August 22, 2007
I ran to Home Despot this morning. Well, actually I drove. I entered with all the dread that usually is included with a trip to that location. It took me 25 minutes to find the parts I needed. They were scattered all over the place. Half of that time was spent rummaging through the DeWalt area of the shelves to no avail. At one point, a 'worker' walked by and asked a guy if he was finding everything ok. The guy replied in the affirmative, and the 'worker' made eye contact with me. I was ready to answer in the negative, but he turned and walked on. I could have flagged him down, but my apparent invisibility might have resulted in his having a heart attack. I spiraled out from that section until I found what I needed. The battery was in a special display forty feet away, and the saw was in the saw aisle, where I admit it belonged, but I was confused by all of the other offerings in the DeWalt aisle.
Armed with my goodies, which included new saw blades for the circular saw (yes, I remembered those). I quickly ventured off to the bath area. I wanted to see if there was anything remotely like I want for the shower wall. There wasn't. I know they can order it, though, from previous searches there. Next, I went to the cabinetry section to see if I could resolve one of my concerns regarding plumbing location and vanity construction. I walked around, and around, and around... Finally, I hid my cart, and walked to the design desk. The lady was very busy (not being facetious). I stood patiently until she looked at me. "Are you John?" No. "I didn't think I recognized you." Anyway, she asked what I needed, given that she was with a customer, and I told her I just had a couple of quick questions. After I asked my first question, she asked in return, "are you a contractor?" No. "Wow, you sound like one." I took that as a complement, my contractor experiences notwithstanding.
I returned home, worked for Sun for several hours while the batteries charged. Then, I took comp time and finished the closet access. You thought I was exaggerating about the headers in the walls, didn't you? Well, here's proof...
After the left hand corner is the door that goes outside... for now. That door has always been a pain. It interfered with the bathroom access door that used to be in the room, and, um... visitors felt uncomfortable with sitting on the toilet with that window in the door. At the left side of the long wall is the original door when I moved in. Now you see how it interfered with the other door. Next is my new door. That's where it belongs, and that's what makes sense. You'll see when it is all done. Then there is about 20" of no header. Shocked, I know. Then comes the header for the original door from 30 years ago. It continues to the end of the wall.
Now we have the closet wall. The header on the left is the original access to the closet. Stairs were added about 20 years ago that made it difficult to access the closet. They weren't as low as the ones you see, but if I explained that it would be incriminating. I haven't changed anything, just 'fixed' the problems. To the right is the access I just built. Yes, the stairs still pose a problem, but the left side is almost 6' from the floor. Well, the subfloor. Then there is 20 more inches of no header. 260" of wall length - 40" not covered with a header. May God have mercy on the person that decides to move the doors the next time someone remodels.
Of course, Lilo helped...
Progress is slow, but steady...
Armed with my goodies, which included new saw blades for the circular saw (yes, I remembered those). I quickly ventured off to the bath area. I wanted to see if there was anything remotely like I want for the shower wall. There wasn't. I know they can order it, though, from previous searches there. Next, I went to the cabinetry section to see if I could resolve one of my concerns regarding plumbing location and vanity construction. I walked around, and around, and around... Finally, I hid my cart, and walked to the design desk. The lady was very busy (not being facetious). I stood patiently until she looked at me. "Are you John?" No. "I didn't think I recognized you." Anyway, she asked what I needed, given that she was with a customer, and I told her I just had a couple of quick questions. After I asked my first question, she asked in return, "are you a contractor?" No. "Wow, you sound like one." I took that as a complement, my contractor experiences notwithstanding.
I returned home, worked for Sun for several hours while the batteries charged. Then, I took comp time and finished the closet access. You thought I was exaggerating about the headers in the walls, didn't you? Well, here's proof...
After the left hand corner is the door that goes outside... for now. That door has always been a pain. It interfered with the bathroom access door that used to be in the room, and, um... visitors felt uncomfortable with sitting on the toilet with that window in the door. At the left side of the long wall is the original door when I moved in. Now you see how it interfered with the other door. Next is my new door. That's where it belongs, and that's what makes sense. You'll see when it is all done. Then there is about 20" of no header. Shocked, I know. Then comes the header for the original door from 30 years ago. It continues to the end of the wall.
Now we have the closet wall. The header on the left is the original access to the closet. Stairs were added about 20 years ago that made it difficult to access the closet. They weren't as low as the ones you see, but if I explained that it would be incriminating. I haven't changed anything, just 'fixed' the problems. To the right is the access I just built. Yes, the stairs still pose a problem, but the left side is almost 6' from the floor. Well, the subfloor. Then there is 20 more inches of no header. 260" of wall length - 40" not covered with a header. May God have mercy on the person that decides to move the doors the next time someone remodels.
Of course, Lilo helped...
Progress is slow, but steady...