Descending Ashtray

This is a disc golf cart that I have been working on for a while and I finally got around to finishing it. It is designed so that I can take Ethan out on the course!

Wow, the difference a few sheets of drywall, 2 gallons of primer and 8 cans of paint can make.

I hired out the drywall job after talking with a lot of people, and I have to say, I’m glad I did. The folks at New Era Drywall in Portland were easy to work with, very friendly with Jasper, and very good at the job, much better than I could have done. In five short days, we went from bare studs to super smooth, paint-ready walls. It was fun to come home each day and see the progress that had been made, but no day was more amazing than the day they hung all the drywall … the space started to look finished!

After the final skim coat had been applied, priming was as easy as rolling on a coat over the whole surface. Because New Era had left the paper covering on the floor, and there wasn’t any trim up, it went very quickly, and I was able to do both the bedroom and the bathroom by myself in about 6 hours (spread over two nights).

Once I’d primed the space, New Era asked to come back one more time to take care of any scratches the primer revealed, and I was more than glad to let them do so, even though I didn’t see many errors while I was painting. Great attention to detail.

And then … color! We had a painting party on Saturday, and a crew of friends (thank you!) showed up to help us put on a few different colors. Most of the walls in the bedroom are a pebble grey color from Miller’s historic series, and one wall is a rusty orange. The ceiling is a warm, flat white. In the bathroom, we went with a robin’s egg blue color, with an eggshell white on the ceiling. Here’s a sneak peak at the room just before the final touch-up coat.

Flooring goes in tomorrow … we’re getting there!

I just realized I haven’t posted about the attic since framing was “complete.” Turns out, I was a bit wrong about “complete” as it applies to framing. You see, the city won’t sign off on framing until all the trades have been through: plumbing, HVAC and electrical, and in my case, electrical wasn’t yet done. The city is worried that an errant plumber or electrician might cut something structural when routing pipes or wires, and thus, framing is approved last. Still, the inspector was quite nice, pointing out on his (unnecessary) trip a few items I’d overlooked: fireblocking at the tub’s surface level, and the need for insulation in areas that would be hidden by installation of the tub.

I got the electrician in there, wrapped up the missing items I’d forgotten, and I was approved! Took a few weeks, but it was an extremely satisfying experience getting the work approved. I’d heard some horror stories about the whole experience, but the city has been extremely easy to work with, and very patient in answering my questions over the phone or in person.

Next step was insulation, which I also hired out (starting to see a trend yet?). In this case, we opted for something that isn’t very homeowner-friendly, spray-in expanding foam insulation. I looked into what it would cost to purchase the two-part mix, but as a consumer, you can’t really purchase the material for less than what it costs to have a contractor install it. Spray-in foam is nice for a number of reasons, namely its high R-value (6-7 R per inch of depth) and sealing ability. Because it expands as it cures, it fills any and all gaps or cracks in the building envelope, making the whole area airtight. It’s also incredibly fast to install – the contractor was in and out of the house in one day. It’s definitely more costly than the pink stuff (probably 3-4x the cost), but I feel really good about the decision. It made an immediate, noticeable impact on the temperature upstairs, as well as the sound quality (far quieter).

I interviewed several drywall contractors, and started to see firsthand evidence of the down economy. The first contractor initially quoted me $3500 for the job, then called three days later to drop the price $700 and “throw in painting.” The second contractor was $2200, and I eventually found someone through a friend that quoted me $1500. A pretty vast difference for the same job if you ask me. I had initially planned to install the drywall myself, but I’m running out friends’ goodwill. And the clock is starting to tick a little louder on Baby Selden. It’s pretty nice to leave for work in the morning and come home to see progress up there, though.

The drywallers started today, but I’ll wait to post photos until at least the first skim coat goes up (I put up the cement board you see here). It’s starting to look eerily like a finished space, and I don’t want to spoil the big reveal.

Well, the clock is ticking away, but it feels like the attic work is finally moving forward again. The rough stage turned out to be a little trickier than I thought – there were a few things I didn’t know needed to be done (fireblocking the wall at the level of the tub surface), and a few things I thought I did right, but didn’t (used caulk to seal the shower pan membrane as a book recommended, but should’ve used the manufacturer’s supplied sealant).

