4.30.2021

Jim needed to finish the top riser on both of the upper stair runs.  This is the before picture with the steel riser...

He had to attach a first piece of wood with screws into the steel - this also fit into the clips on the edges so that everything was flat....

Then he used small nails to attach the final piece on top that he will stain...

Kyle is planning to come up soon to use Jim's tig welder for a project.  This is the welder that Jim made the welding cart for so that it's easily moved around.  Today, Jim had to splice wires together to make a longer cord.  These wires are so big that it took him a long time to get the wires all connected into the splice kit...

He finally got it together after wrestling with it for over an hour...

Then he had to heat the shrink wrap to bind it together...

After that part of the project was done, Jim moved on to doing some welding with the Mig welder on his Bobcat adaptor...

The next parts of this project coming together...

High 52/Low 31 - windy!

4.29.2021

 Jim made and finished the toe board for underneath the spice cabinet this morning.  It had to be done differently than the others; he'll attach it when he finished the other ones in the kitchen.

To get ready to attach the backer board, Jim sanded the AdvanTech on the next landing.  He hooked his sander up to the vacuum because this is a messy job...

Mixing the thin set...

Putting it down on the landing...

Then he brought up the first piece - kind of difficult maneuvering it so that he didn't mess up the walls...

But he got it in place...

Then screwing it down through the AdvenTech...

Next piece down and fastening...

Fastening the last piece in place...

Next was fiberglass tape to bond all the seams...

All done!

Unfortunately, he had to do the clean up outside in the rain.  He spent a little time in the metal shop before calling it a day!

High 55/Low 47 - rainy

4.28.2021

 Jim got a bit of a late start today - he headed into Corinth for a haircut.  Nice that it's so close though!

Once he got back, he started working on our next stairwell step - putting down the backer board on the next two landings that have AdvanTech sub flooring.  It's so nice that he has all the right tools - this shear lets him cut through the cement board with no mess...

He has all the pieces cut for this area...

Jim spent time down in the metal shop today too, working on the next steps of his lift attachment.

High 64/Low 51

4.27.2021

Jim wanted to get a coat of paint on the electronics box this morning... 

He got everything set up and then started mixing another batch of thin set to place the rest of the tile in the stairwell main landing...

Starting to put the thin set down...

This area continues to give Jim grief - you can see how uneven they placed the concrete as Jim puts the straight edge of a tile down...  Then he has to try and compensate which is hard with big tile.

Continuing on...

It was also a challenge to work on these end pieces when he couldn't step on the newly-placed ones.  Took some contortionist moves...

Putting down the last tile!

A view from the other side - looks fabulous!  Jim has to really be careful maneuvering around to get into his shop!

After he got everything cleaned up from this job, he had a little bit of time left so he did some clearing out in the woods before doing a little work in the metal shop.

High 65/Low 45

4.26.2021

I headed into Saratoga this morning - Jim put in an order for more tile that I picked up as well as another bag of thin set.

Meanwhile, Jim primed the other side of all the cabinet doors - the other three are on his outfeed table in the back of this picture... 

Starting to lay out the backer board on the next tile areas in the stairwell...

I took out all the spacers today - sure looks pretty!  By the way, these white marks are actually wax that they put in between so that the tiles don't directly rub on each other.  They come off easily.

Jim put an X on the last of the rows he did yesterday so that he would know where he could walk.  Then he started cutting tile for the next rows...

Placing the tile...

He has to continue to move cut tile out of the way (once it's marked with its position) so that he has room to walk...

Figuring out the last row...

Wow - this is going to look so fabulous!

High 50/Low 32

4.25.2021

Jim finished the rest of the millwork on the cabinet doors - the holes for the hinges as well as the position of the cabinet knobs...

Then a coat of primer on the back side...

Two of the doors primed and drying...

After lunch, it was time to do our first tile installation in the stairwell!  Jim has all the tile pieces marked and organized in the shop.  He then had to get all his tile tools out.

We stopped at Home Depot last night before church so that Jim could pick up an additive to use in mixing up the thinset - since the floor is so smooth, this should help it bond better.  Mixing up the first batch...

Starting to apply it to the floor...

Putting the first piece down - he has the center point marked on the tile and it lines up with the first marks on the floor...

Filling in the first row...

Making good progress...

The guys who did the concrete in the wood shop didn't get it extremely flat - even in this stairwell area where it was as easy as could be.  So that caused Jim a little grief trying to get the large size tiles to be completely level...

Jim had to make fancy cuts in these tile pieces to go around the door frame...

Looking fabulous...

Jim used up his first batch - just about where he had planned.  Now we have room to walk into the shop as well as use the stairs.  We love the way it looks!

This kind of work always requires lots of cleanup...

High 57/Low 31