Shane and Peter continue to carpenter through Emerald Hill — pulling lumber from the rack in the family room, cutting it to length and dimension, nailing it into place, trailing blue pneumatic hoses across the floors.
Above, Shane steps away from the chopsaw and lumber rack in the family room after cutting a board to length.
The carpentry leaves behind piles of sawdust and remnants of shims.All the cutoffs and detritus wind up in this one trash bucket next to the chop saw. Every day, Shane and Peter sweep and shovel up the cuttings and sawdust, bringing the trash can closer to full., cleaning up as they work.At the side window in the office, Shane shows Steven the window trim — the stool and skirt, cut straight at the turn in the drywall, with no “ears” to wrap around the drywall. Simpler, easier, faster — and more modern that something that requires at least three cuts and scribing. The key in all this is to ensure that the handle to crank open the window is not obstructed and that the lumber doesn’t crack a knuckle as your hand turns the crank. This approach succeeds — almost like we planned it.Upstairs in the utility room, Shane and Peter have installed the attic ladder — and trimmed it around with the same lumber that will be used for casing around the doors. Their attention to detail ensures a consistent look and feel throughout the house. The pole in Shane’s right hand will be used to pull down the ladder if the pull cord in Shane’s left hand frays apart — belts and suspenders.Shane shows the attic stair open and extended. Steven took his first climb. The aluminum is lighter and easier to work with than a heavy wooden attic stair. The unit is also lightly insulated, to help seal off the attic when the ladder is closed against the ceiling.
