The third wall.

1/10/19:

Summary: Today I squared up where the kitchen counter base meets with the refrigerator space. After that, I began the process of framing the wall between the refrigerator space and the bathroom.

Full description: Today I started off my day in a frigid Jacobhouse, but I turned on the heater, and it soon got nice and warm in there. As for work, I knew from yesterday that I needed to square up where the kitchen counter base meets with the refrigerator space, so that was the initial task. I measured the length of the 2×8 attaching the front of the fridge space to the front of the counter space. It was 6″ exactly. As for height, there was a 2×4 already in place at the base of the short-length 2×8, so I knew a 2×6 would be a perfect fit.

I took a 20″ piece of 2×6 remaining from a past task, cut it to 6″, and then cut a couple thin pieces of the same left-over board as shims. I’m glad I did this, because if I hadn’t, the 2×6 would have rested about ¼”  below the 2×8 connector piece. I also used a couple little shims to space the 2×6 out from the 2×8 and thus make it square.

Following this, I began planning on the third wall – the bit that will end up being between the refrigerator and the bathroom. There is going to be a drain vent between the toilet and kitchen area, so I decided to go with the idea that Padre helped me think of the other day: make the wall ~ 6-8″ thick and create a cabinet space both to square everything up and to provide an easily accessible area where I can change out that vent or access the sewage line if need be.

Keeping this in mind, I had to resituate and square up the board that was keeping the sewer line in place – a simple task on account of wood screws being the fasteners used. This was ensued by my determining what boards I would need to complete the frame. The top 2×4 was to be 33.5 inches long (something that would extend from the back of the wooden kitchen area base all the way to the front and stick out the 1 ½” distance of a flat 2×4), the front vertical 2×4 was to be kept at its full length as was the back vertical 2×4, and there would also need to be blocking placed on the rail floor to get the top 2×4 flush against the ceiling. I used a pencil to draw all this up on the remaining leftover piece of 2×6. I did this while sitting on a low bit of frame – basically squatting – and it made me feel like a caveman etching something on a slab of stone.

After this, I fetched all the required boards, went and helped move a couple cows with Padre and Wag, and then returned and cut the boards I had retrieved. It was cold out, but not too bad in the sun, and it was a bonus when I went into Jacobhouse to retrieve the drillgun and screws that it was downright toasty in there. I went back outside, and after having my morningly Diet Coke and segway-drive-around-the-beefcows, I put together the boards I had cut, adding a center board for further stability. I brought the assembled frame and blocking pieces into Jacobhouse then, placed the latter into the correct positions, and then erected the wall frame.*

*I did not yet fasten the wall in place, because it looked like the right side’s vertical 2×4 is a tad warped. I’ll have to fasten that board’s base first tomorrow, then the other, and then push the top over until the first board is no longer warped. I also may cut another 2×4 and fasten it widthwise and vertically to the left of the leftmost 2×4 to cover the gap between the frame and the wall.