Let There Be Light! (and Walls...and a Door.)

WE HAVE ELECTRICITY PEOPLE! That’s right, there are lights, they turn on, the outlets exist, and there’s even a heater! I had to put in some sort of walls (at least) over where the wires are, in order to pass inspection. So that was last weekend’s project, during which I learned how to use a reciprocating saw! I’m honestly thrilled with all of these new tools I’m learning how to use during this project, because it’s a long-term goal of mine to turn defunct (as in, destined for the dump) pianos into upcycled furniture or art. I can’t do that without more woodworking knowledge than what I already have.

Yeah that’s right. I cut that hole in that wood.

Now that I have heat and electric, I can technically work in the shedshop year ‘round. However, there are a few smaller fixes that I need to complete before it will truly be consistently efficient and comfortable.

The biggest remaining issue is that, because not a single angle in this shed is exactly 90°, the door doesn’t sit flat against the doorframe. You can’t weatherproof a door that doesn’t shut, so after much head-scratching and diagnosis, it was decided that the best solution was to make some tapered framing pieces, so the door would sit flush.

Another job that needed addressing was the shingle situation. I had originally finished the shingling on my own, but I didn’t know what I was doing, and it didn’t turn out super swell. I had too much on my plate, but I was worried about the hardiness of the walls, so I decided to phone a friend! Jonas returned to help finish up the shingles. He told me (kindly, as a friend) that if he had shingled a shed for an employer the way that I had, he would’ve been fired, so I was happy to have him take over.

I was also happy to have Jonas around to give me advice on the tapered framing and other door questions. Although I do have some basic woodworking skills, I still feel super accomplished when I complete a job without breaking anything or wounding myself. But the tapering job turned out really well! This was largely in part because Jonas lent me his circular saw and hand plane. I probably would’ve still completed the tapering job, but it definitely would have been less pretty and less fun.

Pretty planing curls!

IT’S REALLY REAL GUYS

With the door sitting flush against its frame, it was time to get a nice fancy latch for it, so it stays closed without a cinder block in front of it!

Oh yeah, I also had to chop this hole into some of the framing (there’s a lot of superfluous framing around the door, don’t worry), so the inside handle would allow the door to close.

I can’t wait to hunker down and get cozy in there with my tools!

Oh and also here’s Oscar enjoying a stick.