Another step closer (but not too close) 7/8/2007

Now that the water heater has been installed, we can finish the counter top run. The plan was to have the counter span the entire wall length and cover the water heater. We need to keep an access panel for the plumbing, so we decided to skip the drywall and construct shelves of plywood instead.









The counter is formed from 3/4" plywood with white 4x4 ceramic tiles. My job is to cut the plywood, level the counter and install it. CMV taught AMV the finer points of laying tile.

The tiles need to set up and then we can grout the counter. We will also need to rent a wet saw so we can cut all of the tile to fit around outlets and switches. The next step is to fit the plywood panel on the wall. We did not secure it to the wall, because we need to complete the tile on the countertop to ensure that the wall piece will remain removable.

Making Progress? 7/7/2007

It was a very busy week at the lake due to the Fourth of July Holiday. There were people everywhere.

CMV and I had Thursday and Friday off, but AMV had to work both days. CMV decided to drive up to the cottage on Thursday and invited her parents to come for a visit. They brought a bed frame, mattress and box spring (thanks BLH) along with them.

AMV and I drove up Friday night and arrived around 10:00 pm, to find that CMV had been busy sanding the drywall.


Saturday morning


AMV & CMV were priming the walls in the front bedroom, the hallway and the bathroom in preparation for the paint. Our plumber finished his work on Tuesday, so my job was to get the hot water heater hooked up to the electric, and then complete the shower.

I had to run to the hardware store to get some different wire and some flexible conduit to run from the water heater to the electric panel. Everyone talks about the price of gasoline, but the price of copper wire has increased dramatically over the last year or two.

I had already started installing the shower, so the hardest part was relocating all of the materials I needed to have on hand to finish the installation. It did not take much time to put the shower together, with the exception of aligning the sliding doors. I will not feel bad if any of you come to visit and you re-align the doors correctly. Go ahead, I dare you…

One More Thing

I do not have any photographic or video evidence of this, so don't ask to see it.

I was taking a break from the drywall on Friday June, 29 and I noticed the air conditioner dripping water inside the house. I found an old bucket to catch the drip and went out to check out the AC unit. The case surrounding the unit has a lip that will allow the water the exit out the back, but the lip was almost a half inch from the bottom of the pan, so the water level was high enough to start dripping out the front end.

I grabbed my handy cordless drill and drilled a small hole in the right rear of the pan. The water started to immediately drain, so I started to drill another vent hole in the left side of the pan. I was successful in drilling the second hole, and nicked the condenser coil. The unit started to hiss as the coolant was released. Talk about a depressing feeling, standing there watching your air conditioner slowly become the air conditioner that used to work. My rush to fix something ends up as an expense. I guess I should learn the lesson and take my time in similar situations.

One Big Task Complete (Well, 95% Complete) 7/1

We have finished hanging every piece of drywall that we can at this point. We will have one half sheet to install after the plumber comes (Tuesday) and hooks up the hot water heater and the shower.

I am not saying we are finished, because the walls are in various stages of progress. The back bedroom has been mudded, sanded, primed and painted. The living room has two coated of mud and will require another before it is sanded. Every wall surface has at least two coats of drywall mud.

I didn't realize how dusty it was until I looked at this picture of the front room.

Compromise 6/30

It has been pretty amazing during this project of how many decisions CMV and I have made in which we both had the same idea of the finished result. There have been a couple of decisions that required the skill of negotiation and compromise. Today is a perfect example of this process. CMV wanted to build a wall to separate the front bedroom from the front entrance. I did not want to build the wall. Through my skillful use of negotiation and compromise, we decided to build the wall to separate the front bedroom.





This was a simple wall that extended from the wall on the far side of the bedroom towards the front door. It is approxiatamely 5 1/2 feet, so the bedroom door is close to the front door. My biggest concern over building this wall was that it would appear awkward walking into a hallway and that the hall would be very dark.





Above is the view from the front door looking back to the bathroom. The front room is directly to the right. It does not feel awkward due to the door being so close to the door, but the hall will require the addition of a lighting fixture.




This is the view from the front corner of the room. One of the best "bonuses" of this wall is the fact that we were able to hang more drywall.

* A special thanks to AF and family for the donation of the last 2x4 needed to complete the wall.

Things You Don't Talk About (But I Will) 6/29

We have only had the plumbing working for a couple of weeks and we have noticed a very weak flush in the toilet. Our first thought was that the plumber made an error when lining up the drain/ wax ring/ toilet (sorry Randy). We even left him a note to check it out the next time he was out.

