The Minnedome’s second story vertical walls were designed to be installed once the joists and plywood were completed for the loft floor. The idea of walking around in our loft (and installing those front upper walls) was so exciting to us, so that was our next task. We planed the high spots and then glued and nailed the plywood down.
We made islands with scrap plywood, so we had places to measure and work from. We used a couple double headed nails to keep them in place while we jumped around.
Jon used the circular saw to trim the edges because dome lofts have funny shapes.
Jon was excited to begin the stairs. He remains excited to begin the stairs, but we’ve been working on so many other tasks!
Then we moved to the utility dome loft, which is above the battery storage and open to the stuff storage side.
This was in August 2024 and it was still very hot.
I got a sassy short haircut and I didn’t regret it. I had been keeping my hair long for safety, so I could pull it back and not get it caught in power tools, but I’ve managed not to injure myself so far. Speaking of power tools, I sure love our track saw! It is the easiest saw for me to use.
We could then finish building the vertical wall on top of the loft on the battery storage side. Since we’re vegetarians, I could say that the seitan is in the details, but that would probably only make Jon and me laugh.
After we finished plywooding the lofts, we plywooded the vertical walls in the utility dome. Hey! A door-k!
We partially sheathed the lower floor vertical walls for added strength before installing the upper walls (in the next post.)
Did I need a little break from carpentry or did my guilty conscience get the better of me for putting off the nasty trench and insulation work around the utility dome? Either way, I started that.
Jon made very sturdy landings for the stairway and posed handsomely on them.
Then we went on another overnight getaway: backpacking to Nelson Lake (obviously, the lake of my ancestors) in Yosemite. It will be its own post later.
And I got a horse! His name is Piñon and I love him very much. He’ll get a blog post, too.