installing the new loft window

getting loft window ready for new install

had to get rid of all the insulating foam first, the window dimensions were close, but not exact.

looking forward to finishing this phase and being on the water at last.

Notches in my belt

It's hard to believe how fast time can seem to pass when looking back. I've been traveling for work and now that I'm back (and not jet lagged) it's time to get back into building mode again. During my travels I finished a book I love called "the rock warriors handbook". You don't even have to be s Rick clone to get some amazingly precious nuggets from its message. And upon finishing the book on my flight home I was reminded once again to..... ENJOY THE JOURNEY!

It was good timing for that message because I found myself feeling overwhelmed at the thought of trying to finish my home by May. First, I created a deadline for myself which was first inspired by the possibility of being on the home and garden TV show that had approached me in the fall. They didn't think I'd be done by April when the next season would air. I pushed to prove I could... And in the process got burnt out. So now that I'm back from my trip...I took all deadlines of the table and am already feeling more energized and light.

Next, I realized much of my overwhelm was coming from trying to hard to look at the finished product. There is SO MUCH work left to do.... Especially on the raft side which I still haven't redesigned. But the book reminded me if I'm not enjoying the simple steps of each movement, feeling the joy for being able to do this.... Then I'm doing it for the wrong reasons. Doing this to be done just to said "i did It", just to build a list of accomplishment to move on to the next item on the list is WRONG. And I know those aren't my reasons. I chose this for me, for my vision of my life, And that in itself is my joy in this process.

So I pulled back that vision and focused only on a single track today. First with some finishing touches in the loft. Earlier in the week I attempted to do the windows but everything felt difficult and it took me to long to do s simple task. So I stepped away, revalidated and was able to easily accomplish it today (while enjoying each step).

nailing in the prestained cuts...finding out my measurements weren't so great..nothing new!

Next I wanted to finish up some of the trim work... Only I realized after the fact that I had used the wrong boards in the wrong place... Luckily it was an easy fix, I had the right supplies! I also needed to cover up the silicones hosts that we leaking before the silicon... Now it's looking much cleaner and I'm confident it won't leak again! 

hiding the sticky seams

used the board in the wrong place...luckily I had more and they were the same size!

I was definitely feeling like I needed to do the tasks I was somewhat avoiding since I was in a better frame of mind and so I worked to finish the remaining walls with whatever materials I had left. 

That included a cut I am super proud of....A single piece that not only had to work around the shape of the octagon window, but also had to lock in the upper and lower sections of the tongue and groove! It ended up being a very satisfying challenge! 

before

after! I'm so proud of this!

I had two full sized tongue and groove pieces left...and I immediately knew what I was supposed to do with them, even though I resisted it at first. I needed to use them to finish up each wall at the top. My resistance was that I had to decide to either rip them to fit just below the roof joist beams and then figure out what to do with the portion above that line or notch them out to give it a more finished professional look, help to hide all my carpentry mistakes and be done in one shot. After some deliberation, i realized I could totally do the notching I had avoided numerous times during this build. Now was the time to face my fears!

Part of my apprehension was the fact that I learned the hard way about how being off even a 1/16 of an inch can add up over a run and drastically change your measurements down the line if not corrected for immediately. Then I realized....it IS a lesson i LEARNED! I won't make the same mistakes because I am totally aware of the consequences now....So, armed with my new awareness I slowly took my time and used my new skills to measure out and create the notches.

I have to say too, I thoroughly enjoyed that part of the journey (armed as well with my new attitude). I had an opportunity before me to be a proficient notcher-outer! So, I measured three times and cut iteratively, allowing myself space to breath and correct for errors. And only slight mishaps (including breaking a few scroll saw blades and cracking some wood) that just add character to my story....I FUCKING DID IT! And my second super proud moment of the day ensued!

measuring  three times

ideally cutting once!

before installing notched board

after the notches....wow it looks so good!

just starting to get dark, but the last one is done!

To celebrate I spent some time cleaning everything up...my goal tomorrow is to have some fun painting the mandala on the canvas for the ceiling. No clue how exactly I'm going to do that....but that will just be another step I will thoroughly enjoy tomorrow!

looking aft

looking forward...to tomorrow! :-)

octagon frame and more t&g

wow...if you would have asked me to make a frame for an octagon window even a month ago I don't think I would have done it this quickly (or as well). Amazing to see my skill and confidence level increasing so much!

