The Hunchback of Buchanan

I am sitting at the computer all bent over like an old woman.  Well, an older woman than I currently am.  I have not had the energy at the end of my working day to do any writing.  So I will quickly jot down what I am doing and go get myself supine so I can straighten my back.

Lee has been installing the baseboards.  We need them in before the toilets can be installed as it would not be fun to try to put them behind the loo.  And then try to paint them.  So we are installing baseboards.

   

Can you see the black marks on the concrete?  Lee marked it so that he would know where the studs were before he covered up the bottom of the walls.  Nailing into nothing does not attach the baseboards to the wall!

My share of that job is to use a nail set to push in the few nails that didn't get set below the surface of the wood.  I have to then fill all the pukas (that is Hawaiian for a hole) from the power nailer, because it makes a little indent when the nail are properly nailed into the wood.  And all those wee little holes have to be filled and then sanded.  And all the corners have to be filled and sanded.  Some of the nails don't go in all the way because they hit a nail from the framing or something else behind the wall we can't see.  These have to be cut off and then pounded in and filled.

I have a technique for filling holes.  When you fill the little holes you need a small amount of spackle on the putty knife.  When you fill cracks in the inside corners you need a big glob of spackle on your finger. You need to keep the lid on the spackle container to keep it from drying out.

   

So I put a glob on my index finger.  I take a small bit for the nail pukas and then scoop up a larger bit for the corners.  I keep a wet rag to wipe any extra bits of spackle. 

   

I use Lee's rolling stool for working on cars.  That way I can scoot around the floor and it has places for all the tools I need to take with me.  Pretty cool.  On the other hand that means I am bent over for HOURS.  When I do stand up my first few steps are all bent over and full of groans.  What a wuss.

   

I now have half the basement filled, sanded and painted.  And I am taking the rest of the day off.  Wait.  It's 5.  I guess I am not taking any time off, but I am quitting until tomorrow.