At the end of my last post I said it was time to make lighting fixtures and therefore, I was hoping to dream up some great ideas. Well I did have some great ideas. Some of them turned out great, and some were total failures...
The window frames will become florescent garage lights, the lamp parts hanging shop lights and the spare light covers hanging fixtures. The lamp is obvious, lol!
The garage lights turned out great! I just added wood to the frames to make them deeper, cut plastic lenses from some packaging and sprayed opaque white on them, cut out back covers, added the strip LED lights and wired in the plugs.
The lamp part lights and fixture lights went very badly. I spray painted them and had them looking good, but the bulb and socket lights I used just kept shorting out on the metal parts on the lamps. I was able to pull them apart, retest the bulbs and sockets to make sure they worked, and salvage them for a future project. Next time I'll wrap them in electrical tape so there is no wire contact with the metal. I decided I really didn't need them anyway.
The real problems came after the light making trouble. I decided it was time to attach the loft to the base. This whole barn thing has been one problem after the other since the day I cracked open the box. The loft floor was warped, and the front piece I special ordered arrived too short. See previous posts for details.
Anyway, I could never get the warp out of the floor, even gluing, wedging and vice gripping it overnight. This caused the patrician walls to not seat properly, and now that I've attached the top to bottom there were significant gaps where the front loft met the front walls.
Aesthetically, I can add plenty of interior and exterior trim to hide the flaw. Functionally, in order to ensure the structure stability, I ran some nails wherever possible. Unfortunately and par for the course of this project, I managed to short out the wiring upstairs. Insert swear words here...
Tear out wallpaper section (second time), find where the power is interrupted, reattach new tapewire and reconnect. Still, no power upstairs.
This is the point last night where I gave up in defeat and went to bed. I could not fall asleep thinking about it. I woke up at 3 am thinking about it, then again at 6am.
After repeating all steps and eliminating all other possibilities the decision is made to run a new section of tapewire up from the good connection point along the back of the left roof trim strip and tie directly into tape run in loft ceiling. Deep breath, we can do this. It's not in the plans and delays everything else I wanted to accomplish but okay. I give in, lets do this.
Then I hold the roof partition piece in place and discover that with its angle, the top of the upstairs stairway looks ridiculously tight.
Then these words ring in my head: Proper Planning and Practice Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
It is at this point that I decide I am taking a break from the barn project. I need to step back, because up until now I have met every problem as an opportunity and stayed positive but this one is just too much. I need to refocus and recenter my mini chi.
One week from today Russ, myself and the two doggies are getting in the Jeep and getting lost in the forest for 17 blissful days! When I get back I'm sure I'll be completely centered and ready to address the barn project opportunities again.
And as always apropos, my Note from The Universe today said:
From here, of course, all earthly problems appear small - really small. That's because we know they're fleeting, they prepare you for the "best of your life," and you chose them, not wanting to obtain their rewards in any other way.
But from where you are, of course, they can look gigantic. That's because they're often seen as permanent, limiting, and imposed upon you by chance, fate, or circumstance.
Jodi, get real. See them from our perspective.
To the best of your life starting right now,
The Universe
But from where you are, of course, they can look gigantic. That's because they're often seen as permanent, limiting, and imposed upon you by chance, fate, or circumstance.
Jodi, get real. See them from our perspective.
To the best of your life starting right now,
The Universe
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.