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      Well it can universally be stated that ducting/sheet metal in general is maybe the least enjoyable medium to work with, but not only that the problem is exacerbated since it apparently takes six to eight times as long as expected to finish any part of the process.  That being said I do believe that we well crossed the halfway point of the process this weekend, so the arbitrary goal of having it done by the end of the month still is within reach.
     Lynch and myself started prepping the trunk line on Friday night.  This included, but was not limited to assembling the duct work, making our own duct, screwing pieces together, getting frustrated, taping over holes, swearing, cutting our hands apart and then swearing more.  Once we had the majority of things set up for Sat. we had a bonfire and got ripped. 
     For some reason staying up late on Friday and drinking ended up meaning that Saturday morning was a little fuzzy and ended up (thanks to a faulty snooze alarm and my laziness) started an hour late, despite Lynch showing up on time... That aside the day was spent putting in a few marginal runs and making the remainder of the trunk line.
     Everything seemed to come together on Sunday though.  The day was spent in a crawl space, not just a crawlspace though, a damp unfinished, Michigan crawlspace fully furnished with rocks, rusted debris, and cobwebs.  What made the experience truly amazing though was the filth that rained down every time a banding strap was put into place.  We ended on Sunday though with all the trunk line laid  and over half of the runs tied in with accompanying dampers.
    Since Sunday was the first day which noticeable progress was made with the ducting and I didn't have a whole lot of engineering work in the office, I took the day off and arranged for my buddy Tebbs to work all day.  By lunch time we had all but one of the runs set up, and Lynch showed up ready to knock off the rest of the project.  We fell a bit short because we ran out of materials (mainly 90 degree elbows), but in the end have the HVAC (havoc if you will) within a few work days of being finished.

Assembled pieces line ready to be taped, screwed and installed.

The gestalt product of the pieces from the above picture

Lynch hanging new lines

Tebbs taking enjoying the wide open spaces

 Trunk line with a reducer getting ready for the crawlspace

  If you look closely you can see two reducers...

This was the point I realized there were worse spaces than a dank basement

The trunk lives!

No explanation needed

 Probably an OSHA approved hardhat

The 4th of July Weekend posted on the 14th

My good friend Truett and his girlfriend Sandy were in town for the long fourth of July weekend.  The four of us (T, Sandy, Amber and myself) decided that Saturday would be a good day to enjoy some "Pure Michigan" and spent the day on the beaches near Cross Village.

We started the work on Sunday the (the fourth) to discover that the annual memorial for my grandmother was put up on the porch railing.

We divided up the work with Lynch and myself buying materials, finishing up the stairwell, and cutting holes for the vents while Amber, Truett, Sandy and Doug laid the remainder of the sub-floor, swept, pulled nails and leveled the remainder of the first floor.  Despite the post being a week and a half late and a bit out of order, the weekend was a lot of fun and we still managed to get quite a bit done.

             Truett showing Sandy how to pull nails like a pro

                           ... And the finished board

Lucky Duck-ty

4"x12" Straight Stack boot to 6" collar

Pieces of the trunk line next to starter collars and a floor register

The complete run of duct into one of the kitchen vents

8"x12" Dampered trunk line with 4 takeoffs

The Whye to the Laundry room and first floor bathroom

A bag that fell on Lynch while putting in an elbow

What could be in it?

About $16 (face) worth of silver coins from the 30's

Riser and Whye to second floor bedroom

Plenum caulked and drying

Capped Trunk line

On the table book-keeping

Not a lot has happened over the past week or so with the project other than cleaning out the remainder of all the junk in the house (old windows, scrap wood, toilets, broken doors, etc) and putting it in yet another dumpster, but at least now the whole of the interior is open and clean.
The other "event" which occured last week was the posting of a "Stop Work" notice on the front door.  Since stopping work was the last thing I wanted to do, I had the house inspected (the work done so far passed), and paid the fee for a building permit.  It was actually much easier than I had initially thought the process would be and it only took the township a day to turn arround my request for permiting.  All in all it could have turned out far worse.
With the project being back in gear and the weekend fast approaching, the mechanical installation will be the next order of buisness.  Tonight I will be walking through and marking the areas that need to be cut out for floor vents and cold air returns.  I do still need to track down a set of gloves which will protect my forearms from the sheet metal edges. 
In the end it looks like the ducting and furnace will come in at about $2500 and will have taken roughly 60 hours to install.  With that being said, and thinking about the contractors' quotes, I may have gone into the wrong profession since the rates quoted put labor at $95 per hour.