D-Type (not a Jag, but a new shop/house/life)

Still trudging along...

I had a month off while switching jobs, and an opportunity to have some help, so I targeted getting the kitchen area tiled. This required a new threshold/ handrail, which marks THE LAST bit of pink drywall in the house. There is still some pink on the base of the chimney in the basement, but that's not really living space, so there you go.

I started with some extremely rusted angle iron.

Then, I added "feet" to adjust (guess) for the thickness of tile. 

Then there was the handrail.

And, finally, here's the whole mess welded in place, and painted with some satin black rustoleum.

Problem: the tile, which took 10 days to come in, was wrong when it arrived (totally my fault #@$!^%&*#$#!), so I had to call my Uncle off. With my window of time off closing, I switched gears, and worked on lining and shelving the hallway closet. 

Yep, all cedar. Kind of hard to get a good photo, so here's another.

Still waiting for kitchen tile (its a long story), but We got the hearth done in a mosaic called pescado.

Edit: Yikes, blurry.

wheelsmithy said:

In reply to superchief :

My girlfriend is almost pathologically against popcorn ceilings, and after the nastiness that was cigarette smoke embedded in the ceilings of this house, I'm not so far behind.

I suspect I'll be in the same boat as you when I'm no longer able to use my tools. No kids, nieces and nephews have no interest. They can always go to Habitat for Humanity, and make someone's day. Again, I sincerely appreciate your kind offer. It's always a pleasure to make a nice acquaintance.

There comes a point in working on your own home where you just call in the pro's. For me it's after 20 years and 31,000 manhours. Age 73  Actually it's after my last fall.   I really came close to buying the farm with that one and it's just because my reactions are slower and I no longer have the strength I used to. 
  Time came to do the knock down on my ceiling( 28 ft in the air )  and even with my scaffolding I knew I wasn't up to the job.  
   Now I've got a shop full  of good used  pro quality tools. Plus over 10,000 bd ft of hardwood lumber.   And no use for them. 
 My girls aren't interested.  I know they are just in my way. But I hang onto them for that one or two projects. 
     

Tile. 

More tile:

Still more tile:

Yet more tile, and grout:

With the floor rising 3/4" due to the tile and hardie board, the cabinet above the fridge had to go.

So, I built a simple angle iron frame to (mostly) fill the hole, and used some left-over metal roofing to fill the void, and there you go.

The Happy-shiny-hat who put in the cabinets left NO room between the fridge and cabinets/countertop. We're talking not even a 1/16th. The cabinet appeared to be rested on top of the fridge, then screwed into the wall. Anyway, it had to go. The space was basically un-useable anyway, and this way, air can circulate so the thing can, you know, cool. The same problem exists with the dishwasher, but we'll burn that bridge later. 

This marks the end of a phase. Next up, I'm going to write a check to have a good friend refinish the hardwood floors, and thresholds will be following, thus completing the flooring portion of this project.

Waiting for my flooring buddy's schedule to open up, I built a thing. I call it the Trash Sled.

It is all scrap built on HF castors, that ride on that 1/2X3 bar I sank into the tile.

That's one can each for trash, aluminum, and other recyclables. Trash Sled.

I still have to build stops for it, and there's a 330 lbs. (dry weight) concrete countertop outside still in the mold awaiting installation.

Getting the concrete countertop flipped and out of its molds solo was an adventure, but good ole engine hoist and I got it done.

This is after some sanding. I'll probably do more, but it'll have a nice long cure in the back of the truck, until I have the proper help to set it.

Concrete countertop installed.

I got help from my burly neighbor and two other buddies. It was still challenging to get it there, to say the least. My broken down, arthritic, 50 year old body is not what it once was, and I'd estimate the weight at 400 lbs. If you plan to do something like this, I'd recommend 2" thickness, as opposed to the 3-1/2" I did. E36 M3, this almost went badly. But it's in, and all who have viewed it love it. Next projects will be lower hanging fruit.

In reply to wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) :

3-1/2" ?!?!  You gonna park the truck up there?

