Aching Arms

I didn't really see this coming, call it voluntary ignorance or just not thinking the whole process through but I really thought that cutting the containers walls was the hard part......wrong.

After cutting the container walls out we were left with this, space, glorious space. Such excitement from finally getting a  feel of what the inside will be like came to a screeching halt when the realization of the next step sunk in.

Yes, all that wall removal left us this this top and bottom. And while this may not LOOK like much it might as well be Mt. Everest when its on the ceiling 9'3" high and ALL has to be ground off with metal grinders. So as Kyle jollied off to work on Sunday, moi got the privilege to start grinding.

My first job was clean the base of the walls on the floor where the metal posts would be installed. We wanted nice clean metal for them to sit on and be welded to. No problem and of course for me it was fun to make this nasty burnt metal area pristine clean and shiny, very satisfying.

After that the fun ended and we had to move onto the ceiling to clear the reside metal from cutting and make it flush for the ginormous "I" beam that is getting installed.

Ugh, it might as well be on another planet. Needless to say the past 2 days have been spent up a ladder balancing holding a metal grinder up against the ceiling grinding away for hours making the surface flush. If you have ever painted a ceiling, times that by at least 10. The grinders weigh a good bit and get exponentially with every hour that passes. Your arms lose feeling after the first 20 minutes and your sanity escapes you as you watch these ugly lumps of metal disappear at mind boggling slow rates.

And to make things worse, every few feet these bolts were welded to the container walls. They were cut off with the plasma cutter but left massive metal lumps on the surface that take an interminable  amount of time just standing there grinding them down.

So the next time you see Kyle and I we will have enormous biceps but our arms will be stuck permanently in the upright position and we will be perpetually staring at the sky. Regardless of pain and discomfort we press on forward and have to have all this done by tomorrow morning when the welding team and welding inspector return for the final steel installation (besides the stairs which happens much later).

And one more thing that makes it more tedious is all the PPE (personal protection equipment) that you have to wear - there is so much paraphernalia on my head, I swear it, itself weighs 20 lbs more than normal. Doo rag (protect my lovely locks from being set of fire by sparks), eye protection, full face mask, ear coverings, welding gloves, welding jacket, welding overalls, and my work boots. There is so much on my head and that fits behind my ears, they stick out like Alfalfa. It is a great look.

View from our future bedroom.