Cliff May Restovation

Renovating a house is a con game...confidence, that is. Projects that once seemed daunting and dangerous -- like attacking my windows and doors with a sander -- now appear simple and boring. Of course, then comes along another project that really tests your confidence and pushes out the comfort frontier farther.

Some of you may remember my plans to install a low-voltage track lighting system. I even went out and bought a remote transformer so I wouldn't have any ugly boxes on the ceiling. Heretofore I have done nothing on that front...largely because I was afraid of the little problem of getting electricity to the spot in the ceiling where I wanted the track. Mind you....I'm not afraid of the wiring (which is really simple) but of getting the wire to the light -- and the drywall work required. I finally bought the drywall saw and just went at it. Here's a little photo history:


I'm not done. I actually want to leave the last section out until I get the track installed so I can properly test it. Also, I took the above photos when I was just testing it. Update: Before sealing up the final panel in the ceiling the splice was put into a proper junction box. I'm still getting the hang of the drywall patching thing. I bought some 1x boards to screw into the holes so I'd have something to attach the drywall pieces to when I reinstalled them. As you can see...I'm not afraid of spackle. Luckily, this is in a spot in the ceiling where you really can't see screw-ups. I just need to sand, prime, and paint.

Doors
I also decided to refinish the interior of the doorset in the living room. One coat of primer, two coats of decorator white:
Beams
I know I'm always harping on the little things making the difference. Well this time I've got proof. If you're an avid reader, you'll remember me talking about completely rebuilding the edge between the ceiling and the ridge beam. I finally got around to repainting the ridge beam.