Casualty!

So, it's Monday night about 7:15 and I decide I'm going to pull some electrical wire in the basement for about half an hour or so. I thought I'd get the office done and still have time to catch "Ally McBeal." Not more than two minutes into the job, the wire that was hard-as-hell to pull suddenly pulls very easily and Blamo! my thumb smacks up against the duct work and blood starts gushing.

I instantly thrust it into my mouth (think about it, what's the first thing you do when you cut your finger?) while glaring angrily over at the cowhide work gloves that should have magically hopped onto my hands as soon as I walked down the stairs. With thumb in mouth, I head upstairs to find "the phone number for that Humana First thing" where you can talk to a registered nurse 24-7.

After briefly speaking with Allison (she's a registered nurse, don't you know) we decide that while the cut may not be that bad - not even stitches material - I should still go to the hospital and get that tetanus shot.

So much for Ally McBeal.


Here's a shot of the wounded thumb. The suspect duct work (the reason for the tetanus shot) is actually up toward the ceiling a bit more. I was already taking the picture with my left hand and I didn't much feel like climbing back up the ladder.

Folding Attic Stairway

What good is an attic if you don't have easy access to it?

Trips to Home Improvement Centers: 2

The specs... The opening is roughly 18-1/2" x 52", the ladder has 9 stairs, framing the opening required four 8' 2"x8"s, one 1/4" thick 4'x8' sheet of plywood, and one 4'x8' sheet of R-5 foam board insulation.

Tools required included a reciprocating saw, circular saw, and rotary tool as well as the standard hammer and tape measure. Mostly Craftsman stuff.

This was one of those "this won't be so bad" projects that wound up taking almost three weeks to complete when all was said and done.

The opening is 18 1/2" wide and the majority of boxes we're trying to get in the attic are 19" wide. Go figure, huh?

Note the "hatch" at the top of the stairs. These folding stairways leave something to be desired in the way of insulation, so I borrowed one of my father-in-laws ingenious ideas and added the swing-open "hatch." Complete with insulated Foam board and weather stripping, of course.