Installing the New Header

Bob was over last night, finishing off the remaining bit of work on the joists… making way for the new header. It’s the first of two large pieces that replace the old/warped boards tha twe took out, a few days ago.
Bob was over last night, finishing off the remaining bit of work on the joists… making way for the new header. It’s the first of two large pieces that replace the old/warped boards tha twe took out, a few days ago.
While looking into a space where the pocket doors area, Bob reached in and found this bit of newspaper – lodged pretty far inside.
Using a bottle jack to get the top part of the frame in place. Things I learned today: the to of the jack unscrews, and can extend a few more inches – if you’re ever in a pinch.
While I’ve had the good fortune to participate in a lot of 20×2 Chicago events, this week saw a pretty interesting varation. The original folks behind 20×2 (Kevin, Mark, and Jeff) decided to take the show “on tour” and did two back to back events at a new venue: the Virgin hotel in Chicago.
Once in through the front doors, visitors walked down a long, blue-lit corridor. Playing on a loop in the background was “Pure Imagination,” as sung by Gene Wilder (as if there is any other version of this song).
Liz and I met up with Julie and Bob for Mother’s Day a while back, and spent a leisurely day hanging out in Chinatown, Northerly Island, and then later in Hyde Park.
Tonight, Bob was over and helped us set up a new Craftsman Table Saw we purchased. Additionally, he brought over a replacement for our miter saw, which was working fine… but a piece of errant wood broke off the guard. Thankfully, the warranty we got covered a full replacement – so Bob helped set up both.
A parliament of Peeps.
Some hot dogs (and peeps) were roasted on the fire. An incredibly relaxing end to an incredibly relaxing day.
Liz, working with the impact drill.
Bob was over a few nights ago, helping us get the last bit of plywood up along the wall (by where our basement stairs will go). That said, he was off doing his own measurements for the stairs while Liz and I measured and cut the plywood for the last remaining section.
Liz and I spent time tonight working Bob in the basement. We had him assess our work from Saturday, and he showed us how (and why) our measurements resulted in a board that didn’t quite sit right when we tried to dry fit it. While our measurements were quite accurate… we made the assumption that the top of the wall…
It’s really hard to show the stark difference in the shop here, compared to what it was like full of tools and things. If you look at this blog post, you might get a sense of what it used to look like.
The big cement pour was a large step for us, and the stairs will allow us to start to bring down boxes from the second floor. We’ll have to clear out more space in the basement, but the eventual goal is to relocate most (if not all) of our “things” on the second floor, down to the basement.
After a very busy week involving us getting 45 bags of cement, setting up a new support beam, and cutting/prepping the pit… the big day finally arrived. Our final basement pour, which will give us a whole, solid floor again. Something we haven’t had in quite some time.