Blog - Page 7 of 22 - The Blistered Palm

February 11, 2021December 12, 2023

New Panel Wing Wall and Happy Birthday to Me!

Day #148

July 28, 2020 – Continuing the electric rough in with a wing wall for the new electric panel and I finish the end wall insulation. Plus, it’s Happy Birthday to me, Gyeem Raj Du-Kamar. It has to be a good day, right?

As part of the electrical renovation we are going to upgrade the electric service from 100 amp to 200 amp and relocate the main panel from the kitchen to the living room. The framing below is a “wing wall” between the kitchen and the living room. This is the location for the new 200 amp panel.

New Panel Wing Wall — Wing wall framing for new 200 Amp electric panel.

All the electric wire will be pulled to this location and eventually terminated in the new panel. The wire dangling in the image below will power the new refrigerator along the end wall.

Panel Wing Wall — Wire for a new refrigerator receptacle.

Most of the overhead wire show in this image (below) is powering the cottage from the existing 100 amp panel. Eventually, I will disconnect this wire from the old panel, drop it down into the wing wall and reconnect it to the new panel.

Electric Wire — Electrical wire rough in.

After the rough in of the refrigerator outlet is complete the remaining wall insulation in the end wall can be installed.

The new refrigerator will be located in the center of the wall as you see the old one below. There will be cabinets and countertops below the windows, on both sides of the fridge.

Kitchen Wall Insulation — Kitchen End wall insulation.

What’s up for tomorrow..? Well, you guessed it, more electric rough in and more insulation. Oh joy!

February 1, 2021December 12, 2023

Electric Rough In and Insulation in the Kitchen

Day #147

July 27, 2020 – The electric rough in continues today with the installation of eight outlets in the kitchen. These are in the outside wall along the driveway side. Outlets along the river side were roughed in a week or so ago. It takes quite a bit of extra time because we are trying to keep something of a kitchen in service. I have to move stuff back and forth, out of the way until it gets in the way, and then repeat. I was able to start the exterior wall insulation in the kitchen and the new ceiling insulation in the living room. So there’s that too.

Electric Outlet Boxes — Electric Rough In – Outlet boxes and wire.

There are two outlet boxes under this window on the left side, and two boxes under the window on the right side. Each box will house one duplex outlet giving us a total of eight outlets along this outside wall.

Electric Rough In - Outlet Boxes

Lots of clutter in the kitchen makes the going sloowww.

Wall Insulation 02

The wall insulation proceeds left to right. These are basically 2×4 stud walls so the insulation is R-13, three and a half inch thick fiberglass batt.

Kitchen Clutter 02 — Electric Rough In – Outlet boxes under the kitchen windows.

One of the outlet boxes under the right window is visible in the photo above.

Ceiling Insulation

The insulation in the ceiling is a bit thicker. It is R19, six inch thick fiberglass batts. Yes I was watching tv as I insulated.

February 1, 2021March 31, 2024

Let’s do some more demolition!

Day #146

July 22, 2020 – Just a short blog for the work today. Since we have the dumpster we want to get as much of the remaining demolition completed as possible. To that end, Jess and Phil are removing the old siding and I am taking out the living room and kitchen windows.

Siding Demolition — Siding demolition along the back of the cottage.

The last time we were removing the siding we stopped at this point. We have to finish setting up this scaffold section to remove the siding that remains on the gable end. Once that is complete we can continue around the corner towards the driveway.

Siding Demo Close UP — Close up of the siding removal.

Above, removal of the living room window and time out for a beer.

Below, the framing to temporarily close up the living room window opening is ready to install.

Above, the kitchen window demolition is next. Siding removal down to the next corner by the electric service conduit.

Below, the kitchen window is removed and the living room window is temporarily closed in.

When I took out the kitchen window we found Mikey Mouse’s brother, Mortimer Mouse hiding behind the window frame. Similar to Mickey, he has seen better days.

After the siding demolition we install tyvek building warp to keep the elements from entering the outside walls.

