With the floor of the guest bedroom in place, Hans and I proceeded to case the doorway. The casing is mostly 1x4s cut to fit neatly around the door opening, hiding the drywall edge. One jamb is in the very corner of the room, leaving insufficient space for a 1×4, so I measured how much space we actually had and ripped a 1×4 to fit. I couldn’t even use the guide on the table saw… the guide only works for uniform rips, and the piece of casing varies from 1¼ inches to 1½ inches. So I snapped a chalk line and made a freehand rip, then used a sander to make the edge smooth. It fit OK in the end.

Guest bedroom doorway, all cased and ready for action.

We cased the floor, too, in a manner of speaking. (Nobody actually calls it that, but it fits the theme of this post.) Mark installed baseboard around the perimeter of most rooms upstairs, hiding the inevitable gap between the floor and the drywall. They look awesome, painted white against the master bedroom’s blue walls. I find it fascinating how so many architectural details have become aesthetic ornaments when their true function is more substantial.

Master bedroom floor, surrounded by baseboard and ready for the baseboard heater hookup.

Having run out of Azec plastic-wood for the exterior, but wanting the most prominent façade to look nice until Bob gets a new supply, I put a temporary casing around the witch window. The casing consists of ordinary 1x6s (pine, not plastic); I painted them white and then Hans kerfed them and cut them to length. It took a few tries to get a snug fit, which I achieved using easily-removed deck screws. While I was up there, I also reinstalled clapboard siding up to the gable peak.

Like new, only not. Exterior casing for the witch window.

This job goes on hiatus through Memorial Day. For our final chore before leaving, we gave the place a thorough clean. I organized all our salvaged lumber in the barn and vacuumed the barn floor, where the sawdust was inches thick in some places.

Order.