On Tuesday I gave up and threw them off the job.

On Wednesday I finished the bathroom myself, including relocating the light fixture and the mirror to match where they mis positioned the vanity. This required opening up the walls once again to make the changes. Have I told you how much I hate drywall work? I can do it but I don’t like it.

All patched up and painted now, and aside from some dodgy drywall work it looks pretty good. I’ll install the artwork tomorrow and post a pic. Be prepared to be underwhelmed - at the end of the day it’s a 5x7 powder room.

OTOH, the helper guy I found on Facebook is very good, and today we finished insulating and installing the ceiling fan in the garage. His personal life is a train wreck but he’s a good craftsman and works at a steady pace. The insulation project was a huge success - I can maintain an even and comfortable 70 degrees in there at an outside temp of 15. Power is cheap enough here that I can afford to run the garage heater whenever I want, and these changes should make it more economical yet.

Stay tuned for my next project - a lightweight, high capacity storage wall that should be cool enough to post on youTube. I know I’ve never seen another like it.

An aside, for those of you following at home.

I got a friendly call from the guy who did my drywall work in CA. We’ve known each other since the early 80’s and over the years have become friends. Darryl turns 70 next year.

I asked him how long it would take to frame, drywall, tape and paint a 5x7 room with existing ceiling. He told me that he and his son framed, dry walled and taped an 8x8 office just last Monday and painted it on Tuesday. Doors and trim went in on Wednesday and they moved on from there.

There’s a lesson here somewhere.

I cannot imagine. You showed the patience of Job in allowing them to continue.

I have a great contractor down here, but that's of no use to you. I'll ask my brother in Kent. He has a guy I know he likes, not sure if they would travel to your area, even though it's not that far.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
An aside, for those of you following at home.

I got a friendly call from the guy who did my drywall work in CA. We’ve known each other since the early 80’s and over the years have become friends. Darryl turns 70 next year.

I asked him how long it would take to frame, drywall, tape and paint a 5x7 room with existing ceiling. He told me that he and his son framed, dry walled and taped an 8x8 office just last Monday and painted it on Tuesday. Doors and trim went in on Wednesday and they moved on from there.

There’s a lesson here somewhere.

Maybe Darryl would like an all expense paid vacation to Cleveland...

quote:

I cannot imagine. You showed the patience of Job in allowing them to continue.

+1!

On Friday I had my new favorite laborer come over and insulate the garage ceiling and the garage door. I originally bought this loose fill stuff but I had to return it because you can only install it with a machine. I ended up using batts which was easy enough - the whole job took about an hour.



Here's the garage door 2/3 done. It's a kit I got on Amazon - slick!



We also installed this ceiling fan to even out the temperature from floor to ceiling:



What a difference! I can now warm the garage from about 15 degrees to a toasty 68 in about an hour and the heater doesn't have to run constantly.

Yesterday it was so comfortable in there I decided to work on the storage system instead of finish the bathroom. Mrs. Miller was not real happy about that - she thinks the house is more important the garage. She also understands that I am much more likely to do house projects when the shop is pleasant to work in and she didn't say anything.

As promised, here is the new storage system. It's ridiculously simple, but I never saw one like it in all of the youTube videos I watched to decide how to organize things. Most guys use the "brute force" system - 2x4s and 3/4" plywood.



I started with the setup on the right to hold my table saw. I really like the little wooden turn latch because it's something my father would do. I think of him when I see it.

Here's what it looks set up:



I'm not sure of how legal it is to own milk crates. They have warning labels on them forbidding private ownership but when I have called dairies in the past to come and get them they have refused. If they can't be bothered, neither can I.

Here is a detail of how the crates are held in place:



I discovered that not all milk crates are made the same way and had to make sure the heavier stuff ended up in the stronger ones.

Love it. Dead simple but effective.

The brutalist dresser is done and I'm pleased with how it turned out. We're not sure if if the mirror looks better on the left or on the right - I installed it the way it was before. It's easy enough to move if if need be.



The desert paintings we pulled from the hoarder house ended up in the master bedroom. I like them because I recognize the spot where two of them were painted. What I am not crazy about is the framing. Sharon thinks the paintings look best in that sort of frame but I'm not convinced. I do like the idea that you might find pictures framed like this in an old desert saloon. They're quite a contrast paired with the dresser. Eclectic, perhaps.



A companion to the picture of the truck bumper with snow on it. I'm on the hunt for frames for the two of them and intend to hang them over the workbench.

Nice touch with the light on the toolbox/workbench!

$1.99 at a thrift store. It's even LED!

Your garage looks great!

We installed one of these a couple of months ago. I love the motion sensor feature and the ability to control the level of brightness. $30 at the warehouse, goes on sale every so often:

https://www.costco.com/koda-46...oduct.100658326.html

They also come in sets; they can be linked:

https://www.costco.com/koda-46...oduct.100655015.html

We just put one fixture in and it made a huge difference in how bright the garage is.

Wow, Steve, everything looks great!

Six weeks in the making!

Everything looks great!

My DIY job for next week is to install replacement fill valves for our toilets. Wish me luck... it's possible that this will solve the weird on/off pulsing that our toilets are doing (and I posted on earlier).