# Being on Lock Down Can Be Beneficial... **Photo Update 4/16/20***



## parallel (Mar 17, 2020)

So... I'm an architect, but for the past decade or so I've been teaching. Schools in Louisiana are closed until April 13th, and our district is staying closed until April 20th because we were scheduled for Easter break that week. Well... I've decided to make good use of the time at home. I'm finally getting around to building the media cabinet/storage drawers/bookcases that I designed 8 years ago. I had all of the materials sitting on my garage floor when hurricane Isaac flooded my neighborhood in August 2012. While my house didn't even come close to flooding, the garage is over 2 feet lower and had just enough flood water to destroy all of the materials I had.

Anyway, I had bought the materials again last year and now I've finally had the time to start getting it done. That area of the house was clearly meant for a built in... so...











This is the rough plan. I tightened this plan up some and also made cut sheets to take into the shop with me so I know exactly what sizes and features I need to cut and how many of each I need. My wife changed the base units on the sides to drawer bases but I didn't make the change to the rough drawing.






We glued up the two book case units today but I haven't taken any photos. Some of y'all might remember my son building a nice chess board that I posted about not so long ago. Well, he's been helping me with this one as well where he can. I'm going to teach him how to make shaker style doors soon. what I REALLY hoping is that he turns out to be real good at painting... ;)


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## Bambi (Mar 17, 2020)

parallel said:


> So... I'm an architect, but for the past decade or so I've been teaching. Schools in Louisiana are closed until April 13th, and our district is staying closed until April 20th because we were scheduled for Easter break that week. Well... I've decided to make good use of the time at home. I'm finally getting around to building the media cabinet/storage drawers/bookcases that I designed 8 years ago. I had all of the materials sitting on my garage floor when hurricane Isaac flooded my neighborhood in August 2012. While my house didn't even come close to flooding, the garage is over 2 feet lower and had just enough flood water to destroy all of the materials I had.
> 
> Anyway, I had bought the materials again last year and now I've finally had the time to start getting it done. That area of the house was clearly meant for a built in... so...
> 
> ...


Life’s what you make of it!


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## Grunt (Mar 17, 2020)

Very nice work indeed!


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## Kaldak (Mar 18, 2020)

That is some very impressive craftsmanship!


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## SpongeBob*24 (Mar 18, 2020)

Nice work!  Can't wait to see the final product.


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## LibraryLady (Mar 18, 2020)

I'm always eager to see the creativity that comes from your household.

LL


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## x SF med (Mar 18, 2020)

parallel said:


> what I REALLY hoping is that he turns out to be real good at painting... ;)



No staining/varnishing?   weenie, boatboy….   

If you're going to paint, prime using the Behr #75 primer, then hit the cabinets with the new Behr satin cabinet and trim paint (min 2 coats).  Use the best brushes/rollers - if rollers, use 1/4 inch nap 4 or 6 inch wide.   Nothing in/on them for a week, nothing heavy in/on them for a month - even though the can has a shorter time to weight.   The finish is awesome in sheen and durability - and semigloss would be too high for an entertainment center.   Yes, I do work at Home Depot, I am a certified paint specialist (and appliances and flooring/decor, and millworks and hardware and lighting/electrical, yadayadayada...) and personally have been using Behr paint since 1985 (before ever even thinking of working for the big orange box).  More light coats are better than one heavy coat.

Check the edge lifting in the floor, especially if that's a moderately damp basement.  Doubly if it's a laminate/engineered rather than real wood, you could get surface separation or expansion of the substrate.  if it's click-lock, easy fix - wrap a rolling pin in a microfiber towel and roll the seams down, if it's t&g, build a flattening block out of 3/4 plywood faced with a high impact soft face and use a dead blow to reset the seaming issues.

Beautiful job with the joinery and design.


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## parallel (Mar 21, 2020)

x SF med said:


> No staining/varnishing?   weenie, boatboy….
> 
> If you're going to paint, prime using the Behr #75 primer, then hit the cabinets with the new Behr satin cabinet and trim paint (min 2 coats).  Use the best brushes/rollers - if rollers, use 1/4 inch nap 4 or 6 inch wide.   Nothing in/on them for a week, nothing heavy in/on them for a month - even though the can has a shorter time to weight.   The finish is awesome in sheen and durability - and semigloss would be too high for an entertainment center.   Yes, I do work at Home Depot, I am a certified paint specialist (and appliances and flooring/decor, and millworks and hardware and lighting/electrical, yadayadayada...) and personally have been using Behr paint since 1985 (before ever even thinking of working for the big orange box).  More light coats are better than one heavy coat.
> 
> ...


