I'm Back!

Today was my daughter's first day of camp, which meant it was time to work on her bedroom.  The weather started out rainy and overcast, but by 11am the sun was shining off and on and I took a chance that it wasn't going to pour all over my power tools and I set up for the day.  I went to T_____L____ and bought yet another load of 2x4's and away I went (more on my discovery at the lumber yard in a sec).  Today it finally looks as though there is progress being made.  I managed to do a couple of loads of bulk cuts rather than having to go up and down the stairs after each and every one.  I also stopped screwing everything down between cuts and just dry fitted as far as I could, which sped things up as well. 

Because I'm somewhat making this up as I go along, I haven't really been sure what the final product was going to look like.  Today I think I've got it mostly figured out.  You can now see where the two recessed bookcases are going to be located on the long side and there is a definite space for the proposed built in drawers on the short side.  Before I started I had thought that there would be two smaller bookcases on the long side and that the drawers would come out by the foot end of the long side as well.  However, once I started building, I realized that the drawers were just going to be much too long in that direction and it would make more sense to use that space for more books (since we don't have a television, we read a lot in our house).  The two things I'm still not 100% on are the ladder or steps to get onto the bed and whether or not I want or need to have side rails on this bed.  In regards to the ladder, I don't want it taking up too much room in an already tiny space and I don't want it to cover or hinder access to the shelves.  After looking at today's photo for a bit I think I may build a flush mounted ladder into the only empty space in the whole thing, on the short side of the bed.  It would be small, but take up next to no room and not block anything.  As for side rails, I don't really want them as it will close the space in quite a bit and putting sheets on the bed would then become a royal pain in the behind.  In one of our old places, my daughter had a metal bunk bed with a futon/double bed on the bottom and a single bed on top.  Trying to shove and smooth sheets on the top bunk drove me nuts!  There's always the option of using store bought temporary style bed rails, but they're really ugly, even if they don't require permanent fixings. 

Another point that has been bothering me is the fact that the top edge is quite thick and the bottom is thin.  The balance is effectively backwards and if I leave it this way it will mean that I won't be able to add baseboard around the bottom of the unit and it will become visually top heavy.  I knew that from the start but was loathe to change it because it would mean building up the bottom to at least equal the thickness of the top edge and this would cut into the amount of usable space for the bookshelves, not by all that much, but enough that it may mean the difference between having three useable shelves per side or only having room for two per side.  Today I convinced my self that there was no other option but to build up the bottom because I'll regret it later if I don't.  The unit will have no hope of looking built in if I can't install baseboard and I'll end up hating it, not a good thing after so much work and money going into it. 

Oh, I also have my "other" drill back which has been incredibly helpful.  Previously I was switching between a drill bit (for pilot holes) and the driver bit (to drive in the screws) for every single piece of wood.  I had blisters on my palm from the friction of the keyless chuck.  Now I can use one drill for pilot holes and one for screwing things together.  Heaven!  Many thanks to my Uncle D___ for diagnosing the problem with my "other drill" and getting it sorted for me. (In the photo below you can see where my daughter has tucked in one of her stuffed toys between the joists of the bed...at least someone is getting to sleep on it)

In other news, my grandparents came over last week and spent the day helping me figure out what were flowers and what were weeds in my garden.  Then they helped me pull out an enormous amount of weeds.  In exchange they got lunch and a swim in the pool.  I got the better end of the deal I'm sure!  I've got to take a photo tomorrow of how bare it is now.  Also, since my grandfather spent the whole day using the Fiskars long handled weeder on the lawn, the grass looks like grass again instead of a dandelion farm.  I can't tell you how thankful I am for the help and they may be attempting another round again next week which would be amazing to say the least.

Lastly, the pool has been great since the weather has been so hot and I haven't put the air conditioning on.  However, end of last week it developed a case of algae.  It cost me $60 in algaecide, shock and Alkadjuster to get rid of it.  I even went in with a scuba mask and scrubbed the sides down two days in a row just to be safe.  It was beautifully clear and clean up until today when I realized the darned algea is back.  I dosed it again with algaecide and I'll have to make sure to vacuum to waste tomorrow and completely backwash the filter to try and get rid of everything.  I can't believe that anything could grow in there with the amount of chemical I dumped in it mere days ago.  I think I'm single handedly killing the environment and it's making me feel rather guilty.  Also, since I had that mask on, I found two more small holes in the liner.  One in the same corner as the other, but at the very bottom edge and the other right at the bottom of the deep end.  I'm going to repair them while wearing latex gloves this time as I believe the glue that got on my fingers after the last repair made the skin peel off and look quite gross for weeks after.