Crawl space project/vacation day 2

Day two was great. I started out by wishing Katie a fun day at work (ha ha) and then taking Amanda to day care. It was still cold outside, I didn't want to get to work just yet. I decided to spend some time watching morning news programs such as the Today Show. I'm so out of touch with current events. After that, I took a walk to 7-Eleven for a 32 oz soft drink to kick start my day. I talked to a buddy on the phone and then called my cousin to make plans to meet up for lunch. By this time, it was already 9:45; time was flying by and I hadn't really accomplished anything yet - what's a guy to do?!

Once I had my day set, I headed up into the attic and poked around a bit. Our bathroom ceiling exhaust fan really does not do a very good job at keeping the humidity level down so it warranted a little investigation. In the end, all I did was determine the make/model/capacity (cubic feet per minute), clean the intake grill and shake out the exhaust hose that is in the attic. It seems to be running smoother now. We'll see as the week continues.

Once I was done in the attic, I headed into my dungeon better known as the crawl space. I was in the middle of indecision. You see, there is only one piece of conduit that enters the space that provides all the power. It's in a particular spot that won't be accessible once I put in the insulation and drywall. Why is this a big deal? Well, should something go wrong or I need to change out the wiring, it won't be accessible and I'll need to tear out the drywall to get at it. That's no good; why not make it accessible before going forward? I hate it how some companies or individuals put more emphasis on ease of installation over ease of maintenance. I digress.

Now that I have my direction on that particular topic, I could move on. I installed more insulation on the ceiling and walls where I could and also used Great Stuff to seal up some openings around the seal where the crawl meets the house/foundation. That will keep out any small animals or rodents in the future.

By this time, It was lunch and I headed out to meet Brian at Palmer Place for a nice burger; hadn't had one of those in a long time. Even though I just saw him on Saturday, it was nice to actually meet someone for lunch instead of just eating a sandwich in your own kitchen. We had a nice, long lunch and I got up to speed on his current schooling efforts so he can get into Chiropractor school. I wish him all the best with his studies and hope I don't need his services any time soon.

Lunch lasted 90 minutes. I hit up 7-Eleven again for a refill on my way home. I relaxed a bit before getting back to work. I only had about two hours to accomplish anything before I would have to head out to pick up Amanda from daycare. I measured up some drywall and placed one full sheet on a side wall which is no small task when the sheet is exactly the dimensions of the space you are working within. I got that into place and devised just how I am going to drywall the ceiling of this space. That's not easy to do alone.

Each sheet of 4'x8'x1/2" drywall weighs 55 pounds and is very difficult to maneuver inside the crawl. I determined that the smartest thing to do was to cut the 4'x8' sheets into two pieces of 2'x8' sections and then cut them to the 7'2" that is required by the dimensions of the ceiling. That's less than 25 pounds and I can manage that with much less effort. In order to get the piece up and on the ceiling, I am going to attach a small ledge on one side for it to rest on while I attach it on the other side. I think I just might fashion an inclined plane like the Egyptians to get this crap on the ceiling. I don't know, but it's worth a shot. More to come.