The decision to paint versus stain/varnish was made more out of budgetary reasons (the lumber for paint grade is significantly less) than anything else. I thought about buying a decent sprayer, but I just don't want to deal with the prep involved in spraying. I bought an assortment of  Wooster Alpha premium profession brushes and I've done a LOT of painting in my day, so I know how to use them. I've considered going with Farrow & Ball gloss, but then I'd have to update all of the painted case work in that room and I'd really rather not. I used Benjamin Moore Advance Interior Satin on the base and crown molding throughout the house, but I have heard some really good things about Valspar Cabinet Enamel Semi-Gloss and Behr Alkyd Semi-Gloss Enamel. I'll need to decide soon because I anticipate the main parts of this project will be ready for primer and paint by next weekend. I figure I'll start the sanding and other preparation while I'm building drawer fronts and doors and go from there.

Those floors are rectified ceramic tile made to look like cherry boards, so... no issue there.


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## parallel (Mar 22, 2020)

Made some significant progress on the built in the last few days. 

Installing that crown molding to the top of that center upper media cabinet ought to be a real pain in the ass, but wrestling that monster with just me and the wife would have been a bitch. Sooooo... I just so happened to have some help available even though I wasn't done installing trim so I took the help and got it done.





The kids were afraid that the power and internet would be off until tomorrow, they were quite happy that I got it all back up and running even in a temporary configuration.


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## parallel (Mar 25, 2020)

I know that getting that crown molding installed way up there was going to be a pain in the ass. The problem is that after being up and down a ladder trying to install a crown my legs were about done. So... I was calling it a night and was riding my motorcycle up my driveway to put it away after working in the garage all day. I hit a block of wood that I had missed during cleanup and it destabilized the bike. When I put my foot down to steady the bike I got a cramp and damned near dropped the bike right into the side of my trailer. I yelled for Mrs. parallel to come help and we got it upright and on the kickstand, but trying to hold up a nearly 1000 lb. bike with one cramped leg has me limping around in pain. I'm pretty sure that I pulled my hamstring. So... light duty for me for at least a few days while this heals.


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## LibraryLady (Mar 25, 2020)

parallel said:


> I know that getting that crown molding installed way up there was going to be a pain in the ass. The problem is that after being up and down a ladder trying to install a crown my legs were about done. So... I was calling it a night and was riding my motorcycle up my driveway to put it away after working in the garage all day. I hit a block of wood that I had missed during cleanup and it destabilized the bike. When I put my foot down to steady the bike I got a cramp and damned near dropped the bike right into the side of my trailer. I yelled for Mrs. parallel to come help and we got it upright and on the kickstand, but trying to hold up a nearly 1000 lb. bike with one cramped leg has me limping around in pain. I'm pretty sure that I pulled my hamstring. So... light duty for me for at least a few days while this heals.


Getting old ain't for wusses. It sucks, mostly..

LL


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## parallel (Apr 16, 2020)

I finally healed up enough to finish up the main casework and trim. Now I'm ready to sand, fill any imperfections, prime and paint. I'm doing that BEFORE I build and install the doors and drawers because the paint will need to cure for a couple of weeks minimum.


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## Grunt (Apr 16, 2020)

Outstanding work, Brother....


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## x SF med (Apr 16, 2020)

Looking very nice.  
You done good for a broke down coon-ass old boat boy...    (translation for the non-southern, non-mil people...  a torn up Cajun, aged navy vet)


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## Steve1839 (Apr 16, 2020)

x SF med said:


> (translation for the non-southern, non-mil people...  a torn up Cajun, aged navy vet)


A cajun is not a coon ass and vice versa...I do believe Cajun is derived from a corruption of Acadian, being the French folks from Canuckistan that were displaced to Louisiana after ...coon ass refers to the redneck southerners who moved into Louisiana later...prove me wrong...


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## Grapevine (Apr 16, 2020)

Steve1839 said:


> A cajun is not a coon ass and vice versa...I do believe Cajun is derived from a corruption of Acadian, being the French folks from Canuckistan that were displaced to Louisiana after ...coon ass refers to the redneck southerners who moved into Louisiana later...prove me wrong...


 Can Confirm.


