. I finished one of the windows in the living room by buffing it, and was able to remove my small "status" note from the wall next to it. With so many steps to each window, I use a note next to each one to keep track of where I am. It felt so good to remove that sign. However small a step it is, it is progress.

Next, I worked on setting up the miter saw I bought a few weeks ago on sale. Our prior incompetent contractor advised me against getting a miter saw and instead advised me to get a miter box, which is a hand saw with a device that lets you cut various angles. Since the window trim is the third home improvement project we could have really used a miter saw for, I broke down and got one which I am very happy about. It was only 75 dollars, and the miter box was 15. For an additional 60 bucks, I could have saved hours of time and a lot of aggravation. Yet another thing he screwed up. It's hard to find a place to put the saw because the dogs play in all the open spaces in the house. I eventually decided on the den because that room is mainly a walkway to the backyard at this time and there's a lot of open space. It won't be such a big deal to have a project set up in there for months. At least I hope it's only months.

I didn't want to set up the saw out in the garage because it would mean a lot of walking back and forth and leaving the garage door open while I work. I don't like to do this because the dogs get in there and are up to no good. Our older dog hates the garage door, so every time I have to go in or out, it means confining the dogs to the house. It's just easier to have it inside even though it will make a mess.

I'm still working on picking window shades. As with anything house, it's complicated, expensive and there are way too many choices and way too much good and bad information to sort through.

Almost done first window in this batch

Today I spent an hour on the last living room window bringing the total hours on the windows to 210.5. I sanded and removed the painter's blue tape that masked the wood trim from the glass. It felt so good to remove that tape. It's been up over 2 years, and each time I walk by that window I can see how much better it looks, even though it still has plastic in place of a shade, no trim and an unfinished wall around it. The blue tape is supposed to be removable, but after 2 years it was pretty stuck. I did get it all off, but it was harder than it usually is. I think painter's tape is supposed to be removable after days, not years. I also had to make a run for more steel wool. There is a great neighborhood hardware store not far from here that has a lot of what I need. It keeps me from having to go to larger stores that are further away and much harder to shop.

All that's left on this window is to buff and then the trim can be installed. The trim needs 3 coats and a buff and then the shade goes up!

Sometimes it doesn't seem like we are making progress, but we are slowly moving ahead.

More sanding

I spent half an hour sanding the windows, bringing the total hours on the windows to date to 209.5. People often ask me why I didn't, or don't, just paint them. There are two reasons. First is that I want the wood to show. Part of my design for the house is lots of wood. All the interior and exterior doors are finished wood as well as the interior window frames and trim. Second is that I didn't know just how many hundreds of hours the shellac would take. Had I known, I might of just painted. I could have ordered the windows with the interior pre-primed, which would have meant just 1-2 coats of paint. But now that I am so far in, it only makes sense to continue. I do really love the shellac. It's different than polyurethane, which leaves a thick coat of plastic on top of the wood. It gets into the wood grain and leaves a subtle shimmer which changes in different light. It also is heavenly to touch. You feel smooth wood, not plastic.

I have one more window in the living room to sand, and then that window can be buffed and the trim installed. The trim will need coats, with sanding in between each coat and a final buffing. After the trim, that window will be ready for a shade! This is big news! Almost years in this house and we still have newspaper and plastic over the windows. Nice. Getting window shades will be huge. I spent an hour looking at window shades and hope to order by the end of the week so that as soon as the trim is done I can install it.

I've stopped and started so many times on the windows that they are all in various states of completion. Two of twelve are totally done, this one is almost done, some are not started. I want to buy the shades one at a time at first because they are expensive and if I make a mistake I don't want it on all the shades. Once I get the first shade ordered, I can order another right away for one of the other finished windows. One finished window is in the bathroom and won't get a shade because it's frosted. The other window that is done is ready for a shade, but I don't want to order it yet because it is a big window, which means the shade will be expensive. I want to order a smaller one first so if I make a mistake it will be less costly.

sanding, bamboo, ongoing decluttering

Today I managed to get done 30 minutes of sanding on the windows, bringing the total number of hours on the windows to 209. Each coat of shellac has to be sanded with 0000 ("4 aught" or quadruple zero) steel wool. It's the finest grade of steel wool and takes the shine of the shellac down.

I also trimmed the bamboo on the side yard and did a terrible job because I changed my mind halfway through. I started off just topping off the really tall ones and decided to keep going and trim anything hanging over the walkway. It left big holes and a really uneven trim. Good thing it grows fast and reliably.

I also spent time on my ongoing decluttering. I do 15 minutes almost every day. It's much easier and less overwelming to do it this way then to do marathon sessions every so often. I treat it like regular maintenance or an ongoing task like laundry. Much of our stuff has been packed away for almost years (we moved in May 2006) so some of it is really easy to get rid of. Some of the stuff made sense to keep when I packed it but doesn't make sense now. For example, I packed away some documentation I used in the job I had recently left. It made sense at the time because that was valuable documentation it had taken me many years to compile. But now, it is out of date from lack of use so most of it was pitched. I not very cluttery, but we are in a worse state than I am accustomed to due to not doing any decluttering for the first few years of the remodel.

Windows

Today was my first day back to work after the holidays and it wasn't very productive. I wanted to work on sanding the windows and found my work light had burned out. Fortunately it came with a replacement bulb, but it took 20 minutes to change which left very little time for sanding. In fact I didn't even get one window sanded. I also have a new errand which is to get a new bulb before this one burns out. I use a really strong work light so I can see where I've sanded and make sure it's even.

Today's work session was 30 minutes bringing the total on the windows to 208.5 hours.

I also had problems with two windows due to our prior incompetent contractor. He's like a cold sore - the problems he caused just keep coming back. We have three windows in the dining area arranged like a bay window - a bigger one in the middle flanked by two of the same height but narrower width. The windows we purchased came only in certain sizes. Since PIC was going to be installing them, he measured and told me what sizes to buy.

Here is a conversation that happened before we bought the windows:

Me: The smallest width is bigger than the width between the studs of the window opening
PIC: No problem, we'll notch the studs
me: OK

I ordered the windows.

A few weeks later, or probably a few months in his case, as he was installing new windows:

PIC: Uh, this window is too big to fit between the studs
Me: I know, you said you would notch the studs
PIC: I did? Oh, I guess I'll have to make it work.

As a result, these windows fit really tight, and I had to spend some time trying to fix an insulating strip that got pulled out of place because wet shellac touched where it shouldn't due to bad installation. Will his gifts to me never end?

I got rid of another box today, continuing my unpacking in iteration. This box had framed photos and a few decorative items that I wanted to keep but had no place to put right now. I culled the box down, put a few things away and transferred the contents to a plastic tub in my closet that was only partway full (this is how it's been working all along. In the tub was a basket I still need to sort, so that will be my next unpacking and decluttering project.

I've been working on cleaning hard water deposits on my Corian bathroom vanity top and bath faucets. The buildup occurred over the last few years and happened faster than I could clean it. I've tried so many things, including scrubbing with a toothbrush for what probably amounts to hours. The deposits are still there. I finally found a product from Simple Green called Lime Scale Remover which seems to work really well. Each application, along with the requisite scrubbing with a toothbrush, removes a little more of the deposit.

Off for the holidays

We've been really busy with lots of extra activity and C has been off for two weeks. I decided to mostly take the time off. I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things and the beginning of our 4th year of remodeling on Monday.

Happy New Year!