But, we passed on electrical, plumbing, framing and that pesky shower pan. It even holds water without leaking!

As we await a new opening in our insulation contractor’s schedule (they’re blowing in expanding closed cell foam), I’ve started thinking harder about the finish surfaces, and it’s this I’ll share today.

Here’s a poorly-done aerial view of the bathroom, looking North toward the new window. I’m planning on wrapping the tub sides and the vanity cabinet in some reclaimed Douglas Fir floorboards that I ripped up in the demo phase. The main floor of the bedroom will also be Fir, and it should tie the two areas together nicely.

The vertical surfaces will be either painted a kind of blue-green color, or covered in 3×6″ subway tile. Horizontal tiled surfaces (including the shower basin and floor) will be in some cool Ann Saks penny round tiles that Sarah picked out. I’m hoping they are forgiving; I’ve never tiled anything before!

Here’s another view of the vanity I’m making. The top surface will be a black paperstone (looks like stone, made of recycled paper, and can be cut with woodworking tools), with an undermount rectangular sink. The cabinet beneath will have one large door, and three drawers on the right side. I’m still working out the mechanics of this, but I want it to have a really clean look with as many unbroken horizontal lines as possible.

About an hour from Iowa’s capitol city of Des Moines, tucked away in a small Iowa farm town, a man named Robbie Pedersen has created something remarkable: a working woodshop and retail store, as it might have existed in 1875. While in Iowa over the holidays, Gabe and I took an afternoon road trip to Jefferson, Iowa to see Robbie’s shop, called RVP 1875.

Unlike today’s woodshops, there aren’t any DeWalt cordless drills to be found, and no corded tools, either. There are plenty of power tools, though, if you shift your perspective on what powers those tools. There weren’t many electrical plants in 1875, so all of the stationary tools in Robbie’s shop are powered by hand cranks, foot treadles, and yes, even bicycle pedals.

A modern (power-tool) woodworker would recognize most of the tools here, including his rare, hand-crank table saw. Turning a handle on one side turns both the small 7-inch blade and an integral power feeder. This thing looks pretty primitive, but the idea is very simple and elegant – a lever controls how much downward pressure is applied to the power feeder, which governs how quickly the wood is fed into the blade. Your hands never come near the blade, which is about as safe as a table saw gets, and because the workpiece is held down by the feeder, there’s no risk of kickback (not that it matters to the operator, who is standing safely to the crank side of the saw, nowhere near the danger zone in front of the blade).

There’s also a foot-powered mortiser, but unlike a modern mortiser, it doesn’t drill out mortises, instead shaving down the sides at a perfect 90 degrees to the workpiece. This is the start of the industrial revolution as applied to woodworking – machinery is taking the place of a skilled craftsman. Now any idiot can create a perfectly square mortise!

I’d seen Roy Underhill use one of these “portable drill presses” on his television show, “The Woodwright’s Shop,” but I’d never seen one in person. It’s designed to cut holes at controlled angles, and can be clamped to large timbers to cut mortises for timber-framing projects.

Robbie’s treadle lathe was enormous, almost 6 feet between centers. It looked like a good way to get a workout, but he explained that he just moves to a different task when one part of his body tires. Done with the lathe? Time for some sawing!

Speaking of saws … check out his saw collection. He told us that he has saws that are better for ripping walnut, and ones that work better for ripping maple. Some excel at cross-cutting tenons, while others are better for dovetails. Whatever his reasoning, it sure is a handsome lineup.

As Norm says, you can never have too many clamps, and Robby’s not short on those either. These are wooden bar clamps that look like they’ve seen quite a bit of use over the years. There are a lot of folks out there that collect things like this for decor, but it’s really cool to see these amazing tools in use, still being cared for and respected.

