It’s Sunday at Emerald Hill. The start of daylight savings. We could have used that hour to unpack …

Jacquela and Steven rolled down the hill to Lowe’s for parts Steven needs to hook up the dryer vent. We went back to Sea Eagle to sweep up, make piles of garbage to take to the curb, and to donate more items to Goodwill.

Later, much later, with Steven stringing network wire in the electrical closet, our first dinner guests arrived — Jadin’s friend Kara and her mom, Michelle. Jacquela used her brand new oven for the first time — chicken, mac and cheese. Happy.

Late that evening, Steven installed the dryer vent. After huge struggle.

Ranserve installed the Dryerbox 350. Designed to fit into the stud bay between two 2x4s. With an oblong exhaust stack.

Let’s talk about that oblong stack. Can’t get a flexible duct to fit over it. Or inside it. Steven attempted a 4-inch round elbow transition duct. He followed the instructions in the online video to slice two relief cuts into the stack. No joy. He flatted a second insert into an oblong — one inner at each end and got that to fit into the stack. With Jacquela’s help, they taped together the ducts, wormed the flexible duct over the lower inner end of the transition duct, clamped it.

This whole operation took four hours, three trips to Lowe’s for parts, sliced the skin on Steven’s right thumb. The company does not make an adapter for the oblong stack. Their failure.

Observation: Do not buy the Drybox 350. Even if you have to double the wall, go with the units that feature round ducting.

With that success, Jacquela helped Steven maneuver the dryer into positon, raise it onto the anti-vibration rubber pads, and walked away.