Order of Assembly

is important.

Need I say more?

I hadn't expected installing the laundry chute to be simple, so let's buckle down to work.

First, the hole.  You can see the 2 x 4 the chute was resting on in that picture above.  And if you look especially carefully you can see a small wedge of the steel support column sticking out from under it.

You don't have to look carefully at all to see the mess in the basement.

Here is that column.  The bent corner to the left is the one in the way.

Same corner, one reciprocating saw minute later.  That steel might have been 1/8" thick, but it wasn't hardened so it sliced like butter.

Now lets make a hole in the hall wall.

Marked

Cut

From the other side

We knew from that very first photograph that sheetrock would have to give, so lets get on with it.

I didn't even get to finish the sheetrock before damaging it!

Closer.  Still hung up on something.

There is the problem.  Wedged tight against the subfloor above.

A little coaxing with the recip saw later...

Ready for trim.

Ready for a cascade of clothes.  It shouldn't back up until the laundry pile is six feet high.

Patch the not-yet complete sheetrock.

As good as new.  Or at least it will be after six more coats of mud.

Cabinets!

We finished assembling all the cabinets!  It made a world of difference to have Dad helping me.  I couldn't have assembled most of them without assistance.

Sink base cabinets for girls' bathroom.

 Notice the "dent" in the left hand one to go around the laundry chute.

Wall of cabinets for girls' bathroom

The bottom sections will have four drawers each (who ever heard of 16 drawers in a bathroom!).  The cubes will be open cubbies for the girls to put their stuff while getting ready.  No need to put clothes on the floor or counter!  The top sections will have shelves and—get this—doors.  We can stores stacks of towels without their tumbling onto the floor, and our guests won't have to see our cleaning supplies.

Cabinets for corner where sink was

The bottom section is a cabinet with two drawers (yes, 2 more).  Plenty of room for TP and whatever else is needed near the toilet.  Once again the center cubes are open.  Someplace other than the back of the loo to put those PJs while showering.  And the top section is shelves with doors.  Think "towels near the shower".

Flycatcher Nest

A pair of flycatchers decided to nest over our front porch while you were gone. The nest appears to be made from mud and moss. If you look very carefully in this picture you can see several little beaks pointing up.