Of Window Framing……Fool Me Once?

Alive without breath,

As cold as death,

Never thirsty, ever drinking

All in mail, never clinking.

 

Riddles in the dark eh?! What did you think? That I was going to give you one of the riddles from the movie? And don’t do the google search to try and figure it out. It really isn’t too hard when you think about it. But you do have to think……..for a while. Some of the riddles were good.

Okay, I get it already! Most of you  are not Lord of the Nerds, I mean Rings fans! Probably most of you have no clue what riddles in the dark even means. It’s okay. I’m glad you’re here and that’s all that really matters.

Boy. What a week I had at work. I got home late Friday night and just collapsed. I wasn’t even considering Hobbit houses until I woke up Saturday morning. Amazing what a good nights sleep will do for you mentally. The Saturday morning banana pancake did a lot for morale as well. Mmmm. Yum, yum. Threw in a handful of walnuts. Wow. That was a good one. Okay Jim who cares about what you had for breakfast Saturday morning? I know, I know. But it really did make a difference in my attitude. I’m just saying.

Kind of wondering if anyone got the riddle?

I’ll give you the answer at the end of the post.

So I’ve been kind of sick for the last 5 weeks or so. Well not sick. I’ve had this nameless fear. (Reference to the Lord of the Rings) Actually this weird stuffed up nose thing going on. I rarely if ever get a cold much less one that lasts for 5 weeks. But something happened then that the Ring did not intend. (Another Lord of the ring reference.) I also have occasional hives and the expansion of my upper lip so that I look like I’ve been beaten. I’ve been to the allergist and I’m not allergic to any food as far as the testing has shown. I’m going to get tested this week for environmental stuff. I guess that means pollen, mold and animals. Specifically cats. My daughter brought home a cat this past year which has thrown the whole family system out of whack. We are now a three cat family and I think we are now seriously over the edge. I think it’s the whole twos company threes a crowd kind of thing. I mean, and I’m just being honest here, I really don’t like any of the cats we have right now. Especially my daughters cat. I think the feeling is mutual though. One of the cats threw up between two of my shoes the other day. (Trying to send me a message I think.) In some sort of sick way I’m hoping the allergy doctor is going to say that we have to get rid of all the cats. Which would suit me just fine. Not that that will ever happen. I mean, my daughters cat is curious, unlike the other two. I wonder what would happen if the back door was left ajar for an afternoon this summer? Maybe I should  leave a little sleeping bag and a water bottle out back with a note about taking a hike. The world is a big place. It’s easy to get lost out there on a hike. I mean its an accident! Who left the back door open all afternoon! I mean, I would be the one saying it so why would anyone think it was me? My sons are all going to give the same reply, “It wasn’t me.” Standard fare but we all know one of them were probably responsible.

Boy. I really went off there didn’t I. I’m sorry. We did have a cat run away once too, so that’s not too far fetched.

The construction part of the blog Jim for God’s sake!!!!

Alright already. I needed to warm up a bit.

So. I did get over to the house and get back into it. Like I said two weeks ago I had made an error  in my full scale layout of the window framing. (Haste makes waste as they say.) So I decided to redo the whole thing this weekend and make it right. It was a good idea. I had the whole thing figured out already so I knew exactly what to do when I got there so I got a lot done.

So this week is, for all intents and purposes, the same post as two weeks ago. I did do a few additional things that I’ll show you.

The main thing I did, besides framing the curvature of the window itself, was set up a way to install the framing from the top of the window to the the ceiling top plate. A bit confusing. Let me explain.

Window header frame installed temporarily.
Window header frame installed temporarily.

So the area above the framed curvature needs to be filled in. At some point we are going to have to attach plywood sheathing to the framing and we are going to need a way to nail this sheathing over the window frame. Hence the dilemma. If you look closely you’ll see that there is open space where the framing has to land on top of the curved window framing. What to do?

So what I did was rip 3 and a half inch wide strips of plywood that will get nailed on top of the windows curved framing. I used 5/8s plywood rips and score cut them so the plywood would bend around the framing. Hmmm. Let me show you.

score cut through most of the plywood.
score cut through most of the plywood.

I more or less cut through all the plies of the plywood except the last one. I scored it every two inches on center. It was a lot of cutting.

Score the plywood at 2 inches on center.
Score the plywood at 2 inches on center.

Once this is done the plywood flops all over the place. So you have to be careful handling it. I thought I wouldn’t have to score cut it that deep but it wasn’t bending the way I needed it to so I cut it deeper. The HDO isn’t the best for bending. CDX or BB bends a lot better. I forgot about that.

After that it’s just a matter of nailing it into place and  keeping it aligned with the edge as you go.

Nailing plate installed on top of curved window framing.
Nailing plate installed on top of curved window framing.

Now we can finish framing over the top of the window. Done. Well…Easier said than done. Every single stud will be cut to fit on both ends with different angle cuts on both ends.  Not so simple really. But we will get through it. Hmmm, I just thought of a good way of getting the angle cut right that will make it easy. I’ll show you next time.

Remember the old saying, “Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.” Yeah, that one. Well guess what? Had to take you know who out to dinner again this weekend. Life is definitely not fair. But I didn’t even give my Mother-in-Law a chance to pull another fast one on me again during appetizers. We went to this Mexican place called Fiesta Mexicana. They have a Mariachi band play for entertainment. You know three guys on guitars playing songs and all. They’re good. Anyway, I go there early and paid them to come over to our table when I give them the high sign. You know when the appetizers are served. This way I have a fighting chance to eat something. You wouldn’t think a little old lady could eat like a bear during appetizers. But this little old lady does. She was halfway through the nachos when I gave the mariachi guy the high sign. I had them sing the long version of Frito Bandito. Yeah I got my fair share. Like I said fool me once….

Hey, a man’s got to eat right?

Riddle answer: A fish.

Okay if you’re not a riddle person I guess it was tough. I happen to be a horrible crossword guy. I mean really bad.

It’s supposed to get into the 60’s this week. Looking forward to spring weather.

Enjoy your week!

Jim

One last picture:

forming the face.
forming the face.

It’s going to start to take shape real soon! I can’t wait.

 

 

 

 

2 thoughts on “Of Window Framing……Fool Me Once?”

    • Hey Mike: Yes I heard about Sister Barbara. Ethan said he saw a picture of the car and said it was totally mangled. It’s sad losing such a nice person that way. She was one of those people that everyone really liked.

      I hope all is well on your end. Nice to hear from you. Take care!

      Jim

      Reply

Leave a Comment