Day Ten -- Actual Construction. Panic ensues

Finally! Actual construction! I put it off as long as I could, not feeling very comfortable about this serious step. I considered waiting until Mike got home -- after all, the instructions say this is the time when extra hands would be helpful. But then I decided I could do this -- can't I? Although, by the time I was through (1) I wasn't sure I could and (2) wondered why I hadn't encouraged Mike all those years ago to start a harem.

The instructions would have had me start by standing the midfloor on end and putting the side on top. But that was a balancing act I was thoroughly incapable of. So I laid the side on the table and put the midfloor on *it*. The instability of this procedure precluded any attempt to take a picture. Here's both sides glued to the midfloor:

Tape, tape, tape. Although I have little hope that the tape will actually do any good. I was distressed to see glue oozing onto the hardwood floors. I could wipe off the excess, but had to get creative with a tiny paintbrush to get the glue out of the little grooves between the boards. I *think* I got it all.

At this point I was supposed to install the groove fill. Finally realized what this was. There was a gap between the stairwell and the side wall:

The groove fill goes into this gap to make a smooth transition. Knowing that, I was able to (finally!) properly identify the groove fill:

No. it's not supposed to stick out like that. Using a hammer and a piece of wood to cushion the blow, I was supposed to hammer the groove fill in (it's a pretty tight fit). I didn't, because that seems so permanent a move to make and I was feeling less than confident at that point about the whole procedure. If the final product looks good enough, I'll do it then. Or give in to weakness and ask Mike to do it.

When I put the bottom floor on, I got a bit more clever about the glue oozing into the hardwood floor grooves and put a piece of tape along the edge first:

Then I was supposed to put the front on. That's pretty much when the panic set in. The front was mitered as if to fit *into* the body of the house, with the side walls on the outside. But it only fit flush to the sides. This left gaps (see the glue drips?):

So now I'm not sure whether or not I hope the glue actually sets up or not, if it turns out that I have to take the @#$%@#ing thing apart again.

Here's the result, taped to hell and back: