We had plans for a lazy day today… but come noon, Liz and I opted to suit up to tackle a few things outside. The weather’s turning, and with more cold temps coming our way… we decided to do as much as we could, to try to finalize some existing/ongoing projects.
A few photos over the course of a few days, showing off some progress on the back porch. Liz has been painting a bit, as I’ve been (slowly) working on getting the railing re-installed/replaced.
Today, both Liz and I had our separate projects, with both of us working with long lengths of boards.
I’ve been out the last few nights after work, trying to lay down a few deck boards before the light disappears. It’s been a bit slow going, as I’m fitting one piece… and then measuring the next, and then cutting the length I need.
With the hinged cellar door installed, it’s time to put decking down. This was my first attempt, and I was trying to ensure that I didn’t end a board right where the seam would be for the hinged door.
Ready for the install. The two supports from yesterday are near the front, where the hinged door/floor will rest. We also put two small plywood spacers along the side, to ensure there’s a small gap between the door and the existing deck.
Continuing work on making the hinged cellar door. I made a small jig, based on the shape of the hinges… and Bob cut the profiles into the deck itself.
Bob has a neat idea for us to add space to the deck, while also providing us access to the basement. Instead of cellar doors, we’re going to have a moveable part of the deck that we can lift/lower as needed.
I know it’s technically a “wand,” but to me it still looks like a gun that makes “pew pew” noises.
Today was pretty huge. After all that digging, and clearing out all that space under the deck… to have this unit officially running was really amazing. Truly, a major milestone for us at the house.
A little slow going for me. But incorporated a few big clamps, and getting fancy with the spices.
While I was working on the porch demo, Bob was getting our refrigerant lines set up in the basement. We unrolled a pretty long line over the backyard, and fed it back in to the basement.
Today was a big supply run. We were out in the suburbs, running several errands over several locations. It was… a lot.
One thing that we’ve yet to fully address/fix is the fact that our cement floor doesn’t quite lead water to the french well. When water collects down here, it routes directly towards the basement door… and we’ve gotten more water/flooding ever since we set this area up.
It didn’t really hit me until much later, when Liz pointed out that today… officially… we were done with all our soil backfill.
The bricks will likely sink a bit, in the coming weeks. And we’ll need to readdress the soil getting compacted down. But for all intents and purposes, all the soil backfill we need to do is done.