One of the families that Hubby was close to in high school had a dentist dad who added a wing to his house and built a cabin on their lake-side property in the woods. Ever since then, he's had a dormant bug for wanting to have the knowledge & skills to be able to do that. More specifically, we've talked numerous times about our family building our house. Live in an rv or job shack on our property until we get the garage built (with living quarters upstairs), then move into that while the rest of the house is completed. He dreams of being up in the trusses, calling out measurements to Abby so she can mark & cut the plywood that he, Alex and Lee are sheeting our roof with. (Age-appropriately, of course.)
I'm totally on board.
Alas, Life has delayed our plans by at least 10 years. Ah well.
However, I had my first taste of interactive house-building last weekend. Because we'll be here in the in-laws' basement longer than planned, and because we'll be joined by someone small & cute within a matter of weeks, Mom-in-law has decided that this is a great opportunity to replace the downstairs shower with a bathtub.
Hubby has been in home construction for the last 13 years, so he's got the tools & know-how. I've learned some of the lingo & rules & stuff from him talking about his day at work, but don't have any hands-on experience, except for wall-painting.
Until now.
Yes, that is me, 34 weeks pregnant, drilling holes through treated 2x4s and into the existing concrete. Afterward, I hammered anchor bolts in there and tightened them so the walls don't go anywhere! Yay me!
I also learned the correct way to mark stud positioning (besides just finding my husband), and wield a nail gun. Okay, that part was a little scary, 'cause not only is it heavy, it can cause serious damage if it misfires or someone is being stupid with it. I have a very healthy respect (fear) for nail guns.
Over the last 13 years, I've gotten used to listening to Riah's technical speak and letting some of it run by because I don't always understand how words like gable, popout, facia and witch's tit correlate. (I only wish I were kidding about the last one.) However, I've gotten better, and by asking a few questions and glossing over the details I can get the general idea. Friday evening he surprised me with something really random, though:
"See how (somethingsomething) post (somethingsomething) stud (somethingsomething) shiplap?"
"I'm sorry. Did you just say that, "...the post and stud are proud of the shiplap?"
*looks at me like I'm asking if he just said that the sun was yellow*
"Yeah."
"Honey, that's not English."
'Stud' and 'post' are words that I can understand. How they can be proud of something called shiplap was beyond what my "supeerior eentelect" could piece together. (Extra points if you can nail the movie quote (pun quite intended.).) So here how it goes:
See how the thick post on the right and the 2x4 studs just to the left are sticking out a little past the surface of the horizontal pieces?
It would seem that the tongue-and-groove horizontal pieces are called shiplap, and because they're recessed a bit,
the post and stud are proud of the shiplap! Who knew?
Well, I do.
Now.
And it seems you can teach an old dog new tricks.
