October 16, 2006 :: Cleaning Up
Yesterday (or today, since I haven't been to bed yet) was a day of cleaning up. No major projects, just a few little ones. First, I finished putting up the insulation everywhere but closest to the wall. My staple gun had died with only 7 batts to go last time, so I had to buy another one. Being a cheapskate, I didn't buy the electric staple gun I wanted, I bought an off-brand manual one from Wal-Mart. It's the best staple gun I've ever owned (so far).
Next I added an outlet to the box in the attic. This outlet connects the wiring for all of the lights in the bedroom. It will also allow me to add some lights in the attic when it gets to that point, or plug in an attic fan if I decide to do that. Can never have too many outlets.
Once that was completed, I nailed 2 eight foot 2x2s to the wall, even with the ceiling joists. This way I have something to connect the insulation to, as well as the ceiling when I finally get one. lol. After nailing down the 2x2s, I added the last 3 batts of insulation. It made an immediate difference in the bedroom.
Next I wandered out into the hall and installed a magnetic latch and a handle to the attic door. I forgot to bring a drill bit upstairs with me, so I cheated. I drove a drywall screw through the door with the cordless drill, then reversed the drill and ran it in reverse while pushing forward on the screw. It drilled a nice, clean, perfectly-sized hole for the handle.
Next I started on the door. It's going to be very, very close. The space between the existing studs is 36.5". I nailed two 2x4s to the inside stud to take up the extra space (This will also move the door over a bit so that the trim doesn't mysteriously disappear into the wall like it did before.) There is now exactly 33.5 inches between the studs. The door is 32". The 1x6s are, of course, 3/4" thick. I haven't decided what I should do, exactly. Since I don't have a thickness planer, I suppose I could remove one of the 2x4s and rip 1/4" off of it with the table saw. Anyway, after I got that far, I realized that I didn't have any 1x6s laying around, so I stopped work on the door for now.
Lastly, I cleaned. I bagged up all of the trash and remaining bits of plaster. I tossed out the last few bits of linoleum. I swept, I swept some more. Then I mopped. Hopefully, there won't be any more plaster dust floating around in this room now. I am very, very tired of plaster dust. lol
So, on to the pictures....
The new handle on the attic door.
The attic outlet, installed in what is allegedly the "correct" orientation. You can also see the 2x2 I added to support the ceiling below it.
Look! Insulation is ALL installed now.
Insulation shot before I added the batts against the wall.
And after...
The pretty, new, outlet plate. I know....pretty lame.
Still some plaster dust floating around, it looks like, so I'll have to mop again. Grrrrrr.
Look! I mopped the floor!
Here's the heat riser grill. I'm moving that to the ceiling in the living room, since the bed will cover it up. I'll put a generic register in it's place under the bed.
I have a full set of these chairs. They're pretty old. Some are painted, some are still the original stain. They originally had cane seats, then leather, then lastly 1/4" plywood. Would like to get cane seat inserts again.
