O/T Bathroom Project

Progress is slow on this. Still haven't started on the waterfall in the shower. Seems there is always one more thing to do that is more important. Several years ago a life long friend of my father gave him several Oak trees out of the river bottom. We cut them up on the sawmill, stacked and air dried the lumber. I am using it to trim the bathroom. It is hard as a rock and has tried every tool I own. Not sure what causes the markings on the boards that I used for the electric outlet. The last picture is the window, I used Oak shutters instead of curtains. I have spent more for saw blades, sharpening planer and jointer blades than I would have for store bought trim. But that's not me. I am really enjoying this project.

If that outlet is inside a bathroom, it needs to be changed to a GFI outlet. Don't delay, change it right away.

The white markings are "tangental rays" that occur in the wood. Cells that carry stuff horizontally across the tree.

Ray Category--Oak-type Rays
(occurring exclusively in oaks, producing distinct light-colored radial lines on cross sections, very tall ray flecks, and dark longitudinal lines as tall as corresponding ray flecks, on tangential surfaces)


red oak group:
on cross sections, distinctive light-colored radially-oriented lines running across typically ring-porous growth rings; forming fairly wide irregularly-shaped stripes'' of ray flecks on radial surfaces, approximately 1/4 inch along the grain; definite dark-colored lines approximately 1/4 inch along the grain on tangential surfaces.

white oak group:
on cross sections, distinctive light-colored radially-oriented lines running across typically ring-porous growth rings, usually somewhat wider than in red oak; forming very wide irregularly-shaped stripes'' of ray flecks on radial surfaces approximately 1/2+ inch along the grain; definite dark-colored lines approximately 1/2+ inch along the grain on tangential surfaces.

live oak:
on cross sections, rays appear as approximately 1/8 inch wide, light-colored, radially-oriented lines running across growth rings whose boundaries are indistinct; extremely wide, irregularly-shaped stripes'' of ray flecks on radial surfaces more than one inch along the grain; definite dark-colored lines more than one inch along the grain on tangential surfaces. Wood is extremely hard and heavy.

That is what quarter sawn looks like.

It is also installed upside down.

not really if it is protected by another GFCI earlier in the circuit or at the panel board.

As others said, the flakes are characteristic of quartersawn oak. Very common in older furniture and a mark of quality. Rift saw (~45 degree grain) your lumber if you don't like them. My floor is mixed rift and quarter oak; a very unusual and pleasing look.

Teddy, there is a good reason to install a 120V receptacle with the "face" upside-down. If something conductive falls on a plug, it will hit the ground terminal before it can contact the hot contact. That's said, I always install them "right-side-up". My stepson is a licensed electrician who does a lot of commercial work; he installs them upside-down.

Your bathroom project looks good.

Years ago my daddy remolded our bathroom and put carpet down. Momma liked it so much, she had him run the carpet all the way to the house.

Our bathroom had no electricity, just a moon shape window in the door and a sky light. Sorry no pics.

George

Why the shutters? That is not stylish!! I remember that bathroom windows used to be smaller than the others. Now I see in magazines and news paper all the time that new showplace homes always have huge bathroom windows. I suppose you are supposed to be able to gaze out on the world while you dry off.

Nice!
I trimmed my house several years ago from a couple old oaks (one white, one red) that I had to cut down to fit the house in.
It brought back some memories hearing about your tools and the sharpening. I went through that too, and like you, wouldn't trade it. As my boys grew up, the baseboards withstood many toy truck and car crashes. And it still looks like the day I installed it - those toys however....
A couple years later I was working on someones house and picked up some red oak lumber from the lumberyard - no comparison. Much softer (still hard though). I was told that was due to it being a quick grown/harvested product.
And SD John - thanks for the info. I have wondered for a while now why those marks are in the wood.
Good Luck with the project Roger.

Tony

My understanding is that when something falls on a cord & pulls it out, the ground should be the last to lose contact.

There is NO CODE requirement on ground up or down for the installation of a receptacle. Never seen it on a box from the manufacturer either.

Back in the late 80's, I wired my own house as we built it. I have a friend that wires for a living & that is what he told me. I don't know if it was code or not.

(quoted from post at 00:45:20 11/30/13) There is NO CODE requirement on ground up or down for the installation of a receptacle. Never seen it on a box from the manufacturer either.

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In MY area there IS a code on which way a receptacle is supposed to be installed. At least in commercial applications.
In this area in commercial applications the ground is supposed to be at the top so that if someone drops a paper clip or similar object on a plug it will hit the ground and not the hot or neutral.
There is no such code for residential in my area.