I looked it up online and got long drawn out explanations...asked carptenter friend Dave and got...
"take a board and draw the diagonal line across the window to the other side to get first angle cut...then just measure the desired width and keep using the same angle. Seemed simple enough to me! And with only a minor fitting issue I knocked this thing out in about 20 min. (and hint, hint, the chop saw has a red circled 22/12 degrees which is the perfect angle for octagon windows!)

not bad for my first framed window!

also got a good system going on the rest of the cedar! LOVE IT!

Loft is in...windows are in!

I was so excited by my hardware discovery yesterday coupled with the extremely warm weather (60F/15.5C) we are having I knew I needed to take advantage and just push hard. So, I stayed up all night to get the loft installed and lined up some help installing the last few windows today.

First I had to figure out how to install my hardware in the tree....at first my head thought i needed to carve out a big hole....but that was my old design....this new one was even better as all I had to do was carve out a U. It took me some patience and various tools (chisel, regular large drill bit then finally a paddle bit) but I happily worked on it through the night until I was able to drive it all the way in.

Named the tree Ursula in honor
of my U-shaped hardware

A sweet moment pounding her in and she finally fit!

After installing the hardware Ursula was ready to go! I bolted her into the floor and readjusted my loft frame to utilize her as a support. My only problem was that I was lacking one more two-by-four to complete the end of the frame.....and I had put so much time into it by this point I really wanted to see it finished. Home Depot was closed and I searched my basement without any luck. I resolved to hitting HD in the AM first thing to get a board so I could have it all assembled before my friend showed up. Then, low and behold, there in the dark as I shown my light on the ladder to climb up and close up shop for the night I found her! A lone piece of 2x4 beneath my raft waiting, begging for me to use her tonight!

Me in utter disbelief that I got the exact length
of 2x4 I needed when I really needed it!

 See my manifestation powers really are getting honed! ;-)

I was so excited I got a second wind and went all the way! I stained the plywood so it would look acceptable as the loft floor (i even stained the underside of it since it will be exposed down below).

I stained all the joists that would be exposed to keep the feel in the place consistent with the roof beams, then I assembled her and laid the plywood on top to be fastened down later.

sanding away the print

staining the loft joists

staining the loft floor

still staining, and cutting

pretty proud of my calculations for fitting
Ursula into the loft floor!

OMG! I actually have a loft now!

I FUCKING LOVE IT!

It came together so nicely! I am beyond thrilled right now! Now my friend and I will have a platform to install the loft windows, making our work that much easier!

old hardware above, new below.

 In the AM (after a few hours of sleep) I got things
cleaned up and organized and fixed the
hardware on the kitchen window.

leaking like my weeping eyes...nothing that can't be fixed!

Another great thing about the thaw is I could see there was one wall that had some leaking issues. Luckily I was able to see this and correct it before it would be too hard to spot. I hadn't caulked or sealed the other octagon window so I did that as well as when on the roof and sealed the hell out of the loft roof edge on that wall. About 20 nails and a thick bead of silicon and I'm pretty confident most of the leaking is fixed. The rest seemed to be an oversaturation of the T1-11 which will be taken care of once I paint the outside with the elastomeric paint.

Finally it was time to install the window...and I have to say, because of the forethought and more experience that I had with the previous ones....these went surprisingly fast! Fast enough to get it all done by noon to have lunch with my girlfriends!

Dave installing port side loft windows

Finishing off the starboard loft window!

 so grateful for the help!

thanks Dave!

She can see

Today some of the windows went in and it gave my.little home her eyes to the world!
(Thank goodness I got some excellent help on this phase as I didn't want to mess up the siding with bad cuts!)

Window prep

Today was a mellow work day cutting supports to get ready for installing the world news tomorrow.
First I took care of the mini double hung I got for the bathroom ($99 and it was the only new window I bought!) It was the perfect after thought to my dream of having an opening sliding window that didn't need to be framed in while I built the walls.

Cutting 45 degree angles on both sides of the wood to fit the octagon windows

The placement of the mini bathroom window.

The octagon window under the loft.

The kitchen octagon window

And after a couple of iterations it fits nicely!