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## ThunderHorse (Apr 16, 2020)

Steve1839 said:


> A cajun is not a coon ass and vice versa...I do believe Cajun is derived from a corruption of Acadian, being the French folks from Canuckistan that were displaced to Louisiana after ...coon ass refers to the redneck southerners who moved into Louisiana later...prove me wrong...



Cajuns are descendants of French Acadians.  They were resettled by the French Government in Lousiana and what are parts of lower Alabama and Mississippi following the loss of Acadia during the French and Indian War.  Acadian (A-Ca-Diun) and the pronunciation becomes Cajun and Cajun is also a derivative French language that is separate from French Creole.


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## x SF med (Apr 17, 2020)

Steve1839 said:


> A cajun is not a coon ass and vice versa...I do believe Cajun is derived from a corruption of Acadian, being the French folks from Canuckistan that were displaced to Louisiana after ...coon ass refers to the redneck southerners who moved into Louisiana later...prove me wrong...



You just took all the fun out of small jibes at the boat guy....  his work is too good to not take him down a peg...  I will accept the admonition, and hide for a few days now.


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## Steve1839 (Apr 17, 2020)

x SF med said:


> You just took all the fun out of small jibes at the boat guy....  his work is too good to not take him down a peg...  I will accept the admonition, and hide for a few days now.


Sorry to rain on your parade, Troll, but as a son of the south, I could not let the mischaracterization slide...


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## x SF med (Apr 17, 2020)

Steve1839 said:


> Sorry to rain on your parade, Troll, but as a son of the south, I could not let the mischaracterization slide...



It's quite possible he's a Cajun turned coon-ass, or the other way around....  possibly some sort of Louisiana mutt...  a cajun-ass....


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## Grunt (Apr 17, 2020)

x SF med said:


> possibly some sort of Louisiana mutt...  a cajun-ass....



That's what most of us are...at least those of us that live in the *Acadian* parishes....


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## parallel (Apr 22, 2020)

x SF med said:


> It's quite possible he's a Cajun turned coon-ass, or the other way around....  possibly some sort of Louisiana mutt...  a cajun-ass....


Actually... I'm a Damned Yankee. Joined the Navy 1984 at 17 from Northwest Pennsylvania. In September of 1987 I was on a Guided Missile Frigate that navigated the Mississippi River to spend 14 months at what was then called the Avondale Shipyard. I met Mrs. Parallel while there and after I separated in 1997 we came to New Orleans to "visit"... twenty something years and two houses later here I am.


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## x SF med (Apr 23, 2020)

parallel said:


> Actually... I'm a Damned Yankee. Joined the Navy 1984 at 17 from Northwest Pennsylvania. In September of 1987 I was on a Guided Missile Frigate that navigated the Mississippi River to spend 14 months at what was then called the Avondale Shipyard. I met Mrs. Parallel while there and after I separated in 1997 we came to New Orleans to "visit"... twenty something years and two houses later here I am.




You know the difference between a Yankee and a Damned Yankee, right?   A Yankee visits and leaves.  A Damned Yankee visits and then stays.  I heard that a lot in my nearly 20 years in Texas.


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## Steve1839 (Apr 23, 2020)

x SF med said:


> You know the difference between a Yankee and a Damned Yankee, right?   A Yankee visits and leaves.  A Damned Yankee visits and then stays.


C'est vrais...


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## Diamondback 2/2 (Apr 23, 2020)

Everyone north of the Red river is a Yankee... that is all...


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## x SF med (Apr 23, 2020)

Steve1839 said:


> C'est vrais...



Toi aussi, mon ami ?  Je suis blessé, profondément blessé. Merde.



Diamondback 2/2 said:


> Everyone north of the Red river is a Yankee... that is all...



So, for 20 years  I was just a resident alien?  More hurt...  I will go away and sulk now.  Nah, I won't.


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## Kaldak (Apr 23, 2020)

This is an English board.


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## parallel (Apr 24, 2020)

x SF med said:


> You know the difference between a Yankee and a Damned Yankee, right?   A Yankee visits and leaves.  A Damned Yankee visits and then stays.  I heard that a lot in my nearly 20 years in Texas.


This is why I used the term...


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## x SF med (Apr 24, 2020)

Kaldak said:


> This is an English board.



Shhh…  NUG...  the adults are talking in other languages....


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## parallel (May 25, 2020)

I should have an actual update for you soon. I got flooded with work once our school district decided to go all in on "home learning" and I had to reformat all three of my curriculum to fit the new platform. Add to that Softball is back for my daughter and... well... I haven't done much on this in over a month.


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