The Dining Room Built-In: The fireplace carcass

Measure, Math, Measure, Math

I keep thinking I want to wait until the whole project is finished before posting, but quite frankly - it's going to take too long, and sharing the progress is half the fun!  The main reason this is taking so long is because I really don't have much time after work to monkey around with the built-in.  Okay, you're onto me - the real reason it's taking awhile is that I'm not that skilled.  Just putting a few boards together takes an incredibly long time...I measure, do the math, set up clamps, measure, do the math and set up clamps again! 

For example, building the fireplace carcass took two evenings, a part of the project that probably would have taken a professional an hour!  But....it's fun for me, a way to relieve the stress of the day.  Here's the first night's work:

That's right boys n girls!  A whole evening for that!  And the rest of the carcass took the whole of the next evening!

Right now the front is just tacked to the rest of the carcass, there's a few things to do before it all gets permanently affixed.  Tonight I got the based all leveled up, tomorrow I'll probably redo that long platform board (I mis-cut the one in the picture), then I want to get the power run up into the fireplace box.  I already ran the wire from the circuit-breaker box to the spot in the workshop that's just below the dining room:

Once the platform is re-cut, I'll be able to drill the hole and set up the outlet.  Seems like so many steps to go still!