Day 36 starts week 8 (!), and even though this was Labor Day, we still had some actual labor to attend to. Caleb and J.J. toiled at their tile today, forgoing basking in the most perfect weather imaginable to make some headway on the shower (including hand-polishing some rough parts of the marble chair rail to finish out the niches), and grouted both bathroom floors. Caleb also saved us from disaster (not really, but gauche-ness was averted) by letting us know that our shower drain, if grouted into place, would be permanent, and that the black PVC edge of it would always show. Gross! We will be getting another shower drain (chrome all the way, baby) post-haste, and it can simply be screwed into place instead of the builder-grade (plumber standard?) one we were given. Phew. Thanks, Caleb. Good save.
Jeff and I also spent the weekend (and part of today) staining the siding on the addition. The replacement shingles needed to be sealed since all of the neighboring ones were stained already, but we absolutely hated the color that was on there already (no offense, whoever chose it!). It reminded us of the contents of a baby diaper. Not pretty. So we opted for a bittersweet chocolate color to pick up on the darkest tones of the naturally weathered shakes that have been on the house since it was born. And, of course I can never just take a color that’s given to me, so I doctored up a formula (but I measured it this time) to create a deep, rich, velvety chocolate. Mmmm, tasty.
The staining process was very much like painting – and by painting I mean reaching, stretching, using muscles never before identified, and perching unnaturally high off the ground – and it was very, very time consuming. We knew it would take some time, but the roughness of the new shakes made us have to really push the stain into the wood. Wow, do I have respect for house painters (not that I didn’t before, but, wow). It is not easy, not quick, not skill-free work, but we were able to save ourselves a bit of cash, so it was well worth it. It was quite satisfying to see it come to completion, too. As I wrote in my last post, we were desperately in need of finishing something, and this totally helped to fuel our passion for the project, renewing our sense of accomplishment and promise for future transformations. It also helped that the weather was spectacular all weekend, making a strenuous task a bit easier to cope with. At least we were outdoors, right?
On deck for this week, well, so much, really. We’re having our countertop templates made tomorrow, more electrical Wednesday (which is good because we were beginning to miss Brad!), plumbing on Thursday, and floor sanding starting Thursday. (Whew!) Combine that with the ongoing tile work, and the other miscellaneous carpentry projects (hanging doors, painting trim, installing trim, completing cabinet install, etc.) and we’ve got a full, full week. And we’ve got to make this week count since we’ll be locked out of the house starting Saturday (we’re going on vacation so the floors can be redone). Let’s just hope the weather cooperates for that task. Rain or shine, hell or high water, those floors will get finished, whether the floors like it or not.
Some pictures from this weekend, and today. Enjoy!
