The Once and Future Theater - Page 14

That's what I figured, Tim. Just couldn't be sure from the picture. I'll go lay hands on one before I commit.

Very glad to have you! I try to specialize in riff -raff. You'll fit right in.

yowza!

In a classic Fred-move, I took all that momentum and progress and scorned it, by basically doing nothing for the last two weeks. I have three more pieces of drywall cut and ready to hang - except for having enough hands. So no GG yet on them. I need to hire an assistant who works to hear me talk.

You smell that? Do you smell that? Green Glue, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. I love the smell of Green Glue in the morning. It smells like ...victory.

I finally pulled the speedloader out of temporary retirement today and hung about 4 sheets (mostly partials) of drywall. It went okay, but I suffer for doing it solo. One piece had to be test fit and adjusted about 5 times before I could hang it. Another should have been, but wasn't. So when i went to hang it, it was too tall by about 3/16 of an inch and I ended up pounding it into place with a 2x4 and hammer. Obviously, that's not the good way to do it, but I take comfort in the idea that it will be covered by another sheet and then inside a soffit. It had to get done, and once I had pumped all the GG onto it, it was going in - you know? That same piece was not quite the shape it needed to be - that is to say it had right angle corners, and therefore doesn't match the wall - so i had to trim it. Again, not the way I want it to go, but there it is.

This is the riff-raff way.

And, I know I will get there. I have to stay focused - eyes on the prize and all. I'll get back in there more this week. Thanks for cheerleading - I need it.

When I was in high school, I hosted a (actually a few over the years) foreign student - only for a week or two as part of the German club. Peter got the biggest kick out of the video we watched one day in my physics class. It was a professor from the University of Hawaii talking about energy or maybe impluse or momentum - anyway, he says "use your BPH meter to find out," and holds up a ball-peen hammer. I still can't see a ball-peen hammer without thinking about a BPH meter. It's like "Hey, do you think this wooden stake is strong enough to be driven into the frozen ground?" "I don't know, get the BPH meter and let's find out!"

At work (I'm an auto repair technician... mechanic), we sometimes use goofy acronyms. One of my favorites is for when you're working with really big tires. You're the BAT-man!

Oh, I've thought about it. It's a silly combination of pride and cheapskatery that keeps me from hiring it out - that and the idea that if it's not perfect I'll be pissed that I paid someone to do a mediocre job, while I will make peace with my own mediocrity. At the same time, my wife just arranged a $2000 wallpaper job for some upstairs rooms - that's her spending money. I just can't do it like that.

I was surprised, for instance, how reasonable carpet installation labor is. My father-in-law has done it before and has a stretcher. So I was just going to do it - then I saw Tim's (I think it was Tim) quote for installation was only like 5 or 10% of the bill. I may have to spend for that. I almost would prefer I didn't know that; I'd save the money, and then be able to say that I had done everything to build the room. That's the weird thought process in my head, anyway.

Curse me, I didn't get into the theater tonight. But I WILL tomorrow! And I did take the dog for a jog, so that counts for something, right?

::sad trombone music::

Once more into the breach...

okay, it's not that dramatic, but I did spend over an hour tonight - nearly and hour and twenty minutes - prepping one sheet of drywall. Things did not go smoothly. It's a shame that this has been really my first experience doing any rough construction (of any consequence anyway). If I were more sure and practiced, my walls would be closer to plumb. That would have made a difference this weekend (see drywall trimming, above) and certainly would have helped tonight. I was at the other end of the room and getting ready the second sheet on the screen wall. I measured and cut it to length, then marked and cut out the access hole for the water shut-off. I went to test fit it... First I found that the measurement of the wall height was somehow about 1/4 inch taller than the ceiling 8 inches out into the room, so when I (by myself, mind you) set the bottom at the foot of the wall and begin to "walk" it up, it hit the ceiling 8 inches out from the wall. Back down she comes for trimming. After about three iterations, it stands up. And here's what I find - I had to stop and take a picture:


You'll notice there is a gap almost 1 3/4 inches wide at the bottom left. This is where I heard the trombone music again. But not to be deterred, I measured and trimmed the left side - cutting off about an inch and a half at the top, down to nothing at the bottom. I knew that would shift the whole piece left about an inch and a half, so I had to widen the cutout for the plumbing - and there goes the usefulness of the piece I so careful saved and marked after I removed it from the whole sheet a few minutes earlier. I also went ahead and notched out the right side for the clean-out access hole.

At this point, I've been going at it for over an hour, moving it in and out of the theater to my working stack, laying it down, standing it up, slowly crushing the corners (actually only a very little of that). I set it back up - notice it's not secured in this picture - and here's what I've got:


I have half a mind to scrap it and try again tomorrow, making the shaping cuts more carefully and avoiding all the extra leg-work of moving it around and messing up the edges - especially the left edge that I trimmed - I did a pretty poor job. Would any of you scrap it? Or would you call it a hard-fought win and keep moving?
Edited by HopefulFred - 4/2/13 at 7:07pm

That's the music! But feel free to imagine Homer in my basement, if that feels homier to you.


(Oh man, do I crack myself up!)

I'm leaning toward just hanging it as well... I could be persuaded that what I've done simply won't cut it, but I would need an experienced voice of reason.