Winding down...

Well, although it has been unseasonably warm this week (70 deg or higher), it was cold and damp last weekend. I did manage to work on the drywall for both bathrooms. Just dealing with drywall is a pain in the rump. It's very awkward, heavy and fragile. Before I could even begin hanging the drywall, I had to add furring strips to both bathrooms to get the room width to exactly 60 inches to perfectly fit the tub / shower.  Here are some photos of the progress in the main bathroom.

Looking in from the family room to the main bath.

Plumbing wall stubbed-through

Main bath - drywall done

The season is rapidly coming to a close. I think my next trip up to the island won't be until Nov 9th. Probably will wrap-up that weekend for the season.

Fun "Fall" weekend

Al and Lori joined Bonnie and I for the weekend up on Kelleys. We had some big fun giving Lori the tour of the island and hitting all of the local spots. Saturday night, we watched the Buckeyes game from the Caddyshack, ate some world-famous "grilled wings" and enjoyed one of the last outdoor party evenings of the season.

Me and Uncle Al

We made our way home on Sunday and managed to bring a load of wood from our cottage. Here is Lil' Neil trying to help unload...

Other notable things for this week... The Ohio University Bobcats (7-0) appear in the AP ranking for the first time since 1968! The Cleveland Browns got their first win of the 2012 season and Jimmy Haslam has officially taken over as new owner.

Waiting for the weekend

Looking forward to spending the weekend (at the Cedar Cottage) on Kelleys with Bonnie, Al and Lori. The plan is not to really do any work on the new cottage but just have fun, fall style. I'm attending a week long training class in Pittsburgh and will be driving home Friday, late afternoon and then directly up to Kelleys. Going to the Buckeye Bar to watch the Ohio State game on Saturday, etc.

The tub shower adventure

Good weekend, great work weather and fun times. Started off with picking up TWO one-piece tub/showers at Menards on Friday night. The goal was to fit both onto the back of my truck, strap them down and make it to the ferry without any damage. The trick is that these tub/showers are: made from fiberglass & clearcoat, super tall, and relatively fragile. I was worried about wind and road movement on I-90 (for the 30 minute drive to the ferry) so I drove 50 mph in the slow lane... big fun...

Tub/showers loaded-up 

After arriving late to the cottage and precariously unloading from the truck, the install begins. (FYI - they seriously build these to just barely fit into doorways, etc.) I had to remove some framing studs to make room to wrestle the tub/shower(s) into place. Then level, add new framing and secure the outer flange with screws. Repeat again, back-to-back.

Main bathroom tub/shower

Early Saturday afternoon, my friend Brad arrived on the island ready to work. The goal was to clean-up and prevent the perpetual mud pile that collects directly in front of the crawlspace access door. We wanted to build a small retaining wall on either side of the door that would keep the adjacent grade in place and look somewhat decorative. Brad dug out the area and back-filled with gravel. The finished product is in the photo below, very nice.

 Crawlspace entry access

Progress on the water tank continued as I wanted to be completely finished with the inside so we could fill-it with some water (~1/3 full) to add needed weight in preparation for the winter season. I attached a 3/4" inch foot valve to the outlet pipe and sealed the entry hole with hydraulic cement. As always, filling the tank with water presented a new set of challenges! It turns out that the tank is so high that the water truck does not have enough height above the tank for the water to flow/fill properly. We will get enough water in there to close for the season, but a new solution is definitely needed for future water filling operations. I'm considering using a special pump or building an earth ramp for the truck. I'll need to figure something out by next Spring...

Attempting to fill the water tank

I installed the main water line shut-off valve in the crawlspace and set the well pump in place temporarily until we can wire and plumb.

Well pump

Since the plumbing drain inspection passed, I needed to do some clean-up/re-work of the washer outlet box. The "before" photo is not included and was a total mess. Below you'll find the "after" photo complete with the first 1/2" PEX crimp connection in the cottage. Plumb on!

Washer outlet box

Well, that's it for now. Going back up the weekend of Oct 12th -14th with the ladies. So no serious work planned until the weekend of Oct 19th-21st.