Journal of Progress--May 3-May 9

The humming birds discovered the humming bird feeder right away--by the bright red, for sure.  The other birds have not yet discovered the bird feeder.  I'm wondering if they will. Or if the hummingbirds will let them.

A friend from way back and her husband came out.  Her husband is helping Don finish up the plumping so we can finally get running water in the house.  No pictures were taken of their work.  The friend helped Barbara with mudding.  It was nice to have some one to visit with as we worked.

We got the gas stove hooked up.  Barbara has been cooking on a hot plate or microwave.  It is nice to have more than one burner at once. And an oven!

Don grills outside once a week.

Don installed the clothing rod in what we call our dressing room, which is a large, walk-in closet.  It has two chests.  Don is repairing a broken drawer from the white chest.  They are both old, crummy chests but it is not the best time for us to replace them.  Obviously everything will have to be moved when we get ready to finish the walls.  This is the hazard of living in a construction zone.

Don finished the molding around this window.

Don's big project of the week was to finish preparing his support brackets for the balcony. First, 2x4s had to be laid out, cut to precise angles, and glued and screwed together, leaving one 2x4 a bit longer for a tenon to fit into a mortise in the back plate.

Next, the back plates were laid out, marked, and drilled for the mortises. Holes were drilled from each side, to prevent wood blast, removing most of the wood.

The edges were then squared up with a sharp chisel, and the sides dressed with a file. Picky, exacting work. Each bracket has to fit exactly, and both have to be exactly the same. This requires lots of "cut and fit" work, with big, heavy work pieces.

Both brackets went together perfectly. Maybe the most technically difficult carpentry in the house. If you do it right, no one will ever see what great work you did.

Once the mortise-and-tenon joints were made, decorative cuts were made in each end of the backing plates. They were roughed out with a jig saw, freehand, then sanded with a hand sander.

The finished brackets, ready to be glued and doweled together. Dowel holes have to be drilled in the backing plates and in the tenons. But the tenon holes will be offset 1/16" to pull the joint together.

 (Not shown) Don and his friend Dave worked on the drain pipes, getting the last connections made before installing the water pump. They also had to run a separate electric line from the breaker box to the utility area under the house where the pump will live, so it can have its own circuit. Also, Don and the propane installer had to work under the house to bring gas pipes through the foundation, then up through the floor to the stove. Fortunately, Don had the foresight when we poured the foundation to stick a piece of pipe through it, so there would be a way to bring propane into the house.