So what does Robbie Pedersen make with all these great tools? I guess if pressed I’d call them “modern antiques,” but that’s a little over-simplified. He makes furniture that looks like it was built by farmers, but with an artistry based in today’s world. I grew up in a house overflowing with Shaker and Amish antiques, and those pieces were intentionally simple, and showed their age through dings, dents and missing parts. Robbie’s pieces look rough, but intentionally so. The parts and pieces are assembled with an eye toward creating an aged effect, but not in a manner designed to confuse or trick. Instead, he selects distressed wood for its contribution to a piece’s entire visual appeal, and it’s a style that really works.

Each piece in Robbie’s showroom has a story, and he’s delighted to tell it to you. This hutch was one of the bigger pieces in his shop, and Robbie carefully described its construction as both a woodworker (noting the complexity of the arched door tops) but also as historian (farm houses rarely had closets and hutches like this contained the home’s clothing and linens). Robbie’s work as he sees it is part teacher, part woodworker, and he gives tours frequently to school children, boy scout troops and even senior tour buses.

If you’re in the neighborhood, RVP 1875 is not to be missed, but it’s a worthy destination unto itself. Come for the great tools (he even has some “users” arranged for sale), but stay for the history lesson and engaging personality. Thanks, Robby.

This afternoon, I think I finally completed the framing of our ongoing attic remodel. Now that there’s a child on the way (coming April 30), the clock is really ticking, and I’ve been trying to devote more time to the project. Here are a few photos of the work thus far.

This is a view of the shower. This was one of the trickier aspects of the project, not from an actual framing standpoint, but in choosing how the shower pan was going to work. I went back and forth between purchasing a pre-made, pre-pitched urethane pan or creating a traditional mortar pan in situ. After reading a few articles in Fine Homebuilding and watching several videos, I decided to go with the traditional mortar pan, mostly from a cost standpoint. The urethane pans look pretty simple to install, but they are very costly (mine would have been around $900), and I am always a little hesitant to go with the newest of new materials. Foam just seems like it could fail after a few years, having a bit of flex to it. Mortar has been the standard for at least 50 years, and who am I to argue with tradition? The doorway will get a hinged glass door after tile goes up. Haven’t decided whether I’m going to tile the ceiling above the shower yet. Any thoughts?

You know that old adage, “Measure twice, cut once?” Yeah, I should have applied that to the framing of the bathtub. I carefully calculated all the measurements for width, accounting for the width of a full piece of tile for the tub ledge, thickness of the cement board, declination of the North Star … and still came up several inches short the first time I framed for the bathtub. Second time was fine, though. When laying in the tub, you’ll be able to view the sky through the skylight above. At the bottom right of this photo there will be a vanity for the sink.

Here’s Sarah standing in the bathroom doorway. We’ll have a vintage wooden door on a sliding track here (not hinged). The bedroom closet is to the left of Sarah. I think the closet doorway will have a curtain rather than a door, although I sized both doorways for a 30×80 door just in case.

At the opposite end of the attic from the bathroom will be our bed (left side of this photo, where the garbage can is). There’s quite a bit of room down here, and it should be fairly spacious. There was an existing toilet vent to the right of the big window, so rather than move it, I framed a little wall around it that will contain a simple built-in cubby. A little inset box in that wall will house some sculptures, I think, lit by an overhead low-voltage light (still need to talk to the electrician about that, though).

I’m going to call for an inspection tomorrow. I have been pretty conscientious, and am hopeful of a pass, but we’ll see. The kneewall on the right side of the photo above is new; replacing an original kneewall in approximately the same place. I had intended to leave the original kneewall exactly where it was, but it was built resting on top of the subfloor, which I didn’t think was safe. After jacking up the roof, I re-built it, and moved it forward a few inches so that it would be sitting on some floor joists instead. I doubt they’ll have any problem with that rationale, but they may have issue with my stud spacing in the wall: 24 inches on center, which was how the original wall was built (each stud supports a roof rafter). I replicated the old spacing so I could have room for wider built-ins, but they may not like that. Cross your fingers!

Thanks to all the friends who pitched in to get us this far: Andrew, Thom, Tyler, Dan, Bruce, Greg, Nicole, Amanda, Becca and Blu. You, too Porter-Cable FR350A Framing Nailer. And let’s not forget you, DEWALT DW716 12-Inch Double-Bevel Compound Miter Saw. Couldn’t have done it without you guys.