Category Archives: carpentry

Let it go, this too shall pass…*

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*Lyrics from OK GO’s This Too Shall Pass.

So, for the past month (I looked it up since it seems like it’s been longer) I’ve been battling the never ending saga of tooth pain. If you’ve ever suffered from anything related to that, you’ll understand exactly why I’ve barely done anything but bathe, eat soft food, haven’t exercised, and have only gotten mildly through my punch list for the family bath. After my latest dental examination showed that I might not just have one tooth in peril, but two (cue meltdown here) I’ve decided to stop feeling badly about neglecting my work, and my blog. I will be back at it, and the exercise, too, once I feel that my tooth pain issues have been properly addressed, and when I feel safe in encouraging blood to pump freely (and quickly) through my head.

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And there upon the rainbow is the answer, to a neverending story…

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Throughout the past week, Team Carpentry (aka: Team Jonas this time around) has been here working diligently, tirelessly (well, ok, he did get tired), and mindfully to get the built-in cabinet done for the Family Bath Project (aka: the neverending project, ahha ah ahha ah ahha ahhh). read on…

The quicker we go, the faster we fall behind…*

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With a sickly (feverish) wee one at home awaiting his arrival, Dave (& Jonas) arrived on Sunday to do the hour or so of work that needed to get done before J.J. could (can) finish the floor in the bathroom. A bit of mud, tape, sawdust and vacuuming, and suddenly the room felt like it was ready to move on. (I’ve been ready to move on for weeks, now. But I digress.) The seam between the durock and sheetrock was bound together – though multiple coats of compound still need to be applied – making the room instantly feel more finished. Nothing like plugging up holes to make a room settle a bit. And, after patching a few more spots where attic air could penetrate our cozy little room, and cleaning up the threshold so that a new non-beveled piece of marble could be installed, Dave and Jonas made a date to come back and finish up the carpentry portion of the project.

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I love it all, so much I call, I want you back…*

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As winter tromps along, with seemingly no end in sight, so does our Family Bath Project. Brad’s been fitting in bits of the project between winter storms, while Dave and Jonas have been giving us time on the weekends to fit us in amid their busy (weather-altered) schedule. We knew that the wintertime project would be inevitably affected by the weather, other bigger jobs (this is, after all, just a tiny bathroom compared to the whole houses all these dudes are working on), and colds and flus. So far we’ve been incredibly lucky, and the scheduling has worked out very well for everyone. Until…

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Guess what, I am not a robot…*

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I may not be a robot, but Team Carpentry (with some help from friends) were like machines tearing out the worst parts of the family bath (namely: everything). It seems like forever ago that we started the process of designing, shopping for, and hiring for our family bathroom makeover. But it was more like a few weeks ago. Boy, things change, though, once you rip down some walls, and rip out some fixtures. In a good way.

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Love it all, love it all, love it all…*

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When I decided to have the closet re-imagined, I never imagined how much work that would actually be. Of course I realized it would be dirty (removing plaster is mighty dusty work), and that it would require fitting larger people into tiny spaces (sorry Team Help A Sista’ Out!). But did I realize that there would be all the components of a full-on renovation? No, not really. We had demo, framing, drywall, taping and mudding, caulking, finish carpentry, trim, electrical (still to be done), and even some flooring (a threshold needs to be added). And of course painting, but I’m doing that this time around, to save costs and to make me feel like I’m earning my keep. And all these steps are (were) taking place at a break-neck pace as compared with our previous project. Ah, nostalgia.

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A scrub is a guy that can’t get no love from me…

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Mid-week 15, day 73, and the plumbing is finally done! Shockingly, the heating install went well, smoothly even, and the last tasks to complete the punch-list for Team Plumbing were done in less than one day. Relief, disbelief, joy. Wow, we’re seriously almost done now. (Thanks, Matt!) We’ll still need a final plumbing inspection, but it’s looking good, working, and helps us get to the next (last) stage of our renovation: completion.

Team Carpentry was back, including Dave (duh), J.J. (as a jack-of-all-trades helper again), and Jonas (the cabinet/furniture guru among them). Dave worked the last bits of baseboard trim, completed the cutest (can I say “cute” about something that’s made of wood and metal?) little radiator cover that cleverly removes (!!) for access to the heater, and began the process of moving out of the garage (that could take days). J.J. worked his way down the punch-list, painting windows, corbels, touch-ups on walls and doors, and vacuuming debris along the way. Oh, and he fixed a tile that got cracked during a small carpentry adjustment. All in a day’s work, eh, J.J.?

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We are family, I got all my (people) with me…

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Okay, so it’s been a bit since my last post. About a week. Week (mostly lucky) 13. Days 61 through 65. What a week. If I can even remember back to the beginning, last Monday, day 61 (which was a holiday, or so I’m told) was just Dave and I trying to stay focused, and on task for another big week. Dave spent some time building light rails (to hide the undercabinet lighting), and finished up working on the infrastructure for the floating shelves in the baking nook (not as simple a task as one might think!). I spent the day painting – what I was painting I can barely recall – and would still be painting now were it not for the flu that snatched me from vertical to horizontal sometime on Thursday (hence the mostly lucky week 13). But I don’t want to jump ahead.

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He said I’m worth it…

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Day 60! We made it! Well, that was Friday, and I’ve been so busy since then that I didn’t even get a chance to tell you about it. So, Friday capped off a great week (and capped of 12 weeks of work so far!). Caleb and J.J. finished tiling and grouting the backsplash, Dave finished building the pantry nook (which I LOVE, by the way), and started working on the shelves for the baking nook, while I cleaned, sanded and painted the radiator covers for the entire first floor. We were all busy, motivated by the Shakira and Beyonce channel on Pandora. (Let the record show, this was a request by the boys – they even sang along to some of the diva-tude. It was rather cute.)

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C’mon y’all know I had to kill her…*

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Day 57 started off great. Stone getting worked on (sinks, seams and sealer!) and paint happening all around. And then I got ill. Feverish, sleeping all day, sick to my stomach ill. Not fun. So I missed the rest of it. And now we’re finishing day 58. So it’s a combo post, not because nothing happened, but because sickness struck again. Ugh. (Still mending, not quite 100% yet… maybe 67%? Perhaps 78%? Remains to be seen.)

But, my health issues aside, so much has changed in a day! The whole house is painted, or nearly so, tile is being installed, countertops are in, the sink is in, the dishwasher is in place… we can almost imagine a day in the not too distant future where we’ll actually get to have a kitchen! It’s so good. So, first, on Tuesday, Team Stone finished up the install on the countertops (which look UH-MAY-ZING, by the way), and Team Dave finished painting, oh, just about everything! (Love you, Dave!) I staggered downstairs at one point later in the day (in my pj’s, looking ever so pathetic, I’m sure) and was amazed by how much paint can change the feeling of a space. No more do we have paint samples painted all over the walls in the foyer, or dingy looking trim. It’s all fresh, bright, and clean. It made me as happy as anything can make someone in my state. (I promptly went back to sleep.)

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