I installed plywood sheathing over the exposed stairway framing after running a pair of new outlets to each side on a new circuit. To the wall, I attached a workbench top; it was from a section of the bunk beds I made for the boys when they were small . The temporary leg shown in the middle will be replaced by a nice pair of adjustable steel legs which should arrive next week. I repeated the process on the other side of the stairway where I have provisionally set up my miter saw.
After a year without a proper shop, I was thrilled to begin organizing my tools in the Road House basement this morning. Over the course of the coming week, I plan to add plywood sheathing over the exposed 2×4 stair framing, add several electrical outlets, build shelving under the stairs, and install a workbench to create a modest shop. For the record, I do not have a DeWalt tool fetish. Once you commit to a battery platform, however, it means you are pretty much tied to the brand. I have twenty or so battery-powered tools of which I used more than a dozen over the past week.
Maya and Kyle joined us at the Road House to watch Nicolai and team USA compete against the Costa Rican National Amputee Soccer Team in the finals of a tournament being held in San José. The match was scoreless after regulation time and went straight to penalty kicks. With one PK remaining and the score tied 3-3, Costa Rica had a chance to win the game with their final shot but could not find the back of the net. The game went to sudden death penalty kicks. Nico was up first and scored for the second time, Costa Rica responded in kind. The US scored the next PK and won the match 5-4 when Costa Rica missed the subsequent shot. Even though the broadcast we were watching was in Spanish and the resolution and frame rate was ere extremely low, we could still feel the excitement as the match was decided. I am hoping to update this post with more details and a higher resolution photo when Nico returns.
Jeanine and I spent the bulk of the day at Kyle’s new house. We completed several projects working as a team. First, we added handles to all the kitchen cabinets and drawers; I marked hole locations, Kyle drilled the holes, and Jeanine screwed in the handles. Next, Kyle and I replaced the gas range with an all-electric induction cooktop and convection oven. This necessitated running a new 50 amp circuit to the kitchen and allowed us to remove the natural gas meter and all the gas lines from the house (in anticipation of a new heat pump HVAC system). Finally, we framed a missing section of an interior 2×4 wall that will eventually define one of the new rooms in the renovated basement.
Meanwhile, Maya sent us this week’s whiteboard challenge from her college dorm. “Draw a penguin from memory.”
Ten years ago, I volunteered as a mentor in the Gordon Engineering Leadership Program at MIT. I am pictured here with Nora, my mentee, whose birthday is today. She has gone on to a very successful career first at Microsoft and now with Meta (Facebook) as a Lead Product Manager. She lives in Seattle with her husband Simon and their two adorable children who I am looking forward to meeting one day.
A few weeks ago, we learned that the Concord town bylaws governing historic preservation were changed to include homes older than 50 years rather than those built before 1942 as was the case when we embarked on our plans for a new home. When I filed an application for demolition approval, our home was deemed historically significant by the Concord Historical Preservation Commission by virtue of its architect, Carl Koch, and it being part of the Conantum neighborhood. The commission has the power to delay the demolition of homes they deem “preferably preserved” for up to one year. Last night, at the commission’s monthly meeting our case was heard. I presented arguments for not finding the home “preferably preserved,” one slide in the deck is shown above. I was very nervous because I have little to no expertise in this field. Thankfully, several of our new neighbors chose to attend the virtual meeting and spoke very eloquently in support of our application. A more generous welcome gift to the community we cannot imagine. I believe they helped sway the decision in our favor and we are so grateful for their participation. Barring any unexpected hurdles, we are now set to begin our project in early spring.
In the past, when we have moved into a new house, we invariably generate a long list of changes we would like to make to the interior. The usual suspects include curtains, lighting fixtures, paint colors, handle hardware, plumbing fixtures, towel racks, and the list goes on. In the case of our most recent acquisition, we have only felt the need to replace one item, the light fixture over the dining room table. The new fixture relates perfectly to the pendant lights over our kitchen island. The old fixture, shown below is now for sale on Craig’s List.
Owning an electric vehicle only benefits the environment when the electricity used to charge it comes from renewable sources. Each year, the Concord Municipal Light Plant works to decrease the percentage of energy it generates from fossil fuels each year. Pictured above is a large solar array, adjacent to Walden Pond which is helping the effort.
I decided to create a digital CAD model of the Road House today. I started with the floor plans provided by the realtor. In so doing, I discovered that the size of the garage was completely misrepresented. Thankfully, it is much larger than shown. Having a CAD model is very handy for planning furniture placement. I spent the balance of the day working through a punch list of projects for the house. Hanging towel hooks, oiling squeaky door hinges, adjusting door latches, installing a makeup mirror, and a whole slew of similar tasks.
In our final game of the fall soccer season, my team took care of business winning 4-2 to secure a perfect 10-0 record. Next week we will advance to the playoff semi-finals where we will face a very strong opponent. When I returned home, the priority was to move everything being stored in the garage to their final destination inside the house. We hired a local teenager who did most of the carrying up and down stairs. I shuttled boxes into the kitchen where Jeanine decided what went where. We cleared the entire garage in three hours and our cars now have a place to call home.
Fundraising is one of the most important responsibilities Jeanine has as the Executive Director of Open Table. Earlier this week she accepted a generous donation from the Nashawtuc Country Club. The money was raise during their annual Turkey Shoot golf tournament.
The top priority when we moved into the Road House was to get internet access and wi-fi. In this day and age, trying to get anything done without this service is next to impossible. The second priority was to get a Level 2 charging station setup in the garage for my car. This required adding a new 50 amp breaker to our electrical service panel and running 6 gauge wire out to the garage. Code requires the outside wiring to be inside steel conduit. The entire project took about four hours to complete and I am very pleased with the outcome.
When I saw this Halloween “sculpture” on the lawn of our public library this afternoon, I was immediately reminded of two of my favorite things.
While traveling to North Billerica for my Covid booster and annual flu shot, I spotted a small pocket of remaining fall color on the Concord River. So far, my reaction to the booster has been much milder than my second dose of the vaccine. I spent the remainder of the day beginning to install a Level 2 charging station for my e-Tron and hope to finish up tomorrow.