Saturday was mostly about the RETROpad. Gary Jackson nearly got heatstroke doing all that trench-work, surveying and form-setting on a bad wrist. He’s a trooper and he loves these kinds of projects. And after two more trips to Home Depot we have all the conduit figured out, including all the fittings and good plans for gates, grading and drainage.

We have a 1″ PVC pipe for 30A electric service, a second  1″ PVC pipe for Ethernet and Coaxial cable, and a 3/4″ PVC sprinkler pipe for fresh water. Gary ran yellow pull strings through the electrical conduits to make my electrician’s job easier (and cheaper). We also learned that we can rent a Bobcat from Home Depot for $249 for a whole day. So we’ll likely do that next Saturday to move some dirt.

In the morning Olivia helped install the last four windows and they look amazing. They’re all tinted, so they let in just the right amount of light. She loves them! And the screens on the back doors allow for some nice breezes. I solved the “bad screw” problem by buying a new DeWalt bit set with an extender.

I also got my six-way bus bars installed for the LED lighting banks. I screwed them into the ceiling ribs after deciding where the switches will go. Those bus bars will provide each light with a dedicated 12V circuit, wired in parallel. Tomorrow we’ll install our first ceiling panel, over the T7 aft cavity. That one’s easy because it will only have my custom speaker cans attached to it. So I can use it to test out some rigid foam insulation up top.

I found some awesome grab bars with integrated shelves, quite by accident. These will go either on panel P2 next to the helm seat, or above the galley countertop. They’ll hold important items like a soap dispenser, remote controls or beer bottles.

As the end of the tax year looms, I’ve been researching the best way to cut and install my vinyl decals for business branding purposes. It looks like I’ll be using products made by VViViD. I can get matte black and white vinyl in 1′ by 5′ rolls, which would simplify my grid-based diagonal cuts for the clapboard logos:

I think I have a great design solution, so stay tuned…