6/4/19:
(Above: The two strips of flashing I fastened to Wall #6.)
Building Summary: This morning started off with my bringing yesterday’s supplies to Jacobhouse. Then, after driving the van back to oldhouse and returning to the worksite via Segway, I set about adding flashing to the exterior side of Wall #6. I succeeded in applying the first two 10″ strips along either side*.
Next, after riding through and checking the beefers with Padre, I began to prepare the kitchen light’s junction box for fastening. I had it attached to the ceiling by the time Padre arrived**, and we commenced to wire in the kitchen light and fasten it to the braces I installed yesterday.
Commentary: Today I learned why high-gauge aluminum sheeting is called flashing. As I was putting up the second roll, the sun began to poke up above the tree line and reflected right into my face. It was a brilliant, searing ‘flash’, which I could fortunately ignore by not looking directly at it. This was not the case in regard to temperature. Apparently the sheeting is just as effective at reflecting heat as it is light, for even though the sun was not shining directly on me, I was soon experiencing a fair share of toastiness. To add to the sheet-metal shenanigans, was the unrolling process. I did not know that they were wound up like springs, so it was quite a surprise when I undid the tape on the first roll and it sprang out of my hands to land a good four or five feet away.
As for the kitchen light, it was an easy installation made easier by the presence of Padre and by both of our recently gleaned wiring experience. We mounted the junction box, measured/ran the conduit, and joined the wires all in about half an hour or less. That, I believe, has been one of the main benefits of building my own house: the knowledge of how almost everything (specifically electrical wiring) is put together and the confidence to act upon that knowledge***. And in regard to the kitchen light itself, if the number of LEDs I observed upon the internal strips has any say in the matter, Jacobhouse’s kitchen will be radiant when the electricity is hooked up.
Final Note: Tomorrow I will be adding more flashing along the top of Wall #6’s exterior, and I also intend to install the DSL jack within my future office.
*Should be noted that I also caulked the crack on the left (south) side because I didn’t think that spray foam would be able to fully fill the gap. It was an extremely narrow crevice where even the extension straw would not be able to fit.
**We ended up having to take the box back down to fit the conduit in snugly, but it was still beneficial that the holes were pre-drilled.
*** Which is partially inspired by the fact that I now know virtually every minor construction mistake is able to be remedied.