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!
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.
I’d do it all again…
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Day 24. Day twenty-four. For some reason it seems like a long, long time ago that we started. We are almost at the end of five weeks of actual, constant work, and six weeks with no kitchen. Here, at the (almost) midway point in the renovation, I can start to feel the shift toward finishing. We’re sampling floor stain colors, talking about logistics — where to move our furniture, when to move our furniture, making space in the garage for a workshop — the final flooring phase of the project, discussing plans for a maybe-sometime-next-week cabinet delivery (!), and hoping to get to bathroom tiling started early next week. Things are starting to feel final, pieces of the puzzle are slotting into place, and the house is starting to feel like it will be finished.
Can I have it like that? You got it like that…
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Day 23. And. We. Have. Floors! The guys did a tremendous job, working at a steady pace all day long, blending the new floors with the old, and making the space feel truly whole for the first time ever. It’s amazing. The only hitch we had was when Ke$ha came on the radio, and I had to insist that they use the iPod Touch we have set up for them (we use it to play Pandora internet radio for them, even though Dave and Eric resist at every turn). Our musical tastes don’t always match, but I draw the line at teen pop when floor nailers and saws are running. I think, in the end, they were happy to have the music changed (David Bowie station today), though I don’t even think they noticed the horrid “songs” that were playing for part of the day. Shudder.
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.
Let’s get it started in here…
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Day 15 (last Friday) came and went, and no, you didn’t miss a post. We had our building inspection, and passed (hooray!) but the inspector wants to come back after insulation install (he’s due tomorrow morning). And then we had our field trip to Ashfield Stone to get some preliminary estimates and appointments set up, and to get some general information. I decided not to take any pictures until we actually go to choose the slabs. Delayed gratification.