(The photo above is of crab-and-spinach dip at Pappadeaux seafood restaurant in DFW airport. I like the dip very much and try to arrange my flights so there’s time to have some.)
Our plan for late November, after placing the concrete piers for Container 3 in the ground in early October, was for the crane to lift that container onto the piers, and then to go about cutting out the pass-throughs between Container 2 and 3, and seal all the gaps, both exterior and interior.
But as the Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”
I got a call in mid-November, a week before my Thanksgiving trip to Mississippi, from Mr. Fontenot, the crane man. His crane was on the fritz, it seemed, and he wasn’t sure he’d receive a part necessary for repair in time for his scheduled work with us.
This news wasn’t the end of the world. We simply shifted our focus to Container 2, bought lumber, and framed the thing. This work went a lot faster than in the first container because we’d already figured out various techniques for attaching lumber to the container frame. Here is a reminder of what we devised.
As we’ve encountered before, the container walls bowed in in a few places. Sometimes it means you can’t put an electrical outlet exactly where you want but otherwise it isn’t a problem.
It felt nice to finish the ceiling.
It was also nice to see the hall closet take shape. We made it extra deep—around 36 inches—so there’ll be no chance of coat hangers banging against the back of the closet door. I hate it when that happens.
We added a wall in the dining room, essentially lengthening the hall by a couple feet. This creates a nook where we’ll put a storage cabinet, with shelves above, for various tableware, of which we have a lot.
Framing out of the way, I began running electrical circuits, though not to the panel yet. I haven’t taken any pictures of that work but will get around to it.
COMING UP NEXT
In February, the crane will come to lift Container #3 onto its concrete piers, then we’ll go about sealing the joints where one container meets the other.
LOOKING AHEAD
In April, we’ll frame Container #3, install the three windows in it, and continue running electrical.
