I feel the pull of your ever so comfy couch....
Good job, yes pre-drilling would have helped. But you work with what you got.. right.
I must say.. I don't think I have ever seen a bit quite like the one there. You could probably nickname it "sparky". I bet it was almost hot enough to weld with once you guys were done with it.
Oh.. and the floors. Exactly like the ones in our house, it's uncanny. I will have to post them some day.
Sweet pad by the way! Good luck to both of you!