Lotsa little projects...
The list is long, but we keep pickin' away. We are pretty much at the point of running some of the ductwork. Sheet metal is definitely not one of my strong points, but that never stopped me. My opening act was a real booger. I had to run the exhaust vent for the downdraft fan at the cooktop island in the kitchen area. All the stuff inside was pretty simple. The PIMA was getting thru the wall, within the space I had available, and thru the siding, trim, sheathing, and the interior rim board. About 2" of mass to cut thru to create a slot for the vent. It took awhile, but turned out pretty good.






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I slipped into dream mode for a moment and stood right at the spot where one would be whipping up breakfast at the kitchen island cooktop.

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We continue to attack all the projects that are part of enclosing and finishing the shop area. It will be our next living quarters, so the priority in this area is high. That being said, there are still a number of other projects that are right near the top of the priority list, even though they don't directly affect completion of the shop area. Stuff like...

Any work that is left in the attic area will be miserable as summer kicks in. While the temps are still reasonable, I wanted to get the attic exhaust fan installed and complete.
This is a pic from last summer, when we framed in the opening and the aluminum louvers.

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We installed the fan and mounting flange and wired it up. The fan is attached to a 7/16" thick plastic plate, completely caulked and sealed around the perimeter to repel any driven rain that might get past the aluminum louvers outside.

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The mounting plate is set .375" away from the house framing to allow insertion of a framed screen (to keep out the critters and bugs). (Dopey me...I'll move the thermostat box off to the side to allow sliding the screen down into place)


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Another critical home improvement has been a long time comin'. For 2 years now, we have been using a porta potti located in the corner of our 120 sq ft cabin. Seeing as all the PVC drains are completed, and seeing as we shelled out the big bux last December to have a 1500 gallon septic tank and field installed, it seemed to be a natural next step to install one of the 2 toilets. Last trip, I laid in one 48" sheet of cement board to prepare. Now dry, we set the toilet flange. I planed some plywood to equate the thickness of the tile that will be installed in the future, and laid it down to support the toilet.


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We are still trying to refill the piggy bank to pay for drilling a water well. Until then, pond water will have to do.