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.