What's Taking Soooo Long???

We should have been done with the wood cold air return last Saturday or Sunday, but we both came down with a virus.

Nothing serious and not the flu. R got it first and just as he started to feel better, I started feeling kind of puny. But I think tomorrow is the day we will finish.

This was another of those joint projects. R took care of the floor and creating the opening. I made the baseboard.

The floor part of the project was completed on Friday. But before R could finish the floor we needed to break out the plaster to create an opening so air could be pulled into the cold air return.

We marked the wall with pencil. R used a chisel to break the plaster along the line and then used a small hammer to break out the plaster. After he removed the plaster I cut the wire mesh and removed it from the new opening.After he installed the oak flooring I placed the baseboard (not permanently) in place. I made the base board out of a long 1 X 8 board of poplar I purchased at Home Depot for roughly 22 bucks. Ouch!! I wish we had something in our scrap pile but I needed clear wood that would look good painted and blend with the original baseboard which I believe is clear redwood or fir.

I cut the board to the appropriate length with a 45 degree miter cut on one end and a blunt cut on the other. I then ripped a narrow piece the length of the wood grill we were installing. The grill is actually taller than the baseboard so I needed to increase the width of the baseboard in the area of the grill. I attached the narrow strip using wood glue and biscuits. Gotta love those biscuits, especially with gravy.....wrong biscuits-wrong blog. I purchased this biscuit slot cutter tool on eBay for $19.99 and I buy the biscuits at Home Depot. We have used it on B & G's deck, on the shutters that my Dad and I made for the front of the house, and now to make this base board. We have most certainly gotten our 19 bucks worth out of this tool.

I think a photo will explain better how and why I needed to make the base board the way I did.
After I was finished making the base board I sanded the edges to match the edges of the original trim in the house. All the edges are rounded over, if I left the new wood with the sharp factory edge it would have stood out like a sore thumb. There are several pieces of new trim in the house that I need to replace with popular. Sometime before we bought the house they replaced portions of baseboard with pine that has knots. It does not match and no amount of sanding will correct the knots or keep the grain from showing.

Before anyone asks..... yes, I know the outlet cover will not fit. That is why I purchased a plain wood plate so that I can trim off the bottom. I am planning to use wood outlet and switch plate covers through out the house except in the kitchen. I am hoping that by painting the covers the same color as the walls that they will disappear and blend into the wall.

You might have also have noticed the little square patch in the floor. We believe that is where a radiator was removed when they installed the forced air system. Once the floor is sanded and stained I doubt anyone will notice. Plus, as Norm would say, "It's an honest repair."

I'll admit right now that I am looking forward to finishing this project. R and I have worked on two projects in a row together and I am ready for a solo project. I'm sick of listening to sports radio and as far as I am concerned Jim Rome is the Rush Limbaugh of sports radio. The 'Huge Show' I can handle, but I wish Jim Everett (NFL QB) would have beat the crap out of Rome when he had the chance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57W05-oopNA