Tonight I permanently installed the desk side walls and drawers, pre-fit the desk surface, installed the soffet framing over the desk, and installed the outlets and switches at the desk.
There is a switch at the front to control the desk lamp, and an unswitched outlet and network port at the back.
Next up is the laminate for the desk surface, the skin for the desk soffet, and the soffet above the window.
Today I began the installation of the two side walls for the desk. They’re set in place now, and just waiting to be attached permanently. I also attached the beadboard paneling that will line the wall at the back of the desk.
The left side wall is pre-wired for an outlet and switched desk light. The blue tubing will be fed up into the attic, and will allow me to feed network cabling up to the desk from the switch in the basement.
The next step after permanently attaching the side walls and drawers will be to install the desktop and shelves. After that, the only thing remaining will be the soffits above the desk and bench and the crown moulding for the whole room.
Today after working in the yard all day I still had a few muscles that weren’t sore, so I installed the bookshelf for Kyle’s builtin.
Next up are the two side walls for the desk. One butts up against the left end of the bench, and the other is against the left wall of the room.
Katra and I realized we were in danger of actually finishing a few of the projects we’re working on, so we decided to add a new project. A BIG new project. For several years now, we have been talking about installing a play center (swings, slides, etc.) for Kyle and Ian in the back yard. With this year’s tax refund, we decided to pull the trigger. Costco has a new set this year made by Rainbow that fit the bill, so yesterday we rented a truck from Lowe’s and hauled home the 7 boxes (4 of which weigh 200-300 pounds each) and installed them in the half of our garage that wasn’t already occupied by miscellaneous detritus from other projects.
More screws than the crew of This Old House has installed over their entire careers
Ship's wheel, telescope, swings, etc.
The play center will be installed in a mulched area of our back yard, so we also bought some concrete blocks to do edging around the mulch.
Today we plotted out the play center area in the back yard, brought in 600 pounds of topsoil to level the area the play center will be sitting on, and dug a small trench around the play area to install the blocks in. I plotted out the play area in the computer, then we transferred the measurements out to the yard. We’re still trying to figure out to do with the sod we dug out of the trenches (anyone need some 4″ wide strips of sod?)
Incidentally, you can also see our redbud and cherry plum trees behind the play area, which are currently in glorious full bloom.