Homework

Down in the basement there is a hole in the wall that leads to the crawlspace. Previously there was a piece of plywood with a vent in it. It was only held up with nails and really wasn't all that secure. A while back I took it down so that I could force myself to make a new one. The occasional winter draft from the crawlspace put me in the shop to make a new one.

I had a couple of ideas of what to do. But the final plan was based on this:

• use only things that I had in the shop
• add on a vent
• make it easy to remove

I couldn't come up with a good secure way to mount it with what I already had, so I went to pick up two hinges and a bolt. Rummaging around in the shop I found an endless supply of plywood. The only piece I had was a 3/4 inch chunk that I knocked down into several peices to match the shape that I wanted. Chris helped move the giant plywood piece through the table saw. I even got to use my new cutting tool that my brother got me for christmas. I also took the vent off of the old 'door' and set that aside. I held the plywood together with some 1x's and was careful not to split the wood like I have a habit of doing. With everything put together I slapped on the vent and all was well.

Now you may guess, that a 2'x2' door of 3/4 inch wood, is a bit heavy, The hinges I picked up were not going to cut it. So I came up with a new plan. 4 big ol screws were put into the wall. I cut a keyhole shape into the door and oddly, it worked.

Once it was all set I put some handles on it just to make it easier. All in all, I did have to buy a few extra peices, but it was pretty minimal.