I decided to do a little investigation Friday morning, and went to the holding tank cover. We have been too busy with the interior of the house to worry about replacing the artificial turf on the box





It took me a moment to build up the courage to lift the cap (it was easier after I swept away all of the spiders). I was not happy when I saw the water level at the top, although it did give us the answer to the weak flush.





I called the people that take care of this type of problem and they came out on Friday night and cleaned the holding tank. They arrived while I was out, or I would have included a photo of the vaccuum truck doing it business.

Let me take a moment to say thanks to the people that perform this service. I do not think I could work in this profession, but I give thanks that there are people that do do it (pun intended).

A Return Visit 6/23 & 6/24

This weekend, we have been joined by our daughter, AMV, for the second weekend in a row. CMV and I hung drywall and AMV painted some of the trim.



I left to run some errands and CMV and AMV painted and re-installed the light in the bathroom. I will wire it next week.

Little Jobs 6/16 & 6/17

It is just a given that we are hanging drywall every time we are here, and this weekend is no exception. I will not waste your time with anymore pictures until we are finished.

Our daughter, AMV came up this weekend with her Boyfriend (TH). They helped us by scraping the paint outside on the living room windows. They also found some time to enjoy to lake water.

AMV also primed the wall in the kitchen that will be behind the hot water heater once it is in final position.

Coming Together

I am really behind on the updates, so I am going to write several catch-up posts. I will try to include the weekend that the work was completed, but the post date will should all be today. The only reason I am telling you this is os you do not think that we completed this work in one weekend.

After the tile adhesive set-up and dried properly, we set the sink in place. We also purchased and placed a bathroom sink. We are ready for the plumber to hook up the water.

Quick trip Sunday

CMV and I drove up to get more work done. We needed to get the cabinets in their final resting place and install the countertop. Once the counter is in place, CMV will go to work laying the tile. She finished the project around 10:00 pm.





We ended the weekend short of our goal. We do not have the kitchen sink in place, we had planned to re-use the bathroom sink, but discovered it had a large crack in the drain section, rendering it useless. The last item I need to complete is to move the hot water heater from the utility shed and place it into the kitchen.

Another Update

I took a trip up to the cottage on Thursday afternoon and planned to stay until Sunday evening. My intended goal was to get everything ready for the plumber to return and hook up the water. I will not address the fact that I was going to stay for 4 days in a house without running water, except to say that plans had been made ahead of time.

The goal seems like an easy task, but it required many seperate pieces that would eventually complete the puzzle. The pieces of the project included drywall, cabinets, counters, sinks and faucets, and still more drywall. This project required that each of these tasks be completed in a specific order. The counter requires that the cabinets are in place, the cabinets depend on the drywall installation and the mudding and taping.

I must admit, of all of the projects that we have started in this house, the drywall is the one that caused me to hesitate. I HATE drywall. I can tolerate hanging the sheets, but I want no part of the taping or mudding. Having said that, I found myself in the position of finishing the drywall in the kitchen. The cabinets will cover most of the wall, so the chore was not as bad as I had feared.

I had to leave the kitchen wall to dry, so I hung the drywall in the back bedroom. This took the balance of the day. Saturday morning brought the installation of the cabinets and moving most of the items in the kitchen to other parts of the cottage. I decided to leave around noon so I could see AMV (the kid) off to the prom.

Everything Needs Support

As has happened with many of the projects we have undertaken, the removal of the air conditioner was not as easy as it should have been. The unit was supported by a frame constructed from 1" x 6" boards, and those boards were supported by virtually nothing. I removed the old boards and framed in a new structure that should keep the air conditioner from moving around.

With the AC unit out and the support structure in, we hung a sheet of drywall and secured the unit.





We only had the time to hang one more sheet of drywall before it was time to clean up and go home. I re-installed to propane gas shut-off and replaced the outlet cover.

Time for an update.

It had been quite some time since my last update on the progress of the cottage. I apologize for the large gap between posts, but I did not want to have post after post entitled "more about walls" and "even more about walls".

It is now the beginning of April, and we are still working on the walls. We have finished the removal of the old drywall, and the fiberboard insulation that was on the outer walls. Seizing the opportunity, I replaced all of the older style wire and added new outlets, switches, and breakers. The new insulation is in place and we are in the process of hanging the drywall.




This picture shows the west wall of the house. we had just disconnected the propane and removed the wall mounted heater. In the next step, we added the insulation in the wall section that was behind the heater, and removed the air conditioner.