That does it for today. I guess this post was a little longer than I though it would be. Oh well…

January 31, 2021March 31, 2024

Gutter, Downspouts and the Demolition Continues.

Day #145

July 21, 2020 – There is a lot of work scheduled for today. Spouting Unlimited will be installing our seamless gutter and downspouts. Jess and Phil are here to continue the demolition of the old siding and we will be starting the removal of the living room wallboard and ceiling. We have the dumpster back and we need to fill it up.

After our morning coffee we started in the living room, removing the ceiling. It’s not drywall but some type of fibrous wall board. Years ago I had a sample tested for Asbestos. It came up negative.

Ceiling Demolition — Removing the ceiling wallboard in the living room.

Mickey Mouse

Over the years we have had our share of rodent invaders, i.e. Mickey Mouse and his friends. Taking down the ceiling we discovered the remains of this little guy nestled underneath a batt if insulation. I guess he settled down for a long winter’s nap and never woke up.

Gutters & Downspouts

About 9:00 AM the Spouting Unlimited crew showed up. They got to work right away. It’s pretty cool to see them roll out a 60 foot long piece of gutter out of the back of their truck. The installation went smoothly and in a couple of hours we had all of our gutter and downspouts installed, complete with leaf guard.

Seamless Gutter — Rolling out the seamless gutter.

Gutter Installation — Hanging the gutter along the porch.

Gutter — Far end of a 60 foot long piece of seamless gutter.

As the afternoon wore on Jess, Phil and Robrandi made short work of the wallboard in the living room.

Living Room Demo — Living room ceiling, wallboard and insulation removed.

Early in the evening we decided to hold off until tomorrow to remove the living room window. It’s a lot to remove the window and temporarily close it back in. I did not want to be working in the dark.

After a good days work we baked some cauliflower crust pizza’s on my old Weber Grill. We have a Emile Henry Ceramic Pizza Stone that is made for the grill. It does a great job!

Homemade Pizza — Dinner pizza ready to be baked on the grill.

January 31, 2021December 12, 2023

Eight Receptacles for Kitchen Power!

Day #144

July 12, 2020 – Yesterday I completed the electric rough in for eight outlets on the outside porch. Today I am roughing in eight outlets for the inside of the cottage. This includes four receptacles in the kitchen proper, two “high” outlets for a TV mount and two receptacles next to the sliding entrance door.

Receptacle Rough In 01 — Outlet next to entrance door and “high” outlet for TV.

Receptacle Rough In 02 — Electric Rough In -North Wall New Kitchen

The process of roughing in electric wire through wood studs requires drilling a bunch of holes. Sometimes the stud spacing is not wide enough to accommodate a drill and the drill bit so a right angle attachment is a necessity. I’ve been using Dewalt’s Impact Ready Right Angle Drill Attachment. It’s been working out very well. You can also add magnetic bit holder extension bars to lengthen the distance that you can drill.

Receptacle Rough In 03 — Close up – High TV Outlet & Low Outlet at Entrance Door

Receptacle Rough In 04 — Close up – Receptacle Rough In – North Wall Kitchen

Next weekend we will be continuing the siding demolition on the outside and the living room ceiling demolition on the inside. I got the dumpster back in a week ago to take care of the debris.

December 16, 2020December 12, 2023

Eight Outlets Roughed In for Power on the Porch!

Day #143

July 11, 2020 – I’m back on the electrical rough in this weekend. I have eight outlets (four duplex receptacles) planned for the outside wall of the cottage. Today I’ll be roughing these in, on the inside of the cottage, to provide electric to the outside of the cottage.

Two outlets will serve “Brenda’s Deck”. Anyone renting space on this section of the porch will have to negotiate electric pricing in their contract with Brenda. I hear through the grapevine that she is nearing her IPO date. Keep an eye out.

Two of Eight Outlets — Electric outlet to the left of the sliding door.

There are two general purpose outlets to the left of the new sliding door. I put a quad outlet box under the almost 7 foot picture window. These outlets will provide power for the deck bar, now, and the new bar in the future. By the way, for the astute electricians out there, these are not the receptacles that I am using. This area could get wet, so by code they need to be Ground-Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) receptacles.

