I called my aunt on the way to Home Despot today, & opened the conversation with I AM ABOUT TO SPEND SO MUCH MONEY
Yep, I was whining. But that’s how it goes. We had a lovely chat. Turns out my uncle bought a van & has been converting it into a lovely tiny travelling house, so yay! It runs in the family!
… but eventually I arrived at the Despot of Home Improvement, thence to buy All the Things.
I figured I’d grab the plywood first, cos that was the heaviest. But when I found it, it was on the second shelf up, which in this case meant, like, eight feet to the top of the stack. I briefly considered standing on top of the stack below it, but I’ve been kicked out of stores for far less wisely-considered climbing tricks, so I decided to ask for help instead. I KNOW, RIGHT?
I forgot to get a picture of this part & I am very annoyed at myself! But the guys were very helpful & promised if I needed help with anything else they’d be pretty close by.
(This was right after I’d explained to a couple of curious contractors what it is that I’m doing, at which point they basically said Good luck, Godspeed, or local equivalent. Didn’t catch the words but the tone is unmistakable.)
Next up, the 2x12s! Which are, it turns out, FUCKING HEAVY.
Didn’t help that I had to sort through like twelve to get five that were actually good, but that’s how it goes these days.
After that the foamboard insulation was a genuine pleasure to get, & then I had to sort through 2x4s & 2x2s, which, if frustrating, was at least LIGHTER.
I’d planned to get the 2x10s today too, but you know what? Also I would like to have arms, so they’re waiting til I need them. I’ll be in Gallup again Saturday anyway…
One of the cashiers kindly offered to watch my cart for me while I went to get the rest of the stuff, which was all small. I collected a bunch of it while waiting for the paint guy:
After watching Anne of All Trades & Wilker Do’s using a staple hammer instead of a staple gun in a video of their tiny house build, I knew I NEEDED one. (The video also gave me a LOT of confidence in what I’m doing; it’s a very similar job. Many thanks to LadyPoetess for pointing it out to me!) Then I dithered over staples for an embarrassingly long time before finally settling on what I hope is the right kind.
I straight-up asked the cashier to not even tell me the total. It was. A LOT of money. I mean, entirely reasonable for the job in question! But still sort of terrifying. o.0
But then, I got a LOT of stuff.
Hell yeah I got help loading up the van, from a skinny teenager who quite casually picked up TWO 2×12 boards at once to get them inside. I gently explained to him that SHUT UP, which, fortunately, he thought was hilarious.
…I don’t WANT to go through puberty again, but going on T is more & more appealing, because THEN I COULD PICK MORE THINGS UP.
I texted this pic to my aunt on the way home, & told her ‘this is just the floor’:
She said ‘It looks like a garage!’ I mean I _do_ need a garage, or at least a shed, because right now the only place I have to store all this stuff is in the van, but you know? That’s fine. I’ll build a shed. Maybe even a garage. Just … not this week.
But hey, I got through my entire todo list today!
& now? I am DONE.
Tomorrow: Laying down the housewrap & getting that stuck down. Possibly working on the floor framing on top of that, but also, possibly not. It depends on how much I hurt by then.
Right now? Kind of a bunch.
This was posted originally to my Patreon, a little over a week ago.
If you want to see these posts sooner, & not incidentally help support me & my cats in our travels & such, the way to do that is to sign up as one of my Patrons for as little as a buck a month.
I’d REALLY like that.
