The 50th Post

Andy worked on the basement window sills for a bit this week. He added some structural bits so when the sill is put in place, anybody can hop up on it and sit in the window. That's the idea, at least. The sills on this wall will be 18" deep, so if you can fit half a cheek on, you ought to be reasonably comfy.
Chris working late one night. He started on the bathroom vanities, and had a bit of laminating to do with the stock from the local store. The lantern makes a very pleasant light to work by. The workbench is on heavy-duty casters which we love. None of us have worked on a portable workbench before, and really appreciate being able to wheel it around to change an angle or adjust the space to a wall or a walkway. Very convenient. This is something we picked up from craigslist awhile back. Before our self-imposed ban.
If this looks pretty hokey, I think you're right. But it was functional, I can say that much. The electrician laid out four spools around our basement, then gathered the cables together, tied them to the 300' snake that he had run through our underground utility pipes, and then pushed the cables through while his assistant pulled from the other end. They were pretty heavy by the end there, and the actual measurement worked out to 275'. With an inspection and a final connection, we'll have power at the house. The telephone company was out at the same time, and we have phone service now, too. We'll check the local salvation army stores for a decent standard phone - until we have power, we just want a phone that can run off a dial tone.
More work on the bathroom vanities. The blue tool in the foreground and on the left is a Kreg pocket hole jig. If you're not sure what that is, it's worth a look-up, and if you've never built anything using pocket holes, I recommend it highly. They make a strong, square, sturdy joint with no clamping. Great jig, and worth every penny.
This is a start to one of Chris and Karen's sinks. We haven't totally come to consensus on the final design, but the basic framework is here. 2" x 2" legs and rails, with a curved front face that matches the curve of the sink. We'll narrow it down as we go, and the wood will probably end up being painted black. Or white. Seriously. You'd think we'd pick something that could be compromised on, but no... we have to prefer opposites! The faucet and the sink is a go, however, so those won't change. Karen did a nice job of picking those out.

Stuff in a row, waiting for installation. Four toilets and three sinks, with more sinks already near their installation spots and lots of faucets somewhere else... lest you forget, building a house is a big project. Big, I tell you.

Remember that guy from the FirstDay video who says you really have to be determined to build a house? Yeah. He's right.