Finishing Electrical Lighting and Beginning Finish Work .... Finally

We began this month by finishing all the electrical lighting.  Here in the crawl space we finally have 6 light fixtures and we no longer have to use an extension cord with drop lights.   We still haven't cleaned this area since there is still a little work to be done down here but at least we have light now.  While down here we also hooked up all our outside outlets since they are on the same circuit as the lights.  Because we're doing a lot of our finish   cutting using a power miter saw on the back porch having electrical power available out there helps out quite a bit.

With the crawl space done we turned our attention to the garage and shop. Because we will be running some high amp tools in the shop area we felt a separate fuse panel was in order.  This allows us to draw the current we need without filling the main panel up with extra high amp circuit breakers.  Therefore, all the shop and garage electrical is run through this box.  Lighting and standard wall electrical are 20 amp circuits but we also have a 50 amp 220 circuit for our 80 gallon air compressor and another 50 amp 110 circuit for our plasma cutter and welder.

Since little or no mechanical work will be done in the parking side of the garage we only needed basic lighting.  A set of four dual bulb 4' florescent fixtures serves this area well.

All the lights in the garage and shop are simply plugged in to electrical boxes mounted to the ceiling.  This way the lighting can be changed or moved without much hassle.

We had originally planned on florescent lighting similar to the lighting in the parking side in the shop but decided to change to standard fixtures simply because the lighting is mounted so high in this area that florescent fixtures simply wouldn't provide enough light for this large an area at that distance.  Here in the bay area of the shop we installed a simple set of reflector fixtures using  standard 100 watt bulbs.

Although we're not pushing the limits of lighting technology the reflector light fixtures work well in this bay area.  We also have a set of four of these same fixtures which will be installed in the shop working area when all the finish work in the house is completed and we can get this automotive workshop organized.   Right now all the tools and auto parts are stored where these lights will go so until we can move them out of the shop work area we just can't get up there to install the lights.

With the garage and shop lighting completed we moved on to the bonus room.  This room which has been taken over by the Boss and is now known as the Boss's Office requires plenty of light.  To solve this problem we installed four fixtures.  Two bell shaped fixtures at each end of the room and two ceiling fans with lights in the middle.  Because of the slope of the ceiling in this area we had to choose our ceiling fans very carefully in order to clear the ceiling.  These fans are the smallest we could find and they clear the 40 degree slope by about a quarter inch.

In the storage area above the parking area of the garage we just installed a couple simple fixtures which are operated by a switch near the door.  No rocket science here.

Next on the list is finishing work.  Here is the master bath with all the finish work completed.  Because of it's shape its kind of difficult to get one picture of everything that was done in here.  Overall,  trimming a log home is pretty easy.  Wall corners are simply treated with a single board on each side as can be seen here.

Although all the trim material is provided in the log home package we decided to make our base board from left over tongue and groove.

Where tongue and groove walls and ceilings meet outside log walls we made some simple triangular trim to hide any imperfections.  This method will be used throughout the house.

The final trim piece in the master bath was the installation of this stained glass window.  We have a very good friend who makes stained glass as a hobby and she made this one for us.  During the winter just before the sun sets behind the hills it shines directly through this window and bathes the entire room with colored light.

Here is a view of the eagle from the front porch at night.  Believe me the picture doesn't do this stained glass justice.  Thanks Barb.

With the bathroom trim completed we moved on to the small hallway between the bedroom and the bathroom.   Door trim is pretty simple as well.  It only took about 15 minutes to install the trim on this linen closet door.   Windows aren't difficult either as can be seen below.

Here is a before and after comparison.  Above is the front master bedroom window without trim and below the finished window an hour or so later.

Quite a difference with the trim installed.

The window sills are made by cutting down a 2 x 4 to 3 1/4" width.   Triangular support brackets are then cut and installed to add support.  The rest of the trim is the same 3 1/2" x  3/4" trim boards that will be used in the rest of the house.  All bedroom windows will have cornice boards installed above them to hide the curtain rods later.

While I was working on the trim in the hall and bedroom the "Boss" started the first coat of polyurethane in the master bathroom.  All walls, ceilings, and trim throughout the house will receive two coats before we are done.   We chose water based polyurethane for a couple reasons.  First there is very little odor as it dries which is important since we are living here and, although it will yellow a bit over time, it yellows much slower than the oil based product.  If you're wondering how much polyurethane it will take to do the entire interior of the house.... We have 40 gallons which should do the job.

That's it for this month.  Even with the holidays we did manage to get a fair amount of work done this month.  In January we will be finishing the trim in the laundry and half bath as well as the hallway which leads from the master bedroom to the rest of the house.  We will also be setting up scaffolding in the great room so we can finish the dormer and finish sheeting the fireplace chase.  Once this is completed we will begin the installation of the stone on the fireplace.   Our New Years Resolution:  Complete the house (except for landscaping) by the end of July.  Keep your fingers crossed.

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