Today was maybe the most enjoyable work day I've had during this project. I showed up to Jeff's house at 8:00 and helped Jeff load some stuff into a van. Then I carivaned with Walt to American Tires in Tigard so he could drop off his van to get its tires replaced. I then dropped Walt off back at Jeff's and drove myself to Michael's, whose name I believed is actually spelled Mychal. So Michael is Mychal from now on. The appraiser from the bank is coming by Mychal's newly remodeled house to appraise it tomorrow, so we worked on finishing details. I also found out today that the previous owner of the house was a super old dude who was a bit of a hoarder (of 60's playboy magazines among other things) and had died in the house. Is that weird? Anyways, all of his stuff was left in the house and so Mychal, his sister, and the Lorence Borthers had to sift through all the junk and entirely clean out the house before entirely remodeling it.

Retro Playboy Cover

Today we did a lot of finishing touches, and I got to do a lot of stuff, which is why I had som much fun. I got to "rip" a door (at least I think that's what I did). To "rip" is to take off a whole edge of a board. In this case I got to cut off the bottom of a door. I used this really cool saw, a fixed-path saw. We clamped this metal track thing to the door along the line where it needed to be cut. The saw then sits on the track and cuts the edge perfectly. So fun. Mychal and I then screwed on the hinges and hung the door and installed the door knob and other handles and nobs. We threw another coat of stain on the front doors of the house, which were in the garage.

The door knobs I installed were chrome Schlage ones like this

Mychal and I (after consuming the donuts and coffee Walt had brought along) went off to Home Depot to get a remodel box (to hang the dining room lamp from the ceiling), a doorbell, and a hinge-stopper for the door we had hung earlier. Unfortunately waiting in line to check out, Mychal discovered that he had forgotten his wallet, so we had the cashier hold our stuff while we drove back to his hous to get it. When we finally arrived back at the house with all the stuff, Michal worked on installing the light while Walt did paint touchups and grouting in the bathrooms and I installed the doorbell (with Jeff's help). When these tasks were finished the four of us worked on hanging the two front doors and installing the hardware for those guys. At about 1:30 I drove Walt back to American Tires in Tigard, to his van.

Running various errands today with Walt and Mychal made for ample time to talk. I really like these guys. Walt started calling me Ed the first time we ever spoke. Today he danced and rapped along with the myriad artists of "Wild 107.5" playing on the radio at Mychal's house while we worked. He told us that his 15-year-old daughter had taught him how to dance cool. Mychal and I discussed career paths, car hobbies and his new motorcycle, divorce and parents' control as we drove back and forth to Home Depot.

Tool of the Day: Makita 18V Compact Lithium-Ion Cordless 1/2" Hammer Driver-Drill Kit. I used this bad boy repeatedly today, to first drill holes for screws then often to drive the screws into the holes. The coolest feature is the LED light just above the trigger that illuminates the drill's target, switching on automatically when the trigger is squeezed.