Inset Fireplace Bookcase

Another small project off the list. Butch and I managed to hammer this little piece of work out on Tuesday night. My mother, always spoiling me, brought us a ton of home decorations and it has really helped spruce the place up. We haven't had much time for the decoration end of things so her help is very much appreciated. Thanks mom.

Siding Progress

While I was working on the deck, Kelly and Butch were working on the siding. They got a late start too. It's looking really good. 55' of siding to go.

West End Deck--Getting a Start

Had a few hours to work on the deck. Started at 1pm and ended at about 6pm. Not a bad half day.

Trim--Hallway Done

After Butch and I finished the ceiling, I started working on trim. I finished the doors first, then I continued on with my Father's trim design for the mid-way trim. Once that was done I had to trim the hallway ends with the 1/8" trim. Then it was time for the crown moulding. We split a 3-1/2" rough cut trim board and installed it. Looks pretty sharp now. This is what it's supposed to look like.

Ceiling DONE!!

Today we "thumb our noses" at the ceiling. Done. Butch drug me out of bed and abused me with tongue and groove all damn day. Good to be done. Thanks Butch.

Log Accent #2

When we built the pantry, we intended to hang the pendant light from the vaulted ceiling. I installed the ceiling box and roughed the wiring to account for this. Later, when I had constructed the pantry walls, I could see the ceiling box above the pantry walls, and I really didn't like that. I thought that the ceiling should appear unbroken above the pantry so I removed the ceiling box as we finished the ceiling.
To take care of the light issue I started looking for a log large enough to hold a 4" ceiling box. I found a few but none were very decorative. I wanted something with some character, and it was a windy day that delivered what I needed. A large dead tree was tipped over just below the shed. When I walked down to inspect it, I found a branch that I thought may fit the bill. I wouldn't be able to inset it as I had planned but I thought that I may be able to fit it between the branches. I drug it up to the garage and went to work with my draw knife. I should probably be noted that I have never used a draw knife until this day. I had purchased one the day I built our address sign but had never taken the blade guard off. It was a learning experience and I was happy that I had a good DA sander to help blend my mistakes. Kelly stained it and we used it as decoration until we got around to putting it up. Butch helped me trace the outline on some of the cedar we used here and up it went. Butch's tools once again saved my butt. His "pinner" was a godsend. Cedar is brittle wood and the finish nailer would split it but the pinner put it up easily.

More Exterior Pics

Kelly and I decided to work on siding. We finished up three sides! Kelly is an animal on the chop saw. Here's the pictures.