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| http://www.angelsrestusvi.com/index.html |
The "red eye" express back to the rock. Usually arrive around 1:30pm.
The truck has a flat, it always does. I have a leaky rim. Put a can of fix a flat and limp down to the gas station in Cruz Bay. My buddy Roger lets me park at his house so it's not too far. On the bright side, the truck, no matter how long it sits, starts right up. Praise the lord! In a rush I make for the market to pick up a few things before I cross the island to Coral Bay and the shack. I need to get in there while it is still light out. Things move in when you are not around. Plus, the electricity might not work. There's a short punch list of things that can make my jet lag even worse. This time everything fired right up. Plugged the frig back in, same for the micro and we're living large again. No tree rats. A man can't ask for more than that. I always bring coffee from SF so we're good for a couple of days until I can jump to St Thomas and provision. Tomorrow I'll deal with the house.
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| This was the porch when I left |
The house was in good shape for being closed up so long. Some mold was trying to start. The drill is the same every time I return. I wash all the walls with diluted bleach while trying to figure out what I was doing before I left for SF.
Seven weeks is a long time to be away. Don't get me wrong, I wish it was even longer but the major drawback, and it is major, I have no idea where I left off. Worse still, when I do remember, I can't recall how I was actually doing things. Say what?
Take the railings below as an example. Sure I designed them using readily available bits on site and copper pipe from Home Depot but I forget how I assembled them, what little tricks I had learned, where had I hid the used 2x6's and scrap 1x stock that I could make the stanchions with. Oh that's right, I needed more screws and I'm out of primer, copper pipe and the wood putty has gone dry. You get my drift. That's just for the railings. Usually I have about five different things going on, so just extrapolate it out.
Because St Thomas is a whole day affair, not to mention the barge costing $50 plus other fees, I generally lay about for a couple of days and figure out what I need from Home Depot and any other stores to keep me busy for the next month. The finished railings above were my way of easing back into work mode once I remembered how I had made them. All the pictures I take are the key.
Next on the agenda was finishing the upstairs wiring, putting in all the receptacles and switches. Same drill, re-study everything. It has been many years since I was certified at City College in SF so I have to get out my textbooks and review everything. It wouldn't be St John without a delay. Home Depot was out of the fan switches I wanted so I had to order them on Amazon. These then get shipped to SF and then on to me from Denise. So now let me tell you what happens in real life. I move onto other things, weeks later the switches will show, I'll keep working on something else and the switches will sit in the corner for who knows how long. Then by the time I get back to the fans I'll have forgotten which dimmers I'm replacing. And so it goes. Whereas, if I was stateside, I would have gotten the switches I wanted the next day and the wiring would have been completed while it was fresh in my mind. Now instead I have a gi-normous punch list with hanging chads. And so it goes.
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| You have seen this guy before. He's king of the wild goats. I'm always happy to see him. |
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My first remodel. I mentioned in my last posting that I originally penciled things out with wall sconces for the utility and bedroom door lights. Denise and I had even starting looking at lights. I worked out how I would get the wiring through the concrete, blah, blah, only to realize while contemplating storm shutter design when I returned that nothing can go on the walls--that's where the open shutters go--duh!
Now I have a problem. The ceiling is up and its wired but not in the right places for any fast/easy fixes. The first solution was recessed lights with glass panes. I bought three for wet conditions. The existing wiring would work with some effort. While holding them up for possible placement the little people on my shoulder started in. What is this, a Holiday Inn? Back and forth for a week while I did other things. The end result, the lights are going in the ceiling of the closet. I pulled a new cable and the covered porch will now have two small chandeliers (so gay..;~) with a fan in the middle. (the wire sticking out above). My boss in SF agrees. I hid the holes I had to make under the trim divider board that I removed for the job.
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| More termite tracks |
Thor arrived on island for his winter hibernation while waiting for a boat delivery. He gave me a hand, his idea, moving the refrig, dishwasher and stove from the container down to the house. OMG, it almost killed us. It wasn't so much the weight but the ramp and stairs. All I can tell you, stoves are a bear at 150 lbs. We weren't sure we could do it. Things get really dicey on a 4' wide, suspended 32' ramp over a very deep divide, across a small slanted roof and down 17 very steep stairs. All I could see was the frig taking a tumble. God forbid if these appliances don't work after so many years in the container. The property might look like Appalachia! I totally understand how these things end up on front porches. ;~)
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| Who knew termites love Styrofoam. You don't even want to see the refrig! |
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My second remodeling job. This was truly a pain in the ass. That little corner took all those tools. The one problem with building Fort Knox is when you decide to change something. Those steel studs are 14 gauge. In layman's terms, weldable steel. This is not the stuff you see commonly used. My problem, I had to lower the drain pipe and I didn't have the right tools for such tight spaces among a host of other issues. It doesn't take much effort to break a wrist when the torque gets out of control on a power drill. It ended up a two day project all because the basin of the pedestal sink had an appendage that would, or so I thought, make the p-trap drain assemblage to low causing the sink to drain too slowly. Am I certain about it? No. But I did not want to find myself in a situation where I was right but the bathroom was done, the walls were finished and I had a slow drain. Truth be told, I had forgotten how many studs were in the wall, how close they were, all the while thinking it would be a layup. Haha.
Island hopping with my truck!
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| wiring the crown molding |
Moving along I jumped back into the living room after returning from another trip to St Thomas. It's a once a month thing. I brought all the 1x4 stock I needed to finish the crown molding. Previously I had already finished the base and wall attachment. Now I spent the time wiring all the spots. Once completed I then attached all the facing boards. I put up all my trim wet, screwed in place. If I don't, a lot of the treated lumber goes all twisted especially the 1x stock. I don't have the luxury of ample space where I can stack and dry it properly.
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| I let it sit for weeks before I prime it with oil. |
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| think 4th of July for a month |
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| The latest from the "sunken boat" chronicles. |
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Next project, the Juliet balcony. Way back when, while framing the house, I changed a picture window in the kitchen/dining room to a set of French doors. Now at last, the balcony that goes with it. Steel from the scrap pile bolted onto the wall. That gauge will hold thousands of pounds.
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Once again the subfloor gets covered with Strataflex, the water proof/earthquake membrane before tiling. It gives such a nice surface to work on not to mention keeping everything dry until I get around to laying the tile.
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Keeping it clean and simple I just carried the same design, trim etc from the porch. Ultimately the travertine trim will continue all the way down the side of the house. I cut the 16" floor tiles into 4" strips and away I go. The only added expense is the pencil trim that goes on top. Another bonus, I get to use tiles that I wasn't happy with on the floor. Cut in strips I don't see what bugged me. I know, I know TMI....Denise will like it because the house will feel a little different than last time. She arrives next week.
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| Hole? What hole? |
"Recent heavy rains brought down a new section of the already eroding area of Centerline Road near the Upper Carolina subdivision turnoff, above. DPW officials are aware of the problem but don’t expect to move ahead with repairs for at least three months."
In true island style they have been saying this since October 2010. Thank god this is not California otherwise the road would have been closed a long time ago. The tourists don't know any better and we just drive by and smile!
The latest entries to the "smugglers blues" category...
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