Coming Up Short

This morning I did a two-hour transition consultation at Grand Lake Community Chapel, the little interdenominational congregation at Presque Isle.  They are looking for a new pastor, and I have offered them the benefit of my (so-called) expertise in transition work.  Today we discussed using their web site to present an informative and attractive face to possible candidates, and then we worked on questions they might ask when interviewing.  Blog readers who served on the search committee at St. John's in Grand Haven will find this all-too-familiar.

When I arrived at the house, Dave was working in the downstairs bath, measuring and cutting the last pieces of tile.  This had to wait until Yogi installed the baseboard radiator, which in turn had to wait until the bathroom cabinets had been put in place.  Dave has now cemented in this last row of tile, with grouting to follow shortly.

Dave uses his triangle to be sure his cut lines are true.

After cutting a piece of porcelain tile on the tile saw...

...he mortars in the last row of tiles.

Having been assured they had a planer on hand, Kyle made a trip to Home Depot in Alpena where, of course, they didn't have the equipment.  In fact, despite their official-looking aprons, most of the staff didn't really know what a planer is.  "But you can buy it from Home Depot Online!" an apron-wearer assured him.  One older staff person volunteered that he had just the thing Kyle needed in his workshop at home. "OK," Kyle said, "do you want to sell it?"  "No," said the man.  I suppose he just wanted to be sure that Kyle's frustration was complete.  So Kyle bought a hand planer instead.

Kyle unpacks the new hand planer, which might last through
this job, or it might not.

Kyle sweeps up around the planer (foreground) before
running the boards through it again.

Dave laid down the engineered flooring in the office yesterday, only to discover that he is about three sheets of flooring short.  They will have to pick up more when they go back downstate in another week.  It is really frustrating to come up short on materials.  If your supplier is nearby, you can run to the store and get more.  But when you are in Presque Isle and your supplier is in Muskegon, curing the shortage is more difficult.  I hope the flooring company is more accurate with the carpeting!

The almost-done floor of my office.

Before Yogi left on Wednesday he completed installation of the wood stove.  Alas, there was a roof truss sitting directly over where the stove had to go.  Thus, in the living room the stove pipe takes a little jog to the left, and then upstairs it takes a compensating job to the right before it goes through the roof.  It looks a little odd, I know, but I'll get used to it.  Perhaps I'll make up some romantic story about how it got that way!  This afternoon I bought a stovepipe thermometer so that I can monitor how hot the flue gasses are.  Optimum is 180-480 degrees.  If your flue temperatures are below 180 you're creating creosote; above 480 you are overheating the system which, if unchecked, could result in a fire.

The stove is ready for business!

As I mentioned, I went to Home Depot a couple days ago and bought dimmer switches.  In fact, I bought out all the dimmers they had in stock.  The electrician will install them when he comes next week.  Those little puppies are expensive, and at Home Depot, they are not cheaper by the dozen!

The little slider next to the toggle is what dims the lights.

I've also laid in the towel rods, towel rings, paper holders, and bathrobe hooks needed for the three baths. This is one of those situations in which, in terms of design, you get what you pay for.  Inexpensive equipment looks really cheap, while better looking wares carry a higher price tag.  Ka-ching!

A crisp, cold sky in February.

Finally, I rather like having a skylight in the stairwell.  It provides interesting views! •••