Poor Planner. He had his plans all laid out for when the Doubter came so that there was no wasted helper time. Helper time is hard to come by right now as I have taken a part time job for extra income. This part-time job, while it just helping out a veterinary friend in need, does limit my help to after 4pm during the week. Then there are all the other household duties that require everyday attention such as meals, laundry, and errands. So yes, helper time is no time to waste. Insulation and sheetrock already on hand, drywall tape and mud ready to go, practice rooms practiced. It was only two days before the Planner’s plans went the wayside.

Day one, they finished rocking the bathroom and pantry. Then started and completed rocking the kitchen wall and installed insulation on the south wall of the bedroom facing into the kitchen area. A very productive day.

Day two, while the Planner taped and floated the bathroom, the Doubter installed insulation on the bedroom west wall and hung rock the south wall. It was during the tape and floating of the bathroom that the plans got sticky.

Needing more light, the Planner decided he would install one of the ceiling lights to see how and where the light illuminated. Kind of a test run for light placement. Installing a simple LED light seemed simple enough. Simple until they realized that there was no electrical wiring running in the ceiling for lights. Oh, sure there was electrical lines coiled up and hanging all over the place but there was not actually any lines running through the ceiling joists. Holy. E. Moly. This was a major setback in the plans.

Taking the rest of the afternoon off, the Planner and the Doubter kicked back and bounced through some ideas. It was decided to focus on finishing out the bathroom and pantry with electrical lines cut through the framework, finish out the sheetrock, and install ceiling boards. To do this, different cutting blades were needed for the Tickler. With it being the weekend and all guess who got the errand duty? Yup, me and the Kid. It’s okay we splurged on Mommy and Me time with a breakfast sandwich. Who knew this tool was so popular and that our local tiny hardware store would have so many options! Not knowing which option would work best as this was kinda outside the design scope for the articulating tool, I purchased the multi pack. As it turned out, the rounded bladed worked the best over the straight edges. Odd choice but it worked wonderfully. Better than a pocket knife, bread knife, hack saw blade, nail file, or box cutter. Messy though. Moy howdy was it messy. Spray foam as it turns out goes everywhere when installing and when removing. Little tiny particles floating in the air causing breathing issues. Dust masks were needed. Not worn but needed. At least the Planner wore safety glasses.

With electrical wires in place for the three bathroom lights a trip was made to the next town over to a local hardware store to purchase ceiling boards. All four of us piled into the truck took the 45 minute drive over one way to view and select 2x4x16 tongue and grove pine boards. Boards that are 16′ in length are very bendy. Great care was taken when selecting them to ensure the edges were not damaged as the grooves are broken during shipping, in selecting them to ensure there were not too many large knots or knots on the edges, in selecting them for straightness. Between the Planner and the Doubter then myself and the Kid who has a great eye for detail work like this we must have looked through a hundred board to only come home with a dozen and half or so. Purchasing boards was easy compared to the debate over standard galvanized nails or stainless steel. What is the difference, you ask? Well, first and foremost, pricing. The standard black cardboard box all carpenters use costs WAY less than the itty, bitty, tiny plastic box used for specialty projects. Most would argue, the Doubter included, that ceiling work is not specialty work. Normally they would be correct. Normally. Nailing the bathroom qualifies for specialty work. The ceiling boards will not be painted to protect against daily moisture. And, as you should know by now, EVERYTHING rusts at Boxes in Fields! Galvanized pipes rust in concrete and fall down everyday so why wouldn’t galvanized nails rust out in a warm, humid bathroom resulting in the ceiling falling down? Exactly my point. So while these stainless steel nails cost more than an entire box of galvanized nails they are worth the long term gains.

Having four workers made for quick work. There was a whole system. Boards were cut, then passed over the to the Kid for sanding, then the Planner and Doubter hung and nailed them into place. Every fourth board or so the length of the ceiling was checked otherwise all moved with ease.

Ceiling work started on the far east wall where the distances where shorter just after lunch. This allowed the hangers to get their bearings on how to hold the boards in place while nailing. Pushing boards were created using dropped pieces of tongue and grove ensuring the edges were set tight into place without damaging the groves. It took several iterations to determine what length worked best with the amount of leverage being applied to such a delicate edge. Boards ran north to south to give the illusion the room is bigger than it is really is with whole continuous boards, no splices. By dinner the bathroom ceiling minus the cutouts for the lights was complete.

Continuing on the next day with boards in the same direction (north to south), the pantry was completed in just over two hours. Those boys had their groove going. Unlike the bathroom, the pantry had one row of solid board, followed by a row of two spliced boards. Using splices was solely for the purpose of saving money. Besides, with a 2×4 overhead light and overhead cabinets, the splices will only be seen on the very edges of the pantry. Too bad the rest of the ceilings couldn’t be completed as the ceiling is my favorite design feature thus far. Warm, inviting, simple.