I would be watching for compression failures in the lower structure.

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

No, I'm just stubborn and ignorant.

I was worried about the 3' it had to span unsupported, so I eyeballed thickness, sunk four 1" pieces of rebar that run the width minus a few inches in it, and went for it. It took six 55lbs bags of mortar, plus a 25lbs bag of  grout I had lying around. I think the word mortar worried me.

To Tuner X1/9: Yeah, better keep it dry. I weigh 200 lbs, and have stood on each cabinet, and there is also a 2X4 screwed to the studs across the back. It would indeed be unfortunate were this monolith to come crashing down.

Minor, but necessary things going on. 

I built stops front and rear for the trash sled.

I'll buy anyone who correctly identifies those bolts on the wooden/angle iron stop a coke.

Also, I sealed the concrete with some Cheng brand food grade sealant. Made in Canada.

I also made a mess of some hardwood over by the return air, but I'll save that for another day.

Toilet flange bolts?

In reply to EvanB :

I owe you a coke. Shoulda known it wouldn't take long around these parts. Well done.

In reply to wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) :

The joy of recently shopping for parts to repair my toilet flanges. 

I had to fix some berklery by the return air, but the pieces of hardwood I'd saved from tearing up the bathroom floor lacked tongues and grooves on the ends. So I screwed the whole mess down, and plugged the holes with 3/4" dowels.

Painted the return air grille while I was at it. The rest will (hopefully) be up to my buddy. He was going to get back to me quickly. Still haven't heard back.

The downstairs bathroom is kind of crap. It's cramped, oddly shaped, and below the sewer main. That last part has been covered in the past. TLDR-Grinder pumps have been installed, the last of which is still working fine. Knock Wood.

This area has been open to the dirt basement since 2019. There was a junction box I had the electricians remove, there was plumbing I ran through here, and even a gas line for the new range. This weekend, it was finally time to cover it back up.

I had some Cedar left over from the upstairs closet, but not enough, so I had to get creative.

The bit of wainscoting is from the former "pulpit" where the electric range was, then it was used as a drop cloth, and then a pattern for drywall, before finally finding its way here. Kind of crap, but totally good enough for this application. The cedar does as advertised, and makes it smell just a bit better down here. At least for now.

View from the other end:

Nice to have a towel rack after all this time. This is "my" bathroom. Read it's filthy.

Finally, I saved the recessed toilet paper dispenser from one of the upstairs bathrooms. Again, it's about right for this space.

There has been a new addition to the household.

We call him Bennie. 

So, I spent this morning making a doggie gate for the deck.

In my normal fashion, I petered out at 90% done, and will likely leave it there indefinitely. Who really needs a latch when a brick or a piece of rope will do?

Ha! A project completely finished.

The dog is growing like a weed, and unfortunately, we had to push back the floor refinishing for a bit.

I have discovered he's actually two dogs. I call one DR Bennie,

and the other is Mr. BITE!

In reply to wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) :

Where did you get the decorative pieces for the center of the gate? I'd like to build one like that for my porch.

In reply to EvanB :

On the curb. People throw out such great stuff.  I used to know a place you could get fence pickets and the like. I'll see if I can dig something up.

Edit: maybe try these guys: Steel Supply

Curb was my first inclination, and in reality by the time I get around to building it I will have found something thrown out. It is good to have an option to buy new though. 

It has been a week of workers in the house. The dog went to stay with some friends nearby, and we "roughed it" with no AC for that time. No big deal, really. The fireplace insert and downstairs wall heater have been our only heat for two years. Or was it three? Anyway, I went Trane. The fanciest one the HVAC guys recommended.

All the ductwork has been replaced, and even resized as they felt necessary.

The old stuff was moldy from the basement floods, there was cat dander, smoke, and who knows what else.

An opportunity finally arose to get the old drywall down that was above the old ductwork.

And I repaired a joist that was haphazardly sawzalled when the last HVAC unit was installed some 16? years ago. (that's how old the last unit was)

Although we got a zero percent loan, it still feels like a good time to let the old checkbook cool off.