Basement Project, Part II

I got a start on it yesterday. It went slow, because I had to go around the breaker box and a window. After that, the wall is unimpaired except for a small notch I'll need for the beam. I also realized that foamboard insulation is made stupidly. They already have score lines for snapping them into smaller widths, but they're at 16" and 24". Since a 16"–on–center wall has 14.5" of space between the studs, then the pieces will be 1.5" too wide. I don't get it. So I have to measure and slice each piece manually, and I'll have all that scrap left over. What a fucking waste of time and non–decomposing material.

I'm also realizing that a cordless hammer drill is a dumb idea. It takes maybe a minute at full speed to drill a hole about 1.5" deep into the mortar. With 4 screws anchoring each 2x2, I can get maybe 2 boards done before the battery is dead. By that time the battery is plenty warm, and it should cool before charging (which I didn't do), and then it should cool before being used again (again, not). I borrowed Geoff's DeWalt portable light/charger because it has 2 charging bays, and the light is fluorescent and cool, as opposed to 500W halogen work lights.

I also figured out that the nice 4' drywall square I got free from a neighbor lady was out of whack. Who knows how many things I've cut with it that aren't square. A few whacks on the floor got it back into square.