2/2/19:
Building Summary: Today I did exactly what I said I was going to do at the end of yesterday’s post. I finished stubbing up the cold water CPVC line, and then I measured, cut, and stubbed up most of the hot water CPVC line. Also, I’ve started to look into a mini-gutter for the front of Jacobhouse; that way, rain water will not be able to get between the top of the door and its frame.
Commentary: Sometimes, when building, I see a glimmer of what is ‘going to be‘. That happened today after I finished assembling all the stub ups for the various appliances and sinks in Jacobhouse. Needless to say, that is my highlight for today: a gratifying display of progress so far, and a distant distant light at the end of the tunnel.
I do have another thought to write about, though. It takes into consideration my entire interest in construction. One could say my curiosity began when I was young and playing with LEGOs, but it truly came into being when I started to delving into real-world construction about two and half years ago. At the time, I was looking into becoming an electrician.
Though I haven’t exactly continued down that route, I have since learned a phenomenal amount about what goes into a home. It’s a realm of learning that, until those two years ago, I hadn’t even considered. All I knew was that water came out of the faucet when I lifted the lever or turned the knob, air conditioning was simply a vent hole in the wall that blew cold air when I turned it on *, and walls, floor, and ceiling were nothing but flat planes that separated me from the outside world.
Jacobhouse has taught me to appreciate every single bit of it. Not only has the act of construction granted me insight into what exactly a house is made of and how it all works, it has showed me the effort that must go into every single facet: doors, windows, walls, floor, plumbing, wiring, and etc. Everything that I have ever used has a ‘backdrop’ of effort placed behind it – nigh countless simple pieces put together through the same number of equally simple actions that add up to something surprisingly and sometimes bewilderingly complex.
* Funny story: I thought I knew how A/C worked a couple years ago. It wasn’t until I worked a few days with Advanced Electric of Ocala to install one such unit that I discovered the air ducts were a closed system and that the fan outside was for condensing the coolant back into a liquid state. I used to think that somehow the fan was used for blowing air in from outside and that the ‘inside-machine’ did all the cooling.