Kitchen Ceiling, Lighting, and Second Floor Walls
This week started off with the installation of the kitchen track lighting. Because we wanted unobtrusive lighting
in the kitchen rather than large fluorescent fixtures we chose track lighting for the working areas. This will be
supplemented with a spot light directly over the sink and a central ceiling fan with an integrated light fixture.
With all that lighting at least we know the kitchen won't be dark. In this picture you can see a channel that has
been routed in the top of the ceiling beams to accommodate the track lighting. The 2 x 4 was used as a router
guide to make sure the channels in each beam would line up.
Once the channels were complete the track lighting was assembled and set in place. Because this is a custom
installation we wanted to make absolutely sure everything fit correctly before installing the tongue and groove
ceiling boards. Grooves were routed in the top of the beam at the end of the track to accommodate the wiring
and because we had to cut one of the tracks (and the instructions said not to) we decided to hook up the
completed assembly and make sure it worked.
This was the acid test. Energize the track and install a fixture at the far end. If it lights you're good to go. I
don't condone cutting track lighting but for this custom installation it was necessary. We were careful to study
how the track was made and determined that it could be cut with an air powered cut off wheel safely. This is
NOT a job for a hack saw.

There are two different sets of track lighting in this kitchen. One "L" shaped track that will light the counter
tops and one set that will light the island. Each will be on a separate switch as will the spot over the sink and the
ceiling fan. Later we will add under cabinet lighting as an accent.
In order to install the ceiling fan centered in the room (I'm a stickler for symmetry) we added a cross beam
between two of the main ceiling beams. A channel was routed for the wiring and a hole drilled through the cross
beam to get the wiring to the fixture. This cross beam is held in place with 4 small diameter lag bolts driven in
at an angle from the top.
Once all the electric lines and track lighting had been installed the tongue and groove ceiling boards could be
nailed in place. This is somewhat of a tedious process and of course must be done one board at a time. Care
must be taken to make sure all the grooves line up or your ceiling just won't look right.
Once the T&G was installed the OSB was laid down and the sub floor is complete. In this picture the area
where my son is standing is not permanently installed. This 4 x 8 sheet will be removed when we run our lines in
from the outside electrical box. The box is located on the far side of the garage and the lines will run up the
inside of the garage wall, across a channel above the garage ceiling and finally into the utility room ceiling. At
that point they will run down through the kitchen wall to the crawl space where they will disperse to the ground
floor circuits. The second floor electrical lines will all run through the outside stud walls to their final locations.
Once all the electrical lines have been run and inspected this section of floor will be permanently installed.
While we were working on the kitchen lighting the "boss" was busy sanding logs. This is a tedious job but
someone has to do it and we felt the "boss" was the perfect person for the job..... and a very good job she does.
Here you can see the results of her hard work, which is pretty dramatic. Sanding removes the yellowing from
the sun and brings out the natural color of the wood. Now all that's needed is a couple coats of polyurethane.
We decided not to stain any interior wood simply because we like the natural color.
On Wednesday our roofers showed up. By Friday they were almost done.
We chose an architectural 30 year shingle from Tamko. The color (Rustic Cedar) should go well with the light
brown stain we've chosen for the exterior.
These guys are professional roofers. By this little accident you can sure tell they aren't professional drivers.
This truck showed up with a portable conveyor belt to get the shingles up on the roof and the driver somehow
missed the driveway when trying to back up to the house. Actually as you can see he just didn't "miss" the
driveway, he MISSED it big time. It only took 6 guys a half hour to get this thing out of the ditch and luckily no
damage was done, to the ditch or the truck.
Finally on Saturday we started the upstairs walls. This wall is inset slightly so that when it is sheeted with
tongue and groove there will be a quarter inch reveal. This will allow the beam and purlin to stand out from the
rest of the wall.
That's it for another week. We wound up spending about two hours
changing the arrangement of the guest bathroom and bedroom closets
late Saturday. It's nice when you're doing this yourself because once
you actually get the "feel" of the space you can rearrange things if
necessary. In this case we started by eliminating a half bath. Then we
decided to move the guest bathroom into that space which allowed us to
add a walk in closet in the guest bedroom. This in turn meant that we
could eliminate the original closets in the guest bedroom which gives
that room a bit more space. If you're confused, don't worry so am I, but
all will become clear next week. Speaking of next week... we will
complete the walls upstairs and hopefully get started on the rough in
electrical and plumbing.


Check back soon.