Day 28 and the rainy gray weather just wouldn’t go away. But, Brad managed to do his outdoor electrical work without any trouble (I even “assisted” by standing at the foot of the ladder, and by holding a light while he wired it). We had planned on re-wiring the post light, but when Brad took a look at both the post, and the feed for the electrical, he discovered that the wiring was relatively new, and could be saved (hooray! savings!). The ground wire hadn’t been tied into the outdoor outlets, making them a bit scary to use, so he fixed that up, rewired the box, and voila! Safe outlets! Brad’s main work for the re-wire is almost done, which means that the next phase we’ll see him for is Finish! Within a few weeks, we’ll have outlets, lighting fixtures, appliances and switches energized and buzzing with power. I can hardly wait!
Category Archives: bathroom
Satisfy my soul, satisfy my soul…
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Day 27 and work cruised along steadily. Floors were sanded lightly to give the next coat of poly something to stick to, and a second coat of poly was then applied. The west bedroom closet floor was coated as well, and finish trim was installed inside the closet. Primer was applied, and the room was cleaned within an inch of its life (He even mopped! Thank you, Eric!). Durock was installed in the master bath, shelving niches for bath products were set in place, and the floor for the shower was packed into position. And, electrical work continued in the basement and upstairs main bath (where detective Brad found that previous electrical work we had done was NOT done correctly. Grr). Slow and steady was the name of the game today, and, appropriately enough, we had a reggae mix on to soothe the day along. Groovy.
Things that make you go “hmmm”…
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Week 6 (!), day 26, and the weather matched my energy level. Gray, heavy, damp, cool. I would probably rather have been making soup, baking bread and watching sappy movies all day. Instead, there were three teams working – with three separate music choices – in three separate areas of the house. In the attic, we had Brad and his helper, Ian, completing the smoke detectors, and replacing all the floor boards; in the master bathroom, we had Caleb preparing the shower floor, and setting the in-floor (radiant) heating pad; and, on the first floor, we had Dave and Eric brushing the first coat of poly onto the stained kitchen floors. Busy, busy, busy.
Time keeps on ticking, ticking, ticking…
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Day 22 and paint is happening! Ok, so it’s merely priming and first coat kind of stuff, but there is color on the walls, and I can begin to imagine the kitchen as my kitchen, our home, instead of simply a project to be completed. Unfortunately, this also reminds me of just how much I miss having a kitchen, cooking, creating and participating in (culinarily speaking) our most bountiful time of year: summer. I miss cooking. I miss it every time I have a mediocre meal or sandwich (like last night and today) from a take-out place, and I miss it when I put on my summer clothes that just aren’t fitting me quite as well as they did last year (or even earlier this year). I know “this too shall pass” and that it’s all for a good cause, that the reward will be worth the suffering (really, more like inconvenience), but it’s still hard. Sigh.
Double your pleasure, double the fun…
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Day 19 (Thursday) was a run-around day. Day 20 was a watch-joint-compound-dry day. On Thursday we went to Ashfield to check out stone for our counters, got some paint samples and swatches, Brad finished up some projects in the attic, Dave delivered our quarter-sawn fir flooring to get it acclimated to our space, and Brian from Bird Drywall put on the second coat of joint compound. I’m told that the second coat is the most crucial, as it is often the thickest, and takes the longest to dry. So, while we had lovely almost autumnal weather outside (albeit mildly humid), we had to close up the house and turn on the air conditioning to cut any dampness out of the air. We also turned on our dehumidifier (after I mentioned that we had one, and Brian’s eyes bulged out of his head, in a good way) and a few fans to get the drier air circulating. It must have worked because when Brian got here today, the seams were dry (except for in the bathroom where the mold resistant paper on the sheetrock slows the drying process). Phew. He was glad, and so were we. We’re getting a 4-point treatment (essentially four coats) on our seams which means that Brian will be working here this weekend. We’re on target for beginning to prime next week, and in order to make that happen, he’s got to make up for some of the time lost to waiting for the inspector.
This changes everything…
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Day 18, and I’d like to say that the drywall install went down like a wild west showdown. Screw-guns slung, tape at the ready, spurs on the little drywall shoe/stilts that they wear, whistley-western music encouraging them… but, it wasn’t quite like that. After a brief interlude where Eric injured himself (merely a flesh wound!), work cruised along at a calm pace. The music selection was pleasant and soothing (it was, in fact, somewhat western, for most of the day) and everyone was focused on the task at hand. The humidity had blown away overnight, so the mud dried quickly, as had been hoped for, making prep for the next coat even better. All in all, a successful day.
(Pink panther theme song)…
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Day 17 (still in Phase 2-A) started off slowly, but ended with a dramatic visual change. We began our day (and by we, I mean they) by rushing in to finish insulating the master bath in time for our inspection (scheduled for 8:30am). The inspector rolled up around 10:30-ish. (What IS it with inspectors?) Lucky for everyone, Dave expected as much, and had a little play with the schedule. So, everyone took an early lunch in order to maintain a steady flow post-lunch. Sensible, thoughtful and correct – just what I want out of a team of experienced professionals!
Drywall is dusty stuff. Add to that the humidity and heat and you’ve got the makings for a very unpleasant experience. (Lucky for me I had to be absent for part of the day bringing Bec to the vet to get her sutures removed. Success!) But, the Team powered through, seemingly enjoying it, laughing, smiling and tolerating my interrupting camera from time to time. I am forever impressed with how happy everyone is on this project. We really are so lucky.
Duh-nuh, duh-nuh, duh-nuh…
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Day 13, and now I’m superstitious. Ok, not really, but the electrical inspector stood us up. Didn’t call, didn’t send flowers, just never showed. After three calls (and a few HOURS waiting) we learned that he was “really busy” that morning. How nice for him. How nice for him to make an appointment and then totally ignore it. Grr. He’s supposed to come tomorrow. We’ll see about that. I’m sure this humid, sticky, return-to-summer weather isn’t helping our patience. At least the electrical is ready to be inspected (high five, Brad!).
Baby, baby, sweet, baby…
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Day 10 went by so fast, it’s almost a blur in my mind. In fact, it almost seems like it’s still happening. Ok, well, it is. We’re on day 10-B now, as the plumbers are working part of today to make up for the time they lost when they had to (last minute, and unexpectedly) postpone their start day earlier in the week. (What professionalism! Dedication! We have such a good crew!) But, man, oh, man, did everyone get tons done Friday. Framing of the closet? Check. Framing of the pantry? Check. Framing for powder room door? Check. Recess built for radiator? Check. Lights hung and awaiting our approval? Check. Bathroom fan hung and vented? Check. Preliminary venting done for range hood? Check. Plumbing – ok, I don’t know what any of the plumbing is called, and the plumbers are such hard workers that I daren’t stop them to ask- but, plumbing stuff? Check!
Hallelujah, and sparks flew up to heaven…
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Day 7 was as busy as ever – we heard the nail gun (and compressor), sawing, some shouting (mainly because the tools are so loud), many a trip up and down the attic stairs and even some laughter. The weather was hotter, but still lovely, and not so humid as to turn everyone grouchy toward one another (though I can’t speak for Brad, the electrician, who spent a fair amount of time in the still hideously uncomfortable attic). With everything buzzing away, I could focus on some other projects that I’ve been trying to find time for – mowing the lawn, refreshing the front planters, and printing out/working on Jeff’s sister’s wedding invites.