Up in the attic I am labeling the junction boxes so the various cable runs can be identified easily. It’s still a mess up in the attic but as the renovation continues the old wire, outlets and switches will be replaced.

Junction Box label — Junction box labeling in the attic.

After I closed up the junction box I flipped the breaker and voila, I have power to porch. Right on!

Pretty boring stuff this electrical rough in. I know. Tomorrow, I’ll continue with some outlet boxes for the inside the new kitchen. Hold yer breath!

December 15, 2020December 12, 2023

Goodbye Deer Poster – The End of a Era!

July 5, 2020 – Today brings us to the end of an era. This deer poster has been hanging in the Cot-Taj-Mahal on the living room wall for a long long time. I’ve been going to the cottage for at least 40 years. This deer poster may have been hanging for over 60 years!

It is old, yellowing and it smells horrible. This was the criteria that lead us to the decision to throw it in the dumpster.

Good Bye Deer Poster…

December 15, 2020December 12, 2023

West End Wall Framing & the Porch Ceiling is Complete!

Day #142

July 3, 2020 – Having reached the far end of the deck with the aluminum ceiling panels I have to frame the west end wall in order to complete the porch ceiling. Similar to the dividing wall, the framing is pretty simple. We have a door opening flanked on each side by a knee wall. Later on we will be screening the porch and installing the screen doors to create a bug free haven.

West End Wall Framin — Framing for the door opening at the end wall.

End Wall Framing — Headers in the end wall framing.

Once the headers were installed I put up the PVC trim board above the door and completed the porch ceiling panels.

End Wall Framing 2 — West End wall from the outside, PVC trim board installed on the inside.

I am out of treated lumber so the knee wall framing on each side of this door opening will have to wait. It was not necessary to have them in place to complete the ceiling.

Ceiling Panels Complete — Porch ceiling panels are complete!

We are taking the next several days off to spend time with family in the river. I’ll be back after the holiday. I hope everyone has a safe 4th of July!

December 14, 2020December 8, 2023

Ceiling Panel Installation Continues

Day #141

July 02, 2020 – I continued the aluminum ceiling panel installation down to the west end of the porch. Insulation at the top of the outside wall and furring strips preceded the panels. At the end of the day I only had one or two pieces left to complete the ceiling. It looks great!

Insulation-Furring Strips — Insulation and furring strips.

Ceiling Panels — Aluminum ceiling panel installation.

Dumpster Returns

Today we got the dumpster back in. There is more demolition to do including the remaining siding and the living room ceiling. More on this work later.

As I reported earlier, it has been difficult obtaining enough of the aluminum panels to finish up the porch ceiling. Earlier in the week, on Monday, I went on a search for the remaining material. I had to go to two different Home Depot stores and one Lowe’s store to get what we need. Thankx pandemic!

December 12, 2020March 31, 2024

Bring on the Porch Ceiling Fans!

Day #140

July 01, 2020 – Today is Wednesday, a “real job” work day for me. I am “real job” working remotely at the Cot-Taj-Mahal. On days like this I don’t get much renovation done, but a little bit is better than none. Just like a little kid with a new toy I had to put up the first porch ceiling fan. We took delivery awhile ago and I’ve been itching to get them up.

Porch Ceiling Fan — Porch ceiling fan number one.

The fans are Manufactured by the Monte Carlo Ceiling Fan Company. They are the 52″ Discus Outdoor Fan Series. Because we didn’t want to deal with replacing batteries in remotes and not having internet access these are “low tech” fans. Pull chains operate both the fans and the built in LED lights. I have installed switches in the wall, next to the sliding door, to kill the power to each fan. We will have three porch ceiling fans when it is all said and done.

Fan Number One — Hole in ceiling and electrical box for fan number two.

Now that I have my inner child appeased with the first porch ceiling fan I can continue with the aluminum ceiling panel installation.

Porch Ceiling Panels — Porch ceiling installation continues.