New projects

So, the rain came.

Of course, that just meant going to inside projects. 

Then, we got some bad news.

About a month ago, the truck started eating coolant.  We took it in to the dealer and paid a couple thousand dollars to get it fixed.

It didn't get fixed.  It turns out that it is probably a blown head gasket. That sucks.

Lots.

The quote to get it fixed ended up being about half the home renovation budget.  I just can't do that. 

So, it looks like I'm going to have to add diesel mechanic to the skills I need.  I'm going to have to do it myself.

The shop manual quotes a trained technician with a fully stocked shop should take around 36 hours of labor.

I'll probably need longer than that.  Not being a trained technician with a fully stocked shop and all.  On the plus side, I have a garage!  And, after some rearranging, the truck even fits inside it.

But, before I disappear into the garage for a few weeks, I wanted to finish a couple of in-the-house projects.

One big one in particular. 

In order to be comfortable in the house, we needed a kitchen sink. We probably needed a cabinet to put it in as well. They are tough to use when they are sitting on the floor. 

So, cabinet maker.  Yeah.

I started out with the base.

Measured to my lovely wife's exacting specifications.

I used my new pocket hole jig from Harbor Freight. Fancy, I know.

 OK, so here it gets a little strange. I decided to use some old, scrap OSB that I had lying around for the sides. I did this for two reasons.  First, I don't really trust my cabinet making skills yet. I don't want to waste any nice wood on my mistakes. Second, I don't have a truck to go get anything else.


OSB it is.

I cut out one side panel, flipped it and marked the other side.

I'm learning the value of wood clamps. I need some better ones though.

Michael joined me for some education and to help.

I screwed on one side panel and built the frame to the panel. 

That might be backward from the normal way. I don't know. I'm not a carpenter.

The bare carcass over the plumbing.

That part took all of a day off. I spent part of the next day off working on the counter top and getting interrupted with things.

Nothing is as easy as the pictures make it look.

Then, this happened.

It's waiting for you Mom!

When this happens, you go out and look.

The sky was so crazy, it was brighter yellow than the house!

Then it was back in the house.

I cut the counter top out of a 3/4 inch plywood piece I had left from doing the sub floor. Unfortunately, I was so focused on the cutting that I forgot to take pictures.

I will say, I had to do it all twice.  Sarah ordered an undermount sink and I didn't leave enough room for the clips that secure the sink to the counter. So, I tossed that piece aside and cut another one.  That was frustrating. But, it was also educational. The second time around, everything worked a little better. But, I was running out of days off.

And something was still missing.

I went to Lowe's last night and bought all the stuff I needed to make the plumbing work.

Then, today, Lowe's came to me.

Sheet rock and 600 cinder blocks.

That will be walls and skirting some day.

Some day.

Again, I was running out of time, so I didn't take many pictures. I didn't finish this project until after 9pm this evening.

The towels were just in case it exploded. It didn't

There was one leak because I cross-threaded one fitting. It fixed easily

I even have most of what I need to hook up the dishwasher. That will be big.

It isn't fancy, but I built every bit of it.  And... it works.

I hope I can say the same about the truck repair.

It's the fanciest thing in the house. Except for the water heater maybe.

Time to change gears and hats.

Have you ever wanted to know how to change a head gasket on a Duramax diesel?

Me neither.  But, we will.