I have been swamped with work, trying to inventory and pack up the brick and mortar shop as I transition to online only. I was so busy I forgot to post this blog update when I finished it a month or so ago. Oops! The third and final Duracraft Farmhouse #500 for this year is done. We were hired to assemble the kit to a shell stage (no windows or doors installed), cut an extra stair hole opening to the attic, and install wiring.
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| So many little pieces |
Every wall had to be constructed one piece of 2-1/2" strip of wood at a time. Very time consuming and incredibly flimsy wall structure.
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| Gluing the pieces together |
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| One wall fully assembled |
Luckily the walls fit into corner pieces which gave them some stability. But still feels flimsy to me. It really made me realize how amazing it is that so many of these survived from the 1970s and 1980s!
There were also many warped pieces. Most we could straighten or replace with similar pieces. However, the porch support was a specialized piece, cut with a bevel and angle cuts on the ends. Under our time constraints we had no choice but to use the warped piece.
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| This piece was warped side-to-side as well as up-and-down |
With enough clamps, glue, and wood fill, it turned out pretty!
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| Ready for the customer to paint and shingle! |
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| Interior has wiring put across ceilings and in some rooms at outlet level |
Three more customer houses to complete before we go online only. Realistically only two will get finished by our closing date in December. The third one will most likely be finished at my house after we have gone online only. There's just not enough hours in the day to do everything.
