Windows Four, Five & Six

We are window ninjas.  Okay, well maybe we aren't - but at a minimum John is a circular saw ninja - but we ARE getting really good at this whole window installation gig!

Here's the review of our day today.

I've gotten very comfortable with the vertical plunge cuts for the sides of the window openings, but the horizontal ones are still challenging for me.  I can do the bottom one, but it's really awkward - partly saw weight, and partly well - it's just a awkward cut.  I did it on the earlier windows, but now that we are timing ourselves on window installation, John has generously taken over the bottom horizontal cut.  Here he is cutting the bottom of the opening for window #4. 

When the opening was done, we dry fitted the window and found we needed to open it up a bit more on the bottom.  John is doing that here - an even trickier cut, since only half of the saw shoe has a place to rest:

 

To challenge ourselves, we timed all each window installations today.  

Window #4: 1 hour, 50 minutes

Looking so awesome!!

After this window we had to do a Home Depot dash - we didn't have enough screws for the next window, and we could tell we would need more flashing and caulk.  We laughed after we got in the truck and looked at each other - we had matching bibs on.  We got a LOT of looks in Home Depot!  John wished for a goat on a rope to walk with us, and we joked about going to lawn & garden for wheelbarrow races.  I mean - people were STARING.  I guess bibs aren't as common as I thought they were... lol  As per normal I laughed my way through Home Depot - I love that place....  And in the truck on the way back to the house, I reflected on how HAPPY I am spending my day building.  If I could do this all day every day...  I would be giddy.

On the way back we drove past a house with this Halloween decor in the yard:

I LOVE Halloween.  I used to go all out with decorations in my yard at my Patricia house.  But for some reason, these girls are soooo creepy!  I don't know what it is.  We think it must be based on a movie, but we can't figure out what movie.  I keep saying Children of the Corn, but I don't have a good reason for that.  The photo doesn't really do them justice... but just trust me: creepy.

And then we took our lunch break.  John introduced me to a new addictive food - saltines that are coated in Ranch dressing mix and red pepper flakes.  OMG!  You mix Canola oil, the dressing powder and pepper flakes up, and pour it over saltine crackers in a Ziploc and shake.  I am definitely making them for the Halloween camping trip!  I'm not sure how I've never heard of them... but I ate far too many of them... that I know.  (And then he sent the leftovers home with me!  Dangerous.)

On to window number 5!  One technique improvement we did for today is buy an 8" long drill bit so that when we drill a hole in each corner we can get all the way into the corner without the body of the drill getting in the way and forcing an angled hole.  It's making our cut lines more accurate.  We also learned that it's helpful to cut away some of the bulky flashing in the corners - the saw blade binds up in it - and we are re-flashing anyway.  It's fun to see what messages we reveal as we cut it away - it's like opening fortune cookies.  It reminds me how every surface of my house got covered with love and good intentions at MAGIC Camp:

Again we dry fitted and needed to do a little clean up.  The saw ninja returned:

Here's a technique John came up with for getting nice square corners with the flashing.  He uses a wood block to crease it into the corners:

When it's time for screwing the window into place, I'm doing the screwing and John hands me the screws - there are about 35-40 screws per window.  Uff da!  Here's his technique for that - I've been making up names that are take offs of Edward Scissorhands...

And - completion!

Window #5:  1 hour, 44 minutes

We can't figure out how we only shaved 6 minutes off our time - a disappointment. (We may be taking too much time to admire our work.. lol)  Onward!

Window #6 - fewer photos are being taken now, because it's all repetitive work, window to window.  Plus, we're timing ourselves - no time for photos!

Window #6: 1 hour, 12 minutes

Our best time yet!

We really wanted to get one more in today, but our trip to Home Depot cut us short on time.  : (

Here's the house now - end of day:

I can't even stand it - so cute!

And the interior view:

It's looking really fantastic inside!  It really was just the perfect day.  I had a smile plastered across my face all day long.

I'm thinking I might have to sleep in the house tomorrow night... I'll see how my day goes... it's tempting... My dog, a sleeping bag, some wine... sounds pretty spectacular to me...

Tonight I MUST get on my yoga mat to stretch out the kinks - and try to ignore those saltines in the Ziploc that are taunting me from the kitchen... I can't believe he sent those home with me...