5.31.2020

Time keeps marching on - not sure where May went!  Of course, like I always tell Jim, you just need to look at the blog to see how much was accomplished in that month!

Jim worked on cutting and glueing wood today for two adjustable shelves for my new cabinets...

He also made some custom flashing for an area by the soffit at the top of the brick in the back of the auto bay.  There was a tiny space and Jim sees an occasional mouse in the auto bay attic - so that needs to stop!

Flashing all made and installed - no more mice!

The rest of the afternoon, we did prep work for the epoxy on the auto bay floor.  Jim put plastic on the walls to cover the drywall and the garage door sensors...

Then we put a strip of plastic tape along the edge where Jim will stop the epoxy...

Then we put plastic down with more tape...

 Then Jim power washed both bays...

We already had a nice metal sprayer that we have used for putting sealant on concrete.  However, the etching Jim is going to use on the concrete is very acidic so you can't use a metal sprayer.  Jim bought this nice plastic one.

The first step is to use the non-acidic eco-etching around the edges so that there won't be any damage to the foam.

Scrubbing it in...

Hosing it off...

Then finally power washing it....

And using the squeegee to get the water out.

High 56/Low 38 - nice cool day!

5.30.2020

We had a bad storm come through yesterday evening - hail, strong winds, and we even had a rare tornado warning.  We went down into the metal shop just in case.  We ended up losing power for about 13 hours - thank goodness for the generator!  We also lost internet until late morning.  But everything was fine here so much to be grateful for!

Today was the day to bring the two new cabinets up into the kitchen!  For the bigger one, Jim put a hand hold on the top to help me - thanks, dear!

We got it up into the kitchen!

Then we set it up on the counter and Jim put it into place on the ledger board...

Enough screws to hold it in place - looks amazing!

 Then putting in all the screws...

Then we brought up the next one and Jim set it up on the counter...

 He got all the screws in and then put the bolt in to fasten the two cabinets together...

Look how fabulous it looks!  I already started filling it up.  Jim will make the adjustable shelves and then I'll be able to really use this space!

He also temporarily mounted our new fire extinguisher in the kitchen...

 This is the subway tile we are going to use in the kitchen - love it!

Jim was able to start the Mini and move it out of the way so we can work on the auto bay - great news!

Then Jim was able to move the last things out of the auto bay.  He brought in the Bobcat and moved his workbench...

Next was the air compressor.  He had to disconnect all the electrical connections and then bleed all the air out of the compressor before disconnecting it from the manifold...

Jim got two steel rods and placed them so that he could use the forks on the Bobcat to lift the compressor.  It worked wonderfully and was very stable to move that way.

Everything is out of the two bays and compressed into this bay - but we still have room to maneuver!

Next job was to empty the bay in the pole barn - Jim hooked up the snow blower and took it outside...

Then we carried out all the old plywood that was stacked against the wall and set it up on saw horses for now...

 Then Jim power sprayed the bay and squeegeed all the water out...

High 72/Low 43 - beautiful!

5.29.2020

Jim fastened the face frame onto the other cabinet this morning...

This cabinet has all the hinge hardware attached now!

Doing some measurements in the kitchen for placement...

With those measurements, Jim was able to predrill attachment locations on both cabinets...

The Mini saga continues.  Jim put together an email yesterday to the DMV - they called him back today and basically reiterated what we knew, which is that we have to wait until the DMV reopens.  When they do reopen, it will be by appointment only - so Jim now has a place in line for them to call and schedule an appointment once they reopen - there are 100 people ahead of him.

Meanwhile, he took the battery out of the 4Runner - it has the same pole configuration as the Mini.  So he took things apart once again and put that battery in.  He'll try it out tomorrow and see if he can get it moved.  Then we just have to wait.

We got some much needed rain this afternoon - it came down fast and furious at two different times with blue skies in between.

High 79/Low 60

5.28.2020

Jim worked this morning on attaching the face frame to the big cabinet...

So gorgeous - I can't wait until it's up in the kitchen!

Jim spent a lot of time trying to figure things out with the Mini battery.  The Albany Mini service manager called him and basically said we have to bring the car in to see if they will prorate a new battery.  But even without that, it's very complicated and requires diagnostics to "tell" the car's computer that you have a new battery.  Jim put everything back together...

And jumped it but it won't run - the electric system kind of went crazy because the battery isn't charged enough to run it.  So Jim has lots to figure out - DMV is still closed so we can't get license plates to drive it down; can't drive it down with no battery.  Unfortunately, we can't proceed on the garage floor until the car is out of the way.  Sigh...  But Jim always figures everything out so he'll get this situation fixed too!

It was a good time to knock off early and head into Saratoga.  Jim had supplies to pick up for the garage floor project and we did a few grocery errands while we were out.

High 76/Low 66

5.27.2020

Jim figured out exactly where the ledger board needed to go for the next set of cabinets.  He had to use the drawings of where the blocking was placed behind the walls so he would be able to attach into that.

He marked the locations on the ledger board and then predrilled the holes to attach...

All ready to go!

Then it was time to play with the Mini - but not fun playing!  The battery is dead - it won't hold a charge after being on the charger for most of the afternoon yesterday.  Jim did a quick search online - it's a BMW battery and so very pricey.  It's supposed to have a 2-year warranty though so Jim has started the process to contact Mini to see what we can do.  However, that doesn't help right now - Jim needs to get it out of the auto bay so that we can move on with the epoxy.  So he took the battery out of the excavator to use that.  However, the poles were reversed and the Mini has more connections - Jim had to redo some of the hoses in order to make it work.  But work it did and he was able to move it.

Time for the Mini to get a coat of wax before having to sit outside...

So beautiful!

High 87/Low 63