8/19/19
(Above: This is the stencil I made to easily discover / cut the angle I desired in the frontal support for the sub counter.)
Building Summary: Today I started off by installing ¾” plywood backing into the shelves below the front window*, and then I went about designing and implementing the frame on which the my kitchen sub-counter will sit. The first board laying over the top (toward the back) I had to move forward to account for the current and future air-conditioner cords. The second (central) support 2×4 was close to the middle. The third was the most complex and required a stencil to cut**. It ended up fitting quite nicely, and after it was all in place, I tested out the sturdiness by sitting on the frame***. To finish off the morning, I neatened up the large mess of tools / debris that had accumulated during the counter frame’s construction.
(Afternoon Update): Collected measurements and began planning the concrete counter forms. Also, I dry-fitted 4″ PVC caps on the old portable AC unit stub-ups to prevent additional rodent entry.
TIL: Today Padre showed me that I did not have to make holes in the kitchen counter’s concrete for the sink faucet / soap dispenser. There are a couple inches behind those holes that are more than enough to support the sink – even when it is at maximum capacity. This will make framing and pouring much easier.
Commentary: Today is the start date for College of Central Florida’s online classes, and hence, the beginning of my return to the formal education system. A few days ago I dropped one of the courses (without penalty) I was going to take due to my schedule being quite hectic as of late, and yesterday, after a series of rather miserable events****, I was strongly considering dropping the second. Fortunately, I came to my senses before doing so. I realized that one mere college course would not break the schedule, and more, that very same college course was the first step I needed to take in order to provide myself with an easier route – a escape-hatch of sorts – away from future recurrences of the aforementioned miserable events.
Saying all this, today was a much better day than the last, and progressive, too. All the counter support frames are complete, so soon I get to enjoy the novel process of forming and pouring a concrete kitchen counter. I look forward to seeing how it all plays out over the next few days.
Final Note: Tomorrow I will begin building the forms for the concrete kitchen counter – a process that will include much measuring, cutting, wrapping boards in plastic wrap (for future non-stick purposes), and fastening.
*The top board was the most complex of this task, for it required my pulling the electrical wires down and using a hole-drill bit to deepen the two crevices into which those wires were then inserted. Before putting screws in through the plywood I reached up behind the shelf to ensure that the wires were properly situated.
**I’m certain there are some who could use a carpenter’s square to perform this task, but for me, the stencil really helps out with angle-cuts.
*** Refreshing, because it was right in front of the window air-conditioner (which, by the way, performed tremendously today despite the hot weather).
**** Part of which included slogging home through torrential rain while a profanity-producing Padre was pulling his Segway through a hundred-foot quagmire; all this after a futile search to reunite a mother bovine with her not-actually-lost offspring.