Sunday, November 1, 2009

Dia De La Herida

or There Was a Little Mishap.

Low gray humid clouds and low temperatures, the high was about 42, were plenty enough of a reason to do a whole lot of nothing today. There was another reason too.



Drywall work is of course inside out of the weather and the cozy cabin is actually holding in heat now. It was 10 degrees warmer inside there today.

A lot of progress has been made and the main floor is nearly completed. The kitchen is done.



There are even separate rooms now. The stub wall that the refrigerator will sit behind makes the bathroom look much bigger than it really is.



A peak inside the bathroom shows it is a standard size. The two unfinished walls in the bathroom will complete the drywall on the ground floor. The loft levels will come next.



The main living room is done.



I took a break from doing drywall today because there was a little mishap. Yesterday while trying to get a smaller piece of drywall out that ended up in the middle of the stack, more than half of the drywall leaning against the wall fell over into the living room and sort of crushed my right leg.

Drywall is heavy. A standard 4' x 8' x 1/2" thick sheet weighs about 54 lbs. I'd say about a dozen sheets fell on me or about 650 lbs. All that weight ran down my right leg, knocked me and the ladder over trashing the sheet I was fetching and another one cut and ready to be hung. I was trapped. My left foot was stuck under there and my right leg was bent and in pain.

Fortunately I was not alone and the building contractor lifted the sheets off one at a time to free me. At least I hadn't fallen off the roof, I said. Surprisingly this didn't break my leg either.



A little bruised and embarrassed and a bit gimpy, but just fine. My right calf looks like I have been spending a lot of time at the gym. I keep waiting for my leg to turn purple, but so far it hasn't.



So forgive me if I only got to the edge of the deck at the resident gardeners house for a shot of fall in the shrubbery below the deck. This was Dia De La Herida, The Day of the Injured. The yellow Fothergilla and a nice copper colored Nine Bark, Physocarpus species, frame the evergreen rhododendron.

11 comments:

Siria said...

Hi Christopher! So sorry to hear about the mishap. I'm glad the Building Contractor was there to free you. That would not have been good if it had been different. Your work is outstanding! The cozy cabin is really taking shape. Soon you will be showing us pictures of painted walls. I'm glad you will be able to work indoors in some warmth this winter. Will that baseboard heat be in service by give you some heat? I hope there is word on Mama Spot soon.

Anonymous said...

Is this the first time you have had a mishap while working on the cabin? If so, then you are very lucky.

Anonymous said...

Owwww! Glad you were not alone, but it just shows how quickly and unexpectedly things can happen on a construction site. My husband (a retired orthopedic surgeon) once treated a patient who was drinking beer at 0900, fell off his drywall truck and was run over by it. Amazingly he survived, with a crushed pelvis, but eventually walked out of the hospital.
So be careful and think about every step first, because I know you were not drinking beer, haha!

ps interior colors will be - ?

bev

Carol Michel said...

Yes, good thing someone was there! This will give you a chance to take it easy for awhile. Enjoy the last of the fall color...

Christopher C. NC said...

Siria those painted walls are still a bit off in the future. After the drywall is all up it has to be taped, mudded, a few dings and dents covered and then spray textured. That part of the job will be hired out. The little electric baseboard heater is for this winter. I have not tested it out yet. I hope Spot comes back again, but she is pissing me off with this wandering act.

Anonymous the only other mishap was the typical hammer to the thumb number. I am just now getting a normal thumb nail back.

Bev, I sure try to be methodical and think about all my moves. In this mishap, my lack of patience in waiting for assistance was my crushing downfall.

Carol one day of rest is all I am allowed. Back to drywall tomorrow. I just thank my lucky stars I wasn't hurt worse.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

OUCH!! Do take care.

Les said...

I am glad you are OK and that someone else was there to help you. When I read the first part of your post I thought there had been another cat-tastrophe, I am glad there was not.

Gail said...

Christopher, I am so glad you were not alone and not terribly injured! What's your cell phone coverage like? I would keep it handy!

The drywall phase sure makes the project seem nearer completion~~but once the bathroom and kitchen fixtures go in you know your almost there! gail

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Ouch. I'm glad you're okay and relieved to hear it wasn't more serious!

Cindy, MCOK said...

Christopher, I feel your pain! I dropped a wooden pallet on my right foot a few years back and it's a wonder that it didn't break anything. It did result in a rather spectacular hematoma (even the medical folks were in awe, never a good sign!).

chuck b. said...

I have no idea how I've made it to 40 without breaking my neck in some clumsy mishap. I'm glad you're okay; that sounds like a close call.

You are such an immaculate worker, and everything is so spot-on and perfect. Spy planes with x-ray cameras flying over the cozy cabin will be very impressed.