Before insulation and sheetrock could be installed there were some last minute tidying up and finalizing steps. Since the Doubter was coming to help in a few days, the Planner wanted all these little things completed along with all the insulation and sheetrock on hand before his arrival so there was no wasted helper time.

More insulation was removed from various locations. First there were electrical wires still covered in plastic and foamed into place. These electrical lines run between the nook and the bedroom. The plastic covering the electrical wires in the nook took massive amounts of effort to remove. Massive amounts of time as in close to an hour where as the bedroom took less than five. Same concept was applied to both sets of wires but with vastly different results.

It may have been a beautiful February day outside but the Planner was working up a sweat inside. Take a break, there is lots still left to do.

With the Planner resting, he watched me remove the foam plugs from the 2″ PVC pass throughs. First I tried to push them out, then I tried to stab them out, finally I settled on cutting them out with my handy dandy letter opener. Worked like a charm, too.

Windows were removed of all excess foam between the windows and the framework and then were caulked again to provide another layer of protection against water rot. Once the windows are trimmed it will be difficult to see water seepage until the trim becomes soggy. As it is, we are still not sure how to stop the water condensation on the metal from temperature differences.

Trimming the windows required the usage of more borrowed tools. Our neighbor, the Catter, loaned us his portable miter saw and a Dremel.

The table saw was used to trim out the windows along with a hand grinder for fine tuning trim. The Dremel was supposedly to be used to trim the sheetrock around electrical outlets. Faster and easier than a knife, said the Detailer as he used this method when he built his own home in Norman, Ok more than 30 years ago. Experienced, I like that.

Sadly, the Detailer’s table saw was not any quieter than any other tool used at Boxes in Fields. While the Kid was removing foam over spray from the utility space, he was forced to wear hearing protection as the space acted as a drum to the cutting saw. Almost a solid 20 decimals higher in a space open to the world and shielded with a layer of foam spray. Hmmm, shouldn’t the spray foam act as a barrier to the noise?

Noise aside, the Kid an amazing job cleaning the utility space from over spray. He worked slow and diligently ensuring each ridge was cleaned. Up and down the ladder he went for almost two hours working. Great job, Kid!

Having two days to spare as the Doubter was held up at home, the Planner decided to take the plunge into the fiberglass mess that is insulation. Needing a test room for practice, the north bathroom was used for insulation installation. Yes, there was spray foam installed on the wall, but as this is the bathroom and we have already seen how loud noises are transferred within the rooms, extra insulation to help dampen bathroom noises is always appreciated.

The pantry was used for practice sheetrock installation. Both the bathroom and the pantry walls will be covered with bead board, hiding any imperfections in the learning process. Also, by using the pantry as the learning room, the Planner was able to test out the Dremel usage for electrical box outlet cutting. With eight outlets in the pantry alone, there will be plenty of time to hone the skill before the Doubter arrives.

What a busy month!