Duct Tape Dissemination

In Alaska (and maybe elsewhere), we have plenty of jokes based at least partially in truth about duct tape.  You can build or fix anything with duct tape.  We have a duct tape ball, where party-goers design their costumes out of duct tape.  It comes in many colors (I like the purple the best).  People use it to fix tents and tarps, cover broken brake lights, seal holes, make wallets, and the list goes on.  The many varieties and uses of duct tape are phenomenal.

I never really thought about the original purpose of duct tape until tonight.  When I got home from work, Greg had ripped up yet another section of flooring.  Partially to fix weak or squeaky areas, but also to move a floor vent from one side of the sliding glass door to the other.  In order to do so, he got metal tubing and cut through the floor joists.  And what did he use to seal the ducting, you might ask?  Well, he used duct tape.  Here's where the light bulb went on over my head.  Duct tape... Ducting...  Hmmmmm...

Apparently the original duct tape was NOT the one with the duck on it.  And it had words printed on it - the heat rating.  And it seals the tubing for the air vents so the warm air gets pushed out into the room (rather than leaking all over the under-sub-floor).  Some of the silver kinds are still heat-rated well enough to use for duct-work, but I don't think the colored ones are.  Why waste those pretty colors where they'll never be seen anyway??  =)

My contribution to the project tonight was more vacuuming.   Sawdust, dirt and detritus from the under-sub-floor (does that area have a "real" name?), more sawdust.  But this is the last of the cutting-up-the-floor part of the project.  Still plenty of other things to do, but all the sub-floor work is done.  I can check that off my list of things we've completed (that I wasn't aware we were going to do - or needed to do - when I signed on for this whole deal).  Who knew that removing the fireplace and laying flooring would include so many different things??  Someone else might have known, but alas, that someone wasn't